Politico reported earlier that Rustem Umerov would try to persuade the US to lift its restrictions on long-range strikes against Russia
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to discuss additional military aid. The visit came amid renewed requests by Kiev for Washington to lift its restrictions on the use of US-supplied weapons for long-range strikes deep inside Russia.
Earlier this week, Politico, citing anonymous sources, claimed that Umerov and Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff Andrey Yermak would attempt to persuade their American backers to change their minds.
On Friday, the Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh announced that “Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III held bilateral talks with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov today regarding Ukraine’s ongoing operations [and] security assistance priorities.”
The latter include air defense systems, artillery and armored vehicles needed to help Ukraine “build additional combat power.”
Another topic high on the officials’ agenda was the upcoming meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on September 6. The gathering will see more than 50 of the countries which support Kiev congregate in Ramstein, Germany to deliberate over plans for more military supplies for Ukraine, in order to cover both its immediate and long-term needs.
Austin pledged to “continue to build on the strategic partnership between” the US and Ukraine, Singh concluded.
On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Major-General Patrick Ryder clarified that Washington’s “policy has not changed,” meaning that Ukraine is allowed to use US-supplied weapons to defend against cross-border attacks, but not for “deep strikes” into what the US recognizes as Russian territory.
Meanwhile, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that Washington “will keep the conversations with the Ukrainians going [on the issue], but we are going to keep them private.”
That same day, Zelensky insisted that “there should be no restrictions on the range of weapons for Ukraine.”
Commenting on Kirby’s statement on Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that it indicated that “Ukraine has been given carte blanche for operations in Russian regions.”
“The administration of [US President] Joe Biden is obviously getting ready to make new concessions to Zelensky and give him a free hand to use virtually any type of American weapons, including [for attacks] deep into Russian territory,” the diplomat alleged, as quoted by RIA Novosti.
Her remarks echoed those made on Tuesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who insisted that the “West does not want to avoid escalation.”
The minister warned that Kiev’s backers would be “playing with fire” if they were to allow Ukraine to use their weapons to conduct long-range strikes deep inside Russia.
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August 31, 2024 at 03:53AM
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The offender tried to climb into the event’s press area amid heightened security in the wake of July’s shooting
Police officers tasered a man who was attempting to force his way into the press area at a Donald Trump rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on Friday. The incident came amid heightened security measures at the Republican nominee’s pre-election events following last’s month’s failed attempt on his life.
On July 13, Trump had a brush with death when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at him during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The would-be assassin had taken position on a nearby rooftop that gave him an unobstructed view of his target. The man fired several rounds, one of which grazed the former president’s right ear. One rally attendee was killed and two others were seriously injured. The shooter was subsequently killed by return fire from the Secret Service.
According to media reports, the man made it over a bicycle rack surrounding TV reporters and cameras, and began climbing the back of a riser where they were perched.
This guy had an electrifying ⚡️⚡️⚡️ experience at the Trump rally and got a free ride to jail. You could actually hear the taser. 😂😂
Attendees near the area tried to pull the offender off the structure, with police officers eventually subduing him with the help of a taser.
The incident came shortly after Trump took a swipe at the media over what he described as unfavorable coverage of his presidential campaign and an alleged bias in favor of his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris.
The crowd cheered the police as they led the man away, with the GOP hopeful quipping: “Is there anywhere that’s more fun to be than a Trump rally?”
It is not clear what motivated the offender, and whether he was a Trump supporter or opponent.
Soon thereafter, law enforcement personnel handcuffed another man in the crowd and escorted him from the event. It remains unknown whether his detention had anything to do with the original incident.
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August 31, 2024 at 01:24AM
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Russian authorities are investigating an attack by Kiev’s forces on Belgorod on Friday that killed five civilians
Russia’s investigative committee has launched a terrorism probe into a Ukrainian shelling of Belgorod on Friday, believed to have involved cluster munitions, which claimed the lives of five civilians and injured 46.
Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, Ukrainian forces have on multiple occasions shelled Russian border regions, causing civilians deaths, injuries and damage to infrastructure. Kiev, in turn, has repeatedly accused Moscow of targeting residential areas and civilian buildings on its territory.
In a post on its Telegram channel on Saturday, the investigative committee wrote that it had launched a criminal probe into a suspected terrorist act in connection with the “Ukrainian armed groups’ attack on Belgorod and Belgorod district.”
“Russia’s investigative committee is establishing the circumstances of the event and the individuals involved in the terrorist attack,” the message added.
In a separate post on Telegram late on Friday, Belgorod Region’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, claimed that Ukrainian forces had used cluster munitions fired from a Czech-made Vampire multiple-launch rocket system in their latest strike on Belgorod.
According to the official, “one woman and four men died at the scene from their injuries before the ambulances arrived.” Out of the 46 injured people, seven are minors, the mayor revealed. Ten people are said to be in serious condition as a result of the attack.
The shelling also inflicted damage on at least three apartment buildings, as well as two commercial buildings in Belgorod, Gladkov reported.
The official noted that some of the incoming rockets had been “shot down [by Russian air defenses] as they approached the city.”
Also under fire that day was the city of Shebekino, where one civilian was wounded, the governor wrote in a separate message.
Earlier on Friday, Gladkov reported that a number of settlements had been targeted by Ukrainian drones, with at least three local residents sustaining injuries and several households incurring material damage as a result.
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August 30, 2024 at 11:48PM
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Abuja had previously threatened to send troops to invade Niger as part of a planned regional mission in response to Niamey’s coup
Nigeria and Niger have signed a security cooperation agreement despite strained relations following last year’s coup in Niamey. The Nigerian Army announced the deal on Thursday, stating that it aims to enhance regional stability.
The accord was struck during a meeting on Wednesday in Niger’s capital, Niamey, between Nigeria’s defense chief, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, and his Nigerien counterpart, General Moussa Salaou Barmou, according to an army statement.
“Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to resuming and strengthening collaboration, with a view to ensuring regional stability and security,” it said.
“Nigeria is universally known for adherence to its principle of good neighborliness and would not be used to destabilize Niger or any of Nigeria’s contiguous countries,” the statement added.
Niger has been under military rule since July 2023, when soldiers overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum. Aside from Burkina Faso and Mali, which are both under military rule, the event has damaged ties between the Sahel nation and its West African neighbors. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had threatened to use force against the coup leaders, with several of Niger’s neighbors, including Nigeria, the regional bloc’s current chairman, expressing a willingness to contribute troops to the Paris-backed armed mission.
Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali withdrew from the 15-state group in January, accusing it of posing a threat to their sovereignty by serving as a tool for foreign powers, particularly France, with whom they have severed military ties. Niamey’s new leadership, along with its Bamako and Ouagadougou allies, has claimed that the military takeovers in their respective countries were in response to the failure of their civilian governments to combat Islamist terrorists in the Sahel region despite the presence of foreign troops.
