Free Republic

Moscow’s deadly air assault on Ukrainian cities has ramped up pressure on Western nations to rush air defense systems to the embattled country, but it is still unlikely to receive one of the world’s most effective tools against incoming projectiles. Israel’s Iron Dome air defense, which boasts a 90 percent success rate against rockets fired against it, will stay out of Ukraine’s reach, said experts, as Jerusalem seeks to maintain strategic relations with Russia in Syria and other hot spots.

Any membership bid to NATO must be unanimously approved by NATO’s 30 members, and Turkey is openly opposed to the enlargement, accusing the two countries of failing to take a clear stance against terrorism. “We will not say ‘yes’ to those [countries] who apply sanctions to Turkey to join security organization NATO,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said late May 16. Sweden has suspended any arms sales to Turkey since 2019 over Ankara’s military operation in neighboring Syria. Referring to the Swedish and Finnish delegations’ intentions to meet with Turkish officials, Erdoğan said: “They say they will come to Turkey on...