'Foreign Media's Skewed...': Hindu American Org Lauds India's Pahalgam Delegations I Suhag Shukla
TOI.in
/ Jun 04, 2025, 10:31AM IST
Despite firm support from Western governments following the Kashmir massacre, Western media coverage is drawing criticism for its language. Many outlets are referring to the perpetrators as "gunmen" or "militants" rather than acknowledging the act as terrorism. Watch TOI Podacast as Hindu American foundation's Suhag Shukla lauds India for owning the narrative. Watch#KashmirAttack #PalkiSharma #WesternMedia #Terrorism #IndiaUnderAttack #MediaBias #PakistanTerror
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NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Russia Faces Struggle To Replace Bombers Lost In Ukrainian Drone Strikes
London: Russia will take years to replace nuclear-capable bomber planes that were hit in Ukrainian drone strikes last weekend, according to Western military aviation experts, straining a modernization programme that is already delayed. Satellite photos of airfields in Siberia and Russia's far north show extensive damage from the attacks, with several aircraft completely burnt out, although there are conflicting versions of the total number destroyed or damaged. The United States assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit - around half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - and around 10 were destroyed, two U.S. officials told Reuters. 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, accusing commanders of negligence. The strikes - prepared over 18 months in a Ukrainian intelligence operation dubbed "Spider's Web", and conducted by drones that were smuggled close to the bases in trucks - dealt a powerful symbolic blow to a country that, throughout the Ukraine war, has frequently reminded the world of its nuclear might. In practice, experts said, they will not seriously affect Russia's nuclear strike capability which is largely comprised of ground- and submarine-based missiles. However, the Tu-95MS Bear-H and Tu-22M3 Backfire bombers that were hit were part of a long-range aviation fleet that Russia has used throughout the war to fire conventional missiles at Ukrainian cities, defense plants, military bases, power infrastructure and other targets, said Justin Bronk, an aviation expert at the RUSI think tank in London. The same fleet had also been carrying out periodic patrol flights into the Arctic, North Atlantic and northern Pacific as a show of strength to deter Russia's Western adversaries. Bronk said that at the outset of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia was operating a fleet of 50-60 Bear-Hs and around 60 Backfires, alongside around 20 Tu-160M nuclear-capable Blackjack heavy bombers. He estimated that Russia has now lost more than 10% of the combined Bear-H and Backfire fleet, taking into account last weekend's attacks and the loss of several planes earlier in the war - one shot down and the others struck while on the ground. These losses "will put major pressure on a key Russian force that was already operating at maximum capacity," Bronk told Reuters. Russia's defense ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Project Delays Replacing the planes will be challenging. Both the Bear H and the Backfire are aircraft that were designed in the Soviet era and have been out of production for decades, said Douglas Barrie, aerospace expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, although existing planes have been upgraded over the years. Barrie said that building new ones like-for-like was therefore very unlikely, and it was unclear whether Russia had any useable spare airframes of either type. Western sanctions against Russia have aimed to restrict the import of components such as microprocessors that are vital to avionics systems, although Moscow has so far been comparatively successful at finding alternative sources, Barrie added. Russia has been modernizing its Blackjack bomber fleet, and Putin sent a pointed signal to the West last year by taking a 30-minute flight in one such aircraft and pronouncing it ready for service. But production of new Blackjacks is slow - one Russian military blogger this week put it at four per year - and Western experts say progress in developing Russia's next-generation PAK DA bomber has also been moving at a crawl. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said in a report last month that Russia had signed a contract with manufacturer Tupolev in 2013 to build the PAK DA, but cited Russian media reports as saying state test flights are not scheduled until next year, with initial production to begin in 2027. While it would be logical for Russia to try to speed up its PAK DA plans, it may not have the capacity, said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the FAS. He said in a telephone interview that Russia is facing delays with a range of other big defense projects including its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. RUSI's Bronk was also skeptical of Moscow's chances of accelerating the timeline for the next-generation bomber. "Russia will struggle to deliver the PAK DA programme at all in the coming five years, let alone accelerate it, due to budgetary shortfalls and materials and technology constraints on industry due to sanctions," he said.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Ukraine war 'existential', Russia says, launching revenge strikes
The Kremlin said on Friday the Ukraine war was "existential" for Russia, after it launched a wave of retaliatory drone and missile strikes that killed three rescue workers in Kyiv. The comments are Moscow's latest to dampen hopes for a breakthrough amid a flurry of meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, as well as telephone calls between President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, aimed at stopping the fighting. On Friday -- days after the second round of Ukrainian-Russian ceasefire negotiations in Turkey ended without meaningful progress -- the Kremlin cast its three-year invasion as nothing short of a battle for the "future" of Russia. "For us it is an existential issue, an issue on our national interest, safety, on our future and the future of our children, of our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, responding to remarks by Trump on Thursday comparing Moscow and Kyiv to brawling children. Peskov's comments came shortly after the Russian defence ministry said its forces had launched the "massive" missile and drone strike in "response" to recent attacks by Kyiv on its territory. Live Events Ahead of the talks this week in Istanbul, an audacious Ukrainian drone attack damaged nuclear-capable military planes at Russian air bases, including thousands of kilometres behind the front lines in Siberia. Putin had told Trump he would retaliate for the brazen operation, 18 months in the planning, in which Ukraine smuggled