MOSCOW: Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Thursday it is known which “provocateur” was behind a drone attack which targeted Russian military bases in Syria earlier this month.
Putin added that he spoke to Turkey’s president Tayyip Erdogan and Turkey had nothing to do with the attack, which the defense ministry has said took place overnight on Jan. 6.
Russia’s defense ministry on Thursday displayed a pair of drones that it said were captured following attacks on two Russian military bases in Syria, saying the attack required know-how indicating it was carried out with outside assistance.
The ministry said Saturday’s raid on the Hemeimeem air base in the province of Lattakia and Russia’s naval facility in the port of Tartus involved 13 drones. It said seven were downed by air defense systems and the remaining six were forced to land by Russian electronic warfare units.
Of the latter, three exploded when they hit the ground and three more were captured intact, the ministry said.
The defense ministry presented two primitive-looking drones at a briefing, arguing that they featured state-of-the art electronics that are less prone to jamming and allow precision strikes.
Maj. Gen. Alexander Novikov, who heads the ministry’s drone department, said the drones used in the weekend’s raid on the Russian bases differed from the rudimentary craft earlier used by rebels in Syria. The attack required satellite navigation data that aren’t available on the Internet, complex engineering works and elaborate tests, Novikov said.
“The creation of drones of such class is impossible in makeshift conditions,” Novikov said. “Their development and use requires the involvement of experts with special training in the countries that manufacture and use drones.”
Novikov didn’t blame any specific country, but the Defense Ministry earlier referred to the “strange coincidence” of a US military intelligence plane allegedly barraging over the Mediterranean near the Russian bases when the attack took place.
The Pentagon strongly denied any involvement.
The defense ministry said the drones were launched from Al-Mouazzara in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, over 50 kilometers (more than 30 miles) away from the Russian bases.
The attack heightened tensions between Russia and Turkey, which wields significant influence with some rebel groups in Idlib. The province has become the main rallying point for various rebel factions after Syrian government forces won control over large swathes of territory thanks to Russian support.
Moscow has staunchly backed Syrian president Bashar Assad and Ankara has supported his foes, but they struck a deal last year to set up de-escalation zones. The agreement has helped reduce fighting and warm ties between Russia and Turkey. It also involved Iran, another Assad backer,
Following the drone attack, the Russian defense ministry sent letters to Turkey’s military leaders, asking them to deploy military observers to help prevent further attacks from Idlib on Russian assets.
The drone raid on Russian bases came just weeks after Russian president Vladimir Putin declared a victory in Syria and ordered a partial withdrawal of Russian forces from the country.
The attack occurred a few days after mortar and rocket shelling of the Hemeimeem air base. The incursions have raised doubts about the sustainability of the Assad government’s recent victories and Moscow’s ability to protect its gains in Syria.
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Putin says he knows who was behind attack on Russia’s Syria bases
Putin says he knows who was behind attack on Russia’s Syria bases
UK leader Starmer fights for his job as Mandelson-Epstein revelations spark a leadership crisis
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s position hung by a thread on Monday as he tried to persuade his Labour Party’s lawmakers not to kick him out of his job after just a year and a half in office.
Starmer lost his chief of staff on Sunday and is rapidly shedding support from Labour legislators after revelations about the relationship between former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer is due to address Labour lawmakers behind closed doors later Monday in an attempt to rebuild some of his shattered authority.
The political storm stems from Starmer’s decision in 2024 to appoint Mandelson to Britain’s most important diplomatic post, despite knowing he had ties to Epstein.
Starmer fired Mandelson in September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the late financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. Critics say Starmer should have known better than to appoint Mandelson, 72, a contentious figure whose career has been studded with scandals over money or ethics.
A new trove of Epstein files released in the United States has brought more details about the relationship, and new pressure on Starmer.
Starmer apologized last week for “having believed Mandelson’s lies.”
He promised to release documentation related to Mandelson’s appointment, which the government says will show that Mandelson misled officials about his ties to Epstein.
Police are investigating Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office over documents suggesting he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. The offense carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Mandelson has not been arrested or charged, and does not face any allegations of sexual misconduct.
Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, took the fall for the decision by quitting on Sunday, saying that “I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice.”
