DefenceTalkPresident Volodymyr Zelensky said he is no longer pressing for NATO membership for Ukraine, a delicate issue that was one of Russia’s stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbor. In another apparent nod aimed at placating Moscow, Zelensky said he is open to “compromise” on the status of two breakaway pro-Russian territories that President Vladimir […]https://www.defencetalk.com/in-nod-to-russia-ukraine-says-no-longer-insisting-on-nato-membership-78329/

DefenceTalkDenmark’s PM called on Sunday for citizens to vote to overturn its opt-out from EU defence policy in a referendum to be held June 1, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Historic times call for historic decisions,” Mette Frederiksen told a news conference, adding that the government “very clearly calls on Danes to lift the opt-out […]https://www.defencetalk.com/danes-to-vote-on-scrapping-eu-defence-opt-out-78316/

DefenceTalkIran said Monday it was awaiting “details” on Russia’s demands for US guarantees that could potentially delay reaching an agreement in talks aiming to restore Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Moscow wants written guarantees from Washington that Western sanctions imposed on it over the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-seeks-details-of-russian-demands-on-nuclear-deal-78313/

DefenceTalkUkraine on Saturday urged the West to amp up military assistance to the besieged country, including warplanes, as Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated warnings against NATO. “The highest demand that we have is in fighter jets, attack aircraft, and air-defense systems,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a small group of journalists on the Poland-Ukraine […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukraine-steps-up-pleas-for-warplanes-and-other-military-aid-78310/

DefenceTalkFrom a huge Russian military convoy snaking its way to Kyiv to missile strikes and refugee crossings, commercial satellite imagery of the Ukraine conflict is helping lift the fog of war, illuminating for the public what was previously the domain of spy agencies. Technologies that can pierce cloud cover and work at night are also […]https://www.defencetalk.com/how-commercial-satellites-are-shaping-the-ukraine-conflict-78297/

DefenceTalkOn a runway near the Ukrainian border, 14 wide-body aircraft arrive on average each day — a carefully calibrated operation mounted at top speed to deliver tons of Western military assistance to Kyiv. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, inspected the site on Friday — its location is being […]https://www.defencetalk.com/near-ukraine-border-western-arms-arrive-quickly-and-discreetly-78294/

DefenceTalkNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday said the alliance would not impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine after calls from Kyiv to help stop Russia’s bombardments. “The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send NATO fighter planes into Ukraine’s airspace, and then impose that no fly zone by shooting down Russian […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-rejects-calls-for-no-fly-zone-over-ukraine-78291/

DefenceTalkWestern allies on Friday condemned Russia over the shelling of a nuclear plant in Ukraine, but pushed back against calls for a no-fly zone from Kyiv to halt Moscow’s bombardments. Foreign ministers meeting in Brussels at NATO and the European Union said they were weighing more sanctions to keep up the pressure after hitting Moscow […]https://www.defencetalk.com/west-eyes-more-pressure-on-russia-after-ukraine-nuclear-plant-attack-78272/

DefenceTalkRussia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused Western politicians of fixating on nuclear war, one week after Moscow launched the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s clear that World War Three can only be a nuclear war,” Lavrov said in an online interview with Russian and foreign media. “I would like to point out that it’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russias-lavrov-accuses-west-of-fixating-on-nuclear-war-78244/

DefenceTalkFrom wars in Chechnya to Syria, Vladimir Putin has overseen military campaigns that have inflicted vast and often indiscriminate damage on civilian infrastructure, raising fears he might repeat the tactics in Ukraine, observers say. With his latest invasion seen by Western officials as going more slowly than expected, they see him turning increasingly to the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/previous-wars-point-to-putins-tactics-in-ukraine-78227/