Ukraine's LNG deal is desperate attempt to prove usefulness to US

"I think the contract is purely for political purposes," Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst of the National Energy Security Fund and expert of the Financial University of the Government of Russian Federation, told Sputnik. "Buying gas from American producers is politically important for them. This way they demonstrate their political loyalty to the United States."

Ukraine's energy company DTEK Group announced on June 13 that it had struck an agreement with Venture Global to buy unspecified amounts of liquefied natural gas from the US gas firm's Plaquemines LNG facility in Louisiana throughout 2026.

DTEK also committed to purchasing up to 2 million tons of LNG per annum from Venture Global's new CP2 LNG plant for 20 years, once the facilities are built, according to the Financial Times.

Stanislav Mitrakhovich, a leading expert at the National Energy Security Fund and the Financial University with the Russian government, in turn noted that the declaration is "predominantly a PR move to demonstrate further alignment with America" for Ukraine.

On the other hand, for the US company, it may serve as a tactic to quickly overturn Biden's temporary, election-driven decision to halt new liquefied gas export licenses, a move that is intended to keep domestic gas prices low and satisfy the Democratic Party's left wing, which opposes fossil fuels.

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There are almost 700,000 Russian soldiers in the special military operation zone, Vladimir Putin said.

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Russia is forced to push back the front line in the Kharkov region in order to reduce terrorist attacks on the Russian city of Belgorod, Putin said at a meeting with special operation veterans.

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Ex-Pentagon analyst: Ukraine should heed Putin's offer to avoid new losses

"I think [US President Joe] Biden will resist it," Michael Maloof, a former senior security policy analyst in the Office of the US Secretary of Defense, tells Sputnik, commenting on Moscow's new peace proposal for Kiev.

"They've put in so much into it already, and they just agreed to a new tranche of money and arms for Ukraine."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 14 made yet another proposal to settle the Ukrainian conflict, signaling that Moscow is ready to negotiate a peace agreement if the Kiev regime pulls out from the Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which joined Russia in the result of referendums, and revokes its NATO membership bid.

Against the backdrop of Russia's proposal, the Swiss "Summit on Peace in Ukraine" scheduled for June 15-16 doesn't seem relevant due to its one-sided unrealistic approach to the crisis, according to the former Pentagon analyst.

"It's not a serious negotiation, because they haven't even invited the Russian side to this so-called peace conference," Maloof says. "The Chinese and increasingly a number of the BRICS countries pulled out. They don't want any part of this charade."

Encouraged by its Western partners, Ukraine rejected the Istanbul preliminary peace agreement with Russia and sustained huge manpower and territorial losses afterwards. The pundit expects that it could happen again if Kiev rejects Putin's new offer.

Ukrainian politicians, especially in the Ukrainian parliament - the Verkhovna Rada – "need to take some initiative and try to sue for peace for what they have left," Maloof stresses.

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❗️There is no deadline for the proposals outlined by Putin, but the situation at the front is changing dynamically, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

Zelensky’s illegitimacy, according to him, is not an obstacle to negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine: it is not so important who conducts the negotiations, the main thing is that their results are recorded by legitimate representatives.

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Elon Musk “outsources” Starlink to Pentagon: principles vs. actions

The businessman has extended SpaceX's contract with the Pentagon for six months to continue providing Starlink mobile internet to Ukraine, which is frequently used by Ukraine's Armed Forces. Bonnie Poindexter, Pentagon spokeswoman, stated that the $14.1 million contract requires extending by November 30, 2024.

Initially, Musk provided Starlink’s services to Ukraine after the beginning of the Russian special operation at his own expense with the bill exceeding $100 million by the end of 2022. Then, the Pentagon came to help, signing the contract in June 2023.

However, providing Starlink’s services to the Ukrainian military does not jive with some lofty statements from Musk.

▪️In October 2022 Musk turned off Starlink over the Crimean peninsula so the Ukrainians could not use it to target Russia’s Black Sea Fleet with drones. This story became public thanks to Musk’s authorized biography, written by Walter Isaacson;

▪️The belated cracking of this story in 2023 led to threats and insults from Kiev, but Musk stood by his decision, saying that helping Kiev to strike Crimea would have “escalated tensions”;

▪️In his interviews and statements, Musk said that “Crimea belongs to Russia and Ukraine isn’t likely to win,” as WSJ reported in one of its many critical articles about Musk. The billionaire also suggested “ending the conflict immediately” in February 2024.

So, why is Musk’s “peace talk” not always accompanied by action? Critique from media and statements of US officials indicate a certain pressure to which Musk is subjected by the US military and their lobbyists.

For example, Business Insider reports that he is “facing pressure to provide SpaceX’s Starshield satellite network to US defense personnel in Taiwan,” similar to it's use in Ukraine. Citing a letter to Musk by GOP congressman Mike Gallagher, BI writes that Musk has a “contractual commitment” to give the Pentagon access to his networks.

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▪️Key points of Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for peaceful settlement in Ukraine

▪️Scott Ritter on Russia's peace move: ‘The ball is now in the West’s court’

▪️Ex-Pentagon analyst: Ukraine should heed Putin's offer to avoid new losses

▪️Europeans must prioritize establishing new Eurasian security architecture – analyst

▪️Murderous mercs’ trail of misery in Ukraine: Georgian Legion’s dark deeds unveiled

▪️Ukraine's LNG deal is desperate attempt to prove usefulness to US

▪️Why Biden's 10-year security pact with Ukraine is nothing but a PR stunt

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Indiscriminate shelling by Ukrainian forces continues, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the recent attack on the town of Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod Region.

