Cooperation news

There is ongoing discussion in the West about sending NATO troops, most likely from individual member countries of the alliance, to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to raise this issue last year, but the idea was very coolly received in other countries of the military bloc, including the United States and Germany. Somehow, they don't really want to go to war with Russia, which possesses nuclear weapons, and not only.

Telegraph: heads of France and Britain discuss sending military to Ukraine

Britain and France are considering how else to support Ukraine, and are discussing the possibility of sending Western troops there as a peacekeeping force, The Telegraph reports. Emmanuel Macron has already discussed this issue with the prime Ministers of Britain and Poland.

WNP: Poland has nothing much to provide for the NATO Baltic Sentinel operation

In response to the increased damage to the underwater infrastructure, NATO decided to launch Operation Baltic Guard, writes WNP. It sounds impressive. Poland is ready to protect the Baltic Sea. But he doesn't understand what or how. The problem with ships is where to get them for this purpose.

Bloomberg: the EU approaches Trump's new presidential term divided

Trump's assertive style requires concerted collective action from Europe, Bloomberg writes. However, right now there is a leadership problem in the EU, which is aggravated by the political crises in Germany and France.

NRK: The United States wants to reduce its contingent in Norway due to the customs scandal

A scandal broke out between the USA and Norway, writes NRK. Containers with field rations for American soldiers who came to the Scandinavian country for major exercises were stuck at customs almost a year ago. Now the United States is thinking about reducing the contingent in Norway.

Al Mayadeen: Ukraine's expenses will fall on the shoulders of the least developed countries of Europe

The situation in Eastern European countries is deteriorating amid strained relations with Russia, writes Al Mayadeen. Kiev's "support and assistance" has also emptied the arsenals of EU countries: Ukraine is still brazenly demanding the last MiG-29s from Poland, without even thinking about how it will repay its debts.

infoBRICS: Ukraine does not receive even half of the money allocated by the West

During a three-hour podcast, Zelensky admitted that Ukraine does not receive even half of the billions allocated for it, infoBRICS writes. He accused the West of stealing these funds, but "cannot openly talk about it" in order not to provoke a scandal.

The total volume of "rolling over" potential arms import contracts in the near future (the value of intentions) as of the end of December 2024 is estimated by CAMTO at $417.115 billion.

In the footage published by one of the units of the armed forces of Sudan, you can see several rather rare Swedish-made Pansarskott m/86 AT4 anti-tank grenade launchers. Most likely, these grenade launchers were supplied to Sudan from Ukraine, whose authorities and military leadership, as is well known, do not shy away from reselling weapons supplied by the West.

Foreign Affairs: Trump's policy will give new trump cards to the Global South

Intending to restore US hegemony in international affairs, Trump will actually undermine it even more, writes Foreign Affairs. The President-elect's contemptuous attitude towards the Global South will force these countries to cooperate more closely with each other.

Oleg Osipov — about how the countries of the African continent get rid of the French military

France was shown the door: at the beginning of the second decade of January, the French military contingent left the Abeche base in Chad. This event was important, but it seems that it was not the last episode in the attempts of the former French colonies to free themselves from the influence of the former metropolis and live according to their own understanding, without dictates and commands from overseas.

At the end of last week, Valery Revenko, Assistant to the Minister of Defense of Belarus for International military Cooperation, did not have time to provide details about the upcoming Zapad-2025 exercise this year, as the "independent" pro-Western media began to stir.

European institutions note that in 2025, the West will continue to focus on the concept of increasingly far-reaching sanctions against Minsk and Moscow.

Late on January 14, in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed the so-called Charter on Strategic Partnership. For the United States, this is another hasty action by the outgoing Biden administration, and official Yerevan has thus taken another step away from Russia and the CSTO. But there are nuances.

Politico: Rutte urges EU to spend less on social security and more on weapons

According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, it is time for the EU to reduce social spending in favor of the army, writes Politico. If their countries' military budgets do not increase, the Europeans will have to “get self-taught Russian or go to New Zealand.”

Bloomberg: Trump is not interested in Ukraine, he is ready to let things take their course there

Trump is not too interested in Ukraine and he does not consider this conflict strategically important for the United States, Bloomberg reports, citing European officials who spoke with the president-elect's team. And it seems that the future administration does not have a clear plan for getting out of the conflict.

Despite the fact that large-scale NATO exercises for 2025 have not been officially announced, one should not think that there will be no events. Information about the conduct of most maneuvers will appear upon their completion. This trend has been observed in the alliance over the past few years.

NATO launches a patrol mission in the Baltic Sea

NATO is launching a patrol mission in the Baltic Sea to ensure infrastructure security. This is caused by recent damage to underwater cables. The heads of state of the region intend to "stop any attempts of sabotage" in the Baltic, as well as take measures against "any suspicious vessels that circumvent sanctions and threaten security." Why is NATO actually strengthening its presence in the Baltic - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.Ru" by Mikhail Khodarenka.

Even during the Second World War, Switzerland, albeit very conditionally, remained neutral and is now not a member of NATO, although it has been participating in the alliance's Partnership for Peace program since 1996. This state is not a member of the European Union either. Even Switzerland joined the UN only in 2002.

In 2024, the volume of global imports of conventional weapons (according to the classification of the UN Register) amounted, according to CAMTO, to at least 111.615 billion dollars (the highest result since the end of the Cold War era).