Tag: Military
NEWSLINK: “Lessons From Munich: We Need Cooperation, Not Confrontation” – Moscow Times/Igor Ivanov
NEWSLINK: “Emboldened Assad defies Moscow’s diplomatic efforts over truce. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has put a peaceful settlement in Syria in doubt by insisting that government forces will continue to fight on. Damascus’ new signals contradict the agreements on a ceasefire reached by world powers with Moscow’s participation in Geneva and Munich.” – RBTH/Kommersant
Russian Nationalists Oppose Moscow’s Plan to Resettle Ukrainian Refugees in Far East
(Paul Goble – Staunton, February 16, 2016) Duma deputies are proposing and the Russian Ministry for Far Eastern Development has come out in support of a plan to resettle as many as 50,000 Ukrainian refugees who had fled their country because of the fighting but have not yet found permanent residences in the Russian Federation. This plan reflects the convergence […]
» Read moreThe rise of Azov; War in the east, political and economic crisis in Kyiv – these are ideal conditions for Ukraine’s far right to capitalise on their frontline successes.
(opendemocracy.net – Denys Gorbach, Oles Petik – February 15, 2016) Denys Gorbach is a leftist activist and researcher working on the Ukrainian labour movement. Oles Petik is an anarchist volunteering as an editor and translator at a Kyiv-based grassroots publishing cooperative. Strange it may seem, but Ukraine’s far right and Russia’s propaganda machine share a common fantasy: a radical right-wing […]
» Read moreUkraine’s constitution: reform or crisis?
Constitutional reform was supposed to put post-Maidan Ukraine on a firmly democratic footing. This process, however, has gone seriously off track. (opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Minakov, Maryna Stavniichuk – February 16, 2016) Mikhail Minakov is Associate Professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and President of the Foundation for Good Politics, Kyiv. He is also director of the Krytyka Institute, and editor-in-chief of the […]
» Read moreRBTH: NATO vs. Russia: Why all the recent talk of World War III?
British military exercises that may have been carried out with potential deployment in eastern Ukraine in mind, recent comments by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and a BBC film depicting a Russia-NATO nuclear conflict following a pro-Russian uprising in Latvia are all doing their part to further stoke tensions between Moscow and the Atlantic Alliance, when a more measured approach is […]
» Read moreMoscow Times/Levada Center: Majority of Russians Back Continuation of Syria Campaign
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 16, 2016) Russians want their country’s military campaign in Syria to continue, according to a recent poll by the independent Levada Center pollster, the RBC news website reported Monday. The majority of Russians are convinced the war in Syria needs to continue, with 18 percent categorically backing Russia’s involvement in the conflict and 41 […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “In Syrian war, a bigger role for Russian strategists” – Reuters
TRANSCRIPT: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview for Handelsblatt, Germany
(Government.ru – February 11, 2016) Ahead of the Munich Security Conference, the Prime Minister answered questions from Editor-in-Chief Sven Afhüppe and international correspondent Mathias Bruggmann. Question: Mr Prime Minister, thank you for finding the time to meet with us. You will come to Munich to attend the Conference on Security. Handelsblatt will cover the proceedings and primarily your participation in […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Time magazine
(Government.ru – February 15, 2016) Dmitry Medvedev has given an interview to Time magazine correspondent Simon Shuster following the Munich Security Conference. Question: Thank you very much for agreeing to this interview with Time magazine. I would also like to thank you for your remarks today at the conference. This was a very interesting and eloquent speech. You made a […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Mounting Evidence Putin Will Ignite WWIII” – Observer.com/John Schindler
Russia’s Medvedev: Syrian Conflict May Become ‘Permanent War’
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – February 12, 2016) The conflict in Syria may escalate into a “permanent” war to last for decades, if peace talks were to collapse or if foreign countries tried to intervene by deploying ground troops, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in comments published on the Cabinet website Thursday. Russia has been conducting […]
» Read moreHow realistic is BBC film about Russia-NATO nuclear war?
