Category: Business Insider

• The fourth-ever bitcoin "halving" event is set to take place this week.
• Previous halvings have powered the crypto higher by cutting the number of new tokens in circulation.
• Bitcoin hit a record high last month — and some analysts believe it could soon get to six figures.

It's been a big year for bitcoin.

In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission finally gave its seal of approval to 11 spot ETFs after months of speculation.

The following month, the token surged nearly 50% — and then in March, its price hit a new record high of more than $69,000 for the first time since November 2021. (It's given up some of those gains since, but is still up over 50% year-to-date.)

Next on the horizon is the fourth bitcoin "halving" (or halvening, if you prefer your crypto events to sound like Hollywood horror franchises), which is expected to take place sometime this week.

What is the halving?

New bitcoins are produced by a process known as "mining," where computers solve complex mathematical problems to validate and secure transactions on the cryptocurrency's network.

In a halving event, the reward for mining new blocks is cut in half. Halvings are scheduled to happen once every 210,000 blocks — and it typically takes around four years to mine that amount.

The halving's purpose is to gradually reduce the rate at which new bitcoins are generated, ultimately capping the total supply at 21 million, as laid out in the cryptocurrency's original white paper.

During bitcoin's lifespan, there have been three previous halvings:

• In the first halving, in November 2012, the reward for each mined block fell from 50 bitcoins to 25 bitcoins.
• In the second halving, in July 2016, the reward dropped again to 12.5 bitcoins.
• In May 2020, the reward was again halved, this time to 6.25 bitcoins per block.

Analysts expect the next halving event, where the reward will fall once more to 3.125 bitcoins per block, to happen on either April 19 or 20.

How will it affect bitcoin's price?

The halving is designed to maintain bitcoin's scarcity — and simple market economics dictate that an asset's price benefits from supply falling.

Previous halvings have been no exception to that rule, with bitcoin climbing to new highs in the aftermath of each event. Last time out, its price surged from under $9,000 to about $60,000 in under a year.

Some on Wall Street aren't so confident the cryptocurrency will repeat that feat. JPMorgan warned last month that its price could fall as low as $42,000, or over a third, this time around due to higher production costs.

But perhaps the fact that the world's largest bank by market value is paying attention to what was at one point a niche crypto market event is a sign of how high bitcoin's stock has risen in recent years.

"More ETFs are coming, which is increasingly institutionalizing the crypto asset class," Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid said last month in a research note.

"Other things to watch are the fourth bitcoin halving in April, where the new coins available to miners halves to maintain scarcity, and also more clarity on regulation coming up."

"Whether you're a cynic or a convert, whether you think it's cheap or in a bubble, what's clear is that bitcoin is becoming increasingly institutionalized," Reid added.

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• New data on the world's busiest airports in 2023 reveals the latest trends in global travel. 
• 8.5 billion passengers traveled by plane last year, almost marking a return to pre-pandemic levels.   
• Airports in Asia and the Middle East became busier, but the US has once again clinched the top spot. 

International travel is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, according to the just-released list of the world's busiest airports in 2023.

8.5 billion passengers traveled globally by plane last year — up from 7 billion passengers in 2022.

The rise in air travel marks a recovery to 93.8% of levels in 2019 before the world shut down, according to preliminary data published by the Airports Council International (ACI), a trade association that includes 2,600 airports worldwide.

Increasing travel to airports in Asia and the Middle East was one of the key trends to emerge from the data, with Dubai International Airport jumping from the fifth to the second busiest airport in the world.

Airports in India, Japan, and Turkey also made it into the top 10 and were some of the biggest movers in terms of annual gains in passenger numbers.

As the world's largest domestic market for flights, US airports still make up five of the busiest airports in the world, with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport retaining its No. 1 position.

Despite tough global economic conditions, there was "a growing inclination towards travel," Luis Felipe de Oliveira, the ACI's world director general, said in a press release.

"Airports continue to demonstrate their resilience and adaptability amidst the challenges posed by the ever-evolving landscape of global travel," said Oliveira.

Here's a closer look at the top 10 busiest airports in the world.

10. Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, India

Passengers: 72.2 million

2022 ranking: 9th

Delhi's main airport, Indira Gandhi International Airport, saw a 21.4% increase in year-on-year traffic. While it has dropped a place this year, Delhi has grown significantly as a transport hub since 2019, when it sat at number 19 in the rankings.

