Defence leaders are in the process of developing options for President Joe Biden on America's military presence in Europe, the Pentagon's top officer told the Senate on Thursday.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee that a list of options will be presented to Mr Biden and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin pertaining to reconfiguring US posture in Europe.
The goals are “to assure our allies and deter an adversary, specifically Russia”, he said.
Mr Austin told the committee that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will undoubtedly change the US military footprint across Europe, but the degree of those changes has yet to be determined.
Those decisions are likely to be made at the next Nato summit on June 29, Mr Austin said.
The US currently has troops deployed across Eastern Europe and nearly 100,000 across the continent. While it has permanent bases across Western Europe, US troops in the East are rotated through facilities run by ally countries.
The defence chief told Congress that Moscow has not engaged in military dialogue with Washington since mid-February. “We've not been very successful because the Russians have not responded,” Mr Austin said.
Asked if he was alarmed by the snub, the US defence secretary said he was “disappointed".
“Based upon what they've done, nothing surprises me. And it doesn't mean that we'll stop reaching out to engage them," he said.
Both Mr Austin and Gen Milley expect a prolonged conflict in Ukraine.
“There's a significant battle yet ahead down in the south-east, down around the Donbas region where the Russians intend to amass forces and continue their assault,” Gen Milley said.
He argued that it is still an open question as to how the war will end, despite the Russian retreat from Kyiv.
“Ideally, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin decides to [implement a] ceasefire, stops his aggression, and there’s some sort of diplomatic intervention, but right now that doesn't look like it's on the immediate horizon,” Gen Milley said.
“It's going to be a long slog.”
Mr Austin saw Russia as refocusing on an offensive on the east and south of Ukraine.
“Putin thought that he could very rapidly take over the country of Ukraine, very rapidly capture this capital city, he was wrong … Putin has probably has given up on that,” Mr Austin said.
Ukraine has received about 25,000 anti-aircraft weapons systems and 60,000 anti-tank systems from the US and its allies, helping Kyiv prevent Russia from establishing air superiority that would have aided Moscow's ground invasion, Gen Milley said.
“The Ukrainians … are very, very thankful, extraordinarily thankful,” Gen Milley told the committee.
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Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
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- Adam Holloway
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Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
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