Russia Overhauls Military Doctrine

[Vikrant]

Are we back to the cold war?

---

"Global developments at present stage are characterized by an increasing global competition, tensions in various interstate and interregional areas," said the document, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 26. "There are many regional conflicts which remain unresolved. There is a tendency to force their resolution, including those which are in the regions bordering the Russian Federation. The existing architecture of the international security system does not provide an equal level of security to all states. "

...

Russia Overhauls Military Doctrine

 

[Moonglow]

So North Korea will break the truce of 1953?

 

[Vikrant]

So North Korea will break the truce of 1953?

That will depend a great deal on China apart from N Korea.

 

[Moonglow]

I doubt the love fest between Russia and China will last long. They do have a history of border conflicts and war...

 

[tinydancer]

We have a real problem on our hands with more than one saying that the Uks shot down the plane. Now it's really hitting the fan over there.

One has to remember the Uks did this before.

 

[tinydancer]

I doubt the love fest between Russia and China will last long. They do have a history of border conflicts and war...

I'm a Uk and I'm telling you straight up that the R's and the C's are cool together vs what we are witnessing in the Ukraine right now.

It's not good Moonglow. Did you know that when Biden visited he had to be pulled out because of protests?

 

[william the wie]

Russia seems to believe that EZ wants to peacefully conquer Russia no matter the cost to the US and I do see their point.

 

[Vikrant]

Russia seems to believe that EZ wants to peacefully conquer Russia no matter the cost to the US and I do see their point.

What does EZ stand for?

 

[william the wie]

Russia seems to believe that EZ wants to peacefully conquer Russia no matter the cost to the US and I do see their point.

What does EZ stand for?

The Euro Zone, The EU which contains the EZ is much less aggressive..

 

[Vikrant]

(Reuters) - Russia is working to develop within a few years the capability to threaten several neighbors at once on the scale of its present operation in Ukraine, a senior American general said.

Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, told Reuters an attack on another neighbor does not seem like an immediate threat because Moscow appears to have its hands full in Ukraine for now.

But that could change within a few years, when upgrades sought by President Vladimir Putin would give Russia the ability to carry out up to three such operations at the same time, without a mobilization that would give the West time to respond.

"Right now, without mobilizing, I don't think they have the capacity to do three major things at one time. They can do one thing, I think, in a big way without mobilizing. But in four to five years, I think that will change," Hodges said.

"Certainly within the next four to five years they will have the ability to conduct operations in eastern Ukraine and pressure the Baltics and pressure Georgia and do other things, without having to do a full mobilization."

The war in Ukraine, in which NATO says Moscow has supported pro-Russian rebels with arms and troops, has alarmed some of Russia's other neighbors, who are seeking greater reassurances for their defense from the Western alliance.

Moscow denies its active troops have fought in eastern Ukraine, but Western governments say they have evidence it has sent armored columns and hundreds of soldiers. More than 4,000 people have died in the conflict, including nearly 300 on board a Malaysian airliner shot down over rebel-held territory.

SPENDING DESPITE CRISIS

Putin has committed to spending billions to boost Russia's military capability, despite an economic crisis caused by sanctions over Ukraine and falling oil prices.

NATO experts say the Ukraine conflict, in which Russian forces swiftly annexed the Crimea region and pro-Russian rebels scored rapid gains in the east, shows Putin's increased spending has already yielded results. Russian forces, particularly small elite units, have proven far more effective than in a 2008 war in Georgia, they say.

Moscow has also developed what they describe as "hybrid war" capabilities, in which it organizes, funds and arms local insurgents while deploying its own elite troops in unmarked uniforms - known in Crimea as the "little green men" - so swiftly and covertly that it is difficult to develop a response.

Hodges said neighbors like the Baltic states and Georgia appear to be safe for now, but possibly not for long.

"I think their focus is on Ukraine. I do think some of the other countries that are around the perimeter of Russia are watching that and they are thinking they have got two or three years to get ready before they may become the target."

