Ukraine war updates: Russian warship fires at German army helicopter in Baltic Sea
Tensions are rising after Vladimir Putin’s warship fired shots at a helicopter, while ex-Fox news host Tucker Carlson returned to Russia for a controversial interview.
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A Russian warship has opened fire at a German army helicopter on a reconnaissance mission in the Baltic Sea, as tensions escalate in the region.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock mentioned the alleged incident on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels, but did not provide any further details about the incident.
Ms Baerbock announced on X that surveillance of pipelines and data cables in the Baltic Sea would be stepped up as hybrid threats from Russia and its supporters were on the rise. The use of signalling ammunition is only permitted in emergencies.
“Putin is attacking our peace order with hybrid attacks,” the minister wrote.
Russia’s alleged firing of a signal ammunition at a German helicopter comes as tensions between the two countries have been increasing.
Meanwhile, ex-Fox news presenter Tucker Carlson is set to reveal details of his secret meeting with the Russian foreign secretary after announcing the interview.
We’re back in Moscow. Here’s why. pic.twitter.com/7FfBhcaIUu
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 3, 2024
Mr Carlson said that a conversation with Sergey Lavrov would be shared “very soon”, while Russia confirmed it would publish the 90-minute clip after an edit.
The former host posted on X that the pair had discussed how a “nuclear holocaust” could be averted and the shape of Russia’s informal ties with China.
Mr Carlson, a vocal supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump, interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in February, his first interview with an American journalist since before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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RUSSIA FIRES MISSILES IN MAJOR WARNING OVER SYRIA WAR
Russia’s army fired hypersonic missiles during naval and Air Force drills in the eastern Mediterranean, which comes after its ally Syria loses ground to Islamist rebels.
The military said the number of Russian troops stationed in the region had been “increased” to take part in the exercises.
Russia has been carrying out airstrikes in recent days to try to counter a rebel offensive that has seen President Bashar al-Assad’s forces lose the second city of Aleppo.
Moscow has been a key ally of Mr Assad since the Syrian civil war started in 2011.
“On December 3, during an exercise to test the combined activities of Russian Navy and Air Force troop groups, precision sea-based missiles were launched in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea,” Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a post on Telegram.
The Russian Defence Ministry said a Bastion coastal missile system from the Mediterranean coast – presumably Syria, although it wasn’t specified – carried out a “combat launch of an Onyx cruise missile”.
Russia has a naval base in Syria at Tartus but the statement did not say where the drills were carried out.
“In the course of preparing for the exercise, the Russian Armed Forces’ troops grouping in the eastern Mediterranean was increased,” the ministry added.
More than 1000 forces, 10 vessels and 24 aircraft were taking part in the drills.
The drills were carried out under the supervision of Russian naval commander in chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev.
Several days ago, he was dispatched to Syria amid turmoil in the country as rebels took Aleppo.
LANDMINES BOOST FOR UKRAINE AMID MASSIVE RUSSIAN ADVANCE
The United States has announced a new $US725 million ($A1.1bn) military aid package for Ukraine that features a second tranche of landmines as well as anti-air and anti-armour weapons.
US President Joe Biden’s administration is working against the clock to provide billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, after which future assistance for Ukraine will be in doubt.
Less than two months before Mr Trump is set to be sworn in, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the package was part of efforts “to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression.”
It includes anti-personnel landmines, ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, Stinger missiles, counter-drone systems, anti-armour weapons and artillery ammunition, Blinken said in a statement.
The United States announced a first shipment of landmines to Ukraine last month – a major policy shift slammed by rights groups.
Russia in November made its largest monthly territorial gains in the war in Ukraine since March 2022, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP) analysis of data from the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Kremlin forces advanced over 725sq km of Ukrainian territory, mainly in the east near the city of Pokrovsk – up from 610sq km in October – and equivalent to the size of Singapore.
Pokrovsk – a rail and road hub – is located in the Donetsk region, which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of Russian territorial gains in November (629sq km).
The Ukrainian army now controls less than a third of the region compared to more than 40 per cent on January 1 this year.
POWER CUTS AFTER RUSSIAN ATTACKS
Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure triggered power cuts in the west of the war-torn country, authorities said Tuesday, after Moscow’s latest aerial barrage.
A drone hit Ternopil, a western town home to 224,000 people, that saw a deadly strike on Monday and extensive power cuts that left thousands without electricity last month.
“An enemy drone hit an energy infrastructure facility in Ternopil. Part of the city is without electricity,” said the town’s mayor, Sergiy Nadal.
