Congress approves bill barring any president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO
(The Hill)
“Congress has approved legislation that would prevent any president from withdrawing the United States from NATO without approval from the Senate or an Act of Congress. The measure, spearheaded by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), was included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which passed out of the House on Thursday and is expected to be signed by President Biden.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/4360407-congress-approves-bill-barring-president-withdrawing-nato/
“On NATO, Congress quietly takes step to Trump-proof foreign policy.” - MSNBC
“Provision Buried in U.S. Defense Bill Would Stop Trump From Leaving NATO.” - The Daily Beast
“Lawmakers stuffed a provision into the Pentagon funding bill that makes it all but impossible for Trump to leave NATO.” - Business Insider
“Republicans Take Away Trump's Ammunition.” - Newsweek
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The Paradox of Seabrook Farms
A Film By Helga Merits
(Merits Production - coming in 2024)
“In the 1950s Seabrook Farms [located in southern New Jersey] was the biggest frozen food processing plant in the world and it needed farm and factory labor. The largest group of workers consisted of over 2,000 Japanese Americans who had been interned during the first years of the Second World War and had been looking for a new place to live."
—
“After the war refugees from many countries in Europe came to Seabrook Farms, amongst them were some 900 Estonians and 200 Latvians.”
—
“1950 aastatel oli Seabrook Farm maailma suurim külmutatud toitu tootev ettevõte ja vajas tööjõudu. Põhilise osa töölistest moodustasid Teise Maailmasõja algaastatel laagritesse paigutatud 2,000 ameerika jaapanlast, kes otsisid uut elukohta. Pärast sõda saabusid Seabrook’i Farmi veel põgenikud mitmest Euroopa riigist, nende hulgas 900 eestlast ja 200 lätlast.”
https://www.meritsproductions.com/projects/the-paradox-of-seabrook-farms
—
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fmaFK4j81k
“The Estonian community of Seabrook, New Jersey.” - Rutgers: Full PDF
“Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center - home page.”
“Seabrook On Film.” - SNJ
Growing up at Seabrook Farms
By Kaia Valge Fye, Vaba Eesti Sõna - December 2021
[Kaia was interviewed by filmmaker Helga Merits for her documentary film.]
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The newsletter will return
in January, 2024. Aitäh!
____________
Friday 15. December
71% elanike arvates peaks Kaja Kallas peaministri kohalt tagasi astuma
(Postimees)
“… kusjuures isegi Reformierakonna koalitsioonipartnerite toetajate hulgas arvab nii enamik, selgub ühiskonnauuringute instituudi tellitud küsitlusest.”
“Poll: Support for Kaja Kallas' resignation grows to 71%.” - ERR
Intervuu: Eesti kaitseväe juhataja Martin Herem
(Postimees)
“Kui me esitame küsimuse niimoodi, et milline on järgmine sõjaline agressioon, siis ma arvan, et see võib olla NATO vastu, mitte Eesti vastu. Isegi kui see juhtuks Eesti territooriumil. See võiks olla NATO vastu, kui NATO tõsiselt selleks ei valmistu. Ega NATO pole ju mingi võlusõna või memme musi, et see peletab eemale kõik pahatahtlikud naabrid. Selleks tuleb ikkagi valmistada. Soome on nüüd NATO peres. Kas see pikk piir tegelikult tähendab ka seda, et ühel hetkel võib see olla pikk rindejoon?”
https://www.postimees.ee/7918290/taistund-martin-herem-venemaa-praegu-ei-karda-natot
Hispaania ära viidud keskmaa õhutõrjesüsteemidele Eestis seni asendust pole
(ERR)
“Hispaania viis Eestist ära oma keskmaa õhutõrjesüsteemid, sest rotatsiooniaeg lõppes. Seni pole NATO liitlased pakkunud hispaanlastele vahetust. Keskmaa õhutõrjesüsteemide rotatsioon oli plaanis, kuni Eesti oma relvad hakkavad saabuma 2025. aastal.”
“Estonia seeking replacement for Spain's air defense systems.” - ERR
Estonia and Finland: Stay the course with Ukraine and ensure freedom prevails
Opinion by Kaja Kallas and Petteri Orpo
(Politico Europe)
“We will help defend Ukraine. We will not be threatened, and we will not compromise on the liberty and security of either the Ukrainian people or our own.”
