⚡️ The head of the UK’s Defense Ministry has admitted that London has given Kiev permission to launch strikes on Crimea because it considers the peninsula part of Ukraine.
"I don't want to go into huge detail. As you know, we have provided permissions for weapons to be used in the territory of Ukraine – including Crimea, which we believe is an integral part of Ukraine," Grant Shapps said.
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UK to get new multirole support vessels while struggling to fix Royal Navy’s woes
The Royal Marines are to receive a set of the Multi-Role Support Ships (MRSS) geared to “quickly transport the Royal Marines Commando Force from sea to shore,” UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps told The Telegraph.
Development of the six vessels has only begun, with Shapps underscoring that the investment is crucial to ensure that the Royal Navy is “not left behind” by adversaries “like China and Russia.” The new-generation ships will:
▪️ Feature docks for landing craft
▪️ Have a hangar to accommodate a Chinook helicopter as well as a launch pad for helicopters
▪️ Will enable hosting and launching of attack drones from a dock that can be lowered into the water
▪️ May be fitted with laser weapons such as DragonFire
The announcement comes amid a host of embarrassing setbacks for the Royal Navy that reflects the UK's internal political and economic problems.
Its flagship aircraft carriers the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales have faced a number of technical malfunctions and operational restrictions forcing them to pull out of massive NATO drills. Furthermore, the costly vessels are vulnerable to drone and hypersonic missile strikes, critics claim.
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The Royal Marines are to receive a set of the Multi-Role Support Ships (MRSS) geared to “quickly transport the Royal Marines Commando Force from sea to shore,” UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps told The Telegraph.
Development of the six vessels has only begun, with Shapps underscoring that the investment is crucial to ensure that the Royal Navy is “not left behind” by adversaries “like China and Russia.” The new-generation ships will:
▪️ Feature docks for landing craft
▪️ Have a hangar to accommodate a Chinook helicopter as well as a launch pad for helicopters
▪️ Will enable hosting and launching of attack drones from a dock that can be lowered into the water
▪️ May be fitted with laser weapons such as DragonFire
The announcement comes amid a host of embarrassing setbacks for the Royal Navy that reflects the UK's internal political and economic problems.
Its flagship aircraft carriers the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales have faced a number of technical malfunctions and operational restrictions forcing them to pull out of massive NATO drills. Furthermore, the costly vessels are vulnerable to drone and hypersonic missile strikes, critics claim.
Subscribe to @SputnikInt
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US army intel staffer quits, 'haunted' by Biden’s Gaza policy
Another US official has resigned, unable to reconcile himself with the “nearly unqualified support” that the US has provided to Israel amid its war on Hamas.
Major Harrison Mann posted a resignation letter on professional networking site LinkedIn on Monday, revealing the reasons behind his decision to quit the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) back in November 2023. Mann wrote that Washington’s policy on Gaza “enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians [in Gaza]."
Mann, who served as an executive officer at the DIA’s Middle East and Africa Center, referenced his own European Jewish ancestry, and claimed he was “haunted” by the “unforgiving moral environment when it came to the topic of bearing responsibility for ethnic cleansing.”
According to him, few of his former colleagues spoke out about the developments in Gaza. He noted that “I now realize the obvious - if I was afraid to voice my concerns, you were too.”
Mann’s departure is not the first. In March, Annelle Sheline resigned from her position as a foreign affairs officer in the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, saying her job had become “impossible” as the Biden administration continues to “send a steady stream of weapons to Israel”.
Earlier, Josh Paul, who was a senior State Department official involved in arms transfers to foreign governments, resigned from his role 10 days after Hamas first launched its attack on Israel. Despite instances of dissent among its own government employees and protests by US citizens, the Biden administration has persisted in supporting Israel in its war against Hamas, paying no more than lip service to the Palestinians' plight.
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Another US official has resigned, unable to reconcile himself with the “nearly unqualified support” that the US has provided to Israel amid its war on Hamas.
