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Researcher & writer based in Hong Kong. Former academic. Longform articles archived at https://lauraruggeri.substack.com and https://laura-ruggeri.medium.com. Email: lauraru852@yandex.ru
🚨 BREAKING | Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, told an Israeli radio that the Israeli government is supplying weapons to an ISIS-affiliated group in Gaza to fight Hamas.
Netanyahu's office responded to Lieberman's statements regarding the arming of ISIS-affiliated factions in Gaza, saying that "Israel" is pursuing multiple strategies to defeat Hamas, without denying the claims made.
Time and time again I come across, or am told about, posts and articles that draw upon my research and pass it on as the author's own. Just a friendly reminder, your penis won't shrink if you credit a woman's work once in a while. @LauraRuHK
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The latest Pentagon's report on China's military power dated 18 December 2024 contains a very interesting clue. It warns that China could hide a launcher inside a shipping container. Since we know that the US often projects its intentions on its adversaries, I invite you to consider the possibility that Operation Spiderweb, the drone attack carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) deep inside Russia on 1 June 2025, wasn't the product of Ukrainian ingenuity. The Pentagon was contemplating a similar scenario in relation to China over six months ago, which means it had been wargamed in Atlanticist circles before the publication of this report. It doesn't mean the SBU operation was greenlighted by the current US administration. @LauraRuHK 👉 https://media.defense.gov/2024/Dec/18/2003615520/-1/-1/0/MILITARY-AND-SECURITY-DEVELOPMENTS-INVOLVING-THE-PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA-2024.PDF
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The Russian military is actively advancing and will continue to do so, Russia’s Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.
The negotiations in Istanbul are necessary for the swift victory of Russia, not a compromise peace on unreasonable terms, Medvedev added. (Source: RIA Novosti) @LauraRuHK
La società di stato turca TPAO sta acquistando una partecipazione del 30% in un importante giacimento di gas naturale al largo dell'Azerbaigian.
L'accordo sarà firmato oggi tra la TPAO, la SOCAR dell'Azerbaigian e il gigante energetico britannico BP. ▪️Erdoğan ha sottolineato: "La nostra collaborazione non solo porta benefici alla Turchia e all'Azerbaigian, ma contribuisce alla sicurezza energetica della regione e dell'Europa". ▪️Come ha notato l'analista russa Elena Panina, questo progetto sembra concepito per aggirare la Russia ed escluderla dal mercato europeo del gas non solo ora, ma anche in futuro. Non sorprende che i britannici siano coinvolti. E nel giro di pochi anni il Turkish Stream potrebbe essere sabotato come avvenuto al Nord Stream. @LauraRuHK
https://www.dailysabah.com/business/energy/turkiye-buys-stake-in-caspian-gas-field-as-alliance-with-azerbaijan-grows
Russia clinched a tactical victory by managing to start talks with Ukraine without pausing military operations, The New York Times reported.
"The meetings have served as a tactical win for Putin, who managed to start the talks without first agreeing to the ceasefire that Ukraine and almost all of its Western backers had sought as a precondition for negotiations," the newspaper said.
As for the progress of the talks in Turkey on Monday, expectations were low, according to the report. Neither Russia nor Ukraine was anticipated to present terms that are acceptable to the other side.
The Russia-Ukraine meeting in Istanbul lasted just over an hour, with the delegations communicating in Russian. (Sources: NYT, AP, Tass) @LauraRuHK
4 December 2024, Ukraine presented a report to the UN Security Council claiming that "Russia had kidnapped 20,000 Ukrainian children." 2 June 2025, during talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation produced a list with the names of "stolen" children. Guess how many children are in the list? 339. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, stressed "No child was ever abducted. Children were saved by our soldiers at the cost of their lives. And we are looking for their parents. We would be glad if they were reunited." @LauraRuHK
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Your approval rating is in freefall, the UK economy is flatlining, welfare cuts, tax hikes, high inflation, structural weaknesses and dependency on foreign capital are making the lives of Britons more miserable than ever. What do you do? Talk about war and increase military spending, of course.▪️No one knows where Starmer will find the money, but today he has promised to — Build at least six new munitions factories in the UK.
