Top Diplomats of Arab League Nations Approve Syria's Readmission - Iraqi Foreign Ministry

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters, to discuss the Sudan and Syrian situations, in Cairo, Egypt May 7, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Cairo - The foreign ministers of the member states of the League of Arab States (LAS) approved Syria's readmission to the organization during an extraordinary meeting on Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahhaf said.

"The meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab League has approved Syria's return to the Arab League," Al-Sahhaf told Iraqi news agency INA.

The 22-nation Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 after a war broke out in the country. Several member states then recalled their ambassadors from Syria in protest against Syrian President Bashar Assad's policies, accusing his government of cracking down on demonstrators in the country.

Years later, some of the nations have begun taking steps to reengage with Damascus and reopen embassies.

Arab League readmits Syria after 12-year suspension

Arab League-member states agreed to readmit Syria into the diplomatic bloc following an extraordinary session in Cairo today at the foreign minister level, ending a 12-year suspension stemming from Damascus’ 2011 crackdown on protests that spiraled into civil war.

Ending the suspension seemed a remote possibility until a few months ago, when, amid the humanitarian crisis that ensued after the deadly February 6 earthquake in Syria and Turkey, Egypt, along with other league member states, sought to pursue greater diplomatic openness with Damascus, starting the process that led to the reintegration decision.

Arab openness towards Syria developed rapidly in the following months. Cairo has been pushing for years against a suspension based on suppressing protests and to bring Damascus back into the fold but faced fierce opposition, mainly from Saudi Arabia. Ultimately, the recent breakthrough came after a change in Riyadh’s position.

Syria can resume its participation in league meetings immediately, as per the decision, which also called for a resolution to issues arising from the Syrian civil war, including the flight of refugees to neighboring countries and drug smuggling across the region.

Prior to Sunday’s decision, Egypt had been pursuing a relationship with Syria for “years,” government sources previously told Mada Masr.

Recent months saw the foreign ministers of Cairo and Damascus exchange official visits for the first time in 12 years, which came to crown developments over the past two years on multiple tracks, most notably trade and security coordination, especially with regard to militant groups such as the Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front.

Last year, another space for Cairo and Amman to engage with Damascus opened up with the United States’ preliminary approval of the plan to pipe natural gas, likely of Israeli origin and purchased by Egypt, via infrastructure spanning Jordan and Syria to the energy-deprived Lebanon.

One of the sources had also noted that Cairo is “considering leveling up its charge d’affaires in Damascus to ambassador,” though they added that “it will take some time.”

Some Arab states that were previously opposed to an open relationship with Syria came around over the past couple of months, most notable of which is Saudi Arabia, which recently reopened consulates in Riyadh and Damascus, in a move that a regional diplomatic source previously told Mada Masr was “based on a Russian proposal” discussed between Riyadh and Washington.

Riyadh also extended an invitation to Assad to the upcoming Arab League summit, scheduled for May 19, for the first time since the boycott.

The Saudi pivot towards opening up to Damascus has been a cause for dissatisfaction for Cairo, several sources told Mada Masr at the time of Shoukry’s Syria trip last month, especially after Riyadh rejected multiple Egyptian initiatives for the gradual reintegration of Syria. According to one of the sources, Cairo is concerned that despite the regional partnership, Egypt is often not informed in advance on Saudi Arabia’s regional realignments — as was the case with the recent rapprochement with Iran, or two years ago with Qatar.

But, according to two of the sources, Cairo is not keen on making a fuss over Saudi Arabia’s changing position to avoid adding more fire to the already-tense relationship between the two countries.

Relations between Cairo and Riyadh have been strained by the complexity of finalizing the security arrangements required to complete the transfer of Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir from Egyptian sovereignty to Saudi Arabia, a process further complicated by the absence of official relations between Saudi and Israel, which overlooks the Straits of Tiran between the islands and Egypt.

