Dominic Raab plays down Tory leadership challenge to PM
>Dominic Raab has dismissed claims Boris Johnson is about to face a leadership contest, despite growing resignation calls from Tory MPs. Speculation is mounting that Mr Johnson could soon face a no-confidence vote over widespread Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street. But deputy PM Mr Raab said this was "Westminster talking to itself".
Brit/pol/
Nathaniel Stewart
Other urls found in this thread:
youtube.com
rt.com
twitter.com
Tyler Peterson
>Squat me bro
Henry Collins
>gubbins
ha funny word
Jacob Gonzalez
Waiting for Home Office user.
Christian Stewart
06:19
Joe Biden to send Ukraine more advanced rocket systems and munitions
President Joe Biden has said the US will provide Ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions so it can "more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield".
In an opinion piece in the New York Times, Mr Biden said the US had "moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it could fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table".
But he emphasised that he did not seek a war between NATO and Russia.
"As much as I disagree with Mr Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the US will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow," he said.
"So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces.
"We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders."
A senior Biden administration official said weaponry provided would include the M142 high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS), which Ukraine's armed forces chief said a month ago was "crucial" to counter Russian missile attacks.
The medium-range high mobility artillery rocket systems, which can accurately hit targets as far away as 50 miles, are part of $700m of security assistance for Ukraine from the US.
Addressing concerns that such weapons could draw the United States into a direct conflict with Russia, senior administration officials said Ukraine had given assurances the missiles would not be used to strike inside Russia.
"These systems will be used by the Ukrainians to repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used on targets in Russian territory," the US official told reporters.
Leo Lee
Oi
Where is the fucking census
Samuel Carter
06:43
Russian nuclear forces holding drills in Moscow
Russian nuclear forces are holding drills in the Ivanovo province, northeast of Moscow, the Interfax news agency reports, citing the Russian defence ministry as saying on Wednesday.
Some 1,000 servicemen are exercising in intense manoeuvres using over 100 vehicles, including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, the ministry was cited as saying.
The report comes as President Joe Biden announced the US would provide Ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions as part of a $700m package of security assistance.
The US decision to provide the advance rocket systems tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war.
Liam Murphy
Need apu playing minecraft together on that pic that'd be based
Luis Hughes
School holidays in full swing
Connor James
09:28
US decision to provide Ukraine with more advanced rocket systems is 'extremely negative', Russian minister says
Earlier we reported that the White House had agreed to provide Ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions which would be able to accurately hit targets as far away as 50 miles.
The weaponry provided will include the M142 high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS), which Ukraine's armed forces chief said a month ago was "crucial" to counter Russian missile attacks.
Now, Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has told state news agency RIA Novosti that the US decision to supply advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine is "extremely negative" and will increase the risk of a direct confrontation.
Last night, senior US administration officials said Ukraine had given assurances the missiles would not be used to strike inside Russia.
"These systems will be used by the Ukrainians to repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used on targets in Russian territory," one US official said.
Liam Price
It's about time Stella's ban was lifted.
Jayden Brown
minecraft is so beautiful
Samuel Edwards
>but they will not be used on targets in Russian territory,
But Ukraine is Russian territory?
Jack Rogers
imagine being this comfy
Christopher Murphy
09:41
Germany to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles
Germany will supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced.
Mr Scholz told politicians that his government had decided to provide Kyiv with the IRIS-T medium-range surface-to-air defence system, developed by Germany together with other NATO nations.
He also said Germany would supply Ukraine with radar systems to help locate enemy artillery.
"We have been delivering continuously since the beginning of the war," Mr Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag.
"Most recently, the government has decided that we will deliver the most modern air defence system that Germany has in the form of the IRIS-T."
Yesterday, the German chancellor also said his country would deliver infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) to Greece so that the government in Athens could pass on Soviet-style weapons to Ukraine.
However, Mr Scholz gave no details as to what kind of infantry fighting vehicles Berlin would hand over to Greece - or what kind of weapons Athens would pass on to Kyiv.
Brayden Long
11:57
Putin spokesman accuses US of 'pouring oil on the fire'
We reported earlier on comments made by Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov in reaction to President Joe Biden's agreement to provide Ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions.
Mr Ryabkov told state news agency RIA Novosti that the US decision was "extremely negative" and would increase the risk of a direct confrontation.
Now, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has accused the United States of deliberately adding fuel to the fire and said he did not trust Kyiv not to fire the weapons into Russia.
He told reporters: "We believe that the US is deliberately pouring oil on the fire. The US is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian."
Mr Peskov also said that the Kremlin would not rule out a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but that any such talks needed to be prepared in advance.
He went on to say that work on a peace document with Ukraine had stopped a long time ago and had not restarted.
Last night, it was revealed that the US would provide further weaponry, including the M142 high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS), to Ukraine to help the country defend itself.
The medium-range high mobility artillery rocket systems can accurately hit targets as far away as 50 miles.
Adam Rogers
Never played it
Owen Walker
Cooper Hill
Oh…that thing. Yeah the results were too problematic so we’re just not going to release them :^)
Parker Martinez
>sky news reporter is back
Now it really is a brit/pol/
Joshua Peterson
Russia sounds alarm on risk of direct conflict with US
The US is on a collision course with Russia by sending rocket launchers to Kiev, a top diplomat claims
Washington’s arming of Ukraine with heavier weapons increases the risk of direct US-Russia confrontation regardless of American statements about mitigating such a possibility, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday.
The diplomat was commenting on the news that the US has decided to supply HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine. Washington has insisted that the weapons system will not allow Ukrainian forces to attack Russia and argues it prevents a scenario in which Moscow would consider the US a party to the conflict.
“We’re not providing any weapons that will allow the Ukrainians to attack Russia from inside of Ukraine, and President [Joe] Biden has been very clear on that,” US representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said of the deliveries. “We’re not going to become [a] party to the war.”
Ryabkov disagreed with the rationale, saying the US was making the conflict more dangerous.
“Any arms supplies, which continue and escalate, increase the risk of such a development,” Ryabkov told journalists, referring to the possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and the US.
The diplomat added that the US for years has done nothing to prevent an escalation of tensions with Russia over Ukraine. It stonewalled Moscow’s last-ditch attempts to negotiate a legally binding deal that would have addressed Russian concerns over NATO expansion in Europe, he pointed out. After open hostilities broke out in February, “the remnants of a healthy attitude to the situation were shattered,” he said.
Gavin Price
Oh Priti, what are you like?
Jonathan Carter
Washington “maintains its course of what we characterized many times as an intention to wage war to the last Ukrainian, which reflects the goal of inflicting – as they say themselves – the strategic defeat of Russia. This is unprecedented. This is dangerous,” Ryabkov said.