Hodges led a U.S. army "Russia study day" in Germany this week at which military and civilian experts on Russia briefed commanders from around Europe on Russia's political and military strategy and its view of the West.

Scores of U.S. officers, hair cropped close and dressed for combat, listened intently at a U.S. base near Wiesbaden as analysts portrayed an increasingly assertive Russian leadership deeply suspicious of Western influence and bent on re-arming.

NATO agreed on a series of responses to the perceived new Russian threat at its summit in Wales in September, including stepping up exercises in eastern Europe and setting up a "spearhead" rapid reaction force.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted this week by TASS news agency as saying Moscow would stick to its modernization plans estimated to cost more than 20 trillion rubles ($300 billion) through 2020.

Plans for this year would include 700 new armored vehicles, 126 new military planes, 88 new helicopters and two brigades of Iskander-M air defense systems, he said. Even so, Moscow's defense budget of about $68 billion in 2013 was only about one-ninth of Washington's, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank.

A NATO military officer said that in recent years the Russians had modernized their rocket forces, submarines and air force, although they have regularly fallen short of their plans.

In the coming year, Russia is expected to improve its northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets and continue to modernize some land forces, said the officer on condition of anonymity.

The slide in the oil price and Western sanctions could slow its military modernization, he said.

While many analysts believe Russia would not want to risk a direct confrontation with the United States, NATO strategists are giving thought to the possibility Moscow could stage a Crimea-style operation in a country such as Estonia, with a large ethnic Russian minority.

"They (the Russians) have got the capability to mass quickly and conduct an offensive before we could militarily respond fast enough at the same scale," the NATO military officer said.

Estonian military intelligence chief Lieutenant-Colonel Kaupo Rosin told the meeting that an aggressive new military doctrine signed by Putin in December showed Moscow was "playing hockey while very many Western European countries are doing figure-skating".

Noting that it had taken weeks to convince some European countries that gunmen operating in Crimea were Russian soldiers, Rosin said Estonia could face a similar problem winning support under NATO's mutual defense clause if it were attacked.

"My problem would be to produce the necessary evidence."

Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations U.S. general Reuters

 

[Sonc]

(Reuters) - Russia is working to develop within a few years the capability to threaten several neighbors at once on the scale of its present operation in Ukraine, a senior American general said.

Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, told Reuters an attack on another neighbor does not seem like an immediate threat because Moscow appears to have its hands full in Ukraine for now.

But that could change within a few years, when upgrades sought by President Vladimir Putin would give Russia the ability to carry out up to three such operations at the same time, without a mobilization that would give the West time to respond.

"Right now, without mobilizing, I don't think they have the capacity to do three major things at one time. They can do one thing, I think, in a big way without mobilizing. But in four to five years, I think that will change," Hodges said.

"Certainly within the next four to five years they will have the ability to conduct operations in eastern Ukraine and pressure the Baltics and pressure Georgia and do other things, without having to do a full mobilization."

The war in Ukraine, in which NATO says Moscow has supported pro-Russian rebels with arms and troops, has alarmed some of Russia's other neighbors, who are seeking greater reassurances for their defense from the Western alliance.

Moscow denies its active troops have fought in eastern Ukraine, but Western governments say they have evidence it has sent armored columns and hundreds of soldiers. More than 4,000 people have died in the conflict, including nearly 300 on board a Malaysian airliner shot down over rebel-held territory.

SPENDING DESPITE CRISIS

Putin has committed to spending billions to boost Russia's military capability, despite an economic crisis caused by sanctions over Ukraine and falling oil prices.

NATO experts say the Ukraine conflict, in which Russian forces swiftly annexed the Crimea region and pro-Russian rebels scored rapid gains in the east, shows Putin's increased spending has already yielded results. Russian forces, particularly small elite units, have proven far more effective than in a 2008 war in Georgia, they say.

Moscow has also developed what they describe as "hybrid war" capabilities, in which it organizes, funds and arms local insurgents while deploying its own elite troops in unmarked uniforms - known in Crimea as the "little green men" - so swiftly and covertly that it is difficult to develop a response.

