Putin Approves Big Revamp of Russia's Navy, Kremlin Aide Says
Russia has the world's third most powerful navy after China and the United States, according to most public rankings, though the navy has suffered a series of high-profile losses in the Ukraine war.
Patrushev, a former KGB officer who served with Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg during Soviet times, said the new naval strategy - entitled "The Strategy for the Development of the Russian Navy up to 2050" - had been approved by Putin in late May.
"Russia's position as one of the world's greatest maritime powers is gradually recovering," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper in an interview.
"It is impossible to carry out such work without a long-term vision of the scenarios for the development of the situation in the oceans, the evolution of challenges and threats, and, of course, without defining the goals and objectives facing the Russian Navy," Patrushev said.
Patrushev gave no further details about the strategy, though Russia has ramped up spending on defense and security to Cold War levels as a percentage of gross domestic product.
A US Department of Defense report said in 2021 that China had the largest navy in the world and that Beijing's overall battleforce is expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030.
Open source data suggests Russia has 79 submarines, including 14 nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines, as well as 222 warships. Its main fleet is the Northern Fleet headquartered in Severomorsk on the Barents Sea.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
What to Know About the Putin-Trump Summit in Alaska
The US-Russia summit in Alaska is happening where East meets West — quite literally — in a place familiar to both countries as a Cold War front line of missile defense, radar outposts and intelligence gathering. Whether it can lead to a deal to produce peace in Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years after Moscow's invasion remains to be seen. Here's what to know about the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, the first summit in four years: When and where is it taking place? The summit will take place Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside Anchorage, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. It played a key role in the Cold War in monitoring and deterring the Soviet Union. It's Putin's first trip to the US since 2015 for the UN General Assembly in New York. Because the US isn't a member of the International Criminal Court, which in 2023 issued a warrant for Putin on war crimes accusations, it's under no obligation to arrest him. Is Zelenskyy going? Both countries confirmed a meeting between only Putin and Trump, despite initial suggestions that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might take part. The Kremlin has long pushed back against Putin meeting Zelenskyy -– at least until a peace deal is reached by both sides and is ready to be signed. Putin said last week he wasn't against meeting Zelenskyy "but certain conditions need to be created" and were "still a long way off." That raised fears about excluding Ukraine from negotiations. Kyiv and its European allies stressed that peace cannot be achieved without Kyiv's involvement. Zelenskyy was in Berlin for virtual meetings Wednesday with Trump and European leaders to try to ensure Ukraine and its allies are heard before the summit. The Ukrainian president told the group Putin "is bluffing" about his military might and the effectiveness of sanctions, and "is trying to apply pressure ... on all sectors of the Ukrainian front" to try to show that Russia is "capable of occupying all of Ukraine." In reality, sanctions are "hitting Russia's war economy hard," Zelenskyy said. What's Alaska's role in Russian history? It will be the first visit by a Russian leader to Alaska, even though it was part of the czarist empire until 1867, the state news agency Tass said. Alaska was colonized by Russia starting from the 18th century until Czar Alexander II sold it to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million. When it was found to contain vast resources, it was seen by Russians as a naïve deal that generated remorse. After the USSR's collapse, Alaska was a subject of nostalgia and jokes for Russians. One popular song in the 1990s went: "Don't play the fool, America ... give back our dear Alaska land." Sam Greene of King's College London said on X the symbolism of Alaska as the site of a summit about Ukraine was "horrendous — as though designed to demonstrate that borders can change, land can be bought and sold." What's the agenda? Trump has appeared increasingly exasperated with Putin over Russia's refusal to halt the bombardment of Ukraine. Kyiv has agreed to a ceasefire, insisting on a truce as a first step toward peace. Moscow presented ceasefire conditions that are nonstarters for Zelenskyy, such as withdrawing troops from the four regions Russia illegally annexed in 2022, halting mobilization efforts, or freezing Western arms deliveries. For a broader peace, Putin demands Kyiv cede the annexed regions, even though Russia doesn't fully control them, and Crimea, renounce a bid to join NATO, limit the size of its armed forces and recognize Russian as an official language along with Ukrainian. Zelenskyy insists any peace deals include robust security guarantees to protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression. Putin has warned Ukraine it will face tougher conditions for peace as Russian troops forge into other regions to build what he described as a "buffer zone." Some observers suggested Russia could trade those recent gains for territory under Ukrainian control in the four annexed regions annexed by Moscow. Zelenskyy said Saturday that "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier." But Trump said Monday: "There'll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody. To the good, for the good of Ukraine. Good stuff, not bad stuff. Also, some bad stuff for both." Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region it still controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the Ukrainian categorically rejected. Kyiv won't give up territory it controls, he added, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion. He said discussions led by the US on ending the war have not addressed key Ukrainian demands, including security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression and including Europe in negotiations. French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that Trump was "very clear" in a virtual meeting with European leaders and Zelenskyy that the US wants to achieve a ceasefire. Macron added that Trump had been clear that "territorial issues relating to Ukraine ... will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president." What are expectations? Trump said Wednesday there will be unspecified "very severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to stop the war after the summit. Putin sees a meeting with Trump as a chance to cement Russia's territorial gains, keep Ukraine out of NATO and prevent it from hosting any Western troops so Moscow can gradually pull the country back into its orbit. He believes time is on his side as Ukrainian forces are struggling to stem Russian advances along the front amid swarms of Moscow's missiles and drones. The meeting is a diplomatic coup for Putin, isolated since the invasion. The