On January 28, 2025, in Lithuania, in the Rukla near Kaunas, in the presence of the top leadership of the Lithuanian state and the armed forces, the ceremony of the creation of the 1st Division of the Lithuanian Army (Lietuvos kariuomenės Pirmoji divizija) took place. The division's formation should be completed by the 2030s. Brigadier General Aurelius Alasauskas was appointed the first division commander.

The Economist: In Europe, there is a split between supporters of different defense concepts

Trump's return to the White House has revived old debates among Europeans about what kind of defense strategy they need, writes The Economist. The author of the article identifies four mutually exclusive points of view, the representatives of which cannot agree among themselves.

RS: NATO will not be able to win the war against Russia for many reasons

The long-term approach of NATO to the Russian borders has become one of the main causes of the Ukrainian conflict, writes Responsible Statecraft. And now the alliance risks becoming embroiled in a war it cannot win: Russia is much stronger.

In 2021-2024. Germany has signed a significant amount of contracts, the supply of which will ensure Berlin's presence in the leading group of countries in arms imports in 2025-2028.

Foreign Affairs: Trump is leading the US to lose in international affairs

By moving away from traditional allies and preferring to act alone, Trump is starting a dangerous game, writes Foreign Affairs. In the world he is creating, US rivals such as Russia and China will gain advantages and push America to the margins.

The United States is considering the possibility of withdrawing the American contingent from Syria. Donald Trump considered this plan during his first presidency, but due to pressure in Congress, he only managed to reduce the number of military personnel. Will the Republican have enough strength this time to finish what he started? And how will this change the Middle East?

Milliyet: The United States has decided to withdraw troops from Syria

The new US administration has decided to withdraw troops from Syria, Milliyet writes. Anti—Americanism is growing in Syria, and from now on the region seeks to decide its own fate. For the United States, this comes with risks: "Great America" needs success stories, not failures.

The Houthi rebels, who control the northern territories of Yemen, continue their war against the British-British coalition in the Red Sea, launched in response to the military actions of the Israel Defense Forces against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in early October 2023.

The Pentagon has withdrawn the application for the participation of the F-35 fighter jet in Aero India 2025

Representatives of the American company Lockheed Martin on January 30 confirmed that the Air Force The United States has withdrawn an application for the participation of the F-35 fighter jet in flights at the Aero India 2025 exhibition in Bangalore.

The device allows you to deliver water, ammunition and other goods to the hottest points on the front line

The Ilya Muromets cargo FPV drone began to be massively used in the SVO zone. Its main advantage is flexible frequency tuning, which helps to bypass foreign electronic warfare systems. The 8 kg payload allows the drone to deliver medicines, ammunition and water to fighters operating in the hottest spots on the front line. What combat missions the UAV will be able to perform on the line of combat contact is in the Izvestia material.

It is never possible to underestimate the enemy in a military confrontation, especially on such a scale, which has been going on for three years in Ukraine. Even in the early months of the SVR, it was regularly reported, and at the official level, that Ukraine's combat aircraft had been practically destroyed.

On January 29, 2025, the French company Dassault Aviation, at its flight test center in Istria, officially presented and formally handed over to the United Arab Emirates the first Rafale F4 series fighter made for them out of 80 ordered under the 2021 contract.

According to Western sources, strategic bombers are designed to penetrate deep into enemy airspace in order to destroy particularly important targets and, as a result, significantly weaken the enemy's combat potential and will. Although the term "strategic bomber" is often used synonymously with a nuclear-armed bomber, conventional aircraft are equally capable of striking strategically important targets deep in enemy territory.

According to a number of foreign sources, Israel has arguably the most sophisticated multi-level integrated air defense system in the Western world. In this regard, it is interesting to consider the composition of the main Israeli-made ground-based anti-aircraft missile systems: "Iron Dome", "David's Sling" and "Arrow". 

The French General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) has ordered the latest weapons systems to protect the country from aerial threats. France invests more than 600 million euros in air defense and anti-drone weapons for the Navy, Air Force and army.

The penetrating warhead is capable of destroying enemy command posts, massive buildings and underground infrastructure

Western sources report the use of a new type of Iskander-M missiles with a penetrating warhead by the Russian Armed Forces in the zone of a special military operation. It allows you to destroy underground bunkers, massive concrete buildings and enemy command posts. Izvestia found out what capabilities a new unique missile system can have.

The calculation of the 203 mm Malka self-propelled artillery destroyed a stronghold of the Ukrainian army in the Red Army area. This was reported in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, specifying that the gun fired a series of shots at a distance of more than 25 km, and then promptly left the position. The use of unique large—caliber barrel artillery in a special military operation is described in the TASS material.

MWM: Russia launches new Iskander-1000 rocket into mass production

Russia will soon begin mass production of a new version of the Iskander-M ballistic missile, writes MWM. Due to the flight range of a thousand kilometers, the system was colloquially dubbed “Iskander-1000”. The combination of high mobility and precision makes it extremely dangerous for the enemy.

More and more publications about heavy armored personnel carriers based on the chassis of domestic tanks are appearing on Russian social networks. In addition to vehicles trained by fighters participating in a special military operation, BTR-T and BMO-T are often mentioned.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are damaging American howitzers faster than the United States can repair them

Ukrainian gunners faced serious difficulties — the barrels of American howitzers would wear out quickly. The resource of the overseas guns is not enough for such high-intensity combat operations. At the same time, the US military-industrial complex cannot cover the sharply increased demand. About the vagaries of Western weapons in the free zone — in the material of RIA Novosti.