Russia puts Pacific Fleet on high alert in surprise inspection

Above, a missile boat of the Pacific Fleet fires a Moskit cruise missile at a mock enemy sea target in the Sea of Japan during military exercises last month. (Russian Defense Ministry/AFP)
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Updated 14 April 2023
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Russia puts Pacific Fleet on high alert in surprise inspection

  • Russia’s naval forces would be deployed to training areas and would carry out combat exercises as part of the drill

Russia has put its Pacific naval fleet on high alert as part of a surprise inspection aimed at building its defensive capabilities, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.
“The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from the direction of ocean and sea,” Shoigu said on state television.
The drill will also simulate an enemy landing on Russia’s Sakhalin island and on its southern Kuril Islands, some of which are claimed by Japan in a territorial dispute dating back to the end of World War Two.
Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russia’s naval forces would be deployed to training areas and would carry out combat exercises as part of the drill.


US VP says Venezuela can only sell oil if it serves US interests

Updated 08 January 2026
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US VP says Venezuela can only sell oil if it serves US interests

  • The United States controls Venezuela’s ‍purse ‍strings, Vance said

WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance, in remarks ​due to air later on Wednesday, said Venezuela can only sell its oil if it serves the interests ‌of the ‌United States.
Vance ‌told ⁠Fox ​News’ “Jesse ‌Waters Primetime” show that the United States — which carried out strikes against the South American country and ⁠captured its president over ‌the week — controls Venezuela’s ‍purse ‍strings.
“We control the ‍energy resources, and we tell the regime, you’re allowed to sell the ​oil so long as you serve ⁠America’s national interest, you’re not allowed to sell it if you can’t serve America’s national interest,” Vance said.
Excerpts of the interview were released before it aired.