Major Harrison Mann posted a resignation letter on professional networking site LinkedIn on Monday, revealing the reasons behind his decision to quit the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) back in November 2023. Mann wrote that Washington’s policy on Gaza “enabled and empowered the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians [in Gaza]."
Mann, who served as an executive officer at the DIA’s Middle East and Africa Center, referenced his own European Jewish ancestry, and claimed he was “haunted” by the “unforgiving moral environment when it came to the topic of bearing responsibility for ethnic cleansing.”
According to him, few of his former colleagues spoke out about the developments in Gaza. He noted that “I now realize the obvious - if I was afraid to voice my concerns, you were too.”
Mann’s departure is not the first. In March, Annelle Sheline resigned from her position as a foreign affairs officer in the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, saying her job had become “impossible” as the Biden administration continues to “send a steady stream of weapons to Israel”.
Earlier, Josh Paul, who was a senior State Department official involved in arms transfers to foreign governments, resigned from his role 10 days after Hamas first launched its attack on Israel. Despite instances of dissent among its own government employees and protests by US citizens, the Biden administration has persisted in supporting Israel in its war against Hamas, paying no more than lip service to the Palestinians' plight.
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Poland will not accept illegal migrants within the framework of the Migration Pact adopted by the EU Council, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has told reporters.
The pact is a package of regulations and policies on migration and procedures for granting international protection and is designed to unify the approach to forced migration and asylum in all EU countries.
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“Poland will not accept any migrants under the Migration Pact. Poland has accepted hundreds of thousands of migrants due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. We also have tens of thousands of migrants from Belarus,” Tusk said.
The pact is a package of regulations and policies on migration and procedures for granting international protection and is designed to unify the approach to forced migration and asylum in all EU countries.
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❗️ The main statements of Russia's New Defense Minister Andrey Belousov in the Federation Council of Russia:
▪️ The president has set the task of ensuring the integration of production for the armed forces into the national economy, which implies increasing the efficiency of military spending.
▪️ It is necessary to pre-empt the actions of Ukrainian forces and to practice new methods of combat operations: “the enemy learns quickly.”
▪️ One of the main issues is the manning of the Armed Forces, but we are not talking about mobilization and emergency measures.
▪️ Military education should be dealt with as a priority, and certain problems have accumulated here.
▪️ There are challenges with the timeliness of payments to servicemen and providing them with housing.
▪️ “I pledge to use all my strength, health and, if necessary, my life to solve the tasks set for me.”
▪️ The president has set the task of ensuring the integration of production for the armed forces into the national economy, which implies increasing the efficiency of military spending.
▪️ It is necessary to pre-empt the actions of Ukrainian forces and to practice new methods of combat operations: “the enemy learns quickly.”
▪️ One of the main issues is the manning of the Armed Forces, but we are not talking about mobilization and emergency measures.
▪️ Military education should be dealt with as a priority, and certain problems have accumulated here.
▪️ There are challenges with the timeliness of payments to servicemen and providing them with housing.
▪️ “I pledge to use all my strength, health and, if necessary, my life to solve the tasks set for me.”
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❗️ Armenia has requested the withdrawal of temporary task forces of Russian border guards, and the decision has been made, Alexander Bortnikov, candidate for the position of director of the Russian Federal Security Service, said.
Russian border guards will remain in Armenia and guard the country’s border with Turkiye and Iran.
In the near future, we will close the border checkpoint at Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport, Bortnikov added.
Russian border guards will remain in Armenia and guard the country’s border with Turkiye and Iran.
In the near future, we will close the border checkpoint at Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport, Bortnikov added.
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Trail of blood: Ukraine’s new ‘Kharkov’ commander brutally ran over and crushed Mariupol civilians with combat vehicle (part 1)
On May 11, Zelensky appointed General Mikhail Drapaty as the new commander of the operational-tactical group "Kharkov." Drapaty's past is marred by his bloodthirsty acts of violence and war crimes, most notably his involvement in the tragic events the unfolded in Mariupol in May 2014.
