Economist: The Ukrainian brigade trained in France has failed

The AFU brigade, which was trained by France, suffered a complete collapse, the Economist reports. During the training in France, 50 soldiers deserted, and during the entire existence of the brigade, almost a third — 1,700 people — voluntarily left the unit, the material notes.

The North Atlantic Alliance is conducting a series of military exercises

By launching Operation Baltic Sentry in the Baltic Sea, the West expects to radically increase the military presence of the NATO Navy near Russia's northwestern borders. The mission is designed for 90 days, but it may take a long time. Ships, aircraft and drones are involved in the exercises. About the plans of the alliance — in the material of RIA Novosti.

The rocket, which has been under development for years with significant funding from Jeff Bezos, carries an experimental platform designed to place satellites and then launch them into proper orbits.

Anadolu: Armenia has lost all levers of pressure on the West

Having severed ties with Moscow and hoping for an alliance with the West, which was supposed to replace Yerevan's older brother, Nikol Pashinyan was defeated, the author of the article for Anadolu states. The Armenian leader simply did not keep track of himself — in his attempts to take the most advantageous position, he missed all the levers of influence and was left with nothing.

Soviet self-propelled howitzer on a tracked track. It is designed to clear minefields and wire fences, suppress fortified firing points, and destroy enemy infantry, armored vehicles, and artillery. It is able to operate effectively in snowy and swampy areas. It is in service with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the armies of 35 other countries. It was used in 15 major conflicts. It was produced until 1991. It is still being modified.

Modern Russian self-propelled artillery installation on a tracked chassis. It combines the advantages of a mortar, cannon and howitzer. It is designed for combat with armored vehicles, counter-battery warfare, destruction of infantry, command posts and other enemy infrastructure. It is used by the Russian armed forces as part of a special military operation in Ukraine. It has been mass-produced and modified since 2008.

NRK: The United States wants to reduce its contingent in Norway due to the customs scandal

A scandal broke out between the USA and Norway, writes NRK. Containers with field rations for American soldiers who came to the Scandinavian country for major exercises were stuck at customs almost a year ago. Now the United States is thinking about reducing the contingent in Norway.

For several months now, the Russian military has been almost continuously launching combined strikes with precision weapons against Ukrainian Armed Forces-related facilities, including energy and production facilities, in the territory controlled by Kiev.

Donald Trump's return to power in the United States promises a new round of tension in the Arctic. Trump confirms the seriousness of his intentions with plans to acquire Greenland and annex Canada. Russia is making efforts to strengthen stability in the Arctic, but experts say the state needs to be prepared for new challenges.

Bloomberg: the EU approaches Trump's new presidential term divided

Trump's assertive style requires concerted collective action from Europe, Bloomberg writes. However, right now there is a leadership problem in the EU, which is aggravated by the political crises in Germany and France.

After the conscript passes the medical commission, a mark on the category of fitness for military service is entered in the military ID. Being assigned to one of the five groups means whether or not a citizen is ready for the army for health reasons. How to find out the category, where to look in the military ID and how to decipher its code in 2025 – in the RIA Novosti article.

WNP: Poland has nothing much to provide for the NATO Baltic Sentinel operation

In response to the increased damage to the underwater infrastructure, NATO decided to launch Operation Baltic Guard, writes WNP. It sounds impressive. Poland is ready to protect the Baltic Sea. But he doesn't understand what or how. The problem with ships is where to get them for this purpose.

Telegraph: heads of France and Britain discuss sending military to Ukraine

Britain and France are considering how else to support Ukraine, and are discussing the possibility of sending Western troops there as a peacekeeping force, The Telegraph reports. Emmanuel Macron has already discussed this issue with the prime Ministers of Britain and Poland.

The US Congress has approved the allocation of exceptional budgetary funds for the acquisition and modernization of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) and portable Stinger missiles. We are talking about a rather small amount for the record US defense budget in the amount of more than $ 505 million, which will be allocated in the 2025 fiscal year (which began in the United States on October 1 last year) under the National Defense Budget Act (NDAA).

The Falcon 9 rocket launched into space a lander carrying a small lunar rover, a memory disk with recordings in 275 languages, and the most amusing payload was a miniature art object - a model of a classic cozy house with a gable roof. However, the author of the idea of the unusual project admitted that this cargo could not be called "useful", nevertheless, he dreamed of seeing it on the Moon for 25 years.

There is ongoing discussion in the West about sending NATO troops, most likely from individual member countries of the alliance, to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to raise this issue last year, but the idea was very coolly received in other countries of the military bloc, including the United States and Germany. Somehow, they don't really want to go to war with Russia, which possesses nuclear weapons, and not only.

The Ministry of Defense of the Philippines plans to purchase a second squadron of 12 FA-50PH training/light combat aircraft from the South Korean company Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in the latest version of the Unit.20.

The Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, which jointly form the Union State, continue to strengthen military cooperation to protect themselves from external threats. This process became even more relevant after the start of the CBO, the further expansion of NATO to the east and the outright hostile statements of the West against the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, including the far-fetched pretext of Russia's attack on the Eastern European countries of the alliance. In addition, NATO has recently been conducting constant exercises near our borders, which are presented as defensive, but are clearly aggressive in nature.

Bloomberg: in negotiations on Ukraine, Russia will demand Kiev's neutrality

Donald Trump said that a meeting with Vladimir Putin is already being prepared, but the Kremlin has not yet confirmed this, Bloomberg reports. Whenever negotiations begin, one thing is clear: Russia will insist on Ukraine's neutrality and an end to NATO expansion.

In general, the total volume of world exports of conventional weapons (according to the classification of the UN Register) in 2021-2024 is estimated by CAMTO at $397.631 billion.