Tag: military

Israel launches fresh attack against military sites in Syria

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Damascus: Israel launched a fresh missile attack against military sites in the central Syrian province of Homs after midnight Sunday, the state TV reported.
Syrian air defenses were triggered by the attack, intercepting some of the missiles, according to the report.
The pro-government Sham FM radio said that four soldiers were wounded in the attack, which hit a military base in the western countryside of Homs, Xinhua News Agency reported.

It was Israel’s third attack against Syrian military sites since Thursday.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 2, 2023
Blast in St. Petersburg kills Russian military blogger: Reports

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An explosion in St. Petersburg killed Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky on Sunday, according to media reports.
The Russian Interior Ministry confirmed the incident, the BBC reported. It is not clear who was responsible for the blast.
At least 16 people were injured in the attack at the Street Bar Cafe, according to the reports.
Videos posted on social media show an explosion and injured people on the street.
Reuters reported that a St. Petersburg website said that the cafe where the explosion occurred had at one time belonged to Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group, the Russian paramilitary operation that is fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
If Tatarsky was deliberately targeted, it would be the second assassination on Russian soil of a figure associated with the war in Ukraine. Russia blamed Ukraine for the killing of Darya Dugina — daughter of Alexander Dugin, a Russian ideologue and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — in an attack near Moscow last summer. Kyiv denied involvement.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 1, 2023

Russia arrests young woman for St. Petersburg bombing

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Russian law enforcement on Monday detained a young woman suspected of bombing a St. Petersburg cafe, in which a pro-Kremlin military blogger was killed and dozens injured on Sunday, according to media reports.

In a video from the interior ministry published by state news agency TASS, a woman presented as Darya Trepova can be heard saying she “brought a statuette” inside the cafe, which “later exploded.”

She said she had been arrested for “being present at the place” where the bombing occurred.

POLITICO was not able to independently verify whether Trepova’s statement was made under duress.

Trepova was reportedly detained for several days last year for taking part in a protest against the war in Ukraine on the day Russia’s full-scale invasion started.

Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by the St. Petersburg cafe blast, which also injured 25 people according to Reuters.

Tatarsky — whose real name was Maxim Fomin — was part of a group of high-profile influencers filing reports on the Ukraine war. He had more than half a million followers on Telegram.

According to AP, Tatarsky utilized “ardent pro-war rhetoric” in favor of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Russia’s top investigative body announced Monday it had opened a probe into the bombing, which it labeled a “high-profile murder.”

The state-controlled Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee called the bombing a “terrorist act” and accused Ukraine’s special service of planning the attack.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, tweeted that Russia had “returned to the Soviet classics: isolation … espionage … political repression.”

This is the second time a pro-Kremlin media figure has been killed on Russian soil since the invasion began.

Last August, Darya Dugina — who was under U.S. sanctions for spreading misinformation about the war — was killed in a car bombing.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 1, 2023

Finland cleared to join NATO following Turkish vote

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The Turkish parliament on Thursday unanimously ratified Finland’s accession to NATO, effectively allowing Helsinki to join the military alliance but leaving Sweden out in the cold.

Finland could now become a formal member of NATO within days.

“All 30 NATO members have now ratified Finland’s membership,” Finnish President Sauli Niinistö tweeted. “I want to thank every one of them for their trust and support. Finland will be a strong and capable Ally, committed to the security of the Alliance,” he said.

His country, the president added, “is now ready to join NATO.”

The Turkish vote, occurring minutes before midnight in Ankara, comes after months of delays.

Finland and Sweden initially applied for membership last May, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And while the two countries were formally invited to join the alliance last summer, both Turkey and Hungary have been stalling on ratifying their memberships.

Ankara has raised concerns about the countries’ support of Kurdish groups and limitations on arms exports. But despite striking a deal with both Helsinki and Stockholm that spurred policy changes, Ankara ultimately decided to greenlight Finland while holding Sweden back.

Hungary’s parliament on Monday also ratified Finland’s membership but like Turkey has yet to schedule a vote on Sweden.

Western officials had hoped that both countries would become full members before a summit of NATO leaders scheduled to take place in Vilnius in July, but it remains uncertain whether Sweden could still become a member before the gathering.

