Dit gebouw, boordevol kanonnen (allemaal gericht op Frankrijk), werd gebouwd door Henry VIII, belegerd door Cromwell, bezet door de hertog van Wellington (die hier stierf) en Sir Winston Churchill. Het was ook het toneel van een beroemd seksschandaal uit de 20e eeuw.

Meer recentelijk heeft Walmer Castle echter gediend als een weinig bekende – en verrassend bescheiden – koninklijke residentie. En vanaf morgen, slechts een paar maanden lang, zullen deze privévertrekken voor het eerst aan het publiek worden getoond.

Na genoten te hebben van een exclusieve preview, moet ik zeggen dat het niet de Tudor-kantelen of het originele paar Wellington-laarzen zijn die in mijn gedachten blijven hangen. Het is de smaak van wijlen koningin-moeder in een uitbundig decor uit de late jaren 70 – en dat dit zeker de enige plek was waar ze (een paar dagen per jaar) in een flat met drie slaapkamers woonde. Tot op de dag van vandaag staat haar stempel erop.

In 1978, tegen haar negende decennium, verwierf koningin Elizabeth de koningin-moeder een extra huis toen de koningin haar benoemde tot lid van het oude ambt van Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Deze erepositie dateert uit de middeleeuwen en wordt voor het leven toegekend aan een prominente nationale figuur. Walmer Castle, vlakbij Deal in Kent, wordt levenslang op gunst en gunst verhuurd.

Dit omvat verschillende historische kamers die een deel van het jaar voor het publiek te zien zijn, plus prachtige tuinen, een slotgracht, café, cadeauwinkel en theesalon, allemaal onder toezicht van English Heritage. Het kasteel beschikt echter ook over een privéappartement binnen de wallen. En nadat ze de eerste vrouwelijke Lord Warden in de 800-jarige geschiedenis van dit ambt was geworden, bracht de koningin-moeder een aantal zeer persoonlijke accenten aan.

Vanaf morgen mogen bezoekers door de ‘geheime deur’ in de oude Donjon. Ze worden onmiddellijk getransporteerd van de museumachtige sfeer van de openbare vleugel naar wat aanvoelt als een comfortabel, zij het vervaagd hotel uit het tijdperk van Fawlty Towers. Een versleten rode loper leidt langs een logeerkamer (met veel naoorlogs bruin meubilair) en een paar treden omhoog, met leuningen, naar een gang en een staande klok.

Hier vinden we een eerder functionele dan gezellige keuken met mooi zicht op de tuinen. Ik zie een Morphy Richards-broodrooster en open kasten in Formica-stijl, waaronder een roestvrijstalen theepot en een mengelmoes van mokken die menig kantine kent.

Deze waren eigendom van de meest recente Lord Warden, de voormalige chef van de Defensiestaf, Lord Boyce, en zijn overleden vrouw. Michael Boyce, een vooraanstaande voormalige onderzeeër, werd na de dood van de koningin-moeder in 2002 op deze post benoemd en woonde hier af en toe tot aan zijn eigen dood in 2022.

Sindsdien is de plaats leeg gebleven, in afwachting van de benoeming van een nieuwe Lord Warden door de koning. De Boyces hebben niets aan de plek veranderd, dus we hebben nu een perfecte momentopname van het leven bij Walmer in zijn koninklijke jaren.

We gaan verder naar de privé-eetzaal, ingericht in lentegroene tinten en onlangs omgedoopt tot de Sir Robert Menzies Room, naar de voorganger van de koningin-moeder. De grote Australische staatsman werd in 1965 benoemd tot Lord Warden als opvolger van Sir Winston Churchill en gebruikte het als zijn Britse basis. Zijn nalatenschap is de charmante verzameling Australische landschappen van hedendaagse kunstenaars.

Naast de deur bevindt zich de Queen Elizabeth Room, die ze opnieuw heeft ontworpen in een blauwgroen tint. De bomen en bladeren op het zijden behang passen bij het patroon op de bank. Hier las ze de kranten (vooral de racepers) en keek ze tv. Bezoekers zien op het scherm scènes van haar installatie als Lord Warden. We komen dan naar de slaapkamer van de koningin-moeder.

Hier zijn de bloempatronen het meest bloemrijk, met roze rozen die langs de kroonlijst, volants, het hoofdeinde en de gordijnen naar beneden stromen. Ze liggen ook overal in de fauteuil. Een sprei uit de jaren zeventig bedekt het bed. Aan de muur hangt naast koningin Victoria een JAK-cartoon uit de Evening Standard uit 1995.

Het toont de Queen Mum op de wallen van het naburige Dover Castle, zwaaiend met haar handtas naar een gehavende Fransman. Destijds was er een enorme ruzie geweest na een Frans bod om de haven van Dover (de belangrijkste van de Cinque Ports) te kopen. De lokale bevolking smeekte de koningin-moeder, als Lord Warden, om in te grijpen.

Hoewel ze geen partij kon kiezen in een politiek dispuut, kwam ze er aardig dichtbij en gaf ze haar privésecretaris de opdracht om namens haar te schrijven naar de minister van Transport, Sir George Young, ‘zodat hij zich bewust zou kunnen zijn van de diepe gevoelens van de burgers van deze oude zeehaven’. De Fransen trokken zich terug.

Zelfs de kaptafel werd naar haar smaak opnieuw ingericht, net als de badkamer ernaast met zijn grote marmeren omlijstingen. In haar latere jaren zou ze het liefst de groen betegelde badkamer aan de overkant van de gang met inloopdouche gebruiken. Het gastentoilet naast de deur heeft nog steeds een levendige oranje en gele bloemenbak met kitsch uit de jaren 70 erop geschreven. In een nis, bekend als het Telefoonbijgebouw, belde de koningin-moeder.

We vinden hier portretten van Lord en Lady Boyce en een telefoon die anekdotes over het leven afspeelt, opgenomen door de kinderen van Lord Boyce uit zijn eerste huwelijk, Hugo en Christine. Hugo Boyce herinnert zich dat hij een rillende bezoeker hoorde klagen dat Walmer (uitgesproken als ‘warmer’) omgedoopt moest worden tot ‘Colder Castle’.

Buiten blijft de meest opmerkelijke bijdrage van de koningin-moeder de tuin die ontwerper Penelope Hobhouse als cadeau voor haar heeft gecreëerd. Het omvat prachtige vormsnoei, een zomerhuis, een rechthoekige vijver en een beeld van een corgi op een bank waar een echte corgi met de koningin-moeder poseerde voor een portret.