Hodges said neighbors like the Baltic states and Georgia appear to be safe for now, but possibly not for long.

"I think their focus is on Ukraine. I do think some of the other countries that are around the perimeter of Russia are watching that and they are thinking they have got two or three years to get ready before they may become the target."

Hodges led a U.S. army "Russia study day" in Germany this week at which military and civilian experts on Russia briefed commanders from around Europe on Russia's political and military strategy and its view of the West.

Scores of U.S. officers, hair cropped close and dressed for combat, listened intently at a U.S. base near Wiesbaden as analysts portrayed an increasingly assertive Russian leadership deeply suspicious of Western influence and bent on re-arming.

NATO agreed on a series of responses to the perceived new Russian threat at its summit in Wales in September, including stepping up exercises in eastern Europe and setting up a "spearhead" rapid reaction force.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted this week by TASS news agency as saying Moscow would stick to its modernization plans estimated to cost more than 20 trillion rubles ($300 billion) through 2020.

Plans for this year would include 700 new armored vehicles, 126 new military planes, 88 new helicopters and two brigades of Iskander-M air defense systems, he said. Even so, Moscow's defense budget of about $68 billion in 2013 was only about one-ninth of Washington's, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank.

A NATO military officer said that in recent years the Russians had modernized their rocket forces, submarines and air force, although they have regularly fallen short of their plans.

In the coming year, Russia is expected to improve its northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets and continue to modernize some land forces, said the officer on condition of anonymity.

The slide in the oil price and Western sanctions could slow its military modernization, he said.

While many analysts believe Russia would not want to risk a direct confrontation with the United States, NATO strategists are giving thought to the possibility Moscow could stage a Crimea-style operation in a country such as Estonia, with a large ethnic Russian minority.

"They (the Russians) have got the capability to mass quickly and conduct an offensive before we could militarily respond fast enough at the same scale," the NATO military officer said.

Estonian military intelligence chief Lieutenant-Colonel Kaupo Rosin told the meeting that an aggressive new military doctrine signed by Putin in December showed Moscow was "playing hockey while very many Western European countries are doing figure-skating".

Noting that it had taken weeks to convince some European countries that gunmen operating in Crimea were Russian soldiers, Rosin said Estonia could face a similar problem winning support under NATO's mutual defense clause if it were attacked.

"My problem would be to produce the necessary evidence."

Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations U.S. general Reuters

And you believe that?

 

[quorthon]

And you believe that?

Of course he has right to believe it because there is at least one true fact: we are back to the cold war. But I agree that there's no need to pin faith to texts like this with a couple of round numbers and unknown names.

 

[Sonc]

"we are back to the cold war."
ThankS Obama.

 

[Stratford57]

(Reuters) - Russia is working to develop within a few years the capability to threaten several neighbors at once on the scale of its present operation in Ukraine, a senior American general said.

Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, told Reuters an attack on another neighbor does not seem like an immediate threat because Moscow appears to have its hands full in Ukraine for now.

But that could change within a few years, when upgrades sought by President Vladimir Putin would give Russia the ability to carry out up to three such operations at the same time, without a mobilization that would give the West time to respond.

"Right now, without mobilizing, I don't think they have the capacity to do three major things at one time. They can do one thing, I think, in a big way without mobilizing. But in four to five years, I think that will change," Hodges said.

"Certainly within the next four to five years they will have the ability to conduct operations in eastern Ukraine and pressure the Baltics and pressure Georgia and do other things, without having to do a full mobilization."

The war in Ukraine, in which NATO says Moscow has supported pro-Russian rebels with arms and troops, has alarmed some of Russia's other neighbors, who are seeking greater reassurances for their defense from the Western alliance.

Moscow denies its active troops have fought in eastern Ukraine, but Western governments say they have evidence it has sent armored columns and hundreds of soldiers. More than 4,000 people have died in the conflict, including nearly 300 on board a Malaysian airliner shot down over rebel-held territory.

