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NATO’s encirclement of Russia went into high gear over past decade
It has been exactly 20 years since Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia officially joined NATO on March 29, 2004.
Dr. George Szamuely, a senior research fellow at the Global Policy Institute, suggests that although NATO's eastward expansion began in 1999, it has accelerated significantly since the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine. This has led to an increased encirclement of Russia by the military bloc.
Over the past decade, NATO has:
🔸 stepped up the militarization of Ukraine;
🔸 beefed up the number of troops on its eastern flank up to 150,000, deploying a total of eight battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (2017) and Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia (2022);
🔸 reinforced its Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) in Europe by making the Aegis missile site in Deveselu, Romania, operational in 2016 and accepting the similar site in Redzikowo, Poland, into service by the US Navy on December 15, 2023.
🔸 admitted Finland and Sweden into the bloc, expanding NATO's control of the Baltic Sea;
🔸 kicked off the construction of a new base in Romania to control the Black Sea.
Russia's reunification with Crimea and the special military operation have caused disruptions to the bloc's plans, according to the researcher. In response to NATO's portrayal of Moscow as an "aggressor," President Putin has consistently rejected the notion of Russia engaging in a war.
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It has been exactly 20 years since Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia officially joined NATO on March 29, 2004.
Dr. George Szamuely, a senior research fellow at the Global Policy Institute, suggests that although NATO's eastward expansion began in 1999, it has accelerated significantly since the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine. This has led to an increased encirclement of Russia by the military bloc.
"The overall goal is to diminish Russia as a great power," Szamuely highlighted. "That's also part of the reason why they're so eager to get Ukraine into NATO. Because then, essentially, Russia is surrounded by NATO's satellite states."
Over the past decade, NATO has:
Russia's reunification with Crimea and the special military operation have caused disruptions to the bloc's plans, according to the researcher. In response to NATO's portrayal of Moscow as an "aggressor," President Putin has consistently rejected the notion of Russia engaging in a war.
"It was NATO that was acting in an aggressive way, it was NATO that pushed its borders right up against Russia, it was NATO that wanted to incorporate so many satellite states within its borders," Szamuely stressed.
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Sputnik International
Forbes columnist David Axe has criticized the Challenger 2 tanks that the UK gave to Ukraine, calling them useless. He pointed out that Ukraine received the tanks without a set of additional armor, while the extra three tons of weight would have made the…
🫠 Well, it seems like something went wrong
It looks like just a year ago, Forbes columnist David Axe had a far more upbeat opinion about the Challenger tank. The main thing is not to get upset – it's still possible to write about "indestructible" F-16s.
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It looks like just a year ago, Forbes columnist David Axe had a far more upbeat opinion about the Challenger tank. The main thing is not to get upset – it's still possible to write about "indestructible" F-16s.
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US officials, media trip up over own lies about ‘warning Russia’ ahead of Moscow concert carnage
American authorities and press have found it difficult getting their story straight regarding how much Washington knew about the Moscow terror attack, and what exactly the US told the Russians.
Separately Thursday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby claimed the US not only warned Moscow, but provided a “warning in writing to Russian security services,” and may have even “deterred the attackers from attacking” on March 8 – when the US Embassy published its public warning.
Miller and Kirby’s comments contradict statements commenting out of the White House earlier in the week, with Kirby himself saying Monday “there’s not going to be any security assistance with Russia and the United States,” and that US communications to Russia regarding the threat did not go beyond “a duty to warn them of information that we had.”
On Wednesday, a New York Times report citing senior officials revealed that the US did not share all the information it had about the plot with Moscow “out of fear Russian authorities might learn their intelligence sources and methods.”
Russian Federal Security Service chief Alexander Bortnikov said Tuesday that the information provided by the US ahead of the attack was only of a “general nature.”
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American authorities and press have found it difficult getting their story straight regarding how much Washington knew about the Moscow terror attack, and what exactly the US told the Russians.
“We provided clear, detailed information to Russian authorities about terrorist threat – terrorist threats against large gatherings and concerts – notable word – in Moscow,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Thursday.
Separately Thursday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby claimed the US not only warned Moscow, but provided a “warning in writing to Russian security services,” and may have even “deterred the attackers from attacking” on March 8 – when the US Embassy published its public warning.
Miller and Kirby’s comments contradict statements commenting out of the White House earlier in the week, with Kirby himself saying Monday “there’s not going to be any security assistance with Russia and the United States,” and that US communications to Russia regarding the threat did not go beyond “a duty to warn them of information that we had.”
On Wednesday, a New York Times report citing senior officials revealed that the US did not share all the information it had about the plot with Moscow “out of fear Russian authorities might learn their intelligence sources and methods.”
Russian Federal Security Service chief Alexander Bortnikov said Tuesday that the information provided by the US ahead of the attack was only of a “general nature.”
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"The best option for Ukraine would be to become a "buffer zone" between the West and Russia and get security guarantees," Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban believes.
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Media is too big
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Terrorism is Ukraine’s Modus Operandi
Ukraine is no stranger to indiscriminate attacks against civilians – as evidenced by their actions in the Donbass since 2014. “Every time that they shoot at civilian targets, which they do on a daily basis for ten years, is a terrorist act,” said Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR).
