DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Factbox: What is known about latest leak of U.S. secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here is what we know and do not know about what appears to be the gravest leak of U.S. secrets in years:ARE THE DOCUMENTS REAL? Materials marked that way would have been seen by thousands of people with security clearances. But because not all of the documents are marked FVEY, U.S. officials believe whoever leaked them could be American. - China: Predictions about how China would respond to Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, along with details about British plans in the Indo-Pacific region. - South America: Information about Brazilian officials' plan to visit Moscow in April to discuss a Ukraine mediation scheme.

☆ How the Latest Leaked Documents Are Different From Past Breaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It is the freshness of the “secret” and “top secret” documents, and the hints they hold for operations to come, that make these disclosures particularly damaging, administration officials say. The 100-plus pages of slides and briefing documents leave no doubt about how deeply enmeshed the United States is in the day-to-day conduct of the war, providing the precise intelligence and logistics that help explain Ukraine’s success thus far. It is coordinating the long, complex logistical train that delivers weapons to the Ukrainians. In fact, the documents released so far are a brief snapshot of how the United States viewed the war in Ukraine. They are a combination of the current order of battle and — perhaps most valuable to Russian military planners — American projections of where the air defenses being rushed into Ukraine could be located next month.

☆ Ukraine is training 40,000 'storm brigade' troops to strengthen the planned counter-offensive against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine is training eight new 'storm brigades' totaling 40,000 soldiers, according to Reuters. New soldiers are being trained in target practice, flying drones, and rescuing injured soldiers. As Russia continues its attacks in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv has bolstered its recruiting campaigns in order to attract new volunteers. Recruits of the Steel Border storm brigade practice launching drones, at the unit's base in central Ukraine March 24, 2023. More than a year into Russia's invasion of the country, a counter-offensive operation is considered crucial for Ukraine.

☆ U.S. arrests retired Salvadoran officer implicated in atrocities
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Nelson Renteria | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAN SALVADOR, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. agents arrested a retired Salvadoran military officer this week on charges of participating in a brutal massacre of civilians during El Salvador's grinding civil war in the 1980s, according to a statement on Thursday. Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Roberto Garay on Tuesday in the state of New Jersey, the agency said. Retired Salvadoran general Juan Rafael Bustillo acknowledged in 2020 that Atlacatl was responsible for the notorious 1981 El Mozote massacre, in which more than 1,0000 villagers, mostly women and children, were slaughtered. The battalion carried out extrajudicial executions at El Mozote, as well as in three other massacres in which "hundreds of noncombatant civilians" were killed, ICE said. One of several bloody Central American conflicts linked to the Cold War, El Salvador's 1980-1992 civil war pitted the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) rebels against the army of the U.S.-backed right-wing government.

Border of Steel is one of eight new storm brigades totalling 40,000 soldiers that Ukraine wants to use during a counter-offensive against Russian occupiers in coming weeks or months. Ukraine beat back Russian forces from Kyiv last year before liberating swathes of the northeast and of the southern Kherson region. But Russian forces still occupy tracts of the east, the strategically important south and the Crimean peninsula. "For them, the objective is to liberate Ukraine," Klymenko said of the recruits during an interview in Kyiv. He gave no clues as to when or where Ukraine would launch its counter-offensive.

☆ How the US Army's Best Ranger competition uses days of grueling challenges to find the military's best 2-man team
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US troops will gather in Georgia in April for the US Army's Best Ranger Competition. The Best Ranger competition is organized and run by the US Army in conjunction with the National Ranger Association. 101st Airborne Division soldiers compete in the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning in April 2022. David DumasThe Best Ranger competition typically starts strong with a 10-mile run followed by a swim event and an obstacle course. 10th Mountain Division soldiers complete a casualty evacuation lane during the Best Ranger Competition in April 2022.

