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☆ Russia's St Petersburg suspends, then restarts flights due to 'unknown object'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Russia's Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg temporarily and briefly suspended all flights on Tuesday morning before restarting them amid unconfirmed Russian media reports of an unidentified object such as a drone in the area. The RIA Novosti news agency had earlier reported, citing a source in the city's emergency services, that an unidentified object had been spotted, prompting the initial closure. There was no official comment on what caused the disruption or on how the alleged unknown object was investigated. Data from the FlightRadar24 website showed a number of flights headed for St Petersburg turning back to their destinations early on Tuesday, while the airspace closure also affected flights en route to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which requires planes to fly over St. Petersburg. By 1200 local time, flights had resumed flying towards St. Petersburg, the FlightRadar24 website showed, and aircraft had recommenced landing and taking-off at the airport.

He predicted that tough negotiations with Ukraine and the West would follow that would culminate in "some kind of agreement." To push back the borders that threaten our country as far as possible, even if they are the borders of Poland," said Medvedev. Poland shares long eastern borders with Ukraine and with Russia's ally Belarus, and a frontier of some 200 km (125 miles) in its northeastern corner with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Any encroachment on Poland's borders would bring Russia for the first time into direct conflict with NATO. U.S. President Joe Biden pledged in a speech in Warsaw this week to defend "every inch" of NATO territory if it was attacked.

☆ NATO boss: more important Sweden, Finland join soon than together
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Andrew Gray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Western officials have said they would prefer both countries to join NATO together, partly because it would be easier to integrate them at the same time into military structures. "The main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together. The main question is that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible," he told reporters. "I'm confident that both will be full members and I'm working hard to get both ratified as soon as possible." Stoltenberg said Sweden and Finland had already come much closer to NATO in recent months and noted that all alliance members had approved the invitations to join.

☆ Dutch F-35s intercept three Russian military aircraft over Poland - Netherlands' defence ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft over Poland and escorted them out, the Netherlands' defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday. "After identification, it turned out to be three aircraft: a Russian IL-20M Coot-A that was escorted by two Su-27 Flankers. The Il-20M Coot-A is NATO's reporting name for the Russian Ilyushin Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft while the Su-27 Flankers are NATO's reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-28 fighter aircraft. Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment. The Netherlands' defence ministry said that eight Dutch F-35s are stationed in Poland for February and March.

☆ Dutch F-35s intercept three Russian military aircraft near Poland - Netherlands' defence ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft near Poland and escorted them out, the Netherlands' defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday. "After identification, it turned out to be three aircraft: a Russian IL-20M Coot-A that was escorted by two Su-27 Flankers. The Il-20M Coot-A is NATO's reporting name for the Russian Ilyushin Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft while the Su-27 Flankers are NATO's reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-28 fighter aircraft. Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment. The Netherlands' defence ministry said that eight Dutch F-35s are stationed in Poland for February and March.

☆ US allies bordering Russia are buying up HIMARS, weapons that have devastated Putin's forces in Ukraine, and longer-range rockets and missiles for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US State Department has approved the sale of HIMARS launchers, missiles, and rockets to Poland. The country is among several other US allies bordering Russia that have sought to obtain this capability. The HIMARS has proven to be a highly effective weapon for Ukraine, which has used the system to devastate Russian forces on the battlefield. With this sale, Poland would become the latest eastern European country that borders Russia to secure the much-celebrated HIMARS. The State Department last year approved a sale of HIMARS to Estonia, which borders mainland Russia.

☆ Explainer: Why is Turkey blocking Swedish and Finnish NATO membership?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WHY DOES TURKEY OBJECT TO SWEDISH AND FINNISH MEMBERSHIP? The PKK is designated a terrorist group in Turkey, Sweden, the United States and Europe. Sweden and Finland want to proceed together, but with Turkey's ire directed mainly at Sweden, Finland could eventually lose patience with the process. COULD NATO EXPEL TURKEY, ALLOWING SWEDEN AND FINLAND TO JOIN? But Sweden, Finland and NATO want to avoid a long drawn-out process.

☆ Russian 'hacktivists' briefly knock German websites offline
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Russian activist hackers knocked several German websites offline on Wednesday in response to Berlin's decision to send tanks to Ukraine, although Germany's BSI cyber agency said the digital blitz had little tangible effect. Hacking group Killnet said it was targeting government websites, banks and airports with a coordinated distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) campaign, a relatively unsophisticated attack which works by directing high volumes of internet traffic towards targeted servers in order to knock them offline. Killnet is a self-proclaimed Russian "hacktivist" group that has actively targeted opponents of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant previously reported that Killnet is associated with another Russian hacktivist group, Xaknet, which claims it breached numerous Ukrainian organisations. Xaknet is likely connected to Russian intelligence services, Mandiant said.

