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☆ A viral canned water company is giving away a $400,000 fighter jet, poking fun at Pepsi's notorious failed joke prize
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Blake Stilwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But perhaps Pepsi's most memorable disaster (in the US, anyway) was when it was nearly forced to buy a McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II fighter jet for one of its consumers. He never got it, but the memory of his attempt has long outlived the Pepsi Points campaign. A pile of Liquid Death cans at a festival. All you need to do is visit the giveaway site and start a text chain, buy a Liquid Death product from a physical store, and text a photo of the receipt. The company swears entrants to the jet contest will not have to take them to court to get the prize.

Persons: Kendall Jenner, McDonnell Douglas, Douglas, Jerod Harris, John Leonard, that's, it's, Joseph Okpako, Andy Pearson, Liquid, Adweek Organizations: Service, PepsiCo, Pepsi, McDonnell, Getty, Netflix, Pepsi Points, Warsaw Pact, Albatros Locations: America, Philippines, Czech, Los Angeles, Czechoslovakia, Warsaw

☆ Why the Swedish and Finnish Air Forces are a powerful add to NATO
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Finland's F/A-18 Hornets — which used to be the US Navy's standard fighter — are already compatible with NATO air forces. This puts several squadrons of stealth fighters on Russia's northern border, with the potential to penetrate and suppress Russian air defenses, and hit vital targets. "Both Finland's and Sweden's proximity allows NATO air forces to stage closer to the Baltics. Similarly, Sweden's Gotland island — located almost midway in the Baltic, about 60 miles from the Swedish mainland and 80 miles from the Baltic States — provides NATO with an advanced outpost. Their air forces are vital for this Nordic push, and will become very useful to further deter and defend the increasingly contested arctic space with Russia."

Persons: Paul Cormarie, John Hoehn, Sweden's JAS, Finland's, Ian Valley, Hoehn, Cormarie, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, NATO, RAND, Corp, Modern, Institute, Business, Nordic, Gripen, UK's Royal Air Force, Finnish Air Force, US Army, —, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, West, Russia, Finnish, Swedish, France, Germany, Warsaw, Poland, Europe, Rovaniemi, US Army Sweden, Baltic States, Baltic, Norway, Norwegian, North, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Gotland, —, Pacific, United States, Taiwan, China, Forbes

☆ The Russian Army may have defeated Ukraine — if it had followed its own manual
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It is also evidence of a major reason why Russian troops have often fought poorly in the Ukraine war: they are not following their own playbook. Artem Priakhin/Getty ImagesAssessing current Russian doctrine is difficult. However, the problem may not have been Russian doctrine as much as the overall strategy of the Ukraine war. "There are plenty of aspects to their defense that are entirely consistent with their historical practice and doctrine," Boston said. If the Russian military was that bad, then maybe the Ukrainian military wasn't that good?

Persons: Scott Boston, Artem Priakhin, wouldn't, Ukraine's, Michael Peck Organizations: US, RAND Corp, Kyiv, Russian Army, Aerospace Forces, Warsaw, Kyiv —, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Boston, St . Petersburg, Soviet, Western Europe, Iraq, Forbes

☆ Don't want Russia to successfully invade your country? Then do this.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Even though Russia may dwarf a small state, that doesn't guarantee a successful airport seizure. AdvertisementHere's some advice for nations who don't want Russian troops as uninvited guests: Guard your airport. However, other Russian airport takedowns have been largely successful. Stringer points to a special airport defense regiment that Switzerland stationed at Zurich Airport during the Cold War, as a good model. "Understanding and delineating the sequence of events Russia has historically used to initiate a coup and devising countermeasures to thwart these actions may prove critical in defending against the next Russian invasion."

Persons: —, Russia's, Kevin Stringer, Heather Gregg, Stringer, Hafizullah Amin, Amin, playbook, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Guard, Kremlin, West, Institute ., Air, US Army, Russian, Spetznaz, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Rapid, Brigade, National Guard, Antonov, Zurich Airport, United States, 75th Ranger Regiment, Air Force, CIA, Hostomel, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Hostomel, Russia, Kyiv's Hostomel, Ukraine, Institute . Moscow, Prague, Kabul, Sevastopol, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Warsaw, Czechoslovakia, Baltic States, Moldova, Georgia, Russian, Switzerland, Zurich, Europe, Finland, Sweden, 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

☆ Kremlin says NATO's desire for a 'military Schengen' zone in Europe ratchets up tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that NATO's desire to have a military analogue of the Schengen Zone in Europe to allow the alliance's armed forces to move around freely to counter Russia had ratcheted up tensions and was a cause for concern. NATO is actively supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia and Kyiv hopes one day to join the alliance. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would respond if 'the military Schengen' proposal became a reality. This (statement) is nothing more than about fuelling tensions in Europe which has consequences," Peskov told reporters. He said talk of building a 'military Schengen' showed once again that Europe was unwilling to listen to Moscow's legitimate concerns and was ready to boost its own security at Russia's expense.