“Ukraine poised to prevail within 3 years if allies step up military aid says the Estonian Ministry of Defense.” - New Voice of Ukraine
“Estonian defmin speaks to Ukrainian minister about plan that will help Ukraine win the war.” - The Baltic Times
“Estonia congratulates Ukraine, Moldova on 'historic' EU negotiations agreement.” - ERR
“Estonia supports Ukraine and Moldova's accession to EU.” - Baltic Times
“Estonia's Kallas: Clear victory on Ukraine accession talks.” - CNBC
“Kallas Urges West Not To Let Fear Of Putin Sway Choices.” - Barrons
“Hungary blocks €50bn in EU aid for Ukraine hours after membership talks approved.” - The Guardian
“Eesti saadab Ukrainale 80 miljoni eest Javelini tankitõrjerakette ja muud varustust.” - ERR
“Estonia sending €80 million of military aid to Ukraine including Javelins.” - ERR
“President Alar Karis: the more in sync Baltic national policies and steps are, the stronger we are in our own defence.” - Baltic Times
“Estonia kick-starting a domestic ammunition industry.” - Defense News
Soome sulges reede õhtul kell kaheksa taas täielikult idapiiri
(Postimees)
“Piir jääb lukku vähemalt kuuks ajaks ehk 14. jaanuarini.”
https://maailm.postimees.ee/7919790/soome-pani-idapiiri-puhade-ajaks-tagasi-lukku
Arvamus: Putin suutis oma tänavuses kõnes tõeliselt üllatada
Rainer Saks, Postimees
“Venemaa eesmärk on Ukraina identiteet täielikult hävitada.”
—
“Putin ignoreerib põhjusi, miks sõda on veninud kahele aastale.”
—
“Putin teatas ühemõtteliselt, et vajadust uue mobilisatsiooni järele Venemaal ei ole.”
https://arvamus.postimees.ee/7919307/rainer-saks-putin-suutis-oma-tanavuses-kones-toeliselt-ullatada
Putin’s Four-Hour End-of-the-Year Marathon Press Conference
(Meduza)
“On December 14, Vladimir Putin held his end-of-year press conference and his usually-annual “Direct Line” question-and-answer show, combining them into a single event. It was the first time the Russian president had fielded questions in this format since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
https://meduza.io/en/live/2023/12/14/putin-and-the-people
“Putin says no peace until Russia’s goals in Ukraine achieved.” - Guardian
“Kremlin Showcases Russia’s Parallel Realities in Marathon Putin Presser.” - The Moscow Times
“Putin promises victory as Russia gears up for second winter at war.” - Christian Science Monitor
“Putini eesmärgid Ukrainas ei ole muutunud.” - Postimees
“Putin: mobilisatsiooniks vajadust pole.” - ERR
Kremlin critic Navalny taken from Moscow prison to unknown location
(France24)
“The Kremlin this week criticised what it called "interference" by the United States in the case after Washington said it was "deeply concerned" by Navalny's team saying they have had no access to him for almost a week.”
“Where is Alexei Navalny?” - CBC
“Associate Says No Sign Of Navalny In Moscow Detention Centers.” - RFERL
Thursday 14. December
Sadade tuhandete eestlaste isiklikud andmed võivad uue geenifirma loomisega ohtu sattuda
Ülle Harju, Postimees
“Plaanile luua ärilistel eesmärkidel geeniandmeid koguv ettevõte Estonian Multiomics Company (EMC) on Tartu ülikool saanud heakskiidu oma senatilt, kuid andmekaitse inspektsioon on ettevaatlik, sest geeniandmeid ähvardavad mitmed ohud.”
Soome ja Venemaa piiri sulgemine on hakanud mõjutama Eesti idapiiri
(Estonian World Review, 30. Nov.)
“… ütles Eesti politsei- ja piirivalveameti (PPA) esindaja.”
Estonia gets France’s help to prepare for ‘when’ Putin attacks
(Politico Europe)
“On the Baltic Sea island of Saaremaa, a strategic territory invaded over the past century by both Germans and Soviets, it's the first time a French military unit has been deployed from France to take part in the Estonian Defense League’s (EDL) yearly military exercises.”
