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Tag: Military technology

  • Russia launches more drone attacks as Zelenskyy travels to a European forum

    Russia launches more drone attacks as Zelenskyy travels to a European forum

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Russia targeted Ukraine with drones in another massive attack early Thursday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Spain to rally support from Western allies at a summit of some 50 European leaders.

    Ukraine’s air force said that the country’s air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

    Andriy Raykovych, the head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said that an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to put out a fire. He said there were no casualties.

    The attack came as Zelenskyy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

    “The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners,” he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.

    Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country. Ukraine’s power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

    Zelenskyy noted the Granada summit will also focus on “joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation” in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow’s withdrawal from a United Nations-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country’s ports.

    The U.K. Foreign office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine. “Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea,” it said, adding that the U.K. was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

    In other Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past day, two civilians were killed in the shelling of the southern city of Kherson and another one died after a Russian strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. At least eight people were wounded by the Russian shelling, according to Ukraine’s presidential office.

    A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and injured two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

    Ukraine, in its turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

    Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia’s Kursk region that borders Ukraine, said Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure facilities in several areas, resulting in power cuts.

    Starovoit also said that Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, injuring a local resident and damaging several houses.

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    Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

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  • Turkish warplanes bomb suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq following suicide attack in Ankara

    Turkish warplanes bomb suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq following suicide attack in Ankara

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    Turkish warplanes bomb suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq following suicide attack in Ankara

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  • Video provides first clear views of WWII aircraft carriers lost in the pivotal Battle of Midway

    Video provides first clear views of WWII aircraft carriers lost in the pivotal Battle of Midway

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    Footage from deep in the Pacific Ocean has given the first detailed look at three World War II aircraft carriers that sank in the pivotal Battle of Midway and could help solve mysteries about the days-long barrage that marked a shift in control of the Pacific theater from Japanese to U.S. forces.

    Remote submersibles operating 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) below the surface conducted extensive archeological surveys in September of the Akagi and the Kaga, two of the four Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers destroyed during the June 1942 battle, as well as the U.S.S. Yorktown.

    The high-quality video includes the official identification of the Akagi, while also providing new clues about the final hours of the aircraft carriers.

    The footage shows how the island, or the tall structure that rose above the Yorktown’s wooden deck, was damaged by extremely high heat and how the crew went to great lengths to keep the American ship from sinking.

    Julian Hodges, one of the last living veterans who served on the Yorktown, and who swam six hours with a dislocated shoulder to a rescue ship, teared up as he watched.

    “Boy, she took a beating,” Hodges said, just weeks shy of his 101st birthday. “I just hated to see my ship torn up like that.”

    All three aircraft carriers were found previously, the Yorktown in 1998 and the Japanese ships four years ago. The Akagi was only preliminarily identified, however, and limited images were recorded of the other two.

    That changed when Ocean Exploration Trust — founded by Bob Ballard, who led teams that discovered the Yorktown and the Titanic — conducted extensive video surveys of the three ships during a month-long exploration of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, about 1,300 miles (2,092 kilometers) northwest of Honolulu.

    “We were able to spend over basically three full days on these sites, including two full days on the seafloor, really methodically and thoroughly documenting the entire wrecks,” Daniel Wagner, the chief scientist for Ocean Exploration Trust, told The Associated Press via videoconference from the exploration vessel Nautilus.

    The surveys were streamed online, allowing more than 100 scientists, historians and other experts from across the world to participate in a live forum alongside about two dozen scientists aboard the Nautilus.

    The Battle of Midway took place six months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The Japanese navy aimed to take control of the U.S. patrol plane base in a surprise attack at Midway Atoll, a tiny group of islands roughly halfway between the U.S. mainland and Asia. The country also wanted to destroy what was left of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

    But U.S. forces intercepted communications about the attack and were ready.

    The five-day battle was fought about 200 miles (322 kilometers) off the group of islands. Besides sinking the Akagi, the Kaga and two other Japanese aircraft carriers, U.S. forces shot down more than 250 Japanese airplanes. More than 3,000 Japanese servicemen died.

    U.S. losses included more than 300 servicemen, about 150 airplanes and the Yorktown, which was damaged in the battle and then sunk by a Japanese submarine about 100 miles (161 kilometers) away while being towed for repairs.

    Of the 4,600 or so men who served on the Yorktown from 1937 to 1942, it’s believed there are only two still alive, said Michael Leggins, president of the U.S.S. Yorktown CV-5 Club, a group dedicated to providing information about the ship.

    One of them, Hodges, is a retired Baptist minister in Johnson City, Tennessee. He joined the Navy the day after Pearl Harbor and worked in the Yorktown’s boiler room during the battle.

    He recalled in a videoconference interview with the AP that after two torpedoes exploded, he found himself stuck between two pipes, his left arm so tightly pinned he couldn’t pull it out. His shoulder was also dislocated, an injury that still troubles him 81 years later.

    Once freed with the help of a fellow sailor, a life jacket was taped over his injured shoulder and he held on to another to swim more than 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) to a waiting ship. He said the journey took about six hours.

    The other surviving Yorktown veteran, Robert Taylor, needed parental permission to join the Navy on Sept. 12, 1941, at the age of 17. Taylor, now 99, manned an anti-aircraft gun during the battle.

    Historians knew the crew tried to keep the ship afloat by jettisoning some smaller anti-aircraft guns on the port side. But among the discoveries from the new video was that the sailors also cut away the larger guns, said Hans Van Tilburg, the maritime archeologist and historian for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

    The action “speaks to the dedication of the crew to save their vessel in the last and final moments of that ship’s service,” he said.

    When ordered to abandon ship, Taylor jumped overboard and tried to swim to a nearby destroyer, U.S.S. Balch, giving his life jacket to a fellow sailor who didn’t know how to swim.

    But as he neared the Balch, the ship started moving off to pick up more men in the water. A crewman on board tossed a line, which Taylor said he grabbed with his foot. He got alongside the destroyer and was pulled aboard but doesn’t remember much afterward.

    “They tell me I was screaming,” he told the AP from his home in Auburndale, Florida. The ordeal left him with post-traumatic stress disorder.

    The carriers will remain in their current location in U.S. protected waters, which should prevent them from being looted or becoming tourist destinations like the Titanic.

    The only things to be taken from the wrecks, Wagner said, will be the images and video they are sharing.

