The US is exploring the possibility of a military presence in West African countries and expanding its partnership with them, the Pentagon chief has said.

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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed disappointment at the European Union's failure to propose a "meaningful" pathway towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.

"The European Union emerged as a peace project, I am disappointed that it cannot offer a meaningful peace plan for the conflict that is currently taking place in Ukraine."

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An exhibition of captured Western equipment has opened in Grozny. The exhibits include armoured vehicles of Ukrainian, British and American manufacture.

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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said today that the Biden Administration is re-examining a shipment of arms to Israel worth about $1 billion. This is due to Israeli operations in Rafah, which some officials believe are putting Palestinian civilians at risk. Austin said that no final decision has been made.

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📹 WATCH LIVE: Victory Day Military Parade in Moscow on May 9 at 7:00 GMT

The parade in honor of the 79th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War will take place on Red Square on May 9. More than nine thousand service members, over 75 pieces of weapons and military equipment, will take part in the event.

❗️Stay tuned to Sputnik to catch all the details of this wonderful event!

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Unmasking the French Foreign Legion, which has reportedly popped up in Ukraine (part 1)

Russian war correspondents reported on troops from the French Foreign Legion allegedly being eliminated near Chasov Yar. However, the French Foreign Ministry has officially denied any involvement of such units in Ukraine. What is the French Foreign Legion, and what do we know about it?

◾️The French Foreign Legion was established at the end of the 19th century in order to allow foreigners to join the French army. At that time, its primary focus was Africa.

◾️The Foreign Legion reportedly consists of 9,000 soldiers. In 2024, the Legion has recruited about 1,600 soldiers. It is also made up of 11 different regiments, and three of them are considered to be special-purpose regiments.

◾️Two regiments are permanently based outside France, although all units carry out tasks both domestically and internationally.

◾️Since July 2023, the French Foreign Legion has been under the command of Brigadier General Cyrille Youchtchenko, a French national of Ukrainian origin.

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Unmasking the French Foreign Legion, which has reportedly popped up in Ukraine (part 2)


◾️Historically, the French Foreign Legion’s units were chiefly involved in quashing the colonies of France during their fight for independence. The Legion's efforts to suppress these uprisings were characterized by their brutality and were unsuccessful. However, since the 1990s, the Foreign Legion has taken part in various conflicts, including those in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Libya, Afghanistan, and Mali.

◾️In April 1996, the Foreign Legion’s troops were sent to intervene in an armed rebellion in the Central African Republic. Back in France, Jacques Chirac and his administration were already being labeled the “gendarme of Africa” due to the Legion’s actions. Eventually, the Legion handed over control of the capital of the CAR to a military mission of African states. By the end of February 1999, all French troops had completed their pullout from the country.

◾️French units also participated in the Libyan civil war in 2011. Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, Axel Poniatowski, said that there were anywhere from 200 to 300 soldiers from the French special operations forces in Libya at that time. Various Foreign Legion soldiers later admitted to having participated in an operation to plot the assassination of then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

◾️In 2011, France decided to withdraw Foreign Legion units from Afghanistan. The decision was made by then President Nicolas Sarkozy following the deaths of 17 French soldiers between June 1 and September 17 of that year.

◾️In January 2013, French President Francois Hollande deployed a contingent of the Foreign Legion to Mali, initiating a military operation without waiting for parliamentary approval. The primary objective behind this move was to combat terrorism. Despite lacking a UN mandate, the contingent remained in Mali for nearly nine years. The military operations 'Serval' and 'Barkhane' proved to be unsuccessful for the French military. Following a coup in 2020, the new leaders in Mali criticized the French military for what they deemed to be "flagrant violations" of their national sovereignty. Consequently, in August 2022, France decided to completely withdraw its troops from the African country.

