'Ukraine is not democratic - even faintly in any way': Roger Waters reflects on the Ukrainian conflict, hints at possible gigs in Russia

"There has not been any democracy in Ukraine since the US-run 2014 Maidan coup in Kiev", Roger Waters, a co-founder of British rock band Pink Floyd, told Sputnik.

Earlier, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, invited Waters to give a concert in the special military operation zone. The musician responded that he would be willing to perform in Russia once he resumed his concert activities. 

💬 "Well, I don't have a tour on the road at the moment. I was touring a show called This Is Not a Drill for two years. Sure, yeah, of course. You know, but well, there are no buts, really. Russians were inviting me to go and do gigs in St. Petersburg and Moscow," Waters said. 

The musician expressed his desire to perform in both Russia and Ukraine. He remarked that it would be a wonderful occasion to hold a concert in Ukraine to celebrate once the conflict ends.

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Vladimir Putin meets with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Ahmadian

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Russia-Iran relations are developing thanks to the efforts of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei – Putin

"We appreciate that cooperation with Russia remains a priority for the new Iranian President" Masoud Pezeshkian, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Ahmadian.

The two met on the sidelines of a meeting of senior BRICS security leaders at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St Petersburg.

Other key statements by the Russian leader during the meeting:

▪️ Russia expects the new Iranian president at the BRICS summit in Kazan

▪️ The Russian leader plans to meet with his Iranian counterpart separately in Kazan

▪️ Putin is looking forward to Masoud Pezeshkian making a separate visit to sign new strategic partnership agreement

▪️ Development of the North-south corridor is among priority projects of Russia and Iran

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⚡️ Russian military liberated ten settlements in two days of offensive in Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry stated.

Russian forces have regained control of Apanasovka, Byakhovo, Vishnevka, Viktorovka, Vnezapnoye, Gordeyevka, Krasnooktyabrskoye, Obukhovka, Snagost and Desyatoye Oktyabrya.

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'Poland has zero willingness to defend Ukraine': Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski spills the beans 

Renowned Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus called the Polish politician on behalf of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and asked him whether Warsaw was ready to help Kiev. Sikorski replied that Poland's prime minister would not be willing to do so.

“Things might change, but at the moment there is zero willingness to do that,” the Polish top diplomat revealed.

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❗️🪖 Main statements from the Russian MoD's daily briefing on the situation in the Kursk region:

◻️ Ukraine lost over 300 militants and five tanks in the Kursk region.

◻️ Since the start of hostilities in the Kursk region, Ukraine has lost over 12,500 militants.

◻️ Russian military liberated ten settlements in two days of offensive in Kursk region

◻️ Russian forces repelled two Ukrainian counterattacks near the settlements of Fanaseyevka and Snagost in the Kursk region.

◻️ Russian forces thwarted four attempts by Ukraine to breach the state border near Novy Put and Medvezhye in the Kursk region, with enemy losses of up to 55 militants.

◻️ Russian aviation hit concentrations of Ukrainian personnel and equipment from the 10th brigade in the Kursk region and struck the 12th brigade in the Sumy region.

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📹 The Russian Ministry of Defense has published footage of the destruction of two Ukrainian tanks in the border area of the Kursk region.

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‘Playing with the lives of billions of people’: Influencers, media react to US missile madness

The Biden administration’s deliberations about allowing Ukraine to use its NATO-provided long-range weapons to launch attacks deep into Russia have sparked outrage, dread and disbelief among influencers and some media, along with concerns about the potentially irreversible implications of Washington’s reckless behavior.

💬 “The Russians have many ways to retaliate. Why are we taking this risk? Ukraine is neither a treaty ally nor a vital interest. Biden himself once warned this could cause WW3,” US tech investor and author David Sacks wrote in an X post.

💬 “Playing with the lives of billions of people,” German-Finnish internet entrepreneur and political activist Kim Dotcom wrote in response, alluding to the risks associated with prodding the nuclear-armed Russian bear.

The legacy media, for the most part, loyally swallowed the White House’s comments, without asking any uncomfortable questions about the dangers involved:

📑“Should Ukraine Launch Western Weapons Deep Into Russia?” the New York Times asked in a story Thursday. Yes, of course, “experts” cited by the newspaper, including analysts from the neoconservative RAND Corporation, said.

📑“How lifting ban on long-range missile strikes could change Ukraine war,” The Telegraph wrote in a piece beaming over the prospects of escalating the conflict, pointing out that “the Institute for the Study of War has identified at least 225 potential targets that Ukraine could hit immediately.”

📑Only a few majors, among them Foreign Affairs, published stories focusing on the missile move’s risks, with FA’s piece, ennoscriptd “The False Promise of Ukraine’s Deep Strikes Into Russia,” stressing that such attacks won’t “tip the balance of the war,” but will be met with inevitable Russian countermeasures.

📑In its own piece, ennoscriptd “West’s missile go-ahead to Ukraine would hold no shortage of risks,” The Guardian pointed out that long-range weapons are not only expensive and difficult to manufacture, but fraught with risks if given to Ukraine – like if the Kiev regime used them to kill “a lot of civilians” in a “miscalculation,” for example.

