Hello !
| India-Pakistan |
| Only 1 active local terrorist left in J&K; hunt on for Mohammed Lateef Bhat |
| 2026-08-06 |
| [HindustanTimes] Around five years ago, security agencies estimated there were 50-60 active local terrorists. In May 2025, official records showed 17 active local terrorists. Jammu & Kashmir ...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... now has just one active local terrorist left, according to records maintained by security agencies including the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), with officers mounting an intensive hunt for Kulgam resident Mohammed Lateef Bhat, whom Sherlocks suspect was behind the killing of two migrant workers from Chhattisgarh, the July 22 shooting of a head constable and plans to target the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, said people aware of the matter. People familiar with the matter said updated security records show there is now only one active local terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir, compared with 40-50 foreign holy warriors operating across the Union territory, said a security officer. 1 LOCAL ACTIVE TERRORIST LEFT Around five years ago, security agencies estimated there were 50-60 active local terrorists. As recently as May 2025, official records showed 17 active local holy warriors -- 14 in Kashmir and three in Jammu -- along with around 60 foreign holy warriors said the official cited above. The fall in local recruitment is due to the crackdown by security forces on one hand and National Investigation Agency (NIA) probes over the past few years that have throttled groups that were allegedly funding terrorism. In the last two years, a massive crackdown on terror financing and narco terrorism was launched by the NIA. According to security officials, Bhat escaped during a joint operation by the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF in which security forces killed Zakir Ahmed Ganei, a Category A Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure,an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...> terrorist, on July 8 in a forested area of Anantnag district. PART OF OPERATION SHERUWALI Officials said Ganei and Bhat were moving through the area when security forces intercepted them. "The joint operation was launched then because of intelligence inputs that Ganei and Bhatt, who worked together, planned to disrupt the Amarnath Yatra. This was part of Operation Sheruwali launched jointly by the forces. Bhatt managed to flee the cordon while Ganei was neutralised. Since then, security forces have pinned his involvement on the July 22 killing of the J&K head constable and the recent killing of the two Officials also pointed to similarities between the July 22 killing of head constable Ashiq Hussain and that of the two Eyewitnesses told Sherlocks that the assailant in both cases fired at point-blank range. Security agencies say little is known about how Bhatt joined the LeT, a poster circulated on social media by unidentified handles shows his joining the Kashmir Revolution Army (KRA) on November 17, 2025. "All these months he was working with Lashkar commander Ganei. He has escaped twice, first during a similar joint operation launched in Anantnag district in the last week of December 2025. Ganei and Bhatt are both from the same district in south Kashmir’s Kulgam. Ganei had left his house in 2023. Bhatt had left his house for some months in early 2025. This must be the period when he got radicalised and inducted into the KRA," said the officer quoted earlier, adding that KRA is an LeT offshoot, similar to the Resistance® Front, which LeT formed to deflect attention from Pakistain. Kulgam terror attack: Initial probe points to local Lashkar operative [HindustanTimes] The initial investigation into the Kelam terror attack in Kulgam in which two labourers from Chhattisgarh were killed has pointed towards the involvement of a local terrorist associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the attack, police said. Soon after the attack on Friday evening, police and the army arrived at the spot. According to initial findings, officials believe that only one terrorist was involved in the attack, though they have not ruled out the possibility of more holy warriors being involved. An official privy to the details said that eyewitnesses and family members of the two labourers told Sherlocks that only one terrorist had barged into the brick kiln in the disguise of a civilian and then opened fire on the two labourers. "There were many labourers and even the owner present inside the brick kiln when a terrorist, disguised as a civilian, entered. After casually talking with the labourers, he opened fire on them and fled from the spot," the officer said. Officials suspect that the terrorist who opened fire on the labourers could be Lateef Bhat, who hails from Kulgam in south Kashmir. Officials said that Bhat became active last year and has been operating in south Kashmir for over a year. Though he was already on the police radar, the police have so far been unable to trace him. "We are also trying to find out whether Bhat was involved in the killing of the policeman in Anantnag," said an officer. The two back-to-back attacks within a span of one week in south Kashmir, where security was on high alert due to the Amarnath Yatra, have shaken the security establishment. Officers are holding back-to-back review meetings in all four districts of South Kashmir. On Saturday, J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level security review meeting in Srinagar and instructed officials to conduct a comprehensive review of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) established to protect labourers from outside Jammu and Kashmir. After the two attacks in South Kashmir — the first terror attacks since the Pahalgam terror attack last year in which 25 tourists were killed in Baisaran security across the Valley has been put on high alert, especially as there are a large number of non-locals working in the Valley, besides tourists present on a daily basis. Meanwhile, ...