[ConservativeDailyNews] Daily Caller News Foundation co-founder Tucker Carlson released a video on social media Tuesday from Moscow, revealing how the U.S. government has not only severed all communication ties with Russia but also prevented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from interviewing with Carlson and his team.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated last month after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles on Nov. 17 for strikes inside Russia. In a video posted to X, Carlson told viewers how U.S. involvement in the conflict has brought everyone closer to a nuclear confrontation since he last interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin in February.
"In that time, just a few weeks ago, the Biden administration, American military personnel launched missiles into mainland Russia and killed at least a dozen Russian soldiers. So we are, unbeknownst to most Americans, in a hot war with Russia, an undeclared war, a war you did not vote for and that most Americans don’t want, but it is ongoing," Carlson said. "Because of that war, because of the fact that the U.S. military is killing Russians in Russia right now, we are closer to nuclear war than at any time in history, far closer than we were during the Cuban Missile Crisis."
Carlson went on to highlight how, despite believing that someone in Washington, D.C., was behind the push toward nuclear war, he had uncovered that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had cut off "all contact" between Russia and the United States.
"We felt there must be someone behind the scenes in Washington working to make sure that this conflict doesn’t become a nuclear holocaust. But we found out that no, in fact, there is nobody. Tony Blinken, the current secretary of state, cut off all contact between the U.S. and Russian governments. There is no back channel. There is no conversation. There hasn’t been for more than two years," Carlson said.
"Meanwhile, most Americans have no access to any perspective other than that granted to them by NBC News and The New York Times. They don’t know how close we are. They don’t know the Russian perspective," Carlson said. "We’ve been trying for over a year to get that perspective out to American news consumers."
Carlson also noted that he had been attempting for over a year to interview Zelenskyy but had been "thwarted" by the U.S. government’s involvement.
"The American embassy in Kiev, which our tax dollars pay for, told the Zelenskyy government, ’No, you may not do the interview.’ You can talk to CNN. You can’t talk to us. So we’ve been unable to speak to him," Carlson said.
"So we came back to Moscow yesterday to interview the foreign minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, the longest serving foreign minister in the world ... and ask him, where exactly are we? Are we headed toward an unprecedented conflict between Russia and the United States? Is there any way to peel Russia back from the east, from the sphere of China, back in to the west? Is that alliance permanent? Does the election of Donald Trump mean an end to this war, which is reshaping the world, the U.S. economy, the global economy and risking the life of every person on this planet? Is that possible? We just walked out of that interview," Carlson added. "It’s absolutely fascinating."
Talks of nuclear war surfaced after Biden authorized the use of U.S. long-range missiles for Ukraine, with Putin warning Ukraine about the potential use of new hypersonic missiles to target government or official buildings in Kyiv. Despite the signaling from Putin, U.S. intelligence sources allegedly told Reuters in late November that the decision to allow Ukraine the use of U.S. missiles has not increased the risk of nuclear war.
On Monday, Blinken headed back to Europe for what is likely his final high-level NATO meeting to discuss "priorities for transatlantic security, including supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, deepening cooperation with NATO’s southern partners in the Middle East, North Africa, and Sahel regions, and preparing for the upcoming summit at The Hague," the Associated Press reported.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 19:47 The Italian government is preparing the 10th package of military aid for Ukraine. This was reported by Reuters, citing sources. It is noted that the new aid package will probably be approved by the end of this month. As is known, since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Italy has already approved nine aid packages for Ukraine, including two air defense systems known as SAMP/T.
19:10 The Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading a bill according to which citizens in Ukraine will automatically register for military service upon reaching the age of 17. This was reported on December 3 by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. According to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, young people no longer need to go to the TCC or undergo a medical examination. They will only need to undergo identification in Reserve+, after which the application itself will generate a military registration document.
17:55 NATO should help Ukraine, but sending the Alliance's troops to Ukraine would mean its entry into the war, Luxembourg Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Xavier Bethel said.
