DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Formed in the Cold War, former members of Germany’s Red Army Faction are now fugitives
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —German authorities have been tracking down the former members of the Red Army Faction (RAF), a now-defunct Cold War-era militant group, who have been on the run for nearly 30 years. The RAF, he said, emerged in what was then West Berlin, at the “crossroads” of the Cold War. The first, and most prominent period from 1970-1977, saw the group murder public officials and US soldiers and take many hostages. In April 1975, six RAF members seized the West German Embassy in Stockholm in a hostage standoff with the goal of forcing the release of imprisoned RAF members. The Red Army Faction claimed responsibility for the assassination, but the perpetrators were never brought to justice.

Persons: Baader, –, Jürgen Ponto, Siegfried Buback, Daniela Klette, Burkhard Garweg, Ernst, Volker Staub, Klette, Claudia Ivone, Garweg, Staub, pouncing, ”, Ivone, Wolfgang Kraushaar, Kraushaar, Axel, Andreas Baader, Ukrike Meinhof, Meinhof, ” Kraushaar, Helmut Schmidt, Franz Josef Strauss, Axel Springer, Springer, Alfred Herrhausen, Willy Brandt Organizations: CNN, Red Army Faction, RAF, East, Stasi, Dresdner Bank, Germany’s Public, Office, Police, ARD, ” Reuters, Bild, Red Brigades, Nihon, Springer, Criminal Police, West German Embassy, West, Meinhof Group, Reuters, Democratic, Deutsche Bank Locations: Berlin, West Germany, Kreuzberg, Bonn, Weiterstadt, German, Italy, Japan, West Berlin, Vietnam, Lower Saxony, Stockholm, Bavarian, Cologne, GDR, Democratic Republic

☆ Ukraine sends the powerhouse 82nd Air Assault Brigade into battle, as generals decide 'to put all their chips on the table,' says defense analyst
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's 82nd Air Assault Brigade has officially joined the counteroffensive against the Russian invasion forces, the Kyiv Post reports. Leaked documents from earlier this year revealed the 82nd Brigade was a formidable unit with about 150 NATO-supplied armored infantry carriers. Forbes called the 82nd Brigade "almost comically powerful" as it represents half of its best NATO-delivered infantry armored vehicles. The 82nd Brigade, and its sister air-assault unit, the 46th Brigade, had previously been held in reserve. The 82nd Brigade is reportedly active in the village of Robotyne, in the southern Zaporizhzhia Region of Ukraine.

Persons: Michael Clarke, Forbes, They're, Shane Charles Ukraine's, Clarke, they've, it's, Jimmy Rushton, Victor Ayala Clarke, Rushton Organizations: Air Assault Brigade, Service, 82nd Brigade, NATO, Stryker, British Challenger, Politico, Challenger, Forbes, Brigade, British, Royal United Services Institute, 46th Brigade, US Army Stryker, US Army, Spc, Ukraine, The Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russian, Ukraine, London, Kyiv, Fort Polk, Louisiana, Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Region, Urozhaine, Zaporizhzhia Oblast

UK Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace said NATO countries "are struggling to find ways" to keep ammunition supplied to Ukraine as Russia's full-scale invasion continues past 500 days. "Huge amounts of munitions are being fired and used," he said at a panel during the NATO summit In Vilnius, Lithuania. Wallace told CNN on Wednesday that because of the shortages, he understands why the US opted to provide controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine in an attempt to fill the gap. But, he added, “we've signed the treaty, we feel that we can't champion the use of (cluster munitions). Wallace also said a big specific challenge they see with Ukraine is its ability to shut down runways being used by Russian planes.

Persons: Ben Wallace, Wallace, ”, ” Wallace, “ we've, Joe Biden, Biden, Jake Sullivan Organizations: NATO, CNN Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania, United States

☆ Factbox: Who are the forces involved in Ukraine's counteroffensive?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here's what we know about the new Ukrainian units. TWELVE BRIGADESNATO allies and partners helped Ukraine equip and train nine new armoured brigades for the counteroffensive, the military alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed in April. By April, Ukrainian units had received more than 1,550 armoured vehicles, 230 tanks, other equipment and vast amounts of ammunition, Stoltenberg said. In mid-May, one Russian military blog noted a buildup of Ukrainian forces and equipment in southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region, estimating Kyiv's troop numbers at 50,000-55,000. ARE ANY OF THESE UNITS FIGHTING YET?

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Ihor Klymenko, Kara Dag, Chervona, Valerii Markus, Jaeger, Tom Balmforth, Hugh Lawson Organizations: NATO, Steel, Hurricane, Reuters, Bradley, 35th Marine Brigade, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, U.S, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Azov, Crimea, Russia, Ukrainian

☆ Opinion: In Ukraine, the Russian military response to the counteroffensive shows how it’s improved – and how it hasn’t
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Opinion Sébastien Roblin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The beginning of the much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia seems not to have been a resounding success for Kyiv. But they don’t mean that all is lost for Ukraine – or even that Ukraine is now losing. Russia’s artillery ammunition, missile stockpiles and most-modern ground combat vehicles were gravely depleted, so 60-year-old tanks have been withdrawn from storage. It was while attempting to breach a path through one such fortified minefield that the 47th Brigade’s vehicles bogged down last week. Notably, a parallel drive toward Mariupol at the same time as the 47th’s failed attack last week has made fast gains, compelling Russian forces to withdraw from several settlements.

