Poles unnerved as their government mulls dragging them into NATO’s proxy war against Russia

Russia will respond if Warsaw “succumbs to its adventurous impulse and decides to try to intercept long-range weapons…used by our armed forces to neutralize military threats to Russia from the territory of Ukraine,” senior Russian Foreign Ministry diplomat Oleg Tyapkin told Sputnik on Monday.

Moscow has repeatedly emphasized the risks associated with possible direct Western involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, and its position is “well known to both Warsaw and NATO,” Tyapkin stressed.

In July, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Warsaw will consider the use of Polish air defense assets to down Russian missiles over Ukrainian airspace. Kiev has regularly lobbied NATO to establish a ‘no-fly zone’ over western Ukraine using Polish and Romanian air defenses.

Sikorski’s suggestion has been slammed by ordinary Poles concerned over the prospects of being dragged into a hot war with Russia.

💬 “Are we in danger of exchanging blows with Russia?” Polish news website wnp. pl contributor Lukasz Maziewski asked in an article on Sikorski’s comments. Former Polish Air Defense Chief Dr. Robert Stachurski advised against the foreign minister’s mad plot.

Sentiments against further escalation have been borne out in polling, with a survey published by Wirtualna Polska this week revealing that well over half of Poles want Ukraine to start peace negotiations with Russia, compared to 26% who say negotiations aren’t necessary.

Along with fears of being dragged into a war, many Poles are growing increasingly wary of the implications of the long-term presence of Ukrainian refugees in their country. In June, an Opinia24/YouGov poll found that just 42% of Poles support the long-term stay of Ukrainians in Poland, while 44% believe Warsaw should reduce its support.

Warsaw has committed over €3 billion in military aid and about €1 billion in financial and humanitarian support for Kiev to date.

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Kamala Harris’ price control policy may 'scare off’ many in US – analyst

US Vice-President Kamala Harris’ proposed food price controls – "even limited and unspecified as they currently are" – are bound to "scare off" many Americans, Alexey Zubets, vice-rector of the Financial University of the Russia Federation, told Sputnik.

There are "certain similar features" between what Harris proposes and the way prices were fixed in the Soviet Union by the State Planning Committee, or Gosplan, he noted, but added that the US "has not yet reached that point."

“It is clear that these are only general [similar] features, because in the Soviet Union, regulation was much stricter,” Zubets said

“This trend is not so much towards what the Soviet Union had, but rather in the direction of the European social model where, again, there are various instruments for price management, including in the consumer market.”

Even tentative moves towards a European-style welfare state "frighten Americans very much, because they understand that this will lead to higher taxes," Zubets stressed.

Harris unveiled her economic policy agenda on Friday at a campaign rally in North Carolina. Her proposals include bringing down the price of groceries, prenoscription drugs and other goods pushed up by inflation with a federal ban on price-gouging.

Harris' economic program will likely “present a problem for her,” Zubets predicted, stressing that market values in America are so deeply ingrained that “any other alternative scares them.”

As for Harris’ plan to resolve the housing crisis by building affordable homes and rentals for the middle class, it is anyone’s guess “how the real estate market will react to it,” said Zubets.

He noted that the housing market is one of the main drivers of the US economy.

“If the government throws 3 million social houses onto the market… this will lead to serious changes in the real estate market, Zubets said.

“Those financial companies, banks, and business people who are engaged in housing construction, they can incur losses simply due to the devaluation of the housing that is already on the American market.”

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Free abortions and vasectomies, an 18-foot-tall inflatable IUD named 'Freeda Womb' to be constructed during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.

Attendees of the DNC will be able to get a free abortion or vasectomy just blocks away from the event, and reportedly vasectomy appointments are filling up quickly.

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A tornado has sunk the superyacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily, Italy, with 22 people on board, including tycoon Mike Lynch, also known as the "British Bill Gates." Rescuers have found the body of the chef, while seven others, including the billionaire himself, are still missing.

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Souvenir stands are attracting crowds of Democratic convention attendees in Chicago. Among the most popular items are $30 Biden mugs and $35 T-shirts. The paraphernalia draws long lines of people eager to buy memorabilia.

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Musk says he is 'ready to serve' after Trump offers a Cabinet spot

Former President Donald Trump on Monday said he would offer Elon Musk a Cabinet position or an advisory role in his administration if he wins a second term in the White House.

"I am willing to serve," Musk posted on X, adding a photo of him standing on a podium with the words "Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)."

The acronym is likely a playful reference to Dogecoin, a popular cryptocurrency that originated as a meme.

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◾️ Watch DNC protesters demand US stop arming Israel

◾️ Musk says he is 'ready to serve' after Trump's offer of a Cabinet shot

◾️ Fundamental ‘lack of trust’, Netanyahu’s hardline demands making Gaza peace next to impossible

◾️ Poles unnerved as their government mulls dragging them into NATO’s proxy war against Russia

◾️ Kamala Harris’ price control policy may 'scare off’ many in US – analyst

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Ukraine building ties with Kosovo would be ‘a big problem’ – analyst

"Ukraine establishing bilateral relations with the so-called Republic of Kosovo would be a big problem, because it concerns the issue of its territorial integrity," Dusan Prorokovic, political analyst and former state secretary of the Ministry of Kosovo and Metohija, told Sputnik Srbija.

"Therefore, despite the appeals of some Ukrainian politicians, they are not taking such steps, but, as we see, through the Council of Europe and other less important organizations, they support Pristina, because this is the strategy of the US and UK," he added.

Ukraine is dependent on the help of the US, UK, and other European countries in every respect, whether it be weapons, finances, political decisions, or instructions from international organizations, Prorokovic said.

According to him, both Kiev and Pristina are not fully independent in decision-making.

"As for strategic decisions, they should respect the positions of those who support them. As for tactical decisions, they are made depending on the specific situation," he said.

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❗️Russian forces have stopped the advance of the Ukrainian forces in Sudzha district of the Kursk region, Major-General Apty Alaudinov, deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry and commander of the Akhmat commando unit, told Sputnik.

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