Senior Ukrainian military commander tenders resignation over lethal strike on training facility
KYIV, June 1 (Reuters) - The commander of Ukraine's land forces, one of the most senior positions in the country's armed forces, announced on Sunday that he was tendering his resignation, citing a lethal strike on Ukrainian military training facility.
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Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The world is safer without a nuclear-armed Iran
During his first term as president in 2019, Donald Trump pulled back from ordering an attack on Iran even as US warships locked missiles on to their targets and bombers were in the air. The American military was 'cocked and loaded' only to be stood down with just 10 minutes to spare. The abandonment of a major operation at such a late stage was seen as emblematic of the president's deep reluctance to involve his country in another conflict in the Middle East, and what he called the region's 'forever wars'. Yet on Saturday night his reticence evaporated. He sent US stealth aircraft armed with so-called 'bunker buster' bombs to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons programme once and for all. Mr Trump declared the operation a great success, though it will be several days before it is known whether the three sites have been 'obliterated', as the president has claimed. The whole episode has been a classic Trump performance. First he issued the threat to back up Israel's assault on the Iranian nuclear weapons plants, only then appearing to retreat once more by indicating nothing would happen for a fortnight. Whether it was brought forward in order to catch the Iranian regime off guard is not clear. It is more likely that the intelligence reports of the Iranians moving their enriched uranium away from the plants expedited the mission. Dozens of lorries were seen at the Fordow site, which is buried deep in a mountain, probably removing enriched material to another location. The president may have feared that waiting another week or so risked leaving him in the same position as George W Bush, who invaded Iraq to stop Saddam Hussein's arms programme only to find the weapons of mass destruction had gone or were never present. Mr Trump was critical of that decision and his America First doctrine gave the impression he would keep the US out of any foreign conflict unless directly threatened. But he has discovered, as have past presidents all the way back to Woodrow Wilson, that things are not that simple and isolationism is very hard to sustain. As the most powerful defender of democratic values against despotisms, the US cannot, and should not, just depart the scene. The geopolitical ramifications of these strikes on Iran are profound. Mr Trump may perhaps now care to reflect on his ambivalence towards Russia's invasion of Ukraine, where similar criteria apply, of an autocracy threatening the existence of another country. Will he now be more critical of Vladimir Putin and more supportive of Nato, which is holding its annual summit in the Hague this week with an across-the-board promise to increase defence spending dramatically? If Iran has moved its enriched material, is Mr Trump prepared to order further strikes or will it be left to Israel to follow up? The president might well hope the strikes have indeed obliterated the sites and no more US help is required; but once involved in a war, it can be hard for a country to extricate itself easily from it. There is also the threat from Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz through which almost a quarter of the world's oil and gas is shipped. However, this may not be possible for Tehran, both because of the presence of a US carrier group, but also because China relies heavily on energy supplies coming through the Gulf. A blockade would be calamitous for the Chinese economy and for India's. Tehran will be keen to get both these countries into their camp in a stand-off with America. Furthermore, there is a very real risk of terrorist attacks on US assets, which include shipping and some 40,000 troops in the region. Iran will hope its proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis will step up their activities against Israel, but their ability to do so has been severely degraded. It will also seek to sponsor violent action abroad. Here in the UK we have already seen how the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has targeted émigré Iranian dissidents and engaged in spying and cyber warfare. It is possible that the damage inflicted on Iran and the assassination of some key military figures will hasten the demise of the theocratic rulers and the removal of the zealots who have caused so much trouble in the region and the world for so long. Washington says it is not seeking regime change and the idea that it would be replaced by a benign, Western-style democracy of the sort never seen in Iran is fanciful. More likely is that the IRGC would take over in a military coup with unknown consequences. There are many uncertainties, but one thing is clear. Despite the calls from Sir Keir Starmer and others for 'de-escalation', the world is a safer place without a nuclear-armed Iran. As Benjamin Netanyahu put it: the most dangerous regime in the world has been denied access to the most dangerous weapons. The Israeli prime minister, who scored a diplomatic coup by convincing Mr Trump to act, believed it would usher in a period of 'peace and prosperity' for all in the region and beyond. We can but hope, but history is not a happy guide.