The three former French colonies have formed the Alliance of Sahel States—an alternative grouping through which they intend to jointly fight internal and external security threats.
While Niger has remained a member of the Nigeria-led cross-border Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTS) fighting Boko Haram around Lake Chad, it has reportedly kept its involvement to a minimum.
However, following the signing of the new agreement with Abuja on Wednesday, Niamey “affirmed its readiness to resume active participation in security cooperation under the MNJT,” according to a Nigerian Army statement.
The army said Niger’s defense chief has agreed to travel to Nigeria to finalize the specifics of this week’s defense pact, but did not specify which date.
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August 30, 2024 at 12:36AM
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Wild wolves have killed eight people and injured dozens in India’s Uttar Pradesh state in recent weeks
The Forest Department in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh has conducted an operation to capture a wold pack that has terrorized dozens of villages for weeks, killing seven children and one woman and leaving over 25 injured, national media reported on Friday.
Four wolves were caught during a 72-hour operation conducted by 25 teams, with two still on the run, although both are under constant surveillance, according to authorities. Advanced drone technology and tranquillizers have been used by forest department personnel and police to capture the animals. They will be then taken to zoos, according to reports.
Officials have also taken measures to secure the affected villages. This includes installing doors in houses that do not have them, as well as raising awareness among locals.
According to villagers interviewed by India Today, wolves have been entering homes and grabbing children. “I desperately tried to save him by pulling the wolf’s legs, but didn’t succeed. The wolf dragged Firoz about 200 meters into a field. When I raised an alarm, the villagers gathered, and the wolf eventually left him in the field in an injured condition. He was later taken to a hospital, where he was treated for 13 days and survived,” the mother of a seven-year-old boy told reporters.
Meanwhile, visuals of a wolf captured on Thursday have been released by news agencies.
Bahraich, UP: An expert team successfully captured a wolf in a sugarcane field by the riverbank. The wolf, which had been preying on humans, was trapped in the Mahsi area. This capture has brought significant relief to the forest department and other local authorities pic.twitter.com/Lp8MAUofQj
Before the operation to hunt down the wolves, locals had started night patrols, which now have been expanded. Parents in the area have stopped sending their children to school, and women have been advised to stay indoors.
Conservationist Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala told India Today that cross-breeding of wolves with dogs could be a reason for the increased attacks.
“Such wolves are likely to lose their fear of humans, which could be dangerous in encounters with people,” Jhala argued. The absence of toilets in rural areas has also been blamed by experts for the scale of wolf attacks, as people, including children, use nearby fields.
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August 29, 2024 at 11:25PM
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Peter Szijjarto has criticized Josep Borrell’s remarks on the use of Western-supplied weapons for strikes deep into Russia
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has slammed the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, over his recent remarks on strikes deep into Russian territory. Borrell suggested that Ukraine should be allowed to use Western-supplied weapons to conduct these attacks.
Commenting on Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Kursk Region, Russia in early August, Borrell told Kiev that it has the “full support” of the EU.
Also this month, the bloc’s top diplomat said, “we are not a party to the war, but we are part of the conflict.”
In a post on Facebook, the Hungarian foreign minister described the Ukraine conflict as “madness” that “must be put to an end.”
“However, if more and more weapons are sent to this region, if depth strikes arrive on the territory of Russia, then the danger of escalation will only increase and this war will become even more serious,” Szijjarto warned, apparently referring to Borrell’s recent statements.
Budapest’s top diplomat added that to avoid this, his country will “continue to represent the pro-peace position” during an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday.
In a separate post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Zoltan Kovacs, the spokesperson of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s office, wrote that Szijjarto “criticized the European Union’s outgoing High Representative for Foreign Affairs, who is calling for more weapons to be sent to Ukraine and even suggesting that these Western-supplied arms should be used for deep strikes on Russian territory.”
Borrell has previously called on the West to lift all restrictions on Kiev’s use of the weapons it has provided, particularly with regard to long-range strikes. He argued that this would “help advance peace efforts.”
Last week, the head of the prime minister’s office, Gergely Gulyas, characterized Kiev’s actions on Russian soil as “wrong” and not conducive to a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
In July, Szijjarto also criticized the top EU diplomat over his reported scheme to undermine Hungary’s efforts to organize an informal foreign affairs summit, calling the supposed plan childish. He went on to accuse Borrell of overseeing the “most unsuccessful period of European foreign policy” ever.
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August 29, 2024 at 12:56AM
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Russia often loses all contact with local residents forcibly taken by Kiev troops in an unknown direction, the Foreign Ministry has said
Ukrainian troops occupying part of Russia’s Kursk Region have been abducting and sexually abusing local residents, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special mission to investigate alleged Ukrainian war crimes, Rodion Miroshnik, has claimed.
In an interview with RIA Novosti on Thursday, Miroshnik confirmed numerous earlier reports alleging that Ukrainian forces – including foreign mercenaries – have engaged in numerous atrocities against the civilian population since the start of the large-scale incursion on August 6.
“We have evidence of sexual violence committed by both foreign mercenaries and Ukrainian radicals,” he stated, suggesting that the Ukrainian leadership had deployed “all of its scum” to Kursk Region in an apparent effort to get them out of the country and “dispose” of them.
Other apparent crimes by Kiev’s forces include abductions, Miroshnik claimed. “We have data that Ukrainian militants are taking action to kidnap people. They are snatching civilians and taking them away to an unknown location. We often lose contact with them. Where are they taken? To Ukrainian territory, or to secret prisons?” he asked.
Ukrainian forces are acting like brazen “terrorists,” and often do not provide any information to the families of those abducted, Miroshnik said. He noted that while Russia has “preliminary lists” of those in Ukrainian custody, they are by no means complete, adding that in some cases Moscow has only “fragmentary data” and testimony about people who were “forced into trucks and taken in an unknown direction.”
At the same time, Miroshnik noted that Moscow continues to gather information on Ukrainian mercenaries. “More than 4,000 mercenaries have been accurately identified… In absentia investigations have been completed on some of them.”
Since the start of Ukraine’s large-scale invasion of Kursk Region earlier in August, Moscow has accused Kiev of committing numerous atrocities against civilians, including conducting indiscriminate strikes. The Russian Defense Ministry says that Kiev’s advance has been halted, and that Ukraine has lost up to 7,000 troops since the start of the attack.
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August 28, 2024 at 11:06PM
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Namibia claims the decision aligns with its longstanding support for Palestine and calls for an end to ongoing hostilities in Gaza
Namibia has blocked a vessel suspected of carrying explosive materials bound for Israel from docking in the southern African nation’s ports, the state-run newspaper New Era reported on Tuesday.
