RUSSIAN MIGHT

STEVEN SAHIOUNIE —When police are killed, this means the protesters were neither unarmed, nor peaceful.  If this happened in Washington, or London, they would be termed domestic terrorists and the security forces would seek to quell the violence and restore public safety.  However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken first sounded confused as to what was the backstory of the unrest, but lost no time in casting aspersions on Russia.

The beheading of police in Kazakhstan reminds us of the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) who were Radical Islamic terrorists, and later devolved into Al Qaeda and ISIS.  In the case of the FSA, it was the US CIA program in Turkey which was the central command headquarters dispensing cash and weapons.

ANDREI MARTYANOV—OK, first things first–“several tens of thousands”? Typo, but even if typo and only several thousand kilometers into space, it is mind-boggling still. Defies imagination, on the other hand with the range of 1000 kilometers against aerial targets and SU-57 (and S-70 Okhotnik) officially having the ability to guide air-defense missiles it has not just operational but strategic implications.

V. KOZIN—Unlike nuclear weapons, which are “tools of extreme impact,” Long-Range Hypersonic High-Precision Weapons (or Advanced Hypersonic Weapons – AHW in US terminology) are ready for use in any scenario, including as part of counter-terror operations. AHW do not cause unnecessary civilian casualties and do not inflict significant material damage to civil transportation systems, power plants, or other infrastructure beyond the small affected area.

FINIAN CUNNINGHAM—Russia’s strategic patience has worn out. Years of relentless encroachment by the United States and NATO on Russia’s territory has reached the point where Moscow has peremptorily declared red lines that must be respected. In short, no more eastward expansion by the U.S.-led military bloc and, secondly, the removal of U.S. strike weapons from neighbouring states.

PEPE ESCOBAR—Every sentient being from Atlanticist shores to Eurasian steppes by now knows the content of the Russian draft agreements on security guarantees presented to the Americans, as detailed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.

Key provisions include no further NATO expansion; no Ukraine admission; no NATO shenanigans in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia; Russia and NATO agreeing not to deploy intermediate and short-range missiles in areas from where they can hit each other’s territory; establishment of hotlines; and the NATO-Russia Council actively involved in resolving disputes.