    Hodges said he appreciated that. “Nobody’s going to get anything out of it,” he said.

    He hopes the video spurs a new generation to consider the toll of conflict: “Whatever it takes to put wars out of business.”

    Taylor quipped that he would like the ship raised, if only to retrieve the $28 he left in his locker when the ship went down, about $530 in today’s money.

    Joking aside, the destruction of the Yorktown haunts him. “I was really upset because I loved that ship,” Taylor said. “It took a lot to sink it.”

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    Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska.

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  • Search on for a missing Marine Corps fighter jet in South Carolina after pilot safely ejects

    Search on for a missing Marine Corps fighter jet in South Carolina after pilot safely ejects

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    A Marine Corps pilot safely ejected from a fighter jet over South Carolina and the search for his missing aircraft was focused on two lakes near North Charleston

    ByThe Associated Press

    September 17, 2023, 7:48 PM

    NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — A Marine Corps pilot safely ejected from a fighter jet over North Charleston on Sunday afternoon and the search for his missing aircraft was focused on two lakes north of North Charleston, military officials said.

    The pilot ejected and parachuted safely into a North Charleston neighborhood at about 2 p.m. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was in stable condition, said Maj. Melanie Salinas. The pilot’s name has not been released.

    Based on the missing plane’s location and trajectory, the search for the F-35 Lightning II jet was focused on Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, said Senior Master Sgt. Heather Stanton at Joint Base Charleston. Both lakes are north of North Charleston.

    A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division helicopter joined the search for the F-35 after some bad weather cleared in the area, Stanton said. Military officials appealed in online posts Sunday for any help from the public in locating the aircraft.

    Officials are still investigating why the pilot ejected, authorities said.

    The pilot of a second F-35 returned safely to Joint Base Charleston, Salinas said.

    The planes and pilots were with the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 based in Beaufort, not far from South Carolina’s Atlantic coast.

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  • Britain, France and Germany say they will keep their nuclear and missiles sanctions on Iran

    Britain, France and Germany say they will keep their nuclear and missiles sanctions on Iran

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    VIENNA — Britain, France and Germany announced Thursday they will keep their sanctions on Iran related to the Mideast country’s atomic program and development of ballistic missiles. The measures were to expire in October under a timetable spelled out in the now defunct nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

    In a joint statement, the three European allies known as E3 and which had helped negotiate the nuclear deal, said they would retain their sanctions in a “direct response to Iran’s consistent and severe non-compliance” with the accord, also known by its official name as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.

    The measures ban Iran from developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and bar anyone from buying, selling or transferring drones and missiles to and from Iran. They also include an asset freeze for several Iranian individuals and entities involved in the nuclear and ballistic missile program.

    Iran has violated the sanctions by developing and testing ballistic missiles and sending drones to Russia for its war on Ukraine.

    The sanctions will remain in place until Tehran “is fully compliant” with the deal, the E3 said. The sanctions, according to the accord from eight years ago, were to expire on Oct. 18.

    Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the European decision an “illegal, provocative action” that will hamper cooperation, in comments quoted by the country’s official news agency IRNA.

    “The actions of the European parties will definitely have negative effects on the efforts to manage the tension and create a suitable environment for more cooperation between the JCPOA parties,” the ministry said.

    The 2015 nuclear deal was meant to ensure that Iran could not develop atomic weapons. Under the accord, Tehran agreed to limit enrichment of uranium to levels necessary for nuclear power in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

    In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the United States out of the accord, saying he would negotiate a stronger deal, but that did not happen. Iran began breaking the terms a year later and is now enriching uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels, according to a report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

    Formal talks to try to find a roadmap to restart the deal collapsed in August 2022.

    The E3 have informed the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, about their decision, the statement said. Borrell, in turn, said he had forwarded the E3 letter to other signatories of the 2015 deal — China, Russia and Iran.

    The development comes at a delicate moment as the United States is preparing to finalize a prisoner swap with Iran that would include the unfreezing of Iranian assets held in South Korean banks worth $6 billion.

    Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that Washington was in touch with the European allies over “the appropriate next steps.”

    “We are working closely with our European allies, including members, of course, of the E3, to address the continued threat that Iran poses including on missiles and arms transfers with the extensive range of unilateral and multilateral tools that are at our disposal,” he said.

    Iran has long denied ever seeking nuclear weapons and continues to insist that its program is entirely for peaceful purposes, though Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has warned that Tehran has enough enriched uranium for “several” nuclear bombs if it chose to build them.

    Under the terms of the nuclear deal, a U.N. arms embargo against Tehran will expire on Oct. 18, after which countries that do not adopt similar sanctions on their own as the E3 — likely Russia and perhaps also China — will no longer be bound by the U.N. restrictions on Iran.

    However, Iran has lately slowed the pace at which it is enriching uranium, according to a report by the IAEA that was seen by The Associated Press earlier this month. That could be a sign Tehran is trying to ease tensions after years of strain between it and the U.S.

    “The decision makes sense,” Henry Rome, an analyst with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said of the European decision. “The real question is how Iran will react. Given the broader de-escalation efforts underway, I would expect Iran not to act rashly, but we never know.”

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    Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

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  • Taiwan says it spotted 22 Chinese warplanes and 20 warships near the island

    Taiwan says it spotted 22 Chinese warplanes and 20 warships near the island

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    Taiwan says it spotted 22 Chinese military aircraft and 20 warships near the island on Tuesday

    ByThe Associated Press

    September 12, 2023, 2:45 AM

    The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) conducts routine underway operations in the Taiwan Strait, on Sept. 9, 2023. (Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jamaal Liddell/U.S. Navy via AP)

    The Associated Press

    TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan said Tuesday it spotted 22 Chinese military aircraft and 20 vessels near the island over the previous 24 hours, as Beijing steps up its military activities in the area.

    Over the weekend, the United States and Canada sailed warships through the Taiwan Strait in a challenge to China’s sweeping territorial claims. On Monday, China sailed a naval formation led by its aircraft carrier Shandong, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) to Taiwan’s southeast. The vessel was expected to conduct drills simulating aircraft, submarine, warship and land attacks, according to Chinese state media.

    Thirteen of the Chinese military aircraft reported on Tuesday had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial demarcation zone between China and Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s defense ministry.

    China claims Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, as part of its territory to be reunited by force if necessary. Over the past year, Beijing has stepped up military activities around the island, including by sending warships and warplanes on a near-daily basis.

