December 10:
In the midst of its standoff with the West over Ukraine, is Russia softening its military posture? RT reports that a new draft of the country's military doctrine is notable for the absence of a declared possibility of a preemptive nuclear strike - something that had been included in previous iterations of the document. "The renewed draft of the military doctrine would not have a reservation for preventive nuclear strikes on potential enemy. Article 198 of the document is very precise on the conditions under which Russia can use the nuclear weapons," the television channel cites one anonymous government official as saying. Those conditions, according to the source, are clear: "It would become possible if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation are under threat."
December 11:
Amid growing tensions with the West, the Kremlin is taking a more active role in the culture war brewing at home. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky has announced that from now on films that portray the Russian government in a negative light will receive no governmental funding. "The one thing I see as pointless is giving the Culture Ministry's money to people who not only criticize, but smear the elected authorities," Medinsky told an online news source in a recent interview. "I mean those who make movies based on the 'Russia is sh-t' principle.”
December 12:
Moscow and New Delhi are tightening their nuclear ties. The Indian Express reports that Russia and India have moved to upgrade their "special strategic partnership" at a major summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and new Indian Premier Narendra Modi. The four hour meeting between the two yielded a joint statement outlining a vision for future cooperation in multiple spheres - chief among them nuclear power. The statement "contains plans to build over 20 nuclear power units in India, as well as cooperation in building Russia-designed nuclear power stations in third countries, in the joint extraction of natural uranium, production of nuclear fuel and waste elimination," President Putin confirmed. "This will lay the foundation for our long-term mutually beneficial cooperation in the nuclear sector."
A new cyber-espionage campaign is taking aim at Russian industry, a leading cybersecurity firm has found.According to RT, information security firm Kaspersky Labs has revealed that Russian energy, financial and military firms, as well as diplomatic missions, have been the targets of "Cloud Atlas," a virus which "infects corporate computers via RTF (Rich Text Format) files attached to emails." The goals of the "Cloud Atlas" campaign, as well as the identity of its originators, are not apparent. However, Kaspersky says that the virus is a follow-on to an earlier worm nicknamed "Red October" which stole information from various Russian organizations from the Fall of 2012 until early 2014.
December 13:
Moscow is responding angrily to reports that the U.S. Congress is proposing fresh sanctions against Russia - and stepped up aid to Ukraine. "Undoubtedly, we will not be able to leave this without a response," deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has told Russia’s Interfax news agency in comments carried by the Agency France Presse. The reason for Ryabkov's - and Russia's - anger is the "Ukraine Freedom Support Act," which has been passed by the Senate and is still awaiting approval by the White House. If adopted, the Act would impose an additional round of sanctions against Russia's already-ailing economy, and green-light the delivery of as much as $350 million worth of U.S. military materiel to the government of Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv.
December 15:
Russia's newest submarines are being outfitted with advanced robotics, and will give a boost to the country's naval capabilities when they enter into service later this decade. The Moscow Times reports that, according to a top defense industry designer, Russia's Yesin-class submarines - now being developed by St. Petersburg submarine design bureau Malachite - will "be armed with robots and underwater drones." Eight Yesin-class subs are currently projected to join the Russian navy by 2020 as part of a major ongoing modernization and expansion of the country's force projection capabilities.