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UK to Give Ukraine Long-range Missile Systems

Ukrainian servicemen fire with a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Luhansk Region, Ukraine April 26, 2022. (Reuters)
Ukrainian servicemen fire with a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Luhansk Region, Ukraine April 26, 2022. (Reuters)
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UK to Give Ukraine Long-range Missile Systems

Ukrainian servicemen fire with a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Luhansk Region, Ukraine April 26, 2022. (Reuters)
Ukrainian servicemen fire with a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Luhansk Region, Ukraine April 26, 2022. (Reuters)

Britain said Monday it will mirror the United States and send long-range missile systems to Ukraine, defying warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin against supplying Kyiv with the advanced weapons.

The UK Ministry of Defense said London had coordinated closely with Washington over its gift of the multiple-launch rocket systems, known as MLRS, to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression, AFP said.

The M270 launchers, which can strike targets up to 80 kilometers (50 miles) away with precision-guided rockets, will "offer a significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces," the ministry added.

The US last week announced it would give Kyiv its high mobility artillery rocket system, known as HIMARS, which can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles and is superior in range and precision to existing systems Ukraine has.

However, US President Joe Biden has ruled out supplying it with systems that could reach as far as Russia, despite Kyiv's repeated demands for them.

Despite that, the US move prompted Putin to warn Sunday that Moscow will strike new unspecified "targets" if the West supplies the missiles to Ukraine and said new arms deliveries to Kyiv were aimed at "prolonging the conflict".

But unveiling the latest UK contribution, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace insisted Ukraine's Western allies must maintain their weapons deliveries to enable it to "win" its war repelling invading Russian forces.

"The UK stands with Ukraine in this fight and is taking a leading role in supplying its heroic troops with the vital weapons they need to defend their country from unprovoked invasion," he said in a statement.

"As Russia's tactics change, so must our support to Ukraine. These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin's forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities."

Ukrainian troops will be trained on how to use the launchers in the UK, so they can "maximize the effectiveness of the systems", Britain's defense ministry said.

London has so far offered more than £750 million ($937 million, 874 million euros) in military support to Ukraine, including sending air defense systems, thousands of anti-tank missiles and various types of munitions, hundreds of armored vehicles and other equipment.

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World

Iran in Touch with India on Ships Passage through Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Envoy Says

A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, April 12, 2026. REUTERS
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, April 12, 2026. REUTERS
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Iran in Touch with India on Ships Passage through Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Envoy Says

A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, April 12, 2026. REUTERS
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, April 12, 2026. REUTERS

Iran has "good contact" with the Indian government on passage of the South Asian nation's ships through the Strait of Hormuz and wants to help New Delhi, Iranian Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali said on Monday, Reuters reported.

The US-Israeli war on Iran, which began in February, has restricted shipping through the key route - a conduit for 40% of India's crude imports - impacting trade and squeezing oil supplies.

World

Russia Offers to Take in Iran's Enriched Uranium

FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)
FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)
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Russia Offers to Take in Iran's Enriched Uranium

FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)
FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)

Russia is ready to take in Iran's enriched uranium as part of a future peace deal with the United States, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Failed talks between Iran and the United States over the weekend dashed hopes of a swift deal to permanently end the war that has killed thousands and thrown the global economy into turmoil since it began in late February.

Russia, which possesses the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, has repeatedly offered to host Iran's enriched uranium as part of any peace deal.

"This proposal was voiced by President (Vladimir) Putin in contacts with both the United States and regional states. The offer still stands, but has not been acted upon," the Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday in response to a question by AFP.

The Kremlin also criticized Trump's threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that has been at a standstill since the US and Israel began striking Iran in late February.

"Such actions will likely continue to negatively impact the international market," Peskov said.

World

Suspected Militants Kill Police Officer Assigned to Guard Polio Team as Nationwide Campaign Begins in Pakistan

Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
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Suspected Militants Kill Police Officer Assigned to Guard Polio Team as Nationwide Campaign Begins in Pakistan

Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN

Suspected militants opened fire on a vehicle carrying police officers assigned to protect polio workers in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing one of them and wounding four others before fleeing the scene, police said. Two attackers were killed when police returned fire, The Associated Press said.

The shooting occurred in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, shortly after Pakistan launched its second nationwide anti-polio campaign of the year, according to local police official Mahmood Alam.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban and local militant groups, which often carry out similar attacks in the region and elsewhere. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries where polio has not been eradicated, according to the World Health Organization.

First lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari urged families to ensure their children are vaccinated during the weeklong drive, which aims to reach more than 45 million children under 5 across all provinces and regions. She said the campaign will be conducted in coordination with Afghanistan, reflecting a shared commitment to interrupt cross-border transmission and close remaining gaps.

Aseefa is the daughter of President Asif Ali Zardari and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a 2007 gun and bomb attack by militants, and who had personally overseen initiatives aimed at eliminating polio during her tenure. In a statement, she said “Pakistan stands at a crucial moment in the fight against polio.” She said while the country is closer than ever to eradication, “the final stretch remains the most challenging.”

Highlighting recent gains, she said 31 polio cases were reported nationwide in 2025, while only one case has so far been recorded this year, but warned against complacency.

Pakistan’s polio eradication program has been running anti-polio campaigns for years, though health workers and the police assigned to protect them are often targeted by militants who falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.

Authorities have deployed thousands of police officers to protect workers following intelligence warnings of possible attacks. More than 200 polio workers and the police assigned to guard them have been killed in Pakistan since the 1990s, according to officials.