Tag: WEAPONS

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy outlines ‘victory plan’ to allies, discusses long-range weapons

By Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout and John Irish LONDON/PARIS/ROME (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday discussed his proposed “victory plan” with the leaders of Britain, France and Italy, and the incoming head of NATO as he seeks to garner military support to put himself in a position for eventual peace talks. Western officials and Zelenskiy have said the war with Russia is at a critical point. With a U.S election less than a month away […]

Ukraine presses for long-range strike support, US announces more aid

By Phil Stewart and Sabine Siebold RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Western allies on Friday to ignore Moscow’s “red lines” and allow Kyiv to use long-range weapons for strikes on Russian territory as Washington pledged a further $250 million in weaponry for Kyiv. Zelenskiy made his first appearance at a regular U.S.-hosted gathering of Ukraine’s allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and sought to present the long-range strike […]

Kyiv and Prague agree to produce rifles, ammo in Ukraine

PRAGUE, July 16, 2024 (AFP) – Kyiv and Prague have agreed to launch joint production of assault rifles and ammunition components inside Ukraine, the countries’ prime ministers said Tuesday following talks in the Czech Republic. Ukraine has been working to develop its own fledgling arms industry to reduce its dependence on Western military aid since Russian forces invaded in 2022. “Today we have signed two important agreements, among others, in the defence industry. A new […]

US Supreme Court strikes down ban on gun ‘bump stocks’

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2024 (AFP) – The US Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a ban introduced by ex-president Donald Trump’s administration on “bump stocks” — which allow semi-automatic rifles to fire like a machine gun — is unconstitutional. The case stems from the worst mass shooting in US history, in October 2017, when a man fired on a crowd attending an outdoor music concert in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and wounding around 500. […]

US sent seized Iran weapons, ammo to Ukraine

By W.G. DUNLOP WASHINGTON, April 9, 2024 (AFP) – Washington has given Ukraine small arms and ammunition that were seized while being sent from Iranian forces to Tehran-backed rebels in Yemen, the US military said Tuesday. The transfer last week came as Ukraine suffers from significant shortages of ammunition and US Republican lawmakers block new aid, but it does not address Kyiv’s need for key items such as artillery and air defense munitions. “The US […]

Seoul says N Korea has shipped 7,000 arms containers to Russia

SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea has shipped around 7,000 containers of arms to Russia to use in its war with Ukraine since the transfers began around last July, South Korea’s defence minister said Monday. Historical allies Russia and North Korea are both under a raft of global sanctions — Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang for its testing of nuclear weapons. Their leaders Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un held a summit in […]

Putin says Russian nuclear weapons ‘more advanced’ than in US

MOSCOW, March 13, 2024 (AFP) – President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lauded Moscow’s nuclear arsenal and warned that he was ready to deploy the weapons if Russia’s sovereignty was threatened. The Kremlin has touted its nuclear prowess throughout its two-year offensive in Ukraine, last month warning Western countries there was a “real” risk of nuclear catastrophe if they escalated the conflict. The United States, however, said it had seen no sign Russia was planning to […]

North Korea slams G7’s nuclear denuclearization call, demands group’s dismantlement

SEOUL, Nov 14, 2023 (AFP) – North Korea on Tuesday slammed a joint statement by G7 foreign ministers that criticised the country’s nuclear programme, arguing the grouping of rich democracies should be “dismantled immediately”. In a statement issued last week, the top diplomats of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the United States and the European Union reiterated their longstanding call for the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”. The G7 foreign ministers also demanded […]

US arrests three Russians for shipping weapons components to Russia in violation of sanctions

NEW YORK, Oct 31, 2023 (AFP) – Three Russians were arrested Tuesday in New York for evading US sanctions to ship electronic components for weapons used by Moscow in its war in Ukraine, authorities said. Nikolay Golstev, 37, and his wife, Kristina Puzyreva, 32 — both Russian-Canadian — were arrested along with their alleged partner Salimdzhon Nariddinov, 52, who has Russian-Tajik citizenship. The trio are accused of evading sanctions to dispatch, over the course of […]

South Korea stages first military parade in a decade

SEOUL, Sept 26, 2023 (AFP) – South Korea staged its first military parade in a decade on Tuesday, showcasing its advanced arsenal in the face of plummeting ties with nuclear-armed North Korea. Pyongyang regularly puts on huge military parades but such events in Seoul are traditionally arranged every five years to mark South Korea’s Armed Forces Day. The last parade was in 2013. Five years later, then-president Moon Jae-in chose to hold a celebratory ceremony […]

Biden’s son Hunter indicted on gun charges

WASHINGTON, Sept 14, 2023 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter was indicted Thursday for illegally buying a gun when he was using drugs, casting a new shadow over his father’s campaign for reelection next year. Hunter Biden, 53, was charged with two counts of making false statements when claiming on forms required for the 2018 gun purchase that he was not using drugs illegally at the time. A third charge said that, based […]

North Korea leader calls for more ‘practical, offensive’ war deterrence

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for expanding the country’s war deterrence capabilities in a “more practical and offensive” way, state media said Tuesday, to counter what it called “frantic” aggression by the United States and South Korea. Pyongyang has opened the year with a flurry of weapons tests, including what state media has claimed are nuclear-capable underwater drones and the launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles. On Monday, […]