World
We must support Ukraine in ‘good and bad times,’ says Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged allies to unwaveringly support Ukraine in its ongoing counteroffensive against Russia.
“No one ever said this was going to be easy. It was clearly stated this was going to be a bloody, difficult and hard offensive,” Stoltenberg told Members of the European Parliament on Thursday morning.
“Wars are by nature unpredictable,” he went on. “There will be bad days and good days. We need to be with Ukraine not only in good times but also in bad times.
“We support them when they win and if they lose. We are there with Ukraine because to support Ukraine is not an option, it’s a necessity to (ensure) that authoritarian regimes don’t achieve what they want by violating international law and using military force.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how brutal war is, but we need to never forget our responsibility,” he added.
Stoltenberg’s comments come in the midst of growing media reports that suggest US and European officials are frustrated by the evolution of the long-awaited counteroffensive, which is propped up by supplies of Western ammunition.
According to a recent report by the New York Times, the US has advised Ukraine to revise its tactics and make changes to how its forces are being deployed along the battle lines. The media scrutiny, coupled with the slow pace of the military operation, has piled pressure to deliver faster results.
Stoltenberg criticised the naysayers and said military decisions should not be taken by Brussels, a reference to the location of the NATO and EU headquarters, but by the Ukrainian commanders fighting “on the ground.”
“We have to remember the starting point: the Russian army used to be the second strongest in the world and now the Russian army is the second strongest in Ukraine,” he told MEPs. “And that’s quite impressive.”
In the secretary general’s estimation, the Ukrainian army is retaking an estimated 100 metres per day of Russian-occupied land.
The Ukrainian armed forces “are making progress, not perhaps as much as we hoped for, but they’re gaining ground gradually,” he said. “Meaning that when the Ukrainians are gaining ground, the Russians are losing ground.”
Possible Russian drone in Romania
During the exchange of views with lawmakers, Stoltenberg also discussed a recent incident in Romania, a NATO member state, that has put the alliance on alert.
Following two days of emphatic denials, the Romanian authorities admitted on Wednesday that they had found debris on its territory that might possibly belong to a Russian drone launched against Ukraine. The admission prompted outrage inside the country and raised questions about a potential cover-up.
An investigation is currently underway to determine the drone’s origin.
“If it is confirmed that these elements belong to a Russian drone, such a situation would be completely inadmissible and a serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania, a NATO ally,” said Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
Asked about the new development, Stoltenberg trod carefully and said the Romanian government had informed NATO allies about the preliminary findings collected on the Romanian-Ukrainian border.
“It demonstrates the risks of incidents and accidents. We don’t have any information indicating an intentional attack by Russia,” the secretary general told MEPs.
“We’re waiting (for) the outcome of the ongoing investigation. Regardless of that outcome, what we have seen is a lot of fighting and air attacks close to NATO borders,” he added. “We have increased our vigilance. We’re monitoring what’s going on close to our borders.”
This is not the first time that a Russian attack has fuelled fears that the war could spill beyond Ukraine’s territory. Last year, two farmers were accidentally killed in Przewodów, a village near the Polish-Ukrainian border, by what was later identified as an air defence missile that Ukraine had fired to diffuse a Russian attack.
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World
Israel keeping its ‘eyes open’ for Iranian attacks during Trump transition period, ambassador says
Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon tells Fox News Digital that his country is keeping its “eyes open” for any potential aggression from Iran during the Trump transition period, adding it would be a “mistake” for the Islamic Republic to carry out an attack.
The comments come after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowed earlier this week that Iran would retaliate against Israel for the strategic airstrikes it carried out against Tehran on Oct. 26. Araghchi was quoted in Iranian media saying “we have not given up our right to react, and we will react in our time and in the way we see fit.”
“I would advise him not to challenge us. We have already shown our capabilities. We have proved that they are vulnerable. We can actually target any location in Iran. They know that,” Danon told Fox News Digital.
“So I would advise them not to make that mistake. If they think that now, because of the transition period, they can take advantage of it, they are wrong,” he added. “We are keeping our eyes open and we are ready for all scenarios.”
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Danon says he believes one of the most important challenges for the incoming Trump administration will be the way the U.S. deals with Iran.
“Regarding the new administration, I think the most important challenge will be the way you challenge Iran, the aggression, the threat of the Iranian regime. I believe that the U.S. will have to go back to a leading position on this issue,” he told Fox News Digital.
“We are fighting the same enemies, the enemies of the United States of America. When you look at the Iranians, the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, all those bad actors that are coming against Israel… that is the enemy of the United States. So I think every American should support us and understand what we are doing now,” Danon also said.