9. Chicago O’Hare International Airport, USA

Passengers: 73.9 million

2022 ranking: 4th

Travel through Chicago O'Hare jumped by 8.1% throughout 2023. O'Hare is a hub airport for domestic travel, particularly for United and American Airlines flights. It is also a focus city for low-cost rivals Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines.

8. Los Angeles International Airport, USA

Passengers: 75.1 million

2022 ranking: 6th

Travel through LAX was up 13.8% in 2023, however, compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, passengers at the West Coast airport decreased by 14.8% — the largest decrease of any airport in the top ten rankings. LAX is a hub for a number of carriers, including Alaska Airlines, United, American, and Delta. But domestic travel at the airport shrunk dramatically as airlines cut the number of flights following a series of meltdowns in 2022.

7. Istanbul Airport, Turkey

Passengers: 76 million

2022 ranking: 7th

Passenger numbers at Turkey's Istanbul airport have increased by 18.3%, making it the only transit hub to keep level with its previous ranking in the top 10. Notably, traffic through the airport has jumped by 45.7% since 2019.

6. Denver International Airport, USA

Passengers: 77.8 million

2022 ranking: 3rd

Denver Airport has dropped down several places on the list but still shows strong signs of growth in terms of passengers. In the last year traffic through the Colorado airport was up 12.3%, and it has also grown 12.8% from pre-pandemic levels.

5. Tokyo Haneda International Airport, Japan

Passengers: 78.7 million

2022 ranking: 16th

Japan's Tokyo Haneda Airport saw the largest increase in traffic by far, with passenger numbers surging by 55.1%. Some of that jump can be explained by a lag in tourism as Japan only reopened its borders in late 2022. Despite the jump, Tokyo Haneda is still 7.9% under its 2019 level of traffic. This January the airport made headlines after a fatal collision involving a Japan Airlines plane and a coastguard vehicle killed five people.

4. London Heathrow, UK

Passengers: 79.2 million

2022 ranking: 8th

Travel through the UK's largest airport shot up by 218% in 2022 and has once again made strong gains throughout 2023, jumping by a slightly more modest 28.5%. The airport has credited travel from the Asia-Pacific region as a major factor in its increased passenger numbers. It hopes to supersede its pre-pandemic level of traffic in 2024 and hit a record 81.4 million passengers, the airport said in a report published in December.

3. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, USA

Passengers: 81.8 million

2022 ranking: 2nd

Dallas/Fort Worth airport, known as DFW, is American Airlines' busiest hub and the departure city for many of the airline's international flights. Last year traffic through the airport jumped by 11.4%.

2. Dubai International Airport, UAE

Passengers: 87 million

2022 ranking: 5th

Dubai took the number 2 ranking in the list for the first time, thanks to a significant 31.7% increase in passenger numbers. Dubai's new position reflects the heavy investment that has gone into the aviation industry and boosting tourism in the region.

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, USA

Passengers: 104.7 million

2022 ranking: 1st

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport comes in at No. 1 as the busiest airport in the world, a position it has held for more than two decades. In 2023, the Atlanta airport saw an 11.7% increase in passenger numbers.

Here's a look at what it takes to be an air traffic controller at the world's busiest airport.

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• Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, believes AI will increase productivity and wages.
• His firm has increased assets while keeping head count the same which Fink credits to AI advances.
• Although AI optimists hope it'll raise wages, others are more skeptical and fear job displacement.

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, said on a recent earnings call that the company's investments in AI will drive up productivity and raise wages.

Fink said the firm had increased assets by $2.5 trillion over the last 18 months while keeping head count the same, which he credits to productivity gains from technology advances, including AI.

"We're going to bring down inflation in America. This is how it's going to have to be done, driven through technology, which will increase productivity," he said.

"What it also means is rising wages … the whole organization is doing more with less people as a percent of the overall organization. That is really our ambition," he added.

The $10.5 trillion asset manager is also positioning itself as a key player to power the AI revolution by becoming the capital supplier for new data centers and power generation facilities required by AI-driven companies.

At a conference last year, Fink said he was dedicating much time to thinking about how AI would reshape the firm.

"We spend a lot of time with different technologists who know much more about this than I do. They believe things like it will increase productivity by 30%," he said.

