US intention in Syria is a quagmire for Russia: Cyprus, Turkey, and Islamists Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The endless conflict in Syria is at a dreaded stalemate where America and Turkey seek an endless quagmire for Syria and the Russian Federation. For America, even if Sunni Islamists have cleansed Alawites,…
Russia’s Aerospace Forces Prepare Training for Kinzhal Hypersonic Missiles Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Roger McDermott The Jamestown Foundation Russia’s Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil—VKS) are preparing to create a MiG-31K regiment in the Siberian city of Kansk, in the Central Military District (MD), fully equipped with Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. The training of flight crews…
Coronavirus infections engulf the Russian Federation but deaths remain low Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The coronavirus (Covid-19) infection rate in the last week in the Russian Federation is extremely high. However, the population of this nation needs to be considered when witnessing events in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and the…
The COVID-19 Pandemic Starts to Have Its Toll on the North Caucasus Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Valery Dzutsati The Jamestown Foundation COVID-19 has now started to spread to Russia’s North Caucasus republics, and regional authorities have been scrambling to mobilize scant resources to stave off the pandemic. As of March 30, officials confirmed infections…
Russian Defense Ministry Preparing for Worst Case COVID-19 Scenario Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation On March 24, President Vladimir Putin canceled a visit to St. Petersburg and went instead to the new Kommunarka medical facility on the outskirts of Moscow that was hastily organized as the main specialized COVID-19 treatment…
Islamists in Mozambique take a key town in Cabo Delgado: Wagner, OAM, and Black Hawk Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Increasing Sunni Islamist attacks in northern Mozambique is creating mayhem in a nation already blighted by poverty. Hence, the news that an important town had fallen will have taken authorities by…
Russia sends help against coronavirus during Italy’s hour of need: EU is where? Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The death toll from the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis in Italy is currently 5,500 people and growing. Equally troubling for Italy, coronavirus is spreading to all parts of the nation in increasing numbers. Therefore,…
Putin and Erdoğan Scramble to Find Workable Idlib Ceasefire Formula Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, met for an emergency summit in Moscow on March 5, in a last-ditch attempt to defuse the confrontation in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.…
Many Turkish soldiers killed in Syria: Turkey is exacerbating the crisis Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times According to reports at least 33 Turkish soldiers have been killed in Syria. This is following on from recent tensions between both nations based on Turkey supporting various Takfiri Islamist groups. At the same time,…
The Inconsistencies of Russia’s Policy on Libya Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation During the 1970s and 1980s, the Libyan regime of Muammar Qaddafi was Moscow’s ally in the Cold War against the West, and consequently it acquired many billions of dollars’ worth of Soviet weapons. In more recent years, President…
Germany, the EU, and Russia condemn US sanctions over Nord Stream 2 Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Germany, the European Union (EU), and the Russian Federation have all condemned America after the White House issued sanctions on companies dealing with Nord Stream 2. Once more, the United States under President Donald…
Russia Adopts National Strategy for Development of Artificial Intelligence Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Sergey Sukhankin The Jamestown Foundation On October 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the National Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence (NSDAI) for the period until 2030. During the unveiling of the new strategy, Putin noted that “the global market…
Russia Exports Its Missile Early-Warning Knowhow to China Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation Russo-Chinese relations continue to improve (see EDM, July 25, 30) as both countries’ ties with the United States have grown increasingly strained. Moscow and Beijing describe their bilateral relationship as a “strategic partnership,” constantly adding new adjectives…
NATO Turkey is bombing the Kurds and others while helping ISIS break free in Syria Ramazan Khalidov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times NATO Turkey is intensifying its attack against the Kurds and other ethnic groups in Northern Syria while the international community just watches. The nations of America, Iran, and the Russian…
Turkey offensive in Syria: Sheepish America, Iran, and Russia but Trump consistency Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Turkey is laying bare the respective self-interests of America, Iran, and the Russian Federation. Hence, while President Donald Trump is abandoning the Kurds on the ground after the failure of the…
Russia’s Advances in Electronic Warfare Capability Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Roger McDermott The Jamestown Foundation Since the reform of Russia’s Armed Forces began in late 2008, Moscow has developed a credible conventional military capability. Among the subset of capabilities over the past decade are the critically important advances in combat support offered by Electronic…
