During July’s NATO summit, the United States and Germany reached an agreement for the US to start what it referred to as “episodic deployments” of missiles in 2026. This will include Tomahawk cruise missiles, SM-6 ballistic missiles and a new generation of hypersonic systems currently under development. The main condition of the agreement is that […]

The post US-Russia missile race raises Europe’s nuke war risk appeared first on Asia Times.

When missiles fired from Ukraine destroyed an S-300/400 air defense battery on Russian territory over the weekend of June 1 and 2, it immediately gave rise to speculation that the missiles were from US high mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS. It was assumed they were part of the large package of military aid that […]

The post US shift on targeting Russia gives Ukraine a fighting chance appeared first on Asia Times.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against Iran for the unprecedented aerial assault on April 13. He has made it clear that “we will make our own decisions and the state of Israel will do all that is needed to defend itself.” Iran’s attack involved around 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles […]

The post Israel unlikely to attack Iran nuclear program appeared first on Asia Times.

Leaked communications involving high-level German government and military figures appear to confirm that British army personnel are engaged on the ground in Ukraine. An unencrypted telephone call intercepted and leaked to Russian broadcaster RT suggested British troops were helping the defending forces in the use of Storm Shadow cruise missiles the UK has supplied to […]

The post Is the UK now a co-combatant in Ukraine? appeared first on Asia Times.

After more than a month during which Israel has relentlessly bombarded then invaded Gaza with the stated aim of destroying Hamas, Gaza’s health authorities have estimated that more than 13,000 people – mainly civilians and a distressingly high proportion of those children – have been killed. Yet it should be remembered that it was the […]

The post Hamas hardly represents Gaza’s Palestinians appeared first on Asia Times.

Noises from Washington indicate that US President Joe Biden may be about to overcome his reluctance to supply Ukraine with the longer-range missiles it desperately needs. According to a report from CNN on September 11, which quoted “an official familiar with the discussions”, a final decision about the supply of army tactical missile systems (ATACMS) […]

The post US and allies dangle long-range missiles for Ukraine appeared first on Asia Times.

As Russia’s progress in Ukraine has stalled, with enormous losses in material and people, the frustrated head of the Wagner mercenary force Yevgeny Prigozhin has called for Russia to shift to a total war economy: The Kremlin must declare a new wave of mobilization to call up more fighters and declare martial law and force […]

The post Russia slowly shifting toward a total war economy appeared first on Asia Times.

North Korea celebrated the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People’s Army in February. As it showed off 12 of its massive intercontinental ballistic missile in a military parade, expert Korea-watchers spotted there appear to have been some significant changes in the country’s military and political hierarchy. Choe Ryong-hae, the chairman of the […]

The post Living and dying by the purge in North Korea appeared first on Asia Times.

The decision to provide heavy tanks to Ukraine in significant numbers constitutes a step change in western military support for Ukraine. For the first time, western countries are providing substantial offensive capabilities to support a major campaign to regain lost territory. The decision has been long in coming. But for some months, the German chancellor […]

The post Why Germany really shied from sending Leopards to Ukraine appeared first on Asia Times.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February, the threat that weapons of mass destruction would be used has been a constant concern. Discussion of this threat has tended to focus on the possibility that Russia might resort to using its nuclear arsenal – something hinted at several times by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his […]

The post What’s behind Russia’s incendiary ‘dirty bomb’ claim? appeared first on Asia Times.

Joe Biden has warned that any use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine by Russia could lead to “Armageddon.” Speaking at a Democratic fundraising event in New York on October 6, the US president said the crisis was the closest the world had come to nuclear catastrophe in 60 years. “We have not faced the […]

The post How Biden is and isn’t responding to Putin’s nuclear threat appeared first on Asia Times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly replaced the commander of his Black Sea fleet just three days after an attack on the Russian Saki airbase in Crimea, as Ukraine’s military strategy shifts towards regaining territory in the south, and especially Crimea. Meanwhile, Russian aircraft are being moved to bases deeper inside the peninsula or to […]

The post Crimea sabotage signals Ukraine shift to guerrilla war appeared first on Asia Times.

The recent visit by the speaker of the US House of Representatives to Taiwan, Nancy Pelosi, was made against the wishes of the US government and despite threats from the People’s Republic of China. Following Pelosi’s visit, China launched the largest military exercises ever held so close to the island of Taiwan, which simulated, according […]

The post US, China need to strike a new Taiwan balance appeared first on Asia Times.

The war in Ukraine called into question many of the fundamental pillars of the international order. The European security system that has developed since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact has received a shattering blow. A war of aggression by a major power intent to destroy a neighboring state and annex […]

The post Ukraine could push Japan, S Korea to go nuclear appeared first on Asia Times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s increasingly explicit imperial ambitions to reconstitute a Russian empire from the ashes of the Soviet Union have raised considerable fears among former members. The only former USSR state that has fully endorsed and supported the Russian campaign against Ukraine is Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko remains in power due to support […]

The post Russia’s neighbors seeking EU or China protection appeared first on Asia Times.

US president Joe Biden is beefing up the US military presence in eastern Europe as a reaction to the Ukraine war. Biden plans to redeploy troops from Germany to Poland and Romania and send more destroyers to strengthen NATO’s naval presence on its southern flank in the coming months, he told the NATO summit on […]

The post New Cold War: US boosts troop numbers in E Europe appeared first on Asia Times.

China is becoming “more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad”, according to the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken. Blinken made a major statement on US foreign policy on May 26 at George Washington University. It received a great deal of attention, internationally – not least because reporters and foreign policy analysts wanted to […]

The post Taiwan: From strategic ambiguity to strategic incoherence appeared first on Asia Times.

Even before the Russian military machine entered Ukrainian territory on February 24, the potential threat of escalation to a nuclear conflict had been raised. In the days before the invasion, Russia conducted a large-scale exercise involving simulated long-range conventional and nuclear strikes in response to a nuclear attack. Then, as his troops poured across the […]

The post Russian policy allows ‘defensive’ nuclear weapon use appeared first on Asia Times.

The Ukraine war has become to some extent a proxy conflict between NATO and Russia. The American president, Joe Biden – supported by other NATO leaders – made it clear even before the invasion that the US and NATO would not become involved in the conflict militarily. Instead, Biden sought to deter Russia with the […]

The post Failed MiG-29 deal shows US fear of war escalation appeared first on Asia Times.

In the pre-war discussions between the US and Russia, Joe Biden warned Russia about the consequences of aggression, but explicitly excluded the possibility of the use of armed force by the United States. Now as Ukrainian civilians come under severe attack and refugees are pouring into other central European countries, the clamor for a military […]

The post Why NATO won’t enforce a Ukraine no-fly zone appeared first on Asia Times.