US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday discussed whether to let Kyiv use long-range missiles against Russia, in the two allies’ likely last meeting before an election that could upend US policy on Ukraine.
Starmer’s visit comes with Kyiv pushing London and Washington to lift the restriction and a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin that giving Ukraine the green light would mean NATO was “at war” with Russia.
UK media reported that Biden, who is wary of provoking a nuclear conflict, was ready to let Ukraine deploy UK and French missiles using US technology, but not US-made missiles themselves.
Responding to Putin’s warning, Starmer told UK media traveling with him that “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away.”
In a sign of increasing tensions, Russia’s FSB security service announced yesterday that the accreditation of six British diplomats had been withdrawn.
“As a measure of reprisals to the multiple unfriendly acts of London, the Russian foreign ministry … has withdrawn the accreditation of six employees from the political department of the British embassy in Moscow,” it said.
A statement accused them of carrying out “subversive activities and intelligence” gathering.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv promised that Washington would quickly review Kyiv’s long-standing request and would “adjust, we’ll adapt as necessary” to help Ukraine defend itself.
Washington currently authorizes Ukraine to only hit Russian targets in the occupied parts of Ukraine and some in Russian border regions directly related to Moscow’s combat operations.
However, Putin, who has rattled the saber of nuclear conflict since the start of his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, warned the US and UK against such a move.
“This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict. It would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia,” he said on Thursday.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
RSS