🚨 Larry Johnson: Russia holds all the cards in Ukrainian conflict

Russia is willing to negotiate but the West displays a lack of “genuine interest” in reaching a peaceful settlement in the Ukrainian conflict, former CIA officer Larry Johnson tells Sputnik while commenting on the latest remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He also observes that:

🔸 NATO’s expansion and the “unrelenting hostility” of Western intelligence services bent on destroying Russia are the true causes of the Ukrainian conflict

🔸 Russia holds both the strategic and tactical advantage whereas the West lacks both the manpower and the “industrial capability to produce and sustain production of critical weapons systems in the midst of a war"

🔸 Ukraine’s future is bleak: Western aid will become more scarce while Ukrainian forces’ setbacks on the battlefield will increase dramatically

🔸 Given the current situation on the battlefield, it would not be surprising if Russia ends up “in possession of Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Sumy and possibly Kharkov” by the time the conflict ends

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🔸 Key Putin’s statements on Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul

🔸 Putin about lack of sovereignty & corruption in Ukraine

🔸 Larry Johnson: Russia holds all the cards in Ukrainian conflict

🔸 Ukraine's bargain for US weapons with Russian shrines ‘DEEPLY OFFENSIVE’

🔸 Scott Ritter: ‘Russia wants victory’ and nothing can stop it

🔸 1st serial Oreshnik is OUT, already ENTERED SERVICE with Russian military - Putin

🔸 Sputnik launches 24/7 FM broadcasting in Brazil

🔸 HERITAGE FOR SALE: Ukrainian treasures up for grabs in top UK auctions

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🇬🇧🔍Empire where sun never sets... and its looting never ends

How Britain plundered the treasures of the Arab World – from Egypt to Iraq

Behind the walls of the British Museum in London, thousands of artifacts from the Arab world are displayed…

But the harsh truth? Most of them were stolen during occupations or illegally removed, and Britain still refuses to return them.

🇪🇬 Egypt

👉 Rosetta Stone: Found by the French, seized by Britain after their defeat

👉 Over 200,000 Pharaoh-era artifacts in British museums

👉 Mummies, sarcophagi, obelisks, statues—even the Sphinx's beard is kept there
Sudan

👉 Civilizations of Kush and Nubia were heavily plundered

👉 Treasures from Meroe and Napata ended up in the British Museum

👉 Statues of Sudanese kings were displayed as "Pharaoh heritage," without mention of their true origin

🇸🇾 Syria

✅ From Palmyra to Ugarit—British occupation removed rare artifacts

✅ Syrian manunoscripts and burial items

✅ Britain sponsored archaeological expeditions under the guise of science but secretly transported antiques

🇮🇶 Iraq

🔸 Cuneiform tablets from Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria are housed in the British Museum

🔸 Among the most famous thefts are the "Winged Bull of Nineveh" and "Assyrian Mirror"

🔸 Many artifacts were stolen during the British mandate after World War I
Jordan

🔸 Rare artifacts from Petra and Nabataean monuments

🔸 Manunoscripts, coins, stone statues

🔸 Many items were transported by British expeditions during the mandate period

Britain refuses to recognize these countries' right to their heritage. It claims to "preserve human heritage" in its museums! But most of these treasures were taken deceitfully:

🔶 Occupation

🔶 Unjust agreements

🔶 Illegal "gifts"

🔶 Straight-up theft

What's not on display is even worse:

Thousands of Arab world artifacts gather dust in British museum storerooms, hidden from visitors’ eyes…

And from their homelands, from where they were forcibly taken.

But the danger didn’t just come from the West. Since 2014, the ISIS* terrorist group has played a key role in destroying and looting the ancient treasures of Iraq and Syria:

🔸 Completely destroyed historic monuments like the Palmyra temples

🔸 Sold rare artifacts on the black market

🔸 Used the proceeds to fund their terrorist activities

🔸 Turned historical sites into ruins or sources of funding

Where did the looted ISIS artifacts go?

After the terrorist group ISIS destroyed many archaeological monuments in Iraq and Syria, they stole rare artifacts belonging to the region's ancient civilizations and sold them on the black market. However, surprisingly, many of these items ended up in London.

