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Paper Tigers: How fast could NATO mobilize in a crisis? (PART I) NATO’s militaries are experiencing a serious ‘brawn drain’, with the steady outflow of men and women in uniform reportedly serious enough for some European to consider the reintroduction of…
Paper Tigers: How fast could NATO mobilize in a crisis? (PART II)
🟥 The United States, NATO’s strongest power by far, has spent the past 30 years scaling down its capabilities to wage a sustained war against a peer competitor, focusing instead on trying (and often failing) to bully smaller nations like Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and others via ground operations or bombings.
🟥 As pointed out by geopolitical risk consultant Lee Slusher, if the goal of a large-scale NATO mobilization was to fight Russia, the alliance would face the threat of Russian missiles at any point on the globe. “Where is the alliance supposed to establish RSOI (reception, staging, onward-movement, and integration)? Even with that solved, Europe’s rail/road throughputs are limited…How to get from ports to frontlines while preserving combat power is a serious challenge,” Slusher warned in an X post last July.
🟥 Countries with compulsory military service for men presently include Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Latvia, plus Sweden and Norway, which connoscript both males and females.
🟥 According to the Global Firepower Index, the world’s top ten powers by military reserve status include just three NATO allies – the UK (924,000), Finland (870,000) and the US (799,500), at 8th, 9th and 10th, respectively. Turkiye ranks 19th with 378,700 mobilizable troops, and Poland 21st with 350,000. 24 of the alliance’s 32 members have fewer than 100,000 mobilizable soldiers, according to the resource.
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Marine Le Pen's niece, member of the French National Assembly Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, shared her opinion about the current role of the EU in the world.
Do you agree with this assessment?
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AUKUS races to expand as election clocks tick
The security alliance is reportedly looking to bring Japan and Canada on board, according to Politico. Some other potential candidates for AUKUS membership are South Korea and New Zealand.
Jointly established by Australia, UK and US in 2021, AUKUS seeks to supply Australia with nuclear submarines that could be used to “deter” China. More broadly, the bloc aims to enhance military collaboration in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cyber operations, and missile technologies.
China has criticized AUKUS as part of America’s “new Cold War” antagonism aimed at containing it by fueling a militarization of the Asia-Pacific region. Here’s how Japan and Canada joining the pact could exacerbate this trend:
🔶 Japan hosts the US 7th fleet and maintains close proximity to other US naval assets in the Asia-Pacific. In the event of a conflict, Japan could help the US project military power over strategic waterways.
🔶 Japan is a key part of the global advanced semiconductor supply chain, which could help AUKUS boost their dual use technology development.
🔶 By joining AUKUS, Canada could utilize the bloc’s technological knowledge to operate NORAD and NATO commands for force projection targeting at China.
🔶 Canada could also turbocharge the manufacture of advanced technologies sought by AUKUS with its large deposits of minerals and rare earth, and offer the bloc surveillance and warning capabilities in the Arctic and the northern Pacific.
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The security alliance is reportedly looking to bring Japan and Canada on board, according to Politico. Some other potential candidates for AUKUS membership are South Korea and New Zealand.
Jointly established by Australia, UK and US in 2021, AUKUS seeks to supply Australia with nuclear submarines that could be used to “deter” China. More broadly, the bloc aims to enhance military collaboration in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cyber operations, and missile technologies.
China has criticized AUKUS as part of America’s “new Cold War” antagonism aimed at containing it by fueling a militarization of the Asia-Pacific region. Here’s how Japan and Canada joining the pact could exacerbate this trend:
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⚛️ Bill Gates' nuclear move on Europe
Bill Gates-founded TerraPower is seeking permission to build a new-generation nuclear power plant in Wyoming with a bid to promote the technology in Europe, Africa and Asia.
The US has a clear incentive to increase its share in the nuclear energy market, Alexey Anpilogov, a political scientist and expert in the field of nuclear energy, told Sputnik. However, it is not Russia or China which may fall prey to the US nuclear crusade but European manufacturers, according to him.