The MV Kathrin requested permission on Friday to stop at the port of Walvis Bay, Namibian Justice Minister Yvonne Dausab told the outlet. She said it was unclear where the ship had sailed from, but the BBC claimed it had departed Vietnam and was supposed to dock in Namibia before sailing north on a suspected route to the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar.
“Upon receiving reports that a vessel may be carrying weapons intended for Israel… I requested the relevant authorities not to allow the vessel MV Kathrin to dock at the Walvis Bay port,” the minister said.
She added that the decision aligns with Namibia’s stance on Israel’s ongoing hostilities in Gaza, as well as the African nation’s “obligation not to support or be complicit in Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, [and] its unlawful occupation of Palestine.”
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in October. The fighting started with a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group, which left around 1,200 people dead. The group also took more than 200 hostages, some of whom were later released through prisoner swaps or were rescued by the Israeli army.
Last week, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) called on judges to “urgently” rule on his request for arrest warrants in respect of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, including Hamas leaders linked to the war on Gaza. Karim Khan filed the request in May, arguing that the men were complicit in “war crimes and crimes against humanity” committed in Israel and Gaza.
In December, Namibia’s neighbor South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, an international body that is separate from the ICC. Israel has denied the allegations, accusing Hamas of using civilians in Gaza as human shields.
On Sunday, Dausab said she had advised the Namibian Port Authority and the Security Ministry to prevent MV Kathrin from entering Namibia’s waters in line with its international obligations.
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August 28, 2024 at 12:20AM
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Moscow has rejected reports of alleged corruption related to the nuclear power plant it is building in the South Asian nation
Moscow will continue to support Dhaka in the international arena, Russian ambassador to Bangladesh Aleksandr Mantytsky said on Tuesday, as he met with Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the head of the South Asian nation’s interim government.
The interim government was formed earlier this month after the prime minister at the time, Sheikh Hasina, was ousted from power and fled the country following deadly student-led protests.
During their meeting in Dhaka, Mantytsky and Yunus discussed bilateral ties, including a project for the construction of the 2,400MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh, the Daily Prothom Alo reported. The two sides also discussed increased cooperation in food security, energy exploration, and science and technology.
Mantytsky said the construction of the Rooppur plant, which began in 2017, is in the final stage and will be operational next year. The project is being financed by Russia through several credit facilities, including a line of credit for 90% of the $12.65 billion contract for construction of the plant signed between Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and Atomstroyexport, the nuclear power equipment and service exporter of Rosatom. The loan is repayable within 28 years with a ten-year grace period.
Earlier this month, Mantytsky told TASS that Moscow will work with any leader of Bangladesh willing to engage in an “equal and mutually respectful dialogue” with Russia.
Economic cooperation between Russia and Bangladesh has been actively developing, the Russian envoy said in May, with bilateral trade reaching $2.7 billion, an increase of 16.5% in 2023 compared to the previous fiscal year. Moscow’s key export items to Bangladesh include grains and fertilizers.
During the recent meeting, Mantytsky told Yunus that Russian state-run Gazprom has expressed interest in exploring five more gas wells Bangladesh. Yunus recalled the Soviet Union’s support in the country’s liberation war of 1971 and called on Moscow to increase and diversify imports from Bangladesh. At present, readymade garments constitute around 90% of Dhaka’s exports to Russia.
Bangladesh has been in a state of turmoil ever since protests erupted over laws reserving lucrative government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in the liberation war. Hasina was forced to resign after hundreds of people were killed in weeks-long protests. She fled to India where she has been residing ever since.
A war crimes tribunal – which had been set up by Hasina herself – has launched an investigation into mass murder against the former prime minister. The interim government led by Yunus was sworn in on August 8, with the goal of restoring normalcy and overseeing reforms in the country until a new round of elections can be held.
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August 27, 2024 at 11:54PM
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The Ukrainian leader did not give details, but said he wanted the public to appreciate domestic defense producers
Ukraine has test-fired its first domestically-produced ballistic missile, Vladimir Zelensky has said. Kiev has been asking its Western backers for months to allow it to use foreign-made missile systems to hit targets deep inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leader made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday. “What other developments are there in Ukraine? I thought it was too early to talk about it, but… there was a positive test of the first Ukrainian ballistic missile. I congratulate our military production complex on this,” he said.
Zelensky declined to provide any further details, technical specifications or even the name of the weapon, but said that he wanted the public to “know and appreciate domestic defense producers working 24/7.”
The announcement came after Kiev claimed to have used a Palyanitsa missile drone against Russian targets. While many specifications of that projectile are also secret, Ukrainian officials have said it is ground-launched and has the range of up to 700km.
Ukraine still heavily relies on Western-supplied missile systems such as the US-designed HIMARS and ATACMS in its fight with Russia. However, despite Kiev’s repeated pleas, Western nations still preclude it from using their weapons to strike most targets on internationally recognized Russian territory.
Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder confirmed on Tuesday that Ukraine can use US security assistance to “defend themselves from cross-border attacks, in other words counterfire,” but nothing beyond that. Washington allowed Kiev to carry out such attacks in late May to counter a Russian offensive in Kharkov Region which Moscow said was aimed at establishing a “cordon sanitaire” to protect civilians from Ukrainian strikes.
The West’s current stance on Ukraine using foreign-made long-range weapons for strikes deep into Russia looks like “blackmail” according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “It is an attempt to create an impression that the West wants to avoid excessive escalation, but in fact this is a ruse… We will repeat that playing with fire… is a very dangerous thing to do for grown-ups who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country.”
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August 27, 2024 at 11:00PM
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The drills, reportedly overseen by Kim Jong-un, come as the US and South Korea continue joint military exercises
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen the testing of a multiple rocket launcher equipped with a new guiding system, state-run KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday.
The multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), which has been updated in its maneuverability and concentrated firing capability, was proven to be “advantageous in all indices, including newly applied guiding system, controllability and destructive power,” according to KCNA.
The North Korean leader intends to have more MLRS units produced and provided to the military, the news agency said.
Photographs shared by KCNA show one of the rocket artillery units firing a volley. Others show an aerial view of the target zone, as well as closer shots of the resulting hits and explosions.
Pyongyang is upgrading its arsenal, expressing concerns over the ongoing US military drills around the Korean Peninsula in recent months, which it says could be rehearsals for an invasion. The US and South Korea are running 11-day exercises set to end on Thursday. The joint drills include computer-simulated war games and more than 40 types of field exercises and live-fire drills.
This latest test-fire of a 240mm multiple rocket launcher, which could put Seoul and its adjacent areas in target range, came just days after Pyongyang tested a new line of suicide drones.
Relations between North and South Korea are currently at a low. Pyongyang has declared South Korea its “principal enemy” and has threatened war and retaliation over even the slightest aggression from the South.
