⚡️The Russian Federal Security Service released a video showing the suppression of an attempt to violate the Russian state border in the Bryansk region with the participation of foreign saboteurs

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Colonial past haunts Brits: The UK doesn't want to pay what it owes in slave trade reparations

The summit of 56 Commonwealth nations in Samoa has wrapped up, releasing a statement which focused, among other issues, on calls for "reparatory justice" with regard to the trans-Atlantic slave trade during the colonial era.

▪️Prior to the summit, Caricom, a group of 15 Caribbean nations, reportedly agreed to demand reparations on behalf of 14 Caribbean states affected by the British Empire's centuries-long slavery practices, according to the Daily Mail.

▪️Fourteen slavery-affected countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

▪️The final communiqué of the Samoa meeting doesn't contain the reparations sum, however, it contains the term "reparatory justice" which usually refers to actions to repair the past and ongoing damage to nations which suffered from slavery, deprivation of land, genocide, and denial of legal and human rights.

▪️UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected the call for reparations as an issue of the past. Last year, the call for reparations was also dismissed by Starmer's predecessor, Rishi Sunak.

▪️According to different estimates, the sum of reparations varies from $266 billion to $24 trillion.

▪️In June 2023, the Brattle Group Report on Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery, co-authored by Judge Patrick Lipton Robinson, a member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), concluded that the UK owes $24 trillion to 14 Caribbean states. Activists in India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Australia are also seeking reparatory justice with regard to British colonialism.

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Foreign mercenary saboteurs attempted to infiltrate Russia's Bryansk region bordering Ukraine: What is known so far

◾️An attempted breach of Russia's state border in the Bryansk region was thwarted by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). Four saboteurs were eliminated and the remnants of the sabotage-reconnaissance group were struck by missile and artillery fire.

◾️The eliminated saboteurs were found with foreign weapons and communication equipment.

◾️Personal items discovered included a Canadian flag, a Polish prayer card, and a notebook with tactical notes in English, indicating the neutralized individuals were foreign mercenaries.

◾️One of the foreign mercenaries bore a tattoo of the elite 75th Ranger Regiment of the US Army's Parachute Reconnaissance Special Forces.

The 75th Ranger Regiment, a US special operations airborne unit, is trained for rapid deployment and conducts global reconnaissance, sabotage, and direct combat missions. The regiment has been active since the Vietnam War.

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What is US 75th Ranger Regiment: Army's elite force for recon, sabotage, and direct combat operations

The 75th Ranger Regiment is an elite US Special Operations unit comprised of specially trained and highly skilled soldiers.

Essentially, it functions as a US Army airborne reconnaissance regiment for special operations. This is a specialized light infantry force with limited heavy weaponry and armored vehicles.

Regiment members are trained for deployment by any means available—parachute, helicopter, or sea.

One of the regiment’s airborne battalions is always on high alert, ready for deployment anywhere in the world within 18 hours.

In addition to reconnaissance, sabotage, and operations behind enemy lines, the regiment can conduct direct combat actions: securing and holding airfields, capturing or destroying strategically important enemy sites, and targeting high-ranking members of the enemy’s military-political leadership.

Units of the 75th Ranger Regiment participated in combat during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s.

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Ex-DoD analyst: Foreign mercs fighting for Ukraine 'fair game' for Russian forces

The discovery of foreign weapons, equipment and personal effects, such as a prayer card in Polish and a notebook with tactical training notes in English, on the corpses of four saboteurs who attempted to sneak across the Russian border suggest that “foreign mercenaries are working on behalf of the Ukrainians,” says former US DoD senior security policy analyst Michael Maloof.

“They're being killed and being targeted, as they should be,” Maloof tells Sputnik, noting that these mercs are a “fair game” for the Russian forces.

He notes that the “markings” on one of the deceased suggested that the latter was from the US, with Maloof noting that many mercenaries from the US flocked to Kiev’s banners and perished as a result.

“If we had a foreign invasion in this country from outside, the US would probably respond similarly. So the Russian Federation is defending its territorial sovereignty,” he observes.

Maloof also notes that the bodies of the deceased mercenaries apparently bore “markings indicating foreign affiliations in their prior services.”

“Could be even US services,” he muses, adding that these “identifying marks of past affiliations” could be followed up.

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Presence of American mercs in Russia shows direct US intervention in the Ukrainian conflict

"The presence of foreign mercenaries fighting against Russia primarily represents an attempt to strengthen the Ukrainian Army and reflects the West's and the United States' commitment to support Ukraine’s military against Russia," Ali-Shir Yazdani, an Iranian expert on international affairs, told Sputnik.

Yazdani noted that previously, when the Ukrainian Army entered Russian territory in the Kursk region, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced US involvement in the attack and the presence of US nationals participating in the operation: "Naturally, the presence of foreign mercenaries in the Ukrainian Army will be prosecuted under Russian law. However, it is clear that the presence of these American mercenaries means direct US entanglement in the war with Russia."

Typically, mercenaries fighting on foreign soil and for foreign armies tend to commit ruthless and heartless acts, and the situation with foreign mercenaries in Russia is no exception.

Documents collected by Russia reveal that these mercenaries come from the US, Canada, and Poland, amongst other countries. Moscow has repeatedly employed all available channels to convey to the US that American mercenaries’ involvement in attacks on Russian territory is unacceptable.

