⚛️ Which countries is Rosatom building nuclear power plants for?

Russia is ready to join in the construction of a second nuclear power plant at Turkiye’s Sinop site, Russian Ambassador Alexei Erkhov said. He noted the successful joint work on the Akkuyu NPP project, currently under construction by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Where has Russia built nuclear power plants?

🔸 India:

India’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant (NPP) has been under construction with Russia's help since 2002. Featuring six power units with VVER-1000 reactors and an installed capacity of 6,000 MW, power units No. 1 and No. 2 were commissioned in 2013 and 2016 and have since been operating at nominal capacity. Rosatom is discussing the possibility of constructing six more high-capacity nuclear power units and small nuclear power plants in India.

🔸 China:

Four units with Russian VVER-1000 reactors are successfully operating at China’s Tianwan NPP, supplying millions of kilowatts of energy to the country's power grid. Rosatom is also building four more power units in China: two at the Tianwan NPP and another pair at the Xudabao (Xudapu) NPP in Liaoning Province. They use the third-generation-plus Russian VVER-1200 reactors. Commercial operation is set for 2027 and 2028.

🔸 Iran:

Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant was brought online in 2011. Construction initially began in 1975 with assistance from West German contractors, but was frozen in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution. In the 1990s, Russian specialists helped install a 1,000 MW VVER-1000 reactor. Construction of two additional VVER-1000s at Bushehr began in 2021. The second and third units are set to be commissioned in 2025 and 2027.

🔸 Hungary:

The Hungarian Paks nuclear power plant, built between 1983 and1987 based on a Soviet design, operates four VVER reactor units. A Russian upgrade program from 2005 to 2009 extended their service life until 2032 to 2037 and increased generating capacity from 1,760 to 2,000 MW. In January 2014, Russia and Hungary agreed to construct the fifth and sixth units as part of the third phase of the Paks plant (Paks-II) by Rosatom. The first concrete of the foundations of Paks-II is scheduled to be poured in the first quarter of 2025, with completion planned for 2030.

🔸 Belarus:

An NPP with two flagship third-gen-plus VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,400 MW is located in Ostrovets. Its commissioning was completed in 2023.

Where is Russia Building Nuclear Power Plants?

🔸 Egypt:

Russia and Egypt signed an agreement to build Egypt's first nuclear power plant, El-Dabaa with four VVER-1200 units, in November 2015. Construction began on July 20, 2022, with the first unit set to come online in 2026. All four units are to be completed by 2029. The El Dabaa site is the largest NPP project in Africa.

🔸 Bangladesh:

Russia’s Rosatom signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in constructing Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant, to be equipped with two VVER-1200 units, in Rooppur in November 2011. One of the two units may start operating this December, with the deadline for the project set for 2027.

🔸 Turkiye:

Moscow and Ankara signed an agreement on constructing Turkiye's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, in Mersin Province, on May 12, 2010. The plant will comprise four power units equipped with VVER-1200 reactors generation 1200 MW each. The first batch of nuclear fuel was delivered to the Akkuyu NPP site on April 27, 2023, turning the site into a full-fledge nuclear power facility. The first unit is due to come online in 2024. The other units are expected to be operational by 2026.

🔸 Other countries:

Rosatom is discussing or has preliminary agreements to build power units in countries such as Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka.

The company is competing for a contract to build a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan.

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Taliban deputy PM hopes Russia can help Afghanistan ‘neutralize’ Western economic pressure

Taliban* deputy prime minister for economic affairs Abdul Ghani Baradar has signaled hopes that Russia will help Afghanistan neutralize Western economic pressure against the country, emphasizing that the Islamic Emirate can a reliable economic partner.

“We have tried to provide the conditions for increasing the export of Afghan goods abroad and attracting foreign investment to Afghanistan. As you know, after the victory of the Islamic Emirate, the United States and Western countries have been exerting all kinds of pressure on us. Therefore, we expect the Russian Federation to help us neutralize this pressure. We can assure you that the Islamic Emirate is a reliable economic partner,” Baradar said.

“Our security forces have done a lot to stabilize the [security] situation,” Baradar added. “As a result of their efforts, ISIS** was destroyed in Afghanistan and moved to other countries.”

The deputy PM expressed hope that Monday’s visit by Russian Security Council chief Shoigu and other senior Russian officials would become a starting point for the regular exchange of high-level delegations, “so that we and our colleagues on your side could discuss in detail issues related to politics and security.”


* An organization under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.
** A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

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Kamala Harris plans to return to politics - reports

Despite her defeat in the presidential race, Harris has privately instructed advisers and allies to keep her options open, according to American media. Her potential comeback routes include a possible 2028 presidential run, or even running for governor of California in two years.

