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US to conduct a review of forces in Europe
Hegseth says the US will be “doubling down” on its efforts to get allies to spend what they need to spend.
He says his department will conduct a six-month review of US forces in Europe .
He says it will look at actual benefits of having US military in Europe – and will be a real review.
“It will be designed to ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading , stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe.”
He then goes further to say that the US dues to the Nato budget will be contingent on other countries meeting their defence spending targets.
“ Where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues, contributions will go down. Nato will be a two-way street.”
He adds:
“America cannot care for or pay more for Europe’s defence than our allies do.”
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Morning opening: Ukraine hits Moscow oil refinery, disrupts flights in retaliation attack as Nato, EU leaders meet for talks
Ukraine bolsters its northern defences amid fears Belarus is being dragged into war
Peter Beaumont
on the Ukraine-Belarus border
Russian spy drones flying into Ukraine from Belarusian airspace have sharply increased since the beginning of the year, as senior officials in Kyiv express mounting concern over Belarus’s involvement in the war.
A Ukrainian work team puts sets up a new barrier of razor wire in front of an anti tank ditch in the forest a few kilometres from the Belarusian border. Photograph: Peter Beaumont/The Guardian Ukraine has stepped up by reinforcing fortifications on its northern border, including anti-tank ditches, concrete “dragons’ teeth” obstacles to block armoured vehicles and new areas of barbed wire. Troops operating along the border say they have noted a jump of about 20% in Russian intelligence drones since January.
The increase in drone sightings comes in parallel with reports that Russia has constructed five new drone bases near its shared border with Belarus as part of its efforts to use Minsk’s airspace to attack Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials, including the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy , have spoken of “unusual activity” on the Belarus border, amid concern that Moscow is seeking to draw its ally further into the conflict, and warnings that have been given to Minsk.
'If Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn,' Zelenskyy warns after overnight strikes
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that “if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn” as he ramped up his rhetoric after overnight drone strikes on the Russian capital.
Black smoke rises from the area of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft’s Moscow oil refinery on the south-eastern outskirts of Moscow. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Scores of drones targeted Moscow overnight, hitting the Russian capital’s oil refinery for the second time this week, Reuters reported.
“ We don’t want this war, we never did, and everyone knows it, and our partners know it,” Zelenskyy said in a voice message sent to reporters on a WhatsApp group, quoted by Reuters.
double quotation mark But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn.
Zelenskyy also called on Europe and the United States to increase pressure on Russia through sanctions on Russia’s defence and energy sectors and broader economy to force president Vladimir Putin into ending the war.
US defence secretary urges UK to spend more on defence, 'step up and do even more'
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has also offered his view on the relationship with the UK, after meeting Britain’s new defence minister Dan Jarvis .
His predecessor resigned in protest against low government…
Read the full article at The Guardian (World) →
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