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There's no freedom without national sovereignty.
💥 The Fragility of Modern Deterrence: Are We Sleepwalking into Nuclear Armageddon?
(As of writing we are in the midst of a powerful Russian response across Ukraine). Fyodor Lukyanov, in his incisive analysis, points out that the ongoing standoff over Ukraine has effectively become a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO (US), two nuclear-armed entities now operating without the safeguards of Cold War diplomacy. The breakdown of private, backchannel communication, once the cornerstone of managing nuclear deterrence, has given way to comms via public posturing playing out in a media war. This dangerous shift has dramatically increased the likelihood of catastrophic miscalculation.
During the Cold War, an imperfect yet functional system of discreet diplomacy allowed for signals to be sent and received with clarity. Mutual understanding, even between enemies, helped prevent misunderstandings that could have spiraled into nuclear conflict. Today, this critical buffer has evaporated. From the West, contradictory leaks and media noise create confusion (what’s actual signal vs mere noise?). Meanwhile, Russia has adopted a direct and unambiguous approach, publicly marking its red lines in the absence of trustworthy backchannel diplomacy. However, deterrence is about credibility and when credibility plays out in the public eye, the risks of leaders being forced to act to “prove their threats” become exponentially higher.
The West’s decision to abandon private diplomacy in favor of megaphone posturing reveals a dangerous mix of hubris and short-sightedness. Western leaders are not merely playing to Moscow; they’re playing to their domestic audiences, their NATO partners, and the MIC that demands perpetual conflict to feed its coffers.
Russia, by contrast, has been forced into a position where clarity is its only shield. Its red lines are laid bare for the world to see, not because it seeks escalation, but because ambiguity has proven fatal in the face of Western doublespeak.
What makes this moment uniquely dangerous is the psychological trap that leaders on both sides now face. Public commitments to “credibility” mean that retreat or compromise is no longer seen as strength but painted as weakness.
The absence of private diplomacy not only erodes trust but also removes the critical mechanisms needed to diffuse crises. A single misstep, a missile strike misinterpreted, an overzealous military commander, or a politician cornered by his own rhetoric could ignite an uncontrollable chain reaction. NATO’s increasingly reckless posture, from Biden’s authorization of ATACMS strikes deep inside Russia’s internationally recognized borders to France and the UK greenlighting Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles, is a case in point. Each move nudges us closer to the brink, daring Russia to respond while naively assuming it won’t.
But Russia has responded. The deployment of the hypersonic-ballistic Oreshnik missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, was no mere “combat test.” It was a calculated signal, a demonstration of Moscow’s resolve to defend its red lines with decisive force. The West’s strategy, built on the illusion of Russian hesitance, is a catastrophic miscalculation. Moscow has no illusions about what’s at stake, and its actions reflect a sobering acknowledgment of the existential threat posed by NATO’s provocations.
Unlike the Cold War, this is no longer a game of chess where careful strategy and mutual respect for red lines dictate moves. This is poker, played with nuclear chips, where bluffing and brinkmanship replace logic and restraint. The U.S. and NATO, emboldened by their own propaganda, are gambling that Russia won’t escalate. But Russia, rooted in a historical memory of existential defense, isn’t playing the West’s game, it’s prepared for survival.
History will not be kind to those who gamble with humanity’s future for the sake of their own political vanity. It’s time for the West to step back, not as an act of weakness, but as an acknowledgment of reality.
- Gerry Nolan
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❗The village of Lysovka, north-west of Novogrodovka, in the Pokrovsk direction, came under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
@eurasianchoice
🇷🇺 In the DPR, 27 kilometers of the federal highway R-280 "Novorossiya," connecting Novoazovsk and Mariupol, have been reopened after major repairs.
The section of the road network between Novoazovsk and Mariupol was commissioned ahead of schedule — more than a year earlier than planned. The highway is strategically significant as it forms part of the land corridor to Crimea and supports a significant portion of the economy in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.
