GarryB wrote:After seeing your face so many times on your posts I finally found the face of the person you reminded me of...
And a few corrections... western pharmaceutical companys don't make drugs that cure people any more... it is not profitable... they make treatments... well mostly they make adverts and bribe doctors to proscribe their snake oil even when it is not needed... most governments spend more on developing drugs than most drug companies.
Some of the best Soviet chemists went to live the comfortable life in the west when the Soviet Union broke down, but I am sure these people working within the US MIC recognise the risk such drugs will present to them and their families and the rabid anti Russian western media will either turn them if they are stupid or make them secretive and sneaky if the are not stupid... not many will be stupid though they obviously believed the american dream BS at some point to go there...
But you continue with your little bubble of western culture... the pinnacle of US quality leadership last election was Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump... what a choice... I am sure in his second term he will be much nicer to the european allies that all said they could work with Hilary and that Trump was a joke... did they think he was going to forget?
The sanctions and incompetence of western drug companies looking for treatments instead of cures will lead Russia to develop its own sector further and lead to much better much cheaper much more affordable alternatives for the rest of the world...
Gary you dont have the intellectual capacity to correct me.
First Russia should try to fight its extreme high level of HIV infections or if that doesnt work...propably fight its rampant alcoholism problem.
Isos wrote:Are you aware that Russia has labs developing or officially making research on very dangerous virus(es?) (Not sur if we say viruses in english) that have no treatement.
Best answer to biological attack is biological attack.
But such weapon, once released is impossible to stop. That's very well known on both side, that's why they never deployed any chemical weapon.
An accident with a nuk warhead won't make it explode. An incident with any biological virus will have desastrous consequencies for the planet because people travel everyday and are in contact everywhere.
If a country is really in danger, treathening of using biological weapons can be more usefull than nuks.
Which labs in Russia still operate?
I imagine there are indeed labs. Because how else do they come up with all these vaccines rather quickly?
I am of the R1N Gene due to my Russian background so yes, they can create weapons against us. But it will affect everyone as KVS said, virus' and such evolve rather quickly.
Russian government on other hand is aware of this issue. Hence why they are quick to act in development of medicine. If I'm correct, military is also building new labs in era park.
I dont see a 10 year lower life expectancy as funny. Healthcare in russia is in very bad shape. HIV reaches highest numbers outside africa and alcoholism destroys entire societies.
What... it was not that long ago that Putin was a murderer who personally killed the Skripals and three other people too on British soil... a crime worse than anything Hitler ever did, and besides all Russians are scum and the west should work together to keep them poor and in their place.
I was watching a show called GPS on CNN and it was saying that Eastern European countries like Poland, Romania and a few Baltic State countries I think either Estonia or Lithuania are increasing their military budget and doing military exercises in response to Russia.
In response to Russia doing what?
Oh, I forgot... when NATO has training exercises on Russias border in former Soviet republic states that used to be part of the Soviet Union it is to promote peace and stability in the region because obviously it makes sense for Americans to have troops on former Soviet territory right next to Russian territory.
But when Russia has exercises on the other side of the border that means they are planning an invasion of those baltic states who abuse their own Russian citizens with the freedom to be fined if they speak Russian in public and are not allowed to vote or get government related jobs and are not even allowed a passport unless they pass tests in the native language of the country... can you see such laws being popular in the US?
No welfare, no vote, no change of government related job unless you can speak the local native american dialect?
This program cited that Russia doing military exercises near the border and that such exercises always followed a land grab such as in Georgia and Ukraine.
Amusing, the Georgian invasion of South Ossetia did follow a Russian local exercise and that was possibly a reason they were able to respond so quickly, but I suspect it was Georgian support for the conflict in Chechnia that led to a lot of Russians in the region wanting a bit of revenge that also led to the rapid and relatively effective response. Regarding the Ukraine I am not so sure... the US paid for a coup to overthrow the legal government in Kiev and regions on the border with Russia refused to accept the illegal coup, after which Kiev sent in the troops and artillery and the aircraft to peacefully bomb their civilian population to capitulate and accept them as their government. Russian forces in the Crimea (legally there because of the large Russian naval base in Sevastopol) allowed the Russian forces to keep the peace while a referendum was held to decide what to do... the people chose to leave the Ukraine and join Russia... really nothing at all to do with Russian military exercises within its own border either.
I want to know is this propaganda and what is the truth. It painted Russia and Putin in a negative light and that the US should support these countries.
There are large Russian populations within these baltic regions who are generally being abused by their governments. The coup imposed government in the Ukraine supported by the west banned Russian language speaking in the Ukraine and in Ukrainian schools... with fines... imagine a law in Florida that banned cuban and spanish and english and you could only speak the language of the native american tribe from that region...
They are being bastards and are trying to provoke a conflict... and they expect American blood to be spilt protecting them as they continue to yell abuse at those Russians who dared save them from the Nazis... because these new allies of yours liked the nazis...
Russia to take counter-measures over US radar deployment in Norway
Military preparations near the Russian borders cannot be ignored, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said
MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures over the deployment of a US radar in Norway, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
"It is obvious that military preparations near the borders, be it the Russian or some other’s border, cannot be ignored by our country, like by any other country. We proceed from the fact that retaliatory measures will be taken to ensure our security," the diplomat stressed.
"The talk is about the US Globus II radar. The radar station is based just 50 km from the border with Russia and is serviced by the military intelligence of Norway," Zakharova said.