"Troops on the battlefield mean war. It is terrible that things continue as they are, but we said that there should be no war between NATO and Russia," he said.
17:36 In the Kherson region, Russians dropped explosives from a drone, there is a victim and a wounded person. In Berislav, a 43-year-old woman died. In Antonovka, a 54-year-old civilian man was wounded.
17:25 Russian troops struck Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast. A woman was killed, a man and a three-month-old boy were injured. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office. The baby was diagnosed with mine-explosive and craniocerebral injuries and a concussion.
16:01 On December 3, President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, where they discussed orders for the production of drones, missiles and artillery, as well as the protection of energy infrastructure.
15:15 Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called on NATO countries to provide an additional 20 air defense systems to protect energy infrastructure in winter.
"Ukraine urgently needs at least 20 additional air defense systems such as HAWK, NASAMS or IRIS-T. This will help avoid blackouts," he stressed.
14:00 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky reported on the situation at the front, the situation in the Kurakhovsky and Pokrovsky directions remains difficult, there are good results in defense in the Zaporizhzhya direction. This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Report of Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky. General situation on the front, defense of our positions. Kurakhovskoye and Pokrovskoye directions remain the most difficult. I am grateful to each unit that is destroying the occupier and holding back the Russian advance," he said.
Zelensky added that "there are good defensive results in the Zaporizhzhya direction."
13:05 The partners hear Ukraine's calls for NATO membership and do not back down from their plans, but at the December meeting of the Alliance they have a different goal. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"In the coming days, we will focus on what to do to help Ukraine now... The meeting (of Alliance ministers - ed.) will focus on ensuring that when Ukraine decides to start negotiations, it can do so from a position of strength," he said.
12:59 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte responded to the launch of the Oreshnik missile on the Dnieper, assuring that the Russians' brazen attack will not deter allies in their support for Ukraine.
11:35 The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) at the National Security and Defense Council Andriy Kovalenko said that the Russian army is preparing for offensive actions in the Zaporizhia region, but there is no threat to the city of Zaporizhia. According to him, when speaking about the Zaporizhia direction, it is important not to confuse the Zaporizhia region and Zaporizhia.
10:46 Ukrainian forces are fighting for control over part of the Kursk region, repelling continuous attacks by the Russians. The fighting here is reaching peak intensity, according to a CNN report.
10:32 The Security Service detained two underage Russian agents who were involved in terrorist activities by enemy special services. On November 28, the perpetrators committed a terrorist attack in the Vyshgorod district of the Kyiv region.
On instructions from Russian special services, they detonated a homemade explosive device near the building of the local police department. No one was hurt in the incident. Both terrorists were exposed "hot on the heels." The perpetrators turned out to be two 14-year-old boys whom the Russians recruited remotely through Telegram channels looking for quick money.
9:45 Air defense forces worked in the Kiev region at night - there are destroyed targets. No critical or residential infrastructure was hit, there were no casualties.
In one of the settlements, damage was recorded to four private houses, a gas pipe, two cars and a fence.
9:25 On the night of December 3, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 28 Shahed attack UAVs and other types of drones. Air defense forces shot down 22 enemy UAVs in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Odessa, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
08:41 Russian aggressors struck an energy facility in the Rivne region during a raid using kamikaze drones last night, December 3. "All relevant services" are working at the scene.
08:27 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned Donald Trump that the United States will face a "terrible threat" from China, Iran and North Korea if Ukraine is forced to make concessions to end the war with Russia.
07:44 Special Operations Forces (SOF) fighters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out another successful raid on enemy positions in Kursk region. As a result, almost twenty Russian soldiers were eliminated and eight more were captured.
07:26 NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Tuesday, December 3. On the eve of this meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said that inviting our country to the Alliance would eliminate one of Russia's main arguments in waging the war, namely, preventing Ukraine from joining NATO. However, the bloc's members are unlikely to listen to Kiev and provide an invitation after the meeting.
