The Kremlin has shown a greater appetite for risk. These units of the GRU are a perfect fit.
Das neue Raketensystem «Awangard» heizt den Rüstungswettlauf bei Hyperschallwaffen weiter an. Dieser findet in einem wachsenden rechtlichen Vakuum statt.
http://newsader.com/49209-smi-rossiyskie-sredstva-pvo-ne-smogli/
https://www.gazeta.ru/army/2018/12/28/12112285.shtml
https://www.inopressa.ru/article/28Dec2018/nzz/avangard.html
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3842711
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3843623
We are living in momentous times. The key phenomena of 2016 and 2017 continued to dominate 2018: Brexit and Donald Trump. This was not just because of their own unpredictability and international impact but also because they illustrate a wider disruption of the established rules-based international
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-poses-a-bigger-threat-than-populism-3rld2dh6q
https://www.gazeta.ru/army/2018/12/26/12108913.shtml
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3843268