Geopolitics
Summary of Military Aid to Ukraine in Feb 2022 as of 27 Feb
Germany1000 anti-tank weapon500 Stinger missiles Netherland400 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers200 Stinger missiles100 sniper rifles30000 rounds of ammunition? x radar devices? x landmine detectors Poland ? x ammunition Estonia? x 122mm howitzers? x Javelin anti-tank missiles Latvia ? x Javelin anti-tank missiles Lithuania? x Stinger missiles? x ammunition Bulgariaannounced but unknown Belgium2000 machine guns3800 tonnes fuel…
Read MoreGermany finally stop their military rot: promising to keep defense spending above NATO’s 2% GDP requirement
Germany, one of the country specifically called out by former US President Donald Trump, for failing to meet NATO requirement of annual defense spending of at least 2% of the GDP, has finally committed officially to keep it’s defense spending over 2% of GDP immediately. This is the most significant shift in Germany’s policy when…
Read MoreBelarus to vote on constitutional changes to host nuclear weapons and effectively make Lukashenka a dictator – Russia pushed to the brink
Lukashenka, 67, has proposed amending the constitution, the third time he has done so since coming to power in 1994, that would allow him to rule to 2035, offer him a new lever of power, and abolish a section of the document defining Belarus as a “nuclear free zone,” possibly paving the way for the…
Read More[ CNA ] Singapore and Vietnam sign 5 agreements, MOUs across defence, trade and social sectors
Singapore and Vietnam signed five agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on Friday (Feb 25), aimed at strengthening cooperation in defence, the digital economy and intellectual property among other areas. The signing by ministers and senior officials from both countries was witnessed by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.…
Read More[ Civil.ge ] Georgia Won’t Join Russia Sanctions, PM Says
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced today Tbilisi will not join international sanctions on Russia over its full-scale attack on Ukraine. “I want to state clearly and unambiguously, considering our national interests and interests of the people, Georgia does not plan to participate in the financial and economic sanctions, as this would only damage our…
Read More[ National Post ] Turkey cannot stop Russian warships accessing Black Sea, says foreign minister
Turkey cannot stop Russian warships accessing the Black Sea via its straits, as Ukraine has requested, due to a clause in an international pact that allows vessels to return to their home base, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday. Ukraine has appealed to Turkey to block Russian warships from passing through the Dardanelles and…
Read MoreBelarus denied claims that Belarus took part in the attack on Ukraine
President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has denied claims that his nation is taking part in a Russian attack on Ukraine, Belarusian state media reported on Thursday. Ukrainian border guards had made the accusation against Minsk earlier in the day. The Ukrainian statement asserted that some of the Russian troops entering Ukraine came from the territory of neighboring Belarus,…
Read MoreBiden reimposed sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline after lifting it 9 months prior
“Yesterday, after further close consultations between our two governments, Germany announced that it would halt certification of the pipeline. Today, I have directed my administration to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers,” “These steps are another piece of our initial tranche of sanctions in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. As…
Read MorePutin announces “Special Operation” – multiple Ukrainian cities reported explosions
Explosions were reported across multiple cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and Mariupol. There are also unverified reports that amphibious assault on Mariupol and Odessa. Mariupol is in Donetsk oblast. But if Russian troops lands in Odessa (which is west of Crimea), it would invalidate our assessment that this would just be a limited…
Read MoreDonbas is the final warning from Putin
As the world buzzes with the news of Putin recognizing the independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic + the decreed to OFFICIALLY deploy the Russian military into the 2 regions as “peacekeepers” – the headline calling this an invasion is actually a bit of a misnomer. You can’t invade what you…
Read More