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Russia’s Pacific Fleet conducted wide-ranging naval manoeuvres in the Bering Sea on Thursday and Friday of this week, in international waters off the Alaskan coast, during which the Omsk nuclear submarine and the Varyag missile cruiser launched cruise missiles at a practice target in the Bering Sea.
Russia’s Defence Ministry announced Thursday that its nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine Omsk and missile cruiser Varyag fired at targets in the Bering Sea as part of its ‘Ocean Shield 2020’ drills. The military games took place in the Bering Sea and involved over 50 warships and around 40 aircraft.
The significant size and location of the military exercises are intended to send a clear message to Washington, taking place in a region which over the past year has seen US air force jets scrambled on numerous occasions to intercept Russian long-range bombers as they were approaching US airspace off Alaska’s coast.
The US has held an unusually high number of large-scale naval, army and air force exercises in close proximity to Russia’s borders from the Baltic to the Black Sea this year. Russia appears have organized the drills in response to the quantity and scale of NATO drills held in close proximity to Russian territory.
“We are holding such massive drills there for the first time ever,” Russia’s navy chief, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov said in an official statement.
The military drills also involved firing Onyx cruise missiles at a practice target in the Gulf of Anadyr from the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula.
The presence of Russian military assets in the area surprised US commercial fishing vessels in the Bering Sea on Wednesday.
“We were notified by multiple fishing vessels that were operating out the Bering Sea that they had come across these vessels and were concerned,” U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow said Thursday.
The Coast Guard contacted the Alaskan Command at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, which confirmed the ships were there as part of a pre-planned Russian military exercise that was known to some U.S. military officials, he said.
As the exercise was ongoing, US military spotted a Russian submarine surfacing near Alaska on Thursday. US Northern Command spokesman Bill Lewis noted that the Russian military exercise is taking place in international waters, well outside U.S. territory. Lewis said the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command were closely monitoring the submarine.
Former chief of staff of the Russian navy, retired Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, said that by having the submarine surface in the area the navy may have wanted to send a deliberate signal.
“It’s a signal that we aren’t asleep and we are wherever we want,” RIA Novosti quoted Kravchenko as saying.
Russian state RIA Novosti news agency quoted Russia’s Pacific Fleet sources as saying that the surfacing of the Omsk nuclear submarine was routine.
Also late Thursday, NORAD sent F-22 fighter jets to intercept three groups of two Tu-142 Russian maritime patrol aircraft that were approaching US airspace off Alaska.
The Russian aircraft remained in the area for about five hours and came within 50 nautical miles of Alaska. Officials said the Russian aircraft remained in international air space, and at no time entered United States or Canadian sovereign air space.
“Our northern approaches have had an increase in foreign military activity as our competitors continue to expand their military presence and probe our defenses,” Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of NORAD, said in a statement. “This year, we’ve conducted more than a dozen intercepts, the most in recent years. The importance of our continued efforts to project air defense operations in and through the north has never been more apparent.” LINK
The US can expect more such exercises and manoeuvres if NATO’s war games along Russia’s borders continue, possibly with some Chinese participation.
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Alexander II( Alaska) like Gorbachev(USSR) and Yeltsin(Baltics)…”the Russian Santa Claus” giving away Russian territory.
It’s an empire in permanent implosion.
Indeed, the U.S. is for the past 50years.
Or 85.
Technically Russia only sold the ports in Alaska, the rest wasnt theirs to sell, it was native land. But the U.S. took it anyway. Same as they did Hawaii. Russia had little interest in Alaska anyways, and they knew the U.S. or Canada would start a war for it sooner or later. So they made some profit instead of fighting a war for something that wasnt worth fighting for anyways.
Is it true that the ship carrying the US gold to pay Russia for Alaska sank? So Russia never received payment, just mega grief.
To be honest I dont know.
Russia had friendly US relations and unfriendly British relations at that time…thus US-Russian negotiations in Petrograd were secret…in case Britain intervened from Canada…money was used to off-set Crimean War reparations to Britain…which was done. Note against this background, Russia was the only major EUROPEAN power to solidly back the Union (incl. naval forces). Britain and France initially backed the slavers…so nothing much gas changed.
Read somewhere, and have never bothered finding out more, that the ship carrying the gold, to be used as payment sank. Seemed typical behaviour where bankers were concerned, so happy to believe the story. Must get round to finding out more.
Baltics are dying out. They lost 50% of the population since 1991.
And at the same, the number of “no-children” radical feminists and ‘LGBTQs” increased considerably in the Baltics!
Remember Rand allegedly sending Poroshenko instructions to ethnically cleanse Ukraine and genocide 1.5 million Ukraine citizens, back in 2014. Not much left of the Ukraine gene pool in 2020. I wonder why the first exercise, when Atlantic Council takes a shine to your nation is to set up LGBT and 62 varieties activists and PRIDE Parades?
Exactly right!
The thought still fills me with disgust.
Gorbi was an MI6 traitor. But lets not forget that without it the Russian Federation wouldnt exist today. Russia was reborn and revitalized. West tried to destroy them but they only made them stronger.
I think Gorbi was more naive than anything,he actually thought he was dealing with reasonable people in the west,now Yeltsin really WAS a traitor.
Like Gorbi didn’t know that Afganistan was a set up to destroy SSSR. Brezhnev should have been more wise back then. Pakistan because of Zbigislaw B. was a factory of brainless killers. They have no intentions to let Afganistan at peace. Now, we all can talk shit or take rifles like m48 and went to Yemen to save humankind.
