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The new measures target up to 100 oil tankers that the West claims are part of a Russian “shadow fleet” The British government has announced its “largest-ever” sanctions package against Russia, according to an official statement. The measure aim to deal a blow to the Russia’s oil transportation network and reduce Moscow’s energy revenues. The announcement was timed to coincide with Russia’s celebration of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany on Friday. London, one of Kiev’s staunchest supporters – providing it with military and tactical support and billions in cash – has long claimed that Moscow poses a threat to the UK’s national security. Various British governments have implemented over 2,000 sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict over three years ago. “The threat Russia poses to our national security cannot be underestimated. To ramp up the pressure on Putin, I’m announcing the largest package of sanctions yet,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on X. Read more The new measures blacklist up to 100 oil tankers that the West claims are part of a Russian “shadow fleet,” older vessels operating outside Western insurance systems. According to London, the vessels have carried more than $24 billion worth of cargo since the start of 2024. The EU and the US have also targeted Russian shipping and a 17th European sanctions package that would blacklist another 150 ships is expected to be approved later this month. Moscow has dismissed the restrictions as a “futile” gesture that will not harm the Russian economy, but instead drive-up energy costs and inflation across Europe. The UK has also accused the vessels of posing a threat to critical undersea infrastructure, such as telecommunications cables and oil and gas pipelines, dismissed by Moscow as “hastily concocted fantasy stories.” London’s tough sanctions rhetoric comes as Britain, along with the EU, is being sidelined from the peace process around Ukraine. READ MORE: EU and UK preparing naval blockade of Russia – Putin aide A key London meeting on the conflict was downgraded last month after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled his attendance. US President Donald Trump has also floated the idea of a possible partial lifting of restrictions on Moscow as part of a possible peace settlement. Медиа: | ↑ |
The military bloc’s deputy commander for Ukraine support told a meeting, “If rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy” NATO’s deputy commander for Ukraine support has been dismissed over a rape-related remark he made during a high-level meeting, Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday. Major General Hartmut Renk told a gathering in February “If rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy.” Following a formal complaint from a female British officer, Renk admitted to making the comment but reportedly used it sarcastically to motivate his team, according to the outlet. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and General Carsten Breuer, the head of the German armed forces, oversaw an investigation, after which, the minister removed Renk from his NATO post, canceled his planned promotion to a role in the US, and initiated disciplinary proceedings. The two-star general now reportedly faces early retirement. Read more NATO publicly committed to combating conflict-related sexual violence and adopted a zero-tolerance policy in 2020. Each bloc member is responsible for investigating misconduct and taking disciplinary or legal action against its own personnel. Despite this policy, sexual misconduct within NATO ranks, including incidents involving senior officers, has been widely reported. A 2024 NATO Review highlighted persistent sexual harassment and called for cultural change within military institutions. Renk’s dismissal comes as new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to overhaul the country’s armed forces, restore credibility, and significantly increase military spending under the campaign slogan, “Germany is back.” READ MORE: German defense minister pushing for ‘drastic’ budget hike – Reuters The former senior commander began his military career in 1982 and was deployed to both Kosovo and Afghanistan. He most recently worked on providing weapons and training for Kiev through NATO’s Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) program. Медиа: | ↑ |
For Africans, Victory Day was not just about the fall of Hitler, but about the idea that brutal regimes could fall at all Victory Day, marked every year in May, is remembered for the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Red Army of the Soviet Union and its allies in 1945. The world saw fascism crumble under the weight of mass resistance, both military and moral. But while Europe swept its streets and held its parades, across the African continent, colonized peoples watched with a different kind of hope. For them, Victory Day was not just about the fall of Hitler. It was about the idea that brutal regimes could fall at all. That whitewashed myths of European superiority, fortified by tanks and treaties, could be buried in the rubble of Berlin. Read more Africa in 1945 was still largely in chains. From the deserts of North Africa to the forests of Central Africa, Europeans governed through coercion, racial hierarchy, and theft dressed in the language of “civilization.” And so, when fascism lost, Africa’s revolutionaries leaned in. If a system as monstrous as Nazism could be crushed, then surely the British, French, Portuguese, and Belgian empires—those well-dressed relatives of fascism—could be kicked out too. Victory Day planted a powerful seed: the idea that no system, however armored in ideology or bullets, is eternal. Colonialism and fascism were not just neighbors on the historical timeline. They were ideological cousins who often shared the same tailor. Both relied on military terror, racial supremacy, and the economic logic that some people existed to be ruled, and others to rule. In Algeria, France perpetuated forced labor, mass internments, and massacres. In Egypt, the British occupation entrenched inequality and racial hierarchy until the 1952 Free Officers Revolution ended King Farouk’s reign. In the Congo, Belgian rule left a legacy of mass violence and extraction so extreme that a UN report in 2020 called it a “colonial genocide.” Mozambique, Kenya, and Angola were ruled by the gun, not by consent. African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Samora Machel, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the National Liberation Front (FLN) in Algeria didn’t need textbooks to define fascism. They lived it. Nkrumah declared in 1960: “The colonial territories are not free… unless we consider colonialism a form of democratic rule. But colonialism is the rule of a foreign minority over the majority.” Read more Victory Day helped ignite African resistance in very real and practical ways. It wasn’t long after the Nazi defeat that uprisings, protests, and movements surged across the continent. In 1947, the West African National Secretariat was formed in London, pushing for decolonization. In 1952, Egypt exploded with revolution, as young officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew the British-controlled monarchy. In 1954, the FLN launched its full-scale revolt against France. Ghana gained independence in 1957 under Kwame Nkrumah, declaring not just Ghana’s freedom, but that of all Africa. “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked to the total liberation of Africa,” Nkrumah famously declared. His words were not mere rhetoric—they were a blueprint. That same year, thousands of Kenyans were locked in British detention camps during the Mau Mau uprising. In 1960, 69 unarmed protestors were gunned down in Sharpeville, South Africa. In 1961, South African communists, African nationalists, and Pan-Africanists formed Umkhonto we Sizwe. In 1963, the Organization of African Unity was born in Addis Ababa with a charter committed to the total liberation of the continent. While the so-called “free world” supported colonial powers—France in Algeria, Britain in Kenya and Malaya, Portugal in Mozambique and Angola—the USSR made its position clear: the war against fascism did not end in 1945. It had merely shifted geography. Read more Moscow supported African and Arab liberation movements with military training, arms shipments, medical aid, diplomatic backing at the United Nations, and ideological education. The Soviet Union trained fighters at military academies in Tashkent, Odessa, and Moscow. Cuba, a close Soviet ally, sent over 36,000 troops to Angola between 1975 and 1988 to help defeat South African apartheid forces during the Angolan Civil War. Soviet arms were sent to Algeria, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Zimbabwe. Leaders like Agostinho Neto, Amílcar Cabral, Samora Machel, and Oliver Tambo were all beneficiaries of Soviet logistical and ideological support. Egypt, under President Nasser, became a key player in this anti-imperialist axis. After the 1952 revolution, Egypt aligned with the Non-Aligned Movement and strengthened ties with the Soviet Union. Nasser offered training, arms, and diplomatic space to Algerian, Mozambican, and other African liberation fighters. Cairo became a beacon of Pan-African and Pan-Arab unity. In 1960, the Voice of the Arabs radio station broadcast revolutionary content from Cairo to the entire African continent. Algeria’s war for independence from France from 1954 to 1962 was arguably the most brutal anti-colonial struggle on the continent. Backed by Egypt, the USSR, and China, the FLN fought an eight-year guerrilla war against one of Europe’s strongest military powers. Over 400,000 Algerians died. But in 1962, Algeria declared independence and became a continental center for revolutionary diplomacy, training movements from Zimbabwe to Guinea-Bissau. Tanzania under Julius Nyerere became the logistical heart of Southern African liberation. Between 1964 and 1980, Tanzania hosted freedom fighters from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Namibia. Samora Machel’s Mozambique fought a decade-long armed struggle against Portugal’s fascist Estado Novo regime and declared independence in 1975. Read more The Soviet Union and Cuba were instrumental. Cuba deployed thousands of troops to support the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) from 1975 to 1991. These leaders were not ideological marionettes of the USSR. They were practical strategists. Nyerere famously warned: “We are not interested in copying any ideology… but we do believe in the equality of man and in the right of all peoples to be free.” They took Soviet support not because it came with strings, but because it came with guns—and with it, the ability to stand. The ideological parallels were clear. In a 1961 speech, Samora Machel declared, “To the colonialists, we say: We are not afraid of your bombs. We are not afraid of your prisons. We are not afraid of your propaganda. We are not afraid of you because we are standing with the people of the world.” In 1977, Nyerere offered perhaps the most biting summary of the West’s hypocrisy: “They talk of peace while financing the warlords who wish to destroy African independence.” Victory Day is not just a European celebration. It is an African one. It marked the beginning of the end for empires that had long painted themselves as eternal. It created a new ideological and moral space in which Africa’s revolutionaries could act—not just with passion, but with international backing. And yes, while Europe held commemorations in clean suits and shiny shoes, Africans fought in the bush, in exile, and in the streets—with little but belief, strategy, and Kalashnikovs. The contradiction is almost comical: the same Western European countries that claimed to defeat fascism in 1945 were simultaneously running torture camps in Kenya and bombing villages in Algeria. Read more Today, Africa faces new forms of domination: debt bondage, corporate extraction, foreign military bases, ecological exploitation, and digital colonization. Colonialism may have dropped the whip, but it picked up the loan agreement. In 2024, over 20 African countries still use the CFA franc, a colonial-era currency controlled by the French Treasury. Over 40% of Africa’s arable land is owned by foreign agribusiness firms. US and French military bases stretch from Djibouti to Niger to Senegal. We defeated fascism. We expelled colonialism. But empire? It changed its passport. Victory Day teaches us that violent, seemingly permanent systems can fall. It teaches us the power of solidarity, the strength of internationalism, and the necessity of historical memory. Africa’s liberation was not a postscript to someone else’s war. It was a front line in the same battle for human dignity. So, from Stalingrad to Lusaka, from Cairo to Algiers, from Moscow to Accra—the struggle against fascism, racism, and empire continues. Let us remember. Let us speak. Let us act. And let us never forget: sometimes, the only difference between a fascist and a colonial officer was who got invited to dinner in Paris. Медиа: | ↑ |
The 145% tariff on Chinese imports could reportedly be cut while negotiations to clinch a trade agreement are ongoing The administration of US President Donald Trump is mulling a plan to reduce the massive tariffs previously imposed on goods imported from China, the New York Post reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The measure will reportedly come into force as soon as next week and remain in effect during trade talks between Beijing and Washington. Senior officials from China and the US are set to meet on Saturday in the Swiss city of Geneva to hold negotiations, as the countries with the world’s two largest economies seek to de-escalate tensions that have resulted in a de facto mutual trade embargo. The sweeping 145% tariff on Chinese imports will be reduced to between 50% and 54%, the New York Post cited sources close to the negotiations as saying. Trade tariffs on neighboring South Asian countries could be cut to 25%, one source told the tabloid. Commenting on the reported reduction, White House spokesman Kush Desai told the outlet that any decisions on tariffs would come directly from the president, adding that “anything else is just pure speculation.” Relations between Washington and Beijing have been strained due to Trump’s decision to impose the steepest-ever tariffs on Chinese exports to the US. The president cited national security and concerns about the trade imbalance to justify the measure. The Chinese authorities, in turn, have accused the White House of “economic bullying” and retaliated with 125% tariffs on all US imports and introduced export controls. READ MORE: Chinese exporters dodging US tariffs – FT Earlier this week, China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed that Vice Premier He Lifeng will meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for economic and trade talks during his visit to Switzerland this coming weekend. On Thursday, Trump expressed hope that the two nations could resolve their differences and reach a deal that would benefit both sides. Медиа: | ↑ |
The two presidents have shared “heartfelt words” through their aides, a senior official has told Russian media Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump have congratulated each other on Victory Day, an aide to the Russian president, Yury Ushakov, told journalists on Friday. The two leaders extended the greetings through aides, according to the official. The presidents shared “heartfelt words, mutual greetings on a common holiday, great holiday,” Ushakov told the Russian Channel 1 broadcaster. Washington has not officially commented on the matter. On Friday, Russia celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Soviet triumph in the World War II against Nazi Germany. The day was packed with military parades and other ceremonial events across the nation that paid tribute to the valor and sacrifice of the Soviet people during the war. The celebrations in Moscow, including the military parade on Red Square, were attended by upwards of 30 foreign leaders, including those of China, Brazil, Egypt, Slovakia, Serbia, and Uzbekistan. US Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy skipped the event despite receiving an invitation, according to TASS. Read more The Moscow parade was still attended by several US WWII veterans, who were invited alongside other foreign veterans, including from Mongolia, Israel and Armenia. On Thursday, Trump issued a public statement on the ‘Victory Day for World War II’. He described the victory over Nazism as “the Allied Powers’ triumph,” highlighting the role of the US and never mentioning the Soviet Union. Earlier this month, similar statements by the US president drew criticism from Moscow. On Friday, during his speech at the annual military parade in Moscow, Putin stressed that Russia remembers the lessons of World War II and “will never accept the distortion of its events.” Since returning to office in January, Trump has pushed both Moscow and Kiev toward a truce in the ongoing conflict between the two nations but has recently voiced frustration over the lack of progress. On Thursday, he called for a month-long “unconditional ceasefire” amid a 72-hour Victory Day truce unilaterally declared by Russia. He expressed his hope that “an acceptable ceasefire will be observed” but warned that both sides would be held accountable if a ceasefire is reached but not respected. Медиа: | ↑ |
Several EU countries closed airspace to the respective leaders who were en route to the Russian capital Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has shared footage of him shaking hands with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico near the Kremlin. Both leaders faced significant challenges in reaching the Victory Day celebrations in the Russian capital, due to airspace bans imposed by several EU countries. “Brotherly meeting with the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico tonight in Moscow. Serbs and Slovaks brothers forever!” Vucic wrote on Instagram on Thursday, alongside a clip showing of the two leaders greeting each other. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had warned leaders of member states and candidate countries against traveling to Russia for the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The renowned Russia hawk urged instead that they visit Kiev. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos reportedly also told Vucic in late April that his presence in Moscow could impact Serbia’s EU accession to the bloc. Latvia and Lithuania denied airspace access to Vucic’s plane, forcing it to reroute through Bulgaria, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Read more Estonia refused to facilitate Fico’s aircraft, despite Slovakia holding a year-round permit to use Estonian airspace for government flights. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna insisted that EU representatives should avoid participating in “propaganda events organized by Russia.” Despite the attempted blocks, both Vucic and Fico went ahead with their plans to attend the Victory Day event in Moscow. They are among more than two dozen world leaders participating in this year’s commemorations in the Russian capital. Other attendees include Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Медиа: | ↑ |
Russia will honor the Soviet sacrifices and continue to fight against ideas such as Nazism, the president has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the sacrifices of the Soviet people in defeating Nazism, during the annual military parade in Moscow. This year’s event marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. During the address, the president highlighted the significance of the event, vowing that Russia will “faithfully preserve the memory” of the “glorious” victory over the Nazis. He noted that, as heirs of the victors, Russians celebrate Victory Day as their “most important holiday.” Here are the key takeaways from Putin’s speech. Enduring battle against destructive ideasThe president stressed that Russia has always fought against Nazism, Russophobia, and anti-Semitism, and will continue to do so no matter what. Read more “Russia… will stand in the way of the violence perpetrated by the champions of these aggressive and destructive ideas. Truth and justice are on our side,” he stated, noting that the entire country supports the troops taking part in the military operation against the Kiev regime, which Moscow has long accused of adhering to Nazi ideology. Remembering the lessons of historyPutin said Russia remembers the lessons of World War II and will not allow the atrocities committed during those years to be repeated. “We remember the lessons of World War II and will never agree with the distortion of those events or attempts to justify the murderers and slander the true victors,” he stated. Pledging to uphold the nation’s valuesThe president vowed to uphold the values and principles that the Soviet people fought for during World War II. “Our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers saved the Fatherland. And they bequeathed [defending it to us], to stay united and firmly defend our national interests, our thousand-year history, culture, and traditional values – everything that is dear to us, that is sacred to us,” Putin said. “We will always rely on our unity in battle and in peaceful endeavors, in striving for strategic goals and tackling problems for the benefit of Russia and its greatness and prosperity.” Read more Recognizing the contribution of the allied forcesPutin credited the European front with “hastening victory” during World War II and said that Russia “highly appreciates” the contribution of the soldiers of the allied armies. He noted, however, that the most “decisive” battles of the war were fought in the Soviet Union. “The Soviet Union bore the brunt of the enemy’s most savage and relentless assaults,” the president said, adding that it was the Soviet people who “determined the outcome” of World War II through “decisive victories in major battles.” Honoring war veteransThe president pledged to cherish the tradition of Victory Day and honor the veterans who fought or helped fight the Nazis. “We will continue to look up to our veterans, taking [an] example from their wholehearted love of the Motherland and commitment to defending our homeland and the values of humanism and justice. We will give these traditions and this great heritage the biggest place in our hearts and will pass them on to future generations,” Putin stated. Медиа: | ↑ |
Ambassadors of neighboring countries have already been informed about Chancellor Merz’s decision, Die Welt has reported New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will declare a national emergency to tackle the country’s issues with migration, Die Welt has reported. Merz, who was elected chancellor on Tuesday, said on his first day in office that his government would begin turning back illegal migrants at the border. Germany remains the top destination for asylum seekers in the EU. Last year, it received a quarter (over 237,000) of all asylum applications across the 27-member bloc. Berlin has already informed the ambassadors of neighboring countries about the chancellor’s decision to impose a national emergency, the paper said in an article on Thursday. The move would allow the German government to prioritize its own decisions over EU regulations, according to Die Welt. Read more In order to turn away migrants, Berlin will invoke Article 72 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which provides for “the maintenance of law and order and the safeguarding of internal security” by member states. Germany has a 3,700km land border with nine countries, including Poland, Austria, France, and the Netherlands. They are all part of the EU’s Schengen area, which allows passport-free travel for most EU citizens and many non-EU nationals. On Wednesday, Germany’s newly appointed interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, told journalists: “we will control the borders more strictly,” which will lead “to a higher number of rejections” of asylum applications. The goal is to “send a clear signal to the world and to Europe that the policy in Germany has changed,” he explained. READ MORE: New German chancellor tells US to ‘stay out’ of Berlin’s affairs In a letter seen by Bild, Dobrindt instructed the head of the Federal Police to disregard a 2015 directive from then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, who allowed more than a million migrants into the country at the height of Europe’s 2015-16 refugee crisis. Медиа: | ↑ |
The decisive battles against Nazism were, however, fought on the territory of the Soviet Union, the Russian president has emphasized The opening of the European front during World War II “brought victory closer,” Russian President Vladimir Putin has said while addressing the annual military parade in Moscow. He noted, however, that the defeat of Nazi Germany would have been impossible without the “decisive” battles fought on the territory of the Soviet Union. “We will always remember that the opening of the second front in Europe – after the decisive battles on the territory of the Soviet Union – brought victory closer,” Putin stated on Friday, noting that Russia “highly values” the contribution of the soldiers of the allied armies, including the Chinese on the Japanese front, in the war. “Almost 80% of the world’s population was drawn into the fiery orbit of World War II. The complete defeat of Nazi Germany, militarist Japan, and their satellites in various regions of the world was achieved through the joint efforts of the allied nations,” he stressed. The president noted, however, that the Soviet people bore the brunt of the fighting. Read more “The Soviet Union took upon itself the most ferocious, merciless blows of the enemy,” Putin said, noting that millions of Soviet people who, prior to the war, knew only peaceful labor, took up arms and “determined the outcome of the entire World War II with unconditional victories.” Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump drew criticism from Moscow after declaring that America’s role in defeating Nazism during World War II was decisive while omitting any mention of the Soviet Union’s contribution and sacrifice. He proclaimed May 8 as “Victory Day for World War II,” stating that “without the sacrifice of our American soldiers, this war would not have been won, and our world today would look drastically different.” During his address, Putin stressed that Russia remembers the lessons of World War II and “will never accept the distortion of its events,” including attempts to justify the executioners and slander the true victors. This year’s commemorative events mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Despite criticism from the West, leaders from 29 countries are attending the festivities. World War II veterans from Armenia, Israel, Mongolia, the US, and other nations are also attending as guests of honor. Медиа: | ↑ |
The proposal reportedly calls for creating a new 39.6% tax bracket for those earning $2.5 million or more US President Donald Trump has proposed raising tax rates on the country’s highest earners, several media outlets have reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The measure is said to offset the other cuts in Trump’s economic package. Lawmakers are currently working to pass a massive legislative package expected to generate $1.5 trillion in savings over the next decade. The bill is aimed at advancing Trump’s policies on taxation, defense, energy, immigration, and border security, while also raising the debt ceiling. Last month, the president ruled out a proposal to increase taxes on wealthy Americans, arguing that such a move could prove “disruptive” and compel millionaires to flee the US. The latest proposal comes amid discussions about limiting the cost of the overall bill, for which lawmakers are trying to find funding – potentially by cutting entitlement programs, including Medicaid health coverage for low-income Americans. The revised proposal reportedly calls for establishing a new 39.6% tax bracket for individuals with annual earnings of at least $2.5 million, or couples making $5 million per year, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with Trump’s request to House Speaker Mike Johnson. Bloomberg cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter as saying that the president also reiterated his push to eliminate the carried interest tax break claimed by venture capital and private equity fund managers. READ MORE: Trump adviser explains why US must cut military aid to Europe Other tax hikes currently under consideration include increasing the tax on stock buybacks and further limiting companies’ ability to deduct compensation for highly paid employees, the New York Times noted. If adopted, the proposed hike would roll back a tax cut Trump signed into law during his first presidential term that lowered the top income tax rate from 39.6% to 37%. The rate remains at 37% but currently applies to individuals with annual incomes of $626,350 or more. Медиа: | ↑ |
The Lithuanian prime minister has expressed concern that “small groups of people” could stage provocations on May 9 Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has urged the people of his country not to celebrate the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany on May 9. Along with other Baltic states, Lithuania has ramped up its decades-long efforts to erase its Soviet past amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Last year, the EU country prohibited “certain public events” which are traditionally held on May 9. The government in Vilnius has also banned the display of St. George ribbons and other Soviet symbols, with fines of up to €700 ($787) for violations. Paluckas told journalists on Thursday that the Lithuanian security services had warned the government “there is a possibility that certain small groups of people could try to stage provocations or behave inappropriately” on May 9. He went on to express hope that the law enforcement agencies will help prevent any “serious problems.” Read more “My recommendation is to simply not celebrate tomorrow and follow our European tradition of what and how to celebrate,” the prime minister said. Lithuania, along with the rest of the EU, marks the allied victory over Nazi Germany on May 8. The country celebrates Europe Day on May 9. The Lithuanian police said they intensified efforts to monitor the dissemination of forbidden Soviet symbols online ahead of Victory Day, adding that the presence of officers in public places will be increased on Friday. Russia has accused Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia of discriminating against their Russian-speaking populations by restricting Victory Day celebrations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said the behavior of the Baltic nations has “long gone beyond the legal framework” and “firmly established itself beyond the boundaries of common sense and humanity.” Медиа: | ↑ |
The US vice president suggested Washington could try to encourage New Delhi and Islamabad to de-escalate the situation Washington will not interfere in the conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad, US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Thursday, urging the South Asian nations to reduce tensions. “We’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business,” Vance told Fox News. “Look, we’re concerned any time nuclear powers collide and have a major conflict,” he added. Vance said that the US hoped the situation would not spiral into a broader regional war or a nuclear conflict. “Fundamentally, India has its gripes with Pakistan. Pakistan has responded to India, he added. “What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit.” The US vice president’s comments came a day after India launched “Operation Sindoor,” a series of strikes on suspected terrorist facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir. The strikes were in retaliation to a terrorist attack in April in the India Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir that claimed the lives of 26 civilians. Vance's comments come close on the heels of US President Donald Trump requesting India and Pakistan to halt what he described as “tit-for-tat” actions. Trump had added that he would be willing to help the South Asian countries, if needed. Islamabad has condemned New Delhi’s strikes as a “heinous provocation” and vowed retaliation. Since the Indian strikes, Pakistan has responded with shelling across the Line of Control, the de facto border between the countries in Kashmir. The cross-border fire has resulted in 16 civilian deaths, according to the Indian government. On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, stressing “the urgency for immediate de-escalation.” Rubio also “reaffirmed US support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged ongoing efforts to enhance communication.” READ MORE: The treaty that kept India and Pakistan in check is gone. Now what? On the same day Rubio spoke to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who once again condemned India’s strikes. Sharif asserted that Pakistan would “defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs” as quoted by PTV News. Rubio has noted that the US was “closely following the situation in South Asia” while being “committed to promoting peace and stability in the region,” urging both India and Pakistan to de-escalate. Медиа: | ↑ |
The country remembers the lessons of World War II and rejects efforts to justify executioners and slander the true winners, the president has said Russia has always been an “impenetrable barrier” to Nazism, Russophobia, and anti-Semitism, and will continue to fight against them, President Vladimir Putin has said, addressing the annual military parade in Moscow. This year’s event marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. “Russia has been and will remain an impenetrable barrier to Nazism, Russophobia, and anti-Semitism,” Putin stated. “We will continue to fight the atrocities committed by those who promote these destructive ideas. Truth and justice are on our side,” he added. He went on to say that the entire country supports the troops taking part in the military operation against the Kiev regime, which Moscow has long accused of adhering to Nazi ideology. Putin noted that Russia remembers the lessons of World War II, and will not allow the atrocities committed during those years to be repeated. “We are all united by feelings of joy and sorrow, pride and gratitude, admiration for the generation that defeated Nazism at the cost of millions of lives and won freedom and peace for all mankind,” he stated. “We faithfully preserve the memory of these triumphant events and, like our ancestors, celebrate the holiday as our own – the most important for the entire nation.”