🔴 @DDGeopolitics
Ursula von der Leyen wants the EU to catch up with Russia in terms of defence spending:
'Just one figure. Russia spends up to 9% of its GDP on defence. Europe spends an average of 1.9%. There is something wrong with this equation. Our defence spending needs to increase. We need a single market for defence. We need to strengthen the defence industrial base. We need to increase the mobility of our armed forces. And we need common European defence projects.'
"Culture Shock": Brits Froze During Exercises in -15 Degrees
British artillerymen experienced "culture shock" during exercises in Lapland, UK Defence Journal quotes Major David Mortimer as saying. According to him, the -15 degrees Celsius temperature was a shock for the military. At the same time, the article says that the British were simulating "extreme Arctic conditions".
- I hate to break it to the Brits but -15 degrees Celcius is nowhere near "extreme Arctic conditions". 😂
@Slavyangrad
Auto park in Germany jam-packed with thousands of unsold cars
German-made cars are rusting in an overfilled transshipment point as customers don't want to buy them due to high prices and infrastructure problems for electric cars.
“There are many cars here, which were delivered over half a year ago. In the meantime, we even have new cars here, which have been available here for more than a year,” says an employee of the struggling warehouse.
Some are e-models produced by Volkswagen and Audis, which are also hard to sell as the "e-car strategy isn't going well", according to the employee. Volkswagen experienced shrinking sales last October and decided to apply cuts on the background of labor strikes that took place in the country.
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Six explosive devices were used to destroy the Nord Stream - report
The saboteurs used six explosive devices to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines, not four - as previously stated, German newspaper Welt reports, referring to sonar images and previously unpublished documents.
The second previously unknown damage is located on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the report says. The image obtained using sonar by Swedish engineer Eric Andersson showed for the first time that the concrete lining of the pipe broke off in the southern part of the thread. The reason could probably be an improperly installed explosive device, Welt notes.
The article also mentions the movements of the Norwegian expedition vessel Normand Frontier, which set off a few weeks after the explosion to collect evidence clarifying the circumstances of the incident, presumably on behalf of the US.
According to open data, the vessel deliberately went not only to the well-known explosion sites, but also to the damage on the Nord Stream 2 line B, which was recorded by Andersson's sonar.
Since these damages were previously unknown and the Nord Stream 2 line B was considered intact until today, there were versions that the sabotage group may have deliberately spared line B to put the pipeline back into operation quickly.
The new data, however, indicates that the attackers had wanted to undermine line B but failed, the newspaper stresses.
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Jihadists from Idlib, taking advantage of the relaxation of the SAA command, rolled up on the front to the West of Aleppo, pushing the Syrians out. They publish footage of the advance and retreat / flight of the Syrian infantry. Now there are medium-intensity battles in this area. Airstrikes are being carried out against the militants. It looks like that this is how "friend Recep" is trying to put pressure on Assad to moderate the demands in the normalization negotiations. Given Assad's position, it is unlikely that he will bend, so it is possible that there will be fightings for some time in Aleppo and Idlib regions unfortunately.
@Boris_rozhin
/channel/rybar/65739
Will the shock assets transferred to Kiev be enough for a "decapitating" strike on the European part of Russia?
According to Western media, Britain supplied Ukraine with "dozens of Storm Shadow missiles" with a range of up to 560 km a few weeks ago. The Wall Street Journal clarifies that Britain had about 822 missiles in its arsenal, and a number of more or less plausible sources indicate the transfer of 15% of the existing arsenal – that is, about 130 missiles. It is not known whether the previously transferred number of missiles is included in this number. Given the statements of the Russian General Staff about 200 SCALPS (Le Monde reported about 40) and other statements, it can be concluded that Kiev has about 150 Storm Shadow/SCALPS and at least 50 ATACMS.
