auto-update week 33

central-asia/kz.json

@@ -1277,6 +1277,20 @@
       "text": "Kazakhstan’s armed forces were formed in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the disbandment of the Soviet Turkestan Military District whose forces formed the core of the new Kazakh military; the military’s principal responsibilities are territorial defense while the National Police, National Guard, Committee for National Security, and Border Service have primary responsibility for internal security, although the military may provide assistance as required; the military also participates in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations; in 2008, Kazakhstan opened up Central Asia’s first peacekeeper training center for military personnel of Kazakhstan, NATO, and other partners <br><br>in 2022, Kazakhstan initiated a wide-ranging effort to enhance the country’s security sector, including organizational changes such as establishing new National Guard units, enhancing existing ones, and forming a special operations force, spending increases for equipment acquisitions, a new doctrine with renewed emphasis on defense of the border, and reforms to improve professionalism in the military<br><br>information on the military’s structure varies with the Land Forces reportedly having about 15 combat brigades, which include a mix of air assault and mechanized infantry, tank, artillery, and surface-to-surface missile forces; the Naval Forces include a naval infantry brigade and patrol craft for operating on the Caspian Sea; the Air Defense Forces have over 100 combat aircraft, largely of Soviet-origin, but also some more modern Russian-made fighter aircraft <br><br>Kazakhstan has been a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) since 1994 and contributes troops to CSTO's rapid reaction force; it also has a relationship with NATO focused on democratic, institutional, and defense reforms; relations with NATO started in 1992, and Kazakhstan joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program in 1995 (2023)"
     }
   },
+  "Space": {
+    "Space agency/agencies": {
+      "text": "National Space Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KazCosmos; established 2007) (2023)"
+    },
+    "Space launch site(s)": {
+      "text": "Baikonur Cosmodrome/Space Center (Baikonur; the cosmodrome and the surrounding area are leased and administered by Russia until 2050 for approximately $115 million/year; Baikonur cosmodrome was originally built by the Soviet Union in the mid-1950s; largest space launch facility in the World and site of the World&rsquo;s first successful satellite launch in 1957); note &ndash; in 2018, Kazakhstan and Russia agreed that Kazakhstan would build, maintain, and operate a new space launch facility (Baiterek) at the Baikonur space center (estimated to be ready for operations in 2024) (2023)"
+    },
+    "Space program overview": {
+      "Space programs overview": {
+        "text": "has an active and ambitious space program that originated with the former Soviet Union; focused on the acquisition and operation of satellites; builds (with foreign assistance) and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites; building space infrastructure, such as launch and testing facilities, ground stations, and rocket manufacturing; has an astronaut (cosmonaut) program; has relations with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE, and the UK; has state-owned and private companies that assist in the development and building of the country&rsquo;s space program, including satellites, satellite payloads, and associated capabilities; they also work closely with foreign commercial entities (2023)"
+      },
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
+    }
+  },
   "Transnational Issues": {
     "Disputes - international": {
       "text": "<p><em>Kazakhstan-China</em>: in 1998, Kazakhstan and China agreed to split two disputed border areas nearly evenly; demarcation with China completed in 2002</p> <p><em>Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan</em>: in January 2019, Kyrgyzstan ratified the 2017 agreement on the demarcation of the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border</p> <p><em>Kazakhstan-Russia</em>: Russia boundary delimitation was ratified on November 2005; field demarcation commenced in 2007 and was expected to be completed by 2013</p> <p><em>Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan</em>: Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed a treaty on the delimitation and demarcation process in 2001; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2005; Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan agreed to their border in the Caspian Sea in 2014</p> <p><em>Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan</em>: field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2004; disputed territory is held by Uzbekistan but the overwhelming majority of residents are ethnic Kazakhs; the two countries agreed on draft final demarcation documents in March 2022 and planned to hold another meeting in April 2022</p>"

