25508
There's no freedom without national sovereignty.
Taking Stock of 2024, Is There Hope for a Happy 2025? https://sonar21.com/taking-stock-of-2024-is-there-hope-for-a-happy-2025/
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Recent Western estimates of losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: for 2024, only 1.37 million, of which 580 thousand were killed, in total since the beginning of the Northern Military District - 1.96 million, of which 920 thousand were killed.
It is noted that losses in equipment of the Russian Armed Forces this year amounted to only 10-20% of the Ukrainian ones
Potheads of the Empire: How the Hegemon Brainwashed Ukraine into Self-Destruction
Gives a whole new meaning to ‘potheads,’ though their leader clearly needs something stronger, preferably Colombian. Delusion is the only drug keeping Kiev’s suicidal regime afloat.
The hegemon has been cultivating these “potheads” for decades, brainwashing Ukrainians and their Western supporters into unquestioning servitude, even at the expense of their own country. This isn’t a phenomenon of the last 10 years, this has been a long-term project since the collapse of the Soviet Union. A calculated agenda to transform Ukraine into a forward operating base against Russia, all while draining the nation of its sovereignty, its economy, and now, its very population. Much like the Nazis brainwashed Germans into blind obedience, the empire has turned Ukraine into a laboratory of manipulation, where nationalism was weaponized into self-destruction.
And yet, the tragic irony is lost on the faithful zealots cheering their country’s demise while draped in borrowed flags. They are a testament to how deeply propaganda can sever people from reality, leaving them as hollow instruments of a hegemonic machine.
- Gerry Nolan
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Oreshnik Power Confirmed; Russia Takes Kurakhovo; Zelensky Gas Row; US Kiev Aid Damp Squib
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Infographics of the Russian Armed Forces' advances in the Dzerzhinsk (Toretsk), Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), Kurakhovo and Velikaya Novoselivka directions over the past 6 months.
Author: @lost_armour
🇺🇸🇺🇦 The U.S. has committed to providing Ukraine with $3.4 billion in budgetary assistance, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced.
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Moscow demands that international organizations duly react to the blocking of Russian media Telegram channels in EU countries, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Above all, Russia expects a reaction from UN human rights mechanisms, the UNESCO leadership and the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, the diplomat clarified.
“Such attacks on our media outlets will not remain without a reaction from the Russian side. We reserve the right to symmetrical response measures,” Zakharova noted.Читать полностью…
🇸🇰🇪🇺 Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico sent an open letter to European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, requesting them to urgently address Ukraine’s decision to cease gas transit to Europe.
“I am convinced that it is in the interest of all EU citizens for European efforts to support Ukraine to be rational and not lead to self-destructive and highly damaging actions for the EU,” Fico said in the letter posted on his Facebook page.
The Slovak PM added that “Vladimir Zelensky unilaterally, without any consultation with EU bodies or member states, announced that, starting January 1, 2025, Ukraine will no longer provide gas transit through its territory to Slovakia and other customers in Western Europe.”Читать полностью…
Finland alleges Russia will annex it - complicated graphic has all the arrows to make make-believe - real!
Earlier, Finland seized the Russian-linked Eagle S vessel. NATO countries intend to strengthen the naval group in the Baltic Sea.
A frightened population is less resistant to unpopular & costly political decisions, after all.
Biden makin' it rain with US taxpayer dollars on his last days - announcing nearly $2.5 billion for Ukraine.
Ukraine will be provided with long-term supplies of air defense, artillery, and other critical weapons systems. But it's not like it's Biden's first spree on things that won't make a difference...
Btw, there is an official Biden-approved 2024 study of lizards blown off trees by leaf blowers.... (Because lizard lives matter!)
USA: "Why does the world hate America?! It must be because they hate our FREEDOM!!!"
Yeah... that must be it...
discussion with Brian Berletic / Look towards 2025
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Key statements by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:
🇷🇺🔥🇺🇸On relations between Russia and the US:
💬In the process of rearming its strategic nuclear forces, Russia strictly adheres to the limits set out in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START Treaty)
💬Russia is ready to implement a number of measures to maintain an acceptable level of predictability, in relation to the US, in the nuclear missile field.
💬Russia will not conduct any negotiations with the US on arms control until Washington abandons its anti-Russia course.
⚔️On the Ukrainian conflict:
💬Kiev and the West need to discuss the possibility of establishing a ceasefire in Ukraine to get a respite and increase the potential of the Ukrainian Armed Forces - this is a dead end; the conflict can only be ended by implementing the proposals of Russian President Vladimir Putin
💬The transfer of the second batch of F-16 fighters to Kiev by Denmark provokes a further escalation of the conflict around Ukraine, forcing Russia to take relevant measures, including military-technical ones
🇷🇺🤝🇮🇷On the partnership treaty between Russia and Iran:
💬Russia and Iran will record a desire for security, defense, and anti-terrorism cooperation in a new treaty on relations
💬The strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran is ready for signing and does not require any amendments in light of the situation in Syria.
