Military helicopter crashes in Russia, crew dead
A military helicopter crashed on Friday near the village of Naryshkino in Russia's Oryol region, killing the crew, the state news agency TASS reported, citing the Moscow military district headquarters.
The preliminary cause of the crash was technical malfunction, TASS reported.
Regional governor Andrei Klychkov said via his channel in Telegram that there were no casualties among the local population, and that fire crews were working at the scene.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
8 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Wagner replaced by Russia's Africa Corp in Mali: Diplomatic sources
The Russian paramilitary group Wagner has left Mali and its units there have been taken over by the Moscow-run Africa Corps, diplomatic and security sources told AFP on Sunday. 'Officially, Wagner is no longer present in Mali. But the Africa Corps is stepping up,' one diplomatic source in the Sahel region said. A Telegram account affiliated with Wagner said: 'Mission accomplished. PMC Wagner is going home.' Mali's ruling junta, which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, broke off ties with former colonial power France and pivoted towards Russia for political and military support. Wagner, Russia's best-known mercenary group, was disbanded and restructured after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023 following a short-lived rebellion against Moscow. Mali has never officially admitted Wagner's presence, insisting it only worked with Russian instructors. France withdrew its 2,400 troops from Mali in 2022 after ties with the junta soured and anti-French sentiment surged among the public. 'The Kremlin remains in control,' the same diplomatic source added. 'Most of the Wagner personnel in Mali, who are originally from Russia, will be reintegrated into Africa Corps and remain in northern regional capitals and Bamako.' The Africa Corps is another paramilitary group with links to the Kremlin and seen as the successor to the Wagner group. Like Wagner, its mercenaries are active supporting several African governments. For over three years, Mali had relied on Wagner in its fight against extremist militants who have killed thousands across the country. 'Wagner yesterday or Africa Corps today, our point of contact remains the same, it is the central power in Russia, that is to say the Kremlin,' a Malian security source said Sunday. The paramilitary group's brutal methods on the ground in Mali have been regularly denounced by human rights groups. A UN report accused Mali's army and foreign fighters of executing at least 500 people during a March 2022 anti-militant sweep in Moura – a claim denied by the junta. Western governments believe the foreign fighters were Wagner mercenaries. Last April, bodies were discovered near a Malian military camp, days after the army and Wagner paramilitaries arrested dozens of civilians, most from the Fulani community. Wagner's withdrawal comes amid what the Malian army calls a 'resurgence' of militant attacks, including two assaults that killed dozens of soldiers and forced troops to abandon a key central base. A European diplomatic source in the Sahel believes Africa Corps will probably do 'much more training of Malian soldiers than Wagner did.' 'Although Wagner claims that its operations and support strengthened the Malian army, Africa Corps will need to continue training and support, especially after the recent wave of attacks against the FAMA (Malian Armed Forces),' said Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at the Washington think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Al Arabiya
9 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
British soldier arrested in Kenya on rape allegations
A British soldier in Kenya has been arrested on rape allegations, the UK defense ministry said Sunday, confirming a BBC report. 'We can confirm the arrest of a service person in Kenya,' a ministry spokesperson told AFP, adding that no further comment would be made while the matter was being investigated. The BBC reported that the alleged rape happened last month in Nanyuki, a town north of Nairobi close to where a large British base is located. According to the BBC report, the soldier who has been arrested went to a Nanyuki bar with fellow soldiers before the alleged rape happened. The base – British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) – has been the focus of several controversies in Kenya in the past, notably the 2012 murder of a young Kenyan woman. In that case, the woman was last seen alive in the company of a British soldier. Her body was found in a septic tank. There were no arrests, but in 2021 Kenyan police reopened their investigation after Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported that several soldiers had heard one of their colleagues speak the same night about killing the woman. In 2003, the rights group Amnesty International said it had counted 650 rape accusations against British soldiers in Kenya between 1965 and 2001. Kenya, a former British colony, became independent in 1963. BATUK, on its website, says it is the biggest British Army contingent in Africa. It says it conducts training with Kenya's military, and a 'peace support team' also deploys from there across Africa. Under an agreement with Kenya, the British army has primary jurisdiction over the latest case alleging rape.
Al Arabiya
16 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
US believes Russia response to Ukraine drone attack not over yet
The United States believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin's threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its drone attack last weekend has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike, US officials told Reuters. The timing of the full Russian response was unclear, with one source saying it was expected within days. A second US official said the retaliation was likely to include different kinds of air capabilities, including missiles and drones. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity. They did not detail Russia's expected targets nor elaborate on intelligence matters. The first official said Moscow's attack would be 'asymmetrical,' meaning that its approach and targeting would not mirror Ukraine's strike last weekend against Russian warplanes. Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday and Russia's Defense Ministry said the strike on military and military-related targets was in response to what it called Ukrainian "terrorist acts" against Russia. But the US officials believe the complete Russian response is yet to come. A Western diplomatic source said that while Russia's response may have started, it would likely intensify with strikes against symbolic Ukrainian targets like government buildings, in an effort to send a clear message to Kyiv. Another, senior, Western diplomat anticipated a further devastating assault by Moscow. 'It will be huge, vicious and unrelenting,' the diplomat said. 'But the Ukrainians are brave people.' The Russian and Ukrainian embassies in Washington and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Michael Kofman, a Russia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said he expected Moscow might seek to punish Ukraine's domestic security agency, the SBU, for its role in last weekend's assault. To send a message, Russia could employ intermediate-range ballistic missiles for the attack, he said. 'Most likely, they will attempt to retaliate against (SBU) headquarters, or other regional intelligence administration buildings," Kofman said, adding Russia could also target Ukrainian defense manufacturing centers. Still, Kofman suggested Russia's options for retaliation may be limited as it is already throwing a lot of its military might at Ukraine. 'In general, Russia's ability to substantially escalate strikes from what they are already doing - and attempting to do over the past month - is quite constrained,' he said. Operation 'Spider's Web' Kyiv says Sunday's audacious attack employed 117 unmanned aerial vehicles launched deep from within Russian territory in an operation code-named 'Spider's Web.' The United States assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit - around half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy - and around 10 were destroyed. The Russian government on Thursday denied that any planes were destroyed and said the damage would be repaired, but Russian military bloggers have spoken of loss or serious damage to about a dozen planes, including those capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The strikes, prepared over 18 months and conducted by drones smuggled close to the bases in trucks, dealt a powerful symbolic blow to Russia, which throughout the Ukraine war has frequently reminded the world of its nuclear might. Putin told President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Moscow would have to respond to attack, Trump said in a social media post. Trump later told reporters that 'it's probably not going to be pretty.' 'I don't like it. I said: 'Don't do it. You shouldn't do it. You should stop it,'' Trump said of his conversation with Putin. 'But, again, there's a lot of hatred.'