Saudi Arabia’s reluctance to provide Cairo with financial support despite the severity of Egypt’s economic crisis has also heightened tensions, while a source in Riyadh told Mada Masr on condition of anonymity that Saudi Arabia has also made communications with political figures who do not enjoy the approval of the Egyptian administration.

In mid-April, top diplomats from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, met in Jeddah to discuss bringing Syria back into the league.

That meeting was followed by another one last week that brought together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq in Amman, where they discussed the return of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, drug smuggling over Syria’s borders and the Syrian authorities extending their control over the whole Syrian territory.

Moscow Welcomes Syria’s Return to LAS - Foreign Ministry

Russia welcomes the resumption of Syria’s participation in the work of the League of Arab States (LAS), this will improve the state of affairs in the region, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

On Sunday, LAS foreign ministers announced that Syria was returning to the organization.

"Moscow welcomes this long-awaited step, which has become a logical result of the process of returning Syria to the ‘Arab family’ that has gained momentum. For our part, in contact with the Arab capitals, we consistently called on them to restore full-fledged relations with Damascus," Zakharova said in a statement on Sunday.

She added that the resumption of Syria's participation in the work of the Arab League, of which it is one of the founding states, will help improve the atmosphere in the Middle East region.

Zakharova expressed hope that LAS will support Syria in its post-conflict reconstruction, which is complicated by the illegitimate unilateral sanctions against Damascus.

The Russian embassy in Cairo, Egypt said in a statement that it welcomed the decision of the Arab League to restore Syria’s full membership in the organization. The embassy expressed confidence that the return of Damascus will make a significant contribution to overcoming the challenges facing the region and will further enhance the role of the Arab League in international affairs.

The 22-nation Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 after a war broke out in the country. Several member states then recalled their ambassadors from Syria in protest against Syrian President Bashar Assad's policies, accusing his government of cracking down on demonstrators in the country. Years later, some of the nations have begun taking steps to reengage with Damascus and reopen embassies.

RFK Jr Says Russia Faces 'Existential' Fight It 'Cannot Lose in Ukraine

©AP Photo / JOSH REYNOLDS

All of Washington's decisions since the hostilities in Ukraine escalated in early 2022 have been about prolonging and maximizing the violence and bloodshed produced by this conflict, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insisted, speaking in a podcast interview.

"The Russians cannot lose in Ukraine, as this is existential to them," Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. underscored as he spoke with the hosts of the All-In Podcast. He added: "We are being told they are losing, but they cannot afford to lose."

Russia has been “building up” its forces, and it has “an artillery advantage,” the Democratic presidential candidate pointed out, adding that the US, which has been funneling vast amounts of weapons to Ukraine, does not have the ability to replace the arms lost in the conflagration.

Washington has been doing everything to prolong the Ukraine conflict, and the Biden administration has been displaying "absolute intransigence" regarding the many opportunities to end the conflagration. But this can be explained by the fact that the US has been on "a mission to maximize casualties, to prolong what is, essentially, a war of attrition," RFK Jr. said.

The lawyer-turned-politician took a step back at this point in the interview and said that the "real story" started in 2014, when "the US government and, in particular, the neocons in the White House and elsewhere participated in and supported the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Ukraine."

"They helped to install in Kiev a very anti-Russian government. This government started enacting a series of laws that turned the Russian populations of the Donbass region into "second-class" citizens. They illegalized, essentially, their language and culture, and then, ultimately, began killing them," said.

This is what prompted Russia's response when it started its special military operation in February 2022 to protect these people. The Ukraine conflict could have been settled if the Minsk accords of 2014 had been followed through with, believes the politician, underscoring that there was no question that Washington had been actively integrating Ukrainian forces into NATO – something that Russia's President Vladimir Putin said from the outset was a "red line."

Looking ahead, Kennedy said the Kiev regime cannot continue to fight without US support, and that if he became president, he would settle the conflict. As for the incumbent in the White House – Democratic POTUS Joe Biden – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged that he was a “go-to-war guy.”