Hoewel haar verblijf nooit meer dan een paar dagen per jaar duurde, was ze dol op deze plek. ‘Mijn slaapkamer was echt prachtig, en we zijn er zelfs in geslaagd een aantal gasten te ontvangen voor een diner in de geïmproviseerde eetkamer. De chef-kok was erg gelukkig in zijn kleine keuken en er hing een heerlijke sfeer in het kasteel’, schreef ze na haar eerste verblijf aan haar binnenhuisarchitect Oliver Ford.

Het personeel werd scherp gehouden. ‘Ze vond het zeker leuk als de dingen op haar manier werden gedaan’, zegt Kathryn Bedford, curator collecties voor English Heritage, met veel plezier. ‘Haar team zou haar eigen gordijnen naar beneden halen, omdat ze de gordijnen die wij hier hadden niet mooi vond.’

Zoals koninklijke biograaf Hugo Vickers opmerkt: ‘Het jaarlijkse bezoek veroorzaakte een enorme opschudding, waarbij zilver, glas en borden uit Londen werden meegenomen, om nog maar te zwijgen van speciale stoelen… Een deel van het meubilair, grapte de koningin-moeder, was ‘uit Windsor geknepen’. ‘

De titel van Lord Warden gaat terug tot de middeleeuwen, toen vijf Kanaalhavens een speciale status kregen. In ruil daarvoor zouden ze schepen voor de koning leveren en werden er forten gebouwd, met name Dover Castle. Walmer was een van de drie die werden toegevoegd voor extra bescherming nadat de scheiding van Hendrik VIII van Catharina van Aragon de paus ertoe aanzette een invasie van Engeland te eisen.

Tegen de 18e eeuw was de titel van Lord Warden een ere-sinecure geworden voor een voorname grandee van die tijd. Hoewel de hertog van Wellington grote herenhuizen had in Londen en Hampshire, bracht de hertog elke herfst graag entertainment door in zijn Kentse fort.

In 1842 leende hij het kasteel aan koningin Victoria nadat Brighton werd getroffen door een uitbraak van roodvonk. Victoria merkte op dat de ‘situatie charmant is… maar het huis erg klein is’. Na de Eerste Wereldoorlog trok een andere Lord Warden, Earl Beauchamp, zich plotseling terug in ballingschap in het buitenland om een ​​dreigend seksschandaal te voorkomen.

Hoewel hij een getrouwde vader van zeven kinderen was, had zijn homoseksuele smaak zich uitgebreid tot het voorstellen van lakeien en zelfs lokale vissers, in een tijd dat dit nog een strafbaar feit was.

Tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog bevond Walmer zich binnen het bereik van vijandelijke artillerie, waardoor het te gevaarlijk werd voor Winston Churchill om er zijn intrek te nemen nadat hij in 1941 Lord Warden werd.

Voorlopig zal English Heritage het decor van de koningin-moeder uit de jaren 70 laten zoals het is totdat de koning een nieuwe Lord Warden benoemt. Wie zou dat kunnen zijn? Eén kandidaat die in mijn gedachten opkomt, is zijn zus. Niet alleen heeft de Princess Royal een grote affiniteit met de zee, maar haar man, Sir Tim Laurence, kent de plaats ook heel goed – als voormalig voorzitter van English Heritage.

The US and UK have launched missile strikes against more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ‘increase in attacks’ by the terrorist organization on cargo ships.

American and British fighter jets carried out ‘necessary and proportionate strikes specifically targeted 18 Houthi targets across eight locations in Yemen,’ the Pentagon has confirmed.

The joint operation targeted weapons storage facilities, drones, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter, and other unmanned surface and underwater vehicles. 

The Houthis have launched at least 57 attacks on commercial and military ships in the the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 19, and the pace has picked up in recent days.

President Joe Biden and other senior leaders have repeatedly warned that the US will not tolerate the Houthi attacks against commercial shipping. UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps reiterated that it is ‘our duty to protect lives at sea and preserve freedom of navigation’.

But the counter-attacks have not appeared to diminish the Houthis’ campaign against shipping in the region, which the militants say is over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

The US and Britain launched the counter-offensive in response to the rise in Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including a missile strike this past week that set fire to a cargo vessel. 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, following the joint attack, said the strikes were meant ‘to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia’ and vowed the group will continue to face retaliatory action for their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waters.

‘The United States will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways,’ Austin said in a statement.

‘We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks, which harm Middle Eastern economies, cause environmental damage, and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries.’

Shapps issued a similar statement, saying the Royal Air Force aimed to ‘degrade’ Houthi weapons that have been used to ‘mount their dangerous attacks’ and thanked the ‘brave’ military members involved in the operation.

‘In recent days, we have seen severe Houthi attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including against the British-owned MV Islander and the MV Rubymar, which forced the crew to abandon ship,’ Shapps said.

‘It is our duty to protect lives at sea and preserve freedom of navigation.

‘That is why the Royal Air Force engaged in a fourth wave of precision strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen. We acted alongside our allies to further degrade Houthi drones and launchers used to mount their dangerous attacks.’

He added: ‘I thank the brave British personnel involved for their service.’ 

The US has carried out near daily strikes against the Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and have said their attacks on shipping are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza.

The months of attacks by Houthis have continued and have upset global trade and raised shipping rates.

There have been at least 32 US strikes in Yemen over the past month and a half; a few were conducted with allied involvement.

In addition, US warships have taken out dozens of incoming missiles, rockets and drones targeting commercial and other navy vessels. 

Earlier this week the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a UK-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on an American destroyer, and they targeted Israel’s port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones.

The group’s strikes are disrupting the vital Suez Canal trade shortcut that accounts for about 12 per cent of global maritime traffic, and forcing firms to take a longer, more expensive route around Africa.

No ships have been sunk nor crew killed during the Houthi campaign. However there are concerns about the fate of the UK-registered Rubymar cargo vessel, which was struck on Feb. 18 and its crew evacuated.

The rebels’ supreme leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, announced this past week an ‘escalation in sea operations’ conducted by his forces as part of what they describe as a pressure campaign to end Israel’s war on Hamas. 

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a briefing on Thursday: ‘We’ve certainly seen in the past 48, 72 hours an increase in attacks from the Houthis.

Singh also acknowledged that the Houthis have not been deterred, telling reporters: ‘We never said we’ve wiped off the map all of their capabilities.

‘We know that the Houthis maintain a large arsenal. They are very capable. They have sophisticated weapons, and that’s because they continue to get them from Iran.’

Earlier on Saturday, the destroyer USS Mason downed an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Houthi-held areas in Yemen towards the Gulf of Aden, US Central Command said.