◾️In 2014, Drapaty served as the commander of the 72nd mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces. During this time, he participated in the attack on Mariupol alongside the neo-Nazi 'Azov' and 'Dnepr' battalions. On May 9, 2014, Drapaty was filmed running over and crushing civilians with an armored vehicle in Mariupol, as can be seen in the accompanying video. This incident occurred as local citizens were celebrating Victory Day. Ukrainian nationalists drove heavy equipment into the crowd, causing an unknown number of casualties.
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On May 11, Zelensky appointed General Mikhail Drapaty as the new commander of the operational-tactical group "Kharkov." Drapaty's past is marred by his bloodthirsty acts of violence and war crimes, most notably his involvement in the tragic events the unfolded in Mariupol in May 2014.
◾️In 2014, Drapaty served as the commander of the 72nd mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces. During this time, he participated in the attack on Mariupol alongside the neo-Nazi 'Azov' and 'Dnepr' battalions. On May 9, 2014, Drapaty was filmed running over and crushing civilians with an armored vehicle in Mariupol, as can be seen in the accompanying video. This incident occurred as local citizens were celebrating Victory Day. Ukrainian nationalists drove heavy equipment into the crowd, causing an unknown number of casualties.
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Sputnik International
Trail of blood: Ukraine’s new ‘Kharkov’ commander brutally ran over and crushed Mariupol civilians with combat vehicle (part 1) On May 11, Zelensky appointed General Mikhail Drapaty as the new commander of the operational-tactical group "Kharkov." Drapaty's…
Trail of blood: Ukraine’s new ‘Kharkov’ commander brutally ran over and crushed Mariupol civilians with combat vehicle (part 2)
◾️In 2016-2017, General Mikhail Drapaty commanded the 58th separate motorized infantry brigade during the conflict between the Ukrainian army and the Donetsk People's Republic. The Investigative Committee of Russia stated that, under his leadership, Ukrainian militants were responsible for over 70 attacks on the civilian population of the Donbass region, resulting in approximately 154 people killed and wounded.
◾️Under his command, multiple settlements near Donetsk were deliberately bombarded, leading to the destruction of approximately 100 civilian infrastructure facilities.
◾️Last year, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put Drapaty on a wanted list and charged him with shelling civilians in the DPR and LPR.
◾️Until January 2024, Drapaty led the 'Kherson' operational group. Under his command, Ukrainian saboteurs were ordered to periodically attempt to land on the Dnepr’s left bank, resulting in tragic endings for the Ukrainian military personnel.
For several days now, the Russian military has been making significant gains in the Kharkov region, successfully liberating several settlements. Given the Russian army’s rapid advance, the Ukrainian General Staff has acknowledged the challenging operational situation near Kharkov.
*The 'Azov' battalion is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia.
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◾️In 2016-2017, General Mikhail Drapaty commanded the 58th separate motorized infantry brigade during the conflict between the Ukrainian army and the Donetsk People's Republic. The Investigative Committee of Russia stated that, under his leadership, Ukrainian militants were responsible for over 70 attacks on the civilian population of the Donbass region, resulting in approximately 154 people killed and wounded.
◾️Under his command, multiple settlements near Donetsk were deliberately bombarded, leading to the destruction of approximately 100 civilian infrastructure facilities.
◾️Last year, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put Drapaty on a wanted list and charged him with shelling civilians in the DPR and LPR.
◾️Until January 2024, Drapaty led the 'Kherson' operational group. Under his command, Ukrainian saboteurs were ordered to periodically attempt to land on the Dnepr’s left bank, resulting in tragic endings for the Ukrainian military personnel.
For several days now, the Russian military has been making significant gains in the Kharkov region, successfully liberating several settlements. Given the Russian army’s rapid advance, the Ukrainian General Staff has acknowledged the challenging operational situation near Kharkov.
*The 'Azov' battalion is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia.
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⚡️The State Duma approved all 16 proposed candidates for the positions of ministers of the Russian Federation.
