#territorial army recruitment 2023

[sarkaaribharti]

Territorial Army Explained 2023 : भारतीय सेना में पार्ट-टाइम सैनिक कैसे बनें 2023

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[matan4il]

Proportionality in war does not mean what so many of you seem to think it means.

Proportionality in war doesn't mean that an army fighting another military force is standing with their hand on a stopper, counting the dead and waiting for the moment when the number on both sides is equal. Not a single war in history has been fought like that, and it is an insane double standard, that people talk about Israel as if this is how it's meant to fight. In WWII, there were way more German civilian fatalities than there were American or British ones, and NO ONE says the Americans and British carried out a genocide of the Germans, just because the impact on the civilian populations was dissimilar. No one looks at that war and says, "The allies should have totally stopped before defeating the Nazis, once the number of German civilians killed was bigger than their own."

(and all this holds true whether we're talking about a regular army fighting another, such as in most wars, or whether it's this case, where we see Israel facing in this war in Gaza a terrorist organization, that is made up of tens of thousands of armed fighters, with proper military training, backed by tens of thousands of rockets, using even more people as human shields, booby trapping entire residential areas, digging an entire underground network of tunnels and bunkers stretching for miles, dedicated solely to terrorism, and having collaborators from other terrorist organizations in that territory and outside it fighting with them, plus members of that terrorist organization attacking from outside the war zone)

Proportionality in war means that an army's impact must be proportionate to the size of the threat. Not to the number of casualties, to the size of the threat.

Just like when we talk about the allies' response to the Nazis in WWII, we do take into account more than just how many people actually died in the war the Germans started, we take into account what would have happened, had Nazi Germany been successful in conquering even more countries, or reaching even more Jews to exterminate, as the Nazis planned to (demonstrated by, among other examples, their special death squad geared to kill the Jews in Israel had they managed to occupy it, the pressure they placed on the Japanese to get rid of the Jews living in East Asia under Japanese rule, and the lists of Jews to be arrested first in places the Nazis were planning to occupy, but thankfully failed to, including the UK, the US and Canada).

Since Hamas is an extremist terrorist organization, that has repeatedly stated it targets all Israelis and Jews, and has acted accordingly, that means that when Israel is fighting to dismantle Hamas, the threat it's trying to remove is the one posed to:

9.8 million (as of Dec 2023) people threatened in Israel, Jewish and non-Jewish alike (as demonstrated in action on Oct 7, when Hamas murdered Israeli Muslim Arabs as well, for being affiliated with the Jewish state)

about 8.4 million Jews living outside of Israel and targeted by Hamas (as demonstrated in action when Hamas terrorists were arrested last month for intending to carry out terrorist attacks on Jewish targets in at least 3 European countries)

Every single Gazan who might be killed due to Hamas. As Hamas has gotten Gazan kids killed building its terror tunnels, killed Palestinian kids by recruiting teenagers as terrorists, killed Gazan civilians when using them as human shields, killed Palestinian women and Palestinian queers by allowing (even condoning) "honor killings," killed Gazan protestors, killed Gazans affiliated with opposing political parties, and as Hamas is seemingly hellbent on waging this war to the last Gazan, when they didn't have to start it by attacking Israel on Oct 7, and they could have saved so many of their people by surrendering and ending it, all 2.1 million Gazans can be seen as endangered by Hamas

In total, this would mean that there are currently 20.3 million people in the world directly threatened by the very existence of Hamas.

By fighting Hamas in Gaza, Israel is currently actively defending 20.3 million people!

(obviously, minus the 30,000 Hamas terrorists)

That's before we start counting Palestinians outside of Gaza (because yes, Hamas exists and operates in other areas as well, as I mentioned above, and if it's seen as victorious in Gaza, that will strengthen Hamas outside it, too), or what it would mean for the entire Middle East region, or even for the whole world, if the moderate countries in this area see that the extremist terrorist tactics of Hamas are successful at stopping a democratic state from protecting its people.

THAT is the size of the threat. And THAT is what Israel's war impact is in proportion to.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[mapsontheweb]

The Polish revolts of the 19th century

🇵🇱 "Wielki atlas historyczny", éd. Demart, Varsovie, 2023

by cartesdhistoire

In 1815, the Congress of Vienna gave Russia the majority of Polish territories called the "Kingdom of the Congress". Krakow, which benefits from the Austro-Russian rivalry, is independent.

In 1830, when the Tsar decides to send Polish troops to fight the revolutionary troubles in France and Belgium, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, and then wins the entire kingdom. The "November uprising" quickly turns into open war, which the insurgents finally lose, who lack foreign support and that of small peasantry.

Then, Patriotic Actions (June 11 & Nov 29) 1860) murderous repressions (February 27th. and April 8, 1861). In October 1862, the head of the civil government announces an uprising of recruits, which primarily affects patriotic activists. This raft marks the beginning of an uprising, generalized but disorganized; evolving into a guerrilla, it is crushed by the Russian army (January). 1863 - June 1864).

The kingdom already lost in 1841, its currency, the złoty, to the benefit of the ruble, then, in 1847, the Napoleon code to the benefit of Russian law and, in 1849, its system of weight and measurements ceased to exist. It is directly incorporated into the Russian empire as the "Vistula Country", a purely geographical name that emphasizes the will to deny its Polish character. Many insurgents are deported to Siberia and their lands confiscated. Russian becomes the official language, all universities are russified, Orthodox Christianity is promoted state religion. The Catholic Church sees its property confiscated, its monasteries closed, its bishops jailed or deported (there hasn't been a single in 1872) and a huge Orthodox Cathedral is built in the heart of Warsaw. A drastic police regime makes any form of cultural activism or armed uprising impossible.

In the Prussia Grand Duchy of Poznan, an uprising took place in the spring of 1848. After his failure, the autonomy, already limited, of the Grand Duchy is abolished.

[tomorrowusa]

A Ukrainian teen who was moved by Russian authorities from Russian-occupied Ukraine to Russia last year was told he could get drafted into Putin's pathetic army after he turns 18.

After an international outcry, Bogdan may finally be returned to Ukraine.

A 17-year-old Ukrainian who was moved from Ukraine to Russia found out recently he was facing the prospect of being conscripted into the army fighting against the country of his birth. Bogdan Yermokhin, originally from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, tried to return to Ukraine in March but was stopped by Russian border guards. He is soon due to turn 18 and was ordered to report to a Moscow region draft centre next month. But then his plight became public knowledge and after his lawyer appealed to President Volodymyr Zelensky for help, Russia appears to have had a change of heart. Russian's children's commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova announced on Friday that he would soon be taken abroad to meet his cousin, and Ukraine confirmed the plan. Bogdan Yermokhin was orphaned in 2014 and before Russia's invasion of Ukraine he lived with a foster family in the port city of Mariupol. The director of a technical college where he was studying became his legal guardian in 2021. In 2022, Mariupol was seized by Russian forces after one of the bloodiest battles of the war, and Bogdan ended up in Russia. It remains unclear how or why he was moved.

Russia has been illegally transporting Ukrainian kids from occupied territories since not long after Putin's invasion began. This is banned by international law.

[I]n March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Ms Lvova-Belova and President Vladimir Putin. The ICC said Russia's aim was "permanently removing these children from their own country." Bogdan Yermokhin was transferred first to the city of Donetsk in Russian-occupied Ukraine and later to a youth summer camp in the Moscow region with a group of 30 Ukrainian children, including one boy fostered by the children's rights commissioner herself. The teenager was eventually put in the care of a local foster family and given Russian documents. He entered a college in Russia to continue his studies and Ms Lvova-Belova also claimed that he worked in summer camp aiming to "integrate" teenagers from Russian-occupied Ukraine.

Russia is losing population and the standard of living outside a few of the larger cities is plummeting. Kidnapping kids from Ukraine is one of the few options the Putin dictatorship has to slow down population implosion.

Ms Rudnitskaya argued that he was not at risk of being sent to fight in Ukraine. "He is a student," she said, adding that "new recruits do not take part in the Special Military Operation" - using Russia's official term for its full-scale war. Maria Lvova-Belova agreed, accusing the media of "hype". Russian authorities have frequently insisted that new recruits are not sent to the front line, but the BBC has established on multiple occasions that this has in fact happened.

