Margarita Simonyan recalled the powerful words of former US President John F. Kennedy as the US announced new punitive measures against Russian media companies

“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people,” said the editor-in-chief of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, quoting the slain politician.

“They haven’t killed him for nothing. He was thinking the wrong way,” said Simonyan, commenting on the latest move towards censorship of Russian media companies.

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UK pledges another $700+ mln to Ukraine, while leaving 10m British pensioners to freeze

Britons are growing discontent with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as he focuses on Ukraine while imposing austerity at home.

◻️ Earlier this week the Labour government abolished £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) in winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners in England and Wales. Starmer faced a backbench rebellion, with more than 50 of Labour's 404 MPs not voting for the measure.

◻️ A 2017 analysis by Labour claimed that scrapping winter fuel payment could "kill" as many as 4,000 pensioners. British charity Age UK said a whopping 2 million elderly Britons could be affected by Starmer's cuts.

◻️ A Conservative motion "regretting" the withdrawal of fuel allowance for pensioners was later passed in the House of Lords, dealing another blow to the Starmer government. The revelation that Downing Street had not even carried out an impact assessment on scrapping winter fuel support was called "absolutely unthinkable" by opposition parties.

◻️ Number 10 cannot guarantee other pensioners' benefits, including council tax discounts. Starmer claimed the constraints were caused by a £22 billion ($29 billion) "black hole" in government finances left by the previous Tory government.

◻️ In July the government revealed that the UK has pledged £12.5 billion ($16 billion) in support to Ukraine since February 2022, including £3 billion ($4 billion) for military assistance in 2024/25.

◻️ Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics reports that the UK’s economic growth has almost stalled. Despite inflation falling to 2.2%, consumer prices continue to rise. The international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said the UK "faces a challenging economic environment."

◻️ A new Ipsos poll indicates that 46% of British respondents see Starmer unfavorably. Nonetheless, Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated on September 11 the UK would provide another $782 million in aid to Ukraine.

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🤡 Blinken denounces Russian journalists' internet access "cyber capabilities"

“Thanks to new information, much of which originates from RT employees, we know that RT possessed cyber capabilities,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed forebodingly.

Rumor has it investigation remains ongoing to determine whether Russian journalists also possess the ability to send and receive email or even text messages...

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US crackdown on Russian media reveals fear, insecurity of dying empire – ex-CIA analyst

“Freedom of speech in America is under assault,” former US State Department official and retired CIA intelligence officer Larry Johnson told Sputnik, commenting on the new sanctions against Russian media announced by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “I'm waiting to see if they're going to come down and sanction me, for example, for daring to appear on RT and offer commentary.”

“This really is divorced from reality,” he continued, questioning the influence of the Russian-sponsored television network which ceased operations in the United States in 2022. Other analysts have suggested the move is intended to ramp up Russiagate hysteria leading up to November’s election.

“Never during the height of the Cold War did the United States ever take such drastic measures with respect to entities like Pravda and Tass,” Johnson claimed, referring to the two famous news outlets that operated from the Soviet Union. “Back then the United States had enough confidence in its own power of personal freedom that they didn't have to worry about [that], they weren't so insecure. What this reflects is just… one more symptom of a dying empire where they have to go out and attack others.”

“The only thing that can kill free speech is this kind of persecution. It's irrational. And again, I think it's a symptom of a weakness on the part of the United States. Weakness and fear. That's where this originates… the United States is acknowledging that what it can't handle is the truth.”

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North Korea to expand cooperation with Russia - Kim Jong Un

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reassured Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu during a meeting in Pyongyang that the North Korean government will expand cooperation with Russia in the spirit of the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The Russian Security Council said in a statement Friday that Shoigu visited Pyongyang on September 13, where he was received by Kim Jong Un.

“Comrade Kim Jong Un assessed that under the agreements reached at the June Korea-Russia summit in Pyongyang, relations between the two countries are developing vibrantly in all spheres including politics, the economy and culture. He assured that the DPRK government will continue to expand cooperation and assistance with the Russian Federation in the spirit of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement,” the agency said.

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Finland, Sweden allow Ukraine to use their weapons to strike Russia - reports

The weapons supplied to Ukraine by Sweden and Finland have no restrictions on the area of their use, Finnish broadcasting media reported, citing Finnish and Swedish foreign ministers Elina Valtonen and Maria Malmer Stenergard.

"The only restriction is that the weapons must be used within the framework of international law," the media quoted Valtonen as saying.

According to the TV channel, the new Swedish top diplomat, Stenergard, did not limit the area of use of the weapons to the territory of Ukraine. The broadcaster said the weapons can also be used for strikes on Russian territory.

