🎥🎥 Lavrov holds press conference following his visit to Astana

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❗️Russian forces have liberated the settlement of Kremennaya Balka in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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⚛️ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that Moscow had put forward its proposals to Kazakhstan on the construction of a nuclear power plant.

This development comes in the wake of a nationwide referendum held in Kazakhstan on October 6, in which the citizens voted on the establishment of the Central Asian country’s first nuclear power facility. According to Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission, 71.12% of voters supported the project.

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

◻️ The Russian Armed Forces struck the infrastructure of military airfields, drone production workshops, Ukrainian missile and artillery armament depots.

◻️ Ukrainian losses reached a total of 120 militants in Battlegroup Vostok's area of responsibility.

◻️ Ukrainian forces lost up to 430 militants and two ammunition depots in Battlegroup Zapad's area of responsibility.

◻️ Ukrainian losses came to 665 militants in Battlegroup Yug's area of responsibility.

◻️ Ukrainian losses reached a total of 455 militants in Battlegroup Tsentr's area of responsibility.

◻️ The Russian Air defenses shot down 55 Ukrainian drones.

◻️ Ukrainian losses came to 65 militants in Battlegroup Dnepr's area of responsibility.

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💬 Pompeo or Gabbard? Trump's strategy will depend on who will surround him – Senate candidate

After Donald Trump won the presidential race, Republicans are poised to secure a majority in the Senate and potentially keep control of the House of Representatives. What will Washington's political course be with Trump and GOP at the helm?

"Unfortunately, both parties have a large contingent of neocons and we see the AIPAC Zionist lobby throwing a lot of money into the election," Diane Sare, LaRouche independent candidate for US Senate to represent New York, told Sputnik. "In that regard, I think it really depends more on the kind of people that Trump chooses to surround himself with."

She pointed out that during his first term, Trump appointed hawks John Bolton and Mike Pompeo to key foreign policy positions. Sare expressed concerns about Pompeo remaining part of Trump's government.

"I don't think it's promising that Mike Pompeo is still lurking around," she said. "I think his bringing John F Kennedy Jr and Tulsi Gabbard closer indicates he is committed to at least ending the what is called the Ukraine-Russia conflict. But beyond that I'm not sure where this will go."

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💬 US test of Minuteman III ICBM sends ominous signal – Senate candidate

On election night, the US conducted a test launch of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, Vandenberg Space Force Base stated. According to the Pentagon, the purpose of the test launch was to demonstrate the readiness of US nuclear forces.

Diane Sare, LaRouche independent candidate for US Senate to represent New York, believes it was an "ominous action."

"[It was] a stupid and dangerous message," Sare told Sputnik. "I believe this transition period is actually fraught with danger."

"The people who want to escalate the war drive now have a window in which to create a situation where a Trump presidency perhaps will feel trapped once he actually takes office," she said. "I also fear for his security and people around him."

Sare expressed hope that "the American people and the voices for peaceful cooperation with other nations can be strengthened in the United States and perhaps have an influence on this incoming administration."

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Lavrov: If West hadn’t fanned the flames, Ukraine crisis would’ve ended long ago

Supplied to the hilt with Western weapons, the Kiev regime continues its aggression against civilians and civilian infrastructure, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said during his press conference in Kazakhstan.

“Russia cannot be defeated on the battlefield,” said Lavrov, quoting a comment by the Kazakh president conveyed to the German Chancellor.

If Western countries had “heeded these wise words, the Ukrainian crisis would have been resolved long ago,” Russia’s diplomacy chief underscored.

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Statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his visit to Kazakhstan:

🔸 Kazakhstan has been invited to join BRICS as a partner country

🔸 Lavrov held a lengthy meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, discussing Putin's visit to Astana on November 27

🔸 If the West proposes specific ideas regarding Ukraine, Russia is open to considering them

🔸 On potential contacts with US president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team: Russia has never refused communication and dialogue is preferable to isolation

🔸 If Washington genuinely wants an honest discussion with Moscow, Russia is ready to engage

🔸 Russia favors a political and diplomatic approach to the Ukrainian crisis, but there is no reciprocal readiness from Kiev and the West

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💬 Trump’s got the mandate but he’s got to walk the talk - former diplomat

“The Republicans have the presidency. The Republicans have both houses of Congress. And the time for talk, the time for posturing is over. He's got to take action from the start,” former US diplomat Michael Springmann told Sputnik, commenting on the Republicans’ electoral sweep.