💬The new agreement between Russia and Iran will consolidate the desire of Moscow and Tehran to cooperate in the field of security and defense.
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‘Hardline critic of the West’: What’s to know about Georgia’s new president? Part 1👉Part 2
On December 29, Mikheil Kavelashvili was sworn in as Georgia’s new president in an inauguration at parliament that was attended by members of the ruling Georgian Dream party and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Who is Georgia’s new president?
Mikheil Kavelashvili’s record
♦️A former Dinamo Tbilisi and Manchester City football player, Kavelashvili was appointed president by the parliament during the December 14 elections, in which 224 out of 225 members of Georgia's electoral college voted for the only candidate on
the ballot.
♦️The 53-year-old is a founder of the People's Power party, allied with the Georgian Dream and known for being the main voice for anti-Western sentiments in Georgia. The Guardian recently called him “a pro-Russia, hardline critic of the West.”
♦️Kavelashvili has repeatedly said that Western intelligence agencies are seeking to drive Georgia into war with Russia.
♦️He accused opposition parties of acting as a "fifth column" directed from abroad, slamming outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili as a "chief agent". The new president accused her of violating the constitution and declared that he would "restore the presidency to its constitutional framework.”
♦️The footballer-turned-politician insisted that Georgian society is divided," and that “radicalization and polarization" in the country are being fueled from abroad. He pledged to do his best to unite the society “around the idea of Georgia’s identity and independence.”
Part 1👉Part 2
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ORESHNIK IN DEPTH
Part 1 of 3
I was honoured and humbled to have had my recent piece on Oreshnik missile warhead composition discussed by Mr. Alexander Mercouris in his latest program.
I will use this as an opportunity to expand "a little" on what I wrote, in order to explain my thought processes and provide more detail about my working hypothesis and its implications. It gets a bit technical at times and for that I'm sorry.
Once again let me stress I am not an engineer, though I have a science background which lends to interpretation of scientific reports such as the one I referenced in my post. My specialisation is not in chemistry or metallurgy, so I rely heavily on the peer-reviewed linked reference (Zhao et al), its inferences and bibliography.
My thought process: We really didn't have much to go on. We got grainy video of Oreshnik submunitions impacting. We know they were delivered by a large ballistic missile, and the impact was at high hypersonic speed. We watched, read and heard analyses and discussions by Mr Mercouris, Professor Ted Postol, and the Millenium 7 channel. After some back and forth, they settled on the conclusion that lacking further evidence, the Oreshnik missile delivered hypersonic inert metal rods which did little more than punch holes in whatever it hit.
Mr. Mercouris drew attention to the fact that the above conclusion failed to explain why President Putin spoke so highly and confidently about the weapon. He also pointed out the complete Ukrainian black out of any media reports or imagery from the targeted Yuzhmash factory complex. If the weapon was indeed inert, why not show the "undamaged" target area? I credit these astute observations for motivating me to investigate further.
In his discussions, Mr. Mercouris spoke of a source who said Oreshnik may have delivered metal explosive munitions known as hextol. I was unable to find any related literature, however the idea of a metal-based explosive piqued my interest and down the rabbit hole of published science papers I went, until I learned about Energetic Structural Materials (ESMs).
Today marks 25 years since President Putin became Russia's president on December 31, 1999! 🎉
🇷🇺 🇷🇺
🇺🇦 UKRAINIAN NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS:
“Your father was taken to the front, like other fathers.
But don't worry, you have many other relatives: mother, grandmother and sister, let the New Year gifts lift your spirits!
Because soon you too will be defending Ukraine.”
Lewinsky wasn't Clinton's first mistress. But she was one of the ones to survive...
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❗The Ukrainian segment of Telegram writes that the building of the strategically important mine number 3 near Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) has passed under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
The mine is located in the village of Peschanoe.
Metinvest announced its closure on December 12 due to the approach of the front. The company said that it mined half of her total coal there.
The Pokrovskoye mine Management company owns the only mines in Ukraine that produce coking coal, which is necessary for metal smelting. Another similar mine is located in Udachnoye, nine kilometers west of Peschanoe (and about 6 km from the front line).
@eurasianchoice
❗The hoisting of the Russian flag in the liberated Novoelenovka.
Pokrovsk direction.
