Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has voiced opposition to NATO’s intentions to establish significant military bases in Eastern Europe aimed at enhancing weapons deliveries to Ukraine. In an interview with Kossuth radio, Orban criticized NATO’s strategy, highlighting Hungary’s dissent as the sole NATO member opposing the initiative.

Orban expressed skepticism about NATO’s approach, asserting that the alliance’s focus on military solutions to the Ukraine conflict is misguided. He emphasized the need for a ceasefire and peaceful negotiations instead of escalating military actions. According to Orban, NATO plans to establish what he termed a ’Ukrainian mission’, involving the coordination of weapon transfers from bases in Poland, Slovakia, and Romania—countries sharing borders with Ukraine.

Despite NATO’s proposal, Orban stated that Hungary will not participate in this endeavor, citing concerns about potentially making Hungary a target for Russian military action. He emphasized Hungary’s refusal to allocate funds or provide its territory for the initiative, reiterating that Hungary will abstain from any military actions outside Ukraine. Läs artikel

Tidligere i vår skrev medlem Mayhan Rostamkhel i Unge Høyre et innlegg som oppfordret til økt støtte til Ukraina. Dette kan ikke bare forverre krigen og situasjonen for den ukrainske befolkning, men også øke trusselen mot Norge, i og med at vi er et naboland av Russland.

Det er forståelig at krigen vekker sterke følelser, men vi må tenke kritisk på konsekvensene. En ensidig vektlegging av massiv økonomisk støtte til Ukraina kan ha alvorlige økonomiske og sikkerhetsmessige implikasjoner for Norge. […]

Gjennom historien har FN tatt improviserte grep ved to anledninger for å begrense et medlemslands deltakelse da det var nødvendig. Nå står Europa overfor en høy risiko, og FN bør sterkt vurdere å gjenta historien ved å iverksette lignende tiltak for å skape fred mellom Ukraina og Russland

I stedet for å eskalere konflikten med mer våpen, mener jeg vi bør fokusere på diplomati. Historien viser at militære løsninger ofte fører til langvarige konflikter. Norge har en sterk tradisjon for fredsmekling som bør utnyttes. Läs artikel

Russiske styrker har skutt mot ukrainske mål fra eget territorium, og på grunn av restriksjonene som var lagt på bruken av blant annet amerikanske våpen, hadde Ukraina begrensede muligheter til å skyte tilbake. I praksis fungerte dermed russisk territorium som en trygg sone for angrep mot Ukraina.

– Ettersom vi ser styrkene utføre slike operasjoner fra andre siden av grensen, har vi forklart at Ukraina også kan ha rett til å skyte tilbake for å forsvare seg, sa Pentagons talsperson general Pat Ryder på en pressekonferanse torsdag.

Pentagon opplyser at Ukraina har tillatelse til å bruke langtrekkende missiler fra USA til å ramme mål i Russland, og at dette ikke bare gjelder like over frontlinjen ved Kharkiv i nordøst. Forutsetningen er at det er snakk om selvforsvar.

Pentagon hevder de nye tillatelsene ikke utgjør noen ny praksis fra deres side.

– Dette handler ikke om geografi. Dette er sunn fornuft, sier Pentagon-talsmann Charlie Dietz. Läs artikel

[…] German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck once remarked: “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” His remark could be amended: A wise country learns not just from the mistakes of others, but also from what they’ve done right. The United States should not seek to become more like China (though former U.S. President Donald Trump clearly envies its one-party system), but it could learn a thing or two from Beijing’s more pragmatic and self-interested approach to the rest of the world. […]

First, and most obviously, China has avoided the costly quagmires that have repeatedly ensnared the United States. Even as its power has grown, Beijing has been leery of taking on potentially costly commitments abroad. It hasn’t promised to go to war to defend Iran, for example, or to protect its various economic partners in Africa, Latin America, or Southeast Asia. It is supplying Russia with militarily valuable dual-use technologies (and getting paid well for it), but Beijing isn’t sending Russia lethal weaponry, debating whether to send military advisors, or contemplating sending its own troops to help Russia win the war. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin may talk a lot about their “no-limits” partnership, but China continues to drive hard bargains in its dealings with Russia, most notably in demanding that it get Russian oil and gas at bargain prices. Läs artikel

En svensk har tilldelats den amerikanska medaljen Defense Meritorious Service Medal. Det är förvaltare Fredrik Flink från Försvarsmaktens vinterenhet vid I 19 som tilldelats medaljen på beslut av U.S Special Operations Command.[…]

Utbildning av utländska förband i vinterstrid sker även på plats i Sverige under vinterenhetens regi sedan flera år tillbaka. Men efterfrågan på kurserna har varit och är omättlig. Flinks utlåning till USA är ett resultat av den efterfrågan och en handgriplig fördjupning i försvarssamarbetet mellan USA och Sverige.

