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☆ Exiled Wagner mercenaries are training Belarusian troops in what may signal Putin's puppet next door is cutting some of the strings
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Wagner Group mercenaries cast into exile in Belarus have been training the country's soldiers. The increased military training suggests that Putin's influential grip on Belarus may be waning. "The Wagner Group's new role in Belarusian company-level training is notable," the ISW analysis said. Shortly after that, Wagner troops began training internal troops, the Belarusian Deputy Commander of the Internal Troops confirmed on July 25. Lukashenko, meanwhile, has praised the Wagner fighters and welcomed the military training with open arms.

Persons: Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Eager, Russian Wagner, ISW, George Barros, Wagner's, Barros, Putin, Belta, John Kirby, We're, Kirby Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Wagner Group, Belarusian Defence Ministry, REUTERS, Russian, Institute for, Belarusian, Sputnik, Internal Troops, Belarus ' Defense Ministry, Special Operations Forces, AP, Moscow, Ukrainian, Minsk, White, National Security, NATO Locations: Belarus, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Belarusian, Asipovichy, Minsk, Russian, Brest, Washington, DC, wean, Moscow, Ukraine, Sochi, Kremlin, Africa, Poland, Lithuania

☆ Russia is getting hit at home, and Ukraine's spies say there's only one way to make it stop
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Moscow was hit by another suspected Ukrainian drone attack this week. A man checks the debris next to a damaged office building in the Moscow City following a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, August 1, 2023. After a May attack on Moscow, experts speculated that Ukraine aims to give Russia "a taste of its own medicine." Firefighters and a police officer stand next to a damaged building in the "Moscow City" business district after a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, early Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. "We have made clear we don't encourage or enable such attacks," a US State Department spokesperson told Insider on Tuesday after the most recent drone attacks.

Persons: Mykhailo Podolyak, Vladimir Putin, Russia —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, it's Organizations: Moscow, Service, Russia, REUTERS, Presidential, Twitter, Firefighters, Ukraine, New York Times, US State Department Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Russia, Evgenia, Kyiv, Russia's

☆ Kim Jong Un just showed off two new North Korean aircraft that look shockingly similar to US military drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

North Korea unveiled two new aircraft this week that very closely resemble US military drones. Thousands of people can be seen standing along the sidelines and waving North Korean flags. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 27, 2023. This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile during a military parade on Thursday. North Korea has not conducted a nuclear test since 2017 but remains determined to stand among the world's nuclear powers, despite widespread international pressure and concern.

Persons: Kim Jong, Sergei Shoigu, Kim Il, Phil Speck, it's, Hawk, Bobbi Zapka, Kim Jong Un, Shoigu, Kim, Vladimir Putin Organizations: American, Kim Jong Un, Service, North, North Korean, Korean Central News Agency, Korea News Service, AP, US Air National Guard, ISIS, Russian Defense, Getty, Air Force, U.S . Air Force, REUTERS, Korean, Russian, AP Pyongyang, DPRK, White, Democratic People's, UN Locations: Korea, China, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Pyongyang, North Korea, Wyoming, Handou, Korean, South Korea, Ohio, Kentucky, American, Ukraine, North, United States, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

☆ Russia's fighter jets have gone from harassing US aircraft to actually breaking them as Moscow flexes its muscles where it still can
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Russian fighter jets have harassed US military drones on numerous occasions throughout July. That incident is just one of several demonstrations of Russian aggression around US military drones this month. Russian military Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft employ flares in the flight path of a US MQ-9 aircraft on July 6, 2023 over Syria. A press officer who goes by callsign Damian looks at a destroyed Russian military vehicle in Novodarivka village, Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine. "These maneuvers, they are to some extent intended to demonstrate Russian military strength," which could appease the country's domestic audience.

