🇷🇺⚓️ The Russian naval nuclear group has been completely updated, said the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev.

"The naval group of nuclear forces of the Russian Federation has been completely updated - this remains a priority for our country. Nuclear forces have been and will be the guarantor of the security of our state at the global level," Moiseyev said at the plenary session of the XIV International Forum "Arctic: Present and Future".

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🇧🇾 President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has ordered the deployment of the medium-range Oreshnik missile systems in the republic and the competent planning of its use, according to Chief of the General Staff of Belarus Pavel Muraveiko.

"There is only one task — to ensure the deployment of Oreshnik on our territory and to competently plan its use," Muraveiko said.

When asked how many such systems are planned to be delivered to Belarus, the military said that "only the president of Russia knows about this."

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🇨🇳Key statements by China's President Xi Jinping at a meeting with Russia's Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev:

💬China believes Ukrainian crisis should not be provoked for further escalation

💬It's necessary to promote early detente of situation in Ukraine

💬China is ready to strengthen alignment of development strategies with Russia

💬China will continue to work with the international community to create favorable conditions for political regulation of the Ukrainian crisis

💬Russia and China must work together to maintain global strategic stability and international justice

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❗️🇭🇺 Hungarian PM Viktor Orban proposed an exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine and a ceasefire during a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

On the same day, Moscow submitted exchange proposals to the Hungarian embassy. Judging by Kiev's reaction, Ukraine rejected Orban's proposals, the presidential press secretary emphasized.

Consultations on establishing peace in Ukraine will continue and Moscow supports Orban's efforts, the Kremlin noted.

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❗️Russian troops have liberated the settlement of Novoivanovka in the Kursk region, its Defense Ministry said

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' total losses during the fighting in the Kursk region has now exceeded 40,000 soldiers, the ministry added.

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❗️NATO is extremely concerned about Moscow's statements about the direct participation of the United States, Britain and France in long-range strikes deep into the country, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has claimed.

The alliance's lawyers fear that Russia may accuse Western states of carrying out armed aggression. And although the case may not reach the courts, such accusations will be perceived with understanding by the countries of the Global South.

NATO's concerns have seriously increased after Russia used the Oreshnik missile. Brussels fears that the accusatory arguments may be used not in the legal plane, but to justify retaliatory actions, the SVR emphasized.

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US, its partners VS China in Oceania: Why the islands matter

The Pentagon has announced the first-ever test intercept of a ballistic missile target off Guam, a US territory in the Western Pacific. The past few years have seen the US and its partners bolster ties with island territories in Oceania, including military ones.

What are the territories of US interest?

🔺December 2024: the Australia-Nauru security deal that stipulates Australia’s veto right if the Pacific atoll opts to enter deals with third countries, including China.

🔺May 2024: Australia’s similar agreement with Tuvalu.

🔺November 2024: The US-Fiji logistics cooperation agreement endorsed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

🔺November 2024: Announcement of plans to invest about $800 million in Tinian, to build up defense operations, reclaiming a WWII military airfield.

🔺February-March 2023: The reopening of US embassies in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

China views Oceania as a strategic region

China considers Oceania as a region of strategic importance, seeking to “increase its engagement” with Pacific Island countries.

▪️As of 2024, eleven states in Oceania have diplomatic relations with China, including Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Palau and the Solomon Islands.

▪️April 2022: The China-Solomon Islands security agreement, which provides for the deployment of Chinese police, armed police, military personnel.

What do you think is behind the US’ interest in island states?

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❗️Attack on IAEA vehicle on road to Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) indicates intention to harm or intimidate agency experts, the agency's head Rafael Grossi said.

During the drone attack, there were three Ukrainian vehicles in convoy on the road to the ZNPP, and it was the agency vehicle that was the target of the attack, Grossi said, adding that despite attempts to intimidate IAEA experts, the agency will continue working in ZNPP.

IAEA will not point fingers when talking about the drone attack on the agency vehicle, first they need hard evidence, he concluded.

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🇵🇱🇫🇷 Polish PM Donald Tusk told French President Emmanuel Macron that Polish troops will not enter Ukraine even after a ceasefire is reached.

"We are not planning such actions yet," Tusk told reporters after a meeting with Macron, commenting on the French leader's initiative to create an international peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Poland will cooperate on solutions that will first and foremost protect Europe and Ukraine from a resumption of the conflict after a ceasefire, if it can be achieved, the official added.

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❗️US President-elect Donald Trump said that he is against the Ukrainian strikes on Russia with long-range US missiles, arguing they lead to an even greater escalation of the conflict

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🚨🇮🇷✈️ IRANIAN DRONES ARE COMING

👇Sputnik breaks down the top 5 Iranian drones for our American readers.

Inspired by US Congressman Jeff Van Drew.