    “The period from July to September this year was the peak period for the Chinese Communist Party’s exercises,” Maj. Gen. Huang Wen-Chi, the assistant deputy chief with the General Staff for Intelligence of Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, said during a press conference.

    “There are a lot of warship activities in the waters surrounding the Taiwan Strait. There was also a large number of warships operating in different areas in the South China Sea and East China Sea,” he said.

    Huang said the Taiwanese military would continue the monitor the movements of Chinese warplanes and warships.

    On Saturday, the USS Ralph Johnson and the Royal Canadian Navy’s Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa sailed through the Taiwan Strait. The timing coincided with a Group of 20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi.

    The U.S. routinely sails through the strait in what it calls “freedom of navigation” operations, which China sees as provocative actions.

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  • Proximity of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Danube ports stirs fear in NATO member Romania

    Proximity of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Danube ports stirs fear in NATO member Romania

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    BUCHAREST, Romania — The discovery of drone debris on Romanian territory this week has left some local residents fearing that the war in neighboring Ukraine could spread into their country, as Russian forces bombard Ukrainian ports just across the Danube River from NATO-member Romania.

    Moscow aims to disrupt Ukraine’s ability to export grain to world markets with a sustained campaign of attacks targeting Ukrainian Danube ports, and has attacked the port of Izmail four times this week, Ukrainian officials say.

    Across from Izmail, pieces apparently from a drone were found near the Romanian village of Plauru, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar said Wednesday. It was unclear if Romanian authorities had determined when or from where the drone was launched, and Tilvar said the debris didn’t pose a threat, but the development has left citizens in the European Union nation feeling uneasy.

    Daniela Tanase, 46, who lives in Plauru with her husband and son, told The Associated Press that the drone strikes on Izmail this week have woken her up, and that villagers “are scared” of the persistent Russian attacks.

    “In the first phase (of the war) things were calmer, but now it has come to our territory,” she said. But added: “For now, we haven’t thought of leaving the area — we hope it will pass.”

    Tilvar visited Plauru and nearby areas Wednesday after confirming the drone findings to a local news channel, and Romania’s Defense Ministry said he told local authorities there would be additional measures to secure “the airspace at Romania’s borders.”

    Romanian President Klaus Iohannis demanded an “urgent investigation.” If the debris were confirmed to have been from a Russian drone it would be an “inadmissable” violation of Romania’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Iohannis said at the Three Seas Initiative summit in Bucharest this week.

    Mircea Franc, the owner of a guesthouse in the area of Chilia Veche near Ukraine’s Kiliia port in the Danube Delta region, said he’s seen “fireballs” in the sky this week on the other side of the Danube River and that it has left villagers shaken.

    “Last night … there were drones cruising on the other side of the river and the day before yesterday there were many, they are the first in our area since the war started,” he said on Thursday. “The atmosphere in the village is indeed one of panic … and the fear is worst at night.”

    Speaking at the EU parliament on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the 31-nation alliance has been informed by Romania about the finding of drone pieces and that the episode “demonstrates the risks of incidents and accidents.”

    “We don’t have any information indicating any intentional attack by Russia and we are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation,” Stoltenberg said.

    For Franc, the guesthouse owner, the close proximity of the war is already having a negative impact on his business since tourists are now “very reluctant to come here,” he said, adding that some local families have moved away from the area out of fear.

    “We are worried because nobody can guarantee that (a drone) won’t fall on our side of the river,” he said. “For the last two nights, three-quarters of the village hasn’t been sleeping. Beyond trying to calm us down, the authorities can’t do much about it.”

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    Stephen McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania. AP journalist Lorne Cook contributed from Brussels.

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  • Russian military says Ukrainian drones targeted 5 Russians regions in biggest drone attack on Russian soil in 18 months

    Russian military says Ukrainian drones targeted 5 Russians regions in biggest drone attack on Russian soil in 18 months

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    Russian military says Ukrainian drones targeted 5 Russians regions in biggest drone attack on Russian soil in 18 months

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  • Ukraine investigates incident that killed 3 pilots while Russia attacks with cruise missiles

    Ukraine investigates incident that killed 3 pilots while Russia attacks with cruise missiles

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities have launched an investigation after a midair collision between two warplanes in the west of the country killed three pilots.

    Ukraine’s air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat told Ukrainian television on Sunday it wasn’t immediately clear how long the probe would take.

    According to the air force’s Telegram page, two L-39 training military aircraft collided on Friday during a combat mission over Ukraine‘s western Zhytomyr region. Three pilots were killed, including Andriy Pilshchykov, a well-known pilot with the nickname “Juice” who was an outspoken advocate for Ukraine getting F-16 fighter jets.

    President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his nightly address on Saturday paid tribute to Pilshchykov, describing him as a “Ukrainian officer, one of those who helped our country a lot.”

    Ukraine’s Vasilkiv tactical aviation brigade on Sunday identified the other two pilots killed in the collision as Viacheslav Minka and Serhiy Prokazin.

    Russian forces, in the meantime, targeted central and northern regions of Ukraine with cruise missiles overnight. Ukraine’s air force on Sunday reported air defenses successfully intercepted four of them. In the Kyiv region surrounding the Ukrainian capital, the falling debris damaged a dozen private homes and wounded two people, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said.

    Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday that it targeted — and successfully hit — an airfield in the Kyiv region. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the claim.

    In Kyiv, relatives of soldiers captured by Russian forces in Mariupol, a port city in eastern Ukraine Moscow’s army besieged and seized early on in the war, gathered for a rally marking 500 days since their family members were in captivity. They demanded that the Ukrainian authorities bring their loved ones home.

    In Russia, the Defense Ministry reported bringing down two drones over the Bryansk and Kursk regions that border Ukraine. The drones, the ministry said, were launched by “the Kyiv regime” in “yet another attempt at terrorist attacks” on Russian soil.

    Kursk Gov. Roman Starovoit, however, reported that a drone slammed into a multistory residential building in the region’s namesake capital. It wasn’t immediately clear if it crashed after being shot down by air defenses, like the Defense Ministry reported, or was targeting the building. Starovoit said no one was hurt, but a number of windows were shattered.

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    Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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    Dasha Litvinova contributed to this report from Tallinn, Estonia.

