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Anton Gerashchenko is an official advisor and a former deputy minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, ex-member of the Ukrainian parliament. Cooperation - @Tatiana_Pravda
Russia will sign an interstate treaty with Belarus on security guarantees within the framework of the Union State, using all available forces and means, – Putin at the Union State summit in Minsk.
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Today is the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Actually, every day for us is the day of the AFU now.
Since the full-scale invasion started, they turned Russian plans for "Kyiv in three days" into a nightmare for the Kremlin. Today, they continue to stand guard over Ukraine, Europe, and the future of democracy in the world.
Ukrainian Defenders are not just statistics; they are people—people whose courage and sacrifice uphold our statehood and freedom. Each of them is someone's universe.
Deepest gratitude to Ukrainian Warriors. May you all return home safe.
Slava Ukraini.
Russia has begun to explore Afghanistan’s mineral reserves, Russian media report.
The country’s reserves are preliminarily valued at anywhere between USD 1-3 trillion. They include precious metals such as silver, gold, and platinum, and rare earth minerals like lithium, beryllium, and cadmium.
Previously, Russia started a rapprochement with the Taliban. Though the organization ruling Afghanistan is still on the Russian list of “terrorist organizations”, Kremlin officials have expressed readiness to remove them from the list, and have had several high-level meetings with them.
Now it is clear why Moscow has been flirting with the Talibs.
📸: Al Jazeera
Russian Z-blogger Fighterbomber says the situation in Syria is catastrophic. According to him, Russian military bases and airfield are virtually unprotected from shelling, there is nowhere to withdraw them, and evacuation is completely impossible. He says they probably will come under artillery and drone strikes in the near future.
In his Telegram channel, Z-blogger wrote the following:
"It is still difficult to make any predictions on the situation in Syria, but we can state that the situation has become about the same as in 2015, except for one factor.
The factor of the emergence of drones. Drones, which no one anywhere has learned how to reliably fight against. All other weapons of the Islamists do not differ much in quality and quantity from what they had in 2015. The people are still the same.
How does this difference threaten us?
It threatens us with the loss of the air strike component, which accounts for 75 percent of the combat capabilities of our troops in the SAR. Khmeimim air base is not a multi-storey promo project with basements, it is a field with lightly assembled houses on top, which will cease to function as soon as the enemy comes within artillery fire range or drone flight range.
And then it will not be possible to use the maneuver of aviation, which saves us on the mainland.
There's nowhere to withdraw.
In fact, the only reserve airfields left in Syria are two airfields. This is a critical minimum.
The situation with the naval base in Tartus is about the same. Of course, it can be defended and held for quite a long time, if there is someone and something to do, but it will either not be able to function at all, or very limitedly.
It is almost impossible to evacuate the bases. At best, you can evacuate most of the personnel, documentation and transfer serviceable aircraft.
Well, some equipment, which is on the move, can be place on dry cargo ships and landing ships, but of course not all. All other equipment will remain on the bases.
Resistance to drones is also limited by the distance from the mainland with its supply of missiles and missile systems. But if it comes to FPV drones...
Therefore, the main task of our forces in Syria is to prevent the enemy from entering Latakia, even if we have to temporarily give up the rest of the territory. It's clear what and how to do in theory, but we'll see how it will look like in practice.
There is no need to be surprised by the speed of the enemy's seizure of territories, it works both ways.
We continue to observe, but the fact that the initiative is not on our side and the situation is very difficult cannot be denied."
Over the past few days, reports emerged that anti-LGBTQ+ raids swept through Moscow’s club scene in Russia. While not out of the ordinary in one of the most homophobic countries in the world, this time the raids had a new goal - conscription into the military.
One witness reported that law enforcement stormed the Moscow Mono club over the weekend at around 1:30 a.m. Officers in balaclavas used violence against anyone who tried to resist. The attendees were detained until 6am—women and couples were allowed to leave first, while men were divided into groups and taken to the bar area. There, they were photographed with passports, interrogated about their jobs and families, and had their phones searched.
Some detainees were issued draft notices on the spot. A woman with a stack of notices singled out younger-looking men, handing them summonses to report to military enlistment offices.
Draft notices are also being issued during similar raids on migrants, as part of a broader campaign of pressure on those deemed undesirable by the Russian state.
Protests in Georgia: Day 8
Last night was the first night when the police reportedly did not clash with protesters.
But that is not indicative of a change in approach.
In fact, crackdown on protesters continues:
◾️Police allegedly seized gas masks, goggles and other protective equipment during the raids on opposition parties offices yesterday.
◾️ Reports continue to emerge of ill-treatment of protesters in detention.
◾️Yesterday, another opposition leader, Aleko Elisashvili was arrested. Telegram channels report that he was rushed to a medical facility today as he was beaten during his detention.
◾️More arrests today: this time, representatives of cultural sector were targeted. Police detained actor Andro Chichinadze and comedian Onise Tskhadadze, according to NewsGeorgia.