The defense department added that that the missile was probably targeting MV Torm Thor, a US-flagged, owned, and operated chemical and oil tanker.

The US attacks on the Houthis have targeted more than 120 launchers, more than 10 surface-to-air-missiles, 40 storage and support building, 15 drone storage buildings, more than 20 unmanned air, surface and underwater vehicles, several underground storage areas and a few other facilities.

But while the Houthis say the attacks are aimed at stopping the war in Gaza, their targets appear to have grown more random and are endangering a vital waterway for cargo and energy shipments travelling from Asia and the Middle East onwards to Europe.

During normal operations, about 400 commercial vessels transit the southern Red Sea at any given time. 

While the Houthi attacks have only actually struck a small number of vessels, the persistent targeting and near misses that have been shot down by the US and allies have prompted shipping companies to reroute their vessels from the Red Sea.

Instead, they have sent them around Africa through the Cape of Good Hope – a much longer, costlier and less efficient passage.

The threats also have led the US and its allies to set up a joint mission where warships from participating nations provide a protective umbrella of air defense for ships as they travel between the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

In Thursday’s attack in the Gulf of Aden, the Houthis fired two missiles at a Palau-flagged cargo ship named Islander, according to Central Command. A European naval force in the region said the attack sparked a fire and wounded a sailor on board the vessel, though the ship continued on its way.

Central Command launched attacks on Houthi-held areas in Yemen on Friday, destroying seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that the military said were prepared to launch towards the Red Sea.

Central Command also said on Saturday that a Houthi attack on a Belize-flagged ship on February 18 caused an 18-mile oil slick and the military warned of the danger of a spill from the vessel’s cargo of fertilizer.

The Rubymar, a British-registered, Lebanese-operated cargo vessel, was attacked while sailing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The missile attack forced the crew to abandon the vessel, which had been on its way to Bulgaria after leaving the United Arab Emirates. It was transporting more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer, according to a Central Command statement.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government has called for other countries and maritime-protection organizations to quickly address the oil slick and avert ‘a significant environmental disaster’.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

By Brittany Chain, Political Correspondent for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 00:00 EST, February 7, 2024 | Updated: 00:16 EST, February 7, 2024

Major concerns have been raised that the Albanian government's new vehicle efficiency standard could leave Australians worse off.

The federal government will introduce laws next year that will set new vehicle efficiency standards that will require car companies to deliver fuel-efficient cars to buyers.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King announced the news on Sunday, claiming Aussies could save as much as $1,000 on fuel.

Concerns have been raised over whether the overall cost of car ownership could outweigh the savings on fuel, effectively leaving Aussies worse off.

A national automotive group feared the change would lead to half of all car sales being electric by 2030 – with the vehicles significantly more expensive than petrol cars.

Tony Weber, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, said the government did not provide a breakdown of the total costs when making its savings claims.

“Those (total costs) include maintenance, insurance, of course the fuel price, but very importantly the purchase price and the level of depreciation,” Mr Weber said. The Australian.

Motor Trades Association of Australia CEO Matt Hobbs said if 4WD sales were paralyzed, many car sellers would go out of business.

'That is the lifeblood of dealers. If that dries up, a lot of dealers will go out of business,” he said.

He said if standards are tightened to reduce CO2 emissions by 60 percent by the end of the next decade, it will mean sales of petrol cars will have to be drastically reduced.

'To achieve that goal and not pay a price for it, at least 50 percent of all new cars will have to be electric by 2029.

'There are no combustion engines that can achieve that number, not even very small cars, so you can't actually sell them. Hybrids, if it's a very small car, maybe (could reach the norm).

'This is not a ban, but as the targets become stricter, car companies will need to figure out how to compensate for this or otherwise look at which vehicles do not meet the standard.'

Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie pointed out that the only electric car available in Australia, the LDV eT60, costs $93,000, compared to just $52,000 for the years-long best-selling Toyota HiLux.

Mr Bowen said the scheme would see no one pay extra for a vehicle as manufacturers would be forced to bring more efficient models to Australia that are currently only sold overseas.

He also argued that because the standard applies to the entire fleet, it simply meant that dealers would have to increase their EV sales.

Dramatically increasing the number of electric vehicles sold is crucial to the Albanian government's ambitious goal of reducing emissions by 43 percent by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050.

In 2023, electric cars accounted for just eight percent of new cars sold and this will need to rise to almost 100 percent of sales by 2035 to meet the government's target of completely eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector by 2050 .

While charging an electric car at home is a relatively cheap option, it became publicly more expensive last month as Australia's second-largest EV charger provider increased prices at its stations by a whopping 43 percent last month.

Even before this car website CarExpert revealed that on long car journeys it was cheaper to drive a car with a combustion engine than an electric car.

On a 900km drive from Sydney to Melbourne conducted by CarExpert, the EV cost around $13 more in power than its petrol counterpart – and required an additional two hours of stop time to refuel.

CarExpert founder Paul Maric told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday he feared the gap would widen.

“Electricity prices have never fallen, so it will only get more expensive,” Mr Maric said.

“They (governments) want everyone to run these things, but at the end of the day they're just not affordable.”

He said that until now, electric vehicles had largely been the preserve of higher income earners, mainly because buying them could be used as a tax offset for other income.

“If you just think about the average Australian right now who's just struggling to put food on the table and you're talking about a vehicle like the Tesla Model Y that starts at $70,000 regardless of the tax incentives, then that's still a big a lot of money,” he said

“A lot of this stuff is a pipe dream that really only benefits people who are already rich.”

He also said that because the federal government gave private companies money to install chargers, but not for maintenance, many were broken.

“Public charging infrastructure is developing so slowly that unless you can charge at home, you can't charge electric vehicles anywhere because the chargers are broken or there aren't enough of them,” he said.

Mr Bowen said the new emissions standards would be legislated as “soon as possible” and come into effect from January 1 next year.

This is the dramatic moment a Houthi missile collides with a merchant ship in the Red Sea.

An explosion at the bow of the Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier MT Zografia was captured on the onboard camera on Tuesday.

The UK and US are exploring ways to step up their campaign against Houthi militants in Yemen without sparking a wider war, with a focus on targeting Iranian supplies and launching more vicious pre-emptive strikes, people familiar with the matter say are on the case. .

The proposals could mark an escalation of allied efforts to end the chaos in the Red Sea, which handled about 12 percent of global trade before the Houthis began attacking commercial ships in response to Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthi attacks have raised insurance costs and raised fears of additional inflationary pressures as ships take a longer and more expensive route around the southern tip of Africa.

