一 | The USS Carney, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer in the northern Red Sea, on Thursday shot down multiple missiles and drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen that the Pentagon said were potentially headed toward targets in Israel.It is the first time in recent memory that a U.S. Navy ship in the Middle East has engaged missiles and drones that were not directly aimed at the vessel.It's also the first U.S. military action taken to defend Israel in the current crisis and with the U.S. and other countries trying to contain the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the possibility that an Iranian-backed proxy group fired missiles and drones at Israel is sure to increase growing regional tensions.The ship was in the northern Red Sea on Thursday evening local time when it intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press briefing. U.S. officials told ABC News that the Carney had brought down eight drones launched by the Houthis.The preliminary U.S. assessment was that the USS Carney was not the target of any of the Houthi missiles or drones, according to multiple U.S. officials."We cannot say for certain what these missiles and drones were targeting but they were launched from Yemen heading north along the Red Sea potentially to targets in Israel," said Ryder who added that information about the engagements was still being processed.It’s unclear from where the Houthi militia's missiles were fired but they were headed in a northerly direction, an official said.The Houthis are an Iranian-backed Shiite movement that has seized control over much of northern Yemen and has been at war with recent years while Yemen has been at war with a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.As part of that conflict, the Houthis have launched missiles and drones deep into Saudi Arabia, but it appears that the missiles intercepted on Thursday were not aimed at targets inside Saudi Arabia.Last week, Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi was quoted as saying that if the U.S. directly intervened in the Gaza conflict his group would respond by firing drones and missiles, and take other military options."There are red lines when it comes to Gaza," he said.Thursday's incident occurred during the early evening hours (local time) when the missiles and drones were detected moving northward above the waters of the Red Sea.The missiles fired by the Houthis were engaged by SM2 missiles carried aboard the USS Carney, a U.S. official told ABC News. No information was released about what weapons platform aboard the Carney brought down the 8 drones.Brig. Gen. Ryder told reporters that the intercepts had taken place over water and not land. No sailors aboard the ship were harmed according to a U.S. official.The United States has boosted its military presence in the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war nearly two weeks ago.The USS Carney is part of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group that was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran and Hezbollah from joining the Israel-Hamas war. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently extended the deployment of the Ford strike group so it can remain in the eastern Mediterranean and had ordered the deployment of additional fighter aircraft to U.S. airbases in the region.To increase U.S. deterrence of an expansion in the conflict the Ford will soon be joined in the eastern Mediterranean by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group that left Norfolk, Virginia on Saturday and could arrive in the region over the next 7 to 10 days."By posturing these U.S. naval assets and advanced fighter aircraft in the region, we aim to send a strong message intended to deter a wider conflict to bolster regional stability and of course to make it clear that we will protect and defend our national security interests," Ryder told reporters Thursday.The USS Carney had just transited into the Red Sea through the Suez Canal on Wednesday which is why the destroyer was still located in the northern stretch of that body of water that borders, Egypt, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.The missile shot down by the USS Carney will bolster the deterrence in the region and demonstrate that the show of force is serious stuff, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.The risk to U.S. forces and U.S. interests in the region has increased particularly in the wake of a deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza earlier this week that inflamed regional tensions.On Wednesday, three drones were shot down by U.S. military forces as they neared bases in western and northern Iraq, another drone was shot down near U.S. forces in eastern Syria on Thursday.A U.S. contractor sheltering in place at one of the bases in Iraq died of a cardiac arrest in one of the incidents.Al Asad airbase in western Iraq experienced indirect fire on Thursday according to a U.S. official.The Carney's shootdown of Houthi missiles opens up the possibility that the U.S. Navy may have to position more ships in the Red Sea if the U.S. commits to protecting Israel from a southern attack said Steve Ganyard, an ABC News contributor and a former Pentagon official."The larger concern is if Iran now considers U.S. ships fair game," said Ganyard. "Because if the Houthis shoot at a U.S. ship there will be little doubt that it would have been at Tehran’s direction.""That said, there is nothing to suggest, no known reason to believe that Iran wants a fight with the U.S. and/or Israel," said Ganyard. "So, hopefully things calm down."ABC News' Martha Raddatz contributed to this report.。 