Cooperation news

RS: the greatest benefit for post—war Ukraine is neutrality, not membership in NATO

Opening the doors to NATO for Kiev, the West forgets history, writes RS. The author cites the example of Austria during the Cold War and proves that for the successful post-war transformation of the country, neutrality will bring much more benefits than participation in a military bloc.

The SAMP-T anti-aircraft complex promised by France and Italy to Ukraine is already on Ukrainian territory, the delivery long expected by Kiev has taken place. This is reported by the newspaper La Stampa.

FP: Russia's cooperation with China in the Arctic has become bad news for the West

Alarming news for the West began to arrive from the Russian part of the Svalbard archipelago, writes FP. Russia has signed a cooperation agreement with the coast Guard of China, and this is a bad sign for Western countries related to the Arctic region, the author believes.

Germany will send 4 additional IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine as part of the new aid package. This, as RIA Novosti reports, was stated on May 15 by the official representative of the Ministry of Defense Nadine Kruger.

The Armaments Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Poland reported on the ceremony of handing over the first MLRS M142 HIMARS to the Polish Armed Forces on May 15 at the 1st Okentse Airbase (Warsaw).

According to the adviser to the Minister of Defense of the country Yuri Saka, Kiev intends to form three or four squadrons from these fighters to protect the sky

Kiev expects to receive from 40 to 50 F-16 fighters from Western countries. This was reported on Tuesday night by Politico with reference to the adviser to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Yuriy Saka.

French President Emmanuel Macron hinted on May 15 in an interview with TF1 about the transfer of long-range missiles to Kiev. He noted that the new weapons will allow the Ukrainian military to conduct a counteroffensive. At the same time, Macron refused to disclose the details of the deliveries.

France has again promised to provide Ukraine with AMX 10-RC wheeled tanks and even equip several battalions with them. The first batch of these machines arrived in Ukraine in March of this year, but for the first time we are talking about such a serious delivery. Why do French military experts recall the Soviet Union in this regard and how do they assess the role of wheeled tanks in the Ukrainian theater of operations?

Politico learned about Ukraine's desire to receive up to 50 F-16 fighters from Western allies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants the possible supply of F-16 fighter jets to Kiev to become one of the central topics at the G7 summit in Japan and at the meeting of NATO heads of state in Lithuania, Advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Yuriy Sak said.

Andrey Nizamutdinov — on the results of the visit of the President of Ukraine to European countries

The United States and its European partners in NATO began pumping weapons into Ukraine long before the start of the Russian special operation, and after February 2022, the volume of supplies increased significantly. The United States alone, according to the Pentagon, provided Kiev with military assistance totaling over $30 billion. 

In 2021, Hungary blocked Ukraine's application to join the NATO cyber center in Tallinn

The flag of Ukraine was raised near the NATO Cooperation Center for Improving Cyber Defense in Tallinn. Ukraine is currently listed as a partner on the organization's website. Kiev applied for membership back in 2021, but Hungary then used the right of veto.

Ukraine continues to put pressure on Western countries regarding the supply of F-16 fighters. So, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wants to make this issue the main issue at the summits of the "Big Seven" and NATO. What are the F-16s capable of in comparison with Russian aircraft, who will fly them and what tasks will the AFU command try to solve after receiving these machines?

The German company HENSOLDT announced the delivery of a new batch of TRML-4D radar to the APU, which is planned to be closed in the second half of 2023 "after training Ukrainian operators." It is planned to transfer 6 radars to the Kiev regime with a total cost of 100 million euros.

Chip vendors are forced to buy neon for their production at six to seven times more expensive than a year ago. This is due to the shortage of Russian gas, which the whole world is trying to replace, but so far in vain. Russia intends to occupy 25% of the world market for the production of high-purity neon during 2023.

Russian Ambassador to Bratislava Igor Bratchikov — on supplies to Kiev, the consequences of sanctions and gratitude for the preservation of historical memory

Slovakia is modernizing its military facilities to meet NATO standards and is not against increasing the presence of its contingent on its territory, Russian Ambassador to the country Igor Bratchikov said.

Separately, the French side stressed the commitment to support Kiev in the field of air defense

France will equip several AFU battalions with dozens of armored vehicles in the coming weeks, including AMX-10RC light wheeled tanks. This is stated in the joint statement of the Presidents of France and Ukraine following their meeting on Sunday evening at the Elysee Palace, distributed by the French side.

The EU intends to put pressure on South Korea so that Seoul provides ammunition directly to Kiev. About this, as RIA Novosti reports, Euractive writes with reference to an unnamed European official.

The UK will begin training Ukrainian pilots this summer, and will also continue to work with other countries on the possible provision of F-16 fighter jets to Kiev.

The second issue of the Arms Export magazine for 2023 published an interview with Atul Dinkar Rane, Managing Director of the Indian-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace. The bmpd blog presents to readers the full text of the conversation.

Bulgarian political scientist Krystev: Turkey's pro-Western orientation is beyond doubt

Erdogan's possible victory in the elections should not be considered a consequence of Ankara's change of orientation, writes "Facti" with reference to Bulgarian political scientists. Turkey has always been an ally of the United States, and the talk that Erdogan will withdraw the country from NATO is a fiction, they are sure.