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☆ Ukraine war live updates: Tensions rise between Russian mercenaries and Kremlin; Ukraine allies focus on air defenses for Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Ukraine and its allies are meeting Thursday to discuss Kyiv's ongoing military needs and requirements, with Kyiv's military command saying that strengthening air defense, artillery and counter-battery capabilities are "important objectives." The meeting of the so-called Ukraine Defense Support Group in Brussels, Belgium, will "focus on bolstering Ukraine's air defense and other near-term capability priorities, as well as training and sustainment to enhance Ukraine's enduring strength over the long term," according to a readout of a phone call between U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov earlier this week. The Ukraine Defense Support Group includes 54 countries, ranging from those in the NATO military alliance to non-members such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and Ireland.

Persons: Defense Lloyd Austin, Defense Oleksii Organizations: Ukraine Defense Support, U.S, Defense, NATO Locations: Ukraine, Brussels, Belgium, Ukrainian, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Ireland

☆ Erdogan Hosts NATO Talks on Sweden Bid: Ukraine-Russia Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Ben Hubbard | Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Mr. Putin touched on virtually every aspect of the conflict in recent weeks. At one point he also suggested that the Russian army might have to again march on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. More important, Mr. Petrov speculated that the remarks could be a prelude to seeking negotiations by implying that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was doomed. Mr. Putin said he backed the call for paramilitary organizations to sign such contracts. “It is his style before any negotiation to let his guy say something horrible in order to look better,” Mr. Petrov said.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Nikolai Petrov, Petrov, ”, Wagner, Sergei K, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Alina Lobzina Organizations: Tuesday, Ministry of Defense, Defense Ministry Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Kharkiv

☆ Putin appeared to literally turn his back on his loyal defense minister on Russian state TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Paul Squire | Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Vladimir Putin literally turned his back on his defense minister during a publicity stunt. In the clip from Russian state TV, Putin appears to avoid facing Sergei Shoigu, his loyal minister of defense. During a visit to a Moscow military hospital to give Russian soldiers medals, Putin appeared to turn away from Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (R) and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov attend a meeting with Russian President in Moscow on February 27, 2022. It is, however, unclear whether there is a rift between Putin and his defense minister or, if there is, whether or not recent events are the cause of any potential tension between them.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, —, Volodymyr Omelyan, Valery Gerasimov, ALEXEY NIKOLSKY, Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin Organizations: Service, TV, Russian, Russian Defence, SPUTNIK, Getty, Wagner Group Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Shoigu, Ukrainian, Russia

Ukrainian forces have stepped up artillery strikes and ground assaults in a flurry of military activity that American officials suggested on Monday could signal that Kyiv’s long-planned counteroffensive against Russia had begun. The fighting, which began on Sunday, was raging along several points on the front line, but farther to the east of where many analysts had expected Ukraine’s counteroffensive to launch. The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Monday that a major Ukrainian operation had begun at five locations in the eastern Donetsk region and that it had repelled the assaults and inflicted casualties on Ukrainian forces. Ukraine’s deputy minister of defense, Hanna Malyar, said on the Telegram messaging app that Kyiv’s forces in some areas were “moving to offensive actions” in the war that began when Russia invaded its neighbor 15 months ago. But she stopped short of saying it was a decisive new phase in the war.

Persons: Hanna Malyar Organizations: Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Azov, Crimea, Donetsk

☆ Ukraine posts ominous video saying nobody should be talking about its counteroffensive: 'Plans love silence'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine posted a video saying nobody should be talking about its counteroffensive plans. The short, ominous clip shows various soldiers putting a finger to their lips. In the slickly-produced, 35-second clip, various Ukrainian soldiers in the field look to the camera and raise a finger to their lips. Beyond military secrecy, the video — subtitled in English — also appears to be aimed at reassuring Western allies, who have poured resources into Ukraine for its keenly-anticipated counteroffensive. Ukraine's MOD produced a rousing video at the end of May that also seemed aimed at galvanizing anticipation for the operation.

