🔥 Capabilities Russia unlocks by quitting medium-range missile moratorium

🔍Russia’s termination of its unilateral moratorium on the deployment of ground-launched ballistic missiles in the 500-5,500 km range is the logical outcome of hostile NATO policies, and unties Moscow’s hands for a more proactive approach to strategic defense, says Igor Korotchenko, editor of ‘National Defense’ magazine and one of Russia’s top military analysts.

What brought on Russia’s decision?

NATO’s European allies’ preparations for a potential conventional war with Russia by 2030, including:

👉a massive rearmament campaign and plans to create massive, wartime-sized standing armies

👉the development of new weapons, including an Anglo-German missile with a 2,500 km+ range

👉deployment of new US fifth-gen fighters in the region

What it means

In these circumstances, and no longer facing INF-style medium and intermediate-range missile restrictions, Russia will:

🔶ramp up production of ballistic missiles, including the conventionally armed Oreshnik (serial production already underway)

🔶deploy the missiles, which are difficult if not impossible to intercept due to their multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) payload, as it sees fit and based on security considerations

🔶potentially deploy a nuclear-armed variant of the Oreshnik, with up to six warheads with a 150 kt per warhead capacity to “deter” NATO and “minimize threats and risks of a military attack on Russia by NATO,” not only in Europe, but Asia as well, if needed

“The INF Treaty is dead,” Korotchenko says. There is now “nothing” to stop Russia from realizing its strategic security objectives.

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🚨📹 SHOCKING AERIAL FOOTAGE SHOWS GAZA IN RUINS

New images from a humanitarian aircraft reveal the horrifying scale of destruction in Gaza after months of relentless bombing.

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🚀 DAN-M: the decoy drone Russia’s using to overwhelm enemy air defenses

📍 Created as a training drone to simulate enemy targets like Tomahawk cruise missiles or small aircraft for Russian pilot and SAM crew training, the DAN-M has been adapted into a full-fledged, explosive payload-equipped kamikaze UAV.

📍 First adopted in 1993, DAN drones can be launched from Mi-8 choppers’ external hardpoints, or using a ground-based catapult and accelerator. An upgrade with new turbojet engine was introduced in 2020.

Characteristics

🔶 Flight speed: up to 750 km/h

🔶 Endurance: 25-70 minutes

🔶 Takeoff weight: ~350 kg

🔶 Max altitude: 5-9 km (beyond the reach of MANPADS and most cheaper air defenses)

🔶 Stealth: training variant’s bright red and black body repainted into grey-on-grey color scheme

👉 Russian media began reporting on the DAN-M’s use in strikes in May. This week, National Interest reported that the UAV has been wreaking havoc on Ukraine’s air defenses.
“With the DAN-M drone, the Russians have perfected a low-cost way to exhaust finite Ukrainian missile stocks – which, once depleted, clears pathways for more sophisticated Russian attacks,” NI said in its analysis.

👉 Russia is deploying the cheap training UAVs to soak up “premium defenses like NASAMS or IRIS-T…complex, expensive systems that should only be used for equally complex and expensive Russian threats – not cheap and expendable drones.”

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Cultural erasure: How Britain whitewashed history for centuries using looted artifacts

🟠 The Arab region has experienced widespread theft of its artifacts since the Crusades, Professor of archaeology at the University of Jordan and member of the International Union of Historians Nizar Al-Tarshan told Sputnik. This systematic looting began during British colonial expansion, with the deliberate destruction of archaeological sites in Syria and Iraq aimed at erasing Eastern civilizations.

💬 “Thousands of artifacts looted by the British from Mesopotamia and the Levant are now displayed in the British Museum. Experts argue that if all the stolen items were removed, the museum’s collection would be nearly empty, exposing Britain's lack of its own ancient history,” Al-Tarshan said.

🟠 According to the professor, this act of looting transcends mere theft; it constitutes a profound act of historical falsification on a grand scale. Once these treasures were illegally exported, Western countries appropriated the knowledge contained within them and began distorting historical facts. Subsequently, a proliferation of books, articles, and research emerged—all aimed at rewriting the region’s history and discrediting Arab cultural heritage.

