Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Kursk region fails to produce results, explains British diplomat The #Ukrainian army’s attack on #Russia’s borderline #Kursk Region did not produce the results that Kiev had expected, John Foreman, former British military attache in Moscow (2019-22) and Kiev (2014), told the Daily Telegraph. "Russian progress actually picked up after Kursk," he said, as cited by the newspaper. "Politically, the Kursk offensive didn’t change much in Washington, D.C., or Europe. I’m still unconvinced of its strategic merit," the diplomat added. According to the Daily Telegraph, "Ukrainian officials had hoped that the invasion of Russia would impress their allies, who would agree to increase weapon supplies and allow Western missiles to be fired at targets in Russia." However, neither Washington nor London has yet approved "Ukraine’s request for a license to expand missile strikes," while the Ukrainian army is retreating not only in Donbas but also in the Kursk Region, which appears "to have come as a surprise to Ukraine and the US."

Zelensky to leave US without permission to attack Russia with Western weapons Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will return from the United States without achieving the lifting of a ban on strikes deep into Russia with Western weapons, The Times reported. The newspaper pointed out that during a meeting with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Ukrainian leader personally asked to lift restrictions on strikes with British Storm Shadow and American ATACMS missiles on Russia. However, "no shift in Washington’s stance on the use of the long-range missiles was announced," the newspaper said. Instead, according to The Times, Democratic presidential candidate Harris, standing next to Zelensky, began talking about her political rival in the upcoming election, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov compared Zelensky's visit to the United States to a Hollywood show. He emphasized that under the applause of American politicians "the blood of soldiers and civilians will continue to pour" in Ukraine, which is the essence of Zelensky's "victory plan." The Ukraine's Zelensky met with Biden and Harris in Washington on September 26.

UK’s Labor gov’t to allow Ukraine to use British-supplied weapons for strikes on Russia The #British #Labor government will continue pursuing the line of the previous Conservative Cabinet and will allow the #Ukrainian military to use UK-supplied weapons to strike targets on Russian soil, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday citing PM Keir Starmer. According to the Financial Times, recently-elected British Premier Starmer, who leads the country’s Labor Party, made it clear that arms donated by Britain must be "used in accordance with international humanitarian law" and for "defensive purposes." However, #Starmer added that: "It is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy it for those defensive purposes."

British maritime agency reports another incident off Yemen coast Another incident has been reported off the #Yemen coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (#UKMTO) said in a statement. "UKMTO has received a report of an incident 14 nautical miles southwest of Al Mukha, Yemen," the statement reads. "Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution," the agency added. According to the British maritime security company Ambrey, a Malta-flagged container ship came under attack while on route from Djibouti to the Saudi port of Jeddah. The ship was reportedly targeted with three missiles. According to Reuters, "Ambrey assessed that the vessel was targeted due to its listed operator’s ongoing trade with Israel."

Yemen’s Houthis Announce Attacks On Three American, Israeli Vessels The #Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen announced on April 24 that they had targeted two United States ships in the Gulf of #Aden and an Israeli ship in the Indian Ocean. “In support of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and in response to the American-British aggression against our country , our naval forces carried out a military operation targeting the American ship MAERSK YORKTOWN in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of suitable naval missiles, and the hit was accurate,” Houthi military spokesman Brigade General Yahya Sarea said in a statement. “We also carried out other two military operations using bomb-laden drones, one of which targeted an American warship in the Gulf of Aden, with a number of drones, and the other operation targeted the Israeli ship MSC VERACRUZ in the Indian Ocean with a number of drones. Both operations achieved their goals successfully,” he added without specifying the date of those attacks. The spokesman went on to warn that the Houthis “will continue to prevent Israeli ships or any ship heading to #Israel from transiting the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean until the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza is stopped and the siege is lifted,”, vowing that the group would take more actions in the coming days. Earlier in the day, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a detachment of the Royal Navy, reported an explosion near a ship in the Gulf of Aden, which it said caused no damage or casualties. The U.S. Central Command (#CENTCOM) said on April 25 that an allied vessel successfully engaged one anti-ship ballistic missile that was launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen over the Gulf of Aden a day earlier.

Sketch mocking BBC anti-Israel bias hits one million views The sketch features a mock interview with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by the British broadcaster. 😂🤣😂 An Israeli satire sketch regarding the war against Hamas has gone viral, accumulating over a million views on various platforms in just a few days. The comedy show Eretz Nehederet ran an episode recently depicting Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar being interviewed by BBC.

