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☆ The US Army's power to rapidly defeat enemies may be a thing of the past
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementModern weapons have become so accurate and lethal that soon armies will not be able to maneuver rapidly on the battlefield. This would require multiple jammers to disrupt enemy drones, guided rockets, and communication systems. Without maneuver, war becomes a battle of attrition, like the First World War, or siege warfare as with the Union and Confederate armies in front of Richmond in 1864. Advertisement"The West is not prepared for this kind of war," Vershinin said. AdvertisementMichael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications.

Persons: —, Alex Vershinin, Vershinin, Anthony Sweeney, jammers, Vladimir Putin, Michael Peck Organizations: US Army, Army, Service, Storm, US, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Patriot, Engineers, West, Union, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Greece, lockstep, Russia, Confederate, Richmond, Stalingrad, Normandy, Forbes

☆ Ukraine's military is shifting to a defensive strategy that failed Nazi Germany in WWII
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Ukraine's military has chosen a defensive strategy that echoes the German approach from WWII. AdvertisementAnswering that question first requires defining “active defense,” one of those broad military terms that mean different things to different people. Active defense is meant to be waged by large units, while Ukraine appears to conducting small-unit operations. “Active defense was understood to be generally applicable to divisions, corps and field armies,” Nash said. Even a limited ‘active defense’ needs all of these elements, too.”Last summer, Ukraine’s frontal assault with vehicles hit mines and were menaced by missiles fired from Russian helicopters.

Persons: today’s, Douglas Nash, ” Nash, “, –, Erich von Manstein, von Manstein, von Manstein’s, “ Von Manstein, Ukraine —, Russia —, Diego Herrera Carcedo, Erich Von Manstein, it’s, Von Manstein, Hitler, inflexibly, von Organizations: Third Reich, Red Army, US, US Army, Western Allies, Wehrmacht, Keystone, Getty, German, Reuters, AK, Russo, NATO, West, NATO —, Soviets Locations: Nazi Germany, Ukraine, Russia, today’s Ukraine, Berlin, Stalingrad, Germany, Italy, France, Kharkov, Ukrainian, Donetsk Oblast, Avdiivka, Ukraine’s, It’s, Russian, Warsaw, Western Europe, West Germany

☆ Russia and Ukraine are building up huge armies, but they both have the same problem with using them in battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Russian and Ukrainian militaries both lack junior officers who can lead large forces in battle. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe difference between an army and a well-armed mob often comes down to the presence of good junior officers. "The heavy attrition of experienced junior officers and trained field-grade staff has limited the scale at which offensive action can be synchronized." This same pattern can be seen today in Ukraine, where Russian operations have been characterized by rigid tactics and slow reaction times on the ground and in the air. AdvertisementAdvertisementCostumed folk singers pose with a Russian military officer during a celebration in Moscow in September.

Persons: —, Jack Watling, Viktor Fridshon, Watling, there's, Ed Ram, Arkady Budnitsky, Pavel Luzin, Luzin, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Getty, Bradley, Washington, Anadolu Agency, Russian, Jamestown Foundation, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, Stalingrad, Rostov, US, Russian, Moscow, Kyiv, Forbes

☆ Israel's ground invasion of Gaza will be way more deadly than the 'absolute hell' US Marines experienced in Fallujah, Iraq, geopolitical expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Israel has indicated it will soon begin a ground offensive into Gaza. A geopolitical expert who embedded with US Marines in Fallujah said it will be "absolute hell." AdvertisementAdvertisementIsrael's anticipated ground invasion of Gaza will be far more destructive and difficult than the "absolute hell" that US Marines experienced in Fallujah in Iraq, a geopolitical expert said. Kaplan noted that any ground invasion of Gaza will also likely to result in huge civilian casualties. "It was nothing like apartment houses right next to each other which you have in Gaza City.