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  • Iran unveils armed drone resembling America’s MQ-9 Reaper and says it could potentially reach Israel

    Iran unveils armed drone resembling America’s MQ-9 Reaper and says it could potentially reach Israel

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    TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Defense Ministry unveiled a drone on Tuesday resembling America’s armed MQ-9 Reaper, claiming that the aircraft is capable of staying airborne for 24 hours and has the range to reach the country’s archenemy Israel.

    Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency published a photograph of the drone, called the Mohajer-10, on display at a conference marking Defense Industry Day with what appeared to be smoke-machine fog underneath it.

    “Mohajer” means “immigrant” in Farsi and has been a drone line manufactured by the Islamic Republic since 1985.

    IRNA said the drone is able to fly up to 24,000 feet with a speed of 210 kph (130 mph), carrying a bomb payload of up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). It also said the drone could carry electronic surveillance equipment and a camera. Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also viewed the drone on Tuesday.

    “Today, we can firmly introduce Iran as an advanced and technologic nation to the world,” Raisi said in comments aired on state television.

    He reiterated Iran’s stance about friendly relations with “all countries in the world,” adding that Iran’s armed forces will cut off any hand that will reaches out in an attempt to invade Iran, state TV reported.

    The Associated Press could not immediately verify the claims about the drone’s capabilities, though an arm of state television shared a video of it taking off from a runway. Long-range drones like the Reaper also require ground stations and satellite communications.

    Officials in Israel, which flies its own long-range, high endurance drones, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

    Iran has in the past captured U.S. drones or pieces of them, but there’s no evidence that it has taken a General Atomics’ Reaper, which is flown by the U.S. Air Force and allied American nations as a “hunter-killer” drone that can operate at high altitudes for long hours and follow a target before attacking. North Korea in July showed off drones mirroring the Reaper, possibly designed from publicly available information about the aircraft.

    In December 2011, Iran seized an RQ-170 Sentinel flown by the CIA to monitor Iranian nuclear sites after it entered Iranian airspace from neighboring Afghanistan. Iran later reverse-engineered the drone to create their own variants.

    In 2019, Iran shot down a U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk in the Strait of Hormuz amid high tensions over its collapsed nuclear deal with world powers.

    The Reaper also carries special significance for Iran, as one reportedly carried out the 2020 strike in Baghdad that killed Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

    Iran separately said it had provided two types of ballistic missiles to its army and the Guard on Tuesday, including one named for Soleimani.

    Iran has unveiled a series of drones it describes as capable of long-endurance flights over the last several years. It remains unclear how they’ve been used in combat.

    But other Iranian drones have been a key element of Russia’s continued war on Ukraine. Tehran has offered a series of contradictory explanations about the drones, first denying they supplied them to Moscow and then claiming they sold drones only before the war began. However, the volume of drones used in the conflict show a steady supply by Iran of the bomb-carrying weapons in the war.

    In June, the White House said Iran is providing Russia with materials to build a drone manufacturing plant east of Moscow as the Kremlin looks to lock in a steady supply of weaponry.

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    Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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  • Zelenskyy thanks Danes in person for F-16s, though the planes won’t have an immediate war impact

    Zelenskyy thanks Danes in person for F-16s, though the planes won’t have an immediate war impact

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    COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Danish lawmakers on Monday for helping his country resist Russia’s invasion, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will provide Kyiv with F-16 warplanes that could be delivered around the end of the year.

    Zelenskyy told the lawmakers during a visit to Copenhagen that if Russia’s invasion is successful, other parts of Europe would be at risk from the Kremlin’s military aggression.

    “All of Russia’s neighbors are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail,” he said in a speech.

    Zelenskyy says Ukraine is defending Western values of freedom and democracy against tyranny. He has argued that Ukraine needs to be properly provisioned to fend off Russia’s much bigger force.

    Ukraine has been pressing its Western allies for months to give it American-made F-16s. Its armed forces are still using aging Soviet-era combat planes from the 1970s and ’80s, and its counteroffensive against Russian positions is advancing without air support, which analysts say is a major handicap.

    Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Ukraine would get 42 jets. Denmark pledged 19 F-16s, which could be delivered around the end of the year when pilot training lasting four to six months is completed.

    However, getting Ukrainian squadrons battle-ready could take much longer.

    U.S. Air Force Gen. James Hecker, commander of U.S. air forces in Europe and Africa, said last week that he did not expect the F-16s to be a game-changer for Ukraine. Getting F-16 squadrons ready for battle could take “four or five years,” he said.

    While some training has already begun for Ukrainian pilots, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Sunday it’s just language lessons so far.

    Training Ukrainian pilots is just one of the challenges in the anticipated deployment of F-16s. Questions also remain over who will carry out crucial aircraft maintenance, the supply of spare parts, runway maintenance and protective shelters for the planes on the ground, and what weapons the West will supply to arm the fighter jets.

    Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the F-16s will help Ukraine “change the course of events” in the war.

    “Air superiority is the key to success on the ground,” he said in televised remarks.

    Denmark rolled out the red carpet for Zelenskyy’s trip to Copenhagen. The Ukrainian leader also met at the Christiansborg Palace, the building housing the Danish parliament, with Denmark’s 83-year-old figurehead monarch, Queen Margrethe, who returned from vacation for the occasion.

    Afterward, he spoke from the parliament steps to thousands of cheering people who waved Danish and Ukrainian flags in the palace’s courtyard.

    The United States last week announced its approval for the Netherlands and Denmark to deliver the F-16s. That is needed because the aircraft are made in the United States.

    On Sunday, Zelenskyy visited the Netherlands and inspected two gray F-16s parked in a hangar at a Dutch base in the southern city of Eindhoven together with Rutte.

    He also visited an air base in southern Denmark where Ukrainian pilots will receive training on F-16s.

    Rutte didn’t provide a number or timeframe for deliveries, saying it depends on how soon Ukrainian crews and infrastructure are ready.

    Zelenskyy started his trip Saturday in Sweden, where he asked Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for Swedish Gripen fighter jets. Sweden has said it will allow Ukrainian pilots to test the planes but has not made any commitments to hand them over.

    Kristersson said Monday that Sweden needs the Gripen planes for its own defense, noting that the country’s bid to join NATO has not been finalized.

    “We don’t rule anything out in the future,” he told the TV4 channel. “We will do everything we can to support them also with aircraft. But right now there are no new commitments to provide Swedish aircraft to Ukraine.”

