Day: March 26, 2023

An explosion in the town of Kireevsk in Russia’s Tula Region on Sunday was the result of a thwarted Ukrainian drone attack, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced. It said the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was downed using electromagnetic warfare methods.

Ukrainian forces launched a strike variant of a Soviet-made Tu-141 Strizh (‘Swift’) drone, according to the ministry. Russian air defense forces stationed in Tula Region used an electromagnetic warfare system, Pole-21 (Field-21), to disable its navigation systems and drive it off course, the ministry’s statement said. The UAV eventually crashed in Kireevsk. Its actual target was not revealed in the statement.

Earlier on Sunday, the Russian media reported that at least three people were injured and three residential buildings damaged in the blast caused by the drone crash. Kiev has not commented on the incident.

Tula Region is located south of Moscow, some 250km away from the nearest border with Ukraine. In early March, its governor ordered increased security measures in the wake of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian soil.

According to the Defense Ministry, the air defense force deployed to the region includes S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems, as well as Pantsir-S1 medium-range air defense missile and artillery systems together with Pole-21 electromagnetic warfare systems.

Source: Russia Today

Kyiv on Sunday said Russia was holding Minsk as a “nuclear hostage” after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to ally Belarus.

Source: France24.com

A Ukrainian drone has been shot down by Russian air defences, Moscow has said.

The drone came down in the town of Kireyevsk – some 400km (249 miles) from the Ukraine border – on Sunday, the defence ministry announced.

Russian state media is reporting that at least three people were injured in an explosion after it was brought down.

Ukraine has dismissed previous claims that it has attacked Russian civilian targets with explosive drones and has not yet commented on this incident.

Moscow has deployed hundreds of drones against Ukraine.

Russian law enforcement authorities say the drone – said to be a Strizh-type (Tu-141) UAV packed with explosives – was brought down at 15:20 local time (13:20 BST), causing a large crater in the heart of Kireyevsk.

Several apartments have reportedly been damaged in the town – which lies in the Tula region, 220km south of Moscow – but there have not been any serious injuries.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, the Russian Defence Ministry accused Ukraine of attempting to carry out a strike.

“The grouping of Russian air defence systems deployed in the Tula region – S-300 and Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as Pole-21 electronic warfare systems – provide reliable cover from this direction,” the defence ministry said.

“In particular, the Pole-21 electronic warfare complex handled the Ukrainian strike drone, which resulted in its navigation system being disabled.”

In December, Moscow said three Russian air force personnel died after being wounded by falling debris from a drone that was shot down at the Engels airbase in the south of the country.

The Engels air base has been repeatedly used by Russia to carry out missile strikes on various targets in Ukraine since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion last February.

Source: BBC

The solution to the Cyprus problem is Greece’s top national issue but also a challenge for the entire international community, the Ambassador to Cyprus, Ioannis Papameletiou, said on Saturday, during a reception to mark the Greek Independence Day in Nicosia, that was attended among others, by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides.

Papameletiou said that Greece supports Christodoulides’ efforts for the resumption of the peace talks and the creation of conditions for the solution, within the framework of the UN decisions. He also said that Greece agrees on the need for a more active involvement of the EU, under the auspices of the UN.

Papameletiou said that for the past 49 years the international legitimacy is being violated in Cyprus, adding that the termination of the occupation remains our unwavering goal.

The Greek Ambassador also said that the claims of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to change the basis of the solution cannot be accepted as they deviate from the agreed framework provided by the UN Security Council resolutions.

He also denounced the Turkish claims at the fenced off town of Famagusta (Varosha) saying that they further hinder the prospect for a solution. Papameletiou in his address also said that Greece and Cyprus are poles of stability, peace and security in the region.

President Christodoulides had on Saturday a telephone conversation with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to convey his best wishes on the occasion of the Greek national day.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Around four thousand children from Britain, Poland, Denmark, Lebanon, Jordan, Seychelles and Cyprus, will participate in the international Ayia Napa Youth Soccer Festival, to take place on April 8 – 13.

Ayia Napa municipality said in a press release that children born between 2006-2017 will participate in the event. The tournament will be held at the sports center of the Municipality which has 15 football fields with natural turf.

This year a total of 350 groups and around 4,000 kids will take part. The final schedule will be announced around the end of March, while it is expected that the total number of matches will exceed a thousand, the Municipality said.

On behalf of the organizers Christos Constantinou described the event as one of the largest and most qualitative football events of its kind in Europe.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus’ Environment Commissioner, Maria Panayiotou, stressed on Saturday evening the importance of changing habits and mentality for a clean environment and sustainable future, addressing an event for the ‘Earth Hour’ in Nicosia, noting, among other things, that 49% of emissions in the country comes from transport.

The Commissioner said that their priority was ‘hard work and synergies’, with the aim of upgrading citizens’ quality of life in terms of sustainability.

She noted that, ‘Earth Hour’ is not the 60 minutes when the lights are turned off, but 365 days per year and that’s the goal, for the shores, rivers, seas and air to be clean.

The Commissioner also referred to the environmental goals set by the European Commission, through the European Green Deal and the Fit For 55 legislative package, noting that, ‘we must, by making use of European tools and funds, proceed with the implementation of a comprehensive and horizontal strategy for the protection of the environment that will lead to a reduction of emissions, to the development of circular economy, to the implementation of green policies that ensure the citizens’ right to clean water and air, to policies that protect and preserve the biodiversity of Cyprus, which allow the proper management of our natural resources and the welfare of animals’.

Panayiotou said that the innovation of this year’s ‘Earth Hour’ for Cyprus lies in that various agencies and departments have joined forces and jointly decided that, ‘in order to change habits, we must raise awareness among citizens, and, at the same time urge them to change’.

One of these collaborations concerned that with the Ministry of Transport and the public transport companies, free use of city and intercity buses was offered for 24 hours. The Commissioner explained that, this move, was ‘particularly important’, because 49% of Cyprus’ emissions, come from transport.

‘If we change our habits, if each of us leaves their car even for a while and takes the bus, if we include sustainable mobility in our routine, it will literally breathe life into the whole island, to all of us who have the right to breathe clean air’, she said.

She also said that, during the 60 minutes for the Earth, together with the municipalities, they turned off the lights of town halls and of the buildings of the Ministry of the Interior, as well as the Presidential Palace.

Source: Cyprus News Agency