The Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, has addressed a letter to the Director General of UNESCO, urging the organization to put an end to its suppression of facts confirming that Russian journalists faced violations of their rights.

The draft report on journalist safety by UNESCO neglects to mention the deaths and injuries sustained by members of the Russian media. Notably absent is any reference to Sputnik military correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev, who was killed on July 22, 2023, due to Ukrainian shelling in the Zaporozhye Region.

The political bias of the UNESCO Secretariat has become increasingly apparent, with the organization appearing to align itself with the West’s agenda of "dismantling Russia."

The letter further highlights that the UNESCO draft report omits numerous instances of harassment and violations of the rights of journalists belonging to the Rossiya Segodnya media group who work in Western countries.

Regrettably, these omissions serve only to underscore that the UNESCO Secretariat seems to have abandoned the core principles that initially guided the work of the United Nations.

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The sabotage of the underwater internet cables coincided with the NATO naval exercise Freezing Winds 24

The exercise is held in southern Finland and in the Northern Baltic Sea from November 18 to 29.

The cable between Finland and Germany runs along the same route as Nord Stream. The distance between them is several hundred meters.

Shortly before the Nord Stream explosions in the Baltic Sea, NATO also held exercises — Baltops 2022.

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🇷🇺 Russia changes its nuclear doctrine: What has changed and why should the West be wary?

The new Russian nuclear doctrine recently signed by President Vladimir Putin features several notable articles that were absent from the doctrine’s previous iterations, Russian military analyst Ret.Col. Viktor Litovkin tells Sputnik.

“Firstly, the 2020 edition of the doctrine contained no mention of Belarus where we deployed our nuclear weapons and whom we had taken under our ‘nuclear umbrella’,” he explains. “Secondly, the previous version of the doctrine contained no mention of Russia being authorized to use nuclear weapons if attacked by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear power.”

According to him, Russia thus sends a direct warning to the United States and NATO who supply Ukraine with long-range missiles and urge Kiev to use them, effectively waging a war against Russia by proxy.

“This is a serious warning that, if they go too far and long-range missiles are used against Russian territory – and these long-range missiles are programmed by NATO specialists because Ukrainian specialists lack the necessary equipment and expertise, not to mention NATO aircraft and heavy UAVs guiding these missiles – we would be empowered to strike against the sites these missiles are launched from," he concludes.

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⚡️Ukrainian forces fired six ATACMS missiles at a facility in the Russian Bryansk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said

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❗️As a result of the anti-missile battle, the S-400 air defense system and the Pantsir missile defense system shot down five US-made ATACMS missiles; one was damaged.
 
Fragments of the damaged ATACMS missile fell on the technical territory of a military facility in the Bryansk region; a fire broke out, but there were no casualties or damage.

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Parliament of Abkhazia accepts resignation of President Aslan Bzhania, Sputnik correspondent reports
 
Vice President of Abkhazia Badra Gunba will serve as head of state until early elections are held; the relevant decision was made by parliament.

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Russia’s new nuclear doctrine: What has changed?

President Vladimir Putin has authorized the country’s updated nuclear doctrine, bringing into force changes that he first announced in September. What are the updates about?

The previous version singled out four situations in which the Russian head of state may decide on the use nuclear weapons: a ballistic missile attack on Russia; an attack on the country using weapons of mass destruction; an attack on Russian state or military facilities; and an aggression against Russia with the use of conventional weapons when “the very existence of the state is at risk.”

Under the current doctrine, in addition to the aforementioned clauses, Russia can also press the red button if:

🔴 There is an attack with the use of conventional weapons against Russia and (or) Belarus as members of the Union State, which poses “a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) territorial integrity” (“the very existence of the state is at risk” term has been omitted).

🔴 There is “reliable information about a mass launch of means for an aerospace attack” (strategic and tactical warplanes, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as hypersonic and other systems) and their crossing of Russia’s state border.

Unlike the 2020 version, the new doctrine separately stipulates that Russia is authorized to use nuclear weapons if jointly attacked by “any non-nuclear state”, which is supported by a country possessing nukes.

Additionally, the revised doctrine lists more threats that require counteraction through nuclear deterrence, among them the development of anti-ballistic missile systems, deployment of conventional weapon systems that can strike Russian territory, and potential sabotage plots to cause large-scale environmental disasters.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has meanwhile stressed that changes to the doctrine were made in order to adapt “our vision of the use of nuclear weapons to the realities of the modern-day world.”

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🎥🎥 Russian FM Sergey Lavrov's press conference on the sidelines of the G20 Summit

👉 Watch live in our Telegram or on Sputnik's website

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Are Israel and Hezbollah really close to a ceasefire?

Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a US proposal for a ceasefire with Israel with some comments on the content, Assistant Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Ali Hasan Khalil has told media. He noted that these steps could be considered "the most serious effort to stop the hostilities."

What is known about the discussed ceasefire?

◾️White House envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut. He has already discussed the offer with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and is currently meeting with Lebanese PM Najib Mikati.