Crimea Offers Iran Use of Its Ports for Oil Transport Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: John C. K. Daly The Jamestown Foundation Both Iran and Russia suffer from the United States’ sanctions: the former since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the latter since its 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea. But in a recent bout of creative…
President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation says, “G7 is no good without India and China.” Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation seeks a genuine multipolar world that takes away the centrism of America, along with the supporting role of fellow nations belonging to the…
Russia Rehearses Multi-Platform Warfare in the Baltic Sea Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Roger McDermott The Jamestown Foundation Russia’s Armed Forces have commenced Okeanskiy Shchit (“Ocean Shield”) 2019 naval exercises in the Baltic Sea, under the direction of the commander-in-chief of the Russian Military-Maritime Fleet (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot—VMF), Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov. The exercises, running from August…
PM Dmitry Medvedev of Russia rebukes Japan over his visit to the Kuril Islands (Northern Territories) Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, sharply rebuffed negative comments emanating from political elites in Japan. After all, in the eyes of Medvedev, how can he be…
First Ever Sino-Russian Joint Air Patrol Barely Avoids Triggering Regional Conflict Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation The Chinese Ministry of National Defense published a white paper yesterday, July 24, entitled “China’s National Defense in a New Era.” The document accuses the United States of pursuing “unilateral policies,” provoking “intensified competition…
Japan and Russia territorial dispute made worse based on US containment policies Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan wants stronger relations with the Russian Federation but three issues remain that are preventing this. This applies to the role of America that seeks to contain China and…
Novatek May Be Carving Out a Bigger Role in Russian Energy Diplomacy Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Rauf Mammadov The Jamestown Foundation Russia’s second-largest natural gas producer, Novatek, which captured the largest share of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market in Europe in the first quarter of 2019, has sold 20 percent of its planned…
Japan and electronic warfare based on a wary eye on China and Russia Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Irrespective of the rights or wrongs of events surrounding Crimea between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the role of Russia’s electronic warfare opened-up eyes in Japan. Similarly, with China and the Russian Federation…
Moscow Plans to Expand Canal System Between Caspian and Azov Seas Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Paul Goble The Jamestown Foundation Russia surprised many last year when it used its internal canal system to shift military vessels from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Azov in order to ramp up pressure on Ukraine (see…
US and Japan affirm Cybersecurity ties: Japan’s non-Northeast Asian fixation and Russia Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan claims that he desires to solve the protracted territorial dispute with the Russian Federation. Yet, many within the corridors of power in Moscow dispute the sincerity of Japan.…
Electronic warfare and Japan: New approach to the Russian Federation? Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Japan is focused on a five-year plan to upgrade areas related to electronic warfare, cyber wars, cyberspace, and other modern military areas. At the same time, Japan understands the growing reality of new…
Russia’s Military Undertaking Growing Role in Creation of ‘Sovereign Internet’ Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Roger McDermott The Jamestown Foundation Russia’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed its involvement in the creation of a “sovereign Internet,” which marks part of its wider efforts to transform its system of military communications. This will involve the Russian military…
‘Special Outsider’: Russia Joins the Race for Global Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Sergey Sukhankin The Jamestown Foundation On February 26, the industrial director of the Rostec State Corporation, Sergey Abramov, declared that work on the fourth generation of the Ratnik future infantry combat system is underway. The system is said…
Are Banking Trojans on the rise? Horace C. White Modern Tokyo Times Banking Trojans increase by 16% in 2018 Moscow-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab Solutions has raised an alarm over the skyrocketing number of cyberattacks with popular malware, Banking Trojans. According to the cybersecurity company, Banking Trojans attacked about 889,452 users of its anti-phishing…
Russia’s Armed Forces Expand UAV Strike Capability Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Roger McDermott The Jamestown Foundation Complementing the Russian Armed Forces’ drive to integrate Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities, growing interest additionally centers on the development of new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). This links to General Staff perspectives on…
Another Step Forward Toward ‘Sovereign’ Russian Internet Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Sergey Sukhankin The Jamestown Foundation Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov talked with Russian journalists on Wednesday, February 27, following news reports in the United States claiming that US Cyber Command had actively hacked and briefly taken offline the St. Petersburg–based Internet Research Agency. The…