—Create a hybrid Royal Navy, blending drones with warships, submarines and aircraft
—Deliver up to 12 attack submarines to AUKUS (a partnership with the US and Australia)
—Provide better housing and equipment for members of the armed forces
—Invest £15bn in the "sovereign warhead programme" - meaning nuclear weapons. @LauraRuHK
In 2025 if you want to lose a presidential election, wax lyrical about the EU, voice support for woke causes (pushing the LGBT agenda is the new kiss of death), advocate for Ukraine's EU and NATO membership, suck up to Ursula. @LauraRuHK
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Today, the Kiev regime carried out a terrorist attack using FPV drones against airfields in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions.
▫️ At military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions, all terrorist attacks were repelled.
▫️ In the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, as a result of the launch of FPV drones from the territory located in the immediate vicinity of airfields, several planes caught fire.
▫️ The fires have been extinguished. There are no casualties among military personnel or civilians.
▫️ Some of the participants in the terrorist attacks have been detained.
(Source: Russian Ministry of Defence) @LauraRuHK
Another terrorist attack occured last night. An explosion caused a railway bridge to collapse on the 48th km of the Trosna-Kalinovka highway in Russia's Kursk region while a freight locomotive was passing over it, the region’s acting governor Alexander Khinshtein reported. The train driver was seriously injured. @LauraRuHK
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Julian Röpcke, Senior Editor @BILD and fanatical supporter of the Kiev regime, in the last few months has lost his chutzpah. Now he is forced to report that "Ukraine lost 18 towns and villages in three regions within one week – a loss of about 200 km² of territory. Russia's army is advancing at a rate not seen since 2022.
But in Berlin, London, Paris, Warsaw – and Kyiv – no one seems to want to hear about it. In any case, none of the governments is drawing the necessary conclusions." @LauraRuHK
Russia is getting ready for the next round of talks in Istanbul. Judging by the map, and the tone used by Ukrainian accounts, the situation on the ground is evolving quite rapidly. ▪️The conditions for Ukraine are deteriorating every day, and if it refuses a peaceful settlement, it will be left without Odessa, Sumy, Kharkov, and a number of other territories, Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Russian State Duma Committee on Defense, told TASS. @LauraRuHK
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Handler of subversion agents posing as 'human rights activists' confirms that they were recruited and indoctrinated in US universities. @LauraRuHK
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Reuters: The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taipei
US officials said they expect approvals for weapons sales to Taipei over the next four years to surpass those in Trump's first term.
They also said the US is pressing members of Taiwan's opposition parties not to oppose the government's efforts to increase defense spending to 3% of the island's economic output.
The first Trump administration approved sales of approximately $18.3 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan, compared with around $8.4 billion during Joe Biden's term, according to Reuters calculations.
The island's parliament, controlled by opposition parties the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), passed budget cuts earlier this year that could hit military spending. That triggered concerns in Washington. US government and congressional visitors have been pressing the opposition parties in Taiwan not to block military spending, especially the coming special defense budget, which is expected to be proposed to parliament later this year. ▪️New weapons packages are expected to focus on missiles, munitions and drones, which suggests a focus on asymmetric defense. The US promises weapons. The question is, can it deliver them given US defense industrial limits and sales process issues that have already created a huge backlog of undelivered weapons? https://tsm.schar.gmu.edu/taiwan-arms-backlog-february-2025-update-early-trump-admin-arms-sales-and-rumors-of-a-big-request-from-taiwan/ ▪️While selling weapons to Taiwan is a way of extorting 'protection' money, the announcement of increased weapons sales could be part of a broader negotiation strategy by Trump. By signaling a stronger commitment to Taiwan's defense, he might be increasing pressure on China in trade negotiations, which aligns with Trump's known tactics. The timing, close to trade talks, and Trump's history of using public statements and policy announcements as leverage in international negotiations supports this hypothesis. @LauraRuHK
In the last three days alone, on allegedly pro-Russian channels, I have come across rambling statements falsely attributed to president Putin, a suspicious amplification of Kiev's lies under the guise of analysis, expression of outrage or unsolicited advice to the Kremlin and the Russian Ministry of Defence. Some channels might be administered by useful idiots, others are clearly taking part in a psyop whose main beneficiary is the “coalition of the willing.”