more than 100 small drones into Russia, parked them near Russian air bases and unleashed them in a coordinated attack. - 'A farce' - Despite recent rounds of peace talks, Putin has repeatedly rejected a ceasefire, and has instead issued a host of sweeping demands on Ukraine if it wants to halt the fighting. They include completely pulling troops out of four regions claimed by Russia, but which its army does not fully control, an end to Western military support, and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the demands as old ultimatums, questioned the purpose of more such talks and called for a summit to be attended by him, Putin and Trump. Kyiv said the retaliatory Russian barrage overnight consisted of 45 missiles and 407 drones. AFP journalists heard air raid sirens and explosions ring out over the capital throughout the night. Zelensky, who has repeatedly said Russia wants the war to continue, responded with a call for allies to "decisively" ramp up pressure on Russia. "Are we supposed to believe in a ceasefire after today?" Alicia, a Kyiv resident and marketing specialist, told AFP near one of the strike sites in Kyiv. "I think it's a farce, and it was clear from the very beginning that there would be no truce. Our enemies are not interested in this at all," she added. Zelensky said at least three people had been killed in the capital, and that Russia had targeted nine regions of Ukraine, including Lviv and Volyn in the west, which border EU and NATO member Poland. In the western city of Lutsk, rescuers in the afternoon pulled the body of a dead man from the rubble of a nine-storey building hit overnight, the interior ministry said. - Airfield strikes - Deadly attacks have escalated in recent weeks. Cities and villages have been destroyed across eastern Ukraine and millions forced to flee their homes, with Russia's forces controlling around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. The interior ministry said the three people killed in Kyiv were first responders, while Zelensky said 49 were wounded in the capital and across Ukraine. Moscow meanwhile said Ukrainian strikes overnight on Russia wounded three people in the western Tula region, while Kyiv claimed to have staged successful attacks on two air fields deep inside Russian territory. Footage shared on social media showed a large fire and smoke billowing into the air at an oil facility that serves a military site in Russia's Saratov region, which has been frequently targeted. The Russian defence ministry said it downed 174 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ten downed drones were headed for the Russian capital, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Putin hits back: Russia pounds Kyiv days after Ukrainian drone attacks destroy bombers
Russia launched an intense barrage of missiles and drones on Ukraine in the early hours of Friday, killing at least three people in Kyiv and injuring dozens more across the country. Moscow has described the attack as a retaliatory strike against recent Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russian territory. The Kremlin confirmed the overnight assault came in response to what it called Kyiv's 'acts of terrorism,' following an attack last weekend in which Ukrainian drones destroyed several Russian nuclear-capable bomber aircraft stationed at airfields in the Saratov and Ryazan regions. Ukrainian intelligence operatives reportedly used quadrocopter drones concealed in wooden sheds to carry out the strikes—some of the most audacious in the three-year-old war. President Vladimir Putin had warned of retaliation during a phone call with US President Donald Trump earlier in the week. Following the call, Trump said the Kremlin was preparing a response to the attacks on the Russian air bases. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed the same. He told reporters on Friday, 'Everything that is taking place within the framework of the special military operation (in Ukraine), everything that is being done by our military on a daily basis, is a response to the actions of the Kyiv regime, which has acquired all the characteristics of a terrorist regime.' On Friday, Russia's Defence Ministry said its armed forces had 'carried out a massive strike overnight with long-range air, sea and land-based precision weapons.' The strikes, it said, targeted 'Ukrainian design bureaus, enterprises for the production and repair of weapons and military equipment, assembly workshops for strike drones, flight training centres, and Ukrainian armed forces weapons and military equipment depots.' 'The objective of the strike was achieved. All designated targets were hit,' the ministry said. Kyiv's military administration confirmed that three first responders were killed when they arrived at the scene of a strike in the capital. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said they were killed by a subsequent explosion. 'Overnight, Russia 'responded' to its destroyed aircraft… by attacking civilians in Ukraine…. Multi-storey buildings hit. Energy infrastructure damaged,' Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 49 people had been injured nationwide and renewed his call for stronger Western action against Moscow. 'If someone is not applying pressure and is giving the war more time to take lives – that is complicity and accountability. We must act decisively,' he posted on X. Russia's overnight assault used 407 drones—one of the largest single-day drone barrage in the conflict to date—along with 45 cruise and ballistic missiles, Ukraine's air force reported. In Kyiv, powerful explosions rattled buildings and shattered windows, as residents sheltered in underground metro stations and car parks. The city's metro system was temporarily disrupted after a Russian strike damaged tracks between stations, while the national rail company diverted some train services due to infrastructure damage. A drone slammed into a residential apartment block in the capital's Solomianskyi district, leaving a gaping hole in the building's facade. A Reuters photographer reported seeing scorched walls and crushed cars below, as police investigators examined debris that appeared to be part of the drone's engine. Beyond the capital, Russia struck multiple regions. In Ternopil, western Ukraine, Russian forces targeted industrial sites, leaving parts of the city without electricity. Mayor Serhii Nadal confirmed 10 people were injured, and local authorities warned residents to stay indoors due to toxic air resulting from fires. In Lutsk, a northwestern city, 15 people were wounded when missiles struck residential areas, a government building, and educational institutions, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military confirmed it had launched a pre-emptive strike overnight on the Engels and Dyagilevo airfields—the same ones hit last weekend—as well as targeting three Russian fuel storage depots.