Last week, the North Korean Foreign Ministry stated that Pyongyang will build up its strength to maintain military balance in the region, as the US is providing South Korea with large quantities of “war hardware and lethal equipment.” North Korea will further strengthen its “strategic deterrence” in order to protect its national security and interests, as well as peace in the region, the statement said.
North Korea has deepened its ties with Russia in the past year. In June, Moscow and Pyongyang agreed to enhance cooperation in all spheres and defend each other from potential foreign aggression. US and South Korean officials have accused Pyongyang of aiding Russia in its conflict with Ukraine.
Moscow and Pyongyang have both denied the accusations, calling them “baseless.” President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia intends to develop relations with North Korea “whether anyone likes it or not.”
The Estonian government is expected to discuss renting out jails to other countries
Estonia could rent out its prisons and host criminals from other countries to generate revenue for the state budget, Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta has said. The plan comes as the Baltic state prepares to discuss spending cuts and tax hikes as part of the 2025 state budget.
In an interview with public broadcaster ERR on Sunday, Pakosta said she had submitted a memo on the jail-rental proposal to the cabinet for discussion. The plan would generate at least €30 million ($33.5 million) in revenue a year for the state, the justice minister claimed.
”Serious crime is on the rise in Europe. There are only four countries in the EU where crime is increasing slowly… Estonia is one of them right now,” she told ERR.
The idea of renting space in the Baltic state’s jails to house foreign prisoners was previously raised by the head of the Estonian Prison Service, Rait Kuuse.
According to Kuuse, the nation of 1.3 million people currently has around 3,000 bed spaces in double-occupancy cells in closed prisons, with only 50% of those occupied.
In an opinion piece published by ERR last week, Kuuse described prison rental as a “feasible” solution, noting that Norway had rented Dutch prison spaces several years ago, and that Denmark is seeking to rent a 300-bed prison in Kosovo.
The UK and Sweden have already approached Estonia, he said, as British jails are overcrowded, and Stockholm is seeking to triple its number of prison places. Finland is also short of around 500 prison beds, Kuuse added.
According to Bloomberg, the cabinet hasn’t yet discussed the proposal, and it isn’t clear whether the measure would have enough support to be approved.
”By renting out prison space, we’d achieve a situation where we’d provide significantly more jobs – jobs with completely reasonable salaries,” Pakosta told ERR. “We could resolve several budget deficit-related issues.”
Estonia’s budget deficit was 3.4% last year, above the EU threshold of 3% of GDP. Government debt amounted to €7.4 billion ($8.25 billion), or 19.6% GDP.
At the same time, the Baltic state, a NATO member, is expected to spend between 3.21% and 3.43% of GDP this year on defense, well above the alliance’s 2% guideline. According to the Estonian Defense Ministry, military spending in 2024 “is directly affected by the war in Ukraine.” Tallinn has claimed that Russia may attack the Baltic nation if it emerges victorious from the conflict with Ukraine – a claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed as “nonsense.”
The Estonian government is beginning discussions on the 2025 “austerity” state budget on Tuesday. According to ERR, the document is expected to contain both spending cuts and tax hikes to address the budget deficit.
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August 27, 2024 at 12:39AM
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Denmark sees a need to “offer an attractive alternative to the increasing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent”
Denmark has announced plans to close its embassies in Burkina Faso and Mali in response to military coups in both West African countries, which it claims have left little room for cooperation.
The move is part of the Danish government’s new strategy for partnership with Sahel nations, the foreign ministry said on Monday.
Mali and Burkina Faso have been under military rule since 2020 and 2022, respectively. Both cited the failure of civilian governments to quell long-running jihadist insurgencies as justification for seizing power.
Since then, the military authorities have severed defense ties with several Western and European Union countries, including former colonial power France, and have instead turned to Russia for cooperation.
The series of military coups in the former French colonies have “created very limited room for action in the Sahel region,” the Danish Foreign Ministry has said.
It said Copenhagen would increase its diplomatic “muscle power” at the embassies in Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana, while opening new ones in Senegal, Tunisia, and Rwanda.
“We have a clear interest in the African countries looking towards us in Europe when they have to chart the course for their future. We must show that we can offer an attractive alternative to the increasing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen stated.
As part of its new policy, the Danish government has pledged to provide more “concrete” support for the EU’s efforts in Africa in 2025, with a focus on regional free trade, green infrastructure, and digitalization.
Russia’s presence in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, where the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and the Central African Republic recognize Moscow as a strategic security partner, has been a source of concern in the EU and the West. France and some Western allies, including the US, accuse Moscow of pursuing a predatory agenda on the continent and fueling anti-French sentiment. In January, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc was facing a dilemma over its remaining presence in the Sahel region due to Moscow’s increasing influence.
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August 27, 2024 at 12:09AM
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Terrorist attacks won’t stop the resumption of the political process in Kashmir, as people seek responsive leadership over an unaccountable bureaucracy
The last time that Ghulam Hassan, 60, an apple farmer from south Kashmir, voted in an assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), a region that is the subject of a long-standing territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, was a decade ago. He will vote again next month in a long-awaited J&K assembly election which was finally announced earlier this month.
It is a momentous event for the people of Kashmir Valley, for the government of India, and for neighboring countries that claim parts of the historical princely state. For Kashmiris, who are overwhelmingly Muslim in a Hindu-majority India, it is the first time an election is being held since the state lost its special constitutional status that provided it a certain level of autonomy when Article 370 was abrogated on August 5, 2019.
For the federal government, it is a test of its claims of normalcy after the constitutional change. Earlier this year, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jammu to inaugurate new infrastructure projects, he claimed that after the abrogation of Article 370, “a new Jammu Kashmir is coming into being,” as the “biggest hurdle” to its development was removed, and the region is moving in the direction of “balanced development.”
Around the same time, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha stated that the reforms led to the growth of the territory’s GDP from 1.6 trillion rupees ($19 billion) in fiscal year 2018-19 to 2.6 trillion rupees ($31 billion) in 2021-22. GDP is projected to double to around $60 billion by 2028.
But since terrorist violence has erupted this summer in the Jammu plains – at least 16 security personnel have been killed in attacks so far in 2024 – the assertions of normalcy are being challenged. Overall, since 2021, J&K has witnessed the killing of 124 security personnel.
For neighboring countries, it is another milestone in the dispute since British India was partitioned after independence in August 1947, into India and Pakistan; the latter has not given up its claim on Kashmir despite the constitutional change and the holding of another election.
But for Ghulam Hassan, the apple farmer from Pulwama, the announcement of the election dates came as a relief. He says people are “desperate for a political government” and he hopes for political stability in the region. “We have issues, problems, and there is nobody to approach or to tell our problems in the absence of a political government,” he said, reflecting on the challenges faced by villagers.