[1/7] BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 30: King Charles III addresses members of the German Bundestag at the Reichstag Building on March 30, 2023 in Berlin, Germany. The king, on the second day of a three-day trip to Germany, alternated between German and English for the half-hour speech, which won a standing ovation from lawmakers. Both Britain and Germany had shown "vital leadership", Charles said, praising Berlin's decision to provide large military support to Ukraine as "remarkably courageous, important and appreciated". Throughout his visit, German officials have praised his interest in environmental causes and sustainability that has shone through in the engagements he has chosen to understake. Charles had been due to travel first to France but cancelled that part of the tour due to violent social unrest there.

The fact that Charles had picked France and Germany for his first state visit, even before his coronation in May, was an important "European gesture", said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who greeted Charles and his wife Queen Consort Camilla in Berlin. "Today, exactly six years after Britain started its exit from the European Union, we are opening a new chapter in our relations," Steinmeier said. [1/14] Britain's King Charles III and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier review an honor guard during a ceremonial welcome at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, on March 29, 2023. Steinmeier said he had invited Charles to visit Germany at Elizabeth's funeral last September. However, any warmer relations with Europe brought about by the visit could cool if other post-Brexit issues flare up.

☆ Another SEAL parachuting death highlights the inherent danger of US special operators' go-to infiltration method
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Deadly accidentsNaval Special Warfare operators perform a free-fall jump in Alaska in September. The incident, which likely happened during as part of a pre-deployment workup, is still under investigation, according to Naval Special Warfare Command. Despite that danger, however, free-fall parachuting is also extremely valuable as an insertion method for special-operations units. The Navy SEAL community — especially the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, formerly known as SEAL Team 6 — is well-versed in free-fall operations. Most US special-operations units have recognized the value of free-fall parachuting and have incorporated it into their training.

[1/2] Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla leave after their visit to the Bolton Town Hall, in Bolton, Britain January 20, 2023. Steinmeier, said it was an important "European gesture" that Charles had chosen France and Germany for his first state visit, even before his coronation in May. Steinmeier said he had extended an invitation to Charles, who has traveled to Germany more than 40 times, at the funeral of his mother last September. However, any warmer relations with Europe brought about by the visit could cool quickly if other post-Brexit issues flare up. Macron has suggested Charles' visit to France could be rescheduled for the summer.

☆ Some US volunteers in Ukraine have become embroiled in infighting that has undermined the war effort, with one individual having lied about being a Marine: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The squabbles have not only threatened the war effort, but have exposed deeply consequential lies. Some volunteers have left the war effort in Ukraine after questions arose about their backgrounds. Foreign Legion volunteers in Ukraine. And while Ukrainian officials estimated that there were possibly 20,000 Legion volunteers, that number was officially much smaller. Lackey told Legion members that he was a Marine and said that he had been an assistant manager at LongHorn Steakhouse.

☆ Ukraine's air force is now allowing foreigners to sign up as pilots as it pushes for Western fighter jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine's Air Force will now allow foreigners to serve as pilots, engineers, and specialists. Ukraine said that its air force has been inundated with offers from people willing to fight Russia. Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for the commander of Ukraine's air force, said in a statement Thursday that foreign citizens will be able to join if they have suitable military training. Despite bipartisan calls in the US for President Joe Biden's administration to send F-16s, Biden himself said on February 24 that Ukraine "doesn't need F-16s now." Serhii Holubtsov, chief of aviation of Ukraine's Air Force, however, told The Times of London that Ukrainian fighter pilots would be ready to fly F-16 jets after fewer than six months of training.

☆ Russian recruits are making videos directly addressed to Putin begging for more support amid 'meat assaults'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian conscripts are increasingly appealing directly to Putin for more support amid the war. Videos in recent weeks have featured troops asking for additional aid or to be recalled altogether. In a video from earlier this month, a Russian soldier admonished "the incompetence of our superiors," saying his unit had been replenished with newly-mobilized soldiers six times already. In a separate video obtained by CNN, a different Russian soldier in eastern Ukraine filmed a smoking Russian tank, explaining that he was offering "firsthand evidence" of the "clusterfuck." Even pro-Russia war bloggers have compared the flurry of soldier deaths to "meat assaults," according to the Post.