Bentley added that despite Western denial, Ukraine’s involvement in last week’s Moscow concert attack is “beyond any doubt.”
“The terrorists were heading to Ukraine after the attack. They have now been proven to have been financed with funds in cryptocurrency that came from Ukraine. So, where do you think they are going and why do you think they got money from Ukraine? They weren’t heading to Ukraine for vacation,” he explained.
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Ukraine is no stranger to indiscriminate attacks against civilians – as evidenced by their actions in the Donbass since 2014. “Every time that they shoot at civilian targets, which they do on a daily basis for ten years, is a terrorist act,” said Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR).
Bentley added that despite Western denial, Ukraine’s involvement in last week’s Moscow concert attack is “beyond any doubt.”
“The terrorists were heading to Ukraine after the attack. They have now been proven to have been financed with funds in cryptocurrency that came from Ukraine. So, where do you think they are going and why do you think they got money from Ukraine? They weren’t heading to Ukraine for vacation,” he explained.
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⚡️Perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall stated during interrogations that their actions were coordinated by a man under a pseudonym via voice messages on Telegram, Russian Investigative Committee reported.
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Sputnik International
⚡️Perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall stated during interrogations that their actions were coordinated by a man under a pseudonym via voice messages on Telegram, Russian Investigative Committee reported. Subscribe to @SputnikInt
After the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall, the perpetrators drove towards the border with Ukraine to arrive in Kiev for a reward, the Investigative Committee added.
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Sputnik International
❗️Russia has obtained evidence that the Crocus City Hall terrorists received significant sums of money and cryptocurrency from Ukraine, the Russian Investigative Committee has reported.
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Aussie jihadist killed a British mercenary in Ukraine
The murder of British mercenary Daniel Burke grabbed world headlines back in October last year. However, only now has it been revealed that he was killed by an Australian mercenary, who turned out to be a jihadist. Why did the Western media talk about “Jihadi Adam” only now? And why did the slain Burke appear in the British outlets several years ago as "Jihadi Dan"? Sputnik reveals the facts some interesting eye-opening details.
◾️ Last October, the body of UK mercenary Daniel Burke (photo 1) was found dumped in a Ukrainian drain, 44 km from the front lines. An Australian-Algerian mercenary, Abdelfetah Nourine, helped find the body, informing police that he had shot Burke by mistake. Nourine previously said that the Briton had been on the range with him before he had disappeared. The Australian-Algerian merc also claimed that he had left the range without Burke.
◾️ However, there was no prior mention that Nourine, a 26-year-old Australian citizen from Melbourne (seen in photo 2), also known as "Jihadi Adam," was connected to radicals (photo 3). This information only came to light in the Western press a few days ago (photo 4).
◾️ “Jihadi Adam” is believed to have now left the area, but his whereabouts are unknown. Curiously, the Aussie ‘hired gun’ was in the "Dark Angels" mercenary group led by Burke (photo 5)
◾️ However, the slain UK merc’s background is also vague. According to the British outlets, in 2019, Daniel Burke was charged with three terror offenses because he had previously travelled to Syria where he had fought alongside Kurdish units. Then local media dubbed him "Jihadi Dan" (photo 6).
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The murder of British mercenary Daniel Burke grabbed world headlines back in October last year. However, only now has it been revealed that he was killed by an Australian mercenary, who turned out to be a jihadist. Why did the Western media talk about “Jihadi Adam” only now? And why did the slain Burke appear in the British outlets several years ago as "Jihadi Dan"? Sputnik reveals the facts some interesting eye-opening details.
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‘Pseudo-Islamic’ terrorists have been fighting in the Ukrainian military for years
Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) reports that the Ukrainian military has long recruited ‘pseudo-Islamic’ extremists and deployed them in the Donbass. “It's a known fact that they've been here the whole time just like Western mercenaries,” he said.
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Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) reports that the Ukrainian military has long recruited ‘pseudo-Islamic’ extremists and deployed them in the Donbass. “It's a known fact that they've been here the whole time just like Western mercenaries,” he said.
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Sputnik International
Russian Joker drones force 60 Ukrainian fighters to surrender Russian Joker FPV drones have forced a company of Ukrainian fighters to surrender, Dmitry Kuzyakin, general director of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions developer, told Sputnik. "Probably…
Joker-10: what we know about Russia’s unique hibernating FPV drone
First-person view (FPV) drone maker Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions has fielded an advanced new unmanned aerial vehicle known as the Joker-10.
◾️ The drone, already in use in the special military op zone, has a reported carrying capacity of up to 5 kg, and can fly about 100 km/h fully loaded, or 200 km/h empty.
◾️ What distinguishes the Joker-10 from other FPV drones is its hibernator unit that allows it to lie in wait for a week or more at a time far from its operators before being switched on remotely and used as necessary.
◾️ The drone can lay in wait for launch for up to one week in winter, and up to a month in the summer, as it is resistant to rain and snow.
◾️ Another Joker-10’s unique feature is its electronic detonator system, which makes it possible to remotely destroy it and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
◾️ To date, the enemy has not gotten its hands on a single one of such drones, because the driver is guaranteed to be triggered either by a timer, or by an impact, or by the operator’s command.
