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Europe
Austria
Wednesday, July 10, 2024 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was welcomed with military honours by Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Vienna Austria, today. Modi’s visit to Austria is the first by an Indian prime minister in 41 years. A day after he met Russian President Putin in Moscow, emphasizing the need for diplomacy, Modi discussed the war in Ukraine with an ally of Kyiv, the leader of Austria, that has a policy of military neutrality. While in Moscow, Modi reiterated India’s neutral stance on the invasion. Nehammer told reporters it was important to understand India’s position on Ukraine and convey Europe’s concerns. He said it was an “important and significant signal” that India took part in a summit in Switzerland last month and added that Austria could act as a ’bridge-builder’ in helping move forward peace efforts. In his comments today, Modi said in general terms that he and Nehammer had “extensive discussions” on all the world’s conflicts, including Ukraine. He said that “problems cannot be solved in the battlefield” and that “the loss of innocent lives is not acceptable, wherever it may take place.” “India and Austria both lay emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy for the rapid restoration of peace and stability,” he said. “Both of us are ready to provide all possible support to achieve this.” Modi and Nehammer took no questions from journalists. (Source: washingtontimes */ Associated Press)
* The Washington Times, an American conservative daily newspaper. Headquarters Washington, D.C., U.S.
Italy
10.07.2024 Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union this month, and Orbán has since embarked on a "peace mission" to Ukraine, Russia, and China. In Kyiv, he said a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine could speed up negotiations to end the war that started in February 2022. Italian Foreign Minister Tajani today said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is free to make the trips he desires, but should not undermine the unity of EU and NATO. “When Orbán undertakes these trips without a mandate from the EU, he represents Hungary, not the EU. The Hungarian prime minister is free to choose the visits he deems appropriate, but he should ensure not to weaken the unity representing the strength of the West, Europe, and NATO,” Tajani told Italian press in Washington DC, where he is attending a NATO summit. He reiterated Rome’s commitment to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. He said the G7 foreign ministers, under Italy's presidency, would meet on the margins of the NATO summit, expressing hope for positive outcomes in discussions on Gaza and emphasizing the need for progress towards a two-state solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict. (Source: aa)
Poland
8:57 PM CEST, July 10, 2024 The new joint training NATO-Ukraine center in Bydgoszcz, Poland is planned in part to have Ukrainians teach NATO member countries some of the lessons Ukrainians have learned about fighting Russian forces, such as using civilian drones in the battlefield, Siewiera, head of Poland’s National Security Bureau and the security adviser to President Andrej Duda said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, yesterday. Siewiera also spoke 'in favor of Ukraine being allowed to use the weapons that it gets from NATO allies against Russian military targets in Russia'. ’It’s up to Ukrainians how they use their weapons’ once they get them, he argued. The new joint training center in Poland that NATO announced early this year and is setting up with Ukraine ’ideally’ would be used to provide military training to potentially ’millions’ of Ukrainian civilians living abroad who would be willing to come home to join the fight against Russia, the senior Polish security official said. He pointed to Russia’s success greatly expanding its military ranks during the war in Ukraine. The West has to look at the NATO center as a potential center for training Ukrainians for volunteer forces, ’the volunteers who are now present in European countries and are willing to defend Ukraine in the future, because there are millions of them,’ he said. (apnews *)
* The Associated Press, an American news agency headquartered in New York City, U.S
'10 lipca 2024, 14:59' Poland 'needs to prepare its soldiers for all-out conflict', army chief of staff General Kukula said today, as the country boosts the number of troops on its border with Russia and Belarus. As of August, the number of troops guarding Poland's eastern border would be increased to 8,000 from the current 6,000, with an additional rearguard of 9,000 able to step up within 48 hours notice. The border with Belarus has been a flashpoint since migrants started flocking there in 2021 after Belarus opened travel agencies in the Middle East offering a new unofficial route into Europe - a move the European Union said was designed to create a crisis. The size of the armed forces stood at about 190,000 personnel at the end of last year, including ground, air, naval, special forces and territorial defence forces. Poland 'plans to increase this to 300,000 troops within a few years'. (Source: tvn24 *)
