📹 Putin departs New Delhi after a two-day state visit to India

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🇮🇳🇷🇺Inside the Indian veggie feast served to Putin

Before departing India after a two-day state visit, Vladimir Putin was hosted by Indian President Droupadi Murmu at a vegetarian dinner — a refined showcase of India’s regional flavors and culinary artistry.

🥣 Starter

• A delicate moringa leaf and mung bean consommé, lightly spiced and finished with millet

🥟 Appetizers

• Morel mushrooms stuffed with walnut chutney
• Black chickpea kebabs with mint sauce
• Steamed vegetable momos with water chestnut

🍛 Main Course

• Paneer roulade with dried fruits in saffron sauce
• Spiced spinach, fenugreek and green peas
• Tandoor-baked stuffed potatoes in yogurt marinade
• Mini eggplants in a sweet-spiced glaze
• Braised beans with tomato and onion
• Nut and saffron slow-cooked basmati rice

🍨 Dessert

•Warm almond halwa with toasted nuts
•Traditional Indian kulfi ice cream infused with saffron, pistachios and cardamom

🥤 Fresh Juices

Pomegranate • Orange • Carrot and ginger

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🚨 Striking energy targets, Ukraine hurts its European funders

Ukrainian attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) infrastructure are part of Kiev's terrorist strategy, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said

Ukraine's all-out attacks on energy facilities:

▫️ Attempts to hit Russian oil refineries

▫️ Attacks on Black Sea port infrastructure

▫️ Strikes on energy supply logistics chains

▫️ Now — the 83-million-ton-per-year CPC infrastructure, the main route transporting Caspian oil to global markets

CPC sabotage

➖ On November 29, Ukrainian forces hit a maritime terminal near Novorossiysk with unmanned boats

➖ Ukrainian drones previously hit the CPC on November 25, struck the consortium’s Novorossiysk office in late September and targeted the Kropotkinskaya pumping station in February

European energy market

◼️ European nations face rising pressure as the European Commission pushes to end all Russian oil imports by 2027

◼️ The CPC is crucial for delivering Kazakhstan’s oil to Europe, where over 70% of the country’s exports now go, ranking it the EU’s third-largest supplier

◼️ The cost of transit via the CPC route is roughly three times cheaper than via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which still needs further investment, making CPC vital for the EU after it imposed an import ban on Russian energy

◼️ Ukraine's attacks on the CPC affect stock markets, insurance rates, logistics costs, supply volumes and ultimately energy prices for EU countries already hit hard by a prolonged energy crisis

Europe wires billions in aid to Ukraine

🔸 European countries continue to fund Ukraine despite own economic hurdles. It has delivered roughly $197 billion in aid to Ukraine since 2022

🔸 Energy supply risks, economic slowdown and re-industrialization pressures in the EU are fueling calls to seize Russia’s sovereign assets

By hitting energy infrastructure, Ukraine is hurting its own allies in a vicious cycle:

👉 Critical energy targets struck

👉 Economic fallout hits the West

👉 Ukraine grows ever more dependent on foreign aid

👉 Seizure of Russian assets pushed under the guise of ‘compensation’

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🇷🇺🇺🇸 Russia expects US will share results of talks with Ukraine's Umerov

Russia expects Washington to share the outcome of its recent negotiations with Ukrainian Security Council chief Rustem Umerov, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said.

💬 “We are waiting for the analysis of their talks with Umerov,” Ushakov said.

💬 “I hope they share the outcomes with us, and then we’ll see.”

The Kremlin has not yet received any feedback from Washington, he added.

Ushakov said Ukraine was likely one of the main topics in Putin’s 2.5-hour one-on-one meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that India expressed support for Russian peace efforts.

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🔥 Day of Military Glory: How Soviet forces wiped out Nazi troops in Battle of Moscow

December 5 marks Russia’s Day of Military Glory, commemorating the moment in 1941 when the Red Army launched its counteroffensive near Moscow and shattered the myth of the unstoppable Wehrmacht.

