Latest news with #MarkTrevelyan
The Star
a day ago
- Politics
- The Star
Russia says plan to boost role in Africa includes 'sensitive' security ties
FILE PHOTO: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russia's President Vladimir Putin and President of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia Badra Gunba in the Grand Palace at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 10, 2025. Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia plans to step up cooperation with African countries, including in "sensitive areas" such as defence and security, the Kremlin said on Monday. Russian mercenary group Wagner said last week it was leaving Mali after helping the military junta there in its fight with Islamist militants. But the Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force, said it would remain in the west African country. Asked what this meant for Russia's role in Africa, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The Russian presence in Africa is growing. We really intend to comprehensively develop our interaction with African countries, focusing primarily on economic and investment interaction. "This also corresponds to and extends to such sensitive areas as defence and security. In this regard, Russia will also continue interaction and cooperation with African states." Russia's growing security role in parts of the continent, including in countries such as Mali, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, is viewed with concern by the West, and has come at the expense of France and the United States. Russia's Africa Corps was created with the Russian Defence Ministry's support after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and commander Dmitry Utkin led a failed mutiny against the Russian army leadership in June 2023 and were killed two months later in a plane crash. About 70-80% of the Africa Corps is made up of former Wagner members, according to several Telegram chats used by Russian mercenaries seen by Reuters. (Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Mark Trevelyan and Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan/Guy Faulconbridge)
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Russia faces struggle to replace bombers lost in Ukrainian drone strikes
By Mark Trevelyan and Tom Balmforth 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 Zelenskiy – 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, defence 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 defence 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 modernising 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 defence projects including its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. RUSI's Bronk was also sceptical 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.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia faces struggle to replace bombers lost in Ukrainian drone strikes
By Mark Trevelyan and Tom Balmforth LONDON (Reuters) -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 modernisation 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 Zelenskiy - 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, defence 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 defence 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 modernising 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 defence projects including its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. RUSI's Bronk was also sceptical 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.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian war bloggers blame military command for stunning Ukrainian attack on bomber fleet
By Mark Trevelyan LONDON (Reuters) -Russian military analysts are hunting for scapegoats after Ukraine stunned Moscow with weekend drone attacks that destroyed a number of strategic bomber planes, weakening a key component of Russia's nuclear arsenal. Aerospace forces commander-in-chief Viktor Afzalov and former defence minister Sergei Shoigu - now secretary of Russia's Security Council - are among those being publicly singled out for blame. The drone strikes have prompted accusations of negligence, complacency and corruption. How was it possible, commentators are asking, for nuclear-capable aircraft to be left exposed, unprotected by hangars, and for Ukrainian intelligence to smuggle the drones within close reach of air bases and unleash them with devastating effect? Two influential military blogs, Voyenkor Kotenok and Two Majors, said Shoigu had promised as far back as April 2021 to build more than 300 reinforced concrete shelters for aircraft, but this had not happened. Military analyst Vladislav Shurygin condemned the "blatant irresponsibility and negligence" of the aerospace command headed by Afzalov, accusing the top brass of failing to anticipate threats and learn from past mistakes. The Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Another blogger, Roman Alekhin, said the attacks had demonstrated Ukraine's ability to penetrate deep inside Russia with saboteurs. Moscow had underestimated its enemy, he said, comparing the blow to Japan's 1941 attack on the U.S. navy at Pearl Harbor. The heated online debate contrasts with near-silence from the authorities and scant coverage in state media. The Kremlin has said an investigation is underway. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday condemned what he called terrorist attacks by Ukraine that killed seven people in southern Russia on Sunday, but made no reference to the strikes on the air bases that took place on the same day. BOMBER FLEET Russia operates two types of nuclear-capable heavy bomber planes - the Tu-160 and Tu-95 MS, which NATO calls the Blackjack and Bear-H, respectively. The Federation of American Scientists, in its annual review of Russian nuclear forces, said last month that it estimates Russia has only about 67 strategic bombers in its active inventory, although there is uncertainty about the numbers. It said Russia had historically housed all its strategic bombers at Engels, in the Volga region, and Ukrainka in the Far East. But in 2022, the first year of the war, it redeployed some bombers from Engels to Belaya in Siberia and Olenya in the northern Murmansk region, apparently assuming they would be less vulnerable there to Ukrainian attack. That assumption was disproved on Sunday, when Belaya and Olenya bore the brunt of the Ukrainian attacks. According to Western and Russian analysts, the aircraft that were hit were Tu-95 MSs and Tu-22 M3s - a type of intermediate-range bomber - though it remains unclear exactly how many were taken out. Satellite images of Belaya, obtained by Reuters and reviewed by military experts, showed at least several strategic bombers there were destroyed or badly damaged. Russian analysts estimated a dozen or more aircraft in total were damaged or destroyed at Belaya and Olenya. To replace them, military blogger Colonel Cassad wrote, it was likely that Russia would have to speed up production of the Tu-160 because it was only making four of those every year. Reuters could not verify that figure. Aviation analyst Alexei Zakharov said even if as many as 15 Tu-95 MSs had been taken out, it would only reduce the number of nuclear cruise missiles that Russia was capable of firing by fewer than 100. He noted that strategic bombers are only part of a much larger nuclear force including ground- and submarine-launched missiles. Even so, he said, Russia had learned a lesson that was "offensive and insulting. The main thing is that the right conclusions are drawn from this lesson". (Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly in MelbourneEditing by Gareth Jones)
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Russian ballet master Yuri Grigorovich dies at 98
By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) -Russian ballet maestro Yuri Grigorovich, considered one of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century, has died at the age of 98, the Bolshoi Theatre said on Monday. Grigorovich, artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow from 1964-1995, was famed for productions of Spartacus, Ivan the Terrible, Romeo and Juliet and many other ballets. Valery Gergiev, head of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theatres, told Izvestia newspaper he was "a legendary figure who will continue to command respect and admiration for decades to come". The Bolshoi said in a statement that it would "faithfully cherish his memory and protect his priceless legacy". Grigorovich was born in 1927, a decade after the Bolshevik Revolution, and performed as a soloist with Leningrad's Kirov ballet before becoming a choreographer. During his long tenure at the Bolshoi, it staged frequent international tours and enhanced its reputation as one of the world's great ballet companies. But the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union brought uncertainty, financial worries, internal rows and a flight of talent abroad. AWARDS In 1995, Grigorovich resigned after months of conflict with management over performers' contracts, triggering the first dancers' strike at the Bolshoi in its more than 200-year history. As the lights dimmed at the start of a scheduled performance, a dancer stepped through the curtain to tell the stunned audience there would be no show that night. Grigorovich created a new ballet company in Krasnodar, southern Russia, although he eventually returned to the Bolshoi in 2008 to work again as a choreographer and ballet master. He won the highest Russian and Soviet awards, including People's Artist of the USSR and Hero of Socialist Labour. The Bolshoi marked his 90th birthday in 2017 with two months of special performances. By coincidence, his death was announced on the same day as that of one of his favourite dancers, Yuri Vladimirov, who was 83.
