Heading towards World War III?

The Pentagon will send four more rocket artillery systems to Ukraine as part of the latest $450 million military aid package, the US government said on Thursday. This would bring the total number of HIMARS launchers sent to Kiev to eight, the first having reportedly already reached Ukrainian troops.

The latest tranche of military aid earmarked for Kiev includes four more M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers, acting Pentagon press secretary Todd Breasseale confirmed on Thursday. Last week, Politico was the first to report that Washington was contemplating sending the Ukrainians more of the systems, “based on Ukrainian immediate needs.”

“The United States has now committed approximately $6.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration,” Breasseale added.

Russian arms maker mocks MacronREAD MORE: Russian arms maker mocks Macron
Kiev, however, has asked for a far greater quantity of weapons – “ten times more” HIMARS, Ukrainian MP Alexandra Ustinova told Politico – describing the four on their way as “nothing.”

The first batch of four launchers have already arrived, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov announced on Twitter, thanking his “colleague and friend” Lloyd Austin for the “powerful tools” and wishing death on Russian troops.

On Wednesday, his ministry celebrated mounting a rocket launcher, allegedly from a downed Russian helicopter, onto a Mitsubishi pick-up as a makeshift solution – known as a “technical” – until the HIMARS arrived.

www.rt.com/news/557716-pentagon-himars-launchers-ukraine

The US plans to announce as soon as this week that it has purchased “an advanced medium-to-long range surface-to-air missile defense system” for Ukraine, a number of news agencies reported on Sunday and Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Associated Press quoted a source as saying that the weapon in question is the Norwegian-developed NASAMS anti-aircraft missile system. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested the NASAMS to be delivered to his country when he addressed the Norwegian parliament in late March.

It was said that Washington would also supply Kiev with additional artillery ammunition and counter-battery radars.

www.rt.com/news/557883-us-new-missiles-ukraine

Ukraine's forces will have to retreat from Severodonetsk, a regional governor said Friday, after weeks of fierce fighting against Russian forces in the battleground eastern city.

www.france24.com/en/video/20220624-battle-for-the-donbas-ukraine-forces-to-retreat-from-severodonetsk

As there have been no western journalists reporting in the Russian Controlled Kharkiv / Kharkov Region of Ukraine my team and I traveled there to show the world what it is really like. This report is an in-depth look at the people that are living in this region now and what they think about the situation. We spoke to many people and found many different opinions. Some were pro-Ukrainian and some were pro-Russian. This is a must-see report to open the eyes of the world. Watch until the end.

Turkey does not follow the Western lead in sanctioning Russia because it is guided by pragmatic economic considerations and “a policy of balance,” the Turkish president’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has said.

In an interview with Haberturk TV, Kalin said that Ankara is pursuing “a policy of balance” when it comes to its relations with Russia.

“As we are dependent on foreign sources for energy, we develop relations with Russia as we do with Iran,” he explained, noting that Turkey also enjoys good relations with the US and other Western countries.

“We do not impose sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war. Of course, we have to protect the interests of our country,” he said.

In Kalin’s opinion, imposing sanctions on Moscow “will harm Turkey's economy more than Russia’s.”

“We took a clear stand. At present, the Westerners have also accepted it. They do not say anything about Turkey's position for geopolitical reasons,” Kalin claimed.

He also emphasized that his country does not support the policy of imposing personal sanctions against Russian businessmen.

“Those who are called billionaires in the West are called oligarchs when it comes to Russia. Are there no such leaders in the US or Europe?” Kalin asked.

Kalin made it clear that his country views Russia's military operation as an “invasion” and states it “clearly and unequivocally.” However, he stressed that Turkey continues to talk to both Ukraine and Russia as “the longer the war, the higher the cost.”

Turkey gets discount on Ukrainian grainREAD MORE: Turkey gets discount on Ukrainian grain
“Frankly, there is no other country that makes an effort to bring the two sides together. It will set an example that cooperation can be made on certain issues even in a war environment,” Kalin claimed.

He emphasized the role Ankara was playing in negotiating solutions to certain globally important issues, such as grain supplies from the conflict-torn region.

www.rt.com/russia/557875-turkey-russia-spokesman-balance

A secret network of commandos and spies from the US, and some of its allies, is working to provide weapons, intelligence and training to Ukraine, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Saturday, citing current and former American and European officials.

While much of the activity takes place at bases in Britain, Germany and France, some CIA agents have been stationed in the east European country, mostly in the capital Kiev, the paper said.

The agents are tasked with sharing satellite images and other intelligence with Ukrainian troops, according to the story.

The US announced the evacuation of military instructors from Ukraine in February. Shortly afterwards, Russia launched its military campaign and the US Army’s 10th Special Forces Group set up a planning cell in Germany to coordinate military aid to Kiev, the paper explained. The group has reportedly grown to include participants from 20 nations.

The NYT added that “a few dozen commandos” from other NATO member states, including Canada, Britain, France and Lithuania, have also been working in Ukraine.

Ukraine joining NATO ‘has never been on the table’ – Spain
Read more Ukraine joining NATO ‘has never been on the table’ – Spain
NATO members have been supplying Ukraine with heavy weapons, including missile launchers, combat drones and armored vehicles, and training Ukrainian troops to use them. In recent months, the Pentagon has delivered M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and M777 howitzers.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last week that Ukraine was facing “a pivotal moment on the battlefield” and urged Washington's allies to continue aiding Kiev.

www.rt.com/news/557848-us-cia-agents-kiev

Nato has announced plans to massively increase the number of its forces at high readiness to over 300,000 troops.

The bloc's rapid reaction force currently has 40,000 troops at its disposal, with many of those based along the alliance's eastern flank.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the increase followed a direct threat from Russia to European security.

He earlier said that "the new military blueprint" would "drastically upgrade" the bloc's eastern defences.

Mr Stoltenberg said several Nato battlegroups in eastern Europe would be bolstered to "brigade level" - tactical units of several thousand troops - which the bloc's civilian leader said was intended to send a clear message of deterrence to Russia.

"I'm confident that Moscow, President Putin, understands our collective security guarantees, understands the consequence of attacking a Nato-allied country," Mr Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference in Brussels.

"It will trigger a response from the whole Alliance. And to underpin that message, we are increasing the Nato presence."

Nato's rapid reaction force is a combination of land, sea and air assets designed to be deployed quickly in the event of attack. It has steadily grown in size from 13,000 troops to 40,000 since 2014.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61954516

NATO will boost its rapid reaction force to 300,000 troops to deter Russia.

With an eye on China, NATO has also called 4 Indo-Pacific powers to its annual summit this year. Palki Sharma tells you why this is a beginning of a new cold war.