Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevich announced that he would expel a Russian diplomat and said he would “not allow hostile operations in his or her own territory”. Consecutively, many EU countries expelled Russian diplomats Meanwhile, the Estonian Foreign Ministry has also issued a decision to expel a Russian diplomat involved in the explosion of the Czech army’s ammunition in 2014. The Estonian side confirmed, this incident is clear “vi violating international law, undermining the security and stability of Europe and is unacceptable “. New diplomatic tensions with Russia began after the Czech ordered 18 Russian diplomats to leave the country on suspicions they were involved in a 2014 ammunition explosion. Russia responded by expelling 20 Czech diplomats after denying Prague’s accusations. Confrontation between the two countries continued to escalate, with the Czech demanding that 63 Russian diplomats leave the country. Before three countries Baltics, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Poland also announced the deportation of Russian diplomats respectively.

Former Czech President Vaclav Klaus. Photo: TASS “We are punishing one of the great powers in the world … I see this as proof that our country does not have a proper foreign policy,” former Czech President Vaclav Klaus on April 23 told Blesk newspaper. is based in Prague, mentioning Czech-Russian diplomatic tensions, TASS reported. Mr. Vaclav Klaus also said that the fact that Czech diplomats tried to blame Russian intelligence for the Vrbetice explosion in 2014 and used it as an excuse to expel Russian diplomats, is an act of trying to score points with The United States and the NATO military in the hope of receiving support. According to Mr. Klaus, the Czechs were hasty in this case. He argued that Prague “should have waited for true and serious evidence” before making any conclusions regarding the Vrbetice explosion. “It was a mistake to issue an ultimatum to Russia before having the facts,” Klaus warned. The former Czech president also revealed that he had discussions with his successor, current Czech President Milos Zeman, about tensions with Russia and the explosion seven years ago in Vrbetice. Russia-Czech relations became strained after Prague last week expelled 18 Russian diplomats accused of being officers of intelligence services. Prague also questioned Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency was involved in the ammunition explosion in Vrbetice in October 2014 that caused two deaths. Russia denied all related allegations and asked 20 staff of the Czech Embassy in Moscow to leave Russian territory in response. Moscow’s strong retaliation surprised Czechs. On April 22, the Czech Republic again expelled 63 more Russian diplomats and staff, followed by corresponding action from Russia.

Three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have expelled a total of four Russian diplomats to show solidarity with the Czech Republic (Czech) in diplomatic retaliation for alleged Russian secret involvement. ammunition warehouse explosions in Czech, news agency AFP said. On April 17, the Czech Republic accused the Russian Secret Service of being behind a fatal explosion at an arsenal in eastern Czechs in 2014 and thus expelled 18 Russian diplomats. This decision led to a series of “reciprocal” responses between Prague and Moscow. The Czech Republic has called on allies in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Bloc (NATO) to unite and support the decision of the Prague government. On April 23, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis announced his decision to expel two staff of the Russian Embassy in Vilnius for “behavior inconsistent with diplomatic status” and ordered them to leave Lithuania within seven days. Russian Embassy in Riga (Latvia). Photo: TASS The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry stressed that “this decision shows our solidarity (ie the Vilnius government) with our ally after an unprecedented and dangerous incident in the Czech Republic”. Lithuania also offered to support the Czech Embassy in Moscow in carrying out its functions after Czech diplomats were expelled by Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that by May 31st, the Russian Embassy in Prague and the Czech Embassy in Moscow will only maintain 7 diplomatic staff, 25 technical and administrative staff, as well as right to hire up to 19 employees who are nationals of the host country. Thus, the number of Czech diplomats in Moscow must be reduced by 16, while the number of Russian diplomats in Prague is only one-sixth of the current number. On the same day 23-4, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics announced the expulsion of a staff member of the Russian Embassy in Riga. The Latvian Foreign Ministry explained that this was a move to show “solidarity with the Czech”, based on “information provided by Latvian authorities” and was made after consulting with allies. EU and NATO. And the Estonian Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of a Russian diplomat who the Tallinn government said was behaving inconsistent with diplomatic principles. Estonia emphasized that it was “an expression of solidarity with the Czechs” and criticized the actions of the Russian secret service as the Czech accused it of being “unacceptable”. In response to the decision of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, the Russian Embassy in Riga said that this “unfriendly action” would “have the most negative impact on the development of Russian-Latvian relations”. The Russian diplomatic delegation also announced that Moscow would soon take measures to respond, according to the news agency TASS . The Russian embassy in Tallinn was also dissatisfied by Estonia’s decision, saying that the decision to expel Russian diplomats could undermine efforts to improve Russia-Estonian relations. The Russian diplomatic delegation to Lithuania does not appear to have commented on the decision of the Vilnius government yet. Before the three Baltic countries, Slovakia expelled three members of the Russian Embassy in Bratislava to show solidarity with its neighbor Czech.