Persons: Nicholas Lokker, Alexus Grynkewich, Sabrina Singh, Su, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Damian, Putin, Lokker, Assad, Äzzeddin Kasim, Paul Lushenko, Lushenko, Christopher Sommers, AFCENT Organizations: Kremlin, Service, Center, New, New American Security, Islamic, US Air Force, ISIS, US Air Forces Central Command, Pentagon, Donetsk Regions, US, Anadolu Agency, Getty, US Army, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Quds Force, 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, U.S . Central Command Locations: Wall, Silicon, Syria, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, New American, Moscow, Syria . Washington, Islamic State, Washington, CNAS, Belarus, Novodarivka, Zaporizhzhia Region, Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian, Iran, Idlib, United States, Western

☆ War with China would be an 'onslaught' like the US hasn't faced in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

War would also have severe consequences for China and US allies in the Western Pacific. Any war with China would be fought on multiple fronts — from the air and sea to the web and financial markets. The US maintained this capacity for decades, but America's manufacturing prowess has atrophied since the end of the Cold War. Control of the Pacific would be a crucial part of any war with China, and Beijing boasts the world's largest navy. Cash warsWhile a military conflict between the US and China is only a hypothetical, the two countries are already competing on the economic battlefield.

Persons: Joe Biden, Mark Milley, Dan Blumenthal, it's, Blumenthal, Ujian, didn't, Glenn O'Donnell, Forrester, stymie, Ann Wang, William Alan Reinsch, Reinsch, Russia —, Scott Kennedy, Kennedy, aren't, Ramping, Jake Epstein, Jacob Zinkula Organizations: US, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Armed, US Navy, American Enterprise Institute, US Department of Defense, US Marine Corps, Pentagon, Navigation Plan, Ford, Nimitz, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Beijing, Russia, Columbia University, Marine Locations: China, Western, Beijing, Pacific, Taiwan, South China, America, Nebraska, Pearl, Normandy, Mongolia, Ukraine, Russian, Nanchang, Liaoning, Shandong, Fujian, wean, Washington, United States, Japan, Philippines, Netherlands

☆ Russia abruptly fired a front-line general, and now Ukraine is seizing the moment to punch through the defenses he had overseen
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The fired Russian general had demanded changes after suffering losses in artillery battles with Ukraine that were crucial to holding their defensive lines. According to the US officials, Ukraine has expressed a desire to press south toward the occupied city of Melitopol, near the Sea of Azov. Doing so would allow Kyiv's military to split the territory that Russia currently occupies and threaten its hold on the Crimean peninsula. Ukrainian “Grad” multiple rocket launcher fires standing in a field near Orikhiv on June 27, 2023 in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine. A press officer stands on top of a destroyed Russian military vehicle in Novodarivka village, Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine.

Persons: they've, Serhii Mykhalchuk, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ivan Popov, Popov, Dmytro Smolienko, Getty Images Popov, Mark Milley, Milley Organizations: Service, Ukrainian, US, NATO, Pentagon, New York Times, Grad, Getty Images, Kyiv, Kyiv's, Staff of, Armed Forces, Staff, Arms Army, Publishing, Times, Joint Chiefs Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Melitopol, Azov, Russia, Ukrainian, Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian, Novodarivka, Zaporizhzhia Region

☆ Long after Oppenheimer, the US is still paying benefits to people who were exposed to radiation from nuclear tests
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Decades after Oppenheimer, the US still pays benefits to people exposed to nuclear radiation. Civilians who contracted cancer or other diseases due to nuclear testing also receive benefits. Long after the creation and testing of that first nuclear weapon and the many more tests that followed, Washington is still paying benefits to veterans and civilians exposed to radiation from nuclear bomb tests and cleanups. It was over 40 years after the first nuclear test, codenamed "Trinity," before the risks and dangers were officially recognized. Jeff T. Green/Getty ImagesCurrent VA benefits related to nuclear radiation exposure include cleanups at the Marshall Islands and Palomares, Spain, from a 1966 US Air Force plutonium accident.