Persons: Alexander Sollfrank, Joe Biden, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: Reuters, NATO, Soviet Union, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Soviet, Warsaw, Poland, Baltic

☆ NATO urges members to get their logistics homework done
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NATO's Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC) in the southern German town of Ulm started operating in 2021. "At the heyday of the war in Ukraine, Russia fired 50,000 artillery shells per day. As it is, NATO forces have to navigate a variety of national regulations, stretching from the advance-notice required before ammunition can be shipped to the permissible length of military convoys and disease prophylaxis. "We have a surplus of regulations, but the one thing we don't have is time," warned Admiral Rob Bauer, head of NATO's military committee. "Russia's war against Ukraine has proven to be a war of attrition – and a war of attrition is a battle of logistics."

Persons: Alexander Sollfrank, Sollfrank, Rob Bauer, Sabine Siebold, Christina Fincher Organizations: Europe NATO, NATO, Reuters, Command, Warsaw, EU, Thomson Locations: Europe, BRUSSELS, Russia, Ulm, Ukraine, Germany, Moscow

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

☆ Russia formally withdraws from key post-Cold War European armed forces treaty
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Deputy head of Russia's Security Council and chairman of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev visits the Raduga State Machine Building Construction Bureau named after A. Bereznyak in Dubna, Moscow region, Russia February 2, 2023. Sputnik/Yekaterina Shtukina/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 7 (Reuters) - Russia formally withdrew on Tuesday from a key post-Cold War security treaty designed to de-escalate potential East-West conflicts, in a latest sign of rising tensions between Russia and NATO. "At 00:00 on November 7, 2023, the procedure of Russia's withdrawal from the CFE (Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe), was completed," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement on its website. Russia suspended its participation in the treaty in 2007 and halted active participation in 2015. "Thus, the CFE Treaty in its original form lost touch with reality."

Persons: Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Lidia Kelly, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Russia's Security, United, Sputnik, NATO, CFE, Conventional Armed Forces, Thomson Locations: United Russia, Dubna, Moscow region, Russia, Europe, Warsaw, Ukraine, United States, CFE, Melbourne

☆ Russia Formally Withdraws From Key Post-Cold War European Armed Forces Treaty
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - Russia formally withdrew on Tuesday from a key post-Cold War security treaty designed to de-escalate potential East-West conflicts, in a latest sign of rising tensions between Russia and NATO. "At 00:00 on November 7, 2023, the procedure of Russia's withdrawal from the CFE (Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe), was completed," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement on its website. Russia suspended its participation in the treaty in 2007 and halted active participation in 2015. "The CFE Treaty was concluded at the end of the Cold War, when the formation of a new architecture of global and European security based on cooperation seemed possible, and appropriate attempts were made," the Russian foreign ministry said. "Thus, the CFE Treaty in its original form lost touch with reality."

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Lidia Kelly, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Reuters, NATO, CFE, Conventional Armed Forces Locations: Russia, Europe, Warsaw, Ukraine, United States, CFE, Melbourne

☆ Republican blockade of Ukraine aid and Slovakia’s election play into Putin’s hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Fico anchored his campaign on his anti-US rhetoric, vows to stop sending weapons to Ukraine and a pledge to thwart Kyiv’s NATO ambitions. The GOP tide against Ukraine gathers strengthZelensky’s visit to Washington to shore up Ukraine aid last month looks prescient. At Republican campaign events, voters often voice antipathy to sending billions of dollars to Ukraine, and polls show rising public skepticism. Still, for now, there is a bipartisan Washington majority in favor of Ukraine aid, although the chaos in the GOP raises questions about how it will be delivered. So we’ve got to find a way that we can do this together.”But if McCarthy is toppled and replaced by a more radical speaker, Ukraine could run out of luck.

