Tag: Ukraine

Reports emerged on Monday that the US is planning to send defensive weapons to Ukraine in order to deter Russia, which has managed and funded rebels in the Donbas. The plan includes sending Javelin anti-tank missile systems, and possibly anti-aircraft and other weapons systems. Developed by Raytheon in 1989, the FGM-148 Javelin is a large shoulder-mounted, infrared guided missile system capable of piercing 600mm to 800mm steel armor. […]

Fearful of a growing Russian presence both inside and just outside the country, Belarus has passed legislation seemingly aimed directly at any potential Russian plans to annex the eastern European country. The law states that any foreign soldiers, irregulars, or mercenaries, that arrive on Belorussian territory with weapons intended for use against the state would […]

U.S. Special Operations Forces trained alongside Ukrainian special operators, as well as conventional U.S. and Ukrainian Navy assets, in an 11 day exercise that concluded on Friday.  The operation, dubbed “Sea Breeze 2017,” is an annual event, but has drawn more attention since Russia’s military annexation of Crimea in 2014.  This year also marks the […]

The United States is considering providing the Ukrainian military with more advanced weaponry intended for defensive use against the Russians and Russian-backed separatists. The announcement was made by U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker, who said in a TV interview that the weapons would be to maintain the status quo, and that if Russia […]

Fighting in eastern Ukraine has flared up again, which the U.S. special envoy to Ukraine described as a “hot war” after a recent uptick in violence led to 11 people being killed over the course of the last week. “This is not a frozen conflict, this is a hot war and it is an immediate […]

According to U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR), as of July 21st, a jointly-hosted U.S. and Ukrainian multinational maritime exercise was underway in the Black Sea.  The exercise, called “Sea Breeze 2017,” was ostensibly intended to “enhance interoperability” between the participating nations, while also “strengthening maritime security within the region,” according to a video posted […]

I often find myself in countries where I either cannot obtain a handgun or I am not permitted to carry one outside of a military capacity. The alternative to this is a concealed knife, preferably a fixed blade but on occasion a folding knife. A knife can be procured almost anywhere and while not a […]

In another example of creeping Russian ‘borderization’ in the country of Georgia, the Russian government moved the de facto border of their country a couple hundred meters further into Georgian territory. “This is a continuation of the illegal process of the so-called borderisation, which not only violates the fundamental rights of local residents but directly […]

FEODOSIA, Crimea (Reuters) – Two more gas turbines appear to have been delivered to Russian-controlled Crimea, according to two Reuters reporters who saw the equipment at the port of Feodosia, potentially deepening a row over sanctions compliance in which Germany’s Siemens has become embroiled. Reuters has no independent confirmation the equipment on the dock was […]

Ukraine will renew efforts to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), planning to do so by 2020 after a series of reforms, says President Petro Poroshenko. In a visit by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to embattled Ukraine, the two leaders took the opportunity to address Ukrainian security threats, with Stoltenberg using the […]

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to size each other up in person for the first time on Friday in what promises to be the most highly anticipated meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Trump has said he wants to find ways to work with Putin, a goal […]

Having spent an enlistment in the Marine Corps, I understand the conventional side of the military. Like any Marine in a standardized unit: I participated in field day, worked my way up from the lower enlisted (as best I could) and adhered to regulations as required. Then, some years after I was discharged, I found […]