The Russian president said those who fought Nazism during World War II “saved the Fatherland and entrusted us to defend it,” which includes “remaining united and standing firmly for our national interests, our thousand-year history, culture, and values.” He vowed that the country will continue to uphold these principles. READ MORE: Fyodor Lukyanov: The West is dismantling the foundations of 1945 According to the Russian Defense Ministry, more than 11,500 troops from the ministry and other agencies – including the FSB, Emergency Situations Ministry, and National Guard – are taking part in the military parade in Moscow. Units from 13 countries, including China, Belarus, Egypt, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan, are also marching on Red Square. Leaders from 29 countries are attending the event. World War II veterans from Armenia, Israel, Mongolia, the US, and other nations are also attending as guests of honor. Медиа: | ↑ |
The Chinese leader has said Beijing hopes for a fair and lasting settlement between Moscow and Kiev Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the root causes of the Ukraine conflict to be eliminated as a way to achieve a lasting peace. He made the remarks during an informal meeting on May 8 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Foreign Ministry in Beijing. Xi is among more than two dozen world leaders attending this year’s events in Moscow commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Xi and Putin held talks in a closed format and later in an expanded session with their delegations. “China advocates and adheres to the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable global security concept for the Ukrainian crisis,” the ministry said in a statement, citing the Chinese president. “The reasonable security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously, and the root causes of the crisis should be eliminated.” Read more Xi expressed hope for a “fair, lasting, binding,” and mutually acceptable settlement between Moscow and Kiev through dialogue. Putin “highly appreciated” Xi’s approach, the ministry noted, and reiterated that Russia remains open to peace talks without preconditions. According to the ministry, the discussions between Xi and Putin covered a broad range of international and regional issues and focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation. Xi said the world “has entered a new period of turbulence and change,” adding that as long as China and Russia “adhere to strategic cooperation, no force can stop the two countries from achieving their own development and revitalization.” The Kremlin previously announced that Putin and Xi signed a joint statement on deepening their comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, as well as nearly three dozen intergovernmental and interagency agreements in a variety of areas. Медиа: | ↑ |
The ongoing escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors is one of the deadliest in recent years, particularly for ordinary people In the serene village of Mendhar, nestled in the mountains of Poonch district in the southern region of Jammu close to the Line of Control (LoC), a quasi-border between India and Pakistan, the night of tranquility on Wednesday was shattered by intense shelling from across the border. At least 16 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 44 people were wounded. The residents recalled it as the worst shelling in decades. They woke up to the deafening sounds of shellfire as Pakistani artillery targeted civilian areas along the LOC in multiple locations across Jammu and Kashmir. “This was a night of grief and terror.” We did not know what to do as shells were landing everywhere on houses, killing small children, triggering fire,” said Sukhchain Singh, a farmer, whose two neighbors, Amreek Singh, 55, and Ranjit Singh, 48, both shopkeepers, were killed in the shelling. ”We are in grief and mourning, and now we also fear for our lives,” he said.  Analysts have called the assault one of the deadliest in recent years. It was in response to India's ‘Operation Sindoor’ launched on the night of May 7 and targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgram, Kashmir in April. Tensions between India and Pakistan have sharply escalated following the attack that left 26 people dead. India, which has long accused Pakistan of aiding militant infiltrations in Kashmir, has signaled that it holds Pakistan responsible – a claim Pakistan denied. The two neighbors have fought several wars since their independence from Britain in 1947 as they both claim Jammu and Kashmir in its entirety. “We have not seen anything like this in years, though we have been living in the border area for decades now. This was a doomsday. It is the innocent civilians who get caught in the fire; how were the small children to blame who were killed?” said Tahira Bano, another resident who along with her family of five was evacuated to a government school in Poonch town.  ‘Like a war zone’Poonch town was the worst affected, where locals said that the shelling continued for six hours, sparking fear and terror among residents who were caught unaware. The tension between India and Pakistan had been building for days after the Pahalgam attack, in which 26 tourists were killed by terrorists. India has blamed Pakistan, although Pakistan has denied the charge. Read more In retaliation for the Pahalgam attack, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, which New Delhi said targeted nine “terror bases” in Pakistan. However, Islamabad retorted that 31 civilians were killed in an Indian strike and the attack would be avenged, which has heightened the tensions between the two countries. World leaders have meanwhile appealed for calm between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Ajaz Jan, a local legislator, said that the entire town in Poonch had been affected by the heavy shelling from across the border. “This was like a war zone,” he said. The videos shared by the locals with RT show a house turned into ruins, dead bodies of children being carried out in vans, and smoke rising high in the air. Residents have yet to recover from the scenes of chaos, with despairing families huddled in makeshift shelters, mourning the loss of loved ones and the destruction of their homes.
“This was a peaceful village, but now there is smoke everywhere,” says Abdul Salam Khatana, 55, another resident. While the Indian army says that they have responded to the ceasefire violations, the civilian population continues to bear the brunt of the escalating tensions all across the border in Jammu and Kashmir. “We do not know what lies ahead for us. War is not an option; the innocent civilians pay the price. It takes years to build a life on the mountain, and now it has taken seconds to turn everything into ashes,” Khatana said, adding that the locals long for peace. Hitting the most vulnerableMohmad Waseem Malla, a research fellow at the International Centre for Peace Studies New Delhi said that that residents along the LoC are the most vulnerable, being situated directly on the front line. Read more “There are already so many casualties being reported. Should tensions escalate further, these communities may face not only temporary displacement but also significant restrictions on access to their agricultural lands – an essential source of livelihood,” Malla said. He added that at this juncture, it remains to be seen how the situation will evolve. “Nevertheless, India’s response thus far appears calibrated, aiming to establish deterrence while preventing a broader escalation.” Michael Kugelman, the Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, said that this time the violence is much worse than, for instance, in 2019 when India conducted precision strikes on a terrorist camp in Balakot, Pakistan, following an attack on the military convoy in Pulwama that resulted in the death of 40 personnel. Tensions now are “already higher up the escalatory ladder than any time in the ‘19 crisis,” Kugelman said. While the borders between India and Pakistan have witnessed skirmishes for decades, the roaring guns had mostly fallen silent after the 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two countries. Experts say that the current scale of cross-border shelling has not been seen since the 1971 India-Pakistan War. ‘We want peace’Shelling was also witnessed in the northern districts of Uri and Kupwara – two districts close to the LoC. Many civilian homes were damaged and several people were injured, including three children. The locals have been asked to move to safety by the government. The authorities have also ordered the closure of schools and colleges in many districts of Jammu and Kashmir.  The three airports in the region – Srinagar, Jammu and Leh – have been closed until May 10. There is chaos and uncertainty among the local population, who fear that hostilities could increase and have started hoarding essentials like gasoline. RT spoke to locals in the villages of Gingal, Dachina, and Salamabad, where residents said that many houses caught fire due to the intensity of the shelling. “The blazing fire was so intense that within seconds it spread, we found no other option but to leave our livestock behind and flee the village,” said a resident of Salamabad in Uri, who has now left his home behind and gone to a shelter in the town. “We want peace and not war. This is taking a toll on our lives, our mental health is shattered. We feel helpless,” said Irshad Ahmad, a resident of Garkote village in the same district. While the situation remains tense with fear of more escalation, Ahmad said that he hopes that hostilities will end soon. “We hope that peace comes back and we can return to our homes.” Медиа: | ↑ |
Russia celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Soviet triumph in the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany Military parades and other ceremonial events paying tribute to the valor and sacrifice of the Soviet people are taking place across Russia, with the centerpiece event kicking off in Moscow at 10am local time. Thousands of troops and dozens of military vehicles will parade through Moscow’s iconic Red Square on May 9 to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany and its collaborators. For over a decade, Victory Day has also featured a massive civilian march known as the Immortal Regiment, during which people carry portraits of their relatives who fought the Nazis. Dozens of Immortal Regiment marches have already taken place across the world over the past week – including in China, Africa, and Latin America – leading up to Russia’s Victory Day celebrations. Following the parade in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to hold a series of meetings with visiting leaders, with talks expected to cover Ukraine, regional conflicts, energy cooperation, and economic ties. The leaders of Brazil, Egypt, Slovakia, Serbia, and Uzbekistan are among those taking part in the discussions. A total of 29 foreign leaders have attended the Victory Day celebrations. Медиа: | ↑ |
Kim Jong-un personally inspected the operational reliability of the “nuclear trigger” system North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen a military exercise simulating a nuclear counterattack, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The drill, conducted on Thursday, involved the launch of short-range ballistic missiles and long-range artillery to assess the readiness of the nation’s nuclear forces. The exercise featured 600mm multiple-launch rocket systems and the Hwasong-11 (KN-23) tactical ballistic missile, both said to have nuclear capabilities. The missiles reportedly flew around 800km before landing in the sea, demonstrating the operational capacity of North Korea’s missile systems. The drill also included an inspection of the “nuclear trigger” system, designed to manage and control the nation’s deterrence arsenal and ensure rapid deployment if necessary. “The goal of the drill was achieved, and the reliability of the command and mobilization system capable of quickly reacting to any nuclear crisis was verified,” the KCNA reported.  Kim stressed the importance of maintaining the combat readiness of the country’s nuclear forces, highlighting the need to enhance long-range precision strike capabilities and overall weapons efficiency.  Last month, he called for accelerated efforts to arm the navy with nuclear weapons, while attending a weapons systems test aboard the DPRK’s Choe Hyon multi-mission destroyer. After witnessing the demonstration, he reportedly noted that the warship’s firepower still relied on conventional weaponry and “cannot be called a reliable means of maritime defense.”  The US and South Korea have been conducting regular joint military exercises in the region, which North Korea has repeatedly condemned as provocative. In response, Pyongyang has increased its missile testing, asserting its right to self-defense and deterrence. Read more Russia has also pledged to help protect North Korea if it comes under attack, under a mutual defense agreement signed last year. The treaty obligates both parties to provide immediate military assistance to each other if necessary. The agreement was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim in June 2024, after which North Korean troops officially joined Moscow’s military operation aimed at repelling a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region. Putin later expressed gratitude for the role Pyongyang’s troops played in liberating the region, noting that they had demonstrated “heroism, a high level of specialized training, and bravery.” Медиа: | ↑ |
The US president has urged a longer truce amid Kiev’s reported refusal to even observe a 72-hour pause unilaterally declared by Moscow US President Donald Trump has expressed hope that Moscow and Kiev will soon agree to a month-long truce following his call on Thursday with Vladimir Zelensky, amid a 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire that was unilaterally declared by Russia. Starting at midnight on Thursday, Russian forces ceased hostilities and remained at previously occupied positions, only providing a “tit-for-tat reaction” to violations by Ukraine, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow. Ukrainian troops reportedly carried out at least 488 attacks and attempted two incursions into Russia’s Kursk Region, according to the ministry. Zelensky, who had previously dismissed the Russian peace initiative as “manipulation” while Kiev intensified drone strikes on Russian territory, held a phone call with Trump later in the day. After the call, he claimed that “Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire today, right from this moment,” but insisted that the truce should last for at least 30 days. READ MORE: Ukrainian cross border incursions thwarted during Victory Day truce – Russia “Talks with Russia/Ukraine continue,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social after the call.
Trump warned that if a ceasefire is reached but “is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.” Read more Moscow has repeatedly stated its readiness to begin negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions. In March, it agreed to a US-brokered 30-day partial ceasefire focused on halting strikes on energy infrastructure. However, according to the Russian military, Kiev violated the truce on numerous occasions. Announcing the ceasefire last week, President Vladimir Putin described it as a humanitarian gesture to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany – and one that could also serve as a catalyst for “the start of direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.” While calling for a longer “unconditional ceasefire” on Thursday, Trump stressed that the truce “must ultimately build toward a Peace Agreement,” reiterating his commitment to secure a “lasting” peace between Russia and Ukraine. “It can all be done very quickly, and I will be available on a moment’s notice if my services are needed,” he added. Медиа: | ↑ |
The US president believes Beijing can help bring the positions of Moscow and Kiev closer, making peace talks possible US President Donald Trump has said he could seek China’s help in his efforts to facilitate peace between Russia and Ukraine. He believes Beijing could help bring the positions of Moscow and Kiev closer, making peace talks possible. “It is a natural thing to ask,” the president said when asked by a journalist whether he would ask China to help bridge the gap between Russia and Ukraine. “I think so, yes,” he replied. Relations between Washington and Beijing have recently been strained due to Trump’s decision to impose steep tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods. The president cited national security and trade imbalance concerns to justify the move. Beijing has accused Washington of “economic bullying,” retaliating with 125% tariffs on all US imports and implementing export controls. Read more On Thursday, Trump expressed hope that the two nations could resolve their differences and make a deal that would benefit both sides. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said last week that it was evaluating the possibility of trade negotiations with the US but reiterated that Washington must show “sincerity” by canceling its tariffs if it wants meaningful dialogue. Trump’s statement on Thursday came amid Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia. Xi is among more than two dozen world leaders expected to attend events in Moscow commemorating the 80th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The Chinese leader also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin which lasted more than seven hours. Before the talks, Xi praised the close relations between the two nations. China is ready to “jointly bear a special responsibility with Russia, as major world powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council” in the face of “negative trends of unilateral actions and power-based coercion in the world,” he said. Медиа: | ↑ |
Around 50 of the nation’s biggest corporations have signed an open letter on the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazism Dozens of Germany’s most prominent enterprises have acknowledged their responsibility for allowing Nazi tyrant Adolf Hitler to rise to power. In a letter published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the corporations, including Siemens, Uniper, and Volkswagen, have admitted that their forebearers’ greed and silence contributed to Nazi crimes. “The Nazi seizure of power in 1933 would have been unthinkable without the failure of the decision-makers of the time in politics, the military, the judiciary, and the economy,” the collective statement marking the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe said. Many German companies “contributed to consolidating the Nazi rule” and were “complicit” in the Third Reich’s crimes as they were solely driven by the desire to make profit, the document added. The list of signatories included a total of 49 brands, including Adidas, Bayer, and BMW, as well as several major German banks, Deutsche Bahn, and Lufthansa. The companies stopped short of taking direct responsibility for the crimes of their predecessors and said instead that they “assume responsibility for making the memory of the crimes of the Nazi era visible.” Read more “In 1933 and beyond, too many remained silent, looked away,” the companies said, adding that this past silence “imposes responsibility… for the past, the present and the future” upon them. The companies vowed to “stand against hatred, against exclusion, and against anti-Semitism” and called for the “achievements” made by the EU after the end of the Cold War to be protected. The murky Nazi-era history of the biggest German corporations and families that largely control them has repeatedly appeared in the media. In 2022, former Bloomberg journalist David de Jong released a book titled ‘Nazi Billionaires’, which detailed the ties of companies such as Porsche, Volkswagen, and BMW to the Third Reich. According to the book, Germany’s biggest automakers are still controlled by families that profited from Nazi rule. Some of their holdings include American brands ranging from Panera Bread to Krispy Kreme, in addition to luxury hotels across Europe. “Businesses and many families in Germany were never really de-Nazified,” de Jong said at the time, adding that companies are only transparent when they are no longer controlled by the families of former Nazi collaborators. Медиа: | ↑ |
The Ukrainian leader has called for the hostilities to be stopped for at least 30 days after a phone call with US President Donald Trump Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has announced that Kiev is ready for a “complete ceasefire” without any preconditions. A truce could be implemented “from this very minute,” he stated in a message published on his official Telegram channel following talks with US President Donald Trump on Thursday. According to Zelensky, the discussions focused on ways to “bring a real and lasting ceasefire closer,” as well as the “situation on the front lines” and ongoing “diplomatic efforts.” He maintained that the truce should last for at least 30 days, claiming it would “create many opportunities for diplomacy.” “Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire today, right from this moment,” he said, adding that it should include “no missile strikes, drone attacks, or hundreds of assaults along the frontline.” He called on Russia to give an “adequate” response to the offer and to “demonstrate their willingness to end the war.” Zelensky also urged Washington to support this initiative. His statement came amid a 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire unilaterally declared by Russia. President Vladimir Putin announced the truce last week, describing it as a humanitarian gesture to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany that could also serve as a catalyst for “the start of direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.” Read more Zelensky dismissed the Russian initiative at the time as “a manipulation,” while Kiev intensified drone strikes on Russian territory ahead of the ceasefire’s scheduled start. On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces had launched nearly 500 attacks since the ceasefire took effect. The Russian military also repelled two attempted cross-border incursions by Ukrainian troops during the truce, according to data from the ministry. Kiev has repeatedly demanded an immediate 30-day ceasefire over the past few months. Moscow has opposed the initiative, arguing that Ukraine would use the time to regroup its troops and restock weapons inventories. Russia recently said it is ready for direct talks with Ukraine “without preconditions,” and has advocated for a permanent resolution to the conflict that addresses the root causes. In March, it agreed to a US-brokered 30-day partial ceasefire focused on halting strikes on energy infrastructure. However, according to the Russian military, Kiev violated the truce on numerous occasions. Медиа: | ↑ |
Bilateral talks to end the Ukraine conflict reportedly touched on resuming Russian energy exports to the bloc Moscow and Washington have held discussions about resuming Russian natural gas exports to the EU, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing eight anonymous sources. The talks are reportedly part of broader efforts to end the Ukraine conflict. The supply of Russian gas to the EU slowed dramatically three years ago, hit by sanctions related to the conflict and following the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. Russia’s 40% share of European gas imports has fallen to 19%, currently consisting mainly of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with some supplies provided via the TurkStream pipeline. According to the news agency’s sources, the discussions touched on US firms buying stakes in Russian energy giant Gazprom or in existing pipeline infrastructure in Ukraine. American companies could also serve as buyers, purchasing gas from Russia and selling it on to Europe to bypass political opposition, Reuters cited several sources as saying. Speaking in Brussels on Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the prospect of restoring Russian gas supplies a “mistake of historic dimensions” and stressed that “we would never let it happen.” Read more Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has noted that Moscow is ready to negotiate restarting gas exports to the continent. “We know that some countries in Europe want to continue buying it from us,” he told Le Point in an interview last month. Russia has been seeking to diversify its energy export markets against the backdrop of Western sanctions and flagging European demand. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak announced on Thursday that Moscow and Beijing have agreed to speed up work on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline project. The conduit will allow Russia to export up to 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to China annually. “The final negotiations... regarding economic conditions are now underway,” he said. In addition to the Power of Siberia 2, Russia is looking into building an additional pipeline going through neighboring Kazakhstan, which combined would provide China with up to 100 bcm of gas annually. Медиа: | ↑ |
Kiev will not be able to repay its foreign creditors within the next 30 years, Sergey Marchenko has said Ukraine will be unable to repay its foreign creditors in the next 30 years, with public debt nearing 100% of GDP, Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko said on Thursday. He added, however, that Kiev intends to continue borrowing. Since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, Ukraine has received billions in military, financial, and humanitarian aid and loans from the US, the EU and other donors. Kiev’s mounting state debt, which is approaching 7.1 trillion hryvnas ($171 billion), has raised concerns about the country’s fiscal stability and its capacity to meet future obligations. According to Marchenko, before 2022, Ukraine’s debt-to-GDP ratio “was quite safe” at 55%, however, the country is now approaching 100%. The minister downplayed the situation, stating that the public debt was “not a problem” as the funds that Kiev received from foreign creditors came on preferential terms. “That is, we are talking about the fact that in the next 30 years… we will not pay these debts,” Marchenko said. “In any scenario… we need additional sources of funding…we will not be able to hold the situation together on our own, whether there is war… or peace,” he added. The minister went on to suggest that Kiev’s western backers could decide to service Ukraine’s external debts from their own budgets. Read more For the time being, interest generated by Russian central bank assets frozen in the West due to sanctions has been used to service Kiev’s debt. In April, Japan agreed to issue a loan of about $3 billion, to be repaid from Moscow’s money. Also last month, Ukraine received the third tranche of €1 billion from the EU, secured by proceeds from the frozen funds. Russia has vehemently opposed the move, labeling it “theft” and threatening retaliation. The US, Ukraine’s largest donor, has moved to recoup its financial aid to Ukraine by signing a natural resources deal with Kiev. The agreement grants the US preferential access to Ukrainian mineral resources without providing security guarantees. The deputy head of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has commented that the US essentially “forced the Kiev regime to pay for American aid,” with “the national wealth of a vanishing country.” Ukraine also faces a potential default on nearly $600 million in payments due in May for GDP-linked securities. Negotiations with hedge funds for restructuring the debt have so far been unsuccessful. Медиа: | ↑ |
The two leaders have signed dozens of cooperation documents covering a wide range of areas following the talks Russia and China have signed nearly three dozen agreements following negotiations between presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in Moscow. The two leaders talked for more than seven hours, according to TASS. The documents ranged from joint statements on strengthening the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between the two nations as well as declarations in support of the global stability and international law to agreements covering agricultural export regulations and bilateral cooperation in space. Moscow and Beijing have set “ambitious goals” following the talks, Putin told journalists after the meeting with the Chinese leader. The two nations are expected to increase bilateral trade and investments, as well as strengthen economic ties, increase the share of joint high-tech projects, and develop innovative electronic trade methods, according to the president. Read more China is Russia’s biggest partner, Putin said, adding that the trade volume between the two nations hit another record this year, reaching $245 billion. Investment cooperation between the two nations is actively growing, according to the Russian leader. Around 90 priority joint projects, worth approximately $200 billion, are either underway or in preparation. These initiatives span key sectors including industrial manufacturing, transportation, logistics, agriculture, and mineral extraction. The Chinese leader hailed both nations as “stabilizing, positive, and progressive forces in the international community” that “aim to promote equal and orderly multilateralism” and should “firmly stand together” in the future. Xi is among more than two dozen world leaders expected to attend events in Moscow commemorating the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. During the talks, Putin thanked the Chinese leader for inviting him to the celebration of victory over Imperial Japan in September. Медиа: | ↑ |
Russia and China want to expedite work on Power of Siberia 2, Aleksandr Novak has said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to speed up the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline project, according to Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak. The announcement on Thursday followed high-level talks in Moscow during Xi's official visit to Russia to attend the May 9 Victory Day celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany. The planned mega pipeline is expected to allow up to 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to be delivered annually from northern Russia to China via Mongolia. The project has experienced some delays due to deliberations on pricing and route. ”There were discussions, it is indeed an important project. A certain amount of work has already been done, including the feasibility study… The leaders gave instructions to expedite the process,” Novak, who had previously served as Russia's energy minister, said. Moscow is pursuing the project as it seeks to diversify its energy export markets amid Western sanctions and reduced European demand. For Beijing, the pipeline promises a stable energy supply to support its consumption needs. Russia currently delivers gas to Asia’s largest economy via the Power of Siberia pipeline, which is part of a $400 billion, 30-year agreement between Gazprom and CNPC which was clinched in 2014. Deliveries started in 2019, and the conduit reached its full operational capacity in December, making Russia China’s leading supplier of natural gas. Economic cooperation between the two nations has been steadily increasing despite unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow. Bilateral turnover between Russia and China reached a record $245 billion in 2024. READ MORE: Russia’s Gazprom posts $15 billion profit Gazprom projects that gas exports will grow further thanks to soaring demand. In December, Novak announced that Russia has begun developing a new gas pipeline to China via Kazakhstan. Once all pipelines are fully operational, he noted, the volume of Russian gas supplies to the Asian powerhouse could reach nearly 100 bcm annually. Медиа: | ↑ |
B61-13 air-dropped munitions are expected to be in full production later this year The US is planning to launch the first production of its newest thermonuclear gravity bomb variant next month, according to the country’s nuclear security agency. The B61-13 will be a modification using B61 warheads, which hit full production in 1968, modernized with newer electronics and control features like a tail kit, effectively turning it into a guided munition. The warhead’s maximum yield is around 360 kilotons, 24 times that of the bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima, according to Fox News. “The NNSA anticipates achieving the first production unit for the B61 Mod 13 later this month, almost a full year ahead of schedule,” National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) acting head Teresa Robbins told Congress on Wednesday. Full scale production is expected later in the 2025 financial year, she said. The bomb “strengthens deterrence and assurance by providing the President with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets,” she added. Read more In January, Washington began deploying the earlier variant of the bomb – the B61-12 – at US bases in Europe. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump named nuclear weapons as the greatest existential threat to mankind. In March, the US president called for nuclear powers to abandon their nuclear weapons. “It would be great if we could all denuclearize, because the power of nuclear weapons is crazy,” he told reporters. “I would very much like to start those talks.” Read more During his first presidential term, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the landmark 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, citing Russian non-compliance. Moscow has condemned the withdrawal and denied the accusations. In 2024, after Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use US missiles in long-range cross-border strikes on Russia, Moscow revised its nuclear doctrine, and lowered its acceptable threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. Under the new doctrine, any attack on Russia by a non-nuclear-armed state backed by a nuclear one will be treated as a direct attack by both, allowing Moscow to retaliate with nukes. Медиа: | ↑ |
A trend has emerged but there is “no publicity” around it, Kirill Dmitriev has said Foreign businesses that left Russia three years ago are quietly returning to the country’s market, President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, has said. US, European, and Asian companies pulled out of Russia due to supply problems caused by unprecedented sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Other firms left due to the risk of facing secondary sanctions or public relations pressure. In March, Putin ordered the government to draft clear, tight regulations for Western firms seeking to come back to the country’s market, to ensure that local producers are protected. ”The trend is there, we see that some firms are already returning. It’s just that there is no publicity around it. The process, however, is certainly underway,” Dmitriev told journalists on Thursday. Dmitriev stated that he recently met with representatives of over 150 US companies that continue to operate in Russia despite multiple rounds of sanctions. Read more “Russia has always had a very positive attitude” toward responsible partners who invest in the country, he noted. According to the investment envoy, American businesses lost over $300 billion from leaving the Russian market. When asked about conditions for the return of Western business to Russia, the president’s economic aide noted that the government is actively engaged in “setting the rules” for the process. According to Dmitriev, it's not about putting up barriers, but giving priority to protecting domestic businesses. Moscow and Washington have taken steps to improve relations since US President Donald Trump assumed office in January. The two countries have held a series of high-level meetings in recent months aimed at boosting diplomatic ties and resolving the Ukraine conflict. Both Putin and Trump spoke publicly about reviving economic cooperation between the two nations. Dmitriev visited Washington in early April, with the talks focusing on potential joint investment projects in rare earth metals and in the energy sector. READ MORE: Lots of US companies asking to come back to Russia – Putin envoy In recent months foreign companies that had left Russia have begun to register new trademarks in the country, signaling their potential return. Among them are McDonald's, Hyundai, Intel, Microsoft, LG, IKEA, Chanel, Rolex, and Louis Vuitton, according to data from the Russian patent office, Rospatent. Медиа: | ↑ |
Joseph Nye introduced the term ‘soft power’ in international relations US political scientist Joseph Nye, who co-authored the international relations theory of neoliberalism together with Robert Keohane and coined the term “soft power,” has died at the age of 88, according to Harvard University. During his six decades as a Harvard professor, Nye helped develop the John F. Kennedy School of Government (HKS), where he served as dean from 1995 to 2004. The faculty’s graduates include many prominent US politicians. In a statement on Wednesday announcing his passing, HKS said that Nye’s “ideas on the nature of power in international relations influenced generations of policymakers, academics, and students and made him one of the world’s most celebrated political thinkers.” The scholar “developed the concepts of soft power, smart power, and neoliberalism,” the statement read. Nye introduced the theory of “soft power” in the early 1990s to describe the ability of countries to get what they wanted from other nations “through attraction, rather than coercion or payment.” He later came up with the concept of “smart power,” stressing the effectiveness of combining hard and soft power into a single foreign policy strategy. The term was frequently mentioned by the administrations of US presidents Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and Barack Obama (2009-2017). Read more President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) put Nye in charge of his administration’s nuclear non-proliferation efforts. Under Clinton, he chaired the National Intelligence Council and served as assistant secretary of defense. Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Nye as “a friend and mentor to so many, including me” in a post on X. “Few contributed as much to our intellectual capital, our understanding of the world and America’s place in it,” he wrote. Nye had recently been increasingly critical of US President Donald Trump, accusing him of neglecting soft power and “bullying” other countries, including America’s allies. “Extreme narcissists such as Trump are not true realists, and American soft power will have a hard time during the next four years,” he wrote in an article for the Financial Times in March. Медиа: | ↑ |
