Russia will not engage in charitable gas supplies to Austria – Russian FM spokeswoman

Russia has stopped gas supplies to Austria’s OMV concern, and Moscow considers this decision justified, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

She noted that the decision was made after arbitration proceedings, in which OMV won a claim for an alleged short supply of gas in the fall of 2022. The destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline and termination of transit through Poland were the reasons for the decrease in gas pumping, but OMV and the arbitrators ignored these factors.

The Austrian side should understand that Russian presidential decree No. 172 dated March 31, 2022 obliges foreign buyers to fulfill commitments to Russian gas suppliers, including payment in rubles. If the court's decision is not implemented, this may lead to a halt in gas supplies, she said.

"This is the unscrupulous behavior of the Austrian concern. Our negative reaction to this, it seems to me, is more than justified. We are not going to engage in charity in this case," the diplomat concluded.

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New US missile defense base in Poland already among Russia's 'priority targets' in case of war - Russian Foreign Ministry

"The opening of a missile defense complex in Poland is yet another provocative step by the United States, which leads to an increase in strategic risks. This base has long been on the list of priority targets that Russian troops could potentially target," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The first permanent US military base in Poland opened on November 19, housing the Aegis Ashore missile defense system. The radar and SM-3 launcher are located in the village of Redzikowo in the northern part of the country.

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From Putin to Ukraine’s NATO bid: Takeaways from Merkel’s memoirs

With former German Chancellor Angela Merkel due to present her book noscriptd “Freedom: Memories 1954-2021” in Berlin on November 26, some extracts have already emerged online. What are they all about?

On Russia

“Russia was and remains geopolitically irreplaceable if only because it is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto power.”

On Putin’s 2007 Munich Conference speech

💬 “What struck me most was his sense of his own rightness,” Merkel writes, referencing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s keynote speech at the 2007 Munich Security Conference, where he gave his vision of Russia's role in the global arena, warned against the unipolar world and pushed for a collective security system.

💬 “During the Munich speech, Putin showed himself to be the man I knew: a person who was always on alert.” Some of the views expressed by Putin during the speech, such as his criticism of the US war in Iraq, were not completely wrong, per the memoir.

On Trump

💬 “He saw everything from the perspective of the property developer he was before entering politics,” Merkel pointed out, referring to her impression of Donald Trump back in 2017 when he was first elected US president.

💬 “Each parcel of land could only be sold once, and if he didn't get it someone else did. That's how he saw the world,” she added.

On Putin-Trump relations

He [Trump] “seemed to be completely enchanted by the Russian president [at the time],” Merkel wrote as she looks back at how Trump asked her in detail about Putin in 2017.

On Ukraine and Georgia’s NATO membership

💬 “Admitting a new [NATO] member should bring more security not only to the new member but also to NATO. Therefore, there are criteria for admitting a country that, in addition to its military capabilities, also take into account the candidate's domestic climate,” Merkel wrote, stressing that discussing the issue of NATO expansion without taking into account Moscow’s position was “extremely careless.”

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The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

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📹Russia's Soyuz-2.1a rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with the Progress MS-29 cargo ship. It has already put the ship into low Earth orbit.

Its flight to the International Space Station will take two days, and docking to the Poisk module of the Russian segment of the ISS is scheduled for 14.36 GMT on November 23.

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Up to its neck in debt: How much does Ukraine owe?

Having already provided Kiev with billions of dollars’ worth of financial and military supplies following the escalation of the conflict, the outgoing Biden administration apparently intends to take this generosity up a notch by writing off $4.65 billion of Ukraine's debt.

The total amount of Ukraine’s state and state-guaranteed debt as of September 30 was $155.69 billion, including the $112.06 billion of external debt, according to data released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance. Here’s more detailed official statistics:

Debt to US:

▪️Curiously, Ukraine’s debt on loans from the governing authorities of the United States was exactly zero, as per the Ukrainian ministry;

▪️Meanwhile, the US in April approved an aid package to Ukraine worth $60 billion that included a $9 billion loan, half of which Biden now wants to write off.

Debt to EU:

Ukraine’s state debt includes $44.17 billion owed to the European Union, $14.65 billion owed to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and $12.08 billion owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Bilateral debt:

The debts on loans received by Kiev from governing authorities of foreign countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland and UK, reached $7.74 billion, with the largest creditor being Canada ($5.11 billion).

Private sector liabilities:

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) identified Cyprus as “the main country-creditor” who owned 48.4% of the “total amount of liabilities,” while the UK, the Netherlands and Germany owned 10.5%, 7.9% and 3%, respectively.

Debt to other international banks:

Ukraine also owed $1.61 billion due to loans from foreign commercial banks and organizations such as Cargill ($730 million) and Deutsche Bank ($490 million).

Debt on issued securities:

Ukraine’s debt on Eurobonds 2024 amounted to $15.22 billion.

Notably, the Kiev regime passed a law allowing Ukraine to suspend foreign debt payments earlier this year.

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Tucker Carlson calls US ‘fascist state’

In his interview on X, the journalist said:

"Our government is the fascist state that they claim Russia is.

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Over half of Ukrainians want peace talks with Russia – poll

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said that Russia continues its special military operation because Ukrainian authorities are denying any possibility of peace talks.

Fifty-two percent of Ukrainians would like to see their country negotiate an end to the conflict as soon as possible, a latest poll conducted by the US multinational analytics and advisory company Gallup has shown.

▫️It means the number of Ukrainians seeking early peace talks this year increased about two-fold compared to 2022 and 2023, when the figures were 22% and 27% of respondents, respectively, in line with the survey.

