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Category: Russian Federation

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hoeven Marks Two Major Milestones For Project Ultra, Outlines Future Of Drone & Counter-Drone Initiative

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
    07.18.25
    Senator Highlights Weekly Unmanned Cargo Flights Between Grand Forks & Cavalier, Secured Increased $100 Million Contract Ceiling for Project ULTRA
    EMERADO, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today outlined two major milestones for Project ULTRA, which further solidify North Dakota’s leadership in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-UAS technology development:
    Project ULTRA has started conducting unmanned cargo flights between Grand Forks Air Force Base and Cavalier Space Force Station.
    Under this initiative, the project partners will fly unmanned aircraft carrying up to 25 pounds of cargo between the two military installations on a weekly basis for the next year.
    Importantly, this is the first such UAS operation on a military base flying through the national airspace (NAS) and without a chase plane.
    By conducting such operations on a routine basis, Project ULTRA is writing the playbook for similar UAS operations at bases across the country.

    Hoeven has secured an agreement in principle with the Department of Defense (DoD) to increase the contract ceiling for Project ULTRA to $100 million, up from $18 million.
    The higher funding ceiling creates the opportunity for all military services to connect with expertise in the private sector utilizing Project ULTRA.
    This will enable DoD to more cost-effectively and quickly develop the capabilities it needs, including counter-drone technology.

    All of Project ULTRA’s funding is made available through annual defense appropriations legislation, which Hoeven helps write as a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee. These efforts are further bolstered by legislation Hoeven drafted authorizing the Air Force to conduct a pilot project that would use drones to resupply remote facilities that support nuclear missiles, like those in Minot. Hoeven’s legislation is included in the Senate’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
    “Today marks two major milestones for Project ULTRA – the beginning of weekly UAS cargo flights between two military bases and an increase of the initiative’s contract ceiling to $100 million,” said Senator Hoeven. “We’re leveraging this funding and the ecosystem we’ve been building in our state since 2005 to connect all of our military branches with even more private sector partners to realize a wide range of new capabilities, from innovative and efficient uses of UAS to protecting our military bases against threats from drones. That’s a big deal, because drone technology is front and center everywhere you look, whether in Ukraine and Russia, the Middle East, our military or the civilian sector. North Dakota will continue leading the way, due in large part to the good work of GrandSKY, the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and their partners to deliver results for our military that are on-time and on-budget.”
    The Project ULTRA partners undertaking the unmanned cargo flights include:
    GrandSKY.
    The Northern Plains UAS Test Site.
    Grand Forks County.
    Skyways, which is providing the aircraft.
    Simulyze, which is providing the traffic management system.
    Representatives from the Air Force, Navy and NASA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement of Senate Intel Vice Chair Warner on DNI Gabbard’s sham claims about a “treasonous conspiracy” at the highest levels of government

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued the following statement on DNI Gabbard’s unfounded claims of a coup: 

    “It seems DNI Gabbard is unaware that the years-long Russia investigation carried out by the Senate Intelligence Committee reaffirmed that ‘the Russian government directed extensive activity against U.S. election infrastructure’ ahead of the 2016 election, and that it ‘used social media to conduct an information warfare campaign’ in order to benefit Donald Trump. This conclusion was supported on a unanimous basis by every single Democrat and Republican on the committee. 

    “It is sadly not surprising that DNI Gabbard, who promised to depoliticize the intelligence community, is once again weaponizing her position to amplify the president’s election conspiracy theories. It is appalling to hear DNI Gabbard accuse her own IC workforce of committing a ‘treasonous conspiracy’ when she was unwilling to label Edward Snowden a traitor.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Issa Introduces Legislation to Ban Foreign Purchase of American Land

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50)

    WASHINGTON– Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) has introduced H.R. 4454 – the Safeguarding Invaluable Land (SOIL) Act – legislation to prohibit China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from purchasing land within 10 miles of sensitive U.S. agencies and strategic sites, including military bases and federally funded research labs. 

    “Our country has a clear and compelling interest in preventing our adversaries from controlling property near the most sensitive and strategic sites in the American homeland,” said Rep. Issa. “The risks to national security are manifestly obvious, and we must move swiftly as a Congress and as a nation to counteract the spying and surveillance that is enabled when we allow our most hostile adversaries a foothold on American soil.” 

    Currently, affiliates and entities of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) own 384,000 acres of American agricultural land, a 30 percent increase since 2019 and more than $80 million in CCP-backed investments than 10 years ago. 

    Cosponsors of the SOIL Act include Congressman Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06), Congressman Glenn Grothman (WI-06), Congressman Rudy Yakym (IN-02), and Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (WY-At Large).

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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Georgia’s ruling party condemns Western pressure and stresses country’s independent foreign policy

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    TBILISI, July 18 (Xinhua) — Georgian Dream Party Chairman and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday made an official statement on behalf of the party’s political council, expressing concern over the hostile campaign against Georgia.

    He stressed that unfair treatment of the Georgian government was noted after the start of the war in Ukraine. The reason for this, according to the authors of the statement, was the decision of the Georgian government not to interfere in the war and not to open a second front against Russia.

    The statement said that because of this, the United States terminated the strategic partnership agreement signed with Georgia and imposed sanctions against the founder and honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, on charges of ties to Russia.

    As stated in the document, in recent weeks the European Parliament has adopted a number of resolutions condemning Georgia’s domestic policies, and measures to suspend the visa-free regime and trade agreements with the European Union are also being discussed.

    I. Kobakhidze called these actions a “hostile campaign” aimed at supporting the opposition and changing power in the country.

    The Georgian Dream party reiterated its commitment to peace, stability and the protection of the country’s sovereignty. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: German Chancellor Calls Situation in Gaza ‘Unacceptable’

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BERLIN, July 18 (Xinhua) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday called the current situation in the Gaza Strip “unacceptable,” calling for an immediate ceasefire and comprehensive humanitarian aid to the local population.

    Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, F. Merz said that Germany, together with its partners, is working in close coordination to resolve the conflict in Gaza.

    The Chancellor stressed that Germany clearly states its position on certain developments in Israel, including the policy of building settlements in the West Bank, which “does not find approval in the German government.”

    According to a statement from the German federal government, Merz expressed hope for a speedy ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday.

    F. Merz said that urgently needed humanitarian aid must be delivered to the residents of the Gaza Strip in a safe and humane manner.

    According to the statement, the German Chancellor also stressed that there should be no steps towards annexation of the West Bank. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: G20 finance ministers and central bank governors agree to strengthen multilateralism

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    JOHANNESBURG, July 18 (Xinhua) — A two-day meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors concluded in Durban, South Africa on Friday, with participants agreeing to strengthen multilateral cooperation to address existing and emerging risks to the global economy, according to a joint communique issued after the meeting.

    According to the communique, G20 officials discussed global challenges such as conflicts, geopolitical and trade tensions, disruptions to global supply chains, high debt levels, and frequent extreme weather events and natural disasters.

    The document notes that the officials reaffirmed their commitment to global economic cooperation despite difficult negotiations. “It was not easy in the current environment,” said South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, commenting on the negotiations that allowed the ministers to reach an agreement and sign the communiqué.