* TVN24, a Polish 24-hour commercial news channel, owned by US-based media company Warner Bros. Discovery. Headquarters Warsaw, Poland
European Parliament
10 July 2024 How the formation of new European Parliament Party Groups is going? Negotiations are still ongoing to finalise the new groups that will be running the European Parliament for the next five years. European Parliament Party Groups by total seat count - 720 seats total, 361 required to achieve governing majority - The Left (46); Greens/EFA (53); S&D (136); Renew Europe (76); EPP (189); ECR (74); Patriots for Europe (84); Europe of Sovereign Nations (25); Other/Unknown/Non-Inscrits (37). European Parliament Party Groups and their country composition; European Parliament Party Group formation - complete data. (Source: euractiv *):
* Euractiv, a European news website. Its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
European Union
10.07.2024 An analysis of military aid to Ukraine by the Dutch-based journalism collective Investigative Desk shows significant discrepancy between reported figures and actual production capacity; the European Union is exaggerating its promises to increase production of ammunition to support Ukraine in the ongoing war. Despite the plans, EU deliveries since the start of the year have significantly lagged. Plans to produce and deliver at least 1.3 million artillery shells to Ukraine by the end of the year to bolster its ammunition stocks were announced by EU Commissioner for Internal Market Breton in January. The EU Council also agreed in May to accelerate the supply of 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine within 12 months. The group slammed the given numbers as a “fantasy.” Brussels is allegedly overstating Europe's munitions production capacity, while more capacity is needed to replenish stocks that have been drastically reduced. The EU claims that European arms companies will be able to produce between 1.4 and 1.7 million 155-millimeter NATO-standard artillery shells by the end of the year, but actual production capacity is “actually between 400,000 and 600,000 shells,” said the group. “There’s no such thing as 1.7 million capacity (of artillery shells) in all of Europe combined,” „a well-informed industry insider’ interviewed for the investigation said. ‘Unrealistic figures,' another source told the group; the figures given are “unrealistic.” “Production increases across Europe are lagging behind with the current total capacity reaching a level of about 580,000 units per year,” the collective said, quoting another “well-informed anonymous source". A PowerPoint presentation from German producer Rheinmetall confirms that the capacity in Europe is actually between 400,000 and 600,000 shells, the group said. ’According to this document, other such producers and Rheinmetall together could produce 550,000 shells in 2024,’ it added. An EU Commission spokesperson maintained that achieving a production capacity of 1.5 to 1.7 million 'under realistic conditions was feasible'. False confidence might lead to a situation where factories are left without supplies, compromising support for Ukraine and NATO. (Source: aa)
Russia
(Wednesday), July 10, 2024 Yesterday, the South China Morning Post reported that a Russian pilot known on Telegram as "Fighterbomber" posted documents purportedly related to the U.S. Air Force's F-35 Lightning II and F-15 Eagle jet fighters. The paper of record further identified the individual as "Ivanov," but that has not been confirmed. The individual first posted files including manuals from the American military aircraft, as well as documents on U.S. Switchblade drones and other weapons systems including precision-guided missiles, on his channel last Tuesday. Fighterbomber’s channel has a reported 500,000 subscribers. He claimed to have at least 250 gigabytes of U.S. military data, which he said were obtained via a U.S.-based company.. While many of the files have been deleted, some of the documents were still available as of yesterday afternoon. According to SCMP, the files included a maintenance manual for the F110 engine used by the F-15SA – a variant of the F-15 Eagle in service with Saudi Arabia – as well as a flight manual and maintenance manuals for the aircraft itself. The documents related to the F-35 were described as "being partially redacted," which SCMP also reported "may indicate they were already declassified." The Morning Post indicated that at least some of the documents have been viewed by Chinese officials, who said they are authentic. "The documents are detailed and their format resembles other U.S. military information previously leaked online. However, these are not strictly blueprints or design documents, and their true value can only be assessed by professionals," Tang, the chief marketing officer of Beijing-based antivirus and network security firm Rising Information Technology told SCMP. It remains unclear how damaging – if at all – this information might be. Such data can provide a shortcut for other nations. Telegram users joked that regular people could now build an F-15 or an F-35 in the garage. (Source: nationalinterest *)
* The National Interest, an American bimonthly international relations magazine, based in Washington, D.C., U.S.
