{"id":114704,"date":"2024-11-10T15:52:47","date_gmt":"2024-11-10T15:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-us-to-allow-american-defence-contractors-to-work-in-ukraine-for-first-time-sky-news\/"},"modified":"2024-11-10T15:52:47","modified_gmt":"2024-11-10T15:52:47","slug":"ukraine-russia-war-latest-us-to-allow-american-defence-contractors-to-work-in-ukraine-for-first-time-sky-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-russia-war-latest-us-to-allow-american-defence-contractors-to-work-in-ukraine-for-first-time-sky-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine-Russia war latest: US to allow American defence contractors to work in Ukraine for first time – Sky News"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Joe Biden’s administration has decided to allow US defence contractors to work in Ukraine, officials announce. Wondering what Trump’s return to the White House means for the Ukraine war? Submit your question below for our experts to answer.
Friday 8 November 2024 21:35, UK
We’re now pausing our live coverage, but keep an eye on the Sky News website for the latest breaking stories surrounding Russia’s war on Ukraine.
If you’re just checking in, here is a summary of what’s happened over the past 24 hours:
A little earlier we brought you a report from Reuters news agency that US defence contractors will be allowed to work in Ukraine to maintain and repair weaponry provided by Washington.
We can bring you more information on this now from our US partner NBC News, including that the contractors will help with repairing American-provided equipment such as F-16 fighter jets and Patriot air defence systems. 
NBC understands the contractors will be located far from the frontlines and will not be fighting Russian forces. 
The extra help is being provided as some of the US-made equipment is technically difficult to maintain and repair.
The US Department of Defence made the decision after a risk assessment, and each contractor, organisation or company will need to come up with risk mitigation plans. 
As we reported earlier, one person was killed and more than 30 injured in overnight Russian attacks – see our 9.59am post<\/b><\/a>.
Below is a look at the aftermath of some of those strikes.
The EU may consider replacing Russian liquefied natural gas imports with those from the US.
That’s according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said: “We still get a lot of LNG from Russia and why not replace it by American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices.”
She added that the bloc’s approach to trade policies when Donald Trump becomes US president in January will be to look at common interests and negotiate.
The flow of LNG out of Russia represents a key source of Russian income, both for domestic businesses and, even more so, for government revenues.
While many other streams of natural resource exports are declining, the Kremlin is hoping to increase its share of global LNG market share from 8% to 20%.
However, sanctioning these vessels is a thorny business, since they are still providing large quantities of gas to Europe, which has so far stopped short of sanctioning Russian gas.
A package of sanctions unveiled in June did not place an outright ban on Russian LNG shipments.
Instead, the measures put a ban on trans-shipments off EU ports of Russian LNG – essentially preventing the commodity from being sold to third countries via EU ports.
US defence contractors will be allowed to work in Ukraine to maintain and repair weaponry provided by Washington, according to a new report.
Reuters news agency has said a US official has told them a small number of contractors will be in Ukraine, located far from the front lines.
“Having small numbers of contractors in Ukraine conducting maintenance away from the front lines will help ensure US-provided equipment can be rapidly repaired when damaged and be provided maintenance as needed,” the official said.
None will be engaged in combat, Reuters added.
The move could be one of the last made by outgoing President Joe Biden, in what will be his final weeks at the White House.
Ikea’s store operator has sold its last remaining asset in Russia, completing its exit from the country.
Ingka Group, which runs most IKEA stores globally, announced today it sold a warehouse near Moscow, joining hundreds of other foreign companies who have pulled out of Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.
“We can confirm that we have sold Esipovo Distribution Center outside of Moscow, as well as remaining land plots,” the firm said in a statement. 
“We no longer hold any assets in Russia.”
Russian business news outlet RBC reported Russian businessman Robert Uzilov is the buyer – though Ingka Group has not confirmed this.
Ingka Group had been in Russia for more than 20 years.
The group is the biggest franchisee of IKEA, with its stores in 31 countries accounting for 88% of IKEA retail sales around the world.