Yep, it's been documented that not all of the members of Putin's dismal army in Ukraine are exactly "volunteers".

In April 2023, Maria Lvova-Belova announced at a news conference that Bogdan Yermokhin had tried to return to Ukraine on his own. She said that Russian border guards had managed to stop him. "We caught him on the border with Belarus," she announced. "We managed to stop him at the last minute."

Of course. Why on earth would anybody want to remain in Russia?

After a lot of bad publicity, indicted war criminal Maria Lvova-Belova is attempting to revise the narrative on Bogdan.

In her latest remarks on social media on Friday, the children's commissioner was adamant that up until October he had wanted to stay in Russia, and that Russian authorities had done nothing against his will. "Now Bogdan's opinion on where he would like to live has changed and he plans to return to Ukraine." Before his earlier failed attempt to leave Russia in March, at least one other Ukrainian teenager from Mariupol placed in a Russian foster family succeeded in returning to Ukraine. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmitry Lubinets, said the boy, who he named Serhiy, had sought help online from Ukrainian chat bots in December 2022. Bogdan Yermokhin was also active on social media, but he stopped posting under his name in March, at around the time of his attempt to leave Russia. [ ... ]

Bogdan's Russian foster family and his former Ukrainian guardians have confirmed to the BBC that Russian authorities now consider him a Russian citizen, so he would have been obliged to serve in the army under Russian law. But under international law issuing documents in occupied territories is illegal and Ukraine condemns the practice. This became one of the grounds for the ICC's arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova. As far as Ukraine and the rest of the international community is concerned, Bogdan Yermokhin remains a Ukrainian citizen, and the Russian military summons is illegal. The Russian children's commissioner denies authorities have engaged in any illegal activity and Moscow rejected claims it impedes the return of minors to Ukraine. However, its authorities insist only mothers or other close relatives can make their way to Russia in person to take their children back to Ukraine.

Hopefully Bogdan will be back home in Ukraine before long where he can recover from his ordeal in Russia.

[theculturedmarxist]

It has been clear for some time that US corporate news media have explicitly taken a side on the Ukraine War. This role includes suppressing relevant history of the lead-up to the war (FAIR.org, 3/4/22), attacking people who bring up that history as “conspiracy theorists” (FAIR.org, 5/18/22), accepting official government pronouncements at face value (FAIR.org, 12/2/22) and promoting an overly rosy picture of the conflict in order to boost morale.

For most of the war, most of the US coverage has been as pro-Ukrainian as Ukraine’s own media, now consolidated under the Zelenskyy government (FAIR.org, 5/9/23). Dire predictions sporadically appeared, but were drowned out by drumbeat coverage portraying a Ukrainian army on the cusp of victory, and the Russian army as incompetent and on the verge of collapse.

Triumphalist rhetoric soared in early 2023, as optimistic talk of a game-changing “spring offensive” dominated Ukraine coverage. Apparently delayed, the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in June. While even US officials did not believe that it would amount to much, US media papered over these doubts in the runup to the campaign.

Over the last three months, it has become clear that the Ukrainian military operation will not be the game-changer it was sold as; namely, it will not significantly roll back the Russian occupation and obviate the need for a negotiated settlement. Only after this became undeniable did media report on the true costs of war to the Ukrainian people.

Overwhelming optimism

In the runup to the counteroffensive, US media were full of excited conversation about how it would reshape the nature of the conflict. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Radio Free Europe (4/21/23) he was “confident Ukraine will be successful.” Sen. Lindsey Graham assured Politico (5/30/23), “In the coming days, you’re going to see a pretty impressive display of power by the Ukrainians.” Asked for his predictions about Ukraine’s plans, retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges told NPR (5/12/23), “I actually expect…they will be quite successful.”

Former CIA Director David Patraeus, author of the overhyped “surge” strategy in Iraq, told CNN (5/23/23):

I personally think that this is going to be really quite successful…. And [the Russians] are going to have to withdraw under pressure of this Ukrainian offensive, the most difficult possible tactical maneuver, and I don’t think they’re going to do well at that.

The Washington Post’s David Ignatius (4/15/23) acknowledged that “hope is not a strategy,” but still insisted that “Ukraine’s will to win—its determination to expel Russian invaders from its territory at whatever cost—might be the X-factor in the decisive season of conflict ahead.”

The New York Times (6/2/23) ran a story praising recruits who signed up for the Ukrainian pushback, even though it “promises to be deadly.” Times columnist Paul Krugman (6/5/23) declared we were witnessing “the moral equivalent of D-Day.” CNN (5/30/23) reported that Ukrainians were “unfazed” as they “gear up for a counteroffensive.”

Cable news was replete with buzz about how the counteroffensive, couched with modifiers like “long-awaited” or “highly anticipated,” could turn the tide in the war. Nightly news shows (e.g., NBC, 6/15/23, 6/16/23) presented audiences with optimistic statements from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other figures talking about the imminent success.

Downplaying reality

Despite the soaring rhetoric presented to audiences, Western officials understood that the counteroffensive was all but doomed to fail. This had been known long before the above comments were reported, but media failed to include that fact as prominently as the predictions for success.

On April 10, as part of the Discord leaks story, the Washington Post (4/10/23) reported that top secret documents showed that Ukraine’s drive would fall “well short” of its objectives, due to equipment, ammunition and conscription problems. The document predicted “sustainment shortfalls” and only “modest territorial gains.”

The Post additionally cited anonymous officials who claimed that the documents’ conclusions were corroborated by a classified National Intelligence Council assessment, shown only to a select few in Congress. The Post spoke to a Ukrainian official who “did not dispute the revelations,” and acknowledged that it was “partially true.”

While the Post has yet to publish the documents in full, the leaks and the other sources clearly painted a picture of a potentially disastrous counteroffensive. Fear was so palpable that the Biden administration privately worried about how he could keep up support for the war when the widely hyped offensive sputtered. In the midst of this, Blinken continued to dismiss the idea of a ceasefire, opting instead to pursue further escalating the conflict.

Despite the importance of these facts, they were hardly reported on by the rest of corporate media, and dropped from subsequent war coverage. When the Post (6/14/23) published a long article citing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s cautious optimism about the campaign, it neglected to mention its earlier reporting about the government’s privately gloomier assessments. The documents only started appearing again in the press after thousands were dead, and the campaign’s failure undeniable.

In an honest press, excited comments from politicians and commentators would be published alongside reports about how even our highest-level officials did not believe that the counteroffensive would amount to much. Instead, anticipation was allowed to build while doubts were set to the side.

Too ‘casualty-averse’?

By July, Ukrainian casualties were mounting, and it became clearer and clearer that the counteroffensive would fail to recapture significant amounts of Ukrainian territory. Reporting grew more realistic, and we were given insights into conditions on the ground in Ukraine, as well as what was in the minds of US officials.

According to the Washington Post (8/17/23), US and Ukrainian militaries had conducted war games and had anticipated that an advance would be accompanied by heavy losses. But when the real-world fatalities mounted, the Post reported, “Ukraine chose to stem the losses on the battlefield.”

This caused a rift between the Ukrainians and their Western backers, who were frustrated at Ukrainians’ desire to keep their people alive. A mid-July New York Times article (7/14/23) reported that US officials were privately frustrated that Ukraine had become too afraid of dying to fight effectively. The officials worried that Ukrainian commanders “fear[ed] casualties among their ranks,” and had “reverted to old habits” rather than “pressing harder.” A later Times article (8/18/23) repeated Washington’s worries that Ukrainians were too “casualty-averse.”

Acknowledging failure

After it became undeniable that Ukraine’s military action was going nowhere, a Wall Street Journal report (7/23/23) raised some of the doubts that had been invisible in the press on the offensive’s eve. The report’s opening lines say it all:

When Ukraine launched its big counteroffensive this spring, Western military officials knew Kyiv didn’t have all the training or weapons—from shells to warplanes—that it needed to dislodge Russian forces.

The Journal acknowledged that Western officials simply “hoped Ukrainian courage and resourcefulness would carry the day.”

