The Russian and Chinese navies have practiced hunting and destroying an enemy submarine in the Sea of Japan, Russia’s defense ministry said on Wednesday, days after US President Donald Trump said he had moved two US nuclear subs closer to Russia.
Russia said the exercise involved Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft and Il-38 planes from Russia’s Pacific Fleet, as well as helicopter crews.
“As a result of effective joint actions, the ‘enemy’ submarine was promptly detected and mock-destroyed,” the defense ministry said.
“After practicing anti-submarine tasks, the crews of the Russian and Chinese ships thanked each other for their fruitful work.”
Trump said his submarine order last Friday was made in response to what he called “highly provocative” remarks by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries.
The Kremlin this week played down the significance of Trump’s announcement, saying US submarines are on constant combat duty anyway, and said that “everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric.”
The episode came at a delicate moment, with Trump threatening to impose new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its oil, including India and China, unless President Vladimir Putin agrees by Friday to end the 3-1/2-year war in Ukraine.
The anti-submarine exercise was part of a wider series of Russian-Chinese naval drills over the past week.
The two countries, which signed a “no-limits” strategic partnership shortly before Russia went to war in Ukraine in 2022, conduct regular military exercises to rehearse coordination between their armed forces and send a deterrent signal to adversaries.
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Russian and Chinese navies practice destroying ‘enemy submarine’, days after Trump move
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Russian and Chinese navies practice destroying ‘enemy submarine’, days after Trump move
- The two countries signed a “no limits” strategic partnership to conduct regular military exercises in order to rehearse coordination between their armed forces and send a deterrent signal to adversaries
Zelensky says peace proposals to end the war in Ukraine could be presented to Russia within days
- But issues like the status of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia remain unresolved. US-led peace efforts are gaining momentum
- But Russian President Vladimir Putin may resist some proposals including security guarantees for Ukraine
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says proposals being negotiated with US officials for a peace deal to end his country’s nearly four-year war with Russia could be finalized within days, after which American envoys will present them to the Kremlin before further possible meetings in the United States next weekend.
Zelensky told reporters late Monday that a draft peace plan discussed with the US during talks in Berlin earlier in the day is “very workable.” He cautioned, however, that some key issues — notably what happens to Ukrainian territory occupied by invading Russian forces — remain unresolved.
U.S-led peace efforts appear to be picking up momentum. But Russian President Vladimir Putin may balk at some of the proposals thrashed out by officials from Washington, Kyiv and Western Europe, including postwar security guarantees for Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Tuesday that Russia wants a comprehensive peace deal, not a temporary truce.
If Ukraine seeks “momentary, unsustainable solutions, we are unlikely to be ready to participate,” Peskov said.
“We want peace — we don’t want a truce that would give Ukraine a respite and prepare for the continuation of the war,” he told reporters. “We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests, and guarantee peace in Europe for the future.”
American officials on Monday said that there’s consensus from Ukraine and Europe on about 90 percent of the US-authored peace plan. US President Donald Trump said: “I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever” to a peace settlement.
Plenty of potential pitfalls remain, however.
Zelensky reiterated that Kyiv rules out recognizing Moscow’s control over any part of the Donbas, an economically important region in eastern Ukraine made up of Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia’s army doesn’t fully control either.
“The Americans are trying to find a compromise,” Zelensky said, before visiting the Netherlands on Tuesday. “They are proposing a ‘free economic zone’ (in the Donbas). And I want to stress once again: a ‘free economic zone’ does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation.”
The land issue remains one of the most difficult obstacles to a comprehensive agreement.
Putin wants all the areas in four key regions that his forces have seized, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory.
Zelensky warned that if Putin rejects diplomatic efforts, Ukraine expects increased Western pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions and additional military support for defense. Kyiv would seek enhanced air defense systems and long-range weapons if diplomacy collapses, he said.
Ukraine and the US are preparing up to five documents related to the peace framework, several of them focused on security, Zelensky said.
He was upbeat about the progress in the Berlin talks.
“Overall, there was a demonstration of unity,” Zelensky said. “It was truly positive in the sense that it reflected the unity of the US, Europe, and Ukraine.”
Zelensky told reporters late Monday that a draft peace plan discussed with the US during talks in Berlin earlier in the day is “very workable.” He cautioned, however, that some key issues — notably what happens to Ukrainian territory occupied by invading Russian forces — remain unresolved.
U.S-led peace efforts appear to be picking up momentum. But Russian President Vladimir Putin may balk at some of the proposals thrashed out by officials from Washington, Kyiv and Western Europe, including postwar security guarantees for Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Tuesday that Russia wants a comprehensive peace deal, not a temporary truce.
If Ukraine seeks “momentary, unsustainable solutions, we are unlikely to be ready to participate,” Peskov said.
“We want peace — we don’t want a truce that would give Ukraine a respite and prepare for the continuation of the war,” he told reporters. “We want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests, and guarantee peace in Europe for the future.”
American officials on Monday said that there’s consensus from Ukraine and Europe on about 90 percent of the US-authored peace plan. US President Donald Trump said: “I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever” to a peace settlement.
Plenty of potential pitfalls remain, however.
Zelensky reiterated that Kyiv rules out recognizing Moscow’s control over any part of the Donbas, an economically important region in eastern Ukraine made up of Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia’s army doesn’t fully control either.
“The Americans are trying to find a compromise,” Zelensky said, before visiting the Netherlands on Tuesday. “They are proposing a ‘free economic zone’ (in the Donbas). And I want to stress once again: a ‘free economic zone’ does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation.”
The land issue remains one of the most difficult obstacles to a comprehensive agreement.
Putin wants all the areas in four key regions that his forces have seized, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory.
Zelensky warned that if Putin rejects diplomatic efforts, Ukraine expects increased Western pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions and additional military support for defense. Kyiv would seek enhanced air defense systems and long-range weapons if diplomacy collapses, he said.
Ukraine and the US are preparing up to five documents related to the peace framework, several of them focused on security, Zelensky said.
He was upbeat about the progress in the Berlin talks.
“Overall, there was a demonstration of unity,” Zelensky said. “It was truly positive in the sense that it reflected the unity of the US, Europe, and Ukraine.”
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