Persons: Sébastien Roblin, Bradley, ” Sebastien Roblin, Sebastien Roblin, Putin, Biden, —, Jens Stoltenberg, ” Organizations: Popular Mechanics, NBC, Forbes.com, Georgetown University, Peace Corps, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine’s 47th Brigade, Ukraine, Red Army, 47th Brigade, NATO, Twitter, Facebook Locations: China, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Kursk, Kherson, Normandy, Berdyansk, Crimea

☆ How is Ukraine’s counter-offensive going so far?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Western equipment like battle tanks and armoured vehicles should help protect the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. "Ukraine's got choices," said Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at International Institute for Strategic Studies. Those thrusts may indicate Ukraine's generals have their eye on Tokmak, an occupied town in Zaporizhzia region some 25 km from the front line. Military analysts saw it as unlikely this would become the focus of the main Ukrainian offensive. Images shared by Russian military bloggers showed destroyed or damaged U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Leopard 2 tanks, headline items of military aid sent by the West for the counteroffensive.

Persons: Rob Lee, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's, Ben Barry, Lee, Konrad Muzyka, Hanna Maliar, Muzyka, Maliar, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Jack Watling, Tom Balmforth, Mark Trevelyan, Mike Collett, White, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Western, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Reuters, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russian, West, Interior Ministry, Deputy, Troops, Military, Bradley, Leopards, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, KYIV, Ukraine, Russia, Crimea, Moscow, Kherson, Kharkiv, Poland, Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Zaporizhzia, Melitopol, Velyka Novosilka, Bakhmut

☆ Analysis: Ukraine counteroffensive takes shape but main test still to come
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Moscow's strategy in the south likely aims to maximise Ukrainian casualties before Kyiv can reach the main Russian line of defences about 10-15 km (6-9 miles) away, according to Lee. The main thrusts have come near the Kyiv-controlled town of Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia region and Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk region, about 80 km to the east. "My main concern five or six days into this main phase is that the progress appears to have stopped. Military analysts saw it as unlikely this would become the focus of the main Ukrainian offensive. Images shared by Russian military bloggers showed destroyed or damaged U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Leopard 2 tanks, headline items of military aid sent by the West for the counteroffensive.

☆ Ukraine appears to be playing a deadly 'game' as the big counteroffensive gets underway, and its main attack is likely still to come
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukrainian counteroffensive operations are happening at various points along the front lines with mixed results. But the main attack likely hasn't started yet as each side tries to outfox the other, experts say. Both sides look to be playing a deadly "game" aimed at getting a read on the threat, as well as misleading and misdirecting the enemy, and the main attack is likely still to come, experts say. "We haven't committed our main forces," a source in Ukraine's General Staff told The Economist Sunday, adding that "the Russians haven't committed their main forces." "The offensive has clearly started," he observed, "but not I think the main attack."

Persons: —, GENYA SAVILOV, George Barros, Barros, haven't, ISW, Serhii, Ben Hodges, Hodges Organizations: Service, Bradley, Getty, Institute, Ukraine's General Staff, US Army, US Army Europe, Sunday Center for, Ukrainian, Staff Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Donetsk, AFP

☆ How will we know when Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive has started? Experts say look for the Western armor.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But military experts say Kyiv's use of Western armor will signal the start of a larger offensive. "The Ukrainian counteroffensive, I think, is going to start with a bang, literally and figuratively," Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine Corps Reserve colonel, told Insider. Ukraine's expected counterpunch will come on the heels of what turned out to be a lackluster offensive carried out by Russian forces during the winter. The armored vehicles in particular are expected to help Ukraine hit hard and exploit gains quickly with shock, firepower, and mobility. You want to keep the Russian armed forces guessing as to, is this actually the commitment of their main forces?"

☆ A Ukrainian counterattack has the Wagner boss sounding alarms on a counteroffensive in 'full swing,' claiming Zelenskyy played everyone
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Chris Panella | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Wagner boss Prigozhin said on Thursday that Ukraine's "counteroffensive is in full swing." On his social media channels, Prigozhin accused Zelenskyy of lying when he said in a media interview that Ukraine needed more time before it could carry out a counteroffensive. Ukrainian forces signaled that they carried out "effective counterattacks" that forced some Russian soldiers to retreat. Zelenskyy, in a recent interview with public service broadcasters part of Eurovision News, said Ukraine still needs more time before a counteroffensive. Ukraine's combat brigades were "ready," Zelenskyy said, but his military still needs "some things" like armored vehicles that had been "arriving in batches."

☆ A muddy mess in Ukraine is making trouble for new howitzers so sensitive to dirt they come with their own vacuum cleaners
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Soldiers have to be very clean and careful when entering the vehicles, The New York Times reported. Germany has sent 14 Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, according to an inventory of its military support to Kyiv. Each howitzer even comes with a vacuum cleaner, and the barrels sometimes have to be cleaned with a long brush. That said, the Ukrainian forces operating the German-made howitzers have reportedly seen some successes against Russian tank and infantry units despite the current conditions on the ground. Ukrainian forces have been gearing up to launch a much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia after receiving a massive influx of heavy armor and advanced military hardware from the US and its Western partners.

The debate centers on the precise form and function of the new fighting vehicles — but it misses the point. (The guns on the Bradley and Marder are smaller-caliber, while the AMX is wheeled rather than tracked.) And despite the downsides of providing these more sophisticated vehicles, armored vehicles can help capture ground whereas artillery, even if more lethal and at least as important, by itself can’t. A Marder infantry fighting vehicle of the German armed forces participates in the NATO Iron Wolf military exercises on Oct. 26, 2022, in Pabrade, Lithuania. Nonetheless, supplying new, tougher armored vehicles will improve Ukraine’s ability to liberate territory.

Search resuls for: "Red Brigades"

12 mentions found