    “There was a renewed commitment to strengthen multilateral cooperation to address existing and emerging risks to the global economy and to recognise the importance of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in advancing trade issues and agreed rules in the WTO,” the South African Treasury Department said in a statement.

    The statement said the G20 ministers and central bankers agreed that the WTO requires comprehensive reform to improve all its functions through innovative approaches to meet and respond to modern realities. They noted that developing countries face high levels of debt and debt servicing costs that need to be addressed.

    “The G20 members expressed their commitment to addressing the debt vulnerability of low- and middle-income countries and reaffirmed their intention to strengthen the implementation of the G20 Common Principles. They also stressed the need to enhance the role and voice of developing countries in decision-making in multilateral development banks and other international financial and economic institutions,” the South African Treasury said in a statement. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Russia withdrew from military-technical cooperation agreement with Germany

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Moscow, July 18 /Xinhua/ — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has ordered the termination of an agreement with the German government on military-technical cooperation.

    The government order of July 15, 2025 was posted on the official legal information portal. The Russian Foreign Ministry was instructed to notify the German side of the decision taken.

    On June 19, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow intends to withdraw from the military cooperation agreement with Berlin. It is specified that in the current situation, given the anti-Russian attitude of Germany, the agreement has lost its meaning and practical significance.

    The agreement was signed in 1996. Moscow and Berlin then agreed that they would promote military-technical cooperation between Russian and German enterprises, organizations and departments. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: UK joins new EU sanctions against Russia

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    LONDON, July 18 (Xinhua) — Britain on Friday joined the European Union’s new round of sanctions against Russia.

    The UK and the EU announced on Friday a cut in the crude oil price ceiling from $60 to $47.60 per barrel, which would “directly hit Russia’s oil export revenues,” the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.

    The statement added that the UK and the EU were “acting in full coordination” to increase economic pressure on Russia.

    On Friday, the European Union approved a new package of sanctions against Russia, including a provision to lower the price ceiling for Russian oil supplied to third countries, as well as measures to ensure that the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea cannot resume operation.

    On the same day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stated that Russia does not rule out retaliatory measures after analyzing the 18th package of EU sanctions.

    “Of course, we will analyze their impact on our economy. If necessary, we will take measures that would ensure our interests. And some countermeasures are also possible,” the diplomat told the TASS news agency. -0-

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese authorities have promised to take measures to regulate the NEV market

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) — Chinese authorities on Friday held a meeting with representatives of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry to regulate market competition in the sector.

    The meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation. Participants called for efforts to promote legal, fair, honest, reasonable and orderly competition in the NEV sector.

    A statement released following the event said authorities would advance work on monitoring product prices, supervising and checking product uniformity, and reducing payment terms for suppliers.

    The authorities also promised to speed up the implementation of standards on NEV energy consumption limits and battery reuse safety, and to establish a mechanism for exchanges and consultations with industry enterprises to actively listen to the problems, suggestions, requests and appeals of NEV manufacturers. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: What You Need to Know About NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Mission

    Source: NASA

    Four crew members are preparing to launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the orbiting laboratory.
    During the mission, Crew-11 also will contribute to NASA’s Artemis campaign by simulating Moon landing scenarios that astronauts may encounter near the lunar South Pole, showing how the space station helps prepare crews for deep space human exploration. The simulations will be performed before, during, and after their mission using handheld controllers and multiple screens to identify how changes in gravity affect spatial awareness and astronauts’ ability to pilot spacecraft, like a lunar lander.
    NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will lift off no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 31, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a long-duration mission. The cadre will fly aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, which previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2, Crew-2, Crew-6, and Crew-8 missions, as well as private astronaut mission Axiom Mission 1.
    The flight is the 11th crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Overall, the Crew-11 mission is the 16th crewed Dragon flight to the space station, including Demo-2 in 2020 and 11 operational crew rotations for NASA, as well as four private astronaut missions.
    As support teams progress through Dragon preflight milestones for Crew-11, they also are preparing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster for its third flight. Once all rocket and spacecraft system checkouts are complete and all components are certified for flight, teams will mate Dragon to Falcon 9 in SpaceX’s hangar at the launch site. The integrated spacecraft and rocket will then be rolled to the pad and raised vertically for the crew’s dry dress rehearsal and an integrated static fire test before launch.

    Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017, Cardman will conduct her first spaceflight. The Williamsburg, Virginia, native holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in marine sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the time of selection, she was pursuing a doctorate in geosciences. Cardman’s geobiology and geochemical cycling research focused on subsurface environments, from caves to deep sea sediments. Since completing initial training, Cardman has supported real-time station operations and lunar surface exploration planning. Follow @zenanaut on X and @zenanaut on Instagram.
    This mission will be Fincke’s fourth trip to the space station, having logged 382 days in space and nine spacewalks during Expedition 9 in 2004, Expedition 18 in 2008, and STS-134 in 2011, the final flight of space shuttle Endeavour. Throughout the past decade, Fincke has applied his expertise to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, advancing the development and testing of Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft toward operational certification. The Emsworth, Pennsylvania, native is a graduate of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School and holds bachelors’ degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, in both aeronautics and astronautics, as well as Earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences. He also has a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University in California. Fincke is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel with more than 2,000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft. Follow @AstroIronMike on X and Instagram.
    With 142 days in space, this mission will be Yui’s second trip to the space station. After his selection as a JAXA astronaut in 2009, Yui flew as a flight engineer for Expedition 44/45 and became the first Japanese astronaut to capture JAXA’s H-II Transfer Vehicle using the station’s robotic arm. In addition to constructing a new experimental environment aboard Kibo, he conducted a total of 21 experiments for JAXA. In November 2016, Yui was assigned as chief of the JAXA Astronaut Group. He graduated from the School of Science and Engineering at the National Defense Academy of Japan in 1992. He later joined the Air Self-Defense Force at the Japan Defense Agency (currently the Ministry of Defense). In 2008, Yui joined the Air Staff Office at the Ministry of Defense as a lieutenant colonel. Follow @astro_kimiya on X.
    The mission will be Platonov’s first spaceflight. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, Platonov earned a degree in engineering from Krasnodar Air Force Academy in aircraft operations and air traffic management. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in state and municipal management in 2016 from the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia. Assigned as a test cosmonaut in 2021, he has experience in piloting aircraft, zero gravity training, scuba diving, and wilderness survival.

    Following liftoff, Falcon 9 will accelerate Dragon to approximately 17,500 mph. Once in orbit, the crew, NASA, and SpaceX mission control will monitor a series of maneuvers that will guide Dragon to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. The spacecraft is designed to dock autonomously, but the crew can pilot it manually, if necessary.
    After docking, Crew-11 will be welcomed aboard the station by the seven-member Expedition 73 crew, before conducting a short handover period on research and maintenance activities with the departing Crew-10 crew members. Then, NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov will undock from the space station and return to Earth. Ahead of Crew-10’s return, mission teams will review weather conditions at the splashdown sites off the coast of California before departure from the station.
    Cardman, Fincke, and Yui will conduct scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Participating crew members will simulate lunar landings, test strategies to safeguard vision, and advance other human spaceflight studies led by NASA’s Human Research Program. The crew also will study plant cell division and microgravity’s effects on bacteria-killing viruses, as well as perform experiments to produce a higher volume of human stem cells and generate on-demand nutrients.
    While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-11 will welcome a Soyuz spacecraft in November with three new crew members, including NASA astronaut Chris Williams.  They also will bid farewell to the Soyuz carrying NASA astronaut Jonny Kim. The crew also is expected to see the arrival of the Dragon, Roscosmos Progress spacecraft, and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft to resupply the station.
    NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission will be aboard the International Space Station on Nov. 2, when the orbiting laboratory surpasses 25 years of a continuous human presence. Since the first crew expedition arrived, the space station has enabled more than 4,000 groundbreaking experiments in the unique microgravity environment, while becoming a springboard for building a low Earth orbit economy and preparing for NASA’s future exploration of the Moon and Mars.
    Learn more about the space station, its research, and crew, at:
    https://www.nasa.gov/station

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Tatyana Golikova visited the Kaluga region on a working trip.