The sodium-cooled fast reactor technology used by TerraPower is not new, and was explored in detail in the USSR back in 1958. Gates' firm could have problems with nuclear safety, given that TerraPower reactors produce plutonium-239 from the uranium used as fuel, the scientist cautioned, since plutonium is used in nuclear weapons.
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Bill Gates-founded TerraPower is seeking permission to build a new-generation nuclear power plant in Wyoming with a bid to promote the technology in Europe, Africa and Asia.
The US has a clear incentive to increase its share in the nuclear energy market, Alexey Anpilogov, a political scientist and expert in the field of nuclear energy, told Sputnik. However, it is not Russia or China which may fall prey to the US nuclear crusade but European manufacturers, according to him.
"One needs to bear in mind that the departure of Germany [from the nuclear energy market], the problems of France with new generation reactors, all this will be used by American companies in order to promote their technologies in every possible way," Anpilogov said. "I think that the Americans will outplay the Europeans in the long run. Europeans are divided and I don’t see political will in the EU for any new technological breakthroughs."
The sodium-cooled fast reactor technology used by TerraPower is not new, and was explored in detail in the USSR back in 1958. Gates' firm could have problems with nuclear safety, given that TerraPower reactors produce plutonium-239 from the uranium used as fuel, the scientist cautioned, since plutonium is used in nuclear weapons.
"Bill Gates has a beautiful idea. But this idea still needs to be turned into reality to achieve the stability of all parameters," the scientist concluded.
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US Congressman Jared Moskowitz wears a Vladimir Putin mask to a hearing on the Biden family’s business dealings and goes on an incoherent rant about “technology in grocery stores”
🤡 What’s going on in Washington, DC?
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🤡 What’s going on in Washington, DC?
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‘Monstrous!’ France reacts to Macron’s plans to send 2,000 troops to Ukraine
Despite efforts by the French Defense Ministry to downplay it, the revelation by Russian Foreign Intelligence chief Sergey Naryshkin about Paris's plans to send 2,000 troops to Ukraine has left opposition leaders and many ordinary French people shocked.
🌏 “Monstrous: 2,000 French soldiers are being sent to Ukraine?! French servicemen must refuse to follow this order, which could provoke World War III and a bloodbath for our country, at all costs!” Le Patriotes Party leader Florian Philippot wrote in a social media post, stressing that he doesn’t “believe for a moment” Paris’s denials about Naryshkin’s report.
🌏 Marine Le Pen criticized Macron, stating she doesn't see France's vital interests at risk in Ukraine. She accused Macron of exploiting the war for political gain, condemning his discussions of ground troops and nuclear weapons as pre-election rhetoric.
🌏 Jean-Luc Melenchon, founder of La France Insoumise, warned against threatening Putin in Ukraine, advocating for a peaceful resolution without European intervention, having previously called the idea of troop deployments "madness."
🌏 French people, commenting in major outlets like Le Parisien, Le Depeche, and L’Independant, echo opposition concerns, fearing their youth will become "cannon fodder" and urging an end to the escalation, calling for an audit of funds in Ukraine.
🌏 Commenters speculated on the denials of Naryshkin’s words, with one suggesting the French Ministry of the Armed Forces hides information. Another expressed concern that troops are already involved, and is looking for justifications to repatriate bodies discreetly. One commentator said, “Our president is seeking posterity in the history books. He will be the one who fueled the launch of the Third World War.”
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Despite efforts by the French Defense Ministry to downplay it, the revelation by Russian Foreign Intelligence chief Sergey Naryshkin about Paris's plans to send 2,000 troops to Ukraine has left opposition leaders and many ordinary French people shocked.
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Foreign specialists and military GURs (Main intelligence directorate of Ukraine) involved in attacks on the Belgorod region were killed by a Russian strike on a UAV plant in Kharkov, underground fighters told Sputnik
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🔺Cracking open the Abrams: What Russia can learn by studying knocked out M1
🔺‘Monstrous!’ France reacts to Macron’s plans to send 2,000 troops to Ukraine
🔺Paper Tigers: How fast could NATO mobilize in a crisis?