◾️ These arrests come as a result of a strike by culture representatives, which began yesterday. They are protesting outside theaters and other cultural institutions today, Telegram channels report.
◾️ PM Kobakhidze stated that the “source of violence” was eliminated. He referred to the arrests of opposition and activists. Now he expects the protests to naturally fizzle out.
◾️ Nonetheless people are gathering in the streets of Tbilisi, Kutaisi and other cities tonight once more.
On the sidelines of the OSCE meeting in Malta, Lavrov met with the foreign ministers of Hungary and Slovakia, Péter Szijjártó and Juraj Blanár.
What do you think they discussed?
Russia's foreign ministry ordered the Polish consulate in Saint Petersburg to close in retaliation for Poland shutting the Russian consulate in the Polish city of Poznan. Three diplomats were declared persona non grata - they are obliged to leave the Russian territory.
Poland's Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, speaking with reporters upon arriving at the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting, said Poland accepts this decision "with dignified indifference," as they expected it.
Radosław Sikorski also warned that "If acts of diversion and terrorism continue, I will close down the rest of the Russian consulate presence in Poland."
Source: https://www.barrons.com/news/russia-to-close-polish-consulate-in-saint-petersburg-in-tit-for-tat-move-1d03a889
Finnish authorities have filed charges for committing five war crimes in Ukraine against Russian neo-Nazi Yan Petrovsky - Yle
The trial began in Helsinki District Court. According to prosecutors, under Petrovsky's command, the Rusich neo-Nazi paramilitary group massacred 22 Ukrainian soldiers and seriously wounded four others on 5 September 2014.
The prosecution is seeking a life sentence, which in Finland means an average of 14-15 years behind bars. Petrovsky's lawyer, Heikki Lampela, said that his defendant will deny all the charges.
Source: https://yle.fi/a/74-20129519
"Russia does not want to attack anyone at all. It's the United States who has now attacked us using the Ukrainian regime." - Russian foreign minister Lavrov on the sidelines of the OSCE Plenary.
And Russia is still welcomed in the OSCE. What a bizarre world.
Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham fighters say they are advancing toward the center of Hama.
Meanwhile, Syrian government forces report that they are "relocating" outside city limits.
Syrian rebels appear to have taken the key city of Hama - Reuters
Reports emerged that anti-Assad rebels have entered Hama after "intense clashes" with pro-government forces.
Hama remained under government control throughout the Syrian Civil War. It is a critical spot, as it opens up further advance onto the city of Homs, a key logistical hub on the way to Damascus.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-rebels-say-they-have-begun-enter-crucial-city-hama-2024-12-05/
A number of diplomats and foreign ministers left the OSCE plenary meeting before Lavrov’s scheduled speech.
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Russian media report that state-managed VTB, one of the largest Russian banks, could crash rather soon.
VTB has taken out a loan from the Russian Central Bank for 2 trillion rubles (about $19 billion). There are no signs that they would be able to repay the loan anytime soon. Russian media suppose that should the bank crash, "the right people" would be able to get their money out, while ordinary shareholders would not be allowed to sell their shares for a year or two.
The bank has 21,3 million clients and serves almost a million businesses, according to open data. It is on the sanctions lists and has been disconnected from the SWIFT system.
A crash or any significant problems at VTB would spell trouble for the entire Russian economy.
Russia's representative in the UN Security Council started smiling broadly during a report on violations of the rights of Ukrainian children.
The operational director of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, Dariia Zarivna, said that at least 16 children are killed and injured every week. Millions of Ukrainians have become refugees and hundreds of thousands more children remain in the occupied territories.
The Russian was very amused by the words that his terrorist country will never be able to erase the authorship of the crimes it committed in Ukraine.
Filthy people.
A new drone-missile, "Peklo" (Ukrainian for "hell"), has been introduced in Ukraine. Today, Ukroboronprom handed it over to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This new development from Ukraine's defense industry can reach speeds of up to 700 km/h and has a range of over 700 km. The weapon has already demonstrated its effectiveness in combat.
Russia is moving its helicopters from Homs to Damascus, Russian Telegram channels report.
They also allege that the Syrian Army has concluded a mutual defence pact with the Kurdish forces, and are now leaving the positions east of Raqqa to the Kurds.
Rebels have allegedly captured the city of Talbiseh, Russian Telegram channels report. It is only 10-12 km from Homs.
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Complete rejection of NATO, as well as of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions: In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Russia's foreign minister Lavrov voiced a number of Russian conditions for peace talks with Ukraine.
▪️ Taboo on Western military bases in Ukraine and exercises involving foreign troops;
▪️ Zelenskyy's public cancellation of the decree banning negotiations with war criminal Putin;
▪️ Repeal of laws banning the Russian language, culture, media, and the UOC-MP.
Lavrov has also traditionally promoted Kremlin propaganda about a "peaceful" Russia that allegedly does not intend to destroy the "brotherly" Ukrainian people.
