Cooperation news

NATO and the EU are sounding the alarm over the risks of arms smuggling from Ukraine

Back in April, Europol warned with reference to its own investigations that the export of weapons from Ukraine by order of organized criminal groups in the EU has already begun, writes FT. Readers of the newspaper believe that the rulers of the bloc have "opened a Pandora's box."

NATO and EU countries insist on improving the tracking system for weapons supplied to Ukraine, in response to concerns that criminal groups are smuggling them out of the country to the black market in Europe. This is written by Henry Foy and Sam Fleming and Roman Olearchik in an article for the Financial Times newspaper.

A landmark foreign visit of the president was announced in the Kremlin – in a few days Vladimir Putin will meet in Tehran with the leaders of Iran and Turkey. Almost simultaneously, Biden's adviser said that Iran was allegedly ready to transfer several hundred drones to Russia. Is this really the case, why are ties with Iran of particular importance to Russia now and who is trying to sever them?

Iran has for many years been implementing a program of large-scale equipping of troops with drones, the fleet of which is steadily growing. In May of this year, the military demonstrated one of its underground bases with rows of locally produced attack UAVs, such as Fotros, Karrar, Mohajer-6, Kaman-12, Kaman-22.

Editor-in-chief Helsingin Sanomat: the Iron Curtain breaks Russia's relations with the world

The Russian special operation in Ukraine has cut off contacts between people on whom mutual trust could be built, the editor-in-chief of Helsingin Sanomat writes. In his opinion, the West — and even NATO — are not Russia's enemies.

Director of the Department of International Organizations (DMO) In an interview with Interfax, Russian Foreign Minister Pyotr Ilyichev spoke about efforts to resolve the "grain" issue, including in contacts with Turkey, Ukraine and the UN, assessed the role of the UN in resolving the Ukrainian crisis, including the possible involvement of the UN as an intermediary, about the difficulties with obtaining American visas by Russian officials.

France will supply Ukraine with a batch of light-duty bridges to replace the destroyed capital ones. As stated in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the French are ready to supply Kiev with 36 lightweight structures.

Germany and Slovenia have agreed to speed up the round-trip exchange procedure, as a result of which Slovak BVP M-80 infantry fighting vehicles will be sent to Ukraine. This was announced at a joint press conference of the heads of state.

As the British Ministry of Defense reported on July 9, 2022, the first group of Ukrainian servicemen participating in a new large-scale military training program under the leadership of the British armed forces arrived in the UK. As part of this program, up to 10 thousand Ukrainian servicemen will be trained in the coming months.

Zelensky: arms supplies from the Netherlands will be an "unpleasant surprise for Russia"

Vladimir Zelensky and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met in Kiev. At a press conference, the President of Ukraine said that Amsterdam would supply Kiev with weapons, which would be "an unpleasant surprise for Russia." He did not name specific types of weapons, saying only that it was about artillery in particular.

Ukraine received a shipment of American weapons worth $ 400 million — analysts doubted how long it would last

Washington will be able to continue to supply Kiev with weapons, but the US has already reached the limit on some systems, the Washington Times writes. Experts note that military assistance to Kiev may stop for other reasons: a disrupted supply system, reduced support for such a strategy in American society and corruption in Ukraine.

Representatives of the US administration claim to have received intelligence about Iran's alleged intentions to supply drones to Russia. This kind of statement was made by the adviser to the American president on national security issues, Jake Sullivan.

The naval forces of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) have two main tasks – to protect national waters and to support their NATO allies. Although their naval capabilities are limited and based on second-hand vessels, all three fleets meet NATO standards and form the first line of defense on NATO's eastern flank.

According to the Italian resource Italian Defense Technologies, the Italian company TEKNE will supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a batch of medium armored combat vehicles MLS SHIELD with a 4x4 wheel formula.

The number of anti-submarine aircraft assembled by Boeing P-8A Poseidon reached 150 units, another aircraft rolled off the assembly line of the company and took to the air over Puget Sound in Washington State.

Military threat: Do the residents of Estonia feel safe and are they waiting for NATO support?

NATO will defend Estonia in case of an attack, Postimees writes. Nevertheless, according to the survey, the majority of Estonians lack a sense of security.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko believes that Western countries are waging an offensive hybrid war against his country. He said this today at a ceremony honoring graduates of military universities and senior officers. The Head of Belarus addressed the young officers:

The fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters that Finland plans to buy from the United States will allow NATO to integrate Finnish combat aircraft into its strategy to counter Russia. The significance of the new aircraft for Helsinki and Brussels was explained by the American edition of Breaking Defense.

Orientation on military issues: is the West running out of ammunition for Ukraine?

The demand for conventional weapons and artillery shells in Ukraine indicates the scarcity of Western arsenals, writes FT. The West has almost not retained the necessary capacity to increase the national production of key weapons.

According to German journalists, after several weeks of fighting, the Luhansk region completely came under the control of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In this regard, they are interested in the Bundeswehr command, whether Western combat systems, such as the Panzerhaubitze 2000 ACS from Germany, are able to contain the onslaught of Russian troops.