—
“Russia wants to increase its power. In my opinion, there will be a next invasion. In our community, we don’t ask what if, we ask when,” said Lieutenant Kristjan Kaup, the EDL's local chief of staff.”
“In crisis, Estonia wouldn't issue arms to civilians as Ukraine did.” - ERR
“Estonia is ready to close the frontier but says the situation so far is stable.” - Politico
“Construction work on Section 2 of Estonian-Russian border completed.” - Postimees
“Estonia completes border fence as part of high-tech border upgrade.” - Yahoo
“Another 40 kilometers of Estonia's eastern border completed.” - ERR
“More than 60 km of the Estonia-Russia border has been built so far.” - BNN
“Estonia’s Milrem to develop robotic systems with the Ukrainian defence industry.” - Estonian World
“Additional €50 million needed for Estonia's eastern border infrastructure.” - ERR
“Russia’s aggression demands long-term EU resistance plan.” - New Voice of Ukraine via Yahoo
Finland reopens Russia border but shuts it down again amid asylum row
(Yle | The Guardian)
“After a two-week period of total closure of the border, two of the eight crossings on the 830-mile land frontier were reopened briefly. But the decision was swiftly taken to reclose the crossing points after after an estimated 70 people crossed over from Russia seeking asylum, the Finnish border guard said.”
—
“The Finnish interior minister, Mari Rantanen, told parliament: “Now the phenomenon has restarted and we will close the entire border.”
—
“Helsinki to St. Petersburg Allegro trains will be used only on domestic routes.” - Yle
Mysterious 200 ft. long shipwreck found at bottom of Baltic Sea off Lithuania
(CBS News)
“Ignitis Renewables — a branch of the Lithuanian state-run energy company Ignitis Group that focuses on green energy — encountered the shipwreck by happenstance while surveying the seafloor in that area for a wind farm project, the company announced. The sunken ship measures about 230 feet long and 20 feet high, and yet has remained unexplored and seemingly out of sight. It was discovered 125 feet beneath the surface of the ocean in a portion of the Baltic Sea that had never been studied in detail …”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mysterious-shipwreck-220-feet-baltic-sea-lithuania/
Vene poliitikas viivad kõik teed sõtta
Alexander Gabuev, WSJ | Postimees
“… enamik venemaalasi on sõja täielikult omaks võtnud, nii lihtinimese kui ladviku tasandil. Mis on ka loogiline. Erinevalt Ukrainast, kus viiendik on okupeeritud ja iga päev raketi- ja droonirünnakuid kogeb, pole valdav osa Venemaast tänase seisuga sõjas olemist tunda saanud – välja arvatud mõned piiriasulad, kus mürske vihiseb regulaarselt, ning loomulikult okupeeritud ja annekteeritud alad, Krimm kaasa arvatud. Tõele au andes: kui ukrainlased sel suvel Moskva riigiasutusi droonidega kostitasid, kehitas enamik moskvalasi selle peale õlgu ja elu läks edasi.”
https://wallstreetjournal.postimees.ee/7916445/wsj-vene-poliitikas-viivad-koik-teed-sotta
Invasion of Ukraine is the core of Russia’s domestic, economic and foreign policy
By Alexander Gabuev, Wall Street Journal
“… the war has been fully internalized by the majority of Russians, at both the popular and elite levels. It makes sense. Unlike Ukraine, one-fifth of whose territory is occupied and which is subject to missile and drone attacks every day, most of Russia hasn’t looked like a nation at war throughout 2023—except some settlements on the border with Ukraine that witness regular shelling, and, of course, the territories occupied and annexed by Russia, including Crimea. In fact, when the Ukrainians launched attacks against government buildings in Moscow this summer, Muscovites shrugged and life continued as normal.”
https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/russia-war-ukraine-economy-policy-7428ef7b
What Happens If Putin Wins
By Maura Reynolds, Politico Magazine
“Fiona Hill sees U.S. domestic politics as the main obstacle to Ukraine’s ability to win. She has long warned, including in a book published after she left the White House, that high levels of partisanship in the US promote authoritarianism both at home and around the world. She’s been talking to some lawmakers about Ukraine, and she’s worried that their partisanship has blinded them to the dangers the country faces if Putin gets his way.”
