Latest news with #AntonVaganov
Japan Today
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Kremlin says Estonia's readiness to host nuclear-capable NATO jets threatens Russia
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the Kremlin on the bank of the Moskva River in central Moscow, Russia, May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/ File Photo The Kremlin said on Friday that Estonia's stated readiness to host NATO allies' U.S.-made F-35A stealth jets, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, posed a direct threat to Moscow. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur told the Postimees news outlet on Thursday that Estonia - which borders Russia and is a rotating base for NATO jets tasked with protecting Baltic airspace - was ready to host nuclear-capable jets if necessary. "If some of them, regardless of their country of origin, have a dual-use capability to carry nuclear weapons it doesn't affect our position on hosting F-35s in any way," the outlet cited him as saying. "Of course we are ready to host our allies." Pevkur was speaking after Britain, a NATO member, announced it would buy at least 12 F-35A jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads and that they would join NATO's airborne nuclear mission. Asked about Pevkur's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a move would be an obvious threat to Russia. "Of course it would be an immediate danger," Peskov told a journalist from Russia's Life news outlet. He said the statement was one of many "absurd thoughts" voiced by politicians in the Baltic region, which comprises Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. "We have practically no relations with the Baltic republics because it is very difficult to make them worse," he said. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Kremlin says Estonia's readiness to host nuclear-capable NATO jets threatens Russia
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the Kremlin on the bank of the Moskva River in central Moscow, Russia, May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/ File Photo MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on Friday that Estonia's stated readiness to host NATO allies' U.S.-made F-35A stealth jets, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, posed a direct threat to Moscow. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur told the Postimees news outlet on Thursday that Estonia - which borders Russia and is a rotating base for NATO jets tasked with protecting Baltic airspace - was ready to host nuclear-capable jets if necessary. "If some of them, regardless of their country of origin, have a dual-use capability to carry nuclear weapons it doesn't affect our position on hosting F-35s in any way," the outlet cited him as saying. "Of course we are ready to host our allies." Pevkur was speaking after Britain, a NATO member, announced it would buy at least 12 F-35A jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads and that they would join NATO's airborne nuclear mission. Asked about Pevkur's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such a move would be an obvious threat to Russia. "Of course it would be an immediate danger," Peskov told a journalist from Russia's Life news outlet. He said the statement was one of many "absurd thoughts" voiced by politicians in the Baltic region, which comprises Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. "We have practically no relations with the Baltic republics because it is very difficult to make them worse," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Putin Meets Iran's Foreign Minister, Says U.S. Strikes Weren't Justified
During his meeting with Iran's envoy in Moscow, Putin condemned the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and said Russia was taking steps to help the Iranian people. Photo: Anton Vaganov/Reuters; Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images
Straits Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Kremlin focuses on draft 2022 deal for proposed peace talks
A general view shows the Kremlin on the bank of the Moskva River on the day of a rehearsal for a military parade, which marks the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in central Moscow, Russia, May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposed peace talks with Ukraine will take into account an abandoned 2022 draft deal between the two countries and the reality of Russia's control over almost a fifth of Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Sunday. Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine aimed at bringing a durable peace to end the war, an initiative welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said Kyiv was willing to talk but that Moscow must first agree to an immediate ceasefire. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters after Putin's early-morning statement that the proposed talks would take into account both the draft abandoned in 2022 and the current situation on the ground. Days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia and Ukraine began talks in Belarus that later moved to Istanbul. A draft agreed there setting out a framework for a possible settlement became known as the "Istanbul Communique". The talks broke off in May, but Russian officials have long argued that a settlement can be reached along the lines of the Istanbul Communique. Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy, has also referred to the 2022 draft as a possible guide to future peace. Under the draft, a copy of which Reuters has reviewed, Ukraine would agree to permanent neutrality in return for international security guarantees from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, and other nations including Belarus, Canada, Germany, Israel, Poland, and Turkey. Ukraine essentially agreed provisionally to non-nuclear neutrality and not being a member of the NATO military alliance in return for a security guarantee which, if Russia invaded, would oblige the United States and its allies to fight Russia directly. The question of territory in the 2022 draft was secondary to the security guarantee - seen by diplomats on both sides as by far the biggest hurdle to peace. Ukraine, after being invaded, wanted its security to be guaranteed but the United States and its allies were wary of locking themselves into a future war with Russia. Under the 2022 draft, Ukraine's path towards possible European Union membership would be facilitated and Russia wanted limits on Ukraine's armed forces, and the repeal of laws that Moscow considers discriminatory against Russian speakers, according to Reuters reporting. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Russia and Ukraine accuse one another of ceasefire violations
Russian soldiers, who were involved in the country's military campaign in Ukraine, march in columns during a parade on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov Russia and Ukraine accuse one another of ceasefire violations MOSCOW - Ukrainian troops have made further attempts to breach the Russian border in the Kursk and Belgorod regions, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday as President Vladimir Putin hosted world leaders at a major military parade in Moscow. The Defence Ministry said the attacks occurred during a three-day ceasefire running from May 8-10 that Russia has unilaterally declared to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. Ukraine has called the ceasefire a "farce" and on Friday documented scores of armed clashes. It noted in particular, northeastern Sumy region, site of some of the heaviest Russian assaults in recent weeks, saying there had been no letup during the Kremlin-inspired ceasefire. "There has been no 'ceasefire' in Sumy region on the 8th or 9th of May. Over the two days Russia has killed three civilians,the region's military administration said on Telegram. Ukraine's military, in its account late on Friday of battlefield operations, said 162 armed clashes had been recorded over the past 24 hours, with the Kremlin ceasefire in effect, along with 22 air strikes and 956 drone attacks. It noted heavy fighting near Pokrovsk, a logistics hub in eastern Ukraine targeted by Moscow's troops for months. Russian forces had attempted to break through Ukrainian lines 51 times. The Russian Defence Ministry account said it had registered four attempts by Ukrainian forces to smash through the border into the Kursk and Belgorod regions in the past week. In eastern Ukraine, Kyiv's troops had attacked Russian forces 15 times during the ceasefire, the ministry said. Ukraine has said Russia had repeatedly breached its own truce this week. The governor of the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said on Friday that Russia hit eight Ukrainian frontline villages 220 times since the ceasefire went into effect. In Russia's Belgorod border region, the local governor said a Ukrainian drone had attacked a government building on Friday. In Kursk, Ukrainian troops launched a major incursion last August and held onto a chunk of Russian territory for many months as Moscow's forces battled to eject them with help from North Korean soldiers. Some fighting has continued, even after Putin last month declared "victory" in Kursk. Ukraine said its troops had repelled 19 attacks in the region. Rybar, a pro-Russian war blogger, said there was "high-intensity fighting" between Russian and Ukrainian troops near Tetkino, a village in the region. Rybar and other bloggers said Ukrainian attacks on multiple villages in the neighbouring Belgorod region were continuing on Friday. Reuters could not independently verify statements by war bloggers or battlefield reports from either side. Ukraine and Russia both accused the other of repeatedly violating a previous 30-hour Easter ceasefire declared by Putin. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
