You made your globohomo hero, Zelensky, proud, mommy, but Conservative FReepers are laughing at you.
ARTICLE
Two U.S. Citizens Arrested for Trying to Sell Military Technology to Russia: Russia has been using traditional spying (human and signals collection) and cyber operations to steal American technology.
The National Interest.org
by Stavros Atlamazoglou
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/two-us-citizens-arrested-trying-sell-military-technology-russia-210401
Although China is the most serious long-term threat to the national security of the United States, Russia remains a capable adversary. Moscow presents a multifaceted and acute threat to the United States and its NATO allies.
During the war in Ukraine, the United States has led an international coalition of more than forty countries in support of Kyiv. All the while, Russia has kept up its efforts to steal Western technology.
Now, a Latvian arms broker has been arrested and charged for allegedly attempting to sell sophisticated avionics equipment to the Russian defense and aerospace industry in violation of U.S. export laws.
Dismantling Russia’s illicit networks
According to the Department of Justice, Oleg Chistyakov and two U.S. citizens (Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky and Douglas Edward Robertson) conspired to sell, repair, and ship sensitive American avionics technology to Russia. They allegedly set up a company in the United States and sought to purchase the technology before shipping it out to Russia through a network of intermediaries.
Chistyakov was arrested in Latvia, a NATO member state, in late March. He awaits extradition to the United States.
“As alleged, Mr. Chistyakov facilitated hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit transactions to funnel sophisticated U.S. aerospace technology to companies in Russia,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said in a press release. “This arrest is another example of the Justice Department’s unwavering mission to hold accountable those who enable Russian aggression, including those involved in facilitation networks that fuel the Russian war effort.”
The Department of Justice suggests that the three men were handled by the Kremlin’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, a rough equivalent of the FBI.
“The Justice Department upholds the laws of the United States and prosecutes those who break them regardless of whether those individuals are on U.S. soil or the other side of the world,” U.S. attorney for the district of Kansas Kate E. Brubacher stated. “Oleg Chistyakov’s arrest was only possible due to the assistance and cooperation of authorities in Latvia. This type of international cooperative effort makes it immensely challenging for those accused of committing crimes against the U.S. to find safe havens beyond reach of our judicial system.”
Russia has been using traditional spying (human and signals collection) and cyber operations to steal American technology. (Excerpt)
ARTICLE
NATO anniversary: Here’s why the alliance still matters
www.csmonitor.com
By Howard LaFranchi Staff writer
Anna Mulrine Grobe Staff writer
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2024/0402/NATO-has-united-the-West-for-75-years.-Here-s-why-it-still-matters
• For 75 years, NATO has brought peace and prosperity to Europe, the United States, and their allies. Now a grueling war in Ukraine heralds severe tests ahead for the alliance.
As NATO marks its 75th anniversary on April 4, leaders of the 32 member states are celebrating what is widely considered the greatest and most effective military alliance in history.
NATO was part of the postwar architecture of multilateral organizations – largely designed by the United States – whose aim was preventing a third world war and building global economic stability. Yet it was also at the visionary forefront of reaching for those goals from a foundation of core principles: democratic governance, universal human rights, and the rule of law.
To that list of values, the alliance added trust, which derived from each member’s pledge under Article 5 to come to the defense of any fellow member that came under attack. Superpower America’s promise of defense provided the bedrock for that trust to flourish. (excerpt)
You made your globohomo hero, Zelensky, proud, mommy, but Conservative FReepers are laughing at you.
Defense Minister Shoigu continues to try to curry favor with the president. This time, he promised Vladimir Vladimirovich to achieve an important victory at the front by the beginning of May, so that on May 9 this could be presented to society as a symbolic moment.
The sources do not specify what kind of “gift”, but perhaps we are talking about the capture of some large city. Like Kupyansk or even Kharkov. However, there are clearly not enough forces and means to take Kharkov now.
But another point is important. Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov is not delighted with such promises. In a conversation with his close circle, he doubted the possibility of achieving serious results if the advance proceeded with the current ratio of losses. The fact is that over the past few months the RF Armed Forces have really managed to put the pressure on Avdeevka and make progress in a number of directions, but this progress is not very significant on the scale of the entire [Ukraine]. At the same time, quite large losses were suffered in technology. The reason is that the military is trying to break through the defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the help of columns of armored vehicles, and are encountering resistance.
“We lost 23 tanks in just one direction in two weeks,” said one of the generals. He refused to specify where exactly we suffered such losses. He emphasized that if there is no problem mobilizing people, then with equipment reserves it is becoming more and more difficult. “Currently, reactivated and restored models of equipment are going into battle. Naturally, they are weaker than new ones,” emphasized a representative of the General Staff close to Gerasimov.
As names go, “Oleg Chistyakov” is about as Latvian as Oda Nobunaga.