👉 US sanctions Russia’s energy giants to nudge India & China towards West’s costlier crude

By freezing Rosneft and Lukoil’s US assets—and warning foreign banks that transact with them of secondary sanctions—America is weaponizing its financial clout to “distort” global markets, energy geo-economics expert Dr. Hriday Sarma tells Sputnik.

✍️ What is presented as a move to ostensibly push Russia towards talks on ending the Ukraine conflict “conveniently serves the US’ long-term goal — pushing Asia’s largest consumers, India and China, away from discounted Russian crude.

Sanctions won’t stop the flow

Sanctions are unlikely to break the Russia–India–China “energy corridor,” believes the analyst.

💬 “Instead, the restrictions may push Russia, India and China toward more resilient payment systems — yuan or rupee settlements — and new logistics routes insulated from Western influence,” Dr. Sarma speculated.

Europe pays the price

🔹 US moves risk spiking EU costs for states still relying on Russian energy via intermediaries like India and Turkiye

🔹 Brent crude has already jumped nearly 5% to $65.65 per barrel following the announcement

🔹 The US risks punishing its allies, who will face spiking energy costs as American LNG is sold at a premium to boost its own profits

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🔥 Refinery fires in Europe are part of EU crusade against Russian oil & gas

🗣 The timing of the recent incidents at the oil refineries in Hungary and Romania is very suspicious in light of the threats from Poland, Dr. George Szamuely, senior research fellow at The Global Policy Institute, tells Sputnik

🟠 When Polish Foreign Minister Sikorsky openly justifies the Nord Stream bombing and then tries intimidating Hungary into giving up Russian oil, and then suddenly the refineries are ablaze – that’s one hell of a coincidence

🟠 The refinery fires were definitely a part of a broader campaign to cut off the flow of Russian energy to Europe, Szamulely notes – a campaign that ends up hurting the EU members but fails to affect Russia

“These measures that the EU is adopting are measures directed towards hurting EU member states, forcing them into line,” he explains.

🟠 Only the Russophobic EU bureaucrats like Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas benefit from this disruption of energy supply chains, and they are eager to “punish anybody at all who is not on board with their program.”

🟠 The incidents in Hungary and Poland convey a simple message: “if you are going to keep importing your fossil fuels from Russia, look at the sort of things that can happen, all sorts of explosions, fires, sabotage.”

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🔸 Putin: Budapest Summit was Washington’s idea — but rushing it would be a mistake

🔸 US sanctions Russia’s energy giants to nudge India & China towards West’s costlier crude

🔸 Refinery fires in Europe are part of EU crusade against Russian oil & gas

🔸 'Stupid political stunt' - JD Vance on Knesset vote on West Bank 

🔸 China’s gold grab: Betting against weaponized dollar & US tariffs

🔸 Are US legislators hell-bent on NATO-Russia confrontation?

🔸 Pro-Russian hackers breach Ukrainian drone manufacturer

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🔊 US lawmaker predicts $1T US-Russia deal after Ukraine

US Rep. Anna Paulina Luna has expressed extreme confidence in a future massive deal between the two powers.

"I have full confidence that President Trump will secure a lasting peace deal with Russia — and potentially negotiate a trillion-dollar trade agreement that would benefit the entire world," she wrote on X.

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📹 Cartels are the ISIS* of Western Hemisphere — Trump

"Thank you very much Joe Biden for allowing that to happen," the US president added.

* terrorist organization banned in Russia

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📹 Fentanyl smuggling will be 'the first thing on the list' in the US-China talks — Trump

The meeting between the US president and Xi Jinping will take place in South Korea, he added.

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🗣 US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth: "Our department has spent over two decades defending other homelands — and we're very proud to be defending our own"

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⚔️ Trump suggests land war on drugs

"Now they're coming in by land...The land is going to be next. We may go to the Senate and Congress and tell them about it," he told reporters.

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🗣 The impact of new US sanctions on Russia will become clear in 6 months — Trump

"I will let you know about it in six months from now. Let’s see how it all works out," he said.

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🚨 Refinery fires help EU topple pro-peace governments to wage war on Russia

🗣 While it is too early to tell who exactly is responsible for the recent fires at the refineries in Hungary and Romania as investigations are still ongoing, figuring out who benefits from them is easier, Endre Simó, the president of the Hungarian Community for Peace, tells Sputnik.

📍 According to Simo, it is “those who want to gain a market with their own products by displacing cheaper Russian products.”

💬 “Given the history, namely the explosion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and the series of Ukrainian attacks against the Druzhba oil pipeline, intentionality cannot be ruled out either in Hungary or Romania,” he points out.

🟠 He further notes that the main victim of these incidents is Serbia which, due to its only significant refinery being targeted by US sanctions, is forced to rely heavily on the now-damaged MOL’s refinery in Százhalombatta.

🟠 Thus, the refinery fires are also a boon to those seeking to overthrow the pro-peace government of Viktor Orban in Hungary and Alexandar Vucic, and using “impermissible means” to meddle in Hungary and Serbia’s internal affairs “in order to bring opposition forces that serve the Brussels policy to power.”