Stenergard was appointed new Swedish foreign minister on September 10.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier said that NATO countries are currently discussing not only Kiev's possible use of Western long-range weapons, but are essentially deciding whether to directly engage in the Ukrainian conflict. Direct participation of Western countries in the Ukrainian conflict will change its essence; Russia will be forced to make decisions based on the threats thus created for it, he added.

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Starmer announces no new developments following talks with Biden

Speaking to members of the press, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had a "wide-ranging discussion" with US President Joe Biden on strategies concerning Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Pacific region.

“This wasn't a meeting about a particular capability,” Starmer told reporters.

The British Prime Minister described his talks with Biden as "lengthy and productive" but refrained from sharing details about any decisions reached relating to Ukraine's possible use of Western weapons to strike deep within Russian territory.

Previously, the White House likewise did not reveal any decision by the US President to authorize long-range strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces into Russian territory in a separate statement released after the meeting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned NATO members to be cognizant of the consequences of permitting Kiev to target locations deep inside Russia using missile systems supplied by the West.

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Biden Admin pleads lawmakers to include $5.8bn Ukraine aid extension in spending bill

The Biden administration has asked Congress to include an extension for funding for Kiev, in an already lengthy continuing resolution lawmakers are trying to pass to avoid a government shutdown before the end of the month. The temporary spending bill would keep US government agencies and programs operating for six months when the new budget year begins on October 1.

“We have $5.9 billion left in Ukraine Presidential Drawdown Authority; all but $100 million of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told The Hill. “The Department will continue to provide drawdown packages in the near future and is working with Congress to seek an extension of PDA authorities beyond the end of the fiscal year.”

But if that fails, a desperate US Defense Department will look into other options, though it was not reported what those other options would be. A congressional aide told The Hill that there may be some legal challenges in trying to allocate all $5.8 billion at once, as Biden administration lawyers are worried there might not be “an authority to permit transfers of munitions that are not currently in stock, or considered in surplus”.

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🔸 US crackdown on Russian media reveals fear, insecurity of dying empire – ex-CIA analyst

🔸 'We do not have freedom of speech in that area at all' – former Defense Department analyst

🔸 State Department praises RT for Ukraine truth telling

🔸 Russian Forces find map of US base in captured Ukrainian Bradley - Sputnik reporter

🔸 US at mercy of neoconservative ‘death wish’ amid death of responsible leadership

🔸 Finland, Sweden allow Ukraine to use their weapons to strike Russia – reports

🔸 North Korea to expand cooperation with Russia - Kim Jong Un

👉 Other stories we have covered for you:

🔸 UK pledges another $700+ mln to Ukraine, while leaving 10m British pensioners to freeze

🔸 US ‘reluctance’ to greenlight Ukrainian long-range strikes tied to awareness of Russia’s inevitable ‘response’

🔸 Navy faces breakdown in discipline, effectiveness as US military stretched thin

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❗️Human rights activist Dan Kovalik was detained returning to the US from the Anti-Fascist Congress

The International Anti-Fascist Congress was held held in Venezuela from 10 to 11 September.

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US recognizes Russian media play important role in reporting truth

Commenting on the US accusations against RT, political scientist and international relations expert Ruhollah Modabber told Sputnik that the US recognizes that Russian media, especially RT and Sputnik, play an important role in reporting the truth and countering false Western propaganda.

"People around the world turn to Russian media for the truth. RT and Sputnik have attracted a large audience. Western information sources fail at the same time as they try to show another reality through censorship. The Russian media have once again defeated the hegemony of the US and Europe in the information space", Modabber said.

The US wants to achieve information "censorship" against Russia because it has "failed" in Ukraine, Chilean political scientist Ingrid Urgelles, PhD told Sputnik, commenting on Washington's introduction of new sanctions against Russian media.

"This is another of the many attempts by the US to censor platforms that broadcast a point of view that differs from the imperialist agenda they promote. In this case, it is the conflict in Ukraine, and because the US lost, it also lost [global] support. That is why they are resorting to such extraordinary measures to blame the media, which is quite absurd, because it is not just about RT, but about the form in which people receive information," Urgelles stated.

The US will impose full blocking financial sanctions as part of its actions against the Russian media outlet RT, James Rubin, the director of the State Department's Global Engagement Center, said on Friday.

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Ukrainian troops brutally raped and shot a woman in the Kursk region after finding out she had a son in the Russian military, Tatyana, an evacuated mother of many children, told Sputnik.

The killed woman worked as a security guard at a school in Goncharovka in the Kursk region’s Sudzha district.

The report was recorded by Russian Investigative Committee military investigators.

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