July 11:
Reuters reports that Vladimir Putin’s Latin American visit has commenced in Cuba, where the Russian president pledged to the Castro regime to help expand its energy exploration efforts. The initiative, Putin said, is intended to assist Cuba in overcoming the “illegal blockade” levied against it by expanding its energy production (which currently stands at some 55,000 barrels per day). As part of the outreach, Russia also has pledged to reinvest $3.5 billion - more than 10 percent of Cuba’s $32 billion debt to Russia - in development of the island nation.
July 12:
On the second leg of his Latin American trip, President Putin has signed a series of deals with his Argentine counterpart, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. According to the New York Times, Putin and Kirchner have - among other agreements - inked a deal to have Russia help build the third reactor in Argentina’s existing nuclear power plant. Putin also announced that he hopes to establish cooperation between Moscow and Buenos Aires on military technology, and to use the South American state as a base for Russia’s satellite system.
July 14:
The State Department has released a detailed - and damning - catalogue of Russia’s extensive covert meddling in Ukraine. According to the study, “Russia continues to accumulate significant amounts of equipment at a deployment site in southwest Russia,” including tanks, rocket launchers, and air defense systems, and the U.S. government is concerned that this materiel will find its way to pro-Russia separatists now active in southern and eastern Ukraine. At the same time, the reports notes, “recruiting efforts for separatist fighters are expanding inside Russia and separatists are looking for volunteers with experience operating heavy weapons such as tanks and air defenses.” This includes permission for the self-styled “Donetsk Peoples’ Republic” to set up and operate a recruiting office in the Russian capital, Moscow. Moreover, the study notes, “Russia continues to redeploy new forces extremely close to the Ukrainian border,” thereby placing “a significant number of additional military units” within operational distance of Ukrainian territory.
“We call on the Russian government to halt its material support for the separatists, to use its influence with the separatists to push them to lay down their arms and abide by a ceasefire and to release all hostages,” the report concludes. “Only then can the process of bringing peace to Ukraine truly begin.”
July 15:
In tandem with its ongoing involvement in Ukraine, the Kremlin continues to shape regional security in the “post-Soviet space.” Radio Free Europe reports that military maneuvers involving the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, or CSTO, have gotten underway in Russia. The drills, carried out by CSTO’s Collective Rapid Reaction Force and involving forces from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, were kicked of in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region. The maneuvers “are aimed at improving a single protocol of operation for military commands, planning joint operations, arranging troop support, and practicing crisis-settlement methods,” the news agency reports.
[EDITORS’ NOTE: An outgrowth of the 1992 Collective Security Treaty, the CSTO currently consists of six member states: Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Belarus. With the exception of Russia, CSTO members generally boast a modest military capability - making the security bloc heavily dependent upon Moscow.]
Want these sent to your inbox?
Subscribe