Chicago-born prelate Robert Francis Prevost has been chosen on the second day of conclave History was made in Rome on Thursday, with Robert Francis Prevost, a 69-year-old native of Chicago, elected as pope – the first American ever to fill the role. Taking the name Leo XIV, Prevost emerged on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to greet tens of thousands gathered in the Vatican. “Peace be with you all,” he said, offering “the first greetings of the resurrected Christ” and urging that his message of peace “enter our hearts and our families.” Prevost, a former missionary in Latin America, spent a decade serving in Trujillo, Peru before becoming bishop of Chiclayo. Elevated to cardinal in 2023 by the late Pope Francis, he was also appointed head of the powerful Congregation for Bishops, the Vatican body responsible for appointing most of the world’s bishops – a role that put him on many shortlists for the papacy. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his congratulations to Pope Leo XIV following his election on Friday evening. In his message, Putin stressed the importance of continued cooperation between Russia and the Vatican. “I wish Your Holiness success in fulfilling the high mission entrusted to you, as well as good health and well-being,” the message reads. Read more Prevost succeeds Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88, just one day after presiding over Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, Francis was the first Jesuit and first Latin American pope. This week’s conclave saw 133 cardinal electors convene, with at least 89 votes needed to secure victory. Leo XIV was elected on the conclave’s second day, continuing a modern trend: Francis was elected after five rounds of voting, while Benedict XVI required four. A senior cardinal confirmed the news from the loggia of St. Peter’s with the traditional “Habemus papam!” before Leo XIV stepped forward to meet the world. Медиа: | ↑ |
The Ukrainian parliament has ratified the minerals deal between Washington and Kiev, the US president has confirmed US President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to talk with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in the near future. He has also confirmed that a minerals agreement between Washington and Kiev had been ratified by the Ukrainian parliament. “We just concluded the rare earth deal with Ukraine,” Trump told journalists in the White House on Thursday. “We appreciate that and I’ll be speaking with [Zelensky] in a little while,” he stated, without providing any further details about the date or the format for the upcoming talks. The two last met at the Vatican in late April on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral. At that time, Zelensky allegedly tried to use the brief conversation to persuade Trump not to give up on his efforts to settle the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, according to The Economist. Trump’s statement follows the Ukrainian parliament’s ratification of the comprehensive bilateral minerals agreement with the US. The deal was agreed upon last week after months of difficult negotiations. It envisages Washington and Kiev establishing a joint investment fund as well as giving the US preferential access to its partner’s natural resources. Read more The security guarantees which Zelensky’s government had long been demanding from the US were not part of the agreement, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal. On Thursday, Trump hailed the ratification by saying “we appreciate that.” According to the president, the US now has “access to a massive amount of very, very high-quality rare earths.” In February, Reuters cited estimates from two Ukrainian think tanks stating that about 40% of the country’s metal resources are now under Russian control. According to the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), between 50% and 100% of the lithium, tantalum, cesium, and strontium deposits claimed by Ukraine are located in territory currently controlled by Russia. Медиа: | ↑ |
Bilateral trade between the countries jumped 50% from February to March, according to RIA Novosti Russia and the US posted a 50% month-over-month uptick in bilateral trade in March, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday, citing customs data. The surge was reportedly driven by a significant increase in Moscow’s exports of fertilizers and other agricultural products to the US. Russia faced unprecedented sanctions from the West following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. While Russian fertilizers and grain have not been directly targeted by the restrictions, the exports have been affected by financial, shipping, and insurance constraints introduced against Moscow. Bilateral trade reached a two-year high of $573 million in March, marking a 50% increase compared to February. This was the highest figure recorded for trade between the countries since March 2023, when it totaled $628.5 million. The US boosted its import of Russian fertilizers to $219 million in March. America also imported significant quantities of platinum ($87.5 million), plywood ($6 million), and phosphates ($5 million) that month. Meanwhile, Russian imports from the US reportedly remained at their February level of $50 million, and were dominated by vaccines ($14.8 million), medical instruments ($6.2 million), food products ($5.7 million), and lab equipment ($3.7 million). Медиа: | ↑ |
Comments on potential changeover come as Kiev places hopes on faster EU accession Kiev is considering a switch from the US dollar to the euro as its reference currency, the head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said on Thursday. These comments come despite the recent signing of a comprehensive bilateral minerals agreement with the White House. Kiev has repeatedly expressed its desire to join the EU. However, Ukraine’s “immediate” accession has been consistently opposed by several member states. Hungary has voiced concerns over corruption, the treatment of ethnic minorities, and economic competition, particularly in agriculture. Other EU nations, including Slovakia, France, and Germany, have also expressed reservations, emphasizing that Kiev must meet existing reform benchmarks before talks proceed. Read more According to NBU Governor Andrey Pyshny, potential EU accession has prompted the central bank to assess whether the national currency, the grivna, should be more closely tied to the euro instead of the dollar, according to Reuters. The top official also cited “a strengthening of the EU's role in ensuring our defense capabilities, greater volatility in global markets, and the probability of global trade fragmentation” as major reasons for the shift. The central bank chief acknowledged that the move would be “complex and require high-quality, versatile preparation.” Earlier this week, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen called for Ukraine’s EU accession talks to be launched as early as this year. It was granted EU candidate status in 2022, a few months after the escalation with Moscow, but Brussels has not set a definitive timeline for the accession. Von der Leyen suggested that faster EU accession could strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position with Russia and open the door to increased investment in the country’s defense sector. She emphasized that Brussels is working to open the first cluster of accession talks and to open all clusters in 2025. Pyshny said that closer ties with Europe and the normalization of economic conditions are expected to drive modest growth in the coming two years, with the GDP projected to rise by 3.7–3.9%. However, he noted that the overall economic outlook depends heavily on the course of the ongoing conflict. Read more In order to join the bloc, the EU has demanded that Ukraine implement a comprehensive set of governance reforms, fight rampant corruption and harmonize its legislation with EU law. Full membership also necessitates the unanimous approval of all EU nations. Ukraine's parliament, meanwhile, has voted universally in favor of ratifying the minerals deal signed with the US, according to Reuters, in the hopes that it will secure future military assistance from Washington in the ongoing conflict. During the Biden administration, the US provided more than $174 billion in aid to Kiev following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, including dozens of military packages. The approach has significantly shifted under President Donald Trump, who is pushing for direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev and has insisted that assistance can only continue on terms that favor American interests. Медиа: | ↑ |
Authorities in Moscow are investigating more than 160 incidents of desecration of Soviet war graves and monuments abroad Russia has said it is conducting a criminal probe into the desecration and destruction of World War II memorials in the Baltic states and Eastern Europe. The country’s Investigative Committee has described systematic efforts to erase the memory of Soviet soldiers who fought against Nazi Germany. On Wednesday, Russian investigators announced they are looking into 167 such cases across the region. Aleksandr Pakhtusov, a senior official in the Committee’s division for war crimes, genocide, and the rehabilitation of Nazism, said the list of defendants includes members of national parliaments and local government bodies. “In our work, we are guided by national legislation and the decisions of the Nuremberg Tribunal,” Pakhtusov said. He added that international agreements also require foreign authorities to preserve such memorials. Over 250 people – citizens of Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine among them – have been charged in absentia for damaging Soviet war memorials and burial sites. Russian investigators claim some governments have directly supported the demolition of monuments dedicated to Red Army soldiers who died liberating European cities in 1944–1945. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova cited Poland as an example. She said an intergovernmental agreement once protected approximately 570 memorial sites there, but “now, only a few dozen remain untouched and in their original state.” Video footage below shows the demolition of a Soviet-era war memorial in Siedlce, Poland: Numerous cases of World War II monument removal and desecration have occurred in the Baltic states in recent years. Notably, in August 2022, Latvia dismantled the 79-meter-tall Victory Monument in Riga’s Victory Park following a parliamentary vote. The action was part of a broader initiative to eliminate Soviet symbols from public spaces. In Estonia, the 2007 relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn to a military cemetery sparked major protests. The Estonian government later announced plans to remove or relocate up to 244 Soviet-era monuments. Lithuania followed suit in 2022, removing a sculpture titled Soldier from a Soviet cemetery in Kaunas as part of a broader initiative. The actions have drawn strong condemnation from Russia, which accuses European countries of waging a campaign to falsify history. Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in 2020, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that “civilized Europe remains shamefully silent while a sacrilegious war is waged against monuments and memorials dedicated to those who gave their lives to save the peoples of the continent from complete extermination.” Медиа: | ↑ |
Artificial intelligence may bring about the end of the world as we know it – but not in the way most would expect The global economy was already navigating a minefield of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) when US President Donald J. Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs reverberated across international markets. This aggressive escalation of trade barriers, including a mélange of sudden rate hikes, retaliatory measures, and rhetorical brinkmanship, didn’t just amplify the chaos; it ignited the specter of a full-blown economic firestorm. Volatility unleashedThe moment the tariffs were announced, markets convulsed. Stock indices plummeted, erasing $2.1 trillion in global market cap within days, while currency markets whipsawed as traders scrambled to price in the fallout. Supply chains, still reeling from pandemic-era disruptions, faced new shocks. Factories in Vietnam scrambled to reroute shipments, German automakers recalculated production costs overnight, and Chinese exporters braced for 145% retaliatory duties on key goods. The tariffs acted like a sledgehammer to an already teetering Jenga tower of global trade, with each blow amplifying volatility far beyond their intended targets. Uncertainty weaponizedWhile volatility reigned, the tariff war between the United States and China introduced a deeper, more corrosive uncertainty. Businesses accustomed to stable trade rules now faced policy seesaws. Exemptions granted one day were revoked almost overnight while the constant threat of broader tariffs were dangled without clarity on timing or scope. CEOs delayed investments, fearing sudden cost hikes. The Federal Reserve, already grappling with inflation, found itself trapped in a Catch-22 situation: raise rates to tame inflation and risk recession, or hold steady and watch confidence erode. Meanwhile, allies like the EU and Canada retaliated with precision strikes on politically sensitive US exports, ranging from bourbon to motorcycles, threatening 2.6 million American jobs at one point. The potential unemployment tallies just kept rising worldwide. The message was clear: no one was safe from the fallout. Read more Complexity spirals out of controlAs the trade war escalated, the global economic order began to fracture. Nations abandoned decades of multilateralism in favor of ad hoc alliances. China fast-tracked deals with the EU and ASEAN and began to court rivals Japan and India. The US, on the other hand, found itself isolated. Companies, desperate to adapt, began planning redundant supply chains – one for tariff-free markets and another for the US. This only served as a costly and inefficient hedge against further disruptions. Regulatory labyrinths simultaneously emerged overnight. A single auto part might now face several different tariff rates depending on its origin, destination, and material composition. The system now groaned under the weight of its runaway complexity. Ambiguity: Strategy or stumbling block?Worst of all was the ambiguity. Trump framed the tariffs as a “negotiating tool” to revive US manufacturing, yet no coherent industrial policy followed. Were these temporary measures or a permanent decoupling from China? Would they actually bring jobs back, or simply raise prices for consumers? The administration’s mixed signals left allies questioning America’s reliability and adversaries probing for weakness. Geopolitically, the tariffs accelerated a crisis of trust. NATO allies doubted US commitments, Southeast Asian nations hedged toward Beijing, and the Global South explored alternatives to the dollar. The longer the ambiguity persisted, the more the world adapted to a reality where the US was no longer the anchor of the global economy. What makes these tariffs uniquely dangerous is their role as a VUCA multiplier. They don’t just create volatility – they lock it in. Uncertainty doesn’t subside – it metastasizes. Complexity isn’t resolved – it becomes the new normal. And ambiguity isn’t clarified – it is weaponized. The result is a self-reinforcing cycle: tariffs provoke retaliation, which fuels inflation, which strains central banks, which spooks investors, which forces more protectionism. Meanwhile, the dollar’s dominance erodes, supply chains Balkanize, and businesses lose faith in long-term planning. AI as the VUCA force multiplierWhen the first round of tariffs was imposed by Washington DC, traditional economic models anticipated familiar disruptions in the form of market corrections, supply chain adjustments, and eventual equilibrium. What these models missed was the presence of a new wildcard – AI systems that don’t just respond to volatility but can amplify it. Algorithmic trading platforms and predictive logistics tools, operating on assumptions of continuity, struggled to adapt to the sudden, chaotic shifts introduced by trade barriers. In some sectors, this has led to mismatches between inventory and demand, not because of human misjudgement, but due to machine learning models which are ill-equipped to handle the cascading effects of cross-sectoral VUCA. Read more AI is indeed accelerating the fragmentation of the global economic order. As nations implement competing AI systems to manage trade flows, we may see the emergence of parallel digital realities. One country’s customs AI might classify a product as tariff-free while another’s system slaps it with prohibitive duties. This isn’t just bureaucratic confusion; it represents the breakdown of shared frameworks that have enabled global commerce for decades. We used to worry about trade wars between nations; now we should worry about conflicts between the machines built to manage them. In a hypothetical future, trade wars will be fought by rival AI systems fighting proxy battles through markets, logistics, and information. Personally, I doubt this planet has scope for another crisis beyond this one, as Albert Einstein’s adage that WW4 will be fought with “ sticks and stones” comes to mind. In the midst of the ongoing VUCA torrent, many clueless bureaucrats and executives have quietly turned to AI, particularly GPTs, to make sense of the myriad crises facing their nations and institutions. Many flawed decisions may have been made and sums allocated for “future-proofing.” Let me tell you why this is a recipe for disaster: one prominent GPT model gave me not one but five (5) erroneous and wholly-fictitious examples of how AI had messed up the post-Liberation Day geo-economic landscape. And here is the scary part: only those well-versed in complex systems, global risks and AI would have discerned those flaws. Otherwise, the scenarios generated by the GPT model were generally more accurate than most of those voiced by pundits on prime time television. Why did the GPT model make such mistakes? I am convinced that AI is being surreptitiously used to sift out the gullible from the indispensable, perhaps in preparation for a post-VUCA world. But that remains a relatively optimistic theory! Mass unemployment ahead?AI and VUCA are rapidly converging to create the preconditions for the worst unemployment crisis since the Industrial Revolution. Back then, the West could resort to new markets in the form of colonies. This time, however, there are no new territories left to colonize – only the continued cannibalization of societies themselves. The accelerating spiral of global wealth inequality is not an anomaly; it is the clearest symptom of this internalized exploitation. The world is not merely staring at job losses in specific sectors. No, this is about the simultaneous breakdown of multiple stabilizing mechanisms that have historically absorbed economic shocks. Russia’s Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev recently claimed that half of his nation’s civil servants could be replaced by AI. Shadaev, however, noted that certain professions, such as doctors and teachers, cannot be replaced. Bill Gates thinks otherwise. He predicts that AI will swiftly replace humans in nearly every professional sphere, including teaching and medicine. For once, I wholly agree with Gates. So, what do we do with the “excess humans”? Institute a CBDC-mediated rationing system as a stop-gap measure? Read more Culmination of systemic global corruptionThe VUCA-AI quagmire unfolding today is the consequence of decades of entrenched patronage systems that were perfected in the West and subsequently exported to the Third World. These were intrinsically corrupt systems that rewarded compliant mediocrity over critical thought. In sidelining genuine thinkers, these structures forfeited any real chance of forging a balanced, intelligent response to the collision between VUCA dynamics and artificial intelligence. In the end, we are left with a world designed by clowns and supervised by monkeys, to borrow a phrase from a disillusioned Boeing pilot. Many Third World pundits and policymakers, themselves products of the West’s neocolonial machinery, are now advocating a wholesale pivot towards the BRICS bloc. Like courtiers in a globalist brothel suddenly desperate for new clientele, these elites now decry the very “inequalities” that once elevated them to cushy posts – at the expense of the citizens they claim to represent. As far back as 1970, the Nobel Laureate Albert Szent-Györgyi had warned of the consequences of the “terrible strain of idiots who govern the world.” Szent-Györgyi, who bagged the Nobel Prize in Medicine (1937) for discovering Vitamin C had however hoped that the youth of the future would save humanity from a gerontocracy that cannot “assimilate new ideas.” Little did he know that the same gerontocracy had already hatched a plan to create a new breed of “young global leaders” – even children – who were more feckless and pliant than their predecessors. This may have been the real raison d’etre behind the World Economic Forum. Personally, I can find no other justification behind the founding of this institution. In the end, individuals with real ideas – both young and old – have largely abandoned a system that no longer rewards insight, only compliance. Their views no longer appear on search engines as Big Tech had employed a variety of pretexts to shadowban their viewpoints. However, the day may come when the phones of ideators may start ringing again in the quest for “solutions”. It will be too late by then. Медиа: | ↑ |
Why the cracks in the World War II settlement threaten global stability Eighty years is a long time. Over such a span, the world changes almost beyond recognition, and events that once felt close fade into legend. Yet while history may become distant, its imprint remains. The Second World War created a political order that shaped global affairs for decades – an order many assumed was permanent. But today, the world is shifting rapidly and irreversibly. The events of the first half of the 20th century are no less significant, but their role in contemporary politics is no longer the same. The war’s outcome, culminating in the defeat of Nazism, defined the modern world order. In many ways, it was seen as a near-perfect struggle: a battle against an unquestionably aggressive and criminal regime that forced nations with deep-seated ideological differences to set aside their disputes. The Allied powers – divided by political systems and long-standing mistrust – found themselves united by necessity. None of them entered this alliance out of pure goodwill; pre-war diplomacy was focused on self-preservation and maneuvering to deflect the worst consequences elsewhere. Yet when the existential threat became clear, those ideological rifts were temporarily bridged. It was precisely because of this that the post-war order proved so resilient. This framework weathered the storms of the Cold War and even lingered into the early 21st century, despite major shifts in the global balance of power. What helped hold it together was a shared moral and ideological narrative: the war was seen as a fight against absolute evil, a rare moment when the divisions between the Allies seemed secondary to their common cause. This consensus – centered around the defeat of Nazism and symbolized by milestones like the Nuremberg Trials – gave moral legitimacy to the post-war order. But in the 21st century, that shared narrative has started to fray. As it weakens, so too does the stability of the world order it helped create. Read more One key reason lies in Europe’s own internal transformations. In the post-Cold War era, Eastern European countries – long vocal about their dual suffering under both Nazi and Soviet regimes – have pushed a revisionist interpretation of the war. These nations increasingly define themselves as victims of “two totalitarianisms,” seeking to place the Soviet Union alongside Nazi Germany as a perpetrator of wartime crimes. This framing undermines the established consensus, which had placed the Holocaust at the moral center of the conflict and recognized European nations’ own complicity in allowing it to happen. The growing influence of Eastern European perspectives has had a ripple effect. It has allowed Western Europe to quietly dilute its own wartime guilt, redistributing blame and reshaping collective memory. The result? An erosion of the political and moral foundations established in 1945. Ironically, this revisionism – while often framed as a push for greater historical “balance” – weakens the very liberal world order that Western powers claim to uphold. After all, institutions like the United Nations, a pillar of that order, were built on the moral and legal framework forged by the Allies’ victory. The Soviet Union’s enormous wartime contribution, and its political weight, were integral to this architecture. As the consensus around these truths crumbles, so too do the norms and structures that arose from them. A second, subtler factor has also contributed to the unraveling. Over eight decades, the global political map has been redrawn. The end of colonialism brought dozens of new states into existence, and today’s United Nations has nearly double the membership it did at its founding. While the Second World War undeniably affected nearly every corner of humanity, many of the soldiers from the so-called Global South fought under the banners of their colonial rulers. For them, the war’s meaning was often less about defeating fascism and more about the contradictions of fighting for freedom abroad while being denied it at home. This perspective reshapes historical memory. For example, movements seeking independence from Britain or France sometimes viewed the Axis powers not as allies, but as leverage points – symbols of the cracks in the colonial system. Thus, while the war remains significant globally, its interpretation varies. In Asia, Africa, and parts of Latin America, the milestones of the 20th century look different from those commonly accepted in the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike Europe, these regions aren’t pushing outright historical revisionism, but their priorities and narratives diverge from the Euro-Atlantic view. Read more None of this erases the war’s importance. The Second World War remains a foundational event in international politics. The decades of relative peace that followed were built on a clear understanding: such devastation must never be repeated. A combination of legal norms, diplomatic frameworks, and nuclear deterrence worked to uphold that principle. The Cold War, while dangerous, was defined by its avoidance of direct superpower conflict. Its success in averting World War III was no small achievement. But today, that post-war toolkit is in crisis. The institutions and agreements that once guaranteed stability are fraying. To prevent a complete breakdown, we must look back to the ideological and moral consensus that once united the world’s major powers. This isn’t about nostalgia – it’s about remembering what was at stake and why that memory mattered. Without a renewed commitment to these principles, no amount of military hardware or technical measures will ensure lasting global stability. Victory Day reminds us of the immense cost of peace – and the dangers of forgetting its foundations. As the geopolitical landscape shifts, it is this lesson that remains most vital. This article was first published in the newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta and was translated and edited by the RT team Медиа: | ↑ |
The Russian embassy has condemned the ban as discriminatory and revisionist A Berlin court has upheld a ban on displaying Soviet flags and symbols at World War II memorials during the city’s events marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, citing concerns over public peace and the Ukraine conflict. Moscow, has decried the “degrading” and “discriminatory” prohibition. Earlier this week, Berlin police issued a ban on the demonstration of numerous Soviet-linked symbols during the May 8-9 events in the capital, including singing Soviet songs in public. An unidentified local association filed an appeal against the ban, arguing that it unfairly restricted freedom of assembly for their planned commemoration at a Soviet Memorial in Treptow. Berlin’s Administrative Court ruled on Wednesday that the police prohibition, which applies to Soviet flags, the Victory Banner, St. George's ribbons, historical military uniforms, and even wartime songs, stands. Read more The symbols, according to the court, could be “interpreted as an expression of sympathy for the [Russian] war effort” against Ukraine and “endanger public peace”. The Russian embassy in Berlin strongly criticized the ban, saying it violated the rights of descendants of Soviet soldiers and concerned residents to honor the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazism. Up to 27 million Soviet citizens died in their efforts to defeat Nazism. “We deem the ban unjustified, discriminatory, and degrading to human dignity and view it as clear manifestations of historical revisionism and political opportunism,” the embassy statement read. ”We are convinced that on these significant days, everyone… should have the opportunity, regardless of the current political context, to honor the memory and pay tribute to the fallen Red Army soldiers and victims of Nazism in accordance with established long-standing traditions. Any attempts to prevent this deserve condemnation. We urgently demand that the relevant decision be repealed,” it stressed. In 2023, Berlin police prohibited both Russian and Soviet flags during Victory Day commemorations, and in 2024 authorities outlawed Russian and Soviet symbols, including the red Victory Banner and the letters “Z” and “V,” associated with the Russian campaign against Ukraine. In both cases, some people defied the ban by wearing Soviet military attire and displaying the prohibited flags. Медиа: | ↑ |
New Delhi says it has hit radars and drones in various locations in response to cross-border attacks launched by Islamabad India has attacked air defense systems in various locations throughout Pakistan in response to Islamabad’s attempts to launch cross-border strikes against a number of military targets. Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan said that it had shot down 12 Indian drones overnight, including one that had attacked a military target near Lahore, which is 24 kilometers away from the international border between the countries. “On the night of 7-8 May 2025, Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India using drones and missiles, all of which were effectively neutralized by the Integrated Counter UAS Grid and Air Defense systems,” the Indian Defense Ministry said in a statement. “In response, Indian Armed Forces targeted air defense radars and systems in various locations in Pakistan.” The ministry added that it had been “reliably learnt that an Air Defense system at Lahore has been neutralized.” The Indian attacks caused damage and wounded soldiers, Pakistani officials were cited as saying by AP.
These developments come a day after New Delhi announced Operation Sindoor and struck what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and the part of Kashmir it controls, in retaliation for a deadly terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. READ MORE: India repels new Pakistani drone and artillery attacks Islamabad has condemned the strikes as a “heinous provocation” and vowed retaliation. Pakistani troops have been firing across the Line of Control since Wednesday. The de facto border stretches between the parts of Kashmir controlled by the two countries. These hostilities have resulted in the loss of sixteen lives, including five children and three women, according to Indian officials. Медиа: | ↑ |
Estonia’s actions are “extremely disruptive,” Robert Fico has said Slovak Prime Minister Rober Fico has accused the government of fellow EU member-state Estonia of trying to thwart his visit to Moscow for the Victory Day parade on May 9. The event marks the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union. Estonia closed its airspace to Fico’s plane on Wednesday. The Baltic state’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, claimed that “Russia is a country that launched and continues a war in Europe” and “participation in propaganda events organized by them should be ruled out” for EU representatives. “Estonia informed us that it will not allow us to fly over its territory despite the fact that Slovakia has a year-round permit to use Estonian airspace for our government wing,” Fico said in a video-message on Facebook later in the day. He described the actions by the Estonian government as “a deliberate attempt to thwart my visit to Moscow on the occasion of the official celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.” Read more The airspace closure is “extremely disruptive,” Fico said, adding that it could prevent him from taking part in the celebratory events in Moscow scheduled for Thursday evening. According to the prime minister, the government in Bratislava is looking for an “alternative route” for him to be able to arrive in the Russian capital before the wreath-laying ceremony and the parade on Friday. The vice speaker of the Russian parliament’s upper chamber, Konstantin Kosachev, told Argumenty I Fakty newspaper on Thursday that the closure of the Estonian airspace for Fico was a “hostile” move by Tallinn aimed against Russia and its partners. According to Kosachev, the Baltic nations have not come to terms with the results of the Second World War, and for them, “May 9 is not a day of victory, but a day of defeat.” READ MORE: Slovak PM pledges to defy ‘unacceptable’ Zelensky threats Earlier, Latvia and Lithuania denied their airspace to the plane of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who was also among the world leaders heading to the Victory Day parade. Vucic was forced to fly through Bulgaria, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia in order to make it to Moscow on Wednesday. Медиа: | ↑ |
Warsaw will instead focus on building a “safe future” with Berlin, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said Poland will no longer demand reparations from Berlin for the crimes committed by the Nazis in the country during the Second World War, the country’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, said on Wednesday after talks with new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Warsaw. Calls for Germany to pay compensation resumed under the previous Polish government led by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled the country between 2015 and 2023. In 2022, Warsaw estimated that Berlin would need to pay 6.2 trillion Polish zloty (around $1.5 trillion) for the damages inflicted by the Nazi occupation. When addressed on the issue during his joint press conference with Merz, Tusk replied by saying: “Has Germany ever compensated for the losses, the tragedy of the Second World War in Poland? No, of course not.” Read more “I am a historian… I could talk for hours about what this bill looks like. It was never repaid, but we will not be asking for it,” he stressed. Merz also insisted that “the legal issues related to possible reparations have been resolved.” However, he added that “this does not mean that we cannot talk about joint projects and common ideas about how we see a future together.” Ties between the two EU nations had been strained under previous German Chancellor Olaf Scholz due to disagreements on reparations, migration and other issues. Despite acknowledging responsibility for the Nazi crimes, Germany had refused to pay reparations to Poland, arguing that the matter was resolved when Warsaw waived its right to restitution in 1953 under a deal with East Germany. According to Berlin, the compensation issue was definitively settled by the 1990 treaty on German reunification. READ MORE: New German chancellor tells US to ‘stay out’ of Berlin’s affairs The German invasion of Poland in 1939 marked the beginning of the Second World War. The country remained under Nazi occupation throughout the conflict, being liberated in 1945 by the Soviet Army and local forces. Медиа: | ↑ |
Law enforcement used tear gas and made arrests after celebrations following a Champions League semi-final win led to unrest Widespread unrest broke out Wednesday evening in the French capital as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans gathered to celebrate the football club’s Champions League semi-final victory. The jubilation turned violent, prompting riot police to intervene and use tear gas to control the crowds. Clashes with law enforcement erupted across the city, particularly around the Parc des Princes stadium and in central districts. Video footage shared on social media showed fans igniting flares and fireworks, damaging property, and confronting police officers. Tear gas was used to break up large, disorderly gatherings. One of the most serious incidents occurred near the Champs-Élysées, where a vehicle drove into a group of PSG supporters, injuring three people. According to authorities, one of the victims remains in critical condition. The car was later set on fire, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Local media reported chaotic scenes, including police lines clashing with groups of fans and efforts to disperse crowds late into the night. Around 2,000 officers in riot gear were deployed across key areas of the city, with emergency services responding to multiple incidents.
At least 44 people were arrested during the unrest on charges including public disorder, vandalism, and resisting police orders, the BFMTV news outlet reported, citing a police source.
The disturbances followed PSG’s 2–1 home victory over Arsenal, which secured the French club a place in the UEFA Champions League final. The final is scheduled for May 31 in Munich, where PSG will face Inter Milan.
