NEWS BRIEFS: INTERNATIONAL
22 November 2023
(Al Jazeera)
Sixteen foreign nationals were charged today in Poland with sabotage and propaganda activities “on behalf of Russian intelligence.” The office of Intelligence Service Coordinator Mariusz Kaminski said the accused, arrested when the NATO state shut down a spy ring earlier this year, all have confessed.
22 November 2023
(Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance is considering an increase in the number of troops it deploys to the Western Balkans to keep tensions under control. Hundreds of British and Romanian troops were deployed after a recent dispute in Kosovo,which declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a guerrilla uprising and a 1999 NATO intervention that included some 1,300 Canadian Armed Forces personnel.
21 November 2023
(CTV)
Canada has completed delivery of 15 Leopard 2A4M tanks to Latvia as part of a proposed a combat-ready NATO brigade in Eastern Europe. DND said they are accompanied by some support equipment and personnel but the rest of the full complement of 130 are not expected until the spring.
20 November 2023
(Task & Ourpose)
With recruitment slumping, the U.S. Army is inviting personnel forced out for refusing coronavirus vaccinations to rejoin. “Former soldiers who were involuntarily separated […] may request a correction of their military records,” says Brigadier-General Hope Rampy, Army Director of Personnel Management.
20 November 2023
(Defense One)
Ukrainian forces have been burning through 240,000 rounds of 155mm howitzer rounds a month but security of supply now is an issue as the U.S. has begun sending Israel stocks originally meant. The number of rounds being sent to Israel is reportedly close to U.S. monthly production capacity and EU states have emptied their bunkers.
20 November 2023
(Sgtars & Stripes)
Amid uncertainty about the durability of support for Ukraine with Russia’s invasion now in its 21st month, the NATO Military Committee met last week with the NATO-Ukraine Council. “Supporting Ukraine is in our own security interest, because the world would be a more dangerous place if President Putin gets what he wants,” said Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer. “NATO must remain committed to providing support, so that Ukraine can prevail as a sovereign nation.”
20 November 2023
(Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for rapid changes in how his military operates. “Priorities were set,” Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “There is little time left to wait for results,” he said November 19 after meeting with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. “There is little time left to wait for results; quick action is needed for forthcoming changes.”
20 November 2023
(CP)
When alphabetical order by country found Prime Minister Trudeau beside his Chinese counterpart beside each other for a photo-shoot at the end of last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Trudeau took the opportunity to tell Xi Jinping their countries need to maintain contact. “He acknowledged what I said,” was the PM’s assessment of the encounter.
17 November 2023
(CP24)
In an apparent bid to relieve tension with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Trudeau told Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz that Canada supports Israel “and its right to defend itself in accordance with international law.” He also emphasized in his November 15 conversation with the retired army general “the importance of taking all possible measures to protect civilians and to minimize casualties” in the war against Hamas extremists in Gaza.
17 November 2023
(Globe & Mail/Reuters)
Canada’s continued exclusion from a U.S.-led effort to expand economic cooperation among 13 Indo-Pacific allies and partners is a concern for the Business Council on National Issues. “Canada’s standing in the world is directly proportionate to how America perceives us,” Council President Goldy Hyder said November 16. “Other countries take us seriously when they see America take us seriously. “Being left out harms us.”
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