Moses Birch — New Yars ICBM is Russia’s Answer to NATO’s First-Strike-Enabling Missile Shield (Video)

Russia has been watching with mounting concern not only NATO’s encroachment on Russia’s traditional sphere of interest (after having promised not to do so), but its determination to place its missile-shield elements right on Russia’s borders, to provide the best chance of intercepting a retaliatory response. Such systems can only serve one purpose: to nullify Russia’s nuclear deterrent and thereby allow NATO a nuclear first strike.

In response to this looming threat, Russia has been focussing on nuclear missiles that can penetrate NATO’s missile shield, and therefore deter NATO, such as the Bulava SLBM and the Topol and Topol-M road-mobile ICBMS, and now the Yars as successor to the Topol-M.

These inter-continental ballistic missiles seek to launch very fast, thereby limiting the vulnerable launch phase, then fly on an unpredictable trajectory, to make interception difficult, then in the terminal phase, not only engage in evasive maneuvers, but release multiple re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), while doing all this at a blistering speed. Moreover, these missiles are not silo-based but mobile, the Bulava being anywhere in the vast oceans, and the Yars being anywhere within Russia’s vast hinterland, thereby making them more survivable in the event of a NATO first strike.

Russia Insider
New Yars ICBM is Russia’s Answer to NATO’s First-Strike-Enabling Missile Shield (Video)

Moses Birch

Obama — Ukraine 'Vulnerable' To Russian 'Military Domination' No Matter What U.S. Does

U.S. President Barack Obama said that Ukraine "is going to be vulnerable to military domination by Russia no matter what" the United States does.

In one of a series of interviews published on March 10 that formed the basis of an article in The Atlantic magazine, Obama said that Ukraine was clearly a core interest for Russia but suggested that it may not be one for the United States.

Ukraine is "an example of where we have to be very clear about what our core interests are and what we are willing to go to war for," Obama said.
He rejected the notion that "the decision making of Russia or China" could somehow be influenced by "talking tough or engaging in some military action" in such situations. Such an idea "is contrary to all the evidence we have seen over the last 50 years," Obama said.

Obama resisted pressure last year to send lethal military aid to help Kyiv fight against Russia-backed separatists who control part of eastern Ukraine. Their war against government forces has killed more than 9,100 people since it broke out in April 2014 -- shortly after Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine.

Obama said that there are "ways to deter, but it requires you to be very clear ahead of time about what is worth going to war for and what is not."
"If there is somebody in [Washington] that would claim that we would consider going to war with Russia over Crimea and eastern Ukraine, they should speak up and be very clear about it."

President Obama just said publicly that the US is not going to war with Russia over Crimea or the integrity of Ukraine. Jean Claude Junkers recently said publicly that Ukraine is not going to be ready to join the EU or NATO for at least 25 years.

The rest of the article is also important.

Obama: Ukraine 'Vulnerable' To Russian 'Military Domination' No Matter What U.S. Does

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

RFE/RL is a 501(c)(3) corporation that receives U.S. government funding and is supervised by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an agency overseeing all U.S. federal government international broadcasting services.[4]  

— Wikipedia

TASS — Moscow is concerned about possible US use of force in space — Russian Foreign Ministry

Moscow is concerned about the persistent refusal of the United States to participate in the negotiation of international agreements on the prevention of the deployment of weapons in space, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday in a commentary on the US State Department’s annual Report on Adherence to and Compliance With Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments.
"The US persistent refusal to participate in the negotiation of international agreements on the prevention of the deployment of weapons in space is causing major concern," the ministry said. "Washington continues to be guided in this issue on its national conceptual considerations. The latter, in particular, provide for the possibility of applying preventive force measures even in case of suspected hostile actions by other states, which in itself is contrary to international law."

The Russian Foreign Ministry cited as an example the JP 3-14 Space Operations document of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, which in relation to the enemy’s space capabilities allows "preventive diplomatic, informational, military and economic measures."...

Renewed arms race and also a space race. Looks like the US, Russia, and China are all in, with India likely, too.

TASS
Moscow is concerned about possible US use of force in space — Russian Foreign Ministry