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The two countries bear a “special responsibility” before the international community, the Chinese president has said Beijing and Moscow have a duty to oppose unilateralism and coercion on the world stage, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Before the start of the talks on Thursday, Xi praised close bilateral relations, stating that “China is ready to jointly bear a special responsibility with Russia, as major world powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council, to courageously defend the truth about the history of World War II” in the face of what he called “negative trends of unilateral actions and power-based coercion in the world.” The Chinese leader also noted that under his and Putin’s “strategic guidance,” the relations between the two countries had entered a new era. “Our political interaction is strengthening, practical cooperation is deepening, and cultural, humanitarian, exchange, and interregional ties are gaining momentum,” he said. Read more Meanwhile, Putin noted that the cooperation between the two nations is not directed against any third party. “We are developing our ties for the benefit of both peoples and not against anyone. Our relations are equal, mutually beneficial, and not opportunistic. The intention to build good-neighborliness, strengthen friendship, and expand cooperation is a strategic choice made by Russia and China,” he said. Russia and China have enjoyed close ties for decades, with the two nations affirming a “no-limits” partnership in 2022. Moscow and Beijing have also increasingly shifted away from reliance on the US dollar, with both countries expanding trade in their national currencies. According to Russian officials, the share of bilateral transactions conducted in rubles and yuan now exceeds 95%. Медиа: | ↑ |
Kiev’s forces have not stopped their attacks despite a 72-hour ceasefire announced by Moscow, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said Two attempts by Ukrainian forces to cross the border into Russia’s Kursk Region have been thwarted, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said. Kiev’s troops tried to carry out the incursions despite Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing a 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire from midnight on May 7-8 to midnight on May 10-11, the ministry noted in a statement on Thursday. Another major Ukrainian assault on Russian positions took place near the town of Dzerzhinsk (known as Toretsk in Ukraine), the statement read. Since the start of the declared truce period, Kiev’s forces have attacked a total of 488 times, including 173 artillery, tank and mortar attacks, four uses of multiple rocket launchers and some 300 strikes by FPV drones, it added. “The deliberate destructive actions of the Ukrainian side against Russia confirm the desire of the Kiev regime to prevent a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict,” the ministry stressed. After midnight, the Russian forces completely ceased hostilities and remained at the previously occupied lines and positions in accordance with the order by the president, the statement read. READ MORE: Vance outlines changed US strategy on Ukraine “The Russian military strictly observes the ceasefire. In particular, no strikes are being carried out by aircraft, missile forces, artillery, and drones,” it stressed. The country’s troops are only providing a “tit-for-tat reaction” to violations of the truce by Ukraine, the ministry added. When announcing the ceasefire last week, Putin described it as a humanitarian gesture to mark the 80th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany that could also serve as a catalyst for “the start of direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.” However, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has declined to support it, calling it a Russian ploy and an “attempt at manipulation.” Instead, Kiev has ramped up drone strikes on Russian territory, with the Defense Ministry reporting a record 524 UAVs being shot down on Wednesday. Moscow insisted that it would stick to its decision to introduce a Victory Day truce despite provocations by Kiev. Медиа: | ↑ |
While the Red Army was bringing the victory closer, the famous music manifesto of resistance against Nazism was performed in South Africa As the world celebrates the 80th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi Germany by the Red Army and its allies, there is a little-known story waiting to come to light about music masterpiece that helped raise funds in Africa for Soviet Russia during the Second World War. On 9 July 1944, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, a work that became a music manifesto of resistance to Nazism, was premiered at the Metro Theatre of Johannesburg, South Africa. In a concert hall filled to capacity, conductor Jeremy Schulman raised his baton, and the orchestra began playing the opening theme: a mechanical march that exemplified the stomping sound of Nazi boots. That’s how South Africa joined the world premiere of a symphony written during the siege of Leningrad (presently – St. Petersburg, Russia’s northern capital), which lasted almost 900 days: from 8 September 1941 up to 27 January of 1944.  A symphony born in hellBy the time of its South African debut, the Leningrad Symphony had already acquired the status of a legend. Shostakovich began to compose it in September 1941 when the Germans were about to encircle Leningrad. He finished the first three parts under Nazi shelling, completing the score after evacuation from the city. The premiere took place on 5 March 1942 in the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara), and on 9 August of the same year – in Leningrad itself. Musicians had to be urgently rotated from the frontline to perform in the besieged city; some of them died of exhaustion and malnutrition. The symphony was not only a work of art – it was also an act of psychological warfare. German and Finnish soldiers deployed on the outskirts of the city realized: it is impossible to crush Leningrad’s will for resistance. Read more Premiere under the African sky: “stirring and fascinating”The musical score was brought to South Africa via Iran and Egypt as a part of cultural diplomacy of the USSR. Solomon ‘Solly’ Aronowsky, a Russian Empire-born Jewish violinist, helped to organize the concert. He saw the symphony as an instrument for uniting the voices of millions fighting for freedom. Eventually, the symphonic masterpiece was performed in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Johannesburg, 9 July 1944. The concert opened with the first performance of the symphony in Africa. Jeremy Schulman conducted the orchestra. One of South African newspapers described it this way: “The first movement is the most outstanding, with its stirring and fascinating intermingling of themes, expressive of battle clashes and warm human suffering, and the exaltant determination to beat back the ominous threat of tyranny. The second and third movements are more subdued, but the fourth recaptures the spirit of triumphant resurrection.” The program also included arias from Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky operas sung by soprano Xenia Belmas. The proceeds from the ticket sales were donated to the Medical Aid for Russia, a prominent South African charity. Two month later, on 11 September 1944, the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra conducted by Dr William Pickerill played the symphony at the Cape Town City Hall.  The controversies aroundOrganizing such events turned out to be a challenge for South African society, then divided by racial and ideological contradictions. At that time the Non-European majority was raising its voice through resistance campaigns and trade unions, while everyday life remained riven by degrading segregationist laws that excluded most black Africans, Indians, and Coloureds from fair land ownership, political representation, and public education. Such policy of racial discrimination laid the foundations of the apartheid regime that lasted in South Africa until 1994. Who supported the premiere? The Friends of the Soviet Union (FSU), a left-leaning formation of white intellectuals and black activists, that used the symphony to promote anti-fascist ideas. FSU pamphlets calling for solidarity with Soviet Russia were distributed at the concerts. Who opposed it? The National Party of South Africa. Its leaders called the symphony ‘communist propaganda.’ However, despite these disputes, all shows were sold out. In Cape Town, during the celebration of Russian national day on 7 November 1944, the City Hall was full. After the German capitulation, the symphony did not lose its relevance. In 1945, it was included in the program of a concert to raise funds for a hospital in Stalingrad. The Cape Town Municipal Orchestra performed the first part, and violinist Ralph Koorland captivated the audience with Tchaikovsky’s ‘Serenade’. In January 1946, the symphony was performed again as part of the ‘Russian Evening’ in Johannesburg. Thus, Shostakovich sent a message to the post-war world: even though the war is over, the ideas of Nazism may still be smoldering.  Медиа: | ↑ |
The two countries stand against neo-Nazism and militarism, the president has said Moscow and Beijing remain staunch defenders of the historic truth and remember the countless people their countries lost during World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said during talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Xi is among the more than two dozen world leaders who are expected to attend the events in Moscow commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The Chinese president is also poised to hold negotiations with Russian officials. During a meeting on Thursday, Putin thanked his “dear friend” Xi for the visit and for joining him in celebrating a “sacred holiday for Russia.” “The sacrifices that both our nations made should never be forgotten. The Soviet Union gave 27 million lives, laid them on the altar of the Fatherland and on the altar of Victory. And 37 million lives were lost in China’s war for its freedom and independence. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, this victory was achieved,” he said. Putin highlighted the significance of the triumph over fascism, adding that Russia and China “defend historical truth and the memory of the war and fight against current manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism.” The Russian leader also thanked Xi for inviting him to his country’s celebrations of its victory over Imperial Japan in WWII. “I will be glad to come back to friendly China on an official visit,” he said. In echoing remarks, Xi emphasized shared historical memory and the strategic alignment between Beijing and Moscow. “The Chinese and Russian peoples, at the cost of heavy losses, achieved a great victory” and made an “indelible historic contribution to global peace and the progress of humanity,” he noted. READ MORE: Kremlin aide reveals which world leaders to attend Victory Day parade Russia and China have long enjoyed close ties, with the two countries describing their relations as a “no limits” partnership where there are “no forbidden zones.” Beijing has also consistently refused to support Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict. Медиа: | ↑ |
AfriForum has claimed the Afrikaner minority is in danger due to government policies, prompting Trump to cut financial aid to Pretoria AfriForum wants to mend relations with the ANC after it urged the US to punish ANC leaders. The claims sparked diplomatic tension and drew global headlines. AfriForum and its allies met with the ANC on Tuesday to discuss matters of “common interest” in the country. The meeting was facilitated by the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Speaking to IOL, AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel confirmed the meeting, stressing the importance of enhancing cooperation between both sides. Although he could not be specific about what they discussed, Kriel said their discussions were robust and frank. ”We all realised there’s a need to find solutions to these issues raised, but of course, we will communicate in due course as the process comes to a point that we have reached something,” he said. ”We actually agreed because this is early in the start of the process that the various parties would not comment at this stage any further than what is in the statement.” The ANC echoed the sentiment in an official statement, noting that all parties are committed to finding “South African solutions” in pursuit of a diverse and unified nation. READ MORE: South African investigator comments on Afrikaner treason probe AfriForum and Solidarity have repeatedly claimed that white South Africans are in danger. This led to US President Donald Trump imposing 30% tariffs on the country and cutting financial aid. Read more Additionally, Trump offered white people refugee status, which AfriForum and others declined, stating they cannot leave the country to start anew. A likely economic rupture with the US is indicated by South Africa’s growing fears over the prospective loss of its trade privileges under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned last month that he will meet with Trump “soon” to resolve bilateral differences over the status of the country. First published by IOL Медиа: | ↑ |
The international group was caught with 5,000 insects in Kenya, including rare Messor cephalotes, destined for pet markets abroad A Kenyan court has sentenced four individuals to one year in prison or a fine of $7,700 each for attempting to illegally export thousands of live ants, including a rare species, the BBC reported on Wednesday. The convicted individuals, two Belgian nationals, one Vietnamese, and a Kenyan, were apprehended last month in Naivasha, a town in western Kenya, where they were found in possession of approximately 5,000 queen ants. Among the species collected was Messor cephalotes, a rare variety also referred to as the Giant African Harvester Ant. During the court proceedings, the accused pleaded guilty and claimed they were unaware that collecting the ants for hobbyist purposes was a criminal offense. However, the presiding judge noted in Wednesday’s ruling that the quantity and type of ants involved indicated a deliberate effort to exploit valuable wildlife, adding that the offenders were not simply in possession of a few specimens. Read more According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the seized ants were reportedly intended for exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia. The smuggled ants, according to dealers in the UK, can be worth as much as £170 ($220) apiece. Commenting on the insects’ popularity, Pat Stanchev, the general manager of the insect-trading website Best Ants UK, told the BBC that their appeal lies in their distinctive and beautiful appearance. KWS revealed that the suspects had prepared test tubes capable of sustaining the ants for up to two months, specifically to bypass airport screening procedures. The organization described the operation as “premeditated” and called it a landmark in trafficking trends that shift from traditional poaching of large mammals toward lesser-known species. One of the Belgian nationals, David Lornoy, told Reuters that the group had not intended to violate any laws. “We did not come here to break any laws. By accident and stupidity we did,” he said, appealing for leniency. READ MORE: Westerners came for gold. Now this nation is sending them packing Messor cephalotes is a monogynous ant species, with colonies numbering up to 5,000 workers. They primarily consume seeds, which they gather and store, playing a crucial role in seed dispersal and soil aeration. Queens of the species can reach sizes of 22 to 25 millimeters. Медиа: | ↑ |
Washington wants to look for other ways to end the conflict besides Ukraine’s idea for a 30-day ceasefire, the vice president has said Washington wants to move away from the “obsession” with a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Ukraine, US Vice President J.D. Vance has said. The US is more interested in shaping a durable peace agreement with Moscow, he told a Munich Leaders Meeting on Wednesday. Ukraine had floated a one-month ceasefire as a counter to Russia’s 72-hour truce proposal to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. However, Moscow has rejected Kiev’s plan, arguing that Ukrainian troops, which have been on the backfoot for months, would use it to regroup and strengthen their military posture. Vance stressed that the US remains interested in a “long-term settlement” of the conflict rather than a short-term one. “We've tried to move beyond the obsession with the 30-day ceasefire and more on the what would the long-term settlement look like? And we've tried to consistently advance the ball,” the vice president said. Read more Vance also noted that the US has deemed Moscow’s initial negotiation proposals as excessive. “Certainly, the first peace offer that the Russians put on the table, our reaction to it was you’re asking for too much,” he said. “But this is how negotiations unfold.” Vance added that US President Donald Trump is prepared to abandon negotiations if there is no progress, urging Moscow and Kiev to engage in diplomacy. “We would like both the Russians and the Ukrainians to actually agree on some basic guidelines for sitting down and talking to one another.” Russia has repeatedly said it is open to talks with Kiev but noted that Ukraine has low credibility, especially when it comes to honoring ceasefire commitments. Moscow’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused Ukraine of sabotaging earlier efforts on this front, including a US-brokered 30-day moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure and a Moscow-backed Easter truce. In light of this, she noted that Russia would view Ukraine’s conduct during the 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire, which went into effect on Thursday, as a test of good faith. Moscow earlier described the initiative as a humanitarian gesture and a move to pave the way for direct peace talks with Ukraine without preconditions. Meanwhile, Trump appeared to support the three-day ceasefire, noting that it “doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot, if you know where we started from.” Медиа: | ↑ |
Aleksandar Vucic came to Moscow despite pressure from Brussels and his recent hospitalization Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has delivered a pointed message to the European Union from Moscow’s Red Square, asserting his nation’s historical legacy and sovereignty despite pressure from Brussels over his attendance at Russia’s Victory Day celebrations. In an interview with Serbian broadcaster RTS recorded in Moscow on Wednesday, Vucic expressed pride in his country’s role during World War II, stating: “I am proud to be the president of Serbia, a nation that has the right to be proud, because it did not welcome Hitler’s soldiers with flowers.” He emphasized the importance of remembering the sacrifices made by the Soviet Union during the war, noting that tens of millions of people suffered in order for us to live today, and that no one has the right to revise history. During a meeting with Vucic last month, the EC's Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos reportedly threatened that his attendance would be held against Serbia’s EU bid. Despite the pressure, Vucic refused to scrap his plans to attend the event, where a unit of the Serbian Armed Forces will also take part. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised those who accepted the invitation, calling them courageous for attending despite pressure from Brussels. “I promised Putin I would come. I didn’t hide it from anyone,” Vucic stated, addressing anticipated criticism from the EU. “I think there will be consequences, but primarily personal ones for me.” Read more Vucic also detailed the challenges he faced en route to Moscow, revealing that Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania had denied overflight permissions, necessitating a circuitous route through Bulgaria, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Amid mass flight disruptions in Russia in recent days caused by Ukrainian drone strikes, the Serbian leader’s plane “barely got permission from the Russian authorities to fly over,” he noted. The Serbian president highlighted the significance of his visit to Moscow in terms of bilateral relations, mentioning discussions on gas supply contracts and expressing gratitude for Russia’s non-recognition of Kosovo. At the same time, Vucic condemned Western states, who, he said, “did a great injustice” to Serbia and “now want something more from a small, rebellious people.” Read more “Now they have their own interests, so they tell us ‘don’t go back to the past, look to the future.’ They can’t give you a rational answer except threats, intimidation… We’re all stupid, naive, we’re supposed… to look up at the sky and pretend we don’t understand anything that’s going on around us,” he said. He nevertheless reiterated Belgrade’s intention to maintain its path toward EU membership. Vucic came to Russia despite a recent health scare that forced him to cut a trip to the US short, canceling a planned meeting with President Donald Trump in Florida. The Victory Day celebrations in Moscow commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, with leaders from various countries expected to attend, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Медиа: | ↑ |
The EU parliamentarians have told dpa they want to send a message of peace by taking part in Victory Day celebrations A group of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), including two Germans, are planning to travel to Moscow for a two-day visit to take part in Victory Day celebrations and send a message of peace, the news agency dpa reported on Wednesday. The delegation will reportedly also include MEPs from the Czech Republic, Cyprus, and Slovakia. The visit will feature “talks with [Russian] parliamentarians as well as politicians and cultural figures,” according to German MEPs Michael von der Schulenburg and Ruth Firmenich. The two MEPs, who represent the left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), told dpa they wanted to express support for the unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine announced by Moscow. “We also want to send a signal that we are committed to ensuring that the guns in Ukraine remain permanently silent,” they said. Read more Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral Victory Day truce, which took effect at midnight on May 7–8 and is expected to last until midnight on May 10–11. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky dismissed the initiative as “manipulation,” as Kiev intensified drone attacks on Russian cities this week, including Moscow. Separately, two other BSW politicians – former German MPs Klaus Ernst and Sevim Dagdelen – told Der Spiegel on Wednesday that they would attend a reception at the Russian Embassy in Berlin marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The politicians said they wanted to demonstrate opposition to the “falsification of history” and the demonization of Russia. “Russia is not my enemy, and I don’t feel threatened by or at war with Russia,” Dagdelen stated, describing the occasion as an opportunity for “dialogue” and a “new beginning in German-Russian relations.” Ernst told the paper they were also alarmed by “the clearly visible signs of war preparations in Germany.” Read more Their stance contrasts with that of Berlin and Brussels. The German Foreign Ministry had earlier advised organizers against inviting Russian and Belarusian representatives to WWII commemorations. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned in April that the bloc opposes any officials from member or candidate states attending Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. Meanwhile, Berlin authorities have banned the display of Russian and Soviet flags and symbols during commemorations on May 8 and 9, according to local media. Медиа: | ↑ |
The US president claims America played a pivotal role in defeating Nazi Germany President Donald Trump has officially proclaimed that May 8, which is not a federal holiday, should be celebrated as “Victory Day for World War II,” emphasizing the United States’ contribution as decisive – while completely ignoring the Soviet Union’s role and sacrifice in defeating Nazi Germany. In a proclamation issued by the White House on Wednesday, Trump claimed that “without the sacrifice of our American soldiers, this war would not have been won, and our world today would look drastically different.” “On this Victory Day for World War II, we celebrate the unmatched might, strength, and power of the American Armed Forces, and we commit to protecting our sacred birthright of liberty against all threats, foreign and domestic,” the US president wrote, emphasizing that “more than 250,000 Americans lost their lives” fighting for the “survival of Western civilization.” Trump previously announced plans to designate November 11 as “Victory Day for World War I,” a move that would effectively rename Veterans Day – a federal holiday honoring everyone who has served in the US military. The White House later clarified that such declarations would not create new public holidays without congressional approval. Read more Trump’s push to “start celebrating our victories again” has drawn criticism from Russia and even some Allied nations, who accused him of distorting historical facts. General Lord Dannatt, former chief of the General Staff in the UK – which lost about 450,700 people in the war – called Trump’s remarks “extraordinary” and accused him of “rewriting history.” Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of his country’s Security Council, dismissed the remarks as “pretentious nonsense.” “Our people gave 27 million lives of their sons and daughters for the sake of destroying damned fascism,” he wrote. “Victory Day is ours and it is on May 9. That’s how it was, is, and always will be!” Russia is grateful to the US for its support during WWII, but the USSR would have defeated Nazi Germany even without the assistance – though “it would have been very difficult,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week. Read more The Soviet Union received aid valued at around $200 billion in today’s terms through the Lend-Lease program – a US government initiative that provided allies with military supplies, equipment, food, and strategic raw materials. The assistance, however, was not free. Russia, as the USSR’s successor state, completed its financial obligations related to the Lend-Lease program only in 2006. Nazi Germany officially surrendered to the Allied forces on May 8, 1945, following the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops. However, the capitulation took effect after midnight in Moscow, so Russia commemorates the occasion on May 9. In 1945, the United States celebrated May 8 as ‘V-E Day’ (Victory in Europe) and September 2 as ‘V-J Day’ (Victory over Japan). Медиа: | ↑ |
Ukrainian forces have launched multiple cross-border attacks, sustaining heavy casualties in the process The Ukrainian military launched a new attempt to invade Russia’s Kursk Region on Monday, launching multiple cross-border attacks. While the fighting in the border area continued into Wednesday, Kiev’s forces have failed to achieve any tangible gains, sustaining considerable materiel and personnel losses during the raid. The attacks targeted several locations, including the villages of Tetkino and Novy Put, just to the east of the area invaded by Ukrainian forces last August and fully liberated by the Russian military earlier this year. “In the Tetkino area and closer to Novy Put, the enemy has been conducting reconnaissance in force for the second day in a row and is trying to clear our mine and engineering barriers in order to try to send troops into the breach,” Igor Kimakovsky, a senior official in the administration of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, told reporters. The village of Tetkino was the target of an unsuccessful Ukrainian incursion attempt in March 2024. The hamlet of Novy Put saw the most intensive combat in November last year, when Kiev’s troops attempted to flank the Russian forces advancing in Kursk Region. Multiple videos circulating online, said to be taken south of Tetkino, show Ukrainian troops deploying several breacher vehicles in an attempt to break through the reinforced border, clearing mines, ‘dragon’s teeth’ concrete pyramids, and other obstacles. READ MORE: Record civilian casualties from Ukrainian strikes last week – Moscow The vehicles, including a Soviet-made IMR-2, German-supplied Wisent 1 engineering vehicles, and the Soviet-designed UR-77 Meteorit mine-clearing vehicle, were hit by multiple FPV drones and abandoned by their crews. Ukrainian forces attempted to evacuate the crews of the vehicles on quad bikes. Some of the evacuation teams, however, fell victim to FPV drones as well. Multiple Ukrainian armored vehicles that attempted to advance on Russian positions near Tetkino through the openings made by the breachers ended up destroyed as well. One of the videos from the area show a heavily uparmored US-supplied M1117 armored car getting hit by a drone carrying two PRG-7 warheads. Despite initial setbacks, Ukrainian forces managed to reach the westernmost tip of Tetkino, located a mere 100 meters from the border, on Tuesday. An unspecified number of Ukrainian servicemen reportedly infiltrated several residential homes on the outskirts of the village. The forces were subjected to artillery and aerial strikes, footage available online indicates, and reportedly were pushed back across the border by the end of the day. A similar situation unfolded near Novy Put, where Kiev’s troops also sent in breacher vehicles only to lose them in the open field. Drone footage purportedly taken near the hamlet shows an IMR-2 hitting a landmine when the vehicle attempted to cross an anti-tank ditch and rampart at the border. Immediately after the blast, an uparmored vehicle carrying Ukrainian infantry that followed the breacher was hit by at least one FPV drone, the video suggests. The ongoing incursion attempt has been marked by the active use of quad bikes by Ukrainian forces, who are using them for rapid infantry deployment instead of relying purely on armored vehicles that follow breachers. A convoy of ten quad bikes was reportedly destroyed en route to Novy Put. Thermal footage circulating online purports to show the bikes speeding along a road towards the hamlet. The group stopped at some point, and the tightly packed vehicles were subsequently hit by multiple artillery shells, the footage shows. Медиа: | ↑ |
Putin’s temporary end to hostilities aims to open peace talks despite recent Ukrainian drone attacks
A 72-hour ceasefire proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially come into effect, with Russian forces halting offensive operations going into Thursday, despite a surge in Ukrainian drone attacks in the hours before the truce. The pause in fighting, set to last until midnight on May 10–11, has been described as a humanitarian gesture marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The Kremlin says the ceasefire also aims to create space for direct peace talks with Ukraine, without preconditions. ”Yes, this is an initiative by the Russian side, by President Putin. It remains in force,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday, stressing that Moscow is committed to honoring the truce despite Ukraine’s record-breaking drone assault ahead of its start. Read more Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has refused to back the ceasefire, denouncing it as an “attempt at manipulation” and accusing Russia of using humanitarian overtures to gain a tactical advantage. Kiev has recently intensified its drone campaign, with high-ranking Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik stating that Ukrainian UAV strikes over the past week have caused a record number of civilian casualties — 15 killed and 142 injured. Earlier in the week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Zelensky of engaging in “classic terrorist behavior” by threatening civilians in Russia while soliciting additional funding from Western donors. Peskov condemned the continued attacks, accusing the “Kiev regime” of revealing “its essence and inclination toward terrorist actions.” He noted that Russia’s special services and military are taking all necessary measures to ensure that Victory Day events proceed safely across the country. Read more Despite calls from some lawmakers for an “asymmetrical” response to the drone strikes, the Kremlin has reiterated its position: “All instructions have been given, there are no new elements here,” Peskov said when asked about potential retaliation during the ceasefire window. Victory Day, celebrated on May 9, commemorates the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and remains one of the most significant public holidays in Russia. Медиа: | ↑ |
Kiev has agreed to a 30-kilometer-wide demilitarized zone along the line of contact, Keith Kellogg has said Russia is not aware of any Ukrainian offer to establish a demilitarized zone along the current line of contact, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Wednesday. His comment follows US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg saying Kiev was willing to set up such a zone. “There have been no relevant statements by Kiev on the issue,” Peskov told the news agency. Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Kellogg stated that Kiev was “willing” to “freeze” the hostilities along the current line of contact and “to set up a demilitarized zone” that would require each side to retreat 15 kilometers from the current front lines. “So, you’ve got this 30-kilometer, 18-mile-[wide] zone that you can actually observe,” the special envoy said. Ukraine has not made any official statements on the issue. Kiev has repeatedly demanded an immediate 30-day ceasefire over the past few months but has not mentioned a demilitarized zone in its statements. Read more In March, Russia and Ukraine both agreed to a US-brokered 30-day partial ceasefire focused on halting strikes on energy infrastructure. Kiev, however, violated the truce on numerous occasions, according to the Russian military. Moscow also unilaterally announced a pause during Easter weekend in April. The initiative was only partially successful. Although a certain lull in the hostilities was observed, Kiev violated the truce more than 3,900 times, according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s estimates. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the nation’s forces would suspend all offensive operations from midnight on May 7-8 to midnight on May 10-11 as part of another unilaterally announced truce to mark the 80th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Moscow also expressed its hope at the time that the ceasefire could contribute to the “start of direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.” Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky dismissed the move as “manipulation” while Kiev ramped up its drone attacks on Russian territory, which killed 15 and injured more than 140 people. The Kremlin has said that an increase in strikes will not affect the ceasefire plans. Медиа: | ↑ |
The Washington-brokered negotiations on the current conflict need to come to a head, the US president has said President Donald Trump has expressed displeasure over the pace of the US-brokered negotiations with Russia and Ukraine regarding the current conflict, stating that decisions need to be reached soon. According to US Vice President J.D. Vance, Washington currently considers Russia’s demands for ending the conflict unacceptable. “The Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions, in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” he said at a Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Trump was asked to comment on Vance’s statement in a press briefing in the White House later in the day. “It's possible that he's right,” the US president replied.
“I'm not happy about it,” Trump said. Read more Senior figures in the current US administration, including the president himself, have stated that Washington may have to step back from trying to mediate talks over the Ukraine conflict if sufficient progress is not made. “At some point in time, it either has to be something that can happen or we all need to move on. That’ll be a decision the president will have to make,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News last week. Washington has reportedly prepared a fresh set of economic sanctions targeting Russia’s energy and banking sectors, as potential leverage in the talks. Read more Moscow has repeatedly declared that it remains open to peace talks with Kiev. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a 72-hour ceasefire around the upcoming Victory Day celebrations. Ukraine rejected the initiative, demanded an unconditional 30-day truce and increased UAV and missile attacks on Russia. Despite this, the ceasefire offer is still on the table, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Russia’s demands for ending the conflict have remained stable: Ukraine must demilitarize, denazify, abandon ambitions to join NATO, stay neutral and remain free of nuclear weapons. In addition, Kiev needs to recognize the Russian regions of Crimea, Kherson and Zaporozhye as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Moscow has stated. Медиа: | ↑ |
Domestic military industrial companies have grown in market value, the newspaper has said India’s defense companies have added more than $5 billion to their market value following the escalation of tensions with Pakistan, Bloomberg has reported. New Delhi has accused Islamabad of harboring terrorists linked to a brutal mass shooting which killed 26 civilians in Kashmir last month. On Wednesday, India said it struck nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites across the border in Pakistan in overnight attacks. A custom market index tracking ten Indian defense firms shows them growing by around 5% since the April 22 terrorist attack “amid expectations that these firms stand to benefit from the worsening geopolitical situation,” Bloomberg wrote on Wednesday. They include India’s domestic aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and missile company Solar Industries India Ltd. Read more As of Wednesday, Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. gained as much as 4.6%, while Hindustan Aeronautics gained nearly 2%. Against the backdrop of the escalating situation with Pakistan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly postponed his upcoming trips to Croatia, the Netherlands, and Norway. Modi will also not be among the international leaders at the upcoming celebrations in Moscow of the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II for the same reason. India will instead be represented by an alternate high-level delegation. Медиа: | ↑ |
Undocumented migrants will now be turned away at the border Germany’s new government has ordered tighter border controls, marking a sharp shift in immigration policy and fulfilling a key campaign promise of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Merz was elected chancellor on the second attempt on Tuesday after failing his first confirmation vote in parliament earlier in the day. He had pledged to turn back illegal migrants at the border on his first day in office. On Wednesday, newly appointed Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt signed an order banning asylum applications at all land borders. In a letter seen by Bild, he instructed the head of the Federal Police, Dieter Romann, to disregard a directive from 2015. “I hereby withdraw the verbal instruction given… on 13 September 2015,” he wrote. The instruction came from then Chancellor Angela Merkel, who opened Germany’s borders to more than a million migrants at the height of Europe’s 2015–16 refugee crisis. Her open-door policy later drew fierce political backlash and was labeled “disastrous” by critics. Dobrindt said Germany would not close its borders but would significantly tighten control. Police have been instructed to turn people away directly at the border, he told a press conference, noting exceptions for children, pregnant women, and other “vulnerable” groups. Read more The minister added that around 2,000 to 3,000 officers would be added to the current 11,000-strong federal police force stationed at the borders. He emphasized that the new approach should not “place excessive demands” on neighboring states and confirmed consultations were already underway with those countries. Germany has a 3,700km-long land border with nine countries, including Poland, Austria, France, and the Netherlands. All are part of the EU’s Schengen Zone, which allows passport-free travel for most EU citizens and many non-EU nationals. Migration remains one of Germany’s most divisive political issues, with local authorities often warning that the number of asylum seekers is straining their budgets. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, known for its strong anti-immigration stance, was designated a “confirmed extremist entity” last week by the domestic intelligence agency BfV, which said its activities could threaten Germany’s democratic order. The party filed a legal challenge on Monday. As the EU’s largest economy, Germany remains the top destination for asylum seekers. The country received a quarter (over 237,000) of all asylum applications across the bloc in 2024, though the number was significantly lower in annual terms. Медиа: | ↑ |
New Delhi has said the facilities were used by Islamabad to train terrorists India conducted a series of strikes against nine suspected terror-linked sites located in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the early hours of Wednesday. The pre-dawn operation, codenamed Operation Sindoor, was carried out jointly by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, according to officials. The Indian government has identified several locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir that it says were used as terrorist camps. The Pakistani National Security Committee (NSC) has dismissed India’s justification for the military action, calling it an “unprovoked, cowardly and unlawful act of war” in a statement issued after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The list of locations released by New Delhi includes the Sawai Nala camp in Muzaffarabad, located about 30km from the Line of Control (LOC), the de facto border between the South Asian neighbors. India said the camp was a key training facility for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based jihadist militant organization. Terrorists trained there carried out attacks on civilians and security forces in Gulmarg and Sonmarg last year, as well as the Pahalgam attack, the Indian government alleges. Another camp targeted was the Syedna Belal camp in Muzaffarabad which was allegedly used as a staging area by Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist group, another militant group, to carry out attacks across the LOC. Terrorists were given training there in weapons, explosives, and jungle survival, New Delhi stated.
