CNN
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Until last week, a secretive fleet of ships ferrying Russian oil around the world showed no clear links to the Kremlin. That changed when, in a dramatic escalation, Russia used a fighter jet in an apparent effort to protect one of the tankers thought to be in the fleet.

After the Estonian military contacted the Jaguar – an unflagged tanker sanctioned by the United Kingdom earlier this month – on May 13 in an attempt to carry out checks, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet flew past the ship, inside Estonian airspace, the Estonian Defense Forces said. The military eventually escorted the tanker out of Estonian waters.

“This is something very new,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters Thursday at a NATO meeting in Turkey. Russia has now “officially tied and connected itself” to the so-called shadow fleet, he added.

Others agree. “This seems to be a step-change in Kremlin thinking,” Ed Arnold, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a UK-based think tank, told CNN.

Estimated to be hundreds of vessels strong, with no official ties to Russia, the “shadow fleet” includes many old, poorly maintained ships, which have in some instances wreaked environmental havoc and, according to some, have been implicated in damage to vital undersea cables off the Baltic coast. Russia has denied any role in the damage.

The tankers, many with opaque ownership structures, transport Russian oil for export to avoid Western sanctions. As such, they have themselves become a focus of further sanctions on Moscow.

Russia’s use, for the first time, of “military action” in response to economic sanctions “is a testament to the level of the threat that we’re facing on the eastern flank of NATO,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told journalists at the meeting in Turkey.

Video shot from the bridge of the Jaguar, which appears to have been edited, shows a radio call from Estonian authorities demanding the ship change course, with Estonian military ships and aircraft visible around the tanker. CNN has corroborated details of the footage, which was shared online by Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of Russian state media outlet RT.

Later in the video, a sole Russian Su-35 fighter jet sweeps ahead of the tanker, which was previously named the Argent, according to shipping records and the UK government. In response, Portuguese F-16 jets on a NATO mission in Estonia were rushed to the area to monitor the Russian aircraft, NATO said.

The jets are part of a strengthened NATO presence in northern Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Probably what the Kremlin is trying to do is push back on that, so in the hope that NATO nations get spooked by what happened (last Tuesday),” said Arnold at RUSI.

“There will be those within NATO who are a bit worried about this and say, ‘Well, hang on, do we really want to risk starting a wider confrontation with Russia over one ship?’”

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(CNN) — Ten gold bracelets, 17 cigar cases, a powder compact, a comb, and a whopping 598 gold coins: The items are all part of a valuable and somewhat mysterious stash, found by chance by two hikers in the northeastern Czech Republic.

The hikers, who wish to remain anonymous, were taking a shortcut through the forest in the Krkonoše Mountains — a popular hiking spot — when they saw an aluminum box sticking out of a stony wall.

After they opened it and discovered the loot, they immediately took it to the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, in the nearby town of Hradec Králové, according to Miroslav Novak, the head of the archaeological department at the museum.

“The finders came to our museum’s numismatist (coin expert) without a prior appointment. Only after that did archaeologists begin to deal with the find and set out to explore the site,” Novak told CNN in an email.

Who may have hidden the treasure and why is still up for debate, but one thing is certain: The stash can’t be more than about a century old, because one of the coins is dated 1921. As for the rest, there are only hypotheses, for now.

“It is most likely related to the turbulent period before the start of World War II, when the Czech and Jewish population was leaving the border area, or to 1945, when the Germans were leaving,” Novak said.

A complete historical appraisal of the stash is still ongoing, and two of the cigar cases are tightly shut and remain unopened, but the metal value of the gold coins alone — which weigh 3.7 kilograms, or 8.16 pounds — is 8 million Czech koruna, or about $360,000, according to the museum’s coin expert, Vojtěch Brádle.

The finding has sparked interest in the surrounding community, and Novak says the museum is getting calls with “various local rumors,” which he hopes could help solve the riddle of the gold’s origin.

Speculation is fueled by the fact that, oddly, there are no local coins in the mix. “Half are of Balkan origin and the other half of French origin,” Novak said. “Central European coins, such as German ones, are completely missing. But the find is located on the former ethnic border between the Czech and German populations.”

Among the theories submitted by the public, Novak said, is one that traces the ownership of the coins back to wealthy families from the surrounding area, such as the the Swéerts-Špork family, the owners of the Kuks estate, a large baroque complex overlooking the Elbe River that includes a summer residence, a spa and a monastery. Another suggests the cache could be war spoils of Czechoslovak legionnaires.

Findings like this are not especially common for the area, Novak noted.

