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Ukraine Watch: Facts without the fluff.

🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday operation Mercenary which is being conducted to combat terrorism, adding that cooperation of special services of CSTO countries continues.

"Cooperation between the special services and law enforcement agencies has been consistently strengthened. In particular, the CSTO operation Mercenary, aimed at suppressing recruitment and blocking the channels of departure of citizens of our countries to participate in the activities of international terrorist groups, has continued," Putin stated at a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Minsk.

The Kremlin said ahead of Putin's visit that the CSTO leaders would pay special attention to improving the security alliance's crisis response mechanisms, developing its peacekeeping forces and expanding the range of partnerships.

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🇷🇺🪖 Key points of Russian MoD briefing on progress of special military op in Ukraine:

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces repelled an attack by Ukrainian assault groups in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️ Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter in the Kherson region;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces repelled two attacks by Ukrainian assault groups in the Donetsk direction, enemy losses amounted to up to 280 military personnel;

▪️ The Russian army repelled four attacks by Ukrainian assault groups in the Rabotin area in the Zaporozhye direction;

▪️ Russian troops defeated two Ukrainian brigades in the areas of Novomikhailovka and Priyutny settlements, the enemy lost up to 140 military personnel;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces hit a Ukrainian aviation ammunition warehouse and a communications center at an airfield in the Khmelnitsky region;

▪️ Russian air defense systems intercepted eight HIMARS shells and destroyed 24 Ukrainian drones;

▪️ Russian troops in the Kherson direction destroyed up to 50 Ukrainian soldiers and hit two Ukrainian Msta-B howitzers.

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⚡️A humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip will begin on Friday at 7 a.m. the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

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🇦🇹 Austrian FM Warns Against 'Fast Lane' for Ukraine to Join EU

Rushing Ukraine towards European Union (EU) membership is a recipe for “geostrategic disaster,” Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has warned.

Brussels should not be looking at Ukraine’s EU bid through “rose-tinted glasses,” the politician told FT.

“You cannot have certain groups on the fast lane, others on service lane,” the politician stated in a nod at the holdup regarding Bosnia’s accession bid.

The European Commission recommended launching talks with Ukraine and Moldova on membership, but clarified that for Bosnia this should only begin “once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved”.

👉 Follow the link to learn more

🇷🇺 Medvedev visited the center of unmanned aerial systems in the Moscow industrial park "Rudnevo" and held a meeting on increasing the production of drones for the needs of the military.

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🇵🇸 Key points from the "Al-Qassam Brigades" (the military wing of Hamas) statement on the temporary truce:

▪️The truce will come into force on Friday at 7 am for a period of 4 days, accompanied by a cessation of all hostilities by the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

▪️Israeli planes will completely stop flying in the south of the Gaza Strip, and for 6 hours a day from 10:00 to 16:00 in Gaza City and in the north of the Strip.

▪️The truce agreement provides for the release of three Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, for every Israeli captive.

▪️The truce agreement provides for the entry of 4 trucks with fuel and gas into all areas of the Gaza Strip.

▪️200 trucks with humanitarian aid and medicine are delivered daily to all areas of the Gaza Strip.

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🇵🇸 A dive into war-torn Palestine's economy

What does Palestine export?

Top exports of Palestine include stone and construction materials (13.3%), furniture (11.7%), plastics (10.1%), as well as iron and steel (9.13%), with Israel being its largest customer.

🇮🇱 Israel - 86% share of all Palestinian exports
🇯🇴 Jordan - 5.12%
🇦🇪 The UAE - 1.45%
🇺🇸 The US - 1.13%
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia - around 1%

Still, the two parts of Palestine are developing unevenly: per capita GDP in the West Bank is roughly four times higher than in the Gaza Strip ($4,458 versus $1,257), as per the World Bank. Most foreign aid also goes to the West Bank. Given that up to 50% of all buildings in Gaza have recently been destroyed or damaged by the Israeli military, the small Mideast economy is facing a slide.