Defense Secretary Grant Shapps wrote today on

“In doing so, we have dashed the hopes of tyrants like Putin, who naively believed that we could be distracted by multiple crises. Britain can and will act where necessary.”

U.S. Central Command today attacked a Houthi anti-ship missile aimed at the Gulf of Aden and ready to launch, the U.S. military said. The latest round of attacks came hours after the United States hit three other Houthi anti-ship missiles. .

“U.S. forces determined that the missile posed a threat to merchant and U.S. Navy vessels in the region and subsequently struck and destroyed the missile in self-defense,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement on X.

The incident, the latest amid rising tensions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that have disrupted global trade and raised fears of supply bottlenecks, occurred around 4 a.m. Yemen time (1 a.m. GMT ), US Central Command added.

Hours earlier, late Friday, U.S. Central Command forces carried out strikes on three Houthi anti-ship missiles that they said were aimed at the southern Red Sea.

“US forces identified the missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they posed an immediate threat to merchant and US Navy vessels in the region. U.S. forces then attacked and destroyed the missiles in self-defense,” U.S. Central Command said in the post on X.

The incident occurred around 6:45 p.m. Yemen time (1545 GMT), the US Central Command added.

Attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia on ships in and around the Red Sea in recent weeks have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alerted major powers to an escalation of the war in Gaza.

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians under attack by Israel in Gaza.

Since last week, the United States has been launching attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen, and this week it added the militia to a list of “terrorist” groups.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the airstrikes would continue, even as he acknowledged they may not stop Houthi attacks.

Saturday's strikes were the fifth in the past week by the US against Houthi missile launchers prepared to carry out attacks.

The Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at a US tanker ship late on Thursday, hitting the water near the ship but causing no injuries or damage, according to the US military.

The confrontation risks spreading the conflict beyond Hamas-ruled Gaza, where more than 24,000 people — or more than 1 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million residents — have been killed in the Israeli attack, according to the local health ministry.

Israel launched its offensive following the October 7 attacks on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group, which Israeli officials said killed 1,200 people.

The surge in global conflict that marred the year 2023 has set alarm bells ringing in the halls of European defence establishments. 

Not three weeks of 2024 have passed, and the governments of Estonia, Sweden and now the UK have already warned their respective nations that the prospect of large-scale war is on the horizon.

Leaked German intelligence documents suggest Berlin expects Russia to launch another wave of attacks to overwhelm Ukraine, and is scrambling to come up with contingency plans in the event Russian troops march westward from Belarus. 

The Israel-Hamas conflict threatens to spread violence across the Middle East, with Iran’s so-called ‘Axis of Resistance’ – including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels – increasing their attacks on Israel and commercial shipping routes, prompting the UK and US to launch a series of devastating strikes by air and sea.

Further East, Taiwan’s election of a new democracy-loving president has angered Beijing even further, with a Chinese invasion of the island nation in the coming years looking ever more likely. 

And all the while, Kim Jong Un stands by with his fist clenching the keys to North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, ready to plunge his foes into radioactive winter. 

In a stark warning speech this week, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps sought to encapsulate the grave threats facing Britain and beyond.

‘In five years’ time we could be looking at multiple theatres including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Ask yourself, looking at today’s conflicts across the world, is it more likely that that number grows or reduces? 

‘I suspect we all know the answer.’ 

Now, with international security experts in cacophonous agreement that we are closer to World War III now than at any other time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, MailOnline examines the global ‘fault lines’ that could drag Europe into a massive armed conflict. 

Russia-Ukraine: Gateway to war between Moscow and NATO

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 saw the spectre of a major armed conflict darken Europe’s door again for the first time since the end of World War II.

The UK and EU immediately leapt to Ukraine’s defence, cracking down on Moscow with a barrage of economic sanctions and committing billions in military and humanitarian funding to boost Kyiv’s war effort.  

But now almost two full years into the conflict with no clear end in sight, European nations are forced to confront the very real possibility the war could drag on indefinitely – and perhaps even spill beyond the borders of Ukraine. 

In an alarming speech earlier this month, Sweden’s Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said: ‘There could be war in Sweden… The world is facing a security outlook with greater risks than at any time since the end of the Second World War,’ urging his citizens to join voluntary civil defence groups. 

Days later, Estonia’s Prime Minister declared that Europe has just three to five years to prepare for Russia’s return as a serious military threat on NATO’s eastern flank, before British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps this week declared he would send 20,000 British troops to take part in one of NATO’s largest war games since the Cold War.

‘Our adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers, old enemies are reanimated, battle lines are being redrawn, the tanks are literally on Ukraine’s lawn and the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core,’ he said.

These stark warnings came as leaked documents from the German Ministry of Defence outlined a step-by-step doomsday guide on how Russia could escalate the conflict in Ukraine to an even bigger battle.

The leaked plans, published by German newspaper Bild, reveal in detail the path to a Third World War with Putin using Belarus as a launching pad for an invasion – as he did in February 2022 for his war in Ukraine. 

General Sir Richard Barrons warned that Britain is sorely underprepared for a conflict with Russia, and urged the government to invest heavily in reconstituting the armed forces to meet the challenge.  

‘Russia is clearly angry and rearming so their capability will be restored and when the shooting stops in Ukraine, Russia will blame the outcome on us,’ he told MailOnline 

‘We are already In confrontation with Russia. Right now, we have chosen to do very little about it.

‘During the Cold War the Army, at all times, was ready to fight at four hours’ notice. When the Cold War ended and there was no sense of existential risk to the UK, all of that was dismantled.

‘Now we would need five to 10 years’ notice of a Russian surprise attack to manage to deal with it. It’s deeply disappointing.’

Retired US Army Brigadier General Kevin Ryan also told MailOnline that a failure to prepare on the part of NATO could incite Putin to strike. 

‘Until recently it didn’t seem Russia could build an army good enough to enforce that demand. But if Russia continues to have success enlarging its force and ramping up military production then we need to get ready. 

‘Getting ready could be enough to avert a wider war. Not getting ready could invite one,’ he concluded. 

Ben Hodges, who commanded who commanded the US Army in Europe between 2014 and 2018, added: ‘If the civilian leadership doesn’t think there’s a threat, they won’t be able to move quickly enough. Our leaders should talk to us like adults. It doesn’t mean you’re a scaremongerer, it means you’re taking precaution, which is exactly what we should be doing.’ 