Persons: Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's, Robert Oppenheimer, Bill Clinton's, Eileen Welsome's, Markey, Ken Brownell, Francis Lincoln Grahlfs, Brownell, Jeff T Organizations: Manhattan, Service, Los Alamos Laboratory, Trinity, Universal Pictures, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MPI, Manhattan Project, Marshall, Air Force, McMurdo, Manhattan Project's Trinity Locations: Marshall, Wall, Silicon, Nazi Germany, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Washington, Japan, Nevada, Hanford, Palomares, Spain, McMurdo Antarctica, Ukraine

☆ Video captures a Russian Su-35 fighter jet harassing and breaking a US Reaper drone by popping flares above it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Russian fighter jet flew "dangerously close" to a US military drone over Syria, the Air Force said. The Su-35 harassed the MQ-9 Reaper drone by releasing flares in its path, damaging the propeller. It's the latest incident of aggressive Russian aircraft maneuvers over the Middle East. More recently, the Air Force said in mid-July that a Russian aircraft engaged a US MC-12 surveillance plane "in an unsafe and unprofessional manner." The recent engagement is also not the first time that Russian aircraft harassment resulted in damage to a Reaper drone's propeller.

Persons: Alexus Grynkewich, Assad, Sabrina Singh, Michael Kurilla Organizations: Air Force, Service, US Air, US, Islamic, ISIS, US Air Forces Central Command, Russian, US Air Force, Pentagon, US Central Command Locations: Russian, Syria, Wall, Silicon, Islamic State, Washington, Moscow, Russia

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine has apparently come home again, this time with drones striking skyscrapers in the capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The attack was reportedly carried out by Kyiv and came after unrelenting Russian attacks on southern Ukraine with drones and missiles increasingly targeting the country's grain infrastructure. Russia's Ministry of Defense said it "foiled" the early Monday morning attack on Moscow, which it blamed it on Ukraine. Photographs of the scene show damage to the roof of an unidentified building, which is located just a few hundred meters from the Russian defense ministry's headquarters in the capital. A view of a building after two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) attack in Moscow, Russia on July 24, 2023. Ukraine's defense ministry said on Monday that Russian drones attacked grain infrastructure along the Danube River, injuring several people and destroying food storage facilities.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Sefa Karacan, Mykhailo Podolyak, Putin, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Biden, Vedant Patel, Patel, EKATERINA ANISIMOVA, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Russia's Ministry of Defense, TASS, Windows, CNN, Kyiv, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Presidential, Twitter, Police, Wagner, White, US State Department Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Kyiv, Russian, Ukrainian, Russia's, Ukraine isn't, AFP, Crimean, Odesa

☆ Wagner boss Prigozhin was just winging it with his armed revolt and making things up as he went along, CIA director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin shocked the world when he called on his Wagner Group fighters to invade Russia. CIA Director Bill Burns said this week that Prigozhin was likely improvising during the armed rebellion. Prigozhin was "making some of this up as he went along," Burns told the Aspen Security Forum. Head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin left the Southern Military District headquarters on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Within hours, the Wagner Group had captured the southern city of Rostov-on-Don without meeting any resistance.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Bill Burns, Prigozhin, Burns, Wagner, Joe Biden, I'm, William Burns, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, he'd, Alexander Lukashenko, Reuters Prigozhin, he'll, Russia —, Vladimir Putin, they've, Putin's misjudgment, Russian Wagner, Mark Milley, Milley Organizations: Wagner Group, CIA, Aspen Security, Service, Russian Defense, Southern Military, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Kremlin, Reuters, Belarus —, Wagner, Belarusian Defence Ministry, REUTERS, Ukrainian, Joint Chiefs, Staff, NATO Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Ukraine, Rostov, Don, Prigozhin, Russian, Voronezh, Belarus, Belarusian, Africa, Osipovichi, Kyiv

☆ Russia and Ukraine just turned much of the Black Sea into a dangerous no man's land
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged threats this week to ships sailing through the Black Sea. The Kremlin then went much further, warning it may attack any vessels it believes are bound for Ukraine, effectively turning the Black Sea into a no man's land. They added that Moscow even published a video claiming to have detected and detonated an alleged Ukrainian sea mine. "Our information indicates that Russia laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports. Turkish-flagged bulker TQ Samsun, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, transits Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey July 18, 2023.

