📹More footage from the anti-World Health Organisation protest in Geneva.

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💲 Ukraine warmongering burns gaping hole in France’s budget

French President Emmanuel Macron got a nasty wakeup call on Friday as Standard & Poor's cut its long-term sovereign credit rating from AA to AA−.

“France's general government debt as a share of GDP will increase because of larger-than-expected budget deficits over 2023—2027," S&P explained, adding that the country’s state debt will reach 112.1% of GDP in 2027.

The downgrade comes after France racked up a budget deficit of 5.5% of GDP in 2023 instead of the projected 4.9%. This fiscal shortfall, equal to an estimated 20 billion euros, will add to the massive sovereign debt. In 2024, France was officially reported as having a debt-to-GDP ratio of 112% by the IMF.

What are the potential consequences?

◻️ The rating cut is expected to further put a damper on Macron’s prospects for the European Parliament elections this month. His personal ratings swooped to their lowest record last year over his handling of the controversial pension reform and ensuing protests. In April, close to three-quarters of French respondents expressed dissatisfaction with his actions, an Ifop-Fiducial survey for Sud Radio showed.

◻️ As France currently spends 43.9 billion euros on the military, which is 1.94% of GDP, as per Ouest-France, Paris may now want to reassess its military expenditures. In February, France pledged to deliver up to three billion euros in military aid to Kiev in 2024. Government overall military support to Ukraine equaled 2.69 billion euros, according to the Ukraine Support Tracker, Kiel WP.

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Scraping the barrel: the West’s proxy conflict is fast draining Ukraine of people

Not only is the Kiev regime's military facing manpower shortages due to heavy battlefield losses, the bite is also being felt in the economy. Industrial facilities, mines and building sites are all struggling to find enough able-bodied staff.

While Kiev hopes to plug personnel gaps in the military with its new mobilization law, keeping Ukraine’s economy afloat with such a shortage of manpower is another challenge.

Millions have fled the country, dodging the draft, unwilling to fight “to the last Ukrainian.”

The labor force has shrunk by some 27 percent since the Ukraine conflict escalated, Ukrainian Deputy Central Bank Governor Sergiy Nikolaychuk told Bloomberg.

Men have also avoided connoscription by working on the informal labor market, wary of the new requirement for employers to provide their details to army recruiters.

Billions-worth of weapons funneled to Ukraine cannot compensate for finite human resources, Bloomberg admitted. Despite Kiev encouraging immigrants and women to go to work in place of their menfolk, businesses still had to cut back their operations.

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🇷🇺❄️How Northern Fleet protects Russia’s Arctic

The Northern Fleet is an “operational-strategic” fleet, retired Russian Navy Captain 1st Rank Vasily Dandykin told Sputnik, commenting on the many tasks assigned to the powerful Russian naval formation as it marked its professional holiday on Saturday.

💬 “It is responsible for the security of our entire Arctic – from the Kola Peninsula to the Bering Strait, where the Pacific Fleet takes over. This is a very large amount of coastline,” Dandykin, who served in the Northern Fleet himself back in Soviet days, explained.

“This includes ensuring the security of the Northern Sea Route, islands. And that’s not counting the Northern Fleet’s missions to the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and if needed, seas or oceans anywhere in the world, because its capabilities relative to other Russian fleets are much greater. Then of course, there are the naval nuclear forces, including submarines from Projects Borey and Borey-A, and the 667BDRM Delfin project, which have Bulava and Sineva missiles onboard. The fleet also includes multipurpose subs capable of fighting enemy naval groups, including Yasen and Yasen-M subs – the first of which arrived in Severodvinsk precisely to the Northern Fleet,” the observer noted.

On top of that are the Northern Fleet’s surface components, which in addition to missile-armed warships including the Admiral Golovoko, Admiral Kasatonov and Admiral Gorshkov, Naval Infantry formations, naval aviation and air defenses guarding Russia’s Arctic coast, Dandykin said.

He is confident that the personnel and superior military equipment assigned to Russia’s Northern Fleet today far outmatch any and all potential adversaries in terms of “experience, nerves and combat potential.”

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◻️ Houthis’ Red Sea blockade makes Russia’s Northern Sea Route attractive to desperate West

◻️ Ukraine warmongering burns gaping hole in France’s budget

◻️ How Northern Fleet protects Russia’s Arctic

◻️ Senior German lawmaker demands activation of 900,000 reservists amid anti-Russia hysteria

◻️ ‘Crazy politics’ hell-bent on dragging the continent into World War III

◻️ Some Republicans may rethink Trump vote after ‘hush money’ guilty verdict – poll

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Chile is going to join South Africa's lawsuit against Israel

Chile's President Gabriel Boric says the country will join a lawsuit against Israel that South Africa has filed with the UN International Court of Justice over the situation in the Gaza Strip.

"I have decided that Chile will support the case presented by South Africa against Israel in the international court. I have instructed the foreign ministry to prepare a report with our arguments," Boric was quoted as saying by Chilean newspaper La Tercera.

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Bernie Sanders: Netanyahu is a war criminal

"Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend," Sanders said on his social media.

Earlier, Netanyahu accepted an invitation from US congressional leaders to address a joint meeting of Congress in support of Israel in the fight against terrorism.

The senator said that he agreed with the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, adding that "these people are engaged in clear and outrageous violations of international law."

On May 20, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan filed requests for arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh and the leader of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Masri, over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since October 2023 based on evidence collected and examined by his office.

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The Houthis once more hit the US aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower

The Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah attacked the US aircraft carrier Dwight Eisenhower in the Red Sea twice during the day, as stated by the Houthis' spokesman Yahya Saree on air of the Al Masirah TV channel.

