Closing summary
Hungary’s ruling party reportedly boycotted a parliamentary session on Sweden’s Nato membership, postponing a vote by the last alliance member to approve the expansion of the defensive alliance.
“The Netherlands Ministry of Defence is readying six additional F-16 fighter aircraft for delivery to Ukraine,” Kajsa Ollongren, the Dutch defence minister, announced.
Russia launched an attack against the southern city of Kherson on Monday, killing at least four residents and injuring one other person, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said.
US senators on Sunday evening released the details of a highly anticipated $118bn package that pairs federal enforcement policy on the US-Mexico border with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and others. However, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said the deal was “worse than expected” and that it “will be dead on arrival” were it to reach his chamber.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he is considering a “reset” to replace several senior officials, amid ongoing speculation that he is preparing to fire the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces. “It is a question of the people who are to lead Ukraine. A reset is necessary, I am talking about a replacement of a number of state leaders, not only in the army sector,” Zelenskiy said. Speculation has gripped Ukraine for weeks that the president is close to dismissing the highly popular commander of the armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
Zelenskiy submitted a proposal to the Ukrainian parliament to extend martial law and general mobilisation for another 90 days. The president first declared martial law and general mobilisation on 24 February 2022, when Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The measure has been repeatedly extended since then.
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The UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has insisted the UK would be able to defend itself properly if Russia turned its intentions towards the country.
Asked whether Britain has the capability in an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored, he said:
Yes, and my first job is to keep everybody safe. Unfortunately, the world is becoming less safe and we can see that obviously with the situation in Russia and Ukraine.
I actually, oddly by coincidence, was in Ukraine at the same time that we were participating with the US on self-defence strikes against the Houthi group and that kind of demonstrates the world we are living in.
So, that is why we have increased our investment in defence spending and it is something that I spend more and more time on.
Sunak said his job is “to put the right investment in – which I have done. I did that first of all as chancellor, where we put the largest increase of funding into the MoD (Ministry of Defence) since the end of the cold war.”
He added:
Now how that is split between all the different things that the armed forces think they need, whether it is new technology, equipment, personnel, is more a function of them and what they think is the best way to protect ourselves and do what we need to do, as opposed to me.
But, in general, do I think we are well protected, well invested? Yes. We are the second biggest defence spender in Nato.
The prime minister’s comments come after MPs being told that the UK’s ability to fight an all-out war would be marred by the armed forces’ capability, stockpile shortages and a recruitment crisis.
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