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova and Kaluga Region Governor Vladislav Shapsha opened a children’s and adult polyclinic in Kaluga. The new facility is designed for 650 visits per shift, its area is 17.5 thousand square meters.

    “I sincerely congratulate you with all my heart, because this is a truly significant event: here, in the Pravoberezhny microdistrict of Kaluga, a large children’s and adult clinic is opening. This is another result of the national project “Healthcare”, which was announced by our President in 2018, completed in 2024, but we continue this work, because we understand perfectly well that the availability and quality of medical care is an absolute priority of our state, because there is nothing more precious than the health of citizens. And today’s clinic, both adult and children’s, and the clinic that provides assistance to pregnant women, is a very important contribution to the development of the Kaluga region. Because a healthy person is a capable person who creates the wealth of the Kaluga land,” said Tatyana Golikova.

    The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the national goal of preserving the population, strengthening health, improving well-being and supporting families is key. In total, 11 thousand healthcare facilities were created within the framework of the national project “Healthcare”. In the Kaluga Region, 236 primary care facilities were created and renovated. Since January 1, 2025, the development of the healthcare system continues within the framework of the new national projects “Long and Active Life” and “Family”.

    “Today, primary healthcare is the first contact with the population, with the patient. Every year, more than 1 billion citizen requests are registered at the primary level. But the task of the polyclinic is not just to cure existing diseases. Its main goal is prevention, aimed at early detection of diseases or risks of their development, timely treatment and monitoring of patients’ health,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

    The children’s and adult polyclinic was built in the Pravoberezh’ye microdistrict in Kaluga. According to the region’s governor Vladislav Shapsha, more than 70 thousand people live in this part of the city today.

    The new facility houses three outpatient clinics with modern diagnostic facilities: adult and children’s outpatient clinics, as well as a women’s consultation center. The total cost of construction was 1.9 billion rubles. More than 8 thousand units of medical equipment and medical products were purchased. Including heavy equipment: magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, X-ray machine, fluorograph, mammograph. Subsidies from the federal and regional budgets were allocated for these purposes – 1.08 billion rubles and 0.5 billion rubles, respectively.

    The Deputy Prime Minister inspected the computed tomography rooms, blood collection rooms, specialist doctors’ rooms, gastroscopy rooms, children’s physiotherapy and rehabilitation departments, women’s consultation rooms, a pharmacy – a branch of the Kalugafarmatsiya State Enterprise and a number of other premises.

    The Deputy Prime Minister assessed the work of the modern electronic registry, which has been in operation at Kaluga City Hospital No. 5 since December last year as part of the pilot project “New Registry”. Some of the duties of the medical staff were taken over by the employees of the multifunctional center. This allows optimizing the work of the medical institution, creating more comfortable conditions for patients, and minimizing queues.

    The clinic also has conditions for students of the medical faculty of the Kaluga State University named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky – an office of the Department of Internal Medicine, where future doctors will master practical skills and work with mentors.

    As part of her working visit, Tatyana Golikova also held an all-Russian conference entitled “Personnel for Modern Healthcare. Strategy for Reducing the Personnel Shortage.”

    “Today, there are 558 thousand doctors and 1.2 million mid-level medical workers working in the healthcare system. For a very long time, we have been observing a steady trend towards a decrease in the number of personnel in the healthcare system, but over the last two years, the industry has nevertheless begun to grow, and we have seen positive changes over the last two years by more than 16 thousand doctors,” noted Tatyana Golikova.

    Thanks to the activities of the national project “Healthcare”, by the end of 2024, the staffing of paramedic stations and outpatient organizations approached 95%. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that, on the instructions of the head of state, the federal project “Medical Personnel” was launched this year as part of the national project “Long and Active Life”. Based on its results, by 2030 it is necessary to increase the provision of the population with doctors from 42.0 to 43.5 per 10 thousand people, and with mid-level medical personnel – from 83.3 to 85.1 per 10 thousand people.

    The federal project includes measures to improve the qualifications and accelerate professional retraining of medical workers, increase the number of students in universities and colleges, create regional personnel centers and develop regional personnel programs. Regions need to develop social support measures in the form of providing housing for medical workers, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

    The conference was attended by Governor Vladislav Shapsha, Chairman of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly on Budget and Financial Markets Anatoly Artamonov, heads of medical organizations of Kaluga and a number of other regions, and representatives of all Russian regions via videoconference.

    The heads of relevant departments from the Kaluga, Irkutsk and Tyumen regions shared their successful experience in strengthening the human resources potential of healthcare. They also discussed improving the system of university training of qualified specialists using the example of the Ryazan State Medical University named after Academician I.P. Pavlov.

    In addition, as part of a working trip to the Kaluga Region, a meeting with Governor Vladislav Shapsha took place, as well as a visit to the K.E. Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko: the federal project “Five Seas and Lake Baikal” was supplemented by the project “Balaklava Bay” in Sevastopol

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    A meeting of the subcommittee on the implementation of tourism investment projects of federal significance of the Government Commission for the Development of Tourism in the Russian Federation was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Dmitry Vakhrukov, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Energy, Rosreestr, JSC Corporation Tourism. RF and others.

    The meeting discussed the organization of work on the implementation of the project of federal year-round resorts “Five Seas and Lake Baikal”.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko emphasized that thanks to the implementation of the project, by 2030 an additional 10 million tourists will be able to vacation per year.

    “On the instructions of President Vladimir Putin, within the framework of the national project “Tourism and Hospitality”, we are working on the federal project “Five Seas and Lake Baikal” with a total funding volume for all projects until 2030 of 103 billion rubles. I would like to note that today we need to prioritize the objects, we will establish the order of projects, especially since there are instructions from the President and a number of initiatives to create resorts in other regions. Thus, the federal project “Five Seas and Lake Baikal” was supplemented by the project “Balaklava Bay” in Sevastopol,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

    Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Dmitry Vakhrukov added that the implementation of the project of federal year-round resorts “Five Seas and Lake Baikal” will further increase the number of tourist trips around Russia, as well as expand the number of rooms.

    “Systematic work on the implementation of the federal project is carried out in strict accordance with the approved roadmaps. This indicates a high degree of involvement of the subjects and a clear understanding of the tasks. Most projects are being implemented within the planned timeframes. Work is constantly underway to balance the sources of financing the supporting infrastructure, attract and support investors. We are confident that this approach will contribute to the timely implementation of projects,” he said.

