The Institute for the Study of War said Moscow-aligned officials in the region, which broke away from Moldova in 1990, have been attempting to destabilise Moldova with statements similar to those made before it intervened militarily in 1992. Russia may be preparing to launch a false-flag operation in the republic of Transnistria to undermine the Ukrainian economy, according to a US-based think tank.

The Antonovs don't have to land on runways, but can manage on the ground or snow.Īn aircraft carrying 30 passengers landed on a frozen river near an airport in Russia's far east in late December due to a pilot error, with no casualties. Don't be afraid to fly on it, we've been doing it for a long time.' 'The An-24 is, as my father used to say, a flying tractor,' said a passenger Konstantin Semyonov at Yakutsk airport. Western sanctions against new parts for planes like Boeing and Airbus have caught the industry by surprise and driven up costs, experts have said. 'It is expensive, it is impossible to afford without state support.' 'By 2030, a quarter of these planes will be written off without more investment in maintenance and repairs,' said Sergei Zorin, deputy CEO of Siberian airline Angara. One Polar Airlines pilot, Konstantin Nazmutdinov, said he had flown in -60C. To 50 passengers and are well-suited to the harsh conditions in The small, propeller-driven An-24 and An-26 aircraft carry up They want to extend the life of the Soviet-era Antonov aircraft, as Russian planemakers scramble to plug the gap left by the exodus of foreign manufacturers from the country. Siberian airlines have asked the Russian government to allow them to keep using a 50-year-old 'flying tractor' plane. Russia and the United States are by far the world's biggest nuclear powers - with Moscow controlling some 5,889 nuclear warheads, while Joe Biden controls about 5,244 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists. It broadly says they should be used in response to an attack using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, or in response to the use of conventional weapons against Russia 'when the very existence of the state is put under threat'. Paragraph 19 of Russia's 2020 nuclear doctrine sets out the conditions under which a Russian president would consider using a nuclear weapon. Mr Medvedev is notorious for making frequent and dire threats to both Ukraine and the West - often invoking Russia's nuclear weapons - and prominent commentators tend not to attach huge significance to his regular bellicose statements. Latvia and Estonia are both NATO members.Ī senior Russian security official has warned Ukraine that Moscow will use nuclear weapons if Kyiv targets missile launch sites within Russia.įormer Russian president and now deputy chairman of the country's security council, Dmitry Medvedev, said Ukrainian officials considering striking launch sites 'risk running into the action of paragraph 19 of the fundamentals of Russia's state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence'. Latvia has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022 - with President Zelenskyy keen to point out that, should his country fall, countries such as Moldova, Estonia and Latvia would be at risk from further Russian expansion attempts.

'It is so important for us, Latvia, and all of our partners to continue working in the most coordinated, effective way possible, and with maximum effort to defeat Russia,' President Zelenskyy added added. President Rinkevics will shortly unveil what that latest Latvian aid package looks like.

'I am grateful to Latvia for the latest military aid package for Ukraine and a clear understanding that the strength of Ukrainian warriors, positions, and future is the strength that secures Latvia's independence as well,' he said after the meeting. In Riga, Latvia - his last stop - he said he held 'meaningful talks' with his counterpart Edgars Rinkevics. He visited Vilnius yesterday before meeting with Estonian leaders this morning. Volodymyr Zelnskyy's whistle-stop tour of the Baltic states is drawing to its conclusion, with the Ukrainian president expected back in Kyiv soon.

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