The IRIS-T is a family of short range infrared homing air-to-air and short to medium range surface-to-air missiles. It also is called AIM-2000.
The Leopard 2 is a third generation German main battle tank (MBT). Developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s, the tank entered service in 1979 and replaced the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West German army. Various iterations of the Leopard 2 continue to be operated by the armed forces of Germany, as well as 13 other European countries, and several non-European countries, including Canada, Chile, Indonesia, and Singapore. Some operating countries have licensed the Leopard 2 design for local production and domestic development.
RBS 70 is a man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) designed for anti-aircraft warfare in all climate zones and with little to no support from other forces. Originally designed and manufactured by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence. It uses the RB 70 missile, which is also in use in a number of other Swedish missile systems.
The Ukrainian Air Force is the air force of Ukraine and one of the eight branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Its current form was created in 2004 by merging the Ukrainian Air Defence Forces into the Air Force.
The Ropucha class, Soviet designation Project 775, is a class of landing ship built in Poland for the Soviet Navy. The ships were built in the Stocznia Północna shipyards in Gdańsk, Poland. They were designed for beach landings, and can carry 450 tons of cargo. The ships have both bow and stern doors for loading and unloading vehicles, and the 630 square metres (6,800 sq ft) of vehicle deck stretch the length of the hull. Up to 25 armored personnel carriers can be embarked.
Lithuania–Ukraine relations are foreign relations between Lithuania and Ukraine. Both countries are members of the Lublin Triangle, OSCE, Council of Europe, World Trade Organization and United Nations. Lithuania supports Ukraine's European Union and NATO membership. Lithuania has an embassy in Kyiv and Ukraine has an embassy in Vilnius.
Anita Indira Anand is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the president of the Treasury Board since July 2023 and as Minister of Transport since September 2024. She has represented the riding of Oakville in the House of Commons since the 2019 federal election, sitting as a member of the Liberal Party.
The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., primarily for the Turkish Armed Forces. The aircraft are monitored and controlled by an aircrew in a ground control station, including weapons employment. The development of the UAV has been largely credited to Selçuk Bayraktar, a former MIT graduate student.
Casualties in the Russo-Ukrainian War include six deaths during the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, 14,200–14,400 military and civilian deaths during the War in Donbas, and up to 1,000,000 estimated casualties during the Russian invasion of Ukraine till mid-September 2024.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which started in 2014. The invasion, the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties. As of 2024, Russian troops occupy about 20% of Ukraine. From a population of 41 million, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine received widespread international condemnation, leading to new sanctions being imposed on Russia, which triggered a Russian financial crisis. Reactions among governments have most often been negative, with criticism and condemnation, particularly in Europe, the Americas, and Southeast Asia.
The International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine, or the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, is a military unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces composed of foreign volunteers. It was created on 27 February 2022 by the Ukrainian government at the request of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fight against the Russian invasion of the country. It was originally part of the Territorial Defense Forces, under the name of International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine, eventually transitioning to the command of the Ukrainian Ground Forces at some point in its existence.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the People's Republic of China stated that it respects Ukraine's sovereignty but Russia's concerns about enlargement of NATO should also be addressed. It abstained from United Nations votes that condemned the invasion.
Iran has supported Russia both diplomatically and militarily since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It has voted against United Nations resolutions condemning Russia and has regularly delivered loitering munitions, chiefly the Shahed 131 and Shahed 136, to the Russian military. Several countries have accused Iran of violating United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which was adopted with full support of the sitting members in July 2015 and seeks to inspect the Iranian nuclear program in preparation for ending United Nations sanctions against Iran. Additionally, Ukraine and the United States, among others, have stated that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has had a presence in Russian-occupied Crimea for the purpose of operating Shahed drones in attacks against Ukrainian cities. Some of these IRGC personnel have reportedly been killed by Ukrainian military strikes against Russian-occupied territory; the Iranian involvement in Russia's invasion has negatively impacted Iran–Ukraine relations while intensifying existing tensions between Iran and the United States.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group is an alliance of 57 countries and the European Union supporting the defence of Ukraine by sending military equipment in response to the 2022 Russian invasion. The group coordinates the ongoing donation of military aid at monthly meetings. A first meeting took place between 41 countries on 26 April 2022, and the coalition comprised 54 countries at the time of the 14 February 2023 meeting. As of November 2023 reports of meetings usually state "more than 50" or "about 50" members.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, escalating the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014 into the full-scale invasion and the biggest war in Europe since World War II. Twenty-one months later, on 20 November 2023, Ukraine had cumulatively received over $44 billion in materiel aid from the United States and over $35 billion from other allies on a month-to-month basis. The aid is logistical and is provided by drawdown of existing materiel that is then delivered to Ukraine. As this materiel is expended, the allied industrial base has been gradually drawn in to supply Ukraine but had not been fully engaged as of November 2023. Since January 2022, mostly Western nations have pledged more than $380 billion in aid to Ukraine, including nearly $118 billion in direct military aid to Ukraine from individual countries.
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a large-scale invasion, prompting the imposition of substantial economic and political sanctions by the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, and other countries. The Russian government has a specified "Unfriendly Countries List" which indicates those countries with which relations are now strained. A Foreign Policy Concept approved by president Vladimir Putin in 2023 identified Russia as a Eurasian civilization state; aligning the country more closely with Asia, the Islamic world, Africa, Latin America, and rest of the Global South, and seeking the end of Western hegemony in the international order.
