Latest News
-
Ukraine releases new footage showing drone attack on Russian strategic Bombers
Ukraine released new video footage of its major strike on four Russian air bases on Wednesday. The footage shows attack drones destroying numerous Russian strategic bombers, and landing on 2 airborne early warning control planes. Ukrainian authorities claim that Sunday's attack using 117 drones on the airfields resulted in 41 military aircraft being damaged. This number has not been independently verified. Satellite images show that several bombers have been destroyed or badly damaged in one base. The Security Service of Ukraine released new drone footage showing drones landing on dome antennae of the two A-50 military spy aircraft, of which only a few are in the Russian fleet. The drones were not shown detonating in the video. The locations of the four air bases shown in the video, including Ivanovo Airbase where the A-50s are stationed, could be independently verified. Could not independently verify the date of filming. In a press release, the SBU stated that the aircraft hit included the A-50 strategic bomber as well as the Tu-95, Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber and Tu-160 strategic bombardier. Several of these military aircraft are part the Russian airborne nuclear deterrent. They can also be equipped with cruise missiles, which Russia has been using to bombard targets in Ukraine ever since it invaded on a full scale in February 2022. The SBU stated that "a significant part is irretrievably damaged, and it will take years to rebuild some damaged aircraft." According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Ukraine attacked airfields located in Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, Ivanovo and Ryazan, and Amur. The attacks were repulsed in these last three locations. It said that several aircraft caught fire in the Murmansk-Irkutsk region. On Wednesday, Russian officials claimed that the West was involved in the Ukrainian attacks inside Russia. They also said that the military options are "on the table". The attack has boosted Ukrainian morale following months of relentless Russian battlefield pressure, and numerous powerful drone and missile strikes by Moscow forces. In his remarks to senior Russian officials, Vladimir Putin did not mention the airbase attacks in his condemnation of other Ukrainian attacks against Russian targets at the weekend. Influential Russian military bloggers, however, have accused the Russian authorities, particularly the Aerospace Command, of complacency and negligence for allowing nuclear-capable aircraft to be targeted. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said that he had decorated several SBU officers in recognition of Sunday's operations. (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones, Aleksandar Vaovic, Tom Balmforth and Anastasiia Menko)
-
US Army helicopters at Pentagon still suspended after close call
The Federal Aviation Administration's acting chief said that U.S. Army helicopter flight around the Pentagon remains suspended. Two passenger airline flights had to abort their landings at Reagan Washington National Airport on May 1, due to a Black Hawk helicopter nearby. The acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau said at a U.S. House of Representatives hearing that, as the agency revisits its letter of agreement with military, it has barred the Army's training flights or priority transport flights. Rocheleau stated that "they are not flying at this time." "We have shut them down until we are comfortable with what we call the new rules of road." Last month, the Army informed the Associated Press that the military air traffic controllers had lost contact with the helicopter as it approached the Pentagon during the flight on May 1, which disrupted two passenger planes. Due to a nearby Army helicopter, Delta Air Lines Flights 1671 and 5825 (an Embraer 170 which had departed Boston) were forced to do go-arounds at 2:30 p.m. Last month, the FAA announced that since March 2022, a hotline between the Pentagon and air traffic control at Reagan is inoperable. A Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane collided on January 29 near Reagan, killing at least 67 people. After the accident, the U.S. Army announced on May 5, that helicopter flights near the Pentagon would be suspended. Ted Cruz, Texas's Senate Commerce Committee chair, said last month the FAA was preparing to suspend its letter of agreement with Army. This agreement allows the Army to fly without needing to request clearance each time. Bill Berkrot and David Shepardson edited the article.
-
Official: US FAA is not considering lifting the Boeing 737 MAX production limit at this time.