    Dmitry Vakhrukov reminded that the construction of resorts should become one of the priority tasks.

    Governor of Saint Petersburg Alexander Beglov called the Saint Petersburg Marina project significant for the city. To implement it, a structure for financing the construction of road facilities and, to a significant extent, engineering infrastructure has been defined to date. The plans include continuing work on including measures to create road infrastructure and street and road networks in the Infrastructure for Life.

    Deputy Governor of Zaporizhia Region Alexander Zinchenko presented a report on the Primorsk project, Governor of Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev spoke about the Gates of Baikal and Baikal Sloboda, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Buryatia Vyacheslav Sukhorukov – about Magic Baikal. Acting Minister of Resorts, Tourism and Olympic Heritage of Krasnodar Region Mikhail Zaritsky reported on the implementation of the New Anapa project, and Deputy Governor of Sevastopol Maria Litovko presented the Balaklava Bay project in Sevastopol.

    Information was also presented on the projects “Golden Sands” in the Republic of Crimea, “Caspian Coastal Cluster” in the Republic of Dagestan, “Primorye” in Primorsky Krai.

    In conclusion, Dmitry Chernyshenko called on the regions to more actively interact with federal ministries and departments in order to more quickly resolve issues related to project implementation.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EU adopts 18th package of sanctions against Russia

    Source: European Commission

    European Commission Press release Brussels, 18 Jul 2025 The European Commission welcomes the Council’s adoption of the 18th Russia sanctions package, aimed at further ramping up pressure on the country and supporting EU’s goal of achieving a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Pettersen Votes Against Republican Defense Spending Bill

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Brittany Pettersen (Colorado 7th District)

    Today, U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) released the following statement after voting against Republicans’ Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Department of Defense funding bill:

    “At a time when the United States should be showing strength and moral leadership on the global stage, this bill does the exact opposite. It abandons our allies, hands Putin a strategic win, and jeopardizes our military readiness with divisive policies and culture wars. 

    “Women and LGBTQ+ servicemembers make the same sacrifices all of our servicemembers make to defend our freedom, they all deserve our full respect. But Donald Trump has proven time and again that he does not support our troops – from calling them suckers and losers, to the devastating cuts he has made at the VA. This bill is yet another example of Trump’s horrific leadership as the Commander in Chief. This unserious funding bill is an attack on women and LGBTQ+ servicemembers, and serves as another example of Trump and his congressional leadership prioritizing culture wars instead of funding the support our troops need and deserve.

    “Despite including two of my amendments that would benefit Colorado, I could not in good conscience vote for a bill that otherwise undermines our values, weakens our global standing, and fails to support the servicemembers who put their lives on the line for this country.”

    Specifically, Republicans’ FY 26 Department of Defense spending bill:

    • Weakens Ukraine and empowers Russia by eliminating support for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
    • Undermines democracy at home and abroad by allowing disinformation and extremist views to flourish.
    • Limits women’s access to abortion by preventing service personnel from traveling to seek reproductive health care. 
    • Harms our military readiness with divisive provisions that undermine morale and fail to support our service personnel, by:
      • Continuing DOGE and the Administration’s cuts to vital civilian positions;
      • Attacking the LGBTQ+ community with hateful policies; and 
      • Banning funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

    Two of Rep. Pettersen’s amendments were included in the FY 2026 Defense bill:

    • Pettersen’s amendment advances cutting-edge aerospace research and strengthens national security through lunar technology.
    • Pettersen’s other amendment supports using quantum computing to predict and prevent threats to our electrical grid, bolstering national security and grid resilience. 

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    To access downloadable, high-quality photos, click here. To stay up-to-date on what Pettersen is doing in Congress, follow her on Twitter here, Facebook here, or Instagram here. Residents can also sign-up for her e-newsletter subscription here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Grigorenko: Digital public administration is a new standard for regions.

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    The Republic of Buryatia has joined the federal digital system of public administration. As a result, today 100% of the region’s federal orders are controlled using the “governor’s dashboard”. The implementation of this system was checked by Deputy Prime Minister – Head of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko during a working visit to Ulan-Ude.

    In online mode, the “governor’s dashboard” allows you to monitor budget execution, implementation of national projects, including the construction of new roads, schools, hospitals and other socially significant facilities. The system provides up-to-date data on all key areas of the region’s work and its interaction with the federal center. This allows you to quickly respond to emerging difficulties and, if necessary, prevent possible risks of non-implementation of state projects.

    As of today, 43 regions are connected to the “governor’s dashboard”. It is planned that by the end of this year all subjects of the Russian Federation will join the system.

    The dashboard is based on the state automated information system “Management”, which is used to monitor the activities of the Government, the implementation of national projects, state programs and the achievement of national development goals. At the same time, each governor can set up a system for monitoring specific projects or tasks that the region most urgently needs to implement.

    “We are gradually moving towards data-based public administration. At the federal level, this approach has already proven its effectiveness – the executive discipline of government bodies in fulfilling key government tasks has increased many times over. Now, with the help of the “governor’s dashboard”, we are implementing this system in the regions. Buryatia was one of the first to join this project, and today the system is already being used here on a permanent basis,” said Dmitry Grigorenko.

    “The data and reports recorded on the dashboard influence the adoption of further decisions: to adjust something somewhere, to strengthen something somewhere, and so on. Therefore, internal discipline immediately increased not only in the implementation of tasks, but also in the correct execution of decisions,” noted the head of Buryatia, Alexey Tsydenov.

    During the visit, the Deputy Prime Minister also assessed the digital services being implemented in Buryatia to improve the efficiency of public administration and the quality of life of citizens. Among them is the voice assistant “Ulana”. In online mode, the virtual assistant based on artificial intelligence helps residents of the region make an appointment at the MFC or, conversely, cancel an appointment, find out about the procedure for obtaining a driver’s license, SNILS, TIN and other government services. The voice assistant has doubled the speed of processing citizens’ requests.

    An intelligent transport system has also been created and successfully implemented in Buryatia. It allows traffic management on the roads: it regulates traffic lights, monitors traffic jams and improves road safety. In particular, the intelligent transport system has reduced traffic jams in Ulan-Ude by 15%. To date, the city has also modernized the operation of 86 traffic lights, installed 143 video surveillance cameras that allow monitoring the traffic situation in real time. And information boards have appeared at bus stops to help passengers navigate public transport.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Avito Travel: Glamping popularity has doubled in a year

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    In the summer of 2025, travelers are most actively booking daily glampings in the Moscow region, Tatarstan, Karelia and Krasnodar Krai.

    According to the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Avito Travel, the number of bookings in glamping sites has doubled year-on-year. Most often, such sites are rented this summer in the Moscow Region (14% of all bookings), Tatarstan (10%), Karelia (6%), Krasnodar Region (5%) and Nizhny Novgorod Region (4%).

    Among the most popular regions, the demand for glamping sites has grown the most in Samara (6.4 times), Voronezh (3.6 times) and Leningrad regions (2.7 times), Tatarstan (2.6 times), Bashkortostan, Tyumen and Nizhny Novgorod regions (2.4 times in each region). In Moscow region, 80% more such sites were booked than in the summer of last year.

