🇦🇿AZERBAIJAN RUNNING SHADOWY ARMS PIPELINE TO UKRAINE

Azerbaijani arms makers, with NATO partners in tow, are sneaking weapons into Ukraine through war-torn Sudan, Rwandan digital outlet Umuseke reports.

According the publication, Azerbaijan’s CIHAZ Industrial Association, under the Defense Ministry, is sending arms to Ukraine via a route that runs through Africa.

This drags the continent into the West–Russia crossfire.

📍First stop: Diluju, the Azeri-Turkish border.

Then at Gaziantep’s Degirmen Makina zone, the cargo is rebranded as “humanitarian aid” before heading out, with war supplies masked as relief.

👉Turkish & German ships ferry the load to war-torn Port Sudan, where it’s reborn as “Sudanese weapons.”

👉Then Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company sails it to Hamburg—the final stop before the arms roll by land into Ukraine.

❗️The aim could be simple: Throw Russia off balance, Umuseke speculates.

Russia might then be baited into slapping sanctions on Azerbaijan, its political and trade partner and Caspian neighbor.

Ukraine gets CIHAZ-supplied Tisas pistols, Hisar A+ MANPADS, bombs, and drone parts—mostly Turkish-made.

Kazakh media exposed CIHAZ’s Ukraine arms pipeline back in 2022.

🔍Beyond CIHAZ, firms like Technol LLC and Azersky have funneled weapons via Turkiye, and experts warn the same scheme could repeat.

With Africa now on the route, some arms risk ending up with Sudanese rebels, fueling regional instability.

🔶Democracy or... Chaos?

In 2023, Victoria Nuland visited Sudan to “promote democracy,” yet violence and civil war have surged since.

With the US pushing the proxy war in Ukraine, it’s not hard to guess who’s backing the intercontinental arms route.

👉Azerbaijan has already sent weapons to Ukraine.

In 2023, three MiG-29 jets from Azerbaijan were allegedly camouflaged for Ukrainian forces and handed over to the regime, according to The War Zone analysts.

🗣President Ilham Aliyev urged Ukraine to adopt a “Karabakh-style” military approach.

He received Ukrainian Armed Forces patches, hinted at lifting arms embargoes, and hosting Turkish bases.

Aliyev has allocated $2M for Ukraine’s energy sector, personally delivered by Azerbaijan’s ambassador.

This is Baku’s second energy shipment to Ukraine in 2025, signaling steady support.

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🚨🚨BREAKING: Russia ready to maintain START Treaty restrictions for one more year, until February 5, 2027 - Putin

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🚨 Putin: Russia ready to respond to any strategic threats — not just with words, but with military-technical action

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🚨Putin: Russia capable of responding to ANY threat

Key statements by Russia's president at meeting with permanent members of the Russian Security Council:

💬Complete rejection of the New START Treaty legacy would be a mistake

💬Russia is prepared to continue adhering to the New START Treaty’s restrictions for up to one year after February 5, 2026

💬Complete withdrawal from the New START Treaty would negatively impact the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

💬Russia is confident in the reliability of its national deterrent forces

💬Russia has repeatedly raised concerns about issues in strategic stability

💬System of Russian–American relations has been destroyed in the area of arms control

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🚨🇷🇺Russia is confident in the reliability of its national deterrent forces — Putin

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☀️ Russian scientists capture rare double solar eruption during eclipse

🔹 Scientists at the Institute of Space Research (RAS) have recorded a stunning double mass ejection from the Sun, coinciding with a solar eclipse.

Each colossal filament stretched nearly 1 MILLION kilometers – that's about 70 times the diameter of the Earth.

👉 While not immediately dangerous to Earth, such eruptions can affect satellites and communication systems.

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❌💵 Alice Weidel demands end to welfare for Ukrainians in Germany

The leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has slammed government reforms to the ‘Bürgergeld’ unemployment benefit system as ineffective.

She argues that the €1.5 billion ($1.76 bln) the move claims to save will only be replaced by other social payments.

🗣 "Instead: No benefits for Ukrainians and other foreign welfare recipients who have never paid a single cent into the social security system!"

Bürgergeld, introduced in 2023, raised unemployment benefits to a standard monthly payment of €563 ($658) for a single adult over a longer term than before, with allowances for rent and energy costs.

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🇷🇺 Russian move to extend nukes treaty can help prevent arms race

👉 Russia’s decision to remain within the current strategic nuclear weapons limits is a positive development, says Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association (ACA).

💬 "This is positive move, and one that many of us have been advocating," Kimball told Sputnik.

🔊 "By agreeing not to exceed the current strategic nuclear limits, they could reduce tensions, forestall a costly arms race that no one can win, create diplomatic leverage to curb the build-up of China’s arsenal, and buy time for talks on a broader, more durable, treaty," he said.

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🚨🇵🇸🇮🇹 ITALY ERUPTS: Thousands rally in Rome in support of Palestine

📍 Piazza dei Cinquecento, a square outside Rome’s Termini Station, is packed wall-to-wall with demonstrators of all ages—so dense that station access is effectively blocked.