He said the strike was carried out using several missiles and drones, “which was the second attack on an aircraft carrier in 24 hours.” The missile strike on the ship was first reported by the rebels on May 31. An earlier statement by Saria said the first attack was in response to British and US strikes that killed 16 people.

A spokesman for the movement also reported attacks on a US destroyer in the Red Sea and three commercial vessels - Maina, Aloraiq and Abliani. It is alleged that the rebels attacked the destroyer with several drones, “achieving a direct hit.”

According to Saria, the Maina vessel was hit twice, first in the Red Sea and then in the Arabian Sea. The Aloraiq was attacked in the Indian Ocean, the Abliani in the Red Sea.

On Friday night, UK and US launched a massive strike on Ansar Allah facilities. The US military's Central Command later informed that coalition forces hit 13 targets in different areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis.

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China's Chang'e-6 probe reached the back side of the Moon

The landing module of China's Chang'e-6 probe has successfully reached the back side of the Moon, from where it is to deliver soil, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

China Television also showed footage of the Chang'e-6 probe's landing module.

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🗣 Germany is gradually moving closer to Russia intellectually, mentally, and strategically, according to retired US Army Colonel and former Department of Defense adviser Douglas Macgregor.

He also predicts that in the coming months there will be a final rupture between the US and Germany, which will be the only opportunity to restore the economy of the European country.

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Canada to join US Indo-Pacific defense initiative, deploy military ships in region amid NATO-led militarization

Canada will join the US initiative for defense and industrial cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

On May, 31 US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the initiative to “strengthen” military cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region with Washington's allies.

Bill Blair also stated that the HMCS Vancouver would soon leave for Hawaii to join the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 exercise on June 26, alongside the HMCS Max Bernays, Motor Vessel Asterix, and 300 Canadian Armed Forces members. RIMPAC, the largest maritime exercise in the world, will involve 29 countries, 40 surface ships, 3 submarines, 14 national land forces, over 150 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel.

The exercise will be followed by Operation Horizon, involving the deployment of Canadian joint forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

Russia has repeatedly warned against militarization of the Asia-Pacific region. The penetration of NATO forces into the region threatens its stability, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The creation of closed military alliances is harmful and counterproductive, Russian President Vladimir Putin underscored after talks with China's leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

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◾ The Houthis hit the USS Dwight Eisenhower, twice

◾ Canada to join US Indo-Pacific defense initiative, deploy military ships in region amid NATO-led militarization

◾ Chile joins South African UN ICJ case against Israel

◾ Bernie Sanders: Netanyahu is a war criminal

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NATO could start war over cyberattack

A cyberattack on a member state that disrupts essential services to a point where society cannot function could trigger Article 5, drawing NATO into war, Lieutenant Admiral Rob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military Committee, said at a Singapore defense summit.

This means NATO could collectively respond to cyber threats, potentially leading to a direct conflict with the responsible nation.

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Watch & learn from the best: Pentagon announces purchase of books on Russian military strategy

The Pentagon has announced a tender for the purchase of books on Russian military strategy written by Western authors, according to the government's System for Award Management (SAM) website on Saturday.

The report says that the purchase will be made for training pilots at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, where the Air Force Historical Research Agency and Air University, a prestigious military school hosting the National Security Forum, are located.

The tender touches upon six books, including Strategiya: The Foundations of the Russian Art of Strategy by lecturer at King’s College London Ofer Fridman, Russian Grand Strategy in the Era of Global Power Competition by Andrew Monaghan, and Samuel Ramani's work on the Ukraine conflict.

Books on China (The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China, translated by Ralph D. Sawyer), artificial intelligence (I, Warbot: The Dawn of Artificially Intelligent Conflict, by Kenneth Payne), and space strategy (Understanding Space Strategy: The Art of War in Space, by John J. Klein) are also included in the list, the website said.

The Pentagon plans to buy 600 copies for each book option. Tender fulfillment is scheduled for mid-June, the query added.

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Zelensky panhandles in the Asia-Pacific ahead of Ukraine ‘peace’ conference

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky got the begging bowl out again on Saturday as he arrived in Singapore on a surprise visit. This time, his soliciting is aimed at Asia-Pacific leaders gathered for their premier defense summit – the Shangri-La Dialogue.

With 45 countries in attendance, including US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defense Admiral Dong Jun, it is no wonder Zelensky made a bee-line for the event.

He descended upon Singapore as the Kiev regime’s forces scramble to fend off a steady advance by the Russian military. Meanwhile, Zelensly’s upcoming Swiss-hosted “peace conference” has failed to draw critically important attendees like Biden or Xi Jinping, let alone Russia.

With his Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in tow, Zelensky held talks with Lloyd Austin on Sunday, met with Singapore’s president and prime minister, Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto, Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta. The Ukrainian leader later boasted that the Timorese President had agreed to attend the peace summit.

China, however, has remained adamant that it will not partake in the Swiss gathering, which does not meet its expectations.

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❗️ The Russian Armed Forces have taken control of the settlement of Umanskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said

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🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry’s daily briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

◾️ Russia’s Battlegroup Yug improved its position along the front line and destroyed three Ukrainian ammunition depots, and the enemy lost up to 290 servicemen;

◾️ Russian air defenses shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft, 50 UAVs, 23 HIMARS shells, two Tochka-U and one Neptun missile, and three Hammer bombs;

◾️ Russian Armed Forces hit a Ukrainian P-18 air target detection and tracking radar station;

◾️ Russia’s Battlegroup Vostok took more favorable positions, and the enemy lost up to 125 servicemen;

◾️ Russia ‘s Battlegroup Sever struck five enemy brigades and repulsed seven counterattacks, and Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 190 soldiers;

◾️ Ukrainian losses in battles against Russia’s Battlegroup Zapad amounted to up to 465 military personnel, a tank, and three armored vehicles.

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