One Post column (7/26/23) asked, “Was Gen. Mark Milley Right Last Year About the War in Ukraine?” Columnist Jason Willick acknowledged that “Milley’s skepticism about Ukraine’s ability to achieve total victory appears to have been widespread within the Biden administration before the counteroffensive began.”

And when one official told Politico (8/18/23), “Milley had a point,” acknowledging the former military head’s November suggestion for negotiations.  The quote was so telling that Politico made it the headline of the article.

Even Rep. Andy Harris (D-Md.), co-chair of the congressional Ukraine Caucus, publicly questioned whether or not the war was “winnable” (Politico, 8/17/23). Speaking on the counteroffensive’s status, he said, “I’ll be blunt, it’s failed.”

Newsweek (8/16/23) reported on a Ukrainian leadership divided over how to handle the “underwhelming” counteroffensive. The Washington Post (8/17/23) reported that the US intelligence community assessed that the offensive would fail to fulfill its key objective of severing the land bridge between Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine and Crimea.

As the triumphalism ebbed, outlets began reporting on scenes that were almost certainly common before the spring push but had gone unpublished. One piece from the Post (8/10/23) outlined a “darken[ed] mood in Ukraine,” in which the nation was “worn out.” The piece acknowledged that “Ukrainian officials and their Western partners hyped up a coming counteroffensive,” but there was “little visible progress.”

The Wall Street Journal (8/1/23) published a devastating piece about the massive number of amputees returning home from the mine-laden battlefield. They reported that between 20,000 and 50,000 Ukrainians had lost one or more limbs as a result of the war—numbers that are comparable to those seen during World War I.

Rather than dwelling on the stalled campaign, the New York Times and other outlets focused on the drone war against Russia, even while acknowledging that the remote strikes were largely an exercise in public relations. The Times (8/25/23) declared that the strikes had “little significant damage to Russia’s overall military might” and were primarily “a message for [Ukraine’s] own people,” citing US officials who noted that they “intended to demonstrate to the Ukrainian public that Kyiv can still strike back.” Looking at the quantity of Times coverage (8/30/23, 8/30/23,  8/23/23, 8/22/23, 8/22/23, 8/21/23, 8/18/23), the drone strikes were apparently aimed at an increasingly war-weary US public as well.

War as desirable outcome

The fact that US officials pushed for a Ukrainian counteroffensive that all but expected would fail raises an important question: Why would they do this? Sending thousands of young people to be maimed and killed does nothing to advance Ukrainian territorial integrity, and actively hinders the war effort.

The answer has been clear since before the war. Despite the high-minded rhetoric about support for democracy, this has never been the goal of pushing for war in Ukraine. Though it often goes unacknowledged in the US press, policymakers saw a war in Ukraine as a desirable outcome. One 2019 study from the RAND Corporation—a think tank with close ties to the Pentagon—suggested that an effective way to overextend and unbalance Russia would be to increase military support for Ukraine, arguing that this could lead to a Russian invasion.

In December 2021, as Russian President Vladimir Putin began to mass troops at Ukraine’s border while demanding negotiations, John Deni of the Atlantic Council published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (12/22/21) headlined “The Strategic Case for Risking War in Ukraine,” which laid out the US logic explicitly: Provoking a war would allow the US to impose sanctions and fight a proxy war that would grind Russia down. Additionally, the anti-Russian sentiment that resulted from a war would strengthen NATO’s resolve.

All of this came to pass as Washington’s stance of non-negotiation successfully provoked a Russian invasion. Even as Ukraine and Russia sat at the negotiation table early in the war, the US made it clear that it wanted the war to continue and escalate. The US’s objective was, in the words of Raytheon boardmember–turned–Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, “to see Russia weakened.” Despite stated commitments to Ukrainian democracy, US policies have instead severely damaged it.

NATO’s ‘strategic windfall’ 

In the wake of the stalled counteroffensive, the US interest in sacrificing Ukraine to bleed Russia was put on display again. In July, the Post‘s Ignatius declared that the West shouldn’t be so “gloomy” about Ukraine, since the war had been a “strategic windfall” for NATO and its allies. Echoing two of Deni’s objectives, Ignatius asserted that “the West’s most reckless antagonist has been rocked,” and “NATO has grown much stronger with the additions of Sweden and Finland.”

In the starkest demonstration of the lack of concern for Ukraine or its people, he also wrote that these strategic successes came “at relatively low cost,” adding, in a parenthetical aside, “(other than for the Ukrainians).”

Ignatius is far from alone. Hawkish Sen. Mitt Romney (R–Utah) explained why US funding for the proxy war was “about the best national defense spending I think we’ve ever done”: “We’re losing no lives in Ukraine, and the Ukrainians, they’re fighting heroically against Russia.” The consensus among policymakers in Washington is to push for endless conflict, no matter how many Ukrainians die in the process. As long as Russia loses men and material, the effect on Ukraine is irrelevant. Ukrainian victory was never the goal.

‘Fears of peace talks’

Polls show that support for increased US involvement in Ukraine is rapidly declining. The recent Republican presidential debate demonstrated clear fractures within the right wing of the US power structure. Politico (8/18/23) reported that some US officials are regretting potential lost opportunities for negotiations. Unfortunately, this minority dissent has yet to affect the dominant consensus.

The failure of the counteroffensive has not caused Washington to rethink its strategy of attempting to bleed Russia. The flow of US military hardware to Ukraine is likely to continue so long as this remains the goal. The Hill (9/5/23) gave the game away about NATO’s commitment to escalation with a piece titled “Fears of Peace Talks With Putin Rise Amid US Squabbling.”

But even within the Biden administration, the Pentagon appears to be at odds with the State Department and National Security Council over the Ukraine conflict.  Contrary to what may be expected, the civilian officials like Jake Sullivan, Victoria Nuland and Antony Blinken are taking a harder line on perpetuating this conflict than the professional soldiers in the Pentagon. The media’s sharp change of tone may both signify and fuel the doubts gaining traction within the US political class.

[mariacallous]

More and more women are joining Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion, but while they can now take on the same roles as men, the challenges they face are very different.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, more than 11,000 women have voluntarily joined the ranks of Ukraine’s armed forces.

“From the first day of the war, women along with men stood in queues at territorial recruitment centres to join the defence of our Motherland,” Lieutenant General Serhii Naev, commander of the United Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on June 22 this year.

Some of them have taken on the most dangerous assignments, becoming machine gunners, snipers and tank gunners, firing grenade launchers and mortars.

As of early 2023, at least 600 women had expressed their desire to join eight new assault brigades – the Offensive Guard – tasked with pushing Russian troops out of occupied parts of Ukraine.

‘No right to make a mistake’

Armed conflict in eastern Ukraine broke out in early 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Back then, a total of 49,926 women were employed within the Ukrainian armed forces, of which 16,557 were military personnel and 33,369 civilian. By March 1 this year, a year into the full-scale invasion, the total had climbed to 60,538, including 42,898 military personnel. That’s a 2.5-fold increase in military personnel since 2014. The number of female officers is now six times higher, at 7,416.

As of publication of this article, 106 female soldiers have died in combat since February 24, 2022.

More women will be need for the war effort, but they will continue to face different challenges to their male colleagues.

Ukrainian society and military servicemen have been slow to accept women fighters.

“As a woman, you have no right to make a mistake; you always have to prove yourself more than men. The attitude towards you, as a woman, is ‘It’s just a girl’,” said Sharlotta Khmelnytska.

Aged 26, Khmelnytska holds a BA in political science and a Master’s degree in public administration. She is also a senior lieutenant in the army, an example of the changing nature of military service in Ukraine and the transition of women into combat roles traditionally reserved for men.

Major reform of 2018

Women have served in the armed forces of Ukraine since independence in 1991, but usually as the wives and daughters who followed their husbands and fathers to new military posts.

Ukraine kept with the Soviet tradition of military rotation in which the family members of officers would rotate with them; wives and daughters would typically work in the military compound where their husbands or fathers were stationed, as administrative staff, secretaries or other civilian personnel.

Over time, the number of female military personnel steadily increased, particularly within the officer corps: between 2001 and 2006, the proportion of female officers rose from 0.7 per cent to 2.25 per cent. The hostility displayed by some toward female officers was largely due to the fact that military men did not want to hold lower-paid positions.