—
“We’re at a pivotal point, says Fiona Hill.”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/12/fiona-hill-ukraine-putin-00131285
“Will America abandon Ukraine?” - The Atlantic
“What would a US Nato withdrawal under a second Trump term mean for Finland?” - Yle
“America Can't Walk Away from Ukraine—Or the Russia Threat.” - National Interest
“Rebuilding resiliency: Kyiv’s opportunity to bolster its defense.” - War on the Rocks
“Ukraine 'cannot win without help' Zelenskyy tells Nordic leaders in Oslo.” - ERuronews
Poland's new PM Donald Tusk sworn in, completing transition of power
(Euronews | AP | TVP | Reuters)
“… in a ceremony which marked the end of eight tumultuous years of rule by a national conservative party, Law and Justice. The swearing-in ceremony of the pro-European Union government, the final step in a transition of power, took place in the presidential palace in Warsaw. Tusk has returned to the job after nine years in opposition.”
—
—
https://tvpworld.com/74723880/new-polish-pm-pledges-commitment-to-strengthening-nato-ties-with-us
—
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sea-change-poland-donald-tusk-sworn-pm-2023-12-13/
“Poland’s New PM wants west’s ‘full mobilization' for Ukraine.” - Kyiv Post
“Poland's new PM Tusk sets bold pro-EU agenda in parliament.” - DW
“Tusk tahab vallandada kõikide eriteenistuste juhid.” - Postimees
“Polish president swears in new government.” - TVP
Pro-EU Polish PM Donald Tusk fleshes out programme
(BBC)
“… promising major change after eight years of nationalist government. The plans include improving relations with the European Union and pledging to restore the rule of law, the focus of a long-running row with Brussels. He has promised women better access to legal abortions, despite ideological differences in his coalition. He also pledged support for Ukraine and to be a strong US and Nato ally.”
—
“Mr Tusk, who is a former president of the European Council, said his first foreign trip would be to Brussels, where he would make efforts to unblock more than €35bn (£30.1bn; $37.8bn) in EU recovery funds held up over Brussels' concerns about rule of law.”
—
“His second trip will be to Tallinn to meet leaders from the Baltic and Nordic states.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67696165
“Poland’s New Government Looks to Adapt Foreign Policy Approach.” - Jamestown Org.
Wednesday 13. December
U.S. Ambassador to NATO: We take Russia's threats against Baltics seriously
(Latvian Broadcasting)
“No-one brushes that off or takes it lightly, and that's why we're moving out with these concrete measures to ensure that your country – but not just your country, all of our friends on the eastern flank – have the resources, the troops and the capabilities that they need to cope with any possible contingency. Sometimes they threaten to do do something and it can be posturing, it can be bluster, but again we take that very seriously," said Smith.”
Estonia turns to home-grown innovation to increase energy / raw material security
(Science Business, registration required)
“The key to doing this is to look beyond traditional methods and develop new techniques for extracting essential materials from what are currently overlooked resources, according to Tiit Lukk, vice rector for research at Tallinn University of Technology.”
Finland blames Russia for its record number of migrants
(Christian Science Monitor)
“When Finland joined NATO earlier this year, Russia threatened retaliation. Now, hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and Africa have appeared at Finland’s border from Russia, seeking entry into the Nordic country. Finnish officials say the sudden surge in asylum-seekers is no coincidence. They accuse Russia of driving the migrants to the border to sow discord as payback for Finland’s membership in NATO.”
“Alarm Raised Over Migrants’ Rights Following Finland’s Border Closure With Russia.” - Schengen Visa Info
“Finland to reopen two border crossings with Russia.” - Meduza
- Russia’s Forever War -
In Russia’s Kaliningrad, isolation and diminished threat to NATO
By Svetlana Shkolnikova, Stars and Stripes
“Even if Russia attacks the Baltics, there will be nothing left of Kaliningrad. There’s no way to defend it — we’ll be blockaded,” said Alexei Chabounine, a 53-year-old journalist. “The authorities say they will defend us, but truth be told, I don’t see that happening.”
—
“Russia’s goal of turning Kaliningrad into a launching pad to dominate the Baltics has “effectively been canceled,” according to a November report published by the French Institute of International Relations.”
