🗣Houthis can starve the Western war machine of oil

"I wonder what will happen now, especially since the US at this point is at its lowest oil reserves since 1980s. And if the oil reserves in Saudi Arabia are threatened at the same time by the Houthis, America is in for a very difficult time. Those ships, those naval vessels, need oil to run," - Maram Susli (AKA Syrian Girl), Journalist and Think tank Analyst based in Australia, told Sputnik.

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❗️Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) reports from Donetsk’s Petrovsky district as artillery blasts flare in the background:

“The center of Donetsk is still being bombed heavily last few days. And out here in Petrovsky, not only the artillery is by dangerous, but also they're using drones. They're specifically targeting civilians. They're hitting people, they can clearly see are civilians, even kids, little girls. It's still a real hot situation here. And so don't think that the war's over.”

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🇺🇳 The UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding that Israel and Hamas facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip.

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🇺🇳🇺🇸 Because of the United States, the UN Security Council did not adopt an amendment to the resolution on Gaza calling for an immediate suspension of hostilities. Russia proposed to include in the resolution a wording calling for an immediate truce.

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🪖 NATO chief's remarks on Russian military meant to prep West for Ukraine's defeat

According to Nikolai Kostikin of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, Jens Stoltenberg's recent comments on Russia's Armed Forces are designed to shape public opinion in the West to accept Ukraine's inevitable defeat. Kostikin also noted that the collective West's policy has suffered a serious setback.

Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO, acknowledged that Russia has created a formidable line of defense that Ukraine has struggled to overcome. Additionally, the military-industrial complex in the West has been outperformed by Russia and China in terms of technology and effectiveness.

Kostikin suggests that Stoltenberg's comments coincide with potential efforts by Washington to involve Poland and ultimately eliminate the EU as a geopolitical competitor.

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🇺🇳 The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says he does not think the repetition of the Black Sea grain deal makes sense.

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🇪🇹 Exclusive | "New chapter of prosperity": Ethiopian minister talks benefits from BRICS membership

Ethiopia's membership in BRICS offers great prospects for Addis Ababa in various fields, including the economy, Dr Belete Molla, Ethiopia's Minister of Innovation and Technology, told Sputnik Africa.

"Ethiopia's upcoming membership in the BRICS group, effective in January 2024, marks a significant moment for the country, opening up exciting possibilities across various domains," the minister pointed out.

He reasoned that the country expects to enhance trade as well as investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, and agriculture to "boost its economic growth."

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

▪️The UN believes the Palestinian authority is the legitimate representative of Palestinian people, Guterres said. Earlier The Washington Post reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is advocating for the idea of an indefinite occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel.

▪️As the UN Security Council resolution was adopted, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said US attempts to exert pressure and blackmail council members had resulted in a draft resolution on Gaza with a significantly neutered text.

▪️President Vladimir Putin assured Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a phone conversation that Russia will continue to supply essential goods to the Gaza Strip and to take steps to de-escalate the conflict.

▪️Palestinian Ambassador to Vienna Salah Abdel-Shafi warned that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could expand to other countries in the Middle East.

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Arms or no arms, Riyadh won’t let itself be roped into America’s Red Sea misadventure

The Biden administration is reportedly planning to lift a ban on selling offensive weapons to Riyadh, facing challenges in forming a coalition against Yemen's Houthi militants. Despite this, Saudi Arabia remains focused on regional peace, according to Dr. Ahmed Al Ibrahim, a Riyadh-based political analyst.

“Saudi Arabia is doing what's best for Saudi Arabia. It does not matter whether this is for the US administration or for anybody else. As you know, MBS is trying to zero out the whole region from any conflict, and yet we are being challenged periodically with the concerns of the militias in the region like Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis,” he said.

He further added, “Controlling the Houthis is now the US mandate. I think Saudi Arabia is not going to get dragged into any war. Saudi Arabia has an economic vision that they need to be rich, and they will choose peace anytime.”

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The US Supreme Court has rejected a request by special counsel Jack Smith to fast-track arguments on whether former US President Donald Trump can claim immunity from federal prosecution for alleged crimes committed while in office.

