JERUSALEM (AP) — Pihak berwenang Israel mencoba mencari tahu bagaimana tank lapis baja berat, namun tidak bersenjata, dicuri dari zona pelatihan militer setelah ditemukan dibuang di tempat barang rongsokan.
Tank Merkava 2 Israel menghilang dari zona pelatihan di Israel utara dekat kota pesisir Haifa, kata tentara Israel pada Rabu. Zona pelatihan ditutup untuk umum saat digunakan, namun dapat diakses oleh orang yang lewat.
Polisi mengatakan tank seberat 65 ton itu ditemukan ditinggalkan di tempat pembuangan sampah dekat pangkalan militer. Dalam video yang diambil dari lokasi kejadian, tank hijau tentara menjulang tinggi di samping potongan-potongan logam berkarat dan sisa-sisa industri lainnya.
Pihak militer mengatakan Merkava 2 telah dinonaktifkan beberapa tahun lalu dan tidak dipersenjatai. Dikatakan bahwa kendaraan tersebut baru-baru ini digunakan sebagai “kendaraan stasioner untuk latihan tentara.”
Polisi mengatakan mereka telah menangkap dua tersangka terkait pencurian tersebut.
WASHINGTON — North Korea’s successful test launch on July 12 of a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile equipped to penetrate U.S. missile defenses is likely the result of technical cooperation sourced to Russia, according to a new think tank report first obtained by NBC News.
The Hwasong-18 missile’s physical dimensions and its flight trajectory data appear “nearly identical” to that of Russia’s Topol-M ICBM, says the report, authored by Dr. Theodore A. Postol, a professor emeritus of science, technology and national security policy at MIT. The report was written for Beyond Parallel, a project sponsored by the defense think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The new missile represents a sudden and significant advancement of North Korea’s ballistic missile arsenal, according to North Korea’s own pronouncements confirmed by U.S. officials. The rocket is solid-fueled, making it harder for Western intelligence to detect than liquid propellant ICBMS. The July test, observed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was the first successful launch of a solid-fueled ICBM. The test also demonstrated the Hwasong-18’s capability to deliver multiple thermonuclear warheads as far as Washington, the report said, and deploy decoy canister countermeasures to evade U.S. missile defenses.
“The sudden appearance of these advanced capabilities is difficult to explain without cooperation from the Russian government and its scientists,” writes Postol.
Russia supplying North Korea with these capabilities would mark a significant escalation of the growing military cooperation between the two countries and stand in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions signed onto by Russia prohibiting support for North Korea’s ballistic missile program.
The U.S. has accused North Korea of supplying Russia with munitions to support its war in Ukraine, with North Korea receiving food and energy from Russia in return. The Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions this week targeting three entities tied to a network trying to avoid U.S. sanctions and support arms deals between the two countries.
Russia and North Korea have both denied the transfer of weapons to Russia. But the two countries, who have had historically friendly relations dating back to the Cold War, have made no secret of their increasingly close military collaboration amid a heavy international sanctions regime.
Two weeks after the test, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was welcomed to Pyongyang for the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice on July 25, meeting with Kim there. Ahead of Shoigu’s visit, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the visit would help “strengthen Russian-North Korean military ties.”
Kim sent a message to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin reported by state media Wednesday touting the “militant friendship and solidarity” established between their two countries during the Korean War that they are now “demonstrating their invincibility and might in the struggle to smash the imperialists’ arbitrary practices and hegemony.”
“Historically, Russia has always been very transactional and opportunistic on the Korean peninsula, and they see an opportunity here,” said Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair at CSIS. “They need the munitions, and North Korea has a lot. They’ve got a 1.1-million-man army. They’ve got a lot of munitions. And North Korea needs ballistic missiles, ballistic missile technology.”
North Korea’s provocations will be a major focus of the upcoming trilateral summit between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan at Camp David, along with China’s aggressive actions in the region. The three allied countries are set to announce a historic plan to bolster mutual security ties, including an intelligence-sharing agreement on missile threats, regular joint military drills and a new three-way crisis hotline, according to senior administration officials.
The new agreement is coming as Kim has ordered a sharp increase in North Korea’s missile production, touring major munitions factories this week.
“It’s very difficult to get the U.S., Korea and Japan trilaterally together because of all the domestic historical issues,” said Cha, who believes that the security situation in the region, as well as the war in Ukraine, is sparking the trilateral breakthrough. “The war in Ukraine has changed everything. It has changed the way everybody looks at security.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
WASHINGTON — North Korea’s successful test launch on July 12 of a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile equipped to penetrate U.S. missile defenses is likely the result of technical cooperation sourced to Russia, according to a new think tank report first obtained by NBC News.