AI is already helping workers in white-collar jobs become more productive, according to studies done by economists. But this doesn't necessarily guarantee wage gains: if productivity goes up, business owners may pocket those extra gains for themselves.

While AI optimists hope it'll create an economic boon, others fear it will create fewer jobs and lower wages in some professions.

20% of Americans have jobs that are likely to be highly exposed to the impacts of AI, according to a White House report by the Council of Economic Advisors.

Some of those will benefit positively from AI through increased productivity and new job opportunities, while "some are harmed, typically due to job displacement," the council wrote.

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• Biden released the draft text for his new student-loan forgiveness plan.
• Borrowers will have a 30-day public comment period to provide feedback on the proposals.
• The Education Department aims to begin implementing the relief as early as this fall.

Millions of student-loan borrowers are moving closer to President Joe Biden's new plan for debt cancellation.

On Tuesday, the Education Department released its first set of draft rules for Biden's second attempt at student-debt relief after the Supreme Court struck the first plan down.

The regulatory text comes after Biden unveiled details of the plan last week, which included up to $20,000 in debt relief for borrowers with unpaid interest and relief for those who have made at least 20 years of payments. According to the department, this draft "includes nine rules that permit separate and distinct types of waivers using the Secretary of Education's longstanding authority under the Higher Education Act."

Eight of the rules apply to student loans held by the Education Department, while the ninth applies to borrowers with commercially held loans in the Federal Family Education Loan program. Combined with Biden's other relief efforts, his new proposals are expected to benefit over 30 million borrowers.

"Today's announcement shows that the Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to fulfill our promises to fix a broken higher education system," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. "Student loan forgiveness isn't only about relief for today's borrowers. It's about social mobility, economic prosperity, and creating America that lives up to its highest ideals."

The regulatory text will be formally published to the Federal Register on Wednesday, after which the public will have a 30-day period to submit comments on the department's proposals. The department "will carefully consider comments received and aims to finalize these rules in time to start delivering relief this fall, including for borrowers who have been subject to runaway interest," the press release said.

Additionally, a department spokesperson told Business Insider that the department is "vigorously" working to develop a separate rule that would deliver relief to borrowers experiencing financial hardship, expected to be released in the coming months.

The majority of the relief proposed would be conducted automatically, per the department. Additionally, while some of the rules are intended to be one-time relief — like for borrowers who have entered repayment at least 20 years ago — the department is proposing a rule for ongoing relief for borrowers who took on debt to attend schools that did not pay off financially post-graduation.

The regulatory text mirrors the proposals the department developed with negotiators over the past few months, but it could change based on the feedback the department receives during the public comment period.

For now, the department said it aims to begin providing the relief this fall — even as legal threats from conservative groups brew to halt its implementation.

"These distinct forms of debt relief are designed for borrowers struggling with their loans – and that's a lot of people," Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said in a statement. "There are 25 million borrowers whose interest is growing faster than they can pay it down. That fact alone shows how badly President Biden's student loan relief is needed."

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• Jamie Dimon has raked in $183 million from his planned sale of 1 million JPMorgan shares.
• JPMorgan's CEO sold stock worth $33 million on Monday, after selling a $150 million tranche in February.
• Dimon's first disposals in 19 years were for diversification and tax planning, JPMorgan said.

Jamie Dimon has wrapped up his planned sale of 1 million JPMorgan shares, pocketing $183 million in total proceeds.

The boss of America's biggest bank disposed of about 178,000 shares for about $33 million on Monday, regulatory filings show. He already cashed in 822,000 shares for $150 million on February 22.

JPMorgan flagged its CEO's intended disposals to the market in late October, saying they were for "financial diversification and tax-planning purposes."

In other words, too much of the Dimon fortune was riding on JPMorgan so the family wanted to spread its bets, and it also wished to extract some cash to cover future tax bills.

The news surprised many as Dimon had never sold a share of JPMorgan since taking charge of the Wall Street titan in 2006. He's known for subscribing to Warren Buffett's view that bosses should have their own money on the line so they win or lose alongside their shareholders.

Dimon, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg have all pared their stakes in their respective companies in recent months, sparking concerns that they're cashing out at the top and expect a sell-off soon.

But none of the three have sold a significant percentage of their holdings. Dimon still directly owns about 8.7 million shares after his disposals.

