American military industrial complex heats up arms race in Asia
US President Joe Biden is hosting the leaders of Japan and the Philippines at a White House summit aimed at creating a new anti-China coalition. While the world is distracted with Ukraine and Gaza, the US is quietly moving to spark an arms race in Asia. Here's how:
🇯🇵 Japan just received from US a pledge to boost its military capabilities with 70 new military, intelligence, and R&D agreements. In recent times, US has sold Japan F-35 fighter-jets, Tomahawks, and will soon develop Pillar II capabilities with Japan under the AUKUS umbrella.
🇦🇺 Australia is on track to receive nuclear-powered submarines, double its warship fleet, and procure 11 frigates and 29 Apache attack helicopters. It will also enhance its long-range strike capabilities and long-range anti-ship missiles.
🇹🇼 Taiwan will spend up to $8 billion to upgrade its long-range missiles, and purchase US coastal defense systems, sensors, artillery, sophisticated aerial drones, and howitzer systems.
🇰🇷 South Korea has recently placed an order for 20 F-35 fighter jets from the US. Seoul is America’s largest arms customer in Asia.
🇸🇬 Singapore has ramped up its military expenditure to 3% of GDP, much of which will go towards purchasing US systems such as the F-35
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
US President Joe Biden is hosting the leaders of Japan and the Philippines at a White House summit aimed at creating a new anti-China coalition. While the world is distracted with Ukraine and Gaza, the US is quietly moving to spark an arms race in Asia. Here's how:
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🤬39💩5😁4👎1
The Russian Federation will focus on the threats to Europe's security posed by Kiev’s attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant during a special session of the IAEA Board of Governors, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.
Ryabkov recalled that a special session of the IAEA Board of Governors will be held today in Vienna, and Russia will use this platform to expose the criminal nature of Kiev’s terrorist activities in relation to this important facility.
The danger of a drone attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and the surrounding area by Ukrainian troops remains, Evgenia Yashina, director of communications at the plant, told Sputnik.
Meanwhile, the UN has joined the IAEA's call for an immediate cessation of attacks on the plant in order to avoid a nuclear incident.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
“The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is and will forever remain under Russian jurisdiction. Our operator and our national regulator are doing the maximum, according to the highest standards, of what is necessary to ensure its nuclear safety, nuclear security. And it is the criminal Kiev regime that is jeopardizing safety facility, and the safety of citizens of many countries,” the diplomat emphasized.
Ryabkov recalled that a special session of the IAEA Board of Governors will be held today in Vienna, and Russia will use this platform to expose the criminal nature of Kiev’s terrorist activities in relation to this important facility.
The danger of a drone attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and the surrounding area by Ukrainian troops remains, Evgenia Yashina, director of communications at the plant, told Sputnik.
Meanwhile, the UN has joined the IAEA's call for an immediate cessation of attacks on the plant in order to avoid a nuclear incident.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
👍36
The head of the IAEA said that he will discuss the situation at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant with the UN Security Council next week, it is necessary that the attacks do not lead to a new dangerous edge of the conflict.
He called for refraining from violating the IAEA principles for preventing a nuclear accident at the plant.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
He called for refraining from violating the IAEA principles for preventing a nuclear accident at the plant.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
👍19🤔5
How Ukraine's draconian draft laws have turned connoscripts into slaves
The Ukrainian parliament has approved a new law tightening mobilization rules, with 283 out of 351 lawmakers saying "aye" to the changes, 49 abstaining and only one opposing the legislation.
What's in the new law?
▪️The lawmakers removed the provision on a 36 month limit on connoscription service, which is seen as a setback for exhausted Ukrainian personnel at the front line. New rules for rotation of military personnel are due to be drafted by lawmakers in a separate bill in the future.
▪️Individuals liable for military service must update their data at territorial recruitment and social support centers (TCC) within 60 days. Those who don't meet the deadline will face a fine of 17,000-22,500 hryvnia ($430-$570) and may be deprived of the right to drive a car.
▪️Ukrainian lawmakers, heads of government bodies, judges, ministers and their deputies, as well as law enforcement officers, remain exempt from mobilization.
▪️Men between 18 and 60 years old are mandated to carry a military ID under the threat of detention. The military ID can be checked by the police, TCC workers and border guards.