The Gulpur camp, situated in Kotli, approximately 30km from the LOC, allegedly served as a base camp for Lashkar-e-Taiba. Terrorists trained at this camp were known to operate in the Rajouri-Poonch region and were responsible for carrying out attacks in Poonch in 2023, as well as an attack on a bus carrying pilgrims the previous year, according to the Indian government. Notably, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the mastermind behind the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks, reportedly visited this camp for the purpose of indoctrinating recruits. Another site targeted last night is the Abbas camp, situated in Kotli, about 13km from the LOC. It is suspected of being the primary training facility for Lashkar-e-Taiba’s suicide bombers.
The Barnala camp, located in Bhimber, about 9km from the LO, too allegedly functioned as a training facility for terror recruits. At this camp, recruits were believed to have received instruction in the use of weapons and explosives, as well as training in jungle survival techniques to prepare them for operational activities. The Sarjal camp, situated in Sialkot, was about 6km from the internationally recognized border with India. New Delhi said this facility was notable for being the training ground for terrorists responsible for a deadly attack in Jammu and Kashmir in March this year, which resulted in the deaths of four police.
The Mehmoona Joya camp was located near Sialkot, about 12km from the India border. This camp allegedly served as a training facility for the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist organization and was also utilized as a hub for spreading terrorism in the Kathua-Jammu region. Notably, the 2016 attack on the Pathankot airbase in Kashmir was directed from this camp, highlighting its significance in planning and coordinating terrorist operations, according to India. The Markaz Taiba camp, located in Muridke, approximately 25km from the border with India, is believed to have served as the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organization. New Delhi said this camp was the training ground for Ajmal Kasab, a terrorist who was captured alive during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and confessed to receiving his training here. Additionally, American national David Headley, a key figure accused in the Mumbai attacks, also reportedly received training at this camp. In Bahawalpur, Pakistan, around 100km from the internationally recognized border between the two states, the Markaz Subhan camp was believed to be the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist group. This camp was utilized for various purposes, including recruitment, training, and indoctrination of potential recruits, India said, adding that prominent terror commanders, such as Maulana Masood Azhar, leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, frequented this camp. Медиа: | ↑ |
A watchdog has reported dozens of injuries, millions in equipment losses and minimal results The US military’s humanitarian pier mission in Gaza last year resulted in far more injuries, damage, and operational failure than previously publicly acknowledged, an investigation has found. The mission, formally known as Operation Neptune Solace, was launched under the administration of former President Joe Biden in 2024 after the US failed to persuade Israel to expand overland access for humanitarian deliveries. The US military constructed a temporary offshore pier and floating causeway to transfer aid from ships to the Gaza shoreline without entering Israeli or Gazan ports. The Pentagon had since acknowledged that the mission encountered certain challenges, such as rough weather conditions, which caused damage to the pier but did not disclose the full scope of the problems. According to the Department of Defense Inspector General’s report, which was published last week, the mission caused 62 injuries among personnel, including the death of Army Sergeant Quandarius Stanley, who was critically injured aboard a Navy vessel in May 2024 and died five months later. “The Army and Navy did not meet Service-level standards for equipment and unit readiness for their watercraft units,” the report stated, adding that neither service organized, trained, and equipped their forces to meet common joint standards. It also faulted the Transportation Command for shortcomings in logistics planning and exercises. Read more The report also concluded that the mission cost approximately $230 million and led to $31 million in repair costs after more than two dozen watercraft and equipment pieces were damaged. It further underlined the questionable value of the operation, given that it ran for a total of three months but was actually functional for only about 20 days. During that time, the US military said it had delivered approximately 20 million pounds of food and supplies via the pier. However, aid groups had stated that Gaza required that amount on a daily basis to avert famine. The humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated sharply as a result of Israel’s military response to the attack on its territory by Hamas militants in 2023. Israel has been accused of indiscriminate bombings, deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure, and obstruction of humanitarian aid, which have reportedly led to the deaths of over 50,000 Palestinians. The imposed blockade has led to severe shortages of food, medical supplies, and other essential resources, according to international organizations. Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly criticized both the US and Israeli governments for failing to unblock overland aid deliveries to Gaza and dismissed Washington’s efforts to open alternative routes as politically motivated. Медиа: | ↑ |
New Delhi has struck what it calls terrorist targets on the territory of the neighboring state in response to a deadly act of terrorism The Indian military has launched a series of strikes against targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir region. The attacks were a response to a deadly terrorist assault in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir two weeks ago, the nation’s Defense Ministry has said. Pakistan, which branded the operation an act of “unprovoked aggression,” responded with shelling of its own, according to the Indian ministry. Islamabad also said that it reserves the right to respond to India’s actions in a way it deems appropriate. Start of Operation SindoorIndia announced on Wednesday that its armed forces had struck nine “terrorist camps” overnight in Pakistan and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir region, calling it ‘Operation Sindoor’. New Delhi described the attack as “focused, measured and non-escalatory.” Pakistan’s military and civilians were not targets of the operation, Indian officials stated. Read more Pakistan’s initial responseThe Indian strike killed at least 26 civilians and left 46 people injured, Pakistan’s military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told GeoTV that the Indian strikes hit civilian areas, including a mosque. Islamabad also branded the strike “unprovoked and illegal aggression.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that Islamabad “has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war.” The Indian military then reported Pakistani shelling of Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 15 civilians and injured 43 people. Both sides threaten further escalationIslamabad “reserves the right to respond in time, place, and manner of its choosing,” Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) stated following an emergency meeting presided over by Sharif. The government gave the military a “free hand” to strike back at India, the local media reported following the announcement. New Delhi vowed to retaliate to any military action taken by Islamabad. “If Pakistan responds, India will respond,” the nation’s officials told more than a dozen foreign envoys briefed on the situation. International reactionRussia urged both sides to exercise restraint and called for de-escalation. Moscow expressed its hope that India and Pakistan would be able to resolve their differences “through peaceful political and diplomatic means,” the Foreign Ministry said, adding that Russia also “decisively condemns all acts of terrorism.” Read more Iran and Bangladesh called the escalation a cause for serious concern and called on both sides to exercise restraint as well. The UK urged New Delhi and Islamabad to find a “swift, diplomatic path forward.” Causes of escalationThe Indian strike was a response to a terrorist attack on tourists at Pahalgam in Kashmir two weeks ago, New Delhi said. A total of 26 people were killed in the incident. The attack was initially claimed by ‘The Resistance Front’, a group believed to be linked to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. New Delhi said its investigators were able to identify the planners and backers of the attack, as well as communication nodes used by terrorists in and to Pakistan. Islamabad has vehemently denied that it had any role in the attack and has called for an impartial probe. The incident had already led to a spike in tensions and several rounds of non-military escalation between the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors over the past weeks. India and Pakistan have fought four wars since both gained independence from the UK in 1947. Медиа: | ↑ |
The Venezuelan president has arrived in Russia to participate in the May 9 Victory Day celebrations Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro have signed a strategic partnership agreement to expand cooperation across key sectors, the Kremlin has announced. The deal was sealed on Wednesday in Moscow after talks between the two leaders. Maduro had arrived in the Russian capital to attend the May 9 Victory Day celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany. As part of the agreement, Moscow and Caracas pledged to oppose unilateral sanctions, violations of the UN Charter, and what they called manifestations of neo-colonialism. The document published on the Kremlin’s website also outlines plans for cooperation on global and regional security, counterterrorism, counter-extremism, and efforts to combat the falsification of history and the glorification of Nazism. The pact sets a long-term course for deeper ties in areas including the economy, energy, investment, mineral extraction, transport, telecommunications, healthcare, and culture. Maduro noted that this year also marks 80 years of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Caracas. He expressed his country’s “deep respect” for Russia as it commemorates the anniversary of the victory in the Second World War, praising the “extraordinary effort” made by the Soviet people to end a “horrific and unlawful war brought about by fascism.” The Venezuelan leader, who is accompanied by a high-level delegation including cabinet ministers and senior military officers, said they are “honored to be able to share this significant date” with Moscow. Foreign leaders and envoys from 29 countries will attend Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9 in Moscow, according to presidential aide Yury Ushakov. This year’s landmark event will feature the traditional military parade on Red Square. Медиа: | ↑ |
The European Commission is undermining the legislature’s budgetary authority, Roberta Metsola has argued The European Parliament has warned the European Commission (EC) that it could take it to court if it bypasses EU lawmakers to create a €150 billion ($170 billion) loan program to boost defense spending across the bloc. In March, EC head Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan to raise €800 billion to expand military potential across the EU in response to what she described as “a threat coming from Russia” – a claim rejected by Moscow. To raise the money, the Commission used Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which allows member states in emergencies to approve proposals from the executive branch in Brussels without going through the usual process. On Monday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola sent a letter to von der Leyen, urging her to change the legal basis for the initiative, threatening to sue the EC if it fails to comply. The adoption of the Commission’s plan without a proper legal basis would end up “putting at risk democratic legitimacy by undermining Parliament’s legislative and scrutiny functions,” the letter read. Read more The EC “will always be available to explain why Article 122 has been chosen as the appropriate legal basis,” its spokesman Thomas Regnier told Euronews. “[Western] Europe faces an unprecedented security threat. As stated by President von der Leyen in her Political Guidelines, Article 122 will only be used in exceptional circumstances, as the ones we are currently living in,” Regnier stated. The €150 billion loan program is seen by the Commission as a cornerstone of its ‘Readiness 2030’ proposal to invest over €800 billion into defense across the bloc by the end of the decade when – as Brussels claims – Russia would be in a position to attack an EU-member country. READ MORE: New German chancellor tells US to ‘stay out’ of Berlin’s affairs Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly rejected allegations that Moscow harbors aggressive intentions toward EU countries, calling it “nonsense” designed to alarm Western Europeans and legitimize major increases in defense budgets. Медиа: | ↑ |
From Swan Lake to The Nutcracker, his music continues to captivate audiences across generations and continents Thanks to ‘The Nutcracker’, this Russian composer gifted the world some of its most beloved Christmas melodies. His ‘Swan Lake’ became an unexpected symbol of the 1991 August Coup that signaled the Soviet Union’s collapse. His ballets packed theaters when impresario Sergey Diaghilev, who brought Russian ballet to the world stage, introduced them to Western audiences. And even those who know little about classical music instantly recognize the stirring opening chords of his ‘Piano Concerto No. 1’. A socialite who struggled against his own inclinations, a man of deep sensitivity known to friends as having a “glass soul,” he also composed some of the most significant sacred music in the Russian Orthodox tradition. We’re talking, of course, about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Discover the life, work, and personal trials of Russia’s most celebrated composer in this RT feature.  A child of the EmpireMany great composers seemed destined for music from birth – Beethoven’s father sang at court, Mozart’s was a deputy kapellmeister. These prodigies grew up in refined, aristocratic homes. Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s story, however, took a different path. Born in 1840 in the industrial town of Votkinsk in the Ural region, Tchaikovsky came from a family rooted in the Russian Empire’s rising professional class. His father, Ilya Tchaikovsky, managed an ironworks – one of the Empire’s most advanced metallurgical plants. On his father’s side, Pyotr’s family traced its roots to the Cossacks of Little Russia (modern-day Ukraine), who had served Russia faithfully since the 17th century. During the Great Northern War, his ancestor, Colonel Fyodor Chaika, sided with Tsar Peter I against Hetman Ivan Mazepa’s betrayal. After the Battle of Poltava, the family eventually adopted the surname Tchaikovsky and joined the Russian nobility. His mother’s family added Western European flair. French sculptors and Austrian officers – including Michael Heinrich Maximilian Assier, who became Andrey Mikhailovich Assier upon settling in Russia – rounded out the family tree. Assier rose to the rank of active state counselor, equivalent to a major general.  From an early age, music filled Tchaikovsky’s home. His father played flute, his mother played harp and piano, and the family owned a grand piano and a mechanical organ known as an orchestrion. Through it, young Pyotr first encountered Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’, leaving a lasting impression. His earliest music teacher was Maria Palchikova, a former serf who had taught herself to read and play music. He also absorbed French cultural influence from Fanny Dürbach, a governess brought from St. Petersburg. This blend of European classical training and authentic Russian heritage shaped his artistic vision. Even as a child, Tchaikovsky showed a deep emotional connection to music. He once became so engrossed while tapping rhythms on a window frame that he broke the glass and severely cut his hand. “In daily life, people were drawn to him because they could feel how deeply he cared,” recalled his brother Modest. “He was so sensitive that the slightest thing could hurt him. He was like a child made of glass.” This emotional intensity would later complicate his life – but it also fueled his extraordinary creativity.  From bureaucrat to composerIlya Tchaikovsky envisioned a stable career for his son in law or government. At age ten, Pyotr entered St. Petersburg’s prestigious Imperial School of Jurisprudence. Though the school’s rigid discipline made him feel isolated, Tchaikovsky quickly earned the affection of teachers and classmates. Remarkably, he avoided both corporal punishment and bullying – no small feat in that era. Even in a school focused on legal studies, his love of music persisted, though his talents weren’t immediately obvious. While clearly more musically inclined than his peers, no one yet foresaw the heights he would reach. At 19, after graduating, he landed a civil service job at the Ministry of Finance – a respectable, if uninspired, start to his career. But the lure of St. Petersburg’s vibrant intellectual and social scene soon proved irresistible. He befriended future poets, writers, and critics, attended salons, banquets, and musical soirées, and embraced a hedonistic lifestyle. “I, a sickly man with neurosis, cannot live without the poison of alcohol. Every night I find myself drunk,” he later confessed. Along with mounting debts, this lifestyle clashed with his government duties. At 21, he enrolled in music classes offered by the Russian Musical Society, which soon became the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He was among the first composition students. When he abandoned his bureaucratic post, no one in the office seemed to notice. “He simply stopped showing up.” The greatest musical talent in RussiaAt the conservatory, the now mature Tchaikovsky finally began to realize his full potential. He composed his first significant works: a cantata based on Schiller’s ‘Ode to Joy’ and the overture ‘The Storm’, inspired by Ostrovsky’s play. These works revealed his ability to draw equally from Western and Russian musical traditions. While artistic circles can be competitive, Tchaikovsky inspired admiration rather than jealousy. His classmate – and future critic – Herman Laroche declared, “You are the greatest musical talent in contemporary Russia. In fact, you’re our only hope for the future of Russian music.” Graduating with the conservatory’s top honor, the grand silver medal, Tchaikovsky soon moved to Moscow to teach at the conservatory there. During the late 1860s and early 1870s, he composed the ‘Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture’, which a biographer described as revealing the main themes of his future work: the psychological drama of unfulfilled love, youthful passion, and the omnipresent shadow of death. He also embraced Russian history and folk culture, which shone through in his opera ‘The Oprichnik’, set during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Premiered at the Mariinsky and Bolshoi Theaters, the opera was, in Tchaikovsky’s words, “a triumph beyond anything I could have imagined. A huge crowd of students escorted me back to my hotel.” Not all his works were instant hits. The now-iconic ‘Swan Lake’ struggled at first and only gained worldwide acclaim after his death. Triumph and turmoilBy the 1870s and 1880s, Tchaikovsky’s fame had soared. His concerts sold out. For his ‘1812 Overture’, celebrating Russia’s victory over Napoleon, Emperor Alexander III awarded him an order of merit and helped him clear his debts. He toured Europe, receiving praise from luminaries like Wagner and Liszt, and traveled to the United States, where he conducted at Carnegie Hall’s grand opening. By then, he had composed all the operas, ballets, and symphonies that would become his lasting legacy. Yet personal happiness eluded him. His engagement to Belgian soprano Désirée Artôt, a frequent performer in Russia, ended due to her family’s objections. Heartbroken, he poured his emotions into ‘Romance’, Op. 5, for piano. At 37, he married Antonina Milyukova, a former student. Though she adored him, their marriage quickly soured. Just three months in, he fled to Switzerland. Though they never divorced, they lived apart for the rest of his life. Speculation about Tchaikovsky’s homosexuality persists. While he had close relationships with prominent homosexual figures and young male students, serious biographers suggest his attachments were largely aesthetic and intellectual. In his letters, he often lamented his inclinations and struggled to repress them. Finding solace in faithThe turbulence of his personal life took a toll on this man with the “glass soul.” But in his 30s, Tchaikovsky found solace in Orthodox Christianity. Though indifferent to religion in his youth, by the 1870s and 1880s he had turned to faith for comfort. He studied the Gospels and became deeply engaged with Orthodox church music. Religious themes began to surface in his compositions. In his ‘Sixth Symphony’, the hymn “With the Saints Give Rest” foreshadows death. The 1812 Overture features the troparion “Save, O Lord, Your people and bless Your inheritance.” He also composed music for major liturgies, including the ‘Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom’ and the ‘All-Night Vigil’. Metropolitan Ilarion observed, “He was not just a believer but was deeply rooted in the Orthodox Church. The beauty and profound poetry of Orthodox worship always drew him.” Tchaikovsky himself once said, “My love for Orthodoxy is tied directly to my deep affection for the Russian spirit.” A legacy beyond timeTchaikovsky died suddenly at age 53 during a cholera outbreak in St. Petersburg. His death shocked the nation. The emperor placed the Imperial Theaters in charge of his funeral and paid the expenses himself. The requiem Mass at Kazan Cathedral was so crowded that many mourners couldn’t even get inside. Tchaikovsky’s life shows that it’s never too late to follow your true calling, that the path to greatness is rarely smooth, and that passion and hardship often go hand in hand with genius. His body of work – blending Western European influences with the soul of Russian Orthodox culture – created masterpieces that still captivate audiences worldwide. Today, ballets like ‘The Nutcracker’, ‘Swan Lake’, and ‘Sleeping Beauty’ are staples of every major opera house. Immune to politics or sanctions, these timeless classics stir emotions ranging from bittersweet nostalgia to warmth and inspiration. So, when you hear the ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ from ‘The Nutcracker’ drifting through city streets on Christmas Eve, remember the brilliant Russian composer who gave the world such beauty – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Медиа: | ↑ |
Mark Carney has requested the American president stop referring to his country as the 51st US state Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has claimed he asked US President Donald Trump to stop taunting his country as the 51st state during their first meeting at the White House on Tuesday. Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of acquiring Canada and described its border with the US as “artificial.” During the meeting with Carney in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated that sentiment and said that a union between Canada and the US would be a “wonderful marriage” and could bring “tremendous” benefits. “When you get rid of that artificially drawn line... when you look at that beautiful formation when it’s together, I’m a very artistic person,” Trump said, recalling his real estate developer background. Carney interjected by stating that “there are some places that are never for sale,” likening Canada to the Oval Office and Buckingham Palace. “Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale, ever,” the PM said, adding that the two nations could nevertheless work toward building a strong partnership together. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Carney said he had asked Trump to stop using the term 51st state and described the comments as “not useful.” At the same time, he acknowledged that Trump is the US president and “he’ll say what he wants to say.” Read more The meeting came days after Carney’s election victory, in which his Liberal Party secured a fourth consecutive term. Carney centered his campaign on attacking Trump over tariffs and his insistence on acquiring Canada. At the beginning of their meeting, Trump congratulated the new prime minister and joked, “I think I was probably the greatest thing that happened to him.” Despite ongoing tensions over tariffs, which Trump said would stay in place regardless of what Carney said, both sides ultimately described the talks as positive. “Regardless of anything, we’re going to be friends with Canada,” the US president told reporters. Meanwhile, Carney called the discussions “wide-ranging” and “very constructive” and stated that trade negotiations would continue, including during the upcoming G7 summit in Canada’s Alberta province. Медиа: | ↑ |
The European Commission has announced plans to eliminate the purchase of gas, nuclear fuel, and oil from Russia by the end of 2027 The European Commission’s plan to completely phase out Russian fuel imports violates the sovereignty of EU member states by depriving them of the right to choose their energy sources, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Brussels has outlined plans to end the bloc’s energy reliance on Moscow by completely eliminating imports of oil, gas, and nuclear fuel in the coming years. Hungary obtains over 80% of its gas from Russia via pipeline, with LNG playing a supplementary role. Budapest has continued to strengthen its energy ties with Moscow despite the sanctions introduced by the EU in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. “The forced, artificially ideological-based exclusion of natural gas, crude oil, and nuclear fuel originating from Russia will lead to severe price increases in Europe, seriously harming the sovereignty of European countries, and cause major difficulties for European companies,” Szijjarto said in a video he shared on his Facebook page on Tuesday, adding that “what was announced is absolute insanity.” Read more “Everyone in Brussels has lost their common sense,” the foreign minister exclaimed, emphasizing that Budapest would not allow the European Commission (EC) to violate Hungary’s sovereignty and would “uphold the right to source energy from where it reliably arrives and where it arrives at a low cost.” Earlier in the day, the EC published a “roadmap” outlining its ambitious strategy to end reliance on Russian energy by the end of 2027. The bloc’s executive branch said it would propose legislation in June requiring all member states to draft “national plans” to terminate their imports of Russian gas, nuclear fuel, and oil. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico also criticized the plan, calling the proposal “economic suicide.” He added that Slovakia would push for changes in the legislative process. Brussels announced its intention to wean EU members off Russian energy shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Supplies of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) have since replaced much of the cheaper pipeline gas previously delivered by Russia. Although Russian pipeline gas supplies to the EU have plummeted, the bloc has been increasing its imports of LNG from the sanction-hit nation. Last year, Russia still accounted for around 19% of the EU’s total gas and LNG supply, according to the EC. Медиа: | ↑ |
The large-scale aerial attack also included HIMARS rockets and Neptune guided missiles Russian anti-aircraft defenses have repelled a large-scale Ukrainian attack, downing two Western-supplied HIMARS rockets and over 500 drones, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Wednesday. Five long-range Neptune guided missiles and six JDAM precision-guided aerial bombs were also destroyed. Aerial assaults have increased in the lead-up to a ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is scheduled to take effect from midnight on May 7–8 through midnight on May 10–11. Intended as a humanitarian gesture to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, the three-day pause also opens the door to potential “direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions,” Moscow said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday that Russia still plans to offer the 3-day ceasefire. By ramping up drone strikes on Russia, “the Kiev regime continues to demonstrate its essence, its inclination to terrorist actions,” Peskov said. READ MORE: Record civilian casualties from Ukrainian strikes last week – Moscow Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has declined to support the proposed ceasefire, calling it a Russian “attempt at manipulation.” According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s war crimes investigator Rodion Miroshnik, the past week saw a record number of civilian casualties from drone attacks, with 15 people killed and 142 others injured. Медиа: | ↑ |
Boris Pistorius reportedly wants €60 billion allocated for the armed forces this year German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is seeking a major hike to the country’s military budget effective this year, Reuters has reported, citing sources. Pistorius, the only minister to retain his role under Chancellor Friedrich Merz's new government, has previously claimed that Russia may attack a NATO country and that Germany “must be ready for war by 2029.” Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the claims as “utter nonsense.” Pistorius, according to a Reuters source, hopes for a “drastic increase” to over €60 billion ($68.21 billion) for the military in 2025, up from €51.8 billion in 2024. Read more In an interview in December, he proposed an annual defense budget of up to €90 billion ($102 billion) “from 2028 onwards… due to the tightened security situation.” Total German military expenditure in 2024 actually amounted to up to €90 billion ($88 billion), the first time Berlin has met its NATO spending target. European NATO members have been under increasing pressure from the US to boost military spending. In March, the European Commission proposed a €800 billion plan to militarize the bloc. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told Pistorius in April that Washington wants “European allies to assume primary responsibility” for their security and urged his counterpart to “actualize defense spending increases.” New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, announced a new package of armored vehicles, air-defense rockets, and howitzers for Keiv last month. Merz also suggested he could approve delivery of long-range Taurus missiles to the Ukrainian army, a move resisted by former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for fear of escalating the conflict. Moscow has warned that any cruise missile attack on Russian facilities or critical transport infrastructure with the assistance of the German armed forces would be seen as the country’s direct involvement in military operations. READ MORE: Germany announces new military aid package for Ukraine The ongoing militarization of the EU amounts to an “incitement of war on the European continent,” according to Moscow. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recently said the bloc “has degraded into an openly militarized entity and become de facto a branch of NATO.” Медиа: | ↑ |
Internet access on mobile devices has been limited as security is being ramped up due to Ukrainian threats Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has urged Moscow residents to be patient with security restrictions this week during Victory Day celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Earlier, Ukraine had threatened foreign dignitaries visiting the Russian capital. Muscovites have been reporting disruptions in mobile internet access since Tuesday, with providers attributing the issues to circumstances beyond their control. During a press briefing on Wednesday, Peskov acknowledged that the government had implemented restrictions “for understandable reasons” and encouraged residents to bear with the inconvenience. “We have to take into account the dangerous neighbor we are dealing with, so to speak,” he stated, referring to Ukraine. Foreign leaders and envoys from 29 countries are set to attend Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9, which will culminate with a traditional military parade on Red Square. President Vladimir Putin has declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine for three days during the celebrations. However, Kiev has refused to reciprocate, demanding an unconditional 30-day truce instead. Read more Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has warned that his government cannot guarantee the safety of foreign leaders visiting Moscow. His chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, has posted a picture of his boss gazing at a burning Red Square with a line from a famous Soviet World War II-era song: “We have done everything we could to bring this day closer.” At the same time, Ukrainian forces have intensified long-range drone strikes against Russia, including the capital. Previously, Kiev’s special services have allegedly used webcams to time detonations in various assassination plots. “As Muscovites, we all certainly want Victory Day to be marked properly, and for all events to go as planned,” Peskov said. He added that the restrictions will likely remain in effect for the duration of the foreign guests’ stay in Russia. Earlier in the week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Zelensky of engaging in “classic terrorist behavior” by threatening civilians in Russia while soliciting additional funding from Western donors. Медиа: | ↑ |
