Russia

Last week’s confrontation between Russian fighter jets and a U.S. destroyer in the Baltic Sea has taken the shine off the U.S. Navy’s aura of invincibility. Russia Insider reports: Russia Warns US Military: ‘We Will Take All Necessary Measures’ If you were wondering what the immediate U.S. response would be to the embarrassing incident that took place in the Baltic Sea last week between Russian fighter jets and a U.S. destroyer, the answer is absolutely nothing.

Kurdish endurance and success in the fight against ISIS terrorism in Iraq and Syria is putting the U.S., an old ally of the stateless Kurds in the Middle East, in a pickle. Moscow’s influence in the region and the Kurdish desire for self governance could pivot the alliance from the U.S. toward Russia.

A fire has broken out on a Russian oil tanker in the Caspian Sea. The Russian Emergency Ministry is preparing an amphibious firefighting aircraft to extinguish the fire as the ship drifts in Turkmenistan’s territorial waters. Russia Today reports: A source told RIA Novosti that the ignition source is believed to be on the deck of the vessel. The Palflot-2 vessel in distress is currently drifting in Turkmenistan’s territorial waters some 800 kilometers from Russia’s nearest port, Astrakhan.

Amid surging supply of crude and the world's biggest traffic jam of tankers, we suspect more images like the following will be seen going forward. A Russian tanker has caught fire in the Caspian Sea near the territorial waters of Turkmenistan, leaving one dead.

The Palflot-2 vessel in distress is currently drifting in Turkmenistan’s territorial waters some 800 kilometers from Russia’s nearest port, Astrakhan.

Putin has announced that Russia is gearing up to take “all necessary (military) measures” to counter NATO aggression, and will not hesitate to use military force against incidents of “intimidation” such as the US naval destroyer that recently sailed close to the Russian border. Russia’s NATO Ambassador Alexander Grushko warned participants at a meeting of the military alliance, “This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia. We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force“.