September 15, 2014, SEDE

Sep. 11, 2014 - By JULIAN HALE – Defense News

BRUSSELS — Further sanctions against Russia agreed to by European Union countries on Monday will enter into force tomorrow, an EU official said here Thursday. The measures will cover the capital market, dual use (civil and military) goods and the energy sector.

EU nationals and companies may no more provide loans to five major Russian state-owned banks. At the same time, trade in new bonds, equity or similar financial instruments with a maturity exceeding 30 days, issued by the same banks, has been prohibited. The same restrictions have been extended to three major Russian defense companies and three major energy companies. Providing services related to the issuing of the above financial instruments, e.g. brokering, is also included in the prohibition.

The EU official refused to name the three Russian defense companies ahead of publication of the sanctions in the EU’s Official Journal tomorrow.

An existing ban on exporting dual use goods and technology for military use in Russia has been extended to also include a list of nine mixed defense companies that must not receive dual use goods from the EU. Again, the EU official would not name the companies and would only say that there were “around 20 items” on the list but was unable to give specific examples.

“The measures to be published tomorrow were prepared at the end of August by EU countries in response to the flow of arms from Russia to Ukraine,” said the EU official.

In a press statement, the European Council’s President, Herman Van Rompuy, said that the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) of EU countries will carry out a comprehensive review of the implementation of the [Russia-Ukraine] peace plan on the basis of an assessment carried out by the European External Action Service (EEAS) before the end of the month.

“Work on that is ongoing,” said the EU official, who added that “she expected it to be an internal assessment.”

“We have always stressed the reversibility and scalability of our restrictive measures. Therefore, in the light of the review and if the situation on the ground so warrants, the Commission and the EEAS are invited to put forward proposals to amend, suspend or repeal the set of sanctions in force, in all or in part,” said Van Rompuy in his statement.

10 September 2014 Ministry of Defence and The Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP

The Defence Secretary has called on the EU to maintain momentum on investment and rapid reaction capability.

Piotr Porochenko, président de l'Ukraine

KIEV, 10 septembre - RIA Novosti

Personne ne combattra pour l'Ukraine sur son sol, c'est le devoir des troupes ukrainiennes, a affirmé mercredi le président ukrainien Piotr Porochenko lors d'une réunion élargie du gouvernement.

"Personne ne combattra pour l'Ukraine sur son sol. C'est le devoir des militaires ukrainiens, dont la capacité de défense doit se renforcer, c'est aussi notre devoir", a déclaré le chef de l'Etat.

Et d'ajouter que la victoire dans la guerre dépendait entre autres des finances.

"Je suis persuadé que nous trouverons de l'argent pour la défense et ferons en sorte qu'une bonne partie de cet argent ne s'évapore pas. Il faut contrôler les ressources", a-t-il souligné.

5th September 2014  – by Erik Claessen * - europeangeostrategy.org


NATO rediscovers the threat of military invasion. During four decades, Europe lived in a situation wherein it could be overrun at all times by successive waves of Soviet armoured divisions. This situation ended in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall. The big tank battle in the Fulda Gap was never fought and European countries quickly took their territorial integrity for granted. Now, twenty five years later, heavy armour once more concentrates on the eastern edges of the Central European Plain. The Ukrainian crisis and the Russian annexation of the Crimea rekindle the debate on collective defence. But what does collective defence mean in the 21^st century? The answer to that question depends on the nature of the attack the collective defence is supposed to ward off. It is therefore important to understand recent Russian military operations and not mistake them for something they are not.

Opinions on the matter differ widely. On 24^th March, General Breedlove – the commander of NATO troops in Europe – warned that ‘Russia had assembled a large force on Ukraine’s eastern border that could be planning to head for Moldova’s separatist Transnistria region, more than 300 miles away.’ In his opinion, there was sufficient force postured for such a sudden, deep armoured attack.

On 21^st May, General Dempsey – the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff – presented a completely different reading of the situation. He described Russian operations as ‘proximate coercion and subversion’. In this approach, the Kremlin combines the threat of conventional military force with a subversive campaign by surrogates, proxies and biased media to stir up ethnic Russians who live in a contested area.

