All posts tagged: Ukraine

Why Are North Korean Troops in Russia?

Why Are North Korean Troops in Russia?

Published by Sam

Over the last month, North Korea’s role aiding Russia in its war in Ukraine has significantly escalated. U.S. officials reported that North Korean soldiers are already operating in the Kursk region in western Russia, where Ukrainian forces are staging a counteroffensive. Michael Shear, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, explains what the deeping relationship between Russia and North Korea means for the war in Ukraine and the world. Source link

It’s ‘our business’ if we want to deploy North Korean troops against Ukraine – POLITICO

It’s ‘our business’ if we want to deploy North Korean troops against Ukraine – POLITICO

Published by Sam

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that it was Russia’s prerogative to deploy North Korean troops for the war in Ukraine. Speaking to journalists at the final press conference of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Putin said: “This is our sovereign decision. Whether we use it or not, where, how, or whether we engage in exercises, training, or transfer some experience. It’s our business.” Putin’s comments mark the first time that the Russian president commented on the dispatch of the North Korean military to Russia. While he did not deny their presence on Russian territory, he did not specify why they were there. Source link

Zelenskyy meets Pope Francis at Vatican to discuss humanitarian situation in Ukraine

Zelenskyy meets Pope Francis at Vatican to discuss humanitarian situation in Ukraine

Published by skeptic

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis and his advisers at the Vatican on Friday (Oct. 11), where he said they discussed the hostage situation in Ukraine and the means to promote peace. The Vatican was the third stop of Zelenskyy’s 48-hour, four-city tour of Europe, after London and Paris, where he hopes to secure financial and political support for his “victory plan.” He met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday, and after the meeting with the pope, he left for Berlin on the same day. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to almost 1 million deaths, though reports vary according to the source. Many Ukrainians have been taken hostage by Russian forces, and Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna was reported to have died in a Moscow prison on Sept. 19. “The issue of our people returning home from captivity was the main issue during the meeting with Pope Francis. We count on the assistance of the Holy See in the return home of Ukrainians …

EU officials blast Hungary’s Orban over Ukraine stance, democratic decline | European Union News

EU officials blast Hungary’s Orban over Ukraine stance, democratic decline | European Union News

Published by Sam

Lawmakers belt out antifascist anthem, prompting European Parliament president to declare: ‘This is not Eurovision’. Top European Union officials have slammed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over democratic backsliding at home and his Russia-friendly stance that has blocked military and financial aid to Ukraine. Orban, whose country currently holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, came under fire on Wednesday after warning officials gathered in Strasbourg, France, about the “migration crisis” and the war in Ukraine as he addressed the European Parliament. Leading the charge against Orban, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took aim at Budapest’s stalling of EU support for Kyiv and refusal to join Western efforts to arm Ukraine to fight off Moscow. “The world has witnessed the atrocities of Russia’s war. And yet, there are still some who blame this war not on the invader but the invaded,” said von der Leyen. “There are still some who blame this war not on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s lust for power but on Ukraine’s thirst for freedom.” In July, Orban stoked controversy when …

Russian army sends wolves to the front to help counter threat from Ukraine drones | World | News

Russian army sends wolves to the front to help counter threat from Ukraine drones | World | News

Published by Sam

Vladimir Putin’s army is turning to wild animals in a desperate bid to try and counter the threat from Ukrainian drones. Army chiefs are pondering using wolves to help detect the approach of the deadly UAVS. Troops say the animals have a good sense of smell, are sociable and active, and can warn of danger in advance. Russian commanders have decided to run an experiment to see if wolves can make a difference. Two tamed wolves have been dispatched to Ukraine to serve with a unit that is fighting there. A Russian news agency reported: “The predators can hear the approach of drones and warn of danger in advance. “They will help Russian soldiers carry out combat missions in the [war] zone.” The two females were rescued from the Siberian region of Khakassia and raised by wolf-tamer Aleksandr Konchakov. In a video, he can be seen feeding ice cream to one of the wolves, called Vysota. He said: “The puppies were simply brought to me by hunters without a mother. “They have excellent intuition and …

A Russian warlord said he’ll take Cybertrucks into Ukraine; some experts think that’s unwise

A Russian warlord said he’ll take Cybertrucks into Ukraine; some experts think that’s unwise

