Mikhail Bogdanov relieved of duties as Russian deputy foreign minister
Bogdanov's departure, announced in a presidential decree, took place entirely at his own request for personal reasons, TASS quoted a source as saying.
Bogdanov, 74, graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1974 in the Soviet era and immediately embarked on a diplomatic career as a regional specialist that took him to numerous capitals.
He served as Russian ambassador to Israel from 1997-2002 and ambassador to Egypt from 2005 to 2011.
Under Putin, he served as special presidential representative to the Middle East from 2012, and as special representative to Africa from 2014.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Britain faces war with Putin's Russia within next five years, warns ex head of British Army
Gen Sir Patrick cautioned that the Army is currently too small to survive more than the first few months of such a war 'WAR WITH VLAD' Britain faces war with Putin's Russia within next five years, warns ex head of British Army BRITAIN faces war with Russia within the next five years, the previous head of the British Army has warned. Former Chief of the General Staff General Sir Patrick Sanders, 59, said the UK must accept that armed conflict with Vladimir Putin by 2030 is a "realistic possibility". 2 Former Chief of the General Staff General Sir Patrick Sanders said the UK must accept that armed conflict with Putin by 2030 is a 'realistic possibility' Credit: Alamy Gen Sir Patrick, who retired from the military last year, cautioned that the Army is currently too small to survive more than the first few months of such a war. And he added that he did not know how many more "signals" ministers needed to realise it must strengthen the nation's defences. He said: 'If Russia stops fighting in Ukraine, you get to a position where within a matter of months they will have the capability to conduct a limited attack on a Nato member that we will be responsible for supporting, and that happens by 2030. 'I don't know what more signals we need for us to realise that if we don't act now and we don't act in the next five years to increase our resilience … I don't know what more is needed." The former rifleman fell out of favour with the Government while leading the Army for being seen as too outspoken against troop cuts. It was announced under the previous government that the Army would be reduced from just over 80,000 personnel as of October 2020 to 72,500 by 2025. Gen Sir Patrick said: 'At the moment, the British Army is too small to survive more than the first few months of an intensive engagement, and we're going to need more. 'Now the first place you go to are the reserves, but the reserves are also too small. "Thirty thousand reserves still only takes you to an army of 100,000. "You know, I joined an Army in the Cold War that was about 140,000 regulars, and on top of that, a much larger reserve.' Nato jets scrambled as Putin launches one of war's biggest attacks in Ukraine Gen Sir Patrick said he was disappointed the Strategic Defence Review published last month 'didn't touch on this at all'. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves last month committed to the defence budget rising to 2.6 per cent of the UK's GDP by April 2027. And PM Sir Keir Starmer pledged the UK would spend 5 per cent of GDP on national security within 10 years, with 3.5 per cent of that amount going to core defence matters. But Sir Gen Patrick said that during his time at the head of the Army there had been unsuccessful 'conversations' with the government about building bomb shelters for civilians and underground command centres for the military to prepare for an attack. He said: 'It always came down to a conversation of it being too costly and not a high enough priority and the threat didn't feel sufficiently imminent or serious to make it worth it. 'Finland has bomb shelters for 4.5 million people. It can survive as a government and as a society under direct missile and air attacks from Russia. We don't have that." Despite the biggest threat coming from Russia, Gen Sir Patrick also warned that Iran could act through proxies 'to attack British interests in the UK'.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Britain faces war with Putin's Russia within next five years, warns ex head of British Army
BRITAIN faces war with Russia within the next five years, the previous head of the British Army has warned. Former Chief of the General Staff General Sir Patrick Sanders, 59, said the UK must accept that armed conflict with Vladimir Putin by 2030 is a "realistic possibility". 2 Gen Sir Patrick, who retired from the military last year, cautioned that the Army is currently too small to survive more than the first few months of such a war. And he added that he did not know how many more "signals" ministers needed to realise it must strengthen the nation's defences. He said: 'If Russia stops fighting in Ukraine, you get to a position where within a matter of months they will have the capability to conduct a limited attack on a Nato member that we will be responsible for supporting, and that happens by 2030. 