"It is no secret for anyone that the data received is transferred directly to the United States. In April 2016, the press release of the Norwegian armed forces said that the radar station would be upgraded in 2017-2020 to comprise a new radar [Globus III whose construction is currently underway]," the Russian diplomat said.
Russia regularly raised this issue before the Norwegian side, Zakharova pointed out.
"Norwegian officials get away from explaining for what purposes the upgraded station will be used. They confine themselves to the statements that the radar system ‘generally is not aimed against Russia," although it is located 50 km from Russia, the diplomat said.
"There are all grounds to believe that the radar will be tracking precisely the territory of the Russian Federation and will become a part of the US missile shield," the spokeswoman said.
"It is obvious that the deployment of the US radar in that area is not a purely Norwegian issue. This relates to the general context of keeping stability and predictability in the North," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stressed.
Briefing by the Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia
According to the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, on June 1, 2020, the head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy held a briefing for media representatives.
Speech by the Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Sergei Rudsky
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation constantly monitors and records the high level of military activity of the United States and its NATO allies near our borders.
Despite the spread of a new coronavirus infection, a significant increase in the number of combat training activities of the alliance forces with a clear anti-Russian focus is noted in the world.
The largest of these was the series of exercises Defender of Europe 2020.
Let me remind you that in the course of them, a contingent of American troops was planned to be transferred from the continental United States to Europe. The US side planned to use more than 28 thousand military personnel, 287 tanks, 449 armored personnel carriers and 95 helicopters in the exercises.
Another 17 countries planned to form their contingents, and five multinational associations from the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe.
It should be noted that the focus of the exercises is clearly anti-Russian. For example, during these events, landing operations in the Baltic states and the Caucasus were planned to be carried out on the eve of May 9. This did not happen only because of quarantine measures.
Almost all combat training missions were practiced at training grounds located in close proximity to our borders. The probable targets for defeat are objects located on the territory of the Russian Federation.
In preparation for the Defender of Europe 2020, attempts were made to circumvent the provisions of the Vienna Document by splitting large exercises into smaller ones and attracting neutral states to maneuvers.
Currently, the activity of the US Air Force and Naval forces and their allies near the Russian borders has sharply increased.
So, in April of this year, B-1B strategic bomber aircraft flew along the Kamchatka Peninsula, and in May five such flights were recorded: May 6 - over the territory of Estonia and the Baltic Sea, May 11 - over the territory of Lithuania and the Baltic Sea, May 20 - over the territories of Sweden and Norway, May 22 - another flight in the Kamchatka Peninsula, May 29 - over the territory of Ukraine and the Black Sea.
It should be noted that B-1B bombers appeared over Ukraine for the first time.
During these flights, American aircraft approached the border of the Kaliningrad region at a distance of 10 km.
In all cases, our air defense systems were timely detected by strategic bombers, established continuous control and implemented measures to prevent incidents.
Seven lifts of duty fighters on air defense were completed. Anti-aircraft missile systems were in readiness for immediate use. ”
The activity of NATO in the Arctic is intensifying.
For the first time since the end of the Cold War, on the eve of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany in the Barents Sea, the exercises of the warships of the NATO combined naval forces took place.
It consisted of three American URO destroyers, which are the basis of the marine component of the European segment of the global American missile defense system.
In addition, this campaign involved an atomic submarine and universal supply vehicles for the US Navy, as well as the frigate URO of the British Navy.
In the course of the exercise, the tasks of defeating objects on the territory of the Russian Federation and intercepting Russian ballistic missiles were worked out.
We regard such actions as provocative, despite the fact that the American side in the shortest possible time notified of the calls of these ships in the Barents Sea.
By the active actions of the Northern Fleet, the deployment of NATO ships was timely discovered, their direct escort and weapon tracking was organized. This allowed us to prevent incidents and demonstrated our determination to protect our interests in the Arctic.
The intensity of aerial reconnaissance in the waters of the Baltic, Black and in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea also increased.
Over the past month, 10 reconnaissance aircraft completed over the Baltic, six over the Black Sea. An American strategic reconnaissance unmanned vehicle RQ-4B over Georgia was recorded.
Over the eastern Mediterranean, US Poseidon-type planes are systematically approaching Russian military bases in Hmeimim and Tartus.
To prevent their aggressive reconnaissance, we are forced to raise duty fighters in the air. If in April there were seven such cases, then in May it is already 17. That is, it more than doubled.
We regard such flights as contradicting the signed agreements to prevent incidents in Syrian airspace. "
By such actions, the United States and its allies, hiding behind a far-fetched threat of “Russian aggression,” continue to destroy the current security system in Europe.
A significant increase in NATO’s military activity near our borders was noted against the backdrop of a possible withdrawal of Americans from the Open Skies Treaty and Washington’s earlier steps to destroy the INF Treaty.
Work continues on building up the missile defense infrastructure in Poland in addition to the deployed US facility in Romania. All concerns regarding the possible deployment of Tomahok cruise missiles at these bases remain.
In addition, the Globus-3 radar station in Northern Norway in the village of Vardø continues to be upgraded in order to increase its anti-ballistic potential and expand its capabilities to monitor the internal regions of the Russian territory.
In turn, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has always adhered to a course aimed at building a constructive dialogue with NATO.
Today, when the world's efforts are focused on countering the spread of a new coronavirus infection, it is necessary to reduce the level of confrontation, to refrain from aggressive actions and the demonstration of strength.