SHAHED 136

🔺Unique delta wing drone design unveiled in 2021
🔺Built by the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (Persian Acronym HESA)
🔺Weapons Payload: 50 kg
🔺Dimensions: 3.5x2.5 meters
🔺Propeller-powered
🔺185 km/h top speed
🔺Range: 2,500 km

MOHAJER 10

🔺Large, aircraft-style drone unveiled in 2023
🔺Designed by the Qods Aviation industries Company as a multipurpose UAV for long-range strikes, surveillance, electronic warfare and full-spectrum superiority* Weapons Payload: 300 kg
🔺Dimensions: at 6.5x4.2x18.2 meters
🔺Propeller-powered
🔺210 km/h top speed
🔺Range: 2,000 km

ARASH 2

🔺Winged missile-shaped drone design unveiled in 2020
🔺Created by the Defense Industries Organization
🔺Weapons Payload: 260 kg
🔺Dimensions: 4.5x4 meters
🔺Propeller-powered (turbojet engine-powered variant known as the Kian-2 available)
🔺186 km/h top speed (400 km/h for the rocket-powered variant)
🔺Range: 2,000 km

KARRAR

🔺Family of versatile, jet-powered UAVs created by HESA as a target practice drone in 2010
🔺Weapons Payload: Up to 225 kg. Includes ability to carry bombs, anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, and even air-to-air missiles
🔺Dimensions: 4x2.5 meters
🔺Turbojet engine
🔺900 km/h flight speed
🔺Range: 1,000 km

KAMAN-22

🔺Unveiled in 2021 and designed by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
🔺Weapons payload: 300 kg
🔺Dimensions: 6.5x2.5x17 meters (estimate)
🔺Turboprop-powered
🔺Maximum flight speed: Unknown
🔺Range: 3,000 kg

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❗️Donald Trump said the most dangerous situation at the moment is Zelensky's "stupid" decision to launch missile strikes on Russia

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Pre-emptive pardon for Clintons will have to go back to 1992 – Wall Street analyst

Former President Bill Clinton has indicated he is open to discussing a "pre-emptive pardon" for his wife, Hillary Clinton, with outgoing head of state Joe Biden, while maintaining that she has done nothing wrong.

This development was anticipated, according to Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel, who tells Sputnik that Bill Clinton is also likely to seek a pardon for himself and his daughter.

Ortel adds that the proposed pardon could cover a period starting much earlier than Hillary's 2016 email scandal, which Bill Clinton mentioned on "The View" talk show.

The alleged fraud and pay-to-play activities involving the Clinton Foundation were significant issues, according to Ortel, who has been investigating the charity for many years.

"As in the case of the first Biden family pardon, my view is that a federal pardon for the Clinton family will have to go back, perhaps, to 1992 and continue so long as 'The Clinton Foundation' and its affiliates may operate," Ortel suggests.

Earlier, Biden provided his son with an unusual blanket pardon covering all possible crimes between 2014 and 2024.
The Clintons "have been insiders in a rigged political system at the federal level" since Bill's first presidential campaign in 1992, Ortel claims.

However, even a federal pre-emptive pardon from Biden "is likely to leave Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton vulnerable to state and foreign prosecutions, along with others," the analyst believes.

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❗️🇷🇺🇭🇺 Russian FM Sergey Lavrov discussed the proposed temporary ceasefire in Ukraine with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto over the phone, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Szijjarto told the Russian minister that Zelensky rejected Budapest's proposal. Lavrov noted that this is far from the first time that Ukraine has not accepted humanitarian initiatives.

In a conversation with Szijjarto, Lavrov confirmed the vision of a realistic path to ending the conflict in Ukraine, outlined in Russian President Vladimir Putin's June speech, the Foreign Ministry added.

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Trump's nominee for FBI chief has Hillary Clinton on his "gangsters" list

Bill Clinton's readiness to discuss a pre-emptive pardon with President Joe Biden is likely influenced by FBI Director Christopher Wray's decision to step down and Donald Trump's nomination of Kash Patel, according to Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel, who spoke with Sputnik.

Ortel suggests that Wray is part of the same cabal as former FBI Director James Comey, who allowed Hillary Clinton to escape consequences for her 2016 email scandal.

In contrast, Patel has never been part of the D.C. "swamp" and played a key role in debunking the Trump-Russia collusion allegations, which, based on then-CIA Director John Brennan's declassified memo, may have been fabricated by Hillary Clinton to divert attention from her email scandal.

According to Ortel, the Department of Justice (DoJ), FBI, and IRS have long covered up the Clintons' apparent felonies, despite many being evident.

"When the FBI finally spoke with me in December 2018, they focused on my connections with Peter Smith, Jerry Corsi, and Roger Stone, claiming they lacked the scope to investigate why so many in the Obama and Bush administrations might be interested in covering up Clinton Foundation crimes," Ortel says.

If Patel takes charge of the FBI, he is expected to overhaul the bureau and could investigate the Clintons earnestly, according to Ortel. Reports indicate that Hillary Clinton is on Patel's "government gangsters" list.

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