Sky News
24 minutes ago
- Sky News
Five reasons why we may not see anything more than rhetoric from Russia after US attacks Iran
On the surface, at least, Moscow is fuming. Russia's foreign ministry said it "strongly condemns" the US airstrikes on Iran, which it labelled a "dangerous escalation". Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's powerful security council, accused Donald Trump of starting "a new war", and others have called for Moscow to step in. "It's time for us to help Tehran," said Konstantin Malofeyev, a sanctioned Russian businessman who is close to Vladimir Putin. But this was to be expected. Iran has been a vital ally in recent years, selling weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, and the two nations signed a strategic partnership deal in January. So a robust verbal riposte was predictable. But the response so far feels more show than substance and if things don't escalate further, I doubt we'll see anything more than rhetoric from Russia. 0:54 There are several reasons why. Firstly, the strategic partnership deal doesn't contain a mutual defence clause. The pact does seek to deepen their defence cooperation, but neither country is obliged to provide military support to the other in the event of an attack. Secondly, if Moscow did want to join the conflict or even supply weapons to Tehran, it would be hard pushed to. Resources are focused on the war in Ukraine. Thirdly, Russia doesn't want to damage its warming relations with the US. Any kind of aid to Iran would likely jeopardise the tentative rapprochement. Fourthly, the Israel-Iran conflict is a helpful distraction from the Kremlin's war against Ukraine. With all eyes on the Middle East, any pressure there was from Washington on Moscow to reach a peace deal seems to have evaporated. Lastly, it's not Vladimir Putin who's spoken out, but the usual attack dogs. 2:02 Dmitry Medvedev, for example, is a senior figure but his fiery rhetoric is generally considered to be part of a Kremlin comms strategy rather than actual policy expression. Having said all that, though, Russia won't want the situation to escalate any further. Its regional influence took a battering when the Assad regime in Syria was toppled in December, and that influence would practically disappear if another Moscow-friendly regime in Iran were to fall. So for now, the Kremlin is frantically trying to find a diplomatic solution. Last week, Vladimir Putin held conversations with the leaders of Israel, Iran, America, China and the UAE, and those efforts continue on Monday when he'll meet Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Moscow. If the reports are true - that the US forewarned Tehran of the bombings and signalled they'd be a one-off - there's a good chance Moscow had prior knowledge too. Either way, Vladimir Putin's aim here is to play peacemaker, and to turn the situation to his advantage. If he can persuade Mr Araghchi to limit Iran's response to a symbolic one, and to then return to the negotiating table with America, he will have Donald Trump in his debt. The obvious place he'd want that repaid is Ukraine, in the form of withdrawing US support.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Belarus opposition leader's husband urges Trump to help free other prisoners
Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of Belarus' opposition leader, has called on US President Donald Trump to "just say the word" and ask for all political prisoners in Belarus to be opposition activist was freed unexpectedly on Saturday and reunited with his wife in Lithuania. Thirteen other political prisoners were also released and forced into move came as US special envoy Keith Kellogg travelled to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, and met the country's authoritarian leader Alexander was the first high-profile American visit in many years. In an emotional press conference the day after his release, Tikhanovsky broke down in tears as he described his five years in solitary confinement and called for the freedom of more than 1,000 political prisoners still behind was arrested in 2020 as he planned to run for president against Lukashenko in that summer's elections. He was jailed for 18 years in 2021 after a court convicted him of rallying mass protests against Lukashenko, among other politically motivated a prominent opposition figure, Tikhanovsky said he had been held in what he described as the "strictest possible regime", cut off from all contact with the outside world."You don't even get letters, not a single call. For five years, I couldn't even go to confession with a priest. No letters, no calls, no priest, no lawyer," he said. Then he began to sob."It's a nightmare," he said. "You ask about torture. Is that not torture? Murderers get to watch TV in prison, they have everything. But I didn't even get letters. Or soap. Or a toothbrush."He has barely spoken to anyone but prison guards for years and on Sunday sometimes struggled for words."How can they do that? You [the regime] consider us criminals. But we have rights," he said."It's inhuman. It's a nightmare. They have to stop this. We have to get people out."He called on the US president for more help."Trump has such power and such possibilities, that with one word he could free all political prisoners. I ask him to say that word now," he added. His wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, wiped away her own tears as he spoke. Earlier she had called him her "personal hero".She also described how their daughter hadn't recognised her father because he had changed so much in prison and lost a lot of said Lukashenko had received only one thing from the US administration in return for the prisoner release on Saturday - the visit from US envoy can present that as a diplomatic breakthrough after years of political isolation for the repression of domestic dissent and for his support for Russia's full-scale invasion of Tikhanovsky said what Belarus wants most is the removal of US his arrest, Tikhanovsky was a colourful, outspoken figure who had a big following in Belarus on social video blogger and activist used to call on people to "stop the cockroach", referring to Lukashenko, and would tour the country to meet people in town squares and villages to hear their his arrest in 2020, his wife stepped in to run for president in his place in the August Lukashenko declared another landslide win, her supporters flooded the streets in the biggest protests Belarus has ever were ruthlessly crushed, and Tikhanovskaya was forced to flee the country."The leader of the opposition is Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, my wife, and I don't make any claim to anything," Tikhanovsky clarified on Sunday, insisting that he had no intention of taking over leadership of the Belarusian opposition he had raised a fist of defiance."I want to say to all Belarusians - if you were waiting for a symbol, this is it," he said, urging them to stand up to said he regretted nothing he had done - despite the treatment he received as a he added his release from prison had saved his life, because he would not have survived his full sentence behind bars in such of thousands of Belarusians are estimated to have left their country since the brutal crackdown on widespread opposition protests in of thousands of people have been arrested in the country in the past five years for political reasons, according to human rights group Viasna.