Persons: Kevin McCarthy didn’t, Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden, McCarthy, Robert Fico’s, Fico, –, Putin, Donald Trump, Fico’s, Trump, embolden Putin, “ Putin, Mike Quigley, “, ”, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, “ Joe Biden, Dmytro Kuleba, ” Kuleba, “ They’re, we’ve Organizations: CNN, Russia, Ukraine, Republican, NATO, Ukraine –, Kyiv, Brexit, “, Soviet MiG, European Union, GOP, Democratic, Illinois, Congressional Ukraine Caucus, Democrat, Rep, Trump Georgia Rep, Foreign, CBS, Trump Locations: Ukraine, Slovakia, US, Poland, Warsaw, Western, Kyiv, France, Germany, “ Slovakia, Slovakian, Russia, Soviet, United States, Turkey, Sweden, Moscow, Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, Bratislava, Washington, Biden’s, Florida, ” Ukraine

☆ Kremlin reminds Hillary Clinton of her own gaffe in response to Putin jab
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks during the unveiling of her portrait, at the State Department in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/ File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 27 (Reuters) - After Hillary Clinton sought to needle President Vladimir Putin over NATO enlargement, the Kremlin on Wednesday hit back by reminding her of her gaffe when she sought to "reset" relations with Russia with a button mislabelled as "overload". Returning to the State Department for the unveiling of her official portrait, Clinton said of NATO enlargement: "Too bad, Vladimir. "It is probably necessary to remind Mrs Clinton of the numerous waves of NATO expansion and the approach of the alliance's military infrastructure to our borders," Peskov said. Putin's actions spurred Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, to join NATO.

Persons: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ken Cedeno, Hillary Clinton, Vladimir Putin, Clinton, Vladimir, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Sergei Lavrov, Mrs Clinton, Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: U.S, State Department, REUTERS, Rights, NATO, Union, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Russia, States, Soviet Union, Soviet, Warsaw, Ukraine, Crimea, Finland, Sweden

☆ Putin: sending Soviet tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia was a mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a report presentation on the development of Russia's far eastern regions held via a video link in Vladivostok, Russia, September 11, 2023. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsVLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the Soviet Union's decision to send tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia to crush mass protests during the Cold War was a mistake. "It was a mistake," Putin said when asked about perceptions of Russia as a colonial power due to Moscow's decision to send tanks into Budapest in 1956 and into Prague in 1968. The 1956 Hungarian Uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks and troops. At least 2,600 Hungarians and 600 Soviet troops were killed in the fighting.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Putin, Washington, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Rights, Soviet, Czechoslovak, Thomson Locations: Vladivostok, Russia, Rights VLADIVOSTOK, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Budapest, Prague, Ukraine, Europe, United States, Soviet Union, Soviet, Warsaw, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Czech

☆ Putin: Sending Soviet Tanks Into Hungary and Czechoslovakia Was a Mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the Soviet Union's decision to send tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia to crush mass protests during the Cold War was a mistake. "It was a mistake," Putin said when asked about perceptions of Russia as a colonial power due to Moscow's decision to send tanks into Budapest in 1956 and into Prague in 1968. Putin said the United States was making the same mistakes as the Soviet Union. The 1956 Hungarian Uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks and troops. At least 2,600 Hungarians and 600 Soviet troops were killed in the fighting.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Washington, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Soviet, Czechoslovak Locations: VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Budapest, Prague, Ukraine, Europe, United States, Soviet Union, Soviet, Warsaw, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Czech

☆ Huge purchases of tanks and helicopters suggest Poland is borrowing a battlefield idea from the US Army
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Among its purchases are US-made tanks and helicopters designed to work in tandem on the battlefield. Despite only being a member of NATO since 1999, Poland is spending much more than older alliance members. Poland has sent some of its older hardware to Ukraine, including Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets and T-72 tanks and Polish-built Krab 155-mm self-propelled howitzers. WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty ImagesWhat is significant isn't just Poland's spending spree but also what it is buying. Poland is also spending $10 billion for 18 HIMARS launchers and reportedly plans to acquire up to 500 more launchers.

