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Ukraine marks four years since Russia’s invasion
Fox News’ Greg Palkot, a senior correspondent specializing in foreign affairs, reported for ‘America’s Newsroom’ on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal for peace and resilience, marking four years since Russia’s incursion.
Reports indicate that on February 25, the Swedish military intercepted a suspected Russian drone as it neared a French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier stationed in Malmö. This occurred during significant NATO exercises.
The French naval flagship, the Charles de Gaulle, was in the southern Swedish port as part of the LA FAYETTE 26 mission.
These exercises saw NATO’s naval presence in the Baltic Sea, a region currently experiencing heightened tensions with Moscow.
The flight deck of the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle featured Rafale M (Marine) fighter jets, with the conning tower visible in the background. (Photo by Johan NILSSON / TT NEWS AGENCY / AFP via Getty Images)
The drone security breach unfolded when the carrier was in port, underscoring mounting concerns over Russian-linked drone activity near critical Western military assets, according to SVT.
The Swedish broadcaster reported that the drone was launched from a nearby Russian vessel and moved toward the carrier before being detected by Swedish forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is testing the boundaries of NATO with aircraft incursions, allied states say. (Ramil Sitdikov/Pool/Reuters )
A ship from the Swedish navy found the suspected drone during ongoing sea patrols in the Öresund Strait.
In response, Swedish operatives activated electronic countermeasures, disrupting the aircraft’s control systems.
“A ship from the Swedish Navy observed a suspected drone during ongoing sea patrols in the Öresund,” the Swedish armed forces said in a statement, SVT reported.
“In connection with the observation, the Swedish Armed Forces took countermeasures to disrupt the suspected drone. After that, contact with the drone was lost,” the statement said.
One of three Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft takes off from the Blekinge Wing F17, based in Kallinge, southern Sweden, for a base in Sardinia to join the NATO-led operation in Libya, on Saturday, April 2, 2011. As Sweden joins NATO, it bids a final farewell to more than two centuries of neutrality. (AP Photo/Scanpix/Patric Soderstrom, File)
As yet, it remains unclear whether the drone returned to the Russian vessel or fell into the sea after being jammed.
Swedish Defence Minister PÃ¥l Jonson told SVT Thursday that the drone came “probably from Russia, as there was a Russian military vessel in the immediate vicinity at the time of the facts,” according to Le Monde.
“A drone was jammed yesterday by a Swedish system at about seven nautical miles from the Charles de Gaulle. The Swedish system worked perfectly and this did not disrupt operations on board,” French General Staff spokesman Colonel Guillaume Vernet also said.
This incident came just hours after Poland sent fighter jets overnight in response to another wave of Russian strikes over Ukraine, heightening tensions between Moscow and NATO, according to reports.
It also follows warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that his “adversaries know how things could end” if they resort to using a “nuclear” response.
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