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Independent researcher/writer based in Hong Kong since 1997. Reformed academic. My long-form, analytical articles are collected here https://laura-ruggeri.medium.com/ email: lauraru852@yandex.ru
On the ever-evolving geopolitical chessboard, trade has emerged as one of the most potent weapons. The recent decision by the People's Republic of China to impose a 34 percent tariff on all US imports marks a turning point in a long-standing economic conflict. But this move is not an act of provocation — it is a necessary defense against an ongoing campaign of pressure, containment and provocation from Washington.
For years, the United States has wielded its economic might, not only to dominate global markets but to coerce independent nations into compliance with its political agenda. Tariffs, sanctions and trade bans have been used not as tools of fair competition, but as political levers.
By imposing this 34 percent tariff, Beijing is sending a message that it will no longer tolerate unfair treatment or economic bullying. The Chinese economy — resilient and diverse — has long prepared for such scenarios. Policies like "dual circulation" investments in technological self-sufficiency, and partnerships through the Belt and Road Initiative have reduced China's dependency on Western markets.
China is not isolated. It is interconnected, influential and prepared. In contrast, the United States now finds itself in a precarious position. With rising inflation, political instability and shrinking global trust, Washington's aggressive trade policy may backfire. American consumers, already burdened by high costs, will now face even steeper prices. US companies relying on the Chinese market — from tech giants to agriculture — will feel the sting.
Globally, countries are beginning to question the reliability of an economic partner that weaponizes trade. This is not a call for confrontation, but a warning: "The flames of this trade war will ultimately consume the aggressor." China is not the initiator of this conflict, but it will defend its sovereignty and economic future with determination and clarity. The path forward need not be paved with conflict. China remains committed to fair trade, international cooperation and win-win development.
However, it will not allow its interests to be sacrificed at the altar of US domestic politics or hegemonic ambitions. In this economic standoff, it is not simply about tariffs and trade — it is about values, vision and the future of global leadership. The era of unilateral dominance is waning. What replaces it must be built on mutual respect, not coercion. History will remember this moment not just for its numbers, but for its symbolism. A rising power has stood firm, and unless wiser heads prevail, "the fire ignited by arrogance will burn the very hands that lit it." https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202504/05/WS67f0d360a3104d9fd381db5c.html
On my way home I walk past the Hong Kong stock exchange. Today there was a crowd of cameramen capturing the sea of red. @LauraRuHK
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If there is a lesson to be learned from the Jianwei Xun saga is that the media hype around his persona and work, amplified by reputable outlets, glowing reviews, and a slick online presence, created a feedback loop where the perception of reality outpaced any need to verify it. It’s not just that the lines between real and not real got blurred, it’s that the hype machine made those lines feel irrelevant.
With AI churning out content that to the untrained eye appears indistinguishable from human output, and media outlets racing to publish it, the incentives align more with capturing attention than digging for facts. Xun’s "hypnocracy" concept, ironically, nails it: power lies in shaping what people perceive, not in what’s actually there. The lesson isn’t just that the distinction is blurring, it’s that people are increasingly wired to prioritize the hype over the reality, and the tools to exploit that are only getting better.
The media, including alternative ones you may trust, feed on hype. They are providing a platform to self-styled analysts/experts who turned bluster and derivative, plagiarized content into influence thanks to their knack for gaming social media platforms. The mechanics are simple. Algorithms prioritize engagement over accuracy, so a slick bio, a bold claim, or a well-crafted image can snowball into credibility before anyone checks their credentials. Xun’s polished website and AI-generated prose got traction because they looked legit, not because they were vetted. Self-promotion, exaggerated claims and confident delivery outpace fact-checking every time. Social media’s speed turns smoke into a fog you can’t see through until it’s too late.
Then there’s the echo chamber effect. Once a persona gains momentum, followers and bots amplify it, creating a mirage of consensus. Social media’s smoke and mirrors work because we are wired for stories, not audits. On these platforms, you don’t need to be an expert, you just need to look the part and fake it long enough to cash in. @LauraRuHK
▪️China will impose a 34% tariff on all imports from the US starting April 10, the country’s Finance Ministry announced on Friday. The decision follows Trump’s announcement of a 34% levy on Chinese goods. Beijing denounced US tariffs as “unilateral bullying.” ▪️China ha also suspended import qualifications of six US enterprises on Friday, to protect Chinese consumers' health and ensure the safety of the country's livestock industry.