Key flashbacks

◻️ Battle of Moscow began on September 30, 1941, when German forces attempted a rapid strike toward the Soviet capital as part of Operation Typhoon

◻️ By mid-October, Nazi troops had reached positions just 80–100 km from Moscow, placing the city under a state of siege

◻️ Despite early German success, the advance stalled due to fierce Soviet resistance, including the defense along the Mozhaisk Line—the last shield before the capital

◻️ On November 7, a historic military parade was held on Moscow’s Red Square—troops marched directly to battle, boosting morale and showing the world the resolve of the Soviet people

◻️ Germans renewed their offensive on November 15, desperate to capture Moscow before winter, but Red Army counterblows near Kashira and north of Moscow reversed the tide

◻️ By early December, Soviet forces had pushed the enemy back from multiple directions, paving the ground for a counteroffensive

◻️ It began on December 5, amid brutal winter conditions—biting frost and heavy snow. By December 7, German flank groups had been forced 100–250 km away from Moscow

◻️ German losses: up to 700,000 killed, wounded, or missing, according to official sources

How Battle of Moscow turned tide of WWII

➖ This operation led to the first major defeat of Nazi Germany since 1939, breaking the backbone of Germany’s Army Group Center

➖ USSR’s victory in the Battle of Moscow caused a global psychological shift—the myth of German invincibility collapsed

➖ Failure of Nazi troops’ Operation Barbarossa shook confidence within Germany itself

➖ Success strengthened the USSR’s international standing and solidified the anti-Hitler coalition

Russian troops in the Ukraine conflict zone are upholding the traditions of the nation's military glory as they successfully advance on all fronts.

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🇬🇧 UK preps $10.6B Russian cash grab for Ukraine — despite EU members’ resistance

Britain is gearing up to seize frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, a plan discussed at a recent NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, The Times reports.

The UK hopes to align Western countries behind a joint position on a so-called reparations loan.

❌ But that looks unlikely: Belgium has already rejected an EU proposal to confiscate Russian assets, with PM Bart De Wever warning that it is “potentially illegal, dangerous for Europe, and a threat to global confidence in the euro.”

❌ Belgium won’t bear the risk alone — confiscation could cost more than the assets themselves, De Wever cautioned, adding that a liquidity default at Euroclear (where most assets are held) would trigger a "global financial earthquake."

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🇺🇸📑New US National Security Strategy envisioned as clean break from neocons at home and abroad: expert

🗣“President Trump, obviously, I think he truly wants peace. He truly sees potential business collaboration with Russia as well…I think he realizes that there are elements within his own government as well as the Europeans and Ukraine that are trying to drag this [conflict] on,” retired US Army Lt. Col. Earl Rasmussen told Sputnik.

👉The new National Security Strategy is meant to set “the tone for everything that follows through – all our tactical plans, our structural plans, the foreign policy side, the defense policy side. It’s a very important document,” the veteran international consultant explained, adding that the document was likely in the works for months before its publication.

The strategy’s tone, and lack of ‘Russian threat’ language is a “major shift” unseen in years if not decades, Rasmussen says. It signals that Trump doesn’t want to be dragged into a prolonged conflict with Moscow, and is seeking to avoid escalation.

🔊“There are some caveats in this document, but the criticism of NATO expansion is key,” Rasmussen said, suggesting that the new strategy signals a “shift in mentality,” with the US “kind of stepping back from global dominance” while seeking to prevent “somebody else” from taking up the mantle of global or even regional hegemony.

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🟠 Scott Ritter: New US National Security Strategy rejects Russophobia, buries nuclear war fears

🟠 European elites in 'denial mode' over Putin’s India visit – Pepe Escobar

🟠 Putin highlights untapped potential and expanding cooperation with India

🟠 Bombshell changes to US National Security Strategy conceal pivot to China - observer

🟠 Striking energy targets, Ukraine hurts its European funders

🟠 Day of Military Glory: How Soviet forces wiped out Nazi troops in Battle of Moscow

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📑US’s new National Security Strategy is ‘clear signal’ to Europe: you’re the ‘roadblock’ to peace

❗️The document is an indication of a US pivot away from Europe, the attitude that Russia is no longer a prime US adversary or threat, and that “the expansion of NATO is a problem” for regional and global security, retired US Army Lt. Col. and geopolitical analyst Earl Rasmussen told Sputnik.

