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Guy Faulconbridge News

28 Mar 2024

Russian Warships Enter Red Sea

© tsuguliev / Adobe Stock

Several Russian warships have passed the Bab al-Mandab Strait into the Red Sea, the Russian navy's Pacific Fleet said on Thursday, amid attacks by Yemen's Houthis on merchant shipping.The Zvezda TV channel, owned by the defense ministry, quoted the fleet as saying the Russian cruiser Varyag and the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov were taking part in the voyage.(Reuters - Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Mark Heinrich

26 Dec 2023

Fire Put Out on Nuclear-powered Cargo Ship

(Photo: Vadim Tolbatov, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Russia said on Monday that emergency workers had put out a fire on a Soviet-era nuclear-powered cargo-icebreaker ship and the state company which runs the vessel said there had been no casualties and no threat to the security of the reactor.The fire broke out on Sunday in one of the cabins of the Soviet-made Sevmorput ship, which is currently at dock in the northern Russian city of Murmansk, the emergency ministry said.The fire, which at its peak covered an area of about 30 square meters (323 square feet)…

15 Nov 2023

Russian Oil Tankers Not Targeted in EU Sanctions Proposal -EU Diplomats

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Russian oil tankers are not targeted in the European Commission's proposal for tightening the implementation of a price cap on the country's crude oil, EU diplomats said on Wednesday.The Financial Times reported earlier on Wednesday that Denmark will be tasked with inspecting and potentially blocking Russian oil tankers sailing through its waters under new European Union plans as a way of enforcing a $60 per barrel price cap on Moscow's crude.The FT said that Denmark would target tankers carrying Russian oil that did not have Western insurance…

15 Nov 2023

Denmark Could Block Tankers with Russian Oil from Reaching Markets - FT

For illustration, the Danish frigate Peter  - Photo: Rune Dyrholm / Danish Armed Forces

Denmark will be tasked with inspecting and potentially blocking tankers carrying Russian oil through its waters under new European Union plans, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing three unidentified sources.Russia sends about a third of its seaborne oil exports, or 1.5% of global supply, through the Danish straits so any attempt to halt those supplies would send oil prices higher and trigger a confrontation with Russia. The FT said that Denmark would target tankers carrying Russian oil that did not have Western insurance…

11 Sep 2023

UK Says Russia Fired Missiles at Civilian Cargo Ship

Britain on Monday accused Russia of targeting a civilian cargo ship at port in the Black Sea on Aug. 24 in a previously unconfirmed missile attack it said was successfully thwarted by Ukrainian defences.Ukraine has been making efforts to allow vessels stranded in Odesa port since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to sail into open waters after the collapse of the UN-backed Black Sea grains corridor.The remarks, made in Britain's parliament by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, are the first time an official has commented on a ship being targeted since those Ukrainian efforts began. Since Aug. 18, four cargo ships have sailed from Odesa."Thanks to declassified intelligence…

15 Aug 2023

'Stop machine' - Russia Releases Video Showing Navy Boarding Cargo Ship in Black Sea

Screenshot from Russian Defense Ministry's video

Russia on Tuesday released video footage showing an armed naval inspection unit boarding a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea on Sunday and questioning the captain about why the ship had not stopped when demanded to by a Russian warship.Russia said that it fired warning shots with automatic weapons at the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after it failed to respond to a demand for it to halt, though it was unclear why the ship was boarded so close to Turkey.In a video released by the Russian defense ministry…

13 Aug 2023

Russian Warship Fires Warning Shots at Cargo Ship in Black Sea

A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards, the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month.In July, Russia halted participation in the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea. Moscow said that it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons.On Sunday, Russia said in a statement that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection.Russia said the vessel was making its way toward the Ukrainian port of Izmail.

10 Aug 2023

Putin Says State-owned VTB Bank to Manage Russia's Main Shipbuilder

A ship under construction at a United Shipbuilding Corporation yard / Credit: United Shipbuilding Corporation (file photo)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday asked the state-owned VTB bank to manage the state's 100% stake in United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Russia's largest shipbuilder, to solve financial problems at the firm.Putin's decision effectively transfers control of Russia's premier shipbuilding assets to Moscow-based VTB, which has been run by Andrei Kostin, one of Russia's most influential bankers, for the past 21 years.USC builds civilian vessels as well as nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers and other warships.