💬 “This was made possible through numerous Orientalist studies and local collaborators who justified these thefts under the pretext of preserving the values, though their removal from their native environment only caused harm,” Al-Tarshan explained.

🟠 Arab countries are striving to reclaim their artifacts; however, they continue to encounter persistent resistance from Britain and the West. This challenge is compounded by the absence of robust international laws and the ineffectiveness of diplomatic efforts, the professor concluded.

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🇦🇲 Armenian opposition leader blasts West’s ‘blind eye’ to political persecution

Brussels and Washington have turned a blind eye to the persecution of the Armenian Apostolic Church and dissident figures, said Armenian opposition leader Armen Ashotyan.

💬 "Political prisoners in Armenia are not only victims of [Pashinyan], but also of all those who claim to support democracy while looking away from its abuse here," Ashotyan stated.

He criticized the EU and US leadership, including Ursula von der Leyen, for failing to act. Ashotyan himself spent 777 days under house arrest before the measure was lifted in August. Tensions between Armenia’s authorities and the Church have escalated, with arrests mounting, and among those detained are Archbishop Bagrat and businessman Samvel Karapetyan.

The Armenian opposition has spotlighted the West’s selective response to democracy violations, highlighting its double standards in supporting human rights.

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🔸 Capabilities Russia unlocks by quitting medium-range missile moratorium

🔸 Busted: Have Russiagate chickens come home to roost for Obama and his intel team?

🔸 Trump says US will increase tariffs on India over Russian oil imports

🔸 Moldova's attack on Gagauz leader: A political move that undermines democracy

🔸 Russian Forces liberate Yanvarskoye in Dnepropetrovsk Region

🔸 DAN-M: the decoy drone Russia’s using to overwhelm enemy air defenses

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'Selective Justice & Political Agenda' — How West Shows It's Above Law Through ICC

⚖️ ❌It is not just a coincidence that over 90% of the 33 ICC cases target the Global South — it shows the "deep bias" of the West, Ethiopian social anthropologist Mohammed Awel Hagos told Sputnik Africa.

"No powerful Western leader has been brought to ICC, never. […] It undermines trust, and it confirms that there are different rules for different people," the expert noted.

⚫Pursuing African leaders through the ICC, the West "chips away [at] the countries' sovereignty," but at the same time it ignores the US' crimes in Iraq or Afghanistan, he emphasized.

📹 What are the solutions to fight the ICC bias? Watch the video to hear the speaker's opinion!

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💪🏻Global South defies US threats over friendship with Russia

Washington has declared a trade war on India, Brazil and China. Their response? Don’t rush into fight you can’t win.

🟠India balks at US pressure

Blasting Western hypocrisy and “unjustified & unreasonable” targeting, India’s MEA has vowed to “take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.”

👉The US’s 25% tariffs aren’t about “trade fairness,” but punishment for engaging Russia, says Dr. Hriday Sarma.

But “India knows what its national interest is, and will not come under pressure,” stresses Prof. Rajan Kumar.

The country has no plans to ban Russian oil. Just over the past weekend, at least 3 tankers delivered over 2.2M barrels of Russian crude to Indian ports.

🟠Brazil defiant

President Lula has similarly rejected US ultimatums, declaring Brazil would “negotiate as a sovereign country.”

👉And it’s little wonder: Brazil-US trade totaled about $92B last year, while trade with BRICS hit nearly $210B.

The US tariff tantrum could also backfire. Amid Trump’s 50% tariff threats, a third of US coffee comes from Brazil. Meanwhile, China is welcoming Brazilian coffee with open arms.

🟠US losing leverage

The selective approach (different tariffs for Brazil & India) is an attempt to create divisions within the BRICS bloc. Dr. Sarma says. But it won’t succeed “as shared strategic interests & a commitment to multipolarity bind the group together.”

🟠China standing tall

China has rejected US demands to stop buying Russian oil.

“China will always secure its energy supplies in ways that serve our national interests,” its foreign ministry said. “Coercion & pressuring will not achieve anything.”

