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Big-ticket weapons systems sent to Ukraine could be rendered useless on the battlefield because the Pentagon lacks a plan for Ukrainian troops to maintain them, according to a Defense Department watchdog agency report, which also warned that sustaining Kyiv’s armored vehicles could harm the U.S. Army’s own combat readiness. “The lack of foresight in this matter is concerning, and should be rectified promptly,” Inspector General Robert Storch said in a statement Tuesday, adding that the department is developing a plan now. But the oversight on keeping functional equipment such as Patriot interceptors, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Strykers and Abrams tanks puts...

MUNICH (AP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned allies Saturday that an “artificial deficit” of weapons for his country risks giving Russia breathing space, hours after his military chief said he was withdrawing troops from the eastern city of Avdiivka. Zelenskyy spoke to the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of security and foreign policy officials. Ukraine is back on the defensive against Russia in the nearly 2-year-old war, hindered by low ammunition supplies and a shortage of personnel.

US forces operating in the Arabian Sea have seized a massive arsenal of Iranian weapons that were bound for Houthi rebels in Yemen, the latest indication that Tehran plans to prolong the conflict in the region by supplying the terror group. Photos posted online by CENTCOM, the United States command in the Middle East, show a United States Coast Guard ship beside a rusty skiff vessel on January 28. Another photo showed the cache of contraband that was found on board. The weaponry included materials necessary for ballistic missiles, anti tank rockets and explosives as well as communication equipment.

Senator JD Vance issues a DIRE WARNING that the US can't produce enough weapons stock to support our own needs, let alone enough for Ukraine:“We need missiles. And America doesn't make nearly enough of those, not for our own security, and certainly not enough to support both the Ukraine conflict and, God forbid, a conflict that might occur in East Asia. So let's specify that a little bit more. We are right now depleting critical munitions, missiles, artillery shells and bullets faster than we can replenish them. “And then we send them to Ukraine. I'm sorry. Why does that make...

According to a report by the Pentagon inspector general, more than 40,000 weapons worth more than $1 billion were shipped to Ukraine but never made it to the battlefield. Many of the weapons were sent to a U.S. military logistics hub in Poland, while others were shipped directly to Ukraine. The equipment includes shoulder-fired missiles, kamikaze drones, and night-vision goggles. Alexandra "Sasha" Baker, the acting undersecretary of defense for policy, said last November, when a draft of the report was leaked, that required accounting procedures “are not practical in a dynamic and hostile wartime environment." The IG report found that...

I've been writing for the past two years about the questions of accountability in terms of the weapons and equipment being sent to Ukraine, and how there was a big problem tracking the weapons that were being sent to the war-torn nation. DoD IG Report Shows Big Problem Tracking Weapons Given to Ukraine, Criminal Gangs Grabbing SomeTroubling Questions About How Many of Our Weapons Are Going to Ukraine and If They're Getting to the FrontlinesI wrote what Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin -- yes, he of the present controversy -- said about this back in May 2022. You’re going to...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Latvia, the final stop on his Baltic mini-tour as he attempts to drum up further support and particularly more missiles for his nation’s taxed air defence system. Ukraine has proven stopping Russia is possible, but it “badly” needs modern air defence systems, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said as he tours European nations again, seeking more arms for his defensive war against Russia. His visits to the first two tour stops Lithuania and Estonia were fruitful, with new support packages announced, and he arrived in Latvia, the final stop, on Thursday afternoon. As...

A joint statement by the United States and its partners on Tuesday condemned arms transfers between North Korea and Russia, including what it termed as Russia's procurement of North Korean ballistic missiles and Moscow's use of those against Ukraine on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2. WHY IT IS IMPORTANTBoth Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn closer since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, though they deny making any arms deals. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met President Vladimir Putin in Russia's Far East region last September and senior Russian officials have made several visits to Pyongyang. Last week the White...

IDF uncovers items such as assault rifles, grenade launchers, and telescopic sights for rifles and cartridges for M16s Chinese weaponry including assault rifles and grenade launchers is being used by Hamas to wage war in Gaza, Israeli investigations have revealed. Stockpiles of hi-tech supplies uncovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) contained telescopic sights for rifles and cartridges for M16s as well as an array of communications equipment such as listening devices and tactical military radios. Israeli investigators are now working to determine how the equipment made it into Hamas’s hands amid concerns Beijing may have been directly involved. “This...

Illinois gun groups are reporting confusion from gun owners as the state pushes for them to register "assault" weapons under the state's new ban. Jan. 1 marked the deadline for Illinoisans to register their assault weapons with the state before the ban signed by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker takes effect on Jan. 10. **SNIP** Eldridge said "the confusion is that nobody can tell you what's covered by this act." For example, one county prosecutor posted a notice that by Jan. 1, everyone must register their assault weapon and high capacity magazines — but Eldridge noted that magazines "aren't required to...