To show solidarity with neighboring Czech Republic (Czech), Slovakia expelled three Russian diplomats, the news agency. TASS reporting. Citing sources from Slovak media on April 22, TASS said Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger had notified Slovakia of the deportation order and asked three Russian diplomats to leave Slovakia “in the next seven days”. Slovakia’s decision came after neighboring Czech country called on European allies to support Prague’s stance in expelling 18 Russian diplomats for accusing Moscow of being involved in a number of ammunition explosions. in the Czech Republic in 2014. Russian Embassy in Bratislava (Slovakia). Photo: AFP Slovakia is an ally in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Bloc (NATO). The Czech Republic and Slovakia had a period of forming a unified state, known as Czechoslovakia, before a peaceful split in 1993. Prime Minister Heger explained that Slovakia’s decision to target diplomatic missions “did not respect the” principles of international law “, and stressed that the Bratislava government” desperately needed to do everything possible. to ensure security and for diplomatic missions working in Slovakia to comply with the laws (of Slovakia) and international agreements “. Accordingly, the decision to expel Russian diplomats was made by Slovakia “based on information from intelligence agencies (of Slovakia) who cooperated closely with the partner’s intelligence agencies. “and” based on the situation in the geopolitical space and current events in the Czech Republic – a country where Slovakia shows its solidarity and support “. Slovakia Jaroslav Nad noted that Bratislava’s decision was not a “cliché act” but was based on the fact that the activities of three Russian diplomats “went beyond established rules. in the international environment “. Responding to reporters’ questions about Slovakia’s move, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was “deeply disappointed by Bratislava’s unfriendly actions”. Ms. Zakharova accused Slovakia of “showing false solidarity” with an act Moscow called a “fabrication incident” presented by Prague. Russia has repeatedly denied its involvement in military incidents in the Czech Republic and has taken diplomatic retaliation measures. The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry also said that Moscow will soon take measures to retaliate against the deportation order of Bratislava.

Ukraine’s secret weapon system is a series of missile launchers developed by the State Design Bureau Kyiv Luch in cooperation with other private and public Ukrainian defense companies.

MLRS can destroy infantry, armored and armored vehicle targets in the area where artillery batteries, headquarters and ammunition are concentrated. This system will allow the Ukrainian military to protect its borders, strait and territorial sea as well as naval bases and coastal infrastructure within missile range.

The mass-launch missile system was tested several times in 2018, while recent tests were conducted at a military training facility in Ukraine’s Odesa region in August 2019.

Russian website Rg.ru said that the 9P140 truck belonging to the MLRS series launch missile system of the Ukrainian army had a serious accident on the Odessa – Mariupol highway.

According to the latest information from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the MLRS convoy is on its way to the city of Mariupol on the coast of Azov, to strengthen its defenses against a threat from Russia.

Initial information showed that a vehicle carrying the missile for the MLRS system lost control, crashed into the median side of the road and plunged down a roadside slope causing the vehicle to flip over many times.

The car was severely damaged, the cabin was completely destroyed and the most frightening thing was that 16 rockets fell out but fortunately they did not explode. There is currently no specific information on the casualties of the driver’s vehicle.

The original cause was identified as a technical problem from the driver’s part, and another reason highlighted by the Russian press was that the vehicle’s use status was too long and the lack of spare parts. cure.

The MLRS series launch missile system is mounted on the KrAZ-7634 8 × 8 truck chassis. The driver’s cabin is mounted in the front left part of the chassis. Located behind the driver’s cabin, a systematic launch cabin with launch and fire preparation equipment.

The total weight of the truck is 32 tons, while its load capacity is 18.8 tons. Power comes from the YaMZ-7511.10 turbocharged diesel engine paired with a nine-speed mechanical transmission system. The engine develops a maximum capacity of 420 horsepower and allows a top speed of 100km / h.

The MLRS system is based on the Soviet-era BM-30 Smerch heavy jet artillery system. Each system is controlled by a crew of 4 and is capable of firing rockets in either single or launch mode.

The launch mass of each 300mm missile is 800kg. MLRS is capable of destroying enemy targets at a distance of 130 km. The system can fire 12 missiles in just 45 seconds and hit targets with a ring failure probability (CEP) below 30m.

The MLRS has a new automatic fire control system, which can be operated in either automatic or manual mode. The fire control system allows automatic determination of the bearing angle of the launcher.

The MLRS missile uses a non-GPS navigation system to avoid the risk of signal loss due to interfering with satellite positioning or deceptive attacks. Each missile is powered by a solid engine and can be fitted with different warheads. Photo source: Pinterest.

A close-up of the power of the Smerch jet cannon – with 12 bullets that can destroy all life in an area of ​​67 hectares. Source: QPVN.