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☆ Japan to deploy missile defence unit in Yonaguni, near Taiwan - Jiji
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Ministry of Defence will deploy a surface-to-air missile defence unit in Yonaguni Island, the country's westernmost island, near Taiwan, Jiji news reported on Tuesday. The instalment of missile troops is part of a plan to expand a Ground Self-Defense Force camp on the island, part of Okinawa prefecture, to reinforce defence of Japan's southwestern islands, Jiji quoted ministry spokesperson Takeshi Aoki as saying. Earlier this month, Japan unveiled its biggest military build-up since World War Two with a $320 billion plan that would buy missiles capable of striking China as regional tensions and Russia's Ukraine invasion stoke war fears. read moreReporting by Kantaro Komiya Editing by Chang-Ran KimOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia is considering plans to expand its military by around 30%, to 1.5 million troops, says British intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin was given a plan to boost Russia's military by 30%, to 1.5 million personnel, the UK MOD said. It is not clear when Russia would have these new troops and how it would get them, the UK MOD added. Sweden and Russian neighbor Finland applied to join NATO in May, citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and are close to the end of the process. Russia's army has struggled since its invasion of Ukraine, with widespread reports and intelligence updates highlighting poor training and low morale among its troops. In September, Russia announced a partial mobilization of an additional 300,000 troops, which it said was completed in October.

☆ Japan to hike annual defence budget by a quarter to buy Tomahawks and other weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Tim Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Issei Kato/Pool/File PhotoTOKYO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Japan on Friday said it will hike defence spending by more than a quarter next year including $1.6 billion to buy U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles that will be part of its biggest military build-up since World War Two. The budget, which lawmakers will approve before April, allocates 897 billion yen for weapons development, more than in the previous four years combined. Tokyo plans to begin deploying those new weapons in around three years, a Ministry of Defence official said at a briefing. Japan, which relinquished its right to wage war after its defeat in World War Two, plans to double defence outlays to 2% of gross domestic product within five years. To reinforce its air fighting capability, it also plans to buy 16 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35 stealth fighters for 250 billion yen.

☆ The UK is sending Ukraine a newer, longer-range missile that lets humans guide it all the way to the target
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Brimstone missiles are anti-armor weapons, and the original has already been sent to Ukraine. Brimstone 2 has an added feature: the ability for a human to guide the missile to its target. The Brimstone 2 is a longer-range version of the original Brimstone air-launched anti-tank missile already issued to Ukrainian forces. A Brimstone missile at British Royal Air Force base RAF Marham in December 2015. Brimstone missiles are visible at the lowest point under the fuselage.

Putin acknowledged, not for the first time, that the call-up of 300,000 reservists that he ordered in September had not gone smoothly. "The partial mobilisation that was carried out revealed certain problems, as everyone well knows, which should be promptly addressed," he said. Putin also referred to other unspecified problems in the military and said that constructive criticism should be heeded. It was the latest in a series of recent comments in which Putin has acknowledged, albeit obliquely, the challenges his army is facing. Shoigu proposed raising the age for mandatory Russian military service to a new range of 21-30, compared to 18-27 at the moment.

☆ Russia's Wagner Group officers hide in cover and watch with drones as 'expendable' troops are sent to die in Ukraine, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Wagner Group paramilitary, known for brutality, is fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine. Wagner is one of the many feuding factions carrying out Russia's invasion of Ukraine alongside its main armed forces. The UK update said his Wagner militia was taking a "major role in attritional combat" in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Prigozhin, was seen traveling to prisons and penal colonies in September to recruit soldiers after Russian troops suffered major losses in Ukraine. Since fighting in Ukraine, the group has been forced to lower its standards in order to replenish its ranks.

☆ UK to hold inquiry into allegations special forces killed Afghan civilians
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Britain's defence ministry announced on Thursday an inquiry into allegations that its special forces carried out dozens of extrajudicial killings during night raids in Afghanistan. The announcement follows a report by BBC television's Panorama programme in July that alleged soldiers from the elite Special Air Service (SAS) had killed 54 people in suspicious circumstances. The inquiry, which will be led by senior judge Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, would also look at the adequacy of the response to the allegations, the MoD said. "The UK's armed forces rightly hold themselves to the highest possible operational standards," Murrison said. "Operations must be conducted within the clear boundaries of the law and credible allegations against our forces must always be investigated thoroughly."

☆ Afghan journalists tell London court Britain has "betrayed debt of gratitude"
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Eight Afghan journalists who worked for the BBC and other British media organisations are challenging the British government's refusal to relocate them, arguing that they are at high risk of being killed by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. The journalists "worked alongside and in support of the British government's mission" in Afghanistan and put their lives at risk, their lawyers told London's High Court on Thursday. He added in written arguments that the Ministry of Defence’s decision that the journalists were not eligible under the government's Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) programme was unlawful. The journalists "were activists against the Taliban and participated in [government] media freedom campaigns, notwithstanding that they worked for independent bodies," Straw said. He added that all the eight journalists' applications under the ARAP programme were refused because they were not eligible for relocation under the policy.