The Middle East: A tinderbox waiting for a spark

The ruthless October 7 attacks on Israeli towns and kibbutzim by Hamas gunmen, in which more than 1,000 Israelis were killed, prompted Tel-Aviv to embark on a brutal aerial bombardment of and subsequent armed incursion into Palestinian territory that has left more than 20,000 Gazans dead. 

But the heinous violence engulfing the Gaza Strip threatens to tip the already shaky security landscape of the wider region into total chaos. 

Since October 7, Hezbollah has increased its attacks on northern Israeli towns and exchanged fire with the IDF over the border, and Yemen’s heavily armed Houthi rebel forces have hijacked commercial shipping vessels and damaged several others with missiles. 

US and UK armed forces responded with full fury, conducting massive strikes on dozens of rebel-held strongholds, but the rebels’ Supreme Political Council threatened retaliation, declaring: ‘All American-British interests have become legitimate targets for the Yemeni armed forces.’

The Houthis made good on the threat this week, blasting a US-owned freight ship sailing the Gulf of Aden with yet another missile, while unsettling footage in Yemen’s capital Sanaa showed tens if not hundreds of thousands of people chanting anti-US slogans.

But there is one, much graver threat, sitting behind each of the burgeoning militias in the Middle East – the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are part of Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ – groups spread across the Middle East that constitute a geopolitical and military alliance to counter threats from the West and regional rivals. The Islamic Republic commands considerable forces in Iraq and Syria, which have authored several drone and rocket attacks on US bases in recent months.

Tehran is also orchestrating a wide-ranging strategic partnership treaty with none other than Vladimir Putin, for whom it is already producing drones to bombard Ukrainian cities. 

Putin himself has warned that ‘further escalation of the crisis is fraught with grave and extremely dangerous and destructive consequences… It could spill over far beyond the borders of the Middle East.’

Mona Yacoubian, the Vice President of the US Institute of Peace’s MENA centre, said that with tensions set so high across the Middle East, a single spark could ignite the tinderbox at any moment. 

‘The Middle East is in the throes of unprecedented levels of tension, unparalleled in recent memory. Across the region, no fewer than four major flashpoints could provoke a wider war in the Middle East. In addition to the conflict dynamics between Israel and Lebanon, the Red Sea, Iraq and Syria have all become arenas of spillover confrontation from Gaza. 

‘A violent spike in any of these hot spots could quickly escalate to a wider confrontation,’ she concluded. 

China-Taiwan: A localised conflict that could cause a clash of the titans

This past weekend saw Lai Ching-te – the presidential candidate most hated by Beijing – elected as Taiwan’s new leader.

Chinese officials denounced him as a dangerous separatist – with one spokesperson calling him a ‘destroyer of peace’, and declared the new president-elect does not represent the voice of his people in a delusional and derisive statement. 

Analysts expect China to ramp up its display of displeasure around May – when Lai takes office – with a dramatic increase of aggressive military exercises around the island, or restricting imports from Taiwan as economic punishment. 

China has done both in the past, notably holding war games on an unprecedented scale following the visit to the island of then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

Beijing already routinely sends fighter jets and warships into the skies and waters around Taiwan – a constant reminder of the threat of invasion if the government refuses to become part of China.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sees Taiwan as a renegade province to be brought back under Beijing’s control – something the authoritarian president Xi Jinping has said he’s willing to do by force. 

But Taiwan’s elected Democratic Progressive Party steadfastly argues it presides over a self-governing, democratic, capitalist society with overwhelming support from its people. 

Taipei’s army, navy and air force are among some of the most highly trained, technologically advanced and well equipped in the world. But China’s massive population and vast resources mean Beijing’s military holds the advantage across every conceivable metric. 

In a straight fight, China would quickly overwhelm Taiwan’s defences and assume control of the island nation.  

But any aggression on the part of Beijing could precipitate a 21st century military clash between the world’s two superpowers. 

CIA Director William Burns claimed last year that US intelligence suggested Xi has instructed his country’s military to ‘be ready by 2027’ to invade Taiwan, and President Joe Biden confirmed Washington would come to Taipei’s aid ‘if in fact, there was an unprecedented attack’.

America’s willingness to abandon its previous decades-long policy of strategic ambiguity indicates the strategic importance of Taiwan on many fronts.

The island boasts one of the most technologically advanced industries in the world and is the foremost producer of vital technological components. 

It is also a highly strategic ally in terms of its geography, forming part of the ‘First Island Chain’ which allows the likes of US, Australia and South Korea to build a string of allied nations monitoring and discouraging Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. 

But even the threat of US intervention does not seem to have dampened China’s ambitions. 

In his New Year’s address to the nation, Xi said China ‘will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.’ 

North Korea: A nuclear pariah primed to destabilise Western relations 

Much of North Korea’s population faces abject deprivation, enduring famine, healthcare scarcities, and a near-total isolation from the world beyond its borders. 

That is because supreme leader Kim Jong Un has funnelled almost all his nation’s resources and wealth into one singular goal – to amass the world’s largest and most threatening arsenal of nuclear weapons. 

His regime tested a record number of missiles in 2022 and continued apace in 2023, with satellite flyovers also showing that the long-defunct Punggye-ri nuclear test site had been reconstructed, presumably to accommodate the development of a brand new bomb. 

North Korea’s near total isolation from the world stage means it is less likely to be dragged into a major conflict, and the threat of war is a tool used since the very creation of the country by Kim Jong Un’s grandfather Kim Il Sung to maintain the dynasty’s grip on power. 

But the regime has already agreed to supplement Moscow with munitions for its ongoing war in Ukraine at a time when Western relations with its historic allies – China and Russia – are at new lows.

A RUSI analysis of North Korea’s provision of munitions to Russia warned: ‘The impact will be felt much further than the battlefield in Ukraine. The sale of such quantities of munitions will fill the coffers of the cash-strapped regime in Pyongyang. 

‘North Korea may seek other assistance from Russia in return for its support, including the provision of missile and other advanced military technologies.’

And a US National Intelligence Estimate published in June 2023 warned Pyongyang could extend the scope of its incessant missile testing to conduct more provocative or even damaging strikes off the coast of Western partners Japan and South Korea. 

RAND Corporation adjunct international defence researcher Bruce Bennett said: ‘North Korea knows that the United States has promised that if the North employs its nuclear weapons, the regime will not survive. It is hard to imagine Kim taking this risk unless the regime is being threatened by internal rebellion.

‘But that leaves ways that North Korea could use nuclear weapons coercively – each would likely be intended to decouple the [South Korea-US] alliance and place the North, with its nuclear weapons, in a position of military superiority on the peninsula, and thus be able to at least influence if not dominate [South Korea].

