logo
Crimea introduces information blackout designed to counter Ukrainian sabotage attacks

Crimea introduces information blackout designed to counter Ukrainian sabotage attacks

Al Arabiya18-07-2025
Authorities in Russian-controlled Crimea said on Friday they were introducing an information blackout designed to counter Ukrainian drone, missile and sabotage attacks.
Sergei Aksyonov, the head of Crimea - which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 - said he had signed a decree banning media outlets and social media users from publishing any photos, video or other content that revealed the location of Russian forces or details of Ukrainian attacks on the Black Sea peninsula.
'The relevant decree was adopted to safeguard public security and military and other important facilities in the republic,' Aksyonov said in a statement on Telegram.
Ukraine, which has said it wants Crimea back - something Moscow says it will not allow to happen - has repeatedly launched major attacks on Russian military assets in Crimea and targeted Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which is formally based on the peninsula.
Aksyonov specifically mentioned the need to classify the location of Russian air defense systems, weapons, military equipment, and military personnel and not to share any GPS coordinates.
He also said that the ban covered the sharing of any information detailing the location, nature or aftermath of any Ukrainian attacks on Crimea, including missile and drone or sea drone strikes and sabotage.
Russian bloggers, media, and social media users frequently post images and details of Ukrainian strikes on Russian-held territory, often triggering criticism from both local and federal authorities.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Pakistan suspends road travel to Iran, Iraq citing security concerns
Pakistan suspends road travel to Iran, Iraq citing security concerns

Arab News

time4 hours ago

  • Arab News

Pakistan suspends road travel to Iran, Iraq citing security concerns

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced on Sunday that the government will not allow pilgrims to travel to Iran and Iraq by road for the Arbaeen pilgrimage this year, citing public safety and national security concerns for the ban. Thousands of Pakistani citizens visit Iran and Iraq annually for religious tourism and to visit religious sites, including observing Arbaeen (Arabic for 'forty'), a significant religious occasion in Shia Islam. It marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussain, who was 'martyred' in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. Travelers to Iran and Iraq by road have often been targeted in sectarian attacks by armed groups in Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province, which shares a border with Iran. Islamabad's decision comes in the wake of a rise in militant attacks in the province by ethnic Baloch militant groups, who demand a greater share of the province's mineral resources from Islamabad. 'After extensive consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Balochistan Government, and security agencies, it has been decided that Zaireen will not be allowed to travel to Iraq and Iran by road for Arbaeen this year,' Naqvi wrote on X. After extensive consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Balochistan Government, and security agencies, it has been decided that Zaireen will not be allowed to travel to Iraq and Iran by road for Arbaeen this year. This difficult decision was taken in the interest of… — Mohsin Naqvi (@MohsinnaqviC42) July 27, 2025 The interior minister said this 'difficult decision' was taken in the interest of public safety and national security. However, he said Shia pilgrims will be allowed to travel by air to Iran and Iraq. 'Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities to arrange maximum flights to facilitate their pilgrimage in the coming days,' he wrote. A Pakistani immigration official told Arab News earlier this month that Islamabad plans to overhaul its pilgrimage travel policy to Iraq, Iran and Syria after authorities confirmed around 40,000 Pakistani pilgrims went missing or overstayed in the three countries over the past decade. Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf revealed this month that 40,000 Pakistani pilgrims had either overstayed or gone missing in these countries without any official record of their whereabouts. In response, Pakistani authorities have scrapped the long-standing 'Salar system,' in which private group leaders managed travel logistics, and are introducing a new centralized, computerized structure to track and regulate pilgrim movement more effectively. Mustafa Jamal Kazi, Pakistan's director general of Immigration and Passports, said a new Ziyarat Management Policy has been finalized by the government under which pilgrims will only be allowed to travel in organized groups, and licensed tour operators will be held directly responsible for ensuring that all group members return to Pakistan before their visas expire. Any operator found violating the policy or failing to ensure the return of all pilgrims will have their license canceled.

Russia scales down celebrations honoring its navy as Ukraine launches more drone attacks
Russia scales down celebrations honoring its navy as Ukraine launches more drone attacks

Al Arabiya

time5 hours ago

  • Al Arabiya

Russia scales down celebrations honoring its navy as Ukraine launches more drone attacks

Russia on Sunday scaled down the festivities honoring its navy, citing security concerns as continuing Ukrainian drone attacks posed a challenge to the Kremlin. Russian authorities canceled the parades of warships in St. Petersburg, in the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic, and in the far-eastern port of Vladivostok that are usually held to mark the annual Navy Day celebrations. Asked about the reason for the cancellation of the parade in St. Petersburg even as President Vladimir Putin arrived in his home city to visit the navy headquarters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that it's linked to the overall situation – security reasons which are above all else. The Russian Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 99 Ukrainian drones over several regions overnight. Later in the day, officials reported more drones shot down near St. Petersburg. A woman was injured by drone fragments in the Lomonosov region, according to the local authorities. St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport suspended dozens of flights early Sunday because of the drone threat. On a trip to St. Petersburg, Putin visited the historic Admiralty building to receive reports on four-day naval maneuvers that wrapped up Sunday. The July Storm exercise involved 150 warships from the Baltics to the Pacific. Putin vowed to build more warships and intensify the navy's training, adding that the navy's strike power and combat capability will rise to a qualitatively new level. Reducing the scale of the Navy Day celebrations reflects Moscow's worries about Ukraine's sweeping drone attacks across the country. In a series of strikes earlier in the war, now in its fourth year, Ukraine sank several Russian warships in the Blacks Sea, crippling Moscow's naval capability and forcing it to redeploy its fleet from Russia-occupied Crimea to Novorossiysk. And in an audacious June 1 attack codenamed Spiderweb, Ukraine used drones to hit several Russian airbases hosting long-range bombers across Russia from the Arctic Kola Peninsula to Siberia. The drones were launched from trucks covertly placed near the bases, taking the Russian military by surprise in a humiliating blow to the Kremlin. The raid destroyed or damaged many of the bombers that had been used by Moscow to launch aerial attacks on Ukraine, providing a major morale boost for Kyiv at a time when Kyiv's undermanned and under-gunned forces are facing Russian attacks along the 1000-kilometer (600-mile) front line. Russia continued to batter Ukraine with drone and missile strikes Sunday. In Sumy, in Ukraine's northeast, a drone attack damaged civil infrastructure objects, an administrative building, and non-residential premises, leaving three people wounded. Elsewhere in the region, two men died after being blown up by a landmine, and another woman was injured from a drone attack on another community in the region, the regional military administration said.

Two Israeli soldiers killed in south Gaza, military says
Two Israeli soldiers killed in south Gaza, military says

Al Arabiya

time5 hours ago

  • Al Arabiya

Two Israeli soldiers killed in south Gaza, military says

Two Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday, the military said, a day after confirming another soldier had died of wounds sustained last week. 'We have lost three young heroes -- some of our finest -- who gave their lives for the security of our state and the return of all our hostages,' Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X. The two soldiers, aged 20 and 22, served in the Golani Infantry Brigade's 51st Battalion. Israeli military sources said they were killed when their armored vehicle exploded in the city of Khan Younis. Military correspondents from several Israeli media outlets said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device detonated by a militant who emerged from a tunnel. An investigation was underway. The Israeli military says 462 soldiers have been killed since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27, 2023. Israel launched its Gaza military campaign after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The Israeli campaign has killed 59,733 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the territory.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store