Russian Carrier Group Arrives Next To Syria, To Launch Strikes 'In Hours', Powerstation Explosion Near Naval Base In Russia

Russian Carrier Group Arrives Next To Syria, To Launch Aleppo Air Strikes "In Hours"

Having travelled for the past three weeks from its base in Severomorsk, the Russian naval group in the Mediterranean, headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, dubbed by Reuters the "Largest Naval Force Since The Cold War" has arrived in Syria, and as RT reports, is preparing an offensive against militants on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, according to reports citing a source in the Defense Ministry.

The strikes will be launched "in the nearest hours" and will target the distant outskirts of Aleppo, the source said, adding that there are no civilian-populated areas nearby.

Jets from the Admiral Kuznetsov, the Peter the Great battle cruiser and other military ships in the battle group equipped with precision weapons will take part in the operation, Interfax and Gazeta.ru reported on Tuesday, citing a source in Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The reported operation is aimed at preventing more militants from entering the city, which has become a terrorist stronghold in Syria, Interfax quoted its source as saying.

The most advanced weapons, including Caliber cruise missiles, might be used, Gazeta.ru reported. The missiles will probably be launched from Russian submarines that could also be in the area, it added. 

Ahead of the battle group’s arrival into the waters close to Syria, Russia increased its reconnaissance in the region, the source said. Drones and radio intelligence, as well as data gathering from satellites have reportedly been intensified, allowing the exact locations of the terrorists to be determined, as well as their planned routes to break into Aleppo. 

The Russian and Syrian Air Forces have not launched airstrikes on militants in and near Aleppo since October 18. Terrorists have used the humanitarian pause to try to fortify their positions and strengthen their presence in northern Syria, Russian military officials have warned.

Russian warships ready to strike terrorists near Aleppo

Attack aircraft of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov get ready to strike terrorists' positions in the vicinity of Aleppo, sources at the Russian Defense Ministry said, RBC reports. 

"Insurgents' attempts to break into Aleppo from outside are meaningless," the source said. 

The main task of the aircraft carrier aviation group is to strike missile and air blows on the terrorists, whose goal is to enter Aleppo. "After the attacks on terrorists' positions, one will have to forget about the support for insurgents from the outside," the source said.  

The Russian group in the Mediterranean Sea consists of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great) and large anti-submarine ships Severomorsk and Vice-Admiral Kulakov.

Russia has increased intelligence activities in Syria to establish the areas, where terrorists are concentrated, as well as the routes that they use to move from one area to another. "The militants took advantage of the humanitarian pause and regrouped their forces to prepare for a new breakthrough into the eastern part of Aleppo," the source added. 

According to the source, Russia will use new weapons during the upcoming attacks on terrorists. It was said that the Russian warships in the Mediterranean Sea will launch "Caliber" cruise missiles, although it was not specified which ships would be responsible for the launches. 

What Just Happened In Russia: Powerstation Explosion In Naval Base Region - Helicopters Landing On Moscow Streets - Dead Man Found At Russian Consulate in New York

Something serious appears to be happening in Russia, as well as at the Russian Consulate in New York.

Speculation abounds as multiple events taking place in the last few hours indicate that either a very coincidental set of circumstances just happened, or an attack has been initiated against Putin’s government.

Here’s what we know right now.

On the heels of a previously announced pre-positioning of cyber warfare assets last week and some 300,000 NATO troops preparing for battle in Europe, we learn this morning from RT that a massive blast at an electrical substation in Murmansk, Russia has left part of the region without power.

What makes this outage particularly interesting is that Murmanks is the main administrative base for the entire Northern Russian Fleet.

The northern Russian port city of Murmansk, with a population of 300,000, has been partly left without electricity following an emergency at an energy facility. Eyewitnesses captured a bright flash, after which the lights went out.
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There have been eyewitnesses’ reports of a “huge blast” at one of the city’s electrical substations, according to SeverPost news agency.

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There is apparently no electricity in government headquarters in the city center, FlashNord reported citing its correspondent in the area. Lights have been off in both central areas and in the outskirts, according to SeverPost.

An incident happened at one of the facilities of the Kolenergo regional energy company, its press service told RT, without specifying what exactly happened.

The causes of the “incident” are now being investigated by a special commission, the company said, adding that specialists are now working on damage control and recovery.

While no information has been made available about the cause of the blast, there is speculation that the explosion and subsequent outage may have been the result of a virus or trojan similar to the Stuxnet hardware virus that took down Iranian nuclear reactor centrifuges. 

A similar cyber warfare tool could be used to take down electric power stations much like the cyber attack on a U.S. water treatment facility in Illinois several years ago.

In and of itself that event would normally be dismissed as just a power outage, except just a few hours ago numerous helicopters landed on city streets in the Baumanskoj suburb of Moscow. Witnesses are reporting a huge police presence in the area:

And even that wouldn’t necessarily be all that suspicious as a stand alone event, but since it’s election day and the Obama administration has threatened Russia with a significant responseshould they be found to be meddling in U.S. elections, the fact that a dead man with head trauma was found at the Russian Consulate in New York City this morning gives us a hat trick of very odd events occurring at exactly the time when U.S. elections are taking place:

Police are investigating after a 63-year-old man was found dead inside the Russian Consulate on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Tuesday morning.

Authorities say they found the man unconscious and unresponsive at the location on 91st Street just before 7 a.m., reports CBS New York.

The victim, who has not yet been identified, appeared to have suffered head trauma, police said.

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