@eurasianchoice
'All-time champ' - Elon Musk
Musk ‘praises’ Zelensky for pulling off 'one of the greatest money heists of all time' after Biden doles out another $2.5 BILLION in aid to Ukraine
#Musk
@MTodayNews
🗣 Key takeaways from statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his year-end interview with TASS:
▪️Ensuring Ukraine’s non-aligned status remains the goal of Russia’s special military operation, which will be achieved
▪️Moscow will neither take part in the “peace summit” nor follow Vladimir Zelensky’s statements
▪️Lavrov suggested that NATO, which is involved in the invasion of the Kursk Region and strikes with long-range missiles on Russian territory, should “look at itself in the mirror” before accusing Moscow of escalation
▪️Moscow is ready for the normalization of relations with Tbilisi to the extent that Georgia is prepared
▪️Lavrov explained the rapid development of the situation in Syria by the inability of former President Bashar Assad to address social problems in the country, with Washington’s destructive actions playing a major role in the crisis
▪️The United States, in its efforts to pressure China over the Taiwan issue, employs methods very similar to those previously used to establish an anti-Russian foothold in Ukraine
▪️Moscow is against Taiwan’s independence in any form
▪️The “arc of violence” in the Middle East has widened, and the confrontation between Iran and Israel has come to a dangerous brink
▪️Moscow and Pyongyang will continue to jointly respond to the threats posed to them by other countries
The EU's ignoring of Zelensky's decision to stop gas transit from Russia will lead to retaliatory measures
This was stated by Slovakian Prime Minister Fico. According to him, this is an "unprecedented" situation.
@ukr_leaks_eng
❗️Poland plans to build a road to the border with Russia's Kaliningrad region in 2025 to enable the rapid transfer of troops and security forces if necessary, according to an interview with the Financial Times by Deputy Minister of the Interior Maciej Duszczyk.
*the picture is AI-generated
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Genuine “Power Politics” in Ukraine and Eastern Europe https://sonar21.com/genuine-power-politics-in-ukraine-and-eastern-europe/
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‼️🇷🇺 Units of the group of forces Center hoisted the Russian flag in Novoelizavetovka near Pokrovsk.
Rare footage: the intelligence battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was the first to show the Russian flag planted by fighters of the Center group in the village of Novoelizavetovka, and its attack against it.
The Ukrainian troops continue to rapidly lose territories in the Donbas and attack the flags out of impotence.
t.me/RVvoenkor
Angry PUTIN: No Gas Transit Ukraine, Kiev Without Gas; EU Gas Crisis; Kiev Troops Flee Kurakhovo
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🇰🇵🇺🇸Kim Jong-un announced the beginning of a strategy of tough opposition to the US:
"Summarizing the results of the year at a meeting of the plenum of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, the DPRK leader announced his intention to pursue a strategy of "toughest opposition" to Washington and support the development of relations with friendly countries. He emphasized that the U.S. is "the most reactionary state that considers anti-communism as an unchanging state policy." The US-Japan-South Korea alliance has expanded into an aggressive nuclear military bloc, and South Korea has become a consistent anti-communist outpost of the US. This clearly tells us in which direction we need to go, what we need to do and how we need to do it"
@Slavyangrad
Major winners and losers of halting Russian gas transit through Ukraine
As the Ukraine gas transit contract with Russia is set to end, Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK received its first delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US on December 27.
✅ Winners
🇺🇸 US LNG producers:
The halting of Russia's gas deliveries through Ukraine will increase the US share and reduce competition in the EU market.
The latest US LNG delivery amounts to 100 million cubic meters of gas (1 TWh of energy, or 3,530,000 MMBtu), bought by D.Trading, DTEK’s pan-European trading subsidiary.
The shipment arrived at Greek LNG terminals such as Revithoussa, where it will be "re-gasified" and distributed "through EU and Ukrainian gas networks," according to DTEK.
One network, the Vertical Corridor, will transmit US LNG deliveries between Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
LNG from the US for Europe is at least 30-40% more expensive than pipeline gas from Russia.
In December 2022, the US became the world’s leading exporter of LNG amid Europe's energy crisis and the sabotage attack on Russia's Nord Stream pipelines.
❌ Losers
Ukraine: Ukraine will lose almost $1 billion annually from Russian gas transit fees. Additionally, Ukraine is likely to pay more for US LNG coming through the Revithoussa LNG terminal than for Russian pipeline gas, which used to come in the form of a "virtual reverse."
🇭🇺🇦🇹🇸🇰 Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia which have long relied on Russian gas transit through Ukraine, will face challenges. Being landlocked, access to LNG delivered to marine terminals is costly and difficult.
Long-term contracts with Russia's Gazprom allowed them to buy natural gas considerably cheaper than EU gas spot prices. For instance, Austria had been receiving Russian gas at a price almost three times cheaper than EU spot prices in 2022, according to Reuters.
🇪🇺 European Union: After sliding to $11.79/MMBtu in October, European gas prices rose to almost $15/MMBtu on November 22. On December 27, benchmark futures rose further by 5% on the news of halted Russian gas transit through Ukraine.
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Only 10% of Ukrainian refugees in Norway would like to return to their homeland after the end of the conflict
Against this background, researchers see a new trend: young people aged 16-17 have started coming to Norway more often.
@ukr_leaks_eng