Latest Articles about Military/Security
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Pantsir-S1-EDM-May-7-2019-640x346.jpg)
Russian Air Defense: Showcasing Achievements, Silencing Problems (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. Historically, the Air and Missile Defense Forces (Voyska Protivovozdushnoy i Protivoraketnoy Oborony—PVO-PRO) have constituted one of the main strengths of the Soviet/Russian Armed Forces and an indispensable national security element (Vko.ru, June 27, 2012). From late 2018... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Vlad-and-Kim-640x427.jpg)
Putin and Kim’s Vladivostok Summit: What Did We Learn?
Although North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s travels inevitably attract a lot of media attention due to his country’s inherent secrecy and opacity, expectations were not high for the summit with Vladimir Putin, on April 25, in Vladivostok (Kommersant, April 25). And to a large degree,... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Russian-Military-640x396.jpeg)
Is Russia Really Cutting Its Military Spending?
Military force remains a predominant instrument of choice for Russian policymakers; yet, state expenditures on the Armed Forces continue to decline. This paradoxical situation was recently highlighted by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) latest global military balance assessment, which the Russian media eagerly... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Tonoyan.jpg)
Rationalizing the Tonoyan Doctrine: Armenia’s Active Deterrence Strategy
Even as Armenia and Azerbaijan have intensified their diplomatic contacts over the future status of the latter’s breakaway Karabakh region (see EDM, February 13, March 4, April 1), both rivals concurrently continue to consolidate their military capabilities, considering an escalation in tensions almost inevitable. Both... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Russia-Passport-640x360.jpg)
Russia Launches ‘Passportization’ in Occupied Ukrainian Donbas (Part Two)
The Kremlin’s decree, offering Russian citizenship (“passportization”) to residents of the Russian-occupied Donbas (eastern portions of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces), is the latest in the series of legislative and economic moves to wrest this territory from Ukraine in real terms, absorbing it de facto—though not... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Venezuela-640x360.jpg)
Russia Steps Deeper Into the Venezuelan Battleground
In the early morning of April 30, in Caracas, opposition leader, speaker of the National Assembly and the self-proclaimed interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, declared that the Venezuelan Armed Forces had abandoned the socialist autocratic president Nicolás Maduro. The “usurper” would be ousted, he... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ivan-Aparshyn-EDM-May-1-2019-640x478.jpg)
Military and Defense Plans of the ‘Zelensky Team’: Old Wine in New Bottles?
The ongoing confrontation between Ukraine and Russia puts heavy pressure on incoming President-Elect Volodymyr Zelensky to take new steps to readjust Ukrainian military capabilities. This is particularly true given Russia’s modus operandi within the so-called non-linear or “hybrid” approach, where Moscow has developed much greater... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/50R6-Vityaz-S-350E-EDM-April-30-2019-640x416.jpg)
Russian Air Defense: Showcasing Achievements, Silencing Problems (Part One)
Several Russian mainstream information outlets along with military experts and officials have, in recent months, presented a long list of achievements that are purportedly raising the country’s Air and Missile Defense Forces (Voyska Protivovozdushnoy i Protivoraketnoy Oborony—PVO-PRO) to a qualitatively new level. In addition to... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Pankisi-Gorge-Protests-640x360.jpeg)
Pankisi Gorge: A Resurgent Flashpoint in Georgia?
On April 21, Georgian company Peri began construction on the Khadori-3 hydroelectric station (HES) with a capacity of 5 megawatts (MW). Construction started near the villages of Birkiani and Dzibakhevi, in Pankisi Gorge (Civil.ge, April 21). This Georgian region (not far from the border with... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Ingushetia-Protesters-640x366.jpg)
Kremlin Looks to Military to Quell Public Unrest
The recent series of mass protests in various Russian regions have differed significantly from each other in their goals. For example, residents of the Republic of Ingushetia demanded a referendum on changing the borders of their republic, speaking out against the secretive decisions of the... MORE