Russian Digest
Top stories I'm keeping an eye on
Putin says Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus
Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a warning to the West as it steps up military support for Ukraine.
Putin said the move was triggered by Britain's decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium.
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia plans to maintain control over those it sends to Belarus, and construction of storage facilities for them will be completed by July 1, Putin said.
He didn't say how many nuclear weapons Russia would keep in Belarus. The U.S. government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by tactical aircraft, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery rounds.
Read More:
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/25/1166089485/putin-russia-tactical-nuclear-weapons-belarus
Honduras formally cuts diplomatic ties with Taiwan
Honduras has formally cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, ending a decades-long relationship and dealing the latest blow to the self-ruled democratic island in its struggle with China for recognition.
“The government of the Republic of Honduras recognizes the existence of one China in the world and that the government of the People’s Republic of China represents China as a whole,” its ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement on Saturday, local time.
“Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and as of today, the government of Honduras has informed Taiwan about the rupture of diplomatic relations,” it added.
China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory despite never having ruled it, refuses to maintain diplomatic ties with any country that recognizes Taiwan.
It has spent much of the past 40 years attempting to isolate the self-ruled island by chipping away at its diplomatic allies with offers of economic support.
Honduras had until now been one of just 14 countries that still diplomatically recognized Taipei over Beijing.
Soon after the announcement by Honduras, Taiwan confirmed that ties had been formally severed.
“To safeguard national sovereignty and dignity, we have decided to immediately cease diplomatic relations with Honduras and suspend all bilateral cooperation plans,” Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said at a press conference, adding that Taiwan was asking Honduras to shut its embassy in Taipei.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced on March 14 that the switch was imminent.
Read More:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/25/asia/honduras-cuts-diplomatic-ties-with-taiwan-intl-hnk/index.html
"Silicon Zone" IT specialists who left Russia will be replaced by convicts
Convicts in Russia can replace IT specialists who have gone abroad. The corresponding project for the Federal Penitentiary Service was developed by the prisoners themselves - a former programmer Akim Denisov and his friend, with whom he studied together at the Skolkovo school, Moskovsky Komsomolets writes.
The average time spent by convicts in a colony is now about three years, and the average time for mastering an IT specialty is six months. This means that after a specialist is trained, he can work in the specialty for at least two years behind bars. At the same time, motivated and capable convicts make up 5-15% of the total number of prisoners, which is approximately equal to 50,000 - 60,000 people.
The authors of the project have developed an internal platform of the Federal Penitentiary Service to record the activity of a prisoner, control communication with the external Internet, and communication with the customer's team. The prisoners themselves do not need access to the Internet.
Database developers in Russia earn about 80,000 rubles on average. At the same time, a convict employed in the sewing industry receives about 7,000 rubles. The project implies a significant increase in wages for program participants, which can lead to an increase in the motivation and work efficiency of convicts, the authors believe.
Before the start of the war in Ukraine, in January 2022, Vladimir Putin approved the proposal of the Ministry of Justice to create correctional centers in Russia for 100,000 jobs for convicts. Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuichenko estimated this project at 500,000 rubles for each job created but promised that the prisoners would actually pay the costs associated with their upkeep. The Federal Penitentiary Service continues to work on this project: in the near future, it is planned to open special correctional centers (IC) for those sentenced to forced labor in all regions of the country.
“If now about 18,000 people are involved in forced labor, then in a few years the number of places in the IC will be increased to 110,000,” Alexander Mitryuk, a member of the State Duma’s expert council on legislation, said earlier. According to him, by 2024 the share of employees at the production facilities of the penal system will increase to 55%, and by 2030 - up to 85%.
Foreign intelligence agents of the Russian Federation detained in Slovenia
In Slovenia, two foreign citizens who were spying for Russia have been exposed in Ljubljana.
The suspects are facing up to eight years in prison for espionage and providing false information.
According to unofficial information, two Russian agents with citizenship of one of the South American countries (at least one of them has Argentine citizenship) were working under false names and were detained in a rented office in an office building in the Bežigrad district of Ljubljana.
The District State Prosecutor’s Office in Ljubljana has started pre-trial proceedings at the request of the Slovenian Intelligence and Security Service.
The two Russian agents are believed to have been in service with Russian military intelligence and worked under the “sleeper agent” program.
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Armenia, Turkey To Partially Reopen Land Border
Armenia and Turkey plan to permanently open border crossings between the two countries for the first time in three decades, Armenian officials announced on March 24. The land border will initially open only for diplomats and citizens of third countries until the beginning of the tourist season, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said. There is already direct air traffic between Armenia and Turkey. Turkey unilaterally closed the land border in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan. The border closure has caused serious economic problems for Armenia, which continues to fight a bloody conflict with Azerbaijan over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-turkey-open-border/32334198.html
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 25 March 2023
Behind the Lines: Passport to the Front
Moscow has stepped up its campaign to force Ukrainians to apply for Russian passports as it seeks to legitimize its annexation of occupied territories and integrate them into the Russian Federation. It’s a process that started in 2014 in Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts, using a collection of evolving tactics to erase Ukrainian nationhood.
Access to medical services is also denied to those without a Russian passport or proof of having applied for one. In occupied Tokmak, in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, desks have been set up in hospitals where sick people arriving for treatment have to apply for Russian papers. “People are told they need insurance, and it is only provided to citizens of the Russian Federation,” Sobolevskyi said.
In the Zaporizhzhia region, disabled people and those caring for them can only receive monthly aid payments if they re-register their documents, Ukraine’s National Resistance Center reported. The main requirement for guardians is to obtain a Russian passport. At the same time, people have to write a statement renouncing their Ukrainian citizenship.
Such actions are intended to “strengthen” Russia’s claim to the region by changing its demographic composition, the Center said. For the same purpose, Russia has created favorable conditions for its own citizens who want to move to occupied areas, offering them preferential mortgages to buy property.
Read More:
https://cepa.org/article/behind-the-lines-passport-to-the-frontline/