{"id":11009,"date":"2017-05-05T10:17:12","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T10:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/informnapalm.org\/en\/?p=11009"},"modified":"2017-05-05T19:20:57","modified_gmt":"2017-05-05T19:20:57","slug":"situation-report-on-global-security-as-of-may-4-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/informnapalm.org\/en\/situation-report-on-global-security-as-of-may-4-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Situation report on global security as of May 4, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

InformNapalm<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>international intelligence community<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>presents the second weekly summary of events in the sphere of world security.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are going to review the facts that are important to consider when monitoring the new global challenges of hybrid and conventional warfare.<\/strong>\u00a0Today, the Russian Federation has become the main aggressor challenging the whole system of world security.<\/strong>\u00a0It uses the methods of war and terror to achieve controlled chaos in various regions of the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ukraine in the forefront of Russia hybrid war and terrorism<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The situation in the occupied territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts continues to deteriorate.\u00a0There is a significant escalation of hostilities on the contact line, and we forecast an aggravation of the situation in the context of Russian hysteria during the preparations for the May 9 celebration.\u00a0By the way, on the same date, the first semi-final of Eurovision is also to be held. It should be noted that the Russian media have already begun another information and psychological operation and are spinning the topic of the upcoming terrorist attacks \u2013 they are predicted by the Russian military expert Alexander Zhilin.\u00a0His claims are not supported by any facts and rely only on information allegedly transmitted by\u00a0“an informed source from Kyiv”<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Zhilin is the expert who for a month “predicted” the murder of former State Duma deputy Denis Voronenkov.\u00a0Playing an old game\u00a0“Stop thief!”,<\/em>\u00a0Russian special agencies are trying to impose the idea that the terrorist attacks are allegedly planned by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).\u00a0In the conditions of a hybrid war, any steps of Russia, including in the information sphere, which can be distracting, should be taken into account.<\/p>\n

In the Antiterrorist Operation (ATO) zone everything is getting hotter.\u00a0Details of the shelling can be seen on the map of the Ukrainian website Infolight<\/a> by dates. The Russian-terrorist forces actively use mortars and other weapons.\u00a0Over the past 24 hours, Russian militants used even a 9P132 Grad-P 122 mm portable rocket launcher to fire on Ukrainian positions at the village of Shyrokyne.\u00a0 Ukrainian servicemen are killed and injured every day on the front.\u00a0The occupied territories continue to be saturated with Russian military equipment, including air defense systems to combat UAVs.<\/p>\n

The updated list of specifically Russian weapons found in the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine can be found here: bit.ly\/RuWeaponryDonbasEN<\/a>\u00a0(database as of March 20, 2017).<\/p>\n

In the context of security problems in the region, one should also pay attention to the ecological catastrophe which is looming in the occupied Donbas because of the constant flooding of lower horizons of the mines.\u00a0The occupation authorities do not want to invest in dewatering, taking the necessary equipment to Russia.\u00a0In just a few years, the flooding can cause sinking of buildings in sinkholes, whereas Donbas could turn into unsuitable for life dips with salt marshes.\u00a0This is one of the reasons why Russia does not plan to take over the Luhansk\/Donetsk People\u2019s Republics (L\/DPR).<\/p>\n

A sad fate awaits occupied\u00a0Crimea<\/a>, too.\u00a0Russia continues the deep militarization of the peninsula, turning it into a springboard for aggression in the Middle East and destabilizing the situation throughout the Black Sea region.\u00a0Such military and political strategy is not the way to revive and develop the tourist region.<\/p>\n