New Delhi has claimed it was targeting terrorist sites in an overnight raid Pakistan has accused India of killing civilians in a cross-border military operation overnight and promised a forceful response. In the attacks, Indian forces targeted what New Delhi described as “terrorist camps” in the neighboring country. The escalation follows a terrorist attack in India’s Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory that left 26 civilians dead last month. The Indian government has accused Islamabad of harboring an armed group linked to the incident and characterized the pre-dawn missile and drone strike on Wednesday as retaliation. The Pakistani National Security Committee (NSC) has dismissed India’s justification for the military action, calling it an “unprovoked, cowardly and unlawful act of war” in a statement issued after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Islamabad maintains the targeted sites were civilian areas and that the terrorist camps described by India are “imaginary.” Reports from Pakistan have mentioned at least 26 fatalities and 46 injuries. The NSC also claimed that Pakistani forces downed five Indian aircraft involved in the operation, including fighter jets and drones. Read more ”Pakistan reserves the right to respond, in self-defense, at a time, place, and manner of its choosing,” the statement warned, urging the international community to hold New Delhi accountable for alleged violations of international law. New Delhi described its Operation Sindoor as “focused, measured and non-escalatory,” targeting locations associated with the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The April attack was claimed by a group called The Resistance Front, reportedly an offshoot of LeT, which India identified as the mastermind behind the incident. Russia has condemned the initial attack in Kashmir, with the Foreign Ministry stating that Moscow “objects to any terrorist activities and emphasizes the need for the international community to unite to effectively fight against this evil.” The country has urged both New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restraint and pursue diplomatic solutions to their differences. Медиа: | ↑ |
From Ukraine to Kashmir: The old laws of power still apply There is plenty to say about the chaos unfolding in Washington these days, but the sudden military escalation between India and Pakistan shifts our attention elsewhere – and provides some useful lessons. Since the start of Russia’s military operation against Ukraine, India’s official stance has generally aligned with Moscow’s interests. Yet it has consistently stressed the importance of peace. While many in India’s political and media elite – especially the pro-Western crowd – have criticized Russia, their views have been shaped by alignment with the West, not by deeper national principles. India’s official line, however, has always been dressed in polished diplomatic language, designed to project wisdom and balance. Early in the conflict, India’s Ambassador to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said: “India has consistently called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to violence.” Fast forward to 2024, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi added: “The conflict in Ukraine is a matter of deep concern for all of us. India firmly believes that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. We support dialogue and diplomacy for early restoration of peace and stability.” Read more And of course, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar offered a soundbite which was repeated endlessly in international forums: “Wars are not the way to settle disputes.” The consistent refrain at countless conferences about “peace in Europe” boiled down to this: Russia was old-fashioned, clinging to outdated great power logic. The world had moved on, they insisted. And inevitably, some “public intellectual” would spice things up with a quote from Chanakya, Confucius, or even the Pope – advising Russia on how real diplomacy should look today. It was all reminiscent of a famous scene in Aleksei Balabanov’s 2005 movie Dead Man’s Bluff, where a bandit from the polished 2000s lectures his 1990s Russian counterparts: “Why do you keep shooting? Business is done differently now.” It wasn’t just the Indians who pushed this line. The Chinese, Brazilians, Turks (yes, them too), and other so-called “rising powers” repeated similar mantras. Now, let’s be clear: no one should gloat. War is a terrifying and extreme manifestation of unresolved contradictions. However, to pontificate about “wisdom” and peace as if it’s a fresh insight is banal – and, frankly, vulgar. Because when real danger arrives – when an enemy or existential threat targets your home – there is no high-minded choice left. States, like individuals, take up arms and fight for victory in order to restore peace. That’s not bloodlust; it’s the basic logic of international relations, from ancient kingdoms to today’s global order. You can deny it, but you can’t make it disappear. Read more Western propaganda’s greatest success over the past three years was convincing much of the world that Russia’s offensive was a “war of choice” rather than a “war of necessity” – which it was. Many in the so-called rising powers naively believed that every conflict offers a choice, and that they themselves would never resort to arms. But history teaches otherwise. When survival and national security are truly at stake, even the most idealistic states will – without even realizing it – abandon their slogans and do whatever is necessary. That, too, is a timeless law of international life. As the Bible reminds us: “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). What should Russia do now? Stay the course – finish what we started. And be prepared for new challenges on other fronts. At the same time, we should follow diplomatic protocol and call on India and Pakistan to resolve their crisis peacefully. We can even offer to host peace talks, if needed. Because while the reality of conflict remains unchanged, so too must our commitment: Victory first. Peace second. Happy World War Two Victory Day – to us, and to peace. Медиа: | ↑ |
It must be quite a burn for Brussels elites when Washington says their most vaunted quality is not as good as they try to make it look This one stings. When asked how the EU might dodge US President Donald Trump’s tariff hammer, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent replied, “My observation... goes all the way back to [former US Secretary of State] Henry Kissinger’s statement: ‘When I call Europe, who do I call?’ So, we’re negotiating with a lot of different interests.” Translation: You can’t sit with us until you stop fighting at your own lunch table. Sure, the continent is tripping over its own policies and tumbling down an economic staircase, but at least everyone’s falling in sync. Brussels tightens the “unity” straitjacket, and they all cheer, or risk getting whacked back into line. Unity is the brand. Unity is the product. Unity is the hashtag. “Only together can we address the grave challenges we face,” unelected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in January 2024. “It is thanks to all this that in the last five years, Europe has weathered the fiercest storm in our economic history. And we overcame an unprecedented energy crisis. We did this together, and we can do it again. And we have the political will. Because when Europe is united, it gets things done,” she said in an address earlier this year at the Davos World Economic Forum, explaining how solidarity will help the EU weather the problems created by its own policies. “The EU’s strength lies in its unity, including when confronted with major health crises. European solidarity, in sharing medical supplies, treating patients or helping repatriate citizens, and in the reconstruction of our economies, helped us to protect our citizens together and overcome the most difficult phases of the pandemic,” she said in 2023 about the Covid fiasco, during which she brokered a non-transparent deal for jabs with her pal, the CEO of Pfizer, via text messages that have since vanished. Contracts which ultimately left EU member states on the hook even after they had no use for the jabs. Read more “This 4th Ukraine meeting was another demonstration of European unity,” Queen Ursula posted a month ago on social media. Of course it was. What isn’t? Even just this week, in evoking fires in Israel and EU assistance, she wrote on social media that it was “EU solidarity in action.” Unity and solidarity are important to the EU in the same way that the concept of family is important to evoke every time two toddlers want to poke each other’s eyes out with crayons. As in, “you’re supposed to be brothers, so play nice!” All that helps to paper over the unfortunate history of family infighting and battlefield beatdowns. Enter Scott Bessent, politely suggesting that he’s not impressed by the EU’s unity thirst traps. And that hits deep. It’s like telling someone that what they think is their very best feature is really their worst. Say, for example, you really love your own butt, have been spending years in the gym doing every kind of squat, lunges, hip thrusts, and you’re so proud of your butt – and then one day, someone you’re interested in is like, “You know, you should really work on those glutes more.” That’s exactly what Bessent’s comment is when he says that the problem with the EU is their lack of unity. Nothing the US can do about it, he implies – just a little friendly feedback. Back to the gym, Brussels. And Queen Ursula must be fuming since she talks like it’s her best feature and she already spends all day and night obsessing over it. How is she possibly supposed to do more when she’s already maxed out on her unity obsession? Which is all superficial by the way. Her unity-at-any-cost talk really just means that dissent from countries that disagree is quashed. And those dissenters are typically those with ideological views and approaches similar to Trump’s that place their own country’s interests above those dictated by a supranational institution of global governance. This is some brutal negging on the part of the Trump administration saying basically, look, you’re not as hot as you think you are. So go work on yourself and then maybe get back to us afterwards. Because this is a YOU problem. Read more Bessent specially mentioned the wide variation within the bloc when it comes to taxation of digital services. “We want to see that unfair tax on one of America’s great industries removed,” Bessent said. Funny how they can’t agree on that, but have no problem marching in step behind the Digital Services Act, which basically deputizes “fact-checkers, civil society, and third-party organizations with specific expertise on disinformation,” to keep EU internet users “safe and accountable.” When it comes to taxes, the EU is a jazz band. When it comes to censorship, they’re a military parade. Meanwhile, von der Leyen reportedly tried to book time with Trump at Mar-a-Lago before his inauguration. No dice. Her staff was ghosted by the White House despite blowing up its phone. When she finally caught up with Trump in Rome at Pope Francis’ funeral, it was said to be… not exactly a summit. More like a celeb sighting. Word is that Trump told her they’d meet. Perhaps just to get her to release his hand. Other than the fact that Queen Ursula is unelected, unlike all the leaders of individual EU nations with whom Trump has been meeting, why else might he be ignoring the EU’s top boss? Well, maybe it’s the constant scolding. “Global markets are shaken by the unpredictable tariff policy of the US administration,” von der Leyen said this week at a political gathering in Spain. ”My friends, we cannot and we will not allow this to happen. We have to double down on our hallmark policies of open markets of win-win trade and investment partnership, and of free and fair trade.” Bessent’s whole “fix yourselves first” vibe also lines up with Trump's vice president, J.D. Vance’s stance. According to the UK Independent, Vance reportedly wants future trade deals tied to countries, like the UK, abandoning speech-curbing laws. So if the Trump doctrine is a world order of free nations over rule by top-down globalist committee, then using trade as a crowbar to pry open authoritarian institutions certainly checks out. Медиа: | ↑ |
Moscow airports have faced severe disruptions from Ukrainian drone strikes, stranding thousands of passengers Ukrainian drone attacks across Russia sparked widespread travel chaos late Tuesday and early Wednesday, forcing multiple Russian airlines to cancel and reroute dozens of flights. Repeated airport closures in Moscow and multiple regions threw operations into disarray and left thousands of passengers stuck on parked flights or stranded in airports without accommodation. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that air defense systems shot down at least eight drones on Tuesday evening and another nine early Wednesday morning. The wave of attacks marked the third consecutive day of drone assaults on the capital, just days ahead of the city’s May 9 Victory Day parade. Aviation authorities grounded flights at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky airports, as well as in the cities of Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Yaroslavl, Kazan. Russia’s major carriers including Aeroflot, Pobeda, and S7 warned passengers to brace for disruptions on Tuesday and Wednesday. S7, pledged to provide full refunds for affected passengers or rebook them on alternative flights. Read more “The restrictions were imposed to ensure the safety of civil aircraft flights,” Artyom Korenyako, a spokesperson for Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, told reporters. Residents in the Ryazan, Tula, Orel, and Moscow regions reported seeing waves of drones flying toward the Russian capital. The closures come as Russia expects 29 foreign leaders to attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow later this week. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will arrive for a full state visit and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are among the expected attendees, according to Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will be the only European leaders present at the parade. READ MORE: Putin’s 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire proposal still on the table – Kremlin The head of Kiev’s Center for Countering Disinformation Andrey Kovalenko has said on his Telegram channel that Ukraine’s overnight attacks targeted the Kubinka airbase in Moscow region, as well as the Shaykovka airfield in Kaluga region. The attacks come despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a unilateral ceasefire from midnight May 7 to midnight May 11. Framed as a humanitarian gesture to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, the Kremlin said the three-day pause was also intended to open the door to potential “direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday that despite the latest attack, the ceasefire declared by the Russian president remains in effect. “This is an initiative by the Russian side, by President Putin. It remains in force,” he told reporters. Медиа: | ↑ |
The European Commission chief also urged the bloc’s members to further support Kiev’s military industry Ukraine EU accession talks should be launched in 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed on Wednesday. She argued that such a step would enhance Kiev’s negotiating position against Moscow while also opening the door for more investments in the country’s military industry. Kiev has repeatedly expressed its desire to join the EU. However, Ukraine’s “immediate” accession has been consistently opposed by several member states. Hungary has voiced concerns over corruption, the treatment of ethnic minorities, and economic competition, particularly in agriculture. Other EU nations, including Slovakia, France, and Germany, have also expressed reservations, emphasizing that Kiev must meet existing reform benchmarks before talks proceed. Speaking at a Europe Day event on May 7, von der Leyen said that the EU’s current task is to “help Ukraine stand strong, defy Putin’s intimidations.” “Today, I would like to focus on how we can do so, and on three priorities for our action. First, support Ukraine’s defense. Second, complete the phase-out of Russian fossil fuels. And third, accelerate Ukraine’s accession path to our Union.” She added that Brussels is “working hard with Ukraine to open the first cluster of accession talks, and to open all clusters in 2025.” Read more While Russia has consistently rejected the idea of Ukraine joining NATO, its position on EU accession has been more restrained. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that the country has a “sovereign right” to join the bloc, provided that it remains a matter of economic integration and not military alignment. At the same time, Russian officials have increasingly warned that the EU is losing its purely civilian character. Peskov has accused the bloc of actively working to prolong the Ukraine conflict by repeatedly expressing its intention to keep supporting Kiev in its desire to “continue the war.” He has also criticized Brussels for undermining peace efforts by consistently portraying Russia as the bloc’s primary adversary. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously also stated that the EU was “becoming militarized at a record pace,” and claimed there was now “very little difference” between the EU and NATO. Медиа: | ↑ |
Friedrich Merz says White House officials have been making “absurd observations” about his country German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has told the US government to “stay out” of his nation’s domestic politics. It comes after Trump administration officials slammed the designation of Germany’s second-largest party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), as an “extremist” organization. Following the move last week by Berlin’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, US Vice President J.D. Vance said the “German establishment” had “rebuilt” the Berlin Wall. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in turn, declared that the EU’s largest economy has become “a tyranny in disguise” and called upon the German authorities to change course. Merz, who was elected chancellor only after failing his first confirmation vote in parliament, told the broadcaster ZDF on Tuesday that “absurd observations” were emanating from Washington regarding the treatment of the right-wing party AfD by German authorities. Read more The chancellor stressed he “would like to encourage the American government… to largely stay out of” German domestic politics. The 69-year-old politician noted that he “did not interfere in the American election campaign” last year, which ended with Trump winning a second term in the White House. He also expressed his belief that US politicians should not support AfD because they “can clearly distinguish between extremist parties and parties of the political center.” Merz said he is planning a phone call with Trump on Thursday, with their first face-to-face meeting set for the NATO summit in the Hague on June 24 and 25. When asked about the possibility of AfD being outlawed in Germany altogether, the chancellor said the German government needed to show restraint on the issue. “Ten million AfD voters, you cannot ban them,” Merz argued. He said the ruling CDU/CSU alliance should instead focus on addressing the causes pushing people to vote for the right-wing party. READ MORE: Berlin hits back over US ‘tyranny in disguise’ claim AfD demands tighter immigration and asylum laws and opposes the “woke agenda.” It achieved its best ever result in February’s election, clinching 20.8% of the vote and finishing second after CDU/CSU, which got 28.5%. The party filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging the BfV’s decision to classify it an “extremist” organization. Медиа: | ↑ |
The move on Monday comes months after the African state’s government revoked Orano’s operating license Niger’s security forces have raided the offices of French state-owned miner Orano’s local subsidiaries and seized equipment, including mobile phones, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The company’s local director, Ibrahim Courmo, was reportedly arrested following the search in the West African nation’s capital, Niamey, on Monday. “On Monday, May 5, it appears that Nigerien law enforcement officers intervened at the headquarters of the Somair, Cominak, and Orano Mining Niger subsidiaries in Niamey, with equipment seized,” the company told Reuters. “We are very concerned about the situation, as we have not been able to contact the Orano representative in Niger at this stage,” it added. The company noted that it had “very limited” information due to losing operational control of the subsidiaries in December. The raid comes amid tensions between Niger’s military-led government and the French state-owned nuclear fuel company. In June 2024, Niamey revoked the license of Orano, which had allowed it to operate the Imouraren mine, one of the world’s largest uranium mines, in northern Niger. READ MORE: Mali and Canadian miner fail to resolve payment dispute – Bloomberg In December 2024, Orano announced that Nigerien authorities had taken operational control of its Somair uranium mine in the northern Arlit region, where Orano holds a 63.4% stake and the Nigerien state owns the remainder. Niger is the world’s seventh-largest uranium producer, accounting for approximately 5% of global output, according to the World Nuclear Association. The country’s uranium exports are a significant source of fuel for France’s nuclear reactors, supplying about 15%–17% of the uranium used in French electricity generation. Read more Since the military coup in July 2023, Niger’s transitional authorities have been reviewing foreign mining concessions and security agreements. Last July, Canada’s GoviEx Uranium announced that its mining permit had been withdrawn by the former French colony’s government. The Sahel state’s allies, Mali and Burkina Faso, have also been stepping up pressure on foreign mining companies in recent years as part of efforts to make more revenue from the extractive sector to boost state income. Mali passed a new mining code in 2023 that allows the military government to own up to 30% of any new projects. It has since been embroiled in a dispute with Canadian miner Barrick Gold and Australia’s Resolute Mining over unpaid revenues. Медиа: | ↑ |
The strike reportedly utilized a specialized FPV aircraft shielded from electronic countermeasures Russian forces have destroyed a valuable Ukrainian HIMARS multiple launch rocket system in a strike using a first-person view (FPV) drone, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported. The strike was credited to the Rubicon drone team and took place in the Donetsk People’s Republic, according to a statement on Tuesday. Footage released by the Russian military showed the US-designed HIMARS launcher firing projectiles and later moving along a road with an escort vehicle. Close-up shots indicated that the weapons system was hit by a drone strike, with the remainder of the clip showing the aftermath of the attack. HIMARS systems, valued at approximately $20 million each, are among Ukraine’s most treasured military assets. They are capable of striking targets up to 90km away and can quickly relocate to evade counterattacks. While Moscow has previously reported the destruction of HIMARS units, the cases typically involved strikes with fast-moving ballistic missiles or successful identification of camouflaged stationary launchers. FPV drones, known for being inexpensive but limited in range, generally struggle against effective electronic countermeasures. A report by Forbes magazine indicated that the recent strike used a drone operated via a fiber-optic cable, which offers a secure alternative to conventional radio control susceptible to interference. The approach is similar to technologies employed in wire-guided missiles. The Russian Defense Ministry regularly reports deploying such drones in the Ukraine conflict. READ MORE: Kiev reports loss of fighter jet during Russian drone attack (VIDEO) Ukraine faces challenges in replacing destroyed Western weaponry, particularly from the US, as President Donald Trump announced his intention to minimize American involvement in the conflict. The US is currently advocating for a negotiated resolution between Kiev and Moscow, while many European NATO allies are committed to maintaining support – including the potential deployment of their own troops to Ukraine, a proposal that Russia deems unacceptable. Медиа: | ↑ |
Heads of state from Egypt, Zimbabwe, Congo, and elsewhere will join ceremonies marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany Seven African heads of state are expected to attend Moscow’s Victory Day parade on May 9, Izvestia reported on Wednesday. Commemorative events in the Russian capital will mark 80 years since the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Among the invited leaders are Burkina Faso’s interim president, Captain Ibrahim Traore, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, and Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie. South Africa will also be represented at the military parade by Defense Minister Angie Motshekga, whose participation was confirmed by Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola last month. Read more Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of five African states – Congo, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau – according to Kremlin officials. Russian Presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that talks with Denis Sassou Nguesso, president of the Republic of the Congo, are scheduled for May 7. The Congolese leader has already flown from Brazzaville to Moscow, the office of the president announced on Tuesday. Following the parade on May 9, President Putin and visiting foreign dignitaries will lay wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin wall, before attending a reception at the Kremlin. Ushakov added that after the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders depart Moscow, President Putin will continue bilateral discussions, including talks with the president of Guinea-Bissau. The Russian president will meet with Egyptian leader el-Sisi to discuss key joint projects such as the El Dabaa nuclear power plant and the Russian industrial zone. READ MORE: Kremlin aide reveals which world leaders to attend Victory Day parade Additional high-level meetings with the leaders of Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso are set for May 10. Медиа: | ↑ |
The truce proposed by Russian president Vladimir Putin “remains in force,” his spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said The intensification of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory will not affect Moscow’s plans to introduce a 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russian forces would suspend all offensive operations from midnight on May 7-8 to midnight on May 10-11. According to Moscow, the truce is a humanitarian gesture to mark the 80th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and could serve as a catalyst for “the start of direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.” Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has declined to support the ceasefire, dismissing it as a Russian ploy and an “attempt at manipulation.” Instead, Kiev has ramped up its drone strikes on Russian territory, with high-ranking Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik saying on Tuesday that the past week saw a record number of civilian casualties from such attacks, with 15 people being killed and 142 others injured. Peskov assured journalists on Tuesday that Russia remains committed to the Victory Day truce despite the actions of Ukraine. “Yes, this is an initiative by the Russian side, by President Putin. It remains in force,” he said. By ordering more UAVs attacks on Moscow and other Russian regions, “the Kiev regime continues to demonstrate its essence, its inclination to terrorist actions,” the spokesman argued. READ MORE: Kremlin aide reveals which world leaders to attend Victory Day parade “Our special services, our military are taking all measures to ensure that Victory Day celebrations take place in a calm, stable and peaceful atmosphere,” he added. Earlier in the day, Russian MP Andrey Kolesnik warned that Moscow could come up with an “asymmetrical” response to the Ukrainian drone attacks ahead of May 9. According to the lawmaker, the strikes do not have any military purpose. “We will hit them hard,” Kolesnik told News.ru website. When asked about possible Russian retaliation, Peskov stressed that “there is nothing to comment on in this case. Our position on the ceasefire is well known. All instructions have been given, there are no new elements here.” Медиа: | ↑ |
The Sudanese government says it has ordered the closure of its embassy in Abu Dhabi in response to acts of aggression Sudan has severed diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the Gulf nation’s alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group engaged in a protracted civil war with the African state’s military. In a statement on Tuesday, Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim accused the UAE of violating Sudanese sovereignty by supplying weapons to its “local agent” the RSF, which Khartoum blames for recent drone strikes on Port Sudan and other acts of aggression. “The [Sudanese Security and Defense] Council decided to declare the United Arab Emirates a state of aggression, sever diplomatic relations with it, and withdraw the Sudanese embassy and consulate general,” the minister announced after an emergency meeting chaired by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Sudan was one of the first countries to establish relations with the UAE following its formation in 1971, and the two have maintained mostly cordial ties over the decades. Abu Dhabi positioned itself as a key player in Sudan’s political transition after the 2019 ouster of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. READ MORE: UN court rejects genocide case against UAE The diplomatic rupture follows a setback for Sudan at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which on Monday dismissed a genocide case Khartoum filed against the UAE. Sudan had accused the Abu Dhabi of providing arms and funding to the RSF, particularly in the context of ethnic violence against the Masalit people in West Darfur. The court found it lacked jurisdiction to hear the complaint, citing the UAE’s reservation when it joined the Genocide Convention in 2005. The UAE has rejected Sudan’s allegations as “baseless” and welcomed the ICJ ruling as a confirmation that the case lacked merit. Read more More than 24,000 people have been killed in Sudan, and over 14 million displaced, with half of the population facing acute hunger since clashes broke out in April 2023, according to the United Nations. The Sudanese government on Tuesday accused the RSF of launching three days of attacks on critical infrastructure in Port Sudan – the country’s main port and de facto administrative capital – including the airport and maritime facilities. Officials said the strikes disrupted air traffic and halted humanitarian operations in a city that had largely been spared from the two-year conflict. Медиа: | ↑ |
The Indian armed forces has said it struck nine suspected terror-linked sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir India announced on Wednesday that it struck nine terror-linked sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir. The pre-dawn attacks lasted from 1:05 AM to 1:30 AM Indian time on Wednesday and were carried out jointly by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force under the codename Operation Sindoor, officials said. Sindoor, a powdered red pigment, is applied in India by married women along the parting of their hair, as a symbol of their marital status. Read more Vikram Misri, India’s foreign secretary, who in a symbolic gesture was joined in a press conference by two female officers Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, said that the strikes were “focused, measured and non-escalatory”, and “exercised India’s right to respond, pre-empt”. This operation was a response to the recent terrorist attack on Indian tourists at Pahalgam in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people. Misri called it a “savage attack” carried out by Pakistani and Pakistan-trained terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba. “The attack was clearly driven by the objective of undermining the normalcy returning to Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. “The calculation, presumably, was that harming growth and development in the Indian Union Territory would help keep it backward and create fertile ground for continued cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.” Investigations into the April terror attack have revealed communication nodes of terrorists in and to Pakistan, according to Misri. India has identified the planners and backers of the attack, which was claimed by “The Resistance Front”, a cut-out for the UN-proscribed Pakistani terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, he said.
