Matichon Public Company Limited’s operation reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand ending December 31, 2022 generated (excluding additional revenue) 710.40 million baht (20.5 million U.S. dollars) in revenue. It was an increase of 17.02 million baht, or a 2.45 percent increase, from the same period in 2021 which registered a total revenue (excluding other income sources) of 693.38 million baht.
Parnbua Boonparn, Managing Director, noted that the increased consolidated revenue is the result of the company initiating new businesses and well rounded which led to new dynamics in media business. This operation offers quality content packaged in platforms and activities while forging a wide network for alliances.
The transformation toward online media led to an increasing online-based advertisement which currently amounts to 72.6 percent of total advertising revenue.
Parnbua Boonparn, Managing Director of the Matichon PCL
“We are a leader in the industry with Khaosod Facebook platform, is the most followed mass media Facebook page in the country, including the level of interaction from followers as well as the total number of view achieved by its video clips in also the highest among mass media companies in the country.” Boonparn said.
As for Khaosod and Matichon news websites, they’re also popular and ranked at Number 2 and 4 respectively, according to True Hits ranking.
Furthermore, the YouTube channels of Matichon and Khaosod TVs saw new and diverse programmes being introduced. Short video clips such as those from the TikTok app are also being produced and are becoming increasingly popular among the new generation.
Khaosod’s TikTok has been ranked as Number 1 among mass media producers in the Asia Pacific region. All these constitute the potentials and abilities of the “company” to generate income.
As for the print media business, the income from selling pocketbooks and subscriptions have increased 43.93 percent. This led to the “company” to raise the prices of its magazines and increase the quality of content.
The “company” not only succeeded in maintaining its readership base but in fact continually expanded the number of subscribers. It participates in book fairs that have made a comeback and become popular again both at regional and national levels.
The “company” also organized “Matichon Awards 2022” to inject excitement and buzz among those in the circle of writers and poets. It fosters new readers among the younger generation.
The income generated from printing books and texts to order from its printing house increased by 32.72 percent. This stems from its marketing and the demand for quality printed materials on special occasions.
The “company” has also seriously embarked on a marketing offensive that has been emulated by other media firms. For 2022, the revenue from seminar and other related activities rose by 47.65 percent – a result of expansion in diverse events organized reaching new target groups.
What’s more, the “company” also expanded its collaboration to various alliances in the field of tourism, arts, culture, communities, both within Thailand and abroad. Retail alliance are also being forged with convenient stores to sell our books at 200 purchasing spots nationwide.
As for our financial strength as of 31 December, 2022, the company is in possession of cash and items equivalent to cash as well as current assets totaling 1.32 billion baht. This sum is equal to 69.04 percent of the total assets of the “company” and an increase of 2.32 percent compared to 2021.
As a result of diverse and well-rounded new business strategy initiatives which met the target led to the growth of revenue and the strengthening of the “company” financial strength. This was coupled by an effective control of expenditure. It led the “company” to register 69.75 million baht (2 million U.S. dollars) of net profit in 2022.
Paralyzed polar bear Dikson crawls on snow in Moscow Zoo in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Jing)
MOSCOW, March 1, 2023 (Xinhua) – To meet Dikson, a three-year-old male polar bear, it is better to go as soon as Moscow Zoo opens at nine o’clock. February mornings in Moscow are still freezing, but lively Dikson seems to enjoy playing in the snow, a scene totally different from that six months ago.
Dikson is named after an island in Krasnoyarsk Krai of Russia, where it was found in September last year.
At that time, the paralyzed bear dehydrated severely and all it could move was its head and front paws, as it was reportedly shot by a villager for self-protection.
RECOVERING IN ZOOA
few days after it was found, the young bear was sent to Moscow Zoo for a better cure. Also in here, Dikson had a damaged tooth removed. After more than five months into his rehabilitation, the bear is now recovering well, having grown from merely 60 kg to 160 kg.
Ivan Pazhetnov, head of the department of carnivores at Moscow Zoo, said the bear did not show any aggression upon its arrival. Some days later, it could recognize its caretakers’ voices.
