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☆ Ukraine is exploiting gaps in Russia's air defenses, which were designed for a different kind of war
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts said Ukraine appeared to be exploiting gaps in Russian air defenses. Russia's air defenses are focused on potential attacks from NATO in the west, not the south. AdvertisementUkraine is exploiting gaps in Russia's air defenses, which were designed for a different kind of war, according to a report. The Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said that Russian air defenses in Leningrad Oblast, near St Petersburg, appeared to be poor. AdvertisementThe ISW said the attacks were stretching Russia's air defenses.

Persons: —, Russia's Organizations: Analysts, NATO, Service, Ukrainian, Reuters, Business Locations: Ukraine, US, Leningrad Oblast, St Petersburg, West, Ust, Tula, Moscow, Russia, Klintsy, Ukrainian, Crimea

☆ ‘Very dangerous’: Zelensky on Trump’s claim he could end Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Andrew Carey | Victoria Butenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Kyiv CNN —For the first time, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed publicly unequivocal concern over Donald Trump’s suggestion he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within a day if he returns to the White House. Speaking to Britain’s Channel Four News in an interview that aired Friday, the Ukrainian president described the Republican frontrunner’s boast as “very dangerous” – on the grounds that Trump has not said what his post-war scenario would look like. Ukraine’s ability to negotiate toward that result has been significantly weakened, at least in the short term, by the failure of the summer counteroffensive. Turning to address the camera, he said, “Please, Donald Trump, I invite you to Ukraine, to Kyiv. If you can stop the war during 24 hours, I think it will be [reason] enough to come.”“Maybe Donald Trump really has some idea, a real idea, and he can share it with me,” Zelensky added, returning to face the interviewer.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Zelensky, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, ”, Vladimir Putin, Collins, “, ” Zelensky, Stringer, Putin, Biden, Donald Trump Organizations: CNN —, Channel Four, Republican, Democrats, Trump, Kyiv, NATO, ” Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia region, Davos, Crimea, Kyiv

☆ Putin 'precipitated virtually everything he sought to prevent' with Ukraine invasion, Blinken says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, speaks with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 16th, 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin has "precipitated virtually everything he sought to prevent" by launching an invasion against Ukraine to separate Kyiv from the West, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a panel discussion in Davos, Switzerland. "Ukraine has been a profound strategic failure for Vladimir Putin and for Russia, in so many ways," he said Wednesday. "You now have a Russia that overall is weaker militarily, it's weaker economically, it's weaker diplomatically. Witnessing Moscow's ire in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden abandoned their long-held neutrality and applied to join the military group in May 2022.

Persons: Antony Blinken, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, Vladimir Putin, — Organizations: State, West, NATO, EU Locations: U.S, Davos, Switzerland, Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Turkey

☆ Europe wants to Trump-proof in case of a second term. But that is not an easy task
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Former US President Donald Trump briefly returned as a central character in European politics earlier this week. Multiple EU officials and diplomats noted to CNN that his sudden recollection came at a particularly sensitive time, as the EU attempts to build its own defense capabilities outside of the US-led NATO alliance. Whether Trump actually made these comments or not is largely immaterial to European officials. And his hostility toward the Ukraine war effort has an impact even now, playing into the Republican Party’s reluctance to pass more US funding for Ukraine. Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, said only this week that Trump’s return would be a “threat” for Europe.

Persons: Donald Trump, Thierry Breton, Trump, Ursula von der Leyen, ” Breton’s, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Letitia James, Spencer Platt, ”, Joe Biden, Europe’s, Ian Bond, ” Donald Trump, Jim Watson, Angela Merkel, Jesco Denzel, there’s, Christine Lagarde Organizations: CNN, Former, European, Republican, NATO, New York, Getty, Ukraine, “, Trump, EU, Centre, Economic, European Central Bank Locations: Europe, Iowa, Ukraine, New York City, Brussels, EU, United States, America, China, Davos, AFP, Russia, Beijing, Moscow, Charlevoix , Canada, European

[1/2] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks from his airplane upon arrival at Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, on November 27, 2023, as he travels to a NATO foreign ministers' meeting. "We've always said that this is a matter for Ukraine to decide," O'Brien said. At a press conference in Brussels on Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he expected alliance foreign ministers to "reaffirm NATO’s long-term support" for Ukraine. Turkey has informed NATO that its parliament will not complete ratification of the bid ahead of the meetings, sources told Reuters last week. Blinken will also represent the United States at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Skopje, North Macedonia, this week, O'Brien said.