No military installation was targeted in Pakistan during the operation, Colonel Qureshi stated. Misri expressed concern over Pakistan's inaction against terrorist infrastructure on its territory, citing a lack of demonstrable steps taken despite a fortnight passing since the attacks. A key target was the Markaz Taiba mosque complex in Muridke, near Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab province, which is considered the ideological and operational center of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group, Qureshi said. Vyomika Singh added that “niche technology” of weapons with careful selection of warheads was used and the targets were specific buildings or a group of buildings. Медиа: | ↑ |
Kiev will only receive the jets once Belgium gets F-35s from the US, Brussels’ defense minister has said Belgium will only be able to deliver F-16s to Ukraine “in the years to come,” Defense Minister Theo Francken has said, after his country initially promised to provide Kiev with jets last year. Brussels must first receive its own delivery of F-35s from the US, Francken stated. Belgium – along with fellow NATO members Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway – pledged in 2023 to arm Kiev with up to 80 F-16s after receiving permission to do so from the administration of then-US President Joe Biden. Last year, Ukraine received about 20 of the aircraft from Denmark and the Netherlands. Speaking at an event organized by the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington on Tuesday, Francken claimed Belgium was Kiev’s “biggest supporter on the air domain,” despite his country not yet providing Ukraine with any planes. Brussels is “delivering 30 working F-16s [to Ukraine] in the years to come, as soon as possible,” he added. Read more Francken explained the delay by saying that “when we have our F-35s [from the US], we will give the F-16s because we have DCA (Dollar Cost Averaging) capacity in Belgium.” He insisted that Belgium is “very forward leaning” towards Kiev and “will support [Vladimir] Zelensky and every Ukrainian because it is very important.” Last month, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said the country will send two non-operational F-16s to Ukraine to be used for spare parts by the end of 2025. De Wever also announced that Brussels will provide €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in military support to Kiev annually. According to Francken, the package “will pass the government within a few weeks.” Last week, the US approved a $310.5 million deal to sustain Ukrainian-operated F-16s, which includes training, spare parts, aircraft modifications, logistics assistance, and software support for the fourth-generation aircraft. The Defense Ministry in Moscow reported in April that Russian air defenses had shot down an F-16, making it the second confirmed loss of a US-designed jet operated by Ukraine. READ MORE: US approves F-16 support package for Ukraine The Ukrainian authorities initially claimed that F-16s would be a game-changer in the conflict with Russia. However, their use in combat has been limited, with the aircraft mainly being deployed away from the contact line for air defense purposes. Медиа: | ↑ |
Moscow has called for de-escalation after New Delhi attacked alleged terrorist facilities across the border Russia has expressed its deep concerns over the rising violence between India and Pakistan, and is urging both nations to take measures to prevent further escalation. Tensions surged following last month’s terrorist attack in Baisaran Valley in India’s Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory that left 26 civilians dead. On Tuesday, the Indian military launched “Operation Sindoor” and conducted strikes in Pakistan and the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, prompting Islamabad to threaten retaliation against what it deemed a violation of the country’s sovereignty. “Russia decisively condemns all acts of terrorism, objects to any terrorist activities and emphasizes the need for the international community to unite to effectively fight against this evil,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Wednesday. Moscow called for restraint and expressed hope that India and Pakistan would settle their disputes “through peaceful political and diplomatic means.” On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin reached out to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convey his personal condolences regarding the April 22 attack and reaffirmed the strategic partnership between the two countries. Read more Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov contacted his counterparts in India and Pakistan last week, offering Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Muhammad Ishaq Dar Moscow’s assistance in reducing tensions. New Delhi said on Wednesday that it had hit at least nine “terrorist camps,” claiming that Pakistan’s armed forces and civilians were not its targets and describing its action as “measured and non-escalatory.” Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said a key target on Tuesday was the Masjid wa Markaz Taiba mosque complex in Muridke, near Lahore in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which is considered the ideological and operational center of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group. Pakistan’s military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said that Indian missile strikes have killed eight civilians and injured 38 others. The country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated his government “has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India.” Медиа: | ↑ |
Kiev is trying to portray itself as a “key supporter” of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle The article “Ukraine looks to rekindle ties with liberation heroes,” published on April 15 in The Citizen, reports on a statement by the Ukrainian ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, that Ukraine was “a key supporter” of South Africa’s freedom struggle, including arming the liberation movement “under the umbrella of the former Soviet Union.” The Ukrainian diplomat’s assertion is a clear example of information manipulation. Thirty years have passed since the victory of the ANC-led democratic forces over South Africa’s apartheid regime. Throughout most of this time, South Africa’s mainstream media has largely downplayed the Soviet Union’s significant support for the liberation struggle. Do these claims stand up to historical scrutiny? The truth is that ANC combatants received training at various locations across the Soviet Union, particularly in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Baku (then the capital of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic), Frunze (then part of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic), and Minsk (then capital of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic). The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) also served as a training ground for ANC officers, with this effort beginning in 1964 at the Odessa Infantry School. Read more The story of how South Africans were trained in Odessa is well documented in “Armed and Dangerous,” the memoir of Ronnie Kasrils – one of the first ANC cadets at the school, who later served as South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Defence and Minister of Intelligence Services. From 1965, ANC personnel also received training at Special Center-165 near the village of Perevalnoye in Crimea, which was then part of the Ukrainian SSR. Hundreds of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) soldiers were trained in advanced tactics and weaponry at this facility. In 1980, the center was renamed the Unified Simferopol Higher Military School (Simferopol is Crimea’s capital). However, the current Ukrainian state has no direct connection to that historic chapter. While the training occurred on the territory of Soviet Ukraine, the context was entirely different. At the time, Ukraine was one of fifteen republics within the Soviet Union, governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). The Ukrainian SSR, like the other republics, was de-facto not an independent actor in foreign or defense policy. Since 1991, a fundamentally different state has emerged – one defined by a capitalist economy and an openly anti-communist ideology. It is difficult to imagine that today’s Ukrainian ambassador to South Africa could find common ground with comrades like Chris Hani or Joe Slovo. Chris Hani, it should be remembered, was assassinated by an emigrant from Poland – a country close to Ukraine not only geographically, but also in terms of the deeply ingrained anti-communist sentiment within its society. The current Ukrainian government is resolutely anti-communist, having banned the Communist Party of Ukraine four years ago. Read more Moreover, the training of ANC fighters in Perevalnoye came to an end in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ukraine’s declaration of independence that same year marked the conclusion of all such collaboration. The current authorities in Kiev, including their representatives in Pretoria, have no historical link to the ANC’s struggle. While MK training occurred on the territory of Soviet Ukraine, the Ukrainian SSR itself was not involved in policy decisions. The decision to support liberation movements – including the ANC – was made in Moscow by the CPSU’s Central Committee and the Soviet government. Funding came solely from the Soviet Union’s central budget; the Ukrainian SSR had no independent military or foreign affairs budget and did not control an army. All military training was organized by the Soviet Ministry of Defense. It is also important to note that ANC and MK officers were trained in several other Soviet republics. One of the most important centers was north of Moscow, known to the ANC as the “University of the North.” Early trainees included future President Comrade Thabo Mbeki and future Speaker of Parliament Comrade Max Sisulu. Similarly, ANC civilian personnel studied at universities across the Soviet Union. Again, admission decisions were made by the USSR’s Ministry of Higher Education, and funding came from the Soviet state budget – not from the republics themselves. Read more Of course, local staff in military academies and civilian institutions did play a role, and in this sense, all the Soviet republics contributed to the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. This support extended beyond education and training: the Soviet Peace Fund conducted public fundraising campaigns across the USSR for ANC camps in Angola and for the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College in Tanzania. Given this context, efforts to portray the current regime in Kiev, represented by the Ukrainian ambassador in Pretoria, as having supported the ANC’s liberation struggle are historically inaccurate. The ideology of today’s Ukrainian state, rooted in anti-communism and shaped by far-right nationalism, bears no resemblance to the values that guided the Soviet-era solidarity movement. If anything, such a state would likely have aligned itself with the apartheid regime and its Western backers. Медиа: | ↑ |
The 6–3 decision allows the Pentagon to discharge current personnel and reject new recruits with “gender dysphoria” The US Supreme Court has permitted the White House to enforce its ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, overturning a lower court’s injunction and allowing the policy to take effect amid ongoing legal challenges. The 6–3 decision reinstating US President Donald Trump’s executive order “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” was made on May 6, 2025. Issued a week after Trump returned to office in January, the executive order prohibits transgender individuals from enlisting and requires the US Defense Department to identify and dismiss all service members who have “a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria.” The Supreme Court’s ruling lifts a nationwide injunction previously issued by a federal judge in Washington state in March. Read more Under the reinstated policy, individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria are disqualified from military service unless they serve in their biological sex and do not seek to undergo transitioning. The Department of Defense has been directed to implement the policy, which includes halting sex-change operations and other related procedures for transgender service members. Trump first banned transgender people from serving in the US military in 2017. Former President Joe Biden repealed the ban shortly after taking office in 2021, only for Trump to reinstate it during his second term. Read more Since returning to office, Trump has rescinded dozens of executive orders signed by his predecessor, including at least a dozen measures aimed at promoting the interests of racial minorities and the LGBTQ community. He also issued a formal decree recognizing only two genders – male and female – which, according to the order, cannot be changed. Trump further ended federal support for what he described as the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children using puberty blockers, hormones, and medical procedures for individuals under the age of 19. Медиа: | ↑ |
Days before India’s ‘Operation Sindoor,’ Islamabad suspended the 1972 agreement with New Delhi that aimed to establish lasting peace between the two neighbors India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ on the night of May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgram, Kashmir last month. New Delhi stated that it hit at least nine targets. “Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution,” the Indian government said in a statement. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif descried the strikes as a “cowardly” attack and said Islamabad "has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India, and a forceful response is being given." Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated to military actions following the killing of 26 innocent vacationers in Pahalgam, Kashmir by Pakistan-backed terrorists in a Hamas-style terror attack. Pakistan Army and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) links were established by India’s National Investigation Agency days after the mass killing. The public was angry, and sought appropriate revenge. A wide range of diplomatic and economic measures were announced by both nations following the attack. Remarkably, India has put the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance for the first time since the pact was inked by the two neighbors. Rejecting India’s move to suspend the IWT, Pakistan warned that any diversion of water will be treated as an ‘Act of War.’ Islamabad also said that it would hold “in abeyance” its participation in all bilateral agreements with India, including the landmark 1972 Simla Agreement. Pakistan pledged a full-spectrum national power response to any threat against its sovereignty, put its armed forces on high alert, and began selective mobilisation. Most measures were quite expected. But by suspending the Shimla Agreement, Pakistan unwittingly handed over big advantage to India. What is the Shimla Agreement?The Shimla agreement between India and Pakistan was signed on July 2, 1972 at Barnes Court (Raj Bhavan) in the town of Shimla in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, between then-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Pakistani counterpart Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It was ratified on July 15, 1972 (by Pakistan), and August 3, 1972 (by India), and became effective the next day. Read more The agreement had come in the wake of Pakistan’s comprehensive defeat in the 1971 war that split the country and created independent Bangladesh. The agreement stated:“The Government of India and the Government of Pakistan are resolved that the two countries put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have hitherto marred their relations and work for the promotion of a friendly arid harmonious relationship and the establishment of durable peace in the sub-continent, so that both countries may henceforth devote their resources and energies to the pressing task of advancing the welfare of their peoples.” The document was meant to lay the foundation of a peaceful and stable relationship between the two nations. It was decided that the two countries are resolved “to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them.” The treaty mandated that the two countries resolve issues bilaterally, and superseded the United Nation’s resolution on Kashmir. Perhaps more importantly, under the agreement, India and Pakistan established the Line of Control (LoC), previously called the Ceasefire Line, making it a quasi-border between the two nations. New Delhi succeeded in persuading Islamabad to change the name of the ceasefire line to the Line of Control (LoC), thus delinking it from the UN-imposed 1949 ceasefire line and highlighting that Kashmir was now a purely bilateral matter between India and Pakistan. The treaty clearly stated that Indian and Pakistani forces must be withdrawn to their respective sides of the “international border.” That in Jammu and Kashmir, the LoC resulting from the cease-fire of December 17, 1971, shall be respected by both sides without prejudice toward the recognised position of either side. Neither side shall seek to alter it unilaterally, irrespective of mutual differences and legal interpretations. India returned around 13,000 square kilometers of land taken in battle on the western border but retained some strategic areas, including Turtuk, Dhothang, Tyakshi, and Chalunka in Chorbat Valley, covering more than 883 square kilometers, so as to facilitate lasting peace. Both sides further agreed to refrain from the threat or the use of force in violation of the LoC. Read more The fact that there has only been one limited war since the agreement was signed reflects its effectiveness. Some Indian bureaucrats later argued that a tacit agreement to convert this LoC into a international border, was reached during a one-on-one meeting between the two heads of government. Pakistani bureaucrats have denied any such thing. Nor was that acceptable to Indian public. The Shimla agreement called on both sides to resolve all issues bilaterally. But Pakistan never respected this part of the treaty, and has taken matters to an international level, especially by doing chest-beating over Kashmir at the UN. The latest example of this attitude is Pakistan’s outcry over the Abolition of Article 370 by the Narendra Modi-led government in 2019. One critical clause was that “both shall prevent the organisation, assistance or encouragement of any acts detrimental to the maintenance of peaceful and harmonious relations.” Pakistan has been engaging in cross-border terrorism as a foreign policy tool to bleed India and to foster separatism in Kashmir, as well as to keep the Indian Armed Forces pinned down. Some of the major Pakistan-sponsored Islamist attacks against India have included a terrorist attack on the Parliament of India in New Delhi on December 13, 2001, the attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar in 2002; the Mumbai train blasts in 2003; twin blasts at Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar in Mumbai in 2005, Delhi bombings and 2006 Mumbai train bombings, train blasts in Jaipur in 2008, and the tragic Mumbai attacks in November 2008. The latest large-scale attacks occurred in Kashmir: a deadly terrorist attack on the Army camp in Uri killed 17 Indian soldiers and an attack on the military convoy in Pulwama resulted in the death of 40 personnel. From then to nowIslamabad believes that by suspending the treaty it can once again take all issues to the UN or other bodies and invite third parties to intervene in the India-Pakistan disputes. But by suspending the Shimla agreement, the sanctity of the LoC becomes open-ended. It will be possible for either side to unilaterally take advantage and try violate it to gain ground. India is more powerful, both militarily and otherwise, and will have the advantage. Pakistan tried to breach the LoC in 1999, resulting in the Kargil War, where Pakistanis were not only thrown out but also faced a humiliating defeat and very high casualties. Earlier, in 1984, Pakistan attempted to take control of the Siachen Glacier, an Indian territory demarcated by the Karachi agreement. In response, India launched Operation Meghdoot in 1984, gaining full control of the glacier. Read more With the suspension of the Simla Agreement, New Delhi is free to use military options without violating any treaty. These options could be many. India could pro-actively target terrorist camps across the LoC in order to slow or stop terrorist infiltration. India could regain territory in critical sectors, especially gains like the Haji Peer Pass, that it had earlier frittered under international pressure. There are other sectors where India can create greater buffer zones to reduce threats to the Srinagar-Leh highway. When the treaty was signed, Pakistan had the support of the West, particularly the US, because Washington needed Pakistan for its operation against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Things have changed ever since. Today the world is wooing India. India is a mature democracy with a powerful economy. It is a significant military power, too. Russia, Europe, the US, the Arab world, and even China need India for economic reasons. India can now use the leverage it has over major powers to isolate Pakistan. It was encouraging to note that when the New York Times reported that the Pahalgam tourists were gunned down by “militants in Kashmir,” the US House Foreign Affairs Committee rectified the headline, referring to the gunmen as “terrorists.” India’s ties with China are also improving – causing insecurity in Pakistan. Peace and stability in questionThe Shimla agreement had not prevented the relationship between the two countries from deteriorating to the point of armed conflict even before – in the Siachen glacier or during the Kargil War of 1999. Read more The prerequisites for reconciliation, good neighborliness and durable peace between the two, has been breached repeatedly by Pakistan sponsored terrorism. They were expected to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of each other, this too has been violated. Pakistan's army has repeatedly vowed to avenge the humiliating defeat and surrender of 93,000 able-bodied soldiers, “throwing peace into the wind.” The progressive normalising of relations as envisaged by the treaty was not allowed to happen by Pakistan's army, which has de-facto run the country since 1947. Pakistani Army’s power flows from the insecurity of the nation’s masses. Steps that were to be taken to promote travel, trade, and cultural relations kept seeing setbacks. The suspension of the treaty has raised concerns about the future of peace and stability in the region, especially regarding the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. The suspension could potentially revive the proxy warfare tactics that the Simla framework aimed to curb. It may not have immediate tactical consequences, but could open the door to greater diplomatic and military brinkmanship. Revival of hostilities or border instability could derail developmental and democratic consolidation efforts in J&K’s post-Article 370 abrogation. The escalation conflict between two nuclear-armed states have already raised alarms in the international community, prompting calls for restraint and dialogue. The suspension of the Simla Agreement has provided India with an opportunity to recalibrate its security and diplomatic strategies. It also strengthened the case for Pakistan’s re-listing in the Financial Action Task Force grey list. By disregarding the Simla Agreement, Pakistan has done a great favour to India and Prime Minister Modi to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, something that the entire political class of India would support. India has nearly $680 billion in foreign exchange reserves, while Pakistan’s are $15 billion. Pakistan cannot sustain a conflict. The extent of armed conflict will be graded. It is time to wait and watch as things unfold. Медиа: | ↑ |
An F/A-18 has reportedly fallen off the carrier USS Harry S. Truman into the Red Sea – the second in just over a week The US Navy has lost another fighter jet in the Red Sea, marking the second incident involving an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the USS Harry S. Truman in just over a week, and the third such loss since Washington intensified operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The aircraft reportedly plunged into the sea after experiencing an arrestment failure while attempting to land on the carrier, forcing both the pilot and weapons systems officer to eject. CNN first reported the incident on Tuesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. “The arrestment failed, causing the aircraft to go overboard. Both aviators safely ejected and were rescued by a helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 11,” an unnamed defense official told USNI News. “The aviators were evaluated by medical personnel and assessed to have minor injuries. No flight deck personnel were injured.” Read more The incident reportedly occurred the same day the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group “took a shot” at the Truman, though it remains unclear whether the two events are connected. A formal investigation is underway, while the US Navy has yet to officially confirm the details. Just last week, another F/A-18 fell off the Truman during evasive maneuvers to avoid incoming Houthi missile fire. In a separate incident last December, an F/A-18 was mistakenly shot down by the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg shortly after launching from the Truman for bombing raids against Houthi targets in Yemen. READ MORE: US shoots down own jet while bombing Yemen Each F/A-18 Super Hornet costs between $60 million and $70 million, according to Pentagon estimates. The Houthis have also claimed to have shot down more than a dozen American MQ-9 Reaper drones over the past year, each valued at approximately $30 million. Read more The US has repeatedly clashed with the Houthis since the group began targeting Red Sea shipping in late 2023, claiming to act in solidarity with the Palestinian people amid Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The Truman strike group has launched numerous airstrikes on Yemen as part of a broader US-UK operation. However, on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would “immediately halt” its bombing campaign, claiming the Houthis had “capitulated” and no longer sought confrontation. Shortly after the announcement, Oman confirmed it had mediated a ceasefire agreement between Washington and the Houthis, with both sides pledging not to target one another in the Red Sea. Медиа: | ↑ |
The bombing follows a Houthi missile attack on the Ben Gurion hub outside Tel Aviv Airstrikes launched by the Israeli Defense Forces have “fully disabled” the international airport in Yemen’s capital Sanaa and hit other targets, the IDF announced on Tuesday. The series of strikes on Houthi-controlled targets in the country came as a response to the rebel group’s ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday. ”The fighter jets struck and dismantled Houthi terrorist infrastructure at the main airport in Sanaa, fully disabling the airport,” the IDF said. It added that several power stations and a concrete plant were also hit. Footage circulating online showed thick black smoke rising over Sanaa. Tuesday’s strikes killed at least three people and wounded more than 30, according to Houthi-run broadcaster Al Masirah. They came less than 24 hours after Israel bombed the port of Hodeidah, killing one person and injuring dozens more. The broadcaster warned that the latest attacks could worsen Yemen’s humanitarian crisis by disrupting electricity services.
The airstrikes represent a sharp escalation in hostilities between the IDF and the allegedly Iran-backed Houthis. On Sunday, a Houthi missile struck near Ben Gurion Airport, injuring six and briefly disrupting air traffic. It appeared to be the first time a Houthi projectile had reached the area despite the country’s air defenses. The attack prompted a strong condemnation from Israeli officials. The Houthis claimed responsibility, calling the strike a response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. They warned of “a comprehensive air blockade” and vowed to “repeatedly target airports,” specifically Ben Gurion. READ MORE: Israel strikes ‘dozens of targets’ in Yemen (VIDEOS) The group, which controls much of western Yemen, including Sanaa and Hodeidah, has launched numerous drones and missiles at Israeli territory and Red Sea shipping over the past year. It says the attacks are in support of the Palestinians. Following Tuesday’s strikes, the Houthis said Israel’s actions “will not go unanswered.” Медиа: | ↑ |
The US spy agency has released recruitment videos targeting Chinese officials Beijing has accused the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of committing a “political provocation” by releasing recruitment videos in Chinese targeting officials in the country. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that the US “has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries’ secrets, interfere in their internal affairs and commit subversion.” The diplomat characterized such attempts as being in breach of “international law and basic norms governing international relations.” “The US not only maliciously smears and attacks China, but also blatantly attempts to lure Chinese personnel, even government officials, to be their informants,” Lin said. He further pledged that Beijing would “take all measures necessary to resolutely push back infiltration and sabotage activities from overseas and defend national sovereignty, security and development interest.” The CIA recruitment videos that were published last Thursday solicit covert cooperation from those in China who possess “information about economic, fiscal, or trade policies” or work in the “defense industry… national security, diplomacy, science [or] advanced technology.” The spy agency promised to keep its informants’ identities protected, offering instructions on how to safely make contact. Read more Last month, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) released a similar add, targeting CIA officers, titled ‘Your Option: Together for the Truth’. Evoking the camaraderie shared by the US and the USSR during World War II, the video called on CIA personnel to join in resolving the Ukraine conflict, describing the authorities in Kiev as tainted by neo-Nazi influences and corruption. The video came after the CIA reached out to Russian military engineers through a clip of its own in March. The US spy agency previously produced several other recruitment videos targeting Russia, appealing to various ethnic and social groups. Медиа: | ↑ |
Islamabad has vowed retaliation after New Delhi struck multiple “terrorist targets” on its territory and Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir India has launched “Operation Sindoor,” targeting what it calls “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan and the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, in retaliation for a deadly terrorist attack in Baisaran Valley. New Delhi said the strikes were directed at “terrorist camps” and not the Pakistani armed forces or civilians. “Our actions have been focused, measured, and non-escalatory in nature,” the Indian government said, noting it “has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution.” READ MORE: ‘Operation Sindoor’: What are the nine targets that India bombed inside Pakistan? Islamabad has condemned the strikes as a “heinous provocation” and vowed retaliation. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that Pakistan “has every right to respond forcefully to this act of war imposed by India.” Since the Indian strikes, Islamabad has responded with shelling across the Line of Control, the de facto border between the countries in Kashmir. The cross-border fire has resulted in 16 civilian deaths, according to the Indian government. India and Pakistan also traded accusations of drone attacks, with both sides claiming to have taken down unmanned aerial vehicles. The ongoing “Operation Sindoor” follows the April 22 attack in Baisaran Valley, which left 26 civilians dead. India has held Pakistan indirectly responsible, alleging cross-border militant involvement. Islamabad has vehemently denied that it had any role in the attack and has called for an impartial probe. Медиа: | ↑ |
The tech giant’s plans come amid an escalating trade battle between the US and China Tech giant Apple plans to move assembly of all iPhones from China to India, according to India’s Ministry of Communications, as cited by local media. The shift comes amid rising trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. China, where Apple makes most of its iPhones through suppliers such as Foxconn, has been hit by the toughest US tariffs yet. Tensions escalated after President Donald Trump imposed steep 145% duties on some of Chinese imports last month, part of a broader push targeting more than 90 trade partners. Beijing responded with 125% tariffs on US goods and new export curbs. On Tuesday, Indian Telecommunications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Apple “has decided to source and produce all its mobile phones in India in the years to come.” Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly confirmed the production shift during the company’s quarterly earnings call, saying “the majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin.” With more than 60 million iPhones expected to be sold annually in the US by end-2026, Apple would need to double production in India, according to media reports. The company assembled $22 billion worth of devices there in the past year, a 60% increase that brought India’s share to about 20% of global iPhone output. China, however, still accounts for roughly 80% of Apple’s production capacity. iPhone shipments from India to the US reportedly picked up ahead of Trump’s worldwide “reciprocal” tariffs, which took effect on April 5. Apple flew five planeloads of iPhones and other devices from India to the US over three days in late March, the Times of India reported. Read more Apple lost more than $700 billion in market value in the four days following Trump’s tariff announcement. The stock recovered some ground after he offered a temporary reprieve for consumer electronics made in China. The devices are still subject to a separate 20% tax on all Chinese goods. India was hit with a 26% tariff, which is now on hold while it negotiates a trade deal with Washington. Trump says his tariff campaign is part of a broader effort to revive US manufacturing and bring jobs back home. The measures have been paused until July while the administration seeks bilateral agreements. Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday the two sides were making “very good” progress and expected to finalize a deal soon. Industry experts say shifting production from China may not be easy, as high-value components like semiconductors are still made there, and chip manufacturing in India is “five to ten years away.” Медиа: | ↑ |
