Latest news with #Supo
Al Jazeera
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,105
Here is the situation on Wednesday, March 5: Fighting Ukraine's military said it attacked oil-pumping infrastructure in Russia's Rostov region as well as an oil refinery in the Samara region overnight. The military's statement said the attack on Samara started a fire, and that 'powerful explosions' took place in the vicinity of a gas transmission facility in Rostov. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Russia displayed 'aggressive behaviour' by flying an SU-35 fighter dangerously close to a French surveillance drone over the eastern Mediterranean. He said the jet made three successive close passes, and said it was intentional and unacceptable. A Russian drone attack on Tuesday killed one person and cut off power, water and heating in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa for the second day, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said. Drone attacks damaged critical infrastructure as well, he added. Politics and diplomacy Russia's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the United States' decision to halt military aid to Ukraine would be 'the best contribution to the cause of peace' between Moscow and Kyiv. Finnish intelligence agency Supo said ending Russia's war on Ukraine would free up Kremlin resources to 'influence' other countries and branded Russia an 'aggressive, expansionist state that is prepared to use all means to achieve its political goals'. Ukraine is still 'absolutely determined' to continue cooperation with the US, said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal after the public spat between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He also said Kyiv would do everything necessary to withstand Russia's aggression. Shmyhal said Ukraine has the military capacity to maintain its front line against Russian forces, despite the US's decision to withhold assistance. However, he said Ukraine would continue to work with Washington via all available channels. Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke about a possible peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Starmer's spokesperson said. He said both Starmer and Trump are focused on the same outcome of ensuring a secure and lasting peace in Ukraine. Interfax-Ukraine reported Shmyhal as saying that Kyiv is open to peace discussions, but that territorial losses are off the table. 'We do not discuss and cannot discuss Ukraine's territorial losses. We can talk about a peace plan that includes certain stages,' he reportedly said. Zelenskyy said he wants to 'make things right' with Donald Trump, calling their earlier spat 'regrettable'. He also said he wants to work under Trump's 'strong leadership' to ensure a secure, lasting peace in Ukraine. Trump, in his address to the US Congress, welcomed Zelenskyy's willingness to sign the minerals deal and said Zelenskyy had made the declaration to him earlier via a letter. Zelenskyy, in his nightly video address, said he had instructed his defence minister and other government officials to clarify information regarding the suspension of military aid to Kyiv, 'because people should not be left to guess'. Zelenskyy said on X that Ukraine is ready to negotiate as soon as possible, and that peace with Russia is possible if Moscow agrees to certain conditions. He proposed the release of prisoners, and a truce in the sky and at sea as a first step to ending the war. Citing four people familiar with the situation, Reuters reported that the US and Ukraine plan to sign the minerals deal that fell through earlier after the Oval Office clash between Trump and Zelenskyy.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Finland's intelligence service says it is closely watching US position on Russia
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's security and intelligence service Supo is closely watching how U.S. intelligence positions itself towards Russia under the Trump administration, Supo's chief said on Tuesday. Supo on Tuesday published a national security review in which it named Russia as the biggest threat to Finland, which shares a 1,340-km (833-mile) border with Russia and joined Western military alliance NATO in 2023 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week and has adopted a more conciliatory stance towards Moscow. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Asked by reporters if the U.S. could still be trusted as an intelligence ally, Finnish intelligence chief Juha Martelius said information exchanges continued as before. "Of course, this is a development that we are following very closely. And of course, so are other intelligence and security services in Europe that are allies of the United States," he told reporters. Martelius said Trump's rapprochement with Russia had not yet had an impact on intelligence cooperation on a practical level. "If it seems that the United States' interest in directing its actions to concretely counter Russia is waning, then it is clear that each Western actor must consider new forms of cooperation and also further development of their own efforts," he said. In its review, Supo said the security threat posed by Russia against Finland and Europe would continue to grow, even if the war in Ukraine came to an end. "When the war in Ukraine ends, Russia's resources will be freed up for influence elsewhere," it said.