Persons: Israel, —, Robert D, Kaplan Organizations: US Marines, Service, Marines, 1st Marine, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Fallujah, Hamas, Iraq, Iraqi, Gaza City, Israel, Stalingrad, US

☆ Opinion: War didn’t look like this when the Geneva Conventions were written
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Sheena Mckenzie | Opinion Mukesh Kapila | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Fatima Shbair/APHowever, modern urban warfare sets new records of ruination because more than half of us live in built-up areas. This is not illegal under the UN Charter but the concept of ’just’ war in international law requires protecting non-combatants. In urban war, fighters and civilians intermingleOften, the frontlines of urban conflicts cannot be clearly demarcated when fighters and civilians are intermingled. War has changed since the Geneva ConventionsThese new-style warriors were unknown when the Geneva Conventions emerged over a century ago. That violates international humanitarian law and is contrary to a UN political declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas.

Persons: Mukesh Kapila, “, Mukesh, Khan, Fatima Shbair Organizations: UN, Global Health, Humanitarian Affairs, University of Manchester, CNN, United Nations, Islamic, Hamas, International, International Committee, Cross, Food Program Locations: United, Sarajevo, Kabul, Kigali, Huambo, Goma, Gaza, Khartoum, Port, Jerusalem, Britain, Germany, Stalingrad, Beirut, Khan Younis, Geneva, Russian, Ukraine, Islamic State, Afghanistan, Yemen, Australia, Iraq, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Al, Aqsa, Israel

☆ She fled Ukraine and found belonging with her Russian boxing coach in America
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Akimova found her footing in a boxing gym run by a Russian trainer who became a grounding force. A Ukrainian refugee named Anzelika Akimova enters her fighting stance at the Eastern Block Boxing gym in Los Angeles. At the Eastern Block Boxing gym in Los Angeles, Russians and Ukrainians alike come to train. Before their paths aligned at Eastern Block Boxing, Poddubnov fought as an amateur boxer in Russia. Salman Poddubnov opened the boxing gym after a stint in prison, where he trained fellow inmates.

Persons: Anzelika Akimova, Arina, Akimova, Joe Biden's, Stella Kalinina, Salman Poddubnov, —, hadn't, ached, didn't, LIRS, Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, we've, Vignarajah, Poddubnov, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: Eastern, Karate, Lutheran Immigration, Refugee Service, Department of Homeland Security, TPS, Soviet Union Locations: Ukraine, Los Angeles, Russian, Ukrainian, California, Russians, Odesa, Kyiv, Akimova, Toluca Lake, North Hollywood, That's, Moldovan, Romania, Czech, Prague, Mexico, Tijuana, Mexicali, Calexico, Russia, Volzhsky, Stalingrad, Eastern, Poddubnov, Soviet, Soviet Union

Paris CNN —It’s 6.30 a.m. on a late summer morning in Paris. “We heard they were coming to take us today but I am not sure where to,” Obsa, a 31-year-old political refugee from Ethiopia, told CNN. Obsa was relying on emergency housing in a hotel but says it kicked him out after his wife joined him. Some 10 regional temporary shelters, known as SAS, have been set up around the country to welcome the new arrivals outside of Paris, according to the Dihal. The other problem is the lack of emergency housing spaces available in the regions where migrants are being transferred to.

Persons: they’ll, “, ”, Obsa, Dalal Mawad, CNN Obsa, Paul Alauzy, “ Marseille, Claudia Colliva, Yann Manzi, Gerald Darmanin, Emmanuel Macron, Harmonie Lecerf, Meunier, Brice, Meunier of Bordeaux, Sandrine Runel, ” Brice, Abdullatif Organizations: Paris CNN —, CNN, Du, Federation of Solidarity Actors, BFMTV, Paris Prefecture, Ministry of Housing, Paris, Staff, ” Police, Interministerial, of Interior, SAS, Olympic, Utopia, Games, Rugby World, ”, Medecins Du Monde Locations: Paris, Stalingrad, France, Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya, Italy, de, Bordeaux, ”, Marseille, French, “, ” Bordeaux, Lyon, Afghanistan

☆ Putin is openly worrying about revolutions, saying Russia has already hit its 'limit'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Putin offered up an unexpected and unusual appeal to history to discourage revolution this week. He said that Russia reached its "limit" on revolutions last century. "Such a blow was dealt to Russia in 1917, when the country was waging the First World War," Putin said, "but victory was stolen from it." The Russian leader's remarks on the threat of revolution Wednesday are reminiscent of a 2021 address in which Putin stressed that Russia had reached its limit on revolutions, RBC reported. "Russia," Putin said at the time," exhausted its limit on revolutions back in the 20th century.