‘North Korea could also directly threaten the United States with nuclear weapon use. For example, it could threaten to target Washington DC with a nuclear weapon unless the United States removes its military forces from South Korea.’

Door Iran gesteunde Houthi-rebellen bedreigen de strijd ‘groter en buiten de verbeelding’ van de VS en Groot-Brittannië en zeggen dat ze een ‘zware prijs’ zullen betalen voor het bestormen van doelen in Jemen.

Woedende Houthi-troepen hebben beloofd wraak te zullen nemen op een schaal ‘die de verbeelding te boven gaat’ van het Westen nadat zware Britse en Amerikaanse luchtaanvallen gisteravond doelen in door rebellen bezette gebieden van Jemen hadden beschoten.

Britse en Amerikaanse straaljagers en oorlogsschepen lanceerden meer dan 100 precisieraketten op meer dan 60 doelen in het door de Houthi’s bezette gebied in Jemen, waarbij de aanvallen een luchtmachtbasis, een luchthaven en een militair kamp troffen, wat een dramatische escalatie van de oorlog in het Midden-Oosten tot gevolg had.

De door Iran gesteunde Houthi-rebellen hebben nu beloofd op de aanvallen te zullen reageren, waarbij een functionaris zegt dat Groot-Brittannië en de VS ‘zich moeten voorbereiden om een ​​hoge prijs te betalen’ voor hun ‘flagrante agressie’.

Ali al-Qahoum, een hoge Houthi-functionaris, zwoer vergelding en zei: ‘De strijd zal groter zijn… en de verbeelding en verwachting van de Amerikanen en de Britten te boven gaan.’

Hussein al-Ezzi, een Houthi-functionaris op hun ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, ging verder en beloofde: ‘Amerika en Groot-Brittannië zullen zich ongetwijfeld moeten voorbereiden op het betalen van een hoge prijs en het dragen van alle ernstige gevolgen van deze flagrante agressie’.

Groot-Brittannië en Amerika lanceerden aanvallen vanuit zee en vanuit de lucht als reactie op maandenlange ontwrichtende aanvallen op koopvaardijschepen in de Rode Zee door de Houthi’s, waarbij een coalitie van landen, waaronder Groot-Brittannië en de VS, gedwongen werd oorlogsschepen in te zetten om hen te beschermen.

Meer dan een dozijn locaties werden gebombardeerd door westerse troepen, tijdens aanvallen, waaronder door onderzeeërs gelanceerde Tomahawk-raketten en straaljagers.

De aanvallen troffen de luchtmachtbasis Al-Dailami ten noorden van Sanaa, het vliegveld in de havenstad Hodeida, een kamp ten oosten van Saada, het vliegveld in de stad Taiz en een vliegveld bij Hajjah, aldus de nieuwszender Al-Masirah.

Vier van de Britse RAF Typhoons gebruikten Paveway IV geleide bommen om ‘precisieaanvallen uit te voeren’ op twee doelen die waren gekozen om ‘het vermogen van de Houthi’s om het internationale recht te schenden te verminderen’. Ze werden bijgestaan ​​door een RAF Voyager-tankvliegtuig.

De Amerikaanse minister van Defensie Lloyd Austin zei dat de luchtaanvallen ook gericht waren op locaties die verband houden met de onbemande drone-, ballistische en kruisraket-, kustradar- en luchtbewakingscapaciteiten van de Houthi.

Ambtenaren zeiden dat de Houthi-rebellen, die een reeks aanvallen in de Rode Zee hebben uitgevoerd om de scheepvaart te ontwrichten, een ‘laatste waarschuwing’ hadden genegeerd toen de heer Sunak gisteravond tijdens een noodkabinetsvergadering de invallen aftekende.

Iran is de afgelopen maanden betrokken geweest bij ‘elke fase’ van de Houthi-aanvallen, voegde een Amerikaanse functionaris eraan toe.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, hoofdonderhandelaar en woordvoerder van de Houthi’s, beschreef de VS en Groot-Brittannië als ‘dwaasheid begaan met deze verraderlijke agressie’.

‘Ze hadden ongelijk als ze dachten dat ze Jemen ervan zouden weerhouden Palestina en Gaza te steunen’, schreef hij online.

De Houthi ‘targeting zal gevolgen blijven hebben voor Israëlische schepen en schepen die op weg zijn naar de havens van bezet Palestina’, schreef hij.

Sinds het begin van de aanvallen in november zijn de Houthi’s echter begonnen schepen aan te vallen die zwakke of geen duidelijke banden met Israël hebben, waardoor de scheepvaart op een belangrijke route voor de wereldhandel in gevaar komt.

Daarnaast zei Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, lid van de hoogste politieke raad van de Houthi, dat de stakingen ‘barbaars’ waren.

En een adviseur van de Iraakse premier, Fadi Al-Shammari, waarschuwde vrijdag dat het Westen het conflict tussen Israël en Hamas uitbreidt en de spanningen in de regio doet toenemen.

De Britse premier Rishi Sunak beschuldigde de Houthi’s ervan ‘herhaalde waarschuwingen’ te negeren en zei in een verklaring dat de stakingen ‘noodzakelijk en proportioneel’ waren.

De heer Sunak zei in een verklaring: ‘Ondanks de herhaalde waarschuwingen van de internationale gemeenschap zijn de Houthi’s deze week doorgegaan met het uitvoeren van aanvallen in de Rode Zee, ook op Britse en Amerikaanse oorlogsschepen.

‘Dit kan niet standhouden. Het Verenigd Koninkrijk zal altijd opkomen voor de vrijheid van scheepvaart en het vrije handelsverkeer.

‘De Royal Navy blijft patrouilleren in de Rode Zee als onderdeel van de multinationale Operatie Prosperity Guardian om verdere Houthi-agressie af te schrikken, en we dringen er bij hen op aan hun aanvallen te staken en stappen te ondernemen om te de-escaleren.’

Minister van Defensie Grant Shapps voegde hieraan toe: ‘De bedreiging voor onschuldige levens en de wereldhandel is zo groot geworden dat deze actie niet alleen noodzakelijk was, maar ook onze plicht was om schepen en de vrijheid van navigatie te beschermen.’

De Amerikaanse minister van Defensie Lloyd Austin zei dat de aanvallen ‘gericht waren op locaties die verband hielden met het onbemande luchtvaartuig, de ballistische en kruisraketten, de kustradar en de luchtbewakingscapaciteiten van de Huthis’.