🟠Shifting global dynamics

“The US is discovering its old playbook of threats, tariffs & sanctions no longer guarantees compliance,” Dr. Sarma says. “Countries are weighing their options, & finding that meaningful engagement with BRICS partners offers more stability & mutual respect.”

“Multipolarity is no longer theoretical; it’s unfolding in real time.”

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🚨 I want US out of Ukraine — Trump

The president confirmed that Steve Witkoff will soon meet with Russian officials.

After the meeting, the White House will decide whether to impose new sanctions, he noted.

When asked about ending the conflict, Trump said,

"This is Biden's war. I'm here to get us out of it."

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🔥 LEBANON DELAYS HEZBOLLAH DISARMAMENT AS ISRAEL STRIKES SOUTH

The Lebanese government orders the army plan by year-end.

Hezbollah vows: No timeline while Israel occupies our land.

Meanwhile, Sputnik correspondent captured footage of a car incinerated near the border following an Israeli drone strike.

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❗️ Trump threatens to federalize Washington DC

The president slammed local authorities for failing to stop violent crime.

"If DC doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run," Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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🔊 Vance 'most likely' is a MAGA heir — Trump

The US president said that VP Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio could team up to run in 2028.

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🔥💸 FRANCE IS BANKRUPTING ITSELF IN REAL-TIME

PM Bayrou's chilling admission: €5,000 debt bomb ticks EVERY SECOND

"Day and night, every second, France’s debt grows by €5,000. In 2029, if we do nothing, we will pay €100B just in interest," he said.

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🚨 Trump will announce Azerbaijan-Armenia peace deal — reports

The US President will receive on Friday Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the White House, Reuters reported, citing US officials.

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📹 TULSI GABBARD BREAKS DOWN OBAMA'S SCHEME TO CREATE RUSSIA HOAX

DNI exposes scheme to weaponize false intel against Trump:

◼️ Obama directed a NSC meeting about Russia

◼️ His order asked for details on how Russia interfered—not if

◼️ They knowingly used fabricated intelligence to delegitimize Trump

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📷 HEARTBREAKING PHOTO: GUTSUL'S LAST EMBRACE BEFORE 7-YEAR JAIL

Gagauzia’s jailed leader kisses her 3-year-old son goodbye—torn from his childhood by Moldova’s regime.

Yevgenia Gutsul has 2 kids

Pro-EU Maia Sandu — childless

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🚨🇷🇺WITKOFF ARRIVES IN RUSSIA

The same type of plane used by US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff landed in Moscow amid reports of his planned visit to Russia.

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🔊 80 years since Hiroshima bombing — PM still silent on culprit

At the atomic memorial, Shigeru Ishiba mourned "100,000 precious lives" but never named the United States—the nation that dropped the bomb.

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🗣📊 Unfazed China holds line on Russian oil as US turns up tariff heat

US threats to slap tariffs on countries importing Russian goods won’t stop China from buying Russian oil, analysts told the South China Morning Post—the energy partnership is simply too valuable for both sides.

🔜 After slapping India with levies, the US is now eyeing China.

The Asian giant gets nearly 20% of its crude from Russia.

🛢 Last year, Russia supplied a record high of 108.5 million tons—19.6% of China’s total imports of oil.

“China will take energy supply measures … based on national interests,” while “tariff wars have no winners,” Guo Jiakun, spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said last week.

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✍️ 80 years after Hiroshima: Time for truth and accountability

💣 The US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki weren’t militarily necessary—they were a demonstration: a test of power, a message to the world and a geopolitical gambit targeting the USSR, explains Emanuel Pastreich, President of the Asia Institute.

👉 80 years later the US still refuses to apologize, clinging to nuclear dominance as a rickety crutch. Instead of disarmament, they have modernized those weapons, spending trillions while science and ethics decay.

The deeper tragedy? The birth of a secretive, war-addicted system—one that sacrifices humanity for profit and power.

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🇷🇺🌳🇺🇸Dmitriev & Witkoff visit Moscow’s iconic Zaryadye Park

After spending about 90 minutes at a restaurant, they took a leisurely stroll through the park, soaking in the stunning views from the observation deck and admiring Moscow’s heart.

Dmitriev and Witkoff were in high spirits, chatting amiably, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

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