Russia warned five years ago: US mercenaries profit from Syrian oil (Part 1 👉 Part 2)

The US is maintaining its military presence in Syria's oil-rich northeast region, claiming its major aim is to keep the oil out of ISIS* hands. However, the reality appears more complex.

▪️Takeover of Deir ez-Zor: US-allied Kurdish militias seized Syria's largest oil field, Al-Omar, located in Deir el-Zour province along the border with Iraq, from ISIS and then expanded their control over the oil-rich region.

▪️Hydrocarbon control: Instead of returning hydrocarbons to the Syrian people, the US began extracting and allegedly stealing the nation's energy resources.

▪️PMC involvement? The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) stated in July 2019 that around 3,500 US private military contractors (PMCs) were participating in illegal oil production at the Al-Omar, Tanak, and Conoco fields in Deir ez-Zor province.

▪️Illegal production: According to the MoD, illegal hydrocarbon production was also conducted in neighboring Al-Hasakah and Raqqa, held by US-backed Kurdish militias.

▪️Criminal scheme: The MoD claimed, "A criminal scheme for cross-border deliveries of Syrian oil is in operation," with US PMCs operating under the cover of US-led coalition aviation.

▪️Oil revenues: The MoD stated in October 2019 that oil revenues, amounting to $30 million a month, were funneled through brokerage companies to the accounts of PMCs and US special services.

👉 Part 2

* a terrorist organization banned in Russia and other countries

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Did infamous Blackwater take part in US plundering of Syria? (Part 2 👉 Part 1)

Earlier, in July 2019, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the US of hypocrisy, stating that despite declaring a pull-out from Syria, Washington was quietly substituting its troops with private military contractors on the ground.

▪️Blackwater involvement? In May 2019, the Tehran Times reported that US PMC Blackwater and other Western security firms were operating in Iraq and sought to move to Syria. Blackwater had been expelled from Iraq over the 2007 Nisour Square massacre.

▪️Erik Prince's proposal: In January 2019, Blackwater founder Erik Prince suggested on Fox News that military contractors could replace US troops in Syria. He argued that the US should not abandon its allies despite having no long-term strategic obligation to stay in Syria.

▪️Trump's statement: In November 2019, then-President Donald Trump stated during a White House press conference, "We're keeping the [Syrian] oil. We have the oil. The oil is secure."

▪️Policy support: In August 2020, anonymous US officials told Foreign Policy that developing and keeping Syria's oil fields were helping the State and Defense departments justify a continued US military presence in the region.

👉 Part 1

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❗️ Niger suspends BBC operations for 3 months – Ministry

Nigerien authorities have suspended the operations of the UK-based BBC broadcaster for three months, the ANP news agency reported, citing the country's Ministry of Communication, Posts, and Digital Economy.

Nigerien officials accuse the BBC of broadcasting false information intended to destabilize the situation in the country and of "undermining troop morale."

Earlier, Niger had also suspended the operations of France’s RFI and France 24.

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💥 ‘If they don't know, they need to resign in shame’ – Rep. Greene blasts US gov on inadequate response to growing drone concerns

💬 “Well, number one, I'm gonna call it total b******t that no one knows what these are. And I think it's a slap in the face to the American people to say they don't know what this is,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said, commenting on the US government’s failure to address mounting drone sighting concerns.

💬 “The Department of Defense absolutely should know. And I'm not privy to that information… We're not in control yet. But I'll call them a bunch of liars. And I think they're full of s**t,” Greene emphasized.

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📄 Biden creates task force to combat 'coercive economic practices of countries of concern,’ including China – statement

💬 The newly established task force will work "to assess potential vulnerabilities of countries, including within their private sectors, to such coercion, and to develop concrete recommendations for a comprehensive, effective, and, as appropriate, multilateral response, including deterring future coercive economic behavior," according to the White House, citing the president’s memorandum.

Biden stated that the task force will coordinate efforts across various US agencies and offices to implement government strategies for countering coercive practices.

💬 "The Task Force shall also consolidate any input received and submit periodic recommendations to the President on policies and regulatory actions to address systemic harms from PRC economic coercion," the memorandum further noted.

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💸 Blinken announces new $500 million military aid package for Ukraine

The package will include artillery munition, Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) munitions, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as protection equipment for chemical, biological, and nuclear threats, State Secretary Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Russia has repeatedly stressed that Western military aid for NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine will only serve to prolong the crisis, and warned that arms shipments are legitimate military targets.

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Moldovan opposition lacks votes to dissolve gov't – parliament speaker

The Moldovan opposition failed on Friday to gather enough support from lawmakers to issue a no-confidence vote against the country's government, Moldovan Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu said.

"The no-confidence vote gained 18 votes," Grosu said, adding that 51 votes were needed for the vote to pass.

The lawmakers also accused Prime Minister Dorin Recean, who was present at the vote, of treason as he allegedly attempted to destabilize the situation in the country.

On December 6, members of the opposition Bloc of Communists and Socialists put forward a vote of no confidence in the government, as the country is still dealing with a deep energy crisis, and the government does not have a clear policy and strategy to ensure the country's energy security and protect citizens from the consequences of the energy crisis.

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US imposes visa bans on Georgian officials for 'undermining democracy' – State Dept.

