❗️Putin highlighted the likelihood of using the Oreshnik missile against military targets and decision-making centers, including those in Kiev.

For each target in Ukraine, Russia vowed to deliver a fitting response. "We won’t shoot a sparrow with a cannon," Putin said.

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💬Putin on the question of testing Russia's new types of weapons: you will find out in due time

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⚡️Russia will not allow Kiev to obtain nuclear weapons, President Vladimir Putin stated.

If Kiev obtains nuclear weapons, Russia will deploy all our means of destruction, the president added.

In response to calls for Ukraine to regain access to nuclear weapons, Putin remarked that such suggestions could only come from those who do not bear responsibility for the fate of people and global peace.

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We hope that we will be able to build good relations with Afghanistan — Putin
 

"There are difficult processes going on in Afghanistan. We hope that we will be able to build good relations with Afghanistan, and we cannot but notice that the situation is becoming more stable there. We have relations with the current authorities in Afghanistan; we will continue to develop them," the Russian president said.

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⚡️There are no preconditions for Russia to start negotiations on Ukraine; there are conditions for peace — Putin

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More details about the power of the Oreshnik missile revealed by Vladimir Putin:

🔸 Its equivilent to that of a meteorite, emphasizing its immense impact.

🔸 The Oreshnik works exactly as its creators intended in terms of the accuracy and effectiveness of the missile system.

🔸 The destruction caused by the Oreshnik is very serious, with the missile able to penetrate 3-4 levels of reinforced floors in a target.

🔸 In the context of the presence of explosive material in the Oreshnik, Putin clarified that tests are ongoing to perfect the system and improve its capabilities.

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❗️Russia is ready for dialogue with the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

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❗️"Everything is possible today": Putin recalled an old Soviet joke and literally checked the wind direction (0:34), answering a journalist's question about possible strikes on Kiev with an Oreshnik missile.

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❗️Key statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the press conference after talks in Kazakhstan and the CSTO Summit:

On Ukraine and nuclear weapon:

▪️Russia will not allow Kiev to obtain nuclear weapons.

▪️If Kiev obtains nuclear weapons, Russia will deploy all means of destruction.

On Europe and the US:

▪️The West showed Russia "a place in the corner", based on its geopolitical interests, but the Russian Federation coped with it.

▪️Europe was lowered below the baseboard, it ceased to exist as an independent decision-making center, it dances to the tune of the US.

On Armenia's absence at the CSTO meeting in Astana:

▪️Each country has the right to choose what it will do in the field of security.

▪️Armenia has not declared its desire to leave the CSTO, there is a possibility of Yerevan returning to full-fledged work in the bloc.

▪️The events relating to Nagorno-Karabakh had nothing to do with the CSTO, there was no aggression against Armenia.

On relations with Afghanistan:

▪️"We hope that we will be able to build good relations with Afghanistan… We have relations with the current authorities in Afghanistan; we will continue to develop them."

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'Angela, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to inflict any moral pain to you' — Putin rejected Merkel's words that he deliberately "scared" her with his dog

Putin recalled the meeting with Angela Merkel in 2007, when his beloved labrador came into the meeting room, and said he didn't know the ex-Chancellor of Germany was afraid of dogs.

Putin apologized to Merkel again and stressed that if the former German chancellor came to his residence again, it would not happen again.

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Vladimir Putin called Donald Trump, who won the US presidential election, an intelligent and experienced politician who is able to find a solution.

The President also expressed fears that Donald Trump, who was elected president of the United States, is still not safe.

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From CSTO to Peninsula Shield: Meet some global military blocs

Kazakhstan hosted a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on November 28, touted by Kazakh President Kasim-Jomart Tokayev as a military partnership to protect the territorial integrity of its members, which apart from Kazakhstan, include Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Apart from the CSTO, a whole array of other global military and political blocs exist, so let’s look closely at them.

▪️Five Eyes: intelligence-sharing bloc of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US, est. in 1943.