The zoo arranged internal enclosures for Dikson, with glass walls covered from outside and a few small observation windows left. Within its living quarters, there is a swimming pool, where it can be trained to move and catch fish.
When Dikson’s caretakers released fish into the water, the tender creature suddenly showed interest and began to approach the pool.
After pointing its nose close to the water surface for a while, the bear turned around and lunged into the icy pool backward, where it looked rather accustomed. After a short while, it made its way back ashore. For every step forward, Dikson had to lean forward, and bow its head with full strength to counter the weight of its lower body, half a step at a time.
Dikson will stay in Moscow Zoo for a while as it still needs continuous medical care, the zoo said.
Paralyzed polar bear Dikson is seen in Moscow Zoo in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Meng Jing)
VULNERABLE POLAR BEAR
Polar Bear is a Red Book animal in Russia, and scientists believe the bears are now in decline in some areas due to various reasons. The work Moscow Zoo has been conducting is pioneering, as it is the first time in Russia that a polar bear in such a grave condition was transported to a zoo and rescued.Dikson’s caretakers recently have accustomed it to a vibratory massager, aimed at stimulating muscle contraction through an electrical impulse to prevent lactic acid stagnation.
Veterinarians have observed positive dynamics in the bear’s condition, as Dikson occasionally puts his hind left paw from “lying” to “sitting” position, moves its ankle more often and responds to touch.
“The goals and objectives of rehabilitation are to achieve some kind of partial regression of the cut, so that we have a bear that eventually stands on its hind legs,” said Pazhetnov.
On International Polar Bear Day, which fell on Monday, Svetlana Akulova, head of Moscow Zoo, called on everyone to raise awareness of protecting polar bears, saying the animals are powerful, but also vulnerable.
Global warming and man-made climate change have been making life tough for these impressive predators, with around 22,000 polar bears left in the wild, the World Wide Fund for Nature said on its website.Dikson is fortunate to be cured, while its brothers and sisters are still facing a serious challenge.
AEG Presents Asia and Live Nation Tero Entertainment announced Wednesday afternoon the delayed JUSTIN BIEBER JUSTICE WORLD TOUR BANGKOK, as well as concerts in the United States, Ireland, France, Poland, Australia, Denmark, and the Czech Republic, has been cancelled.
“Customers who have purchased tickets can receive refunds through ThaiTicketMajor’s 11 main outlets. Please contact ThaiTicketMajor call centre on 0 2262 3838 or email [email protected] if you have any questions.
Refunds will be available from March 6, 2023 until April 30, 2023,” the firms said on its FB page.
“AEG Presents Asia and Live Nation Tero Entertainment deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused…”
According to CNN, the artist and his representatives haven’t commented on the cancellations or given a reason.
Fans in London, where Bieber was originally scheduled to perform in February, received an email from events company AXS on Tuesday stating: “We regret to inform you that the Justin Bieber shows planned to take place at The O2 arena have been cancelled.”
Bieber first announced that he would be taking a break from performing in June, one month after his tour began, due to having Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome, which left his face partially paralyzed.
However, after going to Europe and performing six live shows, “it took a real toll” on him, the singer announced in a statement posted on Twitter in September.
He added that he needs to make his health “the priority” right now: “I’m going to be ok, but I need time to rest and get better.”
The appointment of real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin as chief economic advisor for the main opposition Pheu Thai Party on Wednesday elicited many reactions from political figures.
Sretta is widely expected to be another PM candidate for the party, along with Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin. The law allows for three PM candidates from each party.
Srettha Thavisin arrives at Pheu Thai Party
Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha was moody again on Wednesday when reporters ask him about Srettha as chief economic advisor. Sretta is also a potential PM candidate.
“Mark my words. The term “country’s economy” does not refer to the economy or business of a family. Don’t you understand? It belongs to the entire nation… don’t bother asking me!.” Gen. Prayut said
Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha
Deputy PM Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, who’s also leader of the ruling Phalang Pracharath Party, said: “It’s doesn’t matter who’s [being appointed]. We have our own people.”