“About nine kilometers southeast, a hoard of 2,700 silver denarii (a type of European trade coin) from the 12th century was found ten years ago,” he said by email. “Many residents left this area during the 20th century, which is why there are many abandoned farms here.”

Vojtěch Brádle agreed that the makeup of the stash is unusual.

“Usually, Czech finds from the 20th century mainly contain German and Czechoslovak coins. There is not a single one here,” he said. “Most of the pieces from this treasure did not travel directly to Bohemia. They must have been somewhere in the Balkan Peninsula after the First World War. Some of the coins have countermarks from the former Yugoslavia. These were only minted on coins sometime in the 1920s or 1930s. At the moment, I do not know of any other Czech find that would contain coins with these countermarks.”

More research is required, he added, to understand the metal composition of the remaining items, and obtain a more accurate overall value.

It’s significant that the most recent coin in the stash is from 1921, according to Mary Heimann, a professor of modern history and an expert of Czechoslovak history at the University of Cardiff in the United Kingdom. That was the year the Soviet-Polish War ended when the Treaty of Riga was signed, she said, but it was also a year of financial crisis in Czechoslovakia, the former state that separated peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.

“It was an unstable period, there was a downturn in the economy and widespread unemployment. For that reason, it’s not that surprising somebody would think of burying a stash of gold at that time,” she added.

Despite Novak’s suggestions the stash was likely left around 1945, Heimann thinks that if that were the case, more recent coins would probably be in the mix. The absence of local currency, however, makes things murkier.

“(The person who hid the coins) could have been a collector, or someone who worked in museums. Or someone who stole a collection from somewhere. This is borderland territory, it separates what’s today the Czech Republic — what was in the past Czechoslovakia — from Poland,” Heimann said. “The first World War didn’t end overnight, the ramifications were still being felt everywhere. There was still instability of borders, there was still economic crisis, there was quite a lot of crime. I suppose you might expect that in those border regions and in places of mixed ethnicity, there would be particularly high tension. So it might be that someone could be more frightened of the future if they lived in those areas than someone who lived elsewhere.”

Once the items have undergone further material analysis, they will be preserved and stored in the museum’s coin collection. A short exhibition is planned for the fall.

And then, who will get to keep the loot? According to Czech law, Novak said, archaeological finds are the property of the local regional administration from the moment of discovery.

“In this case, the treasure was correctly handed over to the museum,” he said. “The finder is entitled to a financial reward, which depends on the value of the metal or historical appraisal.”

CNN
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International pressure is mounting on Israel amid its renewed military operation in the Gaza strip, as both the United Kingdom and the European Union announced measures distancing themselves from the country on Tuesday.

The United Kingdom paused trade negotiations with Israel and sanctioned West Bank settlers, as Britain’s top diplomat slammed Israel’s operation in Gaza as “morally unjustifiable” and “wholly disproportionate.”

Meanwhile, the European Union announced that it would review its relationship with Israel, with the EU’s foreign policy chief calling the situation on the ground in Gaza “catastrophic.”

The announcements come a day after the UK, France and Canada threatened to take “concrete actions,” including targeted sanctions, if Israel does not halt its fresh offensive and continues to block aid from entering Gaza. On Tuesday, however, the Israeli military vowed to “expand” its operations in the enclave.

Since May 5, Israel has been conducting a new offensive in Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying on Monday that his country plans to “take control of the entire Gaza Strip.” Hundreds have been killed and an Israeli blockade has meant that no aid entered the strip for 11 weeks until Monday, when five trucks were allowed in – a tiny fraction of the 500 trucks that authorities say are required each day to sustain the population.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “intolerable” on Tuesday, stressing that aid needs to enter the strip “at pace.”

“The current situation in which we are seeing the bombardment, including of children, and the prospect of starvation, is just intolerable,” Starmer said, adding that “we are coordinating with our allies on this.”

Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy stressed that the UK backed Israel’s right to defend itself after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, but said the conflict was “entering a dark new phase.”

“For 11 weeks Israeli forces have blockaded Gaza, leaving the World Food Programme without any – any – remaining stocks,” he said. “We are now entering a dark new phase in this conflict. Netanyahu’s government is planning to drive Gazans from their homes into a corner of the strip to the south and permit them a fraction of the aid that they need.”

Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipura Hotovely, was summoned over the Israeli offensive in Gaza, as well as Israeli settler violence and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the British Foreign Office said in a statement.

Settlers are Jewish Israelis who live in the Israeli-occupied territories, mostly in communities built by the Israeli government. Since Hamas’ October 7 attack, settlers have accelerated land grabs in the West Bank with support from the state.