    The largest selection of glamping sites in the summer of 2025 is presented in the Moscow Region: every fourth such facility is located here. The share of the Sverdlovsk Region is 7%, Tatarstan – 6%, Krasnodar Krai, Bashkortostan and Leningrad Region – 4% each. The most noticeable increase in the supply of glamping sites year-on-year was noted in the Saratov (2.7 times) and Samara Regions (2.4 times), Adygea, Voronezh and Chelyabinsk Regions (2.3 times), as well as Bashkortostan and Ryazan Region (2.2 times).

    “Interest in modular hotels in Russia continues to grow, and the state actively supports their creation. Such hotels can be located in popular tourist locations – nature reserves, national parks, near national tourist routes, as well as in special economic zones, which helps to attract investment. The popularity of the program among businesses and regions is due to the growing demand of tourists for outdoor recreation, where the bulk of modular hotels are concentrated. Over the past three years, about 60 regions have reported the implementation of more than 800 projects, putting into operation more than 13 thousand rooms. This confirms the demand for the program and its contribution to the development of the country’s tourism infrastructure,” said Alimbek Khidzev, Director of the Tourism Development Department of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.

    On average, Russians rent glampings for two days — this figure has not changed over the year. For longer periods, travelers stay in such facilities in Krasnodar Krai (three days), Karelia, Adygea, Tver, Saratov and Yaroslavl regions (three days each).

    “Glamping in Russia has ceased to be a niche format, which we can see from the multiple growth of bookings this summer. And the average number of guests, which is four people, allows us to say that this format is not only for couples and solo travelers who are looking for an option to get closer to nature and live in a photogenic interior with comfort, but also for a family audience. For entrepreneurs, the glamping format is good because such objects can be located in unique natural locations – on the coast, in a mountain valley or near a beautiful reservoir. So not only the object itself, but also the natural environment begins to work on the impressions of travelers. As a result, glamping is turning into a full-fledged alternative to hotels – but with an atmosphere of privacy and closeness to nature,” commented Artem Kromochkin, Director of Avito Travel.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko: The Federal Project “Five Seas and Lake Baikal” has been supplemented by the “Balaklava Bay” project in Sevastopol

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    A meeting of the subcommittee on the implementation of tourism investment projects of federal significance of the Government Commission for the Development of Tourism in the Russian Federation was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov, representatives of the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Energy, Rosreestr, JSC Corporation Tourism.RF and others.

    The meeting discussed the organization of work on the implementation of the project of federal year-round resorts “Five Seas and Lake Baikal”.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko emphasized that thanks to the implementation of the project, by 2030 an additional 10 million tourists will be able to vacation annually.

    “On the instructions of President Vladimir Putin, within the framework of the national project “Tourism and Hospitality”, we are working on the federal project “Five Seas and Lake Baikal” with a total funding volume for all projects until 2030 of 103 billion rubles. I would like to note that today we need to prioritize the objects, we will establish the order of the projects, especially since there are instructions from the President and a number of initiatives to create resorts in other regions. Thus, the federal project “Five Seas and Lake Baikal” was supplemented by the project “Balaklava Bay” in Sevastopol,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.

    Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov added that the implementation of the project of federal year-round resorts “Five Seas and Lake Baikal” will further increase the number of tourist trips around Russia, as well as expand the number of rooms.

    “Systematic work on the implementation of the federal project is carried out in strict accordance with the approved “road maps”. This indicates a high degree of involvement of the subjects and a clear understanding of the tasks. Most projects are being implemented within the planned timeframes. Work is constantly underway to balance the sources of financing the supporting infrastructure, attract and support investors. We are confident that this approach will contribute to the timely implementation of projects,” he said.

    Dmitry Vakhrukov reminded that the construction of resorts should become one of the priority tasks.

    Governor of Saint Petersburg Alexander Beglov called the Saint Petersburg Marina project significant for the city. To implement it, a structure for financing the construction of road facilities and, to a significant extent, engineering infrastructure has been determined to date. The plans include continuing work on including measures to create road infrastructure and street and road networks in the national project Infrastructure for Life.

    Deputy Governor of Zaporizhia Region Alexander Zinchenko presented a report on the Primorsk project, Governor of Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev spoke about the Gates of Baikal and Baikal Sloboda, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Buryatia Vyacheslav Sukhorukov – about Magic Baikal. Acting Minister of Resorts, Tourism and Olympic Heritage of Krasnodar Region Mikhail Zaritsky reported on the implementation of the New Anapa project, and Deputy Governor of Sevastopol Maria Litovko presented the Balaklava Bay project in Sevastopol.

    Information was also presented on the projects “Golden Sands” in the Republic of Crimea, “Caspian Coastal Cluster” in the Republic of Dagestan, “Primorye” in Primorsky Krai.

    In conclusion, Dmitry Chernyshenko called on the regions to more actively interact with federal ministries and departments in order to more quickly resolve issues related to project implementation.

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: General Assembly Adopts Resolution Urging Action on Secretary-General’s Initiative to Modernize United Nations System

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    The General Assembly today adopted, by consensus, a resolution welcoming the Secretary-General’s efforts to strengthen the United Nations so that the Organization can keep pace with a changing world and be fit for present and future challenges.

    That text, titled “UN80 Initiative” (document A/79/L.99) also saw the Assembly look forward to receiving the Secretary-General’s proposals in the framework of that initiative, “taking into account the necessity to have clearly defined objectives and an evidence-based approach, and aiming at strengthening the impact of the United Nations and enhancing its agility, responsiveness and resilience while addressing the issue of duplicative efforts and ensuring effective and efficient mandate delivery across all three pillars of the work of the United Nations”.

    Further, the Assembly called on UN entities and specialized agencies to align their reform efforts with this approach, as appropriate.

    Following the adoption, the representative of Japan underlined her country’s commitment to multilateralism and the UN80 Initiative.  Detailing her delegation’s understanding that the UN is drawing lessons from previous reforms where “negotiations on mandates faced deadlock between Member States”, she said that today’s resolution “is not intended to obstruct these efforts but, rather, to support and complement them”.

    However, several speakers took issue with the timing of today’s resolution.

    The representative of Switzerland, also speaking for Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, welcomed that today’s resolution recognizes the importance of Member States providing the Secretary-General with the necessary space and political backing for the UN80 Initiative.  However, he added:  “We were not fully convinced that the timing of this resolution was optimal or conducive to the ongoing discussions.”

    The representative of Australia, also speaking for Canada and New Zealand, emphasized that discussions concerning the UN80 Initiative should be based on clear, robust advice and proposals from the Secretary-General.  Further, they should be grounded in evidence-based, documented analysis.  “So, we believe a resolution at this stage is premature,” she said, pointing out that “it risks limiting both the scope and ambition of forthcoming proposals”.

    Similarly, Denmark’s representative, speaking for the European Union and its member States, expressed regret that “the process leading to the adoption of this resolution was premature and unnecessarily rushed”.  The limited time available for meaningful consultation and reflection did not allow for the constructive engagement required.  And, while the text aims to address duplication and promote efficiency, he stressed that the process leading to its adoption — “regrettably did not reflect these principles”.

