Category: International Conflict

Once through the grandiose gates of the infantry academy opposite the old town of Toledo, south of Madrid, it takes just a few minutes to reach the confines of the barracks on foot. In a large courtyard bathed in late-August sunshine, some 50 Ukrainian recruits were waiting to be called forward. “They just arrived last night,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Cortes. “And the first thing we’re doing is equipping them.” In a vast room, they took turns picking up a new backpack…

JERUSALEM — Elbit Systems will supply the Swedish BAE Systems Hägglunds with its Iron Fist Active Protection System for CV90s in a deal worth $109 million, the Israeli firm announced Tuesday. Elbit noted the systems are intended for a European country, but declined to identify it. Based on previous publications by BAE, it is likely the client is Slovakia. BAE Systems announced in December it has been awarded a $1.37 billion contract by Slovakia to manufacture 152 CV90 infantry fighting…

By Raman Vasyukovich, RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, Tony Wesolowsky September 09, 2023 Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the de facto ruler of Belarus, is setting a trap, his opponents say, for those who fled abroad to escape his repressive rule. No longer will Belarusian embassies issue or renew passports to nationals living abroad, according to a fresh edict from Lukashenka published on September 4. If they need the document, Belarusians will have to return home. And critics fear Belarus’s security forces will be waiting….

An unprecedented tribal protest in the province of Deir ez-Zor is putting the Kurdish forces administering northeastern Syria to the test. After 11 days of clashes with tribal fighters in this predominantly Arab region, which killed at least 90 people, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Wednesday, September 6, that they had regained control of the few villages that had fallen into the hands of the protesters. On Thursday evening, the head of the FDS, Mazloum Abdi, pledged…

  NEW DELHI, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Countries must refrain from use of force to seize territories, G20 countries said in a joint declaration at their summit in New Delhi on Saturday, avoiding any direct mention of Russia for the war in Ukraine. “In line with the U.N. Charter, all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state,” the leaders said in…

Western allies kicked off a major naval exercise in the Baltic Sea on Saturday amid rising tensions with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. About 3,200 soldiers from 14 countries are taking part in the German-led Northern Coasts 23 exercise, the German navy said in a statement. The exercise will involve 30 ships, submarines, up to 19 aircraft, and various landing units, it said. Other countries taking part include Italy, France, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands,…

MOSCOW, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) — The upcoming joint U.S.-Armenian military exercises do not contribute to the stabilization of the situation in the region, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday. Peskov said that these exercises are also not conducive to fostering an atmosphere of mutual trust in the region. Moscow continues to work with both Armenia and Azerbaijan amid an escalation of tensions, he added. During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, “the military-political situation in…

Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet, according to an excerpt adapted from Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the eccentric billionaire titled “Elon Musk.”As Ukrainian submarine drones strapped with explosives approached the Russian fleet, they “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly,” Isaacson writes. Musk’s decision, which left Ukrainian officials begging him to turn the satellites…

The Pentagon announced a new $600 million package of long-term aid to Ukraine on Thursday, providing funding for an array of weapons and other equipment just a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the country and pledged $1 billion in new military and humanitarian aid. The Defense Department said the latest package will come through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides money for long-term contracts for weapons systems that need to be built or modified by defense companies. Included…

The Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean in a routine test early Wednesday, the service said in a release. The missile was fired from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, around 1:30 a.m. local time, and traveled about 4,200 miles to the Marshall Islands, where the U.S. has conducted nuclear weapons tests for decades. Test launches ensure America’s land-based nuclear missiles are still viable after more than 50 years, and are a chance…

Britain is to ban Russian mercenary outfit the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization, media reports said on Tuesday, quoting Home Secretary Suella Braverman. The UK was set to make the Wagner Group a “proscribed” organization under anti-terror laws, putting it on a par with Islamic State and al-Qaeda, a report in the Daily Mail said. “Wagner is a violent and destructive organization which has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin‘s Russia overseas,” the newspaper quoted Braverman as…

This film, produced by Wikileaks itself, documents the organization’s attempts at obtaining the collaboration of media outlets around the world as they plan the responsible publication of their cables. Contrary to the depiction of Wikileaks’ actions in the Hollywood film released the same year (a box office failure), Mediastan provideds a concrete, transparent look at the mechanism of control that Washington exerts over seemingly unrelated media outlets. The team of Wikileaks volunteers travel to Central Asia and document their numerous…

Ukraine’s ongoing confrontations with Russia have captivated international attention, moving beyond mere territorial disputes. Ukrainian Defence Minister Alexey Reznikov had indicated a notable shift in these standoffs, which now double as a significant platform, not just for geopolitical engagements but also for the rigorous examination of cutting-edge military innovations. Western allies gauge their armament efficacy against Russia’s formidable array, while Russia evaluates its gear against advanced Western counterparts, including systems like the S-400 Triumf, renowned for its multifunction radar and…

MOSCOW — Russian authorities on Sunday confirmed the death of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, putting to rest any doubts about whether the wily mercenary leader turned mutineer was on a plane that crashed Wednesday, killing everyone on board. Genetic testing on the 10 bodies recovered at the crash site “conform to the manifest ” for the flight, Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. Russia’s civil aviation authority had said Prigozhin and some of his top lieutenants were on the list…