▪️Ukrainian citizens residing abroad will not be able to obtain a new Ukrainian passport without a military ID. That means that Ukrainians over 18 will have to return to Ukraine and register for military service. Under martial law men between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving the country.
▪️On April 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky inked laws to reduce the draft age from 27 to 25, create an electronic database for connoscripts, and cancel the "partially eligible" status in the military medical examinations. Those who had been considered partially fit for military service now have to undergo a medical examination again within nine months.
▪️On February 12, Zelensky also signed laws extending martial law and general mobilization in the country until May 13, 2024.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
The Ukrainian parliament has approved a new law tightening mobilization rules, with 283 out of 351 lawmakers saying "aye" to the changes, 49 abstaining and only one opposing the legislation.
What's in the new law?
▪️The lawmakers removed the provision on a 36 month limit on connoscription service, which is seen as a setback for exhausted Ukrainian personnel at the front line. New rules for rotation of military personnel are due to be drafted by lawmakers in a separate bill in the future.
▪️Individuals liable for military service must update their data at territorial recruitment and social support centers (TCC) within 60 days. Those who don't meet the deadline will face a fine of 17,000-22,500 hryvnia ($430-$570) and may be deprived of the right to drive a car.
▪️Ukrainian lawmakers, heads of government bodies, judges, ministers and their deputies, as well as law enforcement officers, remain exempt from mobilization.
▪️Men between 18 and 60 years old are mandated to carry a military ID under the threat of detention. The military ID can be checked by the police, TCC workers and border guards.
▪️Ukrainian citizens residing abroad will not be able to obtain a new Ukrainian passport without a military ID. That means that Ukrainians over 18 will have to return to Ukraine and register for military service. Under martial law men between the ages of 18 and 60 are prohibited from leaving the country.
▪️On April 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky inked laws to reduce the draft age from 27 to 25, create an electronic database for connoscripts, and cancel the "partially eligible" status in the military medical examinations. Those who had been considered partially fit for military service now have to undergo a medical examination again within nine months.
▪️On February 12, Zelensky also signed laws extending martial law and general mobilization in the country until May 13, 2024.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
👍19😢6😁3
Events that ignore the position of the Russian Federation and are based on the provisions of the “Zelensky formula” are divorced from reality and have no prospects, the Russian Foreign Ministry has claimed.
The "Zelensky formula" does not imply compromises and completely ignores proposals from China and other countries of the Global South, it added.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
The "Zelensky formula" does not imply compromises and completely ignores proposals from China and other countries of the Global South, it added.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
👌24👍10🌚1
Macron, Ukraine's staunchest defender, quietly increases gas payments to Russia - report
In total, since the beginning of the year, France has paid Russia more than 600 million euros for gas supplies, the newspaper notes, adding that this situation has caused criticism in the EU and calls for Paris to stop the growing purchases.
Politico reports that the increase in Russian gas is partly due to strikes that "strongly disrupted normal flows last year."
In addition, France, for its part, argues that "high level of gas travels through France and helps supply other countries like Italy."
Russia has repeatedly said that sanctions against Russian energy resources would hit Europe first and foremost.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
"Russian liquefied natural gas deliveries to France grew more than to any other country in the EU compared to last year," Politico writes, citing data from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
In total, since the beginning of the year, France has paid Russia more than 600 million euros for gas supplies, the newspaper notes, adding that this situation has caused criticism in the EU and calls for Paris to stop the growing purchases.
Politico reports that the increase in Russian gas is partly due to strikes that "strongly disrupted normal flows last year."
In addition, France, for its part, argues that "high level of gas travels through France and helps supply other countries like Italy."
Russia has repeatedly said that sanctions against Russian energy resources would hit Europe first and foremost.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
😁41👍8🥴6❤1
Iran would no longer have an imperative to punish Israel over the attack on its consulate in Damascus if the UN Security Council condemns it, Iran’s UN mission declared
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
👍40🤔7💩1
There is a radical change in the fighting in Ukraine; new Western aid packages and “meat assaults” will not be able to change this trend, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
❤27👍14👌2💩1
The Russian Federation will raise the topic of Kiev’s attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant at the Security Council meeting on April 15, and is waiting for a fair assessment by the IAEA, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said.