    On Monday, Russian air defenses jammed a Ukrainian drone west of Moscow and shot down another one on the outskirts of the city, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

    Two people were injured and one of them was hospitalized when drone fragments fell on a private house, Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said.

    Such drone attacks have become an almost daily occurrence in Russia in recent weeks.

    Also, Russian rail officials said that a relay cabinet used to run train traffic was set ablaze on the outskirts of Moscow, causing delays, according to the state RIA Novosti news agency.

    Russian authorities have reported multiple similar incidents across the country, some of which have been blamed on acts of sabotage encouraged by Ukrainian security agencies.

    In Ukraine, at least four civilians were killed and 25 others wounded by the latest Russian attacks, according to the Ukrainian presidential office.

    The dead included a 71-year-old man killed by Russian shelling in the northeastern Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia.

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    Karl Ritter in Stockholm and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

    ___

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  • Denmark and Netherlands pledge to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as Zelenskyy visits

    Denmark and Netherlands pledge to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as Zelenskyy visits

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    EINDHOVEN, Netherlands — The Netherlands and Denmark announced Sunday they will give F-16 warplanes to Ukraine, a long-awaited announcement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an important motivation for his country’s forces, embroiled in a difficult counteroffensive against Russia.

    The promise of new fighter jets came the day after an unusually brazen Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian theater that killed seven people and wounded almost 150 others in the northern city of Chernihiv. Zelenskyy vowed stern retaliation for the attack, whose victims included a slain 6-year-old girl dead and 15 wounded children.

    After months of entreaties from Zelenskyy for F-16s to bolster the Ukrainian air force, the U.S. recently gave approval for the Netherlands and Denmark to provide Ukraine the American-made jets. Zelenskyy travelled to both countries Sunday to finalize the delivery deals.

    ’’F-16s will certainly give new energy, confidence, and motivation to fighters and civilians. I’m sure it will deliver new results for Ukraine and the entire Europe,″ the Ukrainian leader said.

    Ukraine hopes the jets will give it a combat edge, after launching a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s forces without air cover from Western aircraft, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery.

    Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pledged 19 F-16s to Ukraine and said she hoped the first six could be handed over around New Year. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte didn’t provide a number or timeframe, saying it depends on how soon Ukrainian crews and infrastructure are ready. Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel that Ukraine would get 42 jets.

    “The F-16s will not help immediately now with the war effort. It is anyway a long-term commitment from the Netherlands,” Rutte said. “We want them to be active and operational as soon as possible. … Not for the next month, that’s impossible, but hopefully soon afterward.”

    He and Zelenskyy inspected two gray F-16s parked in a hangar at a Dutch base in the southern city of Eindhoven.

    A few hours later, Zelenskyy and his wife were received by Frederiksen, other Danish Cabinet ministers and Crown Princess Mary at the Skrydstrup air base in southern Denmark where Ukrainian pilots will receive F-16 training in coming months. The two leaders climbed into a Danish F-16 and tried out the seats.

    Frederiksen said “hopefully” six fighter jets could be delivered around New Year, eight more next year and the remaining five in 2025.

    “Please take this donation as a token of Denmark’s unwavering support for your country’s fight for freedom,” she said.

    Zelenskyy called the Dutch and Danish donations a “huge push for other countries who were in doubt” about providing Ukraine with F-16s. Asked whether there were conditions attached to the donations, such as a commitment not to use them in Russian territory, Zelenskyy said that had not been discussed but added that defending Ukrainian territory was the “main goal.”

    The Dutch and Danish governments are also spearheading a coalition that is working to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the advanced fighter jets.

    Zelenskyy declined to say how many Ukrainian pilots would undergo training in Denmark and later in Romania, citing security reasons. Frederiksen said “more than 70” Ukrainian personnel were already in Denmark and getting ready to start training.

    The Danish Armed Forces said the Ukrainians must pass a security review and tests of their health and language skills before the training can begin.

    “The training is expected to last a minimum of six months. Exactly how long it will take to teach Ukrainians to operate the F-16 capability cannot be said precisely, as it will depend on their experience and language skills, among other things,” the Danish Armed Forces said in a statement.

    Officials have previously said that Ukrainian pilots will need six to eight months of training.

    Sunday’s announcements came two days after the Netherlands and Denmark said the U.S. had authorized them to deliver American-made F-16s to Ukraine in what was seen as a major boost for Kyiv.

    Washington says the F-16s — like the advanced U.S. Abrams tanks — will be crucial in the long term as Kyiv faces down Russia.

    During a visit to Sweden on Saturday, Zelenskyy also asked for Swedish Gripen fighter jets. Sweden has not decided on that request but has agreed to let Ukrainian pilots test the aircraft.

    Ukraine has been relying on older aircraft, such as Russian-made MiG29 and Sukhoi jets. F-16s have newer technology and targeting capabilities. They are also more versatile, experts say.

    Zelenskyy was set to address the Danish Parliament on Monday.

    In Ukraine, the governor of the Chernihiv region, Vyacheslav Chaus, said Sunday that the number of people wounded in the theater attack Saturday had risen to 148.

    “I am sure our soldiers will respond to Russia for this terrorist attack. Respond tangibly,” Zelenskyy said in a video address published in the early hours of Sunday.

    In eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Sunday that Russia was shelling the city of Kupiansk “all day long,” with an attack in the city center wounding 11 people. A man was killed in Russian shelling of Vovchansk, also in the Kharkiv region, according to Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Ministry.

    Meanwhile in Russia, the Defense Ministry said Sunday that its air defense systems had prevented an attack by three drones on the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.

    Russian air defenses also jammed a drone flying towards Moscow early Sunday, causing it to crash. Russia’s Defense Ministry called it “an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack.”

    Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports briefly suspended flights, but no victims or damage were reported.

    In the city of Kursk, five people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone hit a train station, regional Gov. Roman Starovoit said. Kursk is the capital of the western region of the same name, which borders Ukraine.

    Ukrainian authorities, who generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didn’t say whether Ukraine had any involvement.

    Drone strikes on the Russian border regions are a fairly regular occurrence. Attacks deeper inside Russian territory have been on the rise since a drone was destroyed over the Kremlin in early May. Successful strikes have exposed the vulnerabilities of Moscow’s air defense systems.

