Beijing has “fully militarized” several islands in the South China Sea and is engaged in a massive military buildup in the region, the head of the US Indo-Pacific Command claimed, prompting a swift denial and counter-allegations from Chinese officials.
The Pentagon is considering whether to use the Defense Production Act to help replace thousands of missiles shipped to Ukraine in recent months, as US stocks begin to run low following a long line of arms transfers.
The Pentagon’s latest budget proposal will reportedly request at least $1 billion to equip the Navy’s Zumwalt-class destroyer with new hypersonic missiles, as the military continues to dump countless tax dollars into a warship which still lacks a primary weapon.
Washington has imposed new sanctions on Chinese officials, saying they are in response to “repressive acts” against ethnic and religious minorities. The move comes just days after the Joe Biden administration threatened penalties over China’s continued relations with Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he accepts that his country will not be admitted into the NATO alliance, but voiced hopes for “security guarantees” from individual member states. He added that Kiev will not budge on its claims to breakaway territories, however, refusing major concessions sought by Russia.
Russia Four Marines died during NATO drills in Norway. [Link] Russia tells the US that Moscow-Washington relations are on the verge of breaking. [Link] Rep. Liz Cheney says chemical weapons should be a redline for NATO intervention in Ukraine. [Link] The US Ambassador...
Congresswoman Liz Cheney said the US should take action in Ukraine in the event Russia uses chemical weapons, echoing a recent threat by Washington’s UN envoy, who warned that America will “respond aggressively” if such weapons are deployed.
NATO states Germany and the Netherlands have moved Patriot missile defense systems into Slovakia, the country’s defense minister said, though insisted they would not replace its S-300 despite a recent proposal to transfer the Soviet-era platform to Ukraine in exchange for a US-made substitute.