Bhumjai Thai Party leader Anutin Charnveerakul meanwhile congratulates the party as said Srettha is an able, experienced, knowledgeable person as well as a successful businessman. Anutin added he known Srettha for over a decade and the political competition will make people more confident in elections and democracy.
Gen. Prawit WongsuwanAnutin Charnveerakul
Srettha meanwhile said he has been a member of the Pheu Thai Party for a while and had offered advice senior party executives thus the appointment is an auspicious occasion. He added It’s time to return the power to the people.
Srettha said the party’s PM candidate Paetongtarn is now seven month pregnant so he’ll be assisting the party in campaigning the way he’s good at. Asked if this is the first step to become a PM candidate, Srettha said let’s not jump to conclusions yet.
FILE – Srettha Thavisin and Paetongtarn Shinawatra
Paetongtarn meanwhile declined to react to Prayut’s verbal attack on Srettha today but pointed out that Prayut is a senior political figure while she’s more junior so she won’t be commenting on the matter.
Chartthaipattana Party on Wednesday asks voters to choose them so they can make measuring and selling of carbon credits a reality in Thailand.
Party leader Varawut Silpa-archa said at a press conference on March 1, 2023 that there’s a need to push for the tokenization of carbon credit and this is not an alternative but a necessity for both Thailand’s future economic growth and the environment.
“We have to realized it no more than five years from now,” said Varawut, who’s also the Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment.
photo by Khaosod
The party leader said an investment for installing flux towers nationwide is needed at will costs around seven to 10 billion baht in order to have around 850 to 1,000 flux towers to track the level of CO2 exchange between forests, farms and the atmosphere. When that’s achieved, farmers nationwide can earn carbon credit, trade it and monetized into income through tokenization process.
Currently Thailand has not a single flux tower but Varawut vows to turn Thailand into a center for carbon credit in Asia Pacific region if elected back anew. The party currently has 12 MPs but eyes for 25 in the upcoming general election so they could meet a quorum to nominate Varawut as a PM candidate.
“When farmers benefit from such scheme, they can earn money from not burning leftover of harvest crops and protect” the environment Varawut said.
photo by Khaosod
He added that city dwellers will also enjoy cleaner air and less PM2.5 microdust particles and cleaner water. “We move Thailand together. We don’t leave anyone behind.”
Kanok Wongtrangan, secretary of the party’s policy and strategy committee, said the policy is important for Thailand.
“It’s an important issue and if we don’t push for it now, it will cause damage but we will benefit if we act,” Varawut said, referring CO2-emission related trade barriers that’s expanding.
photo by Khaosod
Santi Kiranand, member of policy and strategy committee of the party, added if and when the carbon credit system is fully functioning, people like himself who planted 27 trees at his garden could also tokenize carbon credit and earn extra cash through selling the tokens online.
Varawut, whose party called the policy WOW (Wealth, Opportunity and Welfare for all) said a rice farmer could earn 500 baht per year per one plot of rice field if they do not burn organic leftover from the field but organically seek to improve the soil condition after the harvest. “That’s 30 billion baht for farmers nationwide [per annum],” he said.
Firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision in Tempe near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
TEMPE, Greece (AP) — A passenger train carrying hundreds of people, including many university students returning home from holiday, collided at high speed with an oncoming freight train in a fiery wreck in northern Greece, killing at least 36 people and injuring some 85, officials said Wednesday.
Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flames after the collision just before midnight Tuesday near the town of Tempe as the passenger train was emerging from a highway underpass.
Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Larissa city, Greece, early Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
Rescue crews illuminated the scene with floodlights before dawn on Wednesday as they searched frantically through the twisted, smoking wreckage for survivors.
After sunrise, they turned to heavy machinery that had been brought in to start moving large pieces of the trains. What appeared to be the passenger train’s third carriage lay atop the crumpled remains of the first two, where emergency crews were directing their focus.
Officials said many of the passengers on board the Athens to Thessaloniki train had been university students returning home after celebrating Carnival over the long weekend.
