A Russian state television anchor said Alaska belongs to Russia, reviving efforts through Ukraine war propagandists for Moscow to take over the U. S. state.
During a broadcast on the program 60 Minutes of Russia-1, propagandist Olga Skabeyeva referred to the U. S. state as “our Alaska,” Agentstvo, a Russian investigative website, reported Sunday.
Alaska once belonged to Russia. In 1867, it was sold to the United States after then-President Andrew Johnson signed the Alaska Treaty. It was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. Alaska and Russia are located about 53 miles from each other at their closest point. point.
Skabeyeva made the remarks after her colleague Adalbi Shkhagoshev, a member of the Russian State Duma, commented on a joint patrol organized through Russia and China last week that came within two hundred miles off the coast of Alaska.
Russian Tu-95MS and Chinese H-6K strategic bombers, as well as Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S escort aircraft, operated in combination over the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. It is the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating in combination.
“Our planes approached the borders of Alaska,” Shkhagoshev said of the joint patrol, before being interrupted by Skabeyeva, who incorrectly claimed that the State Duma deputy had said “our Alaska. “
He added: “Right now, the head of the Pentagon has a nervous hiccup somewhere. You said ‘our Alaska,’ and he simply said that if Russian and Chinese planes enter the territory that the United States considers its own, the United States is in conditions of entering the territory. war. “
State television propagandists, Skabeyeva added, have floated the concept of attacking or seizing territory from NATO members during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow has accused the West of being complicit in the war by offering kyiv military aid, weapons and devices to push back Russian forces. Newsweek contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for an email with comment.
In January, the United States State Department responded to a Kremlin order following claims that Putin had given Russia reasons to claim Alaska.
The Kremlin signed a decree regarding ancient Russian real estate abroad, directing and financing the presidential and Foreign Ministry efforts in “the search for real estate in the Russian Federation, in the former Russian Empire, in the former USSR,” then referring to the “good record of rights. . . and legal coverage of that property,” Newsweek reported in the past.
The US State Department has ruled out the hypothesis that Putin would possibly seek to reach Alaska.
“I speak on behalf of all of us in the United States government to say that we will certainly get that money back,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said on Jan. 22.
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Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek journalist founded in Kuala Lumpur. It focuses on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and in the past worked with media outlets such as Daily Express, The Times, Harper’s BAZAAR, and Grazia. She holds a master’s degree in news journalism from City University of London and a bachelor’s degree in journalism. in Russian language at Queen Mary, University of London. Languages: English, Russian
You can contact Isabel by emailing i. vanbrugen@newsweek. com or by following her on X @isabelvanbrugen
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