Large defense industrial base and combat-tested army keys to Russia’s ability to stand up to NATO

Russia's military benefits from "a massive military-industrial base capable of producing large quantities of arms and ammunition including highly capable advanced weapons, and a large professional fighting force,” military affairs expert and US Marine Corps vet Brian Berletic told Sputnik on the occasion of Russian Armed Forces Day Tuesday.

“Backed by a significant nuclear deterrent, the Russian military is designed and demonstrably capable of defending what is the largest nation by land area in the world,” Berletic said.

“Russia’s political leadership has ensured that the military-industrial base and the fighting forces it arms and equips exists to underwrite the nation’s national defense rather than serve as an opportunity for private enterprise to enrich itself either through the procurement process and/or through military-backed expansionism overseas. These are the key factors that distinguish the Russian military from its Western counterparts and is why amid Washington’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, Russia has so far successfully outmatched the collective wealth, resources, and military power of the West,” Berletic said.

The observer stressed that throughout the Ukrainian conflict, Russia’s defense sector has proven able to expand and adapt more quickly than its Western counterparts to the needs of the front, and to produce weapons in greater quantities and at lower cost.

Berletic recalled that during the Second World War, the USSR was able to achieve victory over Nazi-occupied Europe in large measure due to its ability to out-produce the Nazis “across every metric.” And while the scale, circumstances and conditions of today’s conflict with NATO may differ, Russia is once again “confronting foreign aggression along its borders with a massive military industrial base able to out produce its adversaries,” the former soldier emphasized.

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Biden admin. might exploit the F-16 nuclear controversy as a provocation in Ukraine

"The primary and most likely nuclear weapon that the F-16 can carry is the B61[-12] gravity bomb – which has been continually maintained and improved for both accuracy and reduced yield, so smaller than its predecessors but able to be guided," retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a former analyst for the US Department of Defense, told Sputnik.

Ukraine is slated to receive its first F-16s later this year, with Ukrainian pilots undergoing training to operate the fighter jets. Moscow has consistently cautioned against this deployment, raising concerns that the warplane can be equipped to carry nuclear bombs.

Kiev is expected to get its F-16s from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. In October 2022, Politico reported that the US had expedited the deployment of B61-12s to NATO bases in Europe, lending credence to Russia's security concerns.

On December 13, 2023, The War Zone (TWZ) published a photograph of an F-16 at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands, seemingly carrying a training version of the B61-12 under its wing.

"If the F-16s are to be flown by Ukrainian pilots and manned by Ukrainian ground crews, they would not be allowed access to nuclear weapons by any NATO country," Kwiatkowski pointed out.

But she stressed that US president Joe Biden’s administration could use the controversy surrounding the nuclear-capable F-16 to create a crisis in a bid to tip the balance of the conflict in its favor and, possibly, delay a US election which the geriatric US leader could easily lose this November.

Even though the scenario seems fantastic, the Biden administration had no scruples about blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022, Kwiatkowski remarked.

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Here's how The Mirror, a British newspaper, reported on the news of Vladimir Putin's inauguration: "Vladimir Putin's inauguration sees Kremlin leader issue chilling 10-word threat to the West"

Any guesses about what those scary 10 words are?

Putin said: "The destiny of Russia will be determined by ourselves only."

The West cannot even tolerate the idea that some nations would "impudently" want to determine their own fate without consulting the western "superiors."

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🔺What do a former US intelligence officer, a former Swedish military officer, and a strategic analyst think about Putin's inaugural speech?

🔺Large defense industrial base and combat-tested army keys to Russia’s ability to stand up to NATO

🔺NATO's 1999 Chinese embassy bombing: Misguided Missiles or Misleading Excuses? And why did CIA aim ‘smart bombs’ at China’s embassy in Belgrade in 1999?

🔺Rafah offensive to disrupt ceasefire talks, amplify Gaza crisis

🔺Why the outgoing Russian government had hugely successful term?

🔺Biden admin. might exploit the F-16 nuclear controversy as a provocation in Ukraine

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The conflict in Ukraine is headed towards a serious escalation, independent US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. said.

“The situation in Ukraine is on the brink of a calamitous escalation,” Kennedy posted on the social media platform X. “Do the military imperialists in Washington and their lackeys in Europe have any idea the danger they are courting?”