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Sputnik International
⚡️The State Duma approved all 16 proposed candidates for the positions of ministers of the Russian Federation. Subscribe to @SputnikInt
The Russian State Duma at a plenary meeting voted to approve the following ministers:
🔺Anton Alikhanov - Minister of Industry and Trade
🔺Mikhail Degtyarev - Minister of Sports
🔺Alexander Kozlov - Minister of Natural Resources and Environment
🔺Anton Kotyakov - Minister of Labor and Social Protection
🔺Sergei Kravtsov - Minister of Education
🔺Olga Lyubimova - Minister of Culture
🔺Oksana Lut - Minister of Agriculture
🔺Mikhail Murashko - Minister of Health
🔺Maxim Reshetnikov - Minister of Economic Development
🔺Roman Starovoit - Minister of Transport
🔺Anton Siluanov - Minister of Finance
🔺Irek Fayzullin - Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services
🔺Valery Falkov - Minister of Science and Higher Education
🔺Sergey Tsivilev - Minister of Energy
🔺Alexey Chekunkov - Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic
🔺Maksut Shadayev - Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications
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🔺Anton Alikhanov - Minister of Industry and Trade
🔺Mikhail Degtyarev - Minister of Sports
🔺Alexander Kozlov - Minister of Natural Resources and Environment
🔺Anton Kotyakov - Minister of Labor and Social Protection
🔺Sergei Kravtsov - Minister of Education
🔺Olga Lyubimova - Minister of Culture
🔺Oksana Lut - Minister of Agriculture
🔺Mikhail Murashko - Minister of Health
🔺Maxim Reshetnikov - Minister of Economic Development
🔺Roman Starovoit - Minister of Transport
🔺Anton Siluanov - Minister of Finance
🔺Irek Fayzullin - Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services
🔺Valery Falkov - Minister of Science and Higher Education
🔺Sergey Tsivilev - Minister of Energy
🔺Alexey Chekunkov - Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic
🔺Maksut Shadayev - Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications
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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: charity, lobbying vehicle or Pentagon bioweapon cover?
Melinda Gates, former wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has announced that she will resign from the foundation she helped lead with her ex-husband. Despite its philanthropic veneer, the foundation's ethics and conduct raise questions.
🔸 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was launched in 2000 and emerged as the world's second largest charity, with total assets reaching $69 billion as of 2020.
🔸 Despite its declared aim to help the poor, nearly 90 percent of the foundation's charitable funds go to organizations located in wealthy nations as well as political lobbying with little if any oversight, The Nation reports.
🔸The charity's 2006 agro-project the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) failed with the number of starving people in targeted 13 African countries rising by 30 percent as of 2020, a German study revealed.
🔸 Bill Gates maintained close ties with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein after he pleaded guilty to procuring a girl under 18 for prostitution, and hired Epstein's protégé Melanie Walker as a top adviser to his foundation.
🔸 Rajat Kumar Gupta, another criminal jailed for securities fraud in 2012, earlier served as the foundation's top adviser.
🔸 The foundation has donated over $25 million to the Clinton Foundation and could be involved in alleged money laundering schemes: review of filings for the Gates fund reveal false claims about many grants from the Gates' to the Clinton charity, according to Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel.
🔸 The Gates-funded biotechnology company Oxitec could be used by the Pentagon in its bioweapon program to cultivate infection-carrying ticks and mosquitoes, Russia's Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense (RCB) Troops alleged in July 2023, citing biolab documents found in Ukraine.
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Melinda Gates, former wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has announced that she will resign from the foundation she helped lead with her ex-husband. Despite its philanthropic veneer, the foundation's ethics and conduct raise questions.
🔸 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was launched in 2000 and emerged as the world's second largest charity, with total assets reaching $69 billion as of 2020.
🔸 Despite its declared aim to help the poor, nearly 90 percent of the foundation's charitable funds go to organizations located in wealthy nations as well as political lobbying with little if any oversight, The Nation reports.