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter awoke groggily, his hand still stuck in the Ming vase... the cremation of both labourers was done in the Valley itself after receiving consent from family members. J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah has announced an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh each for both labourers, who had come to Kashmir to earn their livelihood. Following the attack, police are also reviewing the security of all brick kilns in the Valley, especially those where non-local people are working in large numbers. Related: Kulgam: 2025-11-20 Encrypted groups of doctors under watch in Red Fort blast/Doctors Plot inquiry, and more Kulgam: 2025-11-17 India arrests IIOJK resident over Delhi car blast Kulgam: 2025-11-15 Doctors Plot, Day 5: Seized ammonium nitrate exploded at Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar, 9 toes up, 15 tied up Related: Kashmir: 2026-07-03 LeT Chief Hafiz Saeed reshuffles 15+ commanders across Pakistan's Punjab Kashmir: 2026-06-24 New York State primaries round up: Israel, AIPAC and Zohran Mamdani take center stage in key races, then there’s the Kennedy kid Kashmir: 2026-06-22 Scottish police charge man after apparent anti-Muslim attacks in Edinburgh Related: Lashkar-e-Taiba: 2026-07-03 LeT Chief Hafiz Saeed reshuffles 15+ commanders across Pakistan's Punjab Lashkar-e-Taiba: 2026-04-01 LeT Terrorist Shabir Ahmed Lone Reveals ISI-backed Plot to Recce Delhi Temples, Key Commercial Hubs Lashkar-e-Taiba: 2026-02-22 IEDs found in Punjab, Kashmir amid Lashkar plot input for Delhi |
| Link |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: July 13, 2026 |
| 2026-07-14 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited [Korrespondent] 22.54 Leaders of the participating countries of the Coalition of the Willing have agreed to hold the next talks in Ukraine. The decision was made after a meeting in Paris dedicated to further defense support and security guarantees. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky. ![]() 22.01 One of the main ways to strengthen Ukraine should be a winter package of missiles for air defense, which should contain 100 missiles for Patriot systems per month - 300 missiles for the winter. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The head of state drew attention to the fact that preparations for winter must begin now. Ukraine is making every effort to get Russia to negotiate. "This summer has already become the most difficult for Russia. Our long-range operations and medium-range strikes will be continued. We will intensify them," the president emphasized. According to Zelensky, one of the main ways to strengthen the positions of Ukraine and Europe is a winter package of missiles for air defense. If Ukrainian defenders have enough missiles to shoot down enemy targets, Russia will have less reason to drag out the war into winter. "We have calculated that this package should include 100 Patriot missiles per month - 300 missiles for the winter. I ask you to consider this," the president noted. 21.47 France will transfer Rafale fighter jets to Ukraine and allow the production of modern missiles and aerial bombs. The first aircraft should appear in Ukrainian skies in 2028-2029. This was stated by French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris. These decisions were a continuation of the agreements reached by the parties on November 17, 2025. "We were able to specify these intentions, which we signed on November 17 last year, with the first installments regarding air defense and also regarding the modernization and acquisition by Ukraine of Rafale attack aircraft. The first aircraft should already be flying in Ukrainian skies in 2028-2029," Macron said. The package also includes the supply of additional radars and missiles, as well as the transfer of licenses for the production of modern weapons. "Additional radars, additional missiles, and we also added licensing - this is for Aster-30, for SCALP, for AASM bombs. All this will strengthen Ukraine's capabilities, strengthen Ukraine's position on the front," the French president emphasized. 21.12 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope that the Freyja anti-ballistic system will be operational within the next 12 months. "I hope that within the next 12 months we will see Freyja in operation. The threat of ballistic missiles in the world will only grow. This is one of the main consequences of the wars between Russia and Iran. Therefore, Freyja must become a reality," Zelenskyy said. According to the president, Europe must increase its missile defense capabilities, as the need for protection against ballistic missiles exceeds available capabilities. "Our calculation is that there will be more ballistic missiles in the world. And there should be at least enough anti-ballistic missiles. This is what we are doing. Europe can become a world leader in the production of high-quality anti-ballistic systems, without political dependence," the Ukrainian leader noted. The President also emphasized that European countries themselves will be able to determine the required number of such systems and the location of their deployment, which, according to him, will create a new strategic situation for the security of the continent. 