Warrior Class

Russians Operate Alone Now — European Stars & Stripes, July 26, 1999 — Russian troops in Chechnya are free to operate in the U.S. sector of Chechnya without an American presence. But NATO may never find a way to change the Russians’ attitude about being Serb allies.

Report Says Russia Supplied Serbs with Missiles, Breaking Embargo — London, Aug. 3,1999 — (Reuters) — Jane’s Defence Weekly said in a report to be published on Tuesday that Russia was believed to have supplied Serbia with air defense missiles before NATO started its bombing campaign against Kosovo in March.

… The report quoted a high-ranking Serbian officer as saying the first shipment of between six and 10 incomplete Russian S-300PM missile systems entered Serbia by land, hidden in railway wagons carrying scrap iron, in early 1999. It quoted sources as saying an unspecified quantity of the missile systems was smuggled into the country in a Russian humanitarian convoy, hidden in what appeared to be fuel tankers.

Xosovo Albanians Protest Russians — Philadelphia Inquirer — About 1,000 ethnic Albanian protesters marched toward a Russian base to show their opposition to Russian peacekeepers in the southeastern Kosovo town of Kosovska Kamenica while two U.S. Apache helicopters whirred overhead and American troops stood by. The march ended without incident.

Russia’s Stealth Fighter Makes Rare Appearance at Air Show — Los Angeles Times, August 18, 1999 — Russia’s S-37 Berkut, or Golden Eagle, was the main performer at an intemational air show held near Moscow. The stealth jet, with its forward-swept wings, made only a brief appearance.

Russia Flumes at U.S. Over Disarmament and KFOR — Moscow, August 21, 1999 — (Agence France Presse) — Storm clouds gathered over U.S.-Russian relations Friday after sharp differences emerged on nuclear disarmament and the Kosovo peacekeeping effort, two pillars of cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

“After the whole episode with Kosovo, the Russians feel that militarily they were disregarded and badly treated by NATO. The only way of making the NATO nations realize this is to remind them that Russia is a nuclear power,” Viktor Kremenyuk, deputy director of the U.S.-Canada Institute, a Moscow think tank, said.

U.S. Downplays Incident with Jets, Russian Bombers — Washington Times — September 19, 1999 — The National Security Council said an encounter Thursday between U.S. jets and two Russian bombers flying near Alaska was “militarily insignificant.” The Russian planes were in international airspace, taking part in a training exercise, and moved closer to the Alaskan coast than has happened during the past six years. Officials said the American jets scrambled routinely, as they always do when an unknown aircraft approaches U.S. territory.

A Genocide, a Political Coup. Some Democracy — by Zbigniew Brzezinski — Wall Street Journal — January 4, 2000 Vladimir Putin’s accession to the Russian presidency was the work of oligarchs and army-security chiefs who wanted to preempt any semblance of a democratic vote scheduled for June. The attitude of Putin, as shown in Russia’s brutal treatment of Chechnya, should be taken as a warning of future problems.

NATO Exercise Ends in More Clashes — European Stars & Stripes — April 13, 2000 — Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit left Greece the same way they arrived for NATO’s Dynamic Response 2000 exercise in nearby Kosovo: dodging rocks, red paint bombs and insults from anti-NATO demonstrators along the route. The 80-vehicle convoy made it to the embarkation point at Port Litohoro without injuries, but four vehicles had their windshields smashed.

Washington in Brief — Washington Post — April 14, 2000 — For The Record — NATO is asking member countries to provide 3,500 troops for the Kosovo peacekeeping operation to replace battalions that are leaving, but no additional U.S. forces are likely to go, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said.

Putin Eyes Defense of Russian Interests in Caspian — Moscow — Apr 21, 2000 — (Reuters) President-elect Vladimir Putin expressed concern on Friday that foreign competitors were eyeing the oil-rich Caspian region, where Moscow has traditionally dominated, and called on Russian firms to get more involved.

“We must clearly understand that the interest of our partners, Turkey, the United States and Britain, in this region is not accidental,” Russian agencies quoted him as telling a meeting of his advisory Security Council.

… Russia wielded economic mastery over the Caspian basin throughout the Soviet era when the oil-rich republics were part of a single state. But the newly independent states, with diplomatic support from the United States and Turkey, want to build export routes bypassing Russia, which would sharply reduce its influence in the region …

Russians Wounded in Kosovo — International Herald Tribune — May 25, 2000 — Two Russian soldiers were wounded when two antitank rockets smashed into their base in western Kosovo. Russian soldiers also came under gunfire overnight on five occasions. The attacks followed a Tuesday afternoon altercation between Russian troops and a former commander of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army.

Putin, Schroeder Rail “New Start” in Key Alliance — by Martin Nesirky — Berlin (Reuters) — June 10, 2000 Russia and Germany declared a new and fruitful start to a vital European alliance Thursday when President Vladimir Putin, once a Communist spy in Dresden, met German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

… “Germany is interested in a strategic partnership with Russia,” Schroeder said. “Not just Germany but all Europe has an interest in maintaining close and fiiendly relations with Russia.”

Putin said: “Germany is Russia’s most important economic partner in Europe. We consider Germany to be at the core of European integration. As such, our conversation with the chancellor has a double significance for Russia.”

Ukraine Hosts Big NATO Exercise, Russia Missing — KIEV (Reuters) — 6/19/00 — Ukraine begins unprecedented 10-day naval exercises with NATO and several former communist nations on Monday, but Russia, still deeply suspicious of the Western defense alliance, plans to stay away.

… Russia, Ukraine’s former imperial master, resents Kiev’s warm ties with NATO and regular military exercises in the Black Sea region, where Moscow’s might and influence have waned dramatically since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.