‘The CIA writes her paycheck’: Venezuela’s US-backed opposition flounders

Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) is examining the results of the country’s most recent presidential election as the political opposition and its foreign backers allege fraud, but opposition leaders have so far refused to cooperate with the process.

“No Venezuelan party that alleges to have 40 percent more votes than President Maduro (as the opposition claims) would hesitate to present the evidence to the National Electoral Council (CNE),” said Venezuelan constitutional expert Dr. Olga Alvarez in response to the development. “Whoever cries election fraud must irrefutably prove it, the onus is on them not on the CNE to prove there wasn’t.”

Political activist and independent journalist Niko House joined Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program to discuss the issue with host Wilmer Leon.

“She’s been operating as a foreign agent on behalf of the United States. The CIA literally writes her a paycheck,” said House, speaking of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

“You would never see Joe Biden put in a request to audit and verify the results of the election,” he noted. “I think that speaks to the accountability and the integrity of Nicolas Maduro, which I feel like is a very important component here.”

House also noted Venezuela's robust electoral system, which includes multiple “checks and balances” and allows the opposition to monitor the counting of votes at electoral precincts.

“The most simplistic explanation is the oil, right?” House said of the United States’ interest in the election. The US and its allies have expressed concern over Maduro’s victory, echoing claims of a fraudulent election. The opposition has produced records it claims point to their victory, although the records have not been independently verified as accurate or authentic.

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New first-person combat footage from Russia's Kursk region border area, where Ukraine attempted an invasion

As a result of an assault on positions of Ukrainian forces, captured on video, four Ukrainian militants were killed and a Starlink station was captured, the Russian Defense Ministry reports.

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Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers attacked Ukrainian personnel and military equipment in the border area of the Kursk region, Russia's Defense Ministry showed in a video.

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Bye-bye, Volodymyr? US elites are discontent with Zelensky and want to replace him, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service reports

Details:

▪️ The US plans to launch a powerful information campaign to discredit Zelensky in order to force him to leave office

▪️ American elites are exploring options to replace Zelensky with a more manageable and less corrupt figure, as Ukraine is turning in to a "black hole of Europe"

▪️ Former head of Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov is being considered as a suitable candidate

▪️ Affiliated NGOs have been instructed to develop a scenario for Avakov’s ascent to power in Ukraine
Replacing Zelensky would allow the West to better prepare for the possible start of negotiations with Russia, US elites believe

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▪️ Trump to Elon Musk: Biden's suggestion that Ukraine should join NATO is a “stupid thing” to say

▪️ Plausible deniability: how Western media covers for Ukraine’s nuclear terrorism

▪️ US deployment of powerful armada to Middle East can’t hide host of weak spots

▪️ Meet Gortenziya, one of Russia’s first mass-produced FPV-drones

▪️ ‘The CIA writes her paycheck’: Venezuela’s US-backed opposition flounders

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‘For Sudzha’: Russian artillery in combat in the Kursk region border area, where Ukraine attempted an invasion.

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Poland to churn out components for US-made Patriots as Ukraine proxy war drains stocks

Poland will be churning out components for US-made Patriot air defense batteries, which are in hot demand amid NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine. Supporting the Kiev regime has hollowed out stocks, and Poland has now signed a contract to domestically build 48 launchers for the air and missile defense systems.

Under a deal worth $1.23 billion, the M903 launch stations will be produced at Stalowa Wola steelworks in Poland in cooperation with US defense giant Raytheon Technologies Corp.

Poland eagerly stepped up to the plate after an earlier US attempt to outsource Patriot production to Japan hit a snag. Tokyo’s production of PAC-3 Patriot missiles was impeded by a shortage of Boeing-made seeker components.

As for Poland, the current deal ties in with its touted military spending spree. The country is determined to double NATO’s target of two percent of annual GDP on defense and spend over four percent this year. The $9 billion deal will further boost the US’ already skyrocketing gains from arms exports since 2022, as Washington persists in fueling global conflicts.

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110 terrorist attacks have been prevented in Russia since the beginning of the year, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said

◾️ The activities of 45 terrorist cells have been suppressed in Russia in 2024, and more than 1,050 persons involved in terrorist activities have been detained

◾️ The effectiveness of anti-terrorist measures is being increased taking into account events in the regions bordering Ukraine

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❗️Most of Ukraine's troops and equipment that entered Russia’s Kursk region have already been destroyed – Akhmat special forces commander

The situation in the Kursk region has been brought under control, and the settlements where the enemy remains are being cleared out, Akhmat special forces commander Apty Alaudinov stated.

