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Russia Today
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Woman apprehended while planting car bomb – FSB (VIDEO)
A young woman in St. Petersburg has been caught placing a bomb under a car, according to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). The suspect allegedly acted on orders from Ukraine and was targeting a defense industry employee. In a statement on Thursday, the agency said that it had 'disrupted the activities of a Russian citizen, born in 2002, who was involved in preparing a terrorist act on behalf of Ukrainian special services.' 'She was detained by FSB officers at the moment she was laying an improvised explosive device under the car of the intended target,' according to the agency, which released the video of the purported act and the arrest. The clip shows the woman walking with a phone in her hand, and then sliding an unidentified package under a Mercedes SUV. After being arrested, she initially claimed she had merely been tasked with tracking the vehicle, but seconds later acknowledged that she had also 'tried to plant some kind of a device' under it. According to the FSB, in June 2024, the woman reached out to Ukrainian special services, telling them 'she was ready to participate in sabotage and terrorist activities in exchange for help leaving [Russia] and obtaining citizenship in an EU country.' While carrying out tasks for her supervising officer, the woman painted pro-Ukrainian slogans in public places in Moscow Region and tried to set fire to a railway facility, the FSB said. In April 2025, she allegedly traveled to St. Petersburg to follow an unnamed defense industry employee, planning to blow up his car with an improvised explosive device. Moscow has accused Ukrainian special services of hatching numerous sabotage and assassination plots targeting Russian officials and opinion leaders. In December 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Defense Troops, was killed in Moscow by a bomb attached to a scooter; Kiev later claimed responsibility for the assassination.
ABC News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Military planners must realise security no longer stops at the border, says DroneShield
DroneShield chief executive Oleg Vornik says the recent spectacular Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's strategic bomber fleet has underscored how asymmetric warfare is a new battlefield.
South China Morning Post
24-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Zelensky tells Nato Chinese companies are among Russia's suppliers aiding war on Ukraine
Chinese defence companies are part of the network helping Russia sustain its war against Ukraine – a war 'crucial' to European security, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the Nato summit on Tuesday. Advertisement While Russia poses a long-term threat to Europe, it is not just Russia alone, Zelensky told the summit's defence industry forum, held in The Hague. Zelensky said that the continent was facing a 'network of state and non-state actors' that are 'assuring the course of aggression'. 'This network includes Russia, North Korea, the current regime in Iran, Chinese companies, and many, many schemes across the world that help produce weapons and carry out operations against our country, our people, and our Europe,' Zelensky said. 'Only together can we counter this and the best way to do it is to hit the core of this aggression hard and to break every link that connects Russia with its accomplices.' Advertisement The Ukrainian president urged Europe to increase its investment in Ukraine and joint weapons production, saying that the weapons would strengthen European defence and security systems, and that ensuring security was their 'common course'.
The Independent
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Nato chief warns China-Russia ploy could divide Western forces
Mark Rutte, Nato secretary general, has warned that China 's massive military buildup increases the risk of conflict over Taiwan, potentially impacting European security. Rutte suggested that if China were to act against Taiwan, Beijing might urge Russia to create diversions in Europe, dividing Nato's attention and resources. He noted that countries like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand are closely aligned with Nato due to their significant concerns about China's military expansion and its threat to Taiwan. Rutte highlighted China's rapidly expanding defence industry, with several Chinese companies now ranking among the top global defence firms, indicating preparation for geopolitical power projection. Nato plans to significantly increase military spending to 5 per cent of members' GDP and ramp up its defence industry to strengthen the alliance and deter potential adversaries.
RNZ News
22-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
What US attacks on Iran mean for KiwiSaver, petrol prices
Photo: Marika Khabazi Escalation of the conflict in the Middle East poses a major threat to New Zealand's economy, commentators say - as well as households' KiwiSaver balances and petrol prices. There were earlier warnings that the conflict was having a noticeable but contained effect on oil prices - but that there could be a much more significant economic impact if the conflict broadened. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said the US attacks at the weekend were that scenario. "It does obviously ratchet up tensions enormously. But the question now is how the Iranian side respond and if they respond as some of their advisers have been talking about and how they've responded sometimes in the past." He said if there were attacks on US shipping, or attempts to limit access through the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices could spike. "There's a question come Monday as the markets open how everyone will digest this. I don't think anyone is thinking that there's an easy ability to de-escalate, but I think it will hinge on the Iranian response. "If they do ratchet up the tension further, if this starts to broaden out into shipping attacks, I think market expectations and worries about oil supply will increase substantially. The question is, just to what degree do you price this and how do markets look at that?" He said shares in companies in defence-based industries could increase in value. "Everyone will think the war's on and certainly so far there's nothing that would stop you thinking the same." People might also shift to defensive assets, he said, such as utilities. The fact New Zealand was sending a defence force aircraft and foreign affairs personnel into the region proved how concerned the government was, he said. Shamubeel Eaqub, chief economist at KiwiSaver provider Simplicity, said there could be bumpiness ahead for households. "So far market pricing is unexpectedly calm. Oil prices haven't increased very much, equity prices haven't changed much even though we had already seen the beginning of that escalation before the weekend started. "But with the US involvement now the uncertainty is even higher than before." He said the experience of the Gulf War in the 1990s showed the potential impacts. "The channels were two-fold... the first was around the price of oil and the second was really around the uncertainty in financial markets in general. "Now, compared to the Iraq wars, the world is a lot less dependent on oil than it used to be, which is also true for New Zealand, so the oil intensity of the economy is less. It doesn't mean we are immune it just means we are less exposed." He said it was not yet clear how sensitive financial markets would be but the bigger issue was the fear and uncertainty that would be created. "That's what we tend to see when there is a risk-off, equity markets tend to fall … the New Zealand dollar tends to get more volatile. Quite often it weakens when people are more risk averse, which means it's generally speaking a net positive for exporters but a net negative for the rest of us because we tend to consume a lot of imported products." He said it could take 12-18 months for the full effects of big geopolitical events to flow through. "But the initial effect quite often tends to be very much fear-driven, financial markets-driven commodity price-driven things." He said for most New Zealanders, the message was to "hang in there". "The oil price - you have no control over it. We are price takers, so whatever you can do in your own control to be able to manage your transport [might help]." He said when it came to financial markets, that was also generally out of an investor's hands. But if they were worried about their KiwiSaver accounts, they should remember that it was time in the market that would make the difference over the long term rather than short-term movements. Koura KiwiSaver founder Rupert Carlyon said the biggest risk was to inflation. "If it does turn into a broader Middle East war and potentially shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, they we are likely to see higher oil prices, which will flow through to everything and shipping delays making it harder and more expensive to import things here in New Zealand. The Reserve Bank will be watching this very carefully as anything that has the potential to skew inflation to the upside will mean a halt to further interest rate cuts. "I suspect markets will open down in anticipation of the conflict, though as we have seen over the past few years, markets fear more about the prospect of conflict rather than the reality of it. We have already seen this playbook with Ukraine and Russia and Gaza and Israel. Definitely no need to worry or panic." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
