KYIV: A Ukrainian military intelligence official said on Wednesday that a fire on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea in April was caused by a joint operation conducted by his GUR agency and a pro-Kyiv Russian military group.
On April 7, the Serpukhov missile ship stationed in Russia’s Kaliningrad region was set on fire, the GUR intelligence agency said at the time. It did not claim responsibility earlier.
GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters the operation was conducted in tandem with the Freedom of Russia Legion. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has made no public comment on the incident.
Ukraine regularly carries out multiple air and naval strikes on Russian warships in the Black Sea. If the reported damage to the Serpukhov is confirmed, the arson would be Ukraine’s first known operation against Russia in the Baltic Sea.
The Freedom of Russia Legion said the arson attack was prepared and carried out together with certain servicemen within Russia’s Baltic Sea fleet with whom it had been communicating since 2023.
“As a result of the sabotage, (we) managed to ruin the ship from inside and completely destroy communication and its means of automation,” the legion said on its Telegram account.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday, a former Russian navy serviceman who goes by the call sign of Goga said he managed to collect classified documents from the Serpukhov before escaping, according to the RBC-Ukraine media outlet.
“I took prepared classified documents and left the ship, leaving the territory of (Russia) as well,” he was quoted by RBC-Ukraine as saying.
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Ukraine, Russian armed group claim arson attack on Moscow warship in Baltic
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Ukraine, Russian armed group claim arson attack on Moscow warship in Baltic
- GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters the operation was conducted in tandem with the Freedom of Russia Legion
- Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has made no public comment on the incident
Australian police probe threatening letter to country’s largest mosque ahead of Ramadan
- The Lebanese Muslim Association, which runs the mosque, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) it had written to the government to request more funding for additional security guards and CCTV
SYDNEY: Australian police said on Thursday they had launched an investigation after a threatening letter was sent to the country’s largest mosque, the third such incident in the lead-up to the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The letter sent to Lakemba Mosque in Sydney’s west on Wednesday contained a drawing of a pig and a threat to kill the “Muslim race,” local media reported. Police said they had taken the letter for forensic testing, and would continue to patrol religious sites including the mosque, as well as community events.
The latest letter comes weeks after a similar message was mailed to the mosque, depicting Muslim people inside a mosque on fire. Police have also arrested and charged a 70-year-old man in connection with a third threatening letter sent to Lakemba Mosque’s staff in January.
The Lebanese Muslim Association, which runs the mosque, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) it had written to the government to request more funding for additional security guards and CCTV cameras.
Some 5,000 people are expected to attend the mosque each night during Ramadan. More than 60 percent of residents in the suburb of Lakemba identify as Muslim, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the recent string of threats.
“It is outrageous that people just going about commemorating their faith, particularly during the holy month for Muslims of Ramadan, are subject to this sort of intimidation,” he told ABC radio.
“I have said repeatedly we need to turn down the temperature of political discourse in this country, and we certainly need to do that.” Anti-Muslim sentiment has been growing in Australia since the war in Gaza War in late 2023, according to a recent report commissioned by the government.
The Islamophobia Register Australia has also documented a 740 percent rise in reports following the Bondi mass shooting on December 14, where authorities allege two gunmen inspired by Islamic State killed 15 people attending a Jewish holiday celebration.
The letter sent to Lakemba Mosque in Sydney’s west on Wednesday contained a drawing of a pig and a threat to kill the “Muslim race,” local media reported. Police said they had taken the letter for forensic testing, and would continue to patrol religious sites including the mosque, as well as community events.
The latest letter comes weeks after a similar message was mailed to the mosque, depicting Muslim people inside a mosque on fire. Police have also arrested and charged a 70-year-old man in connection with a third threatening letter sent to Lakemba Mosque’s staff in January.
The Lebanese Muslim Association, which runs the mosque, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) it had written to the government to request more funding for additional security guards and CCTV cameras.
Some 5,000 people are expected to attend the mosque each night during Ramadan. More than 60 percent of residents in the suburb of Lakemba identify as Muslim, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the recent string of threats.
“It is outrageous that people just going about commemorating their faith, particularly during the holy month for Muslims of Ramadan, are subject to this sort of intimidation,” he told ABC radio.
“I have said repeatedly we need to turn down the temperature of political discourse in this country, and we certainly need to do that.” Anti-Muslim sentiment has been growing in Australia since the war in Gaza War in late 2023, according to a recent report commissioned by the government.
The Islamophobia Register Australia has also documented a 740 percent rise in reports following the Bondi mass shooting on December 14, where authorities allege two gunmen inspired by Islamic State killed 15 people attending a Jewish holiday celebration.
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