👉It doesn’t mean a dovish attitude on Washington’s part, the senior officer clarified.

💬“We still support a strong military. We don’t want anyone else to be a global hegemon…We acknowledge that Russia is important. They’re not an adversary, They’re not a threat. But they are actually important for European and global stability,” Rasmussen summarized.

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🔊Putin’s India visit marks a strategic step toward a new multipolar world – expert

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India is far from routine — it is “historic” and strategically important amid major global shifts, Lebanese international relations expert Tarek Fakhri told Sputnik.

💬 “We are looking at two poles that carry weight in different dimensions: India as a major economic power, and Russia as a strategic, political, and military force,” Fakhri said.

The expert said their coordination sends a clear message that the unipolar era is fading and new centers of power are shaping the future through cooperation, not domination.

Fakri added that such visits and partnerships are a prelude to a new world order, built on a deeper understanding of current geopolitical transformations leading to multipolarity.

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🚨🇷🇺 Russian Msta-B howitzer crew scores a direct hit on a Ukrainian drone command post.

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🚨 AI boom masking deep weakness in US economy – academic

A massive wave of AI spending by Wall Street and the White House administration is creating an illusion of strength in the US economy, warns Manu Gupta, vice provost at Virginia Commonwealth University.

💬 "On the economic activity side, the evidence is very strong that this year’s economic expansion in the US would turn into contraction if you remove AI spending... So, there is certainly weakness in the economy," he told Sputnik.

While Big Tech and government spending on AI continue to soar, major parts of the real economy are showing clear stress: Manufacturing remains in contraction, transportation and warehousing are shedding jobs, energy companies are cutting investment, and even the federal government has been reducing its workforce.

👉 Gupta is not alone in his assessment. Various economists caution that the supposed productivity gains from AI are still narrow and have not translated into broad, economy-wide improvements. Many economists now agree: Without the AI boom propping up GDP, the US economy would already be shrinking.

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🇮🇷💥 IRGC Navy fires long-range missiles and drones in the Gulf of Oman, testing air-defense and electronic warfare readiness across the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz during naval drills

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💸 Bitcoin investors split as market hovers in uncertainty

Bitcoin’s drift in the low $90,000s after ten weeks of gut-wrenching volatility has traders divided over whether the next move is a rebound toward $100,000 or a slide below $80,000, veteran market analyst Adam Sarhan told Sputnik.

Sarhan noted that Bitcoin must climb back above key long-term moving averages—including the 50-Day and 200-Day Moving Averages, currently in the high $90,000s and low $100,000s—to regain bullish momentum.

A Golden Cross, where the 50-Day crosses above the 200-Day on a higher time frame, would mark a significant bullish signal.

If the market breaks the other way, a deepening bear phase could drag Bitcoin toward $74,000 and below $70,000—a zone often associated with the 200-Week Exponential Moving Average or the lows of past major corrections.

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🚨🇷🇺💥 Russian Solntsepyok thermobaric rocket launcher destroys a Ukrainian stronghold near the town of Guliaipole, Zaporozhye Region

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🇺🇸🇷🇺 Declassification of 2016 records could restore trust and ease US–Russia tensions – ex-Trump advisor

Declassifying all records related to the so-called 2016 “Russia interference” investigation could finally shift American public opinion and dismantle the perception of Russia as an enemy, former Donald Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos told Sputnik.

💬 “People in America will not see Russia as an enemy, hopefully, anymore, and this will foster a new era for both peoples and the globe, which I think is desperately needed in today's very unstable world," he said.

Papadopoulos noted that full transparency would show what really happened, expose the roles of other foreign governments that allegedly cooperated with the Democrats during the Obama era, and help rebuild trust in the US justice system after years of politicized investigations.