As to those channels that follow the principle "share first, think later", and fire a barrage of contradictory posts and high-voltage emojis before finally making sense of what is happening, have they ever thought about their readers’ brains? Is increasing cognitive dissonance their ultimate goal?
They often share or translate content published by Russian or pro-Russian Telegram channels, which is perfectly fine. Problem is, some of these channels can hardly be regarded as a trustworthy source of information on Russia, no matter how many subscribers they may have. And in the most egregious cases, their administrators could be funded by malicious actors to sow division and dissent, push fringe opinions and extreme views, or spread panic. @LauraRuHK
L'ultimo rapporto del Pentagono sulla potenza militare della Cina datato 18 dicembre 2024 contiene un indizio molto interessante. Gli autori del rapporto avvertono che la Cina potrebbe nascondere un lanciamissili all'interno di un container. Poiché sappiamo che gli USA spesso proiettano le loro intenzioni sui loro avversari, vi invito a considerare la possibilità che l'Operazione Spiderweb, l'attacco a basi aeree russe con droni precedentemente occultati in container di legno che e' stato rivendicato dall'SBU, non sia il prodotto dell'ingegno ucraino. Il Pentagono stava contemplando uno scenario simile in relazione alla Cina più di sei mesi fa, il che significa che era stato wargamed nei circoli atlantisti prima della pubblicazione di questo rapporto. Ciò non significa che l'operazione SBU sia stata autorizzata dall'attuale amministrazione statunitense. @LauraRuHK https://media.defense.gov/2024/Dec/18/2003615520/-1/-1/0/MILITARY-AND-SECURITY-DEVELOPMENTS-INVOLVING-THE-PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA-2024.PDF
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Lee Jae-myung set to win South Korea's snap presidential election
A joint exit poll, conducted by three terrestrial broadcasters showed Lee leading by a large margin. Lee Jae-myung had called the election "judgement day" against the previous Yoon administration and the conservative People Power Party, accusing them of having condoned the martial law attempt by not fighting harder to thwart it. Lee has built a loyal and passionate support base on issues like addressing past wrongs [during the Japanese colonial era], welfare and corruption.
Preliminary voter turnout reached 79.4 percent, the highest in nearly 30 years. Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party he represents, support friendly relations with China, unlike impeached ex president Yoon Suk-yeol who intended to buy additional THAAD systems and join the Quad (Japan, the US, India and Australia.) @LauraRuHK
Annalena '360° turn' Baerbock is the new president of the UN General Assembly. The role is largely ceremonial and its duration is limited to one year. The former German foreign minister, not the sharpest tool, is known for her anti-Russia, anti-China and pro-Israel positions. @LauraRuHK
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Türkiye's state energy company TPAO is buying a 30% stake in a major natural gas field off Azerbaijan.
The agreement will be signed today between TPAO, Azerbaijan’s SOCAR and British energy giant BP. ▪️Erdoğan
pointed out "Our collaboration not only benefits Türkiye and Azerbaijan but also continues to make significant contributions to the energy security of the region and Europe." As Elena Panina noted, this project seems designed to bypass Russia and exclude it from gas production and transit to the European market. Unsurprisingly, the Brits are deeply involved. And in a few years the Turkish Stream could be blown up the way the Nord Stream was. @LauraRuHK
4 dicembre 2024, Kiev presenta un rapporto al Consiglio di Sicurezza dell'ONU in cui sostiene che “la Russia ha rapito 20.000 bambini ucraini”.
2 giugno 2025, durante il secondo round di colloqui a Istanbul, la delegazione ucraina presenta una lista con i nomi dei bambini “rapiti”. Indovinate quanti bambini ci sono nell'elenco? 339.