Persons: —, Defense Oleksii Reznikov, Reznikov's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Defense, Street Journal, Ukraine, MOD, — Locations: Ukraine, Russia

☆ Drone attacks in Moscow strikes near the heart of Russia's elite
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

On Tuesday morning, a wave of drone strikes hit the Russian capital. An ambulance and firefighting vehicles are parked outside a multi-storey apartment block following a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia. Instead, it appeared to strike near the heart of Russia’s political and economic elite. A view shows a damaged multi-storey apartment block following a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia. But it’s clear that the drone strikes are an embarrassment to the Russian military, regardless of how the remotely piloted vehicles were launched.

☆ Belarus said it had no choice but to host Russia's nuclear weapons after US and its allies escalated support for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Belarus said it had no choice but to host Russia's tactical nuclear weapons. "The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus is therefore one of the steps of strategic deterrence" against the West, Volfovich said, according to Reuters. Russia and Belarus signed the deal last week formalizing the deployment of the tactical nuclear weapons after Russian President Vladimir Putin originally announced the plan earlier this year. While Moscow will retain control of the tactical nuclear weapons, the Post reported, it's unclear when exactly they'll arrive to the recently built storage facilities in Belarus. It's currently unclear how many tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed, the Post added.

☆ Kyiv breathes sigh of relief after air defenses shoot down barrage of Russian rockets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Josh Pennington Tim Lister Kostan Nechyporenko Olga Voitovych Ivana Kottasová Yulia Kesaieva | Josh Pennington | Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Most Kyiv residents would have had no way of knowing for sure that the sudden, terrifying loud bangs were the Ukrainian air defense systems taking down Russian missiles, rather than rockets hitting their city. Yulia Kesaieva/CNN“My wife counted over 30 explosions and we saw dozens of launches by the Ukrainian air defense from our balcony. Our air defense are real heroes. I think it’s both – the experience and the new air defense systems we got,” he told CNN. Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin have repeatedly talked up the hypersonic Kinzhal missiles for their ability to evade Ukraine’ original air defense systems.

☆ Russia's Kinzhal was never an unstoppable hypersonic missile, but the Patriot shot that killed one is still 'impressive,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Ukraine shot down a Russian Kinzhal missile described as a hypersonic weapon with a US-made Patriot interceptor. Still, a missile defense expert told Insider the missile is tough target, making it an "impressive" kill. A missile defense expert called the intercept by a Patriot missile "impressive," for both the advanced American-made missile defense system and its Ukrainian operators. A general view of a mobile defence surface-to-air missile system, Patriot, before it is transported to Poland from Gnoien, Germany January 23, 2023. Gen. Pat Ryder said that he could "confirm that they did down a Russian missile by employing the Patriot missile defense system."

☆ Germany is finally focusing on defending NATO, but its military 'lacks almost everything' it needs to do it, a former German general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That's the warning from a former German general who argues that Germany must refurbish its badly neglected armed forces — though this will take years to accomplish. Today, the German military is just 183,000-strong, and it can't meet its recruiting goals. In 2020, German defense spending was only 1.4% of GDP, well short of 2% goal that NATO members have pledged to hit by 2024. "Armament procurement concentrated on armored transport vehicles rather than on battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles," Vad writes. RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty ImagesDespite years of calls by France for pan-European defense, coordinating German defense procurement with other EU states — each with distinct military needs and political priorities – is difficult.

CNN —Six Leopard 2 tanks bound for Ukraine have left the Spanish port city of Santander in northern Spain and are en route to their destination, the Spanish Minister of Defense Margarita Robles said Saturday. Robles told journalists the tanks left Santander “along with 20 heavy transport vehicles” and the trip by sea would take from five to six days. Ukraine has been reliant on outdated Soviet-era tanks throughout the Russian invasion and has appealed to the West for modern battle tanks to bolster Kyiv’s forces. In recent months, the US, along with countries such as Poland, Finland and the UK – pledged to send tanks to Ukraine. Following international pressure, Germany announced a major decision in January that it would send Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv’s troops – raising anger from Kremlin officials who sought to cast the move as an act of aggression against Russia.

