Ukraine war: NATO's refusal to set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine 'a sign of weakness

NATO's failure to set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine is a "sign of weakness", says Ukraine's foreign minister. NATO says such a move would risk a wider war in Europe. Ukraine's president makes a 'desperate plea' to US lawmakers for planes and drones. Russian forces advance on a third nuclear site. Radiation levels at Zaporizhzhya, Europe's largest, are normal, says IAEA. The next round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place on Monday. On Saturday, Russia said it would allow the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha. But evacuations were postponed in Donetsk Oblast amid claims Russian troops had violated the ceasefire. Battles have continued northwest of Kyiv and heavy strikes have hit Kharkiv and Okhtyrka. Ukrainian forces were said to be still holding Chernihiv in the north. The UN Human Rights Office said that 351 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the beginning of the invasion. More than 1.3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion began 10 days ago.

Read more at: Ukraine war: NATO's refusal to set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine 'a sign of weakness' | Euronews

Nato lacking strike aircraft for Libya campaign - by Adrian

Nato is running short of attack aircraft for its bombing campaign against Muammar Gaddafi only days after taking command of the Libyan mission from a coalition led by the US, France, and Britain. David Cameron has pledged four more British Tornado jets on top of eight already being used for the air strikes. But pressure is growing for other European countries, especially France, to offer more after the Americans withdrew their attack aircraft from the campaign on Monday.

"We will need more strike capability," a Nato official said.

Since the French launched the first raids on Libya 16 days ago, the coalition and Nato have destroyed around 30% of Gaddafi's military capacity, Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, the Canadian officer leading the air campaign, told Nato ambassadors. But attempts to "degrade" the Libyan leader's firepower further were being complicated by a shift in tactics by Gaddafi, said Brigadier-General Marc van Uhm, a senior Nato military planner.

Six countries are believed to be engaged in the bombing campaign — France, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway — with many others involved in policing an arms embargo and enforcing a no-fly zone.

For more: Nato lacking strike aircraft for Libya campaign | World news | guardian.co.uk

Libya: NATO counts on European firepower in Libya as US pulls back

NATO will depend on Europe's aerial firepower to keep up momentum in the mission to protect civilians in Libya when the US military withdraws into a backup role later Monday, officials said.

The United States has conducted half of around 70 daily air bombing missions against Moamer Kadhafi's ground forces during the campaign, but US fighter jets will pull out of the frontline within hours, NATO officials said.

US President Barack Obama, whose troops are already facing the brunt of the fighting in the NATO-led war in Afghanistan, has been in a hurry to wind down US operations in Libya and move to a support role to the 28-nation alliance.

For more: AFP: NATO counts on European firepower in Libya as US pulls back

Libya: Swedish Gripen fighter planes headed to Libya

Three Swedish fighter jets headed Saturday to Sardinia en route to taking part in NATO operations against the regime of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, a military spokesman said. The three JAS Gripen fighters, of a total nine aircraft pledged by Sweden, took off at 10.00am from the Ronneby base on Sweden's southern
coast, army spokesman Rickard Wissman told AFP. Another five Gripens and a C-130 Hercules usable for mid-air refueling were  to leave early Sunday, he said.

For more: Swedish Gripen planes headed to Libya - The Local

Greece’s Souda Military Base is a Key Player in Libya | Greece.GreekReporter.com Latest News from Greece

Greece’s military base at Souda is developing into a key player for the coalitions forces bombarding defense positions in Libya, in order to apply what diplomats call a No Fly Zone. A source at The Greek Defense Ministry told portal onalert that 60 to 100 fighter aircrafts are expected to use the bases of Souda (Crete), Andravida (Patras) and Aktio (Preveza). Most probably the air force bases at Araxos (Peloponnese), Kasteli (Crete) and Tanagra (Boeotia) will be also used to absorb the huge amount of fighter jets.

Last night 6 F-16 and one C-130 form Norway landed at Souda. The eight F-16 from Belgium, currently stationed at Araxos, have requested a Souda deployment.