🔸The charity's 2006 agro-project the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) failed with the number of starving people in targeted 13 African countries rising by 30 percent as of 2020, a German study revealed.
🔸 Bill Gates maintained close ties with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein after he pleaded guilty to procuring a girl under 18 for prostitution, and hired Epstein's protégé Melanie Walker as a top adviser to his foundation.
🔸 Rajat Kumar Gupta, another criminal jailed for securities fraud in 2012, earlier served as the foundation's top adviser.
🔸 The foundation has donated over $25 million to the Clinton Foundation and could be involved in alleged money laundering schemes: review of filings for the Gates fund reveal false claims about many grants from the Gates' to the Clinton charity, according to Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel.
🔸 The Gates-funded biotechnology company Oxitec could be used by the Pentagon in its bioweapon program to cultivate infection-carrying ticks and mosquitoes, Russia's Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense (RCB) Troops alleged in July 2023, citing biolab documents found in Ukraine.
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Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov outlined the details of the president's upcoming visit to China (May 16–17):
▪️Leaders will discuss the situation around Ukraine, the Middle East and the Asian region at the Beijing negotiations.
▪️Russia notes China’s balanced position on the Ukrainian crisis; China PRC understands its causes.
▪️Putin and Xi Jinping are also planning to have an informal meeting, and Belousov and Shoigu are going to take part in it.
▪️A large number of bilateral documents, including economic ones, have been prepared for Putin's visit.
▪️Chernyshenko, Manturov, Novak, Trutnev and Golikova will have an expanded role in the negotiations as chairpersons of bilateral commissions.
▪️The delegation will also include Oreshkin, Lavrov, Nabiullina, Siluanov, Belozerov, Likhachev, Borisov, Gref, Deripaska, Kostin, Mikhelson, Sechin, Shuvalov and Shokhin.
▪️On May 17, Putin will have a conversation with students of Harbin Polytechnic University and answer their questions.
▪️Xi Jinping has already given his preliminary consent to attend the BRICS summit in Kazan.
▪️Putin will meet with Russian journalists covering the trip at the end of his visit to China.
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▪️Leaders will discuss the situation around Ukraine, the Middle East and the Asian region at the Beijing negotiations.
▪️Russia notes China’s balanced position on the Ukrainian crisis; China PRC understands its causes.
▪️Putin and Xi Jinping are also planning to have an informal meeting, and Belousov and Shoigu are going to take part in it.
▪️A large number of bilateral documents, including economic ones, have been prepared for Putin's visit.
▪️Chernyshenko, Manturov, Novak, Trutnev and Golikova will have an expanded role in the negotiations as chairpersons of bilateral commissions.
▪️The delegation will also include Oreshkin, Lavrov, Nabiullina, Siluanov, Belozerov, Likhachev, Borisov, Gref, Deripaska, Kostin, Mikhelson, Sechin, Shuvalov and Shokhin.
▪️On May 17, Putin will have a conversation with students of Harbin Polytechnic University and answer their questions.
▪️Xi Jinping has already given his preliminary consent to attend the BRICS summit in Kazan.
▪️Putin will meet with Russian journalists covering the trip at the end of his visit to China.
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🔥 Watch Battlegroup Yug units manning Russia’s Solntsepyok heavy flamethrower unleash massive firepower against Ukrainian positions
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Gap between US, adversaries’ electronic warfare capabilities growing into chasm
Retired US Army Lieutenant General and spec ops commander Mike Nagata has sounded the alarm about the state of US military’s electronic warfare capabilities, warning that America is “still falling behind” potential adversaries in this area in spite of the defense industry’s best efforts.
Hudson Institute senior fellow Daniel Patt told lawmakers earlier this month that Russian electronic warfare equipment has reduced the “efficiency rate” of the GPS-guided Excalibur artillery munition from 70 to 6 percent, with other weapons, from drones and small-diameter bombs to communications systems like Starlink and Starshield, proving similarly susceptible, in part owing to their high-energy signatures.
