Read more about the article Going Against Machiavelli: Russia’s Increasing Reliance on Mercenaries
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Going Against Machiavelli: Russia’s Increasing Reliance on Mercenaries

This Info Flash examines the recent history and attempts to regulate mercenaries on national and international levels, the history of Russian mercenaries, and the implications of the use of mercenaries in Ukraine. There is a focus on the Wagner Group, which has grown in importance due to the group’s recent size increase and its leadership’s growing influence in the Kremlin. Targeting these groups through their finances and contracts is a good way for the West to counter their activities in Africa and the Middle East.

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26 April 2023
Read more about the article Russia Spy Ships Gather Intelligence in the North Sea for Future Sabotages
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Russia Spy Ships Gather Intelligence in the North Sea for Future Sabotages

On 19 April 2023, a joint investigation of Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish public broadcasters found that Russia has been using boats disguised as fishing and research ships to perform surveillance and gather intelligence in the North Sea.

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24 April 2023
Read more about the article Attrition in Ukraine: Where Kyiv Stands After One Year
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Attrition in Ukraine: Where Kyiv Stands After One Year

This Info Flash presents how the Russo-Ukrainian War has devolved into a war of attrition. With material in short supply, Ukraine depends heavily on foreign contributions to maintain the war effort. Furthermore, loss in revenue from decreased production, exports, and taxes leads to massive deficits for the national government. Post-war reconstruction is also expected to be expensive, requiring significant external assistance. As a result, while continuous military and economic support from NATO, the EU, and others is essential to Ukraine, it will be important for countries to increase the necessary defence production to maintain their stockpiles and to plan for continued financial assistance for the duration of the war and following its conclusion.

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19 April 2023
Read more about the article Tanks For Ukraine: How the European Members of NATO Have Responded
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Tanks For Ukraine: How the European Members of NATO Have Responded

This Info Flash outlines the critical security aid that has reached Kyiv from the European members of the NATO alliance. Ukraine has welcomed this aid from its European counterparts, but the nation’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has continuously pressed European leaders to allow the transfer of their main battle tanks (MBTs) to help push back Russian forces. This request has ignited debates among policymakers and analysts about whether MBTs would make a difference for Ukraine on the battlefield and whether states should grant Zelensky’s request for tanks. As a result, the policies of European NATO members regarding MBT transfers have been mixed since February 2022. Some European NATO members quickly supplied Ukraine with MBTs, while others have only recently given the green light to transfer MBT units.

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18 April 2023
Read more about the article Turkey’s approval of Finland NATO membership
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Turkey’s approval of Finland NATO membership

After several months of delay, on the 30th of March 2023, Turkey’s Parliament voted unanimously to officially allow Finland’s membership into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This event represents a major shift in the international balance of power, with Finland abandoning decades of non-alignment, to become the 31st member of the Western defense alliance (Erlanger, 2023). Thought it should be noted that the membership will only be formalized during the next NATO summit, taking place in July in Lithuania (Gardner, 2023).

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11 April 2023