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Putin’s right-hand man scraps drills with Belarus as Russia ‘having exercises in Ukraine’ | World | News

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Vladimir Putin‘s right-hand man announced no military drills would take place with Belarus this year as Russian troops are already “having exercises” in war-torn Ukraine.

During a press conference held on Monday following Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s talks on the Black Sea Grain Deal, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was asked about the Zapad military exercise and whether it would be carried out in 2023.

Mr Shoigu said, as quoted by Russian-state news agency RIA: “No, this year we are having exercises in Ukraine.”

The last Zapad drills were undertaken by Moscow and Minsk’s troops between September 10 and 15, 2021.

The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed some 200,000 troops, 760 pieces of equipment and 15 ships took part in those drills.

The large scale of these exercises was one of the clues that led the US intelligence community to predict Putin was planning an operation – which turned out to be a full-scale invasion – in Ukraine.

Speaking to Politico earlier this year, General Mark Milley, the 20th chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said of the last Zapad: “We’re out of Afghanistan by 31 August, and there was a planned Russian exercise called Zapad, and they started marshalling the troops for the exercise in the September time frame.

“Right about then we realised this is odd; it was much bigger in scale and scope than the previous year’s exercise.”

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 2022 with the help of Belarus, which allowed Putin’s troops to launch an attack on Kyiv from its territory.

While the Kremlin thought the war would last only a few days, Putin and his military leadership encountered resistance from Ukraine, which has since received the support of NATO members in the form of military aid allowing Kyiv to defend its borders.

In June, Ukrainian troops launched their counter-offensive manoeuvres, which is seeing Kyiv slowly but surely retaking several villages from Russian hands.

During the same press conference on September 4, Mr Shoigu also spoke about other possible military drills, this time with allies in the east.

After the emergence of a report claiming the Defence Minister had proposed to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to carry out drills not just with Russia but also with China, Mr Shoigu said the possibility was indeed under consideration.

He added: “Why not? These are our neighbours. There’s an old Russian saying: You don’t choose your neighbours, and it’s better to live with your neighbours in peace and harmony.”



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Horror Russia-NATO war warning issued by European spy agency | World | News

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Russian President Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 (Image: Getty)

Russia could be ready to start a conflict with NATO within a year of the war in Ukraine coming to an end, with the aim of creating political division in the alliance, according to Dutch military intelligence service MIVD. The spy agency said Moscow could rebuild enough combat power within a year of the fighting ending in Ukraine to mount a regional challenge to NATO under the most favourable conditions for the Kremlin.

However, the MIVD stressed that a conventional war between Russia and NATO is “virtually out of the question” while Moscow remains heavily involved in Ukraine. Rather than seeking to defeat the alliance outright, the report warned that Russia could instead attempt limited territorial gains in an effort to expose divisions between NATO members. The intelligence agency said this could even involve the threat of nuclear weapons use. The annual report described Russia as the most serious threat facing Europe. MIVD Director Vice Adm. Peter Reesink said: “Russia poses the greatest and most direct threat to peace and stability in Europe, and thus to our national security and our interests.”

damaged apartment block as Russian missiles hit Kyiv

Russia is using the Ukraine war to strengthen and adapt its armed forces, according to Dutch intel (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The report said the war in Ukraine is part of a wider Russian effort to reshape Europe’s security order and create a more multipolar world in which Moscow is one of the leading powers.

According to the MIVD, Russia sees liberal democratic values as a threat to the Kremlin’s internal stability, giving the conflict in Ukraine an “existential” character.

The report warned that many of the safeguards which existed during the Cold War, including arms control agreements and structured dialogue between rival powers, have largely disappeared.

The MIVD said worsening relations between Western nations have left Europe more exposed, particularly “where rules become blurred and power becomes increasingly determinant.”

It added that Russia’s alleged use of methods below the level of open warfare, including cyberattacks, sabotage and covert activity, creates “a real risk of unintended and therefore difficult-to-control escalation.”

