“Renewed fighting in Ukraine, heavy weapons deployed”, this is what many newspapers are reporting. This is not entirely true because fighting never completely stopped and heavy weapons never went completely silent.
It is true, though, that concerns are rising again due to the fact that fighting are now reported in locations that have been relatively calm. In many occasions Triage pointed out that fighting have been occurring mainly in and around Donetsk and its airport (north/north-west of the city centre) as well as in and around Shyrokyne. In the last 24/48 hours, the confrontation between Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Donetsk People Republic (DPR) heavily involved the government-controlled town of Marinka (about 20km west/south-west of Donetsk city centre). Not only did the SMM (Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine) report heavy fighting, but also reported the fact that massive forces have been gathering in the area (including T-72 and T-64 tanks, 100 and 122mm artillery pieces, and Grad multiple rocket launchers). Efforts to cool the situation down consisted with the proclamation of a local ceasefire.
Russia's army is massing troops and pieces of weaponry in the proximity of the Ukrainian border, at Kuzminsky fire range (50 km from the border) through the town of Matveev Kurgan (25 km from the border). Reuters spread the piece of news along with some photos in which it is possible to observe military convoys on their way or tanks loaded on trains.
This is one of those pieces of news that quickly travels around the world. On Saturday 16, two men were captured by Ukrainian Armed Forces at the contact line near Shchastya (30km from the Russian border). OSCE’s inspectors spoke privately with the two men at a military hospital in Kiev where they had been brought because wounded. On SMM reports it is said that “both individuals claimed that they were members of a unit of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”[1].
According to the two men, they were “on a reconnaissance mission”, they “were armed but had no orders to attack” and “Both of them said they had been to Ukraine on missions before”. One of them repeatedly stated that “there were no Russian troops involved in fighting in Ukraine”.
La coalizione occidentale perde terreno prezioso ed il centro di Palmira viene occupato dalle milizie Jihadiste.
Il califfato con una incessante tattica di penetrazione, dopo aver sfondato la barriera difensiva esterna si è lentamente avvicinato al centro città e ieri mattina ha sferrato l’attacco decisivo utilizzando la brigata cecena in cui militano gli uomini più efficaci per le battaglie urbane.
Obama changes course and will intensify in the coming months in Syria, Yemen and Iraq the use of drones.
The need to transform the drones by unseen eyes in vehicles direct attack unfolds with the difficulty of exerting serious efforts to combat Islamic terrorism and intelligence with minimal sending men on the ground.
So far the United States has used the vehicle "Predator RQ1" equipped with high-definition cameras and special sensors to collect data and images arming means only in extreme cases with missiles land AGM (Air to Ground) anti-radar.
After the blitz of US special forces in Syria that led to the killing of Abu Sayyaf leader Isis, Italy welcomes an earlier US request and send the Iraqi front about 70 men from Task Force 45 brought within a few months from Afghanistan.
The Italian selection is part of a broader strategy that sees the use of "specialists" in Syria and Iraq.
On Monday, Triage attended a lecture that was held at Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI). The object of the lecture was the threat posed by global jihad and its general purpose was to answer questions like “how big this threat is?”, “which countries are in danger?”, “what are the implication for Italian foreign policy and Italian defence and security?”. These questions are thoroughly answered in a report entitled “L’Italia e la minaccia jihadista. Quale politica estera?” edited by the ISPI Observatory on Terrorism.
Speakers at the seminar organized by the Italian Atlantic Committee, in cooperation with "Abhath" Al Thuraya Consultancy and Researches Mediterranean Gulf Forum, at the CASD - Studies Centre for the defense of Rome, last May 7, have questioned the role that Libya It will have in the future Mediterranean scenery.
The possible analysis grid has declined on social action plans, political-military and the size in which the act will consist of the European Union.
After the customary greetings V.Adm. Rinaldo Veri, President of the Centre for High Defence Sudies, it moved to the interventions of Michael Frendo, former Foreign Minister of Malta, who calmly pointed out the problems related to immigration of Mass.
Then intervened Abdul Ilan Khatib, former UN special envoy to Libya and Jordanian Foreign Minister, with a very cautious and diplomatic speech highlighted the need to achieve greater cooperation.
Eleven weeks have passed since the beginning of the truce in eastern Ukraine. Triage’s updates’ purpose is to provide a report on the implementation status of the first three point of Minsk II agreement:
1. Immediate and full ceasefire and its strict fulfilment as of 00.00 (Kiev time) on February 15.
2. Pull-out of all heavy weapons by both sides to equal distance to create a security zone on minimum 50 kilometres apart for artillery of 100mm calibre or more, of 70km for MLRS and 140 kilometres for MLRS Tornado-S, Uragan, Smerch and tactical missile systems Tochka U.
3. Monitoring and verification of ceasefire regime and pull-out of heavy weapons by OSCE.
Ten weeks have passed since the beginning of the truce in eastern Ukraine. Triage’s updates’ purpose is to provide a report on the implementation status of the first three point of Minsk II agreement:
1. Immediate and full ceasefire and its strict fulfilment as of 00.00 (Kiev time) on February 15.
2. Pull-out of all heavy weapons by both sides to equal distance to create a security zone on minimum 50 kilometres apart for artillery of 100mm calibre or more, of 70km for MLRS and 140 kilometres for MLRS Tornado-S, Uragan, Smerch and tactical missile systems Tochka U.
3. Monitoring and verification of ceasefire regime and pull-out of heavy weapons by OSCE.