Turkey is set to hold elections in May, fuelling speculation that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is withholding support for Sweden for domestic political reasons and could change his mind at a later stage.

Niinistö, the Finnish president, said in his tweet late Thursday that “we look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible.”

Now that Finland has Turkey’s formal support, only procedural steps are left before Helsinki officially joins NATO.

Finland will soon get a formal invitation from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and then give the U.S. its so-called instrument of accession. The U.S. will then issue a statement that Finland is now part of the North Atlantic Treaty.

The NATO chief welcomed Turkey’s vote.

“This,” Stoltenberg tweeted, “will make the whole NATO family stronger & safer.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

March 30, 2023

Unfinished work along LAC; military, diplomacy at work: Jaishankar

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New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said there was “unfinished work” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and that the militaries and diplomats on both sides were working to find a solution to the issue.

Jaishankar, speaking at Network18’s ‘Rising India Summit’, deplored attempts by Rahul Gandhi to draw parallels between the situation along the LAC with China and the Ukraine conflict.

“What is today happening in Ukraine, if you follow the two sides, is one would say that they are threatened by the expansion of NATO and the character of the regime in Ukraine,” he said.

“The West would say that Russians have expansionist designs. What is the analogy between that and India-China? There is no NATO in play here, there is no regime character in play here. I just don’t see the comparison,” he said.

Jaishankar also said “canards” were floated about buffer zones being created in India’s patrolling areas.

He said since the Galwan clash of 2020, the combination of military and diplomacy has made progress, but admitted that the two sides have not been able to “sort everything out”.

“Whatever has been done is mutual and negotiated. But this is still unfinished work,” Jaishankar said about the present situation along the LAC.

He said to understand the relationship with China, one has to understand the nature of the problem between the two countries.

“The nature of the problem between India and China is that two militaries, which were not deployed at or on or very near the LAC, have done so to a great degree after May 2020. Pre-May 2020, both militaries were primarily located in the depth areas where they had permanent bases and then they would patrol out into the LAC,” he said.

“In 2020, the Chinese breached that in violation of the 1993-96 agreement and brought forces to the LAC. Obviously we countered it. As a result, you have a very, very intricate situation of very multiple close deployments which, by military assessments, is a very dangerous situation to be in,” Jaishankar said.

The minister said India had cautioned China about the situation but then “Galwan happened which was proof of how volatile the situation can be”.

“I met my Chinese counterpart in September 2020 and he accepted that this was a dangerous situation. Since then, we have been trying to pull back the forward deployment but it can only be done if there is mutual agreement,” the minister said.

Jaishankar said that India may have made “some such unilateral moves” in the past “but found it was not reciprocated by the other side”.

“Everything that we have done is on the basis of the principle of mutual and equal security which means if we move back here, they move back there,” the minister said.

“There are places where we have forward deployments but we continue to work. When it (disturbances) started in the summer of 2020, people said India could do nothing,” he said.

“My sense is that the military has done what it should do. The military and diplomacy have worked in lockstep. To take away military commanders is ridiculous. Because military commanders know the truth, know the topography, who actually knows what mutual and equal security is,” Jaishankar said.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 29, 2023

Myanmar military dissolves Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party

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Naypyidaw: Myanmar’s military-controlled election commission said that the ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party will be dissolved for failing to re-register under a new electoral law, Al Jazeera reported citing state television.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) party was among 40 political parties that were unable to meet the ruling military’s registration deadline for an election, Al Jazeera reported citing Myawaddy TV.

Earlier in January, the Myanmar military gave two months to political parties to register under a strict new electoral law before fresh elections which they have promised to hold. However, the opponents have said that the elections will neither be free nor fair. The NLD has said it would not contest in the elections and called it illegitimate.

Bo Bo Oo, one of the elected lawmakers from Suu Kyi’s party, said, “We absolutely do not accept that an election will be held at a time when many political leaders and political activists have been arrested and the people are being tortured by the military.”

In November 2020, the NLD secured victory in Myanmar’s parliamentary elections. However, less than three months later, the Myanmar military carried out a coup and imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi. Meanwhile, the Myanmar army justified the coup and said that there was massive poll fraud. However, the independent election observers did not find any major irregularities.

