June 3:
Russia is expanding its nuclear foothold in North Africa. World Nuclear News reports that Russia's state nuclear agency, ROSATOM, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tunisian government. The agreement, inked at the 7th annual Atomexpo conference and exhibition in Moscow, lays the legal foundation for Russian assistance to Tunisia in building a national nuclear sector - including Russian help with constructing nuclear infrastructure, designing nuclear facilities, and training specialists and technicians in nuclear physics and nuclear energy.
According to an expose by Bloomberg, Russia is in the midst of a secret massive military spending boom. Much of the increase in defense spending, the news agency reports, is in the "black budget": expenditures authorized by Russian President Vladimir Putin but not listed in the official budget, often due to opaque national security reasons. This black budget has doubled to over 3.2 trillion Rubles ($60 billion) in the past five years, and is set to grow even more in the future. Analysts believe that the buildup is an attempt to boost innovation and reinvigorate the weak economy, which is currently suffering from the impact of Western sanctions over Ukraine and slumping global oil prices. But the expansion has also had negative side-effects, like ballooning deficits and the crowding out of social services such as healthcare in favor of military expenditures, which have increased by a factor of twenty since Putin took office some 15 years ago.
Today, military spending, along with national security and law enforcement, accounts for 34 percent of Russia's budget (roughly double the proportion of the United States). For some, such as the National Defense Academy of Latvia, the bloated defense budget is the result of a program by Vladimir Putin to bring Russia to a new status quo: "a state of permanent war as the natural condition in national life."
June 4:
The Pentagon has been lobbying Congress to overturn a ban on Russian rocket engines used to launch American military and intelligence satellites into space, reports the New York Times. Sales of Russian-made rocket engines were prohibited after Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Critics of the Pentagon's efforts, such as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), have stressed the close ties between Russian President Vladimir Putin and rocket producer NPO Energomash, which stands to gains over $300 million in sales. But while Pentagon officials agree in principle with the idea of ending American reliance on Russian-produced rockets, they face a near-term dilemma; there are no viable alternatives currently on the market, and the most advanced American replacement will not be certified in 2022. As such, they have argued, the current ban could place America's military and intelligence satellite programs in jeopardy.
Russian troops have held exercises in the breakaway republic of Transdniester, reports Sputnik. The enclave, located between Moldova and Ukraine, is legally recognized as belonging to Moldova by the United Nations, but declared independence in 1990 and aligns itself closely with Russia. The exercises, performed against a simulated enemy, included a covert raid as well as security and search operations against critical facilities to gain intelligence. The exercises may be a cause for concern for Ukrainian and Moldovan authorities.
June 6:
In a further sign of warming strategic relations between Russia and Egypt, the two countries are holding their first-ever joint naval exercises. that the goal of the eight-day drills, which are taking place off the coast of Alexandria, are "to strengthen and develop military co-operation between Egypt's navy and Russia's navy in the interests of security and stability" in the Mediterranean.
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