International
Russia has ‘strategically lost’ Ukraine war: UK armed forces chief
AFP
Russia has already “strategically lost” its war with Ukraine, suffering heavy losses and strengthening NATO, the UK’s chief of defence staff said in an interview published on Friday.
“This is a dreadful mistake by Russia. Russia will never take control of Ukraine,” said Tony Radakin, the country’s highest-ranking military officer, adding it would emerge a “more diminished power”.
“Russia has strategically lost already. NATO is stronger, Finland and Sweden are looking to join,” he told Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency.
Radakin said Russian President Vladimir Putin may achieve “tactical successes” in the weeks to come, but had sacrificed a quarter of his country’s army power for “tiny” gains and was running out of troops and high-tech missiles.
“The Russian machine is grinding away, and it’s gaining a couple of — two, three, five — kilometres every day,” the admiral said.
“And Russia has vulnerabilities because it’s running out of people, it’s running out of high-tech missiles.
“President Putin has used about 25 percent of his army’s power to gain a tiny amount of territory and 50,000 people either dead or injured.
“Russia is failing.”
Radakin paid tribute to the “courageous” Ukrainian people, and vowed that the UK would support Kyiv “for the long haul” with more weapons.
“We’ve been providing anti-tank weapons, there are other elements that we’re providing and that will continue,” he said.
The Kremlin on Thursday warned against new Western weapons supplies to Ukraine as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visited Kyiv.
“I would like to hope that the leaders of these three states and the President of Romania will not only focus on supporting Ukraine by further pumping Ukraine with weapons,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
He added that it would be “absolutely useless and will cause further damage to the country”.
International
Claudia Sheinbaum: Operation Against ‘El Mencho’ Was Based on Pending Arrest Warrants
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday rejected claims that the military operation that resulted in the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was carried out under pressure from the United States government.
Sheinbaum explained that the deployment of federal forces was aimed at executing outstanding arrest warrants against Oseguera Cervantes, who was considered one of the most wanted criminals in both Mexico and the United States.
“That was not the objective (to ease pressure from the United States). It is very important, and I want to repeat it. This individual had an arrest warrant, or several,” Sheinbaum said, referring to the operation conducted on February 22.
According to the president, the initial goal was to capture Oseguera Cervantes, but military forces responded after coming under attack during the intervention.
“The operation was to detain him. The problem is that they were attacked — the Secretariat of National Defense — and they responded at that moment,” she said.
The president insisted that the action was not carried out in response to external demands, although she acknowledged intelligence cooperation with the United States.
“It was not done in any way because of pressure from the United States, not at all. Of course, there was intelligence information from the United States that was used specifically,” she concluded.
International
Spain Denies Any Agreement to Cooperate with U.S. Military in Iran Operations
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Wednesday firmly denied that Madrid has agreed to cooperate with the U.S. military in operations against Iran, contradicting statements made minutes earlier by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“I categorically deny it,” Albares said in a radio interview cited by EFE. “The position of the Spanish government regarding the war in the Middle East, the bombings in Iran, and the use of our bases has not changed by a single comma.”
Earlier in the day, Leavitt told reporters that Spain had “agreed to cooperate with the United States military in recent hours,” following President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a trade embargo on Madrid. Trump had warned of economic measures after Spain reportedly refused to allow the Pentagon to use facilities at Spanish bases for operations related to Iran.
“I have no idea what that could be referring to or where it could be coming from,” Albares said, insisting that Spain’s position “has not changed at all” and therefore “remains absolutely unchanged.” He added that he had “no desire” and “almost no time” to speculate about the White House spokesperson’s remarks.
Albares reiterated Spain’s “No to war” stance, which he said had been clearly and forcefully expressed by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in an institutional address. According to the foreign minister, that position has been supported by “many European colleagues.”
International
White House Says Spain Agrees to Cooperate with U.S. Military After Trump Threatens Trade Embargo
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Spain has agreed “in recent hours” to cooperate with the U.S. military, following President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a trade embargo on Madrid.
Trump had warned of potential commercial measures after Spain reportedly refused to allow the Pentagon to use facilities at Spanish military bases for operations related to Iran.
“With respect to Spain, I think you heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear, and I understand that in recent hours they have agreed to cooperate with the United States military,” Leavitt said during a press briefing.
She added that the U.S. military is currently coordinating with its counterparts in Spain. However, the president expects broader support.
“The president expects that all of Europe, all of our European allies, of course, will cooperate in this important mission — not only for the United States, but also for Europe,” Leavitt said.
Her remarks came in response to questions about Spain’s position and its role as a U.S. ally amid rising tensions surrounding operations involving Iran.
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