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Unmasking the French Foreign Legion, which has reportedly popped up in Ukraine (part 3)

◾️Foreigners who join the Legion are required to sign an initial contract for a period of five years. This commitment is mandatory. The starting salary for recruits is officially set at €1,380 per month. Additionally, recruits are required to change their own names upon joining the Legion.

◾️A legionnaire is first trained as a fighter, and can choose a specialization only after two years of service.

◾️Losses sustained by the Foreign Legion in any operation are never disclosed.

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Belated halt to US arms deliveries may threaten Israel’s aura of ‘invincibility’

“Overall, if the United States were to suspend large shipments to Israel, this would be a significant step on the part of the US government to restrain Israel,” Ankara Baskent University international relations professor Hasan Unal told Sputnik, commenting on the potential rift stemming from reports that American has halted the delivery of 2000 and 500 pound bombs to Tel Aviv over the invasion of Rafah.

“I think the motive to suspend these arms shipments to Israel by the US government is that they want to influence Israeli policymaking. They want to restrain Israel from an onslaught on Gaza or on Rafah in particular, because the US government is well aware that it would turn into an undeniable genocide. And that would make the United States a clearly complicit party…The present US administration cannot afford to have all that criticism directed at itself at a time of elections,” Unal explained.

Regardless of Israeli chest thumping about its “invincibility,” the setback in arms supplies would “have a significant impact on Israeli policy-making,” with Israel desperately reliant on US weapons aid going back to the Arab-Israeli wars of the 20th century, he added.

But Kuwait University assistant professor and Arab Gulf States Institute non-resident fellow Bader Al-Saif fears the US halt of heavy bomb deliveries may have come “too little, too late” to change Israel’s plans.

“We do not know how significant this is until we see how impactful it will [be in relation] to other decisions. Will this become a one off episode or will it be recurring?” Al-Saif said.

“Don’t forget, Rafah has the biggest density of Palestinians in Gaza right now. Just the simple fact of pushing them out of all other districts of Gaza and [gathering] them in Rafah, going in there and bombing it, this is already a genocide in the making,” Al-Saif warned.

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NATO 'no boots on the ground' Ukraine strategy meant to silence West's 'loudmouths' - analyst

The rationale behind NATO‘s new “no boots on the ground” stance on Ukraine is to silence belligerent “loudmouths” in the West, international relations analyst Gilbert Doctorow told Sputnik.

The alliance’s decision was geared to “shut up’ the likes of French President Emmanuel Macron, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and other “loudmouths who have been calling for the dispatch of NATO troops to Ukraine to save the Kiev regime from imminent military defeat,” according to the analyst.

“No boots on the ground” in Ukraine is a key phrase of a draft document set to be approved by the NATO summit in Washington in July, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported.

Doctorow described Lithuania as “one of the most irresponsible” EU states in its policy towards Russia.

Other EU member states were “less eager” to risk Russian retaliation for “crossing the red lines over co-belligerency,” added Doctorow.

The timing of the news regarding the alliance’s strategy was telling, coming on the heels of Russia’s warning to NATO to stay out of Ukraine.

“The adoption of the decision NOW and the release of that decision to the general public NOW indicates the real effectiveness of the announcement several days ago by the RF Ministry of Defense of exercises to test the preparedness of its ground, sea and air forces to use tactical nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war should Russia's sovereignty be threatened. This was the Russian push-back to Macron and it worked,” Doctorow said.

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BRICS economic performance and significance globally are growing daily

The association has significantly expanded to inlcude the United Aarab Emirates. Therefore, its importance will grow not only economically but also politically, Sergey Katyrin, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the 2024 Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) Congress in the UAE.

"The role of the association is growing daily. In 2000, the BRICS countries accounted for eight percent of the world GDP, and in 2022, they were already 26 percent of world production. Experts promise that by 2030, the share of BRICS will be 30 percent of world production, by 2050 — about 90 percent," Katyrin said.

Unlike other groupings, the association is not aimed against anyone, he stressed.

