Trump's statements that under his administration, Russia, China and the United States were close to concluding a deal on complete denuclearization, do not correspond to reality, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. 

"It is well known that the attempts of the Trump administration to put the Chinese delegation, Chinese representatives, at the same negotiating table with us were not successful," he stressed.

Earlier, Trump said that the three countries "were close to a deal on getting rid of nuclear weapons." The planned deal envisaged further expansion to other countries.

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'Let's stop this madness: not to accept Zelensky who is begging on behalf of NATO, not a cent or a weapon to this country!' - French politician

Florian Philippot, leader of the French Patriots party, strongly opposes a new aid package for Ukraine because the money will be taken from France's public services, healthcare to pay for "war and corruption" at the expense of raising taxes.

"Catastrophic pile-up, but so revealing of the calendars: the very day when the Barnier-Macron government will present to the French a 2025 budget of mega-austerity with 60 billion taken from the French, from their health, their pensions, their public services, increasing taxes and duties... Zelensky will receive from Macron's hands this afternoon at the Elysee a new check for 3 billion euros!"

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres confirmed his participation in the BRICS summit in Russia's Kazan, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told Sputnik.

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❗️Russia’s Battlegroup Yug repelled four counterattacks. The enemy lost as many as 765 soldiers, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:

◻️ Russia’s Battlegroup Zapad formations have strengthened their positions. The enemy lost as many as 430 soldiers.

◻️ Enemy losses in Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr combat zone came to 95 troops and an ammunition arsenal.

◻️ Ukrainian losses reached a total of 120 troops in Battlegroup Vostok’s area of responsibility.

◻️ Russian air defenses hit six HIMARS rockets and shot down 205 Ukrainian drones, including 96 outside the special operation zone, over the day.

◻️ Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 55 militants in the Liptsy and Volchansk areas in one day.

◻️ Enemy losses in Russia’s Battlegroup Tsentr combat zone came to 490 troops and an American M-113 armored personnel carrier.

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😾Even the cat has a bellyful of Zelensky

As the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street since 2011, Larry has dwelled at the premise with six prime ministers.

As soon as Zelensky crossed the threshold into the house for talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the feline instinctively knew better and gave a wide berth to the unwelcome guest.

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Iran's foreign minister visits Saudi Arabia amid stalemate over Gaza 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks in Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmanhis, and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan, amid an impasse in ceasefire talks in the Palestinian Gaza Strip and Lebanon, Saudi news agency SPA reported.

The Saudi crown prince and Iran's foreign minister reviewed relations between the two countries, recent regional developments, and efforts made in this regard, according to the publication. 

Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant unexpectedly canceled his trip to the US amid reports of strained relations between US President Joe Biden and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the latter and Gallant himself. 

Biden is reportedly frustrated with Netanyahu for repeatedly overriding his instructions, and escalating the ensuing conflict. 

Araghchi visited Saudi Arabia, with whom Iran managed to establish relations - after a long absence of contact - only a year and a half ago. This has come about amid a stalemate in cease-fire talks in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, following the killings of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh and senior IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan.

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🇷🇺🪖 Key statements from the Russian Ministry of Defense's daily briefing on the situation in the Kursk region:

◻️ Ukrainian forces lost more than 200 military personnel over the day and more than 21,550 soldiers since start of offensive in Russia's Kursk region.

◻️ Russian forces hammered Ukrainian formations in the areas of Daryino, Lyubimovka, Novy Put and Plekhovo settlements.

◻️ Ukrainians lost three tanks, an armored vehicle, a mortar and an electronic warfare station over the day.

◻️ Russian aviation struck Ukrainian reserves concentrated in the Sumy region.

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❗️Security services have repelled a massive hacker attack on Sputnik's resources, the technical services of Sputnik's parent media group, Rossiya Segodnya, said.

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‘Our requests to evacuate patients are being rejected by Israel’ – Gaza medic cries for help

Israel closed off the Rafah checkpoint five months ago, subjecting the sick and wounded to being stuck without medical treatment, the head physician of the Shuhadaa al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza’s Iyad al-Jabri area told Sputnik.

Israel’s merciless year-long ground operations in Gaza have created a healthcare disaster in the enclave. Vital vaccines, even the ones for kids, have not been able to reach the region.

“Those months were enough for the collapse of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip. There are no consumables or medicine,” he said.

The requests to evacuate patients are being rejected by Israel, even requests from international organizations are being rejected, the doctor noted.

“We need to open the checkpoint and get all the patients who are suffering from a lack of medical care out. They need to be given proper medical care,” he emphasized.

