As Uzbekistan’s autocrats have completed kicking out the US military and NATO allies, it has extended a warm reception to Russia’s military. Russian news agency Interfax reports that a Russian Air Force unit could be deployed to Karshi-Khanabad Air Base soon—taking the place of US military assets. Russian airplanes could be working with Uzbek aircraft to maintain security in Central Asia, a Moscow military source told Interfax. The source added, “The Americans have left good infrastructure behind.” Nice.
The U.S. and Sweden signed a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement on Dec. 5 that will strengthen military ties between them and likely lead to U.S. troops and prepositioned gear on Swedish soil. Swedish Defense minister Pal Jonson said the war in Ukraine prompted Sweden's joining NATO and he laid out…