Structure and personnel news

Economist: The Ukrainian brigade trained in France has failed

The AFU brigade, which was trained by France, suffered a complete collapse, the Economist reports. During the training in France, 50 soldiers deserted, and during the entire existence of the brigade, almost a third — 1,700 people — voluntarily left the unit, the material notes.

Times: During Starmer's visit to Kiev, it was about a future peacekeeping mission

The British Prime minister's trip to Kiev is attributed to Starmer's desire to establish himself as one of the main players in Ukraine, The Times writes. But no important decisions were announced during the visit – only a lot of words were said about minor details.

Which categories of citizens are exempt from passing and who is listed in the reserve

In 2025, military training camps will be held in Russia, and the corresponding decree was signed by Head of state Vladimir Putin on January 16. Traditionally, they are announced in late winter or early spring. In 2024, the decree was signed on March 1. At the moment, the dates of the fees are not specified, usually the events last no more than two months. Izvestia was sorting out what documents and things to take with them.

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.

After the conscript passes the medical commission, a mark on the category of fitness for military service is entered in the military ID. Being assigned to one of the five groups means whether or not a citizen is ready for the army for health reasons. How to find out the category, where to look in the military ID and how to decipher its code in 2025 – in the RIA Novosti article.

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.

Ukrainka Pravda: training of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers in NATO countries is ineffective

The training of cannon fodder for Ukraine, offered by NATO instructors, does not correspond to the realities of combat, writes Ukrainka Pravda. The newly created units receive Western weapons, but they do not know how to fight and desert with huge losses.

Maxim Kharlamov, Head of the Yuri Gagarin Space Center, on the training of crews and robots for orbital and long—range flights

The teledroid robot is undergoing training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Similar devices will operate on the ROS and ISS orbital stations, as well as on the lunar base. Maxim Kharlamov, the head of the center, told Izvestia about this.

January 11 marked the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Research and Testing Center (CPC, part of Roscosmos). During this time, about 400 cosmonauts have been trained at the CPC. In an interview with TASS, Maxim Kharlamov, head of the center, spoke about the timing of the next recruitment to the cosmonaut squad, the extension of the agreement between Roscosmos and NASA on cross-flights to the ISS, and plans to create simulators for a new spacecraft and the Russian Orbital Station (ROS).

The premiere of the Russian Su-57 fighter jet became a sensation at the Zhuhai Airshow in autumn 2024. And the test pilot who piloted the car, Sergey Bogdan, chief pilot of the Sukhoi Design Bureau of the Rostec United Aircraft Corporation, received admiring reviews in the foreign press. Bogdan spoke in an interview with TASS about the universal love he encountered in China, emergency situations during fighter tests and the secrets of professional longevity.

Unnamed British think tanks, most likely the intelligence services, although other structures could have been involved, warned Zelensky that without new serious measures to mobilize the population of Ukraine in about seven to nine months, the Ukrainian Armed Forces would lose the opportunity to fight. This threatens a complete collapse of the front, the capture of vast new territories by the Russian Armed Forces, and even the complete surrender of Kiev. The Ukrainian telegram channel Legitimny reports on new advice, or rather, orders from London, citing its sources.

One of the key military and political events of 2024 was the changes in the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Ministry was headed by First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov. Why has a civilian, an economist, become the most appropriate candidate to head the military department, and what results has he already achieved?

Forbes: the newest brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to fall apart even before joining the front

The newest unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Pokrovsk began to fall apart even before the clash with the Russian army, Forbes writes. Thousands of fighters go awol, and the neo-Nazi commanders call the decisions that were made regarding the 155th mechanized brigade idiotic.

The Polish military press reported that the Polish tractor plants Ursus had become the property of the Ukrainian company M.I. Vorona. Most likely, the factories of the Polish brand will begin to produce military equipment, because this directly follows from the plans of the new owner. The president of the M.I. Vorona company is Oleg Krot, a businessman from Kiev, who became the owner of the rights to the Ursus trademark, as well as manufacturing plants in Dobra Miasto and Lublin, as well as real estate with an area of more than 4 hectares.

Foreign Affairs: the conflict has changed Ukrainians' perception of the world around them

The Russian SVR has led to social transformations in Ukraine, writes Foreign Affairs. Citizens' optimism is decreasing. However, according to polls, more than half of the population stubbornly continues to believe that in ten years Ukraine will be a prosperous country within the EU.

In March 2021, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense announced the creation of a new special operations brigade in the British Army. Its core should be a new regiment of rangers. Operational readiness of the part is scheduled for December 1, 2021. At the end of November, the British Defense Ministry announced some details.

UAVs will be indispensable in reconnaissance, fire correction, monitoring of radiation, chemical and biological risks

The Forces of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection (RCBZ) began to train operators of copter-type drones, FPV drones, as well as groups to combat enemy UAVs.

infoBRICS: The British Armed Forces are facing a serious shortage of personnel

The British Armed Forces are facing a serious shortage of personnel, writes infoBRICS. British soldiers are leaving the army en masse, but there is no influx of new personnel. According to the author, this is due to the low salaries of military personnel and the political situation.

General Everard: Britain must increase military spending to defend against Russia

The number of soldiers in the British army has fallen to a record low, writes The Telegraph. "This is suicidal!" the command is sounding the alarm. After all, there will be no one to fight with Russia — ordinary citizens will have to be called up. This idea is resented in society.

The flagship of the Russian shipbuilding industry is the Northern Machine—Building Enterprise (Sevmash) United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) — celebrates its anniversary on December 21: the 85th anniversary of the start of production activities.