❗️Russian forces have liberated the settlements of Maksimovka and Antonovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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🗣 The latest statements by Putin's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov:

🔸 Russia is closely monitoring all information flows from Washington, analysing statements, but conclusions will be drawn on the basis of concrete steps.

🔸 Putin has repeatedly confirmed his readiness for dialogue, the US is currently taking the opposite position.

🔸 It is practically impossible to worsen relations between Russia and the US.

🔸 The US is fuelling the Ukrainian conflict, but it can help to end it.

🔸 The US is capable of changing the course of its foreign policy towards Ukraine, but whether it will do so will be known after January.

🔸 It is impossible to end the Ukrainian conflict overnight.

🔸 Russia strongly denies allegations of meddling in US election.

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

◻️ The Russian air defense forces shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29.

◻️ Ukrainian losses reached a total of 510 militants, a tank and armored vehicles in Battlegroup Tsentr's area of responsibility.

◻️ The Russian Armed Forces struck the infrastructure of a drone production workshop and Ukrainian energy facilities.

◻️ Ukrainian losses reached a total of 450 servicemen and an ammunition arsenal in Battlegroup Zapad's area of responsibility.

◻️ Ukrainian losses reached a total of 645 troops in Battlegroup Yug's area of responsibility.

◻️ Ukrainian losses reached a total of 125 militants in Battlegroup Vostok's area of responsibility.

◻️ The Russian Air defenses hit four HIMARS missiles and shot down 23 Ukrainian drones.

◻️ Enemy losses in Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr combat zone came to 70 servicemen and an ammunition arsenal.

◻️ Ukrainian losses reached a total of 30 militants in Russia’s Battlegroup Sever area of responsibility.

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Orban calls on Europe to rethink Ukraine strategy following Trump’s victory

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday that the victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the US presidential election raises the question for Europe whether it can help Ukraine alone and forces the EU to change its strategy.

"Republicans won in the United States tonight, which puts on the agenda the question for us, European leaders, whether Europe alone is capable of maintaining financial and military support for Ukraine, which has been there so far. I doubt it very much, therefore a new European strategy will be needed," Orban said, speaking at the summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Bishkek.

The first step in this direction can be taken as early as November 7, when the summit of the European Political Community and the informal EU summit will be held in Budapest, Orban said.

"The most difficult question is that we need to figure out the fate of the $50 billion loan... to Ukraine, which, according to the decision of the G7, should be jointly financed by the EU and the United States," Orban added.

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📄 Check out the media's assessment of the US presidential election

So far, only Fox News has given Trump a full victory. Have a look at the other three major US media outlets' forecasts:

🔸 AP: 267 electoral votes

🔸 NBC: 266 electoral votes

🔸 CNN: 266 electoral votes

The Republican candidate has already declared himself the winner.

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🗣The German and French defense ministers will meet in Paris on Wednesday following the preliminary results of the U.S. election, the French defense ministry said.

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⚡️At the moment, Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump is leading in the most states, including Arizona, Alaska, Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming, Utah, Louisiana, Georgia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Florida and Michigan. So far, he has secured 277 electoral votes.

In contrast, Kamala Harris is leading in California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Hawaii with a total of 224 electoral votes.

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❗️DONALD TRUMP WINS WHITE HOUSE RACE TO BECOME THE 47th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES❗️

Having sailed past the 270-vote threshold!

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💬 Trump’s win shows people want change – ex-Pentagon analyst

The fact that Americans voted for Donald Trump is “a clear sign that they want change from the last four years” of the Biden-Harris administration, Michael Maloof, former senior security policy analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, told Sputnik.

“The American people now have a chance to compare what life was like under the previous Trump administration, although they were concerned about his little personality quirks. But the policies were solid and they benefited much, much more,” Maloof said.

He added that Vice President J.D. Vance “will certainly implement those policies as well and will probably be given a lot of tasks once they take office for the implementation of a lot of these policies.”

“This bringing in Elon Musk who will look to how do you change government in a way that you whittle it down to save money. Musk has already said he sees the potential for saving $2 trillion a year. That's incredible. We have about a $6 trillion budget every year. And if you can carve out $2 trillion, that really cuts into the deficit,” Maloof pointed out.