The MIVD also said uncertainty surrounding American security policy could influence Moscow’s calculations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks in Moscow

Russia was reported as having growing ties with China (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite suffering heavy losses in Ukraine, the report said Russia has continued to expand its armed forces by recruiting and training more personnel, increasing weapons production and building up ammunition stockpiles.

The agency estimated that Russia, which doesn’t release an official report on war casualties, has suffered around 1.2 million permanent casualties since 2022, including more than 500,000 deaths.

Even so, it warned that Russian forces have become more effective during the war.

The report said: “The Russian armed forces have not only grown larger but have also become more effective than before the war in Ukraine.”

According to the MIVD, Russia has improved significantly in areas including drones, battlefield command systems and the ability to quickly adapt lessons learned from combat in Ukraine.

Russia is becoming increasingly confident in its ability to strike military and civilian targets in the West because of its growing ties with China.

It said Beijing has intensified military cooperation with Moscow and that Chinese cyber capabilities are now likely on par with those of the United States.

Vice Adm. Reesink said China’s cyber operations are “very capable, and they are organised in a very complex way”, adding “we are vulnerable and we’re not always capable of seeing all the threats China produces.”

The MIVD also warned of a new nuclear arms race driven by China’s expanding nuclear arsenal, weakening arms control measures and rapid advances in artificial intelligence and quantum computing.



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Trump claims Iran ‘respected my request’ just hours after making demand to regime | World | News

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Donald Trump has claimed Iran has listened to his request and called off the alleged execution of eight protesters. On Tuesday, the US President republished on his social media platform an X post alleging Iran was going to execute eight women. In his Truth Social post, he addressed Iranian leaders directly, saying he would “greatly appreciate the release of these women” and suggested the gesture would show goodwill in the midst of a tense ceasefire.

One day later, on April 22, he announced the alleged executions had been called off. He claimed: “Very good news! I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed. Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison.

“I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

Mr Trump didn’t immediately share who informed him about the women’s alleged executions.

On Tuesday evening, the Iranian judiciary denied that eight women were facing an execution.

The judiciary’s official Mizan Online website read on April 21: “Trump was misled once again by fake news. The women who were claimed to be on the verge of execution, some of them have been released, while others face charges that, if convictions are upheld, would at most result in imprisonment.”

The image Trump recirculated on Tuesday was originally created by the Lawfare Project, a pro-Israel organisation based in the US.

Of the eight women pictured in the original post, one had been confirmed by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) as having been sentenced to death alongside her husband.

The defendants were accused of chanting slogans, throwing incendiary projectiles from rooftops and engaging in “propaganda against the regime”.

Thousands of people were killed by the regime, then led by Ali Khamenei, between December and January, when streets were flooded by Iranians protesting the state of the country’s economy.



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Benidorm horror as two dead after scaffolding collapses 13 floors high | World | News

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Two people have died after a piece of scaffolding plummeted 13 floors from a building in Benidorm. The victims, aged 26 and 45, were thought to be working on the structure when it gave way in the Spanish seaside resort on Wednesday morning. A third person reportedly had a miracle escape after being left hanging from the 11th floor in the horror accident on Ibiza Street.

Emergency services rushed to the 18-storey Principality Europe building after being alerted at around 10:48am, according to local reports. The workers had purportedly been carrying out remodelling work on its façade for months, with the project scheduled for completion in just a few weeks’ time.

Initial reports suggested one person had died, and another was seriously injured after the scaffolding collapsed, with the second fatality confirmed later in the day.

The third worker, who is believed to have been left hanging near windows on the 11th floor, was rescued after tourists who had arrived the previous night helped them to safety.

A business owner based near the building said she heard “a great crash” and then “heartbreaking screams”, before finding a pile of “dust and destroyed scaffolding”.

She told Spanish newspaper Informacion that the work had been underway for around a year and a half, describing the incident as “horrible”.

Another passerby recounted “a spectacular roar of iron and tiles and screams” before he saw the worker who was left hanging get “hooked to a railing” before someone opened a nearby window.

Spanish police said a major investigation is underway.

Benidorm has decreed an official day of mourning for the two deaths, with a rally planned outside City Hall on Thursday including a three-minute period of silence.



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