Fact Check: Is Russia Really Getting Ready to Invade NATO?
A “secret Bunderswehr document” seen by Bild suggests so, but an analysis of recent history, and just listening to Russian officials’ comments on the matter, says otherwise.
NATO planners have spent the past decade expressing concerns about potential “Russian aggression” against the alliance’s eastern flank, but have never been able to answer the eternal question of how it came to be that Russians ‘placed their country so close to NATO’s military bases.’
Commenting on the media report on Monday, Germany’s Defense Ministry said that considering even highly unlikely scenarios is part of the art of war. Moscow, meanwhile, dubbed it a baseless but “powerful horoscope.”
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A “secret Bunderswehr document” seen by Bild suggests so, but an analysis of recent history, and just listening to Russian officials’ comments on the matter, says otherwise.
“Russia has no reason, no interest – neither geopolitical interest, nor economic, nor political, nor military – to fight with NATO countries,” President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Russian television last month.
NATO planners have spent the past decade expressing concerns about potential “Russian aggression” against the alliance’s eastern flank, but have never been able to answer the eternal question of how it came to be that Russians ‘placed their country so close to NATO’s military bases.’
Commenting on the media report on Monday, Germany’s Defense Ministry said that considering even highly unlikely scenarios is part of the art of war. Moscow, meanwhile, dubbed it a baseless but “powerful horoscope.”
Read more
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How to benefit from Red Sea crisis China-style? A balanced approach to an unbalanced situation
China has always sought to take a more holistic position to rising tensions in the Middle East, including the recent Red Sea crisis. The escalation emerged as a result of joint US-UK airstrikes against the Yemeni Houthis following numerous attacks against Israeli-linked commercial ships starting in October 2023.
“In a way, the Houthis have inadvertently done China a big favor,” Xiao Yunhua, a professor at the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University, told Bloomberg. The maritime destabilization would push more international traders and investors to opt for rail networks, helping the Belt and Road Initiative expand its infrastructure in emerging markets.
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China has always sought to take a more holistic position to rising tensions in the Middle East, including the recent Red Sea crisis. The escalation emerged as a result of joint US-UK airstrikes against the Yemeni Houthis following numerous attacks against Israeli-linked commercial ships starting in October 2023.
“In a way, the Houthis have inadvertently done China a big favor,” Xiao Yunhua, a professor at the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University, told Bloomberg. The maritime destabilization would push more international traders and investors to opt for rail networks, helping the Belt and Road Initiative expand its infrastructure in emerging markets.
“The expansion of the latter is precisely our international strategy to sever US hegemony, undermine American sea power, and promote global multipolarity,” he added.
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🇩🇪🚜 Farmers’ protest signals deep resentment for Scholz government across German society – lawmaker
“So this all now focuses on one spot and it becomes obvious for larger parts of the population, not only the farmers, that this government obviously reigns against the very interest of the people,” Dr. Rainer Rothfuss, a Bundestag lawmaker from the Alternative for Germany party, told Sputnik.
German government plans to deprive farmers of subsidies and to tighten pollution restrictions threaten to leave the country without its own agricultural base, and their protest is a “symbol for the situation of the whole economy,” according to the lawmaker.
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“So this all now focuses on one spot and it becomes obvious for larger parts of the population, not only the farmers, that this government obviously reigns against the very interest of the people,” Dr. Rainer Rothfuss, a Bundestag lawmaker from the Alternative for Germany party, told Sputnik.
German government plans to deprive farmers of subsidies and to tighten pollution restrictions threaten to leave the country without its own agricultural base, and their protest is a “symbol for the situation of the whole economy,” according to the lawmaker.
“This is a situation where even a rich and strong economy, an industrialized country, a leading industrialized country like Germany, must fear that its economic basis is being eroded… this is a real major danger for not only Germany, but also for Europe, as we are the motor of the European economy,” Rothfuss stressed.
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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:
▪️The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023 has exceeded 24,100, the enclave's health ministry said.
▪️The Gaza Strip in the future needs to be ruled by a Palestinian government formed inside the enclave, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.