Eastern borders of NATO<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On April 28, the Parliament of Montenegro voted unanimously to ratify the Accession Treaty with NATO.\u00a0This will significantly strengthen the position of the West in the Balkans, thereby closing for Russia another zone of possible destabilization.\u00a0On October 16, 2016, Russian intelligence services were preparing a coup in Montenegro (fortunately, the attempt was thwarted). Last week, on April 27, Russia again attempted to destabilize the situation, this time in Macedonia. The accession of Macedonia to NATO would provide it with some immunity from the Kremlin’s hybrid operations, but joining the alliance is complicated by a longstanding dispute with Greece, which is blocking such an opportunity for Macedonia.\u00a0Undoubtedly, Russia uses this trump card for further provocations and new hybrid calls.<\/p>\n

Syria<\/h2>\n

On May 3, following the talks with Angela Merkel in Sochi, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced plans to divide Syria into four conflict de-escalation zones: Idlib province, the territory north of Homs, eastern Ghouta, and the south of the country. The exact boundaries of the zones will be determined by the guarantor countries by May 22.\u00a0The Kremlin expects that the signing of a memorandum on the establishment of security zones in Syria will take place in Astana, where latest round of peace talks started on May 3 with Russia, Iran and Turkey as mediators.<\/p>\n

The Russian proposal to create de-escalation zones looks cynical after Russian Su-25 aircraft<\/a> bombed the Syrian village of Al-Lataminah, while troops of the Assad regime supported by Russia continue to use powerful cluster munition against civilians<\/a>. Russia is struggling to hide losses of artillerymen and other ground troops. The creation of security zones would legalize the use of the Russian ground forces in Syria. Now, it appears that Russian \u201cadvisers\u201d die too often in Syria. InformNapalm has\u00a0identified 18<\/a> Russian military units, whose servicemen participate in the ground operation\u00a0in Syria<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Afghanistan – a new area of confrontation between the US and Russia<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

On May 3, 2017, as a NATO convoy was passing by the US Embassy in the center of Kabul, a suicide bomber blew up a car. As a result of the terrorist attack, 8 people died and at least 28 people were injured.\u00a0Islamic State claimed responsibility for the explosion, Reuters<\/a>\u00a0reported.\u00a0Two days prior, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced plans to increase the number and extend the presence of the contingent in Afghanistan.\u00a0The security situation in the region continues to deteriorate.\u00a0Afghanistan is becoming another hotbed of conflict, in which the US and Russia are on opposite sides of the barricades.<\/p>\n

On April 21, a Taliban sabotage group conducted a daring attack on the garrison of the 209th Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) on the western outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif.\u00a0As a result of the attack, according to various sources, between 160 and 250 Afghan soldiers died.\u00a0Such significant losses have not occurred since 2001.\u00a0After that, on April 24, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis made an unscheduled trip to Kabul.\u00a0During the visit,\u00a0he made it clear\u00a0that<\/a> if Russia continues to support the Taliban terrorist group, the US will confront Russia for arming the Taliban in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

It is likely that Russia sponsors terrorists in this region to stretch the forces of the alliance and divert attention from other conflict zones. It is interesting that after the terrorist attack in Kabul, Russian media with double activity began to criticize the alliance and accuse the US of the inability to ensure peace in the region.<\/p>\n

Back in December 2015, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, in his statement stressed:\u00a0\u201cThe Taliban’s interests objectively coincide with ours<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Moscow’s statements about fighting with the Islamic State are used to cover operations that destabilize the situation in Syria and Afghanistan, as well as to exert psychological pressure on the world community after every terrorist attack, where the Islamic State claims responsibility.\u00a0Along with the Arabic language, ISIS terrorists actively use Russian for communication and in their documents, which makes it easier for Russian special agencies to infiltrate into this organization,\u00a0including into leadership positions.<\/p>\n

Venezuela<\/h2>\n

In Venezuela, a new round of protests began as a response to President Nicolas Maduro’s attempt to amend the country’s constitution.\u00a0Thousands of people took to the streets.\u00a0Already more than 34 people were killed, more than 300 people were injured as a result of clashes with police in various parts of Caracas.\u00a0One of the latest videos demonstrates that the situation is exacerbating.\u00a0On the streets barricades are erected, Molotov cocktails are used.<\/p>\n