Danish and Swedish permits still pending (Photo: nord-stream2.com)
Germany has started to pour concrete on a Russian gas pipeline that risks dividing the EU and harming its energy security.
The construction began in Lubmin, on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast, on Thursday (3 May), with the laying of foundations for a terminal that will receive 55bn cubic metres (bcm) a year of Russian gas via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline when it goes online in 2020. Continue reading
Vladimir attending a military ceremony in Kaliningrad in 2015 [Getty]
With a stronger navy Vladimir Putin could launch new undersea attacks capable of “paralysing” Europe, the chiefs claim in a report which will be published later today.
Kremlin officials have revealed the Russian navy has been upgrading their fleet with the latest military equipment with reports claiming new submarines are on the way. Continue reading
A flotilla of Russian warships is now in the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coast after being sent to reinforce Russia’s military in the area, a naval commander said on state television.
The commander of Russia’s flagship Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, Sergei Artamonov, said via videolink that the ships are now in the “designated zone… in the eastern Mediterranean” and “are now jointly carrying out tasks, manoeuvering to the west of the Syrian coast”. Continue reading
(Aussie Network News)
The latest World War 3 update has revealed Russia’s plans of attacking the United States in the coming 15 days while German army proceeds towards the Russian border.
According to the reports, Russia is encouraging its navy for final preparation for the international conflict, which shows the nation is all set to attack the Western nation anytime in few weeks. It has been discovered that President Vladimir Putin’s nation has initiated warships that are now cruising close to the North Sea while they plan to cross one mile from British shores in the English Channel. On their way to the Mediterranean, they would launch supportive operations in Syria. Continue reading
VLADIMIR Putin has been ordered to fire a nuclear weapon at EUROPE to prove the Kremlin is serious about defending its territory.
Senior Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky made the outrageous proposal for Moscow to bomb a state and destroy an entire island within the North Sea to prove its sincerity over threats to protect its interests abroad.
The the leader of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia was quoted on a Ukrainian website as saying: “In the North Sea there is a small island, a small country of 200,000 people.
“Brussels should say: look, here is an island. Now there is no island. The country is no longer.”
RAF Typhoons have been scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers said to be in a “UK area of interest”.
The fighter jets were launched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire this afternoon and the incident is currently ongoing, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. Continue reading
Oil markets may not balance until late 2016, but supply is finally contracting in a big way.
Early last week the EIA confirmed that U.S. oil production was down sharply since peaking in April at 9.6 million barrels per day (mb/d). The agency estimates that U.S. output fell by 140,000 barrels per day in August, a steeper decline than in previous months. In its latest weekly estimate (which is less accurate than monthly retrospective estimates), U.S. oil production is now down to just 9.1 mb/d. Continue reading
Two pairs of B-52H Stratofortress bombers, from Barksdale AFB and from Minot AFB, streaked north last week on a long-range exercise dubbed “Polar Growl.” One set of bombers would end up over the far reaches of the North Sea, while the other would cruise high above the Polar Icecap, both areas where Putin’s Russia is increasing its presence. This doesn’t seem like a coincidence. Continue reading
As US allies rapidly demonstrate their willingness to abandon Washington on key issues like China’s attempt to move the world away from US-dominated multinational institutions that have held sway for decades, and with NATO simultaneously building a “line of troops” along the Russian border, Moscow seems keen on proving yet again that Russia’s belligerence knob “goes to 11.” As we noted over the weekend, Moscow took the rhetoric up a notch recently when the Kremlin threatened (literally) to blow Danish ships out the water with nuclear missiles, prompting a NATO spokeswoman to dryly note that “such statements do not inspire confidence or contribute to predictability, peace or stability.” Here’s more from Reuters: Continue reading
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – While Russian military aircraft have stepped up their activity everywhere from the North Sea to the Baltic to the Black Sea in the last year they have also been spotted more frequently closer to the U.S. territory in the Arctic, the head of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) told USNI News on Tuesday.
In particular – flights of Tupolev Tu-95 Bear ‘H’ Bombers have increased recently NORTHCOM’s Adm. Bill Gortney said. Continue reading
To extend its reach to the Indian Ocean, China’s PLA Navy may establish a fourth fleet after the North Sea, East Sea and South Sea fleets, according to Duowei News, an outlet operated by overseas Chinese. Continue reading
In yet another incident that may feel like World War 3 but seems to actually be part of Cold War 2, two Russian nuclear bombers steered away from their planned routes to fly dangerously close to British air space, over a region that United Kingdom defense officials called the U.K. “area of interest.”
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The bombers followed the disturbing pattern of many Russian military aircraft that have confronted fighter jets from NATO, Britain, and even Japan over the past year, in that they did not file a flight plan, appeared to fly with their transponders switched off, and failed to communicate with air traffic controllers in the ground.
But the RAF fighter pilots flew close enough to the Russian bombers that they could communicate with visual hand signals.
This is exactly what was mentioned was going happen when it was said the West was shooting itself in the foot to punish Russia. The neo-Soviets are laughing themselves to the bank because they know they will endure longer as they are more shielded from the repercussions. Their turning to China and Turkey as new customers are evidence enough.
The UK’s oil industry is in “crisis” as prices drop, a senior industry leader has told the BBC.
Oil companies and service providers are cutting staff and investment to save money.
Robin Allan, chairman of the independent explorers’ association Brindex, told the BBC that the industry was “close to collapse”.
Almost no new projects in the North Sea are profitable with oil below $60 a barrel, he claims.
‘Everyone is retreating’ Continue reading
On Thursday, NATO fighter jets diverted a Russian IL-20 surveillance plane over the Baltic Sea near Latvia. Latvia’s army confirmed the incident on their Twitter account. Two Canadian RCAF CF-18 Hornets intercepted another IL-20 near Lithuania on Saturday.
NATO said these Russian planes do not use on-board transponders used for surveillance. The organization said the plans “pose a potential risk to civil aviation as civilian air traffic control cannot detect these aircraft or ensure there is no interference with civilian air traffic.” Continue reading
RUSSIA’S recent military flights into European airspace are meant to demonstrate to the West that the country is a “great power,” NATO’s supreme allied commander said on Monday.
Although there has been an increase in Russian air activity over Europe during the past year, last week marked the first time Moscow had sent in larger formations of warplanes, General Philip Breedlove told reporters.
“My opinion is they’re messaging us. They’re messaging us that they are a great power,” Breedlove said.
Moscow wanted to show it can exert influence on the alliance’s calculations, he said.
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