In een gezamenlijke verklaring van de Verenigde Staten, Groot-Brittannië, Australië, Bahrein, Canada, Denemarken, Duitsland, Nederland, Nieuw-Zeeland en Zuid-Korea staat dat het ‘doel blijft om de spanningen te de-escaleren en de stabiliteit in de Rode Zee te herstellen’.

‘Maar laat onze boodschap duidelijk zijn: we zullen niet aarzelen om levens te verdedigen en de vrije handelsstroom in een van de meest kritieke waterwegen ter wereld te beschermen in het licht van aanhoudende bedreigingen’, aldus het rapport.

De Huthis zeiden dat er ‘geen rechtvaardiging’ was voor de luchtaanvallen en waarschuwden dat de aanvallen op aan Israël gelinkte scheepvaart zouden doorgaan.

‘Wij bevestigen dat er absoluut geen rechtvaardiging is voor deze agressie tegen Jemen, aangezien er geen bedreiging was voor de internationale scheepvaart in de Rode en de Arabische Zee, en de aanvallen Israëlische schepen of schepen die op weg waren naar de havens van bezet Palestina, raakten en zullen blijven treffen. ’, schreef Huthi-woordvoerder Mohammed Abdulsalam op X, voorheen Twitter.

De Houthi’s hebben een groeiend aantal aanvallen uitgevoerd op wat zij beschouwen als met Israël verbonden schepen op de belangrijkste internationale handelsroute sinds het uitbreken van de oorlog in Gaza, aangewakkerd door de ongekende aanval van Hamas op Israël op 7 oktober.

Woensdag schoot HMS Diamond, een £1 miljard kostende Type 45 torpedobootjager die bekend staat als het juweel van de Royal Navy, een reeks drones neer die door de rebellen waren afgevuurd met een spervuur ​​van Sea Viper-raketten – die drie keer zo snel reizen als het geluid. Bij die operatie waren ook Amerikaanse straaljagers betrokken.

Dramatische beelden toonden het moment waarop de Britse torpedobootjager de enorme golf raketten en drones neerschoot die waren afgevuurd door de door Iran gesteunde rebellen.

Minister van Defensie Grant Shapps noemde de Houthi-aanval van dinsdag ‘de grootste tot nu toe’ en zei dat Groot-Brittannië actie heeft ondernomen om ‘onschuldige levens en de wereldeconomie te beschermen’. Hij zei dat geen van de bemanningsleden van HMS Diamond gewond was geraakt.

De rebellen zeggen dat hun aanvallen gericht zijn op het stoppen van de Israëlische oorlog tegen Hamas in de Gazastrook. Maar hun doelwitten worden steeds willekeuriger, waardoor het risico op een Amerikaanse vergeldingsaanval op Jemen groter wordt.

De aanvallen ontwrichten de maritieme handel via het Suezkanaal – een cruciale route die Europa met Azië en het Midden-Oosten verbindt – wat leidt tot vertragingen en prijsstijgingen voor consumenten.

De aanvallen van dinsdag door Houthi-rebellen waren de laatste druppel voor Groot-Brittannië en de VS, waarbij de twee landen een spervuur ​​van aanvallen lanceerden op de door de Houthi gecontroleerde gebieden van Jemen.

De Libanese militante groep Hezbollah, eveneens gesteund door Iran en betrokken bij grensoverschrijdend vuur met Israël, bekritiseerde de aanvallen omdat ze Amerika lieten zien als een ‘volwaardige partner in catastrofes en bloedbaden gepleegd door de zionistische entiteit in Gaza.’

Jemen is tijdens de afgelopen vier Amerikaanse presidentschappen het doelwit geweest van militaire actie van de VS.

Onder president George W. Bush begon een campagne van drone-aanvallen om de lokale afdeling van Al-Qaida aan te vallen, aanvallen die onder de regering-Biden zijn voortgezet. Ondertussen hebben de VS invallen en andere militaire operaties gelanceerd te midden van de aanhoudende oorlog in Jemen.

Die oorlog begon toen de Houthi’s in 2014 de hoofdstad Sanaa binnenvielen. Een door Saoedi-Arabië geleide coalitie, waaronder de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten, lanceerde in 2015 een oorlog om de verbannen regering van Jemen te steunen, waardoor het conflict snel veranderde in een regionale confrontatie toen Iran de Houthi’s steunde. met wapens en andere steun.

Die oorlog is echter vertraagd nu de Houthi’s hun greep op het gebied dat zij in handen hebben, behouden. De VAE kwamen in 2022 zelfs meerdere keren onder vuur van Houthi-raketten terecht. Nadat de Emiraten de oorlog hadden verlaten, bereikte Saoedi-Arabië een door China bemiddelde deal met Iran om de spanningen te verminderen in de hoop zich uiteindelijk uit de oorlog terug te trekken.

Er moet echter nog een algemeen akkoord worden bereikt, wat waarschijnlijk aanleiding zal geven tot de uiting van Saoedi-Arabië vrijdag van ‘grote bezorgdheid’ over de luchtaanvallen.

‘Hoewel het koninkrijk het belang benadrukt van het behoud van de veiligheid en stabiliteit van het Rode Zeegebied, roept het op tot terughoudendheid en het voorkomen van escalatie’, aldus het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken in een verklaring.

Iran, dat wapens en hulp heeft geleverd aan de Houthi’s, veroordeelde de aanval in een verklaring van woordvoerder Nasser Kanaani van het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken.

‘Willekeurige aanvallen zullen geen ander resultaat hebben dan het aanwakkeren van de onveiligheid en instabiliteit in de regio’, zei hij.

• *WARNING – VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES*

By Rory Tingle, Home Affairs Correspondent

Published: 05:36 EST, January 10, 2024 | Updated: 6:00 AM EST, January 10, 2024

The number of Russian casualties in the war in Ukraine will surpass half a million dead or wounded by 2025 if casualties continue at the current rate, Britain said.

An 18-hour airstrike in Ukraine killed at least 39 civilians on Friday, days after Ukraine’s deadly attack on a Russian warship in the occupied Crimean port of Feodosia, as the war continues into its 23rd month.

The average daily number of wounded or dead Russian troops increased by almost 300 per day over the course of 2023 compared to last year, according to the latest Defense Intelligence update.

Defense Secretary Grant Shapps compared the scale of the deaths and injuries to the nine-year Soviet-Afghan war, when Russia suffered 70,000 casualties.

“In Vladimir Putin’s senseless war, if casualties continue at the current rate until next year, by 2025 Russia will have suffered more than half a million deaths and injuries in three years of war,” he wrote in a post on previously Twitter.