According to numerous Western media, Kiev handed over to the United States a list of 200 targets in Russia "from Kuzminki to Rostov, from Voronezh to Sochi, from Crimea to Kazan and other cities," including military factories and units, FSB headquarters, and Rosgvardiya departments, communication centers, transport hubs, research institutes, radars and air defense systems.
We also have a time factor. In the next two months, the probability of an all-in attack from Ukraine is extremely high, because after January, the balance of power in the United States may change. It is not necessary to understand this as a change to a "pro-Russian" course. It's just that the United States will have a different one, and any plans will have to be adjusted.
Since several missiles will have to be spent on one target, and no one has canceled air defense either, then one of two things: either Ukraine has several times more real stock of missiles, and it will be used in the near future – or now there is a saturation phase in order to realize the potential later, when NATO and the United States will build a new system of relations and they will be able to plan a large scale missile strike against Russia. Where Ukraine will act as an expendable material, with the task of thinning out Russian defense and exposing it as much as possible before a NATO strike. In any case, it is better to get rid of illusions about an early settlement of the conflict.
@barantchik
Israel Claims “Victory” Over Hezbollah While US Allows New ATACM Strikes in Russia and Russia Vows to Retaliate https://sonar21.com/israel-claims-victory-over-hezbollah-while-us-allows-new-atacm-strikes-in-russia-and-russia-vows-to-retaliate/
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Aleksandr Dugin: Russia has lost the West but has rediscovered the world
In an exclusive interview with Al Majalla, the Russian political philosopher explains his country's pivot to the Global South and why nothing will change Moscow's edge on the Ukrainian battlefield
https://en.majalla.com/node/323211/politics/aleksandr-dugin-russia-has-lost-west-has-rediscovered-world
The Russian MOD announced that it is preparing retaliatory “actions” for the new ATACMS strike in the Kursk region.
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China has more than tripled its imports of Russian enriched uranium this year, this is especially important in the context of the recent Russian ban on enriched uranium sale to the US.
In January-October, China increased imports of Russian uranium by more than three times, if this trend continues, the country will become the main buyer of Russian uranium by the end of the year, according to calculations of the Chinese customs.
So, in ten months of this year, China purchased $ 849 million worth of enriched uranium from Russia, which is 3.2 times more than the level for the same period last year. At the same time, in October, shipments doubled compared to September - to $ 216 million.
Russia was the main supplier of uranium to China this year, while China purchased another $68.3 million worth of this product from Kazakhstan.
@eurasianchoice
West Panic Deepens, NATO Talks War, Starmer Meets UK Defence Chiefs; Reuters: Rapid Russian Advance
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Russian court sentences Quran burner to 14 years in prison
Volgograd Regional Court has sentenced Nikita Zhuravel, who was convicted of burning the Quran, to 14 years in a maximum-security prison for treason, the joint press service of the regional courts reported on Monday.
The 20-year-old staged a public burning of the Muslim holy book in front of a mosque in the city of Volgograd in 2023. He was detained and admitted doing it for money on the instructions of Ukrainian special services, who promised to pay him to incite hatred “between Christians and Muslims”.
#Russia #Ukraine
President Putin at the forum of interregional cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan: Regional ties are really important, in fact they are the foundation for the progressive, sustainable development of the entire complex of our bilateral relations. And it is quite logical that recently Russian-Kazakh regional forums have been held simultaneously with top-level visits.
I would like to note that at today's talks, the issues of strengthening mutually beneficial partnership contacts between the subjects of the Russian Federation and the regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan were at the top of the agenda.
@eurasianchoice
❗The 114th brigade of the 51st Army of the Russian Armed Forces liberated the settlement of Berestky on the northern shore of the Kurakhovo reservoir.
A brigade flag with the hammer and sickle has been raised in the village. A huge support area near the village attracts attention.
We are waiting for official confirmation from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation this week.
Russian troops are further advancing along the shore of the Kurakhovo reservoir to the village of Starye Terny.
