As Russia reels from drone attack, Ukraine targets vital Crimea Bridge
Ukraine on Tuesday again attacked the symbolic Crimea Bridge across the Kerch strait, which connects the illegally annexed peninsula to the Russian mainland. The attack came 48 hours after Kyiv's unprecedented assault on air bases deep inside Russian territory which sent shock waves across the country.
Ukraine's Security Service claimed in a statement that several pillars were damaged in an early morning operation, after spending months of covertly planting explosives on support structures beneath the water.
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Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How airlines are managing the risk of missile threats and airspace closures
Airlines are facing an increasing burden on operations and profitability due to the rise in global conflict zones, industry executives have warned. Carriers are struggling with the threat from missiles and drones, airspace closures, location spoofing, and the risk of passenger flights being shot down. These challenges are leading to increased costs and loss of market share due to flight cancellations and expensive, last-minute re-routings, forcing the industry, which prides itself on its safety performance, to also invest more in data and security planning as a result. "Flight planning in this kind of environment is extremely difficult … The airline industry thrives on predictability, and the absence of this will always drive greater cost," said Guy Murray, who leads aviation security at European carrier TUI Airlines. With increasing airspace closures around Russia and Ukraine, throughout the Middle East, between India and Pakistan and in parts of Africa, airlines are left with fewer route options. "Compared to five years ago, more than half of the countries being overflown on a typical Europe-Asia flight would now need to be carefully reviewed before each flight," said Mark Zee, founder of OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 has led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths, some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers. Russian airports, including in Moscow, are now regularly shut down for brief periods due to drone activity, while interference with navigation systems, known as GPS spoofing or jamming, is surging around political fault lines worldwide. When hostilities broke out between India and Pakistan last month, the neighbours blocked each other's aircraft from their respective airspace. "Airspace should not be used as a retaliatory tool, but it is," Nick Careen, International Air Transport Association (IATA) senior vice president for operations, safety and security, told reporters at the airline body's annual meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. Isidre Porqueras, chief operating officer at Indian carrier IndiGo, said the recent diversions were undoing efforts to reduce emissions and increase airline efficiencies. Finances aside, civil aviation's worst-case scenario is a plane being hit, accidentally or intentionally, by weaponry. In December, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. The plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defences, according to Azerbaijan's president and Reuters sources. In October, a cargo plane was shot down in Sudan, killing five people. Six commercial aircraft have been shot down, with three near-misses since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions. Governments need to share information more effectively to keep civil aviation secure as conflict zones proliferate, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said this week. Safety statistics used by the commercial aviation industry show a steady decline in accidents over the past two decades, but these do not include security-related incidents such as being hit by weaponry. IATA said in February that accidents and incidents related to conflict zones were a top concern for aviation safety, requiring urgent global coordination. Each airline decides where to travel based on a patchwork of government notices, security advisers, and information-sharing between carriers and states, leading to divergent policies. The closure of Russian airspace to most Western carriers since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 put them at a cost disadvantage compared to airlines from places like China, India and the Middle East that continue to take shorter northern routes that need less fuel and fewer crew. Shifting risk calculations means Singapore Airlines flight SQ326 from Singapore to Amsterdam has used three different routes into Europe in just over a year, Flightradar24 tracking data shows. When reciprocal missile and drone attacks broke out between Iran and Israel in April 2024, it started crossing previously avoided Afghanistan instead of Iran. Last month, its route shifted again to avoid Pakistan's airspace as conflict escalated between India and Pakistan. Flight SQ326 now reaches Europe via the Persian Gulf and Iraq. Singapore Airlines did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Pilots and flight attendants are also worried about how the patchwork of shifting risk might impact their safety. "IATA says airlines should decide if it's safe to fly over conflict zones, not regulators. But history shows commercial pressures can cloud those decisions," said Paul Reuter, vice president of the European Cockpit Association, which represents pilots. Flight crews typically have the right to refuse a trip due to concerns about airspace, whether over weather or conflict zones, IATA security head Careen said. "Most airlines, in fact, I would say the vast majority of them, do not want crew on an aircraft if they don't feel comfortable flying," he said.
