UK Sends Missiles to Ukraine, Welcomes Refugees

Ukrainian soldiers training with NLAW military materiel during a drill in western Ukraine (EPA)
Ukrainian soldiers training with NLAW military materiel during a drill in western Ukraine (EPA)
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UK Sends Missiles to Ukraine, Welcomes Refugees

Ukrainian soldiers training with NLAW military materiel during a drill in western Ukraine (EPA)
Ukrainian soldiers training with NLAW military materiel during a drill in western Ukraine (EPA)

A British official said he was satisfied with the weapons his country was sending to help the Ukrainian army against the Russian offensive.

The official did not elaborate, but it was evident that he was pleased with the weapons seeing a video footage from Ukraine showing the British missile launchers destroying large numbers of Russian tanks and armored vehicles.

Britain, along with the US, was one of the first countries to provide Ukraine with advanced "lethal" weapons described as "defensive" - weeks before the Russian military operation on February 24.

The first batch of British aid, on January 17, included at least 2,000 Next Generation Light Antitank Weapons (NLAW), in addition to weapons, ammunition, armor, helmets, military boots, food, and communications and positioning equipment.

On March 9, the Minister of Defense, Ben Wallace, revealed that his country intends to supply military aid to the Ukrainian armed forces.

"In response to further acts of aggression by Russia, we have now increased that supply. I can update the House that, as of today, we have delivered 3,615 NLAWs and continue to deliver more," Wallace told the House of Commons.

He indicated that the government would shortly start the delivery of a small consignment of anti-tank Javelin missiles.

"I want to assure the House that everything we do is bound by the decision to supply defensive systems and is calibrated not to escalate to a strategic level."

The government has decided to explore the donation of Starstreak high-velocity, man-portable anti-air missiles.

"We believe that this system will remain within the definition of defensive weapons but will allow the Ukrainian forces to better defend their skies," said the minister.

On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said that the Russian missile strikes on a Ukrainian base near the Polish border are deeply concerning but will not deter Britain from continuing to provide Ukraine with defensive weapons.

The announcement came after Russian missile strikes targeted a major Ukrainian base near the border with Poland that British soldiers used last year to train Ukrainian soldiers to use anti-tank missiles.

A spokesman for the British Foreign Office told Asharq Al-Awsat that the United Kingdom was the leading European country supporting Ukraine's sovereignty.

He recalled that since 2015, British forces had trained more than 22,000 members of the Ukrainian armed forces, and the government approved a £1.7 billion loan to develop Ukraine's maritime capabilities.

He noted that the European Union and many other countries have begun sending defensive weapons to Ukraine.

The spokesman clarified that the UK remains a solid supporter of Ukraine's request for NATO membership per the NATO Bucharest Summit Declaration in 2008.

At the Bucharest Summit, NATO Allies welcomed Ukraine's and Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership and agreed that these countries would become members of NATO.

The spokesman noted that Ukraine has the right to choose its alliances, its future, and Russia, according to its repeated agreements, has no right to dictate that choice on the Ukrainians.

The British support for Ukraine also extends to other non-military areas.

The British government launched the most comprehensive campaign against the wealthy Russians accused of having ties to President Vladimir Putin.

The government froze their assets, estimated at billions of dollars. It also imposed sanctions on a wide range of Russian companies and senior officials, including 386 members of the State Duma who voted to recognize the independence of Lugansk and Donetsk.

Britain also provided financial support to the Ukrainian government to help it deal with the repercussions of the Russian attack.

It launched a campaign to encourage its citizens to host Ukrainian families fleeing their country.

The new scheme called "Homes for Ukraine" will let refugees from the war come to Britain even if they do not have family ties, the government said on Sunday.

Britain will pay people 350 pounds ($456) a month if they can offer refugees a spare room or property for a minimum period of six months.

The government will also support municipalities to provide free education, health care, and assistance to those entitled to residing and working in Britain for three years before applying to settle their situation and stay in this country.

The government says there is no limit for the Ukrainian refugees, but tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees could come to the UK.

However, Ukraine's neighboring countries currently host at least 2.7 million displaced persons amid expectations that more of them will arrive as the Russian offensive heats up.



Earthquake Kills 8 Members of Same Family near Afghan Capital

Previous earthquake in Afghanistan (Archive-Reuters)
Previous earthquake in Afghanistan (Archive-Reuters)
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Earthquake Kills 8 Members of Same Family near Afghan Capital

Previous earthquake in Afghanistan (Archive-Reuters)
Previous earthquake in Afghanistan (Archive-Reuters)

An earthquake that struck Afghanistan overnight killed eight members of the same family in Kabul province, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The 5.8-magnitude quake struck at 8.42 pm (1612 GMT) on Friday at a depth of 186 kilometers (115 miles) at the epicenter in northeastern Badakhshan province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Shaking was felt in multiple parts of the country, including the capital Kabul, according to AFP journalists.

"In the Gosfand Dara area of Kabul Province, eight members of a family died as a result of the earthquake," Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said in a message to media.

