🗣 EU & NATO prep proxy wars against Russia, expert claims

Poland, the Baltic states, and Scandinavia are being groomed for proxy wars with Russia, backed by NATO and the EU, warns military expert Alexander Bartosh.

💬 "Currently, Ukraine is performing the role of a proxy agent. European and NATO politicians are generally focused on expanding the circle of countries that could be drawn into conflict with Russia as proxy forces, including Finland, the Baltic states, Poland, some countries in the Caucasus, and Central Asia. This is the essence of the proxy war strategy — involving these states in armed conflicts with Russia," he tells Sputnik.

Earlier, in an interview with the Hungarian publication Partizán, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that Poland and the Baltic states sabotaged her attempts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, indirectly provoking the start of the special military operation.

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🇰🇵🫶🇷🇺 Kim sends birthday greetings to Putin

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un congratulated Vladimir Putin on his birthday, praising Russia’s leadership in building a new multipolar world.

In his message, Kim expressed confidence that the friendship between Pyongyang and Moscow will last forever, highlighting the strong bilateral ties between the two nations.

Kim also promised that both countries would continue to expand and develop their relations in all areas, emphasizing that Pyongyang and Moscow will always stand together.

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🇷🇺📹Russia's FM Lavrov arrives for 7th Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan

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▫️ FM Lavrov warns against military presence of non-regional actors in Afghanistan

▫️ Trump says he made a decision regarding the supply of “Tomahawks” to Ukraine

▫️ Kim sends birthday greetings to Putin

▫️ Ukrainians cash in on NATO aid meal kits

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🤫 ‘Mine, baby, mine’: US scrambles to break China’s rare-earth dominance

The US needs to “get back to mining” in its own country, says US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.

He underscores that China “controls 85 to 100% of all the refining of the 20 most important rare earth minerals,” essential for defense, automotive, and high tech.

💬 “It’s not just ‘Drill, baby, drill’; it’s ‘Mine, baby, mine’ with President Trump,” he says.

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💶📉Euro plunges as French political crisis deepens — report

The euro is tumbling amid France’s escalating political turmoil, with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s abrupt resignation sparking a selloff, Bloomberg reports.

Key signals now point to further declines:

🔹 Trading below $1.17 – lowest in over a week

🔹 Options positioning turns bearish after a bullish streak

🔹Largest tilt toward downside exposure in a month per DTCC data

Unlike September’s political shock, which saw the euro rally, this crisis is driving sustained pessimism. With US catalysts muted during the government shutdown, euro-negative headlines are dominating, the outlet stresses.

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🇦🇫 Afghanistan takes hard line against US return to Bagram

📍 At talks with Russian FM Lavrov, Afghanistan's leadership delivered a firm message: no US return to Bagram Air Base, Russia's special representative to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, informed.

👉 Earlier, Trump threatened Afghanistan with "bad" consequences if it refuses to hand over Bagram to US control, demanding an immediate transfer of the airbase.

Afghan officials responded strongly, with Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Matin Qani calling Trump's statements "full of hatred and ambition."

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIAN MOD UPDATE: HUGE RUSSIAN GAINS AND DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES

⚡️NOVOVASILEVSKOYE IN ZAPOROZHYE REGION LIBERATED

⚡️ FEDOROVKA IN DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC LIBERATED

Taking control of Novovasilevskoye will create a strong bridgehead for Russian troops for a further advance towards one of the key Ukrainian defensive hubs in the region - the city of Gulyaypole.

Fedorovka allows Russian troops to closely approach the settlement of Zvanovka, and its liberation would create conditions for a semi-encirclement of Seversk.

◻️ Russian forces struck the energy and transport infrastructure and fuel storage facilities of the Ukrainian miltants

◻️ Air defense superiority: 416 drones

◻️ Ukrainian losses: 1,355 troops killed or wounded

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