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First-person view (FPV) drone maker Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions has fielded an advanced new unmanned aerial vehicle known as the Joker-10.
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Stripping the Storm Shadow: What Russia can learn by examining Europe’s most fearsome missile
Sputnik has received an exclusive first-hand peek into the Storm Shadow – the fearsome Anglo-French long-range cruise missile delivered to Ukraine in large numbers. What knowledge can Russia’s military and defense scientists glean from studying the weapon? Plenty, says veteran military affairs observer and missile expert Alexander Mikhailov.
“At a minimum,” Mikhailov expects Russia’s analysis of the Storm Shadow to force the enemy to “change the tactics of these missiles’ use” in the Ukrainian conflict zone.
Russia has demonstrated that it possessed tools which can defeat the Storm Shadow, Mikhailov noted, listing off air and missile defenses from the Tor M2 and Buk M2/M3 to the S-300 and S-400. The Storm Shadow is an expensive missile, which means “we must expend expensive anti-missile missiles on them,” he said.
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Sputnik has received an exclusive first-hand peek into the Storm Shadow – the fearsome Anglo-French long-range cruise missile delivered to Ukraine in large numbers. What knowledge can Russia’s military and defense scientists glean from studying the weapon? Plenty, says veteran military affairs observer and missile expert Alexander Mikhailov.
“I think our specialists will strive to figure out the alloys used to make the weapon; this is the most interesting question. They will figure out its guidance systems and their interaction with the navigation system, and the software itself, which also requires some digging into. Of course, we already know how to produce similar weapons –and in some ways better ones, but it is nevertheless necessary to know what technologies and innovations the enemy uses in such delicate areas,” the observer explained.
“At a minimum,” Mikhailov expects Russia’s analysis of the Storm Shadow to force the enemy to “change the tactics of these missiles’ use” in the Ukrainian conflict zone.
Russia has demonstrated that it possessed tools which can defeat the Storm Shadow, Mikhailov noted, listing off air and missile defenses from the Tor M2 and Buk M2/M3 to the S-300 and S-400. The Storm Shadow is an expensive missile, which means “we must expend expensive anti-missile missiles on them,” he said.
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In July 2015, Italian MEP Matteo Salvini raised the issue of ISIS* sympathizers fighting on the side of the Ukrainian regime in Donbass in an official request to Federica Mogherini, then the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
"Given the serious danger posed by ISIS and Islamic terrorism in general, as confirmed recently by the tragic attacks in France and Tunisia, does the Vice-President/High Representative not consider it appropriate to rethink her stance regarding the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and engage in closer dialogue with Russia with a view to containing this fundamentalist threat?" the Italian MEP asked.
Western and Ukrainian journalists weighed in on the problem in 2019 and 2020, admitting that Ukraine has turned into nothing short of a safe haven for terrorists over the recent decades.
🔺Islamic military units made up of ISIS sympathizers fought under supervision of the Right Sector**, an umbrella paramilitary neo-Nazi formation, in Donbass;
🔺ISIS militants used Ukraine as a transit point to go to and from Syria. Facing obstacles upon returning to their countries of origin, they settled in Ukraine with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) ignoring the problem;
🔺Apparently, hundreds of ISIS militants have found refuge in Ukraine, according to investigative journalists and jihad experts;
🔺An unholy alliance between jihadists and Ukrainian nationalists, including the Ukrainian National Assembly - Ukrainian People's Self-Defense** (UNA-UNSO), has existed since the 1990s, with Ukrainian mercenaries fighting in the First and Second Chechen wars on the side of the Islamists.
*terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.
**extremist group banned in Russia.
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🔺After the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall, the perpetrators drove towards the border with Ukraine to arrive in Kiev for a reward — Investigation
🔺EU turns blind eye to Ukraine morphing into ISIS safe haven
🔺‘Pseudo-Islamic’ terrorists have been fighting in the Ukrainian military for years
🔺Terrorism is Ukraine’s Modus Operandi
🔺Aussie jihadist killed a British mercenary in Ukraine
🔺NATO’s encirclement of Russia went into high gear over past decade
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🔺EU turns blind eye to Ukraine morphing into ISIS safe haven
🔺‘Pseudo-Islamic’ terrorists have been fighting in the Ukrainian military for years
🔺Terrorism is Ukraine’s Modus Operandi
🔺Aussie jihadist killed a British mercenary in Ukraine
🔺NATO’s encirclement of Russia went into high gear over past decade
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The Biden administration approved the transfer of billions of dollars of military equipment to Israel, amid concerns about a potential Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, The Washington Post reported.
The United States will provide Israel with more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, the report said, citing State Department and Pentagon officials.
The MK84 bombs have been connected to mass-casualty incidents during Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, the report said.
The US will also send 25 F-35A fighter jets and engines, the report said.
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The United States will provide Israel with more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, the report said, citing State Department and Pentagon officials.
The MK84 bombs have been connected to mass-casualty incidents during Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, the report said.
The US will also send 25 F-35A fighter jets and engines, the report said.
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