Persons: Antony Blinken disembarks, SAUL LOEB, Antony Blinken, James O'Brien, Blinken, we've, O'Brien, Biden, We've, Jens Stoltenberg, O, Brien, Stoltenberg, Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, Andrew Gray, Lisa Shumaker, Chizu Nomiyama, Deepa Babington Organizations: Brussels, NATO, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Ukraine, State Department, Biden, State, Eurasian, U.S . Congress, Germany's, Reuters, Washington, Organization for Security, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Russia, Europe, Gaza, Israel, Washington, Ukraine, United States, Taiwan, Germany, Kyiv, Moscow, Belgian, Turkey, Hungary, U.S, Western Balkans, Kosovo, Skopje, North Macedonia

☆ Russia says co-existence not possible with Ukraine's current 'regime'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Russia cannot co-exist with the current "regime" in Kyiv but Moscow can resist the might of NATO for as long as it needs to fully demilitarise Ukraine, a senior Russian diplomat said on Tuesday. Including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, Russia now controls 17.5% of Ukraine's internationally recognised territory. "The current regime (in Kyiv) is absolutely toxic, we do not see any options for co-existence with it at the moment," Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told reporters in Moscow. Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of war crimes in Ukraine, a charge that Moscow denies. "We can resist NATO just as much as we need to fulfill the tasks that the president has formulated."

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Miroshnik, Putin, Dmitry Antonov, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: NATO, Russian, Kremlin, China, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Kyiv, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Crimea, U.S, Ukrainian, United States, NATO

UKRAINE DIVERSIONReuters spoke to around a half dozen Czech and Polish defence companies and government officials who described renewed efforts to carve out a bigger share of the African arms market as the Ukraine conflict diverts Russia's attention. Privately-held defence and civil manufacturing company Czechoslovak Group - the biggest Czech defence company - said its ability to maintain and modernize armoured vehicles using Soviet-era standards has helped it win business in Africa. ...in Poland where our stand was visited by numerous delegations from African countries that appeared here for the first time," WB Group spokesman Remigiusz Wilk said. The effort to supply Ukraine has pushed Czech companies to boost production and expand supply lines, something Czech-based independent defence analyst Lukas Visingr said has burnished the region's reputation. "The Czech arms industry is stepping up its efforts towards certain African countries still using Soviet-style equipment but who start to see Russia as a problematic supplier," Visingr said.

Persons: David W Cerny, Jiri Hynek, Filip Kulstrunk, Andrej Cirtek, Pieter Wezeman, Sebastian Chwalek, –, Remigiusz Wilk, Petr Fiala, Tomas Pojar, Tomas Kopecny, Kopecny, Lukas Visingr, Visingr, Michael Kahn, Anna Koper, Alex Richardson Organizations: Aero Vodochody, REUTERS, Western, Central, Russia Czech, Defence, Western NATO, Warsaw, Defence and Security Industry Association of, Reuters, Aero, Privately, Czechoslovak Group, CSG, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, WB Group, WB, Ivory, Thomson Locations: Odolena Voda, Czech Republic, Russia, Africa, PRAGUE, WARSAW, European, Western, Czechoslovakia, Czech, UKRAINE, Polish, Ukraine, Stockholm, China, Saharan Africa, Poland's, Poland, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Prague, Mozambique

☆ Facing asylum seeker surge from Russia, Finland mulls curbing access
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Essi Lehto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A view of the border between Russia and Finland at the Nuijamaa border checkpoint in Lappeenranta, Finland on November 15, 2023. An increasing number of citizens from third countries have arrived via Russia to Finnish border-crossing points without proper documentation this autumn. Finland has no... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreHELSINKI, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Further groups of asylum seekers arrived on Wednesday at Finland's southeastern border via Russia, officials said, adding to a sudden surge that might spur the Nordic country to restrict access. Finland's government on Tuesday accused Russia of funnelling asylum seekers to crossing points along the frontier and said it might limit access unless Russian authorities reverse course. On Tuesday, 55 asylum seekers were recorded by officials, while Wednesday afternoon's figure stood at 66 and rising, Finnish Border Guard Lieutenant Colonel Jukka Lukkari said.