▪️The intensive phase of Israel’s military operation in the north of the Gaza Strip has ended, and soon this phase will also end in the south of the Palestinian enclave, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.
▪️UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that he is deeply troubled by the violations of the international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.
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▪️The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023 has exceeded 24,100, the enclave's health ministry said.
▪️The Gaza Strip in the future needs to be ruled by a Palestinian government formed inside the enclave, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.
▪️The intensive phase of Israel’s military operation in the north of the Gaza Strip has ended, and soon this phase will also end in the south of the Palestinian enclave, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.
▪️UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that he is deeply troubled by the violations of the international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.
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German economy struggles in 2023 amid sanctions and inflation woes
In 2023, Germany's economy contracted by 0.3 percent, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported. The downturn was influenced by high inflation impacting consumer spending and a decrease in global demand, impacting Germany's industrial sector. A significant factor in the economic decline was the EU's sanctions against Russia, which particularly affected Germany's energy sector leading to higher costs and reduced output.
The economic challenges were compounded by rising interest rates from the European Central Bank, leading to tighter financing conditions. Household consumption fell by 0.8 percent due to the increased cost of living, and government spending decreased for the first time in nearly two decades.
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In 2023, Germany's economy contracted by 0.3 percent, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported. The downturn was influenced by high inflation impacting consumer spending and a decrease in global demand, impacting Germany's industrial sector. A significant factor in the economic decline was the EU's sanctions against Russia, which particularly affected Germany's energy sector leading to higher costs and reduced output.
The economic challenges were compounded by rising interest rates from the European Central Bank, leading to tighter financing conditions. Household consumption fell by 0.8 percent due to the increased cost of living, and government spending decreased for the first time in nearly two decades.
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❗️ The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reportedly launched missile strikes on "spy headquarters and gathering places of anti-Iranian terrorist groups" in Iraq and Syria in response to recent attacks in Kerman (explosions near the tomb of General Qasem Soleimani in the Iranian city of Kerman) and the terror attack on the Rask police station.
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❗️ Several explosions occurred on Tuesday in Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital of Erbil near the US Consulate General and Erbil International Airport, a security source in Iraq told Sputnik.
The international airport is adjacent to the Harir military base used by forces of the US-led international coalition.
At the same time, the Shafaq news agency reported, citing a source at Iraqi Airways that flights at the airport were temporarily suspended due to a missile attack. The report added that all the missiles were shot down, but it was unclear where they were launched from.
On Wednesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on the Shiite "resistance front" in various Arab countries to "strike the enemy" wherever it may be.
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"Several explosions occurred in Erbil near the US consulate and the airport in northern Iraq," the source said.
The international airport is adjacent to the Harir military base used by forces of the US-led international coalition.
At the same time, the Shafaq news agency reported, citing a source at Iraqi Airways that flights at the airport were temporarily suspended due to a missile attack. The report added that all the missiles were shot down, but it was unclear where they were launched from.
On Wednesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on the Shiite "resistance front" in various Arab countries to "strike the enemy" wherever it may be.
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❗️ The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced the destruction of:
🔸 Anti-Iranian terrorist group bases in occupied Syrian territory;
🔸 Syrian terrorist bases of groups involved in recent terrorist attacks in Iran;
🔸 The Mossad headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan
Eight sites near the American consulate in the city of Erbil were attacked by the IRGC. This was reported by television broadcaster ABC based on their sources.
According to the reporting, Erbil's airport stopped operating after a "very brutal bombing". Several explosions also occurred near the US consulate. ABC sources say there were no US military casualties.
No US facilities have been damaged by a missile attack in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, Reuters reported citing a US official.
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🔸 Anti-Iranian terrorist group bases in occupied Syrian territory;
🔸 Syrian terrorist bases of groups involved in recent terrorist attacks in Iran;
🔸 The Mossad headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan
Eight sites near the American consulate in the city of Erbil were attacked by the IRGC. This was reported by television broadcaster ABC based on their sources.
According to the reporting, Erbil's airport stopped operating after a "very brutal bombing". Several explosions also occurred near the US consulate. ABC sources say there were no US military casualties.
No US facilities have been damaged by a missile attack in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, Reuters reported citing a US official.
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