Tag: Aviation
NEWSLINK New York Times: “Confirmation of Attack on Russian Jet May Strengthen Putin’s Resolve in Syria”
NEWSLINK Washington Post: “Russian and Egyptian officials are not to be trusted over airline crash”
Putin’s Dilemma: How To Respond If A Bomb Caused Sinai Air Crash
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Steve Gutterman – November 5, 2015) Mounting evidence that an onboard bomb brought down the Russian jet that crashed on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing 224 people, poses a tough new dilemma for President Vladimir Putin: how to respond. If the theory of a terrorist attack is borne out, it will look like exactly what Islamic State […]
» Read moreA-321 crash – Comment on HMG decision
Subject: A-321 crash – Comment on HMG decision. Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2015 From: Andrei Liakhov <gaffriloff@yahoo.co.uk> A-321 crash – Comment on HMG decision. My money is on a technical defect. It is either a computer glitch which the crew tried to correct and swang the aircraft into critical G or the tail was weakened in a previous incident and […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Christian Science Monitor: “As US, UK point at ‘bomb’ in Sinai plane crash, Russia takes cooler approach”
NEWSLINK Reuters: “Russia’s Putin suspends all flights to Egypt on security advice”
The crash of the Russian airliner in Egypt: Theories abound
The investigating authorities have not yet released an official explanation of what caused Oct. 31 plane crash in Egypt, which killed all 224 people onboard. However, experts have come up with three different possible explanations of what happened. They share one common thread: the plane broke into pieces while still in the air at a high altitude due to an […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK Reuters: Russia’s biggest air show hurt by economic crisis, sanctions
NEWSLINK The National Interest: Russia’s Blast from the Past: Beware the Tu-95 Bear Strategic Bomber.
Interfax: Netherlands: Investigators so far don’t confirm finding Buk parts on MH17 crash site in Donbass
(Interfax – August 12, 2015) The international group of investigators conducting the criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Malaysian Boeing crash in Donbas does not confirm finding fragments of a surface-to-air missile Buk on the crash site in Donbass, the Dutch National Public Prosecutor’s Office reported. It is now too early to draw conclusions that the found fragments are […]
» Read moreHalf of Russians in favour of MH17 tribunal
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Henry Kirby in London – August 5, 2015) [Charts here bne.eu/content/story/bnechart-half-russians-favour-mh17-tribunal] Nearly half of all Russians would support the creation of a UN international tribunal to investigate who was responsible for last year’s MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine, according to a poll by Russia’s Levada Centre. This is in stark contrast to the clear […]
» Read moreUS expands sanctions day after Russia vetoes MH17 UN tribunal
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – July 31, 2015) [DJ: US Department of Treasury press release here http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0133.aspx] The US Department of Treasury announced on July 30 it would expand the sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian companies, officials and individuals, which “underscores US commitment to maintain the strength of existing sanctions and the unity of the international […]
» Read moreRBTH: Flight MH17: Russia blocks UN resolution on international tribunal
Russia has vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution on the establishment of an international criminal tribunal in connection with the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in July 2014. While countries in favor of the resolution accuse Russia of insulting the families of the 298 victims of the disaster, Russia says the tribunal would have been premature, and questioned […]
» Read moreUnlike Putin, Russian People Think that a Malaysian Plane Tribunal Would Hold Ukraine Responsible, Gudkov Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, July 29, 2015) The Russian government is totally opposed to the creation of an international tribunal to investigate the downing of the Malaysian airliner a year ago and will likely veto a proposal for such a venue at a meeting of the UN Security Council today. But a recent poll shows about […]
» Read moreInterfax: Moscow supports bringing closer stances with Kuala-Lumpur on MH17 issue – diplomat
MOSCOW. July 24 (Interfax) – Moscow is ready to start work to bring closer the viewpoints of Malaysia and Russia in regard to the investigation of the Malaysian Boeing 777 crash in Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to Malaysia Valery Yermolov said. The text of the ambassador’s speech on the Boeing 777 tragedy and situation concerning the attempts to form an international […]
» Read moreInterfax: MH17 investigators have yet to establish type of missile – Dutch prosecutors
(Interfax – July 17, 2015) An international group of investigators probing the crash of the Malaysian Boeing in eastern Ukraine have yet to find out whether the plane was shot down from the ground or from the air, according to the Dutch prosecutor general’s office. “We are investigating the scenario of the ground-to-air missile that downed MH17 and the other […]