In the course of bilateral high-level contacts with the leadership of NATO, we have repeatedly discussed issues of preventing incidents in the military sphere and reducing the intensity of training activities conducted near our borders.
Only in 2019–2020 did they rise as the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Army General Valery Gerasimov, in negotiations with the Supreme Commanders-in-Chief of the Joint Armed Forces of NATO, General Curtis Scaparroti and General Todd Walters, the chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States General Joseph Dunford and General Marklomli Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Chief Air Marshal Stuart Peach. ”
In February of this year, at a meeting with the Supreme Allied Commander-in-Chief, General Todd Walters, the Russian side once again recalled our initiative to transfer areas of major operational and combat training activities deep into the territory of border countries.
All our proposals for reducing military tension and preventing incidents were set out in a letter to the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov. In fact, our suggestions were ignored.
We continue our course towards de-escalation of the situation in Europe. This year, the Armed Forces do not provide for large-scale exercises near the borders of NATO member countries.
Large-scale actions in the framework of the Caucasus-2020 strategic command-and-staff exercise were moved inland. In the future, we are ready to adjust the areas of the exercises on a parity basis with the alliance.
As a concretization of steps to eliminate sensitive incidents during the actions of aircraft and naval assets, we are ready to fix joint rules determining the minimum distance of approach of aircraft and ships, as well as the order of crew interaction.
We attach fundamental importance to the practical implementation of the initiative on the mutual use of transponders when flying combat aircraft in the Baltic. We count on the readiness of the NATO countries for concrete decisions on this issue.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will continue to monitor the situation and military activities of the bloc near the Russian borders in order to take timely measures to ensure the security of the Russian Federation and prevent incidents.
When the number twos only ever go in one direction then the person that does not have sht raining down on him all the time thinks the plumbing system works fine.
Russia needs to return the favour so that the west realises that there is a problem and is suitably motivated to do something about it...
The AN/TPY-2 radar system is a part of European defense
In the waters of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, combat duty of destroyers of the Orly Burke type of the US Navy equipped with the Aegis multifunctional control system was organized;
An anti-missile AN / TPY-2 mobile early warning radar consisting of 13 missile defense batteries and 10 US Air Defense and Missile Defense Command was deployed in Turkey in the Kureggik region;
On the territory of the former air base in the Deveselu region in Romania, the AN / SPY-1D mobile early warning missile radar and the Aegis Escore ground-based missile defense system are equipped with 24 Standard-3 missiles to intercept operational-tactical missiles with a range of up to 1000 km.
From May to August 2019, the Aegis Ashore missile defense system was upgraded to version 5.0.1, which implied the deployment of three Mk.41 universal launchers and software updates.
It is noteworthy that even for such a short period, the Americans did not leave Europe without a missile defense umbrella, quickly transferring from the state of Texas (USA) to Romania the battery of the THAAD (Theater High Altitude Area Defense) 69 anti-aircraft missile brigade 32 of the air defense and missile defense command. Thus, the issue of building up the missile defense capabilities of NATO’s south-eastern flank was worked out, so to speak, “just in case.”
Raytheon’s radar is the respond of Russian Iskander and Kalibr intercontinental ballistic missiles
At present, one of the main military and political tasks of the United States in the framework of implementing a policy of containment and achieving superiority over the strategic offensive component of the Russian Armed Forces is the deployment of a missile defense / air defense system in close proximity to the state borders of the Russian Federation.
Washington believes that the global missile and air defense system, in general, is successful and protects the territory of the country and the armed forces located in the front lines, as well as allies and partners from ballistic missile attacks.
US command plans for system improvement. At the same time, work is underway to upgrade Standard-3 anti-ballistic missiles of models 1, 2A, 1B to 2B in order to achieve the ability to hit intercontinental ballistic missiles at ranges up to 5500 km, as well as cruise missiles and medium and short-range ballistic missiles.
Also, in March of this year, the planned replacement of destroyers at the Rota post office (Spain), where USS Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived on April 16, began. The ship should replace the destroyer USS Carney.
In addition, on April 8, 2020, the commander of the Strategic Command for Reforming NATO Allied Forces (Norfolk, USA), General Andre Lanata of the French Air Force, representatives of the Armed Forces of Bulgaria, Greece, the Czech Republic, Romania and Turkey took part in the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony on the establishment and operation of the Joint Center for the Analysis and Summarization of the NATO Air Defense and Missile Defense Experience (IAMD CΟE).
The tasks of the center include: ensure the stability and security of NATO airspace through coordination, control and operation of airspace, including measures to deter and protect against any air and missile threat; resist threats, including, including chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, as well as electromagnetic and cyber threats; increase interoperability and support the development and use of the capabilities of NATO and partner countries for integration in missile defense through the NATO integrated air defense and missile defense system (NATINAMDS); to provide the possibility of comprehensive research, the development and testing of doctrines and concepts on air defense and missile defense, the development of common programs and training methods.
The joint center for the analysis and generalization of the experience of NATO’s air defense and missile defense will be directly subordinate to the strategic command of the reform of the NATO Allied Forces and will be located on the territory of the NATO missile range near Chania (Crete, Greece).
Implementation of the program as an element of global impact
And in conclusion, it should be noted that the US missile defense system in Europe, which is represented by destroyers and the Aegis Escore land-based missile defense system with Mk vertical launchers. 41, has the technical ability to carry out its partial conversion for launching medium and short-range missiles (including nuclear equipment).