Last week, Business Insider reported that Russia’s EW systems have had a “shocking” impact on the accuracy of weapons like the HIMARS-fired Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), and the air-launched Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) dumb-to-smart bomb conversion kit.
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Retired US Army Lieutenant General and spec ops commander Mike Nagata has sounded the alarm about the state of US military’s electronic warfare capabilities, warning that America is “still falling behind” potential adversaries in this area in spite of the defense industry’s best efforts.
“The gap between where the United States should be and where we are, in my judgment, continues to expand not everywhere, but in far too many places,” Nagata said at a Special Operations Forces Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
“The US government, particularly its leadership – from senior military officers all the way to civilian policymakers – we have to be willing to take more risk in experimenting with, adopting and employing new technologies,” Nagata said, highlighting the unique challenges posed by Russian electromagnetic jamming equipment.
Hudson Institute senior fellow Daniel Patt told lawmakers earlier this month that Russian electronic warfare equipment has reduced the “efficiency rate” of the GPS-guided Excalibur artillery munition from 70 to 6 percent, with other weapons, from drones and small-diameter bombs to communications systems like Starlink and Starshield, proving similarly susceptible, in part owing to their high-energy signatures.
Last week, Business Insider reported that Russia’s EW systems have had a “shocking” impact on the accuracy of weapons like the HIMARS-fired Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), and the air-launched Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) dumb-to-smart bomb conversion kit.
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Why Blinken's surprise visit to Ukraine is bad omen for Zelensky
💬 "Western media report that Blinken will send a strong signal of confidence to Kiev. In my opinion, on the contrary, such a hasty unannounced visit to Ukraine in the current conditions should rather raise alarm bells," Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries and the Other Ukraine movement expert, told Sputnik.
According to Dudchak, Blinken has come to Kiev to evaluate the situation on the ground and offer new tougher conditions to Volodymyr Zelensky amid Ukraine's failures on the battlefield.
One of these conditions is to speed up mobilization and throw more Ukrainians into the conflict's meat grinder, the expert said, citing the fact that the new draconian draft law is due to come into force in a few days.
Blinken's surprise visit also coincided with the expiration of Zelensky's presidential term on May 20. Despite calls from Washington and Brussels, Zelensky refused to hold elections this year — under the pretext of Ukraine's martial law.
The researcher pointed out that Anglo-American competition for Ukraine adds to the ongoing controversy. The Ukrainian presidential office is currently controlled by UK intelligence services, but Washington wants to put its own protégé at the helm of the Ukrainian state, Dudchak concluded.
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According to Dudchak, Blinken has come to Kiev to evaluate the situation on the ground and offer new tougher conditions to Volodymyr Zelensky amid Ukraine's failures on the battlefield.
One of these conditions is to speed up mobilization and throw more Ukrainians into the conflict's meat grinder, the expert said, citing the fact that the new draconian draft law is due to come into force in a few days.
Blinken's surprise visit also coincided with the expiration of Zelensky's presidential term on May 20. Despite calls from Washington and Brussels, Zelensky refused to hold elections this year — under the pretext of Ukraine's martial law.
"In general, his legitimacy is determined by the West," Sputnik's commentator noted. "Nonetheless, this situation poses a threat to [Zelensky] personally, because he is of no value for the West, so his replacement is possible, and he understands this very well."
The researcher pointed out that Anglo-American competition for Ukraine adds to the ongoing controversy. The Ukrainian presidential office is currently controlled by UK intelligence services, but Washington wants to put its own protégé at the helm of the Ukrainian state, Dudchak concluded.
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Ukraine’s ‘paper’ fortifications lay bare scale of Kiev regime’s corruption
As Russian military forces successfully advance in the Kharkov Region, the Kiev regime is in the throes of a new scandal. This time, the accusation is over Ukraine’s defensive failures, which revealed that many fortifications built “on paper” are non-existent.
“Where are the fortifications?” wailed the Ukrainska Pravda news site, bemoaning “millions” allegedly paid to “fictitious companies” by the Kharkov regional military administration.
