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.

Military expert Dmitry Boltenkov — on China's new universal amphibious assault ships and how they will strengthen the country's Navy

In China, the universal landing ship (UDC) "Sichuan" with a flight deck was launched. Special barges are also being built for the Chinese navy, which make it possible to ensure a massive landing of troops with equipment on an unprepared coast. Let's try to figure out why China is building such ships and where they can be used.

Defense industry enterprises in 2024 actively increased production volumes in many areas, taking into account the experience of a special military operation, said Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council.

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.

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.

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.

In an interview with TASS, Andrei Danko, Vice Speaker of the National Council (unicameral Parliament) of Slovakia, spoke about the "energy hypocrisy" of the West, speculated about the possibility of escalation in Transnistria and expressed the opinion that only Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump can solve the Ukrainian conflict.

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.

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.

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.

CNN: Trump is skeptical about the NATO alliance he will inherit

Ukraine and some NATO countries live in rosy expectations that they will achieve serious diplomatic changes under Trump, CNN reports. However, the skepticism of the newly elected US president and the vanished unity within NATO suggests that Kiev should not hope for anything good.

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.

Nikitin: Russian drone "Prince Vandal" destroyed $300 million worth of NATO equipment

The governor of the Novgorod Region, Andrey Nikitin, said that the Russian Prince Vandal drone destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of NATO equipment in the special military operation zone. He also reported on the success of the FPV drone produced by the Novgorod scientific and production center "Ushkuynik".

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 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.

Its use in populated areas is safer than anti-aircraft missile systems, experts say

The new Sphere UAV detection and suppression system has been successfully tested at mass city events, Rostec told Izvestia. The novelty has also confirmed its effectiveness in the free zone. Experts say it is safer to use electronic warfare systems to protect cities and infrastructure than anti-aircraft missile systems. About the novelty and its effectiveness, — in the material of Izvestia.

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 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.

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.