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Service, for, RBC Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Soviet Union, Russian, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Stalingrad, Moscow

☆ Russian troops still build battlefield defenses like they did in World War II, and it's one of their rare successes in Ukraine, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russian troops have spent the past several months constructing intricate fortifications in Ukraine. Ukrainian troops now have the tough task of fighting their way through those trenches and barriers. Current Russian fortification doctrine has seen "little methodological change" since the Cold War, according to the RUSI report. BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty ImagesClearing minefields is difficult because Russian mines have multiple triggers and anti-tampering devices. In addition, Russia did not sign the 1997 Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, which has allowed its forces to "freely utilize victim-initiated" anti-personnel mines, RUSI said.

Persons: —, Doce, BEN STANSALL, Ukraine isn't, Dominika Zarzycka, RUSI, Obama, Trump, Biden, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Red Army, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Technologies, Russian, REUTERS, Bradley, Getty, US, Pentagon, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Stalingrad, Velyka Blahovischenka, Kherson Oblast, Russia, Luhansk, Crimea, Posad, Kherson, Ukrainian, England, AFP, Russian, Finland, Nemishaieve, Bucha, Ottawa, North, South Korea, Forbes

☆ Russia is claiming victory in Bakhmut, but the price it paid for it 'doesn't bode well' for Putin's bigger plans, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Russian forces are claiming victory in Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region. Russian leadership praised Wagner for its achievements in the devastated city of Bakhmut and promised the presentation of state awards. Casualty estimates likely skew significantly higher for Russian forces. AdvertisementAdvertisementBy April 11, Russian forces occupied over 76 percent of the city, according to a terrain assessment from the ISW think tank. An aerial view of Bakhmut, the site of heavy battles with Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, March 26, 2023.

Persons: it's, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Gen, Oleksandr Syrskiy, Bakhmut, Wagner, ISW, Russia's, Vladimir Putin's, bode, Jeffrey Edmonds, Jens Stoltenberg, Marina Miron, Zelenskyy, Putin, Miron, Edmonds Organizations: Military, Service, Wagner Group, Institute for, CIA, AP Moscow, Russian, NATO, CNN, Moscow, AP, King's College London's Centre, Military Ethics, Bakhmut Locations: Bakhmut, Ukraine's Donetsk, Ukrainian, Moscow, Washington, Ukraine, Berlin, Soviet, Stalingrad, Russia, Kyiv, Donbas, Donetsk, Kramatorsk, Moreso

REUTERS/Sofiia GatilovaKYIV, May 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military said it had made new advances on Wednesday in heavy fighting near the eastern city of Bakhmut, and that Russia was continuing to send in new units including paratroopers. Moscow sees Bakhmut, a city of about 70,000 before Russia's invasion, as a stepping stone towards capturing the rest of the eastern industrial Donbas region bordering Russia. Ukrainian officials have signalled the advances around Bakhmut are not part of a broader counteroffensive planned by Kyiv to push back the Russian forces. Prigozhin, in an audio statement, appeared to confirm Ukrainian forces now held an advantage in Bakhmut and he newly criticized Russian commanders. "Russian troops have lost the initiative on the flanks - our troops have cut off those flanks," Musiyenko told NV Radio.

☆ Russian troops taking over from Wagner in Bakhmut are abandoning their positions, Ukrainian officer claims: 'As soon as they are afraid, they just run'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian officer said Russian troops are abandoning their Bakhmut positions out of fear. "As soon as Wagner left and the regular Russian troops stepped in, they abandoned their positions," he said, adding: "The Wagner fighters would hold positions until the very end. The Wagner Group, which has thousands of mercenary fighters and prisoners serving in Ukraine, has spearheaded Russia's efforts to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Western officials estimated in early March that up to 30,000 Russian troops had been killed or injured in the city. Zhydkov described a day when Russian soldiers used a grenade launcher to get into a five-story apartment building that was controlled by Ukrainian forces.

