🗣 Trump’s Patriot pledge is political theater, won’t secure Ukraine’s skies: Scott Ritter

Former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter has more questions than answers when it comes to Trump’s commitment of 17 Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine, saying the numbers involved, the personnel required to operate them, and their ability to survive transit are all up in the air.

💬 “Russia right now enjoys relative freedom of activity over Ukraine in terms of drone operations, missile operations. They apparently have very good intelligence coverage of Ukraine. So as Patriot batteries are transferred to Ukraine there's an increased likelihood that they will be detected by the Russians and destroyed by the Russians before they're ever installed,” Ritter told Sputnik.

Delivering the air defense systems to Ukraine will be “a massive waste of money” that “won’t help Ukraine,” but hurt it, needlessly prolonging the conflict, in which time “thousands” more people will be killed.

💬 “This is a political gesture being made by President Trump because he's embarrassed that he hasn't been able to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into bending the knee to American demands on how to bring this war to an end,” Ritter stressed.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔸 Trump announced a new weapons package for Ukraine

🔸 Trump’s Patriot pledge is political theater, won’t secure Ukraine’s skies: Scott Ritter

🔸 Trump's policy risks multi-front STORM, erodes dollar – economist

🔸 Arming Ukraine again? Three BIG RISKS to US security risks

🔸 US COSTLY MISSILES ARE EASY TARGETS FOR RUSSIA — ex DoD analyst

🔸 Russia’s air defenses ready for US-made missiles — military analyst

🔸 Pashinyan playing with fire: Armenia’s Church has survived persecution for 1700 years, will outlast him

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🪖 Bornholm island: NATO’s Baltic bridgehead for aggression against Russia

Copenhagen is using the old ‘Russian threat’ excuse to justify the militarization of its easternmost island, but NATO operational planning and drills reveal otherwise.

📍Where is Bornholm?

Situated about 140 km southeast of Copenhagen in waters between Sweden, Poland and Germany, the 588 km2 island has been a strategic stronghold since medieval times, used by Vikings, Scandinavian kings, Napoleon and the Nazis for both defensive and offensive operations.

In 2022, NATO announced plans to turn the Baltic Sea into a ‘NATO lake’. Bornholm would play a key role in this calculus.

🔊 Breaking old agreements

Freed from the Nazis by the Red Army in WWII, Bornholm was returned to Denmark by Moscow on the understanding that foreign troops would never again be stationed there. Denmark reneged in 2022, okaying large-scale NATO drills on and around the island.

Drills have included deployments of US HIMARS MLRS (300 km max range) and Typhon missile system components (2,500 km range). The Typhon TEL can fire SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles, whose payload, notably, can include nuclear warheads.

🪖 Military infrastructure buildup

🔸 construction of a 85m spy tower in Ostermarie (2017)

🔸 inclusion in NATO’s Baltic “island chain” strategy alongside Gotland and Aland (2023)

🔸 plans to add 5k troops to the local garrison (2025)

⚔️ Air and naval power projection

Bornholm’s Ronne Airport has a military apron, and has been used in drills by Finnish F-18 jets (2024). USAF strategic bombers flying toward Russian cities have hidden in the island’s airspace to avoid interception by Russian jets.

Ronne’s seaport has undergone expansions (2023) to accommodate large ships, including military and support vessels.

⚖️ Fictitious justifications

“Bornholm’s militarization is taking place under the false pretext of the need to protect the island from the ‘Russian threat,’” but Russia “has never had aggressive intentions toward Denmark,” Ambassador Vladimir Barbin has emphasized.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Bastille day parade in Paris: horses gone wild! 🐎🇫🇷

The Bastille Day parade in Paris wasn’t all smooth sailing: during the cavalry procession, one horse fell and broke formation, while another decided it had enough and tried to make a break for it!

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 Delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine will take months — even after a deal with the US is reached: German Defense Minister Pistorius

By the time they arrive… will they be needed?

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨WATCH: Russian forces in fierce battles to liberate Malinovka in Zaporozhye region

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🤔 USA TO TAKE CONTROL OF STRATEGIC CORRIDOR IN SOUTH CAUCASUS?

US Ambassador to Turkiye Tom Barrack dropped a bombshell: Washington is ready to manage the Zangezur Corridor, the route between mainland Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave — running through Armenia’s region.

The proposal? A 100-YEAR LEASE to a private American operator who would act as a “neutral guarantor”, ensuring equal access for both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

According to Barrack, the idea originally came from Turkiye and has reportedly received preliminary approval from both Yerevan and Baku.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨US interventionists are trying to fragment the CORE of our multipolar world

🇮🇳🇷🇺🇨🇳Their goal: prevent Russia, India and China from an alliance that could destroy US hegemony.