The publication also quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who claimed in early April that fortifications in the area were “98 percent ready.”
Ukrainian social media accounts also lambasted Zelensky’s statement at a December 19 2023 press conference, when he hailed the fortifications near Kharkov as the “most powerful.”
Ukrainian commanders like Denis Yaroslavsky are fuming. The absence of adequate fortifications along the first line of defense allowed Russian forces to advance with ease, he told Western media, blaming negligence or corruption.
Since the start of 2024, 20 billion hryvnia ($504 million) were allocated from the state budget’s reserve fund for fortifications. Additional resources amounted to another 5.7 billion hryvnia ($142 million), Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said.
Many Telegram channels note that Kiev long ago switched to the strategy of using cities as “free fortifications.”
If so, Kharkov could face a fate similar to Avdeyevka, with the Ukrainian army hoping to use local high-rise buildings as firing points and underground tunnels to store ammunition — while throwing troops into the ‘meat grinder.’
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As Russian military forces successfully advance in the Kharkov Region, the Kiev regime is in the throes of a new scandal. This time, the accusation is over Ukraine’s defensive failures, which revealed that many fortifications built “on paper” are non-existent.
“Where are the fortifications?” wailed the Ukrainska Pravda news site, bemoaning “millions” allegedly paid to “fictitious companies” by the Kharkov regional military administration.
The publication also quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who claimed in early April that fortifications in the area were “98 percent ready.”
Ukrainian social media accounts also lambasted Zelensky’s statement at a December 19 2023 press conference, when he hailed the fortifications near Kharkov as the “most powerful.”
Ukrainian commanders like Denis Yaroslavsky are fuming. The absence of adequate fortifications along the first line of defense allowed Russian forces to advance with ease, he told Western media, blaming negligence or corruption.
“In two years, there should have been concrete fortifications all of three floors deep on the Ukrainian border! Not even mine fields were laid. We come to the conclusion that this is either theft on an insane scale, or deliberate sabotage!” the commander of a Ukrainian Special Reconnaissance Unit told the BBC.
Since the start of 2024, 20 billion hryvnia ($504 million) were allocated from the state budget’s reserve fund for fortifications. Additional resources amounted to another 5.7 billion hryvnia ($142 million), Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said.
Many Telegram channels note that Kiev long ago switched to the strategy of using cities as “free fortifications.”
If so, Kharkov could face a fate similar to Avdeyevka, with the Ukrainian army hoping to use local high-rise buildings as firing points and underground tunnels to store ammunition — while throwing troops into the ‘meat grinder.’
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☢️ US ban on Russian Uranium imports will suffer fate of other failed Western sanctions – energy expert
It could take the US “years” to replace banned Russian uranium exports, Dr Mamdouh G. Salameh, an international oil economist, told Sputnik. He pointed out Russia is the world's top supplier of enriched uranium, accounting for about 24 percent of all nuclear fuels used by US reactors.
He added that the ban would send prices of uranium fuels soaring, “thus enhancing Russia’s revenues.”
The US ban on Russia’s exports of low-enriched uranium will likely suffer the same fate as all other Western sanctions that have backfired on their proponents, Salameh stressed.
💬 "Therefore, President Biden’s signing into law a ban on Russia’s exports of enriched uranium won’t fare better," he concluded.
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It could take the US “years” to replace banned Russian uranium exports, Dr Mamdouh G. Salameh, an international oil economist, told Sputnik. He pointed out Russia is the world's top supplier of enriched uranium, accounting for about 24 percent of all nuclear fuels used by US reactors.
“The US can’t replace Russian exports immediately because it doesn’t have the production capacity. It could take it more than two years to build a new capacity and arrange to import bits and pieces from Japan, France, Ukraine and Canada,” said the global energy expert.
He added that the ban would send prices of uranium fuels soaring, “thus enhancing Russia’s revenues.”
The US ban on Russia’s exports of low-enriched uranium will likely suffer the same fate as all other Western sanctions that have backfired on their proponents, Salameh stressed.
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