Author: Steven Sahiounie

The United States’ anti-missile systems, already deployed in Romania and currently underway with deployment in Poland, might be used not only for their declared defensive purposes but also as an offensive weapon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik on Friday.“There are many alarming trends. One way in which such destabilizing factors manifest is, of course, the US’ withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the already officially declared intention to deploy such missiles not only in Asia but apparently in Europe as well. At least the anti-missile systems that are now deployed in…

The frequency of Russian fighter jets scrambled to accompany foreign aircraft over the Black Sea has increased by 21 percent year-on-year, the chief of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate, Col. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy said.“The number of flights of fighter jets from the air force on duty increased by 21 percent compared to last year,” Rudskoy said at a briefing.Thus, 27 Russian fighter jets were scrambled to protect the airspace over the Black and Azov seas in September, and anti-aircraft missile systems were put on combat alert, Rudskoy added.The period of stay for NATO warships in the Black Sea…

The People’s Republic of China sent 18 military planes, including fighter-jets, over the Taiwan strait in a show of force, during a closed-visit of the US envoy to Taiwan.This comes after deteriorating relations between China and the United States, as US lawmakers have recently introduced a bill to end the one-China policy.Under Secretary of State, Keith Koch, visited Taiwan to discuss economic growth and energy independence and met with various business leaders in the country.The Defense Minister of Taiwan confirmed the news, stating that the Chinese military flew two strategic-bombers and 16 fighter-jets over the strait in a second show…

The Turkish naval forces held surface and air defense fire exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean amid escalating tension with Greece over drilling activity in the region, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Friday.“Our TCG GEDİZ Frigate successfully performed its surface and air defense fire practice under the activities of operational readiness in eastern Mediterranean Sea on 17 September 2020,” the ministry said on Twitter.Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean have been brewing for many months around Turkey’s exploration for gas in waters that Cyprus and Greece claim as their exclusive economic zones. The situation was exacerbated this summer, as Turkey sent…

The oil deal between the United States and Syrian Kurds is a blatant breach of international laws, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.“There have recently been statements of illegal US group in the east of Syria, which signed a deal that allows a US oil company to extract hydrocarbons on the Syrian sovereign territory — in the most outrageous breach of all possible principles of the international law,” the minister said.Washington actions east of the Euphrates river are stoking tensions with the Kurds’ issues, the minister said.“The situation on the eastern bank of the Euphrates is worrying, as the…

An ammunition explosion has stricken the Iraqi-based Majid al Tamimi military facility, formerly known as the Speicher operating base, in the northern province of Saladin, the Iraqi Security Media Cell, which provides official information on security incidents, said on Friday.“The blast of an ammunition container with various explosive devices occurred at the Majid al Tamimi ‘Speicher’ base. The reason for the explosion was poor storage conditions, according to the Saladin Operations Command,” the service said in a statement.No casualties have been reported as a result of the incident.The official Iraqi News Agency reported that the explosion took place inside an…

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) said its fighters had intercepted two Russian military planes over the North Sea.“RAF Typhoon fighters were scrambled for the third time in six days today. This time they intercepted Russian military aircraft operating over the North Sea near UK airspace,” RAF wrote on its Twitter page on late Thursday.The RAF airbase of Lossiemouth said that the two intercepted planes were Tu-142 anti-submarine jets.Russian strategic and long-range aircraft regularly carry out flights over the Arctic region, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Black Sea. The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly said that all flights of…

The Russian Armed Forces detected 44 foreign jets that were engaged in reconnaissance activities close to Russia’s airspace last week, the military’s official newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda reported on Friday.A weekly infographic published by the outlet showed that Russian fighter jets had been scrambled five times to intercept foreign aircraft.The foreign jets had been prevented from illegally entering Russia’s airspace, the newspaper said.Within this period of time, Russia has also spotted 10 unmanned aerial vehicles, which were carrying out reconnaissance missions near the Russian borders.Source: Sputnik

US Coordinator for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales on Thursday accused Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese movement, of stockpiling across Europe ammonia nitrate – an explosive fertiliser that destroyed the port in Beirut.“Today the US government is unveiling new information about Hezbollah presence in Europe. Since 2012 Hezbollah has established caches of ammonium nitrate throughout Europe. Today I can reveal that some caches has been moved from Belgium to France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Switzerland,” Sales said during a webinar. “I can also reveal that significant ammonium nitrate caches have been discovered and destroyed in France, Greece, Italy. We have reasons to believe…

The Ansarallah-aligned Yemeni armed forces announced on Thursday, September 17th, that a drone targeted the Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia.According to the report, the Ansarallah forces targeted the Abha Airport using their domestically-made Samad-3 drone.The spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces, Brigadier General Yahya Sare’a, said in a statement via his Twitter account: “The air force conducted an attack with a Samad-3 drone on a military target at Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia.”“This targeting comes in response to the escalation of the air aggression and its continuous siege,” he added.The Saudi-led Arab Coalition has launched several…