Persons: Biden, Adam Hodge, António Guterres, —, Matthew Miller, Lasalle, Mark Duncan, Washington didn't Organizations: Service, United Nations, AP, White, Security, REUTERS, Black Sea Initiative, UN, US State, US Naval Institute Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Kremlin, Odesa, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Crimea, Azov, Samsun, Istanbul, Turkey, Iran, Persian, Iraq, Hormuz, Kuwait, Soviet, Iraqi, American

☆ UK intel chief invites Russians 'silently appalled' by the Ukraine war to share their secrets and spy for MI6
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Britain's intelligence chief invited Russians who are upset with the Ukraine war to spy for MI6. Espionage has been a feature of the war, and the CIA even tried earlier this year to recruit spies. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Their secrets will always be safe with us, and together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end. Espionage and intelligence gathering has long been a feature of Russia's war in Ukraine, and MI6 is not the first Western intelligence agency to try and recruit Russians.

Persons: Richard Moore, you'll, Richard Moore ,, Moore, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Kyiv, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner Organizations: CIA, Service, Intelligence Service, Soviet, Western, NATO, Wagner Group Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Prague, Soviet Union, Soviet, Russia

☆ Biggest threat to Ukraine in battle right now is minefields, not Russia's superior airpower, top US general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But the biggest threat to Kyiv's troops right now are minefields, the top US general said this week. The biggest of these hurdles for Kyiv's forces are sprawling minefields and not Russia's superior airpower capabilities, the top US general said this week. "They're from minefields — minefields that are covered with direct fire from anti-tank hunter-killer teams, that sort of thing." Ukraine, however, is also having similar problems with Russian air defenses, leaving the air space over Ukraine contested. In some instances, Kyiv's troops have even been forced to abandon the heavy armor they received from the West and make advances on foot.

Persons: Mark Milley, Ercin Erturk, Milley, they've, —, Velyka Novosilka, Diego Herrera Carcedo, It's Organizations: Service, Joint Chiefs, Staff, 35th Marine Brigade, Anadolu Agency, Getty Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russian, Donetsk, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Russia

☆ The US military's most advanced fighter jets and a warship are going to work in the Middle East to stop Iran from seizing commercial ships
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US military is deploying fighter jets and a warship to the Middle East to deter Iran's forces. Iranian boats have repeatedly harassed and tried to seize commercial ships transiting the region. AP Photo/Petros KaradjiasCENTCOM's area of responsibility encompasses several million square miles of land across or 21 countries in the Middle East and Central and South Asia. Tehran's naval ships tried to capture two oil tankers on July 5 as they were transiting through international waters and even opened fire on one of them. The US and Iran have maintained a contentious relationship throughout the Biden administration, and Washington has repeatedly accused Tehran of threatening regional security in the Middle East and even harming American service members.

Persons: Defense Lloyd Austin, Thomas Hudner, Sabrina Singh, Singh, Elizabeth, Petros Karadjias, Biden Organizations: Pentagon, Service, Defense, US, AP, US Navy, US Air Force Locations: Wall, Silicon, Strait, Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Petros Karadjias CENTCOM's, East, Central, South Asia, Iran, Iranian, US, Washington, Tehran, Syria, State, Yemen

☆ Photos capture the crude cages Russian and Ukrainian crews are welding on their tanks and armor as a last-ditch defense
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russian and Ukrainian troops are outfitting their tanks and fighting vehicles with crude cages. Facing growing explosive threats, often from above, Russian and Ukrainian vehicle crews are constructing their own extra layer of defense. Collectively, both sides have lost thousands of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), and armored personnel carriers (APCs). But videos and photos of the Russian cages tell and different story, as they appear to look more temporary and perhaps not as well planned. Other images of Russian MT-LB armored fighting vehicles show the cages appearing to look more flimsy and without much structural integrity.