"I would settle this," reiterated Kennedy, underscoring the need for de-escalating tensions with Russia and questioning the very need for NATO.

"The principal job of a president of the United States is to keep the nation out of war,” John F. Kennedy said.

These remarks echo what the Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said earlier in the month, when he pointed out that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a chance to avoid the conflict with Russia by simply refusing to join NATO.

"In 2019 actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky ran as the peace candidate winning the Ukrainian presidency with 70% of the vote. As Benjamin Abelow observes in his brilliant book, 'How the West Brought War to Ukraine,' Zelensky almost certainly could have avoided the 2022 war with Russia simply by uttering five words - 'I will not join NATO'," Kennedy said in a tweet.

In 2019 actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky ran as the peace candidate winning the Ukrainian presidency with 70% of the vote. As Benjamin Abelow observes in his brilliant book, “How the West Brought War to Ukraine,” Zelensky almost certainly could have avoided the 2022 war with…

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 3, 2023

In 1960, the USSR accused the U.S. of running an aerial spying program over its territory. Our government denied it to the American people, only admitting it when confronted with the captured U-2 pilot Gary Powers. Americans were genuinely shocked that their government would lie…

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 5, 2023

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 69, tossed his hat into the presidential race, he explained his motivation to run as stemming from the "rise of corporatism in this country," as well the fact that the modern Democratic Party is "becoming the party of war, the party of censorship, the party of fear and the party of neocons and Wall Street."

Video - Russian Forces Seize American Armored Vehicle in Artemovsk

The Humvee (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) is an armored military vehicle designed for various tasks such as troop transport, command and control, and combat support. It is made of heavy-duty materials that can withstand severe conditions and attacks.

Russian Forces have seized as a trophy an American Humvee armored vehicle in Artemovsk (Bakhmut), after the Ukrainian Armed Forces abandoned it while retreating to the western quarters of the city.

The Ukrainian security forces attempted to destroy the abandoned Humvee with artillery, and as a result, it sustained minor damage.

The Humvee's wheels were damaged by shrapnel, but because the tires have special rubber inserts inside, this allowed the trophy to be successfully evacuated.

Possibility of Ukrainian Counteroffensive in Coming Days Persists - Zaporozhye Official

The possibility of Ukrainian troops launching a major counteroffensive in the Zaporozhye Region in the next few days persists, which justifies the evacuation of residents of nearby villages and towns, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye regional administration, told Sputnik on Sunday.

"There were assumptions that the counteroffensive in the Zaporozhye Region might start on May 5 or 6, but this did not happen. However, a high probability of the counteroffensive being launched in the upcoming days still persists. Both our troops and the enemy are ready to intensify military actions," Rogov said.

On Thursday, Rogov said that Kiev had accumulated its forces at the forefront to launch the counteroffensive. On Friday, Yevgeny Balitsky, the acting governor of the Zaporozhye Region, stated that Ukraine might start its counteroffensive in the coming days or even hours. Residents of 18 villages located near the front line have been evacuated for safety reasons deeper into the region, Balitsky added.

Ukraine's upcoming counteroffensive is expected to be accompanied by the shelling of nearby villages, so the authorities' decision to temporary relocate the residents is justified, the official explained to Sputnik. Once Ukrainian troops are pushed back, the people will be able to return to home.

The Ukrainian government has been planning a major counteroffensive against Russia for several months. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in early April that Kiev had scheduled its counteroffensive for the summer, while US media reported that it was expected to start on April 30. The Foreign Policy newspaper reported, citing Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandra Ustinova, that Kiev indeed had hoped to launch its counteroffensive in April, but later postponed it indefinitely due to a shortage of weapons.

Russian Drone Lancet Destroys US' Avenger in Special Operation Zone - Defense Ministry

Russian kamikaze drone Lancet has destroyed US air defense system Avenger intended for the protection from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the special operation zone, the press office of the Vostok battalion said on Sunday.