The Hwasong-18 missile’s physical dimensions and its flight trajectory data appear “nearly identical” to that of Russia’s Topol-M ICBM, says the report, authored by Dr. Theodore A. Postol, a professor emeritus of science, technology and national security policy at MIT. The report was written for Beyond Parallel, a project sponsored by the defense think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The new missile represents a sudden and significant advancement of North Korea’s ballistic missile arsenal, according to North Korea’s own pronouncements confirmed by U.S. officials. The rocket is solid-fueled, making it harder for Western intelligence to detect than liquid propellant ICBMS. The July test, observed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was the first successful launch of a solid-fueled ICBM. The test also demonstrated the Hwasong-18’s capability to deliver multiple thermonuclear warheads as far as Washington, the report said, and deploy decoy canister countermeasures to evade U.S. missile defenses.
“The sudden appearance of these advanced capabilities is difficult to explain without cooperation from the Russian government and its scientists,” writes Postol.
Russia supplying North Korea with these capabilities would mark a significant escalation of the growing military cooperation between the two countries and stand in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions signed onto by Russia prohibiting support for North Korea’s ballistic missile program.
The U.S. has accused North Korea of supplying Russia with munitions to support its war in Ukraine, with North Korea receiving food and energy from Russia in return. The Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions this week targeting three entities tied to a network trying to avoid U.S. sanctions and support arms deals between the two countries.
Russia and North Korea have both denied the transfer of weapons to Russia. But the two countries, who have had historically friendly relations dating back to the Cold War, have made no secret of their increasingly close military collaboration amid a heavy international sanctions regime.
Two weeks after the test, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was welcomed to Pyongyang for the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice on July 25, meeting with Kim there. Ahead of Shoigu’s visit, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the visit would help “strengthen Russian-North Korean military ties.”
Kim sent a message to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin reported by state media Wednesday touting the “militant friendship and solidarity” established between their two countries during the Korean War that they are now “demonstrating their invincibility and might in the struggle to smash the imperialists’ arbitrary practices and hegemony.”
“Historically, Russia has always been very transactional and opportunistic on the Korean peninsula, and they see an opportunity here,” said Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair at CSIS. “They need the munitions, and North Korea has a lot. They’ve got a 1.1-million-man army. They’ve got a lot of munitions. And North Korea needs ballistic missiles, ballistic missile technology.”
North Korea’s provocations will be a major focus of the upcoming trilateral summit between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan at Camp David, along with China’s aggressive actions in the region. The three allied countries are set to announce a historic plan to bolster mutual security ties, including an intelligence-sharing agreement on missile threats, regular joint military drills and a new three-way crisis hotline, according to senior administration officials.
The new agreement is coming as Kim has ordered a sharp increase in North Korea’s missile production, touring major munitions factories this week.
“It’s very difficult to get the U.S., Korea and Japan trilaterally together because of all the domestic historical issues,” said Cha, who believes that the security situation in the region, as well as the war in Ukraine, is sparking the trilateral breakthrough. “The war in Ukraine has changed everything. It has changed the way everybody looks at security.”
JERUSALEM (AP) — An American billionaire and major donor to a Jerusalem think tank backing the Israeli government’s divisive judicial overhaul said on Friday that he would stop giving to the conservative group.
The decision by Arthur Dantchik, a 65-year-old libertarian multibillionaire from New York, to cut funding to the Kohelet Policy Forum reflects the scope of the unrelenting protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to weaken the Supreme Court.
“I believe what is most critical at this time is for Israel to focus on healing and national unity,” Dantchik said in a statement shared with The Associated Press announcing his move to halt funding. “Throughout my life, I have supported a diverse array of organizations that promote individual liberties and economic freedoms for all people.”
The protests have raged in Israel for seven months, exposing deep-seated social tensions and thrusting the country into a crisis over the future of its democracy.
The Kohelet Policy Forum, founded in 2012 by American-Israeli computer scientist Moshe Koppel, has emerged as one of the main architects of Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul package.
Kohelet declined to comment specifically on Dantchik, saying only that the donations it receives “are broad-based and increasing steadily.”