Persons: Sauli Niinisto, Finland's, Dmitry Peskov, Jukka Lukkari, Jukka Laine, Laine, Essi Lehto, Anne Kauranen, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Union, NATO, EU, Finnish Border Guard, University of Eastern, Finnish Refugee Council, Thomson Locations: Russia, Finland, Lappeenranta, Finnish, HELSINKI, Finland's, Moscow, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, University of Eastern Finland

☆ Putin ally suggests postponing March presidential election, or excluding rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Russia's Chechnya region and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, proposed on Saturday that a presidential election due next March should either be postponed due to the war in Ukraine or limited to one candidate - Putin. However, Russia's failures in the war, which Moscow calls a "special military operation", have made events less predictable. "I propose now, while the 'special military operation' is under way, to unanimously decide that we will have one candidate in the elections - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin," Kadyrov was quoted as saying. He has also ruptured relations with the West, which has imposed sweeping economic sanctions, armed Ukraine at huge cost, and expanded and reinforced the U.S.-led NATO alliance. Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Kevin Liffey; Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Kadyrov, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Kevin Liffey, Ros Russell Organizations: Kremlin, NATO, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Chechnya, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Chechen, Grozny, U.S

☆ Romania bolsters defences to stop Ukraine war crossing NATO threshold
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Luiza Ilie | Thomson Reuters | Bucharest-Based General News Reporter Covering A Wide Range Of Romanian Topics Elections | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A view shows a building of Ukraine's Black Sea Danube shipping company destroyed during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Izmail, Odesa region, Ukraine August 2, 2023. In November last year, a missile hit southern Poland killing two people and prompting a brief security scare, although it was later determined that Ukrainian air defences were to blame. Among the targets were the Ukrainian ports of Izmail and Reni, both of which lie across the Danube from Romanian soil. "They (Russian drones) fly at very low altitudes, sometimes less than 200 metres (above ground) ... they are built in such a way that least reflects radar waves," he said. In July, when the Danube bombing campaign began in earnest, Russians had more targeted success because Ukraine had not set up extensive air defence systems in the area.

Persons: Nina Liashenko, Reni, Tudor Cernega, Jens Stoltenberg, Constantin Spinu, Cernega, Andrew Gray, Mike Collett, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, NATO, Local, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Izmail, Odesa, Romania, Moscow, BUCHAREST, Poland, Ukrainian, Russia, Romanian, Plauru, Ceatalchioi, U.S, ROMANIA, Kyiv, Brussels

☆ Opinion: Ukraine’s bumpy road ahead just got rockier
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

David A. Andelman David AndelmanThat is the clearest and most present danger to the security of Europe and the entire Western alliance. Fissures are appearing across the hitherto united Western front that can only be sending shivers of joy up Putin’s spine. Putin quite rightly appreciated the stakes — and the opportunity — when he first launched his heartless blockade of Ukraine’s grain, grain that helps feed not only Europe but also vast stretches of Africa now plunged into the threat of devastating hunger. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the UN General Assembly last week in New York City. The EU is weighing up a mammoth four-year, 20 billion euro ($21.3 billion) fund to finance weapons purchases for Ukraine.

Persons: David A, David Andelman, Vladimir Putin, shivers, Putin, Hungary —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Bryan R, Smith, hasn’t, ”, Mateusz Morawiecki, Andrzej Duda, Robert Fico, Fico, Olaf Scholz, —, Mitch McConnell, “, ” Robert I, Harvard Kennedy Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, America, Republicans, NATO, European Union, UN, Assembly, Getty, Smer Party, ”, World Trade Organization, Ukraine, North, Times, Harvard Kennedy School’s Locations: Ukraine, Europe, Africa, Poland, Slovakia, Bialobrzegi, Warsaw, Hungary, New York City, AFP, New York, Moscow, ” Polish, Banovce nad Bebravou, ” Ukraine, EU, Russia, North Korea, Zelensky, London, America, China, ” China