The differences between the two readings are important. In the scenario described by General Breedlove, the battlefield consists of the rolling hills of Southern Ukraine. In General Dempsey’s scenario, the battle space is the mind of the civilians who live in that area. The type of collective defence to counter the first scenario is completely opposite to the one to counter the second one. To defeat a sudden, deep armoured offensive, NATO needs capabilities similar to those in the Cold War: technologically advanced fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery. Collective defence would look like a back-to-basics kind of AirLand Battle. To defeat proximate coercion and subversion, NATO needs a completely different array of capabilities. Collective defence would take the shape of a comprehensive approach on the ground that includes a military piece, but also requires law enforcement, socio-economic development, and strategic communication.

So which of the two scenarios is correct? Recent military history offers some clues to answer that question.

The end of the Cold War has yielded a couple of important lessons about the use of military force. The first one is that committing armoured forces to battle without securing air superiority first is a recipe for disaster. This reality became obvious to everyone after a 100 hour offensive called Desert Storm routed the Iraqi Armed Forces in 1991.

The second lesson is that an armed force that enjoys the support of the people cannot be dislodged from the area where these people live. Its validity manifested itself most clearly on May 24, 2000. On that day, Israel withdrew its forces from southern Lebanon, thus ending a long campaign that failed to defeat Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (The Islamic Resistance). Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya is the armed wing of Hezbollah, an organization that enjoys overwhelming popular support among the local Shi’a population. Despite vastly superior military forces, Israel repeatedly proved unable to dislodge Hezbollah fighting units from their Shi’a popular support base.

The Russian campaign in Ukraine seems to take both lessons into account. During military operations leading up to the annexation of the Crimea, not a single tank crossed the border. By keeping its tanks on Russian territory, the Kremlin shielded them from aerial attack. But massing them near the Ukrainian border pressured Kiev to disperse its forces in a defensive posture. Meanwhile, Moscow assured itself of local popular support. Pro-Russian propaganda was supplemented with promises of economic development and social benefits. The Kremlin even allowed the people in the Crimea to apply for Russian citizenship. By offering passports to Crimean citizens, the Russian government not only gave them the opportunity to express their support in the clearest of ways, they also created a Russian minority on Ukrainian soil; a minority they claimed to have the responsibility to protect. Finally, an armed force believed, but not proven to be consisting of Russian military units established its presence on the peninsula.The Russian approach can be summarized in three verbs: bait, bark, bite. The approach combines offers of an appealing future within the Russian Federation (bait), a massive conventional threat at the borders (bark) and deniable armed aggression in the contested area (bite).

Russia used similar courses of action in the recent past. From 1989 until the present day, the Kremlin repeatedly facilitated the use of military power with the advantage of local popular support in Russian speaking enclaves. Shortly after the implosion of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation established an armed presence in Transnistria, Abkhazia and South-Ossetia – regions that remain under their control until this present day. Moscow tightened its grip on the two latter regions after a short war against Georgia in 2008. On none of these occasions, Russia ventured further than the edges of its popular support base.

Recent history thus indicates that the scenario described by General Breedlove is highly unlikely. A sudden, deep armoured attack is fraught with risks and uncertainties while the alternative – proximate coercion and subversion – is less risky and combat proven. The good news is, this means that the threat of military invasion NATO faces is geographically confined. Russia can only apply this strategy in regions where the population is susceptible to Russian nationalist or Pan-Slavic rhetoric. The bad news is, the strategy may not activate the cornerstone of collective defence – Article V of the Washington Treaty. The article stipulates that the ‘Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all’ [Italics added]?

However, in the case of proximate coercion and subversion, the armed attack only occurs at the end of a long campaign of subversion during which proxies only revert to the deniable use of armed force. This means that the military assistance provided by Allies risks arriving too late because an armed force that enjoys the support of the people – once established – can no longer be dislodged. There is no defence-in-depth against this type of aggression. In proximate coercion and subversion, the establishment of an armed force in the contested area is not a prerequisite to victory. It is victory all by itself.

Collective defence in the 21^st century therefore has to put a premium on prevention. Countering attempts to annex areas inhabited – for example – by large Russian speaking minorities requires measures to persuade these minorities not to support these attempts. These measures have to be integrated in a comprehensive approach executed by boots on the ground and whole-of-government capabilities. Most people associate the comprehensive approach with expeditionary peace support operations. However, the origins of the concept can be traced back to British policies and operations in Northern Ireland, so its relevance is by no means confined to far away places.