SPENDING DESPITE CRISIS

Putin has committed to spending billions to boost Russia's military capability, despite an economic crisis caused by sanctions over Ukraine and falling oil prices.

NATO experts say the Ukraine conflict, in which Russian forces swiftly annexed the Crimea region and pro-Russian rebels scored rapid gains in the east, shows Putin's increased spending has already yielded results. Russian forces, particularly small elite units, have proven far more effective than in a 2008 war in Georgia, they say.

Moscow has also developed what they describe as "hybrid war" capabilities, in which it organizes, funds and arms local insurgents while deploying its own elite troops in unmarked uniforms - known in Crimea as the "little green men" - so swiftly and covertly that it is difficult to develop a response.

Hodges said neighbors like the Baltic states and Georgia appear to be safe for now, but possibly not for long.

"I think their focus is on Ukraine. I do think some of the other countries that are around the perimeter of Russia are watching that and they are thinking they have got two or three years to get ready before they may become the target."

Hodges led a U.S. army "Russia study day" in Germany this week at which military and civilian experts on Russia briefed commanders from around Europe on Russia's political and military strategy and its view of the West.

Scores of U.S. officers, hair cropped close and dressed for combat, listened intently at a U.S. base near Wiesbaden as analysts portrayed an increasingly assertive Russian leadership deeply suspicious of Western influence and bent on re-arming.

NATO agreed on a series of responses to the perceived new Russian threat at its summit in Wales in September, including stepping up exercises in eastern Europe and setting up a "spearhead" rapid reaction force.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted this week by TASS news agency as saying Moscow would stick to its modernization plans estimated to cost more than 20 trillion rubles ($300 billion) through 2020.

Plans for this year would include 700 new armored vehicles, 126 new military planes, 88 new helicopters and two brigades of Iskander-M air defense systems, he said. Even so, Moscow's defense budget of about $68 billion in 2013 was only about one-ninth of Washington's, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank.

A NATO military officer said that in recent years the Russians had modernized their rocket forces, submarines and air force, although they have regularly fallen short of their plans.

In the coming year, Russia is expected to improve its northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets and continue to modernize some land forces, said the officer on condition of anonymity.

The slide in the oil price and Western sanctions could slow its military modernization, he said.

While many analysts believe Russia would not want to risk a direct confrontation with the United States, NATO strategists are giving thought to the possibility Moscow could stage a Crimea-style operation in a country such as Estonia, with a large ethnic Russian minority.

"They (the Russians) have got the capability to mass quickly and conduct an offensive before we could militarily respond fast enough at the same scale," the NATO military officer said.

Estonian military intelligence chief Lieutenant-Colonel Kaupo Rosin told the meeting that an aggressive new military doctrine signed by Putin in December showed Moscow was "playing hockey while very many Western European countries are doing figure-skating".

Noting that it had taken weeks to convince some European countries that gunmen operating in Crimea were Russian soldiers, Rosin said Estonia could face a similar problem winning support under NATO's mutual defense clause if it were attacked.

"My problem would be to produce the necessary evidence."

Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations U.S. general Reuters

FYI, a couple of weeks ago Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges arrived in Kiev and as a coincidence Ukrainian Army started more massive shelling of SE Ukraine. Since the conflict has started everybody noticed some "laws of coincidence": every time a high ranked USA official comes to Kiev, the Ukrainian Army immediately increases its shelling. In the past those "coincidences" were connected with Biden's and Brennan's visits. And for all the chaos in Ukraine both official Kiev and official Washington feel very comfortable to blame Russia without providing any trustworthy evidence. They are basically running their mouths using a psychological rule: a lie repeated a lot of times starts sounding like the truth.