    Following those statements, the representative of the Russian Federation took the floor to exercise the right of reply.  Recalling that his delegation conducted several rounds of consultations — “and, most importantly, took into account the red lines specified by delegations” — he urged the European Union to take such an approach in future negotiations.  Thanking those present for their consensus support, he said:  “It is because we seek success in the UN’s adaptation to current and future challenges that the Russian Federation presented this draft.”

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Interest rates on new car loans in Russia have fallen to a two-year low — media

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Moscow, July 18 /Xinhua/ — The average weighted annual interest rate on loans for new cars in Russia in June 2025 was less than 13.6 percent, which was the minimum since 2023, Kommersant reports.

    Since the beginning of this year, car loan rates for new cars have fallen by 7%. For used cars, the average weighted rate is 28.2%, which is 0.5% lower than at the beginning of 2025.

    The car loan market in Russia has grown by 46 percent in terms of the volume of funds issued since the beginning of the year. The main driver of this growth was government support and subsidies for manufacturers. Car sales under preferential programs amounted to 16 percent of the total number of car loans. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese Investments Boost Hungary’s Economic Growth – Hungarian Foreign Minister

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    BUDAPEST, July 18 (Xinhua) — Chinese investment has significantly improved Hungary’s economic performance and supported the country’s ongoing structural reforms, Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday.

    P. Szijjártó made the statement during a working breakfast in Budapest with the heads of Chinese companies operating in the country. “Hungary is proud to be the main European destination for Chinese capital, and we want to maintain this position,” he noted.

    Highlighting Hungary’s success in attracting Chinese investment, P. Szijjártó said that “in 2020, 2023 and 2024, Chinese companies became the largest investors in our country.” “These investments bring advanced technologies and create a significant number of stable jobs,” he added.

    The Hungarian Foreign Minister stressed the importance of global connectivity and cooperation based on mutual respect, noting that Hungary rejects the division of the world into competing blocs.

    He warned that undermining or limiting Chinese-European economic ties would create serious problems for the European economy.

    For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Hungary Gong Tao highly praised the fruitful results achieved in Chinese-Hungarian trade and economic cooperation, saying that thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, bilateral trade and economic cooperation will reach new heights, “will make an even greater contribution to economic development and improving living standards in both countries, and will continue to deepen the friendly relations between our countries.” –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: At least 3 people killed in explosion at training ground in US state of California

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    LOS ANGELES, July 18 (Xinhua) — At least three law enforcement officers were killed in an explosion at a police training ground in the southern U.S. state of California on Friday morning, local media reported.

    According to local television channel KABC /ABC Network/, the explosion occurred at about 07:30 a.m. local time /14:30 GMT/ at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Biscailloos training center, which houses the department’s special forces and bomb squad.

    According to preliminary data from sources cited in the report, at the time of the explosion, the victims were working with explosives of an unspecified type.

    In a statement posted on social media platform X, California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said he was “informed of an explosion that occurred at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Office in East Los Angeles.”

    The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Management is in contact with the Sheriff’s Department and monitoring the situation, offering the state’s full support, the statement added. -0-

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UN80 initiative should be ‘inclusive and transparent’, recognises General Assembly

    Source: United Nations 2

    The text, introduced by Russia and adopted without a vote, “welcomes the efforts of the Secretary‑General to strengthen the United Nations in order to keep pace with a changing world” and calls on UN entities and specialised agencies to align their reform efforts “as appropriate”.

    In the resolution, the 193-member Assembly “recognises the central role of Member States in the reform process, which should be inclusive and transparent”.

    It also “looks forward to receiving, in accordance with established procedures” the Secretary‑General’s proposals under the initiative, “taking into account the necessity to have clearly defined objectives and an evidence-based approach, and aiming at strengthening the impact of the United Nations and enhancing its agility, responsiveness and resilience while addressing the issue of duplicative efforts and ensuring effective and efficient mandate delivery across all three pillars of the work of the United Nations.”

    Launched by the Secretary-General in March, the UN80 Initiative centres on three priorities: enhancing operational efficiency, assessing how mandates – or key tasks – from Member States are implemented and exploring structural reforms across the UN system.

    Mixed reactions on timing

    Several delegations voiced backing for the reform effort, but questioned the timing of the resolution.

    Speaking for the European Union, Denmark said the process was “premature and unnecessarily rushed”, noting that limited time for consultations “did not allow for the constructive engagement such an initiative requires”.

    Australia, on behalf of the CANZ group (Canada, Australia and New Zealand), echoed that view, warning that an early resolution “risks limiting both the scope and ambition of the forthcoming proposals”.

    Switzerland, speaking for a group including Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, also stressed that reform should be “ambitious and strategic”, building on existing assets while ensuring long‑term efficiencies.

    Japan emphasised its “commitment to multilateralism” and said the initiative responds to the urgency of revitalising the UN.

    “The success of the UN80 initiative relies on our shared and complementary responsibilities,” its delegate said.

    Member States in the driving seat

    Exercising its right of reply, Russia rejected claims that the text was rushed, saying it had “conducted several rounds of consultations” and “took into account the red lines specified by delegations, which came out in the silence procedure”.

    The silence procedure sets out a window of time for delegations to express objections to a draft resolution or decision before it is formally acted upon.

    The Russian delegate said the resolution puts Member States “into the driving force of this process” while recognising the Secretary‑General’s prerogative as chief administrative officer under the UN Charter.

    “We seek success in the UN’s adaptation to current and future challenges,” the Russian delegate said, calling the resolution’s adoption “a very important step” to ensure universal support for the initiative.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: NZ joins international condemnation of Russian cyber attacks

    Source: New Zealand Government

    New Zealand has echoed international condemnation of malicious cyber activity by the Russian Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. 

    “Russia’s hostile behaviour in cyberspace continues to threaten global cyber security and undermine agreed international rules and norms,” he says. 

    Mr Peters’ comments follow UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s statement today that outlined a campaign of malicious cyber activity by Russia’s General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).

    The GRU has undertaken sustained cyber attacks in support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and enables Russia’s destabilising activity worldwide.

    “New Zealand stands with the UK in calling out this behaviour,” Mr Peters says.

    The United Kingdom has exposed the role of the GRU’s cyber operations in real world events, including the 2018 Novichok poisonings in Salisbury and the bombing of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Today it has imposed sanctions on the units and individuals responsible.

    “New Zealand supports international efforts to impose costs on those responsible for Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine,” Mr Peters says.

    “New Zealand will continue to use the Russia Sanctions Act to hold the enablers of Russia’s military to account and press the Russian Government to end its unlawful and unjust war.

    “New Zealand has already sanctioned some of the groups and individuals the United Kingdom has acted against today and officials are providing advice on whether further sanctions are appropriate.”

    To date, New Zealand has imposed sanctions on more than 1,800 entities and individuals under the Russia Sanctions Act 2022, including the Head of the GRU and its cyberwarfare units 74455 and 26165, also known as Sandworm and Fancy Bear respectively.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Champagne concludes successful G7 and G20 meetings in South Africa

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    July 18, 2025 – Durban, South Africa – Department of Finance Canada

    With global political and economic uncertainty abounding, strong relationships and cross-continental collaboration with reliable nations has never been more important. Canada is spearheading a new era of collaboration and partnership with nations it can trust and whose priorities it shares.

