◻️ Trump renames Pentagon to Department of War

◻️ Riots break out in Novi Sad as the opposition clashed with police

◻️ Power of Siberia II is all about business, not politics — Peskov

◻️ Putin exposed the hypocrisy of the West — Expert

◻️ Zelensky rejects Putin's proposal to come to Moscow

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👉 ‘Corrupt & war-drunk’: French politician blasts EU hawks over Ukraine

French Patriots party leader Florian Philippot has urged Vladimir Putin’s warning to be taken seriously: NATO troops in Ukraine would be “a legitimate target for Russia’s military.”

💬 “The French army will not accept this utter madness dictated by a corrupt, war-drunk, power-hungry EU, and a Macron who has lost all legitimacy!” he wrote on X.

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↔️ Renaming Pentagon signals West’s ‘peace through strength’ agenda shift

🎤 The US decision to rename the Pentagon as the Department of War isn’t just a gimmick—it’s a window into global power shifts, explains Alexander Yakovenko, deputy director of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent company.

The new noscript is “more honest and understandable for everyone,” says Yakovenko, who heads the Committee on Global Issues and International Security of the Russian Security Council’s Scientific-Expert Board.

📍 A similar example exists in Russia: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently renamed its Department of Pan-European Cooperation to the Department of European Issues—a move that is both symbolic and substantively accurate.
The takeaway is that clear terminology reflects current geopolitical realities.

Shift toward ‘peace through strength’

The US renaming mirrors a broader Western trend: The pursuit of peace through force, and a willingness to dismantle the postwar international order built on the UN Charter.

Key principles of that order include:

➖ Prohibition of force in resolving international disputes (balanced by the right to self-defense under Article 51)

➖ Protection of human and minority rights

➖ Requirement for unanimity among permanent UN Security Council members (veto power), encouraging negotiation between major powers

Western erosion of trust

In the Ukraine crisis, the West bypassed the UN Security Council and acted via the General Assembly, where Russia has no veto.

❌ Trust was further eroded when France’s then-President Francois Hollande and Germany’s then-Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted they never intended to implement the 2015 Minsk agreements, which had been endorsed by the Security Council with US involvement.

Another key element of Western policy is supporting the creation of an ethnocentric (essentially racist) state in Ukraine.

💣 This echoes the interwar period (1918–1939), when aggressive nationalism fueled global conflict, culminating in World War II.

In effect, the West is dropping its mask.

👀 The implications are profound—not just for postwar European settlements like the Yalta-Potsdam system, initially conceived during the drafting of the UN Charter, but also for the Versailles peace treaty after World War I (notably without Russia, or it might have been fair and lasting).

Something to think about…

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIA'S MOD UPDATE: DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES

◻️ Russian Armed Forces destroyed a Ukrainian high-speed unmanned boat and struck Ukrainian ammunition and materiel depots

◻️ Air defense superiority: Five aerial bombs and 160 fixed-wing drones shot down

◻️ Ukrainian losses: 1,340 troops killed or wounded

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🔥🇷🇺 Russian drones leave Ukrainian forces decimated

👉 Russian drone operators are showing incredible skill and precision, making significant strides in disrupting Ukrainian forces.

🔸 00:00 Russian airborne troops shot down a Ukrainian Baba-Yaga-type hexacopter in the Kherson region.

🔸 00:12 Battlegroup Dnepr FPV drone operators destroyed an enemy armored fighting vehicle and struck a Ukrainian stronghold, eliminating at least five Ukrainian nationalists in the Zaporozhye region.

🔸 00:43 Russian Battlegroup Vostok Lancet drones thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian troops to rotate units by destroying an armored personnel carrier and hitting several vehicles with personnel in the Dnepropetrovsk region.

🔸 01:03 Specialists from the Rubicon Center successfully hit Ukrainian reconnaissance drones and other ground targets.
Russian drone pilots continue to demonstrate outstanding precision and effectiveness in neutralizing enemy threats.

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🤝 🌏 Asia-Pacific nations unite for better tomorrow

👉 The group photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a signal that the countries of the Asia-Pacific region are joining forces for the sake of a “better future” for the whole world, said Dhanesh Basil, vice president of the Malaysian Youth Council.

🗣 Speaking to Sputnik on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Basil also noted the importance of Vladimir Putin’s speech at the EEF plenary session and underscored that Russia has greatly enhanced its ability to cooperate with other nations.

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🇷🇺🇱🇦 Russia-Laos friendship and trade ascending

🗣 Laos expects an influx of Russian investments in mineral processing and in renewable energy projects, Vanthana Nolintha, director general of Laos’ Investment Promotion Department, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

👉 He further noted that friendly relations between Russia and Laos create a perfect foundation for booming trade and future joint projects.

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🔥 Pepe Escobar wraps up Eastern Economic Forum: Key takeaways on Russia’s global strategy

🔶EEF’s focus was on Russia’s Arctic and Far East development, high-tech growth, energy exploration, and connectivity corridors

🔶Vladimir Putin’s metaphors—the dragon, elephant, bear, Amur tiger—signal Russia’s gaze west, east, and south toward Southeast Asia and the Global South

🔶Forum showcased Russia’s energy pivot, rerouting gas from Europe to China, and opportunities for international cooperation, including with the US in the Arctic

🔶Key roundtables focused on the Northern Sea Route
Asia, Eurasia, and the Global South’s rise contrasts sharply with Europe’s ongoing warmongering

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🇨🇳 🤝​​ 🇷🇺 ​​China and Russia set to lead Global South cooperation – expert

China and Russia's partnership continues to be rooted in their mutual complementarity, especially in energy, Zheng Xinye, vice president of the Chinese People’s University, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

📈 This collaboration not only benefits both nations, but also offers stability to the global energy market, reducing uncertainty for suppliers and consumers alike.