The suspensions include one US enterprise involved in sorghum exports to China, three enterprises dealing with poultry meat and bone meal, and two enterprises exporting poultry products. The Chinese customs said it has repeatedly detected furazolidone, a prohibited drug under Chinese law, in imported US poultry products and mould in sorghum. @LauraRuHK
Are US tariffs going to drop sand into the cogs of international trade or throw a spanner into the works? I think it is still too early to assess the potential implications of Trump's tariffs, particularly in the context of the ongoing trade war.
While the goal of imposing tariffs (e.g., a 20% increase on the EU) is to negotiate lower tariffs and barriers from other countries, historical evidence shows this often fails, leading to prolonged or higher tariffs. Countries could respond in one of three ways: negotiating, not negotiating but not retaliating, or retaliating. Past trade wars, like the US-China conflict during Trump’s first term, ended with permanently elevated tariffs.
For China, which relies heavily on exports for GDP growth (though US exports are now just 15% of its total exports and 3% of GDP), a proposed 54% tariff hike is significant but less disruptive than the earlier trade war. China could mitigate this with fiscal stimulus, and the initial shock to business investment appears smaller.
From a macro, global perspective, if countries negotiate down to a lower tariff equilibrium, the impact would be minimal. If tariffs stay high, it’s going to be messy, and if there’s tit-for-tat retaliation, it could be much worse.
Other Asian economies like Vietnam (25% of GDP tied to US exports), Korea (7%), and Japan (3.5%) are more vulnerable, especially if global demand doesn’t rise to offset reduced US exports. Emerging markets face broader risks as these tariffs are global, not just US-China focused, potentially creating significant economic challenges. The process is expected to be complex and the outcome uncertain. The silver lining is that it may provide an impetus for emerging economies to rely more on trade among themselves, including within groups like BRICS. Emerging markets might pivot toward regional or intra-group trade.
For BRICS specifically, this could mean a stronger push to deepen economic ties already in motion — think China’s export heft paired with India’s growing market, or Russia’s resources feeding industrial needs in Brazil and South Africa. BRICS trade has been growing and tariffs could accelerate this trend.
The U.S. could use tariffs as leverage to build a coalition of US-friendly countries. Tariffs aren’t just economic tools. They are political weapons, too. By raising tariffs on some nations while offering exemptions or lower rates to others, the US intends to incentivize alignment with its interests, creating a bloc that’s economically tied to its orbit. Think of it as a carrot-and-stick play: comply with US priorities on trade deficits, intellectual property, or geopolitical stances, and get favorable access to the US consumer market. @LauraRuHK
The Russian economy reached a size of 200 trillion rubles ($2.37 trillion) in 2024, growing six times faster than Europe, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday.
The driving force behind economic growth is domestic demand and fixed capital investments last year rose 7.5%.
Mishustin also said Russians’ disposable income shot up 8.5% in 2024, while the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in history.
Stating that the economy has grown twice as fast as the world average in the last two years, Mishustin said: “Russia is among the four largest economies in the world in terms of purchasing power parity.
"Our economy grew 4.1% last year. Our growth in two years has exceeded Europe’s almost sixfold." Federal budget revenues increased by more than a quarter, which made it possible to fully fulfill all social obligations, as well as launch new promising national projects. The main feature of the report is that it is not about the past, but about the future. It is, in fact, is a presentation of plans for the long-term development of the country, which have proven their effectiveness against the backdrop of 16,000 sanctions imposed on Russia. There is evidence that the Russian experience is going to be studied by China, which did not have and does not have such restrictions. It is funny that one of the most odious and Russophobic Western think tanks, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in its latest report made a forced but correct conclusion: "The Russian economy of three years ago no longer exists. The economic transformation of Russia, the most sanctioned country in the world, can no longer be reversed."