» Read moreThe Day Putin Became A Pariah
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – July 16, 2015) It was the day Moscow’s dreams of empire cost European lives. It was the day the Kremlin lost its last vestiges of credibility. It was the day when it became impossible to continue even pretending that Vladimir Putin’s regime was anything close to respectable. It was the day the mask […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK New York Times: Dutch Foreign Minister Reports Progress in Inquiry Into Downing of Malaysian Jetliner
NATO officials have said Russian-backed Ukrainian insurgents firing a Russian-made missile were responsible for downing the jetliner on July 17. Russia has blamed Ukrainian forces and denied responsibility in the disaster, which caused shock around the world and played a role in the worsening of relations between Russia and the West over the past year. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/world/europe/progress-reported-in-malaysian-plane-shootdown-inquiry.html
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: How to spot a Russian bomber
[“How to spot a Russian bomber” – BBC – February 20, 2015] The BBC covers recent incursions by Russian bombers into UK’s area of interest, including information on how to recognize Russian bombers. Two Russian bombers have been escorted from near UK territory – the latest in a series of similar incidents. How easy is it to spot a Russian […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: Danger to UK safety: Vladimir Putin’s Russian bombers ‘put British passenger jets at risk’
[“Danger to UK safety: Vladimir Putin’s Russian bombers ‘put British passenger jets at risk’; Russian bombers in British airspace risk a catastrophic collision with a passenger airliner, a former Armed Forces chief warned yesterday.” – The Daily Express (UK) – Tom Morgan – February 23, 2015] The Daily Express covers recent incidents of Royal Air Force jets being scrambled to […]
» Read moreMoscow Times: Life After Putin: Teaching Future Russia
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexey Eremenko – December 11, 2014) The professional future is bright in Russia, where space geologists and airship constructors will be among the most in-demand professionals by the 2020s, according to an atlas of Russia’s future job market recently published by Skolkovo’s Moscow School of Management. But whether Russia will be churning out droves of […]
» Read moreInterfax: Ukraine rebels reject German reports blaming them for downing flight MH17
(Interfax – Moscow, October 19, 2014) First deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people’s republic Andriy Purhin [Russian: Andrey Purgin] rejects German intelligence allegations of militia members’ involvement in the crash of the Malaysian Boeing, suggesting that Ukrainian troops may have shot down the airliner in error, mistaking it for a reconnaissance aircraft. “These allegations against us make no […]
» Read moreBusiness New Europe: MH17 report – The how, but not the who
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Nikolai Holmov, OdessaTalk – September 10, 2014) Today saw the release of the preliminary findings of the downing of the MH17 flight over eastern Ukraine. To be blunt, these preliminary findings confirming very much what everybody suspected – no crew error, no mechanical failure, no flying in unauthorised airspace etc. “Based on the preliminary […]
» Read moreBusiness New Europe: Last minutes of MH17 flight not recorded by Nato Awacs spy planes
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – September 9, 2014) The last minutes of the MH17 flight downed over East Ukraine July 17 were not recorded by NATO Awacs “eye in the sky” planes, according to Germany’s Der Spiegel. As a result, the German government has no “certain knowledge” that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, the government […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: Russia not planning to close air transit route across Siberia – minister
(RIA Novosti – August 11, 2014) Russia is not planning at present to stop western airlines from flying across Siberia, Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov has said. “Do not worry, there is no decision being taken on this just yet,” he replied when asked by journalists, RIA Novosti news agency reported on 11 August. The newspaper Vedomosti reported last week that […]
» Read moreInterfax: Proposal to ban Western airlines from using trans-Siberian routes is “on the table” – Medvedev
MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said that Russia is considering a potential ban on European and U.S. air carriers using trans-Siberian routes as a possible retaliatory step against Western sanctions targeting Russia’s low-cost airline Dobrolet. “The government of the Russian Federation is considering a number of retaliatory steps. But it does not mean that […]
» Read moreSanctions Would Ground Russia’s Major Airlines
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – August 7, 2014) The grounding this week of Russia’s low-cost airline, Dobrolyot, by European Union sanctions has exposed the vulnerability of Russia’s airline industry, which relies on aircraft leased from abroad that can be withdrawn at the push of a pen in Brussels or Washington. Russian airlines lease 90 percent of their […]
» Read moreWill Russia limit EU flights via its airspace over sanctions?
