All posts tagged: Ammunition

Ukraine Donor Fatigue: Half Of Countries Withdraw From Czech Ammunition Initiative

Ukraine Donor Fatigue: Half Of Countries Withdraw From Czech Ammunition Initiative

Published by Jenni Sidey

According to Czech President Petr Pavel, a full half of the Kiev-supporting Western coalition has quietly abandoned Prague’s flagship initiative to jointly procure artillery ammunition for Ukraine’s military. Pavel said that while 18 countries participated last year, only nine are still making financial contributions now. “This initiative has been delivering up to 50 per cent of all large caliber ammunition to the Ukrainians, so in this sense it cannot be replaced easily by anything else,” the FT on Tuesday quoted the Czech president as saying. via Globesec It’s unclear precisely which precise countries have dropped participation, but reports indicate that Germany and some Scandinavian countries remain involved. But the program is now teetering on life support as donor fatigue morphs into outright abandonment, and also as the Ukraine conflict has mostly slipped from driving world headlines, as attention has turned to the US-Israeli war in Iran instead, alongside the Hormuz Strait standoff and global crude crisis. When Pavel first launched the initiative in 2024, 18 countries – including Canada, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands – …

Czech president admits rocky relationship with PM – POLITICO

Czech president admits rocky relationship with PM – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Babiš and Pavel have been at loggerheads for years, including on defense policy, with the relationship turning adversarial after the former returned to power in 2025. The prime minister, a self-proclaimed Trump fan, and the president, a pro-Western former top NATO military official, have also repeatedly clashed on various other issues, from democratic norms to Babiš’s long-standing business conflict-of-interest controversies. One fight that remains very much open: Who will attend NATO’s summit in Ankara in early July. Babiš insists the president cannot participate in the official government delegation, even though Pavel has attended all NATO summits since he became president in 2023. The Czech government said it will decide on the matter on June 8. “So far, I have come with a compromise. I hope that it will be understood and accepted,” he told POLITICO Speakeasy. Asked if he would take legal action if barred from attending, the Czech president replied: “I believe it will be necessary, because it is to protect the Constitution. I cannot allow the reduction of constitutional powers of a president.” …

Explosions Heard in Iran’s Qeshm Island Due to Disposal of Enemy Ammunition

Explosions Heard in Iran’s Qeshm Island Due to Disposal of Enemy Ammunition

Published by Sam Flores

DUBAI, May 19 (Reuters) – ⁠Explosions ⁠were heard ⁠in Iran’s Qeshm island on ​Tuesday due to the neutralization ‌of unexploded enemy ‌ammunition, the semi-official ⁠Iranian ⁠Tasnim news agency said, citing a local ​official. The country’s Mehr news agency had earlier reported the ​sound of explosions, saying the ⁠cause was ⁠unknown. U.S. President Donald ⁠Trump ​said on Monday he had paused ​a planned ⁠resumption of attacks on Iran after Tehran sent a new peace ⁠proposal to Washington, and that there was now ⁠a “very good chance” of reaching a deal limiting Iran’s nuclear programme. Reuters could not determine whether preparations had been made for strikes that would mark a ⁠renewal of the war the U.S. and Israel started on February 28. (Reporting by Elwely ​Elwelly; Editing by Alison ​Williams, William Maclean) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Source link

Former British soldier jailed over ‘man cave’ weapons stash

Former British soldier jailed over ‘man cave’ weapons stash

Published by Sam Flores

A former British soldier who stockpiled more than 600 weapons in his “man cave” after developing a fascination for Nazi Germany has been jailed for six years. Paul Page, 52, a convicted paedophile, collected landmines, grenades, rifles, ammunition and chemicals in a shed which he also described as a “personal museum” . Page admitted a string of terrorism, explosives and firearms charges and was jailed at the Old Bailey for six years with a further year on extended licence. Sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Richard Marks KC said Page had an “obsession with weapons and tools” and was capable of repairing and making firearms, ammunition and functioning explosives. Even though Page said he kept the stash under lock and key, the judge said it was in a residential area and potentially within reach of children if he was not “100% vigilant”. Had the shed been burgled and the items got into the wrong hands, “the consequences could have been very serious”, the judge added. Judge Marks also noted Page’s post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and history …

5 ways the Iran war shows NATO is not ready to fight Russia – POLITICO

5 ways the Iran war shows NATO is not ready to fight Russia – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