20.11 Ukraine, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom officially created the Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition. This is stated in a statement published on the website of the Elysee Palace. The leaders of the countries signed a joint declaration on the creation of the Integrated Missile Defense Coalition. The document notes that the decision was made against the background of the growing threat of the use of ballistic missiles. The coalition members plan to create an integrated missile defense architecture that will complement existing national and European defense systems. To this end, the countries intend to combine defense industry capabilities, scientific research, and combat experience to jointly develop new missile interceptors. Since Ukraine has unique experience in countering Russian missile attacks, it will become an important component of the coalition's work. "We recognize Ukraine's unique experience gained in the course of defense against Russia's aggressive war," the declaration states. The participants also agreed to create joint technical working groups, define governance mechanisms, develop a roadmap for project implementation, and expand cooperation in the areas of scientific research, funding, and data exchange. 20.00 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the conclusion of an agreement that will give British defense companies access to contracts funded under the EU initiative to provide Ukraine with a loan of 90 billion euros. The scheme will allow British defence companies to bid for procurement contracts funded by a multi-billion-euro EU loan, opening the way for billions in potential investment, supporting skilled jobs across the country and strengthening the UK's defence industrial base. "Working together with our European allies, we are increasing support for Ukraine and increasing pressure on Russia. Together, we are sending a clear message: we will stand united against Russian aggression and continue to protect the security of Europe," Starmer said. The United Kingdom will provide a proportional contribution to cover the costs associated with borrowing, in accordance with the value of contracts concluded with British companies. 19.42 Russia will strike Ukraine "on an increasing scale" in response to drone attacks, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has said. "Wherever they try to strike on the territory of the Russian Federation, we will respond in a mirror image, only several times more powerful. The enemy will feel it. He already feels it, I hope," Putin said. The Kremlin leader acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries have caused fuel shortages in Russia. "Yes, they are creating for us, at the moment, as they say, certain problems with oil products," Putin said, but assured that "the situation will gradually improve," since the country's "energy infrastructure" is "very powerful and reliable." Putin also said that Russia is working on a "fuel supply system" for Crimea, which, according to the Russian dictator, "will be very difficult to reach." Putin did not provide details and did not specify when it would be launched. 19.14 The Syzran Oil Refinery has completely stopped processing raw materials since July 12 as a result of a drone attack. The Governor of the Samara Region of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, reported on July 12 that an industrial enterprise in the region had been damaged by a UAV attack, without specifying the name of the enterprise that was hit by the drones. The primary unit AVT-5 at the Syzran Refinery, which has a capacity of 7,100 tons per day (29% of the refinery's capacity), has been stopped in an emergency. Repairs to AVT-5 may last until the end of the month. On Monday, July 13, during trading on the St. Petersburg International Commodity Exchange, wholesale batches of petroleum products produced by the Samara Group of Plants, which includes the Syzran Refinery, were not offered for sale. 19.07 Ten European states became the founders of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition. This was reported by European Truth, citing an official from the office of French President Emmanuel Macron. 18.41 In the territory of Donetsk region, which is controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, 128 thousand civilians remain, over 70 thousand people have left the region in six months. This was reported by the head of the Donetsk Oblast Regional Administration Vadym Filashkin. According to him, the situation in the Donetsk region is currently the most difficult, the region is constantly being shelled by Russian troops with various types of weapons, so it is necessary to evacuate. "I thank those people who are leaving the region. And I want to remind you that at the beginning of this year there were about 200 thousand people in the region, and now there are 128 thousand. Once again, I emphasize that people should take care of themselves, take care of their children and leave the region, because the enemy will increase shelling," Filashkin noted. 