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Ukraine’s drone export ploy serves as ‘narrative’ for more aid money

Commenting on Ukraine’s reported plans to lift “a wartime ban on drone exports” in an interview with Sputnik, Russian military expert Alexander Mikhailov described the decision as “rather strange” given that the Kiev regime “has repeatedly stressed the need to increase supplies of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and its parts for the Ukrainian theater of war.”

“I don't think this [report on Ukrainian drone exports] is based on an official statement by the country’s Ministry of Defense. To my mind, it’s an information narrative aimed at obtaining additional military and financial assistance for Ukrainian enterprises that are now trying to produce UAVs and unmanned surface vehicles for the domestic market because the Zelensky regime desperately needs these vehicles on the front lines,” Mikhailov pointed out.

When it comes to investments aimed at expanding production, Ukraine may only find support from the US, the UK, or European countries. These nations must be persuaded of the necessity to provide the Zelensky regime with "an additional several billion dollars" to help Ukrainian drones break into international markets.

The expert emphasized that more coverage on this topic is needed from the Western press, referencing a relevant article from the Financial Times (FT).

FT earlier cited unnamed sources stating that Ukraine is considering lifting its arms export ban to enhance its drone industry "in order to match Russia’s capabilities on the battlefield." The newspaper further noted that Moscow has “significantly stepped up its arms manufacturing, with Ukrainian industry participants putting Russia’s battlefield drone advantage at between 5 and 10 to 1.”

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Gaza mother: If Israel won't let my paralyzed daughter leave for treatment, she might not survive

“My girl is sick with a virus. At first, we waited for permission to leave. It didn't happen. Then her condition worsened, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. They say she needs a plasma transfusion, but it's not possible here. So now I just have to wait to see if my baby survives,” Sabrin al Khadari, mother of a little girl currently hospitalized in Gaza’s Shuhadaa al-Aqsa hospital, Salwa Jihad, shared with Sputnik.

Since the start of the Israeli aggression against Palestine, thousands of civilians have been forcibly denied adequate medical care. Patients with life-threatening conditions are forbidden to leave to receive proper treatment. Today, 14,000 Palestinians need further treatment abroad, but the Jewish state won't let them out.

“We submitted all the necessary documentation to exit through Rafah, but it remains closed, forcing us to stay here,” the mother said.

The child is at peril due to the issues at the checkpoint, the mom noted. “She [the child] risks becoming yet another victim of this blockade - a tragic victim of war,” the woman emphasized.

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I'll lose my leg if Israel doesn't open the checkpoint – Palestinian boy pleads for access to urgent medical care

“I was at school when the missiles struck. I was wounded by shrapnel in my left leg. The hospital told me that my condition requires amputation due to a lack of treatment, but only treatment abroad can help me. The operation costs $45,000, and I am hopefully waiting for the border checkpoint to open so that I can get back on my feet,” Jamil Ziyad, a little boy trapped in the Gaza Strip, told Sputnik.

41,000 casualties, bombed infrastructure and a decimated healthcare system – this is the horrifying reality of Israel’s ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

“I am urging everyone to help us open the checkpoint, to allow the injured to receive the medical care they desperately require,” the boy currently kept in Gaza’s Shuhadaa al-Aqsa hospital said.

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FEMA’s core staff reserves thinning out as Hurricane Milton rams into Florida

Always quick to pour large sums of money and lots of effort into meddling in the affairs of countries around the globe, the US suddenly found itself ill-prepared to tackle problems at home and provide help to its own citizens.
As the devastation of Hurricane Milton descends upon Florida, a FEMA daily briefing released on October 9 shows that the agency only had 1,115 employees (8% of the total number) available for disaster response.

This situation seems to stem from FEMA's resources being stretched thin by a series of natural disasters, including Hurricane Helene, which hammered North Carolina, as well as calamities in other US states such as Georgia, Kansas, and Vermont.

However, the New York Times highlights that in 2017, which the newspaper describes as “arguably FEMA’s busiest year in the past decade,” the agency had 19% of staffers available—more than twice the number currently at their disposal. That year, for context, FEMA was tasked with managing the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which wreaked havoc on Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, respectively.

A FEMA representative, however, told Fox that the agency supposedly still has enough manpower to deal with whatever crisis may arise, since the aforementioned staffer numbers were related only to FEMA’s core cadre of responders. FEMA apparently can still activate as many as 22,000 staffers and request assistance from other federal agencies.