A comprehensive approach – that places the police, not the armed forces, in the van of the struggle and that seeks a solution based on minority rights, economic development and the rule of law – is applicable to any type of conflict that takes place in an area where the intervening troops do not enjoy the support of the local population. During the Cold War, it was safe to assume that the citizens of NATO-member states did not want to live under Soviet rule. Therefore, Article V operations did not need to contain a socio-economical and governmental component. That is no longer the case. As events in the Crimea illustrate, many people in a contested area may actually welcome annexation by a neighbouring country. In this situation, collective defence operations should convince the people in the contested area that annexation by the aggressor is not only impossible, but also undesirable.

In the comprehensive approach for collective defence, the military effort – by establishing favorable force ratios – provides the security and freedom of action the civilian effort needs to offer better political and economical prospects to the local population than those promised by the aggressor. This requires sufficient military presence in the area to dissuade, contain and eradicate spikes of violence. In this approach, armed forces protect rather than destroy and economic and governmental actors engage in rather than withdraw from the contested region. To bolster collective defence, NATO should prioritise capability development in these areas.

* Mr. Erik A. Claessen is a Belgian military officer working in the Strategy Department of the Belgian Joint Staff. He writes here in a personal capacity.

2 sept. 2014 British Forces News

14 août 2014. Portail des Sous-Marins

Le bombardement par Israël de la bande de Gaza a des conséquences assez inattendues pour la marine indienne. Le conflit, combiné avec la défaillance de l’organisme indien de recherche, a conduit au retard de l’installation d’un système de missiles à bord du destroyer INS Kolkata, un navire dont l’admission au service actif reste cependant programmé pour ce samedi en présence du premier ministre Narendra Modi.

Cette affaire illustre la manière dont des conflits étrangers peuvent affecter l’Inde, en particulier son niveau de préparation militaire : l’armée et la marine indiennes sont très dépendantes des importations et des savoir-faire étrangers.

L’admission au service actif signifie normalement qu’il est opérationnel, prêt à accomplir ses missions. Mais l’INS Kolkata est privé de son système de défense anti-aérienne et de son sonar actif remorqué, un des 2 moyens qui lui permettent de détecter les sous-marins, ont reconnu ce jeudi des officiers de haut-rang.

« Nous sommes inquiets, » a déclaré le vice-amiral A.V. Subhedar, responsable de la construction et des achats de navires. « Mais nous pensons que le missile sera disponible sous peu : les lanceurs sont prêts. »

Le système de défense anti-aérienne devait être développé conjointement par la Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) indienne et par Israel Aircraft Industries selon un accord signé en 2006.

Le contre-amiral A.B. Singh, adjoint au chef d’état-major, a expliqué que le système de lancement du missile Barak NG (pour nouvelle génération) était prêt, mais qu’il ne pourrait être installé à bord du destroyer qu’après que le missile ait été testé en Israël.

Un précédent essai, en février, a échoué « parce qu’il y a eu des oscillations, tous les paramètres n’ont pas été respectés. »

Un essai complet du missile — au cours duquel il sera lancé depuis un lanceur et devra abattre un missile attaquant — ne devrait avoir lieu que vers la fin septembre.

L’essai a été retardé à cause des bombardements israéliens sur la bande de Gaza. De nombreuses compagnies aériennes avaient annulé leurs vols vers Tel Aviv — des roquettes lancées par le Hamas étaient tombées à proximité de l’aéroport — jusqu’à ce qu’un cessez-le-feu fragile n’intervienne cette semaine.

Le destroyer INS Kolkata, d’un déplacement de 6.800 t, est la tête de série du Projet 15A. 2 autres sont en construction : le Kochi et le Chennai.

Baptisé un “destroyer furtif”, le Kolkata était attendu pour 2010. Il a déjà 4 ans de retard, mais, malgré ce retard, le DRDO n’est pas parvenu à terminer à temps le système de missiles d’une portée de 70 km. Le Barak NG est supposé être le bouclier anti-aérien non seulement de l’INS Kolkata mais aussi de toute la force qu’il protège, dont un porte-avions.

Le Kolkata est aussi le “navire d’essai” pour une autre classe de 4 navires, baptisée le Projet 15B. Ces 4 navires doivent recevoir de nouveaux systèmes, dont la plupart sont développés en Inde, mais l’absence du Barak NG et du sonar actif remorqué peut limiter le rôle de ces navires.

