Russia vs. NATO - Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

General Keane: Belarus unrest really matters to Putin’s goal

Fox News — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 21:49:27 +0000

The post General Keane: Belarus unrest really matters to Putin’s goal first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Gen. Keane: Russian troops likely to invade Belarus if pro-democracy president assumes power

Talia Kaplan | Fox News — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 21:43:28 +0000

Keane says Belarus’ location is ‘very strategic’ to Putin who wants to increase Russia’s ‘sphere of influence’

Belarus’ location is “very strategic” to Russian President Vladimir Putin who “wants to increase the sphere of influence of Russia in the region, in Eastern Europe in particular and also in the Middle East,” Fox News senior strategic analyst and retired Army Gen. Jack Keane said on Monday.

Keane made the comments on “America’s Newsroom” the weekend after thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, to protest police violence against peaceful demonstrators earlier in the week after a disputed presidential election.

Belarussians marched in the capital shouting “Go Away” to President Alexander Lukashenko, and demanded his resignation after his 26-year reign.

BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER FLEES TO LITHUANIA AFTER DISPUTING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS

Protestors have claimed Sunday’s election, in which Lukashenko received 80 of the vote and opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received 10 percent, was rigged.

Lukashenko reportedly spoke with Putin over the weekend and said the Russian president told him Moscow stands ready to provide support in the face of what he described as foreign aggression. He claimed that NATO, however, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that the alliance has no military buildup in the region.

“We’ve got a dictator who changed the constitution, he’s been in power 26 years so he could do that, similar to what Putin has done where he’s going to stay 16 more years in addition to the 20 that he’s already been in power,” Keane said on Monday, adding that Lukashenko “has worn out his welcome.”

“He’s corrupt, he’s authoritarian, he’s repressive, he blew the pandemic,” Keane continued. “He actually blamed the deaths of the people on the people themselves and was oblivious to the fact that older people may in fact get sick and die from it [and] took no precautionary measures.”

Keane then said that people there are “fed up” and “believe the election was fraudulent.”

Keane then stressed that the what is happening in Belarus “really matters” to Putin because “Belarus’s location is very strategic to him.”

“Long term what he would want is military bases in Belarus to weaken NATO, weaken the trans-Atlantic alliance,” Keane said.

Host Trace Gallagher asked Keane, “How important is this to the United States, our perspective and our interests?”

Keane responded by providing some context.

“The Eastern European countries were all annexed by [Soviet dictator Josef] Stalin post World War II as a result of the spoils of victory, all of that went away when the Soviet Union collapsed,” Keane said. “Most of those countries are now a part of NATO, some are not, Belarus is one that is not.”

“And What Putin has been trying to do is regain that sphere of influence with them,” Keane continued. “Why does he want that? The Russians always see Eastern Europe as a buffer against someone invading their country.”

“So yes, this is what this is about, and to accomplish that and why we should care is they want to weaken NATO as a result of that. They see NATO as a huge threat to their long-term security,” Keane went on to explain.

He pointed out, however, that “nobody in Europe is ever thinking about invading Russia.” He also said, “You can’t be dismissive how Russia feels about their own security, their own national security, and how they look at the west as the antithesis of being able to maintain their own stability and security.”

“Putin is a thug. Lukashenko is a thug. They have a lot in common,” Keane went on to say.

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He added, “I think what Putin is looking at is can Lukashenko calm the waters and stay in power or can somebody take over for Lukashenko, who is similar to him in terms of his political stripes and therefore Putin will be able to work with them.”

“But if he [Putin] sees someone coming in who is pro-democracy, then we’re likely going to see Russian boots on the ground in Belarus,” Keane continued.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/jack-keane-russian-troops-invade-belarus

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Naval Muscle: Russia’s Northern Fleet Is Getting Some Seriously Dangerous Submarines

Mark Episkopos — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 09:58:13 +0000

The Northern Fleet is now taking a major step to modernize its submarine force with a new hardware shipment slated for later this year.

From the Petr Velikiy battlecruiser to the Admiral Gorshkov frigate, Russia’s Northern Fleet is home to some of the newest, most advanced Russian surface ships. The same cannot be said of its aging submarine lineup, however. The Northern Fleet submarine force is largely comprised of 1980’s Soviet Detla IV and Sierra models, which are becoming increasingly harder and more expensive to maintain with incremental updates.

The Northern Fleet is now taking a major step to modernize its submarine force with a new hardware shipment slated for later this year. Admiral and Fleet Commander Nikolai Yevmenov informed Russian state news that, “In 2019, we are expecting the arrival of new logistics vessels and submarines.” Yevmenov added that the new submarines will be Knyaz Vladimir and Kazan, from the Borei and Yasen classes respectively.

Laid down in 2012, Knyaz Vladimir is the first entry in a newer line of 955A– also known as Borei II– submarines. The 955A generation brings several iterative improvementsover its 955 predecessors: target acquisition upgrades, new onboard electronics, updated communication systems, and redesigned living quarters.

Knyaz Vladimir will join the very first Borei vessel, Yuri Dolgorukiy , in replacing the Delta IV line as the Northern Fleet’s staple strategic nuclear submarine. Generic performance improvements notwithstanding, the Borei line introduces a critical, sorely-needed update to Russia’s nuclear triad: the new Bulava missile system . Boasting a 550 kiloton warhead and an effective range of up to 10,000 kilometers, the Russian Navy seeks to make Bulava-equipped Borei vessels the cornerstone of their nuclear submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) deterrent for decades to come.

On the tactical front, the introduction of Kazan marks a serious first step in the revitalization of the Northern Fleet’s decades-old attack submarine lineup. The second Yasen-class vessel, Kazan offers an expanded and markedly more deadly armament suite over its Akula and Oscar-class predecessors. Not only does the Yasen class support the standard submarine-launched variant of the Kalibr land attack cruise missile, but it apparently also accommodates the heavier, larger Kalibr-M missile with roughly double the range, at 4,500 versus 1,500 to 2,500 kilometers.

As the Arctic region becomes ever more militarized in the context of global Russia-NATO competition, it is hardly surprising that the Russian Navy is actively investing in the Northern Fleet. But submarine modernization comes neither cheap nor fast, and the Kremlin is unlikely to unlikely to commit the massive resources required to replace every Soviet-era submarine in the Northern Fleet roster with a modernized equivalent.

With two more Borei vessels commissioned over the next several years alone, the Delta IV line is on track to be completely phased out before 2040. But attack submarines pose a much more difficult value proposition, as a single Yasen vessel reportedly costs twice as much as its Borei counterpart.

So, where does the Northern Fleet go from here?

One potential route is consolidation; that is, saturating the Northern Fleet with modernized submarines at the expense of shrinking its total submarine roster. The other is iteration in the form of deep refits of existing submarines, as the Pacific Fleet has recently done with a modernized batch of old Kilo models.

Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive. It’s perfectly possible that Russia will opt for any number of hybrid development approaches; for instance, mass-producing new nuclear strategic submarines while extending the lifespan of existing attack submarines for as long as technically possible.

Mark Episkopos is a frequent contributor to The National Interest and serves as research assistant at the Center for the National Interest. Mark is also a PhD student in History at American University.

Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/naval-muscle-russias-northern-fleet-getting-some-seriously-dangerous-submarines-47827

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