🔺Is the Ukraine Oversight website a PR stunt to convince House Republicans to fork out?
🔺Bill Gates' nuclear move on Europe
🔺AUKUS races to expand as election clocks tick
🔺Romania: NATO’s indispensable outpost against Russia
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
🔺‘Monstrous!’ France reacts to Macron’s plans to send 2,000 troops to Ukraine
🔺Paper Tigers: How fast could NATO mobilize in a crisis?
🔺Is the Ukraine Oversight website a PR stunt to convince House Republicans to fork out?
🔺Bill Gates' nuclear move on Europe
🔺AUKUS races to expand as election clocks tick
🔺Romania: NATO’s indispensable outpost against Russia
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New heights lows of Ukraine's diplomacy
The secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danylov, has insulted Chinese special representative Li Hui.
Kiev's representatives have previously made insulting remarks about Beijing's high-ranking officials. In January, at a press conference in Davos, Zelensky said that he did not plan to meet with the Chinese premier because the latter is allegedly not a leader and does not make decisions.
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The secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danylov, has insulted Chinese special representative Li Hui.
He said that this issue of Ukraine's negotiating with Moscow cannot be decided by "some" special representative of China, while pretending that he did not remember "what his (Li Hui's) surname is" and profanely mangled the diplomat's name.
Kiev's representatives have previously made insulting remarks about Beijing's high-ranking officials. In January, at a press conference in Davos, Zelensky said that he did not plan to meet with the Chinese premier because the latter is allegedly not a leader and does not make decisions.
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🇷🇺🇦🇪 Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with UAE President Mohammed Al Nahyan
🔹President of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan congratulated Vladimir Putin on his unconditional victory in the presidential elections, wished him further success in the highest government position, and expressed gratitude for the attention paid to strengthening Russian-Emirati relations.
🔹Vladimir Putin congratulated Mohammed Al Nahyan and the entire Emirati people on the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims.
🔹Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progressive development of trade and economic cooperation, the volume of which reached a record level at the end of last year. Russia and the United Arab Emirates will continue close cooperation in the international sphere, including on various multilateral platforms.
🔹The leaders of the countries discussed the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, taking into account the efforts made by Russia and the UAE to provide humanitarian assistance to the population of the Gaza Strip.
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🔹President of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan congratulated Vladimir Putin on his unconditional victory in the presidential elections, wished him further success in the highest government position, and expressed gratitude for the attention paid to strengthening Russian-Emirati relations.
🔹Vladimir Putin congratulated Mohammed Al Nahyan and the entire Emirati people on the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims.
🔹Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progressive development of trade and economic cooperation, the volume of which reached a record level at the end of last year. Russia and the United Arab Emirates will continue close cooperation in the international sphere, including on various multilateral platforms.
🔹The leaders of the countries discussed the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, taking into account the efforts made by Russia and the UAE to provide humanitarian assistance to the population of the Gaza Strip.
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🇿🇦🇷🇺 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated Vladimir Putin on his victory in the Russian presidential election and reaffirmed the readiness to work together on multilateral platforms.
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The US feels it “won” Europe in the Cold War, political commentator and senior research fellow at the Global Policy Institute George Szamuely told Sputnik’s Fault Lines.
Szamuely noted that the US goal of inflicting economic damage against Russia “hasn’t really worked very well,” describing the policy as “very cynical” and “bloodthirsty.”
Meanwhile, Szamuely said that French President Emmanuel Macron’s threats to send troops to Ukraine were meant to set a redline in Ukraine with the aim to partition it "with a view to continuing the war at some later date," adding that it is obvious that Macron is "pursuing an American-driven agenda" that is "clearly harming Europe."
