Russia Confident Demand For Its Oil to Remain Despite Price Cap: Embassy

Russia has no doubt that its oil will continue to be in demand on world markets even after the introduction of the price cap, the Russian Embassy in the United States said.

"The result of such steps will be a widespread increase in uncertainty and higher costs for consumers of raw materials. Moreover, no country is now immune to the imposition of a ‘ceiling’ on its export products for political reasons," the Russian embassy in Washington said on Friday, adding that regardless of the "current ‘flirting’ with a dangerous and illegitimate tool, we are confident that our oil will continue to be in demand."

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📹 A resident of Rubezhnoe tells how she lived for two months in the basement of a school mined by Ukrainian militants

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China Completes First-Ever In-Orbit Rotation of Crews at Tiangong Station

China's taikonauts held a successful in-orbit rotation of crews at the Tiangong space station for the first time in the country's history, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.

During the rotation held on Friday evening, the crew of the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft officially transferred its duties to the Shenzhou-15 crew, which is replacing taikonauts from Shenzhou-14 and will work at the station until May, 2023.

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📌 LIVE UPDATES: Emergency Blackouts Introduced in Kiev - Energy Company

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US Air Force Reveals Their B-21 Raider to Compete With China

On Friday, the Pentagon unveiled its new stealth bomber, the B-21 raider, at an Air Force facility in Palmdale, California. The aircraft is just one of three other sectors the Pentagon is working to modernize to match China's growing military efforts. The US military is also reportedly developing silo-launched nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched warheads.

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🇮🇹 Italy is hosting its biggest public diplomacy of the year – the Mediterranean Dialogues conference. Even though the overall tone of the event is dominated by the Euro-Atlantic agenda in regards to 🇷🇺 Russia-Ukraine issue, some participants say that their country puts its own national interests first. I spoke with Dr. Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, the President and Founder of the 🇦🇪 Emirates Policy Center, who shared her view on the Ukrainian crisis: «Russia is one of our strategic partners, and we have military cooperation, we have economic cooperation, so why should we take other people's position? In fact, we should use this good relationship for mediation to reach a peaceful solution between the two parties.» - Dr. Ebtesam Al-Ketbi said. Subscribe to @BolotskySputnik

❗️ 5.7-magnitude quake hits Indonesia's Java island: USGS

🌍🇺🇸 African leaders may resent the lack of face-to-face meetings at US-Africa summit, US officials say

▪️These concerns were raised as it transpired that no one-on-one meetings with US President Joe Biden had yet been arranged for the African leaders coming to the US-Africa summit this month.

🗣“We would not organize a summit with any other region of the world like this - and, as far as I can tell, have not,” said John Peter Pham, a former top State Department official and a specialist in African affairs in the Trump administration.

▪️According to another official, cited by the media, Burundi’s ambassador to the US, Jean de Dieu Ndikumana emphasized that African delegations remain “hopeful” for bilateral meetings, as the African leaders are “crossing the ocean to come” for discussions.

▪️Calls and emails to several African embassies in Washington remain unanswered, the official added.

▪️The US-Africa Leaders summit will take place in Washington from 13 to 15 December and will cover a wide range of global issues, including the economy, security, climate change, and healthcare

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❗️ Key takeaways from exposed censorship of Hunter Biden laptop scoop:

▪️ 'Unsafe' Story
Twitter posted warnings that the bombshell Hunter Biden story might be “unsafe” at an early stage, not only ditching all links to it, but even blocking its transmission via direct message (a measure used for extreme cases such as child pornography).

▪️ 'Hacked Material'
A small group of top-level executives at Twitter opted for the decision to label the original Hunter Biden story as “hacked material” without any evidence.

▪️ 'Freelanced Decision'
The move to censor the laptop reporting was taken behind the back of then-CEO and founder Jack Dorsey. Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s former head of legal, policy, and trust, had taken on a “key role” in the decision.

▪️ ‘Twittergate’
Meanwhile, the first instalment of the “Twitter Files” elicited an immediate response from the Republicans, including House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, Sens. Rand Paul and Josh Hawley, and the House Republican’s official Twitter account.

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Russian Lawmaker Says Price Cap on Russian Oil Will Lead to Explosive Rise of Fuel Prices

The introduction of a price cap on Russian oil would lead to the explosive growth of fuel prices across the world, the first deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council's Committee on Economic Policy, Ivan Abramov, told Sputnik on Saturday.

"Consequences of such a decision are obvious: it will lead to a booming demand, disruptions of supply chains and the explosive growth of fuel prices across the globe," Abramov said.