Published by skeptic

In August, a Russian warlord posted a video on Telegram, showing a pair of Cybertrucks patrolling a road in Chechnya, armed seemingly with heavy machine guns. Leaving aside unanswerable (for now) questions about how the vehicles were obtained, Wired thought it worth digging into whether a Cybertruck actually makes sense as a “technical,” the term for modified civilian rides used by militaries and military groups. What did the outlet find? Well, it’s complicated. One expert noted the Cybertrucks’ stainless steel makeup can take some abuse, and that they’re both fast and quiet, a plus in a stealth operation. A second expert described the trucks’ heavy reliance on software as potentially catastrophic; they’re also insanely heavy, making maneuverability and traction on certain terrains tough. (As a reminder, they appear not to do all that well in sand.) Said that first expert to Wired: “It’s great that [the Cybertruck] is safe in a crash and can take a bullet. But if you break a control arm and can’t get the part, it’s pretty useless.” Source link

How Defense Experts Got Ukraine Wrong

How Defense Experts Got Ukraine Wrong

Published by skeptic

One might think that an intelligence failure can be benign: The good guys do far better than expected, the bad guys far worse. In fact, erring on the side of pessimism can be as big a problem as being too bullish. The period just before and after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022, is a good example of this. At the West’s most influential research organizations, prominent analysts—many of them political scientists who follow Russian military affairs—confidently predicted that Russia would defeat its smaller neighbor within weeks. American military leaders believed this consensus, to the point that the Joint Chiefs of Staff chair reportedly told members of Congress that Kyiv could fall within 72 hours of a Russian attack. Although those analysts’ gloomy assessments turned out to be wrong, they’ve nevertheless made the United States and its allies overly cautious in assisting Ukraine in its self-defense. Both of us are military historians who have a keen interest in contemporary strategic issues—and who, at the outset of the war, harbored grave doubts …

Vladimir Putin ‘Is Very Much Afraid’ After Kursk Incursion

Vladimir Putin ‘Is Very Much Afraid’ After Kursk Incursion

Published by Sam

Ukraine’s troops appeared to turn the tables on Moscow in August when they launched a surprise offensive and managed to occupy a Western region in Russia. Seven weeks later and Putin has still not managed to push the troops out of Russian land, instead focusing most of his army’s efforts on driving forward in Ukraine’s Donbas region. But speaking to the US show Good Morning America on Tuesday, Zelenskyy claimed it was “true” that Putin was worried about the domestic impact of the incursion. The Ukrainian president said: “He’s afraid, very much. Why? Because his people saw that he can’t defend – that he can’t defend all of his territory.” Earlier this month, Putin denied Russia was “nervous” about the incursion. He said: “The enemy’s goal was to make us nervous and worry and to transfer troops from one sector to another and stop our offensive in key areas, primarily in the Donbas. Did it work? No.” But Ukraine’s offensive is thought to be putting serious pressure on Moscow, even if it has not slowed …

Utopia, Dystopia, and Democracy: Teaching Philosophy in Wartime Ukraine

Utopia, Dystopia, and Democracy: Teaching Philosophy in Wartime Ukraine

Published by skeptic

1. Introduction  Why teach philosophy in wartime Ukraine? It’s a fair question. It’s a necessary question. Given the variety and gravity of Ukraine’s urgent needs, few will think to themselves: “But what about philosophy? Is Ukraine getting enough philosophy?” As two scholars committed to teaching philosophy in wartime Ukraine—one American, one Ukrainian—we believe an explanation is in order.  Philosophers sometimes take a defensive stance when the value of their activity is called into question. Like other disciplines that bake no bread, philosophy is perpetually engaged in legitimizing itself to uninterested students, dubious deans, and skeptical trustees. At all but the most well-endowed universities, there is perennial pressure on philosophers to justify the existence of their positions and departments. Yet a discipline that prides itself on questioning fundamental assumptions about reality, knowledge, and goodness has no right to be dismissive or dogmatic when it comes time to question itself. There is a duty to consider not just the role of philosophy in times of crisis, but the role of philosophy in the time of this crisis. …

Ukraine destroys huge Russian ammunition depot

Ukraine destroys huge Russian ammunition depot

Published by Sam

Flames rise during an explosion in Toropets, Tver region, Russia. Screenshot taken from a video posted on social media, Wednesday, September 18, 2024. SOCIAL MEDIA VIA REUTERS A series of powerful explosions destroyed a vast ammunition depot adjacent to the town of Toropets, in the Tver region of Russia, in the early hours of Wednesday, September 18. The Russian army’s 107th arsenal, located 500 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border and storing 240 tonnes of ammunition, was hit by projectiles fired by the Ukrainian army. The explosions were so powerful that they were detected by seismic monitoring systems. The first tremor of magnitude 2.8 were recorded at 3:56 am, followed by seven weaker ones, ranging from 2 to 2.8 on the Richter scale. Numerous videos filmed by local residents and the Russian military documented the immense mushroom cloud rising into the air and its aftermath. Russian authorities reported 17 injuries. A video shot at around 8 am by a local from Toropets (population 11,000) showed dozens of homes with blown-out windows. Incessant explosions can be …