☆ One dead as fresh clashes erupt between Afghan, Pakistani border forces
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Gul Yousafzai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Abdul Khaliq AchakzaiQUETTA, Pakistan, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Clashes erupted once again between the border forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan near the key Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing on Thursday, resulting in one death and over a dozen injuries, Pakistani officials said. Thursday's fighting started when Pakistani forces repairing a portion of the border fence damaged during Sunday's clashes came under attack from the Afghan side of the frontier, a provincial official Balochistan, Zahid Saleem, told Reuters. Both sides blamed each other for instigating Sunday's clashes. Afghanistan's ministry of defence, run by the Taliban administration, said in a post on Twitter that Pakistani forces had opened fire first, and called for a resolution of the issue through negotiations. The police spokesman of the Afghan province of Kandahar did not reply to a Reuters request for comment on the casualties.

The Special Technology Centre did not respond to a written request for comment. Russia's Ministry of Defence did not respond to questions from Reuters about the impact of sanctions and its relationship to the Special Technology Centre. Reached by phone, Alexey Terentyev, a top scientist and major shareholder at the Special Technology Centre, said the war has forced it to focus on making drones. Those corporate records show iLogic is based at the same St Petersburg office address as the Special Technology Centre. In a brief telephone interview, Roman Agafonnikov, chief executive officer of the Special Technology Centre, said he didn't know anything about iLogic.

☆ Russia’s army is so ineffective it will probably not be able to take much territory in Ukraine for ‘the next several months’, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK MOD said Russia looked unlikely to make any big gains in Ukraine for months. It's highly unlikely that Russia can generate an effective striking force in the coming months, it said. Ukraine, meanwhile, predicted an increase in its offensive moves once the ground freezes. The British defense ministry said in an intelligence update on Monday that "Russian ground forces are unlikely to make operationally significant advances within the next several months." On December 3, Avril Haines, the US National Intelligence Director, said that winter conditions are expected to slow the war, and that there was already a "reduced tempo."

☆ Some Russian soldiers in Ukraine unhappy with top brass, Girkin says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nearly 10 months since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine, there is no end in sight to the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Some at the mid-levels of the military, Girkin said, were open about their dissatisfaction with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and even Putin. The United States' top general estimated on Nov. 9 that Russia and Ukraine had each seen more than 100,000 of their soldiers killed or wounded. Russia, Putin says, is defending Russians in Ukraine against a decadent West that ultimately wants to carve up Russia's vast resources and eradicate Russian civilisation. Ukraine and the West say Putin has no justification for what they cast as an imperial-style war of occupation.

☆ Japan, Britain and Italy to build jet fighter together
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a ground-breaking partnership spanning Europe and Asia that is Japan’s first major industrial defense collaboration beyond the United States since World War II. Amid what it sees as deteriorating regional security, Japan this month will announce a military build up plan that is expected to double defense spending to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years. “It’s also good for our international reputation”The proposed jet fighter aircraft Tempest, shown during the Farnborough Airshow, in southern England in July. Britain also wants Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors who will work on the aircraft, sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. “The United States supports Japan’s security and defense cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy,” the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement with Japan’s Ministry of Defense.

TOKYO/LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a ground-breaking partnership spanning Europe and Asia that is Japan's first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two. Amid what it sees as deteriorating regional security, Japan this month will announce a military build up plan that is expected to double defence spending to about 2% of gross domestic product over five years. Britain also want Japan to improve how it provides security clearances to contractors who will work on the aircraft, sources with knowledge of the discussion told Reuters. The United States, which has pledged to defend all three countries through its membership of NATO and a separate security pact with Japan, also welcomed the joint Europe-Japan agreement. "The United States supports Japan's security and defence cooperation with likeminded allies and partners, including with the United Kingdom and Italy," the U.S. Department of Defense said in a joint statement with Japan's Ministry of Defense.

☆ Nigeria military ran secret mass abortion program in war on Boko Haram
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

The existence of the army-run abortion programme hasn’t been previously reported. The conflict zone The abortion programme has taken place in the northeastern states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, where the Nigerian military has been fighting Islamist insurgents. A spokesperson for Jonathan told Reuters that the former president had “no knowledge of any allegation of such heinous acts” by the Nigerian Army. Some of the most powerful military leaders in Nigeria oversaw counterinsurgency operations in the northeast as the abortion programme grew. Waging war on Boko Haram The abortion programme began during the presidency of Jonathan.

SEOUL, Dec 5 (Reuters) - North Korea said it fired more than 130 artillery shells into the sea off its east and west coasts on Monday after detecting military drills across the border in the South. The South Korean military sent several warning communications to the North over the firing, the ministry of defence said in a statement. South Korea and the United States were conducting a joint land-based firing drill near the border in Cheorwon County in the middle of the peninsula on Monday. North Korea has criticised the joint drills as evidence of a hostile policy by Washington and Seoul. South Korea has accused the North of repeatedly violating the agreement with artillery drills this year, including one day in mid-October when more than 500 rounds were fired into the sea.