On August 2, 2019, the United States unilaterally withdraws from the INF Treaty. August 18, 2019 on about. San Nicholas (California, USA) tested the Tomahawk missile launched from the Mk.41 universal launcher from a ground position from an automobile platform, which was previously prohibited under the INF Treaty.
In conclusion, as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on June 17, 2020, after the first day of consultations of the organization’s ministers, NATO countries intend to purchase additional Patriot and SAMP / T air defense systems, as well as fifth-generation fighters, to contain Russia. At the same time, according to him, the Alliance will not deploy new ground-based nuclear missiles in Europe.
As a result, Euro-missile defense, designed to protect NATO allies, is turning into a strike force near the borders of the Russian Federation within the framework of the concept of instant global strike.
On August 2, 2019, the United States unilaterally withdraws from the INF Treaty. August 18, 2019 on about. San Nicholas (California, USA) tested the Tomahawk missile launched from the Mk.41 universal launcher from a ground position from an automobile platform, which was previously prohibited under the INF Treaty.
Correction... by definition the MK-41 launcher is a universal launcher so is already capable of carrying and launching SAMs and Anti sub missiles and anti ship missiles and long range land attack cruise missiles in direct violation of the INF treaty.
As a result, Euro-missile defense, designed to protect NATO allies, is turning into a strike force near the borders of the Russian Federation within the framework of the concept of instant global strike.
So what they need is about 10,000 more tactical nukes to fit to their Iskanders... and cruise missiles...
On September 4, 2020, three Boeing B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers with the callsigns JULIA51 (military number 61-0034), JULIA52 (military number 61-0005) and JULIA53 (military number 60-0044) from the 23rd Bomber Squadron of the 5th bomber wing of the US Air Force, from among the six aircraft of this type, which had previously arrived at the British airbase Fairford (as BTF (Bomber Task Force) 20-4), made the first flight over the territory of Poland over the territory of Ukraine, coming from the north to the airspace of the Crimea. In the air, the B-52Ns were accompanied by Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters of the Ukrainian Air Force.
At the same time, the B-52H bombers with the callsigns JULIA51 and JULIA53 flew in Ukraine with the Mode-S transponders turned on, while the JULIA52 plane turned on the transponder only occasionally, and, presumably, flew east of Kiev. Bombers with the call signs JULIA51 and JULIA53, during their flight over Ukraine, carried out a demonstrative loitering north of Crimea in the area of Genichesk and Melitopol, while the point closest to the Crimea, in which the aircraft were located, is located about 40 km from the coast of the peninsula.
In a statement, the US European Command (EUCOM) said:
“Three US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers from the 5th Bomber Wing from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota held vital exercises in Ukrainian airspace on Friday in Ukrainian airspace. The
strategic bombers mission on Friday is part of a long-planned deployment of six B-52s at British Fireford Air Force Base in Gloucestershire, England The mission provided partners with valuable air training and demonstrated how forward deployment aircraft and crews, including B-52 bombers, provide collective defense capabilities and provide US, Allies with across NATO and partners, the strategic and operational breadth to contain Russia and ensure the security of allies and partners.
More than 200 interconnected missions have been completed since the Bomber Operations began operations in the European theater of operations two years ago. These ongoing bombing missions demonstrate the ability of the US Air Force to continuously fly, maintain readiness and support allies and partners across Europe, regardless of external challenges, including the current global response to the COVID-19 crisis. "
According to Ukrainian sources, B-52H aircraft over Ukraine to Genichesk were accompanied by MiG-29 fighters from the 114th brigade of tactical aviation of the Ukrainian air force from Ivano-Frankivsk without weapons, which were replaced north of Crimea by Su-27 fighters from the 831st brigade tactical aviation from Mirgorod with suspended missile weapons (Ukrainian Su-27, presumably, flew in two shifts - from Mirgorod and from Odessa).
The B-52N raid across the territory of Ukraine to Crimea was supported by the deployment of a US and British reconnaissance aviation group over the Black Sea near the Crimean coast, apparently with the goal of recording the response of the Russian air defense to the actions of B-52N bombers. Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft (call sign SALMA44, military number 62-4125) of the US Air Force, as well as Boeing Airseeker R.1 (RC-135W Rivet Joint, hull number ZZ666) and Sentinel R.1 ( tail number ZJ692) of the British Air Force, supported by the British Voyager KC.2 tanker aircraft (Airbus A330 MRTT, tail number ZZ333).
In turn, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the rise of eight Su-27 and Su-30 fighters "from the airfields of the Southern Military District" "to intercept three US strategic bombers over the Black Sea" (according to Ukrainian sources, four Su-27s flew from the Russian side and four Su-30).
This flight of the B-52N over the territory of Ukraine was the first long-term operational entry of aircraft of this type into the Ukrainian airspace. In October 2019, over the territorial waters of Ukraine in the Black Sea and over the western part of the republic, a B-52H bomber, also operating from British Fireford, was already flying. Prior to that, B-52 and B-1B bombers first visited Ukraine in September 1994, when, on a visit to Poltava, they took part in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the American operation Frantic.
Recall that on May 29, 2020, two Rockwell B-1B Lancer strategic bombers from the 28th Bomber Wing of the US Air Force from Ellsworth Air Base (South Dakota) from the continental United States also flew over the territory of Ukraine.
NATO plans to redeploy more US forces to Poland, says Russian defense minister
According to Shoigu, manpower of NATO Allied Command Operations deployed to Eastern Europe has surpassed 10,000 troops
KUBINKA /outside Moscow/, September 6. /TASS/. NATO plans to redeploy another US military contingent to Poland in the near future, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told reporters on Saturday.