Reuters
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Finland's intelligence service says it is closely watching US position on Russia
HELSINKI, March 4 (Reuters) - Finland's security and intelligence service Supo is closely watching how U.S. intelligence positions itself towards Russia under the Trump administration, Supo's chief said on Tuesday. Supo on Tuesday published a national security review in which it named Russia as the biggest threat to Finland, which shares a 1,340-km (833-mile) border with Russia and joined Western military alliance NATO in 2023 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week and has adopted a more conciliatory stance towards Moscow. Asked by reporters if the U.S. could still be trusted as an intelligence ally, Finnish intelligence chief Juha Martelius said information exchanges continued as before. "Of course, this is a development that we are following very closely. And of course, so are other intelligence and security services in Europe that are allies of the United States," he told reporters. Martelius said Trump's rapprochement with Russia had not yet had an impact on intelligence cooperation on a practical level. "If it seems that the United States' interest in directing its actions to concretely counter Russia is waning, then it is clear that each Western actor must consider new forms of cooperation and also further development of their own efforts," he said. In its review, Supo said the security threat posed by Russia against Finland and Europe would continue to grow, even if the war in Ukraine came to an end. "When the war in Ukraine ends, Russia's resources will be freed up for influence elsewhere," it said.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Finland's secret service says frequency of cable incidents is 'exceptional'
By Anne Kauranen HELSINKI (Reuters) - The frequency of cable incidents in the Baltic Sea has been "exceptional" in recent years, but state actors have more effective ways of performing underwater sabotage than by dragging anchors, Finland's intelligence service chief said. The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the NATO military alliance has boosted its presence with frigates, aircraft and naval drones. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. On Sunday, Finland released the oil tanker Eagle S, which is suspected of breaking a Baltic Sea power cable and four data cables late last year, but Finnish police have yet to provide conclusions in several ongoing investigations. Juha Martelius, the head of Finland's security and intelligence service Supo called the cable incidents "a secondary issue", despite describing their frequency as "exceptional" for the Baltic Sea in recent years. "The biggest concern regarding the Baltic Sea is that Russia's shadow fleet operates there and provides Russia with warfare capabilities by allowing Russia to sell energy to other countries that buy it," he told Reuters. 'Shadow fleet' refers to vessels used by Russia to move oil, arms and grains around in violation of international sanctions imposed on it over the Ukraine war. Russia has repeatedly denounced Western sanctions against Moscow's energy sector as an attempt to harm Russia's economy at the risk of destabilising global markets and said the country would press on with large oil and gas projects. In a national security review published on Tuesday, Supo said dozens of shadow fleet vessels sail through the Gulf of Finland to Russian oil ports weekly and that their ability to circumvent energy sanctions is of great importance to the Russian economy. "There are so many of these vessels in the Baltic Sea now that the likelihood of something happening is of course greater," Martelius said, referring to cable breaches and refusing to comment on ongoing investigations. Western countries should nevertheless take the threat against their critical underwater infrastructure seriously, he added. "I would like to separate the anchors, whatever is behind those incidents, from the fact that there is a real threat against underwater critical infrastructure," he said, adding state actors had more effective capabilities for causing subsea destruction than by dragging anchors.
Reuters
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Finland's secret service says frequency of cable incidents is 'exceptional'
HELSINKI, March 4 (Reuters) - The frequency of cable incidents in the Baltic Sea has been "exceptional" in recent years, but state actors have more effective ways of performing underwater sabotage than by dragging anchors, Finland's intelligence service chief said. The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the NATO military alliance has boosted its presence with frigates, aircraft and naval drones. On Sunday, Finland released the oil tanker Eagle S, which is suspected of breaking a Baltic Sea power cable and four data cables late last year, but Finnish police have yet to provide conclusions in several ongoing investigations. Juha Martelius, the head of Finland's security and intelligence service Supo called the cable incidents "a secondary issue", despite describing their frequency as "exceptional" for the Baltic Sea in recent years. "The biggest concern regarding the Baltic Sea is that Russia's shadow fleet operates there and provides Russia with warfare capabilities by allowing Russia to sell energy to other countries that buy it," he told Reuters. 'Shadow fleet' refers to vessels used by Russia to move oil, arms and grains around in violation of international sanctions imposed on it over the Ukraine war. Russia has repeatedly denounced Western sanctions against Moscow's energy sector as an attempt to harm Russia's economy at the risk of destabilising global markets and said the country would press on with large oil and gas projects. In a national security review published on Tuesday, Supo said dozens of shadow fleet vessels sail through the Gulf of Finland to Russian oil ports weekly and that their ability to circumvent energy sanctions is of great importance to the Russian economy. "There are so many of these vessels in the Baltic Sea now that the likelihood of something happening is of course greater," Martelius said, referring to cable breaches and refusing to comment on ongoing investigations. Western countries should nevertheless take the threat against their critical underwater infrastructure seriously, he added. "I would like to separate the anchors, whatever is behind those incidents, from the fact that there is a real threat against underwater critical infrastructure," he said, adding state actors had more effective capabilities for causing subsea destruction than by dragging anchors.