Persons: Mary, Gian Gentile, RAND's, Gentile Organizations: US, Service, Troops, RAND's Arroyo Center Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Iraq, RAND's Arroyo, Ukraine, quadcopters, Russian

☆ Russian forces are running out of the critical radars they need to defeat Ukraine's artillery, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Britain's defense ministry said Russian forces likely only have a few key systems remaining. For ground troops to surmount these obstacles means navigating through a slow and deadly process, and Ukrainian forces lack air superiority. "Russian ground forces survivability relies on effectively detecting Ukrainian artillery and striking against it, often with its force's own artillery," Britain's defense ministry said in a Monday intelligence update. According to an analysis by the open-source intelligence site Oryx, at least 38 Russian radars have been destroyed, damaged, or captured in Ukraine. "The priority Popov apparently gave to this problem highlights the continued centrality of artillery in the war," Britain's defense ministry said.

Persons: SERGEY SHESTAK, Ivan Popov, Popov, Caesar, Biden, Jake Sullivan Organizations: Service, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Getty, Arms Army, CAA, Separate Artillery Brigade, REUTERS, West, Oryx, NATO, National Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Bakhmut, Donetsk, AFP, Ukrainian, Avdiivka, Donetsk region

☆ 'Chaos' is fueling fights among Putin's top commanders. These are the players battling for power.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

More than three weeks after the historic challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority, there's still internal power plays and high-level purges in motion. "We are seeing a lot of military formations and military figures that are pushing for their own objectives." For example, in Kadyrov's case, he may be pushing for control to shield his fighters from the battlefield in Ukraine and send conventional Russian forces instead. Consequences for disobedienceInsubordination against Moscow's military leadership, such as Teplinsky's criticisms or the Wagner's rebellion, has undermined Russian military leaders but has also come with consequences for members of the anti-Gerasimov camp. The instability increasingly endemic to the Russian military comes as the Ukrainians try to break through their defensive lines.

Persons: Wagner Group's, Vladimir Putin's, Wagner, Putin, doesn't, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Alexander Ermochenko, he's, Stepanenko, Valery Gerasimov, Sergei Shoigu, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, there's, Gerasimov, Vladimir Putin, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Alexei Nikolsky, Gen, Mikhail Teplinsky, Russia's, Teplinsky, Sergei Surovikin, There's, Friedemann Kohler, hasn't, Russia's Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin, Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, Staff Sergei Rudskoi, Mikhail Metzel, Ivan Popov, Vladimir Seliverstov, Popov, vilely, Viktor Zolotov, it's, ISW, Vyacheslav Gladkov Organizations: Service, Institute for, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Southern Military, REUTERS, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Armed Forces, Russian Defense, Russian, Staff, AP, Russia's VDV Airborne Forces, Getty, Russia's Aerospace Forces, Armed Forces, Sputnik, Arms Army, 106th Guards Airborne, Russian MoD, National Guard, Russian National Guard Service, PMC Wagner Group Locations: Russian, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Moscow, Prigozhin, Belarus, Rostov, Don, Russia's Belgorod, Sputnik, Washington, Chechnya, Sochi, REUTERS Maj, Belgorod

☆ A newly surfaced image of Prigozhin hints at where the Wagner boss may have finally ended up after his failed mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But a new photo of the mercenary boss offers a hint that he may be at a military camp in Belarus. A Skyfi satellite image of the training base at Tsel outside Asipovichy in Belarus where Wagner forces are training Belarusian troops. But the new image of Prigozhin suggests that he may be at the same military camp where his Wagner mercenaries are training Belarusian soldiers. The windows in the photo appear to match those on tents at the military camp being used by Wagner and Belarusian soldiers. Although the rebellion left questions about where Wagner fighters would end up, US officials have since said that they aren't fighting in Ukraine anymore.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Jens Stoltenberg, Adam Berry, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Belta, Wagner's, Alexander Lukashenko, — Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozin, —, Prigozhin, It's Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Belarussian, NATO, Belarusian Defence Ministry, Getty, PMC Wagner, Kremlin, Twitter, Ukrainian, Pentagon, Bakhmut, Russian Armed Forces Locations: Belarus, Minsk, Wall, Silicon, Belarusian, Moscow, Tsel, Asipovichy district, Asipovichy, Asipovichy District, Mogilev Region, AFP, Russian, St . Petersburg, Ukraine