North America
United States
10.07.2024 The US will deploy long-range missile capabilities in Germany - conventional long-range fires units which will include SM-6, Tomahawk, and developmental hypersonic weapons which have significantly longer range than current land-based fires in Europe. The United States will begin episodic deployments of the long-range fires capabilities of its Multi-Domain Task Force in Germany in 2026, as part of planning for enduring stationing of these capabilities in the future. Exercising the advanced capabilities will demonstrate the US' commitment to NATO and its contributions to European integrated deterrence, the joint statement by the US and Germany during a NATO’s summit in Washington said. In 2021, the US Army introduced the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force at the Army Europe and Africa headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany, which seeks to provide the command with capabilities that extend beyond traditional ground warfare tactics. (Source: aa)
NATO
10 July 2024 The first batch of US-built F-16 fighter jets are already being transferred to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands and will be flying over Ukrainian skies this summer, US Secretary of State Blinken said, speaking at an event on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington today. A robust package for Ukraine will be unveiled over the next couple of days that will build a clear and strong ’bridge’ for Ukraine's NATO membership, he said. ’We are grateful to Belgium and Norway for committing to provide further aircraft, and to the other members of the Air Force Capability Coalition for their support," a joint statement from the leaders of the United States, Denmark and the Netherlands said. NATO members have announced the delivery of five additional Patriot and other strategic air defence systems to help Ukraine. Still more aid announcements were expected at this week's summit in Washington. President Zelenskyy said last week that he wanted to double Ukraine's air defence capacity over the summer and that his country needed at least seven additional Patriot systems to protect itself. (Source: trtworld *)
* TRT World, a Turkish public broadcaster which broadcasts in English. Headquarters Ankara, Turkey
July 10, 2024 7:25 pm The UK is set to warn the EU not to try to replace Nato with a new, its own internal defence pact – even as Sir Keir Starmer negotiates a new security deal with Brussels. The Prime Minister has been meeting Nato leaders including Macron at the alliance’s summit in Washington. In a highly unusual move, he has brought Thomas-Symonds – the Minister for European Relations – with him to Nato, along with Foreign Secretary Lammy and Defence Secretary Healey. They’ve got the Nato summit within a week of the election, so they get the opportunity to strengthen relations with various of the Nato leaders and others, including EU leaders. British officials have privately warned EU allies against imposing additional protectionist measures on their defence industries. Leaders including Mr Macron have suggested a pact could make Europe more secure by reducing its reliance on the USA. Sir Keir Starmer insisted that Britain’s global defence alliances must remain “Nato first”, adding: “I do see scope for complementing that. That is why we are wanting to advance the defence and security pact or agreement with the EU.” Nato insiders have admitted behind closed doors that they are concerned about the prospect of a Trump presidency undermining support for Ukraine, and are moving to boost the long-term structures of Nato so that it is less dependent on American underpinning. Currently, 23 of the 32 member governments meet the target of spending at least 2 per cent of their GDP on the military, but the UK believes this goal will need to rise in the near future. The Prime Minister has been under pressure to set out a timetable to increase Britain’s own spending to 2.5 per cent from its current level of 2.3 per cent. Shortly before the event kicked off, the Prime Minister held one-on-one talks with Mr Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, and President Zelensky who said: ’Thank you for the military financing packages and support, thank you very much.’ The Chancellor welcomed the Prime Minister’s commitment to resetting the UK’s European partnerships. The two leaders moved on to discuss the need for enhanced defence cooperation in Europe to act as a deterrent for aggression by hostile actors. They agreed that the Nato summit was an opportunity to solidify and strengthen support for Ukraine. The two leaders agreed a firm commitment to strike a deep UK-Germany defence agreement and a shared determination to start work together forging the agreement without delay.” (Source: inews *)
* i, a British daily newspaper. Headquarters London, England