He added that a child aged around two years old was the only survivor from the household and the country's disaster management agency said the boy had been injured in the tremor.

Afghanistan is frequently jolted by earthquakes, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.

In August, a shallow magnitude 6 earthquake wiped out mountainside villages and killed more than 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan, making it the deadliest tremor in the country's recent history.


Ukrainian Drone and Missile Attack Kills at Least One in Southern Russia

Rescue workers try to put out a fire caused by the fragments of a Russian drone that hit a private house during air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Rescue workers try to put out a fire caused by the fragments of a Russian drone that hit a private house during air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
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Ukrainian Drone and Missile Attack Kills at Least One in Southern Russia

Rescue workers try to put out a fire caused by the fragments of a Russian drone that hit a private house during air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Rescue workers try to put out a fire caused by the fragments of a Russian drone that hit a private house during air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

A Ukrainian drone and missile attack on southern Russia killed at least one person, injured four others, and sparked a blaze aboard a foreign-flagged vessel, Russian officials said on Saturday.

Earlier, Yuri Slyusar, ‌governor of ‌the Rostov region, ‌said ⁠that one person was ⁠killed and four seriously injured in an air attack by Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Commercial infrastructure was also damaged during the missile attack on ⁠the city of Taganrog. ‌

A ‌fire broke out in the warehouse ‌premises of a logistics ‌company, and a commercial vessel was damaged and a fire broke out ‌as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack ⁠in ⁠the Sea of Azov, Slyusar said.
Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said the Russian city of Togliatti was attacked by Ukrainian drones . It was not clear what was hit. Ukraine has previously targeted the TogliattiAzot chemical fertilizer producer.


2 US Aircraft Shot Down as War in Iran Escalates. At Least 1 Crew Member is Missing

Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)
Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)
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2 US Aircraft Shot Down as War in Iran Escalates. At Least 1 Crew Member is Missing

Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)
Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)

Iran shot down two US military planes in separate attacks Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing, in a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago.

It was the first time US aircraft have been downed in the conflict and came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the US has “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and was “going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.”

One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A US crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a US military search-and-rescue operation was underway, reported The Associated Press.

Neither the White House nor Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. In a brief telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to discuss the search-and-rescue efforts but said what happened would not affect negotiations with Iran.

“No, not at all. No, it’s war,” he said.

Separately, Iranian state media said a US A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Arabian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces.

A US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation said earlier that it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down or whether Iran was involved. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it went down was immediately known.

Those incidents came as Iran fired on targets across the Middle East on Friday, keeping the pressure on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors despite US and Israeli insistence that Iran’s military capabilities have been all but destroyed.

Second service member's status unknown

Neither the White House nor the Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. But the Pentagon notified the House Armed Services Committee that the status of a second service member from the fighter jet was not known.

In an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, meanwhile, the military said it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East, without providing more details.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, have roiled stock markets, sent oil prices skyrocketing, and threatened to raise the cost of many basic goods, including food.

Downed jet could mark a new level of pressure on the US Prior to word of the rescue, social media footage showed American drones, aircraft and helicopters flying over the mountainous region where a TV channel affiliated with Iranian state television said earlier that at least one pilot bailed out of the fighter jet.

An anchor urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police and promised a reward.

It was the first time the US has lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the conflict and could mark a new level of pressure on the US military.

Throughout the war, Iran has made a series of claims about shooting down piloted enemy aircraft that turned out not to be true. Friday was the first time that Iran went on television urging the public to look for a downed pilot.

Iranian state media said in a post on the social platform X that the military shot down a US F-15E Strike Eagle. The aircraft is a variation of the Air Force fighter jet that carries a pilot and weapons system officer.

Alan Diehl, a former investigator for the Air Force Safety Center, said the Strike Eagle has an emergency locator beacon in a survival kit that can be set to activate automatically or manually.

News about the downed planes came after Iran attacked Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery. The state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp. said firefighters were working to control several blazes.

In Lebanon, where Israel has launched a ground invasion in its fight with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militant group, an Israeli drone strike on worshippers leaving Friday prayers near Beirut killed two people, according to the state‑run National News Agency

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began on Feb. 28 with US and Israeli strikes. In a review released Friday, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a US-based group, said it found that civilian casualties were clustered around strikes on security and state-linked sites “rather than indiscriminate bombardment” of urban areas.

More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 US service members have been killed.

More than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Lebanon. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.

Iran keeps a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz

World leaders, meanwhile, have struggled to end Iran’s stranglehold on the waterway, which has had far-reaching consequences for the global economy and has proved to be its greatest strategic advantage in the war.

The UN Security Council was expected to take up the matter Saturday.

Trump has vacillated on America’s role in the strait, alternately threatening Iran if it does not open the strait and telling other nations to “go get your own oil.” On Friday he said in a post on social media that, “With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.”

Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, were around $109, up more than 50% since the start of the war, when Iran began restricting traffic through the strait.