Kremlin sought to portray renewed US contacts as two superpowers looking to resolve various global problems, with Ukraine being just one. Ukraine and its European allies are concerned a summit without Kyiv could allow Putin to get Trump on his side and force Ukraine into concessions. "Any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace," Zelenskyy said. "They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions. They will never work." European officials echoed that. "As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine," European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. "A sustainable peace also means that aggression cannot be rewarded." NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Sunday he believed Trump was "making sure that Putin is serious, and if he is not, then it will stop there." "If he is serious, then from Friday onwards, the process will continue. Ukraine getting involved, the Europeans being involved," Rutte added. Since last week, Putin spoke to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as the leaders of South Africa, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, the Kremlin said. That suggested Putin perhaps wanted to brief Russia's most important allies about a potential settlement, said pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump threatens ‘severe consequences' if Putin blocks Ukraine peace
US President Donald Trump threatened 'severe consequences' if Russia's Vladimir Putin blocked peace in Ukraine but also said on Wednesday that a meeting between the pair could swiftly be followed by a second that included the leader of Ukraine. Trump did not specify what the consequences could be, but he has warned of economic sanctions if a meeting between himself and President Putin in Alaska on Friday proved fruitless. The comments by Trump and the mood music after a virtual meeting of Trump, European leaders and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could provide some hope for Kyiv after fears the Alaska meet could sell out Ukraine and carve up its territory. However, Russia is likely to resist Ukraine and Europe's demands strongly and previously said its stance had not changed since it was set out by Putin in June 2024. When asked if Russia would face any consequences if Putin does not agree to stop the war after Friday's meeting, Trump responded: 'Yes, they will.' Asked if those consequences would be sanctions or tariffs, Trump told reporters: 'I don't have to say, there will be very severe consequences.' But the president also described the aim of the meeting between the pair in Alaska as 'setting the table' for a quick follow-up that would include Zelenskyy. 'If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one,' he said. 'I would like to do it almost immediately, and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself, if they'd like to have me there.' Trump did not provide a time frame for a second meeting. Red lines European leaders and Zelenskyy had earlier spoken with Trump in a last-ditch call hosted by Germany to lay out red lines ahead of the Alaska meeting. 'We had a very good call. He was on the call. President Zelenskyy was on the call. I would rate it a 10, very friendly,' Trump said. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump agreed that Ukraine must be involved in any discussions about ceding land while Zelenskyy said Trump had supported the idea of security guarantees in a post-war settlement. 'President Trump was very clear that the United States wanted to achieve a ceasefire at this meeting in Alaska,' Macron said. 'The second point on which things were very clear, as expressed by President Trump, is that territories belonging to Ukraine cannot be negotiated and will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president.' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who hosted the virtual meeting, said the principle that borders could not be changed by force must continue to apply. 'If there is no movement on the Russian side in Alaska, then the United States and we Europeans should ... increase the pressure,' he said. 'President Trump knows this position, he shares it very extensively and therefore I can say: We have had a really exceptionally constructive and good conversation with each other.' Trump and Putin are due to discuss how to end the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict, the biggest in Europe since World War Two. Trump has previously said both sides will have to swap land to end fighting that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions. Russia makes sharp advance into Ukraine On a day of intense diplomacy, Zelenskyy flew into Berlin for virtual meetings with European leaders and then with Trump. He and the Europeans worry that a land swap could leave Russia with almost a fifth of Ukraine, rewarding it for almost 11 years of efforts to seize Ukrainian land, the last three in all-out war, and embolden Putin to expand further west in the future. Russian forces have made a sharp thrust into eastern Ukraine in recent days in what may be an attempt to increase the pressure on Kyiv to give up land. 'I told the US president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing (about his stated wish to end the war),' Zelenskyy said. 'He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine ...' A source familiar with the matter said the call with Trump discussed possible cities that could host a three-way meeting, depending on the outcome of the talks in Alaska. Wary of angering Trump, European leaders have repeatedly said they welcome his efforts, while stressing that there should be no deal about Ukraine without Ukraine's participation. Trump's agreement last week to the summit was an abrupt shift after weeks of voicing frustration with Putin for resisting the US peace initiative. Trump said his envoy had made 'great progress' at talks in Moscow. A Gallup poll released last week found that 69 percent of Ukrainians favor a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible. But polls also indicate Ukrainians do not want peace at any cost if that means crushing concessions. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev earlier said Moscow's stance had not changed since last year. As conditions for a ceasefire and the start of talks, the Kremlin leader had demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four regions that Russia has claimed as its own but does not fully control, and formally renounce its plans to join NATO. Kyiv swiftly rejected the conditions as tantamount to surrender.
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
‘Coalition of Willing' leaders set out stance on Ukraine ceasefire pathway
Britain, France and Germany, co-chairs of the so-called 'Coalition of the Willing', set out their position on the pathway to a ceasefire in Ukraine in a statement released after a virtual meeting on Wednesday. 'Ukraine must have robust and credible security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,' said the joint statement, published by Britain two days before a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. 'The Coalition of the Willing is ready to play an active role, including through plans by those willing to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased. 'No limitations should be placed on Ukraine's armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries. Russia could not have a veto against Ukraine's pathway to EU and NATO.'
