DefenceTalkIsrael launched air strikes on Gaza Friday in response to militant rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave, as tensions rose following the deadliest army raid on the occupied West Bank in years. Israel said it had carried out at least two rounds of strikes targeting Hamas Islamists, following waves of rocket launches towards southern Israel. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/israel-gaza-militants-trade-missiles-after-deadly-west-bank-raid-79782/

DefenceTalkLeopard tanks pledged by Germany to help Ukraine repel Russia’s invasion will arrive in “late March, early April”, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday. Training of Ukrainian troops on German Marder infantry fighting vehicles will start in the next few days, he added, “and for the Ukrainian soldiers who will be trained on the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/leopard-tanks-to-arrive-in-ukraine-around-late-march-germany-79777/

DefenceTalkThe United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Chinese company for allegedly providing satellite imagery of Ukraine to help Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, while American lawmakers pushed for stronger action against Beijing. The Treasury Department and State Department announced a slew of actions as they formally designated the Wagner Group as a transnational criminal […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-targets-chinese-firm-for-helping-russian-group-in-ukraine-79773/

DefenceTalkGermany’s move to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine, expected to be followed by a similar announcement from the US, marks a politically weighty step that could also offer Kyiv increased ability to breach Russian invaders’ lines. After weeks of pressure from Ukraine and other allies, Berlin finally agreed to send 14 of its Leopard 2 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/western-tanks-political-and-military-boost-for-ukraine-79769/

DefenceTalkGermany’s defence minister said Tuesday that allies could start training Ukrainian forces to use Leopard tanks, as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg predicted that a decision on their delivery would be made “soon”. Germany has been under intense international pressure in recent weeks to allow the export of powerful German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/germany-says-allies-can-start-training-ukrainians-on-tanks-79761/

DefenceTalkTurkey on Tuesday postponed NATO accession talks with Sweden and Finland, further denting the Nordic neighbors’ hopes of joining the Western defence alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ankara announced its decision one day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Sweden for allowing weekend protests that included the burning of the Koran […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-postpones-nato-talks-with-sweden-finland-79745/

DefenceTalkFormer US secretary of state Mike Pompeo wrote in a book published Tuesday that India and Pakistan came close to nuclear war in 2019 and that US intervention prevented escalation. “I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019,” […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pompeo-says-us-averted-nuclear-war-between-india-pakistan-79741/

DefenceTalkEU foreign ministers agreed Monday to spend an extra 500 million euros ($540 million) from their common coffers on arms for Ukraine, diplomats said, as Kyiv pleads for heavier weapons. The accord will take the total committed to supplying Ukraine’s military from common EU spending to 3.6 billion euros, which is separate from national spending […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eu-agrees-extra-500-mn-euros-to-arm-ukraine-79737/

DefenceTalkPresident Vladimir Putin on Monday slammed Kyiv’s “destructive” policies and growing Western arms supplies to Ukraine in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said. Putin said Kyiv was pursuing “a destructive line” and that it had “bet on the intensification of hostilities with the support of Western sponsors, who […]https://www.defencetalk.com/putin-slams-growing-western-arms-deliveries-to-ukraine-79722/

DefenceTalkPresident Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed Thursday to send powerfully armed infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, marking a new phrase of Western military support to repel Russia’s invasion. Germany will also follow the United States in sending a state-of-the-art Patriot missile system to Ukraine to help ward off Russian air attacks. The […]https://www.defencetalk.com/white-house-says-us-germany-to-send-ukraine-armored-vehicles-79703/