Un autre conflit à l’étranger — la crise en Ukraine — pourrait avoir des conséquences sur le Kolkata : ses moteurs — des turbines à gaz fabriquées par l’usine Zorya en Ukraine — doivent aussi constituer le principal système de propulsion du Projet 15B.

La crise en Ukraine ne devrait pas avoir de conséquences immédiates. Mais la marine indienne est à la recherche d’autres fournisseurs pour les pièces détachées des navires en construction.

Le 23 aout, la marine indienne doit mettre en service un 2è navire, le Kamorta. Caractéristique unique : le Kamorta est une corvette de lutte anti-sous-marine, dont 90% des équipements ont été conçus en Inde.

Mais le Kamorta, comme le Kolkata, ne sera pour l’instant équipé de son sonar actif remorqué. En d’autres termes, la plateforme ASM n’aura pas de senseur de détection de sous-marin.

Le mois dernier, le ministre de la défense Arun Jaitley a annoncé au Parlement qu’il avait retenu une compagnie allemande, Atlas Electronik, pour fournir le sonar actif remorqué, non seulement pour le Kamorta, mais pour tous les navires de 1er rang. La DRDO cherche aussi à développer son propre sonar actif remorqué.

Référence : Calcutta Telegraph (Inde)

August 12, 2014: Strategy Page

Ukrainian security forces have been pushing back pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine for weeks now. Because this means a humiliating defeat for Russian efforts to annex the Donbas there is fear that the Russians will escalate. Ukraine and the rest of the world are waiting to see if Russia will admit defeat or escalate by sending heavily armed “peacekeepers” into Donbas “for humanitarian reasons” to “pacify” the area by expelling Ukrainian troops and annex Donbas. This would make Russia an international outcast, subject to more sanctions and be a major setback for the Russian economy. The two Ukrainian provinces (Donetsk and Luhansk) which comprise the Donbas contain about nine percent of Ukrainian territory, 13 percent of the population and 15 percent of the GDP. Donbas is about 38 percent ethnic Russian. For Ukraine, the Donbas is worth fighting for where Crimea was not. The two provinces comprising the Donets Basin (or “Donbas”) were for a long time an economic powerhouse for Soviet Russia. But that began to decline in the 1980s and accelerated when the Soviet Union fell and Ukraine became independent in 1991.

This looming defeat in Ukraine angers Russia, where senior politicians have portrayed the Ukraine situation as all the fault of the West which was seeking to turn Ukraine into an enemy of Russia (which Ukrainians prefer) rather than a part of a Russian empire (which Russians prefer). Bad relations between Russia and Ukraine go back over a thousand years but Russians still claim Ukraine is theirs and consider any disagreement over that attitude to be a hostile act towards the Russian people. The current Russian leadership is backing this myth but that support is becoming a lot more expensive than originally expected. The West sees the Russian efforts in Ukraine as a return to ancient forms of politics which began to die out in the 20th century. This ancient “create a crises and send in troops to fix and annex it” has been used for thousands of years to justify acquiring more territory. Most large nations used it to a greater or lesser extent to become large nations. This sort of thing had gone out of fashion by the late 20th century and Russia is being widely and loudly criticized for trying to drag the world back to a savage past most people want to move away from.

Despite continued Russian denials that they have anything to do with the Donbas rebels more proof keeps showing up, including recent incidents where Russian soldiers serving with the rebels posted pictures and comments on social media sites. The U.S. has released satellite photos of Russian artillery firing into Ukraine and Russian armored vehicles and trucks loaded with weapons and ammo entering Donbas. Russia denounces all this as falsifications but most Russians seem to believe it, even if many would rather not.

This war has been going on since April and has left at least 1,300 dead so far. About 44 percent of those dead were Ukrainian troops and most of the rest were rebels. Civilian deaths have been low because both rebels and troops have avoided attacking civilians. The fighting has caused nearly 300,000 civilians in the Donbas to flee their homes. 