    ___

    Ritter reported from Stockholm. Elise Morton in London and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

    ___

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  • The Dutch prime minister tells Zelenskyy the Netherlands and Denmark will give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

    The Dutch prime minister tells Zelenskyy the Netherlands and Denmark will give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

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    The Dutch prime minister tells Zelenskyy the Netherlands and Denmark will give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

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  • US, Japan and Australia plan joint navy drills in disputed South China Sea, Philippine officials say

    US, Japan and Australia plan joint navy drills in disputed South China Sea, Philippine officials say

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    MANILA, Philippines — The United States, Japan and Australia are planning a joint navy drill in the South China Sea off the western Philippines this week to underscore their commitment to the rule of law in the region after a recent show of Chinese aggression in the disputed waters, Filipino security officials said Sunday.

    On Aug. 5, Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons against Philippine vessels in the contested waterway where disputes have long been regarded as a potential flashpoint and have become a fault line in the rivalry between the U.S. and China in the region.

    The drill will include three aircraft and helicopter carriers sailing together in a show of force and undertaking joint drills. Their commanders are set to meet with Filipino counterparts in Manila after the offshore drills, two Philippine security officials told The Associated Press.

    Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to publicly discuss details of the planned drills.

    The U.S. plans to deploy an aircraft carrier, the USS America, while Japan would send one of its biggest warships, the helicopter carrier JS Izumo. The Royal Australian Navy would send its HMAS Canberra, which also carries helicopters, one of the two officials said, adding that the joint drill was planned a few months ago.

    The Philippines would not be part of this week’s drills due to military logistical limitations but is open to becoming a participant in the future, the official said.

    The United States, Japan and Australia were among several countries that immediately expressed support for the Philippines and concern over the Chinese action following the tense stand-off earlier this month.

    Philippine officials said six Chinese coast guard ships and two militia vessels blocked two Philippine navy-chartered civilian boats taking supplies to the Philippine forces stationed at the Second Thomas Shoal. One supply boat was hit with a powerful water cannon by the Chinese coast guard while the other managed to deliver food, water, fuel and other supplies to the Filipino forces guarding the shoal, the Philippine military said.

    The Chinese coast guard acknowledged its ships used water cannons against the Philippine vessels, which it said strayed without permission into the shoal, which Beijing calls Ren’ai Jiao.

    “In order to avoid direct blocking and collisions when repeated warnings were ineffective, water cannons were used as a warning. The on-site operation was professional and restrained, which is beyond reproach,” the Chinese coast guard said. “China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty.”

    The Philippine military said on Saturday that it would again attempt to deliver basic supplies to its forces in the Second Thomas Shoal, but didn’t provide further details.

    The mission “to the shoal is a clear demonstration of our resolve to stand up against threats and coercion and our commitment in upholding the rule of law,” the Armed Forces of the Philippines said in a statement.

    Following the incident, Washington renewed a warning that it is obliged to defend its longtime treaty ally if Philippine public vessels and forces come under armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

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  • The Dutch defense minister says the US has approved the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

    The Dutch defense minister says the US has approved the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

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    THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United States has given its approval for the Netherlands to deliver F-16s to Ukraine, the Dutch defense minister said Friday, in a major gain for Kyiv even though the fighter jets won’t have an immediate impact on the almost 18-month war

    “I welcome the US decision to clear the way for delivery of F-16 jets to Ukraine. It allows us to follow through on the training of Ukrainian pilots,” Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We remain in close contact with European partners to decide on the next steps.”

    Ukraine has long pleaded for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge. It recently launched a long-anticipated counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s forces without air cover, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery.

    Apart from delivering the warplanes, Ukraine’s allies also need to train its pilots. Washington says the F-16s, like the advanced U.S. Abrams tanks, will be crucial in the long term as Kyiv faces down Russia.

    The Netherlands is part of a Western coalition that also includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom that in July pledged to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s.

    Washington must give its blessing because the planes are made in the United States.

    Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said in a message on X that U.S. clearance to send F-16s to Ukraine “marks a major milestone” in Ukraine’s defense.

    It was not immediately clear when the first F-16s could be delivered to Ukraine.

    As well as the Netherlands, Denmark said in June that training Ukrainian pilots had started and the country was considering delivering jets to Kyiv, but that pilots would need six to eight months of training before a possible donation of aircraft can become a reality.

    In a statement to Danish media, Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said that the government has several times said that a donation was “a natural step after the training.”

    Meanwhile, Russian air defenses stopped drone attacks on central Moscow and on the country’s ships in the Black Sea, officials said Friday, blaming the attempted strikes on Ukraine.

    Defense systems shot down a Ukrainian drone over central Moscow early Friday and some fragments fell on an exhibition center, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

    It said the drone was shot down about 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) and there were no injuries or fire caused by the fragments.

    However, flights were briefly suspended at all four major Moscow airports.

    Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said some of the fragments fell on the grounds of the Expocentre, an exhibition complex adjacent to the Moscow City commercial and office complex that was hit twice by drones in the past month.

    The area is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) west of the Kremlin. The defense ministry called the latest incident “another terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime.”

    Naval forces also destroyed a Ukrainian sea drone that attempted an attack on Russian ships late Thursday in the Black Sea, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) southwest of Sevastopol, the ministry said

    The drone was taken out by fire from a patrol boat and a corvette, it said.

    It was not possible to verify the claims.

    ___

    Heintz reported from Tallinn, Estonia.

    ___

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  • 7 killed in Ukraine’s Kherson region, including a 23-day-old baby girl

    7 killed in Ukraine’s Kherson region, including a 23-day-old baby girl

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Seven people – including a 23-day-old baby girl – were killed in Russian shelling in Ukraine‘s southern Kherson region on Sunday, the country’s Internal Affairs Ministry said.

    Artillery shelling in the village of Shiroka Balka, on the banks of the Dnieper River killed a family — a husband, wife, 12-year-old boy and 23-day-old girl — and another resident.

    Two men were killed in the neighboring village of Stanislav, where a woman was also wounded.

    The attack on Kherson province followed Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar’s comments on Saturday attempting to quell rumors that Ukrainian forces had landed on the occupied left (east) bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region.

    “Again, the expert hype around the left bank in the Kherson region began. There are no reasons for excitement,” she said.

    Kherson regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said Sunday that three people had been wounded in Russian attacks on the province on Saturday.