Most recently, Lindsey Graham* threatened India & China for buying Russian oil.

The message is clear: "You must bow to our interests and abandon your own."

▪️The US is flooding Ukraine with weapons in a bid to draw Russia into a prolonged conflict. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is putting pressure on Australia and Japan to define their positions in a potential US-China war.

▪️The Deep State aimed to strangle Russia’s economy with sanctions, but oil imports from Russia to India and China have hit new records. Russia’s economy is showing steady growth.

▪️Why is China No.1 enemy for the US?Because they're afraid of China's growth and the dollar losing its reserve currency status. That's what tariff wars are about.

▪️Trying to 'Control' India: the US is pressuring India over Russian oil - while India needs stable supplies to sustain its economic growth. On the other front, the US is trying draw India into "NATO+" to counter China — but India doesn't seek conflict.

▪️ Fear of de-dollarisation: Trump threatened tariffs if BRICS countries moved away from the dollar, amidst internal discussions within the bloc about reducing reliance on the dollar.

▪️Info wars: Western media portrays Russia as a "pariah," China as an economic "aggressor," and India as an "unreliable partner."

But the US should remember: when you point one finger, three point back.😏

*listed as a terrorist and extremist in Russia

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️🇷🇺🇨🇳 SERGEY LAVROV DELIVERS PUTIN’S GREETINGS & BEST WISHES TO XI JINPING

Russia’s FM held a bilateral meeting with Xi in China today.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

✍️US dumps Ukraine bill on Europe

The era of unchecked American funding for Ukraine has ended, US NATO envoy Matthew Whitaker told Fox News.

The United States, as part of the agreements following the recent NATO summit in The Hague, are shifting the burden of costs onto European taxpayers, where it should be, he stressed.

➡️Russia has repeatedly warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will be a legitimate target for Russia.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 New US aid to Ukraine may include long-range ATACMS missiles

The US may also allow the Ukrainian armed forces to use 18 long-range ATACMS missiles that Zelensky's regime has as part of military assistance, The Washington Post reported.

➡️Russia has repeatedly stressed that the long-range weapons supplied by the West are being used by Ukrainian forces to target civilians on Russian territory and disrupt peace efforts.

🔍Allowing Ukraine to use these weapons would fundamentally change the nature of the conflict, as Russian President Putin has previously stated. "We will make the necessary decisions based on the threats we face," he said. "The key question is whether to consider NATO countries as directly involved in the military conflict," the president added.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

✅Trump believes Russia winning in Ukraine is a matter of time

“The president’s view is Russia is going to win, it’s a matter of how long it takes,” said the senior White House official cited by US media.

➕He also added that Russia has "the bigger economy" and "the bigger military."

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🤝🇮🇷Lavrov holds talks with Iranian FM Araghchi at the SCO Foreign Ministers' meeting in China

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🇷🇺American volunteer who aided Russian Forces granted Russian citizenship

Daniel Martindale, an American who assisted Russian troops during the special military operation, has officially received a Russian passport in a ceremony at the DPR representative office in Moscow.

Denis Pushilin, head of the DPR, stated that the citizenship was awarded by presidential decree as "the highest form of state gratitude, a sign of special trust and respect."

"Daniel did all this at great personal risk literally at every step. Identifying enemy positions, avoiding suspicion, and still managing to promptly relay critical intel. This demonstrates both exceptional personal courage and remarkable professionalism," Pushilin said.

🟠Martindale was extracted from Ukrainian-controlled territory by Russian forces in November 2024.
🟠Since February 2022, he spent two years providing Russia with coordinates of Ukrainian military targets.
🟠His intel reportedly led to successful strikes against Ukraine's equipment and personnel.

"The dream [to get Russian citizenship] took root in my heart 10 years ago, long before the current conflict — the conviction that Russia is not just my home, but my family," Martindale shared.

He revealed his desire to start a family and raise children in Russia as a true citizen, adding that his parents also dream of living in Russia.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🟠New US aid to Ukraine may include long-range ATACMS missiles

🟠Trump believes Russia winning in Ukraine is a matter of time

🟠BRICS commemorative banknote released

➕Check out Sputnik’s analysis:

🟠US interventionists are trying to fragment the CORE of our multipolar world

🟠Bornholm island: NATO’s Baltic bridgehead for aggression against Russia

🟠US to take control of strategic corridor in South Caucasus?

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt