Russia has at its eastern borders the means capable of influencing the course of possible conflicts in the region

In the Far East, on April 20, a sudden check of the combat readiness of the Pacific Fleet (TOF) was completed. The maneuvers were conducted under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov.

In Russia, the heads of two fleets have changed at once – the Baltic and the Pacific. Sergey Avakyants was replaced as commander of the Pacific Fleet by Viktor Liina, whose place as commander of the Baltic Fleet was taken by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Vladimir Vorobyov. In a normal situation, these permutations would be called planned, but in the face of external challenges and a sudden check of the combat readiness of the Pacific Fleet, the new commanders will have to solve additional tasks.

Over the past few months, the West has provided equipment and training opportunities for nine armored brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Such indicators of Western military assistance to Kiev were announced before the meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine at the Ramstein Airbase by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

In the coming weeks, American-made Abrams tanks will arrive in Germany. This was stated by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who is taking part in a meeting of the Contact Group for Support of Ukraine at the Ramstein Airbase in Germany today.

Romania supplies the Armed Forces with old modernized TAV-71M armored personnel carriers, which are a version of the Soviet BTR-60PB developed in the 60s.

The German Defense Minister again opposed the supply of Western combat aircraft to Kiev

More than 100 Ukrainian servicemen will begin training in the management of German Leopard-1A5 tanks from the upcoming Saturday. This was announced to journalists on Friday by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on the sidelines of a meeting of the contact group on Ukraine in Ramstein. The press approach was broadcast by the Welt TV channel.

Yle: the American Abrams tanks that appeared in Finland attracted the attention of Russia

In recent days, American military equipment has been repeatedly noticed in Finland: for example, on April 18, the media reported that combat tanks had arrived at the port of Vuosaari. Russia has paid attention to this. Yle explains why Abrams tanks ended up on Finnish territory and how long they will stay there.

The Kingdom plans to transfer four more tanks to Ukraine

Spain sent the first group of six Leopard tanks to Ukraine on Friday. This was reported on Saturday by Reuters .

The Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands announced that together with the Ministry of Defense of Denmark it will purchase 14 Leopard-2A4 tanks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They will be delivered to Ukraine in the "shortest possible time", having previously undergone major repairs. It is expected that the delivery of tanks will take place in 2024.

In April, the Ministry of Defense published footage of combat work in the zone of a special military operation (SVO) of artillery units of Airborne troops using "Nonu" - a self—propelled artillery gun (CAO), effective in a variety of combat conditions, to destroy nationalists. Read more about the "Non" and the most notable novelties in this type of weapons — in the material of TASS.

NYT: the US is afraid of the nuclear potential of Russia and China

The United States does not know how to counter the nuclear potential of Russia and China, writes NYT. Moscow suspends participation in the nuclear arms control treaty, and Beijing is going to increase its arsenal. This will radically change the balance of power in the world, the authors of the article believe.

"A dagger is good for someone who has it. And it's bad for someone who doesn't have it at the right time," Abdullah said in the White Sun of the Desert. Russia has a "Dagger". About how they are wielded by domestic pilots — in the material of RIA Novosti.

On April 18, 2023, the Swedish Defense Procurement agency Försvarets materielverk (FMV) announced the signing of an agreement with the General Directorate of Armaments (Direction Générale de l'Armement - DGA) of the Ministry of the Armed Forces of France on cooperation in joint R&D and procurement of the Akeron MP anti-tank missile system (MMP) produced by the French branch of the European association MBDA. This agreement thus formalizes the decision of the Swedish Armed Forces on the serial purchase of Akeron MP anti-tank missile systems, which will receive the Swedish official designation Robotsystem 58 (RBS-58).

Russian UPAB planning bombs have shown very high efficiency during the armed conflict in Ukraine. The APU has not yet succeeded in silencing or shooting down such bombs. At the same time, the American planning bombs delivered to Kiev turned out to be ineffective and are easily intercepted by the Russian army.

AT: Russian planning bombs have put Ukraine in a dead end

Russian UPAB planning bombs have proved to be an effective and reliable method of attack, writes AT. Ukraine has not yet succeeded in silencing or shooting down any such bombs. At the same time, the planning bombs supplied by the United States proved ineffective and had already been intercepted by the Russians.

Japan is going to transfer Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Okinawa Island. Now the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are busy preparing for this event after a corresponding order from Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamadu. This is reported by the Japanese edition of Kyodo.

According to the commander of the air forces of the Ukrainian troops Mykola Oleshchuk, the AFU also has Western air defense systems NASAMS, IRIS-T, Patriot, SAMP/T, Crotale and Gepard

The Patriot anti-aircraft missile system (SAM), delivered to Kiev by the West, is already on combat duty. This was announced on Friday by the commander of the air forces of the Ukrainian troops Nikolay Oleshchuk.

We are talking about training on the use of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system

Dutch specialists have been secretly training the Ukrainian military in the use of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system in recent weeks. Currently, the training has been completed, the Telegraaf newspaper reported on Friday, citing the commander of the Armed Forces of the Netherlands, Onno Eichelsheim.

Baijiahao: the Russian S-400 air defense system surpasses the American Patriot in all respects

Russian airspace is reliably protected, writes user Baijiahao. Its "lord of missiles" — the S-400 air defense system — took the title of the most advanced anti-aircraft missile system from the American Patriot. He will intercept any threat and deter all the enemies of Moscow.

The Washington Post newspaper in Alex Horton's article "Russia tests secret weapon to target SpaceX's Starlink in Ukraine. Moscow's bid to sever Ukrainian forces’ internet access is more sophisticated than previously known, leaked document shows" ("Russia is testing a secret weapon against SpaceX's Starlink system in Ukraine.