What does Palestine import?

Imports of Palestine are roughly three times larger than its exports. The small Mideast economy buys mineral fuels and oils (16.3%), electrical machinery and equipment (6.2%), residues and waste from the food industry (5.8%), and vehicles (4.9%).

🇮🇱 Over half of goods Palestine receives come from Israel.

Other main trade partners:
🇹🇷 Turkiye
🇨🇳 China
🇯🇴 Jordan
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
🇺🇸 The US
🇮🇹 Italy
🇩🇪 Germany
🇨🇭 Switzerland

Apart from these goods, Palestinians import 86% of electricity from Israel, Jordan, and Egypt (generating the remaining 14% locally). It is expected that the completion of the Jenin Power Plant in the West Bank may fill Palestine's energy gap; however, the ongoing Gaza war may impede the project.

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🇵🇸 Scott Ritter: Hamas winning battle for Gaza

The recently announced ceasefire is a blessing for Palestinians and Israelis alike—a chance for prisoners to be exchanged, humanitarian aid to be distributed to those in need, and for emotions on both sides of the conflict to cool down.

While the ceasefire, negotiated between Israel and Hamas by Qatar, was mutually agreed between the two parties, let no one be fooled into thinking this was anything less than a victory for Hamas. Israel had taken a very aggressive position that, given its stated objective of destroying Hamas as an organization, it would not agree to a ceasefire under any conditions.

👉 Follow the link to read the full Ritter's analysis

🇵🇸🇮🇱 Latest updates on the Palestine-Israel conflict:

▪️A truce will come into force on Friday at 7 a.m. for a period of four days, accompanied by a cessation of all hostilities by the Palestinian and Israeli sides, the Al-Qassam Brigades have said.

▪️Hamas government says Gaza war death toll approaching 15,000.

▪️The IDF has warned Gaza Strip residents to leave their homes and move to a humanitarian zone in the south of the enclave.

▪️Israel treated medical personnel and patients with cruelty, and arrested the director of the Shifa medical complex, a Gaza Ministry of Health spokesman said.

▪️The Israeli occupation and the United Nations are responsible for the arrest of medical personnel, the Gaza Ministry of Health spokesman stated.

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🔫🇺🇸 US Gun Ownership Hits Record High

A recent NBC News poll shows a staggering 52% of American voters now have a firearm in their household, a significant leap from 46% in 2019. This is the highest rate since 1999, with both Republican and Democratic homes contributing to the rise.

In light of recent global events, including the attack in Israel and a mass shooting in Maine, gun sales have surged, especially among Jewish Americans. Local gun stores report a dramatic increase in first-time buyers, highlighting a growing concern for personal safety and the exercise of Second Amendment rights.

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👃SNATCHED from under Ukrainians' nose: Russian tank battalion commander talks about how they captured Ukrainian YRP-765 APC under enemy fire.

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🇺🇸 Talking Turkey About US Inflation

US media have claimed the average price of the annual Thanksgiving dinner had fallen since 2022, mainly due to lower turkey prices. But economist Dr Linwood Tauheed pointed out to Sputnik that poultry prices spiked last year due to an avian flu outbreak — and that real-terms inflation was higher than the official rate.

“It doesn't mean that the price of turkeys is not high. It just means that it's less this year than than last year," Tauheed said. “Food prices in general are up, as well as rent prices and other prices that ordinary people have to spend their money on.”

👉 Follow the link to learn more

🚂🇷🇺 The Yenisei special armored train is undergoing combat training in the rear of a special military operation

The train is designed for reconnaissance, mine action, and restoration of the railway track with minor damage.

During the special military operation, the armored train crew escorted more than 120 military echelons. Military railwaymen restored traffic on railway sections about 300 km long; more than 3,000 km of tracks were cleared of unexploded ordnance; and seven small and medium-sized bridges were restored.

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🎙 Check out the new episode of AfroVerdict where the host joins three experts to discuss the implications of Argentina's president-elect's cold shoulder towards BRICS.