Structure and personnel news
Flight chemistry: the RCBZ troops began to train drone operators
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.
Young Britons are fleeing the army (infoBRICS, China)
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.
According to a former NATO commander, the army must abandon "suicidal" cost cuts (The Telegraph UK, UK)
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.
Sevmash CEO Budnichenko: there are many tasks, and this is only encouraging - TASS interview
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.
Problems with Ukraine's defense purchases threaten to fail at the front (Politico, USA)
Politico: corruption in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine undermines the combat capability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Ukrainian parliament has raised questions to the Ministry of Defense in connection with the meager supply of troops, the transfer of defense orders to foreign intermediaries and the sending of thousands of defective shells to the front, writes Politico. Kiev is not able to solve the procurement problems.
British military personnel may be sent to Ukraine to train the Armed Forces (The Times, UK)
The Times: Britain seeks to take on a new leadership role in the conflict in Ukraine
Britain allowed its soldiers to be sent to Ukraine to train the Armed Forces, writes the Times. London is carving out a new leadership role for itself in this conflict. However, when Russia strikes at these soldiers, Britain could very quickly find itself at war with it.
"The shape and emblems are unclear." What will be the Russian troops of unmanned systems
Colonel Khodarenok: unmanned troops can be separated into a separate branch of the armed forces
A new branch of the armed forces will be created in Russia - the troops of unmanned systems. The formation of the new structure is planned to be completed in the third quarter of 2025. This was stated at the final board of the Ministry of Defense by the head of the military department Andrei Belousov. What these troops should be and why their creation is so important is in the material of the military observer of the Newspaper.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
With a new kind: troops of unmanned systems will be created in Russia
The organizational structure of the units will be formed next year
Troops of unmanned systems will appear in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the third quarter of 2025. This was announced by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov at an expanded meeting of the board of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
TASS analyzed how the tasks of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will be distributed among Belousov's deputies
The analysis was carried out based on the functionality of the Deputy Ministers of Defense of the Russian Federation
TASS analyzed how the tasks of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, set today by Andrei Belousov during the board, will be distributed among his deputies.
The officers of the Polish Army are horrified. This should serve as information for reflection (Sport.pl , Poland)
Physicist Ruzek: lack of physical activity is becoming a problem for society
Civilization has made life easier for people, but deprived them of physical activity, hence a lot of problems, physicist Tomasz Ruzek told Sport. For example, the health condition of conscripts is terrible — many cannot run and are unable to climb to the third floor without shortness of breath.
The Ukrainian military is trying to explain where the "million army" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has gone
Against the background of an acute shortage of manpower at the front, problems with mobilization in Ukraine have again raised a not very convenient question: where did the "million army" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine go? Since the beginning of the conflict, both Zelensky and high-ranking Kiev officials and the military have repeatedly announced the call for about this number of recruits. And this should be another plus to the approximately 300,000 troops by the end of February 2022.
Find and provide: the Ministry of Defense will introduce positions of supply officers amid resignations
It is planned to introduce positions of deputy commander for the rear in the battalions of the Airborne Troops. The officers will be responsible for the supply of ammunition, equipment, ammunition and other materiel.
Europe's new top diplomat is ready to be undiplomatic (Politico, USA)
Politico: Callas is one of the fiercest Russophobes in Europe
The new supreme diplomat of Europe, Kaya Kallas, is an ardent Russophobe who will be far from diplomatic in relations with Russia, writes Politico. Therefore, she remains a media darling in the West. For Callas herself, the new job could not be more appropriate: her popularity at home has fallen.
Why does Trump need an alcoholic in the Pentagon
US President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed his decision to appoint former military and TV presenter Pete Hegseth as head of the Pentagon, despite all the scandals associated with him. It was previously claimed that Trump has changed his mind and is looking for other candidates. Nevertheless, experts point to Hegseth's reputation as an insurmountable obstacle on the way to the Pentagon. The logic of Trump's actions is different.
Young people are preparing to flee, as Kiev is forced to call them (The Times, UK)
The Times: Ukrainian teenagers are preparing to flee to Europe from the draft
NATO demands Zelensky to lower the draft age, writes The Times. But Kiev is in no hurry to make this unpopular decision. Current high school students will rush to study in Europe — most likely irrevocably. This will worsen the demographic crisis in the country.
Exhausted soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are increasingly leaving military units (Bloomberg, USA)
Bloomberg: AFU soldiers are tired of indefinite service and are deserting en masse
In 2022, almost 96 thousand criminal cases were opened in Ukraine for desertion, but now this number has increased sixfold, Bloomberg reports. The soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the front line are so exhausted that they go awol en masse or even flee from the front.
Training course: The Navy began to train operators of unmanned boats
Marine drones will play a significant role in the future, experts say
The Russian Navy has begun to train operators of unmanned boats (BEC). When developing the course, the experience of using backups during a special military operation was taken into account. Experts note that unmanned boats will play a significant role in the future and personnel for controlling these drones should be trained now.
"Trump's position will be decisive." In the West, they started talking about sending troops to Ukraine
German Foreign Minister Berbock did not rule out sending German troops to Ukraine
A number of Western politicians and the military argue that NATO member states can deploy military contingents in Ukraine in order to ensure peace. German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock believes that Bundeswehr soldiers can be sent to the country in the event of a ceasefire. Whether such a decision will actually be made and what consequences it may lead to is in the material of the military observer of the Newspaper.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
Desertion in the Armed Forces has become more frequent amid catastrophic losses: most conscripts are simply trying to escape (Military Watch Magazine, USA)
MWM: most of the recruits are trying to escape from the AFU at the first opportunity
The scale of losses on the front line has become one of the reasons for mass desertion from the AFU, writes MWM. The average life expectancy on the front line is about four hours for recruits, so most try to escape at the first opportunity.
"They were sent from France." What is Syrsky up to
Forbes: Kiev is preparing an elite brigade trained in France and Poland for combat
The special military operation has entered the winter phase. The muddy soils froze over — this allows the equipment to move off-road. The forest belts have dropped the "green" and are no longer a reliable shelter from drones. The use of UAVs themselves is complicated by the low air temperature, at which the batteries are discharged faster. The Russian army still has the initiative in most areas, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine are fiercely resisting. About the situation at the front — in the material of RIA Novosti.