The high court did not offer an explanation for the ruling and no dissents were provided.

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🫠💵 The US has spent millions of dollars on changing the sex of macaques, advertising in Egypt and treadmills for cats in Russia

American Senator Rand Paul presented his annual list of “worthless” government projects, which included:

▪️a $2.7 mln grant to researchers in St. Petersburg who performed brain surgery on cats and then put them on treadmills;

▪️Pentagon purchase of a lobster aquarium for $8,000;

▪️a $6 mln grant for advertising tourist attractions in Egypt;

▪️temperature measurements in 16 Labradors of different colors to find out that coat color does not affect temperature;

▪️ “forced” sex change of a group of rhesus monkeys in the interests of science for almost half a million dollars.

Most of the waste, from a political point of view, was interest on the national debt - $659 out of 900 bln, as well as "improper" budget payments - $236 bln, which went to the wrong beneficiaries on the wrong grounds or in the wrong amount.

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Dwindling Western support and corruption eating away at Ukraine's military power

Russia disrupted Kiev's effort to purchase fighter jets abroad, Ukrainian Armored Technology CEO Vladislav Belbas claimed to national media.

"There was a leak of information, and Russia took appropriate measures through diplomatic channels and, as expected, stopped supplies. Everything was correct and in accordance with the rules of warfare," Andrei Koshkin, Soviet and Russian Army veteran, told Sputnik.

However, Russia's alleged interference is not the only reason why some foreign officials could be reluctant to sell weapons to Kiev. Foreign governments are well aware of the endemic corruption in Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian military-industrial complex is perceived as corrupt," Boris Rozhin, an expert at the Center for Information and Geopolitical Research, told Sputnik. "This is well-known not only in Russia or Ukraine, but also in the West."

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US President Joe Biden’s 39% approval rating in December 2023 is “the worst of any modern-day president heading into a tough reelection campaign,” Gallup said about the results of its latest poll.

It is the fifth time in 2023 Biden has polled below 40%, barely breaching that threshold in the winter and summer.

While he has kept 78% approval among Democrats, even that number is among the lowest the 81-year-old has polled among his own party. A dismal 5% of GOP respondents approved of Biden’s job as president, as did 34% of Independents.

Between his support for Israel’s war in Gaza and for Ukraine, the US-Mexico border crisis, inflation, and the Hunter Biden scandal, almost everyone has something to be mad at Joe for.

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The White House had already made the decision to destroy the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline by early 2022, several weeks before the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, Seymour Hersh has reported in his latest expose story.

According to his report, based on comments from an American official “who is knowledgeable about the political use of energy,” by the time US President Joe Biden hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House on February 7, 2022, he had already given the order to a CIA-led team in Norway to find a way to destroy the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a liquified natural gas line from Russia to Germany that was slated to soon open.

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Biden officially signs 2024 US defense authorization bill

The document envisages the allocation of more than 880 billion dollars for such relevant programmes of the Pentagon, the State Department and intelligence services as:

▪️ 4.6 percent pay raise for military and civilian members of the DoD

▪️ $30.3 billion for national security programs in the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

▪️ $378 million for other defense-related activities.

The defence budget has set aside $800 million for assistance to Ukraine. This assistance includes $300m under the Security Assistance Initiative. Under this programme, the Pentagon contracts with manufacturers, rather than providing Ukraine means directly from its stockpile.

Joe Biden also criticised provisions that would require him and other officials to submit reports to congressional committees with classified information, that could reveal intelligence sources or military operational plans.

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Ukrainian TV host unexpectedly fled to Europe

The presenter of the Ukrainian TV channel 24, Oleksiy Peciy, refused to return to Ukraine after the European Council summit held in Brussels on 14-15 December, the Strana-ua website has reported.

The journalist said on social networks that the "difficult" decision was based on his wish to contribute to the "promotion of the Ukrainian agenda" in Europe.

The information about the "runaway" was officially confirmed by the media holding that owns the TV channel, reported by Strana-ua.