In 1994, women could apply for a limited range of positions. Social stigma forced women to occupy more typical ‘female’ posts such as medics, administrators or logistical support.

There was also a shortage of women trained to perform highly-skilled jobs. In the Soviet era, most of those studying IT, technology, or science were men, while women traditionally enrolled in more ‘feminine’ fields such as pedagogy, light industry, medicine, and cooking.

Consequently, the majority of women in the army typically occupied low paid, ‘feminine’ roles.

By June 2016, 62 combat positions were open to women, and on September 6, 2018, military laws were amended to bring radical change to the rights of women in military service.

Law 2523 introduced six amendments to the Statute of the Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine titled ‘On Military Duty and Military Service’.

Women became eligible for all military positions and ranks, with the same duties and opportunities as their male colleagues: the age limit on women serving in the military was raised from 40 to 60; servicewomen who reach the age limit are now transferred to the 1st category reserve, as opposed to the 2nd, meaning an increase in their pension pot and the chance to be mobilised first if needed.

As Ukrainian society pushed for greater gender equality, more women than ever began to join the army. In 2018, 53 per cent of Ukrainians supported the idea of gender equality between women and men in the army; in 2023, that number stands at 80 per cent.

The sharp rise in the number of women joining the armed forces reflects the army’s increased recognition of women, and the need felt by women to contribute to the war effort.

“Once I realised that a full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine was inevitable and that the enemy would try to occupy my hometown, Berdiansk, I could not sit by,” said Khmelnytska. “I had to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine – so I did.”

Currently, 24,797 servicewomen perform different tasks in the army, from combat engagements and special operations, to admin and logistical support.

More than 16,000 serve in the Ground Forces, at least 7,000 in the Air Force, over 3,000 in the Territorial Defence Forces, around 2,000 in the navy, and approximately 1,000 in the Airborne Assault Forces. The rest serve across other departments of the armed forces.

Women as prisoners of war

Women who join the military effort in Ukraine are in double jeopardy: they risk death or imprisonment by Russian forces, and sexual harassment within their own forces.

While there is no publicly available data on the total number of female prisoners of war, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War believes that several hundred women may have been taken prisoner.

Since February 24, 2022, there have been several prisoner exchanges involving women. One of the biggest occurred on October 17 that year, when 108 women were exchanged.

Maryana Mamonova, a female Ukrainian military doctor who was pregnant at time of her detention, was held captive by the Russian army for six months. According to Mamonova, Russian soldiers told her that she would give a birth to “a Nazi/Banderite” and that the child would be better off raised by a Russian family.

Fortunately, the media coverage of her case led to her release in the ninth month of her pregnancy.

When asked to describe their imprisonment, female servicewomen report systematic violations of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war by Russia – including torture, psychological abuse, the refusal to provide medical care, and a lack of food and water.

Many say that in Russian prisons they are not only denied hygiene products but often denied any opportunity to wash themselves at all. Detained Ukrainian women report being tortured during interrogations, shaved, and forced to undress. Some were sexually abused by Russian soldiers.

Ukrainian military women are also sometimes at risk from their male colleagues. The results of a 2011 study by the Research Centre for Humanitarian Issues of the Armed Forces of Ukraine revealed that every tenth woman faced sexual harassment in the army. “A woman has a harder time in the army than a man,” said Khmelnytska.

“When we did military training we faced sexism. Dealing with it was draining on my nerves, my energy, and my emotions. At times it was terrible. For example, you could be punished or reprimanded because you were a woman and the brigade commander didn’t like it.”

Sexual harassment in the army remains a taboo topic in the Ukrainian army.

In 2021, Olga Derkach became one of the first to speak out publicly about sexual harassment in the military when she accused Colonel Oleksandr Krivoruchko of harassment that she said began in 2016.

According to Olena Shevchenko, head of the Ukrainian human rights NGO ‘Insight’, complaints of sexual harassment are often submitted to Insight by the friends and acquaintances of the victims, rather than the victims themselves. Insight has received more than a dozen in recent years.

“According to women who complained to us, the commander harasses the woman, demands sexual favours and her loyalty,” said Shevchenko.

The head of the NGO ‘Association of Women Lawyers of Ukraine’ also reported receiving similar complaints. “Complaints are not coming from the frontline,” said Khrystyna Kit. “Women combatants are less likely to be sexually harassed than admin staff who work away from the battlefield.”

But even when women are willing to testify about harassment, it is often difficult to bring such cases to court. “Women have no witnesses to the harassment and, apart from her own testimony, there is no one who could confirm her claims,” said Kit. “Holding the perpetrator criminally accountable is a difficult and traumatic endeavour for a female victim.”

Social stigma

Ukrainian women serving in the army still fight to be recognised by society as equal to male soldiers.

The traditional view of the army as an exclusively masculine environment prevails, and women – so the argument goes – have no place in this environment.

Debate has raged on social media in response to comments on women who have decided to join the army, especially those who have children. As more and more women volunteer for the frontline, the more heated the debates become.

Some express full support for women and mothers; others argue they should think first about their children, who could become orphans at any moment. Such debates do not happen when it comes to men.

Despite their increasing involvement in the armed forces, society still believes that women have no place in the army. As a consequence, women’s experience of war remains neglected by the media. We have seen changes in public perception, but not as rapidly as one would expect in response to the rapid changes caused by war.

From the start of full-scale hostilities to the end of 2022, 350 military servicewomen have been awarded for bravery. The highest award, Hero of Ukraine, was bestowed posthumously on two women. Recently, Forbes-Ukraine magazine added ten women from the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to its list of the 50 most influential women in Ukraine.

In preparation for future waves of military mobilisation, women of certain professions are now legally obliged to register for the military. While full scale mobilisation is not expected before 2026, women can serve under contract. The list of professions from which women can be called up for military service has also expanded. According to the new law, women with any type of science or medical background must register.

Once registered, women will be subject to general mobilisation to the same degree as men.

At present, only women with medical backgrounds are legally obliged to be drafted into the war effort and this is due to the constant shortage of military medics. With the potential for a prolonged conflict, the change will be necessary to maintain strength and numbers on the battlefield, meaning that women could fall subject to general mobilisation.

[argyrocratie]

"According to the National Police of Ukraine, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, about 8 thousand criminal proceedings have been opened in the country for evading mobilization.

(...)

A typical example from local social networks of how a summons to a unit can be issued looks like this: the day before yesterday, on Kibalchich Street, cops probably forced a 56-year-old man into a car and took him to the enlistment center, where he became fit for duty in 20 minutes. The next day he already had to show up with his things. Then such people join the ranks of refusers in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as our magazine told about earlier.

Since the beginning of August, the list of the first instance sentences under Art. 336 has been added by 12, and by 6 cases under Art. 408. During this time, the Leninsky District Court of Kharkiv set a record, sending five evaders to jail, despite one of the convicts has a minor child to support, another is a volunteer of the charity foundation Help Save Kharkiv, and the third explained his act by his reluctance to leave his elderly mother alone. There are no examples of suspended sentences under this article for the specified period in our region: everyone is given 3 years of actual imprisonment.

The Parliament of Ukraine is preparing for voting bill No. 10062 of September 18, 2023 on the creation of a unified electronic register of those liable for military service. According to it, the Ministry of Defense will have access to information about such citizens from all official databases, and the list of information that must be transferred to the register by various authorities will also be expanded. This was done taking into account the experience of Russia, where, together with the electronic register, the practice of sending summonses online is being introduced.

(...)

One way or another, everything is going to the fact that instead of a simple kitchen grumbling about the authority, Ukrainian workers will have to become real lifestyle anarchists. Not only to avoid official employment, as now, but to strive to sever all ties with the state and live cladestinely, including stopping seeking medical care, selling cars and resetting bank cards being ready to blocking for failure to appear on a summons. The ever-increasing blurring of the difference between the occupation and “their own” will affect the political atmosphere of Ukraine, where war fatigue and distrust of any government are already beginning to dominate, especially in the front-line regions. Although until a social explosion breaks out in Russia, of course, passive protest will prevail: maximal going to underground, withdrawal of assets abroad, flight from the country by any routes that are not yet blocked.