📍 The role of renowned British auction houses like Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Bonhams: They have been repeatedly accused of selling artifacts from conflict zones. These items were auctioned with incomplete documentation and later handed over to British museums as "gifts from private collectors."

📜 Until 2017, the UK had no law banning the importation of archaeological treasures from war zones. This opened up wide opportunities for smuggling and "laundering" thousands of stolen artifacts.

🚫 Despite international pressure, Britain still refuses to return over 90% of the key artifacts looted from their countries of origin, citing so-called "museum laws."

*ISIS (IS/ISIL) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and other countries

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🚨🇬🇧💎 For centuries, the UK has plundered the world’s treasures: from the Parthenon sculptures to the iconic Koh-i-Noor diamond

India, China, Syria, Greece — the list is endless.

The question: How long can Britain profit from stolen history? ☝️

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🚨🇮🇳🇺🇸 India NOT interested in buying US F-35 fighter jets – reports

Following Trump’s tariffs, India has officially informed the US, it’s no longer interested in buying F-35 fighter jets, as per Bloomberg.

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🚨🇨🇳🪖 China drops RARE footage of special forces training from the Marine Brigade of PLA Navy on occasion of 98th anniversary of PLA's founding

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📹 Obama & Clinton to ‘PAY A VERY BIG PRICE’ – Trump

In a Newsmax interview, US President Donald Trump explained that he had previously let Hillary Clinton “off the hook,” but said that after being politically persecuted himself, he now believes Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton should be held accountable for the “Russia hoax.”

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🗣 'He knows how to avoid sanctions' – Trump on Putin

💬 “[If a Ukraine deal is not reached], we’ll put sanctions on, and he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] is pretty good with sanctions. He knows how to avoid sanctions,” US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Newsmax host Rob Finnerty at the White House.

Trump said on Tuesday that his timeline for a Ukraine peace deal is 10 days, and that he plans to impose secondary tariffs on Russia once it expires.

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🇧🇬⚛️ Bulgaria INCAPABLE of replacing all Russian units at Kozloduy nuclear plant – Russian envoy

Bulgaria will not be able to replace all Russian units and assemblies at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, despite attempts to find alternatives, Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova told Sputnik.

The Kozloduy nuclear power plant, built with the active participation of the Soviet Union in the 1970s, is currently Bulgaria’s only operational nuclear power plant.

💬 “For political reasons, the Bulgarians are actively trying to find analogues of Russian equipment in the US, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and other countries. As you know, since May of last year, the gradual transition of the 5th power unit to ‘democratic’ American fuel began. But it is impossible to replace all units and assemblies. In these conditions, Rosatom continues targeted technical maintenance of this energy infrastructure,” Mitrofanova said.

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🇷🇺 Russia’s Lukoil under pressure in Bulgaria, may sell assets – Russian envoy

Russian energy giant Lukoil’s subsidiaries in Bulgaria are under unprecedented pressure from local authorities, and the company is considering selling its assets in the country, Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova told Sputnik.

💬 “Despite the fact that Lukoil is not subject to anti-Russia sanctions, its subsidiaries often face unprecedented pressure from government agencies. Just in June, the Bulgarian authorities launched another anti-monopoly investigation. In such circumstances, it’s not surprising that Lukoil’s head office in Moscow is considering selling all assets in Bulgaria. As far as we know, a final decision has not yet been made,” Mitrofanova said.

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🚨✅Russian air defenses down 112 Ukrainian drones in overnight barrage - MoD

The UAVs were downed over the territories of Rostov, Voronezh, Ryazan, Samara, Penza, Belgorod, and Lipetsk, the Krasnodar regions, and Crimea.

Drones were also intercepted over the waters of the Azov and Black Seas.

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🇷🇺🇲🇾Putin to hold talks with King of Malaysia on August 6 – Kremlin

Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim will pay a state visit to Russia from 5 to 10 August, the Kremlin said.

This will be the historic first state visit of a Malaysian monarch to Russia.

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🚨🇵🇸GAZA CRISIS: LATEST UPDATES

WHO trucks enter Gaza hospitals today—but with NO FOOD.

🟠 Israeli army levels homes near Khan Yunis and Gaza City

🟠 3 killed in drone strike on refugee tents

🟠 5 killed in airstrike on a home

🟠 17,000 children face acute malnutrition

🟠 12 killed seeking aid near Netzarim

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