☆ Georgia accuses ex-official of plotting from Ukraine to oust Tbilisi government
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Men wearing traditional clothes stand next to the Georgian flag during the Independence Day celebrations in Tbilisi, Georgia May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze Acquire Licensing RightsTBILISI, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Georgia on Monday accused a former deputy interior minister of plotting from Ukraine to overthrow the Tbilisi government, testing ties with Kyiv as Georgia deepens its relations with Russia. It did not provide evidence, and in Kyiv, foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said Tbilisi was "trying to demonise Ukraine" for domestic reasons. "The Ukrainian state did not interfere, does not interfere and does not plan to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia," he wrote on Facebook. The Georgian State Security Service named a former bodyguard to Saakashvili as one of the alleged conspirators, along with the commander of a Georgian unit fighting in Ukraine.

Persons: Irakli, Giorgi Lortkipanidze, Oleg Nikolenko, Andriy Yusov, Russia's, Irakli Garibashvili, Mikheil Saakashvili, Saakashvili, Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Georgian, REUTERS, Rights, The State Security Service, Western Georgian, Facebook, European Union, EU, Ukraine, NATO, Georgian State Security Service, Thomson Locations: Tbilisi , Georgia, Rights TBILISI, Georgia, Ukraine, Tbilisi, Kyiv, Russia, Ukrainian, Brussels, Europe, Moscow, Abkhazia, South Ossetia

☆ Finland’s President, No Stranger to Russia, Warns Europe About Complacency
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Steven Erlanger | More About Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The president of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, is the person considered most responsible for bringing his country into the NATO alliance — and Sweden, too, which is awaiting ratification — following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. President Biden has consulted him about Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin, whom Mr. Niinisto has met numerous times. The war in Ukraine will last a long time, he said, and wars can take unexpected paths, even toward the use of nuclear weapons. The invasion, Mr. Niinisto said, was “a wake-up call” for Europe and NATO. That might be a good question — whether all Europeans realize that this is a European issue.”

Persons: Sauli, —, Biden, Vladimir V, Putin, Niinisto, ” Organizations: NATO, Mr, Ukraine Locations: Finland, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia, Helsinki, Europe

☆ Exclusive: New rules would give Europe more scope for military spending post-Ukraine invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Jan Strupczewski | Thomson Reuters | Jan Is The Acting Bureau Chief In Brussels. He Has Been Covering European Union Policy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

EU fiscal rules underpin the euro currency used in 20 nations by limiting government borrowing. Currently only nine EU members meet a NATO alliance defence spending goal of 2% of national output, with four - Finland, Romania, Hungary and the Slovak Republic - above that only in 2023. After Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, many European countries neighbouring Russia called for military spending to be excluded outright from EU deficit calculations. 'NOT HEARD A NO'Opposition to a full exemption from EU calculations stemmed from concern that military spending could be a very broad category that could help hide a lot of ordinary expenses. By stipulating that military spending would only be a "relevant factor" that could help avoid disciplinary action, the new rules would leave it to the Commission's judgement what spending would be eligible.

Persons: Valentyn, Deal, Jan Strupczewski, Mark John, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Union, NATO, REUTERS, European, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, BRUSSELS, EU, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Slovak Republic, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, Russia, U.S

☆ Opinion | The Articulate Ignorance of Vivek Ramaswamy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

If anything, armed Black protesters such as the Black Panthers triggered cries for stronger gun control laws, not looser ones. He’s a very smart man, blessed with superior communication skills, yet he constantly exposes his ignorance, his cynicism or both. The bottom line is this: When a political class still broadly believes in policing dishonesty, the nation can manage the negative effects of widespread civic ignorance. When the political class corrects itself, the people will tend to follow. But when key members of the political class abandon any pretense of knowledge or truth, a poorly informed public is simply unequipped to hold them to account.