☆ Ukrainian troops blew up their own building to trap Russian forces after they blasted their way inside with a tank, commander says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian forces used a tank to blast their way into a building in the war-torn city of Bakhmut. Ukrainian troops in the building left and blew it up to trap them, The New York Times reported. He said in one instance, Russian troops used a tank to blast through the walls of an apartment building held by Kyiv's forces. He told the Times the Ukrainians placed explosives around the building, quickly left, and the blew up the apartment while the Russians were still inside. Captured German soldiers, make their way in the bitter cold through the ruins of Stalingrad, Russia, in 1943.

☆ US journalist detained in Russia reportedly reading famous anti-Soviet novel by a Ukrainian Jew as he sits in notorious ex-KGB prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The WSJ reporter detained in Moscow is reportedly reading a famous anti-Soviet novel. The book, which equated crimes of the Nazis and the Soviets, was written by a Ukrainian Jew. "Life and Fate" was not published in the Soviet Union into 1988, when Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of glasnost allowed for greater freedom of expression. "This is a novel written by a Jew that concludes that the Soviet Union had come to resemble Nazi Germany," historian Walter Laqueur told the Washington Post in 1987, shortly before the novel was finally published in the Soviet Union. His parents were part of a large wave of Jews who fled the Soviet Union due to ongoing persecution.

☆ Ukrainian sniper says there's no duels like in movies and that he prefers his AK to his expensive sniper rifle for front-line fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian snipers recently spoke with Military Times about their evolving role in the Ukraine war. The soldier added that he prefers to use a Kalashnikov rifle over his expensive, long-range sniper weapon. "Sniper duels are just a silly thing from the movies," Artyom told Military Times, adding that when Russian troops "really want to get us, they use mortars — or if we're really unlucky, white phosphorus." One of Artyom's students, who goes by Yevhen, said in an interview with Military Times that there is "not much need for snipers" around Bakhmut. "The enemy attempts to take full control of the city of Bakhmut, continuing the assault," it said in a Facebook update.

☆ Fact Check-Paris videos of people lying and fighting in streets are from 2016
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The clip has been merged with another video showing clashes in Paris in 2016. The videos do not depict the current garbage-workers strike and protests in the French capital. The first video, however, appears to show scenes in October 2016 following an immigration raid on a camp in the French capital (here). The second clip appears to show clashes outside Paris Stalingrad Metro station in April 2016 (here). The videos do not show Paris in 2023 but depict scenes from the French capital in 2016.

☆ Russia and Ukraine's deadliest battle is starting to look like Stalingrad 'without the importance,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia and Ukraine both say Bakhmut, a city in Ukraine, is the site of their deadliest fighting. An expert on Russia's military likened it to Stalingrad, but without the same level of significance. But at least Stalingrad was an industrial city, a major inland port on the Volga River that was a vital transportation artery for Soviet war production and home to a half-million people. Western experts are struggling to understand why both sides are pouring enormous resources — and prestige — into the Battle of Bakhmut. "It's like becoming like a Stalingrad except for without the importance of Stalingrad."

With Russia embroiled in conflict again in Ukraine, in what the Kremlin says is a fresh existential battle for national survival, memories of the Soviet dictator loom large. "Firstly, thank you for the victory (in World War Two)," said 21-year-old Madina in a typically mixed view of Stalin's legacy among people on the streets of Moscow. said Moscow resident Andrei, 31, praising Stalin as a strong unifying personality whose war victory should be lauded. Today, Gori's Stalin museum, located on the town's Stalin Avenue, is the town's most famous tourist attraction, drawing visitors from across the world. In 2010, the Georgian government ordered the town's Stalin statue removed, saying he did not deserve it.

☆ Two Germans parked a mangled Russian tank in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin as an anniversary gift
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A ruined Russian tank has been dumped outside the country's embassy in Berlin. The rusted heap appeared as a vivid symbol on the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The gesture came on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The destroyed T-72 1B tank sits at an intersection near the embassy on the city's famed Unter den Linden boulevard. A ruined Russian T-72 tank sits on a flatbed truck outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, in February 2023.

