Washington (CNN)Russian military involvement in Syria has not significantly decreased its capabilities in eastern Ukraine, a top U.S. general said Wednesday.

"They definitely have the ability to do both, should they need to," Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, told reporters at the Pentagon.

Hodges did say that the Russian military's slow pace of modernization might mean some soldiers in possession of advanced gear are "getting extra work" on both fronts.

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Following Russia's annexation of Crimea last year, Hodges said Russia maintains a force of approximately 25,000 troops there, and said that while he did not see any imminent offensive on eastern Ukraine by the Russian military, they still maintain a capability in the region to mount an offensive on "short notice."

http://us.cnn.com/2015/12/09/politics/syria-russia-ukraine-putin/index.html

WASHINGTON — Russian-backed attacks on Ukraine have allowed the United States military to study their tactics and begin to incorporate that intelligence into its training, the commander of U.S. Army-Europe said Wednesday.

Since Russian-backed forces invaded and annexed Crimea in March 2014, Ukrainian forces have faced Russian-trained soldiers and Russian-provided equipment and capabilities, including advanced electronic warfare and mortars. The heavy casualties suffered by Ukraine from the more advanced Russian attacks led many lawmakers in Congress and U.S. government officials to call for helping Ukraine defend itself by supplying weapons.

The United States sent supplies, including some advanced radars and sent advisers to train the Ukrainians in tactics, including evasion techniques.

What was learned from observations and information gathered from the Ukrainians on the latest Russian tactics was incorporated into the Joint Multinational Training Command Center in Hohenfels, Germany, said Lt. Gen Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army-Europe.

http://www.stripes.com/news/ukraine-syria-giving-us-glimpse-into-russian-tactics-1.383024

There has been much sensational media attention over Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to shore up Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, with hints that it could even be the start of a second Afghanistan for Russia. But there are strong incentives for Russia to fight in a limited role in Syria. The New York Times recently highlighted this, detailing how Russia under Putin has been keen on advancing its military prowess and Syria has therefore become Russia’s proving ground. In this sense, the invasion of Ukraine and intervention in Syria are no mistake, but rather stepping stones toward a larger Russian strategic goal.

Besides the obvious reasons—supporting an ally who secures regional interests and landing an embarrassing blow to the Obama administration’s Middle East policy—Russia’s military is continuing its march toward professionalization. Putin has been showcasing the advances made by his country’s military through the use of precision strikes and cruise missile attacks, even launching one from a submarine this week. The testing and refining of new weapons systems is enabling air crews, professional soldiers and Special Forces to gain valuable combat experience.

Sanctions, economic blowback and Western ire aside, the Russians have been able to significantly close the gap with other modern militaries. The myth that Russia will be leveling cities in Syria needs to be left behind, as Putin and his regime are keen on creating the image of a modern, technologically advanced military. There is evidence that the intervention in Syria will be rather limited. Michael Kofman has observed a creeping involvement in Ukraine, as part of a Russian strategy in which the calculus of force has been very cautious and aimed at minimal loss of Russian military personnel. To this end, Russian military units were only directly involved when separatist forces were starting to suffer setbacks. Russia has only moved to bolster Assad’s regime after the Syrian Army suffered losses at the hands of rebels over the course of four years.

As the situation stands now, Russian investment in Syria, at least militarily, is rather scant. The goal of the Russian Federation is not to take large parts of Syria itself, but to provide support, predominately through airstrikes, to the Assad regime and its military. There appears to be approximately one battalion of Russian ground units, which could take part in limited offensive roles, but now seem mainly devoted to protecting Russian air assets. There is talk of injecting Russian “volunteers” into the conflict, who have already gained battlefield experience in Ukraine. These troops would most likely be used to augment Syrian army units and are minimally problematic for Russia, as they are not part of the army—at least not officially.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/russias-military-catching-the-west-by-fighting-syria-14572

ROME (Reuters) - Russia wants to mend ties with the United States but cannot do so while Barack Obama's administration backs economic sanctions against Moscow for its role in the conflict in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted on Thursday as saying.

The United States and European Union imposed sanctions after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula last year. They also accuse Moscow of supporting a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine in which more than 9,000 people have been killed.

"As long as Obama's deputy Joe Biden goes around Europe recommending continued sanctions against us without taking into account how Kiev is behaving under Western pressure, we will not be able to reach any understanding," Lavrov told Thursday's edition of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in an interview.

Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry next week to discuss the conflicts in Ukraine and in Syria.

http://ca.reuters.com/article/idCAKBN0TT0YR20151210?rpc=401

Russia has no plan to cancel its membership of the International Monetary Fund after it changed its operating rules in a way that may support Ukraine in a debt dispute with Russia, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday.

Kiev may default on a $3 billion debt to Moscow on Dec. 20, which would have puts its IMF-led $40 billion bailout at risk.

But the IMF, which has 188 member nations, agreed on Tuesday to change its rules to allow it to keep supporting countries even if they fail to repay official debt.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev accused the IMF of meddling and said the decision had been taken for political reasons. He said he doubted Ukraine would redeem the outstanding Eurobond due later this month.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-imf-idUSKBN0TT1E620151210

BRUSSELS -- It was supposed to be a done deal: European Union envoys had been expected to approve a six-month extension of sanctions against Russia over its interference in Ukraine, as agreed by EU leaders last month.

But the Italian ambassador upended that plan at a meeting on December 9, telling the others that Rome wanted more debate on the matter.

A high-ranking EU diplomat told RFE/RL that EU ambassadors would not discuss the sanctions at their December 10 meeting. That means the issue is unlikely to be resolved this week, dragging the discussion closer to an EU summit on December 17-18, the holiday recess, and the January 31 deadline for a final agreement to prolong the sanctions through July 31, 2016.

So far only Rome has spoken out, but diplomats suspect countries such as Hungary, Austria, Greece, and Cyprus may be in the same camp.

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-eu-sanctions-why-italy-change-of-heart/27419043.html