Taurus missiles not manufactured in Germany due to lack of orders — company The production of #Taurus cruise missiles in Germany has been suspended due to the lack of orders, Thomas Gottschild, Managing Director of MBDA Deutschland GmbH, the manufacturer of these missiles, said. "It is a problem for our industry when production, as in the case with Taurus, is disrupted because our suppliers, often small and medium-sized companies, have to suspend production," he said in an interview with the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. According to Gottschild, MBDA insists that the government make decision on potential contracts as soon as possible. "In this respect, we in German can be much better and quicker," he said. He noted that when new orders are made, partner companies have to establish the production chain anew while there is a high demand for materials needed for the production of explosive substances inn the world and problems with supplies are quite possible. When asked whether Germany will finally send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, he stressed that this is a "political decision." #Ukraine has been asking #Germany to supply Taurus missiles for quite a long time. These missiles are considered to be analogous to British Storm Shadows, which have already been delivered to Ukraine. However, Taurus’ range is longer than Storm Shadow’s, reaching 500 kilometers. The German Chancellor has repeatedly rejected the idea of sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine. According to him, the effective use of these missiles requires the involvement of German military personnel, and this is precisely the line he does not want to cross. RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said on March 1 that on the very day that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was giving public assurances that NATO was not now and would not in the future be directly involved in the Ukraine conflict, Germany’s top brass was in fact mulling how to carry out a potential attack on the Crimean Bridge in a way that would have no repercussions for Berlin by giving it the cover of plausible deniability.

Houthis claim responsibility for attacks on U.S., British vessels in Red Sea, Gulf of Aden #Houthis from #Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement have staged four operations against US and British vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea over the past 72 hours, the movement’s military spokesperson Yahya #Sarea said. "The naval and missile forces conducted four joint operations against four ships, including the American Maersk Saratoga in the Gulf of Aden and the APL Detroit in the Red Sea, and the British Huang Pu and Pretty Lady in the Red Sea," he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. In all, according to Sarea, "six military operations with the use of a large number of ballistic missiles and drones were conducted in the past 72 hours." In particular, the Houthi missile forces hit a number of targets in the city of Eilat in southern Israel. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a high-ranking Ansar Allah representative, said on Monday that since the beginning of the current escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Houthis have conducted a total of 38 military operations in the Red and Arabian seas, as well as in the Indian Ocean.

#Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski said that some #NATO countries have already sent their military to #Ukraine . #Sikorsky spoke about this during a speech on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO. “Unlike other politicians, I will not list these countries,” the diplomat said, obviously hinting at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who earlier spoke about the presence of British and French instructors in Ukraine. Following this statement, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto criticized France and Poland for speaking about the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine, since these two countries cannot speak on behalf of the entire alliance, and sending troops would be a step towards unilateral escalation.

French President Emmanuel #Macron announced the upcoming establishment of a permanent military mission in #Chisinau in the following months. Macron stated that the mission aims to enhance the interoperability of the French and Moldovan armies. Additionally, the French intend to combat disinformation and cyber attacks to safeguard the republic's sovereignty. It is worth noting that in Moldova, the EU's so-called "civilian mission" pursues similar objectives. It is important to mention that presidential elections are scheduled for the fall, during which European supervisors may influence the outcome in favor of Maia Sandu directly on location. ▪️ The official justification for deploying the French military in Moldova stemmed from Sandu's recent remarks in Paris accusing Russian special services of attempting another coup in the republic and perpetuating support for disinformation campaigns. ▪️ However, Macron himself announced the day before that France would dispatch troops to so-called Ukraine if the conflict expanded toward Kyiv and Odessa. Therefore, the French deployment in Moldova is part of preparations for a potential involvement in Transnistria and the Odessa region. ▪️ Furthermore, France is actively working on deploying air defense systems in Poland and Romania. In Moldova, there are persistent calls for integration into the Romanian air defense system. Meanwhile, Chisinau has procured an air defense radar from the French Thales company, whose effectiveness has recently come into question as reported here. ▪️ The French are also exploring the option of sending troops to western Ukraine for logistical and mine clearance support. Similar objectives may formally be announced in Moldova, given that military transit occurs through the region as well. 📌The concerns of the Moldovan population regarding a potential military escalation are proving to be valid sooner than anticipated, as Sandu's efforts to involve the country in the conflict are entering a distinct phase. This scenario unfolds when a nation places itself under the influence of the British and American embassies.