Israeli media has reported Kohelet has been involved in negotiations over the overhaul plans. The changes would give the government more control over the selection of judges and make it harder for the Supreme Court to strike down laws. At one point earlier this year, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party said the think tank even provided the government with the same overhaul proposal that it presented to Israel’s parliament.
The Israeli parliament, or Knesset, passed first major measure in the judicial overhaul last month, unleashing widespread unrest among critics who fear it will blunt one of Israel’s few checks on government overreach and erode its democratic institutions. Supporters of the plan, including Kohelet, claim it will boost democracy by giving the elected government more power than unelected judges.
Dantchik’s announcement Friday also drew attention to the powerful influence American money and ideas have on Israeli politics. In 2021, the Haaretz daily first identified Dantchik as one of Kohelet’s two principal financial supporters in an investigation that revealed a maze of opaque third-party groups in the United States through which Dantchik and others channeled their donations.
Kohelet is not required to disclose its donations, and the exact amount that Dantchik has provided over the years is not publicly known.
As the co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, a powerful privately held financial firm in Pennsylvania, Dantchik is worth $7.3 billion, according to Forbes’ latest tally.
Kohelet’s founder, Koppel, keeps a low profile and long has avoided questions about the think tank’s donors.
Despite its support from some American Jewish businessmen, the turmoil over the judicial changes in Israel threatens to strain ties with Israel’s closet ally. President Joe Biden has publicly criticized Netanyahu’s push to overhaul the judiciary. Liberal Jewish organizations in the U.S. have condemned the legislation.
In his statement on Kohelet, Dantchik warned against the widening rifts in Israeli society that the overhaul plan has highlighted.
“When a society becomes dangerously fragmented, people must come together to preserve democracy,” he said.
Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin berpidato di depan militer Rusia, Garda Nasional, FSB, dan personel Kementerian Dalam Negeri di Kremlin di Moskow pada 27 Juni 2023.SERGEI GUNEYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP melalui Getty Images
Putin telah memperkuat Pengawal Nasionalnya dengan pasukan khusus elit, mempersenjatai mereka dengan tank dan pesawat tempur.
Presiden Rusia tidak mempercayai kesetiaan dinas keamanannya setelah pemberontakan Wagner.
Langkah itu dianggap membuat Kremlin “tahan kudeta”, kata seorang analis kepada The Telegraph.
Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin telah memperkuat Pengawal Nasionalnya dengan unit pasukan khusus elit untuk melindunginya jika terjadi pemberontakan lagi, lapor surat kabar Inggris The Telegraph.
Garda Nasional, yang dibentuk oleh Putin pada tahun 2016, memiliki 320.000 orang dan melapor langsung kepadanya daripada Kementerian Pertahanan.
Itu dipimpin oleh mantan pengawal setia Putin, Viktor Zolotov, dan fungsi utamanya termasuk menindak protes anti-pemerintah.
Seorang anggota parlemen untuk partai Rusia Bersatu pimpinan Putin Alexander Khinshtein mengatakan bahwa Putin secara pribadi telah memerintahkan unit pasukan khusus Kementerian Dalam Negeri Grom yang berkekuatan 7.000 orang untuk bergerak di bawah komandonya.
Dia juga telah membawa tank, pesawat tempur, dan artileri untuk memperkuat Garda Nasional, yang digambarkan oleh para analis sebagai “Praetorian Guard”, yang disejajarkan dengan pengawal elit kekaisaran Romawi yang setia kepada kaisar, menurut The Telegraph.
Diyakini bahwa setelah pemberontakan Wagner, Putin mengkhawatirkan kesetiaan dinas keamanan dan perwira militernya.
Rusia menyetujui perubahan status Garda Nasional awal pekan ini dan mengatakan sekarang dapat dipersenjatai dengan “peralatan militer” untuk “menekan kegiatan kelompok bersenjata ilegal.”
Langkah ini merupakan upaya Putin untuk “membuktikan kudeta terhadap Kremlin,” kata Ben Noble, Associate Professor Politik Rusia di University College London, kepada The Telegraph.
“Kremlin kemungkinan mengungkapkan kekhawatirannya tentang kemungkinan tantangan domestik di masa depan terhadap pemerintahannya,” katanya. “Pemberontakan Prigozhin telah meningkatkan tingkat ketidakpastian mengenai dukungan elit dan rakyat untuk rezim tersebut.”
Surat kabar Vedomosti Rusia melaporkan bahwa Putin menggunakan Grom untuk menarik mantan pejuang Wagner yang tidak ingin bergabung dengan tentara bayaran lain di pengasingan di Belarusia.