From the south, our troops continue to successfully eliminate the pocket east of Uspenovka, and also continue fighting for the center of Kurakhovo.
@Boris_rozhin
🇷🇺 Zelensky is ready to plunge the world into war for his own survival, Dmitry Polyansky stated during a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine:
"The representative of the Kiev regime, of course, will say nothing about this, as the sole focus of Ukrainian diplomacy today is saving Zelensky and his clique. Even if it means plunging the entire world into the abyss of war. We urge you all to think about this and not make mistakes in setting priorities and placing emphasis."
https://rumble.com/v5tc9kk-escalation-insanity-or-5d-chess-with-daniel-davis-deep-dive-live.html
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🇺🇸🇪🇺🇷🇺Despite the use of Western missiles across Russia, nothing has changed to slow the acceleration of Russian forces across the line of contact.
Nothing about the nature of the targets selected, even if entirely successful, would stop or even slow down Russia's advance.
The collective West does not have enough missiles to use in Ukraine to create the strategic change many are imagining Western missiles would.
The use of what missiles the West does still have in large numbers (JASSMs, cruise missiles, etc.) will permanently forfeit its pursuit of primacy in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
The pursuit of Western primacy over Russia is what precipitated this conflict in the first place.
The West has painted itself into a corner it doesn't have the strength, intelligence, or moral fortitude to leave short of destroying the planet.
For those claiming Russia will not use nuclear weapons as the West dangerously escalates - the same people who have been consistently wrong about everything regarding Ukraine - they will have the blood of all who perish on their hands if it does.
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🇰🇿🫶🇷🇺'Kazakhstan and Russia are friends forever'
Russia's President Vladimir Putin was warmly welcomed in Astana by Kazakh President Kassym Tokayev.
By taking part in the painting session, the two presidents have already built a bridge between Russia and Kazakhstan, literally and figuratively.
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Last week, natural gas prices in Europe rose to the highest level in two years.
On November 22, the basic supply contract on the Dutch TTF exchange reached 49.03€ per megawatt hour, which is equivalent to $14.97 per million British thermal units.
Since the beginning of November, prices have increased by about 20%, and the total price increase for the year was 45% due to the weather and fears of supply disruption risks.
In Australia, the Pluto liquefied natural gas plant was stopped for unplanned repairs, which increased concerns about LNG supplies.
The cold weather in Europe has led to faster than usual gas consumption. Although the storage facilities are about 88% full, accelerated gas consumption creates concerns about the amount of reserves at the end of winter and the prospects for accumulation of reserves for the next season.
"The winter season is still at the very beginning, so the impact of the weather could significantly affect next year's deficit expectations," Sadnan Ali, oil and gas analyst at HSBC Holdings Plc, told Bloomberg. He expects Europe to come out of the heating season with 42% of its reserves filled, which is significantly lower than last year's 59%.
According to Victor Gao, chairman of the Chinese Institute for Energy Security, Europe is increasingly dependent on liquefied natural gas, the production and delivery of which are more expensive than pipeline gas from Russia.
On November 19, a state of emergency was introduced in London due to the cold weather, as the temperature dropped to -6 °C. On November 21, the temperature in London dropped by 7 °C below the average for this time of year. The overall demand for heating increased by 16%, relative to previous figures.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that if it gets colder in Europe and Asia this winter than in the last two years, or other risks arise, the global supply and demand balance may deteriorate, leading to higher prices for natural gas.
This is despite the fact that from August 2022 to March 2023, EU countries reduced natural gas consumption by 18%. In the first 8 months of 2024, natural gas consumption in the EU decreased by 22% compared to the average for the period from April 2017 to March 2022.
