Flashpoints

The latest news from Navy Times about global conflict, terrorism and U.S. military affairs

A Ukrainian serviceman patrols area near the Antonovsky Bridge which was destroyed by Russian forces after withdrawing from Kherson, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022.

US sending $275 million in military aid to Ukraine

Including the latest aid, the U.S. has now committed more than $19.3 billion in weapons and other equipment to Ukraine since Russia attacked on Feb. 24.

14 hours ago

Ukrainian soldiers run to help people in an apartment building on fire after Russian shelling in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022.

Putin says Ukraine fight is taking longer than expected

Russian troops invaded Ukraine more than nine months ago.

2 days ago

Visitors tour past military vehicles carrying the Dong Feng 41 and DF-17 ballistic missiles at an exhibition highlighting President Xi Jinping and his China's achievements under his leadership, at the Beijing Exhibition Hall in Beijing on Oct. 12, 2022.

Flashpoints

China blasts US report, reiterates ‘no first use’ nuke policy

The Pentagon last week released an annual China security report.

In this photo provided by the Zaporizhzhia region military administration, a damaged building and a car are seen after a Russian strike in the village of Novosofiivka, in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022.

Ukraine leader defiant as drone strikes hit Russia again

Drones struck inside Russia’s border with Ukraine Tuesday in the second day of attacks.

3 days ago

Satellite image shows new Russian military facility in Mariupol, Ukraine, Nov. 30, 2022.

Satellite images show new Russian military facility in Mariupol

Newly released satellite imagery shows a new Russian military compound in Mariupol, Ukraine, according to Maxar Technologies.

4 days ago

Ukrainian soldiers fire in the recently retaken city of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged missile and artillery barrages on Thursday as both sides refused to concede ground despite recent military setbacks for Moscow and the toll on the invaded country after seven months of war. (Kostiantyn Liberov/AP)

Russia burning through ammunition in Ukraine at ‘extraordinary’ rate

Russia is running out of its precision-guided weapons fastest, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said at the Reagan National Defense Forum.

5 days ago

American soldiers patrol near prison that was attacked on Jan. 20 by the Islamic State militants in Hassakeh, Syria, Feb. 8, 2022.

US military resumes joint patrols in north Syria

U.S. officials had said the patrols that resumed Saturday are not to counter Islamic State group militants.

5 days ago

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon, Nov. 3, 2022, in Washington.

Pentagon chief: US faces pivotal years in countering China

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum capped a week where the Pentagon was squarely focused on China’s rise.

5 days ago

US military halts patrols against Islamic State in Syria

Turkish threats of a ground invasion have stymied the missions with Kurdish forces.

7 days ago

NATO set to renew vow on Ukraine membership, boost non-lethal aid

Foreign ministers will meet in Bucharest, where, 14 years ago, the alliance decided to allow Ukraine and Georgia to join over vehement Russian objections.

11 days ago

US to send anti-drone machine guns, air defense ammunition to Ukraine

The Pentagon is seeking to give Ukraine what it needs to defend against Russian drones targeting the embattled country's energy infrastructure.

2 weeks ago

In this photo provided by South Korean Defense Ministry, a U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber, sixth from top left, South Korean Air Force F-35 fighter jets and US Air Force F-16 fighter jets, left, fly over South Korea Peninsula during a joint air drill in South Korea, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022.

North Korea’s Kim boasts new ICBM as US flies bombers

U.S. B-1B bombers took part in separate joint exercises Saturday with South Korean and Japanese warplanes in response to a North Korean ICBM launch.

3 weeks ago

Ammunition boxes lay outside a destroyed school on the outskirts of a recently liberated village outskirts of Kherson, in southern Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022.

‘Tyranny and turmoil’ in Russian invasion, US defense secretary says

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion the worst crisis in security since the end of the Second World War.

3 weeks ago

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korean missile in a military parade during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. South Korea says the missile North Korea launched Friday morning is likely an intercontinental ballistic missile.

North Korea fires suspected long-range missile

North Korea fired a suspected long-range missile designed to strike the mainland U.S. on Friday, its neighbors said.

3 weeks ago

Judges and lawyers view the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, at the Gilze-Rijen military Airbase, southern Netherlands, on May 26, 2021.

Three convicted in 2014 Malaysian jet crash in Ukraine

A Dutch court has convicted three men of murder for their role in shooting down a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet with a Russian surface-to-air missile.

3 weeks ago

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives a lecture at the Central Cadres Training School in North Korea on Oct. 17, 2022.

North Korea fires another ballistic missile toward sea

North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Thursday, South Korea’s military said.

3 weeks ago

Poland, NATO say missile strike wasn’t a Russian attack

Air defenses in neighboring Ukraine likely launched the Soviet-era projectile.

3 weeks ago

President Joe Biden talks talks to reporters after a meeting of G7 and NATO leaders in Bali, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022.

‘Unlikely’ missile that hit Poland fired from Russia, Biden says

President Joe Biden says it was “unlikely” that a missile that killed two in NATO-ally Poland was fired from Russia.

3 weeks ago

Pentagon looking into reports of Russian missile strike in Poland

More than 6,000 U.S. troops are deployed to Poland in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

3 weeks ago

Police officers gather outside a grain depot in Przewodow, eastern Poland, on Tuesday Nov. 15, 2022 where the Polish Foreign Ministry said that a Russian-made missile fell and killed two people.

Poland: Russian-made missile fell on our country, killing 2

A Russian missile barrage on the Ukrainian power grid sent the war spilling over into neighboring countries, hitting NATO member Poland.

3 weeks ago