Flinks amerikanske motsvarighet och kollega, Ross Challinor från WWD, fanns också på plats vid medaljeringen.
– Det var helt avgörande att Flink kom till oss i en tid då Arktis verkligen började vara i ropet på allvar och alla ville lära sig subarktisk strid. Ingen av oss förstod till fullo innebar innan Fredrik kom till oss, säger Ross Challinor. Läs  pressmeddelande

Ingen sosse, liberal, moderat, kristdemokrat, centerpartist eller sverigedemokrat vågade räta på ryggen och rösta nej till DCA-avtalet. Partipiskan ven och bekräftade bland annat att socialdemokratin har en lång väg att vandra innan det blir ett demokratiskt parti för politisk medvetna, fria och tänkande människor.

I tisdags segrade dumheten i riksdagen liksom en förnedrande underkastelse för en stormakt (USA) som sällan har respekterat mindre länders oberoende, suveränitet och enskilda medborgare. Alla riksdagsledamöter som röstade för avtalet bör hållas ansvariga när amerikanska styrkors män börjar härja i landet. […]

Vi som kämpat mot detta avtal är inga Putinkramare. Vi är väl medvetna om konsekvenserna av Rysslands fullskaliga aggressionskrig mot Ukraina och stödjer Ukraina fullt ut på dess egna villkor. Vi är också beredda att fullt ut försvara vår egen frihet och vårt oberoende mot ryska hot och rysk aggression. Men det ska ske under värdiga former, rakryggat och stolt. Inte hukande och undergivet en annan stormakt, vilket DCA-avtalet innebär. Läs artikel

In the new Svalbard white paper, the Norwegian government wants to facilitate international research on the archipelago while simultaneously clarifying Norwegian research leadership. Svalbard researcher Arild Moe says the white paper says the white paper affirms Norwegian jurisdiction on Svalbard.

Norwegian Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl presented the long-awaited Svalbard white paper at the end of May. And although the previous one came in 2016, an acceleration of the white paper was announced last year.

It was then highlighted that the world was changing, both geopolitically and environmentally, which again made a new Svalbard white paper necessary before 2026. […]

Svalbard researcher Tiril Vold Hansen from Nord University says to High North News that although the government argues that environmental concerns are key here, one can also interpret the measure geopolitically.

”One could also look at this as a measure to prevent foreign research actors from establishing themselves on Svalbard, thereby making it harder for other states to consolidate their presence on Svalbard and in the Arctic. Here, it is natural to highlight Russia’s announced plans to develop a research station and research cooperation with Brazil, India, China, and South Africa,” says the researcher. Läs artikel

The meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels on 13–14 June was a success for Finland, according to Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen (NCP).

Häkkänen on Friday told YLE that Finland secured support from all members of the defence alliance for its three key objectives for the meeting: establishing a ground command unit and a ground-force presence in Finland, and re-organise all Nordics under the US-based Joint Force Command Norfolk.

[…] In practice, it is possible for the U.S. and other Western countries to stay out of a conflict that involves a NATO country without having to break their alliance commitments. The NATO treaty’s language contains loopholes that let member countries remain out of other members’ wars in certain situations. […]

One key part of the NATO treaty that countries sign when they join the alliance is called Article 5. This says that an “armed attack” against one NATO member in Europe or North America “shall be considered an attack against them all.”

In the case of such an attack, NATO countries agree to assist the country that requires help, including through “the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”

But the treaty does not include a clear definition of a what an “armed attack” actually is.

This mattered in February 2020, when Turkey asked for a NATO meeting and requested that NATO intervene with military force in response to Russian and Syrian forces’ attacks on its territory, which had killed 33 Turkish soldiers, during the Syrian civil war. NATO allies chose not to defend Turkey with military force, arguing that the level of violence against Turkey wasn’t enough to call it an “armed attack.” Läs artikel