U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Moscow on Wednesday that the United States and its allies would "impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression" if the war in Ukraine does not come to an end.
"If we must take this step, the U.S. War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do," Hegseth said at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group of Kyiv's allies at NATO headquarters.
Hegseth did not elaborate. His comments came as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is considering a request by Ukraine for long-range Tomahawk missiles.
'COME TO THE PEACE TABLE'
"Now is the time to end this tragic war, stop the needless bloodshed, and come to the peace table," Hegseth said.
"This is not a war that started on President Trump's watch, but it will end on his watch."
Hegseth called on NATO allies to increase spending on purchases of U.S. weapons for Ukraine, following a report that highlighted a sharp decline in Western military support for Kyiv in July and August.
"You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or wag your fingers, you get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect," he told reporters at NATO headquarters earlier in the day.
Hegseth urged allies to ramp up investment in the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) programme, which replaced U.S. arms donations to Ukraine and now requires allies to pay for U.S. weapons deliveries.
"Our expectation today is that more countries donate even more, that they purchase even more to provide for Ukraine, to bring that conflict to a peaceful conclusion."
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he expected further pledges, noting that $2 billion already had been committed through the mechanism.
NEW AID PLEDGES FROM SWEDEN, FINLAND, ESTONIA
However, this amount falls short of the $3.5 billion Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had hoped to secure by October.
Sweden, Estonia, and Finland pledged contributions on Wednesday. But bigger powers such as France and Britain have made no such commitments, despite Hegseth urging all of Kyiv's allies to contribute to the PURL programme.
"Now ... is the time for all NATO countries to turn words into action in the form of PURL investments. All countries around this table, no free riders," Hegseth said at the start of the Contact Group meeting.
Ukraine remains heavily reliant on U.S. weapons as it braces for another winter of grinding conflict with Russia, which now holds around 20% of Ukraine more than three-and-a-half years into its full-scale invasion.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy reported on Tuesday that average monthly military aid to Ukraine fell by 43% in July and August compared with the first half of the year.
According to the institute, most military support now flows through the PURL initiative, which by August had been joined by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
GERMANY FRANCE SIGN DEAL FOR "ODIN'S EYE"
Germany and France on Wednesday signed an implementation agreement for a satellite-based early warning system called Odin's Eye, which is meant to significantly improve Europe's ability to detect missile launches.
"It remains crucial for our joint defence that we can detect and counter threats as swiftly as possible," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said at a signing ceremony with his new French counterpart Catherine Vautrin on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels.
"From space, we aim to spot hostile missiles the moment they are launched. Only then we can intercept them in time."
German space company OHB has been coordinating the development of an architecture for Odin's Eye.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued veiled threats to Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei,...
Uzbekistan is considering new measures that would make banks and payment organisations legally responsible for financial losses caused by cybercrim...
Iran reacted to the UN Security Council resolution condemning attacks on U.S. bases in regional countries, saying it ...
NATO air-defence systems in the Eastern Mediterranean “neutralised” a third ballistic missile fired towards Türkiye, the Turkish D...
Kazakhstan is preparing a new phase of efforts to restore the Northern Aral Sea together with the World Bank, focusing on raising water levels, imp...
In times of geopolitical upheaval, nuance is often the first casualty. Complex realities are reduced to convenient narratives and countries caught in the crosscurrents of regional tensions find themselves portrayed through a single, often misleading lens.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued veiled threats to Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and Hezbollah on Thursday (12 March), during his first press conference since the conflict with Iran began.
Iran reacted to the UN Security Council resolution condemning attacks on U.S. bases in regional countries, saying it neglected Tehran’s right to self-defence and demonstrated that the world body is being misused as an instrument to serve Washington’s interests.
Kazakhstan is preparing a new phase of efforts to restore the Northern Aral Sea together with the World Bank, focusing on raising water levels, improving irrigation management and strengthening regional co-operation over shared water resources.
The U.S. military confirmed on Friday (13 March) that all six service members aboard a plane that crashed in western Iraq on Thursday had died, as conflict in the Middle East continues.
The U.S. should shut down its military bases in the Middle East, Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday (12 March). His words were read out by a broadcaster on state Iranian television.
“Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel," a spokesman for the Iranian Army warned the world on Wednesday (11 March), as attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz escalated. Meanwhile, 32 countries agreed to the largest ever release of oil reserves in an attempt to reduce prices.
Norwegian police apprehended three brothers suspected of carrying out Sunday's (8 March) bombing at the U.S. embassy in Oslo, in an attack investigators have branded an act of terrorism.
President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, visited Azerbaijan on Wednesday. A meeting between Costa and President Ilham Aliyev was held to reaffirm the European Union’s support amid regional security concerns, particularly following recent Iranian attacks on Nakhchivan Airport.
NATO air defence systems intercepted a third Iranian ballistic missile over Türkiye early on Friday morning. The incident occurred at approximately 03:30 local time over the southern province of Adana.
The European Commission will instruct governments to be flexible in enforcing EU rules on gas imports, diplomats told Reuters on Thursday (12 March), a move likely to benefit imports from Azerbaijan.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 13rd of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, crashed his truck into the hallway of a Detroit-area synagogue on Thursday (12 March) while children attended preschool. Security personnel shot him dead during the confrontation, and authorities said no one else was seriously injured.
Balendra Shah is set to become Nepal's prime minister after winning a landslide in the country's 2026 elections. The election comes after a GenZ-led protest in which dozens died in September last year, helped to overthrow the government
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