War

2023 - 1 - 25

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"

How the War in Ukraine Is Boosting Russian Politicians' Careers (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

Previously, ambitious members of the Russian elites climbed the career ladder by taking part in the Leaders of Russia contest and training programs for ...

Side by side with the “veterans” will be the young technocrats and what remains of the alumni of the All-Russia People’s Front coalition. So begins the division of Russia’s low- and mid-ranking elites into “veterans,” to whom many doors will be open and jobs guaranteed, and everyone else. The most cunning careerists, therefore, will appropriate the label of “veteran,” earning it through visits to the front lasting only long enough for a photo op. Vasilyev hails from a family of major landowners and developers and was elected to the regional legislature as an independent representing a single-member constituency. Such public dressings-down, especially at the hands of less authoritative figures, only add to the tensions within the elite. In recent years, it had taken to admitting independents to various legislative bodies, in an effort to avoid provoking the ire of voters hostile to the increasingly unpopular United Russia. In this year’s regional elections, for example, it will [promote](https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2023/01/12/958736-vlasti-vidvinut-bivshih-uchastnikov-spetsoperatsii) the candidacies of war veterans and [encourage](https://t.me/svobodnieslova/1199) governors to visit the front. In this way, players within the system signal to Putin that they are not just in favor of the war; they are true radicals. It is not, however, actual combat veterans who are favored, but officials and politicians who have visited the front line for photo opportunities and made use of them to demonstrate their radicalism. Those who heed its advice will receive special attention, as have the Cascade group of lawmakers, who, unusually for rank-and-file parliamentarians, have secured meetings with both Kiriyenko and Turchak. There is now even [a special reserve unit](https://lenta.ru/news/2022/11/11/deputaty_svo/) made up of lawmakers called Cascade. For those in Russia’s ruling elite set on reaching the top, the war in Ukraine is an unexpected new career elevator.

Letter: Did Russo-Japanese war influence Putin's thinking? (Financial Times)

Of course, during this period Russia was the aggressor in many minor conflicts as it pursued an expansive policy of enlargement of its empire into Poland, the ...

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No compromise and no dialogue: War (Haaretz)

Thugs Break Into a Person's Home, Screaming, Cursing, Breaking Everything in Their Way and Threatening to Take Revenge on the Family and Set the House ...

But certainly such a process cannot be set in motion with a gun to your head, when the two mafia chiefs who have suddenly discovered their burning interest in “fixing the system” are Netanyahu – who is standing trial – and his serial offender friend His never ending aspiration for “dialogue,” his naivete and belief in the good intentions of his rivals who have already badly screwed him over once – are a sort of parody. This is the time and place to once again remind these three gentlemen and the rest of the dreamers: No symmetry exists, there are not two sides. It’s amazing that the only ones who are falling into this trap are President Herzog and the heads of the two largest opposition parties. Can it unite to fight Netanyahu?](/israel-news/2023-01-11/ty-article/.premium/israels-opposition-is-divided-can-it-unite-to-fight-netanyahu/00000185-a18f-d69c-abc5-b5cf58da0000) [Only a unified opposition front can save Israel from the thugs](/opinion/2023-01-12/ty-article-opinion/.premium/only-a-unified-opposition-front-can-save-israel-from-the-thugs/00000185-a2b0-d733-a58f-a2b845970000) [Who will lead the real opposition to Netanyahu's onslaught?](/israel-news/2023-01-10/ty-article/.highlight/who-will-lead-the-real-opposition-to-netanyahus-onslaught/00000185-9d4f-d742-a797-bdcfba690000) The well-known mouthpieces are spreading them, as well as reporters who have been considered to be more balanced – but who are still dependent on “information” spread on behalf of the government so they can bring their employers the fleeting news headlines of the moment.

How Team India won the 1971 war (The Indian Express)

After a thousand years, India won a strategic victory in 1971, dismembering Pakistan and creating a new nation, Bangladesh.