Kennedy referenced several recent developments in the conflict, including the delivery of long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine and NATO military advisers directly aiding the Kiev regime in the proxy war against Russia.

He also pointed towards UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s support of Ukraine using UK-provided weapons to strike Russian territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that such a statement is a dangerous form of verbal escalation.

Moreover, Kennedy noted Russia’s recent exercises with tactical nuclear forces, which the candidate said Russia may use if threatened by NATO direct involvement in the conflict.

The US and its allies are playing a game of “chicken” with their foreign policy, Kennedy said.

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Berlin prosecutors have closed their investigation into inspector of the German Air Force Ingo Gerhartz over an intercepted conversation between Bundeswehr officers discussing a strike on the Crimean Bridge with long-range Taurus cruise missiles, local media reported.

In March, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, published a leaked audio recording of high-ranking officers of the German Bundeswehr discussing "how they will bomb the Crimean bridge".

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Ukrainian forces attacked Lugansk as they shelled an oil depot in the city, the head of the Lugansk People's Republic Leonid Pasechnik said.

"Late at night, the enemy attacked peaceful Lugansk — shelled the oil depot located within the city. The emergency workers are deployed on the spot," Pasechnik wrote on his Telegram channel, adding that information about casualties is being verified.

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The Biden administration's report on whether Israel violated US law and international humanitarian law during its military operations in the Gaza Strip has been delayed indefinitely, Politico reported.

If the report determines that US and international law have been violated, the Biden administration would be expected to stop sending military assistance to Israel.

The administration emailed Congress notifying lawmakers that it will miss the deadline to submit the report but did not provide additional details.

Earlier on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US government is trying very hard to meet the "self-imposed deadline."

On Monday night, some 200 attorneys, 27 of whom are currently in the Biden administration, sent a letter to top US officials arguing that sending weapons to Israel would be illegal.

The report's delay comes as Israel started a military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where some 1.4 million Palestinians - are sheltering.

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The Judge in Trump's classified Documents case has indefinitely postponed the Florida trial, court documents show.

"The Court also determines that finalization of a trial date at this juncture-before resolution of the myriad and interconnected pre-trial and CIPA issues remaining and forthcoming-would be imprudent and inconsistent with the court's duty...The Court therefore vacates the current May 20, 2024, trial date," wrote Judge Cannon in the documents.

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As a result of the Ukrainian strike on Lugansk, 5 employees of the oil depot were injured and hospitalized, the head of the Lugansk People's Republic Leonid Pasechnik said.

Power lines were damaged, houses near the oil depot were partially cut off from power and a high-pressure gas pipeline was on fire as a result of the attack, Pasechnik said.

Four ambulance crews arrived at the site of the shelling but it is difficult to provide first aid to the injured because of the heavy fire, the head of Lugansk People's Republic said.

Pasechnik claimed the Kiev regime presumably used Western-supplied ATACMS missiles to carry out the attack on the oil depot in Lugansk.

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Hamas's delegation has returned to Cairo to continue discussing ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and to reach an agreement that will allow to end the ongoing conflict, the Palestinian movement said.

On Monday, Hamas informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that it agreed to the terms of the ceasefire deal they had drafted. The proposal provides for three stages of 42 days, during which a complete ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners are expected to be concluded.

"A Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya [Hamas deputy leader] recently arrived in Cairo from Doha to continue the efforts of the mediating brothers in Egypt and Qatar to reach an agreement to end the aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip," the movement said on Telegram.

Meanwhile, Israel declined the ceasefire proposal as unacceptable and started a military operation in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, home to some 1.5 million Palestinians forced to flee the northern and central parts of the Strip.

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The “limited” Israeli military operation in Rafah has not crossed President Joe Biden's “red line” and therefore has not yet led to any changes in the US administration's policy towards its closest ally in the Middle East, Axios reported, citing two American officials.

On Monday, Israel declined the ceasefire proposal as unacceptable and continued its military operation in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the operation would disrupt the ongoing humanitarian assistance delivery to Gaza and that the Biden administration continues to oppose it.

Biden does not view the Israeli operation to capture the Rafah Gate crossing, which the IDF considers to be a key target and one of Hamas' main strategic sites in Gaza, as a “breaking point” in relations with Tel Aviv, the report said.

But this could change if the limited operation broadens or gets out of control and Israeli forces enter the city of Rafah itself, where more than one million Palestinian refugees are taking shelter, the officials reportedly said.