Meanwhile Russia is demonstrating its displeasure with the rest of the world in other ways. Since the Malaysian airliner (MH17) was shot down on July 17th by a Russian anti-aircraft missile Russia has moved aggressively against the Western nations is accuses of plotting against them. Thus Russian warplanes were ordered to be more aggressive against the United States. That resulted in a spike (at least 16 incidents) in Russian warplanes flying into the American air defense identification zone (where unidentified aircraft flying near American air space are called on to identify themselves). Russian warplanes also made threatening moves towards an American reconnaissance aircraft (an RC-135 Rivet Joint) in international air space over the Baltic on July 18th. Russia also claims to have chased an American nuclear sub out of arctic waters. That last one may have been made up.

August 11, 2014:  Russia announced it will send in a humanitarian aid convoy to Ukraine. This resulted in protests from Ukraine and dozens of other countries who fear this is just a cover for a Russian invasion and annexation of Donbas. Russia has at least 20,000 combat troops just across the border from Donbas. Ukraine has gotten Russia to agree that there would be no “military escort” for such an aid convoy. Ukraine does not trust Russia because Russian leaders had lied time and again during this crisis which began in late 2013 when a Russian attempt to bribe Ukrainian politicians to block a popular effort to link the Ukrainian economy with the West rather than Russia fell apart because of massive popular protests. Meanwhile Russia organized a convoy of 280 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid to Donbas. This is being done in cooperation with the UN and Red Cross, in part to assure the world that this is not part of an invasion plan. The trucks are to enter Donbas today or tomorrow.

The growing list of economic sanctions on Russia are doing damage, even though the government plays down the impact. More Russians are feeling it and there is a general (and accurate) fear of an economic recession as a result of the Ukraine crisis. Many Russians fear the Ukrainian land-grab will cause major economic damage, to both Russia and the many foreign nations that have invested in Russia over the last two decades.  Huge amounts of Russian and foreign cash has already fled the country and most foreign investment plans are dead or on hold. The IMF (International Monetary Fund) believes the Russian economy is now in recession. This is not so much because of the sanctions, but because investors (Russian and foreign) see the Ukrainian adventure ending badly for Russia and until it is clear that the outcome is otherwise, are getting their money to a safer place.  The damage to foreign investors is even larger, with over a trillion dollars’ worth of foreign investments at risk because they consist of land, structures and equipment that cannot be moved as easily as cash. This is similar to the financial bath Western investors took a century ago as Russian entered World War I and eventually fell apart in a civil war and came back to life as the Soviet Union, which repudiated foreign debts and seized most foreign property. It’s déjà vu all over again.  The more financial damage Western investors suffer the more reluctant they will be to return to Russia in the future. Since Russia has lots of development potential but insufficient cash to make the most of it, this lack of foreign investment

August 10, 2014: In eastern Ukraine (Donetsk) Ukrainian troops continued to take territory from pro-Russian rebels and are getting closer to taking the city of Donetsk. The rebels have asked for a ceasefire but the Ukrainians see that as a sign of weakness and an effort to give Russia time to decide on a plan to save the rebels from certain defeat.

August 9, 2014: In eastern Ukraine (Donetsk) Ukrainian troops completed their encirclement of Donetsk when they drove rebels out of the town of Krasnyi Luch. All the main roads into the city are now controlled by the army and desertions among rebels in the city are on the rise.

August 7, 2014: In eastern Ukraine (Lugansk) 15 Ukrainian troops died in several clashes. Much of the fighting was along the Russian border, where Russia continues to send in ammo, heavy weapons and other supplies for the rebels. Elsewhere in Donbas the Russian leader of the pro-Russian Donetsk People's Republic quit and was replaced by a Ukrainian born man who said he only wanted “moral support” from Russia. Locals reported that many of the Russian “volunteers” among the Donetsk rebels were deserting and heading back to Russia. The more pro-Russian rebels openly denounced all this as Russia abandoning them to certain defeat at the hands of advancing Ukrainian troops.

In response to growing Western economic sanctions Russia has retaliated by banning all Western food imports. While this will hurt some Western firms, many Russians complain that it will hurt Russia more. Naturally these comments don’t get much coverage in the state-controlled mass media but the story, with lots of embarrassing (to the Russian government) details are all over the Internet.