One of the main reasons for increasing mobilization, Ukrainian propaganda cites the fact that the Russian Federation monthly recruits tens of thousands of contract soldiers into the army, but at the same time, recruits are combined with those already serving. Contracts are signed by mobilized, by mercenaries of the disbanded Wagner PMC, and those who decided to renew the contract after expiration. At the same time, instead of the ideological component, the Kremlin is increasingly relying on money and hints to resume open mobilization if it fails to recruit enough contract soldiers.

(...)

The Russian liberal-pacifist Telegram channel ASTRA counted on October 24 at least 173 Russian military personnel placed in illegal camps for refusers in the occupied territories of Ukraine over the past 10 days. In their opinion, this is just the tip of the iceberg – what they managed to establish through appeals to the channel. Messages came mainly from the Kupyansk direction on the Kharkiv-Lugansk borderland; they are full of the same complaints about drunken commanders, lack of ammunition, reconnaissance, artillery support, food and water. Some people do not want to fight at all, others refuse precisely to go to the slaughter. Most often, stories feature a torture basement in the village of Zaytsevo, which began to fill up en masse last fall, then was dispersed after publicity, and is now operating again. How many people are sitting there at the moment is unknown."

...

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Steve Brodner, Full Court Press

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 12, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

DEC 13, 2023

Last night, Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to decide Trump’s claim that he is immune from any and all criminal prosecution for anything he did while in office. That claim is central to Trump’s defense; he has requested the charges against him be dismissed because of that immunity. 

When Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is overseeing the case in which Trump is charged with trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election, dismissed this claim, Trump’s lawyers appealed and asked for the case to be frozen while the appeal worked its way up through the courts. By going straight to the Supreme Court, Smith appears to be trying to stop Trump from delaying the trial until after the 2024 election.  

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether it will hear the case. So far, Justice Clarence Thomas refuses to recuse himself, even though his wife Ginni was deeply involved in the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. His refusal suggests that the Supreme Court’s new ethics rules are as toothless as their opponents charged.

In another filing last night, Smith revealed that the government expects to introduce the testimony of three experts who will speak to the use of cell phones by Trump and one other person after the 2020 election, including on January 6, a revelation that Los Angeles Times legal analyst Harry Litman suggested must “have the Trump camp totally freaked out.”

Inflation slowed again in November, dropping to 0.1% as gasoline prices fell, so that the annual inflation over the past year has dropped to 3.1%. 

Fallout continues from the Texas Supreme Court’s decision that a woman carrying a fetus with a fatal condition cannot abort that fetus even though it threatens her own health and future fertility. President Joe Biden promised today to continue to fight to protect access to reproductive health care, saying: “No woman should be forced to go to court or flee her home state just to receive the health care she needs. But that is exactly what happened in Texas thanks to Republican elected officials, and it is simply outrageous. This should never happen in America, period.”

But for all the importance of these major stories, the outstanding story of the day is that the Republican Party appears to have decided to undermine financial support for Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion. 

This is simply an astonishing decision. Majorities in both the House and the Senate want to pass supplemental aid to Ukraine, which both protects North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries and provides jobs in the United States, but an extremist minority in Congress is stopping passage of a measure that would provide more weapons to Ukraine.

There is no doubt previous funding has been effective. A newly declassified intelligence memo shows that Russia had an army of 360,000 before the war and that thanks to the Ukraine resistance it has lost 315,000 troops—87% of its army—forcing it to squeeze more recruits out of its civilian population. It has also lost 2,200 out of 3,500 tanks, forcing it to turn to Soviet-era equipment. 

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Washington, D.C., today to try to convince Republicans to pass such a measure, noted that Ukraine has regained half the land Russia seized in the February 2022 invasion, forced Russian warships out of Ukrainian territorial waters, and opened export corridors to get Ukrainian grain to countries that desperately need it. At the same time, he said, Ukraine’s economy is growing at a 5% rate, suggesting it will be less dependent on foreign aid going forward. 

In The Atlantic, David Frum, who has criticized Democrats on immigration policy, pointed out that Biden and the Democrats have made a real effort to negotiate with extremist Republicans but the Republicans are simply refusing to engage. Frum concluded that Republicans do not want to make a deal. Either they want to perform a ritual in which Republicans demand and Democrats comply, or they want to keep the border as a campaign issue, or they actually oppose aid to Ukraine. And yet, Frum reiterates, majorities in both the House and the Senate want the supplemental aid package to pass.  

Republicans appear to want to keep the issue of immigration front and center in 2024, hoping that people will focus on it rather than on abortion, especially in states like Texas.

Poland’s newly elected prime minister Donald Tusk today vowed that he would “loudly and decisively demand the full mobilization of the free world, the Western world, to help Ukraine in this war,” but Russia expert Fiona Hill told Politico’s Maura Reynolds that U.S. funding will be key to determining whether Ukraine wins back control of its territory. That decision, she says, is really about our own future.

Permitting Putin to win in Ukraine, she says, would create a world in which the standing of the U.S. in the world would be diminished, Iran and North Korea would be strengthened, China would dominate the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East would be more unstable, and nuclear weapons would proliferate. 

“Ukraine has become a battlefield now for America and America’s own future—whether we see it or not—for our own defensive posture and preparedness, for our reputation and our leadership,” Hill told Reynolds. “For Putin, Ukraine is a proxy war against the United States, to remove the United States from the world stage.”

“The problem is that many members of Congress don’t want to see President Biden win on any front,” Hill said. “People are incapable now of separating off ‘giving Biden a win’ from actually allowing Ukraine to win. They are thinking less about U.S. national security, European security, international security and foreign policy, and much more about how they can humiliate Biden. In that regard,” she said, “whether they like it or not, members of Congress are doing exactly the same thing as Vladimir Putin. They hate that. They want to refute that. But Vladimir Putin wants Biden to lose, and they want Biden to be seen to lose as well.”

Today, Biden noted that Russian media outlets have been cheering on the Republicans. "If you're being celebrated by Russian propagandists, it might be time to rethink what you're doing,” he said. “History will judge harshly those who turned their back on freedom's cause."

Congress is set to leave for the holiday break on Thursday, returning in the second week of January. Biden urged Congress “to pass the supplemental funding for Ukraine before they break for the holiday recess—before they give Putin the greatest Christmas gift they could possibly give him.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[libertariantaoist]

Here is your daily roundup of today's news:

News Roundup 5/17/2023

by Kyle Anzalone

US News

The far-reaching effects of America’s War on Terror may have contributed to the deaths of some 4.5 million people, according to new research by Brown University’s ‘Costs of War’ project. While many of the fatalities were the direct result of violent conflict, indirect causes such as economic collapse and food insecurity have taken a far greater toll. The Institute

Russia

The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) will adopt a prohibition on restarting oil imports from Russia, according to the Financial Times. The “highly symbolic” ban falls well short of the total export embargo proposed by Washington. The Institute

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have agreed to host a delegation of African leaders to discuss a potential peace plan for the conflict in Ukraine. AWC

Germany on Saturday announced its largest package of military aid for Kyiv worth $2.95 billion, Berlin’s largest since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. AWC

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Britain Monday and secured pledges for more military equipment from London, including air defense missiles and long-range attack drones. AWC

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has privately plotted major attacks inside Russia while pledging publicly that his forces won’t use Western-provided arms to target Russian territory, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. AWC

The Washington Post deleted a portion of an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where he accused the paper of helping Russia by posing a question about information contained in leaked classified documents. AWC

The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday said Ukrainian forces have already used British-provided long-range Storm Shadow missiles in attacks on the Russian-controlled Donbas city of Luhansk. AWC

The last massive aid package Congress authorized for Ukraine has about $6 billion left, which is expected to be used up by mid-summer, POLITICO reported Monday. AWC

Warsaw received its first shipment of US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), manufactured by Lockheed Martin, and announced plans to deploy the launchers near the country’s shared border with Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave. The Institute

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, dismissed claims made by The Washington Post that he offered Ukraine Russian troop positions in exchange for a Ukrainian withdrawal from Bakhmut, calling the report “laughable.” AWC

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization conducted war games aimed at tracking and eliminating submarines. The 12-nation exercises were the alliance’s largest ever military drills simulating underwater warfare. The Institute

