Putin Says Russian Navy Can Carry Out 'Unpreventable Strike' If Needed

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters file photo
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters file photo
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Putin Says Russian Navy Can Carry Out 'Unpreventable Strike' If Needed

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters file photo
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters file photo

The Russian navy can detect any enemy and launch an "unpreventable strike" if needed, President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday, weeks after a UK warship angered Moscow by passing the Crimea peninsula.

"We are capable of detecting any underwater, above-water, airborne enemy and, if required, carry out an unpreventable strike against it," Putin said speaking at a navy day parade in St Petersburg, reported Reuters.

Putin's words follow an incident in the Black Sea in June when Russia said it had fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of a British warship to chase it out of Crimea waters.

Britain rejected Russia's account of the incident, saying it believed any shots fired were a pre-announced Russian "gunnery exercise", and that no bombs had been dropped.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 but Britain and most of the world recognize the Black Sea peninsula as part of Ukraine, not Russia.

Putin said last month Russia could have sunk the British warship HMS Defender, that it accused of illegally entering its territorial waters, without starting World War Three and said the United States played a role in the "provocation".



UN Warns Congo’s M23 Conflict Could Spark Regional War 

A pick up truck of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) patrols in Goma, on January 23, 2025. (AFP)
A pick up truck of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) patrols in Goma, on January 23, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Warns Congo’s M23 Conflict Could Spark Regional War 

A pick up truck of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) patrols in Goma, on January 23, 2025. (AFP)
A pick up truck of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) patrols in Goma, on January 23, 2025. (AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that eastern Congo's M23 conflict risks spiraling into a broader regional war, his spokesperson said in a statement, condemning the rebels' capture of another strategic town, Sake.

Fighting has flared more fiercely in Democratic Republic of Congo's mineral-rich east since the start of the year as the Tutsi-led M23 group seized control of more territory than ever before, prompting thousands more people to flee their homes.

Congo and the United Nations accuse neighboring Rwanda of fueling the three-year M23 insurgency with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda denies this.

"This offensive has a devastating toll on the civilian population and heightened the risk of a broader regional war," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday.

The Secretary-General "calls on all actors to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to put an end to all forms of support to armed groups," Dujarric said.

After seizing the town of Minova on Tuesday, M23 fighters have continued their advance, moving into the town of Sake, around 20 km (12 miles) from the provincial capital Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo.

The national army spokesman did not respond to requests for comment about the situation in Sake on Thursday, but the UN statement condemned "the recent seizure of Sake, which increases the threat to the town of Goma".

The M23 briefly managed to take over Goma during a previous rebellion in 2012, prompting international donors to cut aid to Rwanda. Even then, the rebels did not hold as much ground as they do now.