Hassan went on to say that everything is run by bureaucrats, who are not much bothered about the people and their problems, leading to a lack of accountability and responsiveness in the absence of elected representatives.
“In a political set-up, we at least have access to the ministers and legislators. They listen to our problems and try to resolve them because they know they have to come to us for votes tomorrow,” he said, emphasizing the disconnect between the people and the current administrative system.
Voting, as announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), will be held between September 18 and October 1. There will be no election in Ladakh, the Buddhist-dominated part of the erstwhile state of J&K along the Line of Actual Control with China; Ladakh was bifurcated into a separate ‘union territory’, a region directly ruled from New Delhi (J&K was downgraded from a state to a union territory), when Article 370 was abrogated.
The last J&K government was a coalition between the regional Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the federally-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that collapsed in 2018. At the time, Article 370 granted limited autonomy to J&K. Its removal in August 2019 was followed by months of military and communication lockdown, along with the arrest of hundreds of activists, political workers, and even senior politicians. This period of intense security measures and restrictions significantly impacted the region’s political and social dynamics.
The ruling BJP claims that these measures have resulted in development and progress, though Kashmiris generally disagree. “Development means the development of people. Where is that?” Javed Ahmad, who runs a garment shop in the main city of Srinagar, asked. He claims that businesses like his are running at a loss.
Along with the rest of the country, Kashmir held a parliamentary election this summer, with a record voter turnout of 58%, the highest in 35 years, underscoring the local desire to participate actively in the democratic process.
Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami, a senior politician and former legislator from Kulgam, told RT that Kashmir is the only place in India that has been devoid of elections for so long.
“Despite downgrading the state into two union territories and despite the claim of normalcy, this is the only region in India that remains without an assembly since 2018,” Tarigami said. “This has been a punishment for the entire population. It is one of the reasons why some sort of extremism and other activities are emerging after a long lull.”
Tarigami, referring to the spike in terrorist attacks in Jammu, said the situation is worrisome for every “sane citizen” in the country and for the region as a whole. “This government is reluctant to read the writing on the wall and draw lessons from it,” he said. “They are more concerned about the big narrative, but the ground remains slippery because of its action in 2018 and 2019. There is a need for the restoration of democracy and democratic rights in the region. It will be good for the country.”
The deteriorating security situation came on the heels of Modi’s assertion to parliament in July that the campaign against militancy in Kashmir was approaching its end and that his government had devised a “multi-pronged” strategy to wipe out the remaining militant networks.
“Terror and separatism are ending, and the citizens of J&K are leading this fight,” he said. “Our fight against terrorism in J&K, in a way, is in its last stage, last leg. We are moving with a multi-pronged strategy to eliminate the remaining terror network there.”
But three days later, on July 6, two Indian Army personnel and four suspected rebels were killed in two separate gunfights in Kulgam district. Two days later, on July 8, militants attacked an army vehicle in Kahua district in which five soldiers were killed. And again on July 16, four more soldiers, including an Indian Army officer, were killed in the forests of Doda district.
Locals are wary of violence and say that the uptick in attacks has sparked fear and insecurity. ”We want stability. If elections are held people will get a breather and there will be more calm,” Manjeet Kaur, a teacher in Jammu city, said.
Kashmir’s former chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP, criticized the government for delaying the elections. “Why does New Delhi fear polls? Do they fear getting exposed? Elections are a normal exercise and are being done in every state,” she said. “Assembly polls should have been held here six years ago.”
The abrogation of Article 370 was challenged in court, and the Supreme Court upheld it in December 2023. But it also directed the ECI to conduct elections by September 30, 2024. Dr. M. W. Malla, a research fellow with the New Delhi-based International Center for Peace Studies (ICPS), believes that the upcoming election holds importance in both the local and national contexts.
“These serve as a critical indicator of the government’s claims of restoring political stability and earning the trust of the people,” Malla said. “On a local scale, the presence of an elected government holds preeminence, as it ensures that constituents’ concerns and grievances are addressed through accountable representatives rather than being relegated to an impersonal and often opaque bureaucratic apparatus.”
In the national context, he said, the conduct of the assembly election is a litmus test for the central government, particularly for its assertions on the restoration of normalcy in J&K.
“The central administration has made multiple claims of reinstating a semblance of stability in the region by successfully dismantling the local ecosystem sustaining externally-sponsored secessionist networks,” he said. “Therefore, allowing the local government to take shape by holding elections will not only demonstrate New Delhi’s confidence in the local political actors but, more importantly, validate its claims of winning over the people.”
Aliya Asad, a local research scholar, says there is a deepening alienation among young people in Kashmir due to growing joblessness. “The educated youth are frustrated, they don’t have any jobs or opportunities,” she said. “Many young people are in deep depression due to economic instability. We want an end to this desperation.”
Whether or not the elections are able to provide a stable government, hopes ride high on the return of democracy. The recent tie-up between the all-India Congress Party and the J&K National Conference, sealed when opposition leader Rahul Gandhi met with former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, appears to have an edge.
But the alliance has, in its election manifesto, promised to look into New Delhi’s 2019 abrogation of J&K’s former special constitutional status, which can only mean that the future holds fireworks between the popular government and the BJP-led federal government.
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August 26, 2024 at 11:39PM
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Ties between Washington and Georgia frayed after MPs in the ex-Soviet republic passed a controversial ‘foreign agents’ law
The US is setting the stage for a Ukraine-style coup in Georgia by fomenting protests ahead of this autumn’s parliamentary elections, as it is irritated by the country’s efforts to pursue independent policies, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said.
In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed, citing available intel, that the White House “is extremely unhappy” with the situation in Georgia, given that the “Washington-controlled opposition remains fragmented” despite US efforts to consolidate it ahead of the vote scheduled for October 26.
According to the agency, the US is concerned that this will give the ruling Georgian Dream party ample opportunity to continue its sovereign course while resisting Western demands that run counter to national interests.
To reverse the momentum, the US intends to ramp up pressure on the Georgian leadership, including by imposing sanctions on the lawmakers from the ruling party, as well as on their family members and sponsors, the SVR claimed.
At the same time, the US “is preparing a color revolution’” in Georgia, the agency stated, claiming that local Western-aligned NGOs are recruiting more observers to monitor the vote, who are then supposed to accuse the Georgian ruling party of rigging the election.
”On the ‘Tbilisi Maidan’ they plan to reveal ‘evidence of election fraud,’ refuse to recognize the election results and demand a change of power. Law enforcement agencies will be provoked to use force to suppress the protests. At the same time, the Americans are working out options for a ‘knock-down’ political and economic response to the ‘excessive’ use of force by the authorities against ‘peaceful citizens,’” the SVR said in a statement.