Not only did Russia not perish, but it became even stronger, and this is now recognized by all those who buried it three years ago. The Carnegie Foundation: "Starting with the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian economy has refuted all expectations, and hopes for a double-digit decline have not materialized"; Euroactive: "The Russian economy has proven that it is strong enough to continue the war in Ukraine for the foreseeable future, even with new sanctions imposed"; German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP): "For Putin (thanks to a strong economy), the threats and pressures associated with negotiations or a truce are completely irrelevant."
The think tank Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA): "There are no sanctions that do not simultaneously harm yourself. The main question is: what kind of pain are you willing to endure when inflicting it on your opponent?"
We can only wish our opponents to strengthen: we have just begun to accelerate, while you will learn a lot of new and interesting things about pain. (Kirill Strelnikov/RIA Novosti) @LauraRuHK https://ria.ru/20250327/rossiya-2007590044.html
How do you like the EU new board game? European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib endorsed it - "It's one of the best party games to play while drunk or tipsy." @LauraRuHK Here Hadja shares her winning tips. https://x.com/hadjalahbib/status/1904858985972351264
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The EU Preparedness Union Strategy was presented on March 26, 2025, by the European Commission. The launch was accompanied by baseless claims it will "bolster the EU’s ability to anticipate, prevent, and respond to a wide range of threats." The Commission bundled together natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts, cybersecurity risks and climate change. Probably to please different lobbies and get their support, but also to ensure that the gravy train won't stop when the conflict in Ukraine ends. The strategy outlined in the report isn't exactly new, it builds on the Niinistö Report (October 2024), which called for a mindset shift toward "comprehensive preparedness."
The EU Commission relies on a permanent "state of emergency" to expand centralized control, militarization, and surveillance under the guise of safety. The strategy’s civil-military integration is deliberately designed to blur lines between civilian life and security agendas, which could lead to the suspension of legal norms, democracy and individual freedoms as it happened during the Covid operation. According to Carl Schmitt, an emergency, or State of Exception, is the ultimate test of political power and reveals in whom that power is vested. The State of Exception determines who is sovereign in a given state. On this theoretical basis, he develops the concept of decisionism, whereby the actual content or “what” of a decision is not the key element, but rather the “who” of the decision and whether a given “who” (or decider) is the proper authority and possessor of the necessary sovereignty. The EU Commission is claiming a form of sovereignty within the EU framework by insisting that EU member states are facing threats that demand a permanent mobilization and is claiming the power to decide what constitutes an "emergency" and how to respond. The call for citizens to stockpile supplies and the focus on "hybrid threats" is the kind of fearmongering the EU needs to justify authoritarian measures. The unstated objective is to restructure society for oppression rather than protection. The only real emergency, economic recession, doesn't even warrant a mention in the report. But rest assured that fearmongering will only exacerbate economic woes.
Fear-driven narratives will erode consumer confidence, leading to reduced spending. When people anticipate economic downturns, they often cut back on discretionary purchases, thus slowing economic growth.
Businesses and investors may delay or cancel investments due to uncertainty. Fearmongering will amplify perceptions of risk, discouraging capital inflows and innovation.
Negative rhetoric can trigger panic in financial markets, causing stock prices to plummet and increasing borrowing costs for governments and businesses.
Governments might overreact to perceived threats, implementing policies that are poorly targeted, which can stifle economic activity.