    The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, today concluded his participation in the G7 and G20 meetings of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) in Durban, South Africa – a key engagement under Canada’s ongoing G7 Presidency and a demonstration of Canada’s commitment to strong international partnerships.

    At the G20 meeting, Minister Champagne outlined Canada’s vision for the global economy, as well as for the international financial architecture, international taxation and ways to improve longer-term growth prospects for Africa. Discussions during the meeting included the importance of sustainable finance and the role of resilient infrastructure in supporting economic development.

    The Minister leveraged the occasion to engage in a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts, further strengthening Canada’s relationships and fostering collaboration with key global partners. This included meetings with Ministers from Indonesia, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, Italy, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and  Japan, along with pull-asides with South Africa and Denmark.

    On the margins of the G20 meeting, Minister Champagne co-chaired with Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada, the fourth G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting under Canada’s G7 Presidency. Discussions focused on ways to work together to reduce the ongoing trade and economic policy uncertainty, notably by establishing new uninterrupted trade routes with reliable partners and lifting existing barriers to trade. Russia’s illegal and unjust war against Ukraine, and actions to improve supply chain resilience including for critical minerals, were also discussed. Australia and South Korea joined the discussion on supply chains.

    During a short stay in Cape Town prior to the G7 and G20 meetings, Minister Champagne also met with local business leaders and government officials to advance Canada’s goals of partnership, economic development and innovation. 

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Cognitive warfare: why wars without bombs or bullets are a legal blind spot

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Gisselsson Nord, Professor, Division of Clinical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University

    Master1305/Shutterstock

    Imagine waking up to the news that a deadly new strain of flu has emerged in your city. Health officials are downplaying it, but social media is flooded with contradictory claims from “medical experts” debating its origin and severity.

    Hospitals are filled with patients showing flu-like symptoms, preventing other patients from accessing care and ultimately leading to deaths. It gradually emerges that a foreign adversary orchestrated this panic by planting false information – such as the strain having a very high death rate. Yet despite the casualties, no rules define this as an act of war.

    This is cognitive warfare, or cog war for short, where the cognitive domain is used on battlefields or in hostile attacks below the threshold of war.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    A classical example of cog war is a concept called “reflexive control” – an art refined by Russia over many decades. It involves shaping an adversary’s perceptions to your own benefit without them understanding that they have been manipulated.

    In the context of the Ukraine conflict, this has included narratives about historical claims to Ukrainian land and portraying the west as morally corrupt.

    Cog war serves to gain advantage over an adversary by targeting attitudes and behaviour at the individual, group or population level. It is designed to modify perceptions of reality, making “human cognition shaping” into a critical realm of warfare. It is therefore a weapon in a geopolitical battle that plays out by interactions across human minds rather than across physical realms.

    Because cog war can be waged without the physical damage regulated by the current laws of war, it exists in a legal vacuum. But that doesn’t mean it cannot ultimately incite violence based on false information or cause injury and death by secondary effects.

    Battle of minds, bodily damage

    The notion that war is essentially a mental contest, where cognitive manipulation is central, harks back to the strategist Sun Tzu (fifth century BC), author of The Art of War. Today, the online domain is the main arena for such operations.

    The digital revolution has allowed ever-more tailored content to play into biases mapped through our digital footprint, which is called “microtargeting”. Machine intelligence can even feed us targeted content without ever taking a picture or recording a video. All it takes is a well-designed AI prompt, supporting bad actors’ pre-defined narrative and goals, while covertly misleading the audience.

    Such disinformation campaigns increasingly reach into the physical domain of the human body. In the war in Ukraine, we see continued cog war narratives. These include allegations that the Ukrainian authorities were concealing or purposefully inciting cholera outbreaks. Allegations of US-supported bioweapons labs also formed part of false-flag justifications for Russia’s full-scale invasion.

    During COVID, false information led to deaths when people refused protective measures or used harmful remedies to treat it. Some narratives during the pandemic were driven as part of a geopolitical battle. While the US engaged in covert information operations, Russian and Chinese state-linked actors coordinated campaigns that used AI-generated social media personas and microtargeting to shape opinions at the level of communities and individuals.

    Fake image of Donald Trump being arrested.
    wikipedia

    The capability of microtargeting may evolve rapidly as methods for brain-machine coupling become more proficient at collecting data on cognition patterns. Ways of providing a better interface between machines and the human brain range from advanced electrodes that you can put on your scalp to virtual reality goggles with sensory stimulation for a more immersive experience.

    Darpa’s Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology (N3) program illustrates how these devices may become capable of reading from and writing to multiple points in the brain at once. However, these tools might also be hacked or fed poisoned data as a part of future information manipulation or psychological disruption strategies. Directly linking the brain to the digital world in this way will erode the line between the information domain and the human body in a way never done before.

    Legal gap

    Traditional laws of war assume physical force such as bombs and bullets as the primary concern, leaving cognitive warfare in a legal grey zone. Is psychological manipulation an “armed attack” that justifies self-defence under the UN charter? Currently, no clear answer exists. A state actor could potentially use health disinformation to create mass casualties in another country without formally starting a war.

    Similar gaps exist in situations where war, as we traditionally see it, is actually ongoing. Here, cog war can blur the line between permitted military deception (ruses of war) and prohibited perfidy.

    Imagine a humanitarian vaccination programme secretly collecting DNA, while covertly used by military forces to map clan-based insurgent networks. This exploitation of medical trust would constitute perfidy under humanitarian law – but only if we start recognising such manipulative tactics as part of warfare.

    Developing regulations

    So, what can be done to protect us in this new reality? First, we need to rethink what “threats” mean in modern conflict. The UN charter already outlaws “threats to use force” against other nations, but this makes us stuck in a mindset of physical threats.

    When a foreign power floods your media with false health alerts designed to create panic, isn’t that threatening your country just as effectively as a military blockade?

    While this issue was recognised as early as 2017, by the groups of experts who drafted the Tallinn Manual on cyberwarfare (Rule 70), our legal frameworks haven’t caught up.

    Second, we must acknowledge that psychological harm is real harm. When we think about war injuries, we picture physical wounds. But post-traumatic stress disorder has long been recognised as a legitimate war injury – so why not the mental health effects of targeted cognitive operations?

    Finally, traditional laws of war might not be enough – we should look to human rights frameworks for solutions. These already include protections for freedom of thought, freedom of opinion and prohibitions against war propaganda that could shield civilians from cognitive attacks. States have obligations to uphold these rights both within their territory and abroad.

    The use of increasingly sophisticated tactics and technologies to manipulate cognition and emotion poses one of the most insidious threats to human autonomy in our time. Only by adapting our legal frameworks to this challenge can we foster societal resilience and equip future generations to confront the crises and conflicts of tomorrow.

    David Gisselsson Nord receives funding from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Cancer Society and the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation. He has also received a travel grant from the US Department of Defence.

    Alberto Rinaldi has received funding from the The Raoul Wallenberg Visiting Chair in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and the Swedish Research Council.

    – ref. Cognitive warfare: why wars without bombs or bullets are a legal blind spot – https://theconversation.com/cognitive-warfare-why-wars-without-bombs-or-bullets-are-a-legal-blind-spot-260607

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Decoding hints that Xi Jinping may be under pressure to relinquish some of his power

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chee Meng Tan, Assistant Professor of Business Economics, University of Nottingham

    Political and economic pressures might force Chinese president and overall leader Xi Jinping to delegate some of his powers to his deputies in a highly significant move. This has prompted some observers and media outlets to speculate that Xi’s grip on power may be waning.