"The 'Lancet' loitering munition has destroyed the Avenger air defense system based on the Hummer car near the city of Vodianoe," the office said.

Earlier this month, an informed source told Sputnik that Russian loitering munition Izdeliye-52 (Lancet) had been modernized based on the experience of using it during the special military operation in Ukraine.

©Sputnik /Mikhail Voskresensky /Go to the mediaba

The basic version of the drone has been significantly upgraded and now has a more powerful warhead, a new optoelectronic guidance system and a control system with new software.

Russia’s FSB thwarts Ukrainian drone attack on airfield in Ivanovo Region — statement

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Interior Ministry have thwarted a drone attack on an airfield in the Ivanovo Region, the FSB said in a statement.

"The FSB, acting together with the Russian Interior Ministry, thwarted an attempt to carry out an act of sabotage, masterminded by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, against the Severny airfield in the Ivanovo Region, which was supposed to involve drones filled with explosives," the statement reads.

The perpetrators planned to target A-50 early warning and control aircraft, the FSB added.

"In conducting active search measures in Russia, a sabotage group was exposed, which was supervised by Ukrainian security officers. The group’s members planned to use an Aeroprakt A-32 light aircraft to deliver improvised explosive devices from the Blistova settlement in Ukraine’s Chernigov Region," the statement added.

The aircraft’s pilot and the sabotage group’s members recruited by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry were detained after landing in Russia’s Tula Region during the handover of explosive devices. A search is underway for other members of the group.

Wagner promised ‘as much ammo as we need’ – Prigozhin

The Russian private military company Wagner Group, which is fighting Ukrainian troops in the Donbass city of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), has been promised enough ammunition to continue the battle, the company's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Sunday.

The statement comes after Prigozhin warned that his fighters would be forced to pull out of the city on May 10 unless ammunition shortages are addressed by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

In a voice message posted on his Telegram channel, Prigozhin said that Wagner received “a military instruction … in which we were promised as much ammunition and weapons as we need to continue our activities.”

“We were told that we can carry out activities in Artyomovsk as we deem necessary,” Prigozhin added.

He also said that Army General Sergey Surovikin, the deputy commander of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, was tasked with “making all decisions related to the military activities of Wagner PMC in coordination with the Defense Ministry.”

On Friday, Prigozhin said that Wagner personnel were suffering heavy losses because of what he described as a 70% shortage of ammunition. He later announced that the positions held by Wagner would be handed over to Akhmat, an elite unit from Russia’s Chechnya.

The fierce and bloody battle for the mining city of Artyomovsk, known to Ukrainians as Bakhmut, has been raging for several months. Prigozhin claims his forces have taken control of nearly all of the city, while the Ukrainians are holding out in a small area in the western part.

Capturing Artyomovsk, an important logistical hub, would allow Russian forces to make further advances in Donbass.

Born in Chaos, Forged in Combat: How Today's Russian Military Structure Came to Be

©Sputnik/ Alexei Danichev/ Go to the mediabank

Sunday marks the 31st anniversary of the creation of the modern Russian military. What is its makeup and composition? What does the letter ‘Z’ painted on Russian vehicles in Ukraine mean? How does Russia’s military stack up against NATO? Read Sputnik’s explainer to find out.

On May 7, 1992, Russia's first president Boris Yeltsin issued an executive order establishing the Russian Armed Forces and assumed control as supreme commander.

Rough Start

Arguably no part of Russian society was impacted more adversely by the collapse of the USSR than the military. In December 1991, over 3.6 million active-duty generals, officers and conscripts who once pledged allegiance to the Soviet Union awoke to find themselves in 15 different countries.

“The Air Defense Troops in Estonia have been abandoned and forgotten about. Yeltsin made promises and then reneged on his own words. He has betrayed us,” one officer angrily said at a gathering of the All-Army Officers’ Meeting in Moscow in early 1992. “We’re surviving however we can.”