▪️Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, est. in 1947: a regional security pact of 18 countries, including the US, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay.

▪️NATO, or North Atlantic Treaty Organization, of 32 countries, such as the US, the UK, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, Denmark, plus recently-joined Finland and Sweden, est. in 1949.

▪️FPDA, or Five Power Defense Arrangements of Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK, est. in 1971.

▪️RSS, or Regional Security System, of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, est. in 1982.

▪️Peninsula Shield Force, or Peninsula Shield: the military arm of the Gulf Cooperation Council of Bahrein, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, est. in 1984.

▪️Arab League’s Joint Defense Council of 22 nations, among them Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, est. in 1990.

▪️NORDEFCO, or Nordic Defense Cooperation of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, est. in 2009.

▪️Lublin Triangle: military alliance of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, est. in 2020.

▪️AUKUS: security bloc of Australia, the UK and the US, est. in 2021.

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Two types of innovation: China vs. Ukraine

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❓How the US wants Ukraine to sacrifice its youth

The Biden administration seems eager to confirm its intent to wage a proxy war against Russia “to the last Ukrainian,” actively urging Kiev to throw more young Ukrainians into the meatgrinder that is the front line.

According to recent media reports, the US is pressuring Ukraine into reducing the military connoscription age from the current 25 years to 18 to help Kiev’s war machine cope with its losses.

Who in the US wants to send young Ukrainians to their deaths?

US politicians have been demanding an explanation why Ukrainians between the ages of 18 and 25 are not being mobilized, arguing that Americans as young as 19 were drafted in the US during Vietnam War.

“You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27,” US Republican Senator Lindsay Graham said in March.

In 2022, Graham also declared that, as long as the US provides Kiev with financial and military support, Ukraine “will fight to the last person.”

His sentiment was echoed by such US politicians and military officials as Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Senator Mitch McConnell, Senator and the next Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and current Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

All of them essentially argued that Ukraine should mobilize more troops, even if it would mean forcibly drafting younger demographics.

One Ukrainian government official even claimed in October that US politicians “from both parties” are seek to pressure Kiev into drafting young Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, tech mogul and President-elect Donald Trump’s close ally Elon Musk did not seem fond of this drive to press-gang younger and younger Ukrainians.

“How many more need to die?” he pointedly inquired on X in a response to the story about the Biden administration's efforts to have Ukraine lower the draft age.

Kiev has already lowered the connoscription age once from 27 to 25 in April.

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Young Russian scientists showcase advanced cardiac patch

At the Young Scientists Congress in Russia's Sirius Federal Territory from November 27 to 29, a compact cardiac Holter monitor was presented, developed by young researchers from Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.

Elena Yusupovskaya, junior researcher at the Institute of Bionic Technologies and Engineering, Sechenov University, shared details about the innovative device with Sputnik.

"This cardiac patch is a more compact alternative to traditional Holter monitors," she explained. "It can be worn for up to 14 days, continuously recording ECG data and transmitting it via Bluetooth to both the user’s phone and their doctor. The data is then processed using artificial intelligence to detect irregularities, such as arrhythmias or early signs of cardiovascular disease, alerting healthcare providers to potential issues."

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❗️Russia's Ministry of Defense has reported on its strikes that came in response to Kiev's missile launches into Russia:

▪️On November 25, a strike on the headquarters of the Ukrainian GUR Kraken unit in Kharkov eliminated up to 40 foreign specialists, mostly from the US. An Iskander strike in Odessa destroyed 72 soldiers from the combat teams managing uncrewed maritime drones, including nine French instructors and technical specialists.

▪️On November 25, Iskanders destroyed five ATACMS launchers, two MLRS launchers, three HIMARS MLRS launchers, and up to 30 soldiers from the launch systems' combat teams in the Sumy region.

▪️On November 25 and 26, Iskanders destroyed two launchers with experimental Grom-2 ballistic missiles, as well as a launcher of the Ukrainian Neptun anti-ship missile system in the Odessa region.