The Defense Intelligence update said the increase “almost certainly” reflects the degradation of Russia’s armed forces and the transition to “a mass army of lower quality and large numbers since the ‘partial mobilization’ of reservists in September 2022.”

It will likely take Russia five to 10 years to rebuild a cohort of highly trained and experienced military units, the report said.

Moscow continued its assault on Ukraine on Friday, launching 122 missiles and dozens of drones across the country in an attack described by an air force official as the largest air barrage of the war.

At least 144 people were injured and an unknown number buried under rubble in the attack, which damaged a maternity hospital, apartment buildings and schools.

Western officials and analysts recently warned that Russia had limited its cruise missile attacks for months in an apparent effort to build up supplies for massive attacks over the winter, hoping to break the spirit of Ukrainians.

Fighting along the front line has been largely bogged down by winter weather after Ukraine’s summer counter-offensive failed to make a significant breakthrough along the 1,000 kilometer line of contact.

After the last Russian attack, shelling continued in eastern and southern Ukraine and in the Russian border areas.

Russia said on Saturday that 14 people, including two children, were killed and 108 injured in “indiscriminate” Ukrainian attacks, including reportedly cluster bombs, on the nearby Russian provincial capital Belgorod, and vowed to retaliate.

Kommersant newspaper quoted a source close to Russia’s Investigative Committee as saying that rockets fired from a multiple rocket launcher in Ukraine’s Kharkov region had hit an ice rink on the central Cathedral Square, a shopping center, residential buildings and a car.

Russia requested a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday to discuss the strike.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak joined Mr Shapps in condemning Russian President Putin after Friday’s attack, with Mr Shapps labeling the attacks as ‘murderous air strikes’.

The British government said hundreds of British-made air defense missiles are being shipped to Ukraine in a bid to boost its defense capabilities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has in recent weeks urged Western allies to provide the country with more air defenses to protect themselves from such air attacks.

These are signs of war fatigue, putting pressure on efforts to maintain support.

Zelensky said Kremlin forces have used a wide variety of weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles.

“Today Russia uses almost every type of weapon in its arsenal,” Zelensky said on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.

British military support to Ukraine has totaled £4.6 billion, of which £2.3 billion has been set aside until the end of the financial year.

Australia’s best-selling cars, such as the Toyota HiLux ute, popular SUVs and giant American pick-ups, will become a thing of the past under new laws mandating tough emissions standards.

Transport Secretary Catherine King announced last week that new cars sold from December 2025 – including all-wheel drive and utes – must meet European ‘harmful emissions standards’.

This pollution-reducing move could force manufacturers to sell European versions of their best-selling cars in Australia to comply with the new Euro 6d regulations – i.e. fully electric or hybrid versions.

The next generation of light cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles introduced in Australia from December 2025 will all have to meet the Albanian government’s stringent climate change requirements.

Existing production models can be sold until 2028, but would then be banned unless the petrol or diesel engines are replaced by modern versions that emit less carbon.

In a statement, Minister King said: ‘After thorough consultation with industry and the community, new versions of new cars – including SUVs and light commercial vehicles – sold from December 2025 will have to meet Euro 6d harmful emissions standards.’

Cars would meet this rule if they produce less than 162 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, based on vehicles that meet Euro 6d regulations in the EU.

That would mean the Toyota HiLux, Australia’s traditional favorite, would no longer be available in petrol or diesel.

Australia’s best-selling car in 2023 produces a total of 210 grams per kilometer.

The Ford Ranger – Australia’s bestseller for six months this year – emits 202 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

But next year Toyota will introduce a hybrid HiLux in Australia, while Ford will launch a plug-in hybrid version of the Ranger from 2025.

Several SUVs fall under the Euro 6d rule even the small Mitsubishi ASX, which Australian Automobile Association tests showed was produced 186 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

The Hyundai Tucson produced 164g/km, while the MG ZS, a regular in the monthly top ten, emitted 174g/km, the same test showed.

The Toyota LandCruiser’s future as a large four-wheel drive without a hybrid version would be in doubt because it emits 253 grams of carbon per kilometer, according to a separate analysis by the National Transport Commission.

The six-metre Ford F-150 US pick-up emits 256 grams of CO2 per kilometre, meaning it would only survive if the all-electric Lightning version were imported into Australia.

The EV versions of the Dodge RAM and Chevrolet Silverado should also come to Australia to stay sold at dealers.

Private imports of even larger pickups, such as the Ford F-350, could also be jeopardized by these new rules.

But mid-size hybrid cars like the Toyota RAV4 would pass by for now, with this SUV emitting 111 grams per kilometer.

The 2.0-litre petrol version is also said to pass Australian Automobile Association tests, which showed it emitted 155 grams of carbon per kilometer.

However, some hatchbacks could be in danger if a late model Hyundai i30 emits 172 grams per kilometer.

The Toyota Corolla hybrid produced 97 grams per kilometer, compared to 139 grams for the petrol version.

The typical car sold just two years ago would not meet the new emissions rules.

The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics estimates that new vehicles sold in Australia in 2021 will emit an average of 173.6 grams of carbon per kilometer, down from 181 grams in 2019.

By comparison, the typical new European car produced 115 grams of CO2/km, compared to 169 grams in the US.

A 2009 National Energy Efficiency Strategy recommended the introduction of CO2 emissions standards for light-duty vehicles.

It is the second measure that the Albanian government has introduced in just a few weeks to crack down on hybrids and less fuel-efficient cars.

The government announced earlier this month that from July 1, 2025, a car sold for more than $76,950 will be subject to the luxury car tax unless it consumes less than 3.5 liters per 100 km.

That means a front-wheel drive Lexus RX 350h hybrid, priced from $87,500, would have to pay a 33 percent tax for every dollar above the $76,950 threshold – which equates to $3,481.50 – because it consumes more than five liters per 100 km consumed.

Under the existing rule, cars can escape the luxury car tax threshold if they consume less than seven liters per 100 kilometers. The new measure is aimed at encouraging Australians to consider electric cars.

Like Australia, the EU has a net zero target by 2050. But unlike Australia, the European Parliament passed a law in February banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035.

Even if Australia doesn’t copy this approach, large four-wheel drive vehicles and utes will face extinction within five years unless they are sold as hybrid or fully electric cars.

From January to November, Australia’s three bestsellers – the Toyota HiLux (55,968 sales), Ford Ranger (55,589 sales) and Isuzu D-Max (28,369 sales) – were all available in diesel.

The LandCruiser also ranked No. 7 this year with 24,055 sales, according to Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries data.

However, the fully electric Tesla Model Y sold better with 27,418 sales.