    A major part of why this is happening is likely to stem from Xi’s difficulties in dealing with China’s economic woes, which began from a real estate crisis in 2021. For years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has relied on providing economic prosperity to legitimise its rule over the country.

    But the continuously lacklustre performance of the Chinese economy over the past four years coupled with Trump’s trade war with Beijing is making recovery a difficult task. And this is likely to be a factor that undermines Xi’s rule.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    These rumours about Xi started just after the latest meeting, on June 30, of the politburo (the principal policy making body of the party), which brings China’s top leaders together to make major decisions.

    For people who don’t follow Chinese politics, the idea of Xi delegating some authority might seem nothing special. However, in understanding China, it’s important to understand that Xi has massive power, and it seems the politburo is signalling there are some changes on the horizon.

    What are the clues?

    Symbolism and indirect language play an important role in how the communist party communicates with Chinese people. The way it is done comes through slogans or key phrases, which are collectively known as “tifa (提法)”’.

    This method of information is important since it shapes political language and debate, and influences how a Chinese, and international, audience understands what’s going on. At first glance, the politburo’s call for enhancing “policy coordination” and the “review process” of major tasks may appear to indicate that the central government is seeking to ensure local officials follow through with Beijing’s agenda.

    But there is probably more to the politburo’s statement than meets the eye. The statement said that specialised bodies that exist within the party’s central committee, which includes the powerful commissions that Xi’s loyalists now hold, should focus on “guidance and coordination over major initiatives” and to “avoid taking over others’ functions or overstepping boundaries”“.

    For experienced China watchers there are hints here that this powerful decision-making body is making a veiled threat against Xi for holding on to too much power. But the opaque nature of China’s elite decision-making process, where a great deal of backroom politics occurs behind closed doors, means that decoding its messages isn’t always easy.

    China’s president Xi Jinping on a public outing, after several weeks when he was not seen in public.

    Because of all of this, there is increasing speculation that a power struggle is in progress. This isn’t entirely surprising given Xi’s purge of many senior party officials through anti-corruption campaigns and dominance over the highest levels of government is likely to have earned him many enemies over the years.

    Another sign that all isn’t going well with Xi’s regime is the removal of some his allies from key positions within the government. Xi began his anti-corruption campaign in 2012 when he became China’s leader. On paper, while officially framed as a drive to clean up corruption, evidence suggests that the campaign may have been used to remove Xi’s political rivals.

    The problem for Xi is that the campaign is being used against his loyalists as well. In October 2023, defence minister Li Shangfu, who was considered a Xi ally, was sacked due to what was later confirmed in 2024 to be from due to corruption charges. But the dismissals of Xi loyalists continued.

    Admiral Miao Hua, who was in charge of ideological control and personnel appointment within the armed forces and Xi’s associate since his days as a party official in Fujian province, was suspended from office in November 2024. And in June 2025, he was removed after being investigated for corruption .

    The previous month, General He Weidong, who was vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, was arrested also for alleged corruption. Are the purges a consequence of Xi ceding ground to political rivals? This is a possibility.

    But even if it weren’t and the purges are part of a concerted effort to stamp out corruption, Xi’s campaign will not only cast aspersions on his ability to appoint the right people into government, but also create a climate of fear among allies and potentially create further enemies. Either scenario puts Xi on the spot. But since Xi became China’s head of state in 2013, he and his loyalists have taken over leadership of many key national commissions, making him the most powerful Chinese leader since the time of Chairman Mao.

    These commissions include the Central Financial Commission, which regulates China’s financial markets, the Central Science and Technology Commission, which aims to accelerate China’s technological progress, and the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, which regulates China’s digital content.

    Who is on the up?

    But it looks like Xi is about to delegate some of his power, and there are some other decisions that may indicate a shift. For the first time since coming into power in 2012, Xi skipped the annual summit organised by the Brics group (named after Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Instead, from July 5 to 7 this year, Chinese premier Li Qiang, led a delegation to Rio de Janeiro.

    This isn’t the first time that Li has represented Xi in high-profile conferences abroad. In September 2023, Li attended the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, and has taken part in Asean summits.

    But the Brics appearance alongside with Li’s increasingly prominent role in economic policy making may suggest that his influence is on the rise, while Xi’s is declining. Watch this space.

    Chee Meng Tan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Decoding hints that Xi Jinping may be under pressure to relinquish some of his power – https://theconversation.com/decoding-hints-that-xi-jinping-may-be-under-pressure-to-relinquish-some-of-his-power-228240

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: “We are ready to accept talents in Russia”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University “Higher School of Economics” –

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    July 18

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: More than 6 tons of drugs seized in Kazakhstan in six months

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    ALMATY, July 18 (Xinhua) — More than 6 tons of narcotic substances were seized from illegal circulation in Kazakhstan in January-June 2025, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan reported on Friday.

    During the specified period, approximately 4,000 drug-related offenses were identified, of which almost 1,800 were classified as serious and especially serious crimes.

    21 criminal cases have been opened on the facts of the creation and management of organized criminal groups, including the liquidation of 2 transnational criminal groups. –0–

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: CPC Delegation Visits Laos to Strengthen Ties

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    VIENTIANE, July 18 (Xinhua) — At the invitation of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), a CPC delegation led by Chen Zhou, vice director of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee, visited Laos from July 16 to 18.

    During the visit, Chen Zhou met with General Secretary of the LPRP Central Committee, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, and Acting Head of the LPRP Central Committee External Relations Commission Bounlua Phandanouvong. Chen Zhou also held brief talks with leaders of various Lao Party and government departments.

    The two sides exchanged views on the relations between the two parties and the two countries, as well as other issues of common concern. They agreed on the need to follow the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries, strengthen strategic mutual trust, deepen inter-party exchanges, expand practical cooperation, so as to promote the stable long-term development of the China-Laos community with a shared future, and make positive contributions to regional peace and development. –0–

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Guangdong Province Issues State of Emergency as Typhoon Uifa Approaches

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    GUANGZHOU, July 18 (Xinhua) — A Level 4 emergency response was issued in south China’s Guangdong Province at 6 p.m. Friday as Typhoon Weifa approached, the provincial flood and drought relief headquarters said.

    The provincial meteorological station said the typhoon was moving west-northwest at a speed of 20-25 km/h while strengthening. It was expected to enter the South China Sea early Saturday and was likely to make landfall between western Guangdong and the Pearl River Delta on July 20.

    Typhoon Weifa is forecast to cause scattered thunderstorms and severe squalls overnight from Friday into Saturday. The most severe impacts are expected from Saturday night into Monday with heavy rainfall in southern and central Guangdong, including possible extreme rainfall in the western region and the densely populated Pearl River Delta.

    Authorities have mobilized a comprehensive emergency response, deploying rescue vessels, anti-pollution vessels and helicopters on standby. All efforts are aimed at protecting coastal communities and ensuring the safety of nearby residents.

    China has a four-tier typhoon response system, with Level 1 being the highest. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –