Russia
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Jun- 2020 -9 JuneMiddle East
Syria Jihadist-Regime Clashes Leave 41 Fighters Dead
An Al-Qaeda offshoot led an offensive Monday against regime forces in northwest Syria, sparking clashes that left 19 pro-government fighters and 22 jihadists dead, a war monitor said.
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3 JuneMiddle East
First Russian Strikes in 3 Months Hit NW Syria: Monitor
Russian air strikes have hit Syria’s last major rebel bastion for the first time since a March ceasefire came into force, a war monitor said on Wednesday. The Russian strikes on Tuesday evening and at dawn on Wednesday hit an area of the northwest where the boundaries of Hama, Idlib, and Latakia provinces meet, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance (HTS), led by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, and its hardline allies enjoy a significant presence in the area, the Britain-based monitoring group added. Home to some three million people, the Idlib region of the northwest is controlled by HTS and affiliated rebel groups. A Russian-backed government offensive between December and March displaced nearly a million people in the region. Some 840,000 of the nearly one million remain displaced, while some 120,000 have returned to their home communities since the ceasefire went into force, according to the United Nations. The truce, which coincided with the coronavirus crisis, had put a stop to the relentless air strikes by government forces and their Russian allies that killed at least 500 civilians in four months. The Observatory said the latest strikes were intended to push jihadists away from the …
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2 JuneAfrica
Libya Rivals Agree Return to Ceasefire Talks: UN
The United Nations’ Libya mission said Tuesday the country’s warring parties had agreed to restart talks aimed at reaching a lasting ceasefire, after a three-month suspension. In a statement, UNSMIL “welcomed” moves by the Government of National Accord and forces backing eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar to accept “restarting negotiations on a ceasefire and the related security arrangements.” Pro-Haftar forces have been battling since April last year to seize the capital Tripoli from the UN-recognised GNA, in fighting that has left hundreds dead and forced 200,000 to flee their homes. A military commission made up of five GNA loyalists and five Haftar delegates held talks in February, but the dialogue was suspended. A January truce brokered by GNA backer Turkey and key Haftar ally Russia has been repeatedly violated. Neither side immediately commented on the UN statement. Haftar’s rapid advance on Tripoli last year stalled to a bloody stalemate on the edges of the capital. In recent weeks, GNA forces buoyed by Turkish drones and air defense systems have taken back a string of coastal towns and a key airbase, Haftar is supported by neighboring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as well as Russia. The UN mission urged “states backing either …
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May- 2020 -26 MayMiddle East
Russia Sent Warplanes to Back Mercenaries in Libya: US Military
Russia recently sent fighter jets to Libya to support Russian mercenaries fighting for strongman Khalifa Haftar, the U.S. military command for Africa (Africom) said Tuesday, in a major escalation in the long-running conflict. The military fighter aircraft left Russia and first stopped in Syria where they “were repainted to camouflage their Russian origin” before arriving in Libya, said Stuttgart-based Africom. The U.S. military did not specify when exactly the jets arrived, only saying that it was “recently.” The announcement comes a day after Libya’s U.N.-recognised government said hundreds of Russian mercenaries backing rival military commander Haftar had been evacuated from combat zones south of the capital Tripoli. The retreat follows a series of setbacks for Haftar’s years-long offensive to seize the capital from the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). The Kremlin has always denied involvement in the conflict. But United Nations experts said in a report last month that the Wagner Group, a shadowy Russian paramilitary organization seen as close to President Vladimir Putin, had sent fighters to back Haftar. “For too long, Russia has denied the full extent of its involvement in the ongoing Libyan conflict. Well, there is no denying it now,” said U.S. Army General Stephen Townsend …
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26 MayEurope
Russia Begins Building First Stealth Bomber: Report
Russia has begun manufacturing the prototype of its first strategic stealth bomber, state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday, as the country presses ahead with the modernization of its military. Quoting defense industry sources, TASS said the state-controlled United Aircraft Corporation was overseeing the project. It said material was being shipped for the project and that work had begun on the cockpit of the bomber, known as the PAK DA. “The final assembly of the entire machine should be complete in 2021,” one of the sources told TASS. Stealth bombers are designed to evade radar detection while carrying large amounts of weaponry. Russian officials have revealed few details of the project, though last year Deputy Defence Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said aircraft maker Tupolev — which is part of United Aircraft Corporation — was in charge. Reached by AFP, United Aircraft Corporation spokesman Sergei Loktionov declined to comment on the report. Tupolev also did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Reports have said the plane will feature a flying wing design similar to U.S. stealth bombers, fly at subsonic speeds and carry strategic cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons. The U.S. Air Force’s B-2 stealth bombers are among the world’s most feared …
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21 MayAmericas
Trump to Withdraw US From ‘Open Skies’ Treaty
President Donald Trump announced Thursday he plans to withdraw the United States from the Open Skies Treaty with Russia, the third arms control pact Trump has abrogated since coming to office. The U.S. leader said Moscow had not stuck to its commitments under the 18-year-old pact, which was designed to improve military transparency and confidence between the superpowers. “Russia did not adhere to the treaty,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “So until they adhere, we will pull out.” The New York Times reported that Trump plans to inform Moscow of the move on Friday, and that it could be a prelude to Washington also withdrawing from the New START Treaty, which limits the number of nuclear missiles the United States and Russia can deploy. The Open Skies agreement between Russia, the United States, and 32 other countries, mostly members of the NATO alliance, permits one country’s military to conduct a certain number of surveillance flights over another each year on short notice. The aircraft can survey the territory below, collecting information and pictures of military installations and activities. The idea is that the more rival militaries know about each other, the less the chance of conflict between them. But the sides also use the …
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Mar- 2020 -13 March
Turkey and Russia agree to start joint patrols in northwest Syria
Turkey and Russia agreed to start joint patrols in Syria's Idlib province at the weekend, Turkey's defense minister Hului Akar said
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10 MarchEurope
Eastern European defense ministers urge EU funds for military mobility program
The EU must provide funds to enable the faster movement of military forces across Europe, defense ministers from four eastern European nations said
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5 MarchMiddle East
Syria: Russia and Turkey agree to ceasefire in battered Idlib
Erdogan and Putin announce plans for a joint buffer zone to halt Syria's offensive against Idlib province, ceasefire to begin at midnight
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2 MarchMiddle East
Syria’s regime re-enters key Idlib town ahead of Russia-Turkey talks
Syrian pro-regime troops re-entered the Idlib province town of Saraqeb amid a blitz of Turkish strikes against Bashar al-Assad's forces
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