“We're hoping to see the best” which Maloof said would come amid tremendous resistance” due to “the bureaucracy of the US government.”

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The United States conducted a test launch of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, Vandenberg Space Force Base stated.

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US polarization may edge closer to civil war after elections – retired US diplomat

Political polarization in the US won't go away even now Donald Trump has been declared the winner, believes Jim Jatras, retired US diplomat and adviser to the US Senate Republican leadership.

"It will certainly intensify," Jatras told Sputnik. "Let's be honest. Americans are not living in the same country anymore."

For some Americans Trump is a "savior", but for others he is pure "evil", Jatras noted, after years of smear campaigns against the former US president in the mainstream media.

"Think about it – when people have been told for months and months that a victory for Trump is the equivalent of electing Hitler, how do you expect them to react?" he asked.

"I think that reaction will be strong, and I think it will simply deepen the divide that has been growing for years," Jatras warned. "People have referred to America today as being in a state of cold civil war. And I don't know how much closer this will move us to a state of hot civil war."

Trump supporters are outraged at apparent election irregularities in key swing states: voting machines were reported to be down in some counties of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona, some polling locations were evacuated under security pretexts in Georgia and Michigan, and vote counting was delayed in some locations.

The battleground states are crucial to ballot-rigging, Jatras stresses: "If you're trying to have an impact on the election, you're going to meddle in those states, not in other states."

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The Russian Foreign Ministry commented on Trump's US election victory:

▪️ Donald Trump's return to the White House will spur increased internal tension in the US and intensify the conflict between opposing party camps.

▪️ Russia will work with the new US administration once it settles into the White House, but will firmly defend its national interests.

▪️ Russia has no illusions about the US president-elect, who is well-known in Russia, or the new members of Congress.

▪️ In working with the new US administration, Russia will focus on achieving the goals of its Special Military Operation; Washington is aware of the conditions set by Moscow.

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❗️Ukrainian forces lost more than 30 000 militants in Russia's Kursk region since the beginning of combat operations, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

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

▪️ Russia’s Battlegroup Sever hammered ten Ukrainian formations and repelled four counterattacks in its combat zone. The enemy lost as many as 30 militants and two armored vehicles.

▪️ Russian aviation and artillery strikes hit concentrations of personnel and equipment of 12 Ukrainian brigades in the Sumy region.

▪️ In total, Ukrainian losses over the day amounted to more than 250 militants, with eight armored vehicles and eight cars destroyed.

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US political establishment corrupted by defense contractors profiting off wars – expert

Both Democratic and Republican parties have been corrupted by major US defense contractors profiting off wars, Dr. Jeremy Kuzmarov, Managing Editor of CovertAction Magazine, told Sputnik.

This explains why foreign policy has become the least important issue for voters in the 2024 elections, he speculated.

“For instance, the Ukraine war. They made a fortune off the war selling weapons. And they also make a fortune selling weapons to Israel. I mean, the US is the number one arms supplier in the world. And they pay off politicians in both parties. They invest equally in the Democratic and Republican parties. So that ensures that you don't have any crusaders in those parties that will challenge the foreign policy establishment and rein in the so-called military industrial complex,” he said.

Kuzmarov noted that “people don't have confidence right now in the American economy”, adding:

“The cost of living has gone way up. A lot of people are struggling, and they see the Biden administration not really addressing the problem of inflation.”

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❗️The Kremlin has rejected accusations of attempts to interfere in the US presidential election.

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Trump wins: What does it mean for US foreign policy?

"It's clear to me that [Donald Trump] does not want to continue funding [of the Zelensky regime]. He does not want to continue a proxy war. He doesn't want any wars because during his first administration, there were no wars. And this is one of the dramatic things that people don't realize, as opposed to the Biden administration, that we've poured hundreds of billions of dollars into war,” Michael Maloof, ex-DoD analyst, told Sputnik.

Maloof did not exclude Trump having “a new perspective on NATO”, suggesting that “begrudgingly he'll [Trump] probably keep the structure, but he's going to put more requirements on the members and be much more definitive with them in terms of responsibilities.”

“What we see now in terms of NATO being more of an offensive alliance as opposed to a defensive alliance, I think he's going to want to curb that. Because it's been this offensiveness by NATO that has gotten us into this mess with Ukraine,” Maloof concluded.

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