    Elsewhere, Ukrainian military officials said Saturday evening that Kyiv’s forces had made progress in the south, claiming some success near a key village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and capturing other unspecified territories.

    Ukraine’s General Staff said they had “partial success” around the tactically important Robotyne area in the Zaporizhzhia region, a key Russian strongpoint that Ukraine needs to retake in order to continue pushing south towards Melitopol.

    “There are liberated territories. The defense forces are working,” General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of Ukraine’s southern forces, said of the southern front.

    Battles in recent weeks have taken place on multiple points along the over 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line as Ukraine wages a counteroffensive with Western-supplied weapons and Western-trained troops against Russian forces who invaded nearly 18 months ago.

    Ukrainian troops have made only incremental gains since launching a counteroffensive in early June.

    Meanwhile, a Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a Palau-flagged cargo ship in the south-western Black Sea, the first time Russia has fired on a merchant ship beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month.

    According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the Sukru Okan was heading northwards to the Ukrainian Danube River port of Izmail.

    “The captain of the dry-cargo ship did not respond to the request to stop for inspection for the carriage of prohibited goods. To force the ship to stop, warning fire was opened from automatic small arms from a Russian warship,” Russia’s Ministry of Defense wrote on Telegram, adding that the ship later stopped and allowed an inspection team to board.

    Four weeks ago, Moscow withdrew from a key export agreement that allowed Ukraine to ship millions of tons of grain across the Black Sea for sale on world markets. In the wake of that withdrawal, Russia carried out repeated strikes on Ukrainian ports, including Odesa, and declared wide areas of the Black Sea unsafe for shipping.

    In Russia, local officials reported on Sunday that air defense systems shot down three drones over the Belgorod region and one over the neighboring Kursk region, both of which border Ukraine.

    Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian border regions are a fairly regular occurrence. Drone attacks deeper inside Russian territory have been on the rise since a drone was destroyed over the Kremlin in early May. In recent weeks, attacks have increased both on Moscow and on Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 — a move that most of the world considered illegal.

    Firing drones at Russia, after more than 17 months of war, has little apparent military value for Ukraine but the strategy has served to unsettle Russians and bring home to them the conflict’s consequences.

    The Wagner mercenary group has played a key role in Russia’s military campaign, but there is a “realistic possibility” that the Kremlin is no longer providing funding, according to British defense officials.

    In its latest intelligence briefing, the Ministry of Defense said it believed Wagner was “likely moving towards a down-sizing and reconfiguration process” in order to save money, and that the Kremlin had “acted against some other business interests” of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. The officials assessed that Belarusian authorities were the “second most plausible paymasters.”

    Thousands of Wagner fighters arrived in Russian-allied Belarus under a deal that ended their armed rebellion in late June and allowed them and Prigozhin to avoid criminal charges.

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  • China sends ships and fighter jets toward Taiwan in new show of force

    China sends ships and fighter jets toward Taiwan in new show of force

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    Taiwan’s defense ministry says China sent navy ships and a large group of fighter jets toward Taiwan

    ByHUIZHONG WU Associated Press

    FILE – Two soldiers lower the national flag during the daily flag ceremony on Liberty Square of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, July 30, 2022. China sent navy ships and a large group of fighter jets toward Taiwan, continuing its military pressure on the island, Taiwan’s defense ministry said Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File)

    The Associated Press

    TAIPEI, Taiwan — China sent navy ships and a large group of fighter jets toward Taiwan, continuing its military pressure on the island, Taiwan’s defense ministry said Thursday.

    China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has regularly sent flights toward the island in reaction to the island’s political activities. In the past year, it has also sent navy vessels as well as drones to circle the waters near the island.

    Taiwan’s defense ministry said the Chinese People’s Liberation Army sent 33 warplanes and 6 navy vessels between 6 a.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday. The J-10 and J-16 fighter jets flew across the midline and to the southwest of Taiwan.

    The ministry said in an earlier statement Wednesday that Taiwan’s military tracked five of the ships as they sailed in coordination with the flights of the fighter jets.

    The ministry said it used land-based missile systems to track the aircraft, 10 of which crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait, an unofficial boundary that had been considered a buffer between the island and mainland.

    In response to escalating Chinese military pressure, Taiwan has been buying weapons and fighter jets to shore up its defenses. In July, the U.S. announced a $345 million package of sale s to Taiwan that will include portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles.

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  • Russia mounts a massive missile and drone attack against Ukraine following its retaliation promise

    Russia mounts a massive missile and drone attack against Ukraine following its retaliation promise

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Moscow unleashed a massive missile and drone barrage on western Ukraine Sunday, following through on its promise to retaliate for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian tanker.

    Russian and Ukrainian shelling across the country overnight killed in at least six people, officials said.

    Separately, Moscow’s second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.

    Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 70 attack drones and missiles, including cruise missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea and Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs.

    Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraine’s Khmelnytsky region military administration, said three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse. The strike may have been intended for the city’s airfield, officials said.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.

    The Russian barrage came after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday. Ukraine also struck a major Russian port with drones earlier the same day.

    Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned what she called a Ukrainian “terrorist attack” on a civilian vessel in the Kerch Strait.

    “There can be no justification for such barbaric actions, they will not go unanswered and their authors and perpetrators will inevitably be punished,” Zakharova posted on the Telegram messaging app.

    An official with Ukraine’s Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that a Ukrainian drone packed with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of explosive the service struck the tanker that as transporting fuel for Russian forces. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

    Russia’s Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport posted on Telegram that although the drone blasted a hole in the tanker’s engine room, there were no casualties among the 11 crew members. On Sunday, a Ukrainian missile hit the Chonhar bridge that connects the Russian-occupied Kherson region and northern Crimea.

    The strike caused minor damage to the bridge’s roadway, said Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed leader of the Kherson region. He also said that several more rockets had been shot down by air defense forces at the time of the attack.

    The bridge, which is one of three key road bridges connecting the Crimean peninsula to the mainland, was previously attacked on July 22 and 29.

    Two of the six fatalities overnight Sunday occurred during a Russian air strike in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, according to the head of the local regional military administration, Oleh Syniehubov. Another four people were injured.

    Zelenskyy said that a guided bomb had hit a blood transfusion center in the area’s Kupyan district late on August 5.

    “This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “Defeating terrorists is a matter of honor for everyone who values life.”