▫️Additionally, 52% of respondents said Kiev should be open to making some territorial concessions in exchange for a peace deal.

▫️Support for the Kiev regime’s continued fight with Russia has declined “across every region in Ukraine”, according to the poll. While in 2022 the number of respondents calling for a continuation of hostilities stood at 72%, in 2024 the figure dipped to 38%, per the research.

Commenting on the survey, Gallup stressed that after more than two years of the “grinding conflict”, Ukrainians are “increasingly weary” of the standoff.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier stressed that Moscow remains open to resuming peace talks that were interrupted by the Kiev regime.

He added that a possible peace deal should take into account Russia's interests in the security sphere, proceed from "new territorial realities," and, most importantly, eliminate “the root causes of the conflict, namely, "NATO's long-standing aggressive policy aimed at creating an anti-Russian bridgehead on Ukrainian territory while ignoring our country's security interests and trampling on the rights of Russian-speaking citizens."

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❗️Iraq has requested an emergency Arab League meeting to discuss Israeli threats, according to reports.

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Sweden's new war brochure: Survival tips or state-sponsored panic reading?

It seems that Sweden is beginning to reap the consequences of joining NATO. For the first time in years, Swedish citizens have been warned by their government about the risk of war. The warning arrived in the form of a brochure that was mailed to people across the country.

Titled “In Case of Crisis or War,” this booklet is essentially an updated version of a similar pamphlet that was disseminated in Sweden in 2018, with the latter being the first time such materials were distributed since 1961.

Mikael Valtersson, former Swedish military officer and ex-chief of staff with the Sweden Democrats, who is familiar with the matter and who received the booklet, explains to Sputnik’s viewers what pearls of wisdom this document contains.

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From Soros to USAID: How US organized 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine

On November 21, Ukraine marks the so-called Dignity and Freedom Day, commemorating the US-backed 2004 Orange Revolution and 2014 Euromaidan, including the US-orchestrated "third round" election that overturned Viktor Yanukovich's victory to install Viktor Yushchenko.

"The campaign is an American creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived exercise in Western branding and mass marketing," The Guardian's Ian Traynor wrote of the 2004 upheaval in November that year, comparing it to "the US government-funded and organized" Velvet Revolution, Revolution of Roses and an attempted coup in Belarus.

How much did the Orange Revolution cost?

The US and its allies reportedly spent $65–$100 million over two years to support Viktor Yushchenko-led opposition, with much of the funding allegedly covert and funneled through NGOs.

🔻The US State Department:

▪️in FY2003 and FY2004 officially allocated $188.5 million and $143.47 million, respectively, for "assistance programs" in Ukraine

▪️$54.7 million (FY2003) and $34.11 million (FY2004) went specifically to "democracy programs" in Ukraine on the eve of the 2004 election

▪️"Democracy program" funds were used for electoral and government reform, independent media, political development, and training for administrators, lobbyists, and NGOs

▪️the money was channeled through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Eurasia Foundation, National Endowment for Democracy (NED), US Embassy in Kiev, and others.

🔻USAID

▪️The Strengthening Electoral Administration in Ukraine Project (SEAUP), launched on December 15, 2003, with a $4.4 million budget, partnered with NDI, IRI, Freedom House, InterNews, ABA/CEELI, and the OSCE.

🔻SEAUP's activities included:

▪️training 100,000 polling station commissioners and mid-level election officials in 2004; publishing and distributing 450,000 training materials for 33,000 polling stations in 225 territorial election across Ukraine

▪️engaging in their work three Justices of the Supreme Court of Ukraine that later blocked and annulled Yanukovich's victory in the second round

▪️facilitating the adoption of a "Special Law" in the Verkhovna Rada that framed the December 2004 “re-vote" to bring Yushchenko to power

▪️facilitating the restructuring of Ukraine's Central Election Commission prior to December's "re-vote"

🔻Freedom House, NDI, IRI

Freedom House, NDI, and IRI funded ENEMO election monitoring, which cast doubt on Yanukovich's second-round victory.

🔻George Soros’s International Renaissance Foundation

▪️spent US$1.65 million between Autumn 2003 and December 2004, supporting the ‘New Choice 2004’ and ‘Freedom of Choice’ coalitions of NGOs

🔻The NED, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Eurasia and George Soros’s Renaissance Foundation

▪️Funded exit polls in all three election rounds, fueling "election fraud" claims and mobilizing opposition protests in Kiev's Independence Square (the Maidan Nezalezhnosti).

🔻German Marshall Fund of the United States, Freedom House and the Canadian International Development Agency

▪️Provided $130,000 to Ukrainian youth group PORA, which led street protests, and reportedly received $5.3 million from foreign entities, per UCL Professor Andrew Wilson.

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❗️📹 Vladimir Putin will make a statement in the near future.

The broadcast will be available on our channel.

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⚡️Russian President Vladimir Putin said that on November 19 and November 21, Ukraine launched attacks using six ATACMS missiles and Storm Shadow systems, targeting sites in the Kursk and Bryansk regions. He emphasized that employing long-range weapons against Russian territory requires the expertise of specialists from the producing countries, making their involvement evident.

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⚡️The conflict in Ukraine has taken on global dimensions following long-range Western missile strikes on Russia, Putin stated.

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❗️President Putin announced that Russia's Armed Forces carried out a combined strike using the latest Oreshnik medium-range missile against a Ukrainian defense industry facility in response to American and British weapon strikes on Russian territory.

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