11 Jun 2023

Russia Says Ukraine Tried to Attack Russian Ship Near Major Gas Pipelines in Black Sea

A still image from a video, released by Russia's Defence Ministry, shows what it said to be the Ukrainian drone boat attacking the Russian warship Priazovye in the Black Sea in this image taken from handout footage released June 11, 2023. (Photo: Russian Defense Ministry)

Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine had made unsuccessful attempt to attack a Russian naval ship with six high-speed drone boats as the Russian vessel patrolled major natural gas pipelines in the Black Sea.The 'Priazovye' ship was carrying out what Russia's defense ministry said was "monitoring of the situation and ensuring security along the routes of the TurkStream and Blue Stream gas pipelines in the southeastern part of the Black Sea."Ukraine attacked in the early hours of Sunday about 300 km south-east of Sevastopol…

02 Jun 2023

Russia's Taman Port to Suspend LPG Exports over Drone Danger

Taman Port - ©European Space Agency -      Date March 5, 2018 - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Russia's Black Sea port of Taman is poised to suspend exports of highly-explosive liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) because of concerns linked to drone attacks, three sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Friday. Russia has come under repeated attack in recent weeks, suffering a major cross-border incursion and drone attacks including on Moscow, oil refineries in southern Russia and a fuel depot near a strategic bridge that links Russia's mainland with Crimea. Russia says Ukraine was behind the attacks, including on the Kremlin last month. Kyiv denies it.

13 Apr 2023

Russia Says Black Sea Grain Deal May Be Nearly Over

© glebzter / Adobe Stock

Russia on Thursday said there would be no extension of the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal beyond May 18 unless the West removed a series of obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer.The Ukraine grain Black Sea export deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July last year to help alleviate a global food crisis worsened by conflict disrupting exports from two of the world's leading grain suppliers."Without progress on solving five systemic problems...there is no need to talk about the further extension of the Black Sea initiative after May 18…

07 Apr 2023

Russia Warns West: We May Work Around the Black Sea Grain Deal

©bergamont/AdobeStock

Russia warned the West on Friday that unless obstacles to its exports of grain and fertilisers were removed, then Ukraine would have to export grain over land and Moscow would work outside the UN-brokered landmark grain export deal.The Black Sea grain deal is an attempt by the United Nations to ease a food crisis that predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but was made worse by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two.The deal, first signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey…

10 Mar 2023

Gas Tankers Stranded near Russia due to Crimea Bridge Restrictions

Several tankers loaded with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have been unable to cross under Russia's Crimea bridge due to security restrictions, traders said on Friday, prompting suppliers to use other routes out of Russia.The 12-mile (19 km) road and rail bridge, which was personally opened by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, was bombed in October in an attack Russia said was carried out by Ukraine. The bridge spans the Kerch Strait linking the Black Sea with the smaller Azov sea. Kyiv never claimed responsibility for the bombing of the bridge on the morning of Oct. 8, a day after Putin's 70th birthday. Russia's Federal Security Service said the attack was organized by Ukrainian military intelligence.

04 Jan 2023

Putin Sends Frigate Armed with Hypersonic Missiles to Atlantic Ocean

Admiral Gorshkov frigate - Credit: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (file photo) - CC BY 4.0

President Vladimir Putin sent a frigate to the Atlantic Ocean armed with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles on Wednesday, a signal to the West that Russia will not back down over the war in Ukraine.Russia, China, and the United States are in a race to develop hypersonic weapons, which are seen as a way to gain an edge over any adversary because of their speeds - above five times the speed of sound - and maneuverability.In a video conference with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Igor Krokhmal…

29 Dec 2022

Russia and China Hold Naval Drills, Practice Submarine Capture

(Photo: Russian Defense Ministry)

Russia and China have completed naval drills in the East China Sea, after a week of joint exercises which included practicing how to capture an enemy submarine with depth charges and firing artillery at a warship, Russia's defense ministry said.The Dec.