    Heavy shelling continued along the frontline in Eastern Ukraine as Kyiv continues to push forward with its ongoing counteroffensive. Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, a 58-year-old woman was killed and a 66-year-old man was hospitalized after Russian shelling of the village of Podoly, an official said. In Ukraine’s eastern Kupyan region, Russian missiles injured a 55-year-old man and ignited a forest fire, officials said on social media. Russian attacks in the Donetsk region villages of Torske and Niu-York killed two people, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko posted on social media.

    Ukrainian shelling in Russian-held Donetsk killed a woman in her eighties, the city’s Moscow-appointed mayor Alexei Kulemzin said Sunday. The shelling also set the main building of a university on fire, according to the Moscow-installed head of the illegally annexed region, Denis Pushilin.

    Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said that the blaze caused the building’s roof to collapse, but that there were no casualties.

    Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, located 15 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of the Russian capital, briefly suspended flights Sunday morning after a drone was shot down in the airspace around the city. The attack was one of four strikes on the Russian capital in the space of a month, spotlighting Moscow’s vulnerability as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags into its second year.

    The drone was destroyed by air defense systems in the Podolsk region of the Moscow suburbs, the Russian defense ministry said.

    The Russian defense ministry said no one was injured from the abortive drone attack, although Russian media outlet Baza later reported that a 77-year-old man suffered a shrapnel wound to his hand. The reports could not be independently verified.

    Ukrainian authorities, which generally avoid commenting on attacks on Russian soil, didn’t say whether it launched the raid.

    Flights were last halted at the airport on July 30, when two drones crashed into the Moscow City business district after being jammed by Russian air defenses.

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  • Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker near Crimea in the second sea attack in a day

    Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker near Crimea in the second sea attack in a day

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday night, according to Russian officials and video circulating on social media.

    The strike was the second sea attack involving drones in one day, after Ukraine struck a major Russian port earlier on Friday.

    As Kyiv’s naval capabilities grow, the Black Sea is becoming an increasingly important battleground in the war.

    Three weeks ago, Moscow withdrew from a key export agreement that allowed Ukraine to ship millions of tons of grain across the Black Sea for sale on world markets. In the wake of that withdrawal, Russia carried out repeated strikes on Ukrainian ports, including Odesa.

    An official with Ukraine’s Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that the service was behind the attack on the tanker, which was transporting fuel for Russian forces. A sea drone, filled with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of TNT, was used for the attack, added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.

    “The Sig tanker … suffered a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, presumably as a result of a sea drone attack,” Russia’s Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport wrote on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties among the 11 crew members.

    Vladimir Rogov, a Kremlin-installed official in Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, said several members of the ship’s crew were wounded because of broken glass.

    Without specifying that Ukraine was responsible for the drone strike, Vasyl Malyuk, who leads Ukraine’s Security Service, said that “such special operations are conducted in the territorial waters of Ukraine and are completely legal.” Any such explosions, he said, are “an absolutely logical and effective step with regard to the enemy.”

    The attack briefly halted traffic on the Kerch Bridge, as well as ferry transport.

    Tugboats were deployed to assist the tanker, which is under United States sanctions for helping provide jet fuel to Russian forces fighting in Syria, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.

    Ukraine’s earlier strike on Novorossiysk halted maritime traffic for a few hours and marked the first time a commercial Russian port has been targeted in the nearly 18-month-old conflict. The port has a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal, and is key for exports. It lies about 110 kilometers (about 60 miles) east of Crimea.

    Elsewhere, a two-day summit on finding a peaceful settlement to the war kicked off in Saudi Arabia.

    Senior officials from around 40 countries – but not Russia – will aim to agree key principles on how to end the conflict.

    “It is very important because in such matters as food security, the fate of millions of people in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world directly depends on how fast the world will be in implementing the Peace Formula,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said of the summit. “I am grateful to Saudi Arabia for this platform for negotiations.”

    The main Ukrainian envoy to the summit in Jeddah, chief Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak, spoke of the talks on Friday night in a television interview published on his Telegram account: “I expect that the conversation will be difficult, but behind us is truth, behind us goodness,” he said.

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  • Iran’s Revolutionary Guard runs drill on disputed islands as US military presence in region grows

    Iran’s Revolutionary Guard runs drill on disputed islands as US military presence in region grows

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    TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched a surprise military drill Wednesday on disputed islands in the Persian Gulf, just as the U.S. military increase its presence in the region over recent ship seizures by Tehran.

    The drill focused primarily on Abu Musa Island, though the Guard also landed forces on the Greater Tunb Island as well, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported. Swarms of small, fast boats took part, along with paratroopers, drones and truck-launched surface-to-sea missile systems, footage aired on state television showed.

    “We always try for security and tranquility; it is our way,” the Guard’s chief, Gen. Hossein Salami, said in a televised address during the drill. “Our nation is vigilant, and it gives harsh responses to all threats, complicated seditions and secret scenarios and hostilities.”

    Salami later told state TV: “There is absolutely no need for the presence of America or its European or non-European allies in the region.”

    The drill comes as thousands of Marines and sailors on both the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall, a landing ship, are on their way to the Persian Gulf. Already, the U.S. has sent A-10 Thunderbolt II warplanes, F-16 and F-35 fighters, as well as the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, to the region.

    The Pentagon has said the deployment is “in response to recent attempts by Iran to threaten the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters.” Some 20% of the world’s oil passes through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the wider world and the U.S. views it as crucial to both its national security and keeping global energy prices stable.

    Meanwhile, Iran now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapon-grade levels after the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

    The use of Abu Musa and Greater Tunb in the drill also provides another message to the region. Those two islands remain claimed by the United Arab Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Iran’s late shah seized the islands in 1971 just before the UAE became an independent country and Tehran has held the islands since. Lesser Tunb Island was also seized.

    Seizing those islands reminds Iran’s neighbors of its military might as Tehran’s diplomats have been trying to convince Gulf Arab countries allied with the U.S. that “foreigners” aren’t needed to secure the region.

    Meanwhile, Iran has been trying to signal its displeasure over recent comments about the islands made by Russia, which Tehran has supplied with bomb-carrying drones for their war in Ukraine. Russia earlier this summer in a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council called for “bilateral negotiations or the International Court of Justice” to decide who should control the islands. That prompted an outcry in Iran and Tehran summoned the Russian envoy over the remarks.

    ___

    Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

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