Fresh Updated News from War Theater of Ukraine and around the world regarding war from Moscow ,London and Washington D.C )
(London Post in collaboration with AP,AFP, Reuters, ABC News) Syed Raza- A Russian fighter jet crashed into the propeller of a US surveillance drone in the Black Sea on Tuesday, forcing US forces to shoot down the unmanned aerial vehicle.
State Department spokesman Ned Price called the act a “blatant violation of international law.” He said the US urged the Russian ambassador to lodge a protest, but that US Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy made a similar statement in Moscow.
However, Russia claimed that its fighter jets were unable to attack the MQ-9 Reaper drone. Instead, the drone was said to have maneuvered sharply and crashed into the water after encountering a Russian fighter jet that was attempting to intercept it near Crimea. The incident, which heightened tensions between Russia and the United States over the Moscow War in Ukraine, was apparently the first time a U.S. plane had been shot down after an encounter with a Russian fighter jet since the height of the Cold War.
Turkey closely following US drone incident in Black Sea,
Demiroren news agency reports,Turkey is closely monitoring the incident in which a US military drone crashed in the Black Sea after being intercepted by Russian jets, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was reported as saying by Demiroren news agency.
Russia’s oil revenue sinks as sanctions bite, IEA says
Russia’s oil export revenue sank 42 percent in February as Western powers tightened sanctions on the country in the wake of the Ukraine war, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday.
The country earned $11.6 billion from its oil exports last month after the European Union imposed a ban on Russian petroleum products alongside a price cap agreed with the Group of Seven and Australia.
Turkey could ratify Finland’s NATO bid ahead of May 14 elections, Turkish officials say
Turkey is planning to approve Finland’s NATO bid, independently from Sweden’s, ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14, two Turkish officials told Reuters on Wednesday. The Turkish parliament is most likely to ratify Finland’s NATO membership before it closes with elections in mid-April, officials said.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is scheduled to visit Turkey on Friday to meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan about his country’s accession to NATO.
Russia wants to suspend tax deals with ‘unfriendly’ countries
Russia’s finance ministry on Wednesday proposed suspending double taxation agreements with so-called “unfriendly countries,” the finance ministry said.
“The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia have proposed that the Russian President issue a decree to suspend double taxation treaties with all countries that have introduced unilateral economic restrictive measures against Russia.”
Danish government establishes $1 billion fund to help Ukraine
The Danish government and majority parties in the Danish parliament have agreed that he will set up a DKK 7 billion ($1.01 billion) fund for civilian, military and business assistance to Ukraine, the finance ministry said.
Moscow sees drone incident as ‘provocation’
Russia’s Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, has described the Su-27 drone incident over the Black Sea as a “provocation”.
“American UAVs deliberately and provocatively moved into Russian territory with their transponders turned off,” Antonov said in a memo posted on the embassy’s website, referring to drones as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
“We regard this incident as a provocation,” Antonov told Russian officials on Tuesday after a subpoena from the US State Department.
White phosphorus shells fired in eastern Ukraine
White phosphorous shells were fired from Russian military positions in no-man’s land near the town of Chasib Yar in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, according to an AFP journalist.
Russia begins naval exercises with China and Iran
Russia has launched naval exercises with China and Iran in the Arabian Sea to strengthen ties with Beijing and Tehran.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that a trilateral exercise dubbed “Marine Security Belt 2023″ had begun near the Iranian port of Chabahar.
The marine portion of the exercise will take place on Thursdays and Fridays.
Russia will represent the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and a medium tanker, the ministry said.
During naval exercises, the ships “will conduct joint exercises and bombardments day and night,” the statement said.
Russia wants to recover debris of downed US drone
Russia wants to recover the fragments of the US MQ-9 Reaper drone that American forces brought down in the Black Sea, said Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council.
White House spokesman John Kirby has said the drone may never be recovered, but that US authorities had taken precautions to ensure Russia’s ability to draw useful intelligence from the craft would be limited if a Russian team attempted to recover the wreckage.
UK, German fighter jets intercept Russian plane near Estonia
British and German air force fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace, said the UK defence ministry, amid mounting concerns about confrontation in the skies near Russia and Ukraine.
The UK and Germany are conducting joint air policing missions in Estonia as part of NATO efforts to bolster its eastern flank in response to Russia. The UK Defense Ministry said Typhoon Jet responded Tuesday after a Russian air-to-air tanker plane failed to communicate with Estonia’s air traffic control. The Russian aircraft did not intrude into the airspace of NATO member Estonia.
British and German aircraft will patrol together as part of the NATO Baltic Air Police mission until the end of April.
Such wiretapping operations are commonplace, and even before Russia invaded Ukraine last year, NATO aircraft were involved in about 400 wiretapping operations per year by Russian aircraft. But the incident came amid heightened tensions after a Russian jet collided with a US MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Black Sea.