“This is a terrible tragedy that is hard to comprehend,” said Deputy Health Minister Mina Gaga. “I feel so sorry for the parents of these kids.”
A crane, firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision in Tempe near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. A train carrying hundreds of passengers has collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece, killing and injuring dozens passengers. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was to visit the scene later in the day.
Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train cars due to the impact. They said others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled, slamming into a field near a gorge, about 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens.
“There were many big pieces of steel,” said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who said he was one of the first people on the scene. “The trains were completely destroyed, both passenger and freight trains.”
Firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision in Tempe near Larissa city, Greece, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. A train carrying hundreds of passengers has collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece, killing and injuring dozens passengers. (AP Photo/Vaggelis Kousioras)
He said dazed and disoriented people were escaping out of the train’s rear cars as he arrived.
“People, naturally, were scared — very scared,” he said. “They were looking around, searching; they didn’t know where they were.”
Eight rail employees were among those killed in the crash, including the two drivers of the freight train and the two drivers of the passenger train, according to Greek Railroad Workers Union President Yannis Nitsas.
The trains crashed just before the Vale of Tempe, a gorge that separates the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, told Greece’s Skai Television the two trains collided head on at high speed.
“Carriage one and two no longer exist, and the third has derailed,” he said.
Firefighters operate after a collision in Tempe near Larissa city, Greece early Wednesday, March 1, 2023. A train carrying hundreds of passengers has collided with an oncoming freight train in northern Greece, killing and injuring dozens passengers. (George Kidonas/InTime News via AP)
Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the cars to search for trapped people. Others scoured the field with flashlights and checked underneath the wreckage. Several of the dead are believed to have been found in the restaurant car near the front of the passenger train.
Greece’s firefighting service said some 66 people were hospitalized, including six in intensive care.
“The evacuation process is ongoing and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the collision between the two trains,” said fire service spokesperson Vassilis Varthakoyiannis.
The possible cause of the collision was not immediately clear. Two rail officials were being questioned by police but had not been detained.
Passengers who received minor injuries or were unharmed were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing.
A teenage survivor who did not give his name to reporters said that just before the crash he felt a strong braking and saw sparks — then there was a sudden stop.
“Our carriage didn’t derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed,” he said, visibly shaken.
He added that the first car caught fire and that he used a bag to break the window of his car, the fourth, and escape.
Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board.
Agorastos described the collision on state television as “very powerful” and said it was “a terrible night.”
“The front section of the train was smashed. … We’re getting cranes to come in and special lifting equipment clear the debris and lift the rail cars. There’s debris flung all around the crash site.”
Officials said the army had been contacted to assist.
Hellenic Train, which has added high-speed services in recent years, is operated by Italy’s FS Group, which runs rail services in several European countries.
___
Patrick Quinn and David Rising contributed to this story from Bangkok. Gatopoulos reported from Athens.
The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (Pattaya) and the Thai Tourist Police were in discussion to prepare for the incoming Chinese tourists, both as a family and as a tour group.
They noted that the majority of tourists have Pattaya as their main destination.
Thitiphan Petchtrakul, the Deputy Mayor of Pattaya, Pol. Maj. Gen. Apichart Siriboonya, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, Lt. Col. Pitchaya Kiewplung, inspector of the Tourist Police Division, and representatives of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (Pattaya) jointly welcomed officials from the Consulate General of the P.R.C. in Thailand after China allow people to travel in a group and to travel to Thailand as a special case.
According to the survey, people are looking forward to travelling to Pattaya. In addition, from March 1, 2023, the Chinese authority will exempt people from testing COVID-19 using the RT-PCR method, which is costly and takes a lot of time. The authority will allow Chinese people to use the ATK method to enter Thailand. All authorities will now discuss how to prepare to welcome tourists.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Apichart said the Tourism Bureau is pleased that many Chinese tourists want to travel to Thailand, especially Pattaya. The bureau is willing to allow tourists to enter the city without using the RT-PCT method and will cooperate with the ATK method for leaving or entering Thailand from March 1.