07 Mar 2023

Russian Pipeline Gas Exports to Europe Drop to a Post-Soviet Low

The gas leak at Nord Stream 2 seen from the Danish F-16 interceptor on Bornholm in late September 2022. Photo: Danish Defence

Russian gas exports to Europe via pipelines plummeted to a post-Soviet low in 2022 as its largest customer cut imports due to the conflict in Ukraine and a major pipeline was damaged by mysterious blasts, Gazprom data  and Reuters calculations showed.The European Union, traditionally Russia's largest consumer for oil and gas, has for years spoken about cutting its reliance on Russian energy, but Brussels got serious after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February.State-controlled Gazprom…

22 Nov 2022

Putin Touts Russia's 'Arctic Power' with Launch of Nuclear Icebreakers

(Photo: Baltic Shipyard)

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday touted Russia's Arctic power at a flag-raising ceremony and dock launch for two nuclear-powered icebreakers that will ensure year-round navigation in the Western Arctic.Presiding via video link from the Kremlin at the launch ceremony in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg in northern Russia, Putin said such icebreakers were of strategic importance for the country."Both icebreakers were laid down as part of a large serial project and are part of our large-scale…

17 Nov 2022

Black Sea Grain Export Deal Extended

© Eugene / Adobe Stock

A deal aimed at easing global food shortages by facilitating Ukraine's agricultural exports from its southern Black Sea ports was extended for 120 days on Thursday, though Moscow said its own demands were yet to be fully addressed.The agreement, initially reached in July, created a protected sea transit corridor and was designed to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oilseeds."I welcome the agreement…

31 Oct 2022

What is Known About the Drone Attack on Crimea?

Illustration only - ©Andrii Salivon/AdobeStock

Russia suspended participation in the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal after what it said was a Ukrainian drone attack on vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol in the early hours of Saturday. What do we know so far? WHAT HAPPENED? Russia said 16 air and maritime drones attacked civilian and Black Sea Fleet vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol in Crimea at 0420 Kyiv time on Saturday. Russia said all nine of the air drones were destroyed. Four of the seven maritime drones were destroyed on the outer perimeter of the bay, but three more made it inside before they were destroyed, Russia said.

31 Oct 2022

Russia Suspends Participation in Grain Deal Citing Black Sea Fleet Drone Attack

Credit: Eugene/AdobeStock

The United Nations, Turkey, and Ukraine are pressing ahead to implement a Black Sea grain deal with a transit plan in place for 16 ships on Monday, despite Russia suspending its participation in the pact that has allowed the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to world markets.Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, halted its role in the Black Sea deal on Saturday for an "indefinite term" because it said it could not "guarantee safety of civilian ships" travelling under the pact after an attack on its Black Sea fleet.The United Nations and Turkey…

05 Oct 2022

Putin Ally Compares Nord Stream Sabotage to CIA-backed Attacks of 1980s

The gas leak from the Nord Stream gas pipeline measured over 950 meters in diameter - Credit: Swedish Coast Guard

One of President Vladimir Putin's top allies said on Wednesday that the sabotage of the Nord Stream offshore gas pipelines resembled the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency-backed attacks on oil infrastructure in Nicaragua in 1983.Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 offshore gas pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany on the bed of the Baltic Sea, were ruptured last month in what Moscow said was an act of "international terrorism".President Vladimir Putin on Friday blamed the United States and its allies for blowing up the undersea Nord Stream pipelines, allegations rejected by Washington.

19 Sep 2022

Russia Conducts Military Drills in the Arctic Sea

(Photo: Russian Defense Ministry)

Russian nuclear-powered submarines fired cruise missiles in the Arctic on Friday as part of military drills designed to test Moscow's readiness for a possible conflict in its icy northern waters, the defense ministry said.The drills, named Umka-2022, took place in the Chukchi Sea, an eastern stretch of the Arctic Ocean that separates Russia from the U.S. state of Alaska.Russia sees its vast Arctic territory as a vital strategic interest and has been building up its military capabilities in the region for years…

07 Sep 2022

Putin to Look at Revising 'Cheating' Ukrainian Grain Export Deal

© Eugene / Adobe Stock

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia and the developing world had been "cheated" by a UN-brokered Ukrainian grain export deal, vowing to look to revise its terms to limit the countries that can receive shipments.Speaking at an economic forum in the city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, Putin took aim at the deal, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, saying Ukrainian grain exports were not going to the world's poorest countries as originally intended. "What we see is a brazen deception ...