 

[Sonc]

They are basically running their mouths using a psychological rule: a lie repeated a lot of times starts sounding like the truth.

https://pp.vk.me/c625831/v625831262/b95f/LuZJKDJRkY8.jpg
Ukrainian news better.
In one day killed 32 members of the elite special forces Vympel.
From 1981 to 2015 Vympel lost 27 fighters
US save us ...=)

 

[Stratford57]

Ukrainian president and his clowns are at war with their own people, US officials are coming to Kiev one after another to encourage Ukrainian clowns in their war efforts, but almost all the West is blaming Russia for its non existing "aggression". Am I the only one who has a feeling the West has lost its mind?

 

[bendog]

Kiev forced Putin to send troops to crimea. (-:\

Look Stratford, I know you're a Putin apologist who couldn't give a straight answer if you life depended on it, and I know Putin got into this spot by reacting to the West, and there is a very real move by the West to "defang" or deny Russia superpower status, and to prevent any re-emergence of the Russian/Soviet empire.

But this could end tomorrow if Putin stopped it. His game is carve out as much as possible. The questions are whether sanctions themselves will destabilize him, whether the West has the stones to arm the Ukranians and even send in special forces, or whether he'll outlast the sanctions.

 

[Iskandar]

Guys, i am new here and having read the russian opinion about about the friends of Russia in Europe written in interfax and translated here( Putinside.com - In addition to the Army and Navy Does have Russia remained friends in Europe Russia still has several countries that can support them even now. and the reason of tension is that Russia is streghtening its power both in water and in air, and that scares Baltics and east Europe as well

 

[Moonglow]

(Reuters) - Russia is working to develop within a few years the capability to threaten several neighbors at once on the scale of its present operation in Ukraine, a senior American general said.

Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, told Reuters an attack on another neighbor does not seem like an immediate threat because Moscow appears to have its hands full in Ukraine for now.

But that could change within a few years, when upgrades sought by President Vladimir Putin would give Russia the ability to carry out up to three such operations at the same time, without a mobilization that would give the West time to respond.

"Right now, without mobilizing, I don't think they have the capacity to do three major things at one time. They can do one thing, I think, in a big way without mobilizing. But in four to five years, I think that will change," Hodges said.

"Certainly within the next four to five years they will have the ability to conduct operations in eastern Ukraine and pressure the Baltics and pressure Georgia and do other things, without having to do a full mobilization."

The war in Ukraine, in which NATO says Moscow has supported pro-Russian rebels with arms and troops, has alarmed some of Russia's other neighbors, who are seeking greater reassurances for their defense from the Western alliance.

Moscow denies its active troops have fought in eastern Ukraine, but Western governments say they have evidence it has sent armored columns and hundreds of soldiers. More than 4,000 people have died in the conflict, including nearly 300 on board a Malaysian airliner shot down over rebel-held territory.

SPENDING DESPITE CRISIS

Putin has committed to spending billions to boost Russia's military capability, despite an economic crisis caused by sanctions over Ukraine and falling oil prices.

NATO experts say the Ukraine conflict, in which Russian forces swiftly annexed the Crimea region and pro-Russian rebels scored rapid gains in the east, shows Putin's increased spending has already yielded results. Russian forces, particularly small elite units, have proven far more effective than in a 2008 war in Georgia, they say.

Moscow has also developed what they describe as "hybrid war" capabilities, in which it organizes, funds and arms local insurgents while deploying its own elite troops in unmarked uniforms - known in Crimea as the "little green men" - so swiftly and covertly that it is difficult to develop a response.

Hodges said neighbors like the Baltic states and Georgia appear to be safe for now, but possibly not for long.

"I think their focus is on Ukraine. I do think some of the other countries that are around the perimeter of Russia are watching that and they are thinking they have got two or three years to get ready before they may become the target."

Hodges led a U.S. army "Russia study day" in Germany this week at which military and civilian experts on Russia briefed commanders from around Europe on Russia's political and military strategy and its view of the West.

Scores of U.S. officers, hair cropped close and dressed for combat, listened intently at a U.S. base near Wiesbaden as analysts portrayed an increasingly assertive Russian leadership deeply suspicious of Western influence and bent on re-arming.