Western Ukraine has been relatively spared in the nearly three-year war, but Russia has recently stepped up strikes over the whole country’s energy infrastructure, seen as a bid to knock out crucial power supplies through the winter months and sap Ukrainian morale.
Overnight attacks also targeted the western Rivne region, said its governor, Oleksandr Koval.
“Another enemy attack on Rivne region. An energy infrastructure facility was hit,” Koval said on social media, without specifying the immediate consequences of the attack.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had attacked Ukraine with 28 drones, 22 of which were shot down.
MAN ARRESTED TRYING TO SMUGGLE CESSNAS TO RUSSIA
A dual US-Russian national has been arrested for trying to smuggle two Cessna aircraft from the United States to Russia via Armenia, the Justice Department said.
Sergey Nechaev was taken into custody in the southern state of Georgia and charged with seeking to violate US export laws, the department said.
Nechaev allegedly tried to export a 1968 Cessna 172K and a 1973 Cessna to a purported Russian flight school without the proper authorisation, it said.
“Nechaev falsely represented that the end user and destination were in Armenia,” the department said.
The planes, valued at a total of $US170,000 ($A263,000), have been seized by the US authorities.
Nechaev faces up to 20 years in prison for unlawful attempted export of controlled goods, up to 10 years for smuggling and up to five years for falsifying export information.
The Justice Department said the investigation was co-ordinated through its “Task Force KleptoCapture,” which has been enforcing sanctions and export controls on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
SWISS LIMIT SPECIAL PROTECTION ACCESS FOR UKRAINIANS
Swiss parliamentarians voted to significantly restrict access to a special temporary protection status granted to Ukrainians since Russia’s full-scale invasion. The lower house of the Swiss parliament accepted, with 96 votes in favour and 87 opposed, a motion tightening the requirements for Ukrainians seeking special protection in Switzerland, following a similar vote by the upper house earlier this year. The motion, put forward by the hard-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP) – Switzerland’s largest party -, will restrict access to temporary protection to those fleeing areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia or directly affected by the conflict.
GERMANY PLEDGES $1BN IN MILITARY AID TO UKRAINE
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Ukraine to reaffirm German support for Kyiv after becoming the first major ally of the war-torn country to speak to Vladimir Putin in years to urge negotiations.
Russia launched another aerial barrage of hundreds of drones hours before Mr Scholz arrived, leaving one dead and three wounded in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil.
Mr Scholz met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced another package of military support worth 650 million euros ($A1bn) to be delivered by the end of the year.
“I would like to make it clear here on the ground that Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe,” said Mr Scholz, who faces new elections in February after his coalition collapsed last month.
MOSCOW: WEST WANTS CEASEFIRE TO RE-ARM KYIV
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Western countries of wanting a ceasefire in Ukraine so they could rearm Kyiv with advanced weapons.
Talk of negotiations for a ceasefire or peace deal in the three-year conflict has come to the fore following Donald Trump’s victory in last month’s US presidential election.
The West is “starting to talk about a ceasefire as a means to give Ukraine a respite, and give themselves the opportunity to once again pump Ukraine up with modern long-range weapons,” Lavrov said during a meeting in Moscow with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.
“This, of course, is not a path to peace,” he added.
ZELENSKYY’S PLEA TO NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country needed security guarantees from NATO and more weapons to defend itself before any talks with Russia.
He made the comments after meeting the EU’s new head of diplomacy Kaja Kallas and EU Council chief Antonio Costa, who were visiting Kyiv as a show of support on their first day in office.
“An invitation for Ukraine to join NATO is a necessary thing for our survival,” Mr Zelenskyy said at a press conference with Costa.
Ukraine faces a tough winter ahead, with Russia unleashing devastating barrages against its power grid and Kyiv’s fatigued forces losing ground on the frontline.
Questions are also swirling around the future of US support once Donald Trump assumes the presidency in January, with fears he could force Kyiv to make painful concessions in pursuit of a quick peace deal.
Mr Zelenskyy said his country needed to be in a “strong position” before any talks with the Kremlin, calling for “steps forward with NATO” and a “good number” of long-distance weapons to defend itself.
“Only when we have all these items and we are strong, after that, we have to make the very important … agenda of meeting with one or another of the killers,” the Ukrainian leader said, adding that the EU and NATO should be involved in any negotiations.
Costa said the European Union would give Ukraine its “unwavering” support.
“We have stood with you since the very first day of this war of aggression, and you can count on us to continue to stand with you,” he told Mr Zelenskyy.
– with Agence France-Presse (AFP)
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Originally published as Ukraine war updates: Russian warship fires at German army helicopter in Baltic Sea