Russian nuclear-capable bombers 'tested' US air defenses 16 times in last 10 days - http://rt.com/usa/178820-russia-military-flights-us-airspace/
Russian strategic nuclear bombers and other military aircraft entered US air defense identification zones (ADIZs) at least 16 times over the past ten days, American defense officials confirmed on Thursday.
"Over the past week, NORAD has visually identified Russian aircraft operating in and around the US air defense identification zones," said Maj. Beth Smith, spokeswoman for US Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
Smith sought to downplay the incursions that she called "a spike in activity," telling the Washington Free Beacon's Bill Gertz that the flights were assessed as routine training missions and exercises.
But an unnamed defense official familiar with the incursion reports disagreed with Smith's assessment. "These are not just training missions," the official told Gertz, saying that Russian strategic nuclear forces appear to be "trying to test our air defense reactions, or our command and control systems."
NORAD scrambled fighter jets several times when Russian strategic aircraft flew along US ADIZs. The planes included a mix of Tu-95 Bear H heavy bombers and Tu-142 Bear F maritime reconnaissance aircraft, as well as one IL-20 intelligence collection aircraft, Smith said.
The bomber flights took place mainly along the Alaskan air defense identification zone that covers the Aleutian Islands and the continental part of the state, and one incursion involved entry into Canada's air defense zone, she added.
"Such aerial bravado has been rare since the fall of the Soviet Union," News.com.au wrote. "Until now."
"And it all appears to be a direct result of the cooling of relations between the West and Russia over the invasion of Crimea and the shooting-down of MH17," the Australian News Corp site added.
During the Cold War, Soviet bombers sought to trigger US air defenses as preparation for a potential nuclear conflict.
The recent spike in activity after a surface-to-air missile brought down the Malaysia Airlines plane is not the first time Russian military planes were detected in US ADIZs this summer. On June 9, a pair of Tu-95 Bear H aircraft maintained by Russia came close to US airspace during practice bombing while four of the planes were conducting bombing runs near Alaska, a NORAD spokesman told Gertz.
"After tracking the bombers as they flew eastward, two of the four Bears turned around and headed west toward the Russian Far East," he wrote of the June incident. "The remaining two nuclear-capable bombers then flew southeast and around 9:30 P.M. entered the US northern air defense zone off the coast of Northern California."
Those two aircraft, Gertz added, made it within 50 miles of the coast before turning around after a US F-15 intercepted them.
Russian aircraft have also made incursions into other countries' airspace this year. In June, the UK's Royal Air Force scrambled Typhoon fighter jets to intercept four flights of aircraft in the airspace around the Baltic states. The planes included advanced Tu-22M Backfire bombers, Su-27 Flanker interceptors, an A-50 Mainstay radar aircraft and a transport aircraft, News.com.au wrote. Russian-owned Tu-95 bombers skirted UK airspace and have come close to US property in both Guam and California, The Aviationist reported in May.
In an April incident in international airspace between Russia and Japan, two Russian Su-27 Flanker interceptors flew beneath a US Air Force reconnaissance plane, then "popped up" ahead of the jet, which was forced to take evasive maneuvers, according to News.com.au.
The United States has been flying spy missions of its own, however. Over the weekend, US officials confirmed Swedish media reports that an American spy plane invaded Sweden's airspace in mid-July. The maverick plane was spying on Russia when it was intercepted, and was evading a Russian fighter jet when it entered Swedish airspace without permission. Air traffic control had denied the Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint entrance, Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper said. The incident occurred on July 18, the day after MH17 was shot down.
Will Ukraine Conflict Lead to WWIII? - 5 Facts to Know - Jim Denison - http://www.christianheadlines.com/columnists/denison-forum/will-ukraine-conflict-lead-to-wwiii-5-facts-to-know.html
Time magazine's new cover describes the current conflict between Russia and the West as "Cold War II." Could it get even worse? As the world remembers the beginning of World War I a century ago, some warn that another world war could start in Ukraine. For instance, the British Prime Minister made headlines this week with his claim that Russia's encroachment in Eastern Europe is eerily similar to actions that led to World War I and World War II.
Why is Russian President Vladimir Putin supporting insurgents in Ukraine?
Consider five facts:
The first is demographic. Russian is the native tongue for most people living in eastern Ukraine. They supported former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian policies. To Putin, these people deserve to decide whether they want to be part of Russia or part of Ukraine.
The second is cultural. From the 18th century to 1918, Ukraine was a formal part of Russia. In 1922 it became a founding member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and remained part of the U.S.S.R. until the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991. Most Ukrainians in the east have maintained cultural and emotional ties to Russia.
The third is political. Putin claims that the revolt leading to Yanukovych's fall in February 2014 was illegal, and refuses to recognize new president Poroshenko.
The fourth is economic. Putin is working to establish a Eurasian Economic Union to counter NATO and the European Union. He wants Ukraine to be part of this new economic order.
The fifth is military. Russia has been invaded repeatedly on its western border. Examples include Mongols under Genghis Khan in the 13th century, Napoleon's armies in 1812, and Hitler and the Third Reich during World War II. Many in the West forget that more Russians than Jews died during the second World War. To Putin, the territory of Ukraine is crucial to defending Russia.
Here's a tragic irony: both sides of this conflict are purportedly Christian. Europe has historically been part of Christendom, while 90 percent of the Russian population now identifies with the Russian Orthodox Church. Yet churches in Ukraine and Russia are stoking the nationalistic fervor that fuels this conflict. How can Christians wage war against each other? Here's one answer: less than 10 percent of the Russian population actually attends services, while the percentage in most of Europe is even less.
Claiming to follow the Prince of Peace is not the same thing as following him. In John 17, Jesus prayed for believers "that they may all be one . . . so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (v. 21). Would you join him in that prayer for Ukrainian and Russian Christians, and for the conflicts in your life today?
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY PROPHECY WEBSITES...............................
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