Conflict in Ukraine could end if NATO stops fueling the war – Medvedev

The conflict could be resolved without additional costs to humanity if NATO stops fueling the war in Ukraine, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Al Arabiya.

Ukraine's use of long-range weapons to strike Russian territory only serves to delay possible peace talks, Medvedev highlighted.

"This will not remain without consequences. This naturally concerns the negotiations you mentioned, which are still very far away, and such events only delay them. But this also concerns the general situation," Medvedev told the broadcaster when asked how Ukraine's use of long-range missiles will affect possible talks.

While Russia has capabilities to use nuclear weapons if necessary, there are no “crazy people” in the country's leadership who would seek to do so, the Security Council Deputy Chairman stressed.

"Moscow would very much not want nuclear weapons to ever be used—there are no 'crazy people' in Russia's leadership who would seek to do so," Medvedev added.

Medvedev also underscored the strategic significance of Russia's new Oreshnik ballistic missile, which he said would alter the course of the conflict in Ukraine.

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Medvedev doubts Trump will lift sanctions against Russia

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev expressed skepticism that US President-elect Donald Trump would lift sanctions against Russia after assuming office.

"I believe it is unlikely that the president-elect, having taken office, will immediately lift these sanctions. Especially since, at one time, he actually insisted on a number of sanctions, trying to limit our gas supplies to Europe," Medvedev said in an interview with the Al Arabiya TV channel.

Medvedev also recalled Trump’s remarks about the importance of supplying Europe with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US.

"Which is what is happening now. And there is no Russian gas in Europe. That is why Europeans are freezing, and their industries are shutting down. In a certain sense, ending sanctions is not in the interest of several sectors of the American economy. What considerations he [Trump] will be guided by, I do not know. But this really needs to be done simply to restore normal economic cooperation," Medvedev emphasized.

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💬 Media called me head of ‘Putin's network in Italy’ for telling the truth about Ukraine – Italian journalist

Giorgio Bianchi was deprived of the opportunity to speak publicly about the Ukraine conflict and called a Russian spy for trying to inform Italians about the real reasons for what is happening in Ukraine after the start of the special military operation, the journalist told Sputnik.

The reporter has been covering events in Ukraine since the Euromaidan in 2014, and has appeared several times as an expert in the Italian media. After the start of the special military operation, he went to Donbass for almost two months, where he witnessed the liberation of Mariupol and Volnovakha firsthand.

“From that moment on, I could no longer hold conferences in schools and universities. Italy's most popular newspaper Corriere della Sera printed me on the front page, claiming that I was the head of 'Putin's network in Italy,'” he shared, adding that the case against him was sent to Italy's then-head of government Mario Draghi.

Bianchi emphasized that he continued to tell the truth, explaining that the Minsk agreements were subversively used to arm Ukraine and that neo-Nazi ideas were actually observed in the country, as the journalist himself saw neo-Nazi symbols and literature when he was in Mariupol.

However, all the newspapers that had been talking about it for years suddenly “changed their minds overnight,” and began to claim there was no such ideology in Ukraine, the journalist stressed.

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🔸 Here’s why Russia’s Oreshnik hypersonic missile is ready for mass production

🔸 Conflict in Ukraine could end if NATO stops fueling the war – Russian Security Council

🔸 Italian journalist was labeled ‘Putin's spy’ for telling the truth about Ukraine

🔸 American patriot & relentless truth-seeker: Sputnik pundit Scott Bennett passes away

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👋 Farewell, Boeing and Airbus: Russian aircraft industry goes fully domestic

Russia is taking the final step toward creating its own aircraft industry, completely independent of the US’ Boeing and France’s Airbus industry giants. All thanks to Russia’s completely domestically produced Yakovlev MC-21 and Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SJ-100) planes.

Russian airliners:

🔸 Debut flights of MC-21 and SJ-100 aircraft with domestic engines are planned for 2025;

🔸 This landmark event will demonstrate Russia's ability to not only to design and build modern airliners, but also to eliminate dependence on Western suppliers for components, the country’s Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov said;

🔸 MC-21 is a new generation medium-haul single-aisle airliner, developed by the Yakovlev Corporation, and its production is scheduled for 2025;

🔸 Serial production of the MC-21 is underway, with the planes awaiting completion of certification tests. Airlines can expect to receive at least 10 such craft in 2025;

🔸 Production facilities may be ready to produce 36 aircraft of that type annually in about three years’ time, according to Russian experts.

Russian engines:

🔹 The PD-14 turboprop engine for the MC-21 aircraft is ready, with certification flights set for late March-early April 2025;

🔹 Certification flights of the SJ100 short-haul regional passenger jet with the domestic PD-8 engine are to begin next year as well. Ground tests of this engine are coming to an end;

🔹 Currently in development is the PD-35 prospective ultra-high thrust turbofan engine for long-range airliners and military transport aircraft.

Back in the mid-2010s, the bulk of the avionics was supplied from abroad. In 2022, amid Western sanctions over Ukraine, the European Union banned the supply of civilian aircraft and spare parts to Russia and obligated lessors to terminate contracts with Russian airlines.

Aircraft maintenance and insurance services were also been banned, with full import substitution becoming a determining factor in the viability of Russian aircraft.

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💬 US and UK are waging war against EU with anti-Russian sanctions – Italian journalist

The sanctions that Washington is pressuring European countries to impose against Russia are actually hurting the European Union (EU) more, Italian journalist Giorgio Bianchi told Sputnik.

“I have the impression that this is a US war not only against Russia, but also against Italy, Germany, and France. Because the sanctions that the US has forced our countries to apply, I call them auto-sanctions, these sanctions are directed more against us than against Russia,” he pointed out.

Bianchi believes that the US and UK have actually benefited far more from these sanctions than from the bombing of Europe’s industrial districts during World War II.

“Large companies will simply move out of [EU] countries. Some of them have already moved to Asia, and now they will move to America because of more favorable business conditions,” the journalist added.

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