Fearmongering can deepen divisions within the EU, as Member States may prioritize national interests over collective solutions, weakening the union's ability to address economic challenges effectively. Just don't tell Ursula and her minions. Their job is to manufacture crises rather than prevent them. @LauraRuHK
https://commission.europa.eu/topics/preparedness_en
A report released by a Chinese industry alliance exposed the US intelligent agencies' surveillance and data theft activities targeting global mobile smart terminals and communications. Whether they are high-value targets such as government officials and technical experts or ordinary people, all could potentially become victims of intelligence-gathering operations by US intelligence agencies. They installed hardware-level spyware and backdoors on your phone that monitor your camera, microphone, keystrokes, location, calls, texts, social media and internet activity. @LauraRuHK http://www.news.cn/world/20250325/02ba448744ac4b75a81df613a88b4d26/2025032522b55fd15b244a5fac54e424c62be9b7_1616350dfed1c44ba786a82d574c86c30f.pdf
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Anna Prokofieva, war correspondent for Russia’s Channel One, was killed on Wednesday while on assignment in Belgorod Region, which borders Ukraine. The broadcaster confirmed her death and said that cameraman Dmitry Volkov had also been injured during the incident. ▪️Earlier this week, three members of news crews were killed in Ukrainian attacks, Aleksandr Fedorchak, a reporter for the newspaper Izvestia, Andrey Panov, a cameraman for Zvezda TV, and Aleksandr Sirekli, their driver. Their vehicle, marked as press transport, was reportedly struck by two missiles fired from a US-supplied Ukrainian HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system. ▪️Commenting on these deaths, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Kiev of deliberately targeting journalists and undermining international laws designed to protect members of the press. (Source: RT) @LauraRuHK
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US intelligence believes that the crisis in Ukraine has accelerated the rapprochement between Iran, China, North Korea and Russia, and the expansion of cooperation between these countries has become an irreversible process — the report of the office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States on the existing threats to the country.
"Since 2022, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea have become even closer. Eliminating the accelerating factor of the war in Ukraine is unlikely to return these bilateral relations to their pre-war initial state in 2021." (Source: TASS) @LauraRuHK https://tass.ru/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/23498819
The Kremlin has released a comprehensive list of energy facilities subject to a temporary US-brokered truce between Russia and Ukraine for a period of 30 days starting from 18 March 2025, with the possibility of extending and withdrawing from the agreement in case of non-compliance by one of the parties.
▪️The types of facilities covered under the truce include oil and gas processing and storage facilities, including pumping stations and pipelines, electricity producing and distribution sites, nuclear power plants, and the dams of hydroelectric plants. ▪️Moscow and Washington agreed to ensure the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative; It implies ensuring the safety of navigation and preventing the use of commercial ships for military purposes:
▪️"The United States will help restore access for Russian exports of agricultural products and fertilizers to the world market, reduce the cost of shipping insurance, and expand access to ports and payment systems for such transactions."
▪️The agreements on the Black Sea Initiative will come into force after the lifting of sanctions against Russian producers and exporters, including fish products and fertilizers; after the lifting of restrictions on the work of insurance companies with food cargoes; after lifting sanctions against the Russian Agriculture Bank and other financial organizations involved in ensuring operations for international trade in food and fertilizers, their connection to SWIFT, the opening of the necessary correspondent accounts; lifting restrictions on Russian-flagged vessels involved in food trade; lifting restrictions on the supply of agricultural machinery and other goods involved in food production. (Source: RIA Novosti) @LauraRuHK https://ria.ru/20250325/vstrecha-2007281585.html
Jeffrey Goldberg,The Atlantic editor-in-chief and notorious war cheerleader, was "accidentally" added to a Signal group chat with the Trump administration.▪️Vice President JD Vance also wrote:
“We are making a mistake” in bombing the Houthis since Europe relies on Red Sea trade more than the U.S. does.
“There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices,” he said. “I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
“3 percent of US trade runs through the [Suez Canal]. 40 percent of European trade does,” he said. “There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary.” ▪️The National Security Council’s calling the chat “authentic” but is scrambling to figure out how Goldberg’s number got in there. Something to do with his allegiance to Israel? Draw your own conclusions. @LauraRuHK
Recently declassified documents have revealed a Cold War-era plot by the CIA that sought to sabotage Cuban sugar destined for the Soviet Union. In 1962, CIA agents contaminated hundreds of bags of sugar. The objective was to undermine Cuban-Soviet relations and sow discord between Cuban and Russian authorities.
The operation was halted by President John F. Kennedy who ordered the ship to return its cargo. This covert operation highlights the lengths to which US intelligence went during its campaigns against Cuba and its allies. The CIA's confession had remained redacted until March 2025, revealing a chapter in the complex history of Cold War espionage and diplomatic tensions. (Source: Washington Post) @LauraRuHK
Trump's psychotype and the risks for Russia. Ahead of the next round of talks in Riyadh
Elena Panina writes "When discussing Trump's strategies, two hypotheses are usually put forward: weakening the EU as a global competitor to the US and achieving peace in Ukraine as a way to shift focus to more important goals. That said, two main patterns of behaviour emerge from Trump's psychological profile: the first is economic and the second is political. By politics, Trump solves economics. After all, he came into politics from business, which means that he has a dominant business approach to everything he does in politics. Power for money and money for power. It's a vicious cycle where it all depends on where you cut into it: either when Trump is struggling for resources, or when he's struggling for power. From these patterns, Trump is building his priorities.