According to Shoigu, manpower of NATO Allied Command Operations deployed to Eastern Europe has surpassed 10,000 troops.
"In the near future additional American units are planned to be redeployed to Poland," Shoigu added.
"Under the pretext of the need to ‘strategically constrain’ Russia, the United States and other non-regional members of the alliance are bolstering their military presence in Eastern Europe," the minister continued.
He said that the military build-up close to Russian borders take place despite NATO commitments not to deploy "considerable military forces" near the contact line, as it was stipulated in the NATO-Russia Founding Act of 1997.
"The Allied Command Operations’ exercises near the Russian borders almost doubled in comparison with 2014. Their scenarios involve practicing the creation of large groups on the NATO eastern flank," the defense minister added.
They will be easier to hit closer to the border... plus easier to justify tactical nukes with substantial concentrations of foreign troops massing on your border...
NATO response: How Russia is strengthening the defense of the Kaliningrad region
NATO's high activity near Russia's western borders and its military build-up in Eastern Europe are forcing Moscow to retaliate. In particular, to strengthen the military contingent in Kaliningrad, separated from the rest of the country.
In early December of this year, the domestic media reported that a motorized rifle division would appear in the Kaliningrad region in 2021. What will it be like, and what caused the need to form this connection? What number can she get? Were there any divisions of ground forces in the Kaliningrad region before and what happened to them? Is this move aggressive or defensive? Let's try to answer these questions.
What came before
By the time of the collapse of the USSR, the 11th Guards Combined Arms Red Banner Army in the Kaliningrad region had four divisions:
- 1st Guards Motorized Rifle Proletarian Moscow-Minsk Order of Lenin, twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division (Kaliningrad);
- 1st Panzer Insterburgskaya Red Banner Division (Kaliningrad);
- 18th Guards Motorized Rifle Insterburgskaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division (Gusev) [1];
- 40th Guards Tank Pomeranian Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division (Sovetsk) [2].
As of 1985, the 1st Tank and 1st Guards Motorized Rifle Divisions in the West were referred to the so-called deployed divisions of reduced strength I Ready Divisions [3]. The 40th Guards Tank Division was considered a High-Strength Cadre Not Ready Divisions [4]. The 18th Guards Motorized Rifle Division, which in 1985 was deployed as part of the Central Group of Forces (TSGV) in Czechoslovakia, was then one of the deployed divisions of the full strength (Full Strength Ready Divisions), but was hardly in such a state after being withdrawn to Kaliningrad region in 1990-1991
Soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union, both tank divisions stationed in the Kaliningrad region were reorganized. The 1st Tank Division in September 1993 was reorganized into the 2nd Separate Tank Brigade, and the 40th Guards Tank Division on November 19, 1993, into the 10th Separate Guards Tank Brigade. But these brigades did not last long. In June 1997, the 10th separate guards tank brigade was reorganized into the 196th guards storage base for weapons and military equipment (BHVT). And the next year, the 2nd separate tank brigade was reorganized into the 385th BHVT .
As the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (2008-2012), General of the Army N.E. Makarov, BHVT, in which there were practically no soldiers (there were only officers and warrant officers in positions), decomposed the personnel, led to a deterioration in the state of equipment and weapons. There could be no question of any real combat training in them [5]. He wrote this, however, about the Siberian Military District, which he commanded in 2002-2007, but this situation was everywhere. Therefore, in the end, in 2008, about 800 tanks were removed from the Kaliningrad region by sea , and the 196th Guards BHVT and 385th BHVT were disbanded in the same year.
On December 1, 1997, the 11th Separate [6] Guards Combined Arms Red Banner Army became subordinate to the Commander of the Baltic Fleet and was reorganized into the land and coastal forces of the Baltic Fleet [7]. As part of this reform, the remaining motorized rifle divisions were reduced. By the directive of the Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces of January 30, 1998, the 18th Guards Motorized Rifle Division was reorganized from May 1, 1998 into the frame of the 18th Guards Motorized Rifle Division of the 1st Guards Motorized Rifle Division. Then, in accordance with the Directive of the General Staff of the Navy of November 19, 2001, the frame of the 18th Guards Motorized Rifle Division was reorganized into the 19th separate guards reconnaissance battalion .
Since 2002, the divisional link in the ground and coastal forces of the Baltic Fleet has disappeared altogether. By the directive of the General Staff of the Navy of December 15, 2001, the 19th separate guards reconnaissance battalion was reorganized from June 1, 2002 into the 79th separate guards motorized rifle Insterburgskaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov brigade. On June 1, 2002, it was reorganized into the 7th separate guards motorized rifle Proletarian Moscow-Minsk brigade and the 1st guards motorized rifle division. On December 1, 2008, it was reorganized into the 7th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Proletarian Moscow-Minsk Regiment .