He said this would reduce the cost and burden. He hopes more tourists will come to the city as Pattaya is a beautiful place and offers many water activities.
All local authorities in Pattaya attach great importance to tourists and set up a special unit to take care of them. They are opening a hotline 1155 for tourist police and will work with Pattaya City to take care of water transport and general activities. They will work closely with the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China to provide news and take care of the tourists as hosts.
FILE - The moon rises beyond a sign in the outfield during the fifth inning of a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. With more lunar missions than ever on the horizon, the European Space Agency wants to give the moon its own time zone. In February 2023, the agency said space organizations around the world are considering how best to keep time on the moon. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — With more lunar missions than ever on the horizon, the European Space Agency wants to give the moon its own time zone.
This week, the agency said space organizations around the world are considering how best to keep time on the moon. The idea came up during a meeting in the Netherlands late last year, with participants agreeing on the urgent need to establish “a common lunar reference time,” said the space agency’s Pietro Giordano, a navigation system engineer.
“A joint international effort is now being launched towards achieving this,” Giordano said in a statement.
For now, a moon mission runs on the time of the country that is operating the spacecraft. European space officials said an internationally accepted lunar time zone would make it easier for everyone, especially as more countries and even private companies aim for the moon and NASA gets set to send astronauts there.
NASA had to grapple with the time question while designing and building the International Space Station, fast approaching the 25th anniversary of the launch of its first piece.
Tourists watch the full moon at the Mingsha Mountain scenic area in Dunhuang, northwest China’s Gansu Province, Sept. 10, 2022. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Sept. 10 this year. (Photo by Zhang Xiaoliang/Xinhua)
While the space station doesn’t have its own time zone, it runs on Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, which is meticulously based on atomic clocks. That helps to split the time difference between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, and the other partnering space programs in Russia, Japan and Europe.
The international team looking into lunar time is debating whether a single organization should set and maintain time on the moon, according to the European Space Agency.
There are also technical issues to consider. Clocks run faster on the moon than on Earth, gaining about 56 microseconds each day, the space agency said. Further complicating matters, ticking occurs differently on the lunar surface than in lunar orbit.
Perhaps most importantly, lunar time will have to be practical for astronauts there, noted the space agency’s Bernhard Hufenbach. NASA is shooting for its first flight to the moon with astronauts in more than a half-century in 2024, with a lunar landing as early as 2025.
“This will be quite a challenge” with each day lasting as long as 29.5 Earth days, Hufenbach said in a statement. “But having established a working time system for the moon, we can go on to do the same for other planetary destinations.”
Mars Standard Time, anyone?
___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Facebook has been at the forefront of the social media race since the very beginning. This makes it extremely important for any business if they want to get ahead in their industry. That’s why you need the best Facebook ads agency to help get you ahead of the competition when setting up a new company or launching a new product. And with Facebook having over 2.8 billion monthly active users, it’s hard to ignore a potential market that vast.
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Look for a Specialised Agency
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Check for Experience
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FILE - This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows a Beriev A-50 early warning aircraft, center, at Machulishchy Air Base near Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday Feb. 28, 2023. Satellite photos taken Tuesday analyzed by The Associated Press appear to show a Beriev A-50 early warning aircraft targeted in a claimed guerrilla attack at a Belarus air base still largely intact. The Associated Press has been unable to independently confirm the claimed attack, which both Belarus and Russia have yet to acknowledge. (Planet Labs PBC via AP, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Drones that the Kremlin said were launched by Ukraine flew deep inside Russian territory, including one that got within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of Moscow, signaling breaches in Russian defenses as President Vladimir Putin ordered stepped-up protection at the border.
Officials said the drones caused no injuries and did not inflict any significant damage, but the attacks on Monday night and Tuesday morning raised questions about Russian defense capabilities more than a year after the country’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
Ukrainian officials did not immediately take responsibility, but they similarly avoided directly acknowledging responsibility for past strikes and sabotage while emphasizing Ukraine’s right to hit any target in Russia.
Although Putin did not refer to any specific attacks in a speech in the Russian capital, his comments came hours after the drones targeted several areas in southern and western Russia. Authorities closed the airspace over St. Petersburg in response to what some reports said was a drone.