During the Russia-Africa Youth Public Forum, which took place on July 26-28 with support from the Russian Presidential Grants Fund, Sputnik interviewed Svetlana Ulyanova, head of the Project Management Department of the Pushkin state Russian Language Institute, curator of the ‘World Russian Language Ambassadors’ Program. In the interview, she explained why people across the globe chose to learn Russian and what exactly makes Russian culture so great.,Sputnik: Why is it important to promote Russian language learning in foreign countries?,Svetlana Ulyanova: Vitaly Grigorievich Kostomarov, the founder of our Pushkin state Russian Language Institute, used to quote [Anton] Chekhov: “The more languages you know, the more you are a human being.” It was Kostomarov who proposed and developed the methodology of teaching Russian as a foreign language, that is, teaching it to foreigners - because it is a completely different story than teaching it to native speakers.,The Russian language is truly beautiful, interesting, fascinating. We have an amazing culture, a very interesting literature. You can experience Chekhov, Tolstoy in all their beauty only in their original language. So, there is an opportunity to truly understand what our great writers wrote about.,© Sputnik / Sergey Pyatakov / Go to the photo bankPushkin-related sites. Alexander Pushkin Museum-Reserve in Vyazyomy EstatePushkin-related sites. Alexander Pushkin Museum-Reserve in Vyazyomy Estate© Sputnik / Sergey Pyatakov / Go to the photo bank,Sputnik: Why is intercultural dialogue important, especially now, in the current political situation, between Russia and Africa, and Russia and other regions?,Svetlana Ulyanova: Cultural dialog has always been important, as evidenced by the idea of learning the Russian language through culture and the concept of “linguocountry studies”, which originated at the Pushkin Institute. After all, the Russian language is not just grammar and spelling rules. It is literature, art, and finally cuisine that form an understanding of the national character and the Russian language in particular. When we teach Russian to foreigners, we get engaged in a big dialog of cultures. Sometimes students from different continents study in the same group, and Russian becomes their only shared language. In the learning process, they also share part of their culture with us.,Our volunteers [participate], for example, in the program ‘Ambassadors of the Russian language in the world’, a program carried out by the Pushkin Institute with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia. We pay a lot of attention to intercultural communication. Otherwise, for example, the children we teach abroad would have no interest when we talk only about ourselves.,We're really interested in learning more about how people live in other countries, interested in learning about them and to really share our cultural moments with each other. That's always interesting. And speaking again about Russian ambassadors, they have the opportunity to learn more about how the whole world lives, to gain new knowledge. That is why we, in our expeditions, always pay great attention to intercultural dialogue. And the volunteers not only promote the Russian language, but they themselves learn more and more about the traditions of other countries.,© Sputnik / Anton Vergun / Go to the photo bankFestival of folk culture "Malanya Winter" in the Belgorod regionFestival of folk culture "Malanya Winter" in the Belgorod region© Sputnik / Anton Vergun / Go to the photo bank,Sputnik: Who is an ambassador of the Russian language in your understanding?,Svetlana Ulyanova: A person who promotes the Russian language. It is a measure of responsibility for what a person does, what a volunteer does. Hence, the high status of the ambassador of the Russian language speaks precisely about that. And on the other hand, indeed, this person is a representative of Russia abroad, a representative of the Russian language, Russian culture. And the ‘World Russian Language Ambassadors’ program just brings everything together.,Sputnik: How can people who learn Russian use the language in the future? Do they intend to work in Russia?,Svetlana Ulyanova: They have absolutely different opportunities. Indeed, it's a matter of business, work, international contracts, they don't have to come to Russia. After that, they can stay in their country and conduct international contracts with Russian companies or work for a Russian company that is abroad, such as Rosatom. Peaceful nuclear energy is one of the most important, large-scale things that Russia does abroad. The second point is the opportunity to travel around Russia and the CIS countries, where people speak Russian. And the third point is to delve deeper into the Russian culture.,We conducted a study called the Index of the Russian Language Position in the World, according to which Russian has taken good positions in such areas as use in international organizations, the number of Russian language resources on the internet, the number of scientific publications, which is why Russian remains the language of science and education, the language of figures and official dialog.,© Sputnik / Vitaliy Timkiv / Go to the photo bankParticipants in the celebration of the Day of the State Flag of the Russian Federation in KrasnodarParticipants in the celebration of the Day of the State Flag of the Russian Federation in Krasnodar© Sputnik / Vitaliy Timkiv / Go to the photo bank,Sputnik: How important is it to promote Russian culture now that the Russian people and culture are being subjected to the “cancel culture" in the West?,Svetlana Ulyanova: I believe that Pushkin, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, our ballet cannot be cancelled. I believe in people's good sense and that people will continue to take an interest in Russian culture. Besides, the Pushkin Institute program, including the ambassadors of the Russian language program, allows us to show the beauty of the Russian language and Russian literature to foreigners. And we do have these opportunities, which we are using.,Sputnik: What are the biggest challenges for people learning Russian?,Svetlana Ulyanova: Russian is considered one of the most difficult languages on the planet. But this does not deny its beauty. Difficulties arise depending on which language the people who learn it speak com from, because some people cannot get used to so many cases and how words change, because in their native language everything is completely different. Some people can't get used to the way we construct sentences, because in their language things are constructed differently. Everyone, probably every nationality, has its own difficulties in learning Russian. But the Pushkin Institute has special methods for teaching Russian as a foreign language. And we take this into account to make it as easy as possible for foreigners to learn our language.。
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