MOSCOW: Russia plans to overhaul its air defense forces after gaining new experience in the war in Ukraine and will also bolster its air defenses to counter Finland’s accession to the NATO military alliance, a commander in Russia’s aerospace forces said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year in what it calls “a special military operation,” the fighting has descended into a grinding artillery war with extensive use of drones and missiles, testing the air defenses of both Russia and Ukraine.
In an interview published on Monday with the Red Star newspaper, Lt. Gen. Andrei Demin, deputy commander-in-chief of aerospace forces, said air defense forces had faced a number of challenges in the face of Ukrainian strikes.
Russia, he said, had added more than 50 mobile radar stations and A-50 early warning and control aircraft patrolled 24 hours a day while missile and anti-aircraft installations in regions next to Ukraine had been bolstered.
In Ukrainian regions under Russian control, air defense units had been set up to defend key installations, Demin said, while Russia had ramped up production of the RLK-MC anti-drone system.
Reforms “are undoubtedly planned and will be implemented,” Demin told the defense ministry’s newspaper. “The purpose of the upcoming changes is the development of the armed forces, aimed at improving the air defense system of the Russian Federation.”
Demin said that Russia would also bolster is defenses after Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (800-mile) border with Russia, joined NATO.
“In these conditions, the air defense forces are working out issues of protecting the state border in the north-west of the country in accordance with the increased threat level,” Demin said.
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Russia plans air defense reform, to bolster defenses near Finland
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Russia plans air defense reform, to bolster defenses near Finland
Australia to ban citizen from returning to country under rarely-used terror laws
- They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork
SYDNEY: Australia said on Wednesday it would temporarily ban one of its citizens held in a Syrian camp from returning to the country, under rarely-used powers aimed at preventing terror activity.
Thirty-four Australians in a northern Syrian facility holding families of suspected Daesh militants are expected to return home after their release was conditionally approved by camp authorities.
They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork.
Australia has already said it would not provide any assistance to those held in the camp, and is investigating whether any individuals posed a threat to national security.
“I can confirm that one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was made on advice from security agencies,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Wednesday.
Security agencies have not yet advised that other members of the group meet the legal threshold for a similar ban, he added.
Introduced in 2019, the legislation allows for bans of up to two years for Australian citizens over the age of 14 that the government believes are a security risk.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday some members of the cohort, that includes children, had aligned themselves with a “brutal, reactionary ideology and that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life.”
“It’s unfortunate that children are caught up in this, that’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents or their mother,” he added.
News of the families’ possible return has caused controversy in Australia, where support for the right-wing, anti-immigration One Nation party has surged in recent months.
A poll this week found One Nation’s share of the popular vote at a record high of 26 percent, above the combined support for the traditional center-right coalition currently in opposition.
Thirty-four Australians in a northern Syrian facility holding families of suspected Daesh militants are expected to return home after their release was conditionally approved by camp authorities.
They were briefly freed on Monday before being turned back by Damascus for holding inadequate paperwork.
Australia has already said it would not provide any assistance to those held in the camp, and is investigating whether any individuals posed a threat to national security.
“I can confirm that one individual in this cohort has been issued a temporary exclusion order, which was made on advice from security agencies,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement on Wednesday.
Security agencies have not yet advised that other members of the group meet the legal threshold for a similar ban, he added.
Introduced in 2019, the legislation allows for bans of up to two years for Australian citizens over the age of 14 that the government believes are a security risk.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday some members of the cohort, that includes children, had aligned themselves with a “brutal, reactionary ideology and that seeks to undermine and destroy our way of life.”
“It’s unfortunate that children are caught up in this, that’s not their decision, but it’s the decision of their parents or their mother,” he added.
News of the families’ possible return has caused controversy in Australia, where support for the right-wing, anti-immigration One Nation party has surged in recent months.
A poll this week found One Nation’s share of the popular vote at a record high of 26 percent, above the combined support for the traditional center-right coalition currently in opposition.
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