The real birth of the Indian renaissance took place in 1971. The people of the nation stood by soldiers and their families. As young students travelling to Delhi from Ajmer on the outbreak of war, those of us who had fathers fighting at the front were given sweets by the wives of Railways officers. The section of Indian society that thirsted the most for a decisive victory were of course the armed forces. This was only one of the many services rendered to the war effort by Boparai which were recognised by the award of the Padma Shri. A fresh offer was made to send the unit personnel to war with 10 Para Commandos in the desert since the former were trained in many of the same skills. The young administrator ignored the orders of the Chief Secretary of the Punjab Government and the Adviser to the Governor to move back to Firozpur. Deprived of such a victory for a quarter century after Independence for various they were most eager to come to grips with the country’s enemies and rout them. Moving on the highest railway priority, white-hot which precluded stopping anywhere the troops were surprised to find that the Railways had through their catering organisation arranged hot meals for them everywhere as they travelled at high speed across the breadth of India. Officers were surprised to see a number of railways employees from General Managers to Class IV workers thronging stations to help the Army load their equipment on board trains. He rose admirably to the occasion judging that he was most needed at Fazilka, the scene of the Pakistani Schwerpunkt or point on which the main effort was concentrated. Swaran Singh Boparai was the young Deputy Commissioner of the border district, Firozpur.

War and the environment: UN adopts new principles (Eco-Business)

Governments have agreed a set of guidelines to protect the environment during and after wartime, the most significant legal update on the issue in 50 years.

“So much of the fighting has destroyed industrial sites like refineries, pipelines and factories that it’s going to be important to assess and remediate environmental hazards as part of any eventual reconstruction efforts.” Richard Pearshouse, director of environment and human rights at US-based NGO Human Rights Watch, welcomed global attention on the issue, saying it is usually overlooked because of a focus on immediate human casualties. There hadn’t been any substantive progress on this before [but] we’re now seeing a few different organisations and entities, like the International Union for Conservation of Nature, engaging on it.” Towards the end of a debate at the UN, these aspects in particular were warmly welcomed by the Palestinian delegate. He accused Russia of rendering the [UN Convention on Biological Diversity](https://www.un.org/en/observances/biological-diversity-day/convention) meaningless. The conflict in Ukraine, which is home to around 74,000 species of animals, plants and fungi, has a big impact on European biodiversity. Last year, sustainable forestry bodies [classified](https://fsc.org/en/fscs-position-on-russias-war-on-ukraine) wood originating from Russia and Belarus as “conflict timber” that cannot be used in certified products. This marked the end of a decade of work by the International Law Commission to better protect the environment during war and occupations. [opportunities](https://www.forest-trends.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/doc_5758.pdf) for the illegal exploitation of timber and it remains a serious problem. The environment has always been a casualty of war but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made this particularly visible. [damaged](https://www.newsweek.com/zaporizhzhia-plant-risk-sputtering-radioactive-substances-ukraine-1737560) by shelling according to Energoatom, the Ukrainian state-owned company that runs the plant. Intense fighting along the Donbas front in the east has damaged industrial facilities, polluting rivers and wetlands.

'Xi won't survive failed war with Taiwan, Ukraine to see prolonged ... (ThePrint)

In 3rd Atal Bihari Vajpayee Memorial Lecture, Bilahari Kausikan said it will be easier for India to navigate new world order, and US & China are ...

Putin can survive, I think probably will survive a botched war against Ukraine. But no Chinese leader will survive a failed war against Taiwan,” he said. He further added that the most probable outcome of the situation in Ukraine is a “prolonged war” that will eventually taper off into a “frozen conflict”. During the event Monday, External Affairs minister (EAM) Dr S. The first lecture was delivered by former Union Finance minister late Arun Jaitley. He added that the US and China, however, want countries to pick a side and Beijing, in particular, “devotes a great deal of resources on influence operations intended to impose false binary choices on us”.