Russia has opened a criminal case against a United States citizen on suspicion of espionage, the country's Federal Security Service announced Thursday. The security service did not name the individual or say whether they had been taken into custody. "The American is suspected of collecting intelligence information on biological topics directed against the security of the Russian Federation," the security service said. Russia has so far refused to release Whelan, with the seriousness of espionage charges seen as a reason why. Last week, Russia released a U.S. citizen who had crossed into its Kaliningrad exclave weeks after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Russia releases U.S. Navy veteran into Poland
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Russia on Thursday released a U.S. citizen who had crossed into its Kaliningrad exclave in the first weeks of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last February, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who met the man at the border in Poland, said in a statement. U.S. Navy veteran Taylor Dudley, 35, was backpacking in Europe when he crossed the Polish-Russian border in April, Jonathan Franks, a lawyer who represents families of Americans detained overseas, said in an email to reporters. Dudley’s circumstances while in Russia were unclear and his case had not been previously publicized. Kaliningrad is a Russian province sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania and is the headquarters of the Russian navy’s Baltic Fleet.

U.S. Navy veteran Taylor Dudley, 35, was backpacking in Europe when he crossed the Polish-Russian border in April, Jonathan Franks, a lawyer who represents families of Americans detained overseas, said in an email to reporters. Dudley's circumstances while in Russia were unclear and his case had not been previously publicized. "The negotiations and work to secure Taylor’s safe return were done discreetly and with engagement on the ground in both Moscow and Kaliningrad and with full support from Taylor’s family back in the United States," the Richardson Center said. A U.S. embassy representative in Warsaw was also present at Dudley's release, according to Franks, and the Richardson Center thanked U.S. officials, as well as businessman Steve Menzies, for helping secure Dudley's return. Kaliningrad is a Russian province sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania and is the headquarters of the Russian navy's Baltic Fleet.

☆ Russian troops work 'round-the-clock' on new air defence positions - Interfax
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 26 (Reuters) - Russians troops are working "round-the-clock" at new anti-aircraft missile system positions to defend against missile and air strikes by Ukraine, the Russian Interfax reported late on Sunday citing the defence ministry. Crews of the S-300V systems were "mastering new position areas" of the Russian long range surface-to-air missile systems, the news agency reported, citing a ministry statement. "The air defence units of the Western Military District continue to serve in the new position areas on combat duty around the clock," the agency cited the ministry as saying. The Western Military District, one of Russia's five military districts, incorporates regions bordering Ukraine, including the Belgorod and Bryansk regions. Reporting in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Since the early days of the invasion, Mr. Putin has conceded, privately, that the war has not gone as planned. “I think he is sincerely willing” to compromise with Russia, Mr. Putin said of Mr. Zelensky in 2019. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. “I think this war is Putin’s grave.” Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, a Russian prisoner of war held by Ukraine, in October.

☆ Morocco's Hakimi up against country of his birth at World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Mark Gleeson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Achraf Hakimi was born in Madrid but will have little hesitation plotting the downfall of Spain when he and his Moroccan teammates take on the 2010 World Cup winners on Tuesday. The flying wingback is one of the key players in the north African outfit whose last-16 match in the Qatar World Cup against Spain, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, gives them a chance to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. Hakimi could even have been on the opposite side, as he was called up when still a teenager for Spain's junior team. Hakimi was in the side that almost beat them in Kaliningrad in 2018, giving up an injury time equaliser in a 2-2 draw at the last World Cup in Russia. WINNING MENTALITY"Spain are a top five team and always come to the World Cup to win.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest news: Ukraine gradually restores power
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CONFLICT* NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the Western military alliance would not back down on its support for Kyiv. * The war's first winter will now test whether Ukraine can press on with its campaign to recapture territory, or whether Russia's commanders can halt Kyiv's momentum. [1/3] NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a news conference at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 25, 2022. EU governments were split on the level at which to cap Russian oil prices to curb Moscow's ability to pay for its war in Ukraine without causing a global oil supply shock. This is our mission number one this year," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

☆ NATO troops hold drills in Poland's Suwalki Gap
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Kuba Stezycki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KLUSY, Poland, Nov 25 (Reuters) - NATO forces took part in drills in northern Poland on Friday, an area of crucial significance to the security of the alliance's eastern flank. "As part of these drills there were exercises that... were formulated based on our experience and observation of the battlefield in Ukraine," said Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. The TUMAK- 22 exercises involve 2,000 soldiers from land and air forces, the Polish Ministry of Defence said. On the snowy day, drills included practicing crossing water and landing. The drill saw dozens of Polish and allied soldiers cross the water with military vehicles on amphibious transporters, while U.S. troops in Abrams tanks simulated chasing the enemy.

☆ Poland Begins Building Wall to Prevent Russia From Pushing Migrants Into Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Karolina Jeznach | Drew Hinshaw | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WARSAW—Polish army engineers began building a razor-wire fence across the country’s 130-mile border with Russia, the latest country in Europe’s east to construct such a barrier, in what Poland’s government described as a bid to prevent Moscow from encouraging asylum seekers to cross overland into the European Union. The fence will span the entire length of Poland’s border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told reporters Wednesday. The construction began, he said, in response to concerns that Moscow would seek to encourage asylum seekers to fly into the exclave and enter the EU via the Polish border.

