🇺🇸 Pentagon warns of US arms production lag - reports

The US is unable to build its weapons fast enough, and the mismatch between quality and speed "presents a growing strategic risk" as Washington needs to support active combat operations "while deterring the larger and more technically advanced peer threat looming in the Indo-Pacific," according to a Pentagon draft.

Over the past 30 years, China has become a global manufacturing hub, and its industry now "far exceeds the capacity of not only the United States, but also the combined output of our major European and Asian allies," the document said.

At the same time, the US has the largest defense budget in the world, accounting for about 40 percent of global military spending in 2022 and dwarfing China's military spending several times over.

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🪖Ukraine alone is incapable of increasing military production to the level of Russia, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak admitted.

"Ukraine is ready to reach the end... When [Ukraine] will be provided with the necessary number of weapons, because Ukraine itself will not be able to increase such an amount of military production to achieve parity with Russia," Podolyak said.

Western countries have been providing military aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict.

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Destroyer shoots down three drones launched by Houthis in Red Sea, US Central Command reports.

Three commercial vessels in the Red Sea were attacked four times in the past 24 hours, and the US destroyer USS Carney responded to their distress calls by shooting down three drones allegedly launched by Yemen's Ansar Allah rebel movement, also known as the Houthis, the US Central Command said.

"We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran. The United States will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its international allies and partners," the command said.

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🇵🇸🇮🇱 Latest updates on Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️ The Israeli army has called on residents of the southern Gaza Strip to evacuate to Rafah, near the border with Egypt;

▪️ The two ships attacked by Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea had no connection to Israel, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said;

▪️ The Contact Group on the settlement of the Gaza conflict will hold negotiations with the US administration in the United States this week, a diplomatic source in Ankara told Sputnik';

▪️ The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, which includes Shiite armed groups, said it had attacked US bases in Syria and Iraq with drones "in response to the crimes committed by the enemy against our people in Gaza".

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UK FM Cameron says will try to persuade US gov’t to continue providing help to Ukraine

"We need to build up our defenses, stay close to our strongest friends and partners... That is why next week I will be heading to Washington DC to work with our closest and strongest ally, the USA. The debate there — about how much to help Ukraine and for how long — is underway," Cameron said.

In October, the White House announced that the funds approved by Congress for further military assistance to Ukraine were almost exhausted, which is why the volume of aid packages had been consistently reduced. US President Joe Biden submitted a $106 billion supplemental request to Congress that includes $61 billion for Ukraine along with aid for Israel.

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🇮🇶 US airstrike on headquarters of Iraqi Armed Formations leaves five people dead, Iraqi news agency Shafaq News reported.

Earlier, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which includes Shia Muslim militant groups, said that it had attacked a US military base in the Syrian province of Al Hasakah using drones. The source said that it was unclear whether the strike was carried out by a drone or a fighter jet, while the location of the airstrike is yet to be disclosed.

The strike allegedly took place in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, according to the Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen.

Before that, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that US forces in Iraq and Syria had been attacked 74 times since October 17.

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🇺🇸 Why Biden initiated largest depletion of US petroleum reserve in American history

The Biden administration initiated the largest drawdown of the US strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) in American history last year, because they needed to navigate through an election cycle, US Oil and Gas Association President Tim Stewart told Fox News.

He recalled that Washington currently needs to refill 168 million barrels of oil to get the US back to the 2021 levels and 300 million more to fully replenish the SPR.

Earlier this year, the US Department of Energy announced plans intends to repurchase 12 million barrels of crude before the end of 2023 to refill the SPR.

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🇺🇸🇨🇳 US may lose arms race with China due to factionalism – Pentagon

Pentagon officials have issued a warning to the US Congress, emphasizing that the lack of a full-year budget could result in the delay of crucial military initiatives. Such postponements could impact essential programs, particularly those associated with hypersonic weapons and drones.

“We cannot waste time,” cautioned Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall in a panel discussion.

Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, added that “China spends an enormous amount of money” on tests while the US is having a “shortfall.”

