MOSCOW: Russia is to beef up its military forces all the way from its western border to the Pacific islands amid ongoing strains with the West, the military said Friday.
No financial details were disclosed but the buildup will likely be costly and takes place at a time when the Russian economy is in recession under the dual impact of low oil prices and Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its role in the Ukrainian crisis.
While announcing the buildup, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the deployment of NATO’s forces near Russia’s borders has caused concern. As part of a response, he said new units in the Western Military District, including two new divisions, will be formed.
The military forces in western Russia will receive 1,100 new weapons systems, including warplanes, helicopters, tanks and other armored vehicles.
In the far east, the military will deploy state-of-the art Bal and Bastion anti-ship missile systems and new drones to the southern Kurils, a group of islands that Japan calls the Northern Territories and claims as its own.
The dispute over the islands, which were seized by the Soviet army in the closing days of WWII, has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty to formally end their hostilities.
The anti-ship missile systems to be deployed on the disputed islands are capable of hitting targets more than 300 km away.
Shoigu said Russia is also mulling the possibility of setting up a naval base on the islands. Ships of Russia’s Pacific Fleet will visit the area in the summer to study possible locations, he said.
The defense minister said the military will also continue to strengthen its presence in the Arctic region. As part of efforts to build military facilities on Wrangel Island and Cape Schmidt, the Defense Ministry delivered 9,500 metric tons of equipment and materials during last year’s brief navigation season, he said.
The Kremlin has made expanding Russia’s military presence in order to protect the country’s national interests in the Arctic a top priority in light of increasing international interest in the region’s vast oil and other resources.
Across Siberia, the military will focus on deploying top-of-the line air defense missile systems to protect the vast region, Shoigu said.
Russian military plans buildup from West to Pacific
Russian military plans buildup from West to Pacific
Trump says Australia will grant asylum to Iran women footballers
- Presenter on Iranian state TV had branded the players “wartime traitors” after they stood motionless during the anthem
MIAMI: US President Donald Trump said Monday that Australia had agreed to grant asylum to some of Iran’s visiting women’s football team, amid fears they could face retaliation back home for not singing the national anthem before a match.
The gesture ahead of the team’s Asian Cup match against South Korea last week was seen by many as an act of defiance against the Islamic republic just two days after the United States and Israel attacked it.
“I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of,” Trump said Monday on his Truth Social network, less than two hours after an initial post urging Australia to take them in.
Trump added that “some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.”
There was no immediate comment from the Australian government, which has so far declined to say whether it could offer the players asylum.
Asked about their case on Sunday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia “stands in solidarity” with the people of Iran.
The son of Iran’s late shah, US-based Reza Pahlavi, warned on Monday that the refusal to sing the anthem could have “dire consequences,” and urged Australia to offer the team protection.
Trump then weighed in, pressing Albanese to “give ASYLUM” to the team and adding: “The US will take them if you won’t.”
“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed,” the US leader said on Truth Social.
Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, has billed himself as the man to lead a democratic transition to a secular Iran as the theocratic regime fights to survive.
Politicians, human rights activists and even “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling have also called for the team to be offered official protection.
“Please, protect these young women,” Rowling said in a post on social media.
‘Save our girls’
A presenter on Iranian state TV had branded the players “wartime traitors” after they stood motionless during the anthem before their match against South Korea.
In subsequent games, the players saluted and sang.
Crowds gathered outside the Gold Coast stadium where the side played their last match over the weekend, banging drums and shouting “regime change for Iran.”
They then surrounded the Iranian team bus, chanting “let them go” and “save our girls.”
On Monday, an AFP journalist saw members of the team speaking on phones from their balcony of their hotel.
Asked about the possibility of granted asylum, a spokesperson for Australia’s Home Affairs department told AFP earlier it “cannot comment on the circumstances of individuals.”
Amnesty International campaigner Zaki Haidari said they faced persecution, or worse, if they were sent home.
“Some of these team members probably have had their families already threatened,” Haidari told AFP.
“Them going back... who knows what sort of punishment they will receive?“
Despite being heavily monitored, the side would have a “small window of opportunity” to seek asylum at the airport, he said.
Iran’s embassy in Australia did not respond to a request for comment.