☆ Estonia says China's peace plan to end Ukraine's war is 'extremely unfair'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

watch nowChina's peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine is "extremely unfair," since the plan doesn't respect the territorial integrity of the country, said the permanent secretary of Estonia's Ministry of Defense. Beijing issued a 12-point peace plan in February. But China's plan hasn't been fair to Ukraine's people, he said. "That is something I would say [is] extremely unfair to Ukrainian people who have been fighting for their freedom." No breakthrough at Xi-Putin meetingChinese President Xi Jinping's three-day visit to Russia concluded on Wednesday.

☆ North Korea fires short-range ballistic missile, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 19 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, according to South Korea and Japan, the latest in a barrage of weapons tests from the nuclear-armed state. Seoul has condemned the recent ballistic missile launches by the North as a "clear violation" of a U.N. Security Council resolution. "North Korea's behaviour threatens international peace and security, and is unacceptable," Japan's state minister of defense, Toshiro Ino, told a news conference, adding Japan had protested strongly via North Korea's embassy in Beijing. But the recent missile launches highlight the destabilising impact of Pyongyang's unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, it said in a statement. South Korean and American forces kicked off the 11-day drills, dubbed "Freedom Shield 23", a week ago on a scale not seen since 2017.

☆ How Putin's Russian goon squad used Mexican gig workers to troll an American election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

Posting to social media sounded like an easy work-from-home gig, so he applied. This post from the Prigozhin-backed Social CMS network in Mexico referred to America as "we." He verified his account by providing chat transcripts, screenshots, contracts, and internal company documents. But just because Social CMS didn't yield an immediate, large-scale impact doesn't mean it should be ignored. "I didn't know who are you," wrote the person who is listed in the corporate directory as Prigozhin's media liaison.

For much of the winter, the war in Ukraine settled into a slow-moving but exceedingly violent fight along a jagged 600-mile-long frontline in the southeast. Now, both Ukraine and Russia are poised to go on the offensive. They are looking for vulnerabilities, hoping to exploit gaps, and setting the stage for what Ukraine warns could be Moscow’s most ambitious campaign since the start of the war. Ukraine must now defend against the Russian assault without exhausting the resources it needs to mount an offensive of its own. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has given an order to take all of the Donbas region by March, Ukrainian intelligence says.

☆ Brazil defense minister says military not directly involved in Brasilia riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Brazil Minister of Defense Jose Mucio said on Friday that the country's armed forces were not directly involved in the riots by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed government buildings calling for a coup. Mucio met on Friday with Lula and the commanders of the armed forces aiming to reduce tensions. He said the riots were not discussed and the meeting focused on plans for military procurement and investments in Brazil's defense industry, with business leaders present, the minister said. "I understand that there was no direct involvement of the Armed Forces, but if anyone was personally involved (in the riots) that will be investigated," Mucio told reporters after the meeting. The storming of government building will not happened again "because the Armed Forces will anticipate it," Mucio said.

☆ Sri Lankan court orders ex-leader to pay victims of 2019 Easter bombings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that inaction by the country’s former president and four others led to Easter Sunday bomb attacks in 2019 that killed nearly 270 people and ordered them to pay compensation for violating the basic rights of the victims and their families. A seven-judge bench of the top court ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to pay 100 million rupees ($273,300) from his personal funds. It also ordered the police chief, two top intelligence officials and the secretary to the ministry of defense at the time to pay a total of 210 million rupees ($574,000). “This dismal failure on the part of former President Sirisena resulted in disastrous consequences for this country. A presidential commission earlier recommended criminal procedures against Sirisena for alleged negligence, but it has not been followed up.

☆ Ukraine defense minister rips Putin's 'meat grinder' tactics, says Russia is failing because it's still a 'big Soviet army'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

He said Putin's "meat grinder tactics" were failing, calling his troops a "big Soviet army." Reznikov cited Ukraine's nimble, hybrid tactics as the reason it could match even a larger and better-funded military like Russia's. "If it was meat grinder against meat grinder, we would lose," he said in the interview. "It was a mistake to perceive us as a small Soviet army [that] will fight a big Soviet army. Certainly, a big Soviet army would win and a small Soviet army would lose but we are not a Soviet army."

