Kremli uus juhtnöör sunnib sõtta eestlased venemaal
(Postimees)
“Kremli ja Venemaa kaitseministeeriumi kinnitusel jätkavad nad sõda Ukrainas 2024. ja vajadusel ka 2025. aastal. Selleks et pidada intensiivset lahingutegevust ka poole aasta pärast, on vaja värvata sõdureid täna. Viimane juhis näeb ette eraldi töö rahvusvähemustega ning see puudutab ka eestlasi Venemaal … Ukraina vastu agressioonisõda pidaval Venemaal on vaja kahuriliha. 2022. aasta 24. veebruaril alanud lahingutegevus polnud Venemaa planeerijate hinnangul määratud kaua kestma ning toonased väed pidid tagama riigi hõivamise. Ukraina hakkas vastu ning nii venis lahingutegevus sügisesse, kui Moskvale sai selgeks, et kiiresti ei ole suurt hulka värskeid sõdureid võimalik kusagilt võtta.”
https://arvamus.postimees.ee/7890267/analuus-kremli-uus-juhtnoor-sunnib-sotta-eestlased-venemaal
Interior minister threatens to deport people who take Russian citizenship
(ERR)
“On October 26, Russia launched a citizenship campaign aimed at people who do not live in the Russian Federation, and know its history or language, making them eligible for citizenship, Minister of Interior Lauri Läänemets said at the government's weekly press conference.”
—
"Basically, this concerns people in Estonia who are holders of grey passports who do not have citizenship – Russia is offering them citizenship on preferential terms," he said. "This is yet another exercise in influence, aimed at creating instability not only in the Baltic States but all parts of the former Soviet Union.”
“The Russian campaign is unlikely to be very successful among the residents of Estonia.” - TVP
“EDF colonel: Russia hoping for success on propaganda front.” - ERR
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EstoNews on-line:
https://estonewsoftheweek.blogspot.com/
Dropbox Archive:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1kvd04gtar6ty2b/AADCUK2J_RXcMyIYf_sjnAwoa?dl=0
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Friday 3. November
Kuhu Kadus Eesti Mets?
(Film New Europe)
“Estonian Director Martti Helde is in postproduction on documentary ‘Vertical Money’ / ‘Vara küps’, a nature catastrophe film shot in more than 60 different locations in Estonia. The film opens the viewer to the current state of Estonian forests and shows how political decisions have affected the use of the common property. The film also offers solutions to move out of the deadlock of the debate and directs attention to the information that has been buried under the messages of controlled communication in the information noise of the forest war.”
—
“The release of the film is set for 26. January 2024”
Dream of a European Security Order With Russia Is Dead
By Kristi Raik, Foreign Policy
“In December 2021, as Russian forces were massing to invade Ukraine, the Kremlin made a renewed attempt to promote its vision of a European security order in two documents addressed to NATO and the United States. This time the ambiguity was gone and the revisionist aims clear: a full restoration of Moscow’s Cold War-era sphere of influence and the pushback of NATO’s presence in Europe to the line before its eastward expansion in the 1990s. These aims remain unchanged and reflect Russia’s long-term strategic thinking. Western efforts since the Cold War to build a common European order with Russia have failed.”
Finland: Russian oligarch's island raided
(Yle)
“Police assisted the National Enforcement Authority in an operation on an island owned by arms manufacturer Igor Kesaev, who is suspected of having ties to the Russian security service FSB.”
Italian PM alleged leaders were fatigued by war in Ukraine in a Russian prank call
(Politico Europe)
“Senior Ukrainian politicians appealed to Europe to not abandon the country after the Italian prime minister unintentionally disclosed during a prank call that European leaders were growing weary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after the country’s unconvincing counteroffensive.”
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“I see that there is a lot of fatigue … from all the sides,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said to two Russian comedians, pretending to be the president of the African Union in a hoax call, which was made public on Wednesday. “We [are] near the moment in which everybody understands that we need a way out.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/russian-hoax-call-italy-pm-giorgia-meloni-sparks-anxiety-ukraine/
Thursday 2. November
Idapiiri ehitus on nõudnud kohanemist pidevalt muutuvate oludega
(Postimees)
“Audiitorid heitsid ette ebaselgust idapiiri projekti ulatuse osas.”
—
“Ideaalsest piirist lahutab veel kümneid miljoneid eurosid.”
—
“Võrreldes esimeste projektidega on PPA visioonis nii mõndagi muutunud.”
https://www.postimees.ee/7888058/idapiiri-ehitus-on-noudnud-kohanemist-pidevalt-muutuvate-oludega
Tallinna linn ei välista linnahalli täielikku lammutamist
(Ärileht)
“Tallinn on välja töötanud visiooni, mis ulatub linnahallist Viru väljakuni. Linnahalli koha peale plaanitakse konverentsikeskust ja kontserdimaja.”
