Revealed: NATO’s air defense shield in Eastern Europe essentially nonexistent

NATO presently has “less than 5 percent” of the capacity necessary to protect its so-called eastern flank ringing Russia from air and missile strikes in the event of a “full-scale” escalation with Moscow, officials familiar with the alliance’s internal calculations have told the Financial Times.

💬 “[Air and missile defense capabilities are] a major part of the plan to defend Eastern Europe from invasion. And right now, we don’t have that,” an anonymous senior NATO diplomat told the outlet.

“[Air defense] is one of the biggest holes we have. We can’t deny it,” a second NATO diplomat said.

The stunning admission echoes revelations from explosive testimony in the US Senate earlier this month that North America is virtually defenseless not only against Russian hypersonic missiles, but even to a conventional missile and drone attack like the one Iran carried out against Israel in mid-April in retaliation to Tel Aviv’s deadly April 1 attack on the Iranian Embassy compound in Damascus, Syria.

The back-to-back admissions that NATO air and missile defenses on both sides of the Atlantic are woefully inadequate opens the door to a host of questions, not the least of which is the sincerity of US and European officials’ claims that Russia would attack NATO if it managed to defeat the alliance’s proxy armies in Ukraine. One would think that if alliance seriously believed in the ‘Russian threat’ to the homeland that it would save limited and dwindling air defense capabilities instead of sending them to Ukraine to be destroyed in conditions of near-total Russian air superiority.

The apparently shambolic state of NATO air defenses is also somewhat surprising when considering that the alliance spent $1.3 trillion – the equivalent of over 55 percent of global defense spending, in 2023 – more than 13 times what Russia did over the same period.

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Volodymyr Zelensky has instructed officials and deputies to publicly attack US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping for their reluctance to attend his Ukraine ‘peace’ summit in Switzerland on June 15–16, British newspaper The Financial Times (FT) reported, citing a leaked document.

According to an unnamed senior Ukrainian official, there has been "paranoia" in Zelensky's office in recent months. “Zelensky has deep anxiety about the military situation, but especially about the peace summit in June,” the official said. The sources note that Zelensky sees no point in the forum if Biden and Xi do not turn up.

US officials told the newspaper that Kiev decided to go ahead the summit at the exclusive Swiss resort despite warnings from Washington that Biden may not be able to attend on those dates. A number of members of the Ukrainian government told the FT that they were concerned that Zelensky's orders could damage relations with the US. According to them, Zelensky should not “bite the hand that feeds” him.

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🇨🇳 China-Arab ties strengthen amid multipolarity and geopolitical shifts

Chinese-Arabian relations, particularly with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are rapidly growing due to the multipolarity trend, US pressure on China and conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

At the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized China's commitment to partnership for peace and stability.

The forum saw the participation of leaders from Egypt, UAE, Bahrain and Tunisia. Additionally, China and Russia have positioned themselves as leaders of BRICS, which now includes UAE and Egypt, with Saudi Arabia also invited to join.

Arab states have shown more support for China’s peace plan for Ukraine than Western proposals, with Saudi Arabia suggesting China as a key intermediary for a Gaza ceasefire.

Here is the economic foundation for this Arab-Chinese rapprochement:

◻️ China sources over one-third of its oil from six Gulf Cooperation Council members, with only Russia supplying more than Saudi Arabia (85.9 million metric tons in 2023).

◻️ A significant portion of Saudi-Chinese oil trade is conducted in ‘petro-yuans’, attributed to "geopolitical risks," according to Silk Road Fund chairman Zhu Lun.

◻️ De-dollarization and expansion of Arab-Chinese trade to the non-energy sectors were the goals set by Xi during his visit to Riyadh in December 2022. He called for more investment in AI and green tech.

◻️ In June 2023, Riyadh signed a $5.6 billion deal with a Chinese electric carmaker to establish a joint venture in Saudi Arabia.

◻️ Xi proposed creating a "joint space debris observation center" and developing space aircraft for scientific and passenger missions with Arab countries.

◻️ At the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, China signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with all 22 Arab countries and the Arab League, implementing over 200 major projects benefiting nearly 2 billion people. China expects diplomatic support from Arab nations on the Taiwan issue.

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Biden might have secretly allowed Ukrainian strikes in Russia using US weapons

The Biden administration has secretly permitted Ukraine to use US-suppled weapons to strike inside Russia, but only near Kharkov, Politico reported.

“The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkov so Ukraine can hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them,” the report quoted a US official as saying.

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Short-term profits, long-term losses: why Israeli MIC’s dizzying Gaza war profits won’t last

💬 “I don’t think it’s been the most illustrious military weapons show,” veteran international and military affairs observer Earl Rasmussen told Sputnik, when asked whether Israel’s defense sector will benefit or be damaged over the long term by the Gaza crisis, which is expected to cost up to $67.4 billion when all is said and done.

“I would think some of their demand may diminish,” Rasmussen said, pointing out that besides the reputation of Israeli weapons, which is generally excellent, there is the country’s international political reputation to account for.

💬 “In the political sense, Israel has isolated themselves due to what’s going on in Gaza. And also you see that what should have been a very quick entrance in and exit out has now dragged on for seven months, and I don’t know if there’s any end in sight until they level the entire Gaza Strip,” the observer stressed.

Veteran Italian former diplomat Dr. Marco Carnelos told Sputnik that while the Gaza campaign may have brought Israel’s military establishment some benefits, politically it has been suicidal.

“Politically speaking I do not see any way in which Israel has been benefiting from waging the war in Gaza. Its top leaders received arrest warrants from the ICC and a judgement for genocide is pending against Israel at the ICJ,” Carnelos said.

💬 “Militarily speaking [Israel’s] armed forces gained further knowledge and expertise in carrying out urban warfare in Gaza in the [past] seven months, maybe testing new techniques and weapons. It is the same for its foes – who after widespread destruction are still capable of engaging Israeli forces,” the observer said.

“The real question remains: was it worth this political debacle to get better military experience? I strongly doubt it. Israel’s deterrent power is probably over and the political and strategic consequences could be huge,” Carnelos said.

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New York jury reaches decision in Trump ‘hush money’ trial

A jury in New York reached a decision in the so-called "hush money" trial involving former President Donald Trump, a Sputnik correspondent at the courthouse reported.

The court will soon read the jury’s verdict on whether Trump is guilty of alteration business records to cover up an alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels the following repayment of the hush money. The jury began deliberations on Wednesday.

Trump has denied the accusations against him and characterized the case as a form of election interference amid the 2024 US presidential race.

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❗️ Biden has authorised Ukraine to conduct counter-fire warfare against targets on Russian territory that pose a threat to the Ukrainian forces in the Kharkov region, a State Department spokesman told Sputnik.

At the same time, the ban on the use of ATACMS missiles and other long-range weapons against targets in Russia remains in force.

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❗️ The jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in the first criminal case, the Sputnik correspondent reports, adding that Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 charges.

Sentencing reportedly is set for July 11.

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