Russia has agreed to provide Kyrgyzstan with half a billion dollars in economic aid in order to get Kyrgyzstan to join the Eurasian Economic Union. Back in May Belarus and Kazakhstan were persuaded to join this new economic union with Russia. The Eurasian Economic Union will become effective in 2015 and will allow goods to move freely in all member countries without customs levies. Armenia and several other nations are also considering joining. Kazakhstan has also agreed to become part of a unified multi-national air defense system sponsored by Russia. Belarus has also agreed to join and Armenia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are also expected to sign on as well.  All this is more than helping out a neighbor with their defense needs. This is the less violent Russian approach to rebuilding their empire. For over a decade Russia has been proposing things like customs unions, military cooperation and rebuilding the old Soviet air defense system that used to defend everyone in the empire. Ukraine refused to consider joining the union or air defense system and made it clear it preferred closer ties with the West. Russia took violent exception to that attitude.

August 6, 2014: In eastern Ukraine (Donetsk) near the site of the MH17 crash rebels killed ten Ukrainian soldiers in an ambush.

Russia confirmed (after first denying it) that it will go through with a $20 billion barter deal with Iran. Under this agreement Iran will ship oil to Russia (itself a major oil exporter) in return for an equal value of manufactured items. This deal violates the sanctions on Iran and means Russia will risk lawsuits and more sanctions on itself. Previously Russia denied this Iranian deal was being negotiated, then Russia admitted the deal existed but complained that the United States was interfering by threatening to punish Russia for violating the international sanctions against Iran. Russia will get the Iranian oil (about 500,000 barrels a day) at a discount and then export it along with most Russian oil at the world price and make a profit. Russia will ship manufactured goods at undiscounted prices to Iran, so Russian manufacturers will also make money. But Iran will be able to boost its exports considerably despite the sanctions.

August 3, 2014: In eastern Ukraine (Donetsk) pro-Russian rebels went public with pleas for Russia to send more military aid. The rebels are falling back as Ukrainian troops continue advancing, despite losses. The rebels always believed that Ukrainian troops would not fight so hard to retake the Donbas. But the Ukrainian government was able to rally and motivate the country to carry out a successful military and diplomatic campaign to defeat the rebels.

August 2, 2014: In eastern Ukraine (Donetsk) things quieted down enough around the site of the MH17 crash that international crash investigators got get some work done and also recover more bodies.

August 1, 2014: In Russia a new law went into effect that gives the state control over blogs. From now on any blog with more than 3,000 visitors a day must register with the government, providing the true identity of the owner and operator of the blog. Russia already has a bunch of laws allowing the government to punish misbehaving journalists (who say anything the government does not like.) While there are many ways Russian bloggers can get around this new censorship that may not be necessary. Blogging is being replaced by other forms of social media. That, and the availability of so many Internet tools to get around censorship attempts make the latest government ploy more of an annoyance than a step towards effective censorship of the web. Russia is trying to crack down on the Internet but is having limited success.

July 31, 2014: In eastern Ukraine (Donetsk) rebels and Ukrainian troops continue fighting near the site of the MH17 crash. The Ukrainian troops are winning and the fighting is expected to soon move away from the crash site.

July 27, 2014: In eastern Ukraine (Donetsk) 18 died in several clashes. The fighting continued to block access to the site of the crash of flight MH17. So far the bodies of 227 of the 298 crash victims bodies have been found and sent back to Netherlands (where most of the victims are from) but the continued violence by pro-Russia rebels has blocked efforts to finish collecting bodies and evidence of what caused the crash.

Ukrainian KrAZ company started the production of KrAZ Spartan 4×4 Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) in collaboration with Canadian Streit Group. New LAVs will be produced in Kremenchuk (Ukraine) for the Armed Forces and the National Guard of Ukraine. According the the press-service of the National Guard, 21 such vehicles were ordered and will be delivered by the end of 2014.

Minister of Interior Affairs of Ukraine added, that a new contract for 40 vehicles worth of ₴95 mln (approx. €6 mln) is being prepared. However, there is no details yet concerning the type of those vehicles.

“For us, KrAZ is a main and strategic supplier for the future, as long as it keeps the competitive price & quality parity as it is the case now.” – he underlined.

KrAZ Spartan is a Light Armored Vehicle armed with powerful weapon. It is known, that “Sarmat” system with “Korsar” anti-tank module is installed on top of the vehicle. In addition, this vehicle is equipped with the infrared camera and night vision devices.

