The web resource "War on the Rocks" published a material of some interest by Michael Shurkin "Why the French Army Will Continue to Prioritize Quality Over Mass" ("Why the French army continues to prioritize quality over quantity") with the view of an American defense analyst on the impact of the lessons of the fighting in Ukraine on the development of the French armed forces.

EP: the forecast for the restoration of Ukrainian aviation looks unrealistic

After the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, part of the Antonov Design Bureau aircraft was damaged, and the airfield in Gostomel was put out of operation, writes Ekonomicheskaya Pravda. But the verdict of the enterprise was passed during the years of independence of the country.

May Day is now taking place in a situation that paradoxically returns to the agenda some Marxist principles of the relationship between labor and capital.

The Palantir company founded in the USA 20 years ago (specializes in the development of software for data analysis; the main customers are special services, investment banks, hedge funds — ed. TechCult.ru ) has recently been actively cooperating with the US Immigration and Customs services, has offered new services to the Pentagon.

Newsweek: The US Navy will allocate $ 200 billion for submarines that are almost not used

The US Navy allocates billions of dollars to expand the submarine fleet, which they cannot fully use, writes Newsweek. Last year, only 10% of American submarines participated in secret operations and were at sea for more than a month, which raises questions about the expediency of such spending.

In the new issue of the magazine "Russia in Global Politics" published interesting material by Dmitry Stefanovich and Alexander Ermakov "A U-turn through solid. Lessons of the armed conflict in Ukraine 2022-2023: first assessments". The bmpd blog cites this publication with some abbreviations due to the LJ format.

Medvedev, in response to Zelensky's promise to "return Crimea", called for the destruction of the "Kiev regime"

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that during the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces plan to return Crimea to Kiev's control. However, he stressed, the success of the enterprise depends on the number of weapons that Western countries will supply. In addition, the politician warned that the military conflict with the Russian Federation could drag on for "years and decades." Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev commented on Zelensky's speech.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Reznikov announced the readiness of the army for a counteroffensive

Ukraine is ready to attack, the troops are waiting for the decision of the command, suitable weather and "God's will," said Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov. According to him, Ukraine has received a large number of armored vehicles and tanks from Western partners. Reznikov pointed out that some of the equipment is still on the way, and the American Abrams will not have time to take part in the offensive operation. The NYT wrote that the offensive is planned for May.

The informational and psychological factor decided the outcome of the Vietnam War

The belligerents have been trying to influence the psychological state of their own troops and the population, as well as the psychological state of the enemy's army and population, since wars have existed. But it was in the twentieth century that the importance of the information and psychological component of war began to grow rapidly - in connection with the development of the mass print press, then radio, then television and, finally, the Internet.

Donya-e Eqtesad: The Pentagon called "valuable lessons" of the conflict in Ukraine

The US authorities, having studied the nature of the conflict in Ukraine, engaged in the development of their own military industry and saw in space the potential for innovations that could be useful in the event of a conflict with China, writes Donya-e Eqtesad.

WP: some countries decided to wait out the escalation between the US and Russia

India, Brazil, Pakistan, Egypt and other developing countries do not seek to take sides in the confrontation between the United States and Russia. They either want to wait out this rivalry, or benefit from it, writes WP.

Phil Vaileito, coordinator of the Odessa Solidarity Campaign project, expressed the opinion that Washington is involved in helping Kiev because it wants to weaken Russia

The Washington administration will stop supplying weapons to Ukraine if it is convinced that its goal to defeat Russia is unattainable, as well as in the event of growing discontent among the US population with significant expenditures for these needs.

Vilnius and Berlin have agreed on the timing of the deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania. It will become part of the NATO "rapid response" force. The expert community is confident that NATO is preparing a theater of military operations against Russia and Belarus on the territory of the Baltic States. How could Moscow respond to these threats?

Atlantico: the Ukrainian conflict has caused an uncontrolled increase in crime in Eastern Europe

The conflict in Ukraine has led to criminal lawlessness in Eastern Europe, writes Atlantico. There are flows of weapons coming from the zone of armed operations, and often refugees are involved in illegal trafficking — not innocent victims at all. This "gray zone" is extremely dangerous for the region, the author warns.

The President of Ukraine accused Hungary of "inappropriate behavior" because it allegedly takes the side of Russia

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto said on Sunday that it is not for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to decide whether Hungary is acting correctly as a NATO member.

UnHerd: the US struggle for primacy in Asia puts Europe's security at risk

Europe should think about creating a new Entente, writes UnHerd. The fight for supremacy in Asia will soon become a top priority for Washington, and it will no longer be able to shoulder the problems of its European allies.

The danger of a nuclear collision near Russia's eastern borders has intensified – and this directly follows from the agreements reached between the United States and South Korea. We are talking about the fact that American nuclear weapons carriers, including nuclear submarines, will be able to enter South Korean ports. This has not happened for decades. Paradoxically, there is even some benefit for Russia in this.

According to him, the concrete fragments have nothing to do with it, and the causes of the accident are fundamentally different. In addition, he expects an unrealistically fast next launch of a new spacecraft.

The life of the ISS is coming to an end, and politics comes into play in conjunction with the economy. Humanity will either be able to create a new version of a large and accessible station in space, or it will finally break up into competing groups that will build their own objects in near-Earth orbit. For companies like Airbus, both options are beneficial, so its engineers presented the concept of a new LOOP station.

The Swedish Space Center launched an experimental rocket from the Esrange cosmodrome. The purpose of the launch was to study microgravity on board. The launch was successful, the rocket reached an estimated altitude of 250 kilometers. The second stage of the flight was to be her return to the starting point. But something went wrong and the rocket landed in a completely different place – namely, in a neighboring country.