McSweeney has been Starmer’s most important aide since he became Labour leader in 2020, and is considered a key architect of Labour’s landslide July 2024 election victory. But some in the party blame him for a series of missteps since then.
Some Labour officials hope that his departure will buy the prime minister time to rebuild trust with the party and the country. Senior lawmaker Emily Thornberry said McSweeney had become a “divisive figure” and his departure brought the opportunity for a reset.
She said Starmer is “a good leader in that he is strong and clear. I think that he needs to step up a bit more than he has.”
Others say McSweeney’s departure leaves Starmer weak and isolated.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer “has made bad decision after bad decision” and “his position now is untenable.”
Since winning office, Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He pledged a return to honest government after 14 years of scandal-tarred Conservative rule, but has been beset by missteps and U-turns over welfare cuts and other unpopular policies.
Labour consistently lags behind the hard-right Reform UK party in opinion polls, and its failure to improve had sparked talk of a leadership challenge, even before the Mandelson revelations.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system, prime ministers can change without the need for a national election. If Starmer is challenged or resigns, it would trigger an election for the Labour leadership. The winner would become prime minister.
The Conservatives went through three prime ministers between national elections in 2019 and 2024. One, Liz Truss, lasted just 49 days in office.
Starmer was elected on a promise to end the political chaos that roiled the Conservatives’ final years in power. That proved easier said than done.
Labour lawmaker Clive Efford said Starmer’s critics should “be careful what you wish for.”
“I don’t think people took to the changes in prime minister when the Tories were in power,” he told the BBC. “It didn’t do them any good.”
Starmer lost his chief of staff on Sunday and is rapidly shedding support from Labour legislators after revelations about the relationship between former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Starmer is due to address Labour lawmakers behind closed doors later Monday in an attempt to rebuild some of his shattered authority.
The political storm stems from Starmer’s decision in 2024 to appoint Mandelson to Britain’s most important diplomatic post, despite knowing he had ties to Epstein.
Starmer fired Mandelson in September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the late financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. Critics say Starmer should have known better than to appoint Mandelson, 72, a contentious figure whose career has been studded with scandals over money or ethics.
A new trove of Epstein files released in the United States has brought more details about the relationship, and new pressure on Starmer.
Starmer apologized last week for “having believed Mandelson’s lies.”
He promised to release documentation related to Mandelson’s appointment, which the government says will show that Mandelson misled officials about his ties to Epstein.
Police are investigating Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office over documents suggesting he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. The offense carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Mandelson has not been arrested or charged, and does not face any allegations of sexual misconduct.
Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, took the fall for the decision by quitting on Sunday, saying that “I advised the prime minister to make that appointment and I take full responsibility for that advice.”
McSweeney has been Starmer’s most important aide since he became Labour leader in 2020, and is considered a key architect of Labour’s landslide July 2024 election victory. But some in the party blame him for a series of missteps since then.
Some Labour officials hope that his departure will buy the prime minister time to rebuild trust with the party and the country. Senior lawmaker Emily Thornberry said McSweeney had become a “divisive figure” and his departure brought the opportunity for a reset.
She said Starmer is “a good leader in that he is strong and clear. I think that he needs to step up a bit more than he has.”
Others say McSweeney’s departure leaves Starmer weak and isolated.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer “has made bad decision after bad decision” and “his position now is untenable.”
Since winning office, Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He pledged a return to honest government after 14 years of scandal-tarred Conservative rule, but has been beset by missteps and U-turns over welfare cuts and other unpopular policies.
Labour consistently lags behind the hard-right Reform UK party in opinion polls, and its failure to improve had sparked talk of a leadership challenge, even before the Mandelson revelations.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system, prime ministers can change without the need for a national election. If Starmer is challenged or resigns, it would trigger an election for the Labour leadership. The winner would become prime minister.
The Conservatives went through three prime ministers between national elections in 2019 and 2024. One, Liz Truss, lasted just 49 days in office.
Starmer was elected on a promise to end the political chaos that roiled the Conservatives’ final years in power. That proved easier said than done.
Labour lawmaker Clive Efford said Starmer’s critics should “be careful what you wish for.”
“I don’t think people took to the changes in prime minister when the Tories were in power,” he told the BBC. “It didn’t do them any good.”
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