Source: Ukraine Industrial

RIGA, 11 août - RIA Novosti

500 mercenaires dont des Lettons ont trouvé la mort lors d'un combat près de la ville ukrainienne d'Ilovaïsk, à 35 km de Donetsk (est), a annoncé lundi Tatiana Dvoriadkina, coprésidente de la république populaire autoproclamée de Donetsk (DNR).

"Rien que lundi, 500 mercenaires du bataillon Azov de la Garde nationale d'Ukraine ont été tués près d'Ilovaïsk. Malheureusement, nous avons reçu des informations confirmant qu'il y avait des Lettons parmi les mercenaires", a indiqué Mme Dvoriadkina à la radio lettone Baltkom.

Selon elle, les forces d'autodéfense populaire ont des documents et vidéos attestant la participation de Lettons à l'opération spéciale ukrainienne dans le sud-est du pays.

Le ministère letton des Affaires étrangères a déclaré qu'il allait vérifier ces informations.

L'état-major des forces d'autodéfense populaire de la DNR ont annoncé dimanche avoir repoussé une attaque des militaires ukrainiens contre Ilovaïsk et avoir détruit neuf blindés.

Les autorités de Kiev mènent depuis le 15 avril une opération militaire d'envergure visant à réprimer la révolte qui a éclaté dans le sud-est de l'Ukraine suite au renversement du régime du président Viktor Ianoukovitch le 22 février. Les hostilités ont déjà fait plus d'un millier de morts parmi les civils et entraîné d'importantes destructions. La Russie qualifie cette opération de punitive et appelle les dirigeants ukrainiens à y mettre fin.

August 11th, 2014 defencetalk.com (AFP)

A Ukrainian fighter jet tumbled to earth in a fireball Thursday after it was blasted out of the air while flying low over rebel-held territory in the east of the country.

An AFP crew saw the Sukhoi warplane explode in mid-air and the parachute of at least one pilot opening up in the clear blue sky.

Explosions and flashes erupted from the wreckage as it continued to burn on the ground, sending up clouds of acrid smoke.

Two armed rebels ran around the blackened field close to the flaming debris as the sound of shooting rang out nearby.

Another plane could be heard flying high overhead and the insurgents shouted at the AFP team to leave the scene.

A local resident told AFP that he had seen at least two parachutes appear after the aircraft was hit.

“It flew past us and there was an explosion. Two pilots ejected out,” said Danil, 17.

A Ukrainian military spokesman confirmed that rebels had shot down a jet some 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the northeast of the rebel stronghold Donetsk.

“The pilot managed to steer the craft away from a residential area,” spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov told AFP.

A search-and-rescue mission was currently underway for the pilot, he said.

The location was also some 40 kilometers west of the site where Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down at an altitude of some 10,000 meters on July 17 killing all 298 people on board.

The Ukrainian military has lost a string of aircraft during almost four months of fierce fighting against pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine that has claimed over 1,300 lives.

Two Ukrainian Sukhoi jets were shot down on July 23, with Kiev alleging the missiles that hit them had come from Russian territory.

On Thursday the Ukrainian army announced it was scrapping a ceasefire around the MH17 crash site after international investigators decided to suspend their probe there due to ongoing fighting.

Sustained shelling pounded the center of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk for the first time in the conflict, with at least 11 civilians killed by clashes around the region.

10 août, 2014 Guillaume Belan (FOB)

Le conflit en Ukraine a franchi une nouvelle étape en ce mois d’août, avec le risque  que le conflit ne dégénère en guerre totale. D’un côté Kiev mène une offensive depuis début août pour reprendre la ville de Donetsk, fief des séparatistes pro-russes à l’Est du pays, de l’autre Moscou, en réaction, a massé pas moins de 20 000 soldats et leurs équipements à la frontière orientale, prêts à venir en soutien des pro-russes encerclés. Une escalade qui, outre un drame humanitaire, pourrait bien forcer les occidentaux à s’impliquer d’avantage.

Kiev passe à l’offensive

Retour en arrière. En mai dernier, les « républiques » de Lougansk et de Donetsk autoproclamaient leur indépendance suite à des référendums contestés. Inacceptable pour les autorités ukrainiennes, amputées d’une partie de leur territoire. Début août, Kiev est passé à l’offensive contre les 12 000 à 14 000 séparatistes pro-russes estimés. Cette offensive s’est traduite par d’intenses bombardements sur Donetsk tandis que l’armée ukrainienne tente d’encercler la ville afin de l’isoler de son soutien russe, en bref, essouffler les séparatistes en les coupant de leurs flux logistiques assurés par les russes. Résultat, les combats se sont intensifiés dans les quartiers périphériques.