Relations between Georgia and the West, particularly the US, soured after Georgia passed a controversial ‘foreign agents’ law, which requires non-profit organizations, media outlets, and individuals who receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as entities “promoting the interests of a foreign power.”
While its supporters have argued that it will help increase media transparency, its critics have branded it ‘the Russian law’ because of its similarities to legislation passed by its neighbor in 2012, though both laws in many ways take after the US Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA).
US President Joe Biden said earlier this month that he was “disappointed” by the legislation, which he described as “undemocratic.” The US State Department has also announced visa restrictions on individuals “responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia, as well as their family members.”
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August 26, 2024 at 01:21AM
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The move by President Kais Saied comes ahead of the North African nation’s elections in October
Tunisian President Kais Saied has replaced nearly 20 members of his government, including those in charge of foreign affairs and defense, without providing an explanation for the decision, which comes just days after he sacked Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani.
The leader of the North African nation announced the reshuffle of 19 cabinet officials and three state secretaries in a statement on Sunday.
Saied appointed Khaled Shili as the new defense minister and Mohamed Ali Nafti to the foreign affairs ministry. The finance, justice, and interior ministers all retained their positions.
The latest shakeup comes ahead of the country’s presidential election on October 6, in which Saied is up for reelection against two other candidates.
Saied, a former law professor, came to power in 2019, promising prosperity in a country that has been grappling with economic difficulties dating back to the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.
In July 2021, the 66-year-old politician suspended parliamentary activities, stripped MPs of their immunity, and fired then-Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. His opponents accused him of staging a coup and reversing the nation’s achievements since the longtime ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s forced resignation in 2011 during the Arab Spring.
Saied has since amended the country’s constitution, granting himself the authority to appoint the prime minister and the entire cabinet unilaterally – a significant departure from the 2014 constitution, which gave parliament a major role in forming the government.
Last week, Human Rights Watch accused Tunisian authorities of using prosecution, conviction, and imprisonment to prevent eight opposition candidates from running in the upcoming presidential election.
The accusation came after the North African state’s electoral commission announced earlier this month that it had approved the candidacies of Saied, Zouhair Magzhaoui, who is thought to be close to the president, and Ayachi Zammel for the October vote, out of over a dozen hopefuls.
The president, who has repeatedly denounced foreign interference, has referred to his second-term bid as part of his commitment to “keep up the fight in the battle for national liberation.”
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August 26, 2024 at 12:35AM
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Kiev has vowed to exact a price from Moscow with continued infrastructure attacks
A large-scale, long-range Russian air assault has reportedly been launched targeting industrial sites across Ukraine. Kiev has vowed to keep up strikes on Russia in response.
While the Russian military has yet to confirm the attack, it was apparently launched early on Monday morning and involved drones and missiles of different types, according to the Ukrainian air defense forces.
Russia is targeting “objects of critical infrastructure all across the country,” Ivan Fedorov, who administers the Kiev-controlled part of the Zaporozhye Region, claimed on Telegram. “Blackouts are possible due to emergency shutdowns.”
In Kiev, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported interruptions to power supply in the Ukrainian capital, blaming them on problems with the national grid.
Energy Minister German Galushchenko described the situation as “difficult” and confirmed that the grid operator triggered emergency blackouts to deal with it.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Denis Smigal said the barrage affected 15 regions of Ukraine and urged Western arms donors to let Kiev use their weapons for strikes deep inside Russia.
Moscow started attacking Ukrainian power plants in the spring, responding to Kiev’s campaign of drone attacks against Russian oil refineries and storage depots. The stated goal was to cripple Ukrainian arms production and capability to deploy new troops on the frontline.
There were preliminary reports of successful hits on Monday. Igor Polishchuk, the mayor of Lutsk, reported damage to an infrastructure target. So did the head of Poltava Region, Filipp Pronin, who confirmed the emergency interruption of the power supply.
Andrey Yermak, chief-of-staff to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, has threatened retaliation, saying: “The desire to destroy our energy system will cost the Russian infrastructure dearly.”
On Sunday night, Kiev launched long-range attacks on the Russian cities of Saratov and Engels. In the former, drone fragments plunged into a high-rise building, Governor Roman Busargin reported. The incident left five people injured, including a woman said to be in a critical condition. A similar incident in Engels reportedly caused no casualties.
A Ukrainian drone was also intercepted in Yaroslavl Region trying to reach an oil refinery there, Governor Mikhail Yevraev reported. The aircraft caused no damage, he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry twice reported engaging Ukrainian drones on Monday morning, with over 20 intercepted over different parts of the country.
The Polish Air Force said it was scrambling fighter jets in response to the military action in Western Ukraine and said it was “constantly monitoring the situation.”
Earlier this month, Ukraine launched a large-scale cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region. The Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported that the thrust has effectively been halted and, while Kiev’s troops still hold territory in the region, they have been experiencing heavy casualties throughout the fighting. Moscow’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, told journalists last week that President Vladimir Putin had already determined how his nation would “punish” everyone responsible for the incursion.
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August 25, 2024 at 11:55PM
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Florian Philippot has asked if Elon Musk would be detained if he landed in the country
Florian Philippot, the leader of France’s Patriots (Les Patriotes) party, has slammed the government of French President Emmanuel Macron as “lunatics” over the detention of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov.
According to French media, the Russian entrepreneur, who also has French and UAE citizenship, was detained at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday and is set to appear in court on Sunday evening. The French authorities had reportedly issued an arrest warrant for Durov, arguing that insufficient moderation allows for Telegram to be widely used by criminals.
"France offers its tyrannical face to the world,” Philippot said of Durov’s arrest in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. “We must free ourselves from these lunatics,” he added, referring to Macron’s government.
The politician also wondered if X owner and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX “Elon Musk is [also] thrown in jail if he sets foot in France, for disobeying the European DSA (Digital Services Act) censorship regulations.”
The head of Russia’s Safe Internet League, Ekaterina Mizulina, suggested earlier that the French authorities hadn’t acted independently in their decision to detain Durov. “It is obvious that the arrest is an attack on TON (a blockchain-based platform originally developed by Telegram’s creators) in which major Russian companies have invested. That is, in part, a continuation of the US sanctions policy” against Russia, she said.
Also on Sunday, the deputy speaker of the Russian parliament, Vladislav Davankov, called upon the French authorities to release Durov. The tech entrepreneur’s arrest “could be politically motivated and used to gain access to the personal information of Telegram users,” which Moscow cannot allow, he warned in a post on Telegram.
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August 25, 2024 at 01:09AM
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The founder and CEO of Telegram was reportedly detained upon arriving at Paris-Le Bourget airport on Saturday
US tech mogul Elon Musk has called for the release of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, who was reportedly detained on Saturday shortly after arriving at Paris-Le Bourget airport. Authorities in France reportedly believe that the 39-year-old dual Russian-French national was complicit in a range of crimes allegedly committed using his platform, arguing that insufficient moderation allows for Telegram to be widely used to break the law.
