❗️Vladimir Putin hinted at Russian support for the potential return of Western Ukrainian border regions once annexed by Stalin from Poland, Hungary & Romania.

⚡️Putin directly inferred that Russia would not oppose the "re-annexation" of these regions back to their former countries noting that he is 100% certain this is what residents of those Ukrainian border want.

⚠️Potentially:

🇺🇦Transcarpathia back to Hungary 🇭🇺
🇺🇦Galicia & Volyn back to Poland 🇵🇱
🇺🇦Bukovina back to Romania 🇷🇴

🎙Subscribe @AussieCossack

🇺🇸 🇾🇪 💵 A $2M missile vs. a $2,000 drone: Pentagon worried over cost of Houthi attacks

⬛️ “That quickly becomes a problem because the most benefit ... is in their favor,” one expert said.

🔶️ As American warships rack up kills against Houthi drones and missiles in the Red Sea, Pentagon officials are increasingly alarmed not just at the threat to U.S. naval forces and international shipping — but at the growing cost of keeping them safe.

🔶️ U.S. Navy destroyers have shot down 38 drones and multiple missiles in the Red Sea over the past two months, according to a Defense Department official, as the Iran-backed militants have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels moving energy and oil through the world’s most vital shipping lanes. On Saturday alone, the destroyer USS Carney intercepted 14 one-way attack drones.

🔶️ Houthi leaders have said the attacks are a show of support for the Palestinians, and that they won’t stop until Israel halts its operations in Gaza. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday announced a new international maritime coalition to safeguard shipping and counter the attacks.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/19/missile-drone-pentagon-houthi-attacks-iran-00132480

https://archive.ph/lHK3Y

🚢 🌍 🛢 "The Red Sea Crisis is coming at a really nice time given the breakdown of relations between Russia and Europe. Petroleum flows through the Suez Canal are more than twice what they were before the Russo-Ukrainian war began."

📎 Big Serge

THE COLORADO SUPREME COURT REMOVED FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP FROM THE STATE’S 2024 BALLOT, RULING THAT HE ISN’T AN ELIGIBLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BECAUSE OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT’S “INSURRECTIONIST BAN.”.-CNN 🇺🇸 ...

NOW - Trump: "Joe Biden is a threat to democracy."

@disclosetv

⚓️ 🇺🇸 🇾🇪 The Washington Examiner reports that the United States and the United Kingdom have moved sensitive air and naval assets near Yemen. These movements indicate preparation for possible strikes against Houthi forces in that country.

🔶️ The Washington Examiner is not disclosing the identity of the military forces now positioned closer to Yemen, but they include both strike and supporting platforms the deployment of which has not publicly been disclosed

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/new-force-movements-suggest-us-and-uk-strikes-against-houthis-increasingly-likely

📎 Faytuks

🇵🇦Drought-hit Panama Canal to increase shipping slots to 24

The Panama Canal on Friday said it will increase the number of booking slots available in its Panamax and Neopanamax locks, after a severe drought caused one of the world's main maritime trade routes to reduce ship crossings.

From mid-January, the canal authority said in an advisory, it will have 24 transit slots per day, compared to the 18 it had planned in a prior announcement. The additional slots will cover the regulars, supers and neopanamax vessel categories.

The authority said the changes were based on the current and expected levels of the artificial Gatun Lake, which provides the millions of liters (gallons) necessary to operate the waterway.

Slots are prioritized according to highest bid in auction processes, full containers, market and customer rankings.

🔎 Source
#Panama

☠️ Blood Meridian

🇲🇾 ❌️ 🇮🇱 Malaysia has banned Israeli ships from docking in their ports and passing through their waters.

🔶️ "This sanction is a response to Israel’s actions that disregard the basic humanitarian principles and violate international law through the ongoing massacre and continuous cruelty against the Palestinian people.”

✒️ Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

📎 MintPress News

JUST IN: 🇬🇧 UK Government to establish new digital asset legislation and plans to make the country a crypto hub.

@WatcherGuru

— 🇮🇱/🇱🇧 BREAKING: Israel tells mediators time is running out for diplomatic solution with Hezbollah; Washington fears war in Lebanon will require U.S. to get involved - Kann

@Middle_East_Spectator

🗳 🇺🇸 "Efforts to remove Trump from the ballot are underway in several states, with lawsuits filed in at least California, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Colorado."

🔶️ "In Colorado, the Supreme Court ruled, while Minnesota's Supreme Court dismissed a similar lawsuit."

🔶️ "Additionally, Democratic secretaries of state in swing states like Arizona and Michigan have been skeptical of exerting authority to disqualify Trump, though efforts are being made in some states to remove him on constitutional grounds, specifically related to his role in Jan 6."

💉 🇲🇽 🏴‍☠️ Chiapas "autodefensas" or vigilantes have announced their formation including the Civil Army of Indigenous People.

🔶️ With a history of rebellion + armed groups, Chiapas could face a conflict like that in Michoacán in 2014 when autodefensas and narcos faced off in trench warfare.

📎 Ioan Grillo