Persons: Jim Crow, he’ll, Nikki Haley, Ramaswamy, Haley Organizations: Black, NATO, Washington Post Locations: Ukraine, Russia, China, Taiwan, Milwaukee

☆ Putin says Prigozhin 'made serious mistakes' in first remarks since plane crash that likely killed the Wagner boss
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner Group military company, arrives during a funeral ceremony at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery in Moscow, April 8, 2023. WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his silence Thursday in quick, impersonal remarks to the families involved in the fatal plane crash believed to have killed Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. "With regard to this plane crash, first of all, I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of all the victims. The Pentagon said Thursday that initial intelligence indicates that the Wagner chief died in the Wednesday plane crash. "No real surprise here, it's a marker of how lethal, and how deadly and how unscrupulous Vladimir Putin is," Stavridis added.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, WASHINGTON, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Prigozhin, It's, Putin, we're, Pat Ryder, Ryder, Ben Rhodes, Rhodes, James Stavridis, Stavridis, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: Wagner Group, WASHINGTON —, Pentagon, Wednesday, . Air Force, CNBC, NBC News, MSNBC, Former U.S . Navy, NATO, Kyiv Locations: Moscow, WASHINGTON — Russian, Ukraine, Russian, St, Petersburg

☆ Ukraine war divides Republicans heading into first GOP debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Ukrainian Presidency | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesWASHINGTON — The Republican primary debate in Milwaukee Wednesday is expected to showcase the deep divisions within the party over America's role in the Russian war on Ukraine. Scott Olson | Getty ImagesFormer Vice President Mike Pence was the first Republican candidate to travel to Ukraine after Russia invaded. He says the Russia-China axis is by far the top threat to U.S. national security and merits more focus than the Ukraine war. Tim ScottLikely Republican presidential candidate and U.S. Joseph Prezioso | AFP | Getty ImagesThe former New Jersey governor was the second Republican candidate to visit Ukraine after Pence.

Persons: Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Carlos Barria, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump, could've, Sean Hannity, Zelenskyy, Biden, Mike Pence, Scott Olson, they've, Pence, Putin, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tucker Carlson, Scott Morgan, Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley U.S, Nikki Haley, Kevin Lamarque, Haley, Tim Scott, Brian Snyder, Tim Scott of, Scott, Ron DeSantis, Scott Brown, Reba Saldanha, DeSantis, pushback, Chris Christie, Joseph Prezioso, Christie's, Christie, Francis Suarez, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Ronald Reagan, Mario Tama, Getty Images Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Suarez, Will Hurd, Hurd, Republican frontrunners Trump, Doug Burgum, Dan Koeck, Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas Asa Hutchinson, Drew Angerer Organizations: Anadolu Agency, Getty Images WASHINGTON, Republican, Milwaukee Wednesday, GOP, New York Times, U.S, Army, National Defense, Reuters, Fox News, NATO, Getty, NBC News, Marine Corps, Vivek Ramaswamy Republican, Former Fox, Iowa, United, United Nations, American Enterprise Institute, New Hampshire Institute, Politics, Saint Anselm College, NBC, Ron DeSantis Florida Governor, Republican U.S, New Jersey, New Hampshire Town Hall, AFP, New, CNN, Miami Mayor, Library, Getty Images Miami Mayor, National, Harvard, Republican Party of Iowa, Former, CIA, Disney, Doug Burgum North, Reuters North, Asa Hutchinson Republican, Washington Hilton Locations: Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Ukrainian, Milwaukee, United States, Europe, Moscow, Iran, Siena, Fort Drum , New York, U.S, South Carolina, Ankeny , Iowa, Russian, Kyiv, Berlin , New Hampshire, Des Moines , Iowa, China, Eastern Europe, Arlington , Virginia, Taiwan, North Korea, Manchester , New Hampshire, Tim Scott of South Carolina, America, Ron DeSantis Florida, Rye , New Hampshire, Reuters Florida, New Hampshire, Goffstown , New Hampshire, New Jersey, Bucha, Simi Valley , California, Harvard, Former Texas, Texas, Crimea, Desantis, Doug Burgum North Dakota, Fargo , North Dakota, Reuters North Dakota, Arkansas, Washington ,

☆ Sweden Is Not Staying Neutral in Russia’s Information War
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Steven Lee Myers | More About Steven Lee Myers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Facing a tsunami of disinformation about the treatment of Muslims that has in recent months fueled protests from Stockholm to Baghdad, Sweden decided it needed to fight back. It turned to the Psychological Defense Agency, a part of the Ministry of Defense that its government created last year. The agency has become the first line of defense for a country facing a sustained information attack from abroad. The country’s leaders are borrowing from an old Cold War strategy to steel the country’s 10 million people for the possibility of “total war” with the Soviet Union. The outrage has already had an impact: delaying Sweden’s accession to NATO because of objections by another member, Turkey.