(Russia Beyond the Headlines Press Digest – rbth.ru – Sofia Savina, special to RBTH – August 5, 2014) RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media, featuring news of possible restrictions on the use of Russian airspace by European airlines in response to sanctions, U.S. concern over large exercises by Russia’s air force on the Ukrainian border, and […]
» Read moreRussia Beyond the Headlines: The downing of flight MH17: What ordinary Russians think
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alastair Gill, RBTH – July 21, 2014) RBTH asked Russians of various ages and backgrounds, living both in Russia and abroad, for their opinions on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 disaster, including who they thought was responsible for the crash and how the events are being reported in the media. Mikhail, 80 – […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: Flight MH17 is Trump Card in US’ Information War with Russia
(RIA Novosti – Ekaterina Blinova – July 25, 2014) Praising the ruthless military operation by Kiev against both armed rebels and unarmed civilians, American neocons have also been inciting Washington to launch wide-raging economic warfare against Russia in recent months. Thus, unsurprisingly, when the Ukrainian government released information on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 catastrophe, the US media hastened to […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: Ukraine’s Claim of Russia Downing Attack Aircraft ‘Hogwash’ – Defense Ministry Source
MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Defense Ministry has labeled Ukraine’s claim that two Su-25 attack aircraft were shot down in eastern Ukraine from Russia as “hogwash.” On Wednesday, independence forces in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region said they downed two Su-25s. Later in the day, a spokesman from Ukraine’s National Security information center, Andriy Lysenko, said during a […]
» Read moreInterfax: Kyiv denies holding Russia responsible for downing two Su-25 warplanes
KYIV. July 24 (Interfax) – Ukraine has not accused Russia of shooting down Ukrainian military planes in the military operation area in the eastern part of the country but only suggested it as one of the theories of the Wednesday incident, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said. “We haven’t accused anyone yet,” Lysenko said at a […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: Donetsk Commander Denies Telling Media Militia Had Buk Missiles During MH17 Crash
MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA Novosti) – A leader of the independence supporters in the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk, Commander of the Vostok Battalion Alexander Khodakovsky, denied having told Reuters that militia forces possessed Buk missiles when the Malaysia airliner crashed in the region, RT television channel reported Thursday. “We were discussing theories but one simple phrase was cutting throughout […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: The Disaster, Lies and Video. And Obama’s Fueling it All
(RIA Novosti – Dmitry Babich – July 22, 2014) The latest breaking news about the agreement of the insurgents in eastern Ukraine to permit Dutch forensics experts on Monday to search the wreckage of the downed Malaysia Airlines jetliner and to transfer the bodies of the victims, as well as the plane’s flight recorder boxes to the Malaysia government – these news […]
» Read moreRussia Beyond the Headlines: MH17 disaster leaves Moscow’s international relations on slippery slope
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Starodubtseva, Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – July 22, 2014) The Boeing 777 tragedy, which claimed the lives of 298 people, has seriously changed the course of the political game surrounding Ukraine. We asked the leading Russian experts to assess how the political situation changed after the events of July 17 and how relations […]
» Read moreInterfax: Moscow expects Boeing flight recorders to be given to ICAO experts – Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. July 22 (Interfax) – Moscow is satisfied with the southeastern Ukraine militia giving flight recorders of the crashed plane to Malaysian representatives and expects they will be transferred in the future to the international expert group under the aegis of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Russian Foreign Ministry posted a statement on its website. “We express satisfaction […]
» Read moreUnited States Assessment of the Downing of Flight MH17 and its Aftermath
Embassy of the United States, Kyiv Ukraine July 19, 2014 We assess that Flight MH17 was likely downed by a SA-11 surface-to-air missile from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine. We base this judgment on several factors. Over the past month, we have detected an increasing amount of heavy weaponry to separatist fighters crossing the border from Russia into Ukraine. Last […]
» Read moreNew Post on Russian Guilt; “Here Are The Intercepted Transcripts Indicating Russian Rebels Shot Down Malaysian Flight MH17”
[featured image is file photo] Subject: FW: new post on Russian guilt Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 From: Anders Aslund <AAslund@PIIE.COM> David: Another version of the same evidence. Best, Anders From: paul roderick gregory [pgregory@stanford.edu] Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2014 3:27 PM To: Anders Aslund; Gregory Paul Subject: new post on Russian guilt http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2014/07/19/what-more-smoking-guns-are-needed-for-mh17-the-worlds-first-sam-terrorism/ Forbes.com July 19, 2014 Here Are […]
