DefenceTalkUkraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday called on NATO members to provide Kyiv with all the heavy weaponry it needs to fight Russia’s invading forces. “My agenda is very simple. It has only three items on it. Its weapons, weapons, and weapons,” Kuleba told journalists ahead of a meeting with NATO foreign ministers in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukraine-calls-for-weapons-weapons-weapons-at-nato-talks-78631/

DefenceTalkChina on Wednesday called reports of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian city of Bucha “deeply disturbing”, as international condemnation grows over what Kyiv has described as “genocide” carried out by Russia. Beijing has throughout refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion, now into its fifth week, as it treads a diplomatic tightrope between backing its close ally […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-calls-bucha-civilian-deaths-deeply-disturbing-78614/

DefenceTalkThe United States supports having permanent US military bases on the eastern flank of NATO, but for regular short-term rotations of US troop units rather than long-term basing, the top Pentagon general said Tuesday. In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told a hearing in the House of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-wants-bases-in-e-europe-but-for-short-term-deployments-general-78617/

DefenceTalkA total of 250 Czech army paratroopers on Monday left for Slovakia, which neighbours war-ravaged Ukraine, to build a NATO battlegroup there, the defence ministry said. The battlegroup will comprise up to 2,100 soldiers from Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States. The Czechs will be in command of the battlegroup. “The […]https://www.defencetalk.com/czechs-send-250-soldiers-to-slovakia-to-set-up-nato-battlegroup-78589/

DefenceTalkAir strikes rocked Ukraine’s strategic Black Sea port of Odessa early Sunday, AFP reporters said, but there were no casualties, according to the army. The Russian defence ministry confirmed the strike. “This morning, high-precision sea and air-based missiles destroyed an oil refinery and three storage facilities for fuel and lubricants near the city of Odessa, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-strikes-hit-ukraines-strategic-port-odessa-78578/

DefenceTalkUS arms manufacturers are not cashing in directly from the thousands of missiles, drones and other weapons being sent to Ukraine, but they do stand to profit big-time over the long run by supplying countries eager to boost their defenses against Russia. Like other Western countries, the United States has turned to its own stocks […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-defense-contractors-see-longer-term-benefits-from-war-in-ukraine-78575/

DefenceTalkRussia’s invasion of Ukraine has reawakened interest in Switzerland’s concrete nuclear fallout shelters, built during the Cold War with enough space to shelter everyone in the country. Since the 1960s, every Swiss municipality has had to build nuclear bunkers for their residents, while such shelters have also been mandatory in all homes and residential buildings […]https://www.defencetalk.com/swiss-cold-war-bunkers-back-in-vogue-as-ukraine-conflict-rages-78582/

DefenceTalkRussia on Tuesday temporarily exempted young IT workers from military service after an exodus of programmers following Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. Military service is compulsory in Russia for men aged between 18 and 27. Many try to evade service through medical or educational exemptions while some simply ignore the summons. Men aged 27 and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-postpones-military-service-for-it-specialists-78553/

DefenceTalkFive weeks into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has kept the extent of its military losses under wraps, but analysts say the country has probably succeeded in limiting the toll thanks to years of preparation and smart tactics. Hiding combat deaths and equipment destruction is standard procedure in wartime, and both Russia and Ukraine […]https://www.defencetalk.com/as-ukraine-holds-out-its-military-losses-remain-hard-to-gauge-78544/

DefenceTalkRussia will “radically” reduce its military activity in northern Ukraine, including near the capital Kyiv, after “meaningful” talks in Istanbul, Moscow’s negotiators said Tuesday. “Given that the talks on the preparation of an agreement on the neutrality and non-nuclear status of Ukraine have moved into a practical field… a decision has been made to radically… […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-to-radically-reduce-military-activity-around-kyiv-78537/