☆ German peace activists park rusty tank outside Russian embassy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Berlin, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Activists protesting against Russia's invasion of Ukraine parked a destroyed, rusty tank directly in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin on Friday, bringing a piece of the battlefield to the centre of the German capital. The Russian embassy was not available for comment. They said it was transferred to Germany with the help of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry and the Ukrainian National Museum of Military History. The district office of Berlin's Mitte borough rejected Lenze's and Giebel's application to display the tank last year, citing concerns including road safety. The tank will subsequently tour through Europe and may end up in a German tank museum.

☆ Mercenary leader Prigozhin says Russia faces resistance in taking Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Prigozhin, an entrepreneur and restaurateur, has attracted attention as fighting raged in this campaign. "Bakhmut is needed so our troops can operate comfortably," Prigozhin said. Ukrainian troops are well trained ... and like any large city it is impossible to capture it from head-on. Military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said the situation around Bakhmut probably remained the most difficult sector faced by Ukraine's forces as Russia deploys more and more conscripts. "The area south of Bakhmut is a very difficult sector," Zhdanov said in an online interview.

☆ Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchi fooled the art market — and made millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“The forgery was almost incidental,” Wolfgang told Fischer. “They are storytellers, together, which is why they did a lot of research,” Fischer told CNN in a video call. Wolfgang told her that he only produced pictures he considered beautiful, and he believed the owners enjoyed them as much as the art market profited from them. In 2014, Wolfgang told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that in addition to the court-imposed damages, he had settled lawsuits worth $27 million. From her conversations with Wolfgang, Fischer concluded that both of his parents were “severely traumatized” by their experiences during World War II.

Persons: Wolfgang Beltracchi, Heinrich Campendonk —, Steve Martin, Wolfgang, Helene, Heinrich Campendonk, Peter Endig, Max Ernst, Fernand Léger, Kees van Dongen, Derain, Jeannette Fischer, Fischer, ” Wolfgang, “, ”, ’, ” Fischer, Paul Hahn, Hendrick Avercamp, Christie’s, Robin Hood, hadn’t, CNN Fischer, Picasso, —, aren’t, Leonardo da Vinci’s, Salvador Mundi, Andy Warhol, Vincent van Gogh Organizations: CNN, New York Times, Der, Art, CBS, Scheidegger Locations: Halle, Germany, Hitler’s Germany, Switzerland, France, Cologne, ”, Stalingrad

☆ Germany's Scholz: Putin has not threatened me or Germany - Bild
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin in his telephone conversations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz "has not made any threats against me or Germany," Scholz said in an interview with Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag. Scholz said the conversations he had with Putin made it clear they had very different views of the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a "special military operation." "I make it very clear to Putin that Russia has sole responsibility for the war," Scholz said. "Russia has invaded its neighbour for no reason, in order to take parts of Ukraine or the whole country under its control," Scholz said. Putin casts the military operation in Ukraine as a fight to "disarm" his neighbour, a fellow former Soviet republic, and defend Russia against an aggressive West.

☆ Putin says Russia faces German tanks, just like at Stalingrad, but hints that this time Moscow has nukes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Putin made another veiled nuclear threat on Thursday as the Ukraine war rages on. This came as the Russian leader likened the war to the battle of Stalingrad during WWII. But in the case of Stalingrad, Russia (then part of the USSR) was being invaded — not doing the invading. It's incredible but it's a fact: we are again being threatened with German Leopard tanks with crosses on them," Putin added. The Leopard tanks will be operated by Ukrainians, and Germany joined the US and the UK in offering battle tanks to aid Ukraine in regaining territory it has lost since Russia invaded almost a year ago.

☆ Putin expected to channel Stalingrad victory at key moment in Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Tatiana Gomozova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kirill BragaVOLGOGRAD, Russia, Feb 2 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin is expected to use an event to mark the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in Stalingrad 80 years ago to rally Russians around his military campaign in Ukraine later on Thursday. Since Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February last year in what he called a "special military operation", Russian officials have drawn parallels with World War Two and the struggle against the Nazis. Ukraine - which itself suffered devastation at the hands of Hitler's forces - rejects those parallels and accuses Russia of waging a war of imperial conquest. Thousands of people lined Volgograd's streets on Thursday to watch a victory parade as planes flew overhead and modern and World War Two-era tanks and armoured vehicles trundled through the city centre. Some of the modern vehicles had the letter 'V' painted on them, a symbol used by Russia's forces fighting in Ukraine.

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