NATO agreed on a series of responses to the perceived new Russian threat at its summit in Wales in September, including stepping up exercises in eastern Europe and setting up a "spearhead" rapid reaction force.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted this week by TASS news agency as saying Moscow would stick to its modernization plans estimated to cost more than 20 trillion rubles ($300 billion) through 2020.

Plans for this year would include 700 new armored vehicles, 126 new military planes, 88 new helicopters and two brigades of Iskander-M air defense systems, he said. Even so, Moscow's defense budget of about $68 billion in 2013 was only about one-ninth of Washington's, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank.

A NATO military officer said that in recent years the Russians had modernized their rocket forces, submarines and air force, although they have regularly fallen short of their plans.

In the coming year, Russia is expected to improve its northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets and continue to modernize some land forces, said the officer on condition of anonymity.

The slide in the oil price and Western sanctions could slow its military modernization, he said.

While many analysts believe Russia would not want to risk a direct confrontation with the United States, NATO strategists are giving thought to the possibility Moscow could stage a Crimea-style operation in a country such as Estonia, with a large ethnic Russian minority.

"They (the Russians) have got the capability to mass quickly and conduct an offensive before we could militarily respond fast enough at the same scale," the NATO military officer said.

Estonian military intelligence chief Lieutenant-Colonel Kaupo Rosin told the meeting that an aggressive new military doctrine signed by Putin in December showed Moscow was "playing hockey while very many Western European countries are doing figure-skating".

Noting that it had taken weeks to convince some European countries that gunmen operating in Crimea were Russian soldiers, Rosin said Estonia could face a similar problem winning support under NATO's mutual defense clause if it were attacked.

"My problem would be to produce the necessary evidence."

Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations U.S. general Reuters

FYI, a couple of weeks ago Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges arrived in Kiev and as a coincidence Ukrainian Army started more massive shelling of SE Ukraine. Since the conflict has started everybody noticed some "laws of coincidence": every time a high ranked USA official comes to Kiev, the Ukrainian Army immediately increases its shelling. In the past those "coincidences" were connected with Biden's and Brennan's visits. And for all the chaos in Ukraine both official Kiev and official Washington feel very comfortable to blame Russia without providing any trustworthy evidence. They are basically running their mouths using a psychological rule: a lie repeated a lot of times starts sounding like the truth.

Russia should have kept it's paws off Cuba and Central America....

 

[Stratford57]

VLADIMIR PUTIN: This is a very painful issue you have brought up here, one that concerns the serious and tragic events in Ukraine. Essentially, a civil war is underway there. I think that many in Ukraine understand this very well now.

Regrettably, the government in Kiev has refused to take the road of a peaceful settlement and does not want to resolve the problem through political means. First they used the law enforcement agencies, then the security services, and then the army. Later, when they ran up against resistance, they suspended military operations, but sadly, they only used the temporary peace to regroup and then start their operations again. They are pursuing these operations again now. Thousands of people have already been killed. This is certainly a real tragedy.

We often speak of the ‘Ukrainian army’, but who is doing the fighting there in reality? Yes, in part it is official armed forces units, but a substantial part of those doing the fighting come from the so-called volunteer nationalist battalions. Essentially, this is not an army but is a foreign legion, in this particular case, a NATO foreign legion, which is not pursuing Ukraine’s national interests of course. They have completely different goals, related to achieving their geopolitical aim of containing Russia, and this is absolutely not in the Ukrainian people’s national interests.

Unfortunately though, we have the situation we see before us now. We need to help the people there. Incidentally, many people are trying to get out of being called up for duty. Some are trying to come here to Russia and wait things out a while here, and they are right to do this because there, they are simply being sent as cannon fodder to face the bullets. The problem is though, that under the new law, Ukrainian citizens cannot spend more than 30 days at a time in Russia. So they go back home and get caught and sent off again to face the bullets. We will therefore probably make some changes. Within the law’s provisions, we could increase the amount of time certain categories of people, above all people of conscript age, can stay in Russia.

President of Russia