A series of policies introduced by Vladimir Putin show he is “worried” about mounting problems likely to hit Russia next year, a leading think tank says. Meanwhile, RAF fighter jets were scrambled to monitor Russian military aircraft near UK airspace, it has emerged.
Friday 15 November 2024 12:45, UK
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The airport in Russia’s southwestern city of Kazan has been temporarily closed for flights today, the aviation watchdog has said.
It has not disclosed the reason.
Such closures in Russia usually indicate ongoing or expected Ukrainian drone attacks.
We’ll bring you more details on this story as we get them.
We have been reporting this week on intelligence from the US, South Korea and Ukraine that indicates up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia’s Kursk border region to help beat back Ukrainian forces there.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the office of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been reacting to the development, saying it showed Russia had “trivialised itself”.
“Or ‘entity Putin’ once again with pleasure humiliated himself,” he said on X.
“So, when you keep talking about the need to talk/agree/renegotiate with [Russia] (including on its barbaric terms), because… you are used to being afraid of it. Being afraid, as it turned out, in vain.
“[Russia] begged for help and invited a foreign continent to its territory for its own defence… Another nullification of the standard myths about Russia’s military ‘greatness’.”
The Ukrainian defence minister has dismissed comments by from officials who suggested that security guarantees were the priority above territory in any future negotiations with Russia.
Rustem Umerov insisted the country was fighting to liberate all territory captured by Russia in the past decade.
“Territorial integrity is part of our values,” he told a joint news conference with his Norwegian counterpart in Oslo.
When asked about reports that Ukraine is shifting its focus in the war, Umerov said this was false and part of Russian propaganda efforts.
“Our priority is still to protect people, protect the nation, to liberate people from almost 10 years of temporary occupation, so Crimea and Donbas [are] part of Ukraine,” he said.
People living in territories held by Russia are all waiting to be liberated, he added.
As reported a little earlier, Russia launched a strike on the port of Odesa in southern Ukraine overnight.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said one person was killed and 10 injured in the attacks.
“Last night there was a combined massive attack on Odesa,” he said.
“Missiles and drones were used. The territory of the port was also hit.”
Video from Odesa shows the aftermath of the strike, which damaged residential buildings and a medical facility.
An emerging theme in the reporting around the war in Ukraine is the increasingly perilous economic plight of Russia.
As of this morning, the ruble was worth just 1 US cent and less than 1p in pound sterling.
It comes amid spiralling inflation in the country.
These issues are combining with a series of other economic difficulties to cause Vladimir Putin serious concern, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank.
“The Kremlin’s recent economic policies indicate that the Russian economy will likely face significant challenges in 2025 and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is worried about Russia’s economic stability in the long term,” the analysts said.
“The Kremlin recently adopted several policies that aim to cut Russian government spending on wounded Russian servicemen, combat inflation, and address long-term demographic problems such as low birth rates and labour shortages.
“These policies demonstrate that the Russian economy is not as resilient to Western sanctions, monetary constraints, and the cost of the war effort as the Russian government postures.
“These policies also demonstrate that the Kremlin will not be able to sustain the protracted war effort for years and decades to come while shielding Russian society from economic challenges.
“Consistent Western and international support for Ukraine’s resistance on the battlefield will further exacerbate Russia’s economic problems.
“Putin modified compensation promised for Russian servicemen wounded while fighting in Ukraine – a clear indicator that the Kremlin is trying to cut the mounting short- and long-term costs of the war and restore balance to the Russian economy.”
RAF fighter jets were scrambled to monitor Russian military aircraft near UK airspace, it has emerged.
The defence ministry said the incident yesterday was the second time in three months that the Royal Navy and RAF have detected Russian ships and aircraft within a week of each other.
It said Typhoons deployed from RAF Lossiemouth monitored the Russian Bear-F aircraft flying over the North Sea.
“The Russian reconnaissance plane had been detected in the UK’s area of interest and at no time was it able to enter UK sovereign airspace,” the statement said.
It comes after the Royal Navy shadowed Russian military vessels passing through the Channel over the past week.
“The Typhoons, which were supported by a Voyager refuelling aircraft, are part of the RAF’s Quick Reaction Alert,” the statement added.
“This sees aircraft in Scotland and England at high-readiness 24/7, 365 days a year, ready to defend and protect UK airspace.”
It said the scrambling also followed British warships, helicopters, and long-range maritime patrol aircraft keeping close watch on the progress of two separate groups of Russian ships as they sailed in opposite directions – one bound for the Atlantic and the other towards the Baltic.