Persons: Mariusz Blaszczak, WOJTEK RADWANSKI, Radosław Sikorski, Artur Widak, Abrams, Vladimir Putin's, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, NATO, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Apaches, Polish Army, Getty, Abrams, US State Department, Joint, Army Tactical Missile, Financial Times, AHS, Nowa, Soviet, US Army, Apache, U.S . Army, Aviation, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Poland, Europe, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Germany, France, Soviet, Warsaw, AFP, South Korea, Russia, Polish, Forbes

☆ More Wagner fighters move closer to Polish border, Poland PM says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WARSAW, July 29 (Reuters) - A group of a hundred soldiers from the Russian Wagner group have moved closer to the Belarusian city of Grodno near the Polish border, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday. Earlier this month, Poland began moving more than 1,000 troops to the east of the country amid rising concerns that the presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus could lead to increased tension on its border. Most likely they (the Wagner personnel) will be disguised as the Belarusian border guard and help illegal migrants get to the Polish territory (and) destabilise Poland," Morawiecki said at a press conference in Gliwice, western Poland. "They will most likely try to enter Poland pretending to be illegal migrants and this poses additional threats," Morawiecki said. The following day, some Wagner fighters arrived at the training ground of the 38th airborne assault brigade outside the city of Brest, just a few miles from the Polish border.

Persons: Russian Wagner, Mateusz Morawiecki, Wagner, Morawiecki, Anton Motolko, Russia's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Agnieszka Pikulicka, David Holmes Organizations: WARSAW, Warsaw Pact, NATO, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Belarusian, Grodno, Polish, Poland, Warsaw, U.S, Ukraine, Belarus, Gliwice, Lithuanian, Kaliningrad, Africa, Brest, Moscow, Russia

KOLPIN-OGRODNIKI, Poland, July 20 (Reuters) - People living near Poland's border with Belarus said on Thursday they could hear shooting and helicopters after Russia's Wagner Group arrived to train Belarusian special forces just a few miles from the frontier, compounding their fears the Ukraine war would reach them. Minsk posted pictures of masked Wagner instructors, their faces covered in accordance with the mercenary group's rules, training Belarusian soldiers with armoured vehicles and what appear to be drone controls. It is unclear how many fighters of the Russian mercenary group are currently training at the training ground of the 38th airborne assault brigade outside the city of Brest. In December last year, Russia and Belarus signed an agreement legalizing the permanent presence of Russian military formations on Belarus territory. Earlier this week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a law establishing combat centres for joint training for military personnel of both countries.

Persons: Russia's Wagner, Agata Moroz, He's, I'm, Moroz, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Adam Ligor, Anton Motolko, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Warsaw Pact, NATO, Reuters, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: OGRODNIKI, Poland, Poland's, Belarus, Belarusian, Ukraine, Kolpin, Russia, Africa, Minsk, Russian, Brest, Warsaw, U.S, Moscow

☆ Analysis: Why Ukraine's plea for NATO membership is such a profound dilemma for the West
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The president said that the alliance needed to lay out a “rational path” for Ukraine’s membership but that it was still short of some requirements for joining, including over democratization. NATO membership would also boost Ukraine’s bid to cement a democracy that was vulnerable before the war and fulfill the desire of many of its people to join the West. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, last week introduced a resolution calling for a roadmap to Ukraine’s NATO membership as soon as it is practicable. “Guaranteeing Ukraine’s security would erode US security by increasingly the risk, obviously, of war with Russia,” he said. Even if Biden were to amend his position on accelerating NATO membership for Ukraine, he cannot ensure a successor would honor treaty obligations.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, ” Biden, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, ”, –, Putin, stiffen, Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal, “, We’re, Michael McCaul, Ben Friedman, ” Friedman, Donald Trump, Zelensky Organizations: CNN, NATO, Ukrainian, ABC News, Kremlin, Warsaw, South Carolina Republican, Connecticut Democrat, Ukraine, GOP Rep, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Texas Republican, Defense, American, Soviet, Russia Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Lithuania, Eastern Europe, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Baltic, Latvia, Estonia, Soviet Union, Bucharest, Sens, Connecticut, Russian, United Kingdom, “ State, Western Europe, Israel, Taiwan, United States, Eastern

☆ Opinion: Whatever happened to Mutually Assured Destruction?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

On June 14, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko announced that his country had taken delivery of the first of a collection of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia. Belarus has both a nuclear arsenal and a president who for decades has quietly played the role of Putin’s lap dog. And indeed, in a press conference Thursday in Minsk, he did claim to being in lockstep with Putin — adding that the nuclear weapons were for defensive purposes only. In the same press conference, Lukashenko nodded to the fact that those nuclear weapons were under Russia’s control. “In the early ’60s American officials worried that the Soviet Union would launch a less-than-all-out attack, reasoning that the US would not respond in a way that might trigger Armageddon,” he said.