For more: Greece’s Souda Military Base is a Key Player in Libya | Greece.GreekReporter.com Latest News from Greece

Libya: French fighter plane destroys first Libyan aircraft

The first Libya aircraft to be destroyed after it breached the no-fly zone was shot down by a French fighter as coalition attacks on Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces intensified on Thursday.

The Libyan combat plane was destroyed as it came in to land. French surveillance aircraft had spotted it flying near the city of Misurata in violation of the UN Security Council resolution. A French Rafale fighter fired a guided air-to-ground missile, possibly the highly accurate AASM, on the jet as it landed at a nearby airbase

For more: Libya: French fighter plane destroys first Libyan aircraft - Telegraph

Libya: Dutch Soldiers to Join Military Mission in Libya

The Dutch government has decided to send 200 troops to join the military actions against Libya, local media reported on Tuesday.

The country will also dispatch six F-16 jet fighters and one mine-hunter ship, according to reports of the Dutch state news agency.

Defense Minister Hans Hillen told reporters the Dutch contribution was for three months, after which NATO and the Netherlands would decide whether and how to continue the mission. The jet fighters and ship will start operations within a few days.

For more: Dutch Soldiers to Join Military Mission in Libya

Libya : U.S. jet crashes in Libya after technical problems; crew members safe - by David S. Cloud

Two Air Force aviators were rescued after they bailed out of a U.S. fighter jet late Monday before it crashed in northeast Libya, apparently due to a mechanical malfunction, the U.S. military said.

Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III said both crew members were in U.S. hands.

A U.S. military official said one of the crew members was found by a U.S. search and rescue team and the other was found by Libyan rebels and was safe

Libya crash: U.S. jet crashes in Libya; crew members safe - latimes.com

Libya: British RAF jets also attack Libyan targets

RAF Tornado Eurofighter jets have joined in the operation to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya as the international community swung into action against Muammar Gaddafi. The British Military of Defence confirmed Stormshadow missiles were launched from Tornado GR4 fast jets, which flew 3,000 miles from RAF Marham in Norfolk and back.

As part of a co-ordinated strike, a barrage of 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles - some of them British - was also fired at Libya to knock out the dictator's air defence systems at more than 20 coastal locations. A Royal Navy Trafalgar-class submarine stationed in the Mediterranean took part in the co-ordinated assault, which also involved forces from the US, France, Italy and Canada under the operational control of US Africa Command. The missiles targeted radar systems and ground-to-air missile sites around the cities of Tripoli and Misrata in what was described as "the first phase of a multi-phase operation", clearing the way for allied planes to take control of the skies. Shortly afterwards, at least three Tornado jets took off from RAF Marham.

Defense Secretary Liam Fox said: "The fast jets flew 3,000 miles from RAF Marham and back, making this the longest range bombing mission conducted by the RAF since the Falklands conflict. This operation was supported by VC10 and Tristar air-to-air refuelling aircraft as well as E3D Sentry and Sentinel surveillance aircraft."

For more: The Press Association: RAF jets attack Libyan targets

Libya: French Warplanes Strike First Targets

French war planes pounded Libyan targets this evening, the first foreign strikes enforcing a United Nations "no-fly" zone over Libya, following an emergency international summit in Paris earlier in the day.

A French military spokesman said his forces targeted a vehicle that was threatening civilians in Libya. But news reports say the French fighters also destroyed four Libyan tanks near the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy announced today that representatives of the U.N., European Union, Arab League and Western powers had agreed to use all necessary means, including military force, at their Paris summit. Mr. Sarkozy, stressed the fact that the despite the UN-backed intervention, the fight in Libya belonged to the Libyan people.

"If we intervene on the side of Arab people it is not to impose our will on the Libyan people, but because our universal conscience cannot tolerate such crimes," he said, referring to attacks on the civilian population. "We do it to protect the civilian population from the madness of a regime that is killing its own people. They have lost all legitimacy", said Sarkozy.