This intervention is viewed as a dark stain of direct US involvement, which will undoubtedly have serious consequences and only lead to an escalation of the conflict.

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Ex-CIA analyst: US has been involved in Ukrainian conflict ‘up to the eyeballs from the outset’

The participation of foreign militants in a recently thwarted Ukrainian cross-border attack attempt against Russia indicates “desperation on the part of NATO and the West,” whether these militants were “part of an official NATO force” or mercenaries, says , retired CIA intelligence officer and State Department official Larry Johnson.

“It's certainly definite proof that the West, the NATO countries have personnel that are fighting on behalf of the Ukrainians,” Johnson remarks, noting how ironic it is in light of the baseless claims by the West that North Korean soldiers allegedly fight for Russia.According to him, this failed attack was “clearly planned by intelligence operatives,” and not by the Ukrainian ones.

“The primary CIA presence in Ukraine is what was known as special operations division, it's a paramilitary force,” Johnson remarks. “They've been there from the outset, trained to carry out missions like this, sabotage missions, raids.”He also argues that this incident should not be regarded as a sign of the US becoming gradually involved in the Ukrainian conflict, simply because the US “has been involved up to the eyeballs from the outset.”

“It's just that now it's becoming perhaps, this could be used as evidence to present that. But I think the reality is the United States has been directly involved with this from the outset,” Johnson explains.

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Iranian expert: US troops may return home in coffins amid direct involvement in Ukraine

"After multiple defeats of Ukrainian forces on the fronts against Russia and the reluctance of Ukrainian youth to fight for US interests, it seems that the Americans and NATO have no other choice but to send troops directly to Ukraine," Emad Abshenas, an Iranian political scientist and international relations expert, tells Sputnik.

"The presence of [foreign mercenaries among saboteurs who attempted to infiltrate Russia’s Bryansk region] in the conflict proves that today it is not a war between Russia and Ukraine but a war between Russia and NATO — a point raised by the Russian president in his discussion with BRICS media leaders. This fact itself shows that Russia was right from the beginning in launching its special military operation in Ukraine to protect its borders and expel the enemy from its territory," he says.

According to Abshenas, this also demonstrates the dire situation Ukraine faces in this conflict, forcing them to deploy foreign troops directly to the battlefield.

"However, the critical point is that the US government, which claimed it did not want to involve its soldiers in other wars and sought to protect its interests by investing in foreign mercenaries, has now deployed its troops directly to Ukraine, and soon, many of them will return to the US in coffins," he adds.

"This development takes on even greater significance as the US has sent its THAAD missile defense systems to Israel, with American officers appointed to oversee Israel's security."

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US’ top goal in Ukraine is to prolong the conflict to maintain sanctions on Russia - analyst

"The fact that the US is directly involved in the [Ukraine] conflict is practically official now. Mercenaries have been fighting on the Ukrainian side since the very beginning of the conflict. Kiev has a severe issue with manpower and cannon fodder," Xavier Moreau, founder and director of the political-strategic analysis center Stratpol, tells Sputnik.

"The world understands, and the Pentagon understands, that Ukraine has lost the war. Therefore, the goal is to find a way to prolong the conflict."

"This has been the strategy advocated since February [2022]. American media and political circles talk about it to try to freeze the conflict, maintain sanctions against Russia, and prevent Europe from restoring its energy ties with Russia. This is Washington's number one objective," he adds.

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❗️The West is trying to destabilize the situation in Georgia; snipers trained in Ukraine are arriving there to organize provocations during protests, informed sources in the region told Sputnik

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Ex-US colonel: Foreign mercs in Ukrainian sabotage unit point to Kiev's troop shortfall

The presence of foreign mercenaries in the team of Ukrainian militants that tried and failed to sneak into Russia showcases Kiev’s “extreme shortage of experienced troops,” veteran international consultant and retired US Army lieutenant colonel Earl Rasmussen tells Sputnik.

The “special operations” type of mission this sabotage team was assigned required “highly skilled” operators capable of performing sabotage or reconnaissance, so in light of the lack of such people in the Ukrainian forces “it seems reasonable they'd be turning to mercenaries,” Rasmussen explains.

Regarding the objective this team was likely pursuing, he speculates that, given the relatively small size of the unit involved, it was likely “a reconnaissance, maybe reconnaissance in force, basically looking for a weak point” or a potential target for sabotage. Noting that the United States has been involved in the Ukrainian conflict “for quite a while,” this recent incident may be a hint of a paradigm shift on the side of Russia's adversaries.

“Getting directly involved behind the scenes, that is kind of a new direction,” he muses. “Is it a sign of desperation? Is it a sign of weakness on the Ukrainian side? Probably both.”

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US Ranger regiment whose member got killed trying to sneak into Russia excels in recon and sabotage

The US 75th Ranger Regiment, one of whose (possibly former) members was slain while trying to infiltrate Russia as part of a Ukrainian sabotage team, can perform a wide range of tasks, says retired US Army lieutenant colonel Earl Rasmussen.

“What they actually do is classified, but they could be doing everything,” he tells Sputnik.

Namely, Rasmussen elaborates, members of this unit could provide training, interface with civilians, and perform reconnaissance and sabotage of any type.

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