◾️In turn, Mikati confirmed on local TV on Monday that Lebanon's response to a ceasefire proposal was positive, but didn't reveal any details.

◾️It is also expected that after visiting Lebanon, Hochstein will visit Israel regarding the same deal. This information was confirmed by Israeli media governmental sources. But there was no official comment from the Israeli side.

◾️Assistant Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Ali Hasan Khalil highlighted that Beirut's position would be in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701. It was the terms for ending Israel-Lebanon hostilities in 2006.

◾️Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, mutual attacks between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah have intensified. Last night, five people were injured after Hezbollah shelled Tel Aviv suburbs. The IDF, in turn, continues to attempt an offensive in the border zone and carry out heavy bombing in several Lebanese cities, including Beirut.

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❗️The use of ATACMS in the Russian Bryansk region is a signal that the United States wants escalation — Russian FM

I hope that the West is carefully studying the updated nuclear doctrine of Russia, Sergey Lavrov said.

He also added that he could not confirm information that the US has allowed Kiev to launch strikes deep into Russia.

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Nuclear doctrine changes signal Russia’s willingness to take on ‘global power obligations’ - expert

The latest changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine were likely made for two main reasons, Mikael Valtersson, former Swedish military officer and ex-chief of staff with the Sweden Democrats, tells Sputnik.

“One is to make it even clearer that even attacks from Ukraine with conventional weapons with the active support of Western powers will be seen as a combined attack on Russia,” he says. “This will give Russia the opportunity to claim Casus belli [an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war], and legitimate defensive military action according to international law and the UN Charter.”

This move, Valtersson argues, is essentially an attempt by Russia to “strengthen deterrence towards the West and reduce the risk of Western escalation in Ukraine.”

“The second and very interesting aspect is the inclusion of allies in the nuclear deterrence,” he continues. “This must be seen in the light of the recent ratification of the new defense cooperation agreement with the DPRK (North Korea) that includes a paragraph akin to the NATO article 5. This stipulates mutual military aid to defend each other in case of aggression from other countries.”

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❗️US will not respond to changes in Russia's nuclear doctrine, Bloomberg writes, citing the White House

The US does not see the need to change the readiness of its nuclear forces in response to changes in Russia's nuclear doctrine.

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🇷🇺📢 Key statements by Russian FM Sergey Lavrov from his G20 press conference:

▪️The West tried to 'Ukrainize' the G20 agenda, but other members insisted that other conflicts be included in the final declaration

▪️Those countries reluctantly agreed to discuss the points of the G20 final declaration on the Middle East

▪️They also tried to insert a point on Gaza after the point on Ukraine in the declaration

▪️Moscow will react accordingly to the US allowing Kiev to strike deep into the Russian Federation

▪️Russia agrees with the paragraph on Ukraine in the G20's final declaration, which calls for an honest and reasonable conversation about peace on realistic terms

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ATACMS-killers: Russia's S-400 and Pantsir air defenses

The Ukrainian Armed Forces fired six ATACMS ballistic missiles at a military facility in Russia's Bryansk region last night. Five missiles were intercepted and one was damaged by Russia's S-400 and Pantsir missile defense systems.

What's known about them?

🔺The S-400 Triumf (Triumph)

S-400 Triumf is a medium-to-long range anti-aircraft and missile defense system.

It is designed to intercept modern means of air attack and boasts a range of up to 600 km target detection.

It is capable of intercepting targets flying at a maximum speed of Mach 14 (4,800 m/s) and maximum altitude of 30 km.

S-400 can simultaneously engage up to 36 targets.

🔺The Pantsir

Pantsir is a missile defense system that can fire both medium-range anti-missile missiles and 30 mm caliber twin anti-aircraft guns, creating a continuous target engagement zone up to 20 km in range and up to 15 km in altitude.

The systems’ twelve onboard two-stage solid fuel missiles accelerate to up to 1,300 meters per second to engage targets flying up to 1,000 meters/second.

Pantsir also boasts a short reaction time of 4-6 seconds due to automatic tracking of up to 40 targets by a target acquisition radar.

It can fire on the move and at short halts and simultaneously attack four targets within a sector of ± 45 deg in elevation.

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Russian air defenses’ reputation as ‘ATACMS killers’ may stoke soaring demand

Success in Russia's efforts to intercept US-made ATACMS missiles, including the latest attempt by Ukraine and its NATO handlers to attack the Bryansk region, may lead to an increase in demand for its air defense systems in the world, says Russian military expert and air defense forces historian Yuri Knutov.

He points out that many countries in the world lack systems such as S-300V4, S-350 Vityaz, S-400, Buk-M3 or Pantsir, “the systems that can successfully counter ATACMS missiles specifically.”

“We have proven that Russia possesses the best air defense in the world, which is why, in my opinion, the interest in our air defenses grows so much,” he explains.

Though the demand for Russian air defense systems in the world is hindered by Western sanctions, Knutov also predicts that, if the Ukrainian conflict were to wind down, “the demand for our air defense systems would increase manifold.”

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