Persons: David A, David Andelman, Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin, Ukraine’s Leonid Kuchma, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, Lukashenko nodded, “, Joe Biden, Jens Stoltenberg, Kaja Kallas, Stoltenberg, nukes, Izumi Nakamitsu, Donald Trump, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Antony Blinken, crouch, ” Michael Mandelbaum, ”, Mandelbaum, – Vladimir Putin, hewing Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, Soviet Union, Warsaw, David Andelman CNN, NATO, Belarus, Ukraine, Security Council, Nuclear Forces, Treaty, Twitter, Facebook, Johns Hopkins School, International, American Foreign, Power, MAD Locations: Russia, Europe, Soviet, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Crimea, Belarus, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Minsk, lockstep, Vilnius, Lithuania, Brussels, Moscow, Russian

TALLINN, June 20 (Reuters) - Estonia's parliament approved on Tuesday a law to legalise same-sex marriage, making it the first central European country to do so. Same-sex marriage is legal in much of western Europe but not in central European countries which were once under communist rule and members of the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact alliance but now members of NATO and, largely, the EU. In the largely secular Baltic country of 1.3 million, 53% of the population supported same-sex marriage in a 2023 poll by the Centre for Human Rights. Same-sex marriage is opposed by the ethnic-Russian minority, which constitutes a quarter of the country, with only 40% of them supporting it. Latvia and Lithuania, the other two Baltic countries which were previously annexed by the Soviet Union, have same-sex partnership bills stuck in their parliaments.

Persons: Kaja Kallas, Kallas, Tomas Jermalavicius, Janis Laizans, Terje Solsvik, Ed Osmond Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Centre for Human Rights, Gay, International Centre for Defence, Security, Andrius Sytas, Thomson Locations: TALLINN, Europe, Moscow, Warsaw, EU, Baltic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Soviet Union, Tallinn, Andrius, Vilnius

☆ Japan Is America’s Most Essential Ally - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jennifer Lind | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ever since World War II ended, Japan has been passing the buck. Sheltered by the postwar U.S. security alliance, Japan provided bases for American forces but kept its own military spending remarkably low for a country of its size and wealth, resisting American urging to share more of the burden. But Japan is the linchpin of today’s paramount geopolitical competition — China’s push for regional dominance of East Asia — and it is America’s most essential ally. for decades), and a Japanese public still traumatized by defeat in World War II. It also reassured Asian nations that Japan would not again embark on overseas aggression.

☆ NATO reaches back to Cold War past with first major defense plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/6] The Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer listens during an interview in Tallinn, Estonia September 16, 2022. By outlining what it calls its regional plans, NATO will also give nations guidance on how to upgrade their forces and logistics. Finland's accession last month has alone doubled NATO's border with Russia to some 2,500 km, forcing a more flexible approach to deployments than in the past, when Germany was seen as the main battlezone. "We don't envision the type of war that the Cold War was, where allied forces ... would be hit simultaneous with large-scale Warsaw Pact attacks," he said, pointing rather to regionalised conflicts that needed to be contained by quick force deployments. NATO agreed in 2022 to put 300,000 troops on high alert, up from 40,000 in the past.

☆ NATO reaches back to Cold War past with first major defence plans in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

☆ Czechs cancel Soviet-era decrees giving Russian embassy free land
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRAGUE, May 17 (Reuters) - The Czech government on Wednesday cancelled Soviet-era decrees that granted the Russian embassy free use of land in Prague and other cities, a further step in a more than two-year diplomatic spat with Moscow worsened by the war in Ukraine. The Russian embassy in Prague did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Russia will now have to pay leases to use of the land, the foreign ministry said. Prague has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 2022 and has supplied it with military aid. The Czech parliament designated "the current Russian regime as terrorist" in November.

☆ Russia says European armed forces treaty contrary to its security interests
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 15 (Reuters) - The European armed forces treaty from which Moscow is to withdraw is contrary to Russia's security interests, Russia's envoy in charge of the withdrawal said in remarks published early on Monday. Russia's parliament is to decide on Monday when to formally denounce the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), following President Vladimir Putin's decree on May 10. "The CFE Treaty, due to the changed situation, is contrary to our security interests. Ryabkov was appointed last week to represent Putin during parliamentary proceedings on denouncing the treaty, which aimed to regulate the number of forces deployed by Warsaw Pact and NATO countries. Russia announced in 2015 that it was completely halting its participation in the treaty.

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