Get you up to speed: World War III fears mount after Russia threatens attacks | News World
Moscow has accused Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania of facilitating drone strikes on its oil ports, prompting denial from the Nordic-Baltic countries. Meanwhile, in Novorossiysk, a major oil terminal was ablaze following attacks, with smoke also reported from another loading terminal on the coast.
NATO troops are currently training in Estonia as part of Exercise Spring Storm 2026, which runs from May 4 to June 1. The foreign ministers of the Nordic-Baltic countries have united to dismiss Russia’s allegations regarding the use of their territory for attacks, asserting that such claims are part of a disinformation campaign.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed concerns about potential escalation in the Baltic region, emphasising that Washington is closely monitoring the situation due to Russia’s threatening behaviour towards Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In response, the foreign ministers of the Nordic-Baltic states condemned Russia’s allegations, asserting that such claims are attempts to distract from its ongoing military actions and demanded an immediate cessation of the disinformation campaign.
What remains unclear — The extent of the damage to the Grushovaya oil terminal and its impact on Russia’s oil supply remains unconfirmed.
Russia’s threats against Baltic states raise concerns about regional escalation
Moscow has continued to wrongly accuse Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania of striking oil ports (Picture: EPA)
Russia’s repeated threatening of the Baltic states could see a new front open in Europe, US officials have warned.
Moscow has regularly and falsely accused Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania of facilitating drone strikes on Russia’s key oil ports.
There are fears Moscow is seeking to open a new front against the West, a move that some fear could potentially trigger World War III.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: ‘We understand these countries feel threatened by it, obviously, for obvious reasons.
‘So, it’s a concerning thing, because you always worry that something like that can spark into something bigger, and that’s always a possibility.’
He warned of a ‘fear of escalation’, saying Washington was closely monitoring the mounting tension.
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NATO troops currently train in Estonia, along the Russian border (Picture: Getty)
Nordic and Baltic states united to reject Russia’s ‘blatant disinformation campaign and false claims’ after Moscow alleged the countries were allowing Ukraine to use their territory or airspace for attacks on Kremlin territory.
‘The Nordic-Baltic countries have never allowed their territory or airspace to be used for these attacks against targets in Russia,’ said the foreign ministers of the NB8 states, which include Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
They accused Putin of seeking ‘to divert attention’ from Russia’s ‘illegal war’.
‘This will not succeed and must stop immediately,’ they added.
This weekend, Ukraine staged major attacks against military-linked sites in Russia, including oil refineries used to fund Putin’s war.
An oil terminal in Novorossiysk was on fire this weekend (Picture: east2west)
In Black Sea naval port of Novorossiysk, the Grushovaya oil terminal, a subsidiary of Transneft, the largest oil storage facility in the Caucasus, was ablaze.
It has a total capacity of about 1.2million tons of petroleum products.
Smoke was also seen rising from the Shesharis oil loading terminal on the Novorossiysk coast.
In a long-distance strike, Ukraine also hit Perm in the Urals, a distance of 1,000-plus miles.
The Metafrax chemical plant, supplying hexamine and pentaerythritol, used for explosives and weapons production, was on fire.
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