The Indian capital of New Delhi hosts a regular defense ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states on Friday to discuss regional and global security threats.
The conflict in Ukraine confirms the focus of Washington and its allies on provoking other countries to a military confrontation with Moscow and Beijing, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday at a regular defense ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states.
"Today, Washington and its accomplices are implementing their strategic plan, which consists in provoking other countries into a military confrontation with ... primarily with Russia and China. A clear confirmation of such a criminal policy is the conflict in Ukraine. Its true goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, threaten China and maintain its monopoly position in the world," Shoigu said. The United States seeks to reformat the system of interstate relations by creating controlled regional alliances, using blackmail and threats, the minister added.
On Ukraine Conflict
The west's real aim in the Ukraine conflict is to strategically defeat Russia, threaten China and maintain a monopoly position in the world, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said. The combat capabilities of almost all North Atlantic Alliance countries have been deployed against Russia with the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, Sergei Shoigu said.
"The West demonstrated its advance preparation for a confrontation with the Russian Federation. Large-scale sanctions were immediately imposed against Russia, arms supplies to Ukraine, intelligence supplies, military advisers and mercenaries were organized," Shoigu said.
On US Biolabs
The Pentagon's bioweapons programs in Ukraine are aimed at developing biological weapons components, Shoigu said, noting that US activities to transfer the most dangerous research to third countries continue.
"In the example of Ukraine, we see the dual purpose of these programs and their actual focus on developing biological weapons components, which is in direct violation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention," Shoigu added.
On Growing Militarization of Asia-Pacific Region
According to Sergei Shoigu, Washington and its allies are most actively opposing the formation of a multipolar world in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The West's opposition to strengthening multipolarity is most active in the Asia-Pacific region, where the US has initiated the breakdown of the existing ASEAN-based system of regional cooperation," Shoigu stressed.
He said this started with the creation of politico-military blocs such as QUAD and AUKUS.
Russia is increasing the combat readiness of its bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan amid attempts by the United States and its allies to restore its military presence in Central Asia, Shoigu said.
"For our part, we are increasing the combat readiness of Russian military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as other response forces to possible challenges," Shoigu said.
Under the pretext of assistance in the fight against terrorism, the United States and its allies are trying to restore their military presence in Central Asia, the minister said, adding that Moscow sees their requests to the countries of the region to deploy military infrastructure as "a direct threat to stability in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) space."
Drone piloting should be taught in schools – Putin
President Vladimir Putin has called unmanned aviation a field of “critical importance” for Russia’s economic development and technological sovereignty, adding that young people who are interested in designing and operating drones should be encouraged and given opportunities as part of their early education.
The expansion of Russia’s civilian drone industry could open up “fundamentally new possibilities” across a variety of other sectors, but will require a large number of highly qualified and motivated specialists, Putin said at a meeting with top officials and industry experts on Thursday.
It is “necessary to include training courses and modules on the operation of unmanned systems in educational programs” in fields from agriculture and construction to energy and transport.
©Artem Geodakyan / Pool via Sputnik
“I fully support the proposals… for children to be able to learn to control, assemble, and design drones in school,” he said, noting that this “interesting and useful” pastime will also serve as an “early career guidance that will ultimately benefit the country.”
Earlier on Thursday, the president toured the Rudnevo industrial park in Moscow, commending it as an exemplary drone hub and manufacturing cluster. He later spent over an hour in a separate meeting, discussing key goals and obstacles for the industry.
“The country is interested in your success. And we will try to do anything we can to make this success a reality,” Putin told a group of over two dozen representatives of drone manufacturers and operators. He said that with proper government support, Russia’s civilian UAV industry could easily exceed the conservative estimates and reach 1 trillion rubles ($12.2 billion).
Russian state and private companies are increasingly using various types of drones to monitor critical infrastructure, facilities, pipeline systems, and power lines, but the industry “has not yet been functioning as a system,” First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov said. The Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviation, was tasked with “drastically” revamping its outdated regulations and lifting unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.
Russia’s current drone market is estimated at around 32,000 units annually, excluding micro-UAVs which weigh less than 1 kilogram, according to Belousov. Around 20,000 of them are imported, while the rest are manufactured locally, but mostly with foreign-made components. By 2030, domestic production should cover around 70% of Russia’s needs, according to a national UAV development strategy set to be finalized by July 1.
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