As a result, the coastal troops of the Baltic Fleet [8] were reduced to the 7th separate guards motorized rifle regiment (guards omsp) (Kaliningrad), the 79th separate guards motorized rifle brigade (guards omsbr) (Gusev) and the 336th separate guards bialystok orders Suvorov and Alexander Nevsky Marine Brigade [9] ( Baltiysk ). Only 41 tanks remained in the region in a tank battalion as part of the 79th separate guards motorized rifle brigade. What a potential adversary has
At the same time, Poland, which became a NATO member on March 12, 1999, keeps the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division named after King Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk (headquarters in Elblбg) near the Kaliningrad region. At the very Russian-Polish border, three brigades of this division are deployed - the 9th armored cavalry named after King Stefan Batory (Braniewo), the 15th named after Zavisha Cherny (Gizycko) and the 20th named after Hetman of the full Lithuanian Vincent Gosevsky (Bartoszyce) mechanized. They have 232 tanks across the state (including 174 PT-91 Twardy tanks [10] in the 9th armored cavalry and 15th mechanized brigades and 58 T-72M1Z tanks [11] in the 20th mechanized brigade).
Since one tank company (14 PT-91 tanks) of the 15th mechanized brigade is in rotation as part of a multinational combat group of a reinforced NATO forward presence, a tank company (14 Leopard 2A5 tanks) is located in Latvia instead of it on rotation as part of this brigade in Mazury. from the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade (from Wesola on the eastern outskirts of Warsaw) of the 18th Mechanized Division.
The number of Polish tanks near the borders of the Kaliningrad region is comparable to the total number of tanks in the armies of such countries as Germany (245, excluding those in storage), Great Britain (227) or France (222) [12].
In September 2014, a commentary by its editor-in-chief Mariusz Cielma was published on the Polish web portal Dziennik Zbrojny. He argued that after the relatively small combat-ready Russian forces remained in the Kaliningrad region, Polish troops, if the Polish president had put the question in that way, could reach Kaliningrad in 48 hours.
In accordance with the decisions of the NATO summit in Warsaw (July 2016), starting from January 2017 in Rukla (Lithuania) and from March of the same year in Ozhisz and Bemowo Piska (Poland), multinational combat groups of a reinforced NATO forward presence were deployed led by Germany and the United States, respectively. The battle group in Latvia now includes 14 German Leopard 2A6 tanks (in 2018 there were 12 German Leopard 2A6 and 5 French Leclerc). In the battle group in Poland in September 2018 - May 2019, the 2nd squadron of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee Army National Guard (28 tanks M1A1 SA Abrams) was on rotation .
Thus, the number of tanks of various NATO states near the Russian border in the Kaliningrad region reached almost 280 tanks, which until July 2018 was almost seven times higher than the number of tanks in the Russian exclave region.
In addition, since the beginning of 2017 . In Europe, the American Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) is deployed on a rotation basis (with a change every nine months) (the number of Abrams tanks is 87). And although the brigade's units are scattered across many European countries, the ABCT headquarters is located in Poland (in Zagan). This country is also home to its artillery, engineering, reconnaissance and support units. Gathering the entire brigade in Poland and transferring it, if necessary, to the borders of the Kaliningrad region is just a matter of goal setting and time.
Since 2019, the American Long Term Equipment Storage Maintenance Complex (LTESM-C) has been under construction in Povidze, Poland. Construction should be completed approximately in 2021. It will house the weapons and equipment of the American armored brigade (including approximately 85 Abrams main battle tanks, 130 BMP / BRM [13] M2 / M3 Bradley and approximately 18 self-propelled howitzers M109A6 / A7 Paladin). This will enable the United States, by airlifting personnel, to deploy an armored combat brigade group in central Poland in the shortest possible time (some sources indicate 96 hours).
On September 17, 2018, the Polish ground forces created the fourth division - the 18th "Iron" mechanized division with headquarters in Siedlce, east of Warsaw. Its formation will be fully completed by 2026.
In Lithuania, on January 1, 2016, the second brigade in the country's land forces was created - the Samogitia motorized infantry brigade (unofficially referred to as Griffin) with headquarters in Klaipeda, near the Kaliningrad region. And on March 23, 2017, a third brigade was created in Lithuania - the light infantry brigade Aukštaitija, headquartered in Vilnius.
Russian response
The buildup of forces of NATO countries around the Kaliningrad region is forcing Russia to take retaliatory measures to strengthen the defense capability of its exclave region [14], including the ground group. To increase the combat potential of the Baltic Fleet , the 11th Army Corps was formed in its composition from April 1, 2016 . The new corps received its number in honor of the famous 11th Guards Army, which in 1945 took part in the assault on Koenigsberg. The 79th Guards Omsbr and the 7th Guards Omsb were included in its composition. The 336th Separate Guards Marine Brigade is under the operational control of the Baltic Fleet Headquarters.
Due to the multiple superiority of NATO forces deployed around the Kaliningrad region in tanks, Russia was forced in response to form a new separate tank battalion as part of the 11th Army Corps of the Baltic Fleet Coastal Forces, on the basis of which the 11th Separate Tank Regiment was then deployed (g. Gusev). In January 2019, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that more than 30 T-72B tanks had entered service with the army corps of the Baltic Fleet. The department also said that in 2019 another batch of 30 tanks is expected to enter the tank units of the army corps .
On May 9, 2019, at the Victory Day parade in Kaliningrad, upgraded T-72B3 tanks were demonstrated . In total, the newly formed 11th Tank Regiment received three tank battalions (94 T-72 tanks), a motorized rifle battalion (at least 31 BMP-2) and an artillery battalion (18 2S19M1 Msta-S self-propelled howitzers). In 2020, 30 T-72B3M tanks with improved combat characteristics entered service with the motorized rifle unit of the army corps of the Baltic Fleet stationed in the Kaliningrad region .