Aung San Suu Kyi is serving a prison sentence which totals 33 years. She has been convicted in a series of politically tainted prosecutions brought by the military, as per the Al Jazeera report. Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters have stressed that the charges that have been made against her were contrived with the aim to stop her from actively participating in politics.

Earlier in January, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep concern over the final verdicts and sentencing of Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, reiterating his calls for her immediate release.

“We’ve been asked for a comment on the sentencing of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and I can say that the Secretary-General expresses his deep concern over the final verdicts and sentencing of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and reiterates his calls for her immediate release and that of President Win Myint and of all arbitrarily detained prisoners in Myanmar,” said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for Guterres during a briefing on January 3.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the principles of equality before the law, the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, with all the guarantees necessary for a person’s defence,” he added.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 29, 2023

‘It’s a powerful effect’: Austin fires back at GOP senator’s blockade of military promotions

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“There are a number of things happening globally that indicate that we could be in a contest on any one given day,” Austin said. “Not approving the recommendations for promotions actually creates a ripple effect through the force that makes us far less ready than we need to be.”

“The effects are cumulative and it will affect families. It will affect kids going to schools because they won’t be able to change their duty station,” he added. “It’s a powerful effect and will impact on our readiness.”

On the other side is Tuberville, a member of the Armed Services Committee, who is following through on a threat to object to quick confirmations of Pentagon civilian nominees and senior military officer promotions after Austin rolled out policies that cover expenses and permit leave for troops who have to travel to obtain abortions.

President Joe Biden’s civilian nominees have been mired in Senate gridlock for much of his term. But senior military promotions typically cruise to Senate approval with little opposition, with the chamber sometimes approving hundreds of moves at once.

The volume of senior military promotions makes it harder for Senate Democrats to get around Tuberville’s objections than it is for civilian nominees. And Tuberville has indicated he won’t stop his obstruction of nominees unless the abortion policy is reversed or suspended.

Tuberville and Austin spoke last week, but the Alabama Republican hasn’t budged. Tuberville’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who teed up the question at Tuesday’s hearing, agreed with Austin. He warned of senior military positions that would come open in the coming months, including the next Joint Chiefs chair.

“As I look forward, I have never in my almost three decades here seen so many key military positions coming up for replacement,” Reed said.

“If we cannot resolve the situation, we will be, in many respects, leaderless at a time of great conflict,” the chair warned. “So, I would hope we would expedite and move quickly on this front.”

A Defense Department official said the Pentagon projects that, between now and the end of the year, 650 general and flag officers will require Senate confirmation. Eighty of those are three and four-star generals or admirals, the official noted.

A plethora of senior military leaders are set to retire in the coming months, including top officers in the Marine Corps, Navy and Army. Multiple combatant commanders, including the heads of U.S. Northern Command, Space Command and Cyber Command, are also set to rotate out of their posts.

Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley, who testified alongside Austin, is also set to retire in the fall when his four-year term as the military’s top officer expires.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has noted that the list includes officers tapped to command naval forces in the Pacific and Middle East, as well as a military representative to the NATO Military Committee.

In a speech Monday criticizing Tuberville, Schumer said the impasse risks “permanently politicizing the confirmation of military personnel.”

“If every single one of us objected to the promotion of military personnel whenever we feel passionately or strongly about an issue, our military would simply grind to a halt,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

Paul McLeary and Lara Seligman contributed to this report.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 28, 2023

Rare jaw surgery performed at Secunderabad’s military hospital

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Hyderabad: The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery team, under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Vinay Singh Parihar, successfully completed a tailored procedure to replace the maxillary jaw at the Military Hospital in Secunderabad,

According to a press release, a 50-year-old female inhabitant of the Hanamkonda region had to have her left upper jaw surgically removed since it had been harmed by a black fungal infection as a side effect of Covid-19. After scanning the intra-oral structures and the facial skeleton, a computer-designed upper jaw model was produced. Then, a titanium jaw was built utilising cutting-edge 3-D printing technology.

The extraordinary feat was made possible by combining surgical skill and technological innovation. According to the press release, the team has become one of the few in the nation to complete rehabilitation treatments utilising cutting-edge fast prototyping methods, paving the way for future patient-specific implant surgeries.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 22, 2023

India approves capital acquisition of military hardware worth Rs 70,584 cr

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New Delhi: India on Thursday approved capital acquisition of a plethora of indigenously-developed military hardware including indigenous BrahMos missiles, marine diesel engine, artillery gun system, electronic warfare suits and utility helicopters at a cost of Rs 70,584 crore as part of a mega procurement plan.