In a recent British pseudo-documentary film, a confrontation between NATO and Russia because of a pro-Russian uprising in Latvia leads to a nuclear war. Russian experts interviewed by RBTH are skeptical about the premise of the film: In their opinion, such uprisings are impossible in the Baltic countries and Russia would never engage in a direct armed conflict with NATO. […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “‘Cessation of hostilities’ in Syria lets Russia keep bombing” – Reuters
NEWSLINK: “NATO agrees Russian deterrent but avoids Cold War footing” – Reuters
NEWSWATCH: “Weak Oil Prices Fuel Ukrainian Hopes of a More Conciliatory Russia” – Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal covers Russian economic vulnerability amidst falling oil prices and its possible impact on efforts to resolve the Russo-Ukrainian conflict . Ukraine’s political elite is hoping that plummeting oil prices will restrain neighboring Russia’s interventionist ambitions—and give Western sanctions on Russia a bit more bite. … diplomatic overtures have raised hopes in Kiev that Moscow—which annexed Crimea […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Russia, pressed to end Syria bombing, proposes March truce”
AFGHANISTAN TO SYRIA – the Russian game
Subject: AFGHANISTAN TO SYRIA – the Russian game Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2016 From: Andrei Liakhov <gaffriloff@yahoo.co.uk> AFGHANISTAN TO SYRIA – the Russian game I have tried hard to stay off JRL for a while. Too much to do and too much to travel. It does not mean that I was not involved in various Russia related situations. Syria was/is […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Putin ups the stakes in Syria as he gets backed into a political corner” – BNE Intellinews/Ben Aris
Interfax: Casualties of law enforcement agencies reduce threefold in North Caucasus in 2015 – Interior Ministry
(Interfax – STAVROPOL, Feb 11, 2016) A decline in the number of clashes, bombings and shelling incidents continued in the North Caucasus in 2015, head of the Russian Interior Ministry department in the North Caucasus Federal District Sergei Chenchik said at a coordination conference of district police chiefs in Pyatigorsk. “The number of shelling incidents, bombings and clashes was significantly […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “PUTIN IS ON THE ROPES-THAT’S NO TIME TO GIVE GROUND” – Newsweek/Atlantic Council/Diane Francis
NEWSWATCH: “Russian Intervention in Syrian War Has Sharply Reduced U.S. Options.” – New York Times
The New York Times covers the impact of Russian military intervention on U.S. policymaking on Syria. … the United States has insisted there can be no military solution to the Syrian civil war, only a political accord between … al-Assad and the fractured, divided opposition groups that have been trying to topple him. … days of intense bombing that could […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Is Mr. Putin serious about making peace in Ukraine?” – Washington Post
NEWSLINK: “SBU claims finding firearms used against EuroMaidan activists” – Kyiv Post
U.S., Russia Make Syria Diplomacy Push as Assad Gains Ground
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Jonathan Tirone, Henry Meyer – February 10, 2016) The U.S. and Russia are seeking to revive Syrian peace talks as President Bashar al-Assad’s advance against rebels shifts the focus to the battlefield. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will meet with foreign ministers from Europe and the Middle East in […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: DIA Statement for the Record – Worldwide Threat Assessment [excerpt re Russia]
(Armed Services Committee, United States Senate – Vincent R. Stewart, Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency – February 9, 2016) RUSSIA Moscow continues to devote major resources to modernizing its military forces, viewing military power as critical to achieving key strategic objectives: acknowledged great power status, dominating smaller regional states and deterring NATO from military action in […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “In Syria, Russia Protects Its Interests From Above and Below” – Stratfor
Stratfor reports on the buildup of Russian air defenses in Syria in the aftermath of Turkey’s shoot-down of a Russian military aircraft. With such an extensive presence, Russia will be able to obstruct the war efforts of those opposed to Syrian President Bashar al Assad. The United States and its allies can still fly airstrikes against the Islamic State, but […]
» Read moreInterfax: Self-styled groups, not soldiers, fighting Islamic State – Chechen source
(Interfax – Moscow, February 9, 2016) There are self-styled groups of young people from Chechnya fighting the Islamic State terrorist group [ISIS] (which is banned in the Russian Federation) in Syria and Iraq, a source within the leadership of the Chechen Republic told Interfax. “There have been people from the Chechen Republic in the area of armed conflict in Syria […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: DNI – Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community [excerpt re: Russia] – Statement for the Record