“It’s very difficult to speak about combat readiness today, since soldiers and officers aren’t rotated from combat duty for days on end, and there is no one to replace them for even one day. The Army cannot continue to remain in such condition. I for example am a Ukrainian by nationality, my wife is Russian, our four children were born in the Baltics, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. I would like to ask the president at this meeting: what country am I a citizen of today? And what country will I live in tomorrow together with my family?” another asked.

“[We’re told] by our media that nobody is threatening us and that we are living in new world of ‘common human thinking’, that these tendencies are victorious. But we see what happened to Iraq, which dared to act in a way that the United States didn’t want, what happened to Grenada, and to Panama and its duly elected president, who was extradited and stood trial. The Americans aren’t reducing their military presence in the Indian Ocean, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Pacific Ocean, but our ships, speaking frankly, if the current trend continues, will be left laid up at harbors,” a concerned naval officer said.

The Russian military would spend the rest of the 1990s in its most difficult state since the turmoil that followed the 1917 revolutions, facing massive budget cutbacks, severe demoralization, the start of NATO's gradual encroachment toward Russia’s borders, and a series of conflicts across the post-Soviet zone.

It wouldn’t be until the appointment of Vladimir Putin as Yeltsin’s successor on December 31, 1999 (and his election as president in 2000) that the Russian military would begin to recover from the wounds, both figurative and literal, that it had received in the 1990s.

Today, the Russian Armed Forces rank among the top three military powers in the world, demonstrating over the past year that they are able to wage a proxy war with what is essentially the combined military and economic might of NATO in its entirety in Ukraine.

Sizing Up Russia's Armed Forces

Russia is in the process of expanding the size of its armed forces in connection with the crisis in Ukraine. In December, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that the military needed to enlarge from around one million troops to one-and-a-half million.

“In order to guarantee the fulfillment of tasks to ensure Russia’s security, it’s necessary to increase the strength of the Armed Forces to 1.5 million servicemen, including 695,000 contract servicemen,” Shoigu said.

In January, the defense chief held a meeting with his deputy defense ministers and commanders on the implementation of the directive, with the initiative to be completed between 2023 and 2026.

On May 2, Shoigu offered an update on the current state of the nation's rearmament program, revealing that the military is purchasing nearly triple the amount of weapons of certain types than it did in 2022, and seven times more of those in particularly high demand. The minister emphasized that the capabilities of the Armed Forces depend on the timely replenishment of weapons, meaning the military industrial complex must keep pace with the increase in demand.

“In general, the military industry is meeting the needs of the Army and Navy. However, it’s necessary to identify risks of enterprises failing their obligations and promptly take corrective measures in a timely manner,” he said.

The Makeup of Russia's Armed Forces

The Russian military consists of five service branches:

• the Ground Forces;
• the Aerospace Forces;
• the Navy;
• the Airborne Forces;
• and the Strategic Rocket Forces

How Big are Russia's Ground Forces?

The Russian Ground Forces are by far the biggest branch, accounting for about 550,000 personnel in 2022. These consist of eight motorized rifle divisions, three tank divisions, one machine-gun-artillery division, and about 100 brigades ranging from motorized rifle and tank units to artillery, rocket artillery, control and communications, electronic warfare, air defense, engineering units, military police and the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops formations.

Troops are divided into Combined Arms Armies located in the Western, Southern, Central and Eastern Military Districts. These forces have thousands of tanks (up to 2,800), infantry fighting vehicles (up to 5,100) and armored personnel carriers (up to 6,100), self-propelled and towed guns (over 1,750), rocket artillery (over 1,350) and surface-to-air missile systems (2,530+), and tens of thousands more tanks, IFVs, APCs, towed and self-propelled guns in storage. Part of these stocks has been tapped to shore up equipment engaged in Ukraine, with the military deploying a potpourri of equipment in the conflict zone, from various modifications of the T-72 tank to the T-80, and from Soviet-era BTR designs to the Tigr infantry vehicles introduced in the 2000s.