The US billionaire took to X (formerly Twitter) to post a video of Durov talking to American conservative journalist Tucker Carlson back in April about freedom of speech online and claiming that he was happy about the fact that the US billionaire had purchased Twitter. He coupled the video with the hashtag ‘#FreePavel’.
Musk was swift to publicly condemn the reported arrest. “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” he wrote in a comment to a news story.
The US tech entrepreneur also wrote ‘Dangerous times’ in his reaction to a post listing different countries where “free speech is under attack” that mentions France’s reported arrest of Durov.
According to French media outlets, Durov arrived in France by private jet from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. The tech interpreter was reportedly accompanied by a bodyguard and an assistant. Le Figaro, citing sources, reported that Durov was supposed to spend at least one evening in Paris, where he had planned to have dinner.
Durov holds citizenship in the United Arab Emirates, Saint Kitts and Nevis, France and his native Russia. Moscow’s embassy in Paris has said it is looking into the situation, although it has not received an official request for assistance so far.
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August 24, 2024 at 11:28PM
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Moscow and Kiev have swapped 115 troops each in a prisoner exchange, the Russian Defense Ministry has said
More than a hundred Russian troops captured by Ukraine during its incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, have been freed, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
As part of the exchange, Moscow handed over 115 Ukrainian prisoners of war to Kiev and received 115 Russian soldiers in return, the ministry announced in a statement on Saturday.
The released Russian servicemen are currently in Belarus, where they are being provided with all the necessary psychological and medical assistance, as well as with the means to contact their relatives, it said.
The troops will soon be brought to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation at Defense Ministry medical facilities, the statement read.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided “humanitarian mediation efforts” during the talks to return the Russian troops from captivity, the military said.
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August 24, 2024 at 01:52AM
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The independent presidential candidate has endorsed Republican Donald Trump over the latter’s stance on the crisis
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has accused US President Joe Biden of disrupting peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, because Washington “wanted the war.”
Kennedy made the statement on Friday during a speech in Arizona, where he announced the suspension of his third-party campaign for the White House in the swing state and endorsed Republican Donald Trump.
According to Kennedy, Washington had deliberately drawn Moscow into the Ukraine war with the objective of regime change in Russia.
“President Biden sent [then-UK Prime Minister] Boris Johnson to Ukraine to force President [Vladimir] Zelensky to tear up a peace agreement that he and the Russians had already signed, and the Russians were already withdrawing troops,” said the son of the 1960s-era Democratic US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.
Moscow has previously blamed London for blocking the Ukraine peace deal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in April that Kiev abandoned a proposed peace treaty with Russia, approved by negotiators in Istanbul, in 2022 under British pressure. Boris Johnson visited Kiev in April of that year, and reportedly told Zelensky to “just fight,” prompting the latter to pull out of the discussions. The former prime minister has since denied derailing the peace talks.
Kennedy also accused the US government of staging a coup against the democratically-elected government of Ukraine in 2014 and rejecting the Minsk Agreements, a series of peace protocols negotiated between Ukraine, Russia and the European nations in 2019, pushing Kiev into a conflict with Moscow.
“The Biden White House repeatedly spurned Russia’s offers to settle this war peacefully,” Kennedy claimed.
The US has sought to exhaust the Russian Army and degrade its capacity to fight, he added, arguing that the objectives of the US government “had nothing to do” with protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Kennedy has described Ukraine as a “victim of the West” and “a proxy in a geopolitical struggle initiated by the ambitions of the US neocons for American global hegemony.”
He went on to explain that Trump’s promise to reopen negotiations with Russia and end the war as soon as he takes office were among the reasons for him to endorse the former president’s campaign.
Kennedy made clear that he wasn’t formally ending his bid for the White House and called on his supporters to continue to back him in other states where their votes are unlikely to sway the outcome.
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August 24, 2024 at 12:22AM
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Washington has launched so many curbs that the Kremlin simply does not care about new ones, Russia’s ambassador has said
Washington’s latest round of sanctions against Moscow is aimed at underscoring US Vice President Kamala Harris' “anti-Russian essence,” Ambassador Anatoly Antonov has said, dismissing the “fruitless” measures as ineffectual.
On Friday, the US State and Treasury departments announced additional restrictions against 400 individuals and companies in Russia, Asia, Europe and the Middle East which Washington accuses of supporting Moscow’s military-industrial supply chains.
“The administration [of US President Joe Biden] is in agony. The fruitless Russophobic‘salvos’ are multiplying,” Antonov wrote in a Telegram post on Saturday.
By introducing the new sanctions, the White House is trying to underline its “anti-Russian essence against the backdrop of the boiling election campaign,” he stressed.
“The negative aspects of US actions are obvious to everyone. The administration’s reckless steps lead to a crisis, but not to something creative,” the ambassador said. The restrictions “are harming not only domestic consumers, but also America’s partners in third countries,” he added.
“It is obvious that in order to achieve true independence in the economic sphere, it is high time to abandon the hegemony of the dollar in the international monetary and financial system,” Antonov stressed.
The US and its allies have imposed a record 22,000 sanctions on Moscow since 2014, when Crimea rejoined Russia and a conflict between Ukraine and the Donbass republics broke out as the result of a Western-backed coup in Kiev. Moscow deemed the curbs illegal, responding with travel bans on Western officials and other moves.
“Sanctions against Russia have been so multifaceted that we essentially don’t care what else the administration comes up with to ‘punish the Russian people’,” the ambassador pointed out.
According to Antonov, the Russian authorities will act “to ensure that our citizens feel at ease and do not look back at American attacks.”
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal said that the “biggest ever sanctions” have failed to stop Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. Western officials have been forced to acknowledge that the restrictions “hit more slowly than they hoped,” the outlet stressed.
The Washington Post reported last month that a third of the world’s nations, including 60% of low-income countries, are currently under some form of US sanctions. The sources told the paper that there is chaos at the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), as it can no longer handle the workload of maintaining such a complex web of economic penalties.
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August 23, 2024 at 11:35PM
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A kamikaze drone was brought down near a spent fuel storage facility at the Kursk power plant, a source told TASS
A small Ukrainian drone carrying an anti-tank grenade attempted to reach the Kursk nuclear power plant overnight, news agency TASS reported on Friday, citing a local police source.
The unmanned aerial vehicle was intercepted by electronic warfare countermeasures and downed near a spent nuclear fuel storage facility, according to the report. TASS released photos of the aircraft and its payload. It featured the logo of the Army of Drones, a Ukrainian government project aimed at ramping up the availability of such aircraft for its forces, the agency said.