00:30 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied Western media reports about losses in the war, allegedly 80,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed, and noted that the losses are significantly less.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] In particular, in Kursk region our defenders have repelled 17 attacks by the invaders today, nine combat clashes are ongoing.
The enemy does not stop trying to advance deep into Ukrainian territory. At present, the enemy has attacked the positions of the defense forces 125 times. It is most active in the Kurakhovsky and Pokrovsky directions, where it has carried out almost half of all attacks. This was reported in the General Staff report on Tuesday, December 3.
Today, in the Kharkov direction, Russian terrorists near Vovchansk, Glubokoe and in the direction of Kazachya Lopan tried to carry out offensive actions five times, and were rebuffed. Enemy aviation struck with UABs at Odnorobovka, Vysokaya Yaruga and Glubokoe.
Once the enemy attacked our positions in the Kupyansk direction. Ukrainian defenders repelled the enemy assault near Kolesnikovka.
In the Liman direction, enemy units continue to attack in the areas of the settlements of Pervomayskoye, Novoyegorovka, Grekovka, Yampolevka and Terny. Since the beginning of the day, Ukrainian soldiers have already repelled four out of eight enemy attacks in this direction. The fighting continues.
There have been two enemy attacks in the Toretsk direction at the moment. The enemy is active in the Toretsk area. Our defenders are giving a worthy rebuff, one attack has been stopped, the battle continues.
In the Pokrovsk direction, since the beginning of the day, the occupiers have already carried out 28 attacks on the positions of our defenders in the areas of Mirolyubovka, Lisovka, Luch, Dachenskoye, Mlechnoye and Novopustynka. The defense forces, holding back the hostile onslaught, repelled 24 enemy attacks. Four combat clashes continue. The enemy dropped aerial bombs on Mirnograd.
The hottest part of the situation today is in the Kurakhovsky direction, where there are currently 30 combat clashes, the invaders are actively trying to advance in the areas of Solntsevka, Zarya, Dalny, Kurakhovoye, Yelizavetovka and Gannovka. Thirteen combat clashes are still ongoing. Ulakly and Dachnoye have come under attack from Russian UABs.
In the Vremivsk direction, the invaders launched an offensive against the positions of Ukrainian troops 14 times near Konstantinopolskoye, Sukhi Yal, Razdolnoye and Novodarovka; two clashes are still ongoing.
The enemy carried out offensive operations in the areas of Rabotino, Novodanilovka and Novoandreyevka in the Orekhov direction, one battle continues.
In the Dnieper direction, the occupiers made five unsuccessful attempts to attack the positions of Ukrainian troops.
In Kursk region, our defenders repelled 17 attacks by invaders today, nine combat clashes continue.
While in other areas, no significant changes have been noted at present.
Let us recall that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky reported on the situation at the front, the situation in the Kurakhovsky and Pokrovsky directions remains difficult, there are good results in defense in the Zaporizhzhya direction.
Earlier, the National Security and Defense Council stated that the Russian army is preparing for offensive actions in the Zaporizhia region, but there is no threat to Zaporizhia.
Linked article is available only through a VPN
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kharkov direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on formations of the 95th Air Assault Brigade of the AFU and 13th National Guard Brigade near Neskuchnoye and Slatino (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 40 troops, two motor vehicles, and one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.
Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the 44th Mechanised Brigade, 25th Airborne Brigade of the AFU, and 115th Territorial Defence Brigade near Kupyansk, Lozovaya (Kharkov region), and Ivanovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Eleven counterattacks launched by assault detachments of the 1st, 4th National Guard brigades, and 113th Territorial Defence Brigade were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 460 troops, two motor vehicles, one 122mm D-30 howitzer, and two U.S.-made 105mm M-119 guns.
One Anklav-N electronic warfare station and three field ammunition depots were destroyed.