☆ Judge denies Peru's ousted President Pedro Castillo’s jail appeal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

LIMA, Peru — A judge ordered ousted Peruvian President Pedro Castillo to remain in custody on Tuesday, denying his appeal as authorities build a rebellion case against him. The judge said evidence suggests Castillo was intercepted as he tried to reach the Mexican embassy to seek asylum. He was taken into custody shortly after he was ousted by lawmakers when he sought to dissolve Congress ahead of an impeachment vote. Regional governments have also refused to recognize her as Peru’s president. Peru’s prime minister, Pedro Angulo, in a statement rejected the four governments’ position, which he attributed to an “ignorance of reality.”

☆ After years of arguing, Congress is finally letting the US Air Force send some A-10 Warthogs to the boneyard
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Thomas Novelly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The defense policy bill for 2023 will allow the US Air Force to retire 21 A-10 Warthogs. The Air Force has wanted to get rid A-10s for years, but Congress has blocked it from doing so. The Air Force has another 260 A-10s in service, but lawmakers may be more open to scrapping them. That Air National Guard wing previously flew earlier models of the F-16 until they were replaced — to much fanfare — with the Warthog back in 2010. Airmen reconfigure weapons on an A-10 during an exercise at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida in November 2019.

☆ Guatemala court sentences ex-President Perez, ex-VP in graft case
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Former Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina leaves the courtroom after being found guilty of a corruption case during his administration, at the judicial building, in Guatemala City, Guatemala December 7, 2022. Perez, who was president of Guatemala from 2012 to 2015, has spent the last seven years in prison awaiting a verdict in the case. Baldetti was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison in 2018 in a separate fraud case. Perez was ordered to pay 8.7 million quetzales ($1.10 million) while Baldetti was fined 8.4 million quetzales ($1.06 million) on Wednesday. The case, known as "La Linea," was originally investigated under the now-defunct International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), backed by the United Nations.

☆ Wives of Russian soldiers showed up at Ukraine border and demanded to take their husbands home, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wives of Russian soldiers traveled to a military base at the Ukrainian border, The Insider reported. They said their husbands were wounded on the front and demanded they be taken out of the country. One woman said if officials don't help, she would go to the front to rescue the soldiers herself. (The Insider is a Russian news outlet and has no affiliation with Insider.) Top US general Mark Milley estimated Wednesday that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers were "killed and wounded" since Russia invaded Ukraine, Reuters reported.

☆ Russia's elite fear for their safety after a Putin ally advocated punishing those who don't support the war, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin has been an influential player during Russia's war in Ukraine. He said that tycoons who don't show enough support for the war should face "Stalinist repressions." Prigozhin's comments have worried Russian elites, who told Bloomberg they fear for their safety. The officials told Bloomberg they were concerned for their own safety, and that they were checking in with each other regularly to see if their family members are safe. Andrei Kolesnikov, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Bloomberg that Prigozhin is "behaving like a parallel government."

In the wake of Greene’s statement and other Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump questioning the amount of U.S. aid delivered to Ukraine in recent weeks, Sens. A key supporter of Kyiv, Portman is the co-chair and co-founder of the Senate Ukraine Caucus and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His departure from Congress is seen as a potential blow for Ukrainian support. Some Ukrainian officials have expressed nervousness in recent weeks, as news stories indicated potential GOP opposition to continued support for Kyiv. Barry Reeger / AP fileYuriy Saks, adviser to Ukraine Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, told NBC News on Monday that he hoped the results of the U.S. election would not affect the country’s continued support of Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine shares video of Russian helicopter getting blasted out of the sky, the latest in a string of takedowns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian forces have reported taking out multiple Russian helicopters in recent weeks. A Ukrainian official on Wednesday shared a video he said shows a strike on a Russian helicopter. Ukraine has reported taking out multiple Russian helicopters in recent weeks. "This represents over 25% of the Russian Air Force's in-service fleet of 90 KA-52s and nearly half of Russia's total helicopter losses in Ukraine," the update said. On Monday, Ukrainian forces sabotaged an airbase deep inside Russia, close to the Latvian border, planting explosives inside the military helicopters, CNN reported.

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