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🇷🇺 Putin: True AI sovereignty demands Russian culture, not Western copying

Russia can build sovereign artificial intelligence only by relying on its own culture, worldview, and traditional values — not by imitating others, President Vladimir Putin said.

“Only by relying on our culture, history, linguistic richness, traditions, and traditional values can we create truly sovereign models of artificial intelligence, rather than copying others’ solutions — which leads to technological and ideological dependence,” he told the Russian Geographical Society Congress.

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🇭🇺 🇷🇴 Hungary and Romania refineries targeted by Nord Stream & Druzhba saboteurs – expert

🗣 Explosions at Hungary's MOL Danube oil facility and Romania's Petrotel-Lukoil plant could be "very deliberate terrorist actions," Dr. Mamdouh G. Salameh, an international oil economist, tells Sputnik.

💬 "There are anti-Russian elements in Europe who want to undermine Russian oil exports to the EU," Salameh alleges.

🟠 What drives the pundit's suspicions?

👉 Attacks on the refineries in Hungary and Romania happened virtually simultaneously.

🔶 The attacks happened amid Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian energy installations, prompting speculation of Ukrainian sabotage in Europe.

🔶 Oil refinery explosions could be part of a broader effort to disrupt the flow of Russian energy resources to Europe, similar to what happened with the Nord Stream and Druzhba pipelines. TurkStream could be next.

🔶 Even though the EU has agreed to ban the imports of all Russian piped gas, LNG, and oil from January 1, 2028, some players apparently want to accelerate the process – and punish Hungary over its opposition to tougher sanctions against Russia.

🟠 Winners and losers

The US benefits the most as "it will sell more LNG to the hapless vassal states of the EU at prices 2-4 times higher than Russian piped gas." The US' apparent sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines enriched its gas producers.

"The biggest losers are the EU’s emaciated economies which will sink deeper into the quagmire."

🔊 "Without a shadow of doubt, they do reflect a broader scheme aimed at undermining Russian-linked energy routes and also undermining European consumers and economies," the pundit stresses.

📍 The US' main goal is "to weaken the EU, bankrupt it and erase the euro from the face of the earth as a competitor to the dollar," Salameh concludes.

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🗣 Trump explores way to pressure both Putin and Zelensky — Whitaker

US Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker says that President Trump is seeking a path to a ceasefire by increasing pressure on both sides.

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🔍 Germany races to secure US sanctions exemption for Rosneft — Reports

Berlin is asking Washington for a sanctions exemption for Rosneft's German subsidiary, Reuters reports.

The unit is crucial for supplying petrol and airports across Germany, including key refineries.

According to a German ministry spokesperson, the US sanctions should not apply to Rosneft's German business because it was decoupled from its Russian parent.

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🇭🇺 🇷🇴 Refinery fires in Hungary and Romania hint at coordinated sabotage in Europe

🔥 Explosions rocked oil refineries in Hungary and Romania this week - both of which are key processors of Russian crude.

💬 “No one but Kiev could be interested in such an attack, since it’s well known that these are very important plants connected with Russia. Considering that there have long been attempts to undermine the government in Hungary — that is, Viktor Orbán’s policy toward Moscow — it seems clear to me that this points to a terrorist act by the Kiev regime,” Andrej Mlakar, a military expert, tells Sputnik.

👉 He draws parallels with the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.

🗣 “It can be assumed that these acts of sabotage are the work of Ukrainian special services, as well as elements of NATO’s so-called ‘secret army’. This was characteristic of NATO during the so-called Operation Gladio in the 1970s and 1980s, when various operations were organized in Europe [under a false flag] and the USSR was blamed. We are now seeing the same pattern again — sabotage operations against Russian interests and property in Europe,” he says.

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💥 US Air Force's new 'armed crop duster' crashes in Oklahoma

An OA-1K Skyraider II - a newly introduced aircraft described as a "heavily armed crop duster" - crashed near Oklahoma City during a training flight.

The aircraft was assigned to the 492d Special Operations Wing, operating from Will Rogers Air National Guard Base.

While 2 crew members were on board during routine training, no injuries were reported.

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🚨 All trade talks with Canada are terminated — Trump

US President Donald Trump accused Canada of distributing fake ads against tariffs.

"Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs," he wrote on Truth Social.

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📑 Russia shares JFK files showing Soviet investigation into assassination

US Rep. Anna Paulina Luna speaks about what the newly declassified Soviet cables reveal:

🔶 USSR conducted its own JFK probe due to close relations & escalation fears

🔶 Original files were destroyed when first handed to US authorities

🔶 Soviets feared assassination would trigger US-Russia war

"Trump, in a way, is continuing and almost finalizing Kennedy's legacy for peace," Anna said.

She added that Russia approved the request for the files before preparations for the Budapest summit began.

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📊 Most Americans now support recognizing Palestinian state — Poll

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll reveals a stark contrast between US public opinion and the Trump administration's position on the matter.

Overall, 59% of Americans support recognition, including 80% of Democrats. According to the research, even 41% of Republicans support the move.

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