What conclusions can we make from the interview:
◾️We can see what the enemy wants and suggests;
◾️These suggestions and statements shouldn't be taken word by word, this is part of a preparation process for negotiations;
◾️We need a sober analysis of our positions and a search for the most optimal and realistic scenario for Ukraine with the help of our allies;
This is the time for work, concentration, uniting efforts - for diplomats, AFU, society and Ukrainian allies.
Syrian rebels have taken down a statue of Hafez al-Assad, Bashar Assad's father, in the center of Hama.
The rebels are reportedly rapidly advancing toward Homs, one of the country's largest cities. They are now in its suburbs.
If Homs is captured, Syrian rebels could cut off the coast from the rest of the country and open a direct route to Damascus.
30 years ago today, Ukraine signed the infamous Budapest Memorandum.
The US, the UK and Russia gave their assurances that Ukrainian security and sovereignty would not be violated. In exchange, Ukraine promised to give up its nuclear arsenal - one-third of the Soviet nuclear arsenal in total.
Ukraine held up our end of the bargain. By 1996, all Ukrainian nuclear warheads were transferred to Russia. Some other military equipment - like strategic bomber planes - was simply scrapped; some were transferred to Russia, and, according to recent investigations, they are now used for missile strikes on Ukraine.
In 2014, Russia broke its promises by annexing Crimea and invading Donbas. In 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine.
Russia would not have dared to attack another nuclear state. The Russian aggression today is a direct consequence of the Budapest Memorandum.
Ukrainians today are paying the highest price. And I am sure that lessons have been learned by the whole world - although the conclusions they drew are entirely different.
Romanian elections were a target of Russian interference - intelligence reports.
Declassified documents from Romanian intelligence say that the country became the target of "aggressive hybrid Russian attacks" during the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, BBC reported. The outgoing President, Klaus Iohannis, revealed these documents ahead of the Presidential runoff vote on Dec 8, where pro-European centrist Elena Lasconi will face the unlikely victor of the 1st round, the pro-Russian Călin Georgescu.
▪️Georgescu's victory was driven by a massive TikTok campaign. The intelligence called the campaign "highly organised" and "guerrilla", and suggested it was conducted from "external locations".
▪️The candidate always maintained that he didn't spend any money on his campaign. However, one of the reports found that one Tik Tok account made $380 000 worth of payments to influencers promoting Georgescu in just one month.
▪️TikTok has also informed Romanian authorities about the discovery of a network of accounts linked to the Russian state media outlet Sputnik. The network's target audience was users in Romania and Moldova.
▪️Apart from influence campaigns on social media, intelligence services detected massive coordinated cyber attacks. 85 000 hacks were attempted in the lead up to and during the elections.
▪️One of the declassified documents says that the entire operation shows signs of being "co-ordinated by a state-sponsored actor".
📸Profimedia Images
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgq18w507dko
"At least six city mayors and heads of community are currently in Russian captivity," - President Zelenskyy.
These officials are among the thousands of Ukrainians taken prisoner by Russia since 2014.
According to the Ukrainian Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, over 16,000 Ukrainian civilians may currently be imprisoned by the Russians.
The rebels have allegedly taken the military airport in Hama
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While Lavrov delivered his speech, the Spokesperson of the Czech MFA Daniel Drake, who was in the audience, chose a different form of protest and read an interesting book about how to bring Vladimir Putin to justice.
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The rebels allegedly downed a helicopter of Assad's army
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Unexpectedly, a rather sensational interview with the so-called "Speaker of the State Council of Crimea", Vladimir Konstantinov, appeared. He admitted that the goals of the "special military operation" stated by Putin could not be achieved and that concessions and negotiations were necessary.
Obviously, he could not start talking about a truce himself.
Obviously, the Kremlin is beginning to realize that compromises need to be considered. Moreover, the effect of sanctions is becoming more and more obvious.
"In an ordinary Ukrainian village, where all the people speak Russian and go to Russia to work, two Banderites are settled. Five years later, all the teenagers become Banderites and march under Nazi flags." - Nebenzya, representative of Russia to the United Nations.
Who do you think is more odious? "Russian diplomat" Lavrov, Nebenzya or Zakharova?
The launch of the Oreshnik was planned long before the US allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS to strike Russia - New York Times
During a recent call between Russian General Gerasimov and U.S. Chairman of Joint Chiefs Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the Russian commander allegedly revealed that the plans for the "test launch" of Oreshnik were in place before President Biden finally gave the green light for long-range missile strikes deep into Russian territory.
It was never about the ATACMS. Letting Ukraine defend itself does not lead to escalation.
📸: Getty Images
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/us/politics/russian-general-call.html
A Ukrainian delegation led by Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, is currently in Washington. It is reported they met with senior representatives from Donald Trump’s team - Donald Trump's choice for White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and his Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg.
https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraines-yermak-meets-senior-trump-advisers-source-says-2024-12-04/