Author: Marina Mattili

Russia has trained its troops for a potential attack on Japan and South Korea, according to a report by the Financial Times. Leaked military files show detailed plans for strikes on civilian infrastructure in event of war. The British outlet reviewed 29 Russian military documents and uncovered a strategy devised by Moscow to target the two Asian nations. The email, dated March 17, was sent by the agent, dubbed the Wind of Change, to Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian human-rights activist who runs the anti-corruption website Gulagu.net, and is now exiled in France. The FSB agent writes regular dispatches to Osechkin, revealing…

The US treaty ally is spending billions to arm itself for a conflict over Taiwan or the South China Sea it hopes will never comeIn the heart of Manila, where noise and chaos reign supreme, the American Cemetery and Memorial is an oasis of stillness. More than 50,000 fallen troops are honoured at the site – some with white marble headstones, but most as names etched into the Walls of the Missing, their remains never recovered. All but a handful were American soldiers. The cemetery does not commemorate the estimated 1 million Filipinos who also died in the Pacific War…

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who received the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to peace in the Middle East and easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the 1990s, died Sunday, the Carter Center said. He was 100. Carter, the longest-living former U.S. president in history, who entered hospice care nearly two years ago, died peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family, according to the center. “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and unselfish love,” Chip Carter, the former president’s son, said…

Two Greek shipping companies will pay $3.4 million in fines after admitting their vessel’s crew dumped oily bilge water into the narrow shipping channel between New Jersey and Staten Island, then falsified records to hide it. In addition to the fine, the U.S. Department of Justice ordered Avin International Ltd. and Kriti Ruby Special Maritime Enterprises, owner and operator of the offending Motor Tanker Kriti Ruby, to make a $1.1 million community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The feds also sentenced the two companies to five years of probation “during which they will be subject to…

The European Union’s approach to tackling Foreign Influence and Manipulation Interference (FIMI) highlights the serious attention placed on combating disinformation, particularly in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and broader geopolitical tensions. The European External Action Service (EEAS) reports that, between December 2022 and November 2023, it detected and documented 750 instances of foreign information manipulation and interference. This equates to approximately two false narratives being propagated every day, underscoring the scale and frequency of disinformation activities that need to be addressed. The contrast with U.S. efforts is evident, as the U.S. has been criticized for having a less effective…

NATO countries understand the need to spend more than 2% of GDP on defense, but the new spending target will only become clear next year after discussions among Alliance members. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated this on Sunday in Finland, as reported by Politico. According to Mitsotakis, NATO nations recognize the necessity of allocating more funds for defense. “Once we have discussions with the new U.S. president, it will become clear what figure we will agree upon within NATO,” Mitsotakis said. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, wants NATO allies to more than double their defense…

Washington (19/12 – 40). The Russian disinformation is centered on influencing U.S. corporation thru a network of former spies of the KGB or the FSB. One particularly interesting as this U.S. security consultancy firm consists of many of ex-Agency heads and FBI directors. Some of consultant’s work is based on Russian influence operations. Very little source confirmed the beltway bandit are peddling in pro-Russian narratives. The story started with a Russian defector was hired by the consultancies bringing a “Russian” perspective to the fledging beltway operator. Credibility, verification or cross checking of the information is non-existent. Russian narratives are peddled as…

Ankara (17/12 – 60). Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on December 15 that Turkey is willing to provide military training for Syria’s army if requested by the country’s new authorities. “[Turkey] is ready to provide the necessary support if the new administration requests it,” Guler said. Despite Ankara denying that it provided support for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — a designated terrorist group that led the overthrow of former dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime earlier this month — President-elect Donald Trump characterized the post-Assad situation as an “unfriendly takeover” by Turkey during a news conference on December 16. In a…

The first to come up with the idea was French President Emmanuel Macron – long before it was clear that Donald Trump would win the US elections. As early as March 2023, he proposed not only new weapons, but ground troops in the Ukraine to send. They were supposed to relieve Ukrainian front troops in the hinterland, train the Ukrainian army on site, but not fight themselves. Macron has been heavily criticized for this in France and abroad. At that time nobody was ready to jump to his side. Now against it, reports Le Monde citing confidential sources, secretly negotiated Paris and London through a coalition of states…

Donald Trump on the sidelines in France where he attended the re-opening of a change of direction of U.S. involvement in helping NATO and Ukraine. This was also confirmed by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking at the OSCE conference in Malta. The Russian take the signaling of the European and U.S. as concerning. Trump is perceived as the rising star on the foreign affair domain as a tough negotiator. The toughness becomes evident with the former Lithuanian prime minister becoming the first dedicated defense commissioner this month, tasked with turbocharging Europe’s defense industry and the stuttering push to…