Organizations: Psychological Defense Agency, Ministry of Defense, Kremlin, NATO Locations: Stockholm, Baghdad, Sweden, Soviet Union, Soviet, Russia, Turkey

☆ Russia to build up forces in west to counter NATO threat - Shoigu
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu chairs a meeting with the leadership of the Armed Forces in Moscow, Russia July 31, 2023. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoAug 9 (Reuters) - Russia will build up forces at its western borders following Finland's accession to the U.S.-led NATO alliance, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told the governing board of the ministry on Wednesday. Shoigu called the entry of Finland into NATO and the future entry of Sweden "a serious destabilising factor". Shoigu said the number of NATO military units from outside the region stationed in eastern Europe had increased by two-and- a-half times since February last year and that they were now 30,000-strong in total. "These threats to Russia's military security require a timely and adequate response.

Persons: Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Kevin Liffey, Peter Graff Organizations: Russian, Armed Forces, Russian Defence Ministry, REUTERS, NATO, Defence Ministry, Russia, Russian Federation, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, U.S, Poland, Finland, Ukraine, Russian, Sweden, Leningrad, United States, America, Europe

☆ Ukraine has tested its allies' patience with its military strategy and demands
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The phrase "whatever it takes" has become a mantra often repeated at public gatherings of allies assessing the war and the military needs of Ukraine. Most recently, tensions have emerged over Ukraine's military strategy and demands on NATO. And by threatening to boycott the summit, Zelenskyy had played a risky strategy, Shea noted, potentially setting the meeting up for failure. The key thing is to manage that [discrepancy] and prevent it doing lasting damage, and I think the Vilnius summit at least managed to prevent it doing lasting damage." Ukraine's military strategy — and the symbolic value it has put on fighting for every piece of Ukrainian territory — has sometimes collided with its allies' military perspective and pragmatism.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Gitanas Nauseda, Pedro Sanchez, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Joe Biden, Giorgia Meloni, Jens Stoltenberg, —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ben Wallace, Ludovic Marin, didn't, Zelenskyy, Washington, Biden, Jamie Shea, Shea, Beata Zawrzel, wasn't, they're Organizations: Spain's, Joe Biden Italy's, NATO, NATO Summit, Getty, Ukraine's, Kyiv, Britain's, AFP, Washington Post, CNBC, White, Ukraine, Emerging, LITEXPO Lithuanian, Center, Nurphoto, Bakhmut, Libkos Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania, Kyiv, Russia, U.S, Washington, London, United States, Soviet, Donetsk

☆ Old Cold War tool could help in new era of tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States may soon expand its export controls to cover semiconductors used in artificial intelligence and access to cloud computing. The People’s Republic has responded with tit-for-tat export controls on gallium and germanium, two strategic metals used in chips and other technologies where it has a dominant position. This is what the U.S. and its allies did during the last Cold War, when they established the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom). The United States’ subsidies for green technologies via its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) caused tension with its allies. Its premier, Li Qiang, travelled to Germany last month hoping to persuade it not to row in behind the United States.

Persons: Joe Biden, Hung Tran, Li Qiang, –, Biden, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Frances Burwell, Canada –, George Hay, Oliver Taslic, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, NATO, Soviet, Atlantic Council, Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Union, Multilateral Export Controls, United, Republican, Florida, EU, U.S, U.S . Trade, Technology Council, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, China, Republic, U.S, Netherlands, Japan, States, United States, People’s Republic, Germany, Beijing, ’, Russia, Britain, Canada, Australia, South Korea