18.17 In the first half of 2026, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine increased the number of drones codified and approved for use in the Defense Forces by 30% - to 413 compared to the same period in 2025. "The Ministry of Defense has codified and approved for use in the Defense Forces of Ukraine a record number of unmanned aerial systems since the beginning of the year. This is 30% more than for the same period in 2025, and 73% more than for the same period in 2024," the report says. Among the codified UAVs, the most common are copter-type attack drones, fiber-optic "drones" and front-strike drones. The Ministry of Defense gave the names of some of the new drones - Bababoom, Optoslon, Kharyok, White Wolf. 17.30 All young Ukrainians who are fit for military service must be in Ukraine and participate in its defense against Russian aggression. This was stated by Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz. "Is everything okay with Ukrainians? No, everything is not okay. Is it normal to smash cars worth millions of zlotys and drive into Morskie Oko? No, it's not normal, and such people should be expelled. All young, combat-ready Ukrainians should be in Ukraine and serve their homeland there," the minister emphasized. 17.15 Five crew members were killed in a Russian drone attack on port infrastructure in the Odessa region. Another 10 civilians were injured. On the afternoon of July 13, the Russian armed forces attacked port infrastructure facilities in the Odessa region with strike drones. In particular, the superstructure of a civilian foreign vessel carrying fertilizers was damaged. Five crew members were killed in the enemy attack. Ten more civilians were injured: seven men aged 19-64 and three women aged 22-34. Seven are in hospital, and three more injured are receiving outpatient treatment. 16.52 The Security Service documented the war crimes of two more Russians involved in the torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Russian "correctional colony No. 7 in the Vladimir region." These are Vyacheslav Cherdantsev, a prison medical worker, and Yaroslav Kirilov, a convict serving his sentence there and cooperating with the administration of the regime facility. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the defendants have regularly tortured Ukrainian defenders. According to the case materials, Cherdantsev knowingly left illegally imprisoned Ukrainians without necessary medical care, even after they had sustained serious injuries as a result of brutal torture. In addition, the doctor did not provide prisoners of war with infectious diseases with the necessary medications and treatment, and also deliberately kept sick prisoners together with healthy ones. At the same time, Kirilov, together with special forces and prison guards, participated in "collective" beatings of Ukrainian prisoners. On the instructions of the prison administration, the defendant kept the victims in cells with inhumane conditions, leaving them without food and warm clothing in the cold season. 15.47 The number of victims of the Russian attack on a commercial vessel in one of the ports of the Odessa region has increased to ten people. Three crew members died. This was reported by the head of the Odessa regional military administration, Oleg Kiper. 15.27 Russian troops attacked Kherson again in the morning. As a result of enemy shelling, a civilian was killed and another person was injured. This was reported by the head of the OVA, Oleksandr Prokudin, and the press service of the Kherson OVA. 15.04 Poland recently transferred to Ukraine "three to nine" Patriot missiles, the number of which is estimated to be "insignificant" compared to the existing Polish reserves. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Poland, Cezary Tomczyk. He could not say the exact number of missiles transferred, only noting that "three to nine" units. 14.36 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted to the Verkhovna Rada draft laws on the extension of mobilization and martial law in Ukraine. This is according to data on the parliament's website. 14.29 The European Commission plans to introduce changes to the rules for temporary protection for Ukrainians who left for the EU after the start of the full-scale war in July. The innovations may affect those who are only planning to apply for such status, writes Rzeczpospolita. Thus, the right to protection may be linked to the presence of a special certificate of impossibility of mobilization, which will be issued by the Ukrainian authorities. According to preliminary data, this requirement will apply to both men and women. 13.48 Former commander of the 155th brigade Stanislav Luchanov has been detained. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this on Telegram. In total, 10 people have already been detained. Everything they did will be thoroughly checked, the head of state assured. 13.17 Russians attacked a civilian merchant vessel under the Togolese flag in the Odessa region. Three crew members are known to have died, the Odessa OVA reports. 12.57 On the territory of the temporarily occupied Zapadnaya NPP, where all six nuclear reactors are in a state of "cold shutdown", the Russian army has deployed military equipment directly in the engine rooms of power units 1, 2, 5 and 6. This was reported by the GUR. 12.47 The European Union has not yet agreed on the 21st package of sanctions against Russia, but on July 13 it may approve a separate list of individual restrictions, which will include about 250 Russian citizens and companies. This was announced by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaia Kallas, before the start of a meeting of the heads of foreign ministries of the European Union countries in Brussels, the EP reports on Monday. 