Andrei Soldatov, pakar dinas keamanan Rusia, mengatakan kepada Telegraph bahwa langkah itu “signifikan”.
“Putin sedang meluruskan komando dan kendali pasukan khusus setelah pemberontakan Prigozhin,” katanya.
John Hardie, wakil direktur program Rusia di Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, mengatakan kepada The Telegraph bahwa langkah tersebut merupakan kemenangan mantan pengawal Zolotov, karena Grom adalah unit polisi khusus Kementerian Dalam Negeri yang terakhir.
Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin bertemu dengan koresponden perang di Moskow – Gavriil Grigorov/AFP via Getty Images
Vladimir Putin mengatakan pasukannya kehilangan 54 tank dalam waktu kurang dari dua minggu serangan balik Ukraina dalam pengakuan yang jarang terjadi di medan perang.
Dia menolak untuk mengungkapkan rincian lebih lanjut tetapi menegaskan kerugiannya jauh lebih rendah daripada Ukraina, mengklaim Kyiv telah menderita kekalahan “bencana”, termasuk petak senjata yang disumbangkan Barat.
Komentarnya di Kremlin datang ketika sumber-sumber Rusia melaporkan bahwa rudal Storm Shadow Inggris telah membunuh seorang jenderal top Rusia, yang pertama tewas dalam lebih dari satu tahun pertempuran.
Sementara itu pada hari Selasa, Ukraina menunjukkan kepada wartawan desa-desa yang baru direbut kembali dalam verifikasi independen pertama atas perolehannya. Reuters mengatakan mayat tentara Rusia ditinggalkan di dekat kendaraan lapis baja yang hancur.
Ukraina juga mengklaim pasukannya bergerak maju, tepat setelah Putin mengatakan serangan balasan yang telah lama diharapkan gagal.
“Baik pertempuran sengit defensif dan ofensif sedang berlangsung di timur dan selatan negara kita. Kami memiliki keuntungan tertentu, menerapkan rencana kami, bergerak maju,” Valery Zaluzhny, kepala angkatan bersenjata Ukraina, mengatakan di media sosial.
‘Musuh tidak berhasil’
Pada pertemuan dengan 18 blogger militer Rusia dan wartawan perang, Putin mengatakan Ukraina telah menyerang posisi Rusia sejak 4 Juni di dua wilayah di timur dan, pada satu titik, di selatan.
“Musuh tidak berhasil dalam serangan mana pun,” kata presiden Rusia itu seraya mengklaim Ukraina menderita “kerugian besar dalam hal personel”.
Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin, kelima dari kanan, berbicara selama pertemuan dengan koresponden perang Rusia yang meliput operasi militer khusus di Kremlin – AP/Gavriil Grigorov
Dia mengatakan bahwa Rusia telah kehilangan 54 tank di Ukraina sejak dimulainya serangan balasan dan menegaskan bahwa beberapa di antaranya “dapat diperbaiki dan digunakan kembali”.
Pejabat Rusia biasanya tidak pernah mengungkapkan kerugian mereka sendiri.
Ukraina, menurut Putin, telah kehilangan 160 tank dan 360 kendaraan lapis baja, yang diklaimnya menyumbang 30 persen dari semua pasokan senjata ke Ukraina oleh sekutu Barat.
Oryx, seorang analis independen kerugian di medan perang, menghitung kurang dari 10 kendaraan Ukraina yang hancur sejauh ini.
Putin telah berusaha untuk menjauhkan diri dari perang di Ukraina dalam beberapa pekan terakhir, tetapi pada hari Selasa ia memilih untuk menjadi tuan rumah blogger militer dan wartawan perang Rusia yang semakin kritis, yang menekannya karena tanggapannya yang lemah.
Tampak bingung, Putin mengatakan kepada seorang blogger pro-perang bahwa invasi Rusia itu sendiri merupakan tanggapan terakhir terhadap Barat yang membahayakan keamanannya.
“Kami akan terus [carry out] pukulan presisi. Kami akan merespons secara selektif, ”katanya.
Putin sekali lagi menyangkal peran Rusia dalam meledakkan bendungan Nova Kakhovka pekan lalu, tetapi dia mengakui bahwa bencana itu menggagalkan serangan balasan Ukraina.
Dia juga menolak untuk memerintahkan mobilisasi segera lebih lanjut untuk mendukung pasukannya di Ukraina.
