Chris Lange, FISM News
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U.S. Air Force warplanes intercepted a pair of Russian bombers flying in international airspace near Alaska on Tuesday.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement that the Russians were flying within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification zone when they were intercepted by two American F-16s. The Command said the incident did not pose a threat.
“The recent Russian activity in the North American ADIZ is not seen as a threat nor is the activity seen as provocative,” it said.
Last month, NORAD detected and tracked two Russian maritime patrol aircraft operating within the Alaskan and Canadian air defense identification zones, according to a Sept. 12 news release.
Any aircraft that comes within Air Defense Identification zones must be located, identified, and controlled.
“NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based radars, airborne radar, and fighter aircraft to track and identify aircraft and inform appropriate actions. We remain ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America and Arctic sovereignty,” the Command said.
US and allies to discuss Iranian weapons transfers to Russia in closed-door meeting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that nearly two weeks of Russian missile and drone attacks targeting Ukraine’s infrastructure have destroyed 30% of the country’s power stations in the last nine days, causing major blackouts throughout Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Russia of trying to inflict misery and deprivation on Ukrainian civilians as temperatures begin to drop.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday denounced the attacks as war crimes, Reuters reported.
“Yesterday we saw again Russia’s targeted attacks against civilian infrastructure. This is marking another chapter in an already very cruel war. The international order is very clear. These are war crimes,” she said in a speech to lawmakers in the European Parliament.
“Targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure with the clear aim to cut off men, women, children of water, electricity, and heating with the winter coming, these are acts of pure terror and we have to call it as such.”
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Iran has sent trainers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which the U.S. has classified as a terrorist group, to a Russian military base in Crimea to assist Kremlin forces in addressing unspecified problems with some of the weapons, citing current and former U.S. officials.
A State Department spokesperson who was asked about the report said: “While we will not comment on purported intelligence leaks, we have been warning since July that Iran was planning to give weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.”
“There is abundant evidence that Iranian UAVs have been used to attack Ukrainian civilians and military targets, although Iran continues to lie shamelessly about its involvement,” he added, saying the presence of Iranian trainers in Crimea “would further implicate Iran in assisting Russia’s unprovoked and brutal war, including attacks on Ukrainian civilians.”
The U.S., Britain, and France plan to raise the subject of Iranian arms sales to Russia in a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting today. Both the Kremlin and Tehran have denied that Iranian “kamikaze” drones are being used in attacks, Reuters reported.
Ukraine, in the meantime, has asked U.N. experts to inspect downed kamikaze drones, which Kyiv asserts is a significant violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Ukraine’s foreign minister told Reuters that he has submitted a proposal to President Zelenskyy to formally cut all diplomatic ties with Tehran over the weapons transfers.
Pro-Russian authorities in Kherson move to evacuate tens of thousands amid Ukrainian counteroffensive
Meanwhile, Moscow-installed authorities in the southern city of Kherson are urging residents to evacuate in anticipation of a Ukrainian assault as Kyiv forces continue their push to reclaim annexed regions in the east and south. Authorities warned residents to expect heavy shelling in emergency text messages, Reuters reported, citing Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti.
Newly appointed Russian general Sergei Surovikin said the situation in Kherson is “tense” in a rare admission of the pressure on Russian forces who have been forced back onto the ground in the region. Authorities said they plan to evacuate between 50,000 and 60,000 people over the next six days
UN nuclear watchdog will travel to Ukraine in last-ditch effort to secure nuclear power station
Russia and Ukraine again traded blame for shelling in the occupied town of Enerhodar near the beleaguered Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station that has for months been on the brink of disaster.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said he will travel to Ukraine again in yet another attempt to broker a deal with the two nations to establish a demilitarized safety zone around the plant.
The whereabouts of three Ukrainian workers kidnapped from the plant are still unknown.