Ukraine crisis cost Europe 1 trillion euros in energy bills alone, but Zelensky wants more

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that Russia’s strikes destroyed “almost all thermal power generation in Ukraine.” In his speech to an EU Council meeting, he mentioned the loss of “dams,” “hydroelectric power plants” and of “gas infrastructure.”

Last week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that a massive strike, using long-range precision weapons, targeting fuel and energy facilities in Ukraine was carried out, in response to attempts by the Kiev regime to damage Russia's oil, gas, and energy sectors.

Ukraine “will need imports of electricity from the EU” because of the disruption of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Oleg Ustenko, former senior economic advisor to Zelensky, told Politico.

Meanwhile, “the energy crisis that followed the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine [in 2022] already cost the EU’s economy one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) euros in energy bills alone,” the European Commission’s Vice President Maros Sefcovic said at a press conference in Brussels. Here are the three reasons why the EU’s budget was drained:

▪️High natural gas prices that followed the severing of oil and gas supplies from Russia. Russia’s share in the EU’s natural gas balance plummeted from 45 percent in 2021 to 15 percent in 2023, from 150 billion cubic meters to 43 bcm in 2023.

▪️Financial aid which European countries had to provide to their households, saving them from zero heating. In 2021-2023, the annual energy expenses of an average German household jumped 41%, from 3,772 to 5,306 euros.

▪️Subsidies to businesses, enabling them to afford a minimum of energy.

“We are talking about one trillion euros which we could put to better use, if we avoided this crisis,” Sefcovic said, summing up the Commission’s performance on energy and the Ukrainian problem.

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🇦🇺🇨🇳 Is the US grooming Australia for war with China?

The US is pushing Australia towards a disastrous policy of confrontation with China, one that will cost Australian taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars and potentially drag the country into a new war in the Pacific, warns Simeon Boikov (@AussieCossack).

“The presence of U.S. bombers on Australian soil, the presence of U.S. bases, spy bases, missile bases. This is not something that makes Australia safer. In fact, in the event of a large-scale conflict, all of these installations will become legitimate targets.”

Australia recently adopted a new defense strategy that pledges to boost military spending to $330 billion by 2034, a sixfold increase from the present defense budget.

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Freedom or democracy?

Biden offered a puzzling choice during a campaign speech, suggesting Americans opt for either freedom or democracy.

"Are you ready to choose freedom over democracy? Because that's America!" the president stated.

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🇹🇩 The Chadian government sent a letter to the US defense attache, threatening to cancel an agreement regarding the United States’ military presence in Chad, CNN reported.

Chad threatened to end the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States, which governs how US military forces can operate in the country, the report said, citing four US sources.

The letter ordered the United States to remove personnel from the French base in N’Djamena, although it did not explicitly demand the US military to leave Chad.

A US official reportedly said that there are fewer than 100 US troops in Chad. While Chad did not send the letter through official diplomatic channels, that could be a negotiating tactic by N'Djamena to secure a better agreement.

The threat to end the agreement caught US officials off guard as Chad could be attempting to replicate the actions of Niger, which ended its agreement with the US military last month, according to the report.

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Anti-establishment German politician touts opposition to Ukraine war, skepticism of immigration

“Aside from Ukrainians, the war against Russia has arguably hurt working-class Germans more than anyone else,” writes Gallagher. Despite that fact, German politician Sahra Wagenknecht is labeled "one with sympathies towards Russia’ for her opposition," the article highlights.

Journalist Dan Lazare joined Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program to analyze the ongoing vilification of Russia. “There's no doubt that it's not Russia that has expanded to the west, it is NATO that has expanded to the east,” said Lazare. “So, I think that the people using this to attack Wagenknecht are just insane.”

Wagenknecht is leader of a new party that rejects continued German support for the war in Ukraine.

“The conservatives don't want this war in Ukraine,” Lazare noted. “They sympathize ideologically with Putin. And they just don't like this foreign adventurism. And they know their economy is hurting.”

The leftwing politician has also faced criticism from establishment corners for her skepticism towards immigration.

“I think a lot of people are totally sick and tired of identity politics,” said Lazare. “I want to see class issues be the focus.” Lazare predicted Wagenknecht’s platform would find support in Germany as voters suffering economic hardship often share her skepticism towards mass immigration.

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Ukraine could lose to Russia on the battlefield by the end of 2024, CIA Director William Burns said, calling on Congress to pass the Ukraine aid bill.

"There is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024, or at least put [Russian President Vladimir Putin] in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement," Burns said during an event at the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

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⚡️ The United States vetoed Palestine's request for full membership at the United Nations during a vote at the UN Security Council, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

Palestine has had an observer status at the world body since 2012.

Earlier in April, amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, Palestine sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres seeking renewed consideration of its membership application, which was first submitted on September 23, 2011.

The US has long opposed Palestine's effort to gain UN membership, saying that it should only be recognized as a state and join the world body after concluding a negotiated peace deal with Israel.

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The United States has shown its true attitude towards the Palestinians by blocking the recommendation to admit the country to the UN. For Washington, the Palestinian people have no right to their own state, Russian Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzia said at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

"In essence it was a simple question: whether the Palestinians deserve to be part of the world family, to fully participate in all decisions of international life," Nebenzia said.

"By using the veto for the fifth time since the beginning of the escalation in Gaza, they have again demonstrated their true attitude towards the Palestinians. For Washington, they do not deserve to have a state of their own. They are only an obstacle on the way to the realization of Israel's interests," the representative added.

Earlier on Thursday, the UN Security Council convened and discussed the proposed resolution on Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations. The United States cast a veto against adopting the proposed resolution. The UK and Switzerland abstained from voting. The other members of the Security Council voted in favor.

