Latest Articles about Military/Security

Russia Returning to Concept of Mass Mobilization
A snap inspection in late August, involving three military districts and the Northern Fleet, as well as the subsequent strategic exercise Kavkaz 2016, held in southwestern Russia on September 5–10 (see EDM, September 8, 13, 14, 15, 20), together seem to indicate a turning point... MORE

Flight MH17 Tragedy—Another Front in Moscow’s Battle Against West
This week (September 28), a Dutch-led group of investigators from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine published the preliminary results of their more-than-two-year investigation into the crash of flight MH17. The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down, on July 17, 2014, over territory... MORE

Russian Iskanders in Yerevan: New Challenges for Azerbaijan’s Security
The military parade dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Armenian independence was held in Yerevan, on September 21, 2016. The event drew considerable attention from Azerbaijan because of the advanced military equipment demonstrated during the parade. The Armenian side showcased several offensive military systems, tanks... MORE

After a Delay, Russia Delivers New Types of Weapons to Armenia
During preparations for a military parade to mark the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence on September 21, Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missile launchers (NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) appeared on the streets of Yerevan. This development became one of the most discussed issues in Armenia... MORE

Russian Military Presence in Syria Increasing With Carrier Deploying to Eastern Mediterranean
It took several month of intermittent talks between the United States and Russia and many multi-hour marathon sessions between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to hammer out the Syrian ceasefire agreement that went into effect on September 12.... MORE

Could Africa Become a New Leading Market For Russian Arms Sales?
Africa has never been a particularly high foreign policy priority for the Russian Federation. This is mainly due to a lack of resources and capacity in Moscow; for if those were present, an ambition to aspire to a role on the continent commensurate with that... MORE

Moscow Again Trying to Pit Ethnic Russians in Northeastern Estonia Against Tallinn
Moscow is again stirring the pot in northeastern Estonia, trying to pit the ethnic-Russian community there against Tallinn. And it is doing so in the classic tradition of Vladimir Putin’s “hybrid” war: specifically, Russia is using a report prepared by the Estonian Security Police that... MORE

Moscow Tests Network-Centric Military Capability in Kavkaz 2016
Every year, the Russian Armed Forces stage a large-scale training exercise to serve as the pinnacle of the combat training season. These annual major exercises are held, on a rotational basis, across Russia’s various military districts (MD), which also allows the General Staff to test... MORE

Assessing Who Will Be the Next PLA Navy Commander
Admiral Wu Shengli, who has been the commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) since August 2006, a Member of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Military Commission (CMC) since October 2007, and a member of the CCP’s Central Committee since 2007, will have... MORE

Nazarbayev Shakes up Government Amid Weak Economy and Worries of Insecurity
Following a month of lull in August, when the parliament was in recess and the majority of cabinet ministers took a short break from meetings and press briefings, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev opened the fall’s joint session of the Mazhilis and the Senate (lower and... MORE