RUSSIA CLASH
Putin warship opens FIRE on German army helicopter on recon mission in Baltic sea in shocking confrontation
It comes after the Kremlin despot fired 6,900mph hypersonic missiles in a major warning to the West
A RUSSIAN warship opened fire on a German army helicopter over the Baltic Sea, Germany's foreign minister has confirmed.
It is understood the crew of Putin's ship fired warning shots at a helicopter conducting a reconnaissance mission.
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While the Russian ship fired signal ammunition, intended for warnings rather than attacks, the incident highlights the growing tensions between NATO and Russia, bringing them closer to a direct clash.
The helicopter was deployed due to increased patrols in the Baltic Sea.
Signal ammunition is also typically used only in emergency situations.
A German defence ministry spokesperson could not confirm Wednesday's reports about the incident in the Baltic.
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But German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock reportedly mentioned the incident on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels, but did not provide any further details, according to German outlet .
On social media platform X, Baerbock said following press reports that Russia was expanding its hybrid attacks in the Baltic Sea area NATO would bolster its monitoring and protection of critical infrastructure as a result.
"Putin is attacking our peace order with hybrid attacks," she wrote.
Baerbock highlighted that ships continue to sail through the Baltic Sea attempting to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia following Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
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The German foreign minister also announced that monitoring of pipelines and data cables in the region would be intensified.
The protection of critical infrastructure through patrols should be expanded, she said.
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This is in response to recurring Russian attacks on this critical infrastructure, including the destruction of cables and disruptions to GPS systems.
Last month two subsea cables - one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania - were damaged in less than 24 hours, prompting German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to say he assumed it was sabotage.
Sweden, Germany and Lithuania all launched criminal investigations last week, zeroing in on Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15.
Russia denied any responsibility for the damaged cables.
Putin's allies North Korea and Iran are also accused of seeking to destabilise European states through hybrid attacks.
This term refers to actions by state or non-state actors aimed at harming other nations without engaging in open warfare.
Such attacks are typically challenging, if not impossible, to trace back to a specific perpetrator.
VLAD'S WAR GAMES
Just yesterday, Putin staged provocative war games in the Mediterranean in a blatant show of strength to the West.
The despot's aggression came amid major tension with rebel advances in Syria, where he protects his authoritarian dictator pal Bashar al-Assad.
Video showed warships firing Tsirkon [Zircon] 6,900mph hypersonic missiles in the eastern Mediterranean - Europe’s favourite holiday destination.
They were blasted by modern frigates Admiral Gorshkov and Admiral Golovko.
Both warships were operating as part of the Russian Navy strike group, Russian TV network reported.
The Kremlin dictator's diesel-electric submarine Novorossiysk also launched a Kalibr cruise missile at a maritime target position.
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The Russian Defence Ministry said a Bastion coastal missile system from the Mediterranean coast - presumably Syria - carried out a "combat launch of an Onyx cruise missile”.
The Ministry added it was all part of military exercises involving more than 1,000 servicemen, 10 ships and support vessels, 24 aircraft, including MiG-31I fighters armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
Russia's Bastion coastal missile system was also involved in the exercises, according to Zvezda.
It's not the first time the Russian tyrant has conducted war games in NATO's backyard.
In November, a mystery drone came "within 250 metres" of the Royal Navy's £3billion aircraft carrier amid fears Russia could be targeting UK bases operated by the US.
Cops have since launched a criminal probe after the sighting near HMS Queen Elizabeth - days after drones flew over three RAF bases.
Putin also warned he could strike British and US military targets after Ukraine fired NATO missiles into Russian territory.
In return the dictator blasted Ukraine with a new kind of ballistic missile that hurtled down from the edge of space in a “depraved” act of nuclear brinkmanship.
In September, RAF fighter jets were deployed after Russian war planes were seen flying just miles off the UK coast.
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Two Typhoon jets were launched from under NATO command to monitor Russian activity near UK airspace after Bear-F reconnaissance planes were spotted.
A statement from the Ministry of Defence confirmed that "at no time did the Russian aircraft enter UK sovereign airspace".
Britain’s shrinking army won’t be able to fight Russia and is now less than HALF the size of Germany’s, says EU general
ALARM bells are ringing in Europe over Britain’s ability to fight with its rapidly shrinking armed forces.
A top official warned “size matters” as the Army nosedived to a historic low of just 73,000 trained troops.
France has over 110,000 soldiers while Germany is growing its total armed forces to over 200,000 personnel.
An EU general told The Sun: “There is a concern about the British Army.
“You must have mass, you must have numbers.
“In Ukraine you can see, we must have mass to fight the Russian army.”
A second general, speaking on condition of anonymity, said “the British Army is still in decline”.
He added: “None of the recent announcements have moved the dial on that.”
PM Rishi Sunak pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030.
But he is standing by plans to shrink the Army to 73,000 – its smallest size for 300 years.
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