Russian tank deployed in the special operation in Ukraine.
©Sputnik / Valery Melnikov / Go to the mediabank

How Big are Russia's Aerospace Forces?

The Russian Aerospace Forces are, as the name suggests, the military branch responsible for assuring the security of Russia’s vast airspace, from the Arctic to the Black and Caspian Seas, and from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. The size of the force was about 165,000 in 2020, and they are subdivided between the Air Force, the Air and Missile Defense Forces, and the Space Forces.

The main sub-branch, the Air Force, is equipped with a broad array of equipment, from fighter jets and fighter-bombers to heavy strategic bombers, transport and attack helicopters, transport planes, tankers and trainers. Among the best known aircraft are the Sukhoi-Su-34 twin-seat, all-weather fighter-bomber/strike aircraft, single-seat Sukhoi Su-35 air defense fighters, Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunships, Tu-160 'White Swan' strategic bombers and Ilyushin Il-76 jumbo transport planes.

The air defense forces are equipped with an array of stationary and mobile radar, air and missile defense equipment, ranging from the stationary A-135 anti-ballistic missile system protecting Moscow from missile attack to road-mobile S-300 and S-400 missile systems. The Space Forces are equipped with tools to assist in space control, and the means to place satellites in orbit.

The Aerospace Forces have access to over 100 air bases from the exclave of Kaliningrad in the west to Sakhalin Island in the Far East, as well as several bases abroad, most notably the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria.

How Big is Russia's Navy?

The Russian Navy consists of about 150,000 personnel, divided into the Baltic, Northern, Black and Pacific Fleets, plus the Caspian Flotilla, the Naval Infantry and Naval Aviation. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, the Russian Navy is the third largest in the world after the United States and China, with its inventory including over 65 attack and missile submarines, 80 corvettes, 60 landing craft, 11 frigates, 10 destroyers, 2 cruisers and 1 aircraft carrier – the Admiral Kuznetsov.

Russia is one of only a handful of nations in the world with a so-called blue water navy – which means it can deploy naval assets across the globe in the world’s oceans (hence the term ‘blue’, rather than coastal, or ‘brown’ water). Other countries in the former category include the US, as well as France, Britain, China, Italy and India.

The collapse of the USSR forced Russia to significantly scale back its naval ambitions, with the Kuznetsov carrier just one of six sister ships built for the Soviet Navy, which found themselves in various hands after 1991, two of them having been sold to India and China and upgraded and modernized, and one turned into a floating theme park. The never-completed nuclear-powered Ulyanovsk would have allowed Russia to join the exclusive club of countries with supercarriers, but construction was halted in 1991, and scrapped in 1992.

Russia has made up for reduced tonnage with a number of asymmetrical solutions, including equipping multiple classes of warships – from small corvettes to stealthy attack subs, with the ability to launch nuclear-capable Kalibr cruise missiles. In 2015, corvettes from the Russian Caspian Flotilla showed off the Kalibr’s capabilities, firing dozens of missiles at terrorist targets in Syria, over 1,500 km away.

Ships from Russia's Caspian Flotilla launching Kalibr-NK cruise missiles against Daesh targets in Syria. File photo ©Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation //Go to the mediabank

What Makes Russia's Airborne Forces and Strategic Rocket Forces Special?

The Russian Airborne Forces and the Strategic Rocket Forces are special branches of troops. The former consist of about 45,000 personnel, and as the name suggests, are tasked with airborne assault missions, although they can also join ground operations where particularly well-trained, battle-hardened troops are needed. Along with the Special Operations Forces, the Airborne Forces are considered among the most elite units of the Russian military. The Airborne troops are equipped with light armor, including infantry fighting vehicles and the 2S9 Nona, a specially-designed air-droppable self-propelled mortar.