Still, the billionaire banker has repeatedly warned investors they're overlooking threats to financial markets and the US economy such as stubborn inflation, recession, and foreign conflicts.

In his yearly letter to shareholders this month, Dimon flagged the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, rising US-China tensions, sharp increases in food and energy prices, and the impact of steeper borrowing costs on the banking system and indebted companies in sectors like commercial real estate.

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• Elon Musk has been urged to lay out a vision for Tesla as senior staff leave amid layoffs.
• An analyst called the departure of one executive a "gut punch" to investor confidence.
• Musk announced that "more than 10%" of the workforce would be laid off.

Elon Musk must set out a vision for Tesla after investors were spooked by high-profile departures amid layoffs, an analyst has said.

Tesla stock fell 5.6% on Monday after Elon Musk announced over the weekend that more than 10% of its workforce would be laid off.

Analyst Dan Ives said Wall Street needs to know the "rationale for the cost-cutting, the strategy going forward, product roadmap, and an overall vision from Musk" next week on Tesla's investor conference call.

Ives singled out the "gut punch" loss of Drew Baglino, Tesla's head of powertrain and electrical engineering, who said in an X post on Monday he'd made the "difficult decision" to leave the company after 18 years.

"He was instrumental in the Powertrain and Energy initiatives at Tesla and was viewed by many as key to the Model 2 initiative over the next few years. The pressure on the stock today is being exacerbated by the Baglino news which was very unexpected," Ives said in a note to investors on Monday.

Rohan Patel, the public policy and business development VP, also announced his departure on Monday. He wrote a lengthy X post about his departure and thanked Musk and his former colleagues: "The past 8 years at Tesla have been filled with every emotion — but the feeling I have today is utmost gratitude."

Anthony Thurston, a senior manager of cathode materials and manufacturing at Tesla in Texas was also laid off, Electrek first reported.

Thurston, who ran a 341-person team, wrote in a LinkedIn post: "Today marks the end of an incredible journey at Tesla. I'm grateful for all the opportunities and experiences that came my way during my time there."

Those departing Tesla worked on critical projects

Both Baglino and Thurston worked on critical projects at the Texas factory. Electrek reported that Musk was not happy with the progress at the facility, which supplies a material called cathode used in battery cells.

Fred Lambert, editor-in-chief of Electrek, said on X that he understood that Amir Mirshahi, director of infrastructure, had also been let go.

Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The company's stock has declined by 35% so far this year, and the slide was exacerbated after the company reported a 20% slump in first-quarter sales earlier this month, compared with the last three months of 2023. The drop in sales comes despite significant price cuts in recent months that have eroded profits.

In the staff memo announcing layoffs, Musk said that the job cuts were to help the company become "lean, innovative, and hungry for the next growth phase."

He also said that as Tesla grew rapidly, there had been some "duplication" of roles. Tesla had more than doubled its head count in recent years. It had 71,000 employees in 2020 and ended 2023 with 140,000, regulatory filings show.

The exits come after the chief financial officer, Zachary Kirkhorn, left last August after 13 years.

Tesla's also suffered other recent departures due to the AI talent war. Ethan Knight, a machine learning scientist who worked on Autopilot, left to join Musk's xAI.

In an X post earlier this month, Musk said Knight was "going to join OpenAI, so it was either xAI or them."

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• China's economy expanded by a better-than-expected 5.3% in the first three months of 2024.
• But analysts are flagging sluggish home and retail sales as a sign of weak demand.
• The slowdown could hit the bottom line of big US companies such as Apple and Tesla.

Economic data gave Beijing a glimmer of hope on Tuesday — but beneath the veneer of China's quarterly GDP numbers, there are still plenty of reasons for concern.

The world's second-largest economy expanded by 5.3% over the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year, per the National Bureau of Statistics. That was higher than the 4.8% figure analysts polled by Bloomberg were expecting.

At face value, the better-than-expected GDP number is a sign that policymakers' efforts to fiscal and monetary policies are helping revive growth, but analysts warn there are still reasons to worry about China's economy.

Tuesday's data showed that March retail sales rose 3.1% from a year ago, missing Bloomberg forecasts of 4.8% growth, while industrial output for last month climbed 4.5% — far below the 6% predicted by analysts.

Meanwhile, new home sales tumbled 31% over the first quarter, suggesting that China's shaky property market is still dragging down growth.

