Finland to host part of Nato’s ’largest ever’ artillery exercises in Europe, svenska.yle.fi

Up to 3,600 personnel members will participate in the drills in Finland, including 1,250 international troops.

Finland’s Army Academy will organise Nato’s Lightning Strike 24 artillery exercise next month in Finnish Lapland. The drills, taking place in areas around Rovajärvi and Rovaniemi between 4 and 28 November, are part of US-led (Dynamic Front 25) exercises in five European countries.

According to the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF), the effort will be the largest artillery drills that Nato has ever carried out in Europe. The objectives of the exercise is to show the alliance’s defence capabilities in the region, as well as to practise operational command, control and cooperations with the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, according to an FDF press release on Tuesday.” […]

Up to 3,600 personnel members will participate in the drills in Finland, including 1,250 international troops. Apart from Finland, countries taking part in the drills will include the US, UK, Sweden, Estonia, France, Czechia and others, the FDF said. Läs artikel

Russian expert sees NATO exercises in Finnish Lapland as preparation for war, tass.com,

Finnish Lapland, by taking part in NATO’s Lightning Strike 24 artillery exercise, is getting ready for war with Russia, says Russian military expert Alexander Stepanov, program director of the Academy of Political Sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

According to the Finnish Defense Forces, this is the largest NATO artillery exercise ever held in Europe. […]

”The US role in these maneuvers is significant. The Pentagon is tightening its grip on its European minions, as well as forming a single coherent strike contour, including through the integration of new long-range artillery and MLRS systems. Läs artikel

Security Council Press Statement on United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Near East (UNRWA), un.org

The members of the Security Council emphasized the vital role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in providing life-saving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees through essential education, health, relief and social services programmes and emergency assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.

The members of the Security Council underscored that UNRWA remains the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza, and affirmed that no organization can replace or substitute UNRWA’s capacity and mandate to serve Palestinian refugees and civilians in urgent need of life-saving humanitarian assistance.

The members of the Security Council strongly warned against any attempts to dismantle or diminish UNRWA’s operations and mandate, recognizing that any interruption or suspension of its work would have severe humanitarian consequences for millions of Palestinian refugees who depend on the Agency’s services and also implications for the region.

The members of the Security Council expressed their grave concern over legislation adopted by the Israeli Knesset.  In this regard, they urged the Israeli Government to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of UNRWA and live up to its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza strip, including the provision of sorely needed basic services to the civilian population. Läs uttalandet

Kristersson efter ordkriget med Orbán: ”Farligt på riktigt”, sverigesradio.se

Ungerns premiärminister Viktor Orbán anklagar statsminister Ulf Kristersson för att springa USA:s ärenden efter statsministerns kritik mot Orbán.

Viktor Orbán svarade på torsdagen på Kristerssons kritik mot Ungern i ett inlägg på plattformen X där han anklagar statsministern för att säga det som USA har sagt att han ska säga.

Frågan handlar i grunden om att Ungerns syn på Ryssland och kriget i Ukraina går stick i stäv med i princip alla andra EU-länder, enligt statsministern. Läs artikel

During Security Council’s Second Ukraine Meeting in Two Days, Speakers Voice Alarm at Presence of Third-Party Military Personnel, Arms Transfers to Warring Parties, un.org

[…] Adedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefing the 15-nation organ, observed that transfers of arms and ammunition — heavy conventional weapons, armored combat vehicles, combat aircraft, large-caliber artillery and missile systems — as well as other military assistance to Ukraine, have continued. There have also been reports of States transferring or planning to transfer uncrewed aerial vehicles, ballistic missiles and ammunition to the Russian armed forces and that those weapons have been used or are likely to be used in Ukraine.  In addition, recent reports also refer to the presence of third-party military personnel in the Russian Federation to assist its military operations against Ukraine. […]
The representative of Algeria observed that the predominance of escalation and confrontation in the Ukraine crisis “risks plunging the whole region into a spiral of conflict and unending crises”. Further, the flow of weapons and munitions towards the conflict zone does not “just worsen the situation but takes us further away from a possible peaceful political process” to resolve the conflict.  “It is important that we give more space to diplomacy,” he stressed. […]
Adding to that, Sierra Leone’s delegate stated:  “It is clear that a military solution to the conflict is not feasible,” urging dialogue and diplomacy as “primary tools” for a just, sustainable peace.  The conflict’s impact also extends to the global economy, he added, noting that the prices for wheat, maize, edible oils and fertilizers have risen exponentially over the past three years due to reduced agricultural production and supply-chain disruptions. Läs referatet