Out of the total acquisition plan, the Indian Navy’s proposals constitute more than Rs 56,000 crore, which largely included Shakti Electronic Warfare (EW) systems, maritime helicopters and other key equipment, officials said.

All the platforms and weapons systems are being procured from domestic sources.

The other key military hardware which are being procured included long range stand-off weapon (LRSOW), K-9 Vajra-T gun system, 155mm/52 caliber advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS) and gun towing vehicles (GTVs) for the Indian Army.

The approval to the procurement proposals has been accorded by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, an official statement said.

The approval for a medium speed marine diesel engine is seen as a significant step as for the first time, India is venturing into the development and manufacturing of such engines indigenously.

The go ahead to the fresh procurement proposals came amid the nearly three-year standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh with China.

The DAC accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition amounting to Rs 70,584 crore and all the procurement will be made under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.

The total approval granted for capital acquisition in the financial year 2022-23 now stands at Rs 2,71,538 crore, out of which 98.9 per cent of the procurement will be sourced from the Indian industries, the officials said.

“Such quantum of indigenous procurement will not only galvanize the Indian industries towards achieving the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) but also reduce India’s dependency on foreign vendors to a large extent,” Singh’s office tweeted.

About Navy’s proposals, the defence ministry said while the additional procurement of BrahMos missile system will enhance the maritime strike capabilities and anti-surface warfare operation, the addition of utility helicopters will multiply the operational readiness of the force.

Similarly, Shakti systems will equip and modernise the frontline Naval ships to counter any Naval operations by the adversaries, it said.

“To keep pace with the emerging technologies and counter the adversaries in the Western and Northern front, the necessity of the new weapons and its integration with the delivery platforms was felt by the government,” the ministry said.

“To achieve the same objectives, the DAC accorded the approval to Indian Air Force’s proposal for Long Range Stand-Off Weapon (LRSOW) which will be indigenously designed, developed and integrated on SU-30 MKI aircraft,” it said.

“For artillery modernisation, in addition to the ongoing Dhanush Gun System and K-9 Vajra-T Gun System, AoN for procurement of 155mm/52 Caliber Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) along with High Mobility Vehicles (HMVs) and Gun Towing Vehicles (GTVs) for the Indian Army was accorded by the DAC,” it said.

“It (DAC) also accorded AoN for procurement of Advance Light Helicopters (ALH) MK-III from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Coast Guard. The helicopter will be able to carry a suite of surveillance sensors which will enhance the surveillance capabilities,” the ministry said.

“It will also give full night capability and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capability for operations of the Indian Coast Guard,” it said.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 16, 2023

Canada announces additional military aid to Ukraine

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Ottawa: Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand has announced additional military assistance to Ukraine.

Canada will donate nearly 8,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition, as well as 12 air defence missiles sourced from Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) inventory, to sustain the air defence systems currently deployed in Ukraine, Anand said in a statement issued by the Defence Ministry on Wednesday.

Canada will also donate more than 1,800 rounds of 105mm tank training ammunition, to support the donation of Leopard 1 tanks announced by Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, she added.

She also confirmed that the CAF started the shipments of the additional Leopard 2 main battle tanks pledged by Canada at the end of February, Xinhua news agency reported.

Canada has committed eight Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine in total. All eight tanks, and the previously announced armoured recovery vehicle, ancillary equipment, and ammunition donated by Canada, are expected to be in Ukraine in the coming weeks, the statement said.

Since February 2022, Canada has committed other military assistance donations to Ukraine, including more than 200 Senator commercial pattern armoured vehicles, a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System with associated munitions, 39 armoured combat support vehicles, and anti-tank weapons.

CAF personnel are currently deployed to both the UK and Poland to assist with training members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under Operation UNIFIER, Canada’s military training and capacity building mission in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Since the start of Operation UNIFIER in 2015, the CAF has trained more than 35,000 members of the Security Forces of Ukraine, according to the Canadian Defence Ministry.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 16, 2023