عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Putin Directs Drills of Russian Nuclear Forces as His Summit with Trump is Put on Hold

(FILES) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
(FILES) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
TT
TT

Putin Directs Drills of Russian Nuclear Forces as His Summit with Trump is Put on Hold

(FILES) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
(FILES) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet during a US-Russia summit on Ukraine at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches, an exercise that came as his planned summit on Ukraine with US President Donald Trump was put on hold.
The Kremlin said that as part of the maneuvers involving all parts of Moscow's nuclear triad, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile was test-fired from the Plesetsk launch facility in northwestern Russia, and a Sineva ICBM was launched by a submarine in the Barents Sea. The drills also involved Tu-95 strategic bombers firing long-range cruise missiles, The Associated Press said.
The exercise tested the skills of military command structures, the Kremlin said in a statement.
The chief of the military's General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin via video link that the drills were intended to "practice procedures for authorizing the use of nuclear weapons.”
Putin, sitting alone at a round white table, faced big screens showing Gerasimov and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. All three men would be involved in launching nuclear weapons in case of conflict.
While Putin emphasized that the maneuvers had been planned in advance, they came hours after President Donald Trump said Tuesday his plan for a swift meeting with Putin in Budapest was on hold because he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.”
The decision about the meeting in Budapest, Hungary, which Trump had announced last week, was made following a call Monday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Lavrov made clear in comments Tuesday that Russia is opposed to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump, meanwhile, has been shifting his stance all year on key issues in the conflict, including whether a ceasefire should come before longer-term peace talks, and whether Ukraine could win back land seized by Russia during almost four years of fighting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday emphasized that the planned Putin-Trump summit needs to be thoroughly prepared.
“No one wants to waste time: neither President Trump nor President Putin," Peskov told reporters. "These are the two presidents who are accustomed to working efficiently with high productivity. But effectiveness always requires preparation.”

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
TT
TT

Iran Guards Vow to 'Pursue and Kill' Israeli Premier Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem (archive – Reuters)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards vowed on Sunday to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the war with Israel and the United States continues.

"If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force," said the Guards on their website Sepah News.

 

World

Pakistan Says Hit Military Facilities in Afghanistan

A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

Pakistan Says Hit Military Facilities in Afghanistan

A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)
A man surveys the damage following alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, Afghanistan, 14 March 2026. (EPA)

Pakistan said on Sunday its forces had attacked military facilities in southern Afghanistan, as well as "terrorist hideouts", in the latest strikes between the two sides.

Security sources said troops "effectively destroyed technical support infrastructure and equipment storage facility in Kandahar", which is home to the Taliban administration's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Another strike targeted a tunnel in Kandahar purportedly used by the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban militant group or TTP, which Islamabad blames for a wave of strikes, they added.

Local residents in Kandahar told AFP they saw jet planes flying over the city and heard explosions during the night.

"Military planes flew over the mountain where there is a military facility, and an explosion followed," one said, adding flames could be seen.

An air strike was also heard in Spin Boldak, southeast of Kandahar, residents said, while authorities in the eastern border province of Khost said there were clashes on Saturday night.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP that the strikes caused some damage to a drug rehabilitation center and an empty container in Kandahar.

"The places they are talking about are far away from these two places," he added.

Pakistan said on Saturday it had thwarted "drone attacks" launched by Afghanistan which were intercepted on Friday night.

At least three locations were targeted, including the Pakistani military headquarters in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, authorities said.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's office said the Afghan Taliban had "crossed a red line" by targeting civilians and promised a response.

Islamabad launched a military operation against Afghanistan last month, targeting what it said were Islamist extremists following attacks in Pakistan.

The Taliban government has denied any involvement or the use of Afghan territory for militancy, while Pakistan insists it does not target civilians.

There have been repeated clashes at the border in recent weeks, hampering trade and forcing nearby residents to leave their homes.

The UN mission in Afghanistan said on Friday that at least 75 civilians have been killed and 193 injured in Afghanistan as a result of the clashes since February 26.

World

American Flag Raised at US Embassy in Venezuela for the 1st Time since 2019

The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
TT
TT

American Flag Raised at US Embassy in Venezuela for the 1st Time since 2019

The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The US flag flies at the former US embassy now housing the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), as the United States and interim authorities in Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations, following Nicolas Maduro’s capture, in Caracas, Venezuela March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

The American flag was raised Saturday over the US Embassy in Venezuela for the first time since 2019, a move that highlighted the recent shift in relations between the two countries since then President Nicolás Maduro was captured by American troops in January.

Though the flag is now waving, the building is undergoing renovations and it remains unclear when it will fully reopen.

The move comes after several statements from US President Donald Trump in support of Maduro’s successor, acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who has tried to keep negotiations open with the American government.

The flag was raised "exactly seven years after it was taken down,” the US Embassy team said in a statement published on its social media channels.

The American flag being raised drew immediate attention from local residents.

“It’s a good thing, really, what a joy,” said Caracas resident Luz Verónica López. “Other countries must come back too because that’s what we need; progress, to move forward with good relations with the rest of the world, as it should be.”

Alessandro Di Benedetto, another Caracas resident, noted the positive atmosphere among those witnessing the moment.

“I found several people here surprised and happy because today they raised the US flag at the embassy,” he said. “This is positive; this is another step.”

Despite the initiative, large chunks of Venezuelan society and the political establishment remain critics of Trump, his decision to forcefully remove Maduro from office and jail him in New York with his wife, and growing US influence in the South American country's oil industry.