—
[Tallinn has developed a vision that stretches from the city hall to Viru Square. A conference center and a concert hall are planned on the site of the city hall.]
Russian-language labeling on packaging in Estonian stores is dwindling
(ERR)
“Rimi marketing manager Marta Vihtre said that for them, reducing Russian-language communications has rather been the natural course of things, not due to the war in Ukraine.”
https://news.err.ee/1609150906/russian-language-labeling-in-stores-on-packaging-in-estonia-dwindling
Tartu-Riia rongiliin avatakse järgmisel aastal
(ERR)
“Tartu linnapea Urmas Klaasi sõnul teeb uus liin ühenduse kahe linna vahel oluliselt kiiremaks ja mugavamaks. Liini püsimajäämine sõltub reisijate huvist. Praegu sõidab Tartu ja Riia vahel mõlemas suunas kolm reisirongi päevas. Läti pealinna saamiseks tuleb Elroniga sõita Tartust Valka ja seal ümber istuda naabrite rongiliinile. Kogu reisiks kulub minimaalselt ligi viis tundi.”
https://www.err.ee/1609152694/tartu-riia-rongiliin-avatakse-jargmisel-aastal
“Tartu-Riga train line expected to start operating next year.” - Postimees
“Estonian Climate Ministry provides funding for Tartu – Riga train route.” - BNN
Plan to travel from Tallinn to Tartu in 1.5 hours by 2025 is alive and strong
(Postimees)
“Kaido Zimmermann, CEO of Estonian Railways, was viewing an analysis stating that simultaneously with the already planned electrification of railways, the Tallinn-Tartu railway should be straightened out, so as to liquidate curves preventing the trains from achieving maximum speed.”
—
“According to Zimmermann, the new Škoda electric trains arriving in 2024 should be able to travel at top speed of 160 kilometres per hour. “There is a lot of work to do: straightening the railway, electrification and changes to the signalisation systems. But if the EU funding should come and everything will be all right with privately-owned land, we should be able to complete the project by deadline. The timetable will be quite intense, of course.”
https://news.postimees.ee/7246427/the-project-to-tartu-in-1-5-hours-lives-on
Poland understands that its security begins at the borders of the Baltic States
(Baltic Times)
“… relations between the Baltic States and Poland as very good, at least from Warsaw's point of view. The Baltic States have been publicly rather quiet in their criticism of the Polish government, even when they have seen problems with the rule of law, as well as Poland's conflict with Brussels and its conflict with Germany.”
Inside Volodymyr Zelensky’s Struggle to Keep Ukraine in the Fight
By Simon Shuster, Time
“… The cold will also make military advances more difficult, locking down the front lines at least until the spring. But Zelensky has refused to accept that. “Freezing the war, to me, means losing it,” he says. Before the winter sets in, his aides warned to expect major changes in their military strategy and a major shake-up in the President’s team. At least one minister would need to be fired, along with a senior general in charge of the counteroffensive, they said, to ensure accountability for Ukraine’s slow progress at the front.”
—
“We’re not moving forward,” says one of Zelensky’s close aides. Some front-line commanders, he continues, have begun refusing orders to advance, even when they came directly from the office of the President. “They just want to sit in the trenches and hold the line,” he says. “But we can’t win a war that way.”
—
“When (the author) raised these claims with a senior military officer, he said that some commanders have little choice in second-guessing orders from the top. At one point in early October, he said, the political leadership in Kyiv demanded an operation to “retake” the city of Horlivka, a strategic outpost in eastern Ukraine that the Russians have held and fiercely defended for nearly a decade. The answer came back in the form of a question: With what? “They don’t have the men or the weapons,” says the officer. “Where are the weapons? Where is the artillery? Where are the new recruits?”
https://time.com/6329188/ukraine-volodymyr-zelensky-interview/
- By Cathy Young, The Bulwark - 3. Nov.
Ukraine’s General Valery Zaluzhny Says War Has Hit a ‘Stalemate’
(New York Times | The Economist | CBC)
“… with Russia along a front line that has barely shifted despite months of fierce fighting, and that no significant breakthrough was imminent. It is the most candid assessment so far by a leading Ukrainian official of the military’s stalled counteroffensive.”
—
“Just like in the First World War we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate. There will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough.”
—
“The general also said he underestimated Russia’s willingness to sacrifice troops in order to prevent a breakthrough and prolong the war. “That was my mistake,” he said. “Russia has lost at least 150,000 dead. In any other country such casualties would have stopped the war.” His accounting of Russia’s casualties could not be independently verified.”
—
—
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-military-russia-war-attrition-zaluzhnyi-1.7015217
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is an early favorite to take over as NATO chief
(Politico Europe)
“… after he signaled interest over the weekend — but he's going to have to overcome his country's patchy record of defense spending.