Also Tuesday, several Russian television stations aired a missile attack warning that officials blamed on a hacking attack.
The drone attacks targeted regions inside Russia along the border with Ukraine and deeper into the country, according to local Russian authorities.
A drone fell near the village of Gubastovo, less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Moscow, Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the region surrounding the Russian capital, said in an online statement.
The drone did not cause any damage, Vorobyov said, but it likely targeted “a civilian infrastructure object.”
Pictures of the drone showed it was a small Ukrainian-made model with a reported range of up to 800 kilometers (nearly 500 miles) but no capacity to carry a large load of explosives.
Russian forces early Tuesday shot down another Ukrainian drone over the Bryansk region, local Gov. Aleksandr Bogomaz said in a Telegram post.
Three drones also targeted Russia’s Belgorod region on Monday night, with one flying through an apartment window in the capital, local authorities reported. Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said the drones caused minor damage to buildings and cars.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine used drones to attack facilities in the Krasnodar region and neighboring Adygea. It said the drones were brought down by electronic warfare assets, adding that one of them crashed into a field and another diverted from its flight path and missed a facility it was supposed to attack.
Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency reported a fire at the oil facility, and some other Russian reports said that two drones exploded nearby.
While Ukrainian drone strikes on the Russian border regions of Bryansk and Belgorod have become a regular occurrence, other strikes reflected a more ambitious effort.
Some Russian commentators described the drone attacks as an attempt by Ukraine to showcase its capability to strike deep behind the lines, foment tensions in Russia and rally the Ukrainian public. Some Russian war bloggers described the raids as a possible rehearsal for a bigger, more ambitious attack.
Andrei Medvedev a commentator with Russian state television who serves as a deputy speaker of Moscow’s city legislature and runs a popular blog about the war, warned that the drone strikes could be a precursor to wider attacks within Russia that could accompany Ukraine’s attempt to launch a counteroffensive.
“The strikes of exploding drones on targets behind our lines will be part of that offensive,” Medvedev said, adding that Ukraine could try to extend the range of its drones.
Russia hawks urged strong retaliation. Igor Korotchenko, a retired Russian army colonel turned military commentator, called for a punishing strike on the Ukrainian presidential office in Kyiv.
Another retired military officer, Viktor Alksnis, noted that the drone attacks marked the expansion of the conflict and criticized Putin for failing to deliver a strong response.
Also on Tuesday, authorities reported that airspace around St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, was temporarily closed, halting all departures and arrivals at the main airport, Pulkovo. Officials did not give a reason for the move, but some Russian reports claimed that it was triggered by an unidentified drone.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it was conducting air defense drills in western Russia.
Last year, Russian authorities repeatedly reported shooting down Ukrainian drones over annexed Crimea. In December, the Russian military said Ukraine used drones to hit two bases for long-range bombers deep inside Russian territory.
Speaking at Russia’s main security agency, the FSB, Putin urged the service to tighten security on the Ukraine border.
_____
While the attacks apparently did not inflict any significant damage, their number and scope posed a new challenge to Russia as the war dragged into a second year. One assault came as close as 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Moscow.
Some observers said the strikes could be a rehearsal for a broader Ukrainian attack on facilities deep inside Russia.
Here is a look at drone attacks on Russia, their results and implications.
HAS UKRAINE LAUNCHED DRONE ATTACKS BEFORE?
Russian authorities have long accused Ukraine of launching regular drone attacks on power plants, oil refineries and other targets in western regions of Russia near the border.
Russian authorities also have reported repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Crimea, most of which targeted the port of Sevastopol that hosts the main Russian naval base on the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.
FILE – In this handout photo released by Sevastopol mayor Mikhail Razvozhaev telegram channel on Sunday, July 31, 2022, Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Vladimirovich Razvozhayev, center, stands at the scene of explosion at the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea.
In December, the Russian military reported several Ukrainian drone attacks on long-range bomber bases deep inside Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said the drones were shot down, but it acknowledged that their debris damaged some aircraft and killed several servicemen.