It is mostly about the treasonous propensity of the Russian rulers and elites throughout history, we have seen it just 25 years ago. For them the West was always better, more progressive and civilized while they considered their own people to be very backward as if the Russian people, who lived in the slave-like conditions, had any say about anything. So to give away “chunks” of land like Alaska, Kazakhstan (which is as big as the rest of Europe), Ukraine and in fact all of the Russian Empire, was never a big issue for those traitors only if they be recognized as equals. They never sold their own possessions. Don’t we hear the same cries from the Kremlin on a daily basis: We’ll do whatever we need to do but please, only if we (i.e. them not the people) are treated equally. Therefore, if anybody thinks that things are now different would be quite surprised if given a lesson by some Russian nationalist and a true patriot (provided such a person could be still found free and available). If these guys had balls why they don’t organize such an exercise in the Golf of Mexico, just as the enemy regularly does it in the Black See? Or is Mr. Putin once again saving the world from WW3?
Are you mistaking President Putin for Yeltsin?
Alaska is so rich….gold,oil..Usa knows how to run business..even the brown bear of Alaska(kodiak bear) is larger than the other brown bears..dont whine russkies..its your fault.. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e876fd59bba4de81e345b7560d31be4e20a35cceb3ea03ccbb1718352e8f110e.jpg
Kamchatka. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/48919a74b8b27c6971aafde00e154157e75a79d688d4d2988f80da2b475a39c0.jpg
kodiak bears are bigger than the russian brown bears..
….and you were the first man on the moon, Saddam had WMD, and so on and so on…..
A starving russian destroys multiple stars in one blast..
If you can dream it, you can do it..
Bears bite back, while the poor goats back back near you.
That’s because of their Russian heritage. Russian bears are stronger, tougher, than Western bears simply to survive the weather. Russian bears are also smarter, they know better than to attack Russians as they go about their day. The bears living on Kodiak Island are the biggest, toughest, like Spetsnaz, they had to be just to swim to the Island from mainland Russia. Dumbass.
maybe..reasonable arguments ps:seems you had an experience with mushroom hunting at Taiga..
Sibiria. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7dea0ed4633d004d93fa989029a5b32bb9bae8ff6780c9671a805f19a90d32db.png
It doesn’t matter how many times I see it always makes me laugh :)
Me too. Especially when you know how heavy a piece of a tree like this is.
Well perhaps not so much after all…..according to her. :)
Brilliant.
Riddle me this:. If the US is so clued up economically, then why has she over $25 trillion, national debt?
https://www.thebalance.com/the-u-s-debt-and-how-it-got-so-big-3305778 they will recover at long -term..
Everybody is dumping US bonds, plus ignoring their threats. Interesting times watching a newbie Empire self destruct, whilst the media ignores history in the making.
America has the right to seek its property in the Alaska sphere.
These Islands belong to America; Copper Island, Wrangel Island, Bennett island, Jeanette Island, Henrietta Island, Herald Island, as they have english names!
We found gold on Herald Island. Thats why the Putin and Russians are going completely berserk because they only think of the money, not on human societies and human rights and spirit.
Are you on Meth again?
Louisiana has French name. When we could expect Washington give France the sovereignty over this land?
Off course, in accordance with International rules of usury order, an Island belong to the first country who planted their flag and declared their name on it. Therefore if France declared Luisiana its name and planted a French flag upon it, its legally yours.
Remind me, but, did the US ever pay Russia for Alaska?
Well, what are you waiting for? Just go take it….
I take it the US had no force to respond to these Russian drills!
US Intel deemed that the Russians have the ships, but they couldn’t afford to run them, lol. No wonder they are in the mess they are.
US assuming Russian Navy is in the same state as the US Navy, no doubt? Or US politicians believe everything their sponsors demand of them and too thick to find out their sponsors suck.
Propaganda and US Intel are printed from the same press.
Why they think its clever to say that Russia sure can design T14, Su57, aircraft carriers etc etc, but they can’t afford to build them or refuel them!
They should sack their propagandists ffs, lol.
UK is in same way as US, regards their propaganda imbeciles. Seriously cheesed off that the UK tax payer is expected to fund integrity Initiative/Statecraft/open information partnership/squadron 77, Belingcat and the other Government funded media Disinformation agencies and troll farms.
If you or I were to hand in work as childish as that, we would be laughed out the door.
Just what are the qualifications for a spook? They must get their inspiration from watching re-runs of Road Runner!
When Christopher Steele first made the headlines, with regards the ‘Trump, Russia Clinton funded Dossier’, I could not believe his stupidity. I grew up during the cold war and James Bond Bank Holiday ‘must see’. For some tw*t, allegedly working as a spy, turning up at fancy dress parties as James Bond, sort of said it all. Then to write a Disney Z Lister fairy tale, based on a nation he last visited back in the last century, sort of explained everything. Plus, he was also part of the English World Cup bid, that lost out to Russia.
What interests me, is why would those behind the Atlantic Council Russian script and oil wars, have to do with the World Cup? What do they gain from hosting World Cup or Olympic Events, for a bonus?
Can’t you walk to Russia from Alaska on a good day? Did the US ever pay Russia for Alaska?
Can’t wait to see Colum of tanks invading Alaska.