The next step to optimize the Russian ground grouping in the Kaliningrad region is to recreate a motorized rifle division. The intention to form such a division in 2020 in the Kaliningrad region was first announced a year ago, at the beginning of December 2019.A year later, information appeared in the media that organizational and staff measures were envisaged, after the implementation of which in the Kaliningrad region in 2021. a new motorized rifle division will be formed as part of the 11th Army Corps. Judging by the recent announcement by the Baltic Fleet press service that “next year the Baltic Fleet will continue to form another motorized rifle formation with a station in the Kaliningrad region”, the formation of a new division is already underway...
In a December interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, the Commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Alexander Nosatov, spoke about the new division not in the future, but in the present: “Today, one armored unit, several multinational battalion-tactical groups, as well as other strike units and divisions. In response to this threat, the leadership of the Armed Forces is forced to take retaliatory measures. One of them was the formation of a full-fledged motorized rifle division, which became part of the army corps of the Baltic Fleet. The new unit includes motorized rifle, artillery and separate tank regiments. "
Another source indicated that the new formation would include separate motorized rifle and tank regiments and a separate motorized rifle brigade, previously directly subordinate to the headquarters of the 11th Army Corps.
What will the new division be like?
According to the staffing table adopted by the RF Armed Forces, a motorized rifle division includes three motorized rifle regiments and one tank regiment - a total of 10 motorized rifle battalions and six tank battalions. In addition, the division is equipped with artillery and anti-aircraft regiments, battalions - electronic warfare, reconnaissance, engineer-sapper, repair and restoration, medical and sanitary, as well as a missile division, a helicopter squadron and a number of other units.
Thus, in connection with the creation of a new division, the number of motorized rifle and tank battalions in the Kaliningrad region will increase by several units. It was also reported that the new division will receive a full complement of combat support units, including an artillery regiment.
The number of the new motorized rifle division has not yet been reported, but I would like to hope that it will be the revived legendary 1st Guards Motorized Rifle Proletarian Moscow-Minsk Order of Lenin, twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division, which will mark 95 years since its formation in December next year. Such a decision would be in the spirit of the revival of the Soviet divisions glorified during the Great Patriotic War (for example, in 2016, the 150th Idritsko-Berlin Order of Kutuzov Motorized Rifle Division was formed in the Southern Military District , whose name is indicated on the Victory Banner, hoisted by its fighters over Reichstag).
"Proletarka", as it was popularly called, went through the whole war with battles, ending its combat path with the assaults of Koenigsberg and Pillau. On September 21, 1941, the division was among the first to be awarded the honorary title of Guards. 17 streets of Kaliningrad are named after the heroes-guardsmen of Proletarka. In honor of the division, a square in Moscow is named (Square of the Moscow-Minsk Division). After the war, the Moscow City Council, on behalf of the Muscovites, turned to Stalin with a request "to return our beloved division to Moscow," but the commander of the 11th Guards Army, Colonel General K.N. Galitsky substantiated the need to leave the division where it ended its combat path. Stalin wrote briefly: “I agree. Leave in Königsberg ”[15].Now the heir to the military glory of the 1st Guards Proletarian Moscow-Minsk Division is the 7th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment stationed in Kaliningrad, which has accepted all its honorary titles and awards.
The creation of a new division is a retaliatory measure. As Admiral Nosatov noted , the strengthening of the coastal component of the fleet is primarily "due to the buildup of NATO troops in the immediate vicinity of the land borders of the Kaliningrad region, on the territory of which the main forces of the Baltic Fleet are deployed." With the creation of the division, the situation essentially returns to the late 1990s - early 2000s. (adjusted for the appearance of more modern weapons and equipment), when only one motorized rifle division also remained in the Kaliningrad region. But the military-political situation has changed significantly since then and is far from being for the better for Russia.
This measure is of a purely defensive nature. Such forces are clearly not enough for the offensive. But in order to discourage a potential adversary from pursuing military adventures and, in extreme cases, to contain the enemy's offensive until the full power of the Russian Armed Forces, including nuclear missiles, if necessary, is fully sufficient.
Minsk says NATO deploying reconnaissance centers near borders of Russia and Belarus
The Alliance's activities include setting up transportation centers and upgrading military infrastructure facilities, the chief of the Belarusian General Staff said
MINSK, April 14. /TASS/. NATO continues its activity near the borders of Belarus and Russia, deploying reconnaissance centers and improving military infrastructure, Chief of the Belarusian General Staff Major General Viktor Gulevich said at a meeting of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) Military Committee in Moscow, the republic’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.
"Major General Gulevich expressed the Belarusian side’s opinion on the situation in the regions of the CSTO’s collective security, substantially dwelling on the aspects inherent in the Eastern European region," the ministry said.
"In this regard, he noted the continued activity of the NATO bloc near the borders of Russia and Belarus: the deployment of reconnaissance and transportation centers and the improvement of military infrastructure facilities, in particular, for receiving contingents and other processes," the statement says.
The participants in the CSTO Military Committee heard and discussed information on the priority areas of the organization’s activity in the military sphere proposed by the Republic of Tajikistan during its presidency in 2021, and also the issues related to jointly training governance bodies and forming forces and capabilities of the CSTO collective security system this year, the ministry said.
According to the data of the Belarusian Defense Ministry, the participants in the meeting agreed to continue the practice of holding "joint operational and combat training measures amid the common background of a notional military-political and military-strategic situation when all the drills and exercises are interrelated by their goals, tasks and their place and time, in particular, within the framework of holding the Combat Brotherhood-2021 joint operational and strategic maneuvers."
