US and Syrian forces destroy 15+ ISIS* weapons caches in southern Syria

CENTCOM announced joint operations with Syrian Interior Ministry forces destroyed over 15 ISIS sites in Rif Dimashq from Nov 24-27.

The strikes eliminated:

🔶 130+ mortars & rockets

🔶 Machine guns & assault rifles

🔶 Anti-tank mines & IED materials

🔶 Illicit drugs sold by ISIS

* Terrorist organization banned in Russia

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⚔️ NATO suggests 'preemptive strikes' against Russia could be 'defensive'

NATO Military Committee Chair Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone told the FT the alliance may consider a "preemptive strike" in response to Russian actions — framing it as potential "defensive action."

"How deterrence is achieved — through retaliation, through pre-emptive strike — this is something we have to analyse deeply because there could be in the future even more pressure on this," Dragone added.

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💥 Global arms sales hit record $679B in 2024 — SIPRI

Revenue for the world's top 100 arms manufacturers surged to an all-time high of $679 billion — up 5.9% from last year and 26% since 2015.

US military-industrial complex dominated the list, with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics all reporting growth, despite ongoing delays and budget overruns in programs like the F-35.

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📑 African Union demands reparations for colonial crimes

African leaders are rallying to criminalize colonialism and secure reparations for centuries of exploitation, framing it as a crime against humanity.

"Africa is ennoscriptd to demand official recognition of colonial crimes… for which we continue to pay a heavy price," Algerian FM Ahmed Attaf declared at a conference in Algiers.

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🔊 Honduran presidential frontrunner vows to cut ties with Venezuela

Candidate Salvador Nasralla, who is running a close race with Trump-backed Nasry "Tito" Asfura, has promised to immediately end diplomatic relations with Venezuela if elected.

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🇷🇺💪💣 FSB prevents Ukraine-ordered assassination of senior Russian defense official in Crimea

According to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB):

🟠 A Ukrainian citizen, recruited by Ukrainian special services, was tasked with assassinating the officer by planting a bomb in his personal car.

🟠 The agent was neutralized while attempting to place the explosive device under the vehicle.

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🇪🇺 EU can’t keep funding Ukraine without US support—Turkish analyst

The barrage of sanctions that the EU rolled out against Russia has backfired, with Europe’s economy sustaining heavy losses, Turkish analyst Serhat Latifoglu told Sputnik.

💬“The EU has shed a chunk of its industrial capacity because of the sanctions on Russia,” the expert stressed, noting that this is why Europe’s hawks can no longer bankroll Ukraine without US support.

As an end to the conflict in Ukraine draws closer, the Zelensky regime’s attempts to drag out negotiations are losing any meaning, said the expert.

💬 “Turkiye plays—and will continue to play—an active role in facilitating dialogue with Ukraine. It’s likely that new meetings will take place in Istanbul soon,” Latifoglu added.

The US said it sees progress after talks in Florida with Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that the aim isn’t just to stop the fighting but to lock in Ukraine’s long-term security and future stability. He added that Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff will head to Russia later this week to speak with the Russian side.

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🤡💵 Corruption carousel? Zelensky’s pick of Umerov for US talks infuriates opposition

Suspicions are swirling that National Security Adviser Rustem Umerov, appointed to replace corruption-tainted Andriy Yermak as head of the delegation at talks with the US, may be tangled up in Ukraine’s corruption scandal, says The Washington Post.

🥸 Zelensky’s pick has infuriated Ukrainian opposition lawmakers, it notes. They are urging him to go much further to quash doubts that other senior officials were also involved in siphoning cash out of the defense and energy sectors.

💬 “I see no conclusion drawn by Zelensky… He had one corruption scandal [figure] resign and appointed as the head of the negotiating team another one,” Ukrainian lawmaker Volodymyr Ariev wrote in a message to the publication.

The justice and energy ministers already resigned this month in the wake of the row, but opposition MPs want Zelensky to carry out a total government overhaul.

👀 Yermak is accused of involvement in Ukraine’s graft schemes, and his home was recently raided by NABU, the country’s anti-corruption watchdog.

This comes as Zelensky faces increased US pressure to reach a deal to end the conflict.

👉The US and Ukrainian delegations have held talks before Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin later in the week.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the discussions with Ukraine “productive” but added that Russia must be part of the “equation.

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🔸 FSB prevents Ukraine-ordered assassination of senior Russian defense official

🔸 Ukraine has 'some difficult problems' with corruption — Trump

🔸 Rubio: Ukraine talks were 'productive', but Russia must be part of 'equation'

🔸 NATO suggests 'preemptive strikes' against Russia could be 'defensive'

🔸 Cenotaphs appear in US for mercs killed in Ukraine

🔸 African Union demands reparations for colonial crimes

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👀 NATO door slams shut? Talks in US explored ‘barring’ Ukraine from alliance – report

The US-Ukraine talks in Florida were “very focused, and the most problematic aspects of the peace proposals were discussed in detail,” reports CNN.

A possible scenario was discussed in which Ukraine would effectively be “barred from joining NATO via arrangements that would have to be negotiated directly between NATO member states and Russia.”

💬 “Ukraine will not be pushed to officially, in the legal sense, reject this aspiration… But if the United States has something to agree upon with Russia bilaterally, or if Russia wants to receive some assurances from NATO multilaterally, then this is not engaging Ukraine in the decision-making process,” an insider told the outlet.