'I don't know what more signals we need for us to realise that if we don't act now and we don't act in the next five years to increase our resilience … I don't know what more is needed." The former rifleman fell out of favour with the Government while leading the Army for being seen as too outspoken against troop cuts. It was announced under the previous government that the Army would be reduced from just over 80,000 personnel as of October 2020 to 72,500 by 2025. Gen Sir Patrick said: 'At the moment, the British Army is too small to survive more than the first few months of an intensive engagement, and we're going to need more. 'Now the first place you go to are the reserves, but the reserves are also too small. "Thirty thousand reserves still only takes you to an army of 100,000. "You know, I joined an Army in the Cold War that was about 140,000 regulars, and on top of that, a much larger reserve.' Nato jets scrambled as Putin launches one of war's biggest attacks in Ukraine Gen Sir Patrick said he was disappointed the Strategic Defence Review published last month 'didn't touch on this at all'. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves last month committed to the defence budget rising to 2.6 per cent of the UK's GDP by April 2027. And PM Sir Keir Starmer pledged the UK would spend 5 per cent of GDP on national security within 10 years, with 3.5 per cent of that amount going to core defence matters. But Sir Gen Patrick said that during his time at the head of the Army there had been unsuccessful 'conversations' with the government about building bomb shelters for civilians and underground command centres for the military to prepare for an attack. He said: 'It always came down to a conversation of it being too costly and not a high enough priority and the threat didn't feel sufficiently imminent or serious to make it worth it. 'Finland has bomb shelters for 4.5 million people. It can survive as a government and as a society under direct missile and air attacks from Russia. We don't have that." Despite the biggest threat coming from Russia, Gen Sir Patrick also warned that Iran could act through proxies 'to attack British interests in the UK'. 2
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
UK special forces carry out secret 'kill' operation against top Isis bomb-maker in Syria ahead of visit by David Lammy
British special forces mounted a secret 'kill' operation against Islamic State's top bomb-maker in Syria ahead of David Lammy 's visit, security sources have said. Abu Hasan al-Jazrawi, who was the mastermind behind 'Mad Max' suicide truck attacks on Western forces in the region, was killed on his motorbike after a Hellfire missile was unleashed from a remote-controlled Reaper drone. The 'kill' was ordered on June 10 – three weeks later, the Foreign Secretary became the first British minister in 14 years to visit the country, where he pledged a £94.5 million package in support of Syria's new government under president Ahmed al-Sharaa. Al-Jazrawi was not linked to any direct threat to Mr Lammy but he was thought to be behind a failed attack on Damascus's Shia Sayyida Zaynab shrine in March – and plotting fresh attacks. An intelligence source said: 'The country is a safer place with him gone. An attack on the FS [Foreign Secretary] would be an attack on all of us'. Last night, a No 10 source played down claims the strike had been specifically authorised by the Prime Minister, saying that under Operation Shader – the name given to the UK's participation in the battle against Islamic State – decisions over such 'kills' were delegated to the commanders. Al Jazrawi was tracked by British and American special forces to a bunker near Aleppo in western Syria. Thought to have been related to Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, the leader of Islamic State in Syria, he adopted various aliases as he plotted his attacks. He created the 'Mad Max' – a reference to the Hollywood action films – suicide trucks packed with explosives and covered in steel plates which were used against Iraqi and US forces during the battle for Mosul in 2017. He is also thought to have been behind the bombing of the Christian St Elias Church in Damascus in June which killed 25 worshippers. A military source said: 'There is no indication the terrorists knew the Foreign Secretary was visiting, although it had been arranged weeks in advance and could have been leaked. 'This was a strategic initiative to protect our allies in the region and disrupt any possible attack during the minister's visit.' During his trip Mr Lammy said: 'There is renewed hope for the Syrian people, It is in our interests to support the new government to deliver their commitment to build a stable, more secure and prosperous future for all Syrians.' The first RAF Reaper MQ-9 took to the skies in Helmand, Afghanistan, in 2008. They were initially operated from the US Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, before control was switched to the UK's 13 Squadron who are based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. A Reaper drone, which is laser-guided with a range of 12,000 yards, can carry eight Hellfire missiles.
