Rapid Alerts

EUROPE — Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Military-Industrial Commission in the Kremlin on September 18 that a new State Armament Program and a companion defense-industry program will set what the army and other security services design and build in series. In the same session he said Russia has no plans to attack Europe.

The session opened in public and then moved into a closed portion. He listed six program lines: the nuclear triad; air defenses meant to stop aircraft, missiles, and other airborne and space weapons; unmanned robotic systems; precision munitions; a finished orbital satellite group; and further work on digital systems and artificial intelligence. He put Strategic Missile Forces modernization at 92 percent.

EUROPE — The International Atomic Energy Agency said on September 18 that it had been informed a drone struck the cooling tower of a reactor unit at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in Russia early on Thursday.

The agency said the unit was operating at the time, that its operating mode did not change, and that there was no fire.

TOKYO — On August 20, following North Korea’s ballistic missile launch, Deputy Director-General Ariyoshi of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a trilateral phone meeting with Baek Yong-jin, Director-General for Korean Peninsula Policy at South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, and David Wilezol, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of State.

The Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs placed the call on Friday, August 21. The three officials shared relevant information and discussed future responses.

SOUTH PACIFIC — The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) launched a strategic missile carrying a dummy warhead from one of its nuclear-powered submarines on July 6 at 12:01 p.m. Beijing time.

The missile flew toward designated high-seas waters in the Pacific Ocean and landed precisely in the target area, according to Chinese Navy and Foreign Ministry.

UKRAINE — The International Atomic Energy Agency reported on July 3 that the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant lost its connection to the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 line, the 21st such loss during the military conflict.

The IAEA team on site was informed of and could hear military activity that caused the actuation of electrical protections on lines connecting the plant to the Ferosplavna-1 line, including one recently repaired during June’s ceasefire.