Raymond Yeung, chief China economist at the Australian bank ANZ, warned that all the signs point to the country still having a demand problem.

"I think it is a two-speed economy," he said, according to Reuters. "Domestic demand is still weak, but exports are good."

ANZ expects China's GDP to expand by 4.5% in 2024, well short of Beijing's 5% target.

Apple and Tesla's China struggles

Some of the US's biggest companies are reliant on sales in China — and already feeling the pain from weakening demand there.

Apple is having a tough time in one of its biggest markets, with iPhone sales slumping 33% year-on-year to 2.4 million in February, per Bloomberg data. CEO Tim Cook is clearly well aware of the growing threat, having made two visits to China last year, including a surprise, unannounced trip in October.

Slumping demand in China has also weighed on Tesla's sales.

The electric car maker shocked Wall Street by posting dismal quarterly delivery numbers earlier this month. CEO Elon Musk appears to have decided to abandon his price war strategy in the knowledge that Tesla can't compete with local rivals such as BYD that sell smaller, cheaper EVs.

Boeing, Ford, GM, Nike, and Starbucks are among the other big US companies that count on China as a key source of revenue. Their bottom lines are also likely to suffer if demand there doesn't turn around soon.

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• New York is using AI-generated letters to challenge remote workers moving to low-tax states.
• CNBC reported that AI is helping with staff shortages in New York's tax department.
• The state said there was an increase in audits in 2022 but a decrease in auditors.

New York is the millionaire capital of the world, but some of those who want to stay rich are fleeing to low-tax states like Florida and Texas.

The state tax department has a solution: AI letters.

It is sending hundreds of thousands of AI-generated letters, mostly to wealthy remote workers or those who require a change in tax residency, according to CNBC.

The letters could help beat staff shortages, although it's unclear if this is part of the reason they were implemented.

The state reported an increase in audits in 2022 but a decrease in auditors.

There were 771,000 audits in New York in 2022, according to a recent report by the state Department of Taxation and Finance cited by CNBC. That's a 56% increase from the previous year, the outlet said.

Meanwhile, the number of New York-based auditors declined by 5% to under 200 in the same year because of tight budgets, CNBC said.

Mark Klein, partner and chairman emeritus at Hodgson Russ LLP, told CNBC that the tax department is using sophisticated technology "to determine the best audit candidates," with a focus on wealthy individuals who have relocated from high-tax states to low-tax states, such as Florida or Texas.

"And guess what? When you're looking for revenue, it's not going to be the person making $10,000 a year. It's going to be the person making $10 million," he said.

New York City is home to 340,000 millionaires, 724 centi-millionaires, and 58 billionaires, making it the wealthiest city in the world, according to data by residence and citizenship investment firm Henley and Partners.

Tax departments across the US are using both human auditors and AI to examine cellphone records, which will help figure out where taxpayers are spending most of their time and subsequently where they owe taxes, Klein said.

"New York is being very aggressive," he said.

"The state says, 'Well, you didn't really move since all your TV and all your stuff is still in New York,'" Klein told the outer.

"They don't understand, the wealthy can buy more stuff for the Florida home. They can buy another TV."

The issue of location is not uncommon when it comes to taxes. Celebrities and millionaires around the world have gotten into trouble for filing in the wrong location, seemingly with the intent of paying less.

One notable example is Shakira, who in November was fined €24 million (around $26 million) over charges that she failed to pay €14.5 million (around $15 million) in Spanish income tax between 2012 and 2014.

During that period, Shakira listed her main residence as the Bahamas (where tax rates are lower) despite spending most of her time in Spain, according to prosecutors.

Shakira, who had consistently denied accusations of tax fraud, said at the time that she had chosen to "prioritize her career and stability and that of her children" by putting an end to the process and "thus avoiding the impact of media exposure and the trial time, which is often of an exhausting length."

New York's Department of Taxation and Finance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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• China refused to condemn Iran's missile attack on Israel.
• It is a customer for Iran's oil and has vowed to deepen ties. 
• China is seeking to position itself as a key power in the region. 

China refused to condemn Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel as it seeks to position itself as a key player in the Middle East.

A readout of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's call with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian Monday, reported by Chinese state media, characterized the attack as an act of self defense.

The statement was notable because it contained no condemnation of Iran's attack on Israel on Saturday.

