DefenceTalkPoland’s President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday the NATO member plans to spend more than four percent of its gross domestic product on defence next year amid security concerns over the war in neighboring Ukraine. He announced the sum of 137 billion zloty ($33 billion) at the opening of this year’s edition of the region’s biggest […]https://www.defencetalk.com/poland-to-spend-over-4-of-gdp-on-defence-in-2024-80073/

DefenceTalkAfter months of deadlock, Turkey’s president has approved Sweden’s NATO membership, paving the way for the Nordic country to follow its neighbour Finland into the security alliance. Here is the current state of Sweden’s bid, which was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. When will Sweden join NATO? While President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s green light […]https://www.defencetalk.com/the-state-of-swedens-nato-bid-after-turkeys-approval-80024/

DefenceTalkWhile Finland Tuesday became a full NATO member, Sweden’s membership bid remains blocked, an “embarrassing” delay if short-lived but which could make Sweden more vulnerable and create problems within NATO if it drags on, experts told AFP. Finland became the 31st member of the military alliance after securing the last two ratifications needed from Hungary […]https://www.defencetalk.com/long-nato-delay-spells-trouble-for-sweden-and-alliance-experts-80002/

DefenceTalkNATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday dismissed Russian complaints about Britain’s announcement that it will send Ukraine ammunition containing depleted uranium. Moscow on Wednesday warned of a “serious” escalation of the Ukraine crisis if London gives Kyiv the armour piercing rounds. “NATO allies are following international rules and international law in everything they do in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-rejects-russian-complaints-on-uk-uranium-ammo-79972/

DefenceTalkChina is playing an increasingly prominent role on the sidelines of Russia’s war in Ukraine as the conflict drags on into its second year. From a “position paper” on resolving the war to allegations that Beijing may be mulling arms to Russia and meeting with close Moscow allies, here is a rundown of China’s growing […]https://www.defencetalk.com/what-is-chinas-game-plan-in-ukraine-79917/

DefenceTalkFinland, which has one of Europe’s longest borders with Russia, on Tuesday kicks off a parliamentary debate aimed at accelerating the country’s bid to join NATO, increasing the likelihood it will leave neighbor and military partner Sweden behind. Spooked by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden dropped their decades-long policies of military non-alignment and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/finland-moves-closer-to-joining-nato-without-sweden-79901/

DefenceTalkNATO members relaunched debate Wednesday on the thorny issue of ramping up national defence spending targets as Russia’s war on Ukraine has upended security. Moscow’s nearly year-long all-out invasion of its neighbor has seen a string of European allies commit to spending billions more on their armed forces. Some at the US-led Western military alliance […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-debates-raising-defense-spending-target-79859/

DefenceTalkThe conflict in Ukraine “has given NATO renewed purpose” and spurred Eastern Europe to ditch Soviet-era equipment, but China’s military modernization remains the United States’ chief concern, a British think-tank said Wednesday. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said that around 20 countries in Europe “announced either immediate uplifts to defence spending or a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukraine-war-boosts-nato-but-china-concerns-the-us-think-tank-79851/

DefenceTalkA majority of Finns want to go ahead and join NATO even if Sweden’s membership is delayed, a poll suggested Thursday, after Turkey said it could accept Finland without Sweden. More than half of respondents, 53 percent, replied negatively when asked “whether Finland should wait for Sweden” even “if it takes longer to ratify Sweden’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/majority-of-finns-want-to-join-nato-before-sweden-poll-79837/

DefenceTalkHungary accused Sweden of “stupidity” Tuesday over an extremist incident in Stockholm that led Turkey to suspend NATO accession talks with the Nordic country and its neighbor Finland. Turkey and Hungary remain the only members of the 30-nation Western defence alliance to have failed to ratify the membership bids by Sweden and Finland. But a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hungary-blasts-swedens-stupidity-on-nato-row-with-turkey-79809/