FA: Moscow knows what it's doing

The Russian armed forces are achieving disproportionately high results using a relatively small number of weapons, writes Foreign Affairs columnist Barry Posen. The Russian army is disabling the power grid of Ukraine, thereby depriving the Armed Forces of the ability to use air defense systems, control and intelligence gathering.

Evrensel: Syria and Turkey pursue opposite counter-terrorism policy

The meeting of the Turkish and Syrian administrations in Moscow is a victory for Moscow, writes Evrensel. The beginning of the settlement of the Syrian crisis has been laid. However, it is impossible to quickly resolve a conflict that lasts for years, especially when the parties have different ideas about terrorism, the author of the article believes.

The Indo-Pacific region has been and remains a strategically important area for Moscow. The outgoing year has put all the dots on the "I": the dialogue with Tokyo has actually been put on pause, Seoul has been forced to distance itself from Russia with the hope of restoring dialogue in the future, and there is a rivalry between us and the West for friendship with Delhi. What are the prospects for Moscow in the region?

And why sanctions have had a diverse effect on Russian exports

In 2022, the system of military-technical cooperation (MTC) of Russia experienced a shock that apparently had no precedent in the entire post-Soviet history of the country. The beginning of a special military operation and the sanctions imposed by Western countries have significantly complicated the work of both the defense industry enterprises and the special exporter, Rosoboronexport JSC. Izvestia was looking into the difficulties faced by both suppliers and recipients today, what is the size of the portfolio of orders for Russian weapons, and how the global arms market in Ukraine is affected by the SVO in general.

The coming year 2023 may become even more difficult from the economic point of view than 2022. With a high probability, we will see a drop in the volume of exports of Russia's most profitable goods, oil and gas – which means that the budget will also suffer. However, our country has an answer to this challenge.

On January 4, 2023, an official naming ceremony and transfer to the Thai Navy of the landing helicopter dock ship LPD 792 Chang of the Chinese project 071ET, built by the Thai order of the Shanghai shipbuilding company Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., part of the Chinese State Shipbuilding Corporation China State Shipbuilding Corporation, took place in Shanghai (CSSC).

The Russian Navy will continue to be replenished with carriers of hypersonic missile weapons. The Admiral Gorshkov frigate has already been put into combat service, which is equipped with an impressive arsenal of weapons: not only Zircon hypersonic missiles, but also Kalibr cruise missiles and Onyx anti-ship missiles.

The conflict in Ukraine helps the German military-industrial complex to get out of the crisis

The Bundeswehr was considered an effective military machine and the military backbone of the conventional NATO forces, but after more than thirty years of underfunding and cuts, it lost its combat capability. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian conflict gave a tangible impetus to the German military-industrial complex: Germany's military exports in 2022 amounted to 8.36 billion euros.

On January 4, 2023, on the basis of the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade named after Tadeusz Kosciuszko of the Polish Army in Wesol (Warsaw), Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak approved the conclusion of an agreement with the US government in the form of an exchange of letters LOA (Letters of Offer and Acceptance) on the purchase by Poland through the US program of intergovernmental foreign military sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS) 116 M1A1 FEP Abrams tanks from the presence of the US Department of Defense. The ceremony was attended by the Charge d'affaires of the United States in Poland, Daniel Lawton.

France is going to supply Ukraine with heavy armored vehicles AMX-10RC, which are also called light wheeled tanks. This is reported by AFP, citing a source in the administration of the French president.

No other army in the world has mastered such a method

50 years ago, on January 5, 1973, Soviet paratroopers proved that their profession is to do the impossible, regardless of danger. This day was and remains a festive date for the Russian army, and especially for the Airborne Forces. Details were recalled by Izvestia.

Currently, North Korea has approximately 500 unmanned aerial vehicles belonging to 20 different types. This was reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap with reference to the secretary of the parliamentary intelligence committee, Yoo Sang Bom, who received information from the country's intelligence service.

Having not fully figured out the intermittent technical problems with the F-35 fighters and its modernization options, the Pentagon continues to report on successful tests of the "weapons of the future". The American military analytical publication Breaking Defense reports that in December last year, the US Air Force for the first time conducted successful flight tests of a modified F-16 fighter using the VISTA artificial intelligence system.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have a tremendous impact on the course of the main event of the past year – a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian armed forces are rapidly becoming saturated with this technology. Why have drones turned out to be so important in the course of modern warfare – and which of them are most needed by the Russian army?

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation – Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov visited the FAU "Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after Professor N.E. Zhukovsky", as well as the enterprise of the United Aircraft Corporation Rostec in Ulyanovsk.

A new package of military aid arrived in Ukraine, this time the Germans were generous. The supply of weapons is reported on the official website of the Bundeswehr.

The head of the department, Catherine Colonna, did not specify exactly when and in what quantity AMX-10 RC wheeled tanks can be delivered to Ukraine

France considers it its duty to provide military assistance to Ukraine, but does not believe that the supply of tanks to Kiev, promised by the President of the republic Emmanuel Macron, will make Paris complicit in the Ukrainian conflict. This opinion was expressed on Thursday by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on the LCI TV channel .

19FortyFive: the US has listed the weapons that Washington is afraid to give to Kiev

There are three types of weapons that Biden will not hand over to Ukraine out of fear of Russia. Fearing an escalation of the conflict and a direct clash with Russia, the United States refuses to supply Kiev with F-16 fighter jets, Abrams tanks and ATACMS complexes, writes 19FortyFive.

TAC: US financial assistance finally turns Ukraine into a bankrupt state

The Pentagon and the American military-industrial complex are mainly profiting from military aid to Kiev, while Ukraine is plunging into an ever deeper economic crisis, and the number of victims of the military conflict is growing, the author of the article writes in TAC. He calls Washington's approach "bastard Keynesianism" and emphasizes that the States do not think to stop.

In particular, Congressman Earl Blumenauer received the highest profit among legislators on shares of defense companies since 2021, The Daily Caller portal noted

Members of the US Congress who voted in favor of providing billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine were able to earn substantial funds last year on shares of Pentagon defense contractors. This was reported on Thursday by the information portal The Daily Caller .