Structure and personnel news

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.