☆ The UK Navy's new drone submarine is the length of an iconic London bus and will help to 'dominate the underwater battlespace'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Bethany Dawson | Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK military has signed a £15.4 million ($18.7 million) contract to buy a crewless submarine. The First Sea Lord Admiral says it allows the Royal Navy to further their mission to "dominate the underwater battlespace." First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key has said: "This Extra Large Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is a capability step-change in our mission to dominate the underwater battlespace." Celebrating the news of the new Navy vessel, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said: "To meet the growing threats to our underwater infrastructure, the Royal Navy needs to be ahead of the competition with cutting-edge capabilities. We have the right equipment to protect the security of the UK and our Allies."

☆ Russia is drafting soldiers with 'serious, chronic health conditions' to fight in Ukraine: UK intel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is drafting fighters with chronic health problems to fight in Ukraine, UK intelligence said. "Mobilized reservists have highly likely experienced particularly heavy casualties," it concluded. In an intelligence update Thursday, the ministry addressed the mobilization of reservists by the Russian military in its invasion of Ukraine. Russia ordered the mobilization of around 300,000 reservists in September, after its military suffered heavy casualties in its invasion of Ukraine. Both sides though have sustained heavy casualties.

☆ NATO troops hold drills in Poland's Suwalki Gap
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Kuba Stezycki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KLUSY, Poland, Nov 25 (Reuters) - NATO forces took part in drills in northern Poland on Friday, an area of crucial significance to the security of the alliance's eastern flank. "As part of these drills there were exercises that... were formulated based on our experience and observation of the battlefield in Ukraine," said Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. The TUMAK- 22 exercises involve 2,000 soldiers from land and air forces, the Polish Ministry of Defence said. On the snowy day, drills included practicing crossing water and landing. The drill saw dozens of Polish and allied soldiers cross the water with military vehicles on amphibious transporters, while U.S. troops in Abrams tanks simulated chasing the enemy.

☆ Ukraine is attempting to retake a crucial spit of land that could disrupt Russia's missile barrages
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Kinburn Spit has been a site for Russian missile launches, and offers control of Ukraine's main river. But if Ukraine were to retake the Kinburn Spit, it would get a significant new advantage. A map showing where the Kinburn Spit is in relation to the Black Sea and the city of Kherson. Google Maps/InsiderUkraine regaining the peninsula would "relieve" those areas from Russia's strikes by putting them out of range, it said. Whoever gets the peninsula also gains significant control over the entrance to the Dnipro, Ukraine's most significant waterway, the ISW noted.

☆ Britain says Russia has nearly exhausted current stock of Iran-made weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 23 (Reuters) - Russia has likely launched a number of Iranian manufactured un-crewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) against Ukraine since September, Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday. It's also likely that Russia has nearly exhausted its current stock of Iran-made weapons and will seek resupply, the ministry said in its daily intelligence update posted on Twitter. The Russian attacks have been a combination of UAVs and traditional reusable armed systems, it added. Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia raised a record $13.6 billion in one day as the cost of Vladimir Putin's war with Ukraine keeps mounting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia raised more than $13 billion in a day as the cost of Putin's war in Ukraine keeps mounting. Britain's Defence Intelligence said it was the largest amount Moscow had raised in a single day. Russia's defence spending for 2023 is estimated to be 40% higher than previously forecast. The true cost of Russia's invasion of Ukraine remains unclear. The government estimated in the summer that it needed $5 billion a month to maintain essential services, and some $750 billion for reconstruction.

☆ Biden disputes Zelenskyy's claim that the missile that hit Poland was not Ukrainian: 'That's not the evidence'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biden contradicted Zelenskyy's claim that the missile that hit Poland was not Ukrainian. Poland and NATO also say the missile was likely a Ukrainian defense missile that accidentally hit Poland. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine," NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. REUTERSZelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials immediately blamed Russia after the missile fell, dismissing suggestions that the missile was Ukrainian. Ukraine's defense ministry was also restrained when commenting to CNBC on Wednesday.

☆ Russia launches more missile strikes across Ukraine, targeting energy units; Black Sea grain deal extended
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"The enemy thinks that he will weaken our defense with strikes on energy and will be able to hit us in the back. This is a naive tactic of cowardly losers that we are ready for," Yermak said in a statement on Telegram. Ukraine experienced a massive attack on its energy infrastructure on Tuesday with Kyiv claiming that Russia targeted it with around 100 cruise missiles, damaging energy infrastructure in several regions. Ukraine's national energy company, and Energy Minister German Galushchenko, called the Russian attack on Ukraine's energy system the most massive attack in the country's history, and since the war started. It said Tuesday's strikes were "likely the largest number of strikes that Russia has conducted in a single day since the first week of the invasion."

☆ Russia mined Kherson as it retreated, trying to turn it into a 'city of death,' says Ukraine official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One official said Russia laid mines to make a "city of death." The UK Ministry of Defence also said Russia likely laid mines as it withdrew. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Thursday that Russia "wants to turn Kherson into a 'city of death.'" He said Russia "mines everything they can: apartments, sewers." The UK Ministry of Defence also said on Thursday that Russian troops likely laid mines as they moved back.

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