Acting Federal Aviation Administration head said he was not considering lifting a cap on Boeing's 737 MAX production of 38 planes per monthly imposed in January 2024 after a mid-air accident involving a brand new Alaska Airlines Boeing aircraft missing four bolts. After a hearing in the U.S. House, Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said to reporters: "Not right now." He said he wasn't discussing a change in the FAA's policy to inspect all Boeing 737 MAXs or 787 Dreamliners prior to issuing individual airworthiness certificates. FAA extended for three years last week a program that lets Boeing perform certain tasks on behalf of the agency, such as inspections. The FAA said the planemaker made improvements. (Reporting and Editing by Franklin Paul, David Shepardson)
-
Source: Alternative Transbalkan Gas Route excludes Russian Supply to Ukraine
A Ukrainian industry source familiar about the issue said Wednesday that an alternative Transbalkan route to import gas for Ukraine was developed, which allows for cheaper imports of Russian-origin natural gas. Source: The route is operational as of June. It could allow Ukraine imports up to 1 billion cubic metres (bcm), including 100 million cubic metres (mcm), in the lucrative period from June to October. Ukraine imports its gas through Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. Ukraine, once one of the biggest importers of Russian Gas, has stopped buying it since 2015. In January, Ukraine stopped transiting Russian gas to Europe through its territory. Ukrainian officials had previously stated that Kyiv wouldn't allow gas purchases from countries at war with Ukraine. Last month, Ukraine's energy regulator approved a mechanism for gas imports that will eliminate the high transit charges of gas transported through the Transbalkan Pipeline from Greece to Ukraine. The source stated that "the planning (of the gas shipping via Transbalkan Pipeline) took into consideration the condition that natural gases can be supplied to Greece's entry point from Greek LNG Terminals or through the TAP pipeline using Azerbaijani Gas or reverse flow from Italy." He added, "This minimizes the possibility of gas being transported from Russia." All parties involved in the project were on board with the decision (to exclude Russian gas). Gas imports are expected to reach 7 mcm per day. He added that "the cost of this route can be competitive with other routes for gas imports into Ukraine." Analysts and former officials estimate that the imports will be around 6.3 billion cubic meters. The Kyiv Government has stated that Ukraine must import at least four billion cubic metres of gas to meet the needs for the 2025/26 heating seasons. (Reporting and Editing by Bernadette B. Baum)
-
Putin questions openly peace talks after accusing Ukraine of deadly bridge attack on Russian soil
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, openly questioned on Wednesday the purpose of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. He accused Kyiv of ordering terrorist attacks in Russia on bridges that resulted in seven deaths and 115 injuries. Russian investigators have said that Ukraine detonated a bridge on a railroad on Saturday, just as 388 passengers were on a train. The attacks occurred ahead of Monday's peace talks in Turkey. Putin claimed that the attack on the Bryansk bridge and the one in Kursk were clearly directed against civilians and that these attacks are evidence that Kyiv's government is "degenerating into a terror organisation and its sponsors have become accomplices to terrorists." Putin told senior officials in a televised discussion that the current Kyiv government does not require peace. What is the point of discussion? How can we negotiate if the terrorists are a part of our negotiations? Putin said that any ceasefire will be used simply to flood Ukraine with Western weapons. Ukraine has not yet commented on the explosions at the bridge. (Reporting and editing by Guy Faulconbridge; Dmitry Antonov, Vladimir Soldatkin)
-
US may cancel $4 billion in funding for California High-Speed Rail if it does not see a viable route.
The Trump Administration said on Wednesday that there was no viable way forward for California's High-Speed Rail Project and warned it could revoke $4 billion of government funding in the next few weeks. Transportation Department of the United States released a report by Federal Railroad Administration. The report cited missed timelines, budget shortages, and doubtful ridership projections. California's failure to identify $7 billion additional funding required for a first segment between Merced, California and Bakersfield was cited as a key issue. USDOT gave California California until the middle of July to respond, and then the administration can terminate the grants. Trump announced last month that the U.S. Government would not fund the project. According to the FRA report released on Wednesday, California "swindled taxpayers out of their $4 billion investment with no viable plan for delivering even this partial segment by time." California High-Speed Rail System (California High-Speed Rail System) is a two-phase 800-mile system that can reach speeds up to 220 mph. It aims to link San Francisco with Los Angeles/Anaheim, and extend in the second stage north to Sacramento and to San Diego. The project was approved by voters in 2008 for $10 billion, but costs have increased dramatically. Under former president Joe Biden, the Transportation Department awarded this project approximately $4 billion. The San Francisco to Los Angeles project, originally estimated to cost $33 billion by 2020, has now increased from $89 billion up to $128 billion. California High-Speed Rail Authority did not comment immediately on Wednesday but said that last month, the rail project was "delivering real results". Civil construction is underway along 119 miles of the Central Valley, resulting over 15,000 jobs. Design and pre-construction work are also underway for the 171 mile extension to Merced, Bakersfield, and beyond. Biden restored in 2021 a $929-million grant Trump had revoked after the Republican President called the California high-speed rail project a disaster. (Reporting and editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Franklin Paul and David Shepardson)
-
Blackstone accepts the bid of $635.35 Million from UK's Warehouse REIT
Blackstone has agreed to buy UK's Warehouse REIT for 470m pounds ($635.35m), just days after the investment company lowered its offer for the firm due to valuation issues discovered during due diligence. The 110.6 pence offer price per share agreed on Wednesday represents an increase of 34.2% over the closing stock price for Warehouse REIT on February 28, one day before Blackstone’s Initial Sixth Street Partners, a global investment firm, has made a bid. Blackstone raised In March, the bid was reduced to 489 millions pounds but the sweetener was removed due to differing opinions on the value of the asset. The final offer includes a dividend per share of 1.6 pence. Neil Kirton, chairman of Warehouse, said that the company's growth was constrained by the weak macroeconomic background, high interest rates and the inability to raise equity. Kirton stated that these factors, combined with the current macroeconomic situation, make Blackstone’s offer especially attractive. U.S. firms have recently been buying British assets, taking advantage a market plagued by comparatively lower valuations and stunted development. Recently, American companies or investment firms have bought out Dowlais and Deliveroo.
