RUSSIA'S NEW NAVAL INTIMIDATION
Seeking to maintain the appearance of military might amid humiliating losses in Ukraine, Russia has deployed its latest naval frigate for a "trans-ocean" voyage. The Admiral Gorshkov, which was commissioned by the Russian navy in 2018, is "the first ship in the new series of frigates which were designed to replace the aging Soviet-built destroyers as a key strike component of the Russian navy," the Associated Press reports. Equally significant, however, is that the Gorshkov is reportedly carrying a Zircon, a Russian hypersonic missile that can travel at up to 7,000 miles per hour – a speed Russian officials claim would enable it to evade Western missile defense systems. (Associated Press, January 4, 2023)
CRIMINAL CONSCRIPTS PREPARE TO RETURN HOME
In a bid to beef up its military forces, the Russian government has in recent months enlisted hardened criminals from the country's prisons and penal colonies. The effort, spearheaded by Wagner Group head (and Kremlin confidante) Yevgeny Prigozhin, has successfully conscripted new cadres for the Kremlin's war effort in exchange for promised amnesties for those who survive their service – and payoffs to the families of those who don't. Now, some eleven months into Russia's war, the first of these conscripts have completed their terms of service, and are returning to their old lives – with all that that implies. In a new video posted on RIA Novosti, Prigozhin is seen preparing to release the first batch of criminals recruited for the Ukraine war. Prigozhin's pep talk to the conscripts included advice to the unreformed criminals as they prepare to reintegrate back into Russian society: "Do not drink too much, do not use drugs, do not rape women." (Ukrainskaya Pravda, January 5, 2023)
RUSSIAN HACKERS TAKE AIM AT U.S. NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS
This past summer, around the same time that Vladimir Putin was flaunting Russia's nuclear arsenal – and threatening Moscow's willingness to use nuclear force to defend its territory – a Russian hacking group went after U.S. nuclear scientists. Cold River, a highly active and well-known Russian hacking collective, was found to have created falsified login pages for three U.S. nuclear laboratories, subsequently sending phishing emails to scientists from each respective institution.
While this is not the first time that Cold River and other Russian hackers have targeted the West over the course of the current war, the operation marks the first publicized instance in which a Russian group has specifically targeted U.S. scientists. This exact type of scam is not uncommon for Cold River, which has in the past phished for login information using legitimate looking email accounts. While Moscow denies nearly all allegations of cyber warfare, experts have found that Cold River is "directly supporting Kremlin information operations." (Reuters, January 6, 2023)
RUSSIA EYES REINFORCEMENTS FOR ITS UKRAINE FIGHT
Ukrainian officials are warning that the Russian government is preparing to call up half-a-million additional troops as it gears up for a new military offensive. According to Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy head of Ukrainian military intelligence, the Kremlin is planning to mobilize as many as 500,000 conscripts early this year to supplement the 300,000 it called up as part of President Putin's late September "partial mobilization" order.
The plan is a high stakes one. "If the estimate proves correct, Russia will have almost doubled its prewar force in the space of a few months," notes London's Guardian newspaper. But if these supplemental forces aren't sufficient to reverse Russia's battlefield setbacks, the results could be catastrophic. "If Russia loses this time around, then Putin will collapse," predicts Skibitsky. (Guardian, January 6, 2023)
THE MOUNTING COSTS OF MOSCOW'S CAMPAIGN
Ahead of the Russian government's rumored spring offensive in Ukraine, the Russian army continues to take mass losses of 1,000 soldiers per week in Zaporizhzhia. The region, which was one of the first to be occupied by the Russian army after its invasion in late February 2022, is strategically significant as a transportation hub with crucial roads and railroads. Moscow is reportedly "throwing hundreds of thousands of new recruits into the war zone" in its attempts to hold on to the region in the face of Ukrainian advances, sending more new recruits each week to keep up with its losses. (Newsweek, January 9, 2023)
PROTECTIONISM, KREMLIN STYLE
In his latest attempt to curb the impact of Western sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin has adopted a new approach: allowing Russian companies to completely disregard international business norms. Under new rules promulgated by the Russian government, firms whose turnover in the last fiscal year was $1.5 billion or higher in the energy, engineering, and trade sectors will be allowed to ignore the votes of shareholders hailing from 49 "unfriendly" countries. The decision comes in the wake of complaints from industry leaders about gridlock within their respective companies due to votes cast by foreign shareholders. Putin is hoping that this policy will help stimulate the struggling Russian economy and diminish Western influence in Russian firms. (The Moscow Times, January 17, 2023)
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