🇹🇷 🇹🇷 — Noteworthy that the PKK attack on Turkey happens after Turkish intelligence kidnapped a Kurdish nationalist in Russia and forcefully extracted him out of there over PKK ties

https://news.1rj.ru/str/thermopylaenews/3092

🇹🇷❌🇹🇷 — Several Workers have barricaded themselves within the Headquarters of the Turkish Aerospace Industries in Ankara, as the Terrorist Attack on the Facility appears to still be ongoing.

🔗 OSINTdefender (@sentdefender)

🇷🇺📞🇹🇷 — Video: Russian president Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Central Russia

➡️ This happened as militants from the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) conducted an attack against the Headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries company in Ankara.

➡️ The attack by the Kurdish separatists took place, coincidentally or not, at Ankara's Kazan district

➡️ This also took place 1 day after Turkish Ultranationalist & Erdogan's ally Devlet Bahçeli proposed calling jailed PKK leader to the Turkish National assembly to call on his militants to lay down weapons and surrender to the Turkish State

➡️ Noteworthy on the previous day, Turkish State media reported that Turkish Intelligence services kidnapped a Kurdish nationalist in Russian territory and brought him back to Turkey forcefully

🇺🇸🇷🇺🇰🇵 At least 3,000 North Korean soldiers now inside Russia, US says

At least 3,000 North Korean soldiers arrived in eastern Russia this month, the White House said Wednesday, and while it remains unclear what exactly they will do, it is a “highly concerning probability” that they will join the fight against Ukraine.

“We assess that between early- to mid-October, North Korea moved at least 3,000 soldiers into eastern Russia,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “We assess that these soldiers traveled by ship from the Wonsan area in North Korea to Vladivostok, Russia. … We do not yet know whether these soldiers will enter into combat alongside the Russian military, but this is certainly a highly concerning probability. After completing training, these soldiers could travel to western Russia and then engage in combat against the Ukrainian military.”

“We are seeing evidence that that there are North Korean troops that have gone to Russia,” Austin told reporters traveling with him in Rome on Wednesday. “What, exactly, they’re doing is left to be seen.”

“If they’re a co-belligerent, their intention is to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf, that is a very, very serious issue, and it will have impacts not only on in Europe — It will also impact things in the Indo Pacific as well,” Austin said.

In Rome, Austin said Putin “may be even in more trouble than most people realize.” Kirby added that turning to North Korea for manpower “would be a sign of weakness, not strength, on the part of the Kremlin.” Kirby also said the move is a violation of UN Security Council Resolutions.

🔗 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/23/politics/lloyd-austin-north-korea-troops-russia/index.html

🇿🇦🇷🇺South African Government in Disagreement Over Putin, Russia

South Africa's two biggest parties in its Government of National Unity is in disagreement over whether Russia should be considered an ally.

In a briefing held at the Kremlin before the XVI Brics Summit in Kazan, Russia, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told Putin that Russia will remain South Africa's ally: "We are rather pleased that with your support, in every respect, we have been able to reach this point in the history of our country. We continue to see Russia as a valued ally, as a valued friend who supported us right from the beginning, from the days of our struggle against apartheid, right through to now."

The leader of the Democratic Alliance, the ANC's biggest partner in government, John Steenhuisen said in a statement: "We cannot and will not agree that South Africa should consider an authoritarian regime, that is currently violating international law by waging an imperialist war of aggression against a sovereign state, as an ally."

Prior to the formation of the GNU, the DA, and the ANC had fundamental differences on several matters related to South Africa's foreign policy.

@SouthAfricaReports

🇿🇦❌🇷🇺 🏳️ South Africa's Coalition Dissents Over Russia Ties

South Africa's Democratic Alliance (DA), a former opposition party now in government, on Wednesday rejected President Cyril Ramaphosa comments about Russia being a "valued ally".

Ramaphosa was in Russia this week for the BRICS summit in Kazan and met with President Vladimir Putin who he called a "friend" -- words that the DA rejected.

"The Democratic Alliance does not consider Russia, or Vladimir Putin, to be an ally of our Nation," party leader John Steenhuisen said in a statement.

He said that positions expressed on behalf of the government of national unity, a coalition of 10 parties, should be "subject to full and proper debate within the government mechanisms before being announced."

The African National Congress (ANC) which has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid three decades ago lost its majority in May elections, forcing it into a coalition.