—
“Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is one of the world's leading voices on supporting Ukraine, but some in Western Europe and the U.S. believe that a Baltic head of NATO would be too provocative for Moscow. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is another rumored candidate, though some NATO countries are leery of appointing a third Nordic secretary-general in a row following Stoltenberg and fellow Dane Anders Fogh Rasmussen.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/dutch-pm-mark-rutte-nato-top-job-zelenskyy-stoltenberg/
“Estonia recovers part of defense infrastructure costs from NATO.” - ERR
Wednesday 1. November
Not difficult for Estonia to choose sides in Israel-Hamas conflict
(ERR)
“… Israel is our partner and Hamas is a religious fundamentalist terrorist organization, said MEP Sven Mikser (SDE), but this does not take away Israel's obligation to respect international humanitarian law. Estonia has consistently supported the two-state solution in regard to Palestinian state.”
—
“Asked about Estonia's official position on the Palestinian state, Mikser replied that Estonia has consistently supported the two-state solution.”
Swedish authorities battle to stabilise stricken ferry leaking oil into Baltic Sea
(The Guardian)
“A ferry that ran aground off south-eastern Sweden had “extensive damage” and was leaking oil into the Baltic Sea, a spokesman for the Swedish coast guard said. On 22 October the Marco Polo was running between two Swedish ports – Trelleborg and Karlshamn – when it ran aground near Horvik and started leaking. It continued under its own power before grounding a second time.”
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Belarusians who fled repression face new hurdles as they try to rebuild their lives
(AP)
“Lithuania and Poland, which host the largest number of Belarusians, are trying a temporary fix by issuing them a one-year “foreigner’s passport” that verifies their identity and gives them the right to travel.”
—
“In Estonia, Janek Mägi of the Interior Ministry said that Belarusians or other foreigners who cannot renew their documents in their home country are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.”
—
“We are taking lessons from the Baltic countries, which issued passports in exile during the Soviet occupation,” Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told the European Parliament. “Very soon we will go to governments in the European Union with a request to recognize our new passports.”
https://apnews.com/article/belarus-lukashenko-passport-crackdown-79c89a47ccb6831890c56593ad1bc813
- Russia’s Forever War -
‘Putin will be successful’ if lawmakers cut Ukraine funding, U.S. leaders warn
(Politico)
“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin argued against decoupling President Joe Biden’s $106 billion supplemental request for Israel, Ukraine and the Pacific while testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee. The pair warned Russia would prevail without continued U.S. assistance and would have implications outside of Europe.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/31/austin-blinken-ukraine-israel-funding-00124513
Russian Offensive Campaign
Assessment: 2. November
(ISW)
“A prominent Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles and Neptune anti-ship missiles targeting Strilkove, Kherson Oblast, on the Arabat Spit and that Russian air defenses only intercepted half of the missiles.”
—
“The Russian information space’s reaction to Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s November 1 interview and essay about the current operational environment in Ukraine was relatively muted.”
—
“North Korea is reportedly increasing its weapons and ammunition transfers to Russia and has reportedly delivered more than one million artillery rounds …”
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-november-2-2023
“To Keep Power, Putin Must Find Alternative to ‘Special Military Operation’ Narrative.” - Window on Eurasia
“Russia’s Demographic Crisis Part of Its Civilizational One.” - Paul Goble
“Interview: Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenko on Ukraine, Putin and being poisoned.” - France24
“Russia intensifies attacks in Ukraine while the world isn’t looking.” - The Times
“Russian Propaganda Built an Alternate Reality in Occupied Ukraine.” - The Moscow Times
Russia Is Ramping Up Production Capacity For Its War Against Ukraine
(RFERL)
“An analysis of satellite images by Schemes, RFE/RL's Ukrainian investigative unit, suggests that Russia is actively building up its capacity for weapons production and developing new factories as its full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its 21st month with no sign of an end in sight. From warplanes to combat helicopters to military drones and guided munitions, the facilities are a mix of state-run military factories, public-private partnerships, and civilian-operated dual-use enterprises that manufacture and repair equipment and ammunition for Moscow’s grinding war effort.”
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ramping-up-war-production/32658857.html
Putin Is Embracing Germany’s Far Right
(The Atlantic)
“Putin’s connection to Germany is personal. A country that he thought he understood, from his posting to East Germany as a young KGB officer, has turned its back on him. “I still have friends in Germany,” Putin said at Valdai. “And it may seem strange, but their number is growing.” The implication, when taken with his remarks about the AfD, was that he’s finding new friends among Germany’s right.”
—
“Putin seems to hope he can make an ally of Germany’s far right in an effort to sow discord in German society. This would meet an important goal in his broader campaign to dissolve Western unity and reduce support for Ukraine.”
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