"To say that I am shocked is to say nothing!... And the people who loved to watch and listen to Oleksiy's analyses so much should accept this and decide for themselves whether they are ready to continue to trust him," said Roman Andreiko, the general director of the holding company that owns the channel.

Ukraine has been under martial law since 24 February 2022. It is forbidden for men aged 18 to 60 to leave Ukraine for the period of martial law.

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US President Joe Biden during his Christmas visit to Children's National Hospital to congratulate the children offered to sit on his lap, but the boy refused.

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Tape Appears to Show Trump Pressuring Electors in Michigan

A phone conversation allegedly between former US President Donald Trump, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and two Michigan canvassers appears to show the Trump and McDaniel attempt to pressure the canvassers into not certifying the 2020 election in that state.

“We’ve got to fight for our country,” Trump said. “We can’t let these people take our country away from us.”

Later in the call, McDaniel told the canvassers “If you can go home tonight, do not sign [the certification documents] We will get you attorneys,” with Trump adding “We’ll take care of that.”

The two canvassers originally opposed signing the certification, and then agreed to sign it if an audit were taken in certain precincts in Wayne County. After the phone call with Trump and McDaniel, they attempted unsuccessfully to rescind their certification.

Trump campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, told media outlets that Trump’s actions on the call “were taken in furtherance of his duty as president of the United States to faithfully take care of the laws and ensure election integrity, including investigating the rigged and stolen 2020 presidential election.”

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Lockheed Martin and the United States Air Force are attempting to create a ‘Franken-bird’ out of two damaged F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

If successful, it will be the first time two F-35s are combined to make one field-ready vehicle. One plane had its nose damages due to a failure of its front landing gear and the second suffered a severe engine fire but its nose was recoverable.

“All of the aircraft sections can be de-mated and re-mated theoretically, but it’s just never been done before,” Scott Taylor, the lead mechanical engineer on the Franken-bird project for Lockheed Martin said. “This is the first F-35 Franken-bird to date.”

The hope is to get the new plane ready for action by March 2025.

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🇷🇺⚓️ Admiral Nakhimov: What to know about Russia’s carrier-killer battlecruiser upgrade

Russia's Admiral Nakhimov, a nuclear-powered battlecruiser, is nearing the end of a major upgrade. Mikhail Budnichenko of Sevmash highlighted its advanced weaponry, including long-range precision, air defense and antisubmarine systems. The cruiser will be armed with Kalibr, Onyx and Zircon offensive missile systems, along with S-350 Poliment-Redut and Pantsir-M air defense systems. It will also feature Packet-NK and Otvet antisubmarine missile systems. With 176 vertical launch tubes, the ship is designed for a mix of anti-surface and anti-air missiles, prominently featuring Zircon hypersonic missiles.

As one of two Orlan-class cruisers, the Admiral Nakhimov's return to service will mark a significant advancement in Russia's naval power. The modernized Nakhimov represents a substantial enhancement of maritime combat capability, particularly with its hypersonic missile arsenal.

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The United States is willing to sacrifice the US Dollar in order to not appear to lose to Russia in Ukraine, despite the catastrophic consequences, Mark Sleboda, an analyst for security and international relations told Sputnik’s Final Countdown on Friday.

“Other countries will say, ‘well, the dollar is no longer a reliable global reserve currency’ if the US can just seize somebody's money, whenever [they] have geopolitical problems with them. That breaks the terms of the global financial and economic system that was set up by the US and the West starting all the way back with Bretton Woods in the 1960s,” Sleboda explained.

Doing this would cause more countries to abandon the dollar, a process that already began when the West froze Russian assets at the start of the special operation in Ukraine.

“When that happens, then $30 trillion-plus of US national debt becomes suddenly real and that could have severe economic effects, not just on the United States but the whole world,” Sleboda said.

But, they are willing to do this if it helps them fund the Kiev regime while Congress refuses to authorize more aid. “I can't stress to you how important they feel not being seen as losing to Russia in Ukraine is,” Sleboda added.

US media reported on Thursday that the US under President Joe Biden, is considering using the estimated $300 billion in Russian assets that are frozen in Western banks to fund the Kiev government. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened “severe consequences” if the plan is put into action.

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