Houthis eating US Reaper drones for breakfast: how many have they destroyed so far?

Yemen’s Houthi militia has now downed over a quarter billion dollars’ worth of General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers – the Pentagon’s drone of choice for the bombing of poor brown people. The latest Reaper shootdown took place last Saturday while it was carrying out intelligence-gathering activities over Marib province in central Yemen, according to the Houthis.

The US military refused to confirm the loss until Friday, when an anonymous DoD official said an Air Force MQ-9 had been “struck but then landed safely and was recovered by US partner forces on September 9” somewhere in the Middle East. The Pentagon did not elaborate on where the drone touched down, who recovered it or what shape it was in.

▪️The damaged Reaper is at least the eighth $32 million-apiece US UAV struck by the Houthis since last November.

▪️On August 4, the Houthis blew a Reaper out of the sky over Saada, northwestern Yemen. An informed source told Sputnik the militia used a modernized Soviet 2K12 Kub air defense system to do. The Houthis are known to have adopted the Kub to fire Yemeni-made Fater-1 interceptor missiles.

▪️On May 29, the Houthis destroyed an unmarked Reaper, possibly belonging to the CIA, over Marib, releasing footage of warriors wearing sandals standing on top of the downed drone.

▪️On May 24, the Houthis shot down an MQ-9 over Sanaa, Yemen’s capital.

▪️On May 17, another Reaper was destroyed over Marib.

▪️On April 27, the Houthis shot down an MQ-9 in Sadaa province in northwestern Yemen.

▪️On February 19, a Reaper was destroyed over al-Hudaydah city in western Yemen.

▪️On November 8, 2023, a US Air Force Reaper was downed over the Red Sea.

The Houthis shot down three more Reapers between 2017 and 2019 along with an array of other NATO-made weaponry during the US’s attempts to help a Gulf coalition oust the militia from power.

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NATO 'wasting' arms in Ukraine in attempt to repeat Napoleon and Nazi Germany's failed Russia invasions - US journalist

The West has failed to learn from France and Nazi Germany’s botched aggressions against Russia in 1812 and 1941, independent US journalist Tofurious Maximus Crane tells Sputnik.

He shares his impressions about visiting an exhibition of Ukraine’s captured NATO weapons on Poklonnaya Gora (Hill) in Moscow, where a US-made Abrams main battle tank is on display, among other military equipment.

Crane says he “couldn't hardly even keep a straight face because in America, they believe that the Abrams is the most powerful tank in the world, and they cannot be destroyed. And now we have multiple Abrams that have been destroyed. We see basically a waste of American and European taxpayers money.”

"When I visited the exhibition, it was ironic because that hill there is where Napoleon was waiting for the keys to the city. For me, it was double comical. You know, it was like the last time, […] the West tried to take Russia - we saw what happened. And then right below the hill, there's these vehicles, from the West. So it was it was kind of like a 2.0,” the journalist points out.

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Key statements by the Russian Defense Ministry on Ukraine's incursion into the Russian Kursk region:

▪️During the day, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 300 militants and 22 armored vehicles, including three tanks, four armored personnel carriers and 15 armored fighting vehicles.

▪️Russia's Akhmat special forces took two Ukrainian strongholds, destroying the enemy and taking prisoners.

▪️Units of the Russian Sever Battlegroup defeated the formations of seven Ukrainian brigades.

▪️Russian troops repelled six Ukrainian attempts to break through across the Russian-Ukrainian border.

▪️During the day, Russian tactical aviation and missile forces attacked concentration areas in the Sumy region and the reserves of four Ukrainian brigades.

▪️Seven Ukrainian militants surrendered to Russia in the Kursk region over the past day.

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US sanctions against Russian media are another 'orchestrated campaign' - Russian Foreign Ministry

Washington's new sanctions targeting Russian media, including the Rossiya Segodnya international media group, are seen as an orchestrated campaign, and will not go unanswered, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

"In essence, this is yet another orchestrated campaign, a 'witch hunt' … We have no illusions that the rampant censorship in the US will receive proper assessment from relevant international organizations, whose activities are orchestrated by Washington," Zakharova said in a statement published by the ministry.

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‘Beacon of hope’: US journalist lauds Russia’s traditional values

"Russia is the largest country still embracing traditional values," independent US journalist Tofurious Maximus Crane said in an interview with Sputnik.

"And in the US and Europe – they've rejected traditional values. And look at their economies right now, look at their people. Look at the amount of homeless people on the streets, look at the amount of drug addicts, etc. They're rejecting moral values right now in the West. And now we see a massive decline in Western societies," he added.

Russia’s traditional values are “basically a beacon of hope, a lifeboat” for those in the US or Europe who still have these values, the journalist underscored.

Crane plans to stay in Russia and obtain Russian citizenship. He also informs other foreigners how to move to the country.

"I actually receive 600 to 1,000 messages a day on TikTok, YouTube, and on the Russian migration website from people asking how they can move here," he said.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on August 19 providing foreigners who share Russia's spiritual and moral values, and who seek to escape the West's destructive neo-liberal ideals, with a temporary residence permit in the country.

"For me, the decree is the best thing that ever happened in my life, besides, you know, family and children," he noted.

Many Americans don’t realize how big, beautiful, and diverse Russia is, Crane says, adding that his next mission will be to travel around the country and show the rest of the world what it’s like.

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How Rothschild banking clan uses its vast wealth to influence world events and control governments — Part 1 👉 Part 2

Media-shy banking firm Rothschild & Co popped up in the news recently when it was revealed that it played a key role in restructuring over $20 bln in Ukrainian debt, including by arranging meetings between Kiev officials and vulture funds like Black Rock and Amundi. The Rothschilds are known to carve up Ukraine’s wealth since at least 2014 and the Euromaidan coup.