He called recent indictments and new disclosures a first step toward correcting the record, arguing that they vindicate those targeted in what he described as a fabricated scandal.

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🚨🇷🇺 Russia sets new record for gold reserves

Russia’s gold reserves have surged past $300 billion, with the total value reaching a record $311b in November.

Gold now makes up 42% of Russia’s national reserves — the highest level since 1995.

That marks the fourth straight month of record highs, as Russia continues increasing its gold holdings amid global financial uncertainty.

Historically, the share of gold in Russian reserves peaked at nearly 57% in 1993, and hit its lowest point — just 2% — in 2007.

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🔊 Corruption in Ukraine and EU is shared system, not an accident – expert

Corruption in Ukraine didn’t appear from nowhere — it grew out of political practices long rooted in the West, including the Biden family’s business ties in the country, Lebanese expert on the history of international relations Samir Ayoub told Sputnik.

💬 “Europe sacrificed its economic interests for an anti-Russian agenda and is now paying a high price,” Ayoub said.

💬 “Corruption adds another layer to its growing crisis.”

He says corruption scandals only irritate Washington because they complicate US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts and expose European leaders as weak since the end of US arms supplies to Ukraine.

Ayoub argues the European Union tries to pin blame on individuals to hide systemic rot — but this week’s arrests of former European Commission foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and others “change nothing.”

Billions continue flowing out of EU member state taxpayer’s pockets, whether to Ukraine or to EU bureaucrats.

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🚨1,091 children injured and 237 killed by Ukrainian attacks since 2022

Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory have resulted in over 1,000 children injured and 237 fatalities since the beginning of the special military operation, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large on the Kiev Regime's War Crimes Rodion Miroshnik told Sputnik.

👉 Overall, "since the beginning of the conflict in 2014, the number of civilian casualties has already reached 41,000, of whom about 13,000 have died," Miroshnik said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the operation aims to "protect people subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime." The ultimate goal of the operation is to completely liberate new Russia's regions – Donbass and Novorossiya – and create conditions that guarantee Russia's security: Ukraine must undergo demilitarization and denazification.

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🇨🇳 🇷🇺🇮🇳 China–Russia–India cooperation model ‘rapidly evolves into world’s leading ’force’—expert

The China–Russia–India partnership model illustrates a collective alternative to Western unilateralism, Chinese military expert Qin An told Sputnik, commenting on President Putin’s recent visit to India.

Why the trio could become a global game-changer

🔸 The China-Russia-India collaboration model “serves as a tool to curb unilateral actions and achieve peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation in a multipolar world,” Qin stresses

🔸 This aligns with the general idea of a "community with a shared future for mankind" and helps India bolster its relations with China and Russia, according to the expert

🔸 “This trilateral cooperation is completely equal and is precisely what the overwhelming majority of countries in the world strive for"

🔸 The three have sufficient military capabilities to help maintain global order and stability. As global hegemonic tendencies intensify, the China–Russia–India cooperation model is swiftly evolving into a leading force in the world

The West’s pushback

▫️ “It should be recognized that deepening cooperation among China, Russia, and India will inevitably provide a pretext for attacks from Western powers and others pursuing their own agendas,” the expert points out.

▫️ Western hegemonic forces are skilled at sowing discord—between China and Russia and between China and India—by exploiting historical and current issues, he underscores.

▫️China, Russia, and India must “abandon illusions and resolutely resist” Western unilateralism. By leveraging the achievements of mutually beneficial cooperation, the three countries should “continue promoting their cooperation model, uniting key forces of world order and development,” Qin concludes.

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▫️ Putin’s India visit marks a strategic step toward a new multipolar world

▫️ China–Russia–India cooperation model ‘rapidly evolves into world’s leading ’force’

▫️ US’s new National Security Strategy is ‘clear signal’ to Europe: you’re the ‘roadblock’ to peace

▫️ 1,091 children injured and 237 killed by Ukrainian attacks since 2022

▫️ Iranian Navy fires long-range missiles and drones in the Gulf of Oman

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