☆ Russia convicted a soldier who admitted killing a civilian in Ukraine — not for killing anyone but for spreading illegal 'fake news'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian court sentenced a soldier after he confessed to killing a civilian in Ukraine. Daniil Frolkin was tried under Russia's "fake news" law, which outlaws claiming that Russia is committing atrocities. Daniil Frolkin was given a suspended sentence in a military court in Khabarovsk, in eastern Russia, according to the news site Siberia.Realities, an affiliate of Radio Free Europe. In June, Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General announced Frolkin was suspected of killing a civilian there — something that Frolkin initially denied. It outlaws contradicting the Kremlin's official version of events in the war — in which Russia commits no atrocities and stringently avoids harming civilians.

"Until now, the ministry has taken the defence companies for granted," said Masahisa Sato, an influential ruling party lawmaker and former deputy defence minister. Three of them, Mitsubishi Heavy, Mitsubishi Electric and IHI Corp (7013.T), which makes jet engines, bridges and heavy machinery, confirmed they had also taken part in other lower-level discussions. Reuters asked 10 of Japan's military suppliers, including Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric, Daikin and Subaru, for interviews with their defence unit managers. Despite diplomatic tensions, China is Japan's top trade partner and a major manufacturing base for many Japanese companies. Even so, Japanese companies often refer to their military products as "special equipment," the government official said.

☆ ‘I Live in Hell’: The Psychic Wounds of Ukraine’s Soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Photographs Antoine D Agata | Text Ellen Barry | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

The soldier’s ward is a quiet place, high-ceilinged, with chess boards and a Ping-Pong table; you could mistake it for a rest home, except that the door handles have been removed. Tap Click to read their stories Oleksandr, 21 Occupation: Soldier, former student “I finished school and joined the army in 2021. Now I’m mostly sad; I’m better off alone.” Yulia, 47 Occupation: Soldier; combat medic, independent forensic expert I’m a combat medic. Stanislav, 29 Occupation: Soldier, former cook “I didn’t plan to end up here. I adjust to each person in this way.” Serhii, 42 Occupation: Soldier, former employee at a shipping company On April 28 2022, I joined the air assault forces.

☆ A new Pentagon map shows how China is beefing up what a top US general calls its 'dangerous position' in the South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

China and several of its neighbors have claimed parts of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The map also gives rough locations for seven Chinese outposts, including three airfields, and 63 other outposts in the Spratlys. China's outposts "are capable of supporting military operations" and "have supported non-combat aircraft," the Pentagon report says. Recent action by those forces around Taiwan, as well as ongoing Chinese activity in the South China Sea, have worried US commanders. The Spratly IslandsFilipino fishermen sail by a Chinese coast guard ship near Scarborough Shoal on February 5.

☆ Putin's army can't figure out how to use tanks, and the battlefield in Ukraine is littered with burnt wrecks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

According to an open-source intelligence analysis by Oryx, more than 1,780 Russian tanks have been destroyed, damaged, captured, or abandoned since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022. Due to the design of many of Russia's tanks, a hit can cause the ammunition to detonate, killing the crew as the overpressure blows the top off. And it's "questionable" how well Russia's tanks are integrated into its overall operations. A destroyed Russian tank covered by snow stands in the village of Kamyanka, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, FileClearing a minefield is a slow, complicated, and deliberate process that involves several steps, but Russian tanks appear to drive right through them.

☆ Putin's top troops are being 'decimated' as Russia relies too much on so-called 'elite' forces to wage war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Several so-called "elite" Russian units have suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield in Ukraine. The 155th is only the latest so-called "elite" Russian unit to face serious setbacks on the battlefield. An abandoned Russian military tank left in the Ukrainian city of Balakliia after Russian Forces withdrew from the Kharkiv region on September 15, 2022. So I think it's much more of a blow to Russia's ground force's combat power than it is to their reputations." Russia's military leadership has at times faced criticism and even domestic outrage over its decision-making.