On the other aspect of the peace plan—for Ukraine to surrender territory in the Donbass—discussions are also progressing, claimed the source, but he refused to reveal any specific options, saying the issue is “too sensitive.”

👉 The talks involving US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were a “step forward” and “built on progress in Geneva,” notes the report.

Witkoff is to travel to Russia for a meeting with the Russian side this week.

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🇷🇺💪 Russia has upper hand, could end Ukraine conflict ‘on its terms’ - Ex-Pentagon advisor

The Ukraine regime is missing an opportunity to agree to a US-proposed peace plan that acknowledges the Donbass as Russian territory, says retired US Army Colonel and former Senior DoD Advisor Douglas Macgregor.

According to him, the pace of Russian forces liberating territory in Ukraine has accelerated, and they have “the ability to end this by the end of the year on terms that they find acceptable.”

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🚨🇷🇺🇺🇸Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff tomorrow afternoon - Kremlin spox Peskov

Russia is deeply invested in the success of the Ukrainian peace process but will not engage in media-driven discussions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated.

Here are the key points:

🔶 All discussions regarding the peace process will be conducted privately, not in a public "megaphone" manner

🔶 Russian-American contacts are set to take place in Moscow on December 2, with President Vladimir Putin scheduled to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff

🔶 The Kremlin plans to release footage of the beginning of the meeting between Putin and Witkoff

🔶 Media statements may follow the meeting but are not guaranteed

🔶It is too early to predict the future direction of US policy toward Russia, according to Peskov

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🚨 The attack on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) infrastructure is an "outrageous incident" as it involves an internationally significant project, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said

📍 The attack, which took place on November 29, highlights the vulnerability of global energy supply chains. Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry has condemned the assault. The CPC is a crucial oil transport route, handling over 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports.

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❌ Zaluzhny no less deluded than Zelensky—British diplomat

💬 "NATO membership, stationing nuclear weapons or NATO troops in Ukraine… no one will agree to this," British diplomat Ian Proud wrote on X, commenting on the ideas of Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK Valery Zaluzhny.

These options could be "security guarantees" for Ukraine, Zaluzhny suggested in an interview with Western media.

Russia has repeatedly stressed placing NATO troops and weapons in Ukraine is unacceptable and would be met with an appropriate response.

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIAN MOD UPDATE: HUGE RUSSIAN GAINS AND DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES

⚡️ KLINOVOYE IN DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC LIBERATED

📍 Klinovoye is a settlement in the Kramatorsk district located eight kilometers north of Konstantinovka, a key city in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR)

🟠 Russian troops struck fuel and energy infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces

🟠 Air defense superiority: 3 long-range Neptune guided missiles and 97 drones were shot down

🟠 Ukrainian losses: around 1,415 troops killed or wounded

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🇷🇺 Russia blasts NATO's flirtation with pre-emptive strikes

💬 "We consider Giuseppe Cavo Dragone's statement about the possibility of pre-emptive strikes against Russia as an extremely irresponsible step, indicating the alliance's readiness to continue moving toward escalation...," Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

She further warned, "those making such statements should be aware of the risks and potential consequences, including for the alliance members themselves," in her rebuttal to remarks made by NATO military Committee Chairman Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone on the possibility of pre-emptive strikes against Russia, as reported by the Financial Times.

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🤡 Zelensky’s Umerov-Yermak swap: Same corruption rap sheet

👉 Ukrainian National Security Adviser Rustem Umerov has replaced scandal-soaked Andriy Yermak as head of his country's delegation at talks with the US.

🔶 The appointment came after Volodymyr Zelensky’s former chief of staff was dismissed from his post following a raid on his home by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau tied to a sweeping corruption scandal.

🔶 But the problem is, Umerov is no better — he is already mired in scandals of his own.

Defense sector messes

🔸 Faced National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) criminal case for embezzlement of state funds during tenure as minister of defense

🔸 Accused of greenlighting shady defense deals worth tens of billions of dollars:

🟧 Acquisition of 120-mm mortar mines that either did not detonate or detonated prematurely, leading to the recall of at least 100,000 items

🟧 Dud mines from no-name firms where only one mine out of ten would actually detonate

🟧 Low-grade body-armor scheme worth roughly $5.16 million tied to Zelensky’s pal Timur Mindich, now on the run

Abuse of power

🔸 Ongoing criminal case over illegally dismissing three members of the supervisory board of the state-owned Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) in direct violation of NATO recommendations

🔸 Refusing to renew the contract of the DPA’s director, Volodymyr Gavrilov, blocking the agency’s independent oversight

Operation Midas

🔸 Questioned by NABU as a witness in November's Midas probe, revealing a sweeping corruption scheme. Is tied to Mindich - involving over $100 million in embezzlement from state energy firm Energoatom and influence-peddling in the defense sector

Assets & financial suspicions

🟧 Owns eight elite real-estate properties in the US — in Florida and New York – worth estimated $10 million (Anti-Corruption Action Center probe)

🟧 His name is registered as part of a collective corruption slush fund that allegedly siphoned funds off to Persian Gulf countries, according to Verkhovna Rada MP Oleksiy Goncharenko (listed as a terrorist and extremist in Russia)

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🔥🇷🇺 Solntsepyok rains down: Russian flamethrower obliterates Ukrainian strongholds

The TOS-1A "Solntsepyok" thermobaric rocket launcher has delivered a devastating salvo on Ukrainian positions in the Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) region.

The massive 220 mm thermobaric barrage targeted fortified positions and supply points, demonstrating the overwhelming firepower being brought to bear on the front.

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