Il faut dire qu’après de cuisants revers, l’armée ukrainienne s’est, depuis, réorganisée. Cette réorganisation s’est faite grâce aux conseils et à la fournitures de renseignements et d’équipements de pays amis, au premier rang desquels, les Etats-Unis.

Operation ATO

Kiev a ainsi lancé l’opération ATO (Anti Terrorist Operation), les séparatistes étant qualifiés de terroristes. Aujourd’hui, le conflit est entré dans une phase décisive, les forces en présence se livrant à de violents combats autours de plusieurs points stratégiques. L’opération ATO doit se dérouler simultanément à partir du nord de Lougansk, à l’ouest et au nord de Donetsk, ainsi qu’au sud, le long de l’axe reliant Donetsk à Lougansk, les deux républiques rebelles. Enfin au sud-est, près de la frontière russe, dans les secteurs de Marynivka, Saur Mogila et Dmytrivka, où les Ukrainiens auraient perdu en 24 heures, trois T-64 et plusieurs engins blindés.

La situation sur le terrain demeure contrastée. Au nord de Donetsk, malgré les incessants pilonnages des lance-roquettes BM-30 Smerch de 300 mm, BM-27 Uragan de 220 mm et BM-21 Grad de 122 mm, l’armée ukrainienne n’arrive pas à prendre le dessus alors qu’elle a réussie une percée vers le sud. Au centre, à Shahktarsk, les combats se poursuivent au alentours de ce verrou toujours contrôlé par les milices pro-russes. Même chose plus au sud, autour de Marynivka et Saur Mogila, avec plusieurs tentatives de percée menées par des unités blindées-mécanisées ukrainiennes.

Malgré cette offensive de grande ampleur, Kiev  n’a toujours pas réussi, à venir à bout de la rébellion dans le Donbass. Une situation qui fragilise les forces armées ukrainiennes mais aussi le gouvernement Porochenko de plus en plus critiqué.

Il faut dire aussi que la qualité de l’armée ukrainienne reste nuancée : manque d’effectifs, d’équipements, lacunes opérationnelles, d’encadrements. Certaines unités sont également passées du côté des séparatistes, notamment dans l’Est du pays. C’est pourquoi Kiev favorise des formations paramilitaires comme la nouvelle Garde Nationale, particulièrement sollicitée. Ces formations recrutent dans les mouvements extrémistes, appuyés par des combattants étrangers (espagnols, grecs ou italiens…), ils se distinguent par leur tenue de combat de couleur noir, sont bien armés, équipés et formés pour partie par des instructeurs étrangers (israéliens…).

Reste que Kiev en restructurant ses forces, dispose aujourd’hui sur le terrain de 4 000 à 6 000 soldats de la Sukhoputni Viyska, l’armée de terre. Ces unités disposent de blindés T-64 et BMP-1/2, de moyens d’artillerie, de forces spéciales, d’appuis aériens avec les hélicoptères d’attaque Mil Mi-24 et des chasseurs-bombardiers Sukhoi Su-25, dont plusieurs ont été abattus par les milices pro-russes. A noter le déploiement des premiers T-84 Oplot dans le secteur de Lugansk. (relire l’article de FOB ici sur le T-84 Oplot)

La Russie prête à intervenir

Côté russe, outre les 20 000 soldats massés à la frontière, Moscou à la main haute sur les mouvements séparatistes. Ces derniers sont directement coordonnés par le GRU (service de renseignement militaire), en collaboration avec le SVR (Služba Vvnešnej Razvedki), le service de renseignement extérieur russe. Des éléments militaires russes sont manifestement insérés dans ces mouvements séparatistes, les encadrant et conseillant. La formation séparatiste la plus structurée et la mieux équipée est la Milice populaire du Donbass (MPD), bras armée de la « République populaire de Donetsk », qui compte entre 4 000 et 5 000 hommes.

Ces milices armées sont constituées principalement de partisans locaux, auxquels sont venus se joindre des volontaires russes.