“He's got to stop the war against the Russian Federation using Ukraine as a pawn. He's got to stop the crazed Zionists in occupied Palestine from their genocide and the destruction of Lebanon and Syria and Iraq,” Springmann, who famously blew the whistle on the State Department after refusing to issue visas to CIA-backed terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden in the 1980s, said.

At home, “the sooner he can take action and put an end to this Democratic Party's decades long effort to engage in discrimination and press their buttons for diversity, equity and inclusivity, which translates into reality as being biased and prejudice and a thumb on the scales,” the better, the observer said.

“We have got to get together and take action to fix this country, which is terribly broken and is run by an oligarchy manifesting itself through the Deep State and which controls just about everything in the country, including the media machine, which essentially is brainwashing without soap,” he added.

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What happened to 13 million Democrat voters?

During the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden cruised to victory with over 81 million votes, an all-time record. Four years later, Kamala Harris earned just under 68 million votes. During both election cycles, the number of votes Trump received remained fairly consistent (74 million in 2020 and 72 million in 2024).

This begs the question: Why did more than 13 million voters back in Biden in 2020, but declined to support Harris? According to Sputnik senior political analyst Dimitri Simes Jr., there are three possible explanations for this discrepancy:

1) Biden was a far more compelling candidate than Kamala Harris and his 2020 campaign was far more effective in mobilizing voters than her 2024 campaign.

2) Over 13 million Biden voters grew disillusioned with the Democratic party over the past four years and decided to stay home for the 2024 election. Possible motives include the weak economy, immigration crisis, and Israel’s war in Gaza.

3) Democrats won in 2020 with the help of electoral fraud and other political shenanigans.

Which explanation seems most convincing to you? Comment below 👇

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❓As Germany’s ruling coalition implodes, what fate awaits Chancellor Scholz?

Germany’s ruling three-party coalition has collapsed after Chancellor Olaf Scholz booted Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the Free Democrats (FDP) party on Wednesday.

Why did the finance minister get the ax?

◻️ Scholz and Lindner were not on the same page on furthering aid to Ukraine, especially as Germany faces a projected 2025 budget shortfall of roughly €10 billion ($10.7 billion) that needs plugging.

◻️ The Chancellor’s proposed budget plan entailed getting deeper into debt to lower energy costs, rescue jobs in the beleaguered German automotive industry, and boost support for Ukraine.

◻️ Linder urged fiscal restraint, and refused to break a constitutionally enshrined spending limit, known as the debt brake. It restricts the federal deficit to 0.35 percent of GDP.

What happens next?

◻️ Scholz, who will lead a minority government consisting of his Social Democrats and the Greens, has called for a confidence vote scheduled for January 15. Meanwhile, Friedrich Merz, the leader of the largest opposition party in parliament from the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), has been advocating for an immediate no-confidence vote.

◻️ Deprived of a parliamentary majority, Scholz would likely face defeat in the upcoming vote, leading Germany’s President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to dissolve parliament within 21 days. Consequently, an early election could potentially take place as soon as January.

◻️ Merz is considered a strong contender for the position of Chancellor, with 48% of respondents indicating they would select him for the role, according to a Politbarometer German election poll conducted in October.

◻️ Besides Merz, 28% of respondents said they consider incumbent Chancellor Scholz suitable for the office, while 26% would support Robert Habeck, the Economy Minister and leader of the Greens. Furthermore, 14% expressed their intention to vote for Alice Weidel of the AfD.

◻️ Merz has pushed for providing Taurus cruise missiles and fighter jets to the Zelensky government—despite the ruling cabinet’s reluctance—asserting that Ukraine "must win."

Germany, the second-largest supplier of military aid to the Kiev regime after the United States, has been plagued by problems since jumping on the US-led sanctions bandwagon against Russia. This policy plunged its economy into a technical recession last year, marked by deindustrialization and stinging inflation rates.

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