Russia’s military said Tuesday that it hit a US-made Patriot air defense system in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv with a hypersonic missile, which was later confirmed by a US official. AWC

Kiev officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Cyber Defense Center on Tuesday. Ukraine’s flag was raised at the headquarters of NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) in Tallinn, according to a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry statement. The Institute

On Monday, the CIA published a video on YouTube and Telegram urging Russians to contact the agency in an effort to recruit intelligence assets inside Russia. AWC

China

A high-level Chinese envoy is set to begin a trip that will bring him to Russia, Ukraine, and several other European countries as Beijing hopes to broker a ceasefire to bring an end to the fighting in Ukraine. AWC

Beijing says on 1/5/2021 the US conducted an antisubmarine operation about 100 miles from Hong Kong. When Chinese forces attempted to seize some American equipment, Washington destroyed it. SCMP

On Tuesday, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) responded to US plans to provide Taiwan with $500 million in unprecedented military aid and reports that said hundreds of US troops have been deployed to the island, warning it will “firmly crush attempts at external interference.” AWC

A US envoy said Monday that the US and the Federated States of Micronesia have agreed to extend a strategic pact that will allow the US to maintain military access to the Pacific Island nation. AWC

President Biden has canceled planned visits to Papua New Guinea and Australia to focus on the debt ceiling debate that’s ongoing in Washington, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday. AWC

Middle East

European countries are pressing Biden to resume talks with Iran about reviving the nuclear agreement. WSJ

The US military says it’s looking into reports that it killed a civilian in a recent airstrike it launched in northwest Syria. AWC

The Cradle reported on Tuesday that the US and Syria have been engaged in secret, direct negotiations in the Omani capital of Muscat. AWC

Read More

[darkmaga-returns]

In a significant development in Kursk, Russia's military achieved a notable success as Ukraine reportedly provoked Russian President Vladimir Putin once again.

A 22-year-old man, identified as James Scott Rhys Anderson, a former British Army soldier who served until 2023, was captured by Russian forces. Anderson had been fighting alongside the Ukrainian Legion, which is composed of foreign recruits.

He was detained near the village of Plekhovo, located about 5 kilometers inside Russian territory.

Videos of his interrogation have surfaced, revealing further details about his involvement.

[warningsine]

The ambiguous and often tumultuous relations between Uganda and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have made headlines in recent months. In a July 2024 report, the UN Group of Experts on the DRC stated that Ugandan army and intelligence officials were providing active support to the M23 rebel group.

The group, which is active in eastern DRC, was first defeated in 2013. But it has resumed hostilities in the vast area since 2021.

The UN report also found that Uganda was tolerating the group’s activities on its territory, with supplies and recruits coming through the country. M23’s key demands are an end to violence and discrimination against Congolese Tutsi, and a safe return to the DRC for its members.

Uganda has denied the claims of the UN report, calling them “laughable, baseless and illogical”. It wants to safeguard its relations with Kinshasa.

I have studied conflict and rebel movements in the DRC and Uganda for close to two decades. In my view, Uganda’s main interests in the DRC are economic, but these are closely connected with political and security interests. Understanding them is key to the conflict in the region.

1. Economic incentives

Central to understanding Uganda’s interests in eastern DRC is the second Congolese war (1998-2003).

The war broke out in 1998, after Rwanda helped bring Laurent-Desiré Kabila to power in the DRC in 1997. Uganda was one of the countries drawn in to the conflict. Rwanda’s and Uganda’s interest in natural resources, such as gold and timber, as well as the illicit regional trade in these goods, played an important role.

In 2022, the International Court of Justice ordered Uganda to pay the DRC US$325 million for looting gold, diamonds and timber during the war.

That has influenced the way Uganda is perceived by Congolese and international observers. These commodities remain important for Uganda.

A recent investigation, for example, documented the ongoing smuggling of Congolese timber to Uganda and other parts of east Africa. But it is gold which is particularly important. Uganda exports far more gold than it produces: in 2021, for example, it produced 2.9 tonnes and exported 30.2 tonnes.

It is widely accepted that most gold exported as Ugandan is smuggled from the DRC.

Since 2016, gold has been Uganda’s most important export product. The latest available data for the financial year of 2023 shows gold brings in US$2.7 billion in revenue, or 37% of Uganda’s export earnings.

The DRC is also important in another way for Uganda: as an export market. In June 2024, Uganda exported US$60 million more than it imported, with the DRC as its largest market.

2. Political interests

All of this has important political meaning for Uganda at national and regional levels.

First, the economic importance of the Congolese market has strong political significance for the Yoweri Museveni regime. The president has been in power for close to 40 years, and his basis of legitimacy is waning – particularly for the “Museveni babies”, the large proportion of the population born under his rule. They want public services and jobs.

The regime fears the prospect of youth protests. A taster of this was given in 2011 during “walk to work” protests. The recent Kenyan protests are a reminder of what can happen when economic stability is lacking.

The Congolese market is seen as key. It explains why Uganda is co-financing the construction of 223 kilometres of roads in eastern Congo. The project was launched in June 2021, and has been defended by Museveni as holding major economic benefits for Uganda.

Second, access to the Congolese market underlies regional geopolitical tensions.

Rwanda has comparable economic interests in eastern DRC, particularly when it comes to gold. Similar to Uganda, Rwanda has little domestic gold production, but is a major exporter of the commodity: since 2016, gold has been its most important export product. Gold export earnings have risen to US$882 million in 2023 and it’s widely accepted that most is smuggled from the DRC.

Both Rwanda and Uganda have in recent years signed mining contracts in the DRC. These common interests are a source of regional geopolitical tensions. Studies have found that the re-emergence of M23 in November 2021 was a direct result of these tensions.

The expansion of Ugandan interests in eastern DRC – through the road works and the redeployment of Ugandan troops there in November 2021 – was seen as a direct threat to Rwandan interests in the area.

The more M23 expanded its zone of influence in eastern DRC throughout 2022 and 2023 – directly supported by Kigali – the more Kampala saw M23 as a threat to its interests. Or, to be more precise, an M23 which was solely under the influence of Rwanda.

Uganda has had fluctuating relations with Rwanda. The Museveni government was initially close with Rwandan president Paul Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front. But they have had ups and downs.

Regional influence has been a major point of contention. In this context, Museveni cannot allow Kagame to have sole control over eastern DRC. And Kampala also wants to protect its economic interests in the area.

3. Security

Security is closely intertwined with economic interests.

A clear example of this is Operation Shujaa – Uganda’s military operation in eastern DRC.

The operation, in collaboration with the Congolese army, was launched a month after a series of suicide attacks in October 2021 in Kampala by the Allied Democratic Forces rebel group. The group is active in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces of eastern DRC.

The Ugandan army wants to weaken the rebel group. At the same time, this military operation also serves economic functions: the road works in eastern DRC are explicitly part of the military operation.

The operation also intends to protect its oil infrastructure. Uganda has important oil deposits in its western region, which borders the DRC. This promised oil revenue is important for the Museveni regime.

The balancing act

In sum, Uganda has a multitude of related interests in eastern DRC. During periods of upheaval, such as the current M23 crisis, Uganda tries to protect these interests. This is a difficult balancing act.

M23’s presence in the region forces Kampala into action to protect its interests. Leaving eastern DRC or M23 only under the influence of Rwanda is seen as a threat to these interests. But Kampala doesn’t want to upset Kinshasa – it wants to keep its access to the Congolese market.

The recent findings of the UN Group of Experts report therefore suggest some kind of compromise. The report indicates largely passive support for M23, suggesting that Uganda is achieving some leverage over M23 while retaining relations with the DRC.

The crisis in eastern DRC cannot be understood in isolation. Neigbouring countries are involved in a variety of ways. Understanding, or solving, the conflict needs to involve these countries.

[allsarkari-naukri]

The Territorial Army beckons aspirants to join its ranks with the release of the official notification for Territorial Army Officer posts on jointerritorialarmy.gov.in. Dive into the notification PDF and glean essential details.

[latestgovtjobnews]

India provides pensions and disability aid to eligible ex-servicemen with exams and training for selection.