(Senate Armed Services Committee – James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence – February 9, 2016) Leading Threat Actors Russia. Russia is assuming a more assertive cyber posture based on its willingness to target critical infrastructure systems and conduct espionage operations even when detected and under increased public scrutiny. Russian cyber operations are likely to target US interests to support […]
» Read moreU.S. National Intelligence Director Says Russia Is Paranoid, Aggressive
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – February 10, 2016) Russia is “paranoid” about NATO and is likely to continue “aggressive” actions this year to support its claim to great power status, U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in Senate testimony Tuesday. In a report on “Worldwide Threat Assessment” that Clapper presented to the Senate, Russia topped a […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Russia Helps Ukraine Battle Town Rebuild, Villages Struggle” – AP
NEWSLINK Stratfor: “In Syria, Russia Protects Its Interests From Above and Below”
NEWSLINK: “Mr. Obama stands by silently as Russia continues its onslaught in Syria” – Washington Post
NEWSLINK: “NATO Moving Toward New Deterrence Model. Pact will set the stage for alliance to position troops on its borders for first time since the Cold War.” – Wall Street Journal
NEWSLINK: “Why Russian-Turkish Hostility Makes Sense. Tensions between the two countries have heightened again, although this is not surprising when viewed in historical context” – Global Futures/George Friedman
The Daily Vertical: Putin Smells Blood
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – February 9, 2016) As the shaky Minsk cease-fire agreement nears its first anniversary, Russia clearly smells blood in Ukraine. Pro-Moscow separatists have increased their attacks in Donbas in recent weeks. Kyiv officials are reporting 71 attacks a day in the vicinity of Donetsk, Horlivka, and Mariupol. Yesterday, Vladimir Putin ordered snap military drills […]
» Read moreGrozny Says No Chechen Agents Helping Russia in Syria
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 9, 2016) An unidentified source in the Chechen government has claimed that there are no members of law enforcement agencies among Chechnya’s fighters in Syria, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday. The Chechens fighting in Syria consist of independent groups of young people who oppose the Islamic State, the source told the news agency. […]
» Read moreInterfax: Russians support humanitarian aid to Donbas, relative majority sees no change there – poll
MOSCOW. Feb 9 (Interfax) – Russians say that the Donbas situation has been unaltered, and support humanitarian aid to people in that region, yet, there is no unanimity regarding further policy towards the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, the Russian Public Opinion Study Center said. According to the poll, a relative majority of Russians (45%) ‘do not see any […]
» Read moreWhy Russia is steaming back into the Pacific
Russia’s power projection in the Pacific is in sync with its growing assertiveness globally, but it doesn’t necessarily threaten the U.S. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – RAKESH KRISHNAN SIMHA, SPECIAL TO RBTH – February 4, 2016) Russia is expanding its military presence in the Pacific in a manner not seen since the Cold War. From California to Guam […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Chechens Back Russians on the Ground in Syria Conflict. Special forces from Russia’s mostly Muslim region are on the ground helping Kremlin warplanes.” – Wall Street Journal
How likely is an armed conflict between Russia and Turkey?
As relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorate, the question of a possible armed conflict between the two countries is being discussed more frequently. RBTH asked Russian and Turkish military experts to comment on how likely this outcome would be and asked them to lay out the possible scenarios. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – YEKATERINA CHULKOVSKAYA, RBTH – February […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Obama wants to quadruple military spending in Europe to counter Russian aggression” – Washington Times
NEWSLINK: “UKRAINE AND THE LETHAL HAND OF HISTORY. Whatever the ambitions of Putin, his interference in Ukraine would have come to little without the country’s charged history of internal division.” – The Wilson Quarterly/Robert Thurston
NEWSLINK: “Ukraine Struggles to Recruit Soldiers for War in East” – Reuters
NEWSLINK: “How NATO’s Military Buildup Will Test Russia. More weapons are on their way to Moscow’s neighbors.” – The National Interest/Nikolas Gvosdev
Putin vs. Erdogan – This Time It’s Personal
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – February 4, 2016) On Feb. 2, Turkish President Recep Erdogan urgently sought an audience with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The Turkish ambassador in Moscow relayed the message, but has, it seems, yet to receive a response. It was the second time Erdogan has been rebuffed by Putin following Turkey’s downing of […]
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