DefenceTalkTurkey said Monday it was blocking warships from the key Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits in line with a convention that gives it control over the passage of military vessels in the strategic area. “We have alerted both countries of the region and elsewhere not to pass warships through the Black Sea,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-blocks-warships-from-bosphorus-dardanelles-78173/

DefenceTalkRoyal Navy ships, British Army troops, and Royal Air force fighters are arriving on new deployments in eastern Europe to bolster NATO’s eastern front. HMS Trent is in the eastern Mediterranean, conducting NATO exercises with Merlin Helicopters and RAF P8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft. They will be shortly joined by HMS Diamond, a Type 45 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uk-forces-arrive-to-reinforce-natos-eastern-flank-78165/

DefenceTalkUkrainian soldiers repulsed a Russian attack in the capital, the military said early Saturday, only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow would attempt to take Kyiv before dawn. Russian leader Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion on Thursday that has killed dozens of people, forced more than 50,000 to flee Ukraine in just […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukrainian-and-russian-forces-fight-over-capital-kyiv-78121/

DefenceTalkNATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the alliance was deploying its rapid response forces to bolster defences on its eastern flank in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “It is still a fluid situation. What we have seen is that the Ukrainian forces are fighting bravely and are actually able to inflict damage on […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-sending-response-forces-to-allies-after-ukraine-invasion-78116/

DefenceTalkSPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany: Six U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II aircraft assigned to the 34th Fighter Squadron currently operating out of Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, forward deployed, Feb. 24, to the Baltic Sea and Black Sea regions in support of NATO’s collective defense. The fifth generation aircraft, originally from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/u-s-f-35s-forward-deploy-to-natos-eastern-flank-78105/

DefenceTalkFrance was speeding up its deployment of troops to bolster NATO’s eastern flank in Romania after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday. Talking after an emergency summit with European Union leaders, Macron said he was “accelerating” the dispatch of forces. It is part of a broader push by NATO allies to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/france-accelerating-troop-deployment-to-romania-78101/

DefenceTalkNATO is activating its “defence plans” for allied countries as Russia attacks non-NATO member Ukraine, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told a media conference on Thursday. Stoltenberg also confirmed that NATO will hold a video summit on Friday to discuss the Russian invasion of its pro-Western neighbour. And he reiterated that NATO had no “plans” to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-activating-defence-plans-for-allies-as-russia-invades-ukraine-78061/

DefenceTalkSweden and Finland plan to stay out of NATO despite the “shock” of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leaders of the two countries said Thursday. With the military offensive ordered last night by Russian President Vladimir Putin, “we have entered a new and dark chapter in European history,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sweden-finland-firm-on-staying-out-of-nato-78055/

DefenceTalkNATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that Russian forces continue to prepare for a potential attack on Ukraine after Moscow recognized two separatist regions as independent. “Every indication is that Russia continues to plan for a full-scale attack on Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said after an urgent meeting with Ukraine’s envoy. “We see that more and more […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-warns-russia-readying-for-full-scale-attack-on-ukraine-78031/

DefenceTalkUkraine on Tuesday urged its Western allies to hit Russia with “tough sanctions” after President Vladimir Putin recognized two breakaway regions as independent and ordered in his troops. Putin’s move – which came with tens of thousands of Russian soldiers on Ukraine’s borders and fears of an all-out invasion – was quickly and widely condemned […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukraine-urges-tough-sanctions-after-putin-orders-troops-into-rebel-regions-78025/