The invasion of Ukraine sparked a mass exodus of multinationals from the Russian market, wary of a potential consumer backlash should they stay.
Starbucks and McDonald’s were among those to pull out as the West unleashed sanctions on Moscow and sought to isolate Russia’s economy.
But nearly two and half years on, more than 2,000 foreign firms remain in Russia, according to the Kyiv School of Economics.
That is compared to around 1,750 that have either scaled back their operations or left completely.<\/p>\n

By Faye Brown<\/a>, political reporter<\/b>
Concessions “on both sides” are needed to end the war in Ukraine, Nigel Farage has told us.
Mr Farage, an ally of Donald Trump who has just returned from the US, suggested Kyiv would gain “quite a lot from settling” – but wouldn’t say if this includes giving up land to Russia.
Asked about the president-elect’s claims he could end the war in Ukraine quickly, Mr Farage said: “Well, the war is horrendous. There are nearly a million battle casualties. It’s like the battle of the Somme with drones.
“We have two options. We can keep feeding Ukraine, and that’s fine. And the war goes on for another year, two years, five years. The casualties mount. 
“What Trump has said is he wants to attempt to broker a peace deal.”
And that, he said, would require “concessions on both sides”.
Read his remarks in full here<\/b><\/a>…
According to a report in the US, Donald Trump’s call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday left the Ukrainian president “somewhat reassured”.
Axios<\/b><\/a> reports the call included Elon Musk – who is tipped to be part of Mr Trump’s team and backed the president-elect heavily during the campaign – citing two sources with knowledge of the conversation.
The fact the call, which the report claims lasted 25 minutes, happened so soon after Mr Trump was declared the winner of the US election was seen as a “positive sign” by the Ukrainian president.
Mr Trump said he will support Ukraine, the report adds, but he didn’t go into details.
Private conversations have taken place between Mr Trump’s team and Mr Zelenskyy over the past two months, Axios claims.
The news outlet adds three sources told them Mr Zelenskyy felt the call went “well” and “did not increase his anxiety about Trump’s victory”. 
In an interview with our US partner network NBC News yesterday, Mr Trump said he has spoken with Mr Zelenskyy, but he didn’t divulge details. 
He added he has not yet spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but said: “I think we’ll speak.”
Russia has lost more than 700,000 troops since the beginning of its war more than two and a half years ago, according to Ukraine’s military.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces claims 705,880 soldiers have been killed, including 1,580 over the past 24 hours.
These figures have not been independently verified.
They added 9,233 tanks, 20,226 artillery systems and 329 helicopters have been destroyed.
In recent weeks, reports have suggested North Korea has sent troops to fight in the war, with NATO members today warning their deployment marks a “dangerous expansion”.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken last week claimed 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia, with up to 8,000 in the Kursk border region.
He added the troops have been trained by Russian forces in artillery, drones and “basic infantry operations, including trench clearing” – describing their mobilisation as a “clear sign of weakness”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday “a more decisive response from Western countries” is needed in response to North Korea’s “new role” in the war.
While a defeat for the Democrats in the presidential election has widely been seen as bad news for Ukraine’s leaders, one report suggests the change of White House resident may be less unpopular in Kyiv than most assumed.
According to an article in The Economist, “many senior officials” in Ukraine were hoping for a Trump victory.
It says they had grown tired of Joe Biden’s frequent proclamations of strong support while refusing to allow them to use long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia and failing to avoid lengthy delays in military aid. 
“Faced with the choice of continued bare life-support or a wildcard president who would rip up the rules and almost certainly cut aid, they were prepared to gamble,” the report says.
Trump has previously promised to end the war within 24 hours of becoming president, although many fear that any deal he reaches with Vladimir Putin will involve major Ukrainian concessions – which would do little to deter further aggression from the Russian leader in Europe.
Be the first to get Breaking News<\/span>
Install the Sky News app for free<\/p>\n

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