☆ Battlefield conditions in Ukraine aren't 'ideal' for F-16 fighter jets, but Abrams tanks will 'certainly make a difference,' US general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Jake Epstein | Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Kyiv hopes to one day field F-16 fighter jets, and it is expecting to receive Abrams tanks soon. F-16s aren't ideal for the fight now, a US general said, but Abrams tanks will make a difference. While there are still questions about Ukraine's F-16s, Abrams tanks are definitely going to be delivered and are expected to have a significant effect on the battlefield, Sims said Thursday. US M1A1 Abrams tanks needed for training the Armed Forces of Ukraine arrive by rail at Grafenwoehr, Germany, May 14, 2023. The Abrams tanks promised to Ukraine are part of more than $41.3 billion in security assistance that the US has provided Kyiv since Russia attacked in February 2022.

Persons: Abrams, Russia's, they're, Douglas Sims, Biden, Tylon Chapman, Sims, Kyiv's, Tylon, they'll Organizations: Service, Ukraine, NATO, Abrams, Russian, US military's Joint Staff, U.S . Air Force, Falcons, Ohio Air National, 180th Fighter Wing, U.S . Air Force KC, Iowa Air National, Air Refueling Wing, US Air National Guard, Tylon, Attack Munitions, Pentagon, US, Armed Forces, Tylon Chapman Locations: Kyiv, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Gen, Iowa, Tylon Chapman Russia, Moscow, Grafenwoehr, Germany, Russia

☆ Shell-hungry artillery battles with Russia are fast eating through Ukraine's ammo, and that's why cluster bombs are key, experts and officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The US decided last week to send deadly but controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine's military. Experts and officials say these explosives will help ease Ukraine's ammunition shortages. The provision of cluster munitions is also aimed at preserving US stockpiles. Washington's difficult decision to outfit Kyiv with cluster munitions appears to have come at a calculated and pivotal moment. "The hard but necessary choice to give them the cluster munitions amounted to this," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told MSNBC at the NATO summit in Lithuania this week.

Persons: Biden, —, Wojciech Grzedzinski, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Colin Kahl, Dmytro Smolienko, " Kahl, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, Jack Watling, Justin Bronk, Drew Angerer, Bronk, Watling, Antony Blinken Organizations: US, Service, Ukrainian, Pentagon, The Washington, Getty, Moscow, White, National, Kyiv, Publishing, CNN, NATO, Royal United Services Institute, MSNBC Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Kyiv, Washington, Zaporizhzhia Region, Russian, Washington , DC, U.S, Lithuania

☆ Video captures the disarming of Wagner in the aftermath of its mutiny, showing the Russian military now has its T-90 tanks and other heavy weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia's defense ministry said it has disarmed the Wagner Group, which launched a failed mutiny a few weeks ago. A video shared by Moscow shows a vast collection of weapons, tanks, artillery pieces, and more. Russia's defense ministry published a video to Telegram on Wednesday that shows a massive collection of military equipment Moscow claims to have received from Wagner Group units. Wheeled vehicles arrive on their own," Russia's defense ministry said. A Pentagon spokesperson told reporters in late June that the US had, at the time, observed "elements" of the Wagner Group in the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.

Persons: Wagner, Russia's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, Alexander Lukashenko, —, Vladimir Putin, Don, Putin, Jens Stoltenberg, meanwhile Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Russian Armed Forces, Southern Military District, REUTERS, Kremlin, Belarusian, Don REUTERS, Pentagon, NATO, Wagner Locations: Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Ukraine, Rostov, Don, Prigozhin, Belarus, Minsk, Russian

☆ The Storm Shadow missile is 'absolutely critical' to Ukraine's counter-offensive, say experts. But Ukraine needs to use it carefully.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Ukraine has received powerful Storm Shadow missiles from the UK, and appears to be putting them to use. A hole in the Chonhar bridge that connects Russian-held Kherson to Crimea, which Russia says was caused by a Storm Shadow missile strike. When that happens, "Storm Shadow will be absolutely critical in making it difficult for the Russians to react," he said. An RAF 41 Squadron Tornado GR4, preparing to test fire four Storm Shadow missiles over the Atlantic Ocean. Celebrity weaponsThere's no doubt that when wielded effectively, the Storm Shadow is a major piece of the counter-offensive puzzle.