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📹 Russia’s MoD has released footage of 2S3 Akatsiya 152mm artillery units of the Russian Armed Forces as part of the special military operation

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Train With US Military Equipment Derails in Northern Greece, Reports Say

A train with military equipment for US troops went off the rails near a port in the city of Alexandroupolis in northern Greece, the Greek news portal reported.

According to the report, the train derailed just outside the city's port on Friday morning while it was carrying tanks, armored vehicles, special containers and other military equipment for US forces stationed in Europe. The news portal added that the port of Alexandroupolis had also been used by the US and NATO to send arms to Ukraine.

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❗️ The latest statement from the Russian MoD on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️ The enemy's attempt to attack Kuzemovka (Lugansk People's Republic) in the direction of Kupyansk was foiled by pre-emptive strikes of army aircraft, artillery fire and heavy firing systems.

▪️ In the direction of Krasny Liman, an attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to attack in the direction of Kolomychikha and Zhytlovka (Lugansk People's Republic) has been thwarted. As a result of army aviation and artillery fire, enemy units were halted and dispersed.

▪️ In the direction of Donetsk, the Ukrainian forces made unsuccessful attempts to restore the position of their troops in the areas of Andreevka, Kurdyumovka, Avdeevka, and Marynka in the DPR.

▪️ Operational-Tactical and Army Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery struck three enemy command posts in the Kharkov region and in the DPR. There were two temporary locations of foreign mercenaries in the DPR.

▪️ Fighter aviation belonging to the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down an Mi-8 airplane of Ukrainian Air Force in the DPR.

▪️ Some 336 airplanes and 178 helicopters, 2,609 unmanned aerial vehicles, 391 air defense missile systems, 6,970 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 908 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 3,652 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 7,450 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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Weapons Sent to Ukraine 'Beginning to Filter' to Africa, Nigerian President Says

Weapons shipped from Western countries to Ukraine are “beginning to filter” to the Lake Chad basin region, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari warned this week.

"Regrettably, the situation in the Sahel and the raging war in Ukraine serve as major sources of weapons and fighters that bolster the ranks of the terrorists in the region," Buhari told heads of states from neighboring states participating in the Lake Chad Basin Commission on Tuesday in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

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❗Latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ Russia will not accept an oil price cap, the Kremlin is still analyzing the situation, but some preparations for such a decision by the EU have been made.

▪️ Putin will eventually visit Donbass.

▪️ Partial mobilization in Russia is over.

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Russian Aerospace Forces Receive New Batch of Sukhoi Su-35S Fighter Aircraft

The Russian Aerospace Forces received a new batch of Sukhoi Su-35S fighter aircraft, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said on Saturday.

"The UAC aviation enterprise in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur [in Russia's Far East] has manufactured and handed over another batch of new Su-35S aircraft to the Russian Defense Ministry. The Government Coordination Council monitors compliance with the equipment requirements of the armed forces and observes delivery schedules," the UAC said in a statement.

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'Willing to Help Me Die, But Won't Help Me Live': Canadian Paralympian 'Offered Assisted Dying'

Retired Army Corporal Christine Gauthier, who sustained severe injuries during a training accident in 1989, had been trying to get the ramp fitted for five years, but to no avail. When the “shocked and in despair" Gauthier offered a detailed account of her worsening condition to a VAC case worker, the person reportedly said, “Well, you know that we can assist you with assisted dying now if you'd like.”

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❗️The alliance with Belarus has taken on a special significance in the face of unprecedented pressure from the West and its undeclared war against the Union State, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

▪️Shoigu praised "Belarus' determination to oppose the hostile course of the US and its allies, and Minsk’s readiness to jointly ensure the military security of the Union State."

▪️The minister also added that combat coordination efforts of Russian and Belarusian formations and military units are underway in Belarus.

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Scientists Find First Non-Avian Swimming Dinosaur in Mongolia

An international team of scientists has examined the remains of a dinosaur found in the southern Gobi Desert, at a place called Hermiin Tsav, and identified a number of unique features indicating a semi-aquatic lifestyle and active hunting for fish.

This is the first known non-avian dinosaur with such a body organization. Especially unusual is the fact that this species was not a marine one.

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⚡️ The Russian Embassy sent a note to the Foreign Office in connection with the detention of a Russian citizen, demanding London to explain the reasons for the arrest

⚡️ The G7 and Australia have agreed to implement a $60 per barrel price cap for sea-supplied Russian oil starting December 5, the EU Commission says. EU sources told reporters that the first revision of the price cap in the EU will be held in mid-January 2023.