DefenceTalkNATO will suspend cooperation with Russia on the maintenance of Afghan helicopters and a joint anti-drug operation, a source in the alliance told RIA Novosti. Foreign chiefs of NATO’s 28 member states earlier froze “practical civilian and military cooperation” with Moscow but vowed to keep intact the NATO-Russia Council and diplomatic contacts at the ambassadorial […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-to-suspend-cooperation-with-russia-on-afghan-choppers-training-59203/

DefenceTalkThe West’s relations with Russia are at an historic low. This comes after years of NATO’s enlargement policy in Eastern Europe. Should the military alliance have acted more cautiously? Jamie Shea likes to reference knowledgeable people. In the context of the NATO enlargement process, he quotes Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, who said: “All great […]https://www.defencetalk.com/is-nato-expansion-to-blame-for-crimean-crisis-59190/

DefenceTalkHaving effectively annexed Crimea, Russia now threatens the territorial integrity of the rest of Ukraine. How are Ukraine’s ground forces configured to deal with the challenge? This map is the closest approximation of Ukrainian ground force (along with airborne and air-mobile units) deployments based on research of Ukrainian armed forces until February 2014. Readers will […]https://www.defencetalk.com/current-status-of-ukraines-ground-forces-59171/

DefenceTalkRussia has begun preparations for terminating bilateral agreements with Ukraine related to the status and operation of the Black Sea Fleet, a Kremlin spokesman said Friday. The decision was made at a meeting of the country’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin. According to spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the measures to be scrapped include a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-moves-to-scrap-black-sea-fleet-agreements-with-ukraine-59186/

DefenceTalkThe Army and NATO are watching “very carefully” the troop deployments and the exercises they’re doing in Russia, said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno. “I think it’s important for us that we operate within the NATO framework to address these issues and we are doing that,” he told lawmakers in reply to a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/csa-army-watching-eastern-europe-closely-59181/

DefenceTalkHis eyes glazed and his step heavy, former Ukrainian soldier Sergei walks out of a naval office in Sevastopol after switching allegiance to the Russian army. He is one of many making the choice to stay on in Crimea where the Ukrainian army stood by helplessly as Russia seized its military facilities in a matter […]https://www.defencetalk.com/beaten-and-demoralised-ukraine-soldiers-sign-up-with-russia-59184/

DefenceTalkThe combat dolphin program in the Crimean city of Sevastopol will be preserved and redirected towards the interests of the Russian Navy, an employee at the facility where the dolphins are trained told RIA Novosti. The program, dating to the 1960s, was previously scheduled to be disbanded by the Ukrainian navy in April, but the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/crimean-military-dolphins-to-serve-in-russian-navy-59154/

DefenceTalkNorway condemns Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the use of armed force in Ukraine. This is a clear violation of international law and an unacceptable course of action that must have consequences. Norway has therefore informed Russian authorities of its decision to suspend all planned bilateral military activities between Norway […]https://www.defencetalk.com/norway-suspends-planned-military-activities-with-russia-59150/

DefenceTalkChina’s President Xi Jinping questioned his US counterpart Barack Obama about reports that Washington had secretly tapped Chinese telecoms giant Huawei for years, a top security aide said Monday. “President Xi did raise that recent report in the context of their discussions on cyber-security,” Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, told a press briefing. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/chinas-xi-challenges-obama-on-telecoms-spying-report-59136/

DefenceTalkAll military units stationed in Crimea are now under the control of the Russian military, and remaining Ukrainian servicemen are departing the peninsula, the region’s first deputy prime minister, Rustam Temirgaliyev, said on Monday. As Crimea’s reunification process began last week, a total of 147 military units in the predominantly Russian-ethnic region have replaced Ukrainian […]https://www.defencetalk.com/no-ukrainian-military-units-left-in-crimea-59124/