In this regard, the Belarusian military contingents will take part in all the components of the Combat Brotherhood-2021 drills, the ministry said.
Prof. Michael Tanchum @michaeltanchum · 7h Defender Europe 2021 Exercise Rightwards arrow 1st Joint Logistics Over the Shore to be conducted Europe since World War II
Black small square 2 weeks in June; events held in Flag of Bulgaria , Flag of Croatia , Flag of Estonia , Flag of Greece , Flag of Hungary , Flag of Romania
Black small square 28,000 participating personnel from 26 countries.
Black small square Equipment is arriving now
Murad Gazdiev @MuradGazdiev · 23h As part of Defender Europe 21; NATO troops, led by US paratroopers, will practice offensive airborne operations in Estonia, an hour’s drive from the Russia border -
NATO's latest large-scale European exercise will only reveal that it is not up to the task of defending itself by Scott Ritter Scott Ritter is a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and author of 'SCORPION KING: America's Suicidal Embrace of Nuclear Weapons from FDR to Trump.' He served in the Soviet Union as an inspector implementing the INF Treaty, in General Schwarzkopf’s staff during the Gulf War, and from 1991-1998 as a UN weapons inspector. Follow him on Twitter @RealScottRitter
European Defender 2021, NATO’s 28,000-person exercise in military muscle flexing, is supposed to be an example of deterrence through strength. In reality, it is just another demonstration of military impotence.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the 29-member transatlantic military alliance borne from the geopolitical realities of post-Second World War Europe, decided last year, in the face of what it deemed a threat from a resurgent Russia, that it needed to reinstitute the kind of large-scale military exercises centered on the notion of the rapid reinforcement of Europe it conducted during the Cold War. The result was European Defender 20, which envisioned the largest movement of US-based forces to Europe since the “Return of Forces to Germany” (REFORGER) exercises of the 1980’s.
Unfortunately for NATO, European Defender 20 fizzled in the face of the Covid 19 pandemic, with many of the troops scheduled to participate compelled to remain in their barracks, and those that did make the trip forced to curtail the scope and scale of the planned training events. As a result, a tremendous amount of attention is being paid to the second iteration of what NATO claims will become an annual exercise of the alliance’s readiness, European Defender 21. What European Defender 21 lacks in size (the total force component is planned to be 30,000 personnel drawn from 27 nations, two of whom – Georgia and Ukraine – are not NATO members, down from the 37,000 envisioned for European Defender 20) it makes up for in ambition: six major events, and scores of lesser exercises, taking place in 30 training areas located in 12 countries.
One of the stated purposes of European Defender 21 is for NATO to demonstrate its ability to maintain a “deterrent posture” in northern Europe (i.e., Poland and the Baltics) while concurrently shifting forces to other areas in Europe. The “proof of concept” phase of European Defender 21 that demonstrates this capability will involve a “Joint Logistics over-the-shore” operation involving the movement of military equipment from ships into the Albanian port of Durres, and then the transport of this equipment to training areas in Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hungary.
An exercise of this nature always sounds impressive on paper. The proof of the pudding, so to speak, will come with implementation, and here NATO will need to keep the expectations bar quite low. Albania is a new member, and the port of Durres has not been used to offload military equipment since the Second World War. The road and rail connectivity between Albania and its neighbors is untested and largely unsuited for the transport and sustainment of large military formations. The Durres operation serves as a feeder exercise into a larger operation, Steadfast Defender, which is focused on the transatlantic reinforcement of Europe, thereby demonstrating NATO’s ability to respond rapidly to any potential Russian aggression.
While one should not predict failure before it occurs, the reality is Steadfast Defender will be fighting an uphill battle just to get forces to the designated training areas and sustain the planned operations. There is virtually zero interoperability between the US forces being deployed and their NATO hosts. While REFORGER exercises maintained a high tempo of operations throughout the assigned operations period, exercises like Steadfast Defender operate on a crawl-walk-run basis, where the participants learn their respective roles, and then gradually perfect them over time. Given the neophyte nature of the NATO nations involved in Steadfast Defender, the participants will be lucky to get out of the “crawl” phase unscathed. If Steadfast Defender were an actual deployment of NATO rapid-response forces in time of crisis, the result would be the total loss of combat effectiveness before there was any engagement with the enemy – the simple act of trying to project military force into the western Balkans under duress would overwhelm NATO.
One of the purposes behind training is to identify operational shortfalls and fix them over time. In this, both European Defender 21 and Steadfast Defender are valuable training iterations. Unfortunately for NATO, the exercises are being marketed as a visible display of NATO’s conventional deterrent, a signal to Russia that any aggression can and will be met with combat forces capable of defending NATO soil and interests.
Given the fact that the emphasis on European Defender 21 is the western Balkans region of NATO, the clear intention of NATO in conducting these exercises is to flex its military muscle in the face of Russia’s ongoing military deployments opposite its border with Ukraine. Here, Russia was able to mobilize more than 100,000 combat ready troops from two field armies in a matter of days. NATO simply does not have a viable response to such a capability. Moreover, exercises such as European Defender 21, far from providing a statement of deterrence designed to intimidate Russia, are but a reminder of NATO’s impotence in the face of Russia’s own impressive military capability. The bottom line is, if push came to shove, NATO is incapable of defending NATO.
...Russia was able to mobilize more than 100,000 combat ready troops from two field armies in a matter of days. NATO simply does not have a viable response to such a capability.
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