The Strategic Rocket Forces carry perhaps the greatest burden on their shoulders among all of Russia’s military personnel – and are responsible for launching the nation’s nuclear weapons in the event of an enemy nuclear attack, or conventional aggression so severe that it threatens the existence of the state, to paraphrase the official nuclear doctrine. About 50,000 personnel serve in the Strategic Rocket Forces.

Transport and starting container of the Yars RS-24 complex on the military parade devoted to the 73rd anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945
©Sputnik /Evgeny Biyatov //Go to the mediabank

Russia is one of five countries in the world with a nuclear triad – meaning the ability to launch nukes from a silo, or mobile ground-based units, submarines or aircraft. The nuclear triad gives Russia an important psychological guarantee that in the event of an enemy's first strike - even if it’s a massed conventional cruise missile strike designed to decapitate the Russian leadership or neutralize its nukes – at least some of the warheads will get through.

The conflict in Ukraine has generated a lot of noise from Western officials and media about the possibility of Russia using tactical nukes in Ukraine. But unless and until Russia’s doctrine is changed to say otherwise, NATO – and specifically its leader – the US, will remain the only nuclear superpower whose doctrine allows for nukes to be used preemptively, and against non-nuclear armed adversaries.

Who Commands the Russian Armed Forces?

The Russian president is the constitutionally mandated supreme commander in chief of the Russian Armed Forces.

What Does the Letter ‘Z’ Mean on Russian Tanks?

The appearance of the letter ‘Z’ on Russian armored units during the escalation of tensions in the Donbass in early 2022 has no official military explanation. Most experts speculate that the markings, along with the more rarely observed letters ‘V’ and ‘O’, were painted on vehicles to allow Russian forces to avoid friendly fire, and possibly, to indicate the direction the equipment was supposed to travel –Z for Zapad, or ‘West’, V for Vostok, or ‘East’, or to distinguish between forces from the Western and Eastern military districts.

That leaves the mysterious ‘O’. The jury is still out on what that letter may mean. In any event, the letter ‘Z’ has now become the symbol for the military operation in Ukraine as a whole, and used in flags, slapped on vehicles, caps, shirts and other items and even donned by some social media users to show their support for the troops.

Is Russia’s Military More Powerful Than NATO’s?

Military nerds on internet forums and social media have debated until they’re blue in the face about who would win a conflict between the Russian military and NATO, using arguments ranging from readiness levels to statistics on equipment and ammunition types to combat experience and the ability of economies and military industries to sustain a prolonged conflict. By nearly all military parameters, from total personnel, aircraft and warships, NATO has the edge. The alliance spends significantly more on defense – over $1 trillion in 2022 compared to about $86.4 billion by Moscow. The size of the alliance’s economies is also larger, with a GDP of $18.35 trillion dwarfing Russia’s 1.8 trillion. Of course, raw numbers aren’t everything, with the West’s failed sanctions war showing just how dramatic miscalculations about perceived strength can be, and historical conflicts from Vietnam to Afghanistan demonstrating that grit and determination can count for just as much as or even more than raw power.

Whatever the arguments about comparative military power may be, the figures above certainly serve to validate Russia’s concerns about NATO’s eastward creep over the past two-and-a-half decades. Hopefully, theories about ‘which side is stronger’ will never have to be put to the test, because the fate of billions of lives, and perhaps even humanity itself, may depend on peace between the nuclear superpowers.

Video - Anti-monarchy protesters arrested in London

Police arrest 52 including republicans during King Charles' coronation

Police arrested the leader of anti-monarchy group Republic and 51 others at King Charles's coronation on Saturday, saying their duty to prevent disruption outweighed the right to protest.

Hundreds of yellow-clad demonstrators gathered among the 10-deep crowds lining the procession route in central London to stand out from those clad in red, white and blue, and to hold up signs saying "Not My King".

