🔸 Moment of truth: Russia checkmates Ukraine’s false conflict narrative

🔸 US atomic tests could open Pandora’s Box for 'new arms race & nuclear war'

🔸 Pentagon APPROVED sending long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine

🔸 Ex-US Army officer: Burevestnik and Poseidon give Russia a major defensive boost

🔸 Everyone thinks gold is eternal — But what if it’s running out?

🔸 Bethlehem struggles under pressure: Tourism crippled by Israeli restrictions

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🇷🇺💪 Burevestnik & Poseidon — Russia’s deterrence that halts first-strike fantasies

🗣 The Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and Poseidon underwater vehicle greatly strengthen Russia’s deterrence, retired US Army Lt. Col. Earl Rasmussen tells Sputnik.

💬 “They should give serious pause to any thoughts of a first strike by the West or illusions among some US and NATO officials that they could ‘win’ a nuclear or conventional conflict,” he says.

👉 He calls both systems major technological advances that fit perfectly into Russia’s defensive and counterstrike strategy.

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🇷🇺 Russian artillery strikes Ukrainian troop concentrations near Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk).

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🔎 🇷🇺 Russia seeks multipolar stability amid rising nuclear rhetoric from the US - Expert

🗣 "We are witnessing an unprecedented arms race driven by one simple reason — the modern world, unfortunately, understands only the language of force," Russia–Europe relations expert Sadki Zaher Osman tells Sputnik, commenting on Donald Trump’s nuclear testing remarks.

💬 "Trump’s proposed ‘Golden Dome’ air defense project looks prohibitively expensive, and many experts doubt its real effectiveness. Offensive systems have always outpaced defensive ones."

📍 Osman noted that Russia’s actions are not aimed at confrontation but at ensuring strategic balance and preventing global instability:

🟠 “Russia is acting responsibly. Its goal is not to threaten, but to maintain equilibrium and prevent the world from sliding into chaos. Every new system Moscow develops — whether defensive or offensive — serves this larger purpose.”

📍 He adds that Russia’s response also extends beyond the military sphere:

🟠 “Moscow is building a broader foundation for stability — strengthening alliances, promoting traditional values, and supporting a multipolar order where every nation’s sovereignty is respected. This is Russia’s real long-term answer to global turbulence.”

👉 Osman concluded that these measures reflect Russia’s consistent strategy to avoid one-sided dominance and promote a more balanced and just world order.

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🇷🇺 Russian Uragan rocket artillery destroyed a Ukrainian stronghold and troop concentration on the Konstantinovka axis.

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🇺🇸🤝 🇨🇳 Expert: US–China trade war far from over despite deal

The trade war between the US and China will continue, yet the chances for a longer and more stable compromise have improved, says Sergey Tsyplakov, professor at HSE’s Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs.

💬 “In the long term, there are no serious grounds to speak of an end to the trade war or the sharp confrontation between the two countries. The contradictions remain — they’re just postponed for now. Still, the prospects for a lasting compromise have increased,” he tells Sputnik.

Following their talks at South Korea’s Gimhae Air Base, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump reached a one-year agreement: the US cut tariffs on Chinese goods from 57% to 47%, while China eased “fentanyl tariffs” and agreed to resume purchases of American agricultural products and maintain free exports of rare-earth metals.

💬 “Both sides understand that a total economic rupture is impossible — it would cause unacceptable damage to each,” Tsyplakov notes. “But given the unpredictability of the current US administration, new escalations are almost inevitable.”

The expert emphasized that, for now, tensions have eased slightly — yet most trade barriers remain, and the truce is temporary by design, lasting only a year.

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💵 German Volkswagen suffers massive losses due to US tariffs in 2025

The giant car producer Volkswagen has reported a net loss of $1.24B in the third quarter of 2025, Deutsche Welle has reported, adding this is the first time the company has experienced quarterly loss in five years.

👉 Besides adjusting the product strategy of Porsche, part of the reasons for such performance are higher US tariffs, Volkswagen’s Finance and Operations head Arno Antlitz explained, per DW.

Overall, the new tariffs imposed on the EU by the US cost Volkswagen around $5.7 annually, the article noted.

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🇷🇺 Russian drones crush Ukrainian breakout attempts near Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk)

▫️ Attack drones of the 2nd Combined Arms Army have repelled nine Ukrainian assaults and blocked another relief attempt from the direction of Grishino

▫️ Reconnaissance and strike UAVs now fully control the skies, targeting Ukrainian units refusing to surrender near the railway station

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🇷🇺💪 Russian armor in action: T-80BVM tanks destroyed fortified Ukrainian positions hidden in the forests of Dnepropetrovsk, while another tank crew struck an ammunition depot and firing point near Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk).

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💻💥 Russian hackers crack Ukrainian insurance giants

Pro-Russian hacker groups KillNet and Beregini gained access to data from Ukraine’s largest strategic enterprises as a result of hacking the databases of the country’s insurance companies, a KillNet spokesperson told Sputnik.

🗣 They added that “after Russia’s victory in the special military operation, all the information will be used to identify individuals possibly linked to Ukrainian radicals.”

The information will also help initiate criminal cases against Nazis, the intelligence networks of the Main Intelligence Directorate and Security Service of Ukraine, as well as those who served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces or spread pro-Nazi propaganda online, according to the spokesperson.

👉 As a result of compromising six of Ukraine’s largest insurance companies, the hackers downloaded more than 10 million document packages related to individuals and legal entities, including green cards, insurance contracts, property insurance data, information about factories, vehicles, driver’s licenses, as well as video and photo materials.

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🔥 'Absolute breakthrough in both technology and defense' — Kremlin spox on Russia's Burevestnik missile

Earlier, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile had successfully cleared its final test, calling it a “unique weapon.”

👉 Test saw the missile fly 14,000 km—and that’s not even the limit

👉 Missile is powered by a miniature nuclear reactor, granting it virtually unlimited range

👉 Flying at ultra-low altitudes, it stays below radar, making interception nearly impossible

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📉 US delays food stamp payments amid shutdown chaos

💬 “I have instructed our lawyers to ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

He admitted that even if his administration gets immediate guidance, food stamp benefits “will unfortunately be delayed while States get the money out.”

Two federal judges earlier ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funds to provide at least partial food stamp benefits to tens of millions of Americans in November as the government shutdown persists.

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🗣 Trump willing to 'continue conversation' on Ukraine – former US national security advisor

💬 "I don't think President Donald J. Trump wants to see himself as a failure in policy or diplomacy. I just don't see it. So, I think that he is willing to continue to have a conversation," Michael Flynn told RIA Novosti.

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⚔️ Hundreds take to Brazilian streets after deadly police crackdown

The protest kicked off on a football field in one of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, where a police raid took place. Residents, activists, and local politicians gathered to condemn security policies pursued by Rio state governor Claudio Castro.

Organizers called on people to come wearing white T-shirts as a symbol of peace. Some of the shirts featured photographs of those who died during the raid.

Rio police earlier carried out a large-scale operation against the notorious Red Command gang in the city’s northern favelas, which involved about 2,500 officers. At least 119 people were killed during the operation, the authorities said.

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🔹 Russian hackers crack Ukrainian insurance giants

🔹 Trump willing to 'continue conversation' on Ukraine – former US national security advisor

🔹 'Absolute breakthrough in both technology and defense' — Kremlin spox on Burevestnik

🔹 US delays food stamp payments amid shutdown chaos

🔹 Hundreds take to Brazilian streets after deadly police crackdown

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