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Russia: Nord Stream Leaks Occurred in Zone Controlled by US Intelligence

27 September 2022, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lubmin: Unused pipes for the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline are stored on the site of the Port of Mukran. Photo: Stefan Sauer/dpa
27 September 2022, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lubmin: Unused pipes for the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline are stored on the site of the Port of Mukran. Photo: Stefan Sauer/dpa
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Russia: Nord Stream Leaks Occurred in Zone Controlled by US Intelligence

27 September 2022, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lubmin: Unused pipes for the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline are stored on the site of the Port of Mukran. Photo: Stefan Sauer/dpa
27 September 2022, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lubmin: Unused pipes for the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline are stored on the site of the Port of Mukran. Photo: Stefan Sauer/dpa

Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday said ruptures to the Nord Stream pipelines that have caused gas leaks off the coasts of Denmark and Sweden occurred in territory that is "fully under the control" of US intelligence agencies.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a pro-Kremlin broadcast that Washington had "full control" over the waters around Denmark and Sweden where four leaks have been detected on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which cross the floor of the Baltic Sea between Russia and Germany.

"It happened in the trade and economic zones of Denmark and Sweden. There are NATO-centric countries," Zakharova said an interview with the Soloviev Live online broadcast on Thursday.

"They are countries that are completed controlled by the US intelligence services,” Reuters quoted her as saying.

Denmark is a member of the NATO military alliance, while Sweden's membership is pending after it abandoned its historic policy of non-alignment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Zakharova did not provide evidence of US control over Sweden and Denmark. Russia frequently rails against American influence and military support for Europe.

The European Union suspects sabotage was behind the gas leaks on the subsea Russian pipelines to Europe and has promised a "robust" response to any intentional disruption of its energy infrastructure.

While neither pipeline was in use at the time of the suspected blasts, they were filled with gas that has been spewing out in the Baltic Sea since ruptures were first detected on Monday.

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Ukraine’s New Defense Minister Reveals Scale of Desertions as Millions Avoid the Draft

Ukraine's newly appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov attends a parliamentary session in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 January 2026. (EPA)
Ukraine's newly appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov attends a parliamentary session in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 January 2026. (EPA)
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Ukraine’s New Defense Minister Reveals Scale of Desertions as Millions Avoid the Draft

Ukraine's newly appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov attends a parliamentary session in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 January 2026. (EPA)
Ukraine's newly appointed Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov attends a parliamentary session in Kyiv, Ukraine, 14 January 2026. (EPA)

Wide-scale desertions and 2 million draft-dodgers are among a raft of challenges facing Ukraine's military as Russia presses on with its invasion of its neighbor after almost four years of fighting, the new defense minister said Wednesday.

Mykhailo Fedorov told Ukraine's parliament that other problems facing Ukraine’s armed forces include excessive bureaucracy, a Soviet-style approach to management, and disruptions in the supply of equipment to troops along the about 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.

“We cannot fight a war with new technologies but an old organizational structure,” Fedorov said.

He said the military had faced some 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed 34-year-old Fedorov at the start of the year. The former head of Ukraine’s digital transformation policies is credited with spearheading the army's drone technology and introducing several successful e-government platforms.

His appointment was part of a broad government reshuffle that the Ukrainian leader said aimed to sharpen the focus on security, defense development and diplomacy amid a new US-led push to find a peace settlement.

Fedorov said the defense ministry is facing a shortfall of 300 billion hryvnia ($6.9 billion) in funding needs.

The European Union will dedicate most of a massive new loan program to help fund Ukraine’s military and economy over the next two years, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.

Fedorov said Ukraine’s defense sector has expanded significantly since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. At the start of the war, he said, the country had seven private drone companies and two firms developing electronic warfare systems. Today, he said, there are nearly 500 drone manufacturers and about 200 electronic warfare companies in Ukraine.

He added that some sectors have emerged from scratch, including private missile producers, which now number about 20, and more than 100 companies manufacturing ground-based robotic systems.

World

France Explores Sending Eutelsat Terminals to Iran Amid Internet Blackout

Protesters hold up placards with pictures of victims as they demonstrate in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside Downing Street, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
Protesters hold up placards with pictures of victims as they demonstrate in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside Downing Street, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
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France Explores Sending Eutelsat Terminals to Iran Amid Internet Blackout

Protesters hold up placards with pictures of victims as they demonstrate in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside Downing Street, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)
Protesters hold up placards with pictures of victims as they demonstrate in support of anti-government protests in Iran, outside Downing Street, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP)

France is looking into sending Eutelsat satellite terminals to Iran to help citizens after Iranian authorities imposed a blackout of internet services in a bid to quell the country's most violent domestic unrest in decades.

"We are exploring all options, and the one you have mentioned is among them," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday in ‌the lower house ‌after a lawmaker asked whether France ‌would ⁠send Eutelsat ‌gear to Iran.

Backed by the French and British governments, Eutelsat owns OneWeb, the only low Earth orbit constellation, or group of satellites, besides Elon Musk's Starlink.

The satellites are used to beam internet service from space, providing broadband connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers in underserved areas.

Iranian authorities in recent days have ⁠launched a deadly crackdown that has reportedly killed thousands during protests against clerical rule, ‌and imposed a near-complete shutdown of internet ‍service.

Still, some Iranians have ‍managed to connect to Starlink satellite internet service, three people ‍inside the country said.

Even Starlink service appears to be reduced, Alp Toker, founder of internet monitoring group NetBlocks said earlier this week.

Eutelsat declined to comment when asked by Reuters about Barrot's remarks and its activities in Iran.

Starlink’s more than 9,000 satellites allow higher speeds than Eutelsat's fleet of over 600, ⁠and its terminals connecting users to the network are cheaper and easier to install.

Eutelsat also provides internet access to Ukraine's military, which has relied on Starlink to maintain battlefield connectivity throughout the war with Russia.

Independent satellite communications adviser Carlos Placido said OneWeb terminals are bulkier than Starlink’s and easier to jam.

"The sheer scale of the Starlink constellation makes jamming more challenging, though certainly not impossible," Placido said. "With OneWeb it is much easier to predict which satellite will become online over a given ‌location at a given time."

World

China Says It Opposes Outside Interference in Iran’s Internal Affairs

Iranians walk next to a billboard reading "Iran is our Homeland" at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 13 January 2026. (EPA)
Iranians walk next to a billboard reading "Iran is our Homeland" at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 13 January 2026. (EPA)
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China Says It Opposes Outside Interference in Iran’s Internal Affairs

Iranians walk next to a billboard reading "Iran is our Homeland" at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 13 January 2026. (EPA)
Iranians walk next to a billboard reading "Iran is our Homeland" at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 13 January 2026. (EPA)

China opposes any outside interference in Iran's ​internal affairs, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump warned that Washington ‌would take "very ‌strong action" ‌against Tehran.

China ⁠does ​not ‌condone the use or the threat of force in international relations, Mao Ning, spokesperson at ⁠the Chinese foreign ministry, said ‌at a ‍regular ‍news conference when ‍asked about China's position following Trump's comments.

Trump told CBS News in ​an interview that the United States would take "very ⁠strong action" if Iran starts hanging protesters.

Trump also urged protesters to keep protesting and said that help was on the way.