The problem, however, is that Trump is not firm in these priorities. They are mixed up and change places from time to time, and for him it happens spontaneously and looks like reflexion. If Trump fails to consolidate power and influence, he turns to fighting for profits. Even if it weakens his power resource.
▪️ The example of Ukraine shows this quite vividly. Since his meeting with Zelensky in the Oval Office, Trump has been challenged in a truly existential way. The alliance of the US Democratic Party and the European establishment, which planned Zelensky's prank, has shown for the first time to the whole world that there are limits to the power of the American president in his relations with his vassals. Instead of quelling the riot, Trump engaged in diplomatic games with the rioters. The rebellious provinces challenged Caesar, but he responded not as a metropolis, but as a colony, only bigger and richer. This is a dispute of ‘who is stronger’, not ‘who is in charge’, because the strongest does not mean the most important.
At the same time, Trump is rushing to make a resource deal with Ukraine by all means, suffering humiliation. This is just sacrificing power for money. This is how a merchant thinks, for whom power is not an end in itself, sacred and unconditional, but a bargaining chip that can be sacrificed at some point for the sake of close profit.
From the same series - Trump's decision to prepare an authorisation to start selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, which the latter was not given as punishment for its willfulness - the purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems. In this way Erdogan showed the whole world that it is possible to disobey America and wait for its anger - it will swallow the disrespect and come back with its own deals, because for it money issues are more important than prestige issues.
▪️ Within this same logic lies Trump's relationship with Europe. It was easy to foresee that Europe would show insubordination and sabotage the entire spectrum of relations with the US: from the tariff war to the truce with Russia. And if power issues were as important to Trump as they are to his opponents - the deep state in the US, British elites and the French and Germans - he would have to start by defeating his enemies, or at least accompany his talks with Putin with that defeat. After all, their sabotage leads to the disruption of the ceasefire in Ukraine, which is vital to Trump. Yet Trump shies away from flogging the rioters, thus encouraging further conspiracies, and throws himself into short-term money deals. Not realising that you can win tactically and lose strategically by substituting the benefit of power for the benefit of money. And that, for Trump, could be fatal. (1/2)
Aleksey Mukhin writes: Britain is a fragile empire - in fact, it exists in the imagination of its former subjects. But the individual tentacles are still moving and quite functional. I am referring to the British special services - MI5 and MI6, who desperately pretend that "the patient is more alive than dead" - they will move the arm of this motionless body, then the leg...
Those who thought that with the temporary abolition of USAID, Western countries would loosen their grip on soft power, were mistaken, of course.
The banner of the "color revolutions" set aside by the Americans was quickly taken over by continental Europeans and the British.
For example, the Royal Institute of Defense Studies (RUSI) has launched a public training manual on sabotage and subversive activity: "Violent resistance in occupied Ukraine."
The texts give quite straightforward advice: "to leave the cities for the villages, not to hit the administrations, but the railways, like Rostov–Mariupol–Donetsk," to use special forces as terrorists.
Moreover, the creation of sabotage groups is required not only from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but also from Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. In this case, the EU's involvement in the conflict with Russia is inevitable: both physical and financial involvement will be required.
Russia should have used such intentions of Western actors for a long time in order to prepare a legislative framework and develop law enforcement mechanisms in case "unfriendly" or other countries actually practice terrorism and sabotage activity with all the consequences and criminal prosecution for the participants.
The sleigh is prepared, let me remind you, in the summer...
A special international tribunal for war criminals and terrorists should work, like karma, seven days a week. The BRICS countries and others that have suffered from the illegal actions of Western countries may well participate in it.
None of the war criminals should escape responsibility. I think this is the only way to stop the growing wave of violence and Russophobia. @LauraRuHK /channel/AlekseyMukhin/9139
Two scenes today stand as stark testaments to unbridled savagery.
