The chief of the NATO military alliance has announced a plan to launch a new “virtual network” comprising national and commercial satellites as the war in Ukraine approaches one year.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of the bloc's defense ministers' meeting in Brussels, said the move is designed to bolster the alliance's "intelligence and surveillance" as well as support its "missions and operations."
“This will improve our intelligence and surveillance. And support NATO missions and operations,” Stoltenberg said, adding that it would allow for “better navigation, communication, and early warning of missile launches.”
It comes after Moscow warned that Western commercial satellites being used in the Ukraine war could be "legitimate military targets".
In October last year, a senior Russian foreign ministry official was quoted as saying that commercial satellites from the United States and its allies could become legitimate targets for Russia if they were involved in the war in Ukraine.
"Quasi-civilian infrastructure may be a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike," Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian foreign ministry's department for non-proliferation and arms control, told the United Nations, calling it "provocative".
Stoltenberg said the new network would require increased military spending from those nations, adding that the discussions during the NATO defense ministers meeting will seek to “maintain and step up defense spending across the alliance."
The NATO chief also reaffirmed the alliance's support for Ukraine in the war against Russia "for as long as it takes."
Russia launched what it calls the "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022, with NATO's eastward expansion blamed for the war. Next week, the simmering war will complete one year.
Russia views the alliance’s efforts to make Ukraine a member and to deploy missiles close to its borders as a direct threat to Russian territory.
Stoltenberg also hinted at the expansion of NATO’s efforts in Eastern European countries, and bolstering its "practical support" for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova, whom he described as “valued partners which face Russian threats.”
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/02/14/698199/US-led-NATO-launch-new-surveillance-network
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
