Putin warning...

[nomadking]

NATO wouldn't do such things would they?

According to the Swedish news media, the episode on July 18 occurred as the RC-135 aircraft was flying near Kaliningrad, a heavily militarized Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania that includes a major port for the Russian Baltic fleet.
After being approached by Russian aircraft, the RC-135 pilot sought to avoid the encounter by maneuvering his aircraft into Swedish airspace, flying over Gotland Island.
Sweden is not a member of NATO, and the European Command said in its statement that the RC-135 had been directed toward Swedish territory “incorrectly by U.S. personnel.”
...
On April 12, Russian SU-24 attack jets flew near a Navy vessel, the guided missile destroyer Donald Cook, which was operating in international waters in the Black Sea.
...

On April 23, a Russian aircraft flew close to an RC-135 that was flying over the Sea of Okhotsk, between Russia and Japan.

Nato has ordered the huge Awacs radar plane to monitor Russia’s Black Sea fleet and army activity on the ground.

[DABhand]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Linky

Aparently they also had no transponders on them ( or turned off ) so could not be identified by civil avaiation.

It only takes a moments misjudgement to provoke a potentially dangerous crisis.

Russia is infamous about doing this, to test borders.

They did it a couple of years ago with a nuclear sub if you remember.

One bomber pilot forgetting their transponder you can chalk up to being a mistake, but 2 at the same time, no... this was a test to see how far they can get.

And that is a scary thought, if it wasn't for civil aircraft they may have gotten further.

[Osem]

There is a "real and present danger" of Russia trying to destabilise the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, the UK defence secretary says.

Michael Fallon said he was worried about "pressure" from Russian President Vladimir Putin on the ex-Soviet states, which are Nato members.

Russia might use tactics there similar to those it used in Ukraine, he said.

Mr Fallon said Nato must be ready for aggression from Russia "in whatever form it takes".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31528981

I heard somewhere that whilst we've been cutting defence spending etc. Russia has almost tripled its own spending.

I reckon we have a big problem looming. Putin is doing what Hitler did and stirring up all sorts of nationalist sentiment in order to deflect attention from the country's economy and pursue his own agenda. There's no doubt in my mind that he will carry on with his current tactics and I have a feeling it's just a question of time before he makes a major miscalculation and all hell breaks loose.

Maybe the EU will come to the rescue eh?

[heero_yuy]

Perhaps if we stopped interfearing in the affairs of Middle East and looked to our own back door we all might sleep easier in our beds.

[Uncle Peter]

Fallon in stating obvious shocker as defence and shadow defence secretary size up the size of their next slice of budget pie.

Putin has rather a lot to worry about at the moment before inflicting pressure on other Baltic states which are demographically and culturally very different to Ukraine.

On the other side of the coin there's a real threat to Russia if the US start sending lethal weapons to Ukraine.

[Osem]

Let's hope you're right.

[Gary L]

How big is our tiny army?

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Gary L

How big is our tiny army?

I don't think its big enough to be called an Army any more. I think the Boy scouts is bigger

[Osem]

Putin knows we're overstretched and that there isn't the will to put boots on the ground in Syria or Libya let alone in Europe facing the Russians. I reckon he's going to carry on grabbing what he can - saying one thing and doing another - and using the damage being done to his economy by the evil west as a rallying cry to his people. If he bites off a bit too much he'll give some back. If not so be it.

[Uncle Peter]

You have to laugh at the media being whipped up into a frenzy over this supposed increase in Russian naval aviation activity. This has been going on for at least the past 5 years since someone decided to station a Patriot air defence detachment 50 miles away from the border with Kaliningrad.

There's nothing covert about this as it's just a supposed show of strength. TU95s and Mig 31s are not the stealthiest of adversaries: in terms of radar cross-section it's like a flying tower block being escorted by a flying house. The Russians still run their strategic radio nets in the clear on HF albeit with coded messages but anyone with a basic receiver can hear activity when they're out and about. They still use CW (Morse code) when operating well out of theatre!

[Osem]

More bad news for Putin to blame on the west.

Russia has protested to the Belgian ambassador over the seizure of Russian state assets in Belgium - a move triggered by a court ruling over the now-defunct Yukos oil firm.

The ambassador was told that the asset seizure was "an openly hostile act" that "crudely violates the recognised norms of international law".

Last year a court told Russia to pay Yukos shareholders $50bn (£32bn) in compensation, after Yukos's break-up.

A Russian state firm took over Yukos.

In July 2014, an international arbitration court in The Hague said Russian officials had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos, and jail its boss, the oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.




On Friday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia did not recognise the court's authority.

Responding to the asset seizure, he said Russia would "defend our interests by the route of justice".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33197782

[Kursk]

A World War Two veteran has received a surprise package in the post - a medal from the Russian government to honour his 1940s wartime service. Link

Former Merchant Navy Seaman Harold Boudier said he was delighted to receive the medal commemorating the 70th Anniversary of victory in the “Great Patriotic War 1941-45” - Russia’s name for the years it fought alongside Allies against the Nazis.

A letter that arrived with the medal from the Ambassador to Russia in London says: ”On the instruction of President Vladimir Putin I have the honour of presenting to you the Commemorative medal marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.

It is a huge privilege for me to thank you on behalf of the Russian Government for the invaluable contribution you and your comrades in arms made to the defeat of Nazi Germany.

What you did 70 years ago, taking part in what Sir Winston Churchill rightly called ‘the worst journey in the world’ was extraordinary even among what is considered to be beyond the call of duty.

Your heroism will always be remembered in Russia”.

The 'Great Patriotic War 1941-45'....

I wonder what they call the bit just before that, 1939-41, where, in conjunction with Nazi Germany, they invaded/annexed parts of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Romania - the 'not so-Great Sneaky War 1939-41'?

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Hugh

The 'Great Patriotic War 1941-45'....

I wonder what they call the bit just before that, 1939-41, where, in conjunction with Nazi Germany, they invaded/annexed parts of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Romania - the 'not so-Great Sneaky War 1939-41'?

I dare say that was the west's fault too...

[Uncle Peter]

Originally Posted by Hugh

The 'Great Patriotic War 1941-45'....

I wonder what they call the bit just before that, 1939-41, where, in conjunction with Nazi Germany, they invaded/annexed parts of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Romania - the 'not so-Great Sneaky War 1939-41'?

Not to mention formenting the Ukrainian nationalist genocide against the Poles in the Kresy region of what was Poland at the time (now North Western Ukraine) that came to a head in 1943.