One from “Israel,” which targeted and killed members of the Civil Defense and Red Crescent in Gaza, falsely claiming it couldn’t identify them, despite the clear visibility of their civilian status.
The other from the United States, which struck a tribal gathering in Yemen, even though it was unmistakably civilian in nature, as the gathering is a tradition done by all Yemeni tribes during Eid.
America and “Israel” have never been more exposed in the brazenness of their crimes.
Months after i denounced Jianwei Xun as an AI creation, corporate media finally admit Xun doesn't exist. Xun is the creation of Italian publisher Andrea Colamedici who relied on artificial intelligence to churn out his texts. Aggressive marketing and a credulous public did the rest. Now, the real question is, why no one else doubted his existence. It took me five minutes to realize that Xun's academic credentials and affiliations were fake and his best-selling book was an AI-generated hotchpotch of 1960s French philosophy. @LauraRuHK
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🎼Sign of the Times🎼 - Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, will "start the process" of stepping down as chairman of its board of trustees, the Financial Times newspaper reports. @LauraRuHK
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IMPORTANT NOTICE - I am travelling and will be mostly offline for a week. For this reason the channel will not be updated until my return. @LauraRuHK
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Qui il mio post di ieri in versione italiana. Grazie per la segnalazione. https://www.perunaltracitta.org/homepage/2025/03/27/il-lavoro-della-commissione-eu-consiste-nel-fabbricare-crisi-piuttosto-che-prevenirle/
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As US vassals are being told that they may no longer be able to rely on American protection, US think tank RAND Corporation is suggesting "Taiwan should do more for its own defense and resiliency, and fast." Interestingly, the prescribed strategy reads like the EU Preparedness Strategy. "This should include doubling down on resiliency efforts, with a dramatic ramping up of energy, food, and potable water stockpiles. Taiwan must also press ahead with building its communications resiliency, investing in secure and redundant networks—such as satellite-based backup systems and decentralized infrastructure—to ensure that the flow of information remains uninterrupted even under duress. Bolstering civil defense programs through training, clear crisis protocols, and public awareness campaigns will further strengthen Taiwan's capacity to endure and recover from any form of coercion or blockade. [...] While Lai has pledged to get defense spending up to 3 percent of GDP this year through a special budget, this would still require legislative approval, and so the path forward isn't clear. The unfortunate reality is that the politics of national defense have become hyper-partisan. Even among supporters of ramped-up defense spending, debates can arise over the specific focus of the budget—whether it should prioritize indigenous weapons development, foreign arms purchases, or bolstering personnel training and welfare. While the realities of democratic partisanship are understandable, they now present a clear threat to Taiwan's future prosperity and security.
President Lai will need to hammer through these limitations, either through coalition building, or brute force. Like his predecessor Lai is hesitant about directly appealing to the Taiwan people about the true nature of the threat they face, justifiably worried about the side-effects of a panicked population. Given the threats facing Taiwan, and the uncertainty it must now attach to its primary security backstop, it may be time to begin making the case more directly to the Taiwan people that their future faces growing uncertainty." @LauraRuHK https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2025/03/from-strategic-ambiguity-to-strategic-anxiety-taiwans.html
⚡️ Despite Zelensky's public statement about the Russian-U.S. agreements reached in Riyadh on 24 March to stop attacks against civilian energy facilities, the Kiev regime has continued its strikes on the energy infrastructure of the Russian Federation.
On the night of 26 March 2025, near the Tarkhankut Peninsula, two Ukrainian strike UAVs were shot down by on-duty air defence systems. The drones were targeting the ground-based equipment of the Glebovskoye underground gas storage facility.
Moreover, on 26 March at around 4:45 in the morning, in Bryansk region, the hostile UAVs attacked an object of the Bryanskenergo (Rosseti Centre). As a result of the attack, a 10kV high-voltage electric power transmission stopped working and consumers in Komarichsky District were left without electricity.
Moreover, on the afternoon of 25 March, the Ukrainian strike drones attacked an energy facility of the Kurskenergo (Rosseti Centre). Thus, a number of substation shut down, and over 4,000 consumers in Khomutovsky District were cut off power supply.
