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SummaryCriticized by many as the new "weapon of mass destruction," lauded by some as the "weapon of choice in combat," the use of depleted uranium ammunition in warfare raises many legal questions. Designed as a point weapon to penetrate armoured targets, scientific studies prove that depleted uranium has both chemically and radioactively toxic characteristics. Clearly, every weapon of war will have some affect on human health and the environment, but the laws of armed conflict have evolved to place limits on the level of harm viewed as permissible and legal. Does this "weapon of choice," therefore, breach the international laws of armed conflict?Although the subject of media frenzy in the immediate aftermath of the 1999 Kosovo conflict, the use of depleted uranium ammunition in Iraq 2003 raised little media attention. How could the use of such a controversial weapon in 1991 go largely unnoticed just four years later? Does this lack of global condemnation necessarily lead to the conclusion that the "dictates of the public conscience" have evolved in regard to the use of this previously controversial weapon of war? This article seeks to analyze the legality of the use of depleted uranium ammunition — the main question being whether the existing laws of armed conflict are already sufficient to address any human and environmental concerns.

В статье рассматривается состояние рынка вооружений Украины: проблемы и перспективы развития. Исследуются объемы экспорта определенных категорий вооружений. Определяется влияние развития рынка вооружения как фактора формирования национальной безопасности. ; The following article considers Ukraine's weaponry market: its problems and prospects, investigates exports of certain categories of arms and determines the impact of military's market as a shaping factor of national security.

Introduction. The article is dedicated to the study of the hetaireia of infantrymen – the Byzantine Imperial Guard troop in the 970–980s, which included mercenaries from Rus' and Scandinavia. Methods. The research is based on a combination of systemic and institutional approaches in the analysis of Byzantine and Old Icelandic written sources that allow us to establish a chronological framework for the existence of this military formation, its composition, structure and place in the development and transformation of the foreign mercenary corps in the Byzantine Empire during the 10th century. Analysis. The unit is known by the rank of its commander, the hetaireiarches of infantrymen, mentioned in "Escurial Taktikon" (970s). The main information on the hetaireia of infantrymen and related foreign mercenary groups in Byzantine service is contained in the treatise "De Cerimoniis" (963), the historical work by Leo the Deacon (late 10th century), the military treatise "De castrametatione" (second half of the 980s) and in the Old Icelandic sagas such as "Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða", "Finnboga saga ramma", "Hallfreðar saga vandræðaskálds" and "Brennu-Njáls saga". Results. As the study shows, the hetaireia of infantrymen was organised during the reign of the emperor John I Tzimiskes (969–976) and existed from 970 to 988–989, becoming one of the stages in the formation of the so-called "Varangian-Russian" corps as part of the Byzantine armed forces. Presumably, this unit consisted of two troops of northern mercenaries with a total number of about 400–800 warriors.