Spending bills are scrutinized in Congress on a regular basis, and Pentagon funding is not an exception. If the legislative branch fails to reach agreement on government finances, US military plans for the Year 2024 will be delayed.

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🇷🇺 Latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ On the prospects of financing Kiev from Europe: ''This is a question for the Europeans themselves, it is becoming more difficult for them to burn money in a bottomless barrel.''

▪️ On the Russian economy: ''It has adapted to the conditions of the special military operation and provides a regime for its continuation.''

▪️ On the US destroyer in Chinese waters incident: ''We do not welcome any provocative actions.''

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🇮🇱 Israel shelled Lebanon in retaliatory strike

“A number of mortar shell launches from Lebanon toward an IDF post in the area of Yiftah were identified. In response, IDF artillery struck the sources of the fire,” the Israeli army announced on its official Telegram channel.

The situation in southern Lebanon heated up after Israel launched its military operation in the Gaza Strip against Hamas. The Lebanese militant organization Hezbollah began shelling Israeli territory, with the IDF responding in kind.

The death toll in the West Bank as a result of clashes with Israeli forces has reached 464 since the beginning of 2023, including 256 since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

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Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny has asked the US Secretary of Defense for 17 million shells, Ukrainian media has reported.

According to the reports, the Pentagon chief was very surprised, “because the whole world cannot collect so many shells.”

Zaluzhny also allegedly told the American minister that $350-400 billion is needed for the “de-occupation” of all "Ukrainian" territories.

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🇧🇬 Bulgarian President Rumen Radev vetoes free transfer of 100 decommissioned armored vehicles to Ukraine

"The justification for the veto notes that the lawmakers were not sufficiently familiar with the specific parameters of the donation, which deprives them of the opportunity to objectively assess whether the equipment provided is no longer necessary," the office said in a statement.

Last month, the parliament ratified the agreement between the Bulgarian Interior Ministry and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on the free provision of a batch of old armored personnel carriers to Kiev.

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"Titanic changes are taking place in the modern world"

🇨🇳🇧🇾 The Chinese President Xi Jinping made this remark during his Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's visit to China. He also stressed that China is ready to strengthen strategic cooperation in the name of creating a community with a shared future for mankind.

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🇺🇸 The United States will completely run out of resources to provide assistance to Ukraine by the end of the calendar year, the White House told Congress, according to Bloomberg.

“There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment,” Shalanda Young, who leads the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. “We are out of money — and nearly out of time.”

According to Bloomberg, the vote in the Senate on finances for Kiev will take place no earlier than December 11.

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📹🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived at the RUSSIA EXPO in Moscow.

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📹 Putin left a message hoping 'your wishes come true' on the wall at the RUSSIA EXPO

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The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on Hezbollah's command center, infrastructure and facilities in Lebanon, the Israeli Army said

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🇷🇺 Russia’s Rostec ranked 10th in new SIRPI report on top 100 arms producers

The Russian state corporation Rostec has been put on the top 100 ranking list of arms producers and military services providers released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) for the first time.

According to a new fact sheet published on the SIPRI website, Rostec holds the tenth position in the list, with $16.8 billion in arms revenue in 2022.

Aside from Rostec, Russia is also represented in the SIRPI ranking by the United Shipbuilding Corporation in 36th position with $3.8 billion.

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Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley awarded film prize

Bentley's short (14 minute) film, "The Monastery" won the "Immortal Regiment Award" at the Front Line International Film Festival in Rostov-on-Don, which showcased over 120 patriotic films about Russia's wars, history, and culture from around the world. The film is dedicated to the Donetsk militiamen who gave their lives to defend the Iversky Monastery during a January 2015 battle.

Here’s what Bentley had to say about his film: “The information war is simply the political/cultural variant of the economic and military wars that Russia is currently embroiled in. In order for Russia to defend itself and its future, and to bring about a new multipolar world, we must win on all three Fronts. As Pablo Picasso once said, ‘Art is a weapon.’”

Full film can be viewed here.

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