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Danon spoke as the U.S. vetoed a draft resolution against Israel at the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.
The resolution, which was overseen by Algeria, sought an “immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire” to be imposed on Israel. The resolution did not guarantee the release of the hostages still being held by Hamas within Gaza.
“It was a shameful resolution because… it didn’t have the linkage between the cease-fire and the call [for] the release of the hostages. And I want to thank the United States for taking a strong position and vetoing this resolution,” Danon said. “I think it sent a very clear message that the U.S. stands with its strongest ally with Israel. And, you know, it was shameful, too, to hear the voices of so many ambassadors speaking about a cease-fire but abandoning the 101 hostages. We will not forget them. We will never abandon them. We will continue to fight until we bring all of them back home.”
Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
World
Fact-check: What do we know about Russia’s nuclear arsenal?
Moscow has lowered the bar for using nuclear weapons and fired a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead into Ukraine, heightening tensions with the West.
Russia’s nuclear arsenal is under fresh scrutiny after an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying an atomic warhead was fired into Ukrainian territory.
President Vladimir Putin says the unprecedented attack using the so-called “Oreshnik” missile is a direct response to Ukraine’s use of US and UK-made missiles to strike targets deep in Russian territory.
He has also warned that the military facilities of Western countries allowing Ukraine to use their weapons to strike Russia could become targets.
The escalation comes days after the Russian President approved small but significant changes to his country’s nuclear doctrine, which would allow a nuclear response to a conventional, non-nuclear attack on Russian territory.
While Western officials, including US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, have dismissed the notion that Moscow’s use of nuclear weapons is imminent, experts warn that recent developments could increase the possibility of nuclear weapons use.
Here’s what we know about Russia’s inventory of atomic weapons.
How big is Russia’s nuclear arsenal?
Russia holds more nuclear warheads than any other nation at an estimated 5,580, which amounts to 47% of global stockpiles, according to data from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
But only an estimated 1,710 of those weapons are deployed, a fraction more than the 1,670 deployed by the US.
Both nations have the necessary nuclear might to destroy each other several times over, and considerably more atomic warheads than the world’s seven other nuclear nations: China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
Of Moscow’s deployed weapons, an estimated 870 are on land-based ballistic missiles, 640 on submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and potentially 200 at heavy bomber bases.
According to FAS, there are no signs Russia is significantly scaling up its nuclear arsenal, but the federation does warn of a potential surge in the future as the country replaces single-warhead missiles with those capable of carrying multiple warheads.
Russia is also steadily modernising its nuclear arsenal.
What could trigger a Russian nuclear response?
Moscow’s previous 2020 doctrine stated that its nuclear weapons could be used in response to an attack using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction “when the very existence of the state is put under threat.”
Now, the conditions under which a nuclear response could be launched have changed in three crucial ways:
- Russia will consider using nuclear weapons in the case of a strike on its territory using conventional weapons, such as cruise missiles, drones and tactical aircraft.
- It could launch a nuclear attack in response to an aggression by a non-nuclear state acting “with the participation or support of a nuclear state”, as is the case for Ukraine.
- Moscow will also apply the same conditions to an attack on Belarus’ territory, in agreement with President Lukashenko.
Is there a rising nuclear threat?
The size of the world’s nuclear stockpiles has rapidly decreased amid the post-Cold War détente. The Soviet Union had some 40,000 warheads, and the US around 30,000, when stockpiles peaked during the 1960s and 70s.
But FAS warns that while the overall number is still in decline, operational warheads are on the rise once again. More countries are also upgrading their missiles to deploy multiple warheads.
“In nearly all of the nuclear-armed states there are either plans or a significant push to increase nuclear forces,” Hans M. Kristensen, Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), said in June this year.
Is the West reacting?
When Putin approved the updated nuclear protocol last week, many Western leaders dismissed it as sabre rattling.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany and its partners would “not be intimidated” and accused Putin of “playing with our fear.”
But since Russia used a hypersonic ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead in an attack on Dnipro, European leaders have raised the alarm.
“The last few dozen hours have shown that the threat is serious and real when it comes to global conflict,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday.
According to Dutch media reports, NATO’s secretary-general Mark Rutte is in Florida to urgently meet President-elect Donald Trump, potentially to discuss the recent escalation.
NATO and Ukraine will hold an extraordinary meeting in Brussels next Tuesday to discuss the situation and the possible allied reaction, according to Euronews sources.
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