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Russian soldiers hunt Ukrainian Baba Yaga drones near Kupyansk

Russian Battlegroup Zapad UAV operators say they have started to hunt for Ukrainian Baba Yaga drones in the Kupyansk area, a fighter from the Kontora group of Battlegroup Zapad's 1st Guards Tank Army with the call sign Svarog told Sputnik.

"I am a pilot who has just shot down six agro-drones, six Baba Yaga ones. Such targets mean a lot to us, [they motivate us] to try harder. It's like gambling already, we are hunting them on purpose," the soldier explained.

Svarog specified that in the Kupyansk area, the enemy uses agricultural drones both to attack the positions of Russian forces, and to supply their units with food and water, so the Kontora group fighters track them down and then ram them.

The Baba Yaga drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, originally developed for agricultural purposes, used by Ukrainian forces.

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❗️The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 635 militants, an Abrams tank, and a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle in the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup's combat zone – Russian Defense Ministry

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

▪️In the Russian Zapad Battlegroup's combat zone, Ukrainian losses were up to 470 militants.

▪️The Russian Vostok Battlegroup destroyed up to to 100 Ukrainian militants.

▪️Over the week, the Russian Yug Battlegroup struck formations of six enemy brigades, resulting in over 510 casualties to Ukrainian Armed Forces.

▪️The Russian Armed Forces destroyed a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet on the ground and struck three launchers and a radar station of an S-300PT air defense system.

▪️Russian air defenses shot down 52 Ukrainian drones and a Mi-8 helicopter.

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🇷🇺🇵🇸 Events in the Middle East do not miss Russia's attention, despite the special military operation – Putin during talks with Palestinian leader Abbas

"It is well known that Russia today, unfortunately, must defend its interests, defend its people with weapons in its hands, but what is happening in the Middle East, what is happening in Palestine – certainly does not go unnoticed," the Russian President Vladimir Putin stated during his talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence.

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LIVE NOW | Russian President Vladimir Putin holds meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

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❗️Russia monitoring humanitarian disaster in Palestine, doing everything to support Palestinian people - Putin

"Of course, we are monitoring with great pain and anxiety the humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded in Palestine. For our part, we are doing everything to support the Palestinian people," Russian leader Vladimir Putin told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during talks at Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence.

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❗️Ukraine lost up to 2,030 servicemen, 35 tanks and four air defense missile systems during the fighting in Russia’s Kursk region – Russian Defense Ministry

Other key statements of the Russian Defense Ministry on the situation in the Kursk region:

▪️ The Russian armed forces continue to repel the attempted invasion of Kursk region.

▪️ The Russian forces defeated troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Kursk front in the areas of Mikhailovka, Korenevo, Nikolaevo-Daryino, Oleshnya, Suja and Nikolaevka.

▪️ The Russian armed forces foiled attempts by Ukraine's armored mobile groups to break through in the areas of the settlements of General Kolodez, Snagost, Kauchuk and Alekseevsky.

▪️ An attack by Ukrainian troops in the direction of Martynovka was repulsed Up to 15 enemy soldiers were killed.

▪️ Up to 15 Ukrainian servicemen were killed, six captured and four Stryker armored personnel carriers were destroyed during the clearing of the village of Ozerki in the Kursk region.

▪️ Over 24 hours, Ukraine lost up to 420 servicemen and 55 armored vehicles, including three tanks and eight armored personnel carriers in the Kursk region.

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❗️Palestine counts on Russian support at UN – Palestinian President Abbas at talks with Putin

The United Nations had failed its mission to create Palestinian state, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin held at Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence.

Palestinian authorities will not accept attempts to expatriate people from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank or East Jerusalem, Abbas insisted.

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Ukrainian Army attacked a bus with civilians in Lisichansk in the Lugansk People's Republic, one person was killed and 28 people were injured, the head of the LPR Leonid Pasechnik said in his Telegram channel.

"Ukrainian nationalists today attacked Lisichansk, using a cluster-type munition. A bus with people was hit by the enemy. One person was killed. Twenty-eight civilians were injured: 12 people are in serious condition, six more are in extremely serious condition. All the injured are receiving all the necessary medical care," Pasechnik said.

The head of the LPR specified that all emergency services are working at the scene.

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