-
UK Outsourcer Mitie talks to Marlowe about potential deal
The British outsourcer Mitie Group and smaller rival Marlowe are in discussions to purchase each other, the companies announced on Wednesday. This sent Marlowe shares up 13%. According to British takeover regulations, Mitie, a provider of services in the public and private sectors, including security, cleaning and engineering, must make a firm bid for Marlowe by July 2 or leave. Marlowe is a smaller peer, with a capitalisation of about 290 million pounds (392,31 million dollars), that provides risk management and compliance services to UK businesses, including safety inspections. By 1242 GMT, shares of Marlowe had risen 13.2% while Mitie’s rose a little more than 1%. Jefferies analysts wrote in a report that this deal would be consistent with Mitie’s goal to complement its UK soft ‘facilities-management’ with higher margins 'facilities-transformation' and project upsell work. Jefferies analysts stated that the acquisition would add 9% to Mitie’s core profit. Rentokil sold its French workwear division and Johnson Matthey's catalyst technologies unit was sold to Honeywell by Johnson Matthey in recent weeks. The terms of the potential offer were not disclosed by the companies.
Officials say that Ukrainian strikes have cut off power in areas occupied by Russia
Officials from Russia in Ukraine said that drone and shelling attacks by the Ukrainians caused power outages in large areas of Russian-controlled territory, including in Zaporizhzhia region and Kherson region in south Ukraine.
Officials have said that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station - Europe's biggest nuclear facility - has not been affected by the Russian invasion in February 2022.
The Russian officials who run the plant have said that radiation levels are normal in the facility. It is currently shut down and does not produce any power.
The governors of the two regions, who are Russian-installed, said that the Ukrainian attacks had prompted the authorities to take emergency measures and to switch power sites in order to maintain power reserves.
Yevgeny Beletsky, the newly-installed Russian Governor of Zaporizhzhia, wrote on Telegram that all areas under Russian control were now without power.
Belitsky wrote that high-voltage electrical equipment in the Zaporizhzhia Region's northwestern region was damaged as a result the shelling of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"There is no power in the entire region." Energy Ministry of Zaporizhzhia Region has been ordered to develop reserves of power. "Health care sites were transferred to the reserve power sources."
Vladimir Saldo, the Governor of Kherson, a region in Russia's westward extension, said that debris from drones falling had damaged two substations. This knocked out electricity for more than 100,000 people living in 150 towns and villages. He said emergency crews were working to restore power as quickly as possible.
In the long winter months, Ukrainian villages and towns suffered repeated power cuts due to Russian strikes on generating capacities.
Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of attacking the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant and putting the plant at risk of a catastrophic nuclear accident.
In response to a Ukrainian complaint, the U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency said that they saw no signs that Russia was planning to restart the Zaporizhzhia station and connect it to Russian grid.
The IAEA monitors are permanently stationed at Zaporizhzhia, as well as other Ukrainian nuclear power plants. (Reporting and editing by Franklin Paul, Ron Popeski, Stephen Coates and Lidia Kelly from Melbourne)
(source: Reuters)