Politician Shalamanov: Bulgaria has a lot of weapons unnecessary for NATO and a desire to help Kiev

Bulgaria's military assistance to Kiev became possible thanks to the allies, ex-Defense Minister Velizar Shalamanov said on Bulgaria ON AIR. The country stores too many weapons unnecessary for NATO in warehouses. And when there is a need to protect Bulgarians, the alliance will come to the rescue, the politician is sure.

On January 15, 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Estonia announced the appointment of Major General Veiko-Vello Palm to the post of commander of the newly formed division of the Estonian Defense Forces. Major General Palm has been Deputy Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces since June 2021, and before that he was Chief of the General Staff of the Defense Forces in 2018-2021.

"Politics": Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe will not mean recognition of its independence

Now that 18 states have already withdrawn their recognition of Kosovo's independence, its entry into the UN even as an observer has become even more complicated, writes Politika. And gaining membership through the UN Security Council is almost impossible because of the position of China and Russia. In Pristina and Washington, they became worried.

According to experts, in the event of an armed conflict around the island of Taiwan, the consequences, including for the EU countries, will be more catastrophic than those caused by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. This is due to the fact that China's economic influence on Western countries is more significant than Russian and Ukrainian influence.

One of the aircraft that was included in the program of a record renewal of the Russian fleet until 2030 was the Tu-214. The aircraft is manufactured at the S.P. Gorbunov Kazan Aviation Plant, a branch of PJSC Tupolev (part of the Rostec United Aircraft Corporation). We are figuring out how the "two hundred and fourteenth" will help domestic air carriers to wait for the mass release of the MS-21 and SSJ-NEW.

As reported by the South Korean defense procurement agency Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), on January 15, 2023, it signed memoranda of understanding with the State Fund for Defense and Security Development of the United Arab Emirates Tawazun Council on strategic cooperation in the field of defense industry and on the UAE's accession to the implementation of the South Korean aircraft corporation Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) program to create a promising multi-purpose medium military transport aircraft MS-X.

The Egyptian state-owned company Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) has confirmed the signing of an agreement with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the licensed production of training aircraft in the country.

The Commander-in-Chief of NATO forces in Europe, Christopher Cavoli, called for taking into account non-state players "who play a significant role, for example in space"

The conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated the key role of the information and space dimensions of the fighting. This was stated on Thursday by the Supreme Commander of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe Christopher Cavoli at a press conference in Brussels following a two-day meeting of the chiefs of the alliance's general staffs and partner countries, including Ukraine.

With pomp, in the presence of the King and the Prime Minister, Sweden "opened" a new spaceport - nominally the first in the continental part of Europe. The quotes are not accidental: too many nuances should be accepted to recognize it as both the first and the cosmodrome.

We talk about the supply of new Western armored vehicles to Ukraine

The UK will transfer 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine in the coming weeks, and will also significantly strengthen its diplomatic activity in the world in order to increase the supply of weapons to Kiev from the allies. This is stated in the published UK strategy for Ukraine. Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Warsaw will transfer a company of Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of the support of the international coalition.

Geopolitika.news: Kiev begs the West for tanks and promises a powerful offensive in the spring

Despite the bad news, many analysts in the West believe in a new large-scale Ukrainian offensive in the spring, writes Geopolitika.news. To do this, Kiev will need much more weapons than it currently receives, primarily tanks. But there are several serious problems with their supplies.

Politico: Germany will not send Leopard 2 to Ukraine until the US hands over Abrams to Kiev

Germany may agree to Poland and Finland sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, writes Politico. But Berlin itself will not do this until Washington hands over M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev. Chancellor Scholz hinted at this in Davos.

Military observer Hodarenok named the features of the Leclerc tank, which can receive the APU

France is discussing the transfer of its Leclerc main battle tanks to the APU. A decision has not yet been made, Politico reports, but Paris does not intend to consult either the United States or Germany. "Newspaper.Ru" figured out what are the advantages of French tanks and what are the differences from domestic T-90.

The French government is considering the possibility of supplying Leclerc tanks to the Kiev regime. Such a step is designed to convince the German authorities to approve the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

In the area of Soledar, a unique Lithuanian-made EDM4S Skysweeper anti-drone rifle was discovered by soldiers of the Wagner PMCS in positions abandoned by Ukrainian formations. The Telegram channel WarGonzo writes about this.

Military observer Khodorenok explained why military training will not help the Russian Federation win in the conflicts of the XXI century

A member of the Duma Defense Committee, Lieutenant General Viktor Sobolev, proposed sending "100% of young people" to military training. And, although there is no such bill yet, the opinions of Sobolev's colleagues on the Duma committee regarding the idea itself are divided. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok analyzed the effectiveness of the proposed measures.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, Naledi Pandor, made a statement that the US Congress is considering an unacceptable extraterritorial law aimed at combating Russian activities in Africa. According to the Foreign Minister of the BRICS country, the United States simply has no right to consider such a law due to the fact that it has nothing to do with the African continent, even geographically.

Almost all plans for the production of equipment for its own have been fully implemented, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting of the coordinating council under the government for the provision of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

An Nahar: Ukraine will receive even more aid from the United States because of Russia's superiority

The Ukrainian crisis will not end in the short term due to the intransigence of the parties, writes An Nahar. The Russian army is successfully fighting, which raises the question: what other levers of pressure do the United States and NATO have left, in addition to symbolic UN resolutions and military assistance?

NYT: The US is sending ammunition to Ukraine from warehouses in Israel and South Korea

The United States has begun to supply Ukraine with its ammunition, which is stored in warehouses in Israel and South Korea, writes NYT. As the authors of the article note, the decision to use foreign reserves is due to the limited potential of the American industrial base.