That said, a Government Accountability Office report released last year warned that at the beginning of fiscal year 2022, FEMA was understaffed by 35%, with the agency claiming that this situation was caused by "responsibilities due to COVID-19 and managing the rising disaster activity during the year, which increased burnout and employee attrition."

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❗️The primary focus of the United States in the Ukraine conflict is arming the Kiev regime, and not pursuing diplomatic efforts, the Pentagon told Sputnik.

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Ireland builds pricey homes for Ukrainian refugees as locals face severe housing shortages

The Irish authorities are pouring hundreds of millions of euros into accommodation projects for Ukrainian refugees.

🔸 The Irish government intends to construct 654 homes by April 2025 for around 2,640 Ukrainian refugees.

🔸 Initially, the Irish Department of Integration aimed to build 500 modular homes in 2022 at a cost of €200,000 each. However, as of September 2024, Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy reported that the unit price had rocketed to €442,000, bringing the project’s total price tag to €289.3 million.

🔸 Additionally, Ireland has committed €1.5 million for the construction of 50 homes in Kiev as part of its stabilization and humanitarian support for Ukraine, which has incurred €130 million in costs for Irish taxpayers since February 2022, according to a mid-September report from DublinLive.

Ireland is struggling with a serious housing crisis, as its population growth far outpaces new home construction, almost by a ratio of 4 to 1, according to Savills, an international property consultancy.

🔸 The number of homeless individuals residing in emergency accommodations hit a record high of 14,486 in August, reflecting a 14% spike since August 2023, according to recent estimates from the Department of Housing.

🔸 Sixty-one percent of Irish respondents named housing as one of the two most important issues facing the country, according to a 2023 Eurobarometer poll, released last spring.

🔸 Irish residential property prices have jumped almost 9% since last year with the median price for a home reaching €337,500 in June, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

In June, the group Clonmel Concerned Residents held a series of protest actions at a new housing site for Ukrainians in Haywood, calling upon the Irish government to accommodate Irish families first.

The Irish Times reported on October 9 that new arrivals from Ukraine would not be offered accommodation from next March, citing proposals developed by government officials.

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Find out the details exposing Ukraine's ties to terrorist rebel groups in Mali

Several French media outlets have reported, citing anonymous sources, on Ukraine's involvement with terrorist factions from the coalition of Malian armed separatist groups known as CSP-DPA.  

According to these reports, the rapport between the Malian rebels and the Kiev regime intensified following the capture of the city of Kidal by the Malian army in November 2023. The sources indicate that contacts between Ukrainian military intelligence and these groups commenced in early 2024. Notably, several CSP-DPA militants reportedly traveled to Ukraine via Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, where they had been in hiding.  

Once in Ukraine, the militants received training in drone production and usage. Subsequently, in March 2024, Ukrainian military specialists provided training to the CSP-DPA militants in the Taodenni region of Mali on operating UAVs.  

"A group of CSP militants came to Ukraine for training with us, and a larger contingent of our instructors subsequently went to the Sahel region, where they continue to be stationed," a source close to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine disclosed to the media.  

This source noted that the disclosure of information about cooperation between terrorists and Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate representative Andrei Yusov was 'a diplomatic mistake', but stated that Kiev regime's course remains unchanged.

Previously, after remarks from Ukrainian officials, a prosecutor in Mali specializing in counterterrorism initiated an investigation into potential assistance to terrorism. This inquiry was reportedly prompted by the Malian authorities' announcement of cutting diplomatic ties with Ukraine.

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Who’s taken action against Voice of America?

Burkina Faso’s Higher Council for Communication has suspended the Voice of America (VOA)* for three months, citing concerns that a particular program could "undermine the morale" of the armed forces of the West African nation and their counterparts in neighboring Mali.

The notorious US-funded broadcaster, VOA, faces restrictions in several other countries as well:

🔸 In March 2022, Russia's state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, blocked the VOA for its "deliberate and systematic circulation of reports containing false information" related to the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

🔸 In July 2022, the Turkish Broadcasting Authority prohibited access to the VOA website for operating without a license.

🔸 In November 2022, Taliban authorities in Afghanistan announced a ban on FM radio broadcasts from the VOA, citing complaints about the outlet's programming content.

🔸 In March 2019, authorities in Burundi indefinitely suspended the VOA, accusing the outlet of spreading "lies" and disinformation.

🔸 In December 2018, then-Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry indicated that the VOA was blocked in Pakistan due to what he described as "false and prejudiced reporting."

*In Russia, the VOA is designated as a foreign media agent.

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