• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Ukraine Invasion
Defense Policy / Programs
Foreign Policy
News Reports

Ukraine Invasion

• Humanitarian needs spike as Russia escalates offensive in Ukraine's Kharkiv region VOA 21 May 2024 -- U.N. agencies report Russia's escalating military offensive in Ukraine's Kharkiv region over the past two weeks is causing an alarming spike in humanitarian needs as deaths and injuries grow and thousands flee in the wake of relentless aerial attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure.
• Ukraine says armed forces hit Russian cruise missile carrier in Crimea Press TV 21 May 2024 -- Ukraine claims its armed forces have hit a Russian cruise missile carrier in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
• Ukraine attacks kill two in Russia's Belgorod, Donetsk Press TV 21 May 2024 -- Ukraine has killed two people in separate aerial attacks on Russia's border region of Belgorod and the city of Donetsk, officials say.
• Ukraine Loses Up to 425 Soldiers in Battles With Russia's Battlegroup Zapad - MoD Sputnik 21 May 2024 -- Ukraine lost up to 425 soldiers in battles with Russia's Battlegroup Zapad over the past 24 hours, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Tuesday.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Russia Begins Drills on Preparation and Use of Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons Sputnik 21 May 2024 -- Earlier this month, the Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian General Staff, on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, had begun preparations to hold exercises with missile formations of the Southern Military District and Navy forces.
• Ex-Russian Army Commander Who Once Criticized Top Brass Arrested On Fraud Charges RFE/RL 21 May 2024 -- The former commander of Russia's 58th army - who had once complained about his forces' lack of support from Moscow - has been arrested on fraud charges, state-run TASS news agency reported.
• Russian Military Ex-Commander Popov Arrested on Large-Scale Fraud Charges - Court Sputnik 21 May 2024 -- The former commander of the 58th army of the Russian armed forces, Major General Ivan Popov, was arrested on large-scale fraud charges, the 235th garrison military court told Sputnik on Tuesday.

Foreign Policy

• Press release on the SCO Foreign Ministers Council Meeting Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 21 May 2024
• Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks and answers to media questions following the SCO Foreign Ministers Council meeting, Astana, May 21, 2024 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 21 May 2024
• Telephone conversation with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev President of Russia 21 May 2024 -- Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
• Russian FM blames US sanctions for Iran president's copter crash IRNA 21 May 2024 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has blamed sanctions imposed by the united states on Iran for a deadly helicopter crash over the weakened that involved late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other senior officials of the country.
• Russia scoffs at US reaction to likely ICC arrest warrants for Israeli officials Press TV 21 May 2024 -- Russia has scoffed at the United States' reaction to potential issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli officials over Tel Aviv's Washington-backed war of genocide against the Gaza Strip.
• EU Approves Use Of Frozen Russian Assets For Ukraine As Zelenskiy Claims 'Tangible' Results RFE/RL 21 May 2024 -- The European Union has given official approval for the use of proceeds from frozen assets of the Russian central bank to beef up the defense of Ukraine, the European Council announced on May 21, a move that could see as much as 3 billion euros ($3.23 billion) diverted to Kyiv's military this year.
• EU Approves Use of Income From Frozen Russian Assets for Ukraine - Czech Foreign Minister Sputnik 21 May 2024 -- The European Union has approved the use of revenues from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Tuesday, adding that 90% of the sum would go to the Ukrainian armed forces.
• "Putin, in his imperial delusion, sought to grab Ukraine. Instead, he has allied it firmly with Europe." - Foreign Minister Baerbock visits Ukraine once again Germany Federal Foreign Office 21 May 2024 -- On 21 May, Foreign Minister Baerbock arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv for another visit. Read more to discover why the Minister's eighth visit comes at such a crucial moment.

News Reports

• Imprisoned Kremlin Critic Kara-Murza Loses Another Appeal In Court RFE/RL 21 May 2024 -- The Moscow City Court on May 21 rejected an appeal filed by imprisoned Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza against a lower court's refusal to consider his lawsuit against Russia's Investigative Committee for failing to fully investigate his suspected poisoning.
• Behind Putin and Xi's embrace, Russia is junior partner, analysts say VOA 21 May 2024 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is not known for public displays of affection.
• How Kremlin uses false fact checks to spread disinformation VOA 21 May 2024 -- Just a few weeks after Russia's full invasion of Ukraine, Moscow started to promote a website that claims to tell the truth about the war.