That creates an “urgent requirement for more affordable air-to-air interceptors,” he added, arguing NATO should focus on cheaper alternatives to the Patriot like the AGR-20 laser-guided missile — and build out passive defenses like hardened concrete aircraft shelters. The alliance’s munitions shortages will now feature heavily at July’s summit of NATO leaders, according to one person familiar with the matter. 2. Air inferiority Iran’s ability to continue pummeling neighboring Gulf states with over 5,000 missile and drone attacks despite the U.S. aerial campaign shows the “clear limits to the expectation that you can bomb a country into submission” with conventional aircraft, said Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The HMS Dragon is pictured in Portsmouth, England on March 4, 2026. | Peter Nicholls/Getty Images In response, NATO must rethink air dominance and look for creative solutions to deter Russia, like turbocharging investment in long-range precision strike weapons capable of targeting Moscow’s drone production and military sites deep inside the country, said Bronk. “If we can get air superiority over …

Germany’s Merz sits powerless as Trump attacks European allies in Oval Office – POLITICO

Germany’s Merz sits powerless as Trump attacks European allies in Oval Office – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Merz needs close ties with both the British prime minister and Sánchez. Starmer is an important ally in the “E3” format that Germany, France and the U.K. use to coordinate European strategy toward Ukraine. Sánchez, meanwhile, represents the largest faction within the center-left Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament, with whom Merz’s conservatives must reach compromises.  Following his meeting with Trump on Tuesday, Merz said: “There is no way that Spain will be treated particularly badly” on trade as a member of the EU. He also said he had defended Starmer to Trump, telling the president the British leader “is making a really very, very large, very, very valuable contribution in the E3 format to ending the war in Ukraine, and that I consider this criticism of him to be unjustified.” The key, Merz said, had been not to correct Trump in front of the cameras. “I did this behind closed doors because, as I said, I did not want to play out the conflict on the open stage there.” Perhaps the biggest …

Belgium arrests 4 in Cameroon war crimes probe – POLITICO

Belgium arrests 4 in Cameroon war crimes probe – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Belgian authorities have arrested four people over suspected links to war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to Cameroon’s ongoing separatist conflict, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office said in a press statement that since last summer it has been probing “possible crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Cameroon since 2020” following a tip from Norwegian judicial authorities. The investigation targets individuals in Belgium who are suspected of belonging to the leadership of the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), an armed separatist movement. Four suspects were picked up during coordinated searches in the town of Londerzeel, 20 kilometers north of Brussels, and Antwerp on Sunday, three of whom were placed in pre-trial detention. Prosecutors said “money is reportedly being raised for the armed struggle and for the purchase of arms and ammunition,” adding that “instructions for attacks and liquidations are said to be given from Belgium.” Cameroon’s conflict pits French-speaking forces loyal to the government in the capital Yaoundé against English-speaking separatists seeking to create the breakaway state of Ambazonia in …

Why US-EU defense industrial cooperation matters more than ever – POLITICO

Why US-EU defense industrial cooperation matters more than ever – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

As the war in Ukraine rages on, U.S. production lines must operate at capacity to supply munitions other nations cannot, such as U.S. air defense systems and their interceptor missiles and F-16 ammunition and spare parts. This is particularly true as the U.S. strives to meet its own defense production needs as well as those of our allies across the world. For the U.S. to continue supplying the armaments Ukraine and NATO member countries need requires orders sufficient to justify their production and the resources to pay for them. With that in mind, the United States has expressed concerns about how EU defense initiatives like Security Action for Europe (SAFE) and the European Defense Industry Program (EDIP) restrict market access for American companies. Such exclusionary measures undermine our collective defense by limiting competition, stifling innovation and depriving these companies of the orders they need to maintain production at the levels required to meet our allies’ needs. EDIP and SAFE mandate the EU maintain control over the design, configuration, and future modification of defense systems. And …

Germany and France clash over buying US arms with €90B loan to Ukraine – POLITICO

Germany and France clash over buying US arms with €90B loan to Ukraine – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

French President Emmanuel Macron is keen to give preferential treatment to EU military companies to strengthen the bloc’s defense industry — even if that means Kyiv can’t immediately buy what it needs to keep Russian forces at bay. A majority of countries, led by governments in Berlin and The Hague, respond that Kyiv must have more leeway in how it spends the EU’s financial package to help fund its defense, according to position papers seen by POLITICO. These frictions are coming to a head after years of debate over whether to include Washington in EU defense purchasing programs. Divisions have only worsened since U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration threatened a military takeover of Greenland. Critics retort France’s push to introduce a strict “Buy European” clause would tie Kyiv’s hands and limit its ability to defend itself against Russia. “Ukraine also urgently requires equipment produced by third countries, notably U.S.-produced air defense systems and interceptors, F-16 ammunition and spare parts and deep-strike capacities,” the Dutch government wrote in a letter to other EU countries seen by POLITICO. …