MOSCOW: The Russian defense ministry said on Saturday its air defense forces shot down four US-produced long-range missiles over the Crimea peninsular, weapons known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) that Washington has shipped to Ukraine in recent weeks.
The ministry said later that Russian aircraft and air defense systems had downed a total of 15 ATACMS in the past week.
On Tuesday, Russian officials said Ukraine had attacked Crimea with ATACMS in an attempt to pierce Russian air defenses of the annexed peninsula but that six had been shot down.
A US official said in Washington last month that the United States secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine in recent weeks.
The ATACMS missiles, with a range up to 300km were used for the first time in the early hours of April 17, launched against a Russian airfield in Crimea that was about 165 km (103 miles) from the Ukrainian front lines, the official said.
The Pentagon initially opposed the long-range missile deployment, concerned that taking the missiles from the American stockpile would hurt US military readiness.
There were also concerns that Ukraine would use them to attack targets deep inside Russia, a step which could lead to an escalation of the war toward a direct confrontation between Russia and the United States.
Separately on Saturday, the Russian defense ministry said that in the last week its forces had destroyed a military train carrying equipment and arms produced in the West and supplied to Ukraine by NATO.
The scale of the damage, exact date and location were not disclosed.
Reuters is not immediately able to corroborate battlefield accounts from either side.
On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron promised 3 billion pounds ($3.7 billion) of annual military aid for Ukraine for “as long as it takes,” adding that London had no objection to its weapons being used inside Russia, drawing a strong rebuke from Moscow.
Russia says it shot down four US-made long range missiles over Crimea
https://arab.news/ygad5
Russia says it shot down four US-made long range missiles over Crimea
- The ATACMS missiles, with a range up to 300km were used for the first time in the early hours of April 17
Philippines president says legal experts to consider clemency requests for convict Veloso
- Mary Jane Veloso was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 after being found with 2.6 kg of heroin concealed in a suitcase
- She said she was an unwitting drug mule, but she was convicted and sentenced to death, prompting an outcry in the Philippines
“We’re aware of the request for clemency from her representative, of course, and from her family,” Marcos told reporters on Thursday.
“We leave it to the judgment of our legal experts to determine whether the vision of clemency is appropriate.”
Indonesia did not set any conditions on the return of Veloso, Marcos said.
“We are still far from that,” Marcos said when asked about clemency. “We still have to have a look at really what her status is.”
Veloso, a former domestic helper and mother of two, was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 after being found with 2.6 kg (5.73 lb) of heroin concealed in a suitcase.
She said she was an unwitting drug mule, but she was convicted and sentenced to death, prompting an outcry in the Philippines. Veloso was repatriated days after the five remaining members of the “Bali Nine” drug ring were sent back to Australia from Indonesia.
US repatriates 3 Guantanamo Bay detainees, including one held 17 years without charge
- The transfers come as rights groups push the Biden administration to end the detention of more than a dozen other men held there without charge
WASHINGTON: The US has transferred two Malaysian detainees at the Guantanamo Bay US military prison to their home country, after they pleaded guilty to charges related to deadly 2002 bombings in Bali and agreed to testify against the alleged ringleader of that and other attacks, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
The transfers, and the repatriation Tuesday of a Kenyan man who’d been held at Guantanamo for 17 years without charge, come as rights groups and others push the Biden administration to end the detention of more than a dozen other men held there without charge, and amid uncertainty over the incoming Trump administration’s plans for Guantanamo.
Prosecutors say Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep worked for years with Encep Nurjaman, known as Hambali, an Indonesian leader of Al-Qaeda affiliate Jemaah Islamiya. That includes helping Nurjaman escape capture after Oct. 12, 2002 bombings that killed 202 people at two night spots in Bali, US officials said.
The two men entered guilty pleas to conspiracy and other charges in January. Their transfer comes after they provided testimony that prosecutors plan to use in the future against Nurjaman, the alleged mastermind, the Pentagon said in a statement.
Nurjaman is in custody in Guantanamo awaiting resumption of pre-trial hearings in January involving the Bali bombings and other attacks.
The two Malaysian men’s transfers leave 27 detainees in custody at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay. President George W. Bush set up a military tribunal and prison after the Sept. 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on the US
Bin Lep’s Texas-based lawyer Brian Bouffard told Australian Broadcasting Corp. it was unclear when his client might be released into the Malaysian community.
“I know that he will be monitored by Malaysian authorities. There’s not going to be any opportunity for him to get in trouble even if he were inclined to want to get in trouble. That’s not what he wants,” Bouffard said.
Of the 202 killed in the attack, 88 were Australians. Australian survivors and victims’ families were critical of the prospect of the Malaysians being freed.
A bomb killed two members of Tim Weatherald’s Australian rules football team who he had been on vacation with in Bali.
“The thing for me is they showed no remorse. From my point of view, if they showed a bit of remorse, and a bit of care but they almost seem proud of what they have done. So I have no issue with them not ever seeing the light of day again,” he told Seven Network television in Australia.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s office said in a statement she had conveyed to the United States and Malaysia “our close interest in this matter.”
“While the arrangements for the transfer are a matter for the Malaysian and US governments, we have sought assurances from the Malaysian government that the individuals will be subject to ongoing supervision and monitoring,” the statement said.
At peak, Guantanamo detained hundreds of men, most Muslim, in the US military’s “war on terror” after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Just two of the men at Guantanamo are serving sentences. US prosecution of seven others currently facing charges has been slowed by legal obstacles — including those presented by the torture of the men in their first years under CIA custody — and logistical difficulties.
