3 Jul, 2023 08:47

Assassination attempt on Crimean governor thwarted – FSB

A Ukrainian agent intended to blow up Sergey Aksyonov’s motorcade, the Russian security service alleges

A man who was preparing to assassinate the governor of Crimea has been arrested in the Russian region, the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on Monday. He had beenrecruited by Kievand received training in handling explosives in Ukraine, the agency claimed.

The plot was thwarted when the agent, who is a Russian national in his late 30s, was gathering components for an improvised explosive device, the agency said. It released footage of the arrest, apparently showing the bomb parts and excerpts from his interview with law enforcement.

The FSB alleges that the would-be assassin was recruited by Ukraine’s SBU last December and traveled to Ukraine for training in sabotage techniques. He arrived in the Crimean capital of Simferopol last month.

The plan was to rig a car with a powerful IED, using metal fragments and incendiary components for additional lethality. The vehicle would then be parked along the route of Aksyonov’s motorcade.

The FSB regularly reports catching Ukrainian saboteurs who plan bomb attacks targeting Russian officials and infrastructure. Officials in Kiev have acknowledged launching assassination attempts on Russian public figures and have pledged to continue doing so.

https://www.rt.com/russia/579113-fsb-aksyonov-assassination-plot/

3 Jul, 2023 07:51

Russia ‘threatened’ by Ukraine’s bid to join NATO – Medvedev

Moscow will prevent this outcome “one way or another,” the senior official warns

Russia demands that its security concerns regarding NATO are respected, but has neither the intention nor the capability to “contain” the US-led military bloc, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said.

The official argued in a keynote article on Sunday against the notion that Russia miscalculated in its attempt to prevent NATO’s expansion into Ukraine, and caused Finland and Sweden to apply for membership. Both Nordic nations “were already in association with the alliance”, he noted.

What Russia has always called for was “not to invite into NATO the former parts of our country. Especially those with which we have territorial disputes,” Medvedev wrote. He pledged that Russia will stop “the threat” of Ukraine joining the bloc “one way or another.”Since NATO members say that a nation cannot join while being engaged in an armed conflict, “the conflict [with Ukraine] will be permanent, because Russia’s existence is at stake,” he warned.

The article detailed Medvedev's view of the hostilities in Ukraine in the context of a wider geopolitical confrontation. According to the Russian official, Western nations are clashing with the rest of the world in an attempt to preserve their hegemony.

Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy head of the Russian Security Council, admitted to having a pessimistic view of where things are going.

“One does not need to be a prophet to realize: this phase of confrontation will… last for decades,” he predicted.

Medvedev believes that since Western nations have the goal of defeating a nuclear power, it could escalate into a civilization-ending outcome. “An apocalypse is not only possible, but quite probable,” he warned.

The only alternative is a painfully negotiated rearrangement of the global balance of power, under which Ukraine would not exist in its current form of an “anti-Russia,” he said.

“The Kiev regime must be annihilated. Banned by law as a fascist entity in civilized Europe,”he declared.

A rebalanced world order would require a new international treaty akin to the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and likely an overhaul of the United Nations, Medvedev argued. The accords were a key element of the US-USSR detente, and outlined the signatories’ commitments to preserve peace, security and respect for human rights.

https://www.rt.com/russia/579112-medvedev-ukraine-conflict-nato/

3 Jul, 2023 10:28

Ukraine’s Leopard tank fleet dwindling – Shoigu

The number of German-made tanks lost by Kiev equals all the supplies from Poland and Portugal, the defense minister says

The number of Ukrainian Leopard 2 battle tanks destroyed by Russian forces is comparable to the entire supply from Poland and Portugal, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has reported.

Shoigu said on Monday thatUkraine has lost 16 Leopard vehicles, which, he added “practically amounts to 100% of the tanks of this type supplied by Poland and Portugal.”Warsaw earlier pledged 14 Leopard 2A4s to Ukraine, with the first deliveries reported in March. Portugal sent three Leopard 2A6 tanks via Germany the same month.

In a similar update on June 22, senior Russian officials said Ukraine had lost 13 Leopard tanks.

The tanks were taken out since June 4 in the southern part of the frontline, along with15 planes, three military helicopters and over 900 armored vehicles, Shoigu claimed during a ministerial meeting.

The date is considered by Russia to be the start of Kiev’s counteroffensive, in which Western tanks were expected to give Ukrainian troops an edge. According to the Russian minister, “overall the enemy failed to reach its objectives on any direction,” which proves the mastery of Russian soldiers and “obviously inflated expectations put on the much-praised Western weapons.”

He further claimed that Ukraine’s foreign backers were pressuring Kiev to continue assaults on Russian positions despite the loss of some 2,500 pieces of heavy weaponry so far.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that after their failure to break through Russian defense lines, the Ukrainian forces have been keeping Western weapons away from the frontline andceased major attacks.

The article detailed the experience of a Ukrainian tank crew, who were trained to operate Leopard 2 tanks in Germany. They said their side was “shocked” by the scale of Russia’s preparations for the counteroffensive.

https://www.rt.com/russia/579123-shoigu-leopard-fleet-ukraine/