Very soon, the only topic of international meetings on Ukraine will be the capitulation of the Kiev regime, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Very soon, the only topic of international meetings on Ukraine will be the capitulation of the Kiev regime, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
👍46💩2
EXPOSED: Ukrainian International Legion gambles on recruiting Spanish-speaking ‘guns for hire’
Since the fall of 2023, the Ukrainian International Legion has been actively recruiting Spanish-speaking mercenaries through social media. However, news about the recruitment of hirelings from Latin America have been circulating since May and June of the same year, as revealed by Sputnik.
▪️In September 2023, the Legion began posting on social media platforms specifically targeting potential Spanish-speaking mercenaries. One post even stated that "no English is required" (see photo 1).
▪️In the comments section, the International Legion's account responded to everyone interested in joining up, offering instructions (see photo 2) on how to apply.
▪️Interestingly, the followers stated that some battalions (like 'Carpathian Sich'*, whose mercenaries Sputnik were previously unmasked) have been exclusively hiring Spanish-speaking mercenaries since May and June of 2023 (photo 3).
▪️A few months later, in November 2023, the Ukrainian International Legion took to social media to invite Spanish-speaking ‘guns for hire’ without combat experience to join their ranks, “since we have ESP-speaking trainers" (photo 4).
▪️Meanwhile, several posts in Spanish began to appear on the International Legion's official account. They started reaching out to potential mercenaries in Spanish (photos 5,6), emphasizing that the legion was "working on establishing a permanent team" and had launched an official website in Spanish (photo 7).
▪️The offers were not completely ignored. Several Spanish-speaking users, including some Colombians, expressed interest in possibly traveling to Ukraine in the comments section. (photo 8).
▪️According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, approximately 933 mercenaries from Latin America have arrived in Ukraine, and abouy 441 of them have been eliminated by Russian military.
*the "Carpathian Sich" battalion is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Since the fall of 2023, the Ukrainian International Legion has been actively recruiting Spanish-speaking mercenaries through social media. However, news about the recruitment of hirelings from Latin America have been circulating since May and June of the same year, as revealed by Sputnik.
▪️In September 2023, the Legion began posting on social media platforms specifically targeting potential Spanish-speaking mercenaries. One post even stated that "no English is required" (see photo 1).
▪️In the comments section, the International Legion's account responded to everyone interested in joining up, offering instructions (see photo 2) on how to apply.
▪️Interestingly, the followers stated that some battalions (like 'Carpathian Sich'*, whose mercenaries Sputnik were previously unmasked) have been exclusively hiring Spanish-speaking mercenaries since May and June of 2023 (photo 3).
▪️A few months later, in November 2023, the Ukrainian International Legion took to social media to invite Spanish-speaking ‘guns for hire’ without combat experience to join their ranks, “since we have ESP-speaking trainers" (photo 4).
▪️Meanwhile, several posts in Spanish began to appear on the International Legion's official account. They started reaching out to potential mercenaries in Spanish (photos 5,6), emphasizing that the legion was "working on establishing a permanent team" and had launched an official website in Spanish (photo 7).
▪️The offers were not completely ignored. Several Spanish-speaking users, including some Colombians, expressed interest in possibly traveling to Ukraine in the comments section. (photo 8).
▪️According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, approximately 933 mercenaries from Latin America have arrived in Ukraine, and abouy 441 of them have been eliminated by Russian military.
*the "Carpathian Sich" battalion is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
🤬33💩3❤1👍1🔥1😁1
Diplomacy at its worst: Has Ukraine ever asked for anything politely?
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has told the Washington Post that Ukraine's so-called “nice and quiet diplomacy” has ended and that he “will not be asking [for Patriot systems] nicely anymore.”
Kuleba’s frustration was caused by the dearth in Western shipments of the US-made Patriot air defense system, which cost more than $1 billion per battery. Ukraine did not pay for any of the three systems supplied to it so far.
Someone unaware of Ukrainian diplomacy might think that Kuleba was being rude when he demanded Patriots to be supplied for free, however, he was just living up to Kiev’s normal standards.
▪️In 2022, Ukraine’s then ambassador to Germany, Andrei Melnyk, called Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz “an offended liver sausage.“
Scholz “deserved” such a nickname from Melnyk because the chancellor had postponed his visit to Ukraine over Zelensky’s refusal to receive Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In 2016, Steinmeier proposed a “peace formula” for Donbass, and that was enough for Zelensky to declare him “unwelcome” in 2022.