EU-Digest

BENGHAZI - HELP IS ON THE WAY - Europe And Its Allies Ready To Enforce UN No-Fly-Zone Libya And Remove Gaddafi From Power

World leaders met today in a Paris summit hosted by President Sarkozy of France that could be the final step before immediate European military action against Moammar Gadhafi’s forces in Libya.
                                                                                              
Eurofighters patrolling Europe’s southern perimeter

Unfortunately the incursion into Benghazi and other cities by Gadhafi’s forces could vastly complicate any international intervention, by allowing the troops to mingle in with the
population — making air-strikes against them difficult. In the meantime six Danish fighter jets landed at the naval air station in Sigonella, Sicily, on Saturday joining other fighter jets from Europe.. Danish air force spokesman Lars Skjoldan said they would be ready for operation in Libya by Sunday. Italy has offered the use of seven air and navy bases already housing U.S., NATO and Italian forces. Sigonella’s size and close proximity to Libya makes it a key staging point.

Surveillance AWACS planes flying off the Libyan coast are already providing 24-hour coverage of the situation in the air and on the battlefields. Analysts said no-fly zone aircraft would be flying from military bases such as in Sigonella, Sicily, Aviano in northern Italy, Istres in southern France, and Ventiseri-Solenzara in Corsica. Germany has supported U.N. measures for stricter sanctions against the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but abstained on the vote about military intervention. Germany has, however, committed radar expertise and logistic support.

Spain, which already has a patrol boat and a submarine stationed off the coast of Libya, offered NATO two air-force bases on Friday in the south of the country for any military operation against the north African country. 

Alliance military planners said they could deploy dozens of fighter-bombers, tankers, air surveillance aircraft, and drones to a string of air bases along Europe’s southern perimeter. They would serve as launching points for patrols over Libya. Officials said an “execute order’’ could launch the operation as early as this weekend. What worries military planners, however, are Libya’s plentiful antiaircraft guns and light, short-range shoulder-launched missiles — systems which proved very effective against NATO aircraft during the Kosovo war, said a diplomat who asked not to be identified.

In contrast, European military planners say the Alliance has 200 to 300 modern jets that could be quickly deployed to Libya from bases stretching from Gibraltar to Greece, and from French and British carriers in the Mediterranean Sea. These would include top-of-the-line Eurofighter Typhoons, used by British, Italian, and Spanish air forces. Also available are the formidable French Dassault Rafale fighters.

As one Eurofighter jet pilot based at the Sigonella Airforce base in Italy said: "Hang in there Benghazi, help is on the way".

EU-Digest

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NATO European forces prepares for Libya action as Libyan government troops continue fighting

Fighting continued Friday in Libya despite the government's declaration of a cease-fire to comply after the U.N. resolution passed a day earlier.

President Barack Obama and other Western leaders said military response would be swift if Gadhafi forces continue attacking protesters trying to end his 42-year rule.

Explosions and anti-aircraft fire were reported late Friday in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi, but government officials insisted Gadhafi troops were not violating the U.N. resolution passed a day earlier.

For more: NATO European F\forces prepares for Libya action - World news - Mideast/N. Africa - msnbc.com

Britain, France take the lead to enforce no-fly zone

Britain and France took the lead in plans to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya on Friday, sending British warplanes to the Mediterranean and announcing a crisis summit in Paris with the U.N. and Arab allies.

France said it was ready for possible military action, but with Libya declaring a cease-fire and the United States keeping quiet about its own military role, questions remained about when any action would come — and what its consequences would be.

In a joint statement to Gadhafi late Friday, the United States, Britain and France — backed by unspecified Arab countries — said a cease-fire must begin "immediately" in Libya, the French presidential palace said.

For more: Britain, France take the lead to enforce no-fly zone | The Salt Lake Tribune

Libyan rebels in Benghazi celebrate UN's historic no-fly zone vote

Shortly before midnight, the streets of Libya's de facto rebel capital, Benghazi, were quiet, nearly deserted.
A few minutes after midnight, tracer bullets and celebratory machine-gun fire were racing into the air from every direction and residents piled into their cars for a massive street party.

In between, the United Nations Security Council voted by 10-0 to not only impose a no-fly zone over eastern Libya but to allow for “all necessary measures” short of an occupation to protect the country’s civilians from Col. Muammar Qaddafi, the dictator who’s ruled Libya for nearly 42 years.

For more: Libyan rebels in Benghazi celebrate UN's historic no-fly zone vote - CSMonitor.com