Russian Firm Says Baltic Telecoms Cable was Severed as Chinese Ship Passed Over
Polar Bear passed over a Swedish-Estonian telecoms cable at 1513 GMT, then over the Russian cable at around 2020 GMT, the Balticconnector at 2220 GMT and a Finland-Estonia telecoms line at 2349 GMT.Rostelecom said the damage to its cable was recorded at 2030 GMT.As far back as Oct. 13, President Vladimir Putin dismissed as "complete rubbish" suggestions that Russia might have been to blame for the Balticconnector damage and floated the possibility that a ship's anchor could have caused it.On Tuesday, the Kremlin referred further questions to the Communications Ministry, which did not
Russia to Equip New Nuclear Submarines with Hypersonic Missiles
submarines, built to replace Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines as part of a program to modernize the army and fleet.The sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles have a range of 900 km (560 miles), and can travel at several times the speed of sound, making it difficult to defend against them.President Vladimir Putin said earlier this year that Russia would start mass supplies of Zircon missiles as part of the country's efforts to boost its nuclear forces.The Russian multi-purposes frigate Admiral Gorshkov, which has tested its strike capabilities in the western Atlantic Ocean earlier this year, has been
Russia's Medvedev Says Moscow Now Has Free Hand to Destroy Enemies' Subsea Cables over Nord Stream Blasts
A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday there was no reason for Moscow not to destroy its enemies' undersea communication cables given what he said was Western complicity in the Nord Stream pipeline blasts.A sharp drop in pressure on both pipelines was registered on Sept. 26 and seismologists detected explosions, triggering a wave of speculation about sabotage to one of Russia's most important energy corridors.It is still unclear exactly what happened, and Western governments have denied involvement. Some U.S. and European officials initially suggested Russia was to
New Intelligence Points to Pro-Ukraine Group in Nord Stream Attack
, declined to comment.In the year since Russia invaded Ukraine, Europe has drastically cut its energy imports from Russia. Moscow this week called for all Nord Stream stakeholders to decide its fate.The U.S. intelligence review suggested those who carried out the attacks opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin "but does not specify the members of the group, or who directed or paid for the operation," the New York Times wrote."Officials who have reviewed the intelligence said they believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two. U
Report: Russia to Mothball Damaged Nord Stream Gas Pipelines
.The similar-sized Nord Stream 2 had been completed in September 2021 as tensions with Russia were growing and ran in trouble as Germany's regulators refused to certify it. Berlin then froze the project days before Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year.Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed using the undamaged link of Nord Stream 2 to pump gas but Germany, now keen to end its reliance on Russia, rejected the idea. Poland has also stopped buying Russian gas.Russia is currently exporting only around 40 million cubic metres per day of pipeline gas to Europe, via Sudzha
Russia's Newest Nuclear Submarine Heads to the Arctic
Suvorov has started moving from Severodvinsk, where it was located at the Sevmash shipyard, to a temporary base for the Northern Fleet,” the state agency cited its source as saying.The strategic submarine was officially included into the Russian navy at the end of 2022 by President Vladimir Putin.It is set to eventually join and bolster the Russian Pacific Fleet’s force of nuclear-powered submarines and to be moved to the Rybachiy submarine base on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the summer.The submarine is the sixth vessel of the Russian Borei-class smaller and stealthier submarines
Britain to Acquire Two Specialist Ships to Protect Underwater Infrastructure
such as cables and pipelines, defence minister Ben Wallace said on Sunday, following leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe.European countries say the Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by "sabotage" but have stopped short of blaming Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Western countries.Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, central England, Wallacespoke about "mysterious damage" inflicted to the pipelines but made clear that he saw the threat to Britain's infrastructure as coming from Russia."It should remind
Offshore Part of TurkStream Complete
The construction of the offshore part of the TurkStream pipeline that will pump Russian gas to Turkey had been completed, a senior official at Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Monday.Gazprom's Oleg Aksyutin made the announcement on television after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met in Istanbul to mark the completion of the offshore leg of the pipeline.(Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Adrian Croft)
China backs Putin's idea of developing Russia's Far East
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said on Saturday that Russia's push to revamp its run-down Far East region coincided with Beijing's strategy, backing President Vladimir Putin's drive for new sources of growth. At the Eastern Economic Forum in the Pacific Port of Vladivostok on Friday, Putin promised favourable business conditions and state support to Asian and domestic investors willing to come to Russia's most remote land. "The Far East development strategy coincides with China's strategy of north-east rebirth," Wang said. "(The) Russia-Chinese partnership will definitely
February 2024
