Cooperation news

On February 3, the Norwegian government announced its decision to purchase 54 Leopard-2A7 MBT from German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) with an option to purchase 18 more units.

The authorities are developing a multi-year program of assistance to Kiev, which will include both the financing of the military sector and the restoration of the country's civilian infrastructure

The Norwegian authorities plan to provide Ukraine with financial assistance in the amount of 75 billion Norwegian kroner (about $ 7.3 billion) over five years. This was reported by the Verdens Gang newspaper on Monday .

Andrey Nizamutdinov — about how Ukraine was pointed to its place at a meeting with the EU leadership

On the eve of the EU—Ukraine summit, politicians in Kiev tried to present their country as a kind of modern yellow-blue express train that rushes at full speed and is about to reach its cherished goal - the final stop called "Membership in the European Union." But reality, as usual, turned out to be harsh and mercilessly scattered all the "mri" into smoke: Kiev was made clear that its locomotive would have to drag along the rails for a long time, disappearing somewhere over the horizon. And it's not a fact that he will get there at all.

Country: EU–Ukraine summit ended with promises

At the EU–Ukraine summit, they talked about the approximate dates of Ukraine's accession to the European Union and, what is closer to reality, concrete assessments of Kiev's fulfillment of the criteria of a candidate for membership of the bloc, writes Strana. Despite Zelensky's optimistic statements, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von Leyen, did not give any forecasts.

The United States is preparing to impose 200 percent duties on Russian aluminum this week on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the military operation, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. Russia is the second largest producer of aluminum in the world, the metal supplied from Russia accounts for about 10% of the total US imports. In the event of the introduction of 200 percent tariffs, aluminum imports from Russia to the United States will actually stop, Bloomberg notes.

The company will produce 6000 drones per year

A kamikaze drone factory may appear in Yelabuga - the American Wall Street Journal writes about this. According to the newspaper, in January, a delegation from Iran visited the city in Tatarstan, which will help launch the production of drones. The plant's capacity will be 6,000 drones per year, it will produce faster and longer-range versions of Iranian Shahed-136 UAVs. The United States has repeatedly stated that Tehran supplies them to Moscow for use in a special operation. The Kremlin denied these reports.

Bild: German Chancellor on Putin, terrible scenarios of the future and his silver wedding

In an interview with the Bild newspaper, Olaf Scholz rejects "horror stories", but does not tell the whole truth. For example, he does not confirm the fiction of the British ex-prime minister about the "threats" from Putin. But Scholz generally adheres to the line of the Western "mainstream". And she puts all the blame for the post-Soviet conflicts on Russia.

Figaro: all the agreements guaranteed by the EU have failed. But all US orders have been executed

When was the last time the world listened to Europe's opinion? The author of Figaro asks this question. And he discovers with horror: almost 20 years ago. In 2003, Paris and Berlin did not go to the Iraq war. Then there were continuous diplomatic failures. The Minsk agreements did not work, in French Africa — hell.

Events in Russia and the world. Analytical publications. Materials of press conferences. Video and photo reports

The frigate "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov", performing the tasks of a long-range campaign, for the first time in the framework of international exercises will perform a combat training launch of a hypersonic missile "Zircon". This will happen during the exercises of the naval forces of the Republic of South Africa (South Africa) and China, a source close to the military-industrial complex told TASS.

SCMP: Western arms supplies to Ukraine may worsen conflicts outside Europe

Weapons supplied to Ukraine are already "spreading" through black markets to other unstable regions, increasing the general degree of violence and bloodshed, writes SCMP. The author of the article emphasizes that further pumping of Kiev with weapons will lead to even greater destruction, so it is necessary to make every effort for a diplomatic settlement.

The command of the Saudi Arabian Navy has chosen the European MBDA group as a supplier of anti-aircraft guided missiles for new warships, preferring their missiles to the American company Raytheon.

Konstantin Pribytkov — about the contradictory actions of Bern against the background of its own and the policy of neutrality

In Switzerland and abroad, there is an ongoing discussion about whether the country is behaving correctly in the conditions of the Ukrainian crisis and whether its government has not departed from the principle of neutrality, according to which the state has not participated in international conflicts since 1815.

The German newspaper "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" in the material "Die schwierige Frage der Munition" ("The difficult question of ammunition") reported that the German government had previously approved the delivery to Ukraine of old Leopard 1 tanks stored by German industry enterprises - Rheinmetall Group (which has 88 Leopard 1A5 tanks previously removed from service Bundeswehr) and Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG, has 99 Leopard 1A5-DK tanks decommissioned by the Danish Army).

Newsweek: Austria and Hungary refused military aid to Ukraine because of the desire for peace

Kiev has already condemned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for "anti-Ukrainian" statements, writes the author of an article in Newsweek. Now he was dissatisfied with Budapest's refusal to provide military assistance. But Hungary is not the only country that has angered Ukraine with its desire for peace.

Valeurs actuelles: German tanks on Ukraine is a betrayal of the image of a peaceful Europe

The consent of Chancellor Scholz to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine is a "historically tactless" decision, according to the author of the publication "Modern Values" (Valeurs Actuelles). The French author wonders why Macron and Scholz do not understand the history of "their" Europe. And how could they not take advantage of the chances for peace.

Al Jazeera: Sweden's fate in NATO will be decided after the elections in Turkey

Sweden has not fulfilled its obligations to Turkey in the fight against terrorism and encourages Islamophobic provocations, the Al Jazeera website reports. It is not surprising that Ankara postponed consideration of Stockholm's application to join NATO indefinitely. But for his ally, the doors of the alliance have remained ajar for now.

The German government has asked Sweden to hand over the IRIS-T air defense system launchers, which are supposed to strengthen the air defense of Ukraine. Earlier, the German authorities have already sent one IRIS-T system to Kiev and plan to send three more similar installations.

The Serbian President believes that as the military operations in Ukraine continue, the pressure on his country from the West will increase

Serbia had to vote for a resolution condemning Russia's operation in Ukraine in order to remain in the international arena. This was stated on Friday by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at a special open meeting of the Assembly (Parliament) of the Republic dedicated to the negotiation process of Belgrade and Pristina.

TASS military columnist Viktor Litovkin noted that the Russian army also has a deep-echeloned anti-aircraft missile defense system

The US supply of GLSDB missiles with a maximum range of about 150 km for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will not dramatically affect the tactics of combat operations of Russian troops during a military special operation, military experts interviewed by TASS say.

On February 3, 2023, the Norwegian government officially announced its decision to purchase 54 new Leopard 2A7+ main tanks for the Norwegian armed forces from the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), with an option to purchase 18 more units. The delivery of new tanks to Norway will be carried out in stages from 2026 to 2031. The total cost of the program for the purchase of new tanks, determined by the Norwegian Parliament, is NOK 19.7 billion ($1.928 billion), while the value of the actual agreed contract with KMW has not been disclosed.