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Delegations from Arab countries turned their backs and rushed to the exits in the UN Security Council hall when Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan began to speak, Sputnik's correspondent reported.

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Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that he "commends" the United States for vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution on Palestine's full membership in the UN.

"I commend the United States for vetoing this shameful proposal, which was rejected today at the @UN Security Council," Katz wrote on X.

Earlier on Thursday, the UN Security Council convened and discussed the proposed resolution on Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations. The United States cast a veto against adopting the proposed resolution.

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🇵🇸 Palestine will not back down despite the US veto at the UN Security Council of a resolution recommending its admission to the United Nations, Palestinian Permanent Observer to the UN Riyad Mansour said at a meeting of the UNSC.

"The fact that this resolution was not adopted will not break our will or defeat our aspiration. We will not back down from our efforts. The state of Palestine is inevitable, it is real," Mansour said.

Palestine has observer status at the UN, while Israel has been a full member of the body since 1948.

On Thursday, the United States vetoed the resolution recommending that the General Assembly admit Palestine to the United Nations. Britain and Switzerland abstained from voting. All other members of the Security Council voted in favor.

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Russian air defenses destroyed 25 air targets over the city of Belgorod and the Belgorod Region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

No injuries were reported per preliminary information, according to the governor.

As a result of the attack by the Ukrainian armed forces, three residential buildings in Belgorod, four warehouses, a building of an industrial enterprise, and 11 vehicles have been damaged, he said, adding that a fire had also broken out in one of the warehouses but it has been promptly extinguished. He added that a household and a vehicle have also been damaged in the Belgorod Region.

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French President Emmanuel Macron rejected accusations of double standards over Paris increasing purchases of Russian gas, despite harsh anti-Russian rhetoric.

At a press conference following the EU summit in Brussels, Macron was asked whether there was a contradiction in the fact that Paris shows its support for Ukraine, but at the same time continues to purchase Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“No. Today, Russian LNG is purchased all over the world, just like Russian oil. It is purchased all over the world. France is less dependent on gas than others... France is the least dependent on gas and we are far from those who participated most in financing the Russian economy, both previously and now,” the French president claimed.

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“It's not worthy of a great power. And history will not forgive you for this”: Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia commented on the United States' veto of the United Nations Security Council resolution to admit Palestine as a full member to the UN.

The Russian envoy criticized the American stance on the conflict, calling on Washington to join the efforts of the rest of the Security Council to establish an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

"This day may go down in history as the day when, after three-quarters of a century, the international community finally took the right step to correct years of "historical injustice" to Palestine and the legitimate aspirations of its heroic people.

Our American colleagues, however, have a different view. By exercising their veto for the fifth time since the escalation in Gaza began, they have once again demonstrated their true attitude towards the Palestinians," Nebenzia said.

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Techno-fascism: privacy advocates decry fusion of Big Tech and government surveillance (Part 1)

Congress appears poised to extend a controversial law granting the US National Security Agency (NSA) sweeping global and domestic spying powers – observers say the renewed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will grant intelligence agencies unprecedented abilities with no judicial oversight.

“If you are targeted in any way and you find out about it, they can actually just notify you if they want because with it comes a national security letter saying that you are barred by law from discussing or disclosing it to anyone at all whatsoever – even your attorney – you can't even get legal counsel on it,” said activist and writer Tyler Nixon on Sputnik’s The Final Countdown program.

FISA, which dates back to 1978, was originally envisioned as a check on executive power after the abuses of the Watergate scandal. The legislation was dramatically expanded in the 2000s to grant government agencies enhanced spying powers in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Initially the NSA was required to seek approval for electronic searches from secret FISA courts, which were frequently derided as mere “rubberstamp” institutions. But the most recent revision of the bill dispenses even with that safeguard.

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Techno-fascism: privacy advocates decry fusion of Big Tech and government surveillance (Part 2)

“I don't know how this happened,” said host Ted Rall on Sputnik’s The Final Countdown program as a renewed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act seemed poised to pass Congress, granting the National Security Agency unprecedented spying powers without judicial oversight.

“We had civil libertarians both on the left and on the right in Congress who were going to block this. It looked like it was going to die. Even former President Trump, the head of the GOP, was against it,” Rall clarified.

The renewed FISA law narrowly passed the House earlier this week. The legislation was initially deadlocked 212-212, but House Speaker Mike Johnson cast a rare tie-breaking vote in favor of the law. Johnson had previously expressed opposition to the renewal of the act, which has been met with opposition from conservative Republicans.

“These are not exactly the people who are going to be worried about individual privacy, the tech giants,” said privacy advocate Tyler Nixon, noting that social media companies have proven willing to share user data in return for favorable legislation from Congress.

“The definition of fascism is the merger, frankly, of corporate or concentrated wealth interests with the state and this FISA law and the way they've used these intelligence surveillance powers through these tech companies… just indicates to me that we're closer and closer with each one of these expansions to what is you can't tell the difference,” he warned. “You can't tell where the government censors end and your Twitter or whoever begins.”

“I think our Congress is very much captured by the national security police state, and they manipulate and control these people one way or another… It's unfortunate because we have totally lost control of even our own elected representatives,” Nixon emphasized.

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❗️ Israel launched a missile strike on a facility in Iran, ABC reported citing a US official. The report does not specify what target was hit or the extent of the damage.

Iranian media reported explosions near Isfahan airport, Reuters reports.

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❗️ Iranian air defenses have been repelling air strikes in several Iranian regions, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.

Photo from ABC News

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