As a result of decisive actions, units of the Yug Group of Forces liberated Romanovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Losses were inflicted on formations of the 46th Airmobile Brigade, 79th Air Assault Brigade of the AFU, and 37th Naval Infantry Brigade near Konstantinovka, Dachnoye, and Slavyansk (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 370 troops, one infantry fighting vehicle, five motor vehicles, and one electronic warfare station. One field ammunition depot was destroyed.
Units of the Tsentr Group of Forces improved the tactical situation along the front line and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the 59th Mechanised Brigade of the AFU, 38th Naval Infantry Brigade, and 14th National Guard Brigade near Shevchenko, Grodovka, and Dimitrov (Donetsk People's Republic).
Twelve counteattacks launched by assault detachments of the 42nd, 100th Mechanised brigades, 56th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 71st Jaeger Brigade of the AFU, and 35th Naval Infantry Brigade were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to more than 555 troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, one 152mm Msta-B gun, and two 122mm D-30 howitzers.
As a result of active offensive operations, units of the Vostok Group of Forces liberated Novodarovka (Zaporozhye region).
Losses were inflicted on formations of the 33rd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU, 127th and 241st Territorial Defence brigades near Razliv, Komar, and Oktyabr (Donetsk People's Republic). Two counterattacks launched by AFU assault detachments were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 155 troops, one tank, four armoured fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, and one 152mm 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system.
Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the 124th and 126th Territorial Defence brigades near Molodezhnoye and Nikolskoye (Kherson region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 60 troops and three motor vehicles.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces struck power objects ensuring operation of Ukrainian defence industry enterprises, infrastructure of military airfields, as well as engaged manpower and hardware clusters of the enemy in 142 areas.
Air defence units shot down 40 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles, including four outside the special military operation zone.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 649 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 37,122 unmanned aerial vehicles, 586 anti-aircraft missile systems, 19,600 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,497 MLRS combat vehicles, 18,897 field artillery guns and mortars, and 28,957 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
Units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on formations of the 21st, 41st, 44th, 47th Mechanised brigades, 17th Heavy Mechanised Brigade, 5th Tank Brigade, 80th, 82nd, 95th Air Assault brigades, 112th and 129th Territorial Defence brigades of the AFU near Aleksandriya, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Leonidovo, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Nizhny Klin, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Novoivanovka, Plyokhovo, Sverdlikovo, and Yuzhny.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the enemy near Agronom, Guyevo, Makhovka, Novaya Sorochina, Staraya Sorochina, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye as well as Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, and Obody in Sumy region.
Over the past 24 hours, the AFU losses amounted to more than 300 troops. Two tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, including two U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 17 armoured fighting vehicles, 14 motor vehicles, three artillery guns, and six mortars.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to more than 37,655 troops, 228 tanks, 165 infantry fighting vehicles, 123 armoured personnel carriers, 1,223 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,079 motor vehicles, 308 artillery guns, 40 MLRS launchers, including 11 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 13 anti-aircraft missile launchers, seven transport-loading vehicles, 70 EW stations, 13 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 27 units of engineering and other materiel, including 13 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, six armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 23:57 Official summary of the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC from 00:00 03.12.2024 to 00:00 04.12.2024.
Seven facts of armed attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded by the DPR Representative Office in the JCCC over the past 24 hours.
There were reports of two civilians being killed and one civilian being injured.
DAMAGED:
One car,
Five residential buildings,
One civil infrastructure facility.
Seven artillery attacks in the Gorlovka direction.
A total of 18 units of various ammunition were fired.
23:30 Russian fighters burn another German Leopard in the SVO zone – video.
19:54 Russian artillerymen leave no chance for the enemy: mortarmen of the Vostok group stopped counterattack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
A crew of a 240mm 2S4 self-propelled mortar "Tulip" with aimed fire hit a group of motorized infantry of Ukrainian troops that was trying to attack the positions of Russian attack aircraft.
As a result of the coordinated actions of artillerymen and attack aircraft, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 50 servicemen, seven vehicles and three armored combat vehicles.