The US officials have also confirmed that the Biden administration is ready to suspend weapons shipments to Israel or at least condition the use of specific US weapons systems if the Netanyahu war cabinet decides to go on a major military operation in Rafah.
Politico reported on Tuesday that the Biden administration has not yet signed off on a pending sale of Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) that can be converted to precision weapons, including Small Diameter Bombs.

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'Israel Doesn't want ceasefire': truce talks take back seat as Rafah attack surges

As ceasefire talks hung in the air on Monday, Israel began their aerial and ground attacks on Rafah, the largest city in Gaza where war refugees were once told to shelter in safety. Esteban Carrillo, a Beirut-based Ecuadorian journalist and current editor for The Cradle, joined Sputnik’s Fault Lines to discuss the ongoing attacks on Rafah.

“Rafah has been besieged already for weeks. For the past 24 hours, more than 24 hours at this point, this tiny strip of land has been coming under constant bombardment overnight, right after Hamas approved the ceasefire deal,” said Carrillo. “Israel deployed what they like to call a fire build bomb in an area, where 1.5 million people are huddling after being told to go there.”

“For weeks now, there's been this effort to make it seem like it's Hamas that doesn't want a deal, that they don't want to sit down at the table to accept Israeli demands. Where, in reality, it's the opposite,” Carrillo explained. “Hamas has been very steadfast in what they're asking for. And it's Israel who doesn't want a lasting ceasefire. This is really the crux of the issue here.”

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European leaders ignore public opinion, domestic concerns to stoke cold war

Trade and economic concerns are near the top of China’s agenda this week as President Xi Jinping visits Europe for the first time in five years. But many leaders are far more focused on the West’s proxy war in Ukraine against Russia noted researcher Dr. George Szamuely on Sputnik’s Fault Lines program.

“There's no question Europe is very heavily dependent on trade with China,” said Szamuely. “But at the same time Europe is wedded to this policy in Ukraine of seeking the military and strategic defeat of Russia. These policies are somewhat in tension.”

Officials throughout the continent have aligned themselves with the Biden administration’s stance on China and Ukraine even when such posturing places them at odds with the will of the public. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has attempted to maintain good relations with Beijing given the country’s importance as a foreign market for German automakers. But Szamuely said Scholz’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock “is rabid on the subject of China, almost as bad as she is on the subject of Russia.”

“If she were to take control of policy then Europe would indeed go down the path of sanctioning China and hurting itself,” he said. “Already we've seen… how much Europe has hurt itself through its sanctions policy against Russia. But as Annalena Baerbock has famously said… Ukraine is far more important to me than the wishes of the German people.”

Baerbock caused a stir in 2022 when the German minister of foreign affairs explicitly stated she is willing to oppose domestic opinion in order to continue the country’s anti-Russia stance.

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Russians united in support for Putin's military, economic, diplomatic achievements

Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for another term as Russia’s president Tuesday in a ceremony following an unprecedented win in March’s election. The leader’s large margin of victory demonstrates that his domestic support is strong claimed international relations expert Mark Sleboda, who appeared on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program to discuss sentiment on the ground from Moscow.

“There was a higher voter turnout and Putin achieved a higher result in this election than he had in any previous elections,” said the security analyst. “I think it shows a broad support of the course and vision that he has charted for the country.”

Host Wilmer Leon agreed, claiming, “the turnout and the percentage of win obviously speaks volumes that the Russian people are pleased not only with their president, but with their government.”

Russia’s diplomatic ties with China have proven crucial as the country weathers sanctions imposed by the West. The two countries' cooperation has paved the way for a global financial system free from Western domination, also paying concrete economic dividends for Russia. Recent data suggests Russia could reach over 3% GDP growth in 2024, placing it well ahead of its European competitors.

Putin’s victory also signals strong domestic support for Moscow’s special military operation to defend the Donbass republics, which is viewed as an existential battle against foreign aggression. Russia’s dominance is driven by its technological performance on the battlefield, with a recent controversy over the provision of Reaper drones to Ukraine demonstrating that Russia is able to defeat even advanced NATO weaponry.

“These drones cost $30 million apiece, and the US has lost at least four of them in the last year… They're not going to feed more of them to Ukraine. They don't have that many of them to waste like that,” Sleboda emphasized.

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