*
Reforms call for creation of two additional military districts
*
Army corps to be based near border with Finland
*
Forces to be boosted in territories Moscow has claimed to annex
(Adds detail, context)
By Lidia Kelly
Jan 23 (Reuters) – Russia's new military reforms respond to possible NATO expansion and the use of Kyiv by the "collective West" to wage a hybrid war against Russia, the newly appointed general in charge of Russia's military operations in Ukraine said.
Valery Gerasimov, in his first public comments since his Jan. 11 appointment to the role, admitted also to problems with the mobilisation of troops, after public criticism forced President Vladimir Putin to reprimand the military.
The military reforms, announced mid-January, have been approved by Putin and can be adjusted to respond to threats to Russia's security, Gerasimov told the news website Argumenty i Fakty in remarks published late Monday.
"Today, such threats include the aspirations of the North Atlantic Alliance to expand to Finland and Sweden, as well as the use of Ukraine as a tool for waging a hybrid war against our country," said Gerasimov, who is also the chief of Russia's military general staff.
Finland and Sweden applied last year to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Under Moscow's new military plan, an army corps will be added to Karelia in Russia's north, which borders with Finland.
The reforms also call for two additional military districts, Moscow and Leningrad, which existed before they were merged in 2010 to be part of the Western Military District.
In Ukraine, Russia will add three motorized rifle divisions as part of combined arms formations in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, parts of which Moscow claims it annexed in September.
"The main goal of this work is to ensure guaranteed protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country," Gerasimov said.
'ACTING AGAINST THE ENTIRE COLLECTIVE WEST'
Gerasimov added that modern Russia has never seen such "intensity of military hostilities", forcing it to carry out offensive operations to stabilise the situation.
"Our country and its armed forces are today acting against the entire collective West," Gerasimov said.
In the 11 months since invading Ukraine, Russia has been shifting its rhetoric on the war from an operation to "denazify" and "demilitarise" its neighbour to increasingly casting it as defence from an aggressive West.
Kyiv and its Western allies call it a an unprovoked act of aggression, and the West has been sending increasingly heavy weaponry to Ukraine to help it resist Russian forces.
Gerasimov and the leadership of the defence ministry have faced sharp criticism for multiple setbacks on the battlefield and Moscow's failure to secure victory in a campaign the Kremlin had expected to take just a short time.
The country's mobilisation of some 300,000 additional personnel in the fall proceeded chaotically.
"The system of mobilization training in our country was not fully adapted to the new modern economic relations," Gerasimov said. "So I had to fix everything on the go." (Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Billionaire entrepreneur promoted fake news and conspiracy theory linked to violent attack on Paul Pelosi.
Oil prices climbed in early Asia trade on Monday, supported by tensions in the Middle East following a drone attack in Iran and as Beijing pledged over the weekend to promote a consumption recovery which would support fuel demand. Brent crude futures rose 54 cents, or 0.6%, to $87.20 a barrel by 0115 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $80.22 a barrel, up 54 cents, or 0.7%. Israel appears to have been behind an overnight drone attack on a military factory in Iran, a U.S. official said on Sunday.
How is social security taxed in 2023? Here are the rules used to calculate how much you might owe on your benefits.
(Bloomberg) — Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast.Most Read from BloombergAdani Tries to Calm Investors With 413-Page Hindenburg RebuttalRussia Can’t Replace the Energy Market Putin BrokeFed Set to Shrink Rate Hikes Again as Inflation SlowsUkraine Latest: Russian Missile Hit on Kharkiv Building ReportedBed Bath & Beyond Customers Confront Empty Shelves Ahead of Looming BankruptcyFederal Reserve officials are set to shift down the pace
Former Walmart CEO and President Bill Simon discusses the mass amount of layoffs that are occurring across various corporate industries in the U.S.
Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis said the West sending tanks to Ukraine to provide additional aid in its war with Russia “creates real problems” for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is trying to scare the West with the Kremlin’s comments that NATO countries’ move to send tanks to Ukraine increases their “direct involvement”…
The market’s expectations clash with projections from the central bank. The wording of the policy statement after Fed Open Market Committee gathering could indicate how many hikes really are ahead this year.
(Bloomberg) — Most Read from BloombergAdani Tries to Calm Investors With 413-Page Hindenburg RebuttalRussia Can’t Replace the Energy Market Putin BrokeFed Set to Shrink Rate Hikes Again as Inflation SlowsUkraine Latest: Russian Missile Hit on Kharkiv Building ReportedBed Bath & Beyond Customers Confront Empty Shelves Ahead of Looming BankruptcyChancellor Olaf Scholz is hoping his trip to Latin America this weekend will help Germany secure additional supplies of the lithium that car giants like
Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, has said that the Alliance is ready for a direct confrontation with Russia. Source: Bauer in an interview with RTP, a Portuguese public broadcasting organisation Quote from RTP: "Rob Bauer insists that NATO is prepared for a direct confrontation with Russia and admits that rearmament is the Alliance's top priority.
Ukrainian MPs and former members of the outlawed Opposition Platform – For Life (OPZZh) party Natalia Korolevska and her husband Yuriy Solod have given up their mandates as lawmakers, the Ukrainska Pravda online newspaper reported on Jan. 29
Your retirement benefit amount depends on how much you've earned over your lifetime at jobs for which you paid Social Security taxes — and the age at which you claim. You can claim Social Security…
Camp Blaz will ultimately be home to about 5,000 Marines.
Of the 66 million Americans who receive a Social Security check every month, according to the Social Security Administration, one couple claiming benefits may come as a surprise: President Joe Biden…
(Bloomberg) — Most Read from BloombergAdani Tries to Calm Investors With 413-Page Hindenburg RebuttalRussia Can’t Replace the Energy Market Putin BrokeFed Set to Shrink Rate Hikes Again as Inflation SlowsUkraine Latest: Russian Missile Hit on Kharkiv Building ReportedBed Bath & Beyond Customers Confront Empty Shelves Ahead of Looming BankruptcyEuropean equities are the flavor of the month. But it won’t take much for investor sentiment to sour again.With a 10% surge in January, euro-area stocks
One of Ukraine's top show business personalities has switched his role from TV star to prolific fundraiser. Serhiy Prytula has raised $100 million since Russia invaded his country in February 2022.
The Fair Tax Act, explained
An increasing number of officials within the Pentagon are calling for the US to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help defend against Russian missile and drone attacks, it has been reported
Photo Illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty ImagesTalk about an insurance policy. Republicans may have finally found an ingenious way to ensure that everyone in America rallies around Donald Trump’s second term, should he win in 2024: Vice President Marjorie Taylor Greene.“The amazing thing about the concept of Marjorie Taylor Greene being Donald Trump’s vice president is that you would actually have someone who would make you worried that Donald Trump might have a heart attack,” qu
Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s new president, has suspended fracking operations in the country and says there is no need for new exploration.
Authorities in India have gone to extraordinary lengths to stop people from seeing a new BBC documentary that is critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his role in the deadly 2002 riots in Gujarat.