❗️Thus, the Kiev regime, while continuing to damage the Russian civilian energy infrastructure, is actually doing everything it can to thwart the agreements reached by the Russian Federation and the United States on step-by-step measures to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.
🔹 Russian Defence Ministry
The detention of Yevgenia Gutsul, the head of Moldova's autonomous Gagauzia region, is pressure on the opposition and may be followed by arrests of other oppositionists, Gagauz deputy head Viktor Petrov has told RIA Novosti, adding that her detention was "illegal."
Gutsul was arrested at Chisinau airport as she was about to fly to Istanbul. Her passport has been seized. The detention of Gutsul took place against the backdrop of tense relations between Chisinau and Gagauzia. The politician has repeatedly criticized the Maia Sandu's regime for infringing on the autonomy of the region and advocated strengthening ties with Russia. According to a poll conducted in February, 68 percent of the region's residents support rapprochement with Moscow, while only 12 percent favor European integration. (Source: RIA Novosti) @LauraRuHK
Responding to a media question on whether China will stop purchasing oil from Venezuela after Donald Trump on Monday issued an executive order declaring that any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela will pay a 25 percent tariff on trade with the US, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that China firmly opposes the US' long-term abuse of illegal unilateral sanctions and so-called long-arm jurisdiction, which grossly interferes in other nations' internal affairs.
Guo urged the US to cease meddling in Venezuela's domestic affairs, revoke its illegal unilateral sanctions against Venezuela, and take more actions conducive to peace, stability, and development in Venezuela and other countries.
(Source: Global Times) @LauraRuHK
More on the Signal chat saga and waltzing neocons. The best solution would be firing Mike Waltz, now serving as National Security Adviser, a role which is clearly incompatible with such blatant security breach. Waltz claimed he didn’t know Goldberg personally, despite Goldberg saying he does. Whether they met in person or not is irrelevant. The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic insists that Waltz reached out to him two days before adding him to the Signal group.
Unfortunately dismissing Waltz is not easy. In the Trump administration, he represents the neocon wing relative to isolationists like J.D. Vance. Waltz pulls toward interventionism (China, Middle East) while navigating Trump’s deal-making instincts (Russia, Ukraine). Neocon ideas persist, but they are currently subordinated to transactional goals.
Waltz’s background as a neocon and zionist are well-documented. He worked as a defense policy director at the Pentagon under Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates. Then served as a counterterrorism advisor to Dick Cheney.
He has consistently framed China as a top strategic threat. His call for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, aligns with this hawkish outlook. AIPAC’s contributions to Waltz totaled over $70,000 in the 2022-24 cycle, making it his top donor, which underscores his alignment with pro-Israel interests.
During his congressional tenure, he backed legislation to increase U.S. military aid to Israel. Neocons might be on a leash for the time being, but they haven’t vanished. The military-industrial complex ($900 billion Pentagon budget in 2025) still hums. If the Neocon grip is looser is purely due to Trump’s base, unsustainable debt, the need to streamline government departments, including DoD, and global realities (multipolarity) capping their ambitions.
@LauraRuHK
Fake news brought to you by Welt am Sonntag and widely shared by people who should know better. The Chinese foreign ministry firmly denied that Beijing could join a potential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine spearheaded by EU leaders.
“I would like to emphasize that the reports in question are completely untrue, and China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear,”
(2/2) It's unclear what is more important to Trump right now. To shift the war in Ukraine to Europe and walk away, seizing some assets but scrapping the peace strategy as a resource for further action - which would be a show of weakness. Or to start acting against Europe, seeking the submission of vassals and showing strength. Trump is trying to sit on two chairs at the same time - and that makes any agreements between Russia and him shaky. While winning in one place, Trump is losing in another. This is bound to have consequences: there is a high risk that none of Trump's goals will be achieved. And Russia cannot ignore this probability."
/channel/EvPanina/16121
🌍This piece looks at the new strategies of member nations, how they can work together, and how they are changing economic relationships as the balance of global power changes. A great job as always by Prof @Warwick Powell! https://substack.com/home/post/p-158160300
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