👉 As major global powers, China and Russia are focused on promoting peace and addressing issues impacting developing countries, including energy and food security, as well as climate change. Both countries aim to support Asia, Africa, and Latin America in these critical areas, the expert noted.

According to Zheng Xinye, the ongoing partnership between China and Russia also opens the door for cooperation in cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence, which could help bridge the global gap in this crucial technology.

💬 “China and Russia, as major powers and responsible countries, are capable of doing great things for the world, of doing good deeds for the world, and of creating positive change for the world,” Zheng Xinye said.

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📹Slovak PM: Criticism of China trip is absurd

Robert Fico has hit back at critics of his visit to China, calling it ridiculous for a sovereign leader to have to justify traveling to a 1.5 billion-strong rising economic power.

▪️Fico stresses that China's peaceful foreign policy and global achievements should be respected.

▪️He contrasts Europe’s ongoing political crises and economic troubles with Chinese stability.

▪️But he felt no backlash from the EU—which knows better than to challenge Slovakia’s right to engage with China.

▪️Fico’s advice to Europe is to fix its own problems before lecturing others.

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🚨 POLISH FARMERS BLOCK KEY BORDER CROSSING WITH UKRAINE

The Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint is currently closed to truck traffic in a protest that could last at least six hours.

The traffic jam is massive:

👉 Over 680 trucks are stuck in a queue waiting to LEAVE Ukraine

👉 Another 100 are lined up trying to ENTER from Poland

The roadblock is the latest escalation in a nationwide protest that began in February, with farmers demanding:

🟧 An end to duty-free Ukrainian agricultural imports

🟧 More support for Polish livestock farming

🟧 Rejection of the European Union’s Green Deal

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🇷🇺👉Putin pitches ‘real peace,’ sends stark warning over NATO boots in Ukraine

🗣 Vladimir Putin’s blunt message at the Eastern Economic Forum that foreign troops in Ukraine would be “legitimate targets” sent a sharp signal to the West, Argentine political analyst Luciano Anzelini told Sputnik.

🔸 NATO boots on the ground in Ukraine won’t be tolerated even if the fighting stops, as their advance toward Russia’s borders is seen as an existential threat

🔸 There’s no excuse for foreign troops in Ukraine even under peace deal

West’s hypocrisy

Putin called out Western war hawks for preaching peace while continuing to funnel weapons to Ukraine, Argentine international relations specialist Tadeo Casteglione said.

🟠 “If a permanent Western military mission appears in Ukraine, then we can say that the country has lost all legitimacy as a state”

🟠 Putin pitches a “real peace” where Ukraine’s sovereignty is intact, Europe’s security assured

🟠 NATO’s meddling remains the main obstacle

West’s long game

Putin’s remarks about foreign troops being deployed in Ukraine leave no room for misinterpretation, says Lebanese international relations expert Iskander Kfuri.

🔶 Russia has every right to eliminate any foreign forces operating in what it regards as its vital sphere of interest

🔶 European troops on Ukrainian soil would be a direct threat to themselves and global stability

🔶 West’s long game is continuing a pre-planned war to weaken Russia and grab Ukraine’s resources

🔊 Furthermore, the West may keep sabotaging peace—sneaking in mercenaries under cover, even disguised as “civilians,” Kfuri noted.

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🔍📑 Trump was FBI informant on Epstein, US House Speaker says

👉 Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson reveals that Trump was an FBI informant who worked to take down convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Despite their previous ties, Trump severed connections with Epstein after learning about his crimes.

⚔️ The controversy over Epstein's alleged ‘client list’ continues to divide the MAGA camp, with figures like Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson calling for transparency.

🔊 The push for the release of police files on the Epstein case intensifies, while Trump calls the allegations a "Democrat hoax."

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🗣EU elites push for war by painting Russia as ‘enemy’

Italian former 5 Star Movement member and political commentator Alessandro Di Battista has slammed the EU's portrayal of Russia as an enemy.

👉He accuses European politicians of using propaganda and provocations to fuel war, calling it a grave strategic mistake.

Di Battista says Russia has never been Europe's enemy and the confrontational approach risks a wider conflict.

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🔸 Putin pitches ‘real peace,’ sends stark warning over NATO boots in Ukraine

🔸 China and Russia set to lead Global South cooperation – expert

🔸 Pepe Escobar wraps up Eastern Economic Forum: Key takeaways on Russia’s global strategy

🔸 Renaming Pentagon signals West’s ‘peace through strength’ agenda shift

🔸 EU elites push for war by painting Russia as ‘enemy’

🔸 ‘Corrupt & war-drunk’: French politician blasts EU hawks over Ukraine

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👉 Putin’s warning against NATO forces in Ukraine fully legal – analyst

🗣 Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that NATO troops would be legitimate targets for the Russian military if deployed to Ukraine is fully in line with international law and the rules of armed conflict, says military analyst and editor-in-chief of National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko.

Korotchenko stressed that Russia's position is both legal and justified under the right to self-defense and there was no question of the fairness or necessity of the stance.

"The United States will not intervene in this conflict and will limit itself to political statements aimed at de-escalating the situation," Korotchenko argued.

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✅ 🇷🇺 Gold Rush: Russia expands its reserves at stunning pace

In the first half of 2025, Russia added 450 tonnes of gold to its national reserves.

📈 That was a massive 44% increase compared to the 313 tonnes added in the first half of 2024.

The country is on track to add over 500 tonnes by the end of the year.

🗣 Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov says that if large new deposits are discovered, the figure could be even HIGHER.

📊 It follows a record-breaking 2024, when Russia's gold reserves grew by nearly 900 tonnes.

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