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
What Germany's Merz wants to tackle in Trump meeting
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, with much to discuss at a time of trade disputes and ongoing war in Europe. During both of his presidential terms, Trump has triggered tensions between long-standing allies U.S. and the European Union. "The tone is as rough as it has not been in a long time," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in a speech on German-U.S. relations earlier this week. White House officials have not always found friendly words for Berlin in recent months, and vice versa. But there have been some signs of rapprochement, with the country's leaders now reportedly being on a first name basis after several phone calls. Building on this will be a top priority for Merz in D.C. "Top of the agenda for the German Chancellor will be to strike the right chord with Trump," Jörn Fleck, senior director of the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council, told CNBC. Merz's conservative views on immigration, his links to U.S. businesses — the chancellor is a former BlackRock executive — "and a profile as an old-school outsider who was underestimated but won an election by pledging to restore his country's economy and security," could work in his favor, Fleck explained. Export-reliant Germany counts the U.S. as its biggest trading partner, leaving it vulnerable in the face of Trump's trade agenda. Penny Naas, who leads on the German Marshall Fund's allied strategic competitiveness work, told CNBC that this is especially true for sector-specific tariffs, for example targeting autos and steel. They "hit industries at the core of the German economy," she said. "Merz will want to see if there is any room for negotiation on these tariffs," such as the U.S. and EU cutting all industrial duties to zero, Naas added. Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs, which have also been imposed on the European Union, are also set to be on Merz's agenda, Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics, told CNBC. "He is likely to stress his support for free trade and a EU-US trade deal. He may point to the EU's proposal of a zero-for-zero tariff deal as an ideal outcome," she said. Negotiations between the EU and U.S. have so far been tough, but European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on Tuesday signaled talks were "advancing in the right direction." The Russia-Ukraine war will also almost certainly be discussed, especially after Trump's Wednesday phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. European leaders have pushed Trump to apply pressure on Putin, and Merz is expected to follow suit, the Atlantic Council's Fleck said. Palmas meanwhile said Merz would likely "reiterate Germany's strong support for Ukraine and the need for European countries to be involved in peace negotiations." U.S. support for Kyiv has been uncertain, along with Trump's focus on expediting peace-making between Russia and Ukraine — raising concerns in Europe. Topics like U.S. support for European troops on the ground, enforcing sanctions and sharing information may therefore come up, Fleck added. Another critical topic will be the NATO military alliance in which both Germany and the U.S. participate and specifically members' defense contributions. Trump has long been pushing for these expenditures to rise to 5% of each country's gross domestic product, meeting some resistance. Fleck noted that "Merz will want to make sure Germany is no longer seen as a laggard on defense spending and capabilities." Given Germany's recent fiscal reforms that allow for higher defense costs and its support for Trump's 5% NATO spending target, the German chancellor should have "a positive story to tell" on this front. Capital Economics' Palmas added that Merz may even use the occasion to announce a specific defense spending target.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Is the Ukraine War the Next Afghanistan?
After speaking with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Wednesday, President Trump said Moscow plans to retaliate against Ukraine for the country's drone strike over the weekend. Despite Trump's ambitious campaign promises, an end to the war still seems far away. On this episode of 'The Opinions,' the columnist David French joins Megan K. Stack, a contributing Opinion writer and former Moscow bureau chief for The Los Angeles Times, to discuss the state of the conflict today and why there may not be reason for optimism, even in a post-Putin world. Below is a transcript of an episode of 'The Opinions.' We recommend listening to it in its original form for the full effect. You can do so using the player above or on the NYT Audio App, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. The transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity. David French: I'm David French, and I'm a columnist for New York Times Opinion. Over the weekend, we saw some of Ukraine's most audacious attacks against Russia since this war started. At the same time, The Economist reported that Russia might have passed the grimmest possible milestone and will soon suffer more than one million casualties in the war. So it's time to ask once again: What should the U.S. be doing now? Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