The DA, which has long been a critic of the ANC, is now the second largest party in government and often dissents on foreign policy matters.

https://www.barrons.com/news/south-africa-s-coalition-dissents-over-russia-ties-5d7fa3f0

@FelipeChannel

🇺🇸⚡️🇪🇺 — 🪖 NATO | NATO launches five new multinational cooperation initiatives that enhance deterrence and defence | October 17, 2024:

"On Thursday (17 October 2024), NATO launched five initiatives designed to address some of the most critical areas for Allied deterrence and defence. These new multinational High Visibility Projects will involve a total of 26 Allies and will help deliver critical capabilities that will enhance interoperability among NATO forces.

Contributing Allies took part in a signing ceremony during a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers at NATO Headquarters. NATO’s Acting Deputy Secretary General Boris Ruge welcomed “the beginning of more meaningful work in new areas, but also important milestones for existing projects,” adding that “it’s a great example of how our Alliance delivers”.

The first project aims to accelerate the delivery of new generation Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) - such as NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) - through multinational cooperation. Thirteen Allies kicked off the project: Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Türkiye and the United Kingdom. RPAS fleets are essential to a range of roles and missions including joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and electromagnetic warfare.

The second initiative seeks to increase the interchangeability and interoperability of key Allied artillery munitions. With initial contributions from 15 Allies - Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States - the project will contribute to harmonizing national fire testing and certification mechanisms. It will also help keep relevant standards up-to-date and support their adoption.

The Distributed Synthetic Training Environment project aims to respond to the ever-growing demand for virtual training at the multinational level. It establishes a network of advanced and immersive multinational training opportunities for militaries. Eighteen NATO nations have joined the project: Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, United Kingdom and the United States. By leveraging national simulated training capabilities for multinational purposes, the project will bring immense operational benefits and economies of scale."

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🇺🇸🇺🇦US and G7 allies moving forward with $50 billion loan package to Ukraine, including $20 billion from the US backed by frozen Russian assets

The US and Western allies are moving forward with a $50 billion loan package to Ukraine backed by the profits of frozen Russian assets, which includes a US contribution of $20 billion, the White House announced Wednesday.

“As part of the G7 package, the United States is announcing today that we will provide $20 billion in loans to Ukraine that will be paid back by the interest earned from immobilized Russian sovereign assets,” President Joe Biden said in a statement formally announcing the package. “In other words, Ukraine can receive the assistance it needs now, without burdening taxpayers.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/23/politics/us-g7-ukraine-loan-package/index.html

🇨🇳 China has another new submarine type – and it’s a very dangerous one

The Chinese navy has not one but two new submarine types. And the latest of the two to break cover may be the most dangerous. The new Type 093B, the first close photos of which circulated online in early October, might be a cruise missile submarine.

This summer, naval expert Thomas Shugart was the first civilian observer to notice the appearance of a new sub type in satellite imagery depicting a pier in Wuhan, China. That imagery, dated late April, depicts what appears to be the first example of a Type 039 diesel-electric attack submarine fitted with a small auxiliary nuclear powerplant – an innovation that could extend the type’s underwater endurance.

Later photos seem to indicate the hybrid Type 039 sank at its pier back in July. If confirmed, the sinking would be a setback for the Chinese navy and would, at the very least, delay the commissioning of the first of the hybrid subs – potentially by years.

Given the circumstances, the other new Chinese sub type to appear this year is very likely to precede the hybrid type in front-line service. The recent photos of this new type, apparently shot near Bohai, depict a new version of the Type 093, the Chinese navy’s only nuclear-powered attack submarine. Six Type 093s are in service.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/10/21/china-nuclear-cruise-missile-submarine-type-093-ssgn/

🇺🇦Ukraine's population has fallen by 10 million since Russia's invasion, UN says

Ukraine's population has declined by 10 million, or around a quarter, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion as a result of refugees leaving, collapsing fertility and war deaths, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a Geneva news conference, Florence Bauer, Eastern Europe head at the U.N. Population Fund, said the invasion in February 2022 had turned an already difficult demographic situation into something more severe.

"The birth rate plummeted and is currently at around one child per woman, which is one of the lowest in the world," she said. It takes a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman to maintain a stable population.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-population-has-fallen-by-10-million-since-russias-invasion-un-says-2024-10-22/

https://archive.ph/rbdWU