Republic said its leader Graham Smith had been detained before the procession began and photos circulated on social media showing police officers seizing demonstrators' placards.

Anti-monarchy protesters demonstrate near the procession route for ]King Charles III's coronation in London, Britain, May 6, 2023
©AP/ Scott Garfitt

"We absolutely understand public concern following the arrests we made this morning," Commander Karen Findlay of the London Metropolitan police said in a statement.

"Over the past 24 hours there has been a significant police operation after we received information protesters were determined to disrupt the Coronation procession."

Republic had vowed to mount the biggest protest against a British monarch in modern history and protesters booed as King Charles and Queen Camilla made their way to Westminster Abbey, and as the service was relayed publicly on large speakers.

The organisers of the #notmyking protest have been arrested - police won’t say what for pic.twitter.com/qu5JgNhCgF

— Alliance of European Republican Movements (@AERMorg) May 6, 2023

"It is disgusting and massively over the top," said Kevin John, 57, a salesman from Devon who was among the protesters.

"It is also hugely counterproductive by the police because all it has done is create a massive amount of publicity for us. It is completely crazy."

Police did not confirm Smith's arrest. They said they had acted because they believed protesters would seek to deface public monuments with paint and disrupt "official movements".

"All of these people remain in custody," Findlay said.

Police said in a separate statement on Saturday that they had arrested three people earlier in the day based on intelligence that protesters were planning to throw rape alarms at the procession which could have scared the horses involved and thereby caused a risk to public safety.

Amongst the items seized during the arrests in London's Soho district were a number of rape alarms, the police added.

Police detain a protester on the day of Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation ceremony, in London, Britain May 6, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Boyers

Protests also took place in Glasgow in Scotland and Cardiff in Wales, with participants holding up signs saying: "Abolish the monarchy, feed the people." On social media, many contrasted Britain's cost of living crisis with the pomp and pageantry.

Although protesters were in a minority compared with the tens of thousands gathered to support the king, polls suggest support for the monarchy is declining and is weakest among young people.

Scuffles as police confiscate anti-monarchy banner from protesters on Coronation morning in London. It is not clear why the banner was taken. Footage available from @Newsflare #Coronation #Coronation2023 @RepublicStaff pic.twitter.com/CG7QQTsVwb

— Urban Pictures (@Urban_Pictures) May 6, 2023

With the crown passing from Queen Elizabeth to her less popular son, republican activists hope Charles will be the last British monarch to be crowned.

"It has a hereditary billionaire individual born into wealth and privilege who basically symbolises the inequality of wealth and power in our society," said Clive Lewis, an opposition Labour Party lawmaker.

STAGGERINGLY EXPENSIVE

In London, protesters demanded an elected head of state, saying that the royal family has no place in a modern constitutional democracy and is staggeringly expensive.

"Don't you think this is all a bit silly," said one placard.

Most of the anti-monarchy protesters had congregated in Trafalgar Square next to the bronze statue of King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649, leading to a short-lived republic.

Since Charles became king last September, there have been protests at royal events. He was heckled at a Commonwealth Day event at Westminster Abbey in March and targeted with eggs in York in November.

The death of the queen has also reignited debate in Australia, Jamaica and other parts of the Commonwealth over the need to retain Charles as their head of state.

The arrests came just days after UK police forces were granted new anti-protest powers

The state government of New South Wales said it had decided not to light up the sails of the Sydney Opera House to mark the coronation in order to save money. Events in other countries where Charles is head of state were also low key.

While many other European monarchies have come and gone, or are far diminished in scale and importance, the British royal family has remained remarkably resilient.

Police arresting a Just Stop Oil campaigner at the coronation. Yara Nardi / Getty Images

In Britain, polls show the majority still want the royal family, but there is a long-term trend of declining support.

A poll by YouGov last month found 64% of people in Britain said they had little or no interest in the coronation. Among those aged 18 to 24, the number rose to 75%.