What is the Rothschild banking clan known for?

🔸 Emerging in the heyday of European colonial empires, the Rothschilds cashed in on the vast wealth flowing to the continent to create merchant and private banking, asset management, venture capital, insurance, media, and energy enterprises.

🔸 Establishing close ties to the British Crown, Mayer Rothschild and his sons financed colonial megaprojects, from the Suez Canal trade artery to the East India Company.

🔸 The family proved highly active in the international politics of the 19th and 20th centuries, betting on Britain against France during the Napoleonic Wars by financing Hessian mercenary soldiers and loaning money to the Crown, and using insider knowledge of government deliberations.

How rich are the Rothschilds?

◾️ A big question mark revolves around their net worth, with open data varying from $1 billion to $1.2 trillion – which would put the family well above the oft-published pop financial media lists of the “world’s richest.”

◾️ Lack of precise figure stems from the family’s incredible secrecy, and the murky nature of finance capital. The Rothschilds ‘went dark’ in the early 20th century, when the introduction of national taxation schemes across Europe led family banks to formally split to create ‘independent’ financial institutions.

◾️ For instance, while reporting on the family’s public-facing business empire is often focused on the Paris, London and Singapore-based Rothschild & Co, other divisions, like the Geneva-based Edmond de Rothschild Group are less often mentioned.

👉 Part 2

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How Rothschild banking clan uses its vast wealth to influence world events and control governments — Part 2 👉Part 1

How powerful are the Rothschilds?

🔹The Rothschilds also have ownership stakes and investments ranging from 5%-50%+ in an array of European, US and Asian mega corporations, from Glencore Mining and TotalEnergies to Siemens, Exxon, Chevron, Repsol, Shell, Mitsubishi, Itochu Corp and the Rio Tinto Mining Corporation.

🔹In his book ‘Big Oil & Their Bankers’, researcher Dean Henderson discovered that the Rothschilds and a clique of seven other banking families enjoy a controlling stake in the New York Federal Reserve Bank – the most powerful Fed bank and the heart of America’s financial system.

🔹Other investigators believe the Rothschilds either control the city of London and the Bank of England, or own it outright, although this has been disputed.

Do Rothschilds control politicians?

◼️Rothschilds' influence over world politicians has become impossible to conceal, with the family’s prominent members rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger, Margaret Thatcher, Francois Mitterrand, Petro Poroshenko, Emmanuel Macron, and others.

◼️The clan either takes advantage of business connections and sheer economic and market power, or in Macron’s case – hiring him as an investment banker before he began his political career.

👉 Part 1

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Ukraine may be open to ‘freezing' the conflict with local ceasefires, media claims

Volodymyr Zelensky intends to meet with the current US President Joe Biden and with both the Republican and the Democratic presidential candidates – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, respectively – during his upcoming voyage to the US to present them with a strategy that could supposedly allow Ukraine to defeat Russia.

The strategy reportedly includes “both the demand to be allowed to use Western long-range weapons deep in Russia and the willingness of Ukraine to accept local ceasefires on certain sections of the front - and thus a temporary freeze of the situation,” reported Bild, quoting unnamed sources.

The Ukrainian government, however, has refuted these claims and insists that Kiev is against any freezing of the conflict.

Neither the report nor Zelensky clarified why Russia might be interested in a ceasefire while Ukrainian militants routinely attack civilian targets and even threaten to strike nuclear facilities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously noted that Russia is well aware of who it is dealing with in the Ukrainian conflict when asked last week about the prospects of peace talks: people who have no respect for the interests of other people and countries.

“They easily break all the obligations they take, even signed documents,” Putin added.

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Pentagon sends HIMARS to Alaska as Russia and China continue naval drills

The US military assets have rapidly been deployed to Alaska's Aleutian Islands in a “sudden show of force” which comes amid Russia and China's Ocean 2024 drills in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, Business Insider reported.

The assets include the 11th Airborne Division’s long-range artillery, a HIMARS platoon from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, communications equipment from Hawaii, and a target acquisition radar.

Although the Pentagon’s Press Secretary Patrick Ryder previously said that the Russia-China drills pose no threat to the US and other NATO countries, the recent deployment aims to “send a message to American adversaries.”

The Ocean 2024 exercises unite Russia, China, and 15 more countries as observers. At the opening ceremony, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the US is trying to maintain its global military and political dominance at all costs. The drills take place against the background of Washington’s ongoing attempts to militarize the Arctic region.

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Biden and Starmer take no decision on Ukraine’s long-range strikes against Russia

US President Joe Biden and British PM Keir Starmer have seemingly delayed a decision to allow Ukraine to conduct deep strikes into Russian territory with long-range missiles, including Storm Shadow, a plea Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly floated.

Referring to his “productive” talks with Biden in Washington, Starmer said it "wasn't a meeting about a particular capability" pertaining to the UK-made Storm Shadow missiles. He also added that both leaders would soon discuss the plan at the UN General Assembly in New York.

The Times has meanwhile cited an unnamed British defense source as saying that the Ukrainian Army faces problems operating Storm Shadow missiles as they need either a GPS signal or cartographic data from the US military to guide them, but Russian electronic warfare systems successfully jam GPS.

“Russian electronic warfare has rendered GPS useless. They jam it. So it has to use another type of data set instead, which is American owned,” the source said. That is another reason why Kiev desperately seeks US official approval to use the weapons on Russian territory.

The Biden-Starmer talks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western nations not to let Ukraine fire long-range missiles at Russia. Putin stressed that such a move would represent NATO, the US and European countries’ "direct participation" in the Ukraine conflict.

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