« Frappez comme la foudre » : La « maskirovka », art de la guerre russe

« Que vos plans soient sombres et impénétrables comme la nuit, et quand vous vous lancez, frappez comme la foudre. » (Sun Tzu, L’art de la guerre)

Note : la situation sur le terrain a évolué depuis septembre, mais les fondamentaux présentés dans cet article restent valables. Personne ne connaît les objectifs stratégiques de la Russie en Ukraine, la date et le lieu de la « grande offensive » à venir, ni même ses prochains mouvements tactiques, tout cela ne faisant que l’objet de spéculations : ce « brouillard de guerre » délibérément maintenu est une marque de fabrique de la Russie.

‘They promise to dig up old cases’ Russian authorities reportedly using threats of prosecution to pressure prisoners into joining Wagner Group

Russian authorities are using the threat of new criminal cases to pressure prisoners into joining the Wagner mercenary group, the independent media outlet Agentstvo reported on Wednesday.

Lawyer Yana Gelmel told Agentstvo that the tactic is being used in prisons in the Samara region, the Rostov region, Krasnodar Krai, and the North Caucasus. “Officers from the Interior Ministry or the FSB come and promise to dig up old cases from 10–20 years ago whose statutes of limitations have already expired. They intimidate people, saying they’ll launch proceedings against anybody who refuses to go to war,” Gelmel said.

Interviu bombă! Fostul premier al Israelului dezvăluie detalii din negocierile Rusia-Ucraina: “SUA, Germania și Franța au blocat acordul” VIDEO

Fostul premier israelian Naftali Bennett, care a fost mediator între Moscova și Kiev la începutul războiului din Ucraina, în urmă cu un an, a declarat că țările occidentale au blocat negocierile între părțile implicate în conflict. Într-un interviu de 4 ore, fostul premier povestește cum s-au desfășurat lucrurile la acel moment și dezvăluie că au existat „17 sau 18 drafturi” de acord între Rusia și Ucraina în timpul negocierilor.

Biden Cannot Delay Sending Tanks to Ukraine

From the outset of the conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin has calculated that Western support for Ukraine would eventually wane. And, with the Russians reported to be preparing a new spring offensive, any sign of hesitancy by Washington in terms of supporting Ukraine will encourage Putin in the belief that he will meet no meaningful resistance from the Western alliance….

Ukraine’s Coming Electricity Crisis

How to Protect the Grid from Russian Attacks

After 11 months of war and nearly four months of relentless Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector, the country’s electric grid comes nearer to collapse each day. In addition to its brutal barrages on residential areas, Russia has targeted power plants, substations, and other critical infrastructure that electrifies the country. Ukrainians are now habituated to rolling blackouts, but the electricity supply falls far short of what the country needs, inducing severe economic disruption. Further strikes could cause the total failure of Ukraine’s electric grid, plunging tens of millions of people into darkness.

Russia and multipolarity

Many ascribe the first steps in developing a strategy for multipolarity in international relations to Russia as well. Indeed, this claim has some merit. In Moscow on April 23rd, 1997, Russia and China signed the “Joint Declaration on a Multipolar World and the Establishment of a New International Order”, and on May 15th the declaration was registered in the UN.1 The document asserted that the Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China will strive to promote the development of a multipolar world and new international order. The text also remarked that international relations had undergone profound changes at the end of the 20th century and affirmed a diversity of political, economic, and cultural paths of development for all countries and an increasing role for forces advocating peace and broad international cooperation. Furthermore, the document reads: “A growing number of countries are beginning to recognize the need for mutual respect, equality and mutual advantage – but not for hegemony and power politics – and for dialogue and cooperation – but not for confrontation and conflict. The establishment of a peaceful, stable, just and rational new international political and economic order is becoming a pressing need of the times and an imperative of historical development.”

Unipolarism vs Multipolarism: apocalypse coming?

A few days ago I happened to review the cartoon “Asterix and the Kingdom of the Gods”, based on the immortal writings and drawings of René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.

The similarities with what we have experienced (and are experiencing) from the birth of the “unipolar moment” onwards are perfect and, in their simplicity, give a whole series of food for thought for anyone interested.

How to Get a Breakthrough in Ukraine

The Case Against Incrementalism

Nearly a year after he invaded Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has failed to achieve any of his major objectives. He has not unified the alleged single Slavic nation, he has not “denazified” or “demilitarized” Ukraine, and he has not stopped NATO expansion. Instead, the Ukrainian military kept Russian troops out of Kyiv, defended Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and launched successful counteroffensives in the fall so that by the end of 2022, it had liberated over 50 percent of the territory previously captured by Russian soldiers that year. In January, Putin removed the general in charge of the war in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, whom he had appointed just a few months earlier. Wartime leaders change their top generals only when they know they are losing.

Is the U.S. Military Capable of Learning From the War in Ukraine?

At its core, a country’s defense strategy is a very expensive gamble. Every year, the United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars on defense—all on the assumption that such investments will allow it to win the next war. Absent a conflict in which the United States is directly involved, policymakers rarely get a window into whether these bets have actually paid off.