Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Monday on having learned nothing from the lessons of World War II, after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was Jewish.
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"Russia's foreign minister openly and without hesitation said that the biggest antisemites were allegedly among the Jews, and that Hitler allegedly had Jewish blood," Zelenskyy said in a video address. "This means that the Russian leadership has forgotten all the lessons of World War II. Or perhaps they never learned those lessons."
Lavrov's remarks were met with rejection and criticism by leaders in Israel and around the world.
"Jews did not murder Jews in the Holocaust. The lowest level of racism against Jews is to accuse Jews themselves of antisemitism," Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said.
The ministry has summoned Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov over the matter.
Similarly, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter, "It is incumbent on the world to speak out against such vile, dangerous rhetoric." He expressed "support our Ukrainian partners in the face of the Kremlin's vicious assault."
Also on Monday, Ukraine formally closed its four Black and Azov sea ports, which Russian forces had captured.
The Azov Sea ports of Mariupol, Berdiansk and Skadovsk and the Black Sea port of Kherson were closed "until the restoration of control", the country's Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
"The adoption of this measure is caused by the impossibility of servicing ships and passengers, carrying out cargo, transport and other related economic activities, ensuring the appropriate level of safety of navigation," it said.
All Ukrainian seaports suspended their activity as a result of the Russian invasion in late February. Russian forces captured some ports and blockaded others.
Zelenskyy warned that Ukraine could lose tens of millions of tons of grain due to Russia's control of Black Sea shipping, triggering a food crisis that will affect Europe, Asia and Africa.
"Russia does not let ships come in or go out, it is controlling the Black Sea," Zelenskyy said. "Russia wants to completely block our country's economy."
Ukraine, a major agricultural producer, used to export most of its goods by sea but has been forced to switch to export by train via its western border or via its small Danube river ports.
As the war drags on, there is growing concern whether the US can sustain its cadence of shipping vast amounts of arms to Ukraine while maintaining the healthy stockpile it may need if a new conflict erupts with North Korea, Iran or elsewhere.
The US already has provided about 7,000 Javelins, including some that were delivered during the Trump administration, about one-third of its stockpile, to Ukraine, according to an analysis by Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies international security program. The Biden administration says it has committed to sending about 5,500 to Ukraine since the Russian invasion more than two months ago.
Analysts also estimate that the United States has sent about one-quarter of its stockpile of shoulder-fired Stinger missiles to Ukraine. Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes told investors last week during a quarterly call that his company, which makes the weapons system, wouldn't be able to ramp up production until next year due to parts shortages.
This could constitute a problem, said Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and former government specialist on Pentagon budget strategy, war funding and procurement.
He said that Stingers and Javelins were where "we're seeing the most significant inventory issues," and production of both weapons systems has been limited in recent years.
The Russian invasion offers the US and European defense industry a big opportunity to bolster profits as lawmakers from Washington to Warsaw are primed to increase defense spending in response to Russian aggression. Defense contractors, however, face the same supply chain and labor shortage challenges that other manufacturers are facing, along with some others that are specific to the industry.
Military spending by the US and around the world was rising even before Russia's Feb. 24 invasion. Biden's proposed 2023 budget sought $773 billion for the Pentagon, an annual increase of about 4%.
Globally, total military spending rose 0.7% to more than $2 trillion for the first time in 2021, according to an April report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Russia ranked fifth, as its spending on weapons increased ahead of its invasion of Ukraine.
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