[1/8] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands after a joint statement, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 15, 2023. South Korea is a U.S. ally and the world's ninth biggest arms exporter, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank. In a press conference, Yoon said South Korea plans to provide "a larger scale of military supplies" to Ukraine this year, following last year's provision of non-lethal supplies such as body armour and helmets. Yoon said South Korea also plans to provide Ukraine with $150 million in humanitarian aid this year, following about $100 million in 2022. Yoon said on Saturday South Korea has delivered safety equipment and humanitarian aid that Ukraine needs, since May, including mine detectors.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Yoon Suk, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Zelenskiy, Yoon's, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Pacheco Pardo, Joyce Lee, Olena, Josh Smith, Hyonhee, William Mallard, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: South, REUTERS, NATO, Russia's, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Ukraine, Brussels School, Saturday, Seoul's, Seoul's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, U.S, Seoul, SEOUL, KYIV, Lithuania, Poland, South Korea, Stockholm, North Korea, Korea, South

☆ Retired US general and former CIA chief says Putin's Ukraine invasion has 'made NATO great again'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

David Petraeus told CNN that Putin's invasion was a "catastrophically bad decision for his country." "He set out to make Russia great again, and really has made NATO great again," Petraeus said. The retired general had led US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan before serving as CIA director. Petraeus told CNN in March 2022 — a month after the invasion — that he thinks the Russian army "clearly have very poor standards when it comes to performing basic tactical tasks." And in February, Petraeus told CNN that it's now clear Putin is waging a ruthless war of attrition in Ukraine.

Persons: David Petraeus, Petraeus, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, CNN's Jake Tapper, James Stavridis, Stavridis, — Organizations: CNN, NATO, Service, CIA, MSNBC, US Army Locations: Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania

Helsinki, Finland CNN —More than 500 days after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the war loomed over President Joe Biden’s weeklong, three-stop trip to Europe. Drama over Ukraine’s membershipUkraine was the top agenda item for NATO leaders in Vilnius, and the discussion of a pathway for the war-torn country to join the alliance prompted division among leaders. After meeting with Zelensky for more than an hour, Biden told reporters that he was able to reassure his Ukrainian counterpart. The former president raised the prospect of withdrawing from the alliance multiple times in 2018, The New York Times reported. I don’t think NATO’s ever been stronger,” Biden said during his meeting with Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö

Persons: Finland CNN —, Joe Biden’s weeklong, reasserting, Biden, Jens Stoltenberg, Ulf Kristersson, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Monday, Erdoğan, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Donald Trump’s, Trump’s, –, ” Biden, Trump, Rishi Sunak, King Charles III, Putin, “, Stoltenberg, Wang Wenbin, Biden “, “ I’ve, Sauli Niinistö Organizations: Finland CNN, Russia, NATO, Zelensky, Vilnius University, Nordic, Senate, The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Ministry, Microsoft, House, Lithuania, State, Government Locations: Helsinki, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Washington, Turkey, Sweden, Ankara, Vilnius, London, Finnish, China, Beijing, Asia, Indonesia, Hiroshima

☆ Blinken to meet China's Wang Yi in Jakarta - State Department
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi attends during a trilateral meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar UlfianaJuly 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Thursday as officials gather in Indonesia for ASEAN meetings, the State Department said in announcing the latest in series of interactions between the rival superpowers. Wang is representing China at the Jakarta meetings involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and partner countries after Beijing said Foreign Minister Qin Gang would not attend due to health reasons. Blinken met Qin and Wang in Beijing last month, marking the first visit to China by a U.S. secretary of state in five years. Wang, who is the foreign policy chief for the Chinese Communist Party, ranks above Qin, who as the foreign minister is the government's foreign policy chief.

Persons: Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi, Retno Marsudi, Sergei Lavrov, Antony Blinken, Wang Yi, Wang, Qin Gang, Blinken, Qin, Janet Yellen, John Kerry, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Daniel Kritenbrink, David Brunnstrom, Simon Lewis, Dan Whitcomb, Michael Perry Organizations: Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Indonesian Foreign, Russia's, REUTERS, ASEAN, State Department, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Foreign, U.S, Treasury, Chinese Communist Party, Pentagon, NATO, senior State Department, East, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, China, Beijing, United States, Asia, U.S, Lithuanian, Vilnius, Pacific, East Asia

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