“This ensured the ships acted in a safe and non-threatening manner,” the statement said.
In the Channel, HMS Iron Duke and tanker RFA Tideforce shadowed three Russian vessels, which were led by the new frigate Admiral Golovko.
The Golovko was accompanied by oceanographic research vessel Yantar and supporting tanker Vyazma.
All three had been tracked by the Norwegian Navy before British forces took over.
The Duke class frigate and Tide-class tanker, supported by an RAF P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, followed the ships through the Dover Strait and Channel before handing over monitoring duties to the French Navy.
As the Golovko continued her journey, Iron Duke took over.
Luke Pollard, armed forces minister, said: “Our adversaries should be in no doubt of our steadfast determination and formidable ability to protect the UK.
“The Royal Navy and RAF have once again shown they stand ready to defend our country at a moment’s notice and I pay tribute to the professionalism and bravery of those involved in these latest operations.”
Ukraine could reopen its first airport since Russia’s 2022 invasion, a senior partner at insurance broker Marsh McLennan has said.
Kyiv has taken part in discussions with European aviation authorities and airlines on restoring some air travel for almost a year, Crispin Ellison of Marsh McLennan said, with one in its western Lviv region potentially reopening next year.
“If regulators agree it is safe to open it and a political decision is made, the insurance industry is ready to support the recovery efforts,” Ellison said.
Lviv region, which borders Poland, rarely comes under Russian strikes compared to other parts of Ukraine, though Russian troops have attacked its gas infrastructure and fired drones and missiles at it.
The airport has two terminals and had the capacity to serve up to 3,000 passengers an hour before the war.
Ukraine’s national flag carrier and several other companies have gone bankrupt due to the suspension of air travel.
The European Union should reconsider sanctions against Russia because they are keeping energy prices elevated and risking the bloc’s competitiveness, the Hungarian prime minister has said.
“Energy prices need to be lowered by all means,” said Viktor Orban, who has increasingly become an ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, after EU leaders signed a declaration on competitiveness at their informal summit last week.
“This means that sanctions need to be reconsidered because under the current sanctions policy, energy prices will not go lower.”
Orban told Hungarian public radio that US companies paid a quarter of the amount their European counterparts spend on gas and electricity, a disadvantage that could not be overcome by other means.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Orban has emerged as a vocal critic of EU sanctions against Moscow and the bloc’s financial and military support for its neighbour.
While countries in western Europe have made serious efforts to wean themselves off Russian energy, landlocked Hungary gets 80-85% of its gas from Russia, with 80% of its crude oil supplies also coming from its former communist ally.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says he hopes Marco Rubio, the nominee for US secretary of state, will pursue a policy of “peace through strength” for the war in Ukraine.
The secretary of state serves as the president’s chief foreign affairs adviser and the country’s top diplomat.
“I look forward to working together, deepening the mutually beneficial Ukraine-US strategic partnership, and advancing peace through strength in Ukraine and around the world,” Andrii Sybiha said on X.
Earlier this year, Mr Rubio was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a $95bn (£74bn) military aid package to support Ukraine, which was eventually passed in April.
He has said in recent interviews that Ukraine needs to seek a negotiated settlement with Russia rather than focus on regaining all territory that Russia has taken in the last decade.
“I’m not on Russia’s side – but unfortunately the reality of it is that the way the war in Ukraine is going to end is with a negotiated settlement,” Mr Rubio said in September.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says North Korea’s involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine is an escalation of the “utmost seriousness”.
Intelligence from the US, South Korea and Ukraine claims that up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia’s Kursk border region to help beat back Ukrainian forces there.
NATO and the EU hope China, which has strong diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, can be persuaded to help get North Korea to stop supporting Moscow with its war aims.
In a blog published yesterday, Mr Borrell detailed his recent trip to Japan and South Korea, where North Korea’s troop deployment and other assistance to Russia was on the agenda.
“This marks an escalation of the utmost seriousness, which was of course at the heart of our discussions with the Japanese and South Korean leaders,” he wrote.
Kim Jong Un orders ‘mass production’ of suicide drones
NATO says Russia is sending missile technology to North Korea in return for its military assistance, with Kim Jong Un said to have recently ordered the “mass production” of suicide attack drones, according to state media.
“He underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production,” the Korean Central News Agency reported.
Suicide drones are explosive-carrying aerial vehicles designed to be crashed into enemy targets. They have featured heavily during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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