ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

FILE PHOTO / Sputnik / © Dmitriy Vinogradov As a military helicopter was downed in Syria by Islamic State, resulting in the deaths of two Russian pilots, RT sits down with political analyst Catherine Shakdam, who says that while soldiers die fighting terror, some governments continue pushing for their political agendas. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants shot down a military helicopter in Syria on July 8, killing two Russian military instructor pilots. This took place near Palmyra where another Russian lieutenant was killed in action earlier this year. The helicopter had been attacking terrorists at Damascus’ request when it was taken down, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. RT: Does this attack on the helicopter mean ISIS has weapons capable of shooting down an aircraft. Is this a new development? Catherine Shakdam: Definitely, and I think it is quite worrying. It is harks back to stories we’ve heard, allegations that were made just a...

An anti-submarine rocket blasts off a rocket launcher from the Bulgarian navy frigate "Drazki" during the BREEZE 2014 military drill in the Black Sea © Velko Angelov / AFP As NATO agreed on plans to beef up its naval, land and aerial presence in the Black Sea region at a summit in Poland, Bulgaria once again called for the diffusion of tensions with Russia. As the NATO summit was underway in Warsaw, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said that increased NATO activity in the Black Sea, which had been one of the measures proposed in the Polish capital, would lead to a counter reaction from Russia. “The Black Sea should be declared a demilitarized zone,” Borissov said. NATO already increased its regional activities following a Crimean vote to join Russia in March 2014. Western nations denounced the move as a land grab by Russia, and NATO insists that the region must remain under Ukrainian sovereignty. Moscow sees it as a legitimate exercise of the right for self-determinat...