☆ Russian court fines Wikipedia over military 'misinformation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Wikimedia Foundation was fined 2 million roubles ($27,000) by a Russian court on Tuesday after the authorities accused it of failing to delete "misinformation" about the Russian military from Wikipedia, the courts service said. Wikimedia, which owns Wikipedia, was already fined last year after it failed to delete two articles related to the war, including one on "evaluations of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine". The latest fine was imposed after the authorities accused Wikipedia of "spreading misinformation" in articles about Russian military units, Wikimedia Russia said. "So far, in the history of courts in Russia, Wikipedia has only had one successful experience of appealing court verdicts," the head of the foundation's Russian chapter, Stanislav Kozlovskiy, told Reuters. ($1 = 74.72 roubles)Reporting by Filipp Lebedev; Writing by Caleb Davis; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Belarusian partisans say Russian military aircraft damaged near Minsk
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 27 (Reuters) - A Russian A-50 surveillance military aircraft was damaged in a drone attack at an airfield near the Belarus capital of Minsk on Sunday, Belarus partisans and members of the exiled opposition said. Belsat is a Polish broadcaster focused on Belarusian news that Minsk has branded extremist. Front and central parts of the aircraft as well as the radar antenna were damaged as a result of two explosions in the attack at the Machulishchy air base near Minsk, BYPOL reported. The Beriev A-50 aircraft, which has the NATO reporting name of Mainstay, is a Russian airborne early warning aircraft, with airborne command and control capabilities, and the ability to track up to 60 targets at a time. A number of Russian warplanes and airborne early warning and control aircraft have been deployed to Belarus.

☆ Russian military aircraft blown up near Minsk: Belarusian partisans
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaFeb 27 (Reuters) - Belarusian anti-government activists have claimed responsibility for what they said was a drone attack on a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft at an airfield near the Belarus capital of Minsk on Sunday. Franak Viacorka, an adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said in a post on Twitter it was the most successful act of sabotage since the beginning of 2022. Front and central parts of the aircraft as well as the radar antenna were damaged as a result of two explosions in the attack at the Machulishchy air base near Minsk, BYPOL reported. The Beriev A-50 aircraft, which has the NATO reporting name of Mainstay, is a Russian airborne early warning aircraft, with airborne command and control capabilities, and the ability to track up to 60 targets at a time. A number of Russian warplanes and airborne early warning and control aircraft have been deployed to Belarus.

☆ An 'elite' Russian unit has been weakened by severe front-line losses, and the replacements appear to be making things worse, Western intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's 155th Naval Infantry Brigade has suffered heavy losses while fighting in Ukraine. The 155th was considered to be an "elite" unit, but has been degraded, Western intelligence says. It's the latest high-profile Russian unit to see a high number of causalities on the battlefield. SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty ImagesThe 155th is not the only Russian unit considered elite that has suffered severe setbacks and losses in Ukraine. Western intelligence estimates that Russian forces may have suffered as many as 200,000 casualties while fighting in Ukraine, with up to 60,000 troops dead.

☆ Russia’s War Machine Tested by Rift Between Military, Wagner Group
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Matthew Luxmoore | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Serious divisions are being exposed in Russia’s war effort amid a deepening public standoff between top military officials and the owner of a paramilitary force fighting alongside the regular army. The Wagner paramilitary unit, which has ballooned in size since recruiting tens of thousands of convicts from Russian prisons in recent months, has suffered the majority of casualties since it began spearheading a monthslong campaign to take the city of Bakhmut in east Ukraine.

☆ North Korea confirms it tested ICBM, touts 'fatal nuclear counterattack' capabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Feb 19 (Reuters) - North Korea said on Sunday it had tested a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the previous day in a "sudden launching drill" that confirmed its readiness for "mobile and mighty counterattack" against hostile forces. North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan's west coast on Saturday afternoon after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the United States. A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. Analysts say North Korea is likely to conduct more weapons tests, including a possible new solid-fuel missile, which could help the North deploy its missiles faster in the event of a war. North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions, but Pyongyang says its weapons development is necessary to counter "hostile policies" by Washington and its allies.

Search resuls for: "Military Unit"

25 mentions found