—
“With the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, the Baltic theater is reconfigured so profoundly to Russia’s disadvantage that no amount of effort could make ‘Fortress Kaliningrad’ defensible,” the report states.”
Russia’s New Challenges in the Baltic/Northern European Theater
By Pavel Baev, IFRI
“The grouping of conventional forces that used to grant Russia a range of offensive options on the Baltic theater was decimated at the start of the war and, in the course of it, has been reduced to a set of barely functional headquarters and skeleton units. The fate of the 76th Pskov Guards Air Assault Division, one of the best units of the Russian Airborne Forces, is typical in this regard. It spearheaded the march from Belarus to Kyiv and partook in the botched air assault on Hostomel Airport.”
—
“The accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO has not only denied Russia the convenient strategic option of threatening the Narva region of Estonia, which is now only 100 km away from allied territory, but has also undercut Russian assumptions of separation between the Arctic and the Baltic theaters.”
—
“As NATO moves toward a strategy of denying Russia any opportunity for conducting an offensive operation aimed at any of the Baltic states, Moscow isncompelled to move in the opposite direction―toward “deterrence by punishment”. The credibility of this posture is boosted by the conclusions in the West drawn from the execution of indiscriminate missile and drone strikes on Kyiv, Odesa and many other Ukrainian cities, and the indifference in Russian society regarding this cruelty. …”
https://www.ifri.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/ifri_baev_russia_challenges_baltic_2023.pdf
Putin has begun his campaign for re-election under the slogan of eternal war
(Novaya Gazeta)
“But the war in question won’t be the one in Ukraine, it will be the war with the West. Yes, the West that attacked us and wants to destroy us, but against whom we are slowly prevailing. After all, we don’t fear death, as Russians go straight to heaven!”
—
“The myth of war with the global West is an extremely useful one for the authorities as it helps them sidestep questions about the conspicuous lack of success in the war with Ukraine. Why haven’t we won already? Why haven’t we taken Kyiv? Because we’re at war with America, and America is so powerful. But it will tear itself apart any day now as it fights us, and when that day comes we’ll show everyone. It’s also impossible to say what our Victory will look like until that day comes. We’ll either take Washington, or they’ll accept defeat and disband NATO.”
https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/12/13/deaths-candidate-for-president-en
The High Price of Losing Ukraine
(ISW)
“Military-strategic and financial implications of a Russian victory.”
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/high-price-losing-ukraine
Russia’s Election Will Validate Autocracy and Permanent Conflict With the West
(Foreign Affairs)
“If there is Putin, there is Russia; if there is no Putin, there is no Russia,” the current speaker of the State Duma, the aggressive loyalist Vyacheslav Volodin, pronounced, back in 2014.”
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/eastern-europe-and-former-soviet-union/putins-war-party
U.S. intelligence assesses Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 casualties
(Reuters)
“A declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 90% of the personnel it had when the conflict began, a source familiar with the intelligence said. The report also assessed that Moscow's losses in personnel and armored vehicles to Ukraine's military have set back Russia’s military modernization by 18 years.”
Russian Offensive Campaign
Assessment: 13. December
(ISW)
“The Kremlin appears to be returning to expansionist rhetoric last observed before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in an effort to resurface its claims that Ukraine is part of historically Russian territory and discuss the borders Russian leaders regard as appropriate for a rump Ukrainian state.”
—
“The return of the Kremlin’s notion of a “partitioned Ukraine” is likely an organized effort to mislead the international community into rejecting key components of Ukraine’s sovereignty: its territorial integrity as defined in 1991 and its right to self-determination.”
—
“A Russian “Storm-Z” assault unit instructor complained that deputy commanders of Russian irregular armed formations are spreading illogical and false claims that present an overly optimistic view of the situation on the front in the Russian media and information space.”
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-13-2023
“Dismayed by Moscow’s war, Russian volunteers are joining Ukrainian ranks to fight Putin’s troops.” - AP
“Russian Jailors Now Threatening Prisoners with Longer Sentences if They Don’t ‘Volunteer’ to Fight in Ukraine.” - Paul Goble
“2 in 5 Wartime Exiles Return to Russia.” - Moscow Times
“Museum of Russian Anti-War Street Art Opens Online.” - TOL
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