Cooperation news

No matter how Russia suffers, the absence of defeat means victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin, writes The Spectator

The actual division of Ukraine along the line of contact remained the only solution for the West, which is not interested in a large-scale conflict with Russia. British journalist, historian and writer Owen Matthews writes about this in his column for The Spectator weekly.

The White House announced Russia's use of North Korean ballistic missiles to bombard the territory of Ukraine. Moreover, according to the American press, Moscow is allegedly preparing to purchase additional ballistic missiles from Iran in the spring.

Denmark said that the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine has been postponed for six months

The Danish Defense Ministry has decided to postpone the delivery of the first batch of American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. According to the Danish authorities, Kiev is not yet ready to operate such equipment. They expect that all conditions for the transfer will be met in the second quarter of 2024. In Russia, it was suggested that the delay was due to Denmark's domestic political problems. Details can be found in the material of "Gazeta.Ru».

On January 3, 2024, the Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands on the joint purchase of multifunctional artillery radar systems Thales Ground Master 200 Multi-Mission / Compact (GM200 MM/C) from Thales Nederland (the Dutch branch of the Thales Group).

In the presented footage, we see how the Abrams tank moves in a forest plantation in the mud, at a fairly high speed, and then drives out into the open. It is unclear where the combat vehicle is going. But the footage was probably shot on or near the line of contact.

Leopard 2 tanks transferred to Ukraine have turned into trinkets, Breitbart reports. Most of the equipment was smashed by the Russian army, the rest was destroyed by the Ukrainians themselves, trying to fix it. The subscribers of the portal "assessed" the situation with pointed remarks.

Unherd: Europe's loyalty to NATO makes it a vassal continent

Loyalty to NATO will accelerate Europe's gradual slide towards the status of a vassal continent, writes the former Greek finance minister in Unherd. Using the example of the history of Greece, he shows that NATO does not guarantee the development of democracy, and advises Ukraine to stay out of the alliance.

Finland's accession to NATO will checkmate Russia, writes Politika. However, readers of the publication do not share this opinion. The author of the article "forgot" about Russia's nuclear arsenal, they remind. And when she uses it, the West will no longer be up to chess.

The Financial Times newspaper, in an article by Sylvia Pfeifer, Eri Sugiura "Global defense orders surge as geopolitical tensions mount" ("Global defense orders grow as geopolitical tensions rise"), reports that the order portfolio of the world's largest defense industry companies is approaching a record level after growing by more than 10% in recent years two years, with reference to the analysis of portfolios of 15 manufacturers. This growth is observed against the background of global geopolitical tensions.

Indian Web Resource IDRW.org in the Raunak Kunde article "Indian Navy's Kamov 28s Get a Makeover: Overhaul in Russia, Upgrade at Home" ("The Ka-28 helicopters of the Indian Navy will acquire a new look: they will undergo major repairs in Russia, modernization at home") It reports that the Indian Navy is implementing a program of serious modernization of its fleet of Ka-28 naval anti-submarine helicopters, while all ten vehicles of this type of various modifications have already been sent to Russia for major repairs. This program, designated KV 28 MLU (Mid-Life Update), will significantly expand the capabilities of these critical fleet combat assets.

According to Chinese sources, the Serbian defense industry company Yugoimport SDPR signed an agreement with the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (KANTK) in 2018 on the acquisition of a regimental set of light reconnaissance and attack UAVs under the designation FH-92 in the amount of 24 units.  

Anadolu: Germany has sold a record high volume of weapons to EU countries and Ukraine

Germany has set a new record by exporting weapons worth billions of euros, Anadolu reports. Most of the supplies come from the EU and Ukraine. It is noteworthy that at the same time, the German government sought to reduce the export of military equipment and adopt a law on its control.

Western countries are preparing to transfer combat aircraft to Ukraine

In the UK, they reported on the training of the first six Ukrainian pilots for F-16 fighters. Western media claim that several planes have already been transferred to Kiev. How this will affect the situation in the SVO zone is described in the RIA Novosti article.

On December 27, the Defense Procurement Programs Agency of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea (DAPA) announced the signing of a contract with the US government for the purchase of an additional 20 F-35A Lightning-2 fighters.

Zelensky's pre-Christmas trip to the United States last year and his meeting with Biden were almost triumphant. Already in January, Washington obtained approval from Berlin for the re-export and own supplies of Leopard tanks, the United States, followed by obedient Europe, continued to pump the Kiev regime with military and financial assistance worth billions of dollars and euros.

Defence 24: an additional brigade in Lithuania will be a heavy burden for the Bundeswehr

Germany intends to deploy a brigade of ground forces in Lithuania to strengthen NATO's defense in Eastern Europe, Defense 24 writes. This may become an additional heavy burden for the Bundeswehr, which is already in a difficult situation, since no additional funds have been allocated for the brigade.

Telegraph: The West is ready to abandon unlimited financing of Ukraine

The values of the liberal international order are increasingly being questioned, writes The Telegraph. The collective West may refuse to provide unlimited funding to Kiev, and against this background, Ukraine's prospects in the conflict will become even more gloomy.

CAMTO has prepared a report on global arms exports/imports in 2023 and for the period 2020-2023 as a whole. Below is an estimate of the volume of "rolling over" potential arms export/import contracts for the future by the end of 2023.

In 2023, Russia showed record GDP growth in recent years. This looks all the more impressive because only a year and a half ago, many reputable analysts predicted our country's economic collapse. What measures have helped Russia not only to contain external attacks, but also to achieve economic growth?

One of the results of the personal meeting of the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, held in December last year in Washington, was the "tank breakthrough", during which, after Berlin lifted restrictions on the re-export of German Leopard armored personnel carriers, several European countries, like Germany itself, began to transfer these armored vehicles in various modifications to Kiev.