September lalu, pemimpin Rusia mengumumkan apa yang dia katakan sebagai “mobilisasi parsial” dari 300.000 cadangan, memicu eksodus setidaknya sebanyak pria Rusia yang berusaha menghindari wajib militer dengan pergi ke republik bekas Uni Soviet.
Ditanya tentang mobilisasi lain pada pertemuan yang diadakan Kremlin, Putin mengatakan: “Tidak perlu hari ini.”
Sementara bersikeras bahwa kementerian pertahanan melihat tidak perlu gelombang panggilan lain, presiden Rusia juga mengangkat apa yang dia katakan sebagai pertanyaan retoris yang hanya bisa dia jawab tentang upaya lain di ibukota Ukraina.
Dia berkata tentang Kyiv: “Haruskah kita kembali ke sana atau tidak? Mengapa saya mengajukan pertanyaan retoris seperti itu? Jelas bahwa tidak ada jawaban untuk ini – saya hanya bisa menjawabnya sendiri.”
Pasukan Rusia menyerang Kyiv hanya beberapa jam setelah Putin memerintahkan pasukan ke Ukraina, berusaha untuk menguasai sebuah lapangan terbang di luar ibu kota Ukraina, tetapi mereka berhasil dipukul mundur dengan kerugian besar oleh pasukan Ukraina.
Serangan lebih lanjut menyusul, tetapi pasukan Rusia dipukul mundur dan akhirnya mundur ke petak tanah di timur dan selatan Ukraina yang telah dinyatakan Putin sebagai bagian dari Rusia.
Pada hari Senin, Rusia kehilangan jenderal pertamanya dalam lebih dari satu tahun pertempuran dalam serangan rudal di dekat garis depan serangan balasan.
Seorang blogger militer pro-Moskow yang memiliki hubungan baik menerbitkan obituari panjang untuk Mayjen Sergei Goryachev yang dilaporkan meninggal pada hari Senin setelah serangan Ukraina.
“Perang merenggut yang terbaik dari kita,” kata Yuri Kotenok dalam sebuah postingan kepada setengah juta pengikutnya di aplikasi perpesanan Telegram.
“Angkatan Darat telah kehilangan salah satu pemimpin militer terbaik dan paling efisien yang dielu-elukan sebagai seorang profesional yang luar biasa dan seorang pemberani.”
Beberapa narablog pro-perang Rusia mengatakan jenderal itu kemungkinan dibunuh oleh rudal jelajah Storm Shadow yang dipasok Inggris selama serangan Ukraina di dekat Velyka Novoselka di mana pertempuran sengit dilaporkan pada hari Senin.
Kementerian pertahanan Rusia belum mengkonfirmasi laporan tersebut.
Analis militer mengatakan kematian berulang perwira senior Rusia di Ukraina menunjukkan krisis tenaga kerja karena komandan tertinggi biasanya menjauh dari permusuhan garis depan.
Dalam 24 jam terakhir, pasukan Ukraina telah merebut kembali sekitar 3 kilometer persegi tanah, maju hingga 1 km (0,6 mil) di beberapa bagian garis depan menuju Berdyansk di Laut Azov, Andriy Kovalev, juru bicara Staf Umum Ukraina , katanya, Selasa.
Hanna Malyar, wakil menteri pertahanan Ukraina, mengatakan pasukan mereka telah membebaskan tujuh desa dalam sepekan terakhir sementara gerak maju tampaknya difokuskan ke empat arah, satu di selatan di Zaporizhya, dan tiga lainnya di timur di Donetsk.
Sementara itu, serangan rudal Rusia yang menghancurkan pada Selasa pagi menghantam satu blok flat di kota Kryvyi Rih, Ukraina tengah, hampir memusnahkan gedung dan menewaskan selusin orang, kata pejabat setempat.
Saat petugas penyelamat menyisir puing-puing yang membara, jumlah korban tewas naik menjadi 11 orang pada sore hari dan 28 orang lagi cedera, kata Serhiy Lysak, kepala wilayah Dnipro.
Pasukan Rusia terus menembaki tepi kanan sungai Dnipro yang dikuasai Ukraina saat daerah itu dilanda banjir besar menyusul penghancuran bendungan Nova Kakhovka pekan lalu.
Di desa Bilozerka di sebelah barat Kherson, sebuah peluru menghantam gereja Ortodoks setempat, menewaskan pendeta berusia 72 tahun dan melukai seorang wanita berusia 76 tahun, kata Andriy Yermak, kepala staf Presiden Zelensky, Selasa.
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