Vladimir Medinsky, capo della delegazione russa, ha sottolineato: "Non un solo bambino è stato rapito. I bambini sono stati salvati da una zona di guerra dai nostri soldati che per metterli al sicuro rischiavano la loro stessa vita. Stiamo cercando i loro genitori e saremmo felici se venissero riuniti". @LauraRuHK
The Russian memorandum on a future settlement, handed over to the Ukrainian delegation at the negotiations in Istanbul, implies Ukraine's neutrality and a ban on any military activity by third countries on its territory. Russia's proposals envisage elections in Ukraine, followed by the signing of a peace treaty. The first section of the document contains the "basic parameters of the final settlement." The second section of the document, devoted to the terms of the ceasefire, contains two scenarios the events might follow. And the third section establishes the sequence of steps and the deadlines for their implementation. https://tass.com/politics/1967467
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Can BRICS Really Kill the Dollar? Think Again
👉🏻 https://youtu.be/YWi2mtbmF8M
Discover the REAL story behind BRICS vs. the Dollar! Backed by expert research and hard numbers, this deep dive reveals how BRICS is reshaping global finance without replacing the dollar outright. Watch now to understand the strategic implications that the media isn’t telling you!
#BRICS #Dedollarization #GlobalEconomy
In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness and believed to affect women. In the twentieth century it was replaced by other diagnoses and no longer features in the manual of mental disorders. Hysteria is still used as a general term for any dramatic displays of outrage or emotion. Although the sole administrator of this channel is a woman, if you are looking for bipolar drama, impulsive reactions and emotional excess — the essence of which can be summarized in "nuke them", "blow them all up" — you are following the wrong channel. Apart from a few notable exceptions, the majority of self-styled analysts and military bloggers (aka media whores) yesterday behaved hysterically. Actually they do it every single time military events don't meet their expectations. One day they shout hurrah, the next they unwittingly amplify enemy propaganda. We are all capable of powerful feelings, thank you, but maintaining one’s balance and discernment in spite of them is the quality that separates a hooligan from a soldier, in case they fancy themselves as info-warriors. Even with the violence of emotion, judgment and principle must still function. This underscores the need to remain steadfast, resisting impulsive reactions or despair when faced with setbacks or overwhelming odds. PS. Thank goodness they don't hold any military position. @LauraRuHK
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According to Ukrainian media, the SBU, Ukraine's secret service, is conducting a large-scale operation to attack military aircraft in the rear of Russia. 🔺in Siberia drones launched from a truck targeted a military facility in the Irkutsk region. @LauraRuHK
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Terror attack in Bryansk region, Russia. Yesterday at 10:50 p.m. a passenger train traveling from Klimov to Moscow derailed as a result of an explosion that caused a bridge to collapse in the Vygonichsky District. Seven people were killed and 33 were injured. Two of the injured, including a child, are in serious condition. Sabotage seems timed to coincide with the negotiations that will be held tomorrow in Istanbul but is also part of the terror campaign that the Kiev regime has long been carrying out in Russia.
@LauraRuHK
Beijing and Moscow should work together to maintain stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong said.
“China and Russia should continue to strengthen communication and coordination with regard to the affairs of the Asia-Pacific region, and work together to protect regional peace, maintain stability and ensure development and prosperity,” he pointed out at a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko in Beijing.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth:
"Asian allies and partners should look to countries in Europe as a new-found example. Nato members are pledging to spend 5 per cent of their GDP on defence, even Germany. How can it make sense for countries in Europe to do that while key allies and partners in Asia spend far less in the face of a far more formidable threat from Communist China, not to mention North Korea? Ultimately, a strong, resolute, and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage. China envies what we have together.” (Source: The Straits Times)
SCO joins the AI tech race - China announced a plan to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) application cooperation center together with member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and pledged to ramp up cooperation in providing open-source services among them in order to deepen technology integration. China proposed a four-point plan to enhance policy coordination, expand technological collaboration, promote application empowerment, and strengthen AI governance, and participating countries all agreed to accelerate the development of high-quality datasets, as well as to conduct joint research on frontier AI technologies.
SCO, as the world's largest regional organization in terms of geographical coverage and population, possesses abundant data resources and diverse application scenarios. In 2024, trade between China and SCO members (Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan) observers (Afghanistan, Mongolia), and 14 dialogue partners reached $890 billion, setting a historic high, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. (Source: Global Times) @LauraRuHK