If gas transit through Ukraine is stopped, Europe will have to compensate for the further loss of supplies from Russia by importing LNG and taking natural gas from storage facilities. The European Network of Gas Transmission System Operators (ENTSOG) estimates in the supply forecast for the winter of 2024-2025 that without supplies from Russia, Europe will complete the winter heating season with 40% filling of gas storage facilities, under a normal winter scenario. In a cold winter scenario, the vaults will be filled by only 11%.
If the winter is cold for several years, it will break the entire current European strategy of gas acquisition and consumption.
/channel/EurasianChoice/44948
@barantchik
🇮🇷 US has replicated the Iranian Shahed-101 drone.
(As much for US military superiority...)
The American company AEVEX Aerospace copied the Iranian Shahed-101 drone and named it "Disruptor", referring it to the Phoenix Ghost family of kamikaze drones.
The Americans' copying of Iranian drones became a priority after Iranian models proved themselves brilliantly in various world conflicts.
@parstodayrussian
Gazprom is preparing to completely stop gas transit through Ukraine, - Reuters
According to sources, the corresponding item is included in the company's plan for next year, but has not yet been approved by management.
As a result of the ending of transit through Ukraine, gas exports to Europe are reported to decrease by 20% to just under 39 billion cubic meters in 2025, compared with more than 49 billion cubic meters in 2024.
@eurasianchoice
🇺🇸🎪 Palantir, Musk, Thiel, and the Deep State Puppet Show
What do Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Donald Trump have in common? They are all tightly wound into the machinery of the military-industrial complex…a tech-driven Deep State that now runs on classified contracts, surveillance algorithms, and Pentagon-friendly billionaires. The curtain lifts, but the show remains the same: an empire in decline, switching out actors while the script of hegemony, alebit tattered, grinds on.
Elon Musk is not just the “visionary” of Tesla and SpaceX, he’s also one of the Pentagon’s most valuable assets. From Starlink’s role in DC’s Ukraineian proxy war to classified space contracts with the DoD, Musk goes beyond mere flirting with the Deep State; he’s deep in bed with it. But wait, who’s Musk’s “mentor” and boss? Enter Peter Thiel, the architect of Palantir, the surveillance juggernaut built to feed on your metadata and serve it to US-Israeli agencies on a silver platter. Thiel didn’t just build Palantir; he built a network, a system designed to merge Silicon Valley’s surveillance tech with Washington’s insatiable appetite for control.
And then there’s Trump. Tied to Thiel since the 2016 campaign, Trump rode into the White House backed by Silicon Valley’s darker corridors. Thiel’s influence on Trump’s cabinet was unmistakable, ushering in tech titans with defense ambitions while turning the populist narrative into a smokescreen for more military spending, and continued the deep state capture. So as Trump eyes 2025, the question is: does it even matter? Is this just more factional infighting within the same system, a controlled opposition act to give Americans the illusion of choice?
Here’s the raw truth: Washington doesn’t "work for" Silicon Valley, it partners with it. This isn’t a simple hierarchy but a symbiosis of mutual exploitation. Silicon Valley provides the surveillance tools, defense tech, and AI capabilities that grease the wheels of empire and aid in war crimes from Donbass to Gaza, while Washington ensures the profits flow through defense budgets, intelligence contracts, and global market dominance. US Elections? They’re theater, designed to distract the masses while the same machine of war, control, and extraction grinds on, untouched. The illusion of choice ensures one thing only: the empire's priorities remain intact, regardless of who holds the reins.
Perhaps it will take cosmic humiliation on the battlefield, served by Russia in Ukraine to force systemic changes in Washington and its vassal states. Post-Ukraine, as the illusion of empire shatters, will Americans awaken to their captured political system and demand true change? Only then might the revolutionary spirit return, not in the service of hollow elections, but in reclaiming sovereignty from the forces of war and control.
- Gerry Nolan
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🇷🇺🇺🇦💥The objective control footage is probably the FIRST in history to document the destruction of the Grom-2 tacticle missile complex of the AFU by an Iskander-M.
➡️ The action unfolded today near the Novomikhailovka settlement in the south of the Odessa region.