central-asia/rs.json

@@ -1298,7 +1298,7 @@
     },
     "Military and security service personnel strengths": {
       "text": "prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, approximately 850,000 active-duty troops (300,000 Ground Troops; 40,000 Airborne Troops; 150,000 Navy; 160,000 Aerospace Forces; 70,000 Strategic Rocket Forces; approximately 20,000 special operations forces; approximately 100,000 other uniformed personnel (command and control, cyber, support, logistics, security, etc.); estimated 350,000-plus Federal National Guard Troops (2023)",
-      "note": "<strong>note 1: </strong>in December 2022, the Russian Government announced a target level of 1.15 million total troops and subsequently announced further plans to expand the size of the armed forces to 1.5 million, but did not provide a timeline<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>Russia was estimated to have as many as 50,000 private military contractors fighting in Ukraine as of early 2023"
+      "note": "<strong>note 1: </strong>in December 2022, the Russian Government announced a target level of 1.15 million total troops and subsequently announced further plans to expand the size of the armed forces to 1.5 million, but did not provide a timeline"
     },
     "Military equipment inventories and acquisitions": {
       "text": "the Russian Federation's military and paramilitary services are equipped with domestically produced weapons systems, although in recent years Russia has imported limited amounts of military hardware from external suppliers; the Russian defense industry is capable of designing, developing, and producing a full range of advanced air, land, missile, and naval systems; Russia is the world's second largest exporter of military hardware (2023)"
@@ -1315,6 +1315,21 @@
       "text": "as of 2023, Russian military forces continued to conduct active combat operations in Syria; Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war at the request of the ASAD government in September 2015; Russian assistance included air support, special operations forces, military advisors, private military contractors, training, arms, and equipment<br><br>Russia is the leading member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and has committed approximately 8,000 troops to CSTO's rapid reaction force (2023)"
     }
   },
+  "Space": {
+    "Space agency/agencies": {
+      "text": "State Space Corporation of the Russian Federation (Roscosmos); Roscosmos was established in 2015 from a merger of the Federal Space Agency and the state-owned United Rocket and Space Corporation; began as the Russian Space Agency (RSA or RKA) in 1992 and restructured in 1999 and 2004 as the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and then the Federal Space Agency); the Russian Space Forces (Kosmicheskie voyska Rossii, KV) are part of the Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS)  (2023)",
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> Russia’s space strategy is defined jointly by Roscosmos and the Ministry of Defense; prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the USSR’s space program was dispersed amongst several civil and military organizations"
+    },
+    "Space launch site(s)": {
+      "text": "Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan; Russia leases the enclave for approximately $115 million annually); Vostochny Cosmodrome (Amur Oblast; first launch was in 2016); Plesetsk Cosmodrome (Arkhangel'sk Oblast) (2023)"
+    },
+    "Space program overview": {
+      "Space programs overview": {
+        "text": "has one of the world&rsquo;s largest space programs and is active across all areas of the space sector; builds, launches, and operates rockets/space launch vehicles (SLVs), satellites, space stations, interplanetary probes, and manned, robotic, and re-usable spacecraft; has astronaut (cosmonaut) training program and conducts human space flight; researching and developing a broad range of other space-related technologies; participates in international space programs such as the International Space Station (ISS); prior to Russia&rsquo;s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia had relations with dozens of foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of China, the European Space Agency (ESA), India, Japan, and the US; Roscosmos and its public subsidiaries comprise the majority of the Russian space industry; Roscosmos has eight operating areas, including manned space flights, launch systems, unmanned spacecraft, rocket propulsion, military missiles, space avionics, special military space systems, and flight control systems; private companies are also involved in a range of space systems, including satellites, telecommunications, remote-sensing, and geo-spatial services (2023)"
+      },
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
+    }
+  },
   "Terrorism": {
     "Terrorist group(s)": {
       "text": "Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)",