12.39 On Monday night, the SBU conducted a large-scale special operation, simultaneously striking a number of military, logistical, and fuel facilities in the territory of the Russian Federation and temporarily occupied Crimea. Among the targets hit were four car ferries at the Crimea terminal in Kerch and the Kavkaz port. 11.51 Two people were killed in Russian drone attacks in Zaporizhia. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia OVA Ivan Fedorov on Telegram. Eleven people were injured, including a 15-year-old boy. He and a 41-year-old woman are in serious condition in hospital. 11.32 Over the past eight days, the Ukrainian military has hit 105 vessels of the Russian "shadow fleet." This was reported by the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian SSR, Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, on Facebook. 10.46 Another Russian strike on Ukraine proves the need to strengthen air defense and international pressure on Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Monday morning. 10.25 On Monday morning, four regions of Ukraine experienced new power outages due to attacks by Russian invaders and bad weather. Ukrenergo reported this. Emergency restoration work is already underway where security conditions allow. 10.16 On the night of Monday, July 13, Moldova recorded the fall and explosion of a Russian "Shahed" drone near a village located almost 30 km from the Ukrainian border. The country's Ministry of Defense confirmed that it was a Russian "Shahed" drone ("Geran-2") that entered Moldovan airspace during an attack on the Odessa region. 09.49 Russian troops have expanded their zone of control near the village of Zaliznychne in the Hulyaipil direction. Analysts from the DeepState project note that the enemy has advanced in the Zaliznychne area in the Zaporizhia region. 09.23 According to the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office, on July 13, 2026, at about 05:00, the Russian military carried out an artillery shelling of the village of Novovorontsovka in the Berislavsky district. A 68-year-old woman died as a result of the strike. Also, according to the head of the Kherson OVA, Oleksandr Prokudin, over the past day, Russian troops have been intensively shelling settlements in the Kherson region with artillery and attacking them with drones. One woman died during the morning shelling in Novovorontsovka, and the death of another woman, who was mortally wounded during the attack on Kherson on July 11, became known on the morning of July 13. 08.34 Russian invaders launched an attack on Odessa on the morning of Monday, July 13, striking transport infrastructure. The head of the Odessa city military administration, Serhiy Lysak, noted that the enemy attacked the city, and hits on transport facilities were recorded. The details of the enemy attack are being clarified. 08.12 As a result of the Russian drone attack in Zaporizhia, six people have already been injured. According to the head of the OVA Ivan Fedorov, a 15-year-old boy is among the injured. Eleven apartment buildings were also destroyed. 05.27 EU foreign ministers will consider new sanctions against Russia on Monday over the illegal detention of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war. The basis for the discussion will be a document by the international human rights organization IPHR. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that Russia is detaining at least 1,800 civilians. 03.49 Drones attacked an oil depot in the city of Mikhailovsk, near Stavropol, Russia. The attack on the oil depot caused a large-scale fire. The previous attack on this oil depot took place on the night of July 9. 00.28 The number of victims of the attack on Zaporizhia has increased to six. Facades, windows, balconies, roofs of buildings, as well as cars were damaged. |
| Link |
| Europe | ||
| Dmitry Medvedev: Germany's New Militarization: A Revival of the Spirit or Unbridled Revanchism | ||
| 2026-05-08 | ||
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited Text taken from an article posted on rt.com by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev [ColonelCassad] Donald Trump's threats to withdraw the United States from NATO, voiced on March 27, 2026, at the Miami Investment Forum, and John Vance's statements about Europe's loss of identity during an interview with Fox News on March 15, 2026, along with the refusal of European countries to directly join the aggression against Iran and participate in the gamble to "militarily unblock" (and then block) the Strait of Hormuz, are dividing Europe and America like never before in the last 100 years. This development demonstrates that the "strategic autonomy" of Europe so coveted by liberals is much closer than it seems. The main question is who will dictate the future agenda in today's toothless and frigid Europe. There are plenty of contenders, including the disgusting Brussels Euro-bureaucracy and the chattering and self-satisfied Gallic sodomites.
![]() There's nothing new in the actions of Germany's leadership (primarily that of the Nazi descendant Merz and his co.). The defeated state's attempts to revