Global security news

The conflict in Ukraine is changing the geopolitical landscape of Europe

The Special Military Operation (SVO) in Ukraine, along with the scarcity of European arsenals and the weakness of European weapons, also showed the inconsistency of the political and military alliances that have developed in Europe. Western unity on the situation around Ukraine has already begun to crumble.

Bloomberg: Poland will not be able to become the leader of the EU, since Europe is ruled by the United States

The political center of gravity in Europe seems to be shifting to the east, writes Bloomberg. Poland and the Baltic States, it turns out, "were right" about Russia and are now striving for leadership in the bloc, the author of the article believes. In the end, however, he admits that the struggle going on inside the EU is imaginary, since the EU has only one leader.

Former US Army tankman: without proper APU training, the Abrams tank will become easy prey

The main vulnerability of the American Abrams tank is an insufficiently trained crew, writes Newsweek. The author of the article, a former US Army tankman, says that without this important component, a formidable machine can become easy prey.

According to Pierre Lelouch, European economies, "having experienced the consequences of shutting off the tap of cheap Russian gas and their own embargo on Russian oil," faced an "explosion" in energy prices that passed the Americans.

The publication states that this indicates a greater involvement of the Pentagon in the fighting in Ukraine than previously assumed

Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that when launching strikes with the help of missile systems received from the United States, in most cases they use data provided by Washington or its allies on the location of targets.

The Minister of Defense of the Baltic Republic Arvydas Anushauskas said that his state has completed the training of 15 instructors who will be ready to work on Ukrainian territory

Lithuania has started transferring 36 Bofors L70 anti-aircraft guns to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). This was stated on Thursday by the Minister of Defense of the Baltic Republic Arvydas Anushauskas, speaking at a joint briefing with the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Alexey Reznikov.

Iltalehti: Finland's security will depend on Russia-NATO relations

The eastern border of NATO and the Kola Peninsula will play an important role in relations between Russia and the Nordic countries, according to the former commander of the Finnish Defense Forces, General Ari Puheloinen. In an interview with Iltalehti, he also called Moscow and St. Petersburg the most important Russian sites in the west of the country.

In the capital of the DPRK, Pyongyang, on the night of February 8, 2023, another grand military parade took place - this time in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Korean People's Army.

For the first time since September 26, 2022, when the underwater threads of the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 gas pipelines were blown up, relative clarity appeared in the case of this sabotage. As many experts, including in Europe and America, assumed, American special services were involved in the emergency.

As previously indicated in the first part of the article, currently only the US Air Force is armed with strategic bombers as one of the elements of the national nuclear triad. Despite the current level of development of air defense, this type of aviation technology continues to remain relevant in the field of nuclear deterrence.

Lithuania has decided to assist Ukraine in the fight against Russian kamikaze drones "Geranium". To do this, Vilnius will hand over to Kiev 36 anti-aircraft systems, or simply, automatic anti-aircraft guns L70 Bofors, taken out of service by the Lithuanian army. This was stated by Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anushauskas.

Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder announced on February 9 that the Ukrainian military had arrived in the country to train in the management of underwater drones, RIA Novosti reports.

Japan's remilitarization process is of concern

The draft Russian-Japanese roadmap has lost its relevance, but the Russian side does not close the doors to Japanese investors who want to work with Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in an interview with Interfax.

The German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that Armin Papperger, chairman of the German Rheinmetall AG group, announced negotiations with Kiev regarding the possibility of supplying Ukraine with new Panther KF51 tanks. Thus, Ukraine can become the starting customer of this tank, first introduced by the Rheinmetall group in 2022 and equipped with a promising 130-mm cannon.

The Reuters news agency reported that SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) Ilona Mask allegedly took steps to prevent the Ukrainian military from using the Starlink satellite Internet service to control unmanned vehicles in the region during the war with Russia. This was announced on February 8, 2023 by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.

WP: The US provides the APU with coordinates for strikes from HIMARS on Russian positions

The United States provides the APU with exact coordinates for strikes from HIMARS on Russian positions, WP reports, citing Ukrainian and American officials. The information comes from the US military stationed in Europe.

The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has published on its website a regular report on the events in Ukraine. In the analytical note, in particular, it is reported that the Russian leadership is intensively preparing the country's military-industrial complex for a protracted military conflict in Ukraine.

In an interview on the occasion of the Diplomatic Worker's Day, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Rudenko, who oversees the Asian direction, told Interfax about the growing interest of Asian countries in cooperation with Russia, difficulties in the work of the Russian diplomatic mission in Pyongyang, and also expressed regret over the course of the current Japanese government.

GT: deliveries of fighter jets to Ukraine will accelerate the development of Russian weapons

It is better for Europe to refrain from sending fighters to Ukraine, Chinese experts told GT. This step will lead to a clash with Russia, weaken Western troops by depriving them of aircraft, and push Moscow to accelerate the development of its own weapons — and more advanced ones.

The Hill: confrontation with Russia will lead the US to direct involvement in the conflict

Seymour Hersh's article about the involvement of the United States in the sabotage of the "Northern Streams" made a lot of noise. So, discussing it, American journalists Brianna Joy Gray and Robbie Sove came to the conclusion that with the help of the West, the confrontation in Ukraine risks turning into a full-scale conflict with a nuclear power.