July 10, 2024 7:24 pm CET NATO has backed today Ukraine's ’irreversible path" to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership in the future. Ukraine has been demanding a stronger commitment on its NATO membership. NATO leaders "welcome the concrete progress Ukraine has made since the Vilnius Summit on its required ’democratic’, economic and security reforms. 'We reaffirm that we will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when Allies agree and conditions are met,' the leaders said. NATO 'will never recognize Russia's illegal annexations, including Crimea,’ they added. It will "constrain and contest" Russia's aggressive actions to "counter its ability to conduct destabilising activities towards NATO and Allies." NATO will "decide on further measures to counter Russian hybrid threats or actions individually or collectively," pointing at "sabotage, acts of violence, provocations at Allied borders, instrumentalisation of irregular migration, malicious cyber activities, electronic interference, disinformation campaigns and malign political influence, as well as economic coercion." Referring to China as a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine,the language in the communiqué is more critical of China than in statements from previous summits,. On China, the communiqué stresses Beijing's "no limit partnership" with Moscow and "large-scale support for Russia's defence industrial base." It ’cannot enable the largest war in Europe in recent history without this negatively impacting its interests and reputation," the statement said. (Source: politico *)
* * Politico, an American political digital newspaper. Headquarters Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
10.07.2024 NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg and NATO's 32 leaders are expected to sit down with President Zelenskyy tomorrow for a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. The joint body is a forum for Ukraine to sit with NATO allies to advance political dialogue, engagement, cooperation and Ukraine’s aspirations for membership in NATO.Stoltenberg said allies will agree on Ukraine's eventual membership in a 'strong message" that will be part of a NATO declaration that is expected to be released later today. He added that the alliance's plans to set up a new NATO command at a headquarters in Germany, as well as logistics hubs in eastern flank nations, which will be used to facilitate military assistance to Kyiv, are part of the "concrete actions' the alliance is taking to 'move Ukraine closer to our membership.' Other steps include a 'long-term pledge" to maintain aid and ongoing efforts to increase military interoperability between NATO allies and Ukrainian forces. He acknowledged, however, that allies "didn't deliver on their promises to Ukraine" over the winter and early spring due to delays. Stoltenberg said earlier today that it is "too early to say exactly when' Ukraine will be invited to join the Transatlantic alliance. He said today that the 'best and strongest security guarantee' for Ukraine will be the alliance's collective defense guarantee Article Five as allies work toward providing Kyiv with a 'bridge' to membership. (Source: aa *)
* Anadolu Agency, a state-run news agency. Headquarters Ankara, Turkey.
Moon
12:30 ET, Jul 10 2024 China's space agency has officially declared that the US is a competitor on the moon for the very first time. The CNSA said: "It is foreseeable that in the next 20 to 30 years, China’s International Lunar Research Station and the US Artemis programme will compete." Their new lunar plan read: "[We] will compete in terms of technology and operational efficiency on the same historical stage and at the same geographical location (the south pole of the moon)." The plan, titled the “Strategic Concept of Resource Utilisation Development Route of the International Lunar Research Station”, written under mission scientist Pei’s leadership, was unveiled in April. It continued: "In the historical context of that period, the race to demonstrate superior political strength made lunar exploration unsustainable", Prof. Pei told The South China Morning Post: "The utilisation of lunar resources will become the focus of the competition." The decision marks China's shift from a secretive to more open space policy. China successfully launched its Chang'e-6 spacecraft as part of its mission to retrieve new samples from the Moon on May 3. The satellite touched on the lunar far side after descending from its orbit of around 124 miles above the moon's surface to find a landing site. Earlier this month the Chang'e-6 robot landed on the dark, 183C side of the moon. The space probe landed on Earth in northern China in the Inner Mongolian region, carrying the first ever sample - untouched rock and soil. India, Russia, China and the US have all been engaged in space developments to study the far point of the moon. It is one of the moon's most resource-dense areas. The permanently shadowed places could contain ice and minerals, which would be vital resources for future explorers. The mountain peaks near the pole - which are illuminated for longer periods - could be used to provide solar energy to an outpost. Scientists reckon there is an abundance of Helium-3 in so-called 'cold traps' littered across the south pole, which can help produce huge amounts of energy here on Earth. China will use the data collected by the space lander to allow its astronauts to set foot on the moon by 2030. (Source: the-sun *)
* The U. S. Sun, a US online edition of The Sun, Britain’s largest newspaper.
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