@Slavyangrad
Russian Mole drone entering a warehouse in Velyka Novosilka.
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‼️🇷🇺After the liberation of Selidovo, the Center group of forces troops storm Zheltoye and rapidly approach Pokrovsk, grinding the AFU.
The Ukrainian resources and media militants recognize the critical situation and write on social networks that our troops are bringing down their defenses.
▪️Ukrainian propagandist with the call sign "Flour" writes: "The main direction for Russians is north along the railway road, after full control over Zheltoye. Thus, they pose a threat to the settlements of Dachenskoye and Shevchenko. The Center group of troops is set up to cover the Pokrovsk agglomeration from the south and west, and when it is covered from 3 sides, they will try to storm it, as it was in Selidovo."
▪️An AFU officer with the call sign "Alex" confirms the advance to the locality of Zheltoye: "The Russians almost took control of the settlement of Zheltoye, storming it exclusively by infantry. Unlike Pushtinka, where tanks, buggies and armored personnel carriers are used every day."
t.me/RVvoenkor
🚨🌏💥HOW FAST CAN THE ORESHNIK MISSILE HIT US BASES ACROSS THE WORLD?
1. Middle East
Distance and flight time from southern Russia:
✈️ US airbase in Kuwait: 2,100 km, 11 minutes;
✈️ 🚢 US 5th Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain: 2,500 km, 12 minutes;
✈️ US Air Base in Qatar: 2,650 km, 13 minutes;
✈️ US Air Base in Djibouti: 4,100 km, 20 minutes.
2. Pacific and Alaska
Distance and flight time from Kamchatka:
✈️ Air Base in Alaska: 2,400 km, 12 minutes;
✈️ US Air Force and Navy Base in Guam: 4,500 km, 22 minutes;
✈️ 🚢 US Air Force and Navy Bases in Pearl Harbor: 5,100 km, 25 minutes.
3. Minuteman III missile silos
Distance and flight time from Chukotka:
🎯 Minuteman III missile silos in Montana: 4,700 km, 23 minutes;
🎯 Minuteman III missile silos in Minot, North Dakota: 4,900 km, 24 minutes.
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t.me/mayday_7700/4331
150 SCALP and 50 ATACMS transferred to strike 200 targets deep in Russia
The UK delivered "dozens of Storm Shadow missiles" with a range of up to 560 km to Ukraine several weeks ago, Bloomberg writes. This was the first delivery since Prime Minister Keir Starmer came to power. The exact number of missiles is not specified, however, according to The Wall Street Journal, Britain had about 822 missiles in its arsenal.
AMVETS experts explained: Britain is one of the main "puppeteers" of Kiev’s military actions against the Russian Federation, helping to organize attacks, sabotage, and offensives. However, it is unlikely that London has completely exposed its arsenal - most likely, the British transferred about 15% of the missiles, that is, 120-130 pieces. Earlier, the head of the Russian General Staff warned about the possible transfer of 200 "Scalps", and Le Monde reported about 40 missiles being transferred. Most likely, about 150 cruise missiles were transferred.
London allowed Kiev to strike any old Russian regions with British missiles without restrictions, and the White House gave the Ukrainian army instructions on selecting targets for ATACMS strikes in the Kursk region and beyond. After that, Mike Waltz "reassured" - allegedly ATACMS will not fly to Moscow or St. Petersburg.
However, The Wall Street Journal admitted: 200 targets deep in Russia were agreed upon in the United States for ATACMS and Storm Shadow strikes. These are targets "from Kuzminki to Rostov, from Voronezh to Sochi, from Crimea to Kazan and other large cities." Reuters also confirmed that the targets include military factories and units, headquarters, FSB and Rosgvardia directorates, communication centers, transport hubs, research institutes, radars and air defense systems near and inside many Russian cities.
In fact, the military conflict between Russia, the United States and Britain has already begun.