18:39 Their strong point is surprise: Metis ATGM crews destroyed accumulation of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in the Orekhov direction. Zaporizhia region.
"We work with Metis, Fagot, Kornet, with all the combat equipment that we have in service. Our targets are always different: sometimes it's enemy manpower, sometimes it's enemy equipment," says an ATGM operator with the call sign "Arbat" about his work.
17:52 Russian Defense Ministry officially confirmed liberation of Novodarovka in the Zaporizhia region and Romanovka in the DPR.
The liberation of Romanovka, located eight kilometers south of Kurakhovo, brings it closer to encirclement, allowing our soldiers to reduce the southern Kurakhovo pocket of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The liberation of Novodarovka accelerates the process of encirclement of the large logistics and administrative center of Velikaya Novosyolka.
16:47 Air support.
Mi-28NM crew as part of a mixed tactical group struck armored vehicles and personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the border area of the Kursk region.
15:43 Su-35S crews are on combat duty in the border areas of the Kursk region, –video.
The purpose of combat duty in the air is to provide cover in a given area of operations for bomber and attack aircraft, as well as army aviation helicopters, when carrying out air strikes on military facilities and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
13:54 Rocket artillery of Tula paratroopers covered concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry.
Crews of 122mm BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems of the Tula Guards Airborne Forces destroyed enemy infantry in the border area of the Kursk region.
11:41 Another destroyed Swedish CV-90 IFV, –video.
Several of these had already been destroyed earlier and several had fallen into the hands of the Russian army as trophies.
10:54 Rubicon drone driverscontinueclear the Kursk direction of Ukrainian Armed Forces vehicles.
Reconnaissance UAVs of the Test Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies of the Russian Ministry of Defense "Rubicon" discovered vehicles in a forest belt that were transporting Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen.
The FPV drone crew destroyed the car.
9:47 Telegram channel «WarGonzo»:
Frontline report for the morning of 03.12.2024:
- Zaporizhzhya Front. The battles in the area are mainly positional in nature. Without significant changes in the LBS.
– Donetsk Front. Here, the Russian Armed Forces continue to develop their offensive in several directions. Around Velyka Novosyolka, Russian troops continue to improve their positions, encircling the settlement from the north and south. Urban fighting continues in Kurakhovo, the Ukrainian garrison is forced to retreat further and further west.
There are reports of our troops advancing in the area of the settlement of Zheltoye in the Pokrovsk direction. In Dzerzhinsk, Russian troops expanded their zone of control in the area of ??the waste heaps of the Tsentralnaya mine.
- Chasov Yar direction. Fighting continues in Chasov Yar and on the flanks. No significant changes in the LBS have been recorded over the past 24 hours.
- Kursk region. Fierce counter-battles continue here. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are putting up stubborn resistance and conducting counter-attacks, which, however, do not bring them any advances, but greatly complicate the work of the Russian Armed Forces.
8:10 "Yuzhnye" discovered an enemy UAV control point with a crew, a "Starlink" station, a booster antenna and a field warehouse of ammunition, -video.
All of the above was destroyed by targeted artillery strikes.
8:05 Night launches: 220mm BM-27 Uragan MLRS crews of the Zapad group destroy strongholds, positions and manpower of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, –video.
[ZeroHedge] The Philippine military deployed a navy ship and air force planes to shadow a Russian submarine, which passed through the South China Sea off the country's western coast last week, a security official told AFP. One official said the navy was surprised to see the vessel because it was a "very unique submarine."
The Russian UFA 490 submarine identified itself about 80 miles from the Philippines coast in response to a navy two-way radio inquiry, saying it was en route home to Russia's eastern city of Vladivostok after joining an exercise with the Malaysian navy, Jonathan Malaya, assistant director-general of the National Security Council, said.
The submarine, like other foreign ships, has the right of "innocent passage" in the country's exclusive economic zone but it still sparked concern when it was spotted on Thursday about 80 nautical miles off the Philippine province of Mindoro, Malaya said.
Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesman for the navy in the South China Sea, said the incident is "not alarming."
"But we were surprised because this is a very unique submarine," he told AFP. The 74-metre (243-foot) long vessel is armed with a missile system that has a range of 12,000 kilometers (7,450 miles), according to Russia's state-run TASS news agency.
The submarine was sighted after it surfaced due to weather-related conditions, Malaya said.
According to the Naval Technology website, Kilo-class submarines are considered to be “one of the quietest diesel submarines in the world." With a crew of 52, the Kilo is designed for anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface-ship warfare, and for general reconnaissance and patrol missions. It first entered service with the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
The Kilo-class submarines can also detect other submarines at a range “three to four times greater than it can be detected itself.”
Exported widely in several continents, nine countries operate the 65 Kilo-class subs currently in service, GMA News reports. Among these are China and Vietnam. According to the US Naval Institute, Kilo-class submarines have six 21-inch bow torpedo tubes that can launch torpedoes or naval mines. It can carry a maximum of 18 torpedoes or 24 naval mines.
The 2,300-ton warship was designed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and the initial design progressed to Project 636 called the Improved Kilo or Kilo II submarine in 1990.
The US Naval Institute also said many Kilo-class submarines can launch the Kalibr family of missiles from their torpedo tubes for long-range land attack (3M-14) or antiship (3M-54) operations.
Kilo-class subs have a hull-mounted sonar suite, an underwater sensor capability that can be used in a wide range of operational missions.
According to the USNI, Russia’s Improved Kilo II–class submarines first conducted long-range attacks against Islamic State targets in Syria in 2015. It has also been used to attack Ukraine since the 2022 war.
According to the National Security Council, the Russian attack sub (UFA 490) was seen traveling on the surface 80 nautical miles west off the Occidental Mindoro coast on November 28 and eventually left in the afternoon.
* * *
"All of that is very concerning," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told reporters when asked about the submarine. "Any intrusion into the West Philippine Sea, of our EEZ, of our baselines is very worrisome. So, yes, it's just another one."
Marcos used the Philippine name for the South China Sea, where his country plus Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and other coastal states have faced an increasingly aggressive China, which claims the busy waterway virtually in its entirety.
An alarming spike in territorial confrontations, particularly between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces, starting last year has prompted closer surveillance by the United States and other Western governments of the key global trade route.
The Philippines coast guard said Monday that a Chinese military helicopter flew close to fishing boats manned by Filipinos in a "dangerous act of harassment" last week at Iroquois Reef, a disputed fishing area in the South China Sea.
Two Philippine coast guard patrol ships have been deployed to the area to protect Filipino fishermen, coast guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said. There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials.
As "60 Minutes" reported recently, tensions have escalated precariously in the waters off the western coast of the Philippines where an international tribunal ruled the Philippines has exclusive economic rights. But China claims almost all of the South China Sea, one of the world's most vital waterways through which more than $3 trillion in goods flow each year.
Meanwhile, China and Russia have expanded military and defense ties since Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine nearly three years ago, and joint exercises involving the Russian and Chinese militaries have ramped up recently. Last week, South Korea's military said it scrambled fighter jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defense zone.
In September, the U.S. military moved about 130 soldiers along with mobile rocket launchers to a desolate island in the Aleutian chain of western Alaska amid a recent increase in Russian military planes and vessels approaching American territory. Eight Russian military planes and four navy vessels, including two submarines, had recently come close to Alaska as Russia and China conducted joint military drills.
#3
Unfamiliar with the Kilo capabilities;
I seem to remember that WWII diesel subs etc. across the board had fits during poor nighttime weather - surface and roll with the weather to vent/recharge, or submerge for a safer ride but not do the needed vent/recharge.
That said, it is hard to imagine a Cold War era Sub being forced to surface because of weather unless they had already been pushed to limits.
I guess, they didn't do an emergency breech and sink a fishing vessel.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