central-asia/tx.json

@@ -915,7 +915,7 @@
   "Energy": {
     "Electricity access": {
       "electrification - total population": {
-        "text": "100% (2020)"
+        "text": "100% (2021)"
       }
     },
     "Electricity": {
@@ -1197,6 +1197,17 @@
       "text": "the military is responsible for external defense and works closely with the Border Service on protecting the country’s borders; it is conscript-based and equipped with Soviet-era arms; while Turkmenistan has a policy of permanent and \"positive\" neutrality and has declined to participate in post-Soviet military groupings such as the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, it has participated in multinational exercises and bilateral training with neighboring countries, including Russia and Uzbekistan; Turkmenistan joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program in 1994, but it does not offer any military forces to NATO-led operations<br><br>information on the structure of the military is limited and varied; the primary Land Force combat units are reportedly up to 4 “motorized rifle” divisions (MRD) inherited from the former Soviet Army after the USSR’s collapse in 1991; MRDs are typically comprised of one or more mechanized infantry regiments, plus a tank and an artillery regiment; there are reportedly also some separate motorized rifle (mechanized infantry), artillery, and surface-to-surface missile brigades; in recent years, Turkmenistan has made efforts to strengthen its naval capabilities on the Caspian Sea, including expanding ship building capabilities and adding larger vessels to the Navy’s inventory; in 2018, Turkmenistan opened its first naval shipyard, and in 2021 the Navy commissioned its largest warship, a corvette that was jointly constructed with Turkey, to complement a small existing force of coastal patrol craft; the Border Service also has a force of patrol boats; the Air Force has approximately 50 operational Soviet-era fighter and ground attack aircraft, as well as a few combat helicopters (2023)"
     }
   },
+  "Space": {
+    "Space agency/agencies": {
+      "text": "Turkmenistan National Space Agency (established 2011; in 2019, was transferred to the Space Directorate of Turkmenaragatnashik Agency) (2023)"
+    },
+    "Space program overview": {
+      "Space programs overview": {
+        "text": "has a small space program focused on acquiring satellites and developing the infrastructure to build and operate satellites; particularly interested in remote sensing (RS) satellites for such purposes as monitoring its agricultural and transportation sectors, the oil and natural gas industry, and the ecology of the Caspian Sea; has cooperated with the space agencies and/or space industries of France, Italy, Russia, and the US (2023)"
+      },
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
+    }
+  },
   "Transnational Issues": {
     "Disputes - international": {
       "text": "<p><em>Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan</em>: in January 2021, the two countries reached a preliminary agreement on the joint exploration of an undersea hydrocarbon field containing oil and natural gas in the Caspian Sea</p> <p><em>Turkmenistan-Iran</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan</em>: Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed a treaty on the delimitation and demarcation process in 2001; field demarcation of the boundaries with Kazakhstan commenced in 2005; Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan agreed to their border in the Caspian Sea in 2014</p> <p><em>Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan</em>: in 2017, the three countries signed an agreement of the junction of their borders</p> <p><em>Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan</em>: cotton monoculture in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan creates water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; in 2021, the two countries reached an agreement to create a joint intergovernmental commission to oversee water management</p>"

central-asia/uz.json

@@ -1212,6 +1212,17 @@
       "text": "the military’s primary concerns and responsibilities are border security, ensuring the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, instability in neighboring countries, and terrorism; the military is equipped largely with Soviet-era arms and its units are based on Soviet Army formations that were in the territory of Uzbekistan when the USSR collapsed in 1991; the armed forces were established in January 1992 when Uzbekistan assumed jurisdiction over all former Soviet ground, air, and air defense units, formations, and installations then deployed on its soil; the building hosting the headquarters for the ex-Soviet Turkestan Military District became the headquarters for the Uzbek armed forces; all former Soviet troops departed Uzbekistan by 1995<br><br>the Army has up to 15 combat brigades, mostly motorized or mechanized infantry, as well as air assault, artillery, special forces, and tank brigades; the Air Force received a considerable number of aircraft inherited from the Soviet Union in the 1990s and continues to have an inventory estimated to be more than 100 combat aircraft and combat helicopters <br><br>Uzbekistan joined the Russian-sponsored Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the 1990s but withdrew in 1999; it returned in 2006 but left again in 2012; although it is not part of CSTO, Uzbekistan continues to maintain defense ties with Russia, including joint military exercises and defense industrial cooperation; it also has defense ties with other regional countries, including India, Pakistan, and Turkey; it is part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and participates in SCO training exercises (2023)"
     }
   },
+  "Space": {
+    "Space agency/agencies": {
+      "text": "Agency for Space Research and Technology (Uzbekcosmos; established 2019) (2023)"
+    },
+    "Space program overview": {
+      "Space programs overview": {
+        "text": "has a small space program focused on acquiring satellites and developing the country&rsquo;s space industry; Uzbekcosmos largely sets state policy and shapes the strategic direction, development, and use of the country&rsquo;s space-related industries and technologies in key sectors, including cartography, environmental and disaster monitoring, land use, resource management, and telecommunications; also has an astronomy program; cooperates with foreign space agencies and commercial companies, including those of China, France, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, and South Korea (2023)"
+      },
+      "note": "<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
+    }
+  },
   "Terrorism": {
     "Terrorist group(s)": {
       "text": "Islamic Jihad Union; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - Khorasan (ISIS-K)",