Month: December 2023
Zelensky became so important to Ukraine’s war effort that officials in the capital eventually developed a plan just in case their president died or fell victim to one of Russia’s many assassination plots. Today Zelensky is much safer than he was in the early days of the war but attempts on his life are still
Ukraine to make drones in 2024
More details on Ukraine’s plan to make one million drones in 2024 were divulged by the country’s Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin on his Telegram Channel, noting the size and scale of Kyiv’s drone plan. Ukraine intends to manufacture one million first-person-view (FPV) drones but it also is working on producing eleven medium and
Russia pivots oil sales
Oil exports to the two most populous countries on the planet, India and China, have made up 90% of all Russia’s crude exports this year, Novak said China’s share of Russian exports had grown to around 45-50%. But the deputy prime minsiter also said that, of the two markets, it was India where Russian sales
Erdogan’s charges of Western hypocrisy
Human-rights watchdogs have been slamming Israel for the killings of Palestinian civilians and journalists since the start of the war. But in Turkey, the charges Mr Erdogan now levels against Western countries at nearly every public appearance tend to stick. With the Gazan authorities saying that the death toll from Israel’s bombardment has passed 20,000,
Artificial Intelligence in China
Chinese president, Xi Jinping, wants the country to become a hyper-advanced economy. His government is aggressively promoting the commercialisation of high technologies it likes, from electric vehicles to quantum computing. In 2021 it regulated a booming online-tutoring industry into oblivion almost overnight, apparently out of fear that high tuition fees were making children’s education so
Kyiv denies seizure of Mariinka in eastern Ukraine
Mariinka has been used by Ukraine as a defensive barrier since 2014, when Russia-backed fighters seized large swathes of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. President Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said his troops have seized the key town of Mariinka in eastern Ukraine
Ukraine down Russian jets
Ukraine plans to lower the age of those who can be mobilized for combat duty to 25 from 27, said a text posted on the website of Ukraine’s parliament on Monday. An explanatory note signed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov added key provisions of the draft law, saying they included the “change of conscription age
Azerbaijan expels French diplomats
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that two French diplomats had been ordered to leave the country over actions “incompatible with their diplomatic status.” The move comes amid strained ties between Baku and Paris as European powers attempt to mediate between Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia. Azerbaijan reclaimed the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, over which the
Airstrike in Syria
Israel has carried out military strikes in Syria for years, against what it says are Iran-linked targets. The strikes have increased in frequency over the past months following Hamas’ attack on 7 October. Iranian forces have been present in Syria since the early stages of the Syrian civil war, where they helped support the regime
Navalny in Arctic penal colony
Navalny has spent most of his detention at the IK-6 penal colony in the Vladimir region, some 250 kilometers east of Moscow. Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has confirmed his arrival in a Siberian penal colony in tweets referring to himself as a “Santa Claus.” His whereabouts were unknown for 20 days. Kremlin critic