▪️Next year, Melnyk called the leftist German politician Sahra Wagenknecht “an obnoxious witch.”
▪️Zelensky, in response to pleas from the British defense minister “to be more grateful”, recorded a video in which he mockingly said “thank you” 47 times.
▪️There were no consequences for Zelensky and Melnyk. Since Scholz kept saying “we support Ukraine,” Zelensky and his diplomats felt encouraged to continue in the same vein.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has told the Washington Post that Ukraine's so-called “nice and quiet diplomacy” has ended and that he “will not be asking [for Patriot systems] nicely anymore.”
Kuleba’s frustration was caused by the dearth in Western shipments of the US-made Patriot air defense system, which cost more than $1 billion per battery. Ukraine did not pay for any of the three systems supplied to it so far.
Someone unaware of Ukrainian diplomacy might think that Kuleba was being rude when he demanded Patriots to be supplied for free, however, he was just living up to Kiev’s normal standards.
▪️In 2022, Ukraine’s then ambassador to Germany, Andrei Melnyk, called Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz “an offended liver sausage.“
Scholz “deserved” such a nickname from Melnyk because the chancellor had postponed his visit to Ukraine over Zelensky’s refusal to receive Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In 2016, Steinmeier proposed a “peace formula” for Donbass, and that was enough for Zelensky to declare him “unwelcome” in 2022.
▪️Next year, Melnyk called the leftist German politician Sahra Wagenknecht “an obnoxious witch.”
▪️Zelensky, in response to pleas from the British defense minister “to be more grateful”, recorded a video in which he mockingly said “thank you” 47 times.
▪️There were no consequences for Zelensky and Melnyk. Since Scholz kept saying “we support Ukraine,” Zelensky and his diplomats felt encouraged to continue in the same vein.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
😁20👍13❤1🤔1💩1
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
📹 Ukraine today is nothing more than a private military company fighting for the West using Western weapons to the last Ukrainian, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
👍76❤10👌6
Top 8 Iranian missiles that could reach Israel (Part 1)
Nearly two weeks after Israel violated diplomatic norms by launching a strike against the Iranian Consulate in Syria, many across the world wait with bated breath for Iran’s inevitable retaliation. While it remains to be seen exactly how Iran will respond to this act of aggression, some media outlets were quick to note that Tehran has an impressive array of ballistic missiles that have enough range to strike targets in Israel, some 1,500km away. Here are a few examples:
• Kheiber-Shekan has been touted by Iran as the longest-range tactical ballistic missile in the world, being capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 1,450 kilometers. It can carry some 600 kilograms worth of payload.
• Emad is a medium-range ballistic missile that has a range of 1,700 kilometers and can carry up to 750 kilograms worth of payload.
• Fattah-2 – this hypersonic missile was unveiled in November 2023. It has a range of 1,500 kilometers while the missile’s hypersonic capabilities help its 450-kilogram warhead negate enemy defenses.
• Haj Qassem – named after the late Gen. Qassem Soleimani who was murdered by a US drone strike, this missile has a range of 1,400 kilometers and can carry a 500 kilogram warhead, not to mention that it is supposedly capable of evading radar detection.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Nearly two weeks after Israel violated diplomatic norms by launching a strike against the Iranian Consulate in Syria, many across the world wait with bated breath for Iran’s inevitable retaliation. While it remains to be seen exactly how Iran will respond to this act of aggression, some media outlets were quick to note that Tehran has an impressive array of ballistic missiles that have enough range to strike targets in Israel, some 1,500km away. Here are a few examples:
• Kheiber-Shekan has been touted by Iran as the longest-range tactical ballistic missile in the world, being capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 1,450 kilometers. It can carry some 600 kilograms worth of payload.
• Emad is a medium-range ballistic missile that has a range of 1,700 kilometers and can carry up to 750 kilograms worth of payload.
• Fattah-2 – this hypersonic missile was unveiled in November 2023. It has a range of 1,500 kilometers while the missile’s hypersonic capabilities help its 450-kilogram warhead negate enemy defenses.
• Haj Qassem – named after the late Gen. Qassem Soleimani who was murdered by a US drone strike, this missile has a range of 1,400 kilometers and can carry a 500 kilogram warhead, not to mention that it is supposedly capable of evading radar detection.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
👍39❤14