"Hostilities continue, indiscriminate shelling of civilian infrastructure by the Ukrainian armed forces continues," the spokesman told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin.

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If Ukraine and its Western partners decline Russia’s peaceful settlement proposal, they will bear the political and moral responsibility for the continuation of bloodshed, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia stressed at the UN Security Council meeting.

If Kiev rejects Moscow’s peace proposal, the conditions for starting negotiations will change in the future, Nebenzia noted at the UNSC meeting discussing possible strikes inside Russian territory using weapons supplied to Ukraine by Western countries.

The Kiev regime and its sponsors defiantly ignore peace efforts to resolve the crisis and refuse to discuss them, Nebenzia added.

Western armed personnel are almost "manually" directing Ukraine's use of high-precision weapons as the Ukrainian armed forces cannot operate them themselves, the Russian representative said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 14 made yet another proposal to settle the Ukrainian conflict, signaling that Moscow is ready to negotiate a peace agreement if the Kiev regime pulls out from the Donbass, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which joined Russia as a result of referendums, and revokes its NATO membership bid.

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Russia urges UN member states and the UN Secretariat not to participate in the "provocations" of the Swiss conference on Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzia emphasized.

"We call on UN member states and the secretariat to not partake in these provocations ... in Burgenstock," Nebenzia said at a UN Security Council meeting. "Do not let yourself be used as extras in these ham-fisted anti-Russian intrigues the West is concocting."

Proposals that could lay the groundwork for negotiations have been put forward recently by African countries, the League of Arab States, and Brazil. A "deep understanding" of the conflict has also been demonstrated by China, the diplomat added.

However, all these peace efforts have been defiantly ignored by the Kiev regime and its Western sponsors, Nebenzia stressed.

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The Biden administration does not know whether future US authorities will maintain the signed security agreement between Washington and Kiev, a senior White House official said.

Previously, The New York Times reported that Ukraine was concerned about a clause in the security agreement between Kiev and Washington under which the US might terminate the arrangement.

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🇿🇦 The National Assembly of South Africa re-elected Cyril Ramaphosa as the country's president, the voting results showed.

According to the SABC television channel, Ramaphosa received 283 votes, and his rival, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party Julius Malema, received 44 votes.

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“For the United States, any agreement matters only as long as it is favorable to Washington,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on recent statements by the White House about the future of the signed security agreement between Washington and Kiev.

According to a senior White House official, there is a possibility that the agreement will be terminated by future US authorities. Zakharova emphasized that “this 'agreement' has no force whatsoever.”

The spokeswoman recalled the controversial reaction of the US to the UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

“Recently, State Department spokesman Miller extended the same principle even to decisions of the UN Security Council that are binding on the international community: ‘This is a non-binding resolution, and I will leave it to international lawyers to comment on it in detail,'" Zakharova noted, quoting Miller.

“What can one say about a piece of paper signed with a terrorist drug-addict whose legitimacy is questioned even in his own country? On the other hand, it is a good question which country Zelensky considers his own,” the spokeswoman said.

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Four bodies have been recovered from under the rubble of a destroyed entrance to a five-storey apartment building in the town of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod region after Ukrainian forces hit the building, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry reported.

Rescuers continue working to remove the debris of apartments, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

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Romania denied visas to Russian delegation to OSCE PA - Russian lawmaker

Russian parliament has received a notification from the Romanian Foreign Ministry that it would not issue visas for members of the Russian delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, said Grigory Karasin, the head of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee.

"A session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was scheduled to take place in Bucharest at the end of June. So, we, the co-founding country of this organization, received a note from the Romanian Foreign Ministry. It states that... none of the members of the Russian delegation will be issued visas or allowed to enter the country," Karasin said on Telegram.

He slammed Romania's move, saying it was "contributing to the destruction of this once useful organization for cooperation in Europe."

Last week, lawmaker and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Leonid Slutsky said that Russia is likely to part ways with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly if it did not receive an invitation to the next session of the organization in Romania.

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The death toll after the collapse of a five-storey apartment building in the town of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod Region has risen to five, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

A woman hospitalized after the Ukrainian terrorist attack died at the hospital, the governor reported. Search and rescue operations at the site of the collapse of the residential building have been completed, the Emergencies Ministry said.

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The UK is limiting the development of its own economy, whose growth rate remains at an extremely low level, the Russian Embassy in London said in a statement, commenting on the new British sanctions against Russia.

“By methodically limiting the country’s development with its own sanctions measures, London has apparently finally accepted the ultra-low... growth rates of the British economy," the embassy said.

The United Kingdom on Thursday expanded the list of sanctions against Russia, adding more than 40 individuals and organizations.

The Russian embassy emphasized that the difficult economic situation in the UK is largely the result of such “futile foreign policy reckless moves by the Conservative government in its last weeks in power.”

The ultimate beneficiary of such measures in any case would be the United States, which the UK serves without receiving anything significant in return, the statement added.

“Ironically, the ultimate beneficiary of this policy, even if it had a chance of achieving results, would not be Great Britain, but the United States, with its more developed financial infrastructure and LNG export potential. The British themselves, diligently serving their senior overseas partners, since the Brexit period, have never received anything significant from them in return, including the cherished free trade agreement,” the Russian embassy said in a statement obtained by Sputnik.

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The US military is set to temporarily withdraw its humanitarian pier off Gaza's coast due to expected adverse sea conditions, The Times of Israel reported, citing an unnamed US official. This development adds to the ongoing difficulties faced by the operation, which has been troubled by poor weather since its installation in May.

The floating pier, used to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza, had just resumed operations after a suspension over the weekend.

According to the official, the pier is expected to be relocated to the Israeli port of Ashdod until the sea conditions are favorable again.

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