Russia Fires Hypersonic Missiles in Mediterranean Sea

Russian forces test-fired nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles during naval and air force drills in the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday.

• Frigates test-fired Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles.
• A submarine fired a nuclear-capable Kalibr cruise missile.
• An Onyx anti-ship missile was fired from a nearby coastline.

Over 1,000 soldiers, 10 ships and support vessels, and 24 aircraft participated in the exercise, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean is being conducted in compliance with current international law, as well as agreements between the Russian Federation and foreign states on the prevention of incidents at sea outside territorial waters, as well as in the airspace above them.
—Russian Defense Ministry

Where and why? The Russian military did not say where the drills took place, but it did say it increased its troops in the Eastern Mediterranean to take part in the exercise.

Russia has only one naval base in the Mediterranean: on the coast of Syria, where civil war rebel fighters recently seized the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is a long-standing ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Analysts warn that Russia’s military drills are a warning to the West as Syria’s civil war heats up.

Change in Syria: Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explained in his most recent article that the status quo in Syria is shifting. Despite support from Russia and Iran-backed militias, Assad’s power is on shaky ground.

The Bible prophesies that a new power will soon take advantage of this unstable situation. As Mr. Flurry wrote, “Expect Dramatic Change in Syria.”