Under the Mummified Meat Puppet Administration (MMPA), our military is prepared to fight the trans/pronoun wars, not the real thing. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is getting ready to go to actual war. It appears the environment needed more protection than anyone could have imagined:A resurfaced report that initially flew under the radar claims that President Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has spent millions of dollars in taxpayer funding to stockpile military-grade equipment and weaponry. In a letter sent to the EPA in September, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, wrote, “As...

In a year-end speech to the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised an increase in domestically produced weapons in the coming year for the country’s war against Russia. “And next year, the enemy will feel the wrath of domestic production,” Zelensky said in the speech Sunday. “Our weapons, our equipment, artillery, our shells, our drones, our naval ‘greetings’ to the enemy and at least a million Ukrainian FPV drones.”

Israeli soldiers foiled “an elaborate Hamas ambush” that used dolls and children’s backpacks rigged with speakers playing sounds of crying to lure them into a terrorist tunnel in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said Friday. Footage released by the IDF showed the alley where the ambush would have been staged. “Here in every corner were … explosives,” .... The forces subsequently found children’s dolls and backpacks with speakers to imitate crying sounds and songs, the footage showed. “The goal is to draw us in to look for, to see these things … they play voices in Hebrew so...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday pushed for the U.S. to continue supporting Ukraine, arguing it was vital to stand united against dictatorships and that politics must not “betray the soldier” in the fight for freedom. Zelensky, speaking at the Pentagon-funded National Defense University in Washington, D.C., in a visit to the Capitol this week, said that American weapons “can get the job done” and defeat Russian forces in Ukraine, asking the U.S. to maintain its support. “It’s crucial that politics don’t even try to betray [the] soldier, because just like weapons are needed for defense, freedom always requires unity,”...

STUTTGART, Germany — The leader of a Germany-based brigade that maintains vast amounts of Army weaponry and supplies has been quietly fired from her position. Col. Crystal Hills was removed as commander of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade by Maj. Gen. David Wilson, head of Army Sustainment Command, the service said in a statement late Monday. Wilson fired Hills “due to loss of trust and confidence in her ability to command,” said Kimberly Conrad, a spokeswoman for Army Sustainment Command. The command refused to say when Hills was fired or who, if anyone, has replaced her at the helm...

In 2022, global military budgets hit $2.2 trillion, an eighth consecutive year of increase.Part of those budgets were used for the procurement of arms, but which countries are major weapons suppliers, and how do they influence the global arms trade?In the chart below, Visual Capitalist's Bhabna Banerjee and Marcus Lu highlight the top 10 countries with the biggest share of global arms exports using data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).Which Country Exports the Most Weapons?The U.S. is the biggest weapons exporter, accounting for 40% of the total volume of international arms transfers between 2018–2022. Nearly one-fifth of...

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal jury Thursday in Washington decided Utah activist John Earle Sullivan didn’t just document the U.S. Capitol riot, he was a participant.The jury convicted Sullivan of all seven counts, according to investigative reporter Jordan Fischer. That includes three charges related to carrying a weapon – a knife – and counts accusing him of interrupting Congress as it voted to certify the U.S. presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021.According to Fisher, the judge ordered that Sullivan be held in custody while he awaits sentencing.Weapons charges like what Sullivan was convicted of have sent other Jan. 6...

During an interview with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday’s “NBC Nightly News,” host Lester Holt stated that while Israel has produced video of weapons “it says were recovered at the al-Shifa hospital, video of what may be a tunnel” that “doesn’t necessarily point to a Hamas command and control center as Israel and the U.S. have maintained.” Holt asked, “Israel is showing video of weapons it says were recovered at the al-Shifa hospital, video of what may be a tunnel. But it’s clear that the evidence doesn’t necessarily point to a Hamas command and control center as Israel...

Israel said its forces were operating in and around Gaza's biggest hospital, a chief objective in its campaign to destroy Palestinian Hamas militants that the army says stored weapons and ran a command centre in tunnels beneath the buildings. Israeli troops forced their way into Al-Shifa Hospital in the early hours of Wednesday and spent the day deepening their search, the army said. An army video showed automatic weapons, grenades, ammunition and flak jackets it said were recovered from an undisclosed building within the complex. "The troops continue to search the hospital in a precise, intelligence-based, manner," Israeli army spokesperson...

We've seen a lot of anti-Israel protesters. We saw some who stormed a New York City store because it had flyers of the kidnapped Israelis out front, and police had to protect the building and the people. But the folks who stormed into the Port of Oakland managed to do something that everyone should find more than a little troubling. Somehow they were able to get through a fence and onto the grounds of the port area. At least three of them got onto the ladder for the U.S. Ready Reserve Force roll-on/roll-off vessel MV Cape Orlando, thinking it was...