ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

 

By Vladimir Isachenkov MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin boasted about his country's prospective nuclear weapons Thursday, saying they are years and even decades ahead of foreign designs. Speaking before the graduates of Russian military academies, Putin said the new weapons represent a quantum leap in the nation's military capability. "A number of our weapons systems are years, and, perhaps, decades ahead of foreign analogues," Putin told young military officers who gathered in an ornate Kremlin hall. "Modern weapons contribute to a multifold increase in the Russian military potential." The tough statement comes as Putin is preparing for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump set for July 16 in Helsinki, Finland. Russia-U.S. relations have plunged to post-Cold War lows over ...

SLF fighters before the attack on HTS Russian officials and commanders of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) failed to reach an agreement on southern Syria during a recent meeting, which was held in the town of Bosra al-Sham in the eastern Daraa countryside, the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Enab Baladi reported on June 30. Abu Shaima, a spokesman for the FSA operations room “al-Buniyan al-Marsus,” told Enab Baladi that the Russian delegation insisted during the negotiation that the FSA should surrender to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). The Russian side didn’t even offer an evacuation agreement to the FSA, according to Abu Shaima. The Hammurabi’s Justice News blog, which is linked to the US-led coalition and the FSA, reported that a new round of negotiation will be held on July 1. According to the pro-opposition blog, Russia will bring a new offer to the table in the upcoming round. The FSA will likely accept any Russian offer that would allow it to withdraw to the opposition-held...

EPA/MOHAMMED BADRA Militants in the settlements of Umm Walad, Atbaa and Jebb in southern Syria have surrendered to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), Major General Alexei Tsygankov, chief of the Russian center for reconciliation of conflicting sides in Syria, told media on June 30. According to Major General Tsygankov, at least 250 militants have surrendered  their weapons to the SAA and have decided to settle their status. “Three populated localities – Umm Walad, Atbaa and Jebb – have joined the ceasefire regime in the southwestern de-escalation zone. At least 250 militants stopped resisting to government forces and voluntarily decided to verify their status,” he said. “They handed over 118 pieces of weapons, three vehicles and a lot of various ammo.” Meanwhile,  militants in the town of Bosra al-Sham are about to make the same decision . However, the deal there has not been implemented yet. Despite all these developments groups of  the Free Syrian Arm...

On June 29, the Saudi-led coalition and its Yemeni proxies launched a new attack on the district center of al-Tuhayat and the town of Zabid along the western coast of Yemen, according to the Sky News Arabia TV. Yemeni sources told the UAE-based TV channel that coalition forces advanced more than 30km towards the two positions. Sky News Arabia said that Saudi-led coalition captured 60 fighters of the Houthis and killed many others during its advance towards al-Tuhayat and Zabid. Meanwhile, the Yemeni al-Masirah TV reported that Houthi fighters destroyed two armored personnel carriers (APCs) and three vehicles of the Saudi-led coalition during clashes around the village of al-Faza, which is located 15km west of al-Tuhayat. Earlier this week,  the Saudi-led coalition recaptured the town of al-Faza and reopened a supply line for their units south of the city of al-Hudaydah . This allowed the coalition to launch this new attack along the western Yemeni coast. However, it appear...

Illustrative image On June 29, units of the Yemeni Navy [loyal to the Houthis] foiled an a landing of the Saudi-led coalition on the western coast of Yemen, according to the Yemeni Saba News Agency (NSA). A source in the Yemeni Navy told SNA that coalition naval forces suffered from “catastrophic loses” during the failed landing attempt. The pro-Houthis news agency said that the Yemeni Navy knew in advance of the Saudi-led coalition plans thanks to credible intelligence. SNA added that coalition naval forces used “advance boats” in the landing attempt, but the Yemeni Navy was able to detect them. Earlier this month, the Houthis foiled a similar attempt of the Saudi-led coalition navy to land troops near the coastal city of al-Hudaydah. Back then,  the Yemeni Navy hit a landing ship of the coalition with two anti-ship missiles , killing four personnel of the UAE Navy including an officer. The Saudi-led coalition will likely decrease its naval activity along the western c...

Illustrative image On June 29, units of the Yemeni Navy [loyal to the Houthis] foiled an a landing of the Saudi-led coalition on the western coast of Yemen, according to the Yemeni Saba News Agency (NSA). A source in the Yemeni Navy told SNA that coalition naval forces suffered from “catastrophic loses” during the failed landing attempt. The pro-Houthis news agency said that the Yemeni Navy knew in advance of the Saudi-led coalition plans thanks to credible intelligence. SNA added that coalition naval forces used “advance boats” in the landing attempt, but the Yemeni Navy was able to detect them. Earlier this month, the Houthis foiled a similar attempt of the Saudi-led coalition navy to land troops near the coastal city of al-Hudaydah. Back then,  the Yemeni Navy hit a landing ship of the coalition with two anti-ship missiles , killing four personnel of the UAE Navy including an officer. The Saudi-led coalition will likely decrease its naval activity along the western c...

Written by  The Saker ; Originally appeared at  The Unz Review Following the re-appointment of Medvedev and his more or less reshuffled government, the public opinion in Russia and abroad was split on whether this was a good sign of continuity and unity amongst the Russian leadership or whether this was a confirmation that there was a 5 th  column inside the Kremlin working against President Putin and trying to impose neo-liberal and pro-western policies on the Russian people. Today I want to take a quick look at what is taking place inside Russia because I believe that the Russian foreign policy is still predominantly controlled by what I call the “Eurasian Sovereignists” and that to detect the activities of the “Atlantic Integrationist” types we need to look at what is taking place inside Russia. The Russian 5 th  column and its typical operations First, I want to begin by sharing with you a short video translated by the Saker Community o...