▪️On November 28, a combined strike targeted Ukraine's defense-industrial facilities and energy infrastructure that supports them.

▪️Over the past days, a total of 100 missiles of various types and 466 Geran-2 drones have been launched.

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'Ursulagate': New book bashes von der Leyen's corrupt deal with Big Pharma

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's actions during the COVID crisis have been put under microscope by Belgian democracy activist Frédéric Baldan, who accuses her of corruption, pursuing vested interests and colluding with US Big Pharma. Baldan's book "UrsulaGates: Compromise by lobbies" was officially released on November 20.

"At issue is a secret text negotiation between the president and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. At stake were the right to transparency and the 35.1 billion euros offered to Pfizer on a platter," writes the author.

In April 2023, the Belgian lobbyist filed a criminal complaint against von der Leyen, alleging abuse of office, destruction of documents, and corruption while negotiating a vaccine deal with Bourla. The 1.8 billion vaccine doses turned out to be excessive and money was wasted, according to the accuser.

“What we see now is that we had an institution out of control. What von der Leyen did was really damage the image of the European institutions in Brussels,” Baldan told the press at the time. Hungary and Poland have joined the lawsuit.

In July, the General Court of the European Union ruled von der Leyen was not transparent enough about COVID-19 vaccine contracts. However, the European Commission threw its weight behind the politician, while the European People’s Party downplayed the court's ruling. The plaintiff's request for the party and EC to ban von der Leyen's candidacy for the high office was rejected.

The "Pfizer-gate" has not prevented von der Leyen from being re-elected, but questions raised by Baldan still require answers.

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US Minuteman III nuclear silos cannot hide from Russia's Oreshnik

Following giving a lesson about the destructive power of its new Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile on November 21 in Dnepropetrovsk, Russia has revealed just how far the reach of these weapons extends.

Among the targets Oreshnik could potentially strike in a matter of minutes, if such order is given by Moscow, are the Minuteman III (LGM-30G) intercontinental ballistic missile silos in the United States, an important component of the US nuclear arsenal.

The United States currently possesses 400 Minuteman III ICBMs, according to the data available on the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center website.

First deployed in 1970, these ageing missiles are located at:

▪️Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming
▪️Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana
▪️Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota

Though earlier this month the US boasted a successful test launch of a Minuteman III missile – the only type of land-based ICBM the US currently has at its disposal – not all of the recent tests ended well. Only last year, one unarmed Minuteman III missile ended up being terminated during a test launch due to some kind of anomaly.

In 2021, another test was aborted prior to launch.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned today that Oreshnik is capable of obliterating protected underground targets. It was not immediately clear whether this definition extends to nuclear missile silos.

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What are the ‘decision-making centers’ that may soon get a call from Mr. Oreshnik?

Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned today that the new Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile could be used against enemy "decision-making centers," including those located in Kiev.

What potential targets was Putin likely referring to?

The phrase “decision-making centers,” depending on the context, is often used to describe headquarters, as well as a country’s political and/or military leadership – simply put, those who make decisions, as opposed to those who act on those decisions.

In case of Ukraine, for example, that might mean high-ranking military and civilian officials who, at least nominally, lead the Kiev regime: the government, the presidential administration, or the Defense Ministry.

The phrase in question can also serve as a reference to places where the aforementioned people make decisions: military headquarters, government buildings, command centers, underground command and control bunkers.

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🇬🇪🇪🇺 Georgia has suspended negotiations to join the EU until 2028

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the country's government will not put the issue of opening negotiations on joining the EU on the agenda until 2028. Georgia is also refusing budget grants from the union until that date.

The EU has damaged Georgia's reputation by using the topic of admission negotiations as a tool for manipulation, and the decision made will help avoid it, Kobakhidze emphasized.

According to Kobakhidze, Georgia is capable of enriching the EU with its culture and potential, just as the European Union is enriching it also. To do this, the country must show European bureaucrats that they should talk to it "not with blackmail and insults, but with dignity."

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