New Post has been published on https://www.jobsarkari.in/india-provides-pensions-and-disability-aid-to-eligible-ex-servicemen-with-exams-and-training-for-selection/

India provides pensions and disability aid to eligible ex-servicemen with exams and training for selection.

The Government of India is providing pension and disability benefits to ex-servicemen in India. An ex-serviceman is defined as someone who has served in any rank, whether as a combatant or non-combatant, in the regular establishment and has been retired, relieved, or discharged from such service. This includes personnel of the Territorial Army and the Army Postal Service. The duration for submitting online applications for these benefits is from 10-12-2023 to 31-12-2023, and the last date and time for receipt of online applications is 31-12-2023 (23:59 hrs).

There are certain eligibility criteria that need to be met in order to be considered for these benefits. The candidate must be an Indian citizen and should have the required educational qualifications as mentioned in the advertisement. The age limit for various posts is specified, and there are certain relaxations in the upper age limit for certain categories, such as SC/ST/OBC/EWS candidates and ex-servicemen. Candidates belonging to the economically weaker section (EWS) can also avail reservation benefits if their family gross annual income is below Rs. 8 lakh.

Candidates are required to apply online through the designated website and pay the application fee of Rs. 200/- (PWD candidates are exempted from the fee). They should also have a valid email ID and mobile number for communication purposes. Admit cards will be issued to eligible candidates, and they should bring the admit card, along with other necessary documents, to the examination center.

The selection process consists of Level 1 and Level 2 examinations. Level 1 is a written examination with objective type multiple-choice questions, while Level 2 is a descriptive type test. The qualifying standards for both levels vary depending on the category of the candidate. Candidates who qualify in Level 1 will be shortlisted for Level 2 examination, and the final selection will be based on the empanelment criteria.

Selected candidates will undergo a six-month induction training program, during which they will receive a stipend. Upon successful completion of the training, candidates will be considered for appointment as Junior Purchase Assistant/Junior Storekeeper in DPS, Mumbai, with an entry pay of Rs. 25,500/- per month.

Candidates are advised to carefully read the general instructions and guidelines provided in the advertisement. They should also ensure that they meet all the eligibility criteria and submit all the required documents during the document verification process. Any misconduct or fraudulent practices by candidates will result in the cancellation of their candidature.

Candidates should not fall prey to any form of canvassing or illegal gratification. The selection process will be based solely on merit and conducted in a transparent manner. Any corrigendum or updates regarding the recruitment process will be published on the official website of DPS, Mumbai.

It is important for candidates to understand that the Government of India is committed to providing pension and disability benefits to ex-servicemen in a fair and unbiased manner. The selection process is designed to ensure that deserving candidates are selected based on their qualifications and merit.

The Government of India provides pension and disability benefits to ex-servicemen in India.

Eligibility criteria include being an Indian citizen, having the required educational qualifications, and meeting age limits.

Online applications for benefits can be submitted from 10-12-2023 to 31-12-2023.

Candidates must apply online, pay an application fee, and have a valid email ID and mobile number.

The selection process consists of Level 1 and Level 2 examinations, with qualifying standards varying by category.

Selected candidates undergo a six-month induction training program and may be appointed as Junior Purchase Assistant/Junior Storekeeper in DPS, Mumbai.

Candidates should carefully read instructions, meet eligibility criteria, and submit required documents.

The selection process is based on merit and any misconduct or fraudulent practices will result in cancellation of candidature.

Introduction

The Government of India provides pension and disability benefits to ex-servicemen in India.

Eligibility criteria include being an Indian citizen, having the required educational qualifications, and meeting age limits.

Online applications for benefits can be submitted from 10-12-2023 to 31-12-2023.

Application Process

Candidates must apply online through the designated website.

Application fee of Rs. 200/- is required (PWD candidates are exempted).

A valid email ID and mobile number are necessary for communication purposes.

Selection Process

The selection process consists of Level 1 and Level 2 examinations.

Qualifying standards vary depending on the category of the candidate.

Level 1 is a written examination with objective type multiple-choice questions.

Selection Process (contd.)

Level 2 is a descriptive type test.

Candidates who qualify in Level 1 will be shortlisted for Level 2 examination.

Final selection will be based on the empanelment criteria.

Induction Training

Selected candidates will undergo a six-month induction training program.

Stipend will be provided during the training period.

Training program prepares candidates for the role of Junior Purchase Assistant/Junior Storekeeper in DPS, Mumbai.

Required Documents

Candidates should carefully read instructions and guidelines provided in the advertisement.

Ensure all eligibility criteria are met.

Submit all required documents during the document verification process.

Transparent Selection Process

The selection process is based solely on merit.

Any misconduct or fraudulent practices will result in the cancellation of candidature.

Government is committed to providing benefits in a fair and unbiased manner.

Important Reminders

Candidates should not fall prey to any form of canvassing or illegal gratification.

Merit-based selection process ensures deserving candidates are chosen.

Any updates or corrigendum will be published on the official website of DPS, Mumbai.

Conclusion and Main Message

The Government of India is committed to providing pension and disability benefits to ex-servicemen in a fair and unbiased manner.

Candidates should meet all eligibility criteria and submit required documents.

Merit-based selection process ensures deserving candidates are selected.

[onlinetypinghindi]

Army Headquarters Selection Board for Specialized field (Cyber Warfare)-2023 Invites Applications For Territorial Army Officers Recruitment

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade JUST IN; Nigerian Army postpones recruitment screening exercise The Nigerian Army has announced the postponement of its recruitment screening exercise. The Army announced this in a statement on its X page on Friday. It said the exercise, scheduled for 6th November 2023, has been rescheduled for December 4–17, 2023. The post reads: “This is to inform members of the general public and all applicants that applied for 86 Regular Recruits Intake 2023 that the State Recruitment Screening Exercise earlier scheduled to hold from 6th – 19th November 2023, has been rescheduled to hold from 4th – 17th December 2023 in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. For more information, please log on to the Nigerian Army recruitment website.”

[ultrajaphunter]

The RuZZian Authorities are Expanding Military Recruitment to Cover Migrants, Debtors, Former Mercenaries, Private Security Guards, the Unemployed, Convicted Criminals, Ex-Convicts and Those Under Investigation for Crimes.

“Volunteers” for war: migrants, bankrupts, debtors and the unemployed“Important Stories” found out which categories of the population the office of the presidential envoy in the Central Federal District instructed the regional authorities to recruit for the war in the first placeDATE2 NOV 2023AUTHOR

IRINA DOLININA

The office of the presidential envoy in the Central Federal District (CFD) has established a plan for regional authorities to recruit for military contracts among migrants, bankrupts, debtors, the unemployed and other vulnerable social segments of society, “Important Stories” found out. 

The editors have at their disposal a letter of instruction and a special form with 22 categories of the population whom the Russian authorities want to send to the war with Ukraine first. 

And a military man working at a contract reception center told how the employees responsible for recruitment offer money, cry and persuade them to accept their candidates so that they can improve their statistics.  

“Important Stories” tell how the recruitment of “volunteers” for contract service is currently organized.  

“This is a mousetrap - contracts cannot be terminated now”

Vladimir Putin ordered a significant increase in the number of personnel in the Russian army back in August 2022. 

However, by relying on contract recruitment, the authorities did not achieve the desired result. 

“They were unable to persuade, coerce or seduce the required number of civilians with money. 

Therefore, the authorities announced mobilization,” says the head of the public movement “Citizen. Army. Right” Sergei Krivenko. — It was controversial, there were raids and unrest, the authorities decided not to announce a second wave yet. 

And since January of this year, even more active contract recruitment has begun. 

They hung advertisements and banners everywhere, tempting us with big money.”

Regional authorities also got involved in the recruitment, and “Important Stories” found out. 

The editors have at their disposal a letter from the federal inspector for the Tver region of the office of the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Central Federal District, Sergei Svitin, to the head of the regional department of the Russian Guard, Alexander Plyaskin (we do not disclose the name and position of the person who gave the letter to the editors, for security reasons). 

Svitin informs Plyaskin that the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Central Federal District, Igor Shchegolev, “has been instructed to provide weekly information on the work of the territorial bodies of the federal and regional authorities of the constituent entities of the Central Federal District to attract citizens to conclude contracts for military service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from March 1, 2023 in the prescribed form” . 