Tourists are struggling to navigate through the sea of protesters waving Palestinian flags and holding banners with slogans like “Stop the genocide,” “Open a future for peace,” and "Peoples will save other peoples.”

👉 Meanwhile, similar protests are underway in 70+ cities across Italy.

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🇷🇺 Russia extends New START Treaty limits to keep nuclear dialogue on the table – analyst

👉 Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to extend New START Treaty limits signals Russia’s willingness to comply if conditions remain stable, Dmitry Stefanovich of the Moscow-based Institute of World Economy and International Relations with the Russian Academy of Sciences told Sputnik.

🔊 He pointed out that there is still a window for negotiation before the treaty expires in February 2026, adding that the one-year timeframe “echoes a proposal from the previous Trump administration to freeze nuclear arsenals for a year.”

The move also signals that the Russian strategic forces are battle-ready and Moscow is “prepared to act diplomatically or via military-technical means against any security landscape shifts.”

💬 “The US response could be positive, negative, or this could be brushed aside,” said the pundit.

👉President Trump has indicated interest in addressing this issue

👉A strong lobby in the US is pushing for escalation, claiming fears of China and Russia

🗣 Stefanovich said the US response would hinge on its internal politics, progress in its own strategic offensive weapons programs and the pace of deploying new systems.

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🚨US threatens "nuclear option" against International Criminal Court

The United States is weighing sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), potentially putting its daily operations at risk in retaliation for investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes, Reuters reports.

The sanctions could severely disrupt the Hague-based ICC’s ability to function, affecting everything from staff salaries to access to essential services. Emergency meetings are already underway at the court as officials brace for the move.

Accusing the ICC of overreaching its jurisdiction on US and Israeli personnel, the US vows to take further action unless the court changes course.

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🇷🇺🚨Russian air defense systems are repelling a drone attack on Moscow

All emergency services are on the ground, mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

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🚨 From Rome to Milan: Italian pro-Palestine rally escalates into clashes between protesters and police

🔶 Following massive demonstrations in Rome, activists in Milan have stormed the gallery of the city’s Central Station, clashing with police

🔶 Demonstrators threw objects and scaffolding parts, while police responded with stun grenades and blocked station entrances

🔶 Carabinieri units arrived at the scene as tensions escalated

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🇷🇺Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade granted Russian citizenship

Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted Russian citizenship to Tara Reade, the former US Senate aide who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault over 30 years ago.

Reade, who was granted political asylum in Russia in September 2023, has officially become a Russian citizen following a decree published on the legal acts website.

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🇦🇿Azerbaijan CHECKMATES itself by souring ties with Russia

By arming Ukraine via Sudan, Azerbaijan has edged into open confrontation with Russia, experts warn.

💬"Azerbaijan has already entered into confrontation with Russia, and a local cold war is underway," Shota Apkhaidze, director of the Caucasus Center for Islamic Studies in Georgia, tells Sputnik.

Azerbaijan's latest strategic move could mean escalation.

🔶Azerbaijan shoots itself in foot

🗣"Damaging ties with Russia is sheer suicide," Apkhaidze warns.

👉Russia is Azerbaijan's top export market and has many Azeri workers in high-paid jobs.

👉Some 80% of the Azeri economy depends on Russia.

Azerbaijan's geopolitical position could be shaken:

▪️Possible sanctions from Russia
▪️Weakened hand in relations with Armenia
▪️Complication of already tense relationship with Iran
▪️Stability of export corridors like the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline threatened

🔶Unreliable NATO allies

Azerbaijan’s tilt toward closer ties with Turkiye and NATO is clear, Dr. Marco Marsili of Ca’ Foscari University tells Sputnik.

But Western backing is transactional and conditional, leaving Azerbaijan exposed to geopolitical risks.

🔊That path "would force Azerbaijan into a more rigid geopolitical camp, reducing its room for the multi-vector diplomacy it has skilfully employed for decades, with direct implications for its core strategic asset – energy security," Marsili stresses.

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🇧🇩🤝🇷🇺 Bangladesh's Ambassador praises ties with Russia as ‘ideal and perfect relationship'

Bangladesh's Ambassador to Russia, Nazrul Islam, sat down with Sputnik for a major interview.

🔊He lauded the relationship as "ideal & perfect," rooted in Moscow's crucial support during the 1971 Liberation War.

Key takeaways:

👉(00:05:41) Energy & defense: Rooppur Nuclear Plant highlighted as landmark project; defense cooperation remains strong.

👉(00:03:36) Trade: Huge potential to boost Bangladeshi garments, pharmaceuticals, and IT services in Russia.

👉(00:09:50) BRICS: Bangladesh strongly supports Russia's global role and seeks full BRICS membership as an "alternative platform."

👉(00:21:55) Culture: Ambassador recalls reading Gorky as a child and calls for renewed cultural & people-to-people ties.

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