ISRAELI IDF SPECIAL FORCES VETERANS ARE TRAINING UKRAINIANS IN THE ISRAELI COMBAT SYSTEM
# US Senate passes $40 billion Ukraine bill
The US Senate voted on Thursday to pass a $40 billion package of military and economic aid to Ukraine. The bill gifts Kiev nearly $20 billion in weapons, ammunition and training, and dramatically boosts the budget of the US State Department.
The bill passed by 86 votes to 11, and President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law immediately. Of the 11 Senators who opposed the bill, all were Republicans.
Under the bill, Ukraine receives $19.75 billion worth of military aid, including salaries for its troops, weapons, and intelligence support from the US military. Some of this figure is also allocated to pay US troops deployed in Europe and replenish US stocks of arms already sent to Ukraine.
The US State Department is also set to receive a windfall of $13.9 billion, with $8.8 billion of that to be sent on to Ukraine and $4 billion heading to the militaries of Ukraine and its neighbors.
At $40 billion, the bill is more than six times larger than Ukraine’s entire annual defense budget.
US reveals record number of its troops in Poland
The US ambassador to Poland revealed on Thursday that there are 12,600 of America’s military personnel in the EU member state at the moment, the largest number in history. As NATO conducts massive exercises on Ukraine’s doorstep, Poland and the Baltic states have asked for even more troops, according to documents leaked to the press earlier.
“I am very grateful to Poland for hosting so many American troops on its territory. At the moment, 12,600 soldiers are on the territory of the Polish Republic. This is more than ever before in history,” Polish media quoted Ambassador Mark Brzezinski as saying on Thursday, during his visit to NATO’s Defender Europe 22 military exercises.
Poland ready to build ‘permanent’ NATO bases
Warsaw is ready to build permanent military installations to house “light infantry units” of the US-led NATO bloc, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday. The PM urged further NATO military buildup in Eastern Europe amid the ongoing Russian offensive in Ukraine.
“Permanent allied bases should be built in the countries of the eastern flank of NATO. Poland is ready to build such bases that would be provided for the permanent deployment of light infantry units,” he told the Strategic Ark forum in Warsaw.
Continuing NATO military buildup is the only way to “deter” Russia, the PM argued, calling for ramping up military aid for Ukraine as well. Warsaw has been among the most active combat suppliers to Kiev in the ongoing conflict, sending old Soviet-made tanks and other hardware for Ukrainian troops.
Meanwhile. Israel to simulate attack on Iran – media
For the first time, the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) major ‘Chariots of Fire’ exercises will include practice drills for a “wide-scale strike in Iran,” the Times of Israel reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
The drills over the Mediterranean Sea will begin on May 29 during the fourth and final week of the month-long exercises.
“In light of growing uncertainty regarding a return by Iran to the 2015 nuclear deal, amid long-stalled negotiations with the United States, the Israel Defense Forces in the past year has ramped up its efforts to prepare a credible military threat against Tehran’s nuclear facilities,” the newspaper said.
According to the newspaper, a potential strike by Israel on Iran poses several challenges for the IAF: It has to find ways to shell the Iranian nuclear facilities that are located deep underground, to somehow bypass “increasingly sophisticated” Iranian air defenses, and to prepare for retaliation by Iran and its allies.