The United States has imposed visa restrictions on about 20 Georgian individuals, including ministers and lawmakers, for "undermining democracy" in the country, the State Department said on Friday.

The US condemns acts of violence against protesters, human rights activists, opposition members, and journalists, the statement added.

"We are preparing additional actions, including sanctions, to hold to account those who undermine democracy in Georgia," the statement read.

A new wave of opposition protests rocked Georgia in the past two weeks after the Georgian government decided to suspend European Union accession talks until the end of 2028. The Georgian State Security Service said on Tuesday that protests were being coordinated by state actors from abroad in an effort to disrupt the December 14 presidential election.

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🌍🌍🌍 Bolivia, Cuba to become BRICS partner states starting January 2025 – Russian Foreign Ministry

Bolivia and Cuba will join BRICS as partner countries starting January 1, 2025, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday.

💬 "[Bolivia and Cuba] are part of the group that has received an invitation. We are confident that everything will work out in terms of their joining [BRICS] as partner states," Ryabkov told a Russian newspaper.

The deputy minister also mentioned that the coordination process with the invited states is still ongoing but will be completed by the end of Russia's presidency in the organization.

💬 "For all invited countries, this is a big, serious prospect, so only a few days remain before the relevant list will be made public," Ryabkov added.

BRICS leaders finalized the list of partner countries during the summit in the Russian city of Kazan in October. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said that the list includes 13 countries.

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Moldovan parliament introduces state of emergency due to energy crisis

The Moldovan parliament approved the introduction of a 60-day state of emergency due to the energy crisis in the country during a meeting on Thursday, parliament speaker Igor Grosu said.

On Wednesday, the Moldovan government announced that it would request parliament to impose a 60-day state of emergency, citing concerns about the cessation of gas transit through Ukraine.

According to Prime Minister Dorin Recean, 300,000 Moldovan citizens in Transnistria may be left without gas and electricity in the middle of winter, as the left bank of the Dniester River is solely dependent on Russian gas supplies via Ukraine for its energy needs.

Gazprom has suggested that Moldova negotiate gas transit with Ukraine beyond 2024, after the five-year deal between Ukraine and Russia expires in December. Kiev has repeatedly refused to extend the deal.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend Trump's inauguration, CBS reports, citing sources.

According to the TV channel, China’s ambassador to the United States and his wife are expected to attend the event.

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▫️Bolivia, Cuba to become BRICS partner states starting January 2025

▫️Blinken announces new $500 million military aid package for Ukraine

▫️US imposes visa bans on Georgian officials for 'undermining democracy'

▫️Biden creates task force to combat 'coercive economic practices,’ including China

Have a look at Sputnik analysis:

▫️Could the Syrian crisis threaten the Iraqi-Turkish Development Road trade route?

▫️Did infamous Blackwater take part in US plundering of Syria?

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Get ‘woke’, turn education into a joke: Biden poured $1 billion into DEI agenda since 2021 — report

President Biden’s Department of Education has allocated $1 billion on various diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives since 2021, The New York Post reports referring to a study from the Parents Defending Education (PDE) organization that opposes what it considers “harmful programs” in the classroom.

🔺 $490 million went into DEI hiring efforts,
🔺 $343 million went into DEI programming,
🔺 $170 million went into DEI-related mental health, PDE unearthed.

“This needs to change by placing children’s learning at the forefront of education, instead of prioritizing race-based policies and DEI,” the New York-based newspaper quotes PDE researcher Rhyen Staley as saying, adding that the only people who benefit from this lavish funding are universities and DEI consultants.

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Mobilization crisis and production cuts: Ukraine’s biggest steelmaker halts coal mining operations

Ukraine's largest steel producer, Metinvest, has suspended coal mining at its site near Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) in the Donetsk People's Republic due to ongoing hostilities in the region, according to a report by Bloomberg. This site is responsible for approximately half of the company's total coal production.

🔸Mobilization Impact: As of December 6, Metinvest reported that over 9,000 of its employees have been mobilized for military service. The ongoing mobilization efforts have led to significant personnel shortages for all Ukrainian companies.

🔸Production Decline: Steel manufacturing in Ukraine has plummeted to 6.2 million tons last year, down from more than 21 million tons prior to the onset of the conflict, as estimated by Bloomberg.

🔸Import Considerations: To address the anticipated coal deficit, Metinvest may explore importing coal at elevated prices, according to Dennis Sakva, an analyst at the Kiev-based investment bank Dragon Capital.

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❗️Strikes were unleashed toward the Burshtyn thermal power plant in the Ivano-Frankovsk region, the pro-Russian resistance told Sputnik.

Explosions were also reported in the Kiev, Khmelnytsky, Cherkassy, Vinnitsa, Kharkov and Poltava regions.

In Odessa, the Ukrainian media reported that electric vehicles stopped working after the blasts, and the water supply was shut off.

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⚡️Russian troops inflicted a massive strike on Ukraine's fuel and energy facilities that ensured the work of its military-industrial complex in response to the recent attack on Russia's Taganrog, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The target of the strike has been successfully hit.

On December 11, six US-made ATACMS tactical missiles were launched from Ukraine at a military airfield near the Russian city of Taganrog.

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