Earlier this month, Kiev sent thousands of troops into Kursk Region in a bid to seize Russian territory. The nuclear power plant is located near the city of Kurchatov, some 60km from the border. Russian officials have accused Kiev of launching attacks on the facility amid the incursion.
Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, described the latest incident as an act of “nuclear terrorism.” She called for a response by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
IAEA Director Rafael Grossi is scheduled to visit the Kursk power plant next week at the invitation of the Russian government. He is expected to visit Kiev afterwards.
”Military activity in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant is a serious risk to nuclear safety and security,” the UN official said on Thursday. “My visit to KNPP next week will provide us with timely access to independently assess the situation.”
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August 23, 2024 at 12:03AM
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Washington cannot be trusted over claims that Ukraine is prohibited from using certain weapons, Russian envoy Anatoly Antonov has said
Claims by Washington that it has banned Ukraine from using US-supplied long-range weapons for strikes deep inside Russian territory cannot be trusted, Moscow’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, has said.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has resumed his calls for the country’s Western backers to allow long-range strikes on Russian territory during Kiev’s ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region.
The Pentagon stated last week that its stance remains unchanged, and that Ukraine is still banned from using US-supplied ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 300km (186 miles), for attacks deep inside Russia.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Antonov claimed that the US authorities “seem to be constantly teasing us by saying that today it is allegedly not allowed to use long-range systems to strike at Russian territory.”
“But in reality, they are essentially preparing the ground to simply remove all existing restrictions, at a certain point,” the Russian envoy added.
Judging by Washington’s previous assistance to Kiev, including its training of pilots to fly F-16 jets, it is almost certain that Ukraine will “fight with US-made [long-range] weapons against us,” the ambassador said, as cited by TASS. “Where exactly will it happen? We cannot say or foretell,” he stressed.
According to Antonov, the administration of US President Joe Biden is becoming increasingly unpredictable. “There is no guarantee that the whole world will not change tomorrow when you and I wake up. How the Americans will behave in this situation is very hard to tell,” he said.
Russia must therefore “act decisively, increasing our military-industrial potential, because only our army and navy will protect our country,” the ambassador insisted.
Antonov also made a live appearance on Russia’s Channel One on Thursday, where he rejected claims by the US authorities that they had been unaware of the Ukrainian plans to attack Kursk Region.
“I am firmly convinced that in Kiev they do nothing without the go-ahead from their masters… They wouldn’t have dared to move a finger… in our direction without consent from Washington,” he said.
Commenting on the fate of Ukrainian troops who have entered Russian territory, the ambassador insisted that “no one has any doubts that they will be destroyed, not pushed back, but destroyed.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry estimated on Thursday that Ukraine has lost more than 4,700 troops and several hundred units of military equipment, including 68 tanks and 53 armored personnel carriers, since the start of the incursion in Kursk Region on August 6.
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August 22, 2024 at 11:04PM
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Godrich Gardee has called for a united approach to challenges on the continent
The former secretary-general of the South African Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, Godrich Gardee, has urged Western powers to step back and allow African nations to take control of their own affairs.
NATO’s 2011 intervention in Libya, initially presented as a humanitarian mission aimed at protecting civilians and liberating the country from oppression, ended up leaving the nation in turmoil.
“It is possible to have peace and a sustainable development in Libya if only the West can move out of Libya and leave the problem of Libya to the people of Africa and the African Union (AU) in particular,” Gardee said in an exclusive interview with RT. He noted that the situation in Libya had worsened following NATO’s intervention, which destabilized the country.
Gardee said Africa’s issues are often driven by external interests, particularly in the competition for the continent’s rich mineral and natural resources.
“In every conflict that is found in Africa, it is the battle for the mineral resources and all other resources… The issue of oil, gas, and coal, and gold, the uranium – the West needs it most so that they can benefit and make money out of it,” he stated.
Criticizing the West’s repeated involvement in African conflicts, the former secretary-general of the Pan-Africanist EFF party warned that these issues would persist as long as Africa remains fragmented. “[The West] will continue to do so for as long as the regional bodies and continents are not united and they are just villages of countries. Like we have got 54 countries in Africa instead of having one Africa and one nation of Africans.”
Gardee called on the AU to take decisive steps towards uniting the continent under one government, with a single currency, army, and economy.
“The African Union needs to do something about this and unite the African states into one entity, one monetary currency, one army, and one government for the people of Africa with one economy,” he concluded.
In January 2011, unrest in Libya began shortly after news broke that the Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had fled his country. Protests first erupted in Libyan cities like Benghazi, Derna, and Al-Bayda. On February 17, 2011, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1973, imposing a no-fly zone over Libya and authorizing the use of force to “protect civilians.” This resolution effectively greenlit NATO intervention, which commenced on March 19. What followed was the descent of Libya into a protracted and bloody civil war, leaving the country in a state of chaos and instability.
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August 22, 2024 at 12:58AM
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Mali’s air force chief has accused Ukraine of aiding rebels in recent deadly clashes with Bamako’s forces
Mali’s defense cooperation with Russia has helped the West African nation regain control of large areas of territory previously occupied by militant groups, the chief of staff of Bamako’s Air Force said in an interview with RTVI.
Brigadier General Alou Boi Diarra told the Russian outlet that Mali had been divided in two, with armed coalitions occupying roughly half of the country over the last decade.
“But today we can happily state the fact that the armed forces of Mali and our state hold these territories and control almost the entire territory of our country,” the air force commander was cited as saying.
“Thanks to cooperation with Russia, we have been able to acquire powerful weapons, which are essential in our current situation. Russia has also sent instructors to our country to assist us in the operation and combat use of this equipment, telling us how best to use it,” he added.
Since 2012, the landlocked country has been engulfed in a lethal jihadist insurgency, which a decade-long French security mission has failed to quell. The violence has spread to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, prompting the military rulers there to join Mali in severing defense ties with France. All three former French colonies recently formed the Alliance of Sahel States and have shifted to Moscow for security cooperation in combating terrorism.
Earlier this month, Bamako and Niamey cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine after officials in Kiev claimed they had provided Tuareg rebels with intelligence to carry out an ambush near the Algerian border in late July, in which scores of Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner Group contractors were killed.
On Wednesday, the Malian Air Force chief told RTVI that his country had no choice but to break off relations with Kiev due to its alleged support for terrorists involved in deadly clashes with the state army.
“When a foreign state declares its involvement, its participation in an armed clash with the Malian armed forces on Malian territory, which resulted in the death of Malian soldiers, this is unacceptable,” Diarra stated.
Although Kiev has denied any involvement in the attack, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have filed a complaint against Ukraine at the UN Security Council. They have asked the council to take “appropriate measures” against Kiev for its “subversive actions” that strengthen terrorist groups and promote the expansion of terrorism in the Sahel region.
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August 22, 2024 at 12:17AM
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