After each of those strikes, Ukrainian officials stopped short of openly claiming responsibility but emphasized the country’s right to strike any target in response to the Russian aggression.
In some cases, Ukrainian authorities took responsibility for the attacks deep behind the front line. That’s what happened when Ukraine’s top military officer took credit for ordering the August strikes on air bases in Crimea weeks after they occurred.
FILE – Smoke rises over the site of explosion at an ammunition storage of the Russian army near the village of Mayskoye, Crimea, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022.(AP Photo, File)
WHAT AREAS DID THE LATEST DRONE ATTACKS TARGET?
Late Monday, four small drones targeted the city of Belgorod, including one that reportedly flew into an apartment window.
Another drone was downed early Tuesday over the neighboring Bryansk region in western Russia, according to local officials.
On Tuesday, a drone also hit an oil refinery in the southern port of Tuapse in Russia’s Krasnodar region, damaging some equipment but missing oil reservoirs. Some Russian reports identified the aerial vehicle as an Israeli-made Aerostar drone.
Another drone, reportedly a massive Soviet-built jet-powered Tu-141 Strizh, fell into a field in the neighboring region of Adygea, damaging a farm building.
Finally, a drone crashed on the edge of a forest close to a gas compressor station near the village of Gubastovo, less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Moscow. While it inflicted no damage, the drone appeared to target a major natural gas pumping facility and marked the closest strike yet to the Russian capital.
Russian reports identified the drone that fell near Gubastovo as a UJ-22, a small Ukrainian-made reconnaissance drone that also can carry about 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of explosives and has a range of autonomous flight of up to 800 kilometers (about 500 miles).
Ukrainian officials have not claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.
FILE – A Ukrainian soldier launches FlyEye WB Electronics SA, a Polish reconnaissance drone, which is in service with the Ukrainian army, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
On Tuesday, Russian authorities also briefly closed the airspace over St. Petersburg, the country’s second-largest city. Some reports alleged that an unidentified drone was spotted in the area, while the Defense Ministry said the skies around the city were closed as part of air defense drills.
On Sunday, Belarusian opposition activists claimed a military air base outside Belarusia’s capital that hosts Russian warplanes came under attack by Belarusian guerrillas supporting Ukraine. They said the assault left a Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft seriously damaged, although Tuesday’s satellite images showed no visible signs of damage to the aircraft. Some activists claimed the attack involved drones, while Belarusian and Russian officials made no comment.
Russia used the territory of its ally Belarus to invade Ukraine a year ago and maintained a contingent of troops, warplanes and other weapons on Belarusian territory.
WHAT DID RUSSIAN OFFICIALS SAY?
The Russian Defense Ministry said its anti-drone jamming systems helped fend off Tuesday’s attack in Tuapse, causing the drone to veer off its course and miss its intended target, and made another Ukrainian drone crash into a field in Adygea.
Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region who reported the drone attack near Moscow, said it apparently targeted civilian infrastructure but inflicted no damage.
In Belgorod, local officials reported minor damage from drone strikes and said that residents of an apartment hit by drone were evacuated.
Without directly referring to the latest drone attacks, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that authorities tighten protection of the border with Ukraine to prevent any incursions or attacks.
WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS?
Tuesday’s attacks again signaled Russia’s vulnerabilities and apparent breaches in the country’s air defenses.
Some Russian commentators described the drone strikes as part of Ukrainian efforts to fuel tensions in Russia and rally the Ukrainian public amid a grinding battle for control of the country’s eastern industrial heartland known as the Donbas, where Russian forces are besieging the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut.
But some Russian war bloggers warned that Tuesday’s strikes could be part of Ukrainian efforts to probe Russia’s defenses and detect its vulnerabilities ahead of a more massive drone attack that could be launched to support Ukraine’s future counteroffensive.
In an apparent reflection of official concerns about the increasing threat of Ukrainian drone attacks, the Russian military recently has deployed air defense systems in several locations around Moscow, including the rooftop of the main Defense Ministry building facing the Gorky Park.