German readers of RT remember how small acts of hope helped them rebuild their lives after the war The fate of Germans in the aftermath of World War II continues to be a subject of reflection and discussion. The memories are as varied as the people who lived them. Sadly, the number of eyewitnesses who can share their firsthand experiences is dwindling with each passing year. That makes it all the more important to give a voice to those who are still with us. RT’s German-language editorial team recently reached out to its readers, inviting them to record and submit their own recollections – or the stories passed down by relatives – about the early postwar years. From East and West, Germany and Austria, readers shared a broad range of experiences: encounters with Russian soldiers, both positive and negative, and personal reflections on the war itself. These deeply personal letters from our German readers have now been translated into English. Read more Letter 1: A warm loaf amid the ruinsI met Red Army soldiers for the first time in 1947, when I was just six years old. In September of that year, I started school in the city of Chemnitz. As many know, this Saxon industrial city suffered extensive damage due to air raids carried out by British and American forces between February 6 and April 11, 1945. My route to school took me past the ruins that lined the streets on either side. On one busy street, I often watched a Red Army soldier standing in the middle of an intersection, directing traffic. The soldier stood there regardless of rain and wind, heat and cold. One day, as I walked home from school, I noticed a crowd gathered around a Russian truck. My curiosity piqued, I edged closer to see what was happening. Two soldiers were handing out... bread! It was freshly baked, still warm, and smelled wonderful. One of the soldiers spotted me standing off to the side, feeling utterly lost, close to the adults who reached eagerly for the bread. Suddenly, he pointed at me, waved at me and handed me half a loaf. Overjoyed by this unexpected gift, I ran home and gave the bread to my speechless parents. It was November 1947. Peter M. Read more Letter 2: Cherries and new beginningsI was born in June 1945, and thus you could say I celebrated the end of the war while still in my mother’s womb. My mother, born in 1921, had managed to get a job as a clerk at the Aviation Testing Center in Rechlin, located north of Berlin. My father, born in 1919, worked there too as a mechanic, repairing planes for the Eastern Front. He held no allegiance to National Socialism or the war itself. As the Soviet army closed in on Berlin, the testing center was disbanded, and my father, along with other able-bodied men, was ordered to go to Berlin. He didn’t want to support Nazi Germany or be part of the conflict, nor did he wish to throw his life away in the dying throes of a battle already lost. He didn’t want to be forced to shoot others and carry that degrading burden for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, his pregnant wife had to travel alone through perilous roads to get to her in-laws in the relatively safe Sauerland. He wanted to be with her, and dreamed of a new life once the madness of the war was over, hoping to take part in the political revival of his hometown. As a child, he suffered a knee injury that wasn’t too troublesome unless he bumped it hard enough for it to swell significantly. In those moments, he had a desperate idea: to hit his knee with a log to provoke the swelling. When the military doctor examined him, he scribbled a note: “Gefreiter Hesse – to the nearest military hospital.” That played a vital role. He kept his pistol with him, just in case he encountered the “chain dogs” – i.e., the military police. Fortunately, he never crossed paths with them; he rode his bicycle to Schleswig-Holstein, a peaceful region occupied by British troops. There, he changed into civilian clothes and spent a few weeks working on a farm before making his way to the military hospital in Sauerland. He arrived just in time to witness the final days of his wife’s pregnancy and my birth in a hospital that wasn’t destroyed in the war. In the spring of ‘45, the cherry tree in our garden bloomed uncommonly early, gifting my mother with a big plate of cherries. The hospital bill for her two-week stay, the delivery of the baby, and the week-long stay with the baby amounted to 79.92 Reichsmarks. I still have that handwritten note from the doctor along with the bill. Since then, the cherry tree has never bloomed that early again. Reinhard Hesse  Letter 3: Rice, sugar, and a lifesaving act of kindnessI’m Austrian, and I’ll turn 80 this November, which means I was born after the war ended. Lower Austria was part of the Russian occupation zone, and we rented a house in the village of Reidling in the Tulln district. The wife of a Russian officer lived in the same house with her young daughter. They occupied just one room, so they were given the best apartment in Sitzenberg-Reidling. This woman saved my life! When I was only a few weeks old, my mother was devastated to learn that I had a severe intestinal infection. The Russian woman heard about my mother’s plight and sent her a full bag of rice and sugar. My mother sorted through the rice and made me porridge. That saved me. I will always be grateful to that kind and compassionate woman! Later, as an adult, I learned Russian at language courses offered by Swiss television. I now live in Vorarlberg, near the Swiss border. I needed Russian for my work as a foreign correspondent. I still work in that capacity, though now not with Russia but with Uzbekistan. But my Russian skills still come in handy. Unfortunately, it’s currently impossible to work with Russia due to anti-Russia sanctions. I’ve only been to Russia once – I visited Saint Petersburg to attend language courses. Saint Petersburg is a dream city! I would love to visit Russia again and see Moscow. I sincerely hope that Western countries will reconsider their absurd Russophobia. Here in Europe, we need to unite with Russia. Bringing together all these diverse and rich cultures, along with their many languages, would be wonderful! Marie-Louise D. Read more Letter 4: Songs, bread, and a friendship across bordersBy the time the war ended, I was seven years old, and I started school around Easter of 1944. American troops had entered our hometown of Aschersleben. Before we children could even take a good look at them, they were already gone. Soon after, the Russians arrived. I still remember a Nazi poster depicting a bear in a hat with a red star reaching out to grab a woman with children – that’s how they portrayed the Russians back then. Later, the Russian soldiers came in trucks, armored vehicles, on foot, and in other transportation. As they passed by our house, they sang. It was clear that these soldiers had gone through the whole war. I didn’t understand the words, but they sounded beautiful in their own way. Fear lingered in our hearts, however. We were ordered to temporarily host them in our home. My parents cleared out the children’s room, and the three of us moved to our parents’ bedroom. In the children’s room the only furniture that was left was a desk, another table, and a chair. Then they arrived – two men who, as we were told, were “captains.” Both settled in our room, bringing their own beds with them. Soon, one of them spoke to my mother in flawless German. She was so taken aback that she remained speechless, which was rare for her. He introduced himself as a teacher of German from Omsk. He began asking about the “boy” – meaning me. He mentioned that he had a son back home who was my age. He took me to their room, where a large portrait of Stalin now hung over our table. He explained that this was the commander-in-chief. Both men revered him. Igor – the teacher from Omsk – was the first Soviet soldier I got to know. He shared stories about his homeland, read me German poems, and sometimes we sang German songs together. He asked me to correct him if he made any mistakes. Times were tough, and food was scarce. Both officers brought us bread, butter, coal, and potatoes. In winter, my mother heated the room, and my father carried in coal, and sometimes we would eat together. They always asked for hot water for tea. A little over a year later, it was time to say goodbye. They were allowed to return home. Igor gifted me binoculars with an inscription meant to remind me of his friendship. Read more At school, we were taught to love the Soviet Union. It felt natural for us to honor the memory of fallen heroes at the cemetery. May 8th was a holiday for us. I was always impressed by Soviet culture. We watched Soviet films, listened to Russian choirs, and learned about amazing Russian artworks from our art teacher. After finishing school, I acquired a profession and became an active member of the Free German Youth. In 1956, I voluntarily joined the German border police. Occasionally, I encountered Soviet soldiers. The exchange of watches was a significant event for us; every border guard took pride if they owned an “Ural” watch or something similar. We used Soviet weapons that had been used in the war. They were still reliable. Later, I served in Zeithain and Magdeburg, where I became the commander of a SU-76 tank. During that time, we also maintained contact with the Soviet army, particularly concerning technical support. Starting in 1978, I attended the political officer training school for the German border police. Admiration for the Soviet Union felt natural to us. We read and heard a lot of stories about Soviet border guards, the significance of the Brest Fortress during WWII, and aspired to emulate our heroes. Jürgen Scholtyssek, Dresden Letter 5: A helping hand on the rooftopSeven years after the final shots of WWII faded away, I was born in Brandenburg. While I didn’t directly witness the horrors of war, I belong to a generation that still saw some of its lingering effects. In the streets of Frankfurt an der Oder, it wasn’t uncommon to encounter war veterans with missing limbs. They moved about on crutches or navigated three-wheeled carts operated with two wooden levers. Yet, what struck me as even stranger were the massive, ruined, gloomy buildings that loomed over the city. At six or seven years old, I had no real understanding of what had caused these ruins. In the city center, Soviet soldiers were busy scavenging for building materials. Tracked vehicles used steel cables to pull down the remaining walls of the wreckage. As children, we watched this process with great interest. One day, those soldiers invited us over. The language barrier didn’t matter; they shared bread and soup with us. It was freshly baked, golden-brown whole grain bread, rectangular and warm. Read more When an opportunity arose, one of the soldiers took me up to the roof of a partially destroyed building. The nearly nonexistent staircase in that drafty building didn’t deter us. He firmly grasped my hand and helped me navigate the structure. Up on the roof, where various plants grew in the cracks, I encountered many unfamiliar sights and I remain grateful to him for that experience. These brief encounters deeply influenced how I perceived the “Russians”. I didn’t sense any hostility, arrogance, or rejection from them. “Mama est?” (Do you have a mother?), “Papa est?” (Do you have a father?), “Brat est?” (Do you have a brother?) were the first Russian words I learned. Dr. Wolfgang Biedermann, Berlin Letter 6: Loss, shame, and the search for a better GermanyI was born in January 1947. My family’s military background profoundly shaped my early years. Like many Russian, French, and Greek families, I lost four uncles – my father’s and mother’s brothers – who died as a result of their involvement with the Wehrmacht on the front lines of the German war machine. I also lost several distant relatives. The pain of losing so many loved ones accompanied me throughout my childhood. My father survived the war with severe injuries. For my grandparents and our extended family, the cause of the war was clear: it was, to quote them, the “unhealthy spirit of Hitler” and there was no doubt that we Germans bore full responsibility for the war and the inhumane suffering inflicted upon Europe. Read more You ask if the end of the war brought liberation and a fresh start for Germans. It certainly felt like a release—primarily from Hitler and the Allied bombers. We were poor; everyone was poor – but that wasn’t terrifying. The important thing was that the war was over. The “unhealthy spirit of Hitler” and its destructive aftermath remained hot topics of discussion in our family for years. Stuttgart, where we lived, was first occupied by the French and later by Americans, and this had a significant impact on me. As a child, I was terrified of soldiers and would hide from every jeep – they seemed to be everywhere. Today, Stuttgart is home to the headquarters of US European Command (EUCOM) and US Africa Command (AFRICOM), so we still have a strong American military presence. For the adults in my large family, the fall of Hitler’s regime brought great relief, but it came with a sense of shame: after all, the Nazi regime collapsed not because of the moral strength of the Germans, but as a result of the country’s (well-deserved) defeat in the war. Losing the war didn’t feel like a disaster, but the catastrophe caused by a world war – with its countless victims, suffering, and destruction – was certainly a disaster. In our family, it was often said that if Germany hadn’t lost, Hitler and his accomplices would still be committing their atrocities today. My father felt strongly that we Germans needed to reconcile with our former “enemies” and seek forgiveness from the victims. He actively participated in this effort. The remilitarization of Germany was firmly rejected, and Adenauer’s policies in regard to the West were met with serious skepticism, even outright opposition. None of those around me wanted to join NATO. As I grew up in the 1960s, I was shocked to see how many Nazis – protected by Adenauer – still held important positions. Many had escaped accountability and taken on new identities; some were shielded by like-minded individuals despite their criminal past. The judicial system was very slow to carry out justice: many cases were ignored, and numerous investigations stalled. Then, Fritz Bauer was killed after the Auschwitz trials. Former Nazis could once again hold positions of Chancellor (Kiesinger) and Prime Minister (Filbinger). It seemed half of the older generation had “skeletons in the closet”. This leads to another answer to your question about “liberation”: there was no genuine “liberation” because the perpetrators remained among us. However, Willy Brandt and Egon Bahr, with their determination and the slogan “We want to dare more democracy” gave us Germans the chance to build a better world. We tried and seized those opportunities, for which I am deeply grateful. Now, however, former militarism, group intolerance, and a fierce thirst for power have resurfaced once again. War and violence are destroying lives in many parts of the world, once again, the Germans are directly involved. And so, my faith is rapidly fading. Rosemarie K. Медиа: | ↑ |
Hungarians will decide whether to support Kiev’s accession to the EU without external influence, according to the prime minister Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky would like to see a pro-Kiev government in Budapest that will approve his country’s accession to the EU, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed. He has vowed to ensure that Hungarian politics remains free from external pressure. Ukraine formally applied to join the bloc in February 2022, following the escalation of hostilities with Russia. Membership requires the unanimous approval of all current EU member states. In a post on X on Monday, Orban’s spokesperson, Zoltan Kovacs, quoted the Hungarian leader as saying during a parliamentary session that “Zelensky wants a Ukraine-friendly government [installed] in Hungary.” Orban further suggested that the Ukrainian leader had reached an agreement with Brussels on Kiev’s accelerated EU accession, and now expects Hungary to rubber-stamp it. Orban stressed that “there will never be a situation where Kiev or Brussels dictates how Hungarians exercise their rightful sovereignty,” and repeated his arguments that Ukraine’s accession would be ruinous for Hungary’s economy. He urged Hungarians to take part in Voks 2025, which is a consultative vote featuring a single question: “Do you support Ukraine’s European Union membership?” Addressing lawmakers in parliament, Orban also accused the opposition Democratic Coalition, whom he branded the “agents of Brussels,” of seeking to “remove Hungary’s national government, bring Ukraine into the EU, drag Hungary into the war [and] unleash migrants on us.” Read more Last Friday, the Hungarian prime minister lambasted Brussels’ plans to admit Ukraine into the bloc by 2030 – a target recently referenced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Zelensky responded by citing domestic polling in Hungary and claiming that “70% support Ukraine joining the EU. That means people in Hungary are with us.” However, the poll conducted by the opposition Tisza Party to which Zelensky referred actually indicated only 58% support, while an earlier survey produced a figure even lower, at 47%. In a post on X, Orban emphasized that “there is no Ukrainian EU accession without Hungary,” promising that “every Hungarian will have their say on this. Whether you like it or not.” The Hungarian government has long criticized the EU’s policies on the Ukraine conflict, including weapons deliveries to Kiev and sanctions against Moscow. Медиа: | ↑ |
Alberta’s Danielle Smith has said a vote on separation will be held next year if a petition gains enough support Alberta could hold a public referendum on breaking away from Canada next year if a citizen-led petition gets the required number of signatures, the province’s premier, Danielle Smith, said on Monday. The western province has long clashed with the federal government over legislation limiting fossil fuel development and promoting clean energy, which Alberta officials say unfairly targets their economy. Smith’s announcement comes days after the Liberal Party secured a fourth consecutive term in the federal election, deepening political divides between Ottawa and oil-rich Alberta. Following the election, the Alberta Prosperity Project launched a petition calling for a referendum on the province’s independence. The petition garnered more than 80,000 signatures within 36 hours of its May 2 launch and remains open for public support. “Should Ottawa, for whatever reason, continue to attack our province as they have done over the last decade? Ultimately that will be for Albertans to decide,” Smith said. Read more She added that although she does not personally support the idea of separation, she would respect the will of voters. “I will accept their judgement,” the premier said. Recently, Smith’s government also introduced legislation to lower the threshold for referendums initiated by citizen petition. The bill reduces the number of signatures needed from 20% to 10% of eligible voters from the last provincial election and extends the collection period from 90 to 120 days. In order to pass the threshold, a petition would need about 177,000 signatures. Smith noted that Alberta doesn’t want “special treatment or handouts;” it just wants to be free to develop its “incredible wealth of resources” and choose how to provide healthcare and education. She expressed hope that secession would not be necessary and that her government would be able to reach an agreement with Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada’s new government. Read more Last week, Carney’s Liberal Party retained power after a campaign that focused heavily on what he called the existential threat posed by US President Donald Trump, who has floated the idea of Canada becoming the 51st US state and imposed extensive tariffs on most of its neighbor’s goods. The outcome of the election has added to long-running tensions in conservative regions. In Alberta, where the Conservatives won 34 out of 37 seats, many residents have expressed frustration with their federal leadership. Similar dissatisfaction has been reported in neighboring Saskatchewan, and to a lesser extent in British Columbia. Медиа: | ↑ |
Foreign dignitaries are arriving in Moscow ahead of the May 9 celebrations, Yury Ushakov has said Foreign leaders and envoys from 29 countries will attend Russia’s Victory Day parade later this week in Moscow, presidential aide Yury Ushakov has announced. The May 9 event commemorates 80 years since the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. The international guests are also expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ushakov added. This year’s landmark celebrations will include a traditional military parade on Red Square. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico will be among the leaders present, Ushakov confirmed to journalists on Tuesday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be among the visitors due to mounting tensions with Pakistan. However, New Delhi will still be represented by a high-level delegation. Vucic is expected to attend the celebrations despite a recent health scare, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Sinisa Mali said on Monday. Officials in Brussels previously warned Vucic that his presence in Moscow would be held against Belgrade’s EU aspirations. Read more Fico has also confirmed his attendance. The celebration “is truly becoming a major international event serving as an indicator of Russia’s growing authority in the world,” Ushakov stated. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declined an invitation to attend. The US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, was also invited. However, according to Ushakov, she has not confirmed whether she will attend. The Victory Day parade will feature military units from 13 countries, including China, Egypt, and Vietnam, among others, the aide said. Military veterans from several countries, including Armenia, Israel, Mongolia, and the US, are also expected to attend the parade. READ MORE: Putin’s 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire proposal still on the table – Kremlin Last week, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky urged foreign leaders to avoid visiting Moscow, citing potential security risks. Russian officials accused Zelensky of endangering the safety of civilians attending the May 9 events. Fico dismissed the threats as “ridiculous.” Медиа: | ↑ |
The Houthi militia based in the country has “capitulated” and does not “want to fight anymore,” the US president has claimed Washington will immediately halt airstrikes on Yemen, US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday. He made the statement while speaking at the White House alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The order comes after weeks of US-led attacks on Yemen targeting the Houthi militant group, which has “capitulated” and pledged to stop attacks on commercial maritime traffic in the region. The US president said the Houthi group has told Washington it does not “want to fight anymore.” “We will honor that and we will stop the bombings. They have capitulated,” Trump stated. The main goal of the bombing campaign against the Houthis, in which the US and UK took part, was to stop the group from “blowing up ships,” according to Trump. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio added, “This was always a freedom of navigation issue. These guys are a band of individuals with advanced weaponry that were threatening global shipping, and the job was to get that to stop.” Read more Shortly after the announcement, senior Houthi figure Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi said the movement will continue its support for Gaza, and urged Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to resign over his “crimes” and “failed terrorism.” “The Yemeni people will not be intimidated by American and Israeli terrorism, and the crimes they have committed in Yemen are the same genocidal crimes they commit in Gaza,” Al-Houthi stated, without addressing Trump’s remarks directly. The Houthi militia’s attacks on maritime traffic it claimed was associated with Israel, as well as long-range missile and drone strikes on the Jewish state itself, have been the key elements of a campaign to support Palestinians amid the ongoing Gaza war. Later in the day, Oman’s Foreign Ministry revealed that the country had mediated a “ceasefire agreement” between the Houthis and the US. “In the future, neither side will target the other, including American vessels, in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping,” the ministry said in a statement. Trump’s announcement came in the aftermath of an Israeli air raid on Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen, including the international airport in the capital, Sana’a, which left one dead and 35 injured, according to Yemeni Houthi-affiliated media. The attack, which forced the airport to close, came in response to a ballistic missile strike on Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. The projectile landed outside the airport, injuring six people, briefly disrupting air traffic. Медиа: | ↑ |
Unrestricted pathogen research could endanger the lives of Americans, the US president has claimed US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order restricting federal funding for “gain-of-function” research into viruses and other biological agents in the US and abroad, including China. ”Gain-of-function” or “dual use” studies have been gaining controversy after the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump has suggested that a lab leak in Wuhan, China, where US-funded research was based, was the source of the outbreak that brought the world to a standstill. Beijing has denied the claims and accused Washington of trying to smear China. Read more Unrestricted gain-of-function research could “significantly endanger the lives of American citizens,” among other things, Trump’s order alleges, and lead to “widespread mortality, an impaired public health system, disrupted American livelihoods, and diminished economic and national security.” Trump ordered an end to federal funding for “dangerous gain-of-function research” in “countries of concern,” such as China and Iran, citing “biological threats”. He argued that US taxpayer-funded research should help Americans, without threatening national security. Similar US-based programs will be suspended for at least 120 days during which existing policies on dual-use research will be revised or replaced, according to the document. READ MORE: ‘A lot of people know’ who blew up Nord Stream – Trump The document also blamed the administration of Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden for allowing “dangerous” research into viruses in the US and “actively” approving funding for similar projects abroad, where Washington’s oversight is limited. Moscow has repeatedly alleged that US-backed biological research laboratories in Ukraine and other countries near Russian borders are involved in bioweapons research. Washington has acknowledged providing support to laboratories in Ukraine but insisted that they were owned by Kiev and focused solely on preventing the outbreaks of infectious diseases and developing vaccines. The Defense Ministry in Moscow has claimed that the US has transferred unfinished Ukrainian projects to post-Soviet states and Southeast Asia, while also singling out Africa as a focal point of Washington’s interests. Медиа: | ↑ |
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini will now have to respond to the petition and consider holding a referendum Activists in Slovakia have gathered nearly 400,000 signatures demanding the lifting of EU sanctions against Russia. The country’s president, Peter Pellegrini, will now have to respond to the petition and consider holding a referendum within a month. Members of the Slovak Revival Movement (SHO) and the national party DOMOV, who are behind the petition, have submitted the signatures to the office of the president. They want the government to pose the following question to its citizens: “Do you agree that... sanctions against the Russian Federation harm Slovak citizens, tradesmen and entrepreneurs?” Commenting on the initiative that was launched late last year and has surpassed the 350,000 threshold for consideration, Pellegrini’s office promised to “handle petition sheets strictly in accordance with the law.” Read more SHO leader Robert Svec said he expects the president not to ignore the petition and to call for a referendum, citing Pellegrini’s own presumed skepticism regarding anti-Russian sanctions. In late March, the activists held a conference called ‘For Slovakia Without Sanctions,’ that was attended by a number of politicians and economists. Speaking at the time, DOMOV leader Pavol Slota claimed that Slovakia’s future depends on whether the sanctions against Moscow will be lifted or not. “It is about our whole nation, all Slovak citizens,” he stated. Economist Peter Stanek, in turn, said that “there are dozens of studies that clearly show that sanctions have never worked,” affecting instead “those who imposed them.” Slovakia implemented the sweeping EU sanctions imposed on Russia following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Robert Fico, who became prime minister in 2023, has maintained that the punitive measures “are not working,” and doing more harm to member states than Moscow. Медиа: | ↑ |
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered a 20% reduction in the number of four-star generals US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered the active-duty military to reduce its number of four-star generals and flag officers by 20% in order to improve efficiency. In a memo, Hegseth announced that the measure would be followed by a second round of reductions of 10% among top officers across all branches of the armed forces, including the National Guard. The reductions come in addition to the dismissal of more than half a dozen top generals since January, as the administration of US President Donald Trump is trimming excess spending from the federal budget through its newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Announcing the cuts, Hegseth said they would eliminate “redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership” and were intended to free the military from “unnecessary bureaucratic layers.” “More generals and admirals do not lead to more success,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X. “This is not a slash and burn exercise meant to punish high ranking officers; nothing could be further from the truth,” he added. Secretary of Defense Hegseth has promoted efforts to eliminate programs and leadership that were put in place to “support diversity in the ranks.” He has sought to remove transgender service members, and has launched broad changes to enforce a single fitness standard for all combat roles. Read more The policy is part of Trump’s broader White House effort to eliminate several of the Biden administration’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across the federal government and the military. Earlier this year, Trump fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown, the second African-American commander ever to occupy the post. Brown publicly supported the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement back in 2020. As of May 2025, the US military has about 653 active-duty generals and flag officers across all branches, including all ranks, according to data from Southwest Journal. Of those, 44 are four-star generals and flag officers, according to Hegseth. The US Army has the highest number of generals, with 231, including 11 four-star generals. Despite the ongoing campaign to cut federal spending, the White House has approved a record defense budget of around $1 trillion, up from the current $894 billion. China, the world’s second biggest defense spender, has allocated $256 billion for defense in 2025, while the third largest, Russia, has budgeted $157 billion. Медиа: | ↑ |
Between uncontrolled migration, propagandistic ideology and self-suffocating green agenda, the EU has only itself to blame for its decline The European Union, that grand and failing dream of technocrats, is dying. Its decline is not sudden or dramatic but a slow unraveling, a bureaucratic collapse in which every policy designed to sustain it only hastens its demise. It starves itself on the thin gruel of ideology – open borders dissolving nations into contested spaces, green mandates suffocating industry under the weight of unattainable standards, and a moralizing anti-Russian fervor that has left it isolated and energy-dependent. Once, Europe was the center of empires, the birthplace of civilizations that shaped the world. Now, it is a patient refusing medicine, convinced that its sickness is a form of enlightenment, that its weakness is a new kind of strength. The architects of this experiment still speak in the language of unity, but the cracks in the foundation are too deep to ignore. Immigration was the first act of self-destruction, the point at which Western Europe’s ruling class severed itself from the people it claimed to govern. The elites, intoxicated by the rhetoric of multicultural utopia, flung open the gates without consideration for cohesion, for identity, for the simple reality that societies require more than abstract ideals to function. Cities have fractured into enclaves where parallel societies thrive, where police hesitate to patrol, where the native-born learn to navigate their own streets with caution. The promise was harmony, a blending of cultures into something vibrant and new. The reality is a quiet disintegration, a thousand unspoken tensions simmering beneath the surface. Politicians continue to preach the virtues of “diversity,” but the people – those who remember what it was like to have a shared history, a common language – are beginning to revolt. The backlash is no longer confined to the fringe. It is entering the mainstream, and the establishment trembles at what it has unleashed. Read more Then came the green delirium, the second pillar of Western Europe’s self-annihilation. Factories shutter under the weight of environmental regulations, farmers take to the streets in protest, and the middle class is squeezed between rising energy costs and stagnant wages. The climate must be saved, the leaders insist, even if the cost is economic ruin. Germany, once the industrial powerhouse of the continent, dismantles its nuclear infrastructure in favor of unreliable wind and solar power, only to return to coal when the weather turns unfavorable. There is a madness in this, a kind of collective hysteria where dogma overrides pragmatism, where the pursuit of moral purity blinds the ruling class to the suffering of ordinary citizens. The rest of the world watches, perplexed, as the EU willingly cripples itself for a cause that demands global cooperation – cooperation that is nowhere to be found. China builds coal plants, America drills for oil, India prioritizes growth over emissions, and the EU alone marches towards austerity, convinced that its sacrifice will inspire others. It will not. And Russia – the great miscalculation, the strategic blunder that may yet prove fatal. Europe had a choice: to engage with Moscow as a partner, to integrate it into a stable continental order, or to treat it as an eternal adversary. It chose the latter, aligning itself fully with Washington’s confrontational stance, severing ties that had once provided cheap energy and economic stability. The pipelines are silent now, the ruble flows eastward, and Western Europe buys its gas at inflated prices from distant suppliers, enriching middlemen while its own industries struggle. Russia, spurned and sanctioned, turns to China, to India, to those willing to treat it as something other than a pariah. The Eurasian landmass is reconfiguring itself, and Europe is not at the center. The EU is on the outside, looking in, a spectator to its own irrelevance. The Atlanticists in Brussels believed they could serve two masters: their own people and Washington’s geopolitical whims. They were wrong. In this unfolding drama, America and Russia emerge as twin pillars of Western civilization – different in temperament but united in their commitment to preserving sovereign nations against globalist dissolution. America, the last defender of the West’s entrepreneurial spirit and individual liberty, stands firm against the forces that would destroy borders and identities. Russia, keeper of traditional values and Christian heritage, guards against the cultural nihilism consuming Europe. Both understand that civilizations must defend themselves or perish; neither suffers the death wish that afflicts the Western European elites. Read more And of Western Europe? It is a ghost at the feast, clutching its empty wineglass, muttering about “norms” and “values” as the world moves on without it. The European elites still cling to their illusions, still believe in the power of rhetoric over reality. They speak of “strategic autonomy” while marching in lockstep with Washington’s wars, of “diversity” while their own cities become battlegrounds of competing identities, of “democracy” while silencing dissent with bureaucratic machinery and media censorship. The voters sense the decay. They rebel – in France, where Marine Le Pen’s supporters grow by the day; in Italy, where Giorgia Meloni’s government rejects the EU’s dictates on immigration; in Hungary, where Viktor Orbán openly defies the liberal orthodoxy. Yet the machine grinds on, dismissing every protest as populism, every objection as fascism. The disconnect between rulers and ruled has never been wider. The elites, ensconced in their Brussels bubble, continue to govern as if the people are an inconvenience, as if democracy means compliance rather than choice. The social contract is broken, and the backlash will only intensify. There is a cancer in Europe, and it is not the right or the left. It is the very idea that a civilization can exist without roots, that a people can be stripped of its history and still remain coherent. The EU was built on the assumption that identity was an accident, that men were interchangeable economic units, that borders were relics of a barbaric past. Now the experiment is failing. The young flee – to America, to Asia, anywhere with opportunity and dynamism. The old huddle in their apartments, watching as their neighborhoods change beyond recognition. The politicians, insulated by privilege, continue to lecture about “tolerance” and “progress,” oblivious to the rage building beneath them. Read more The great realignment is already underway. The Atlantic widens; the Eurasian landmass stirs. America and Russia, for all their rivalry, understand power in a way Western Europe has forgotten. They build, they fight, they act decisively. The EU deconstructs, hesitates, agonizes over moral dilemmas while others seize the future. The 21st century will belong to those who can face it without illusions, who can say “we” and mean something concrete, who can defend their interests without apology. Western Europe, as it exists today, is incapable of this. Perhaps the EU will linger for years yet, a hollowed-out institution shuffling through summits and issuing directives that fewer and fewer obey. But the spirit is gone. The people feel it. The world sees it. Historians will look back on this era as the funeral of liberalism – a slow, self-inflicted demise by a thousand well-intentioned cuts. The creators of this collapse will not be remembered as visionaries but as fools, as men and women who prized ideology over survival. And when the last bureaucrat turns out the lights in Brussels, who will mourn? Not the workers whose livelihoods vanished for the sake of carbon targets. Not the parents afraid to let their children play in streets that no longer feel like home. Not the nations that surrendered their sovereignty to a project that demanded their deconstruction. Only the living corpses of the elites will remain, muttering to each other in the ruins, still convinced of their own righteousness. But righteousness is not enough. The world has always belonged to those who are willing to fight for it – and Old Europe has forgotten how to fight. Медиа: | ↑ |
The leader of the Christian Democratic Union party had unexpectedly fallen short of the 316-vote threshold earlier on Tuesday Friedrich Merz has been elected as German chancellor following a second Bundestag vote on Tuesday. The leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) had initially fallen six votes short of the required 316-vote threshold earlier in the day, but hours later rallied conservatives and allies in the country’s parliament to win 325 votes. The situation is unprecedented in Germany’s post-war history, as no prospective chancellor had previously failed to be voted through by the Bundestag at the first try after securing a coalition agreement. Merz faced opposition from 289 MPs, many of them from the Left and Green parties, who voted against the 69-year-old. The second vote took place after four factions agreed to alter parliamentary procedures to avoid delays. According to Politico, urgent closed-door meetings were held in between the votes. Addressing lawmakers before the second round of voting, CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn told them that “all of Europe, perhaps even the entire world, is watching this second round of voting.” “I appeal to everyone to be aware of this special responsibility,” he said, as quoted by broadcaster ARD. Read more Commenting on Merz’s initial failure, one of the leaders of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party faction in the Bundestag, Bernd Baumann, said: “Mr. Merz, you have failed. This is a historic defeat, the likes of which have never been seen in this Bundestag before.” Green Party politician Renate Kuenast spoke of a “massive loss of authority” for the incoming chancellor, as quoted by broadcaster ZDF. Left Party parliamentary leader Christian Goerke characterized the situation as a “crushing defeat” for Merz, attributing it to a “truly poor coalition agreement [between the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats] that fails to address the major problems facing this country.” Germany’s previous three-way ruling coalition led by the SPD fell apart last November amid internal disputes on spending. The new CDU-SPD coalition has pledged to continue key elements of former Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s agenda, including support for Ukraine and unlocking a constitutional debt brake to further boost the military budget. Медиа: | ↑ |
The move follows the university’s rejection of US government demands for policy changes The administration of US President Donald Trump has blocked new federal research grants to Harvard University, saying the school must meet a list of White House demands first. The decision marks the latest escalation in a broader clash between the administration and top US universities over their response to pro-Palestinian protests. Since taking office, Trump has ramped up pressure on campuses to tackle alleged anti-Semitism and roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. In a letter posted on Tuesday on X, Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon accused Harvard of “serious failures” in anti-Semitism, racial discrimination, academic rigor, and viewpoint diversity. “Harvard University has made a mockery of this country’s higher education system,” McMahon wrote, adding that it “should no longer seek” federal funding “since none will be provided.” The letter said Harvard would need to enter talks with the government and show it had complied with the administration’s demands to regain eligibility for new grants. Harvard responded on Tuesday, saying it “will continue to defend against illegal government overreach.”
Trump has targeted Harvard over claims of anti-Semitism tied to pro-Palestinian protests, which erupted after Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack. More than 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the local health ministry. The protests intensified as Washington continued supplying weapons to Israel. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has launched a review of nearly $9 billion in federal funds for Harvard and demanded the university ban DEI programs, restrict pro-Palestinian groups, and prohibit masks at protests. Harvard rejected the demands, accusing the White House of trying to “control” its campus. It sued the administration over the suspension of around $2.3 billion in funding and pledged to combat discrimination internally. In its lawsuit, the university warned the cuts could have “real-life consequences” for students and researchers and could jeopardize medical and scientific work. READ MORE: Trump freezes over $2bn in Harvard funding over ‘non-compliance’ Harvard has a $53 billion endowment – America’s largest – but much of it is restricted for specific purposes such as financial aid and scholarships. The Trump administration has also suspended federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton, Cornell, and Northwestern. Медиа: | ↑ |