Information must be entered taking into account a strict breakdown of citizens into 22 categories. We present them in full, preserving the highlights (the full table is here ):

1- citizens of the Russian Federation who are in the reserves, including those demobilized in 2022 and 2023;

2- citizens undergoing military service;

3- citizens subject to conscription for military service;

4- citizens who submitted an application through the EPGU ;

5- persons who have committed crimes of minor or moderate gravity, in respect of whom a preliminary investigation is being carried out, who have the right to enter into a contract in accordance with Federal Law No. 270 of June 24, 2023 (Ministry of Internal Affairs) ;

6- citizens released from places of imprisonment and having an outstanding or unexpunged criminal record, in respect of whom internal affairs bodies carry out administrative supervision, who have the right to enter into a contract in accordance with Federal Law No. 270 of June 24, 2023 (Ministry of Internal Affairs ) ;

7- persons who are on preventive registration with the local police commissioner (MVD) ;

8- convicted citizens of the Russian Federation held in correctional institutions; convicted citizens of the Russian Federation, in respect of whom the pre-trial detention center of the penal system performs the functions of a correctional institution; convicted citizens of the Russian Federation, registered with penal inspections and correctional centers, who have the right to enter into a contract in accordance with Federal Law No. 270 of June 24, 2023 (FSIN) ;

9- persons who previously took part in hostilities as part of a private military company (PMC) ;

10- persons with significant (significant) debt in enforcement proceedings (FSSP) ;

11- persons declared insolvent (bankrupt), or in respect of whom the procedure for declaring insolvent (bankrupt) is being carried out (Federal Tax Service) ;

12- persons who do not officially receive income and do not make tax deductions during 2022, as well as for the past period of 2023 (Federal Tax Service) ;

13- persons registered with the employment service (PES) ;

14- persons from among the visitors of multifunctional centers for the provision of public services who applied for admission to military service under a contract (MFC) ;

15- persons who have acquired Russian citizenship (“new” citizens) (Ministry of Internal Affairs) ;

16- foreign citizens, including those who have applied for Russian citizenship (Ministry of Internal Affairs) ;

17- foreign citizens subject to expulsion or deportation (Ministry of Internal Affairs) ;

18- persons from among the employees of enterprises and organizations that have established additional social and labor guarantees for employees participating in the SVO, and/or quotas for the employment of citizens who have entered into a contract;

19- persons from among the employees of enterprises and organizations, including small and medium-sized businesses, affiliated with representatives of national and cultural autonomies (diasporas);

20- persons from among the employees of private security companies (PSC) ;

21- persons who came to the POVSK/military registration and enlistment office on their own initiative;

22- other persons (specify in the note).

“We can conclude that the Ministry of Defense alone again cannot recruit the required number. 

Therefore, the executive branch has been given a strict task to connect to this recruitment and purposefully conduct it among the disadvantaged layers of migrants, debtors, that is, those who can somehow be pinned down. 

Signing a contract is still voluntary, but you can persuade or set some conditions, or make life unbearable, says Sergei Krivenko. —

For example, migration legislation is very unclear and complex. 

People could come and submit documents, but nothing has been done to them yet. 

Or the deadlines were missed. 

And you can either expel this person, his family, or say that we will quickly register you, we will give citizenship to your family, and you will go to fight. 

That is, they began to put a lot of pressure on such vulnerable categories of people.” 

According to Krivenko, the authorities are resorting to such measures in order to somehow force people to go to war, because there are not many people willing to do this truly voluntarily. 

“This is a mousetrap - contracts cannot be terminated now. 

And even if they lie there, that this is for a year, for several months, but after Putin’s decree, from September 1 last year, all military personnel are indefinite,” the expert emphasizes.

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The fact that “military” raids on migrants are taking place in Russia has been known since at least the summer of 2023. 

Police regularly conduct raids on markets, houses of worship and other gathering places for people from regions where Islam is considered the main religion, and take them to military registration and enlistment offices, where they are asked to sign contracts for military service. 

The media also drew attention to the fact that migrants with an outstanding criminal record or under investigation, stateless people and those who have recently received a RuZZian passport are actively being recruited as “volunteers” for the war with Ukraine.

On October 31, a resident of Krasnoyarsk reported that the bailiffs offered her to serve under a contract in order to pay off her debt to the bank. 

The woman took money to renovate the apartment in which she now lives with her two children.

 She has neither a military ID nor a medical education.

“The feeling that they are getting rid of a marginal layer of society”

A RuZZian military man working at a contract reception center in a military unit not in the Central Federal District told “Important Stories” that government officials bring to them “people who are drunk in the trash, homeless people [people without a fixed place of residence],

people with obvious developmental delays, drug addicts who have just been released from prison” (we do not disclose the region in question for the safety of the interlocutor). 

“There is a feeling that they are getting rid of a marginal layer of society.

 They absolutely do not care what quality the army will be. 

“They will dig trenches,” they say. 

They don’t care what happens to the families [of those recruited] after they send them there, but, of course, they promise them mountains of gold,” says the publication’s interlocutor. 

“There was only one migrant who barely even spoke Russian. 

When I ask them if they came voluntarily, they all say yes. 

Although I see that this representative of the administration, who brought the person, shows with his facial expressions that he should speak like that.” 

According to the military man, government officials offered him and his colleagues money so that they could include in their statistics people who came to the military unit to sign a contract. 

“There are such fights over people, in the sense of verbal altercations on the mats, between representatives of district committees and the city administration. 

For example, a person lived in one district, they persuaded him there, they brought him here [to a military unit], but it turns out that he has a residence permit from another district. 

The representative of that district begins to attack him: “You stole a person from us!” 

Some are outright crying that they will be fired if the plan is not fulfilled, and they have mortgages and children. 

Or that if they don’t find people on time, they will have to give up their employees or go themselves.” 

“In order to stay at their feeding trough, they are ready to push a lot of people into the firebox”  

In the city where the military man serves, all government bodies are now involved in recruiting citizens for contracts: from ministries to state media, the military man is sure. 

Their representatives also travel around the city and visit apartments. 

“If a person comes here on his own for a contract, but his military ID has been lost or his registration is not local, they fly in, pick him up for an hour, and he is already registered in some hostel, with a military member in his arms - they do everything very quickly.

 If a person is about to be deported, for example, he is quickly included in some program for the resettlement of peoples. 

For bankrupt people, representatives of banks sit in the military unit and decide how they can open an account so that it is not immediately arrested. 

When their career is on the line, they know how to work quickly. 

And in order to stay at their feeding trough, they are ready to push a lot of people into the firebox.

 These government officials are now in such fear and treat people [who are recruited for contracts] as a means of survival,” says the interlocutor. 

The military man notes that approximately equal numbers of people who come to their military unit are those who want to sign a contract and those who are brought by government officials. 

At the same time, based on the plans put down from above in his region, this number is clearly not enough. Head of the public movement “Citizen. Army. Right” Sergei Krivenko also notes that the figure of 305 thousand new contract soldiers, given by Dmitry Medvedev, who is responsible for recruiting into the army, is “very crafty.” 

“One of the channels for replenishing the army is conscripts. 

While in the barracks, they are subjected to intense pressure. 

Many are deceived and a contract is signed for them. 

Before the war, this was the main channel for recruiting contract soldiers,” explains Krivenko. —

I think that about a third of this figure that Medvedev named are just conscripts. 

The second point is that people from PMCs and “LDPR” formations were transferred under the control of the Ministry of Defense, and they were also forced to sign contracts. 

And they recruited in civilian life, maybe several tens of thousands - perhaps 50-70 thousand. 

If everything was so good, and the people agreed to the contract themselves, there would be no need for all these tricks and efforts of the regional authorities, and to monitor this, and to kick the regional authorities.”

Krivenko admits that if the authorities cannot recruit the required number of people for the contract, they may conduct a second wave of mobilization in the spring. 

According to a RuZZian military officer, government officials responsible for recruitment repeat: “Only mobilization will save us [from dismissal].” 

“Important Stories” sent a request to the office of the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Central Federal District with a request to comment on the order received by the editors. If we receive meaningful answers, we will publish them.

Editor - Alesya Marokhovskaya