Persons: Ben Wallace, Michael Clarke, Marina Miron, Clarke, Vladimir Saldo, Ukraine's, Jake Epstein, hasn't, It's, Oleksii Reznikov, Oleksii, Miron, Cpl Mark Parkinson, Ukraine ATACMS Organizations: Russian, Service, Royal United Services Institute, Storm, Defence Studies Department, London's King's, Storm Shadow, Raytheon, Russia's Ministry of Defense, Ukraine Defence, Forbes, 7th Bomber Regiment, UK Defence, RAF, Squadron Tornado, UK Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Defence, Street Journal Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Kherson, Crimea, Berdyansk, Russian, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian, Soviet, West

☆ Retired US general breaks down why it's so hard for Ukraine to make a counteroffensive push through Russia's defenses. It's '20 kilometers of hell.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As one retired US general put it, Kyiv's forces needs to break through "20 kilometers of hell," which is no easy task, especially with the tools at hand. Russia's troops have built layers of sophisticated and vicious defenses designed to inflict as much pain on Ukraine's advancing military as possible. As Ukrainian forces prepared for their offensive, Russian forces spent those months readying elaborate defenses behind a sprawling front line that stretches for hundreds of miles across eastern and southern Ukraine. "This is 20 kilometers of hell," Kimmitt said, referring to the layers of defenses. "So, the story of this counteroffensive is far from written, and we will continue to support Ukraine along the way."

Persons: Mark Kimmitt, Kimmitt, they're, Mark Milley, Jake Sullivan, Biden Organizations: Service, US, NATO, US Army, Coalition Forces, Maxar Technologies, Street, Joint Chiefs, Staff, National Locations: Russia, US, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Iraq, Yevpatoria, Crimea

☆ Pentagon says it's almost like Russia's on a 'mission to protect ISIS leaders' after its fighter jets harassed US Reaper drones that took out a top terrorist
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russian fighter jets harassed several US military drones operating above Syria on Friday. Those same American MQ-9 Reaper drones later went on to kill an ISIS leader during an operation. A Pentagon official said Monday it's almost like Moscow is "on a mission to protect ISIS leaders." On Wednesday, Russian Su-35s dropped parachute flares and engaged afterburners in front of three Reaper drones. The following day, Russian Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets dropped flares and flew "dangerously close" to an unspecified number of Reaper drones.

Persons: Alexus Grynkewich, Usamah, Michael, Erik, Kurilla, Assad, Sabrina Singh, Singh, CENTCOM, Russian Su, Grynkewich, Colin Kahl, Kahl Organizations: Pentagon, ISIS, Service, Russia, Islamic, NATO, US Air Forces Central Command, US Central Command, U.S, US Air Force, Russian, US, Dassault Rafale, Air Force, Washington Locations: Syria, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Washington, Russian, Screengrab

☆ The US is finally giving Ukraine's military cluster munitions, deadly and controversial explosives that could be 'devastating' for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Chris Panella | Jake Epstein | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The US announced a new weapons package that includes cluster munitions for Ukraine on Friday. Cluster munitions are deadly and controversial, but they could boost Ukraine's counteroffensive. The White House and Pentagon announced a new $800 million security assistance package for Ukraine on Friday that, for the first time, includes cluster munitions. Cluster munitions can be dropped from the air or fired as artillery and deal damage over a larger area. Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty ImagesDue to their range and movement, cluster munitions can be unpredictable and hit outside their intended target.

Persons: —, Kurt Volker, Federico Borsari, it's, Wojciech Grzedzinski, Ben Hodges, Borsari, hasn't, Pierre Crom, Biden, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, willy nilly, Colin Kahl, I'm, Kahl Organizations: US, — Kyiv, Service, Pentagon, Ukraine, NATO, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Center for, The Washington, Getty, Army, Kyiv, Munitions, Amnesty, Rights Watch, National Locations: Ukraine, Hai, Lebanon, Russia, Toretsk, Izium

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