On Tuesday, US authorities repatriated a Kenyan man, Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, after 17 years at Guantanamo without charge.
His release leaves 15 other never-charged men awaiting release. The US says it is searching for suitable countries willing to take them. Many are from Yemen, a country split by war and dominated by an Iranian-allied militant group.
Amnesty International urged President Joe Biden to end the detention of those never-charged men before he leaves office. If not, the rights group said in a statement, “he will continue to bear responsibility for the abhorrent practice of indefinite detention without charge or trial by the US government.”
UK to supply $286 million in military equipment to Kyiv
- The new package will include £92 million for equipment to bolster Ukraine’s navy, including small boats, reconnaissance drones and uncrewed surface vessels, the defense ministry said in a statement
LONDON: Britain on Thursday unveiled a package of £225 million ($286 million) in new military aid to Ukraine for next year, including drones, boats and air defense systems.
The move came after the UK’s Defense Secretary John Healey visited Kyiv on Wednesday, holding talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov and vowing to step up British support to Ukraine in 2025.
Three years since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine “the depths of his miscalculation are clearer than ever, as the brave people of Ukraine continue to defy all expectations with their unbreakable spirit,” Healey said.
“But they cannot go it alone,” Healey added, vowing the UK’s support for Kyiv was “ironclad” and Britain would always stand “shoulder to shoulder to ensure Putin cannot win.”
In July, the new Labour government vowed to commit £3 billion a year in military aid to Ukraine until 2030-2031.
The new package will include £92 million for equipment to bolster Ukraine’s navy, including small boats, reconnaissance drones and uncrewed surface vessels, the defense ministry said in a statement.
A further £68 million will be used for air defense equipment including radars, and 1,000 counter-drone electronic warfare systems at a cost of £39 million would be supplied to the Ukrainian army.
Healey said the UK would also boost a training program for Ukrainian soldiers run with key allies on British soil known as Operation Interflex, under which 51,000 recruits have been trained since mid-2022.
“With Putin resorting to sending as many as 2,000 Russian soldiers to their deaths on the battlefield each day, it is critical that Ukraine is supported with a supply of properly trained and equipped soldiers,” the ministry statement said.
Umerov thanked the UK for its support and said in a statement that the “stable delivery of ammunition, especially for artillery, is critically important for our defense efforts.”
He added the two men had reviewed the results of the use of Storm Shadow missiles, without providing details.
London gave Kyiv the green light to launch the UK-supplied, long-range missiles into Russia for the first time in November.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was due to meet NATO chief Mark Rutte and key European leaders in Brussels late Wednesday to strategise over Russia’s war ahead of Donald Trump’s return to power in the United States.
Western backers are seeking to shore up Ukraine’s forces as Kyiv’s fatigued troops are losing ground across the frontline and Moscow has deployed North Koreans to the battlefield.
Russia repels Ukrainian missile attack in Rostov, governor says
MOSCOW: Russian air defense systems repelled a Ukrainian attack in which 10 missiles were fired at the Rostov region of southern Russia, local governor Yuri Slyusar said on Wednesday.
A Ukrainian official said the attack targeted a chemical plant that supplied rocket fuel to Russia’s armed forces.
Slyusar, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said air defense units downed 10 missiles in the attack. Fragments from one missile triggered a fire in a house in the village of Malenkaya Kamenka and smashed windows in others.
He said there were no casualties and emergency services were at the scene. He made no mention of any industrial target.
Slyusar later said Russian air defenses had repelled an attack by seven Ukrainian drones at around midnight (2100 GMT). According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage, he added.
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s official Center Against Disinformation, wrote on Telegram that the initial attack focused on the Kamensky chemical plant “which produces rocket fuel specializing in solid fuel components for rocket engines.”
The plant, he said, also produced explosive materials and components for ammunition.
Kovalenko posted a brief video showing a fire and smoke outside a fenced compound.
Reuters could not independently verify accounts of the incident from either side.
Unofficial Russian and Ukrainian blogs suggested the attack might have involved Western-supplied missiles, but there was no official confirmation from either side.
In Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, partly occupied by Russian forces, the Russia-installed governor, Yevgeny Balitsky, said air defense units had downed four Ukrainian missiles fired at occupied areas of the region.
Initial analysis, he said, showed British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles had been used.
Reuters could not independently verify his account.
Trump brings chaos back to Washington by attempting to kill bipartisan budget deal
WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump delivered a probable death blow to bipartisan congressional budget negotiations on Wednesday, rejecting the measure as full of giveaways to Democrats and increasing the risk of a government shutdown right before Christmas.
“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF,” Trump said in a joint statement with JD Vance, the vice president-elect.
It was a display of dominance from a president-elect still a month away from inauguration who remains hundreds of miles away at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It reinjected a sense of chaos and political brinkmanship that was reminiscent of his first term in office.
The episode also showcased the influence of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who spent the day attacking the budget legislation as full of excessive spending. They kicked up a storm on social media — Musk even threatened to support primary challenges against anyone who voted for the measure — before Trump decided to weigh in himself.
“Kill the Bill!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X as he gleefully reposted messages from Republican House members who vowed not to back the bill.
Trump’s allies were overjoyed by his intervention, viewing it as the fulfillment of his promise to shake up Washington. But lawmakers were also left bewildered by how a crucial bipartisan deal could fall apart so quickly just days before the deadline. There are also questions about the future of Trump-backed House Speaker Mike Johnson, who was pushing the budget legislation and is up for reelection for his post in just a couple of weeks.