☆ Danes on Baltic Sea island feel Russia-Ukraine war creeping closer
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Nikolaj Skydsgaard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The rocky Baltic Sea island of about 40,000 people has a strategically important location between Denmark's capital Copenhagen and the Russian city of Kaliningrad. 'NEW SECURITY SITUATION'Since the Ukraine war, there have been more volunteers to the Home Guard. Bornholm's mayor Jacob Trost says dealing with security issues quickly became part of his job after he took office in January. Denmark's military placed two F-16 fighter jets on the island this year and naval activity has increased in the area. Danes vote on Tuesday in a parliamentary election where geopolitical uncertainty and economic turmoil are likely to impact voting.

☆ Poland mulls barrier on Kaliningrad border, says top official
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Poland accuses Russia and its ally Belarus of using migrants as part of a "hybrid warfare" campaign to destabilise Europe. Poland built a 5.5 metre (18 feet) tall steel barrier, equipped with motion sensors and cameras, stretching for about 187 km (116 miles) on the Belarus border. Poland had previously said the border guard had received funds to build an "electronic barrier" of sensors and cameras on the Kaliningrad border. Since Feb. 24, 7.26 million Ukrainians have entered Poland, according to the Polish Border Guard. Sobolewski also said there were signs of larger groups of migrants appearing at the Belarus border.

☆ US spy planes appear to be monitoring a Russian enclave in Europe, possibly looking for signs of nuclear weapons activity
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kaliningrad is a Russian territory on the Baltic sea, separated from mainland Russia by Lithuania. In 2018, Russia conducted a "major renovation" of a nuclear weapons site there, an expert said. In April, the Russian military announced that its Baltic Fleet in the Kaliningrad region conducted a "simulated missile strike exercise" using its "Iskander operational and tactical missile complexes." What they suggest, he told Insider, is that there is "an increased interest in Russian military movements by high-level decision makers in the United States." "The chances of his using nuclear weapons — at least tactical nuclear weapons — is going up by the day," Baer said.

☆ Winter's approach sets the clock ticking for Ukraine and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A destroyed Russian tank is seen as Ukrainian serviceman rides a tractor and tows a Russian military vehicle, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, near the village of Dolyna in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 23, 2022. Russia, meanwhile, pressed on with its call-up of hundreds of thousands of men to throw into the seven-month war, seeking to reverse its recent losses. The Russian mobilization — its first such call-up since World War II — is sparking protests in Russian cities, with fresh demonstrations Sunday. It is also opening splits in Europe about whether fighting-age Russian men fleeing in droves should be welcomed or turned away. For Ukrainian and Russian military planners, the clock is ticking, with the approach of winter expected to make fighting more complicated.

☆ Estonian PM tells nation to prepare for blackouts if Russia switches off power grid
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas speaks to media after an extraordinary parliamentary session in Tallinn, Estonia July 18, 2022. REUTERS/Ints KalninsVILNIUS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told her nation that power blackouts are possible if Russia kicks the Baltic states from the joint power grid, as she announced a snap defence readiness exercise. Thirty years after seceding from the then-Soviet Union and 17 years since joining the EU, Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia still depend on Russia for stable power supplies. A 1.6-billion-euro ($1.94 billion) EU-funded project aims to disconnect the Baltic states from their common power grid with Russia and Belarus in 2025 in favour of the decentralised power system of continental Europe. read moreEuropean power grid network ENTSO-E will connect to the Baltic states' grids within 24 hours if the countries were to be disconnected by Russia, helping avoid blackouts, Lithuanian power grid operator Litgrid said in July.

☆ Reaction to Russia mobilising more troops for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian paratroopers walk before boarding Ilyushin Il-76 transport planes as they take part in the military exercises "Zapad-2021" staged by the armed forces of Russia and Belarus at an aerodrome in Kaliningrad Region, Russia, September 13, 2021. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE"Sham referenda and mobilization are signs of weakness, of Russian failure," Brink said on Twitter. read moreCZECH PRIME MINISTER PETR FIALA"The partial mobilisation declared by V.Putin is an attempt to further escalate the war Russia launched against Ukraine, and it is further proof that Russia is the sole aggressor. "It is needed to help Ukraine, and in our own interest, we must continue with it." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Reuters; Compiled by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia says it has deployed Kinzhal hypersonic missile three times in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Russia has deployed hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles three times over the course of what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Sunday. The Kinzhal missiles are part of an array of new hypersonic weapons President Vladimir Putin presented in 2018 in a bellicose speech in which he said they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield. "We have deployed it three times during the special military operation," Shoigu said in an interview broadcast on Rossiya 1. Russia first used the Kinzhal system in Ukraine about a month after sending tens of thousands of troops into its neighbour's territory, striking a large weapons depot in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region. The missiles can travel at nine times the speed of sound, outrunning air defences.

☆ Russia says 3 MiG warplanes with hypersonic missiles moved to Kaliningrad region -media
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said on Thursday three MiG-31E warplanes equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles have been relocated to its Kaliningrad region, Interfax reported. Russian state-owned news agency RIA cited the ministry as saying that the MiG jets would be on round-the-clock duty. "Russia does not face a threat from NATO. Russia does not face a threat from Finland. Russia does not face a threat from any other country."

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