📑Andre Damon of WSWS echoed Russian officials’ concerns that a decision to deliver the missiles has already been made, and that the actual “announcement” approving their delivery will likely “take place in a proverbial ‘Friday night news dump’ to make the fact that NATO weapons will be raining down on Russian cities appear less ‘provocative’ and to keep this development, which threatens to dramatically escalate the war, out of public consciousness.”

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British policing minister has her purse stolen at senior police officers’ conference – report

British Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention Minister Diana Johnson was speaking about the epidemic of theft and anti-social behavior sweeping the country at the Police Superintendents’ Association conference in the town of Kenilworth when her belongings were pilfered from her room in the hotel hosting the event, the Financial Times reports.

Oh, the irony!

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The ambassadors of Britain, France, the Netherlands and Germany have been summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry over their governments' allegations that Tehran supplied ballistic missiles to Russia.

CNN, quoting sources, claimed that Iran allegedly transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. Tehran denied those claims.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week that Russia had seen the reports of the alleged delivery, but "such information does not always corresponds to reality."

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Iranian engineers modernize US-made M60 tanks

Iranian military specialists have carried out the "most complex modernization" of the M60 tank, a US design from the 1960s, the Tasnim Agency reports. The new variant is called the ‘Suleyman’. The vehicle now has a modern appearance and new technical characteristics that are not yet revealed, the agency noted.

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📈 The exchange price of gold has broken its historical record, topping $2,570 per troy ounce.

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US blogger and Zelensky critic who died in Ukrainian prison remembered in Moscow

A stand picturing the late American blogger Gonzalo Lira, who died in a Ukrainian prison, has been set up near the US Embassy in Moscow.

American blogger Gonzalo Lira, who had been living in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's special military operation, died on January 12 in a Ukrainian prison following months of likely torture, extortion, and medical neglect. He criticized NATO, the Biden administration, as well as Volodymyr Zelensky in his videos on social media.

The poster reads: "Free speech is a threat to American democracy.”

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❗️Sites resembling concentration camps have been set up in some territories of Russia’s Kursk region occupied by Ukrainian forces, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said in a report.

Residents who were unable to evacuate the area have been forcibly driven into these camps by Ukrainian militants, the document says.

The Ukrainians also used local people to film propaganda stories for foreign journalists.

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Stoltenberg is reported to have accepted a new job offer

Outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will take over as chairman of the Munich Security Conference after February 2025, according to reports.

Stoltenberg's term as public face of of the alliance expires on 1 October. He will be replaced by former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.

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US struggling to thwart Russia’s clout in Africa

Washington-based and sponsored private military company Bancroft has spent $1.4 million to get a foothold in CAR, where Russia is “the security partner of choice,” an AP report said.
The company installed one of its staff members at a hotel in CAR’s capital Bangui last year to “wait for Russia’s reaction,” Bancroft founder Michael Stock told the outlet.

“…For our lone staff member in Bangui we chose a Russian speaker, who was tasked to do nothing but sit in the hotel garden reading a book all day, waiting for Russians to show whether they wanted to be cooperative, hostile, or ignore us,” Stock was quoted as saying.

Several weeks later, the employee was reportedly detained, questioned by Russian forces, and later released.

Stock claimed that Bancroft entered the country last fall at Bangui’s request, and has around 30 personnel there. The US State Department has dismissed claims it was involved in the decision.

The US has been irked by Moscow’s growing ties with African nations that have been shaking off Western influence and expelling French and US troops, like in Niger or Chad. The State Department uses private contractors in Africa and oversees Bancroft’s work in Somalia, a US official told the publication.

Russia is in talks with CAR on the establishment of a military base there to improve the country’s security, Russian Ambassador to Bangui Alexander Bikantov told Sputnik in July. He added that Bancroft’s presence had no effect on the cooperation with Russian instructors.

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US, UK scramble to supply Ukraine with AMRAAM missiles

Western enablers of the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev are struggling to meet its insatiable demands for defense systems.

The Pentagon has allocated $1.2 billion for the production of Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), including for Ukraine, by the US company Raytheon.

AMRAAM missiles, capable of hitting targets at a reported range of 160 kilometers, can be used as interceptors for Ukraine’s US-donated National Advanced Surface-to Air-Missile (NASAMS) air defense systems or mounted on F-16 fighter aircraft. The cost of a single missile varies from $1.2 million to $2 million, depending on the modification.

Washington has pledged to send eight NASAMS to Kiev, with the first two expected to be delivered soon and the others over a longer period of time.

Since 2022, the UK has donated AMRAAM missiles for the NASAMS system along with short-range ASRAAM missiles for mobile ground launchers and Starstreak man-portable SAMs for the Stormer self-propelled air defense system. The new Labour Party government of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledged more AS90 155mm howitzers – which may not be in working order – and reportedly wants to allow Kiev to use British Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike deep inside Russia.

This week, Ukraine’s Western sponsors met at the NATO headquarters in Brussels to pledge further military support for Ukraine. Kiev is running critically short of air defense systems, but NATO members also need to replenish their own depleted stores.

Russia has repeatedly warned of the consequences of pumping Ukraine with weapons, including long-range missiles, enabling it to attack Russia.

That scenario risks turning the Russia-NATO proxy conflict into a hot war.

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