🇩🇪 🤝 🇷🇺 A good example of the feeling of the meaninglessness of the First World War is the fraternization of German and Russian soldiers. Many commoners of both armies did not understand why they were fighting, and therefore began to imitate “war.”
It turns out that the first fraternization on the German-Russian front took place already... in August 1914. I read about this from the historian Alexander Astashov (“New Historical Bulletin”, No. 2, 2011).
And in the winter of 1914/15, fraternization became widespread. Then an order appeared for the Russian army to shoot the fraternizing:

“In December 1914, cases of real (mass) fraternization of soldiers of the 249th Danube Infantry and 235th Belebeevsky Infantry Regiments were noted on the North-Western Front. The initiators here were soldiers of the German army.
The command became aware of other “sad incidents” of fraternization in December 1914.

Fraternization on Easter 1915 (has already become widespread). They consisted of leaving the trenches, meeting with the enemy (“Germans”), “baptizing Christ,” and mutually treating them with cigarettes and cigars. One of the fraternizations, in which officers also participated, ended with a competition of choirs on both sides and dancing to the German guitar. In the spring of 1915, it became known from censorship reports that in the front lines after the Easter holidays, a systematic exchange of bread, cognac, vodka, chocolate and cigars began between soldiers of the Russian army and the enemy armies. In this regard, the duty general of Headquarters, General P.K. Kondzerovsky informed the front commanders that “from now on, for allowing such communication between lower ranks and the enemy, the strictest responsibility should fall on company commanders and regiment commanders.”
And since the fall of 1915, with the beginning of the positional war, fraternization already took place in many infantry units.”

“Agreements with the enemy also extended to reconnaissance, when, with the goal of “bloodlessly capturing” the “prisoners for war intelligence ” the parties agreed to simply exchange prisoners of war, selecting special negotiators from among the prisoners. These agreements existed since the beginning of the positional war when another, 53rd Siberian Rifle Regiment, was in the position, which transferred the established connections with the enemy to the units of the 55th Siberian Rifle Regiment that took up positions on December 10, 1915.”

“One soldier’s letter from the Southwestern Front reported: “A tradition has been established between the Germans and us not to shoot, we walk in a completely open place. Today our soldiers came together and separated peacefully again.” In some sections of the Southwestern Front, mutual greetings between soldiers of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian armies became commonplace, which added to the thoughts about the pointlessness of continuing the war. The censorship of the Southwestern Front continued to find the following phrases in soldiers’ letters: “We live with the Germans in perfect harmony, we wait for peace negotiatinons.”

https://t.me/ziglerart/559
https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/brataniya-na-russkom-fronte-pervoy-mirovoy-voyny

📖 🇮🇷 🇮🇱 Hezbollah has accumulated enough capabilities over the past decade to now pose a strategic threat to Israel. An official in Iran’s Quds Force overseeing Hezbollah and other Iranian-linked factions in the Middle East told FP that Hezbollah now possesses more than 1 million rockets of various types, including precision-guided missiles and modified Katyusha rockets for increased accuracy, as well as anti-tank missiles.

🔶️ Hezbollah’s arsenal, as revealed during the long attrition warfare, also includes suicide drones and other UAVs equipped with Russian-made missiles that enable air-launched attacks from inside Israeli territory, along with a type of Iranian missile called “Almas” equipped with a camera, inspired by the Israeli “Spike” missile, which is a “fire and forget” type. This gear changes the game because it makes fighters less vulnerable to Israeli attacks on launch sites.

📎 Foreign Policy

🇦🇲 ❌️ 🌐 Pashinyan says Armenia will leave the CSTO

🔶️ In parliament, Pashinyan hinted Armenia might leave the CSTO, suggesting the past government joined a "bubble alliance" not protecting Armenia. Responding to objections, he stated, "We will exit it, we will not return."

📢 🇺🇸 US State Department: Armenia to become ‘strategic partner’ of US

Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan hosted Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia James C. O’Brien and an interagency government delegation for the U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue (USASD) Capstone meeting, which took place in Yerevan, Armenia, on June 11, 2024. During the Capstone meeting, Armenia and the United States reviewed progress on strengthening bilateral relations and outlined a vision for deepening ties in the coming year, to be formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding, to upgrade the status of our bilateral dialogue to a Strategic Partnership Commission.


https://www.state.gov/joint-statement-on-u-s-armenia-strategic-dialogue-capstone

📎 Armenia Sputnik

🇨🇳 🤝 🇦🇫 Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Zhao Xing:

🔶️ "I met with Mr. Haji Nooruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan."

🔶️ "We exchanged views on regional connectivity, the construction of the Wakhan Corridor, and the export of agricultural products from Afghanistan."

🔶️ "We both agreed to continue deepening bilateral cooperation in the economic and commercial fields."

📎 Zhao Xing

🇫🇷🇩🇪 French Industry minister, Roland Lescure, called on France's major companies to publicly criticize Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN)

France's political class is reeling after President Emmanuel Macron called a snap legislative election in a few weeks time that could hand real power to Le Pen's party after years on the sidelines.

Speaking with Reuters shortly before Macron called on rival parties to join his electoral pact against the RN, Lescure said France Inc. should join the government's efforts to keep the far right from power.

"Mobilize yourself, highlight the harmful programme of the National Rally. Get started!" he said, adding that BMW, Siemens and other German companies had spoken out against Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

German business leaders, who have typically stayed out of party politics, have increasingly come out against the AfD amid fears that Germany's image as an attractive destination for foreign investment could be threatened.

The CEOs of Siemens and Merecedes-Benz said in a German newspaper interview in May that they were involved in anti-extremism campaigns and calling on their staff to vote for democratic parties.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-inc-should-mobilize-against-le-pens-far-right-macron-ministers-say-2024-06-12/

— 🇱🇧 Hezbollah's targets this morning:

- 🇮🇱 Meron Strategic Air Command and Control Base, located on Mount Meron.

- 🇮🇱 Blasan Military Industrial Factory for Tanks and Vehicle Armory, located in Sa'sa.

- 🇮🇱 Headquarters of the IDF's Northern Command, located in Ein Zatim.

- 🇮🇱 Reserve Headquarters of the IDF's Northern Command, located at the Galilee Division Base in Amiad.

@Middle_East_Spectator