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Taliban Ministry of Trade chief to Sputnik: Russia and Afghanistan seek to forge high-level agreements

“The results of the talks will benefit both countries, both parties are in a positive mood,” acting Taliban* Ministry of Trade chief Nooruddin Azizi told a Sputnik correspondent, summarizing the results of Monday’s meetings in Kabul between Russian and high-level Taliban officials.

“At the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, the development of trade and economic relations and existing achievements in this area were discussed. There is a desire to consolidate agreements at a very high level. Efforts are being made to increase trade and economic cooperation,” Azizi said.

* An organization under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.

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Biden will attend Trump's inauguration

US President Joe Biden will keep his promise to attend the inauguration of his successor, regardless of who it is, White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates announced.

Biden sees this as an important demonstration of commitment to democratic values, he added.

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Sputnik reports from Taliban Interior Ministry’s reception building

Sputnik correspondent Zohra Ishmukhametova was able to get an exclusive first-hand look at the site of talks between a high-level Russian delegation and senior Taliban* officials in Kabul on Monday, recording a report from the scene.

“We’re here at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Afghanistan in Kabul. Behind me, negotiations are being held right now between the Russian delegation headed by Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu and Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, with the Afghan side represented by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the Afghan Ministry of Internal Affairs. We’re waiting for the negotiations to conclude,” Ishmukhametova said.

* An organization under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.

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🚨🇷🇺🪖 Message to NATO: Putin’s not bluffing — @AussieCossack

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Estonian Defense Minister urges NATO not to send troops to Ukraine

The risks of such a move outweigh the benefits, even as Ukraine faces a shortage of manpower and morale, Hanno Pevkur told The Hill.

”As far as I know, Ukrainians can handle all of this, when we can deliver all what they need for fighting with Russia,” he noted.

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Trump vows to add 10% to export duties on goods from China

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to add 10% to export duties on goods from China until the problem of drug trafficking from the country is resolved.

"Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before," he said in the post on Truth Social.

Trump also threatened to impose duties of 25% on all goods from Mexico and Canada because of illegal migration and drug trafficking.

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🍞🥷 Biden's sneaky Thanksgiving snack

At an event in honor of a future Thanksgiving with members of the US Coast Guard, Biden pocketed a bun, sneaking tiny bites with furtive glances around the room. One can only guess what the secrecy was for.

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UK sends Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine for first time under Starmer - Bloomberg

A few weeks ago, the UK delivered dozens of Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine for the first time since Prime Minister Keir Starmer came to power, Bloomberg reported citing sources.

The delivery reportedly took place before the recent US and UK decision to allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at targets deep inside Russia.

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📹🇷🇺 Skill of Russian drone pilots on display

Russian Ministry of Defense shared video footage of FPV drone teams targeting Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. The UAVs successfully hit a moving off-road vehicle, Soviet and US-made IFVs, a camouflaged mortar, and an AFU infantry squad concealed in a dugout.

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🚍🔥 Bus catches fire and hits power pole in Brazil

Video from social media shows a burning bus crashing into a pole after losing control in São Paulo. Miraculously, no one was injured in the incident, according to the city's fire department.

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🇻🇪👋'Welcome to Venezuela, Sputnik'
 
The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, welcomed Sputnik's initiative to launch its radio broadcast in the country and announced the signing of the agreement between the Venezuelan Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information and the agency.
 
The president also invited Sputnik's team to his program "With Maduro+" on November 25; the representatives of Sputnik were the first Russian journalists to participate in this television program.
 
Founded in 2014, the International Information Agency and Radio Sputnik broadcast materials in more than 30 foreign languages. Its presence on social networks exceeds 160 accounts, with about 35 million daily views and more than 32 million subscribers. Sputnik currently has 24 representative offices around the world, from Asia to Latin America.

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📹Russia's Defense Ministry showed a T-80 tank with grill-like cages and chains working in the special military operation zone.
 
According to the ministry, the tank crew hit a Ukrainian stronghold, facilitating the offensive of assault groups in the South Donetsk region.

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'Act of treason' — GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on the possibility of Biden giving nukes to Ukraine
 

"This must be stopped immediately!! Is the Biden admin trying to start a nuclear war and use it as the reason to stop the transfer of power to Trump?" Greene wrote on her X page, reposting Mario Nawfal's publication concerning the topic.

 
Earlier, the New York Times wrote that Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union, referring to several officials.
 

"They’re floating the idea of returning nuclear arms removed after the Soviet Union’s fall. This unprecedented escalation raises serious questions: Is this about aiding Ukraine -- or is something more at play?" Mario Nawfal, investor and host of the largest show on X, commented on the subject.

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