The attack was the first time Iran has launched a direct strike on Israel in a move that has intensified fears the region could be on the brink of an escalating conflict.

Amir-Abdollahian reportedly told Wang that in the wake of Israel's April 1 attack on the Israeli consulate in Damascus, Syria, "Iran has the right to self-defense in response to the violation of its sovereignty."

"China strongly condemns and firmly opposes the attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, regarding it as a serious violation of international law and unacceptable," the readout said.

"China has noted Iran's statement that its action taken was limited and was an act of self-defense in response to the attack against the Iranian consulate in Syria, Wang said."

In recent years, China has abandoned its policy of non-interference in foreign affairs and is seeking to position itself as a power broker in the Middle East.

Last year, China negotiated a rapprochement between longtime regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia in an audacious diplomatic move.

Analysts believe that among China's key interests in the region is to undermine US influence. It has criticized US-ally Israel's campaign in Gaza and formed closer ties with US regional foe Iran.

China is also a major customer of Iran's oil and last year Chinese leader Xi Jinping said he wanted to deepen ties with Iran after meeting Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi in Beijing.

The suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate on April 1 killed seven people, including senior Iranian commanders, and has led to fears of a direct war between Israel and Iran.

The two countries have long fought a war in the shadows, with Iran backing Palestinian militant groups and Lebanese militia Hezbollah in their war against Israel. But the October terrorist 7 attacks by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli campaign in Gaza have sharply increased tensions in the region.

Western leaders have condemned Iran's missile strikes on Israel, but are urging Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be moderate in his response. The US has sought to enlist China is helping to prevent a bigger regional war, the State Department said.

In the readout, China praised Iran for acting with restraint in its response to Israel's embassy attack.

"China appreciates Iran's stress on not targeting regional and neighboring countries as well as its reiteration on continuously pursuing a good-neighborly and friendly policy," said the readout, citing Wang.

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• The US helped shoot down Iranian drones and missiles fired at Israel over the weekend.
• Ukraine's president said the response showed what could be done to protect his own country.
• But the White House said it wouldn't do the same for Ukraine, calling it a "different threat picture."

The White House said on Monday that it would not shoot down drones for Ukraine, despite having done so for Israel over the weekend.

Israel said that Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at it on Saturday night. The US, UK, France, and Jordan said they helped to stop the barrage, including through the use of aircraft.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby was asked in a media briefing if the US could also help to shoot down drones over Ukraine.

Kirby responded: "I knew this question was coming too. Look, different conflicts. Different conflicts, different airspace, different threat picture."

He said that President Joe Biden "has been clear since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the United States is not gonna be involved in that conflict in a combat role, and we haven't."

Russia has been firing drones and missiles across Ukraine as part of its full-scale invasion, often hitting and destroying energy infrastructure, as well as residential buildings, and killing civilians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the response to Iran's aerial attack on Israel "demonstrated how truly effective unity in defending against terror can be when it is based on sufficient political will."

"Together, they prevented terror from prevailing," he added. "And they are working together, and in coordination with others, to prevent further escalation."

Zelenskyy said that similar actions should be taken to protect Ukraine.

Many of Ukraine's allies, including the US, have said they are trying to help without escalating the conflict with Russia. But some world leaders have rebuffed this, saying Russia will escalate the war either way.

Zelenskyy said the response to the attack on Israel also showed that NATO members can protect non-member states, and could protect Ukraine, which is not part of the military alliance, in the same way.

"Israel is not a NATO member, so no action, such as triggering Article 5, was required," he said, referring to the alliance's collective defense clause.

"No one was dragged into the war," Zelenskyy added. "They simply contributed to the protection of human life."

Zelenskyy went on to say that "European skies could have received the same level of protection long ago if Ukraine had received similar full support from its partners in intercepting drones and missiles." 

Ukraine is running critically low on air defense missiles, which means Russia's attacks are more likely to get through.

Republicans in Congress have stalled further aid for Ukraine over the past six months, preventing any new supplies coming from the US.

Kirby said the US had previously given Ukraine "the tools that they need to help defend their space. And unfortunately, we can't do that right now, because we don't have the National Security Supplemental funding that they so desperately need."

Experts previously told BI that Ukrainian shortages would likely allow Russia's air force to fly freely, which could have effects so devastating that it could bring about a quick end to the war.

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