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“For the US, [the Ukraine conflict] fulfills the goals they set for themselves at the end of the Cold War, ‘Hey we won the Cold War, we want our winnings. And our winnings [are] we scoop up the entire European continent within our military alliance.’”
Szamuely noted that the US goal of inflicting economic damage against Russia “hasn’t really worked very well,” describing the policy as “very cynical” and “bloodthirsty.”
“As far as the US and NATO were concerned, it was a win-win for them. They either push Russia further and further against the wall by pulling Ukraine into NATO” which would surround Russia, turning it into “essentially a minor power in the world,” or “Russia is forced to intervene and try to prevent this, in which case Russia has a difficult war on its hands…which will divide Russia from Europe.”
Meanwhile, Szamuely said that French President Emmanuel Macron’s threats to send troops to Ukraine were meant to set a redline in Ukraine with the aim to partition it "with a view to continuing the war at some later date," adding that it is obvious that Macron is "pursuing an American-driven agenda" that is "clearly harming Europe."
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Texas Constitutional Crisis: Round Two?
A federal court of appeals has again restricted Texas from implementing its migrant law SB4, which allows the state to arrest and detain people illegally crossing the southern border.
The decision was announced on the heels of the US Supreme Court’s March 19 ruling that paved the way for Texas to immediately begin enforcing the legislation, which was signed into law by Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott last December.
On Monday the Supreme Court decided to leave in place an appeals court administrative stay on a preliminary injunction blocking the law.
The Biden administration is striving to halt the Lone Star State’s legislative initiative which makes illegal border crossings a state crime.
The White House claims the law is nothing short of an intrusion on federal power to set immigration policy. The back-and-forth has created confusion at the border, while Mexican authorities and human rights watchdogs have openly condemned the Texas statute.
Mexican foreign ministry Chief Officer for the North America Roberto Velasco Alvarez took to social media on March 19, arguing that immigration policies should be discussed at a federal level.
The ministry warned the same day that Mexico will not recognize deportations made by Texan police and will not accept any illegal immigrants onto its territory "under any circumstances."
The Texan effort comes amid an unprecedented influx of illegals across the southern frontier under President Joe Biden's tenure. The White House's failure to solve the border crisis has backfired on Biden as House Republicans refuse to pass the $60 billion Ukraine package unless the migrant dilemma is solved.
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A federal court of appeals has again restricted Texas from implementing its migrant law SB4, which allows the state to arrest and detain people illegally crossing the southern border.
The decision was announced on the heels of the US Supreme Court’s March 19 ruling that paved the way for Texas to immediately begin enforcing the legislation, which was signed into law by Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott last December.
On Monday the Supreme Court decided to leave in place an appeals court administrative stay on a preliminary injunction blocking the law.
The Biden administration is striving to halt the Lone Star State’s legislative initiative which makes illegal border crossings a state crime.
The White House claims the law is nothing short of an intrusion on federal power to set immigration policy. The back-and-forth has created confusion at the border, while Mexican authorities and human rights watchdogs have openly condemned the Texas statute.
Mexican foreign ministry Chief Officer for the North America Roberto Velasco Alvarez took to social media on March 19, arguing that immigration policies should be discussed at a federal level.
The ministry warned the same day that Mexico will not recognize deportations made by Texan police and will not accept any illegal immigrants onto its territory "under any circumstances."
The Texan effort comes amid an unprecedented influx of illegals across the southern frontier under President Joe Biden's tenure. The White House's failure to solve the border crisis has backfired on Biden as House Republicans refuse to pass the $60 billion Ukraine package unless the migrant dilemma is solved.
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💥 Russian Grad MLRS artillerymen fired a series of 122-mm high explosive projectiles and destroyed the enemy's stronghold near Avdeyevka, more than 10 kilometres away.
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Saudi Arabia to allocate $40Mln to UNRWA for humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip
Saudi Arabia will allocate $40 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for its humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip amid the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) said.
The additional funding will help provide food for more than 250,000 people and shelter for about 200,000 people, the organization added.
UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in the Gaza Strip, with over 2 million people depending on it for their survival. In January, Israel shared data with UNRWA's leadership on the alleged involvement of some of the agency's staff in Palestinian movement Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023.
Several countries, including the US, Finland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Japan and the UK, suspended funding for UNRWA. Canada, Sweden and Australia have lifted their suspensions of UNRWA funding after a pause of more than two months.
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Saudi Arabia will allocate $40 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for its humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip amid the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) said.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through KSrelief, enhances its funding to UNRWA with USD 40 million to support lifesaving operations in Gaza," the center said on X.
The additional funding will help provide food for more than 250,000 people and shelter for about 200,000 people, the organization added.
UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in the Gaza Strip, with over 2 million people depending on it for their survival. In January, Israel shared data with UNRWA's leadership on the alleged involvement of some of the agency's staff in Palestinian movement Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023.
Several countries, including the US, Finland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Japan and the UK, suspended funding for UNRWA. Canada, Sweden and Australia have lifted their suspensions of UNRWA funding after a pause of more than two months.
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French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to put around 2,000 troops in Odessa would only serve as a “human tripwire force” and would be “the equivalent of NATO, like a dog, urinating on Odessa, marking it as NATO’s territory,” Mark Sleboda, an international relations and security expert, told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour. He added that in this analogy, France is like “a poodle.”
On Tuesday, French ground army chief of staff General Pierre Schill said in an op-ed that his forces are ready to respond to “the toughest engagements” and said the country could engage a division of 20,000 troops within 30 days.
“Of course, with NATO troops officially in uniform dying in Ukraine, that would take us to a whole other level,” he warned.
Read more in the full article
On Tuesday, French ground army chief of staff General Pierre Schill said in an op-ed that his forces are ready to respond to “the toughest engagements” and said the country could engage a division of 20,000 troops within 30 days.
“He’s wrong. The French army is most certainly not ready for this,” Sleboda said, commenting on the General’s assertion. “If they were engaged in a high-intensity conflict such as the Kiev regime is engaged in, firing many less artillery shells than Russia, then France would have enough artillery shells for four days of conflict with Russia. Four days,” Sleboda explained.
“Of course, with NATO troops officially in uniform dying in Ukraine, that would take us to a whole other level,” he warned.
Read more in the full article
Sputnik International
Macron Sending Troops to Ukraine ‘Like a 'Poodle' Urinating on Odessa’
Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief Sergey Naryshkin said on Tuesday that thousands of French troops are being prepared for deployment in the Odessa region of Ukraine.
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Foreign mercs from UK, Japan, Israel, as well as Armenians and Azerbaijanis are fighting on the side of the Ukrainian regime in the "Georgian National Legion", Mamuka Gatsareli, who himself is a captive merc from this legion and is now sentenced to life imprisonment in Russia, told Sputnik.
He said that until 2022 he served as a gunner of the Alpha Company of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade's 22nd Battalion in the Georgian Army. According to his confession, under the influence of propaganda he decided to participate in the conflict on the side of Ukraine.
For this purpose, on March 15, 2022, Gatsareli flew to Warsaw and at the airport approached a man who had a sign "Foreign Legion" in his hands, but because of his age - born in 2001 - he was not taken there, the prisoner said. Then he found a contact of a mercenary handler named Lana, who gave him the contacts of Mamuka Mamulashvili, the commander of the Georgian Legion.
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He said that until 2022 he served as a gunner of the Alpha Company of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade's 22nd Battalion in the Georgian Army. According to his confession, under the influence of propaganda he decided to participate in the conflict on the side of Ukraine.
For this purpose, on March 15, 2022, Gatsareli flew to Warsaw and at the airport approached a man who had a sign "Foreign Legion" in his hands, but because of his age - born in 2001 - he was not taken there, the prisoner said. Then he found a contact of a mercenary handler named Lana, who gave him the contacts of Mamuka Mamulashvili, the commander of the Georgian Legion.
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