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NATO States remain on Heightened Alert as Russia and Belarus Launch Military Drills

NATO States remain on Heightened Alert as Russia and Belarus Launch Military Drills

On Friday (12 September), Russia and Belarus commenced large-scale joint military exercises under the name “Zapad 2025,” in operations that have triggered concern among NATO members along the alliance’s eastern frontier. The manoeuvres begin only days after Poland accused Moscow of violating its airspace with an unprecedented number of drones, intensifying tensions across the region. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, the purpose of Zapad 2025 is to enhance the skills of commanders and staff, improve cooperation, and conduct field training among regional and allied troop groupings. The Kremlin insists the drills were planned well in advance of the drone incident on Wednesday (10 September) involving Poland.
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China shows strength and resolve

China shows strength and resolve

A massive military parade in Beijing, a tough speech by leader Xi Jinping, and an audience led by the leaders of like minded countries, including Russia, Iran and North Korea, was how China on Wednesday, 3 September, marked the 80th anniversary of its victory over Japan in WWII. President Xi welcomed North Korea’s Kim Jong Un with a long handshake, then moved on to greet Russia’s Vladimir Putin before all three walked together to watch the parade. This event was not just a display of troops and weapons  but also of friends and allies. This was the first time all three leaders have been seen in public together. The parade was a choreographed spectacle of precision, power and patriotism.  The choir stood in perfectly even rows, the troops goose stepped past in unison and each strike of the ground echoed through the stands of 50,000 guests in Tiananmen Square.  In his address, Xi called on Chinese people to remember the victory in WWII.  He added "humanity rises and falls together" and that China is "never intimidated by bullies."

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Editor's choice
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More than 1,100 people killed after clashes in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida

More than 1,100 people killed after clashes in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida

More than 1,100 people, most of them Druze fighters, civilians and government security personnel, have been killed in clashes erupted on July 13 in Syria's Druze-majority province of Sweida, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. Clashes between local fighters and Sunni Bedouin, spiralled and drew in Syrian government forces, tribal allies of the Bedouin and the military of neighbouring Israel. According to the United Nations, the violence has displaced more than 128,000 people, an issue that has also made collecting and identifying bodies more difficult.
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Japanese experts are training Ukrainian teams in landmine detection

Japanese experts are training Ukrainian teams in landmine detection

This week, a team of Japanese professionals conducted a landmine detection training programme for Ukrainian demining teams using equipment supplied by Japan. This initiative is intended to support Ukraine's ongoing efforts to clear explosive remnants of war in the context of Russia's ongoing invasion.
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Monday Commentary
The War in Ukraine is Europe’s War

The War in Ukraine is Europe’s War

The war in Ukraine, following Russia’s unprovoked invasion in February 2022, has now raged on for three and a half years. Thousands of Ukrainians, military and civilian, have died, and millions of Ukrainians have been displaced. Vladimir Putin brought this calamity on the Ukrainian people, and on his nation too, for political capriciousness and naked ambition. Leaders of European countries understood the seriousness and significance of the moment, not only those near Russia, such as Poland, the Baltic States, Finland and Sweden, but in wider Europe too, including Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands and beyond. Yet whilst the leaders rose to the occasion, the European public has remained largely indifferent. The majority of Europeans have so far acquiesced to the decision of their leaders to pour billions of euros into the Ukrainian war effort, but the conflict remains distant, and most Europeans carry on with their lives as usual. Putin is perceived more as an oddity than a threat. There is a great risk in this. The European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and former Estonian politician, Kaja Kallas, is quoted as saying “Ukraine fights today so that we may not have to fight tomorrow. Their fight is our fight.” True! But that is not the full story.
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Opinion
Just Peace - "The Hague Speaks for Peace: Rebalancing Security”

Just Peace - "The Hague Speaks for Peace: Rebalancing Security”

 Last week, as NATO leaders gathered in Brussels for their summit, LINKS Europe joined other civil society organisations in a public statement. The Statement was the initiative of The Hague Humanity Hub. The statement called for a balanced vision of peace and security, one that places people at its heart. At a time when the focus is increasingly drawn toward defense capabilities and military preparedness, the statement urged equal and sustained attention to and investment in the long-term work of building resilient, inclusive, and just societies. This is not an alternative to security, it is the foundation of it, the statement added.
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Luhansk the first Ukrainian region fully occupied by Russia

Luhansk the first Ukrainian region fully occupied by Russia

A Russia-appointed official in Ukraine’s occupied Luhansk region was quoted by AP on Monday saying that Moscow’s forces have overrun all of it, one of four regions Russia annexed from Ukraine in September 2022. If confirmed, it would make Luhansk the first Ukrainian region fully occupied by Russia after more than three years of war with international peace efforts led by the US failing to make progress on halting the fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected a ceasefire and hasn’t budged from his demands, which include Moscow’s control over the four illegally annexed regions. 
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Denmark takes over EU Presidency with a focus on Security, Migration and Enlargement

Denmark takes over EU Presidency with a focus on Security, Migration and Enlargement

On July 1, Denmark takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time. Under the motto ‘A Strong Europe in a Changing World’, the Danish Presidency said its programme of work will ensure that the EU takes responsibility for its own security, while also strengthening its competitiveness. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that priority will be given to boosting defence capabilities in Europe amid Russia's war in Ukraine and US threats to Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory. Pushing countries to keep promises to boost defence spending and bolstering Europe's "dangerous" security will top Denmark’s agenda as it takes over the rotating presidency on Tuesday, according to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
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Monday Commentary
NATO Summit in The Hague II: everyone survived, now all eyes on Türkiye

NATO Summit in The Hague II: everyone survived, now all eyes on Türkiye

The Nato Summit held in The Hague on 24-25 June was a failure, wrapped in success. It was a success because it avoided public display of divisions, mainly by avoiding issues: it was the shortest summit anyone can remember; it also had a very short final statement that basically had two points, the first a re-commitment to article 5 of the North Atlantic Charter and the principle that an attack on one will be considered an attack on all. The fact that Nato leaders in the Hague had felt the need to re-emphasise this should be a cause of worry not celebration, but in the end, it is good that it was said. The second outcome, the one that received most attention, was the commitment of European countries to spend more on their defence: 5 per cent of GDP, of which 3.5 per cent on hard defence, and 1.5 per cent on related ancillary areas such as infrastructure. You may, if you want, believe that this was a response to US President Donald Trump's insistence. Or, if you are more prudent, understand that countries that matter – Germany, France, Poland and the Scandinavian countries had decided on this course of action quite separately, and as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was a wake-up call. Finland and Sweden’s decision to abandon their neutrality, and join NATO was taken long before Trump returned to the White House. The EU’s decision to spend massively on defence was always to ensure that other European countries are part of this process, willy-nilly.