“Settlement approval has accelerated while settler violence has soared,” Lammy told lawmakers Tuesday, announcing fresh sanctions on three individuals and four entities involved in the settler movement, in addition to a round of sanctions last fall.

Lammy added: “We will continue to act against those who are carrying out heinous abuses of human rights.”

Israel’s foreign ministry called the sanctions against the settlers “puzzling, unjustified, and particularly regrettable,” adding that “external pressure will not divert Israel from its path in the fight for its existence and security against enemies seeking its destruction.”

“If, due to anti-Israel obsession and internal political considerations, the British government is willing to harm its own economy — that is its decision,” it said on the UK’s pausing of the trade negotiations.

Shortly after the UK’s announcement, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, announced that the bloc would review its association agreement with Israel due to its blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement covers various forms of cooperation between the two parties, including political dialogue, the free movement of goods, and scientific collaboration.

Article two of the document outlines that “relations between the parties … shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.”

A “strong majority” of EU members voted in favor of a review of article two in the agreement with Israel, Kallas said.

“So, we will launch this exercise,” she said. “In the meantime, it is up to Israel to unblock the humanitarian aid.”

Israel slammed Kallas’ statement, saying it indicates a “misunderstanding of the complex reality Israel is facing.” The foreign ministry accused the EU of “ignoring” an American-backed initiative to send aid to Gaza without it reaching Hamas, and Israel’s decision to facilitate the entry of some aid into the enclave.

“We call on the EU to exert pressure where it belongs — on Hamas,” the Israeli foreign ministry posted to X.

Hundreds of thousands facing starvation

On top of the ongoing military offensive in Gaza, Israel’s monthslong blockade of aid has left one in five people in the enclave facing starvation as the entire territory edges closer to famine, according to the United Nations.

Israel has said that the blockade, along with its new military campaign, is intended to pressure Hamas to release hostages held in the strip. But many international organizations have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war.

Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, told CNN on Tuesday that is it is “imperative to get supplies into Gaza to save an estimated 14,000 babies likely to suffer from severe acute malnutrition.”

The Israeli military announced Sunday it would allow a “basic amount of food” to enter Gaza as it launched its new major offensive in the strip. The reason, the military said, was the fact that a “starvation crisis” in Gaza would “jeopardize the operation.”

Netanyahu also suggested on Monday that Israel is allowing small amounts of food into the enclave to maintain the support of its international allies.

The Israeli prime minister said that “even our closest allies in the world – US senators I know personally” had told him that they support Israel’s war against Hamas, but “cannot accept… images of mass starvation.”

“We (are) approaching a dangerous point we don’t want to reach,” Netanyahu added.

The leader of Israel’s left-wing Democrats party, retired Israeli general Yair Golan, warned on Tuesday that Israel is “on its way to becoming a pariah state” because of its actions in Gaza.

“A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not set itself a goal of expelling a population,” he told Israel’s public news channel Kan News. Netanyahu called Golan’s claim an “outrageous incitement against our heroic soldiers and against the State of Israel.”

On Tuesday, the Israeli military’s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir vowed that Israel would “expand the maneuver” and “occupy additional territories” in Gaza until Hamas is defeated.

“The IDF operates at all times in accordance with IDF values, the law and international law, while uncompromisingly safeguarding the security of the state of Israel and its citizens. Any statement that casts doubt on the value of our actions and the morality of our fighters is baseless,” Zamir said.

On Monday, five aid trucks entered Gaza, according to the Israeli agency that approves aid shipments into the region, a number that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called “totally insufficient.”

On Tuesday, Israel gave its approval for the UN to send “around 100” trucks into the enclave, according to Laerke.

Laerke said that he hoped that many, if not all, of the aid trucks could cross to a point into Gaza on Tuesday.

“We need to get the supplies in as soon as possible, ideally within the next 48 hours. We will try to reach as many as we can in the days ahead – and are prioritizing baby food on first convoys,” he said.

COGAT, the Israeli agency that approves aid shipments into Gaza, said that 93 UN trucks had crossed into Gaza by Tuesday evening. These trucks carried flour, baby food, and medicine into the strip, according to UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Though the aid is now in the enclave, it has not yet been distributed, Dujarric said. Israeli security forces have ordered that the trucks need to be unloaded and reloaded before being given permission to be handed over to teams inside Gaza, he explained.

“So just to make it clear, while more supplies have come into the Gaza Strip, we have not been able to secure the arrival of those supplies into our warehouses and delivery points,” Dujarric said.

This story has been updated with developments.