» Read moreThe truth about MH17
[featured image is file photo] Subject: The truth about MH17 Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 From: Anders Aslund <AAslund@PIIE.COM> David: I hope you will lead with this excellent SBU video with English text next time. You can hardly get a better view of the reality of the MH17. http://www.sbu.gov.ua/sbu/control/en/publish/article?art_id=129088&cat_id=35317 Best, Anders [note from JRL web editor: the article linked to […]
» Read morePutin Calls for International Access to Airliner Crash Site
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – July 21, 2014) President Vladimir Putin called for international access to the crash site of a Malaysian airliner in rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine, while the leaders of the U.S. and EU nations accused him of failing to back up his words with action and warned of additional sanctions when an EU panel convenes […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: OSCE Monitors Inspect Train with Bodies of MH17 Air Crash Victims
TOREZ (Ukraine), July 20 (RIA Novosti) – Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have arrived at the railway station near the crash site of the downed Malaysia Airlines jet to inspect the train that is due to transport the victims’ bodies to Donetsk, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports on the ground. Leonid Baranov, a senior […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: All Passengers’ Belongings Safe in Place of Malaysia Airlines Plane Crash – OSCE
MOSCOW, July 19 (RIA Novosti) – The belongings of the passengers killed in a Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 crash in eastern Ukraine have been safely preserved, a representative of the special mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine, Michael Bochurkiv, said Saturday, adding that no distortion by the militia in the region has been noted. […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: US Conclusions on Boeing Crash in Ukraine Resemble Statements on Iraq’s Weapons – Rogozin
MOSCOW, July 19 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin compared Washington’s hasty conclusions on the cause of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 crash in Ukraine to its statement on Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction made years ago. “The White House has established the guilty even before the investigation of the Boeing accident. Earlier, the White House […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: World leaders demand answers after airliner downed over Ukraine with 298 dead
[“World leaders demand answers after airliner downed over Ukraine with 298 dead” – Reuters – Anton Zverev – July 18, 2014] Reuters covers the shoot-down of the Malaysian civilian jumbo jet in eastern Ukraine and its aftermath, including calls for an international investigation. World leaders demanded an international investigation into the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner with 298 people … over eastern […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: Rival Claims Over Crashed Malaysia Plane’s Recorders
[“Rival Claims Over Crashed Malaysia Plane’s Recorders” – New York Times – Sabrina Tavernise, Keith Bradsher – July 18, 2014] The New York Times reports on investigations in the aftermath of the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine, including questions about who will gain custody of the doomed jet’s data recorders. The grisly scene of the crash of […]
» Read moreRussian Navy to Expand Air Patrols in Arctic
MOSCOW, January 3 (RIA Novosti) Combat aircraft from Russia’s Northern Fleet will extend the ranges of their patrol flights over the Arctic in 2014 using a network of revamped Soviet-era airfields, the fleet’s spokesman said Friday. “In 2014, the naval aviation of the Northern Fleet will significantly expand the geography of Arctic patrol flights, including with the use of […]
» Read moreAuthorities look to Russia’s air, rail to raise mobility
(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – December 5, 2013) While freedom of movement for Russian citizens is enshrined in the Constitution, practical social and economic factors often impede its full implementation. The development of regional air travel, abetted by a series of state subsidy programs and last month’s launch of Aurora, the Far Eastern subsidiary of national carrier […]
» Read moreInterfax: MP Pushkov blames “unbridled capitalism” for frequent plane crashes in Russia
MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax) – State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov has blamed frequent aircraft accidents in Russia on the antisocial type of capitalism that appeared in the country under the influence of a liberal economy. “Airplanes tend to crash in our country quite often because the liberal economy generated a special kind of capitalism in Russia that […]
» Read moreRussian aviation suffers from state interference – report
(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – September 4, 2013) Faced with state interference and a too-heavy focus on military production, Russia’s aircraft manufacturing industry stands at a crossroads, when competitiveness can either be regained after its Soviet heyday or lost. This is the conclusion of a report by the analytical firm Strategy Partners Group, released ahead of last week’s MAKS airshow […]
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