In addition, the official noted that BRICS countries account for more than 41 percent of Russia's foreign trade.

Sputnik is an information partner of the AIM Congress 2024.

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Separate the REAL News from FAKE! Read news that matters at @ResonantNews

🔴Protests, Coup, War Zone or Espionage, understand the bigger the picture of any incident at Resonant News.
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👉Indian Army MOST SUCCESSFUL Counter terrorism operation 🇮🇳

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🔺Russia's Victory Parade: honoring the past, shaping the future

🔺US is re-examining a shipment of arms to Israel worth about $1 billion due to Israeli operations in Rafah — Pentagon Chief

🔺Unmasking the French Foreign Legion, which has reportedly popped up in Ukraine

🔺Belated halt to US arms deliveries may threaten Israel’s aura of ‘invincibility’

🔺NATO 'no boots on the ground' Ukraine strategy meant to silence West's 'loudmouths' - analyst

🔺Russian Armed Forces deliver massive strike on strategic targets across Ukraine

🔺Georgian State Security Service: some Georgians currently fighting in Ukraine may return to Georgia to take part in provocations against the law on foreign agents

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Germans fume over 'donerflation' as anti-Russia policy takes a bite out of favorite street food

Germany’s government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz is being grilled over…grilled meat! The reason? Berlin's own flawed anti-Russia policies, which put the country in its current predicament.

The soaring cost of doner kebabs has riled up fans of the crispy bread around shaved meat spiced up by dollops of tangy sauce delicacy. Sinking your teeth into this street food staple has become increasingly costly. Some kebab businesses have reportedly doubled prices in two years - from €4 (around $4.30) apiece to as much as €10 (around $10.80).

The Chancellor has swatted away endless questions about a price brake on kebabs at public events. Scholz was reportedly accosted by one young German and urged to “speak to Putin.” His government even posted on social media that the costs are in part due to surging wage and energy costs.

With Germans unprepared to cut back on the beloved dish, the Bundestag’s Left party has urged a government price cap on it.
Berlin is okay with price caps or sanctions targeting Russia, but, apparently, not so much when it comes to the sandwich boasting Turkish origins. The Chancellor ruled out price controls as “not implementable” in a free market economy.

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⚛️ Nuclear energy in Europe: non-existent in Germany, waning in the UK after anti-Russian sanctions

Britain has announced that it is going to spend almost £200 million ($250 million) on a new plant to produce high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The project is supposed to boost the ailing nuclear energy sectors of the UK and France with the “futuristic nuclear fuel.”

This seems unrealistic in the context of steep decline in British nuclear energy output and a recent fine of €12.9 billion which French electricity giant EDF had to pay over construction delays and power cuts.

Why the decline? First, the shortage of nuclear fuel after sanctions were imposed on imports from Russia. Second, the exit of Chinese investors due to European sanctions.

By awarding the Urenco firm £196 million to build the new HALEU-producing facility in Cheshire “we want to wean our European allies away from over-reliance on Russia for nuclear fuel,” Nuclear and Renewables Minister Andrew Bowie.

Compensating for tens of billions of losses by investing just £196 million sounds unrealistic.

For the EU and UK, the decision to impose sanctions on Rosatom after February 2022 could not come at a worse time. In Germany, the last nuclear power station was shut down very same year. German minister of economy Robert Habeck from the Green Party is now accused of not informing the public about the risks of the “exit from atom.”

The British nuclear sector is also struggling. Boris Johnson’s promise to make one quarter of the nation’s energy output nuclear by the year 2050 is already dead. A four-year delay in the Hinckley Point C reactor project has been announced that will push back completion until 2031.

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Moldovan activists lit candles in memory of the 1,418 days of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 fought by the USSR against Nazi Germany and its allies – a part of World War II.

The event took place in Chisinau at the Eternity Memorial Complex and at the monument to the heroes of the Soviet youth organization Komsomol.

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