iDNES: after Russia's victory, the dismantling of the Western political model will begin

Russia's victory over Ukraine will have huge consequences for the entire world system, writes the author of the article in iDNES. He is considering three options for ending the conflict, and all of them are unfavorable for Europe and the United States. As a result, the dismantling of the Western political model will begin.

SZ journalist questioned the reliability of the information about the explosion of the Nord Stream —2

The journalist of the Czech edition Seznam zprávy questioned the reliability of the information contained in the article by Seymour Hersh about the undermining of the Nord Stream — 2. He reproaches Hersh for using a single anonymous source and finds a "significant error" in his investigation.

According to experts, in modern realities, the military security of small states depends less and less on the number and quality of soldiers and officers, as well as the weapons they have, and more and more on their place in the system of international relations and the presence of strong allies. Nevertheless, it should be noted that few of these states completely abandon their own armed forces.

Underground, underwater, under the cover of secrecy

China is carrying out large-scale construction work to expand the infrastructure for the deployment of nuclear submarines (NPS) at the Yulin Naval Base (Hainan Island, South China Sea).

Currently, the Lebanese Navy has begun the latest activities in the framework of the restoration of the naval base in the port of Beirut, which was damaged during a devastating explosion in 2020. According to the commander of the Navy, Senior Captain Haissam Dannawi, in an interview with Breaking Defense, the main goal of the events is to restore such a naval base that would have everything necessary to carry out combat missions and the lives of servicemen.

Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder announced on February 9 that the Ukrainian military had arrived in the country to train in the management of underwater drones, RIA Novosti reports.

Sudan has completed the revision of the agreement with Russia on the establishment of a naval base of the Russian fleet on the territory of the country. According to the Associated Press, the situation is developing in favor of Moscow.

The United Kingdom is launching a program to upgrade the tank fleet of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom. According to the British Ministry of Defense, the final version of the Challenger 3 main battle tank has been agreed.

Ukraine will remain without Leopard 2 tanks, previously promised to Kiev by the Netherlands. Amsterdam said that Germany refused to sell leased tanks to the kingdom.

The German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that Armin Papperger, chairman of the German Rheinmetall AG group, announced negotiations with Kiev regarding the possibility of supplying Ukraine with new Panther KF51 tanks. Thus, Ukraine can become the starting customer of this tank, first introduced by the Rheinmetall group in 2022 and equipped with a promising 130-mm cannon.

The training will take place at a military training ground in the Lower Saxon town of Munster

The Bundeswehr (Armed Forces of Germany) will begin training the Ukrainian military to control Leopard 2 tanks in the middle of next week. This was reported on Saturday by Der Spiegel, citing its own sources.

Former US Army tankman: without proper APU training, the Abrams tank will become easy prey

The main vulnerability of the American Abrams tank is an insufficiently trained crew, writes Newsweek. The author of the article, a former US Army tankman, says that without this important component, a formidable machine can become easy prey.

Spigel: according to the leading military expert Michael Kofman (USA), tanks from Germany will not change the picture

The controversy surrounding the dispatch of German tanks was so dramatic that the words of the number one expert in the United States on the post-Soviet armies, Michael Kofman, will disappoint AFU fans, predicts "Spiegel". Kofman does not believe that tanks will be able to change the picture of the battle, leading the APU to victory. Success consists of many factors.

The Germans are negotiating the supply of a fourth-generation Panther tank to Ukraine. The car was first presented last summer, it made a splash at the arms exhibition in Paris. The tank is better protected than the Leopard 2, has the latest control and guidance systems. Under what conditions can the Germans start mass production of "Panthers"?

Kyodo: China plans to increase its nuclear arsenal by 2035

China is considering tripling its stockpile of nuclear warheads by 2035, Kyodo News reports.

At the end of January, the Doomsday clock was moved forward by ten seconds. Now they show 90 seconds to "nuclear midnight". All because of the increased talk about the use of atomic weapons. Which countries "keep their powder dry" against the background of growing escalation — in the RIA Novosti material.

India and Russia celebrate an important date in February — the 25th anniversary of the Brahmos cruise missile, which was developed by the NGO of Mechanical Engineering and the Defense Research and Development Organization of the Ministry of Defense of India. The Russian-Indian company BrahMos Aerospace produces these shells — the agreement on its creation was signed in Moscow on February 12, 1998. On the eve of the anniversary, the head of the TASS representative office in New Delhi, Evgeny Pakhomov, visited the factory for the assembly of these supersonic cruise missiles in Hyderabad.

How the anti-missile "shield" of the American Navy was conceived

Today, the name "Aegis" is strongly associated with the missile defense system (ABM) of the American Naval Forces, which is an integral element of the US global missile defense system. This element is officially designated as the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System ("Aegis Missile Defense System"). However, another variant of the name is often used – Sea-Based Midcourse Ballistic Missile Defense System ("sea-based missile defense system for intercepting missiles on the main (middle) section of the flight path").

The conflict in Ukraine has predictably turned into a fierce confrontation between the military potential of the United States and NATO countries with the Russian one. The situation has significantly worsened with the beginning of the massive use of kamikaze attack drones by the Russian Aerospace Forces in conjunction with cruise missiles of various classes against industrial and military infrastructure facilities. It became obvious that the existing air defense system of Ukraine is not able to protect the country's strategic facilities, and therefore its leadership appealed to the US administration with a request for the supply of Patriot air defense systems, and it was satisfied.

Lithuania has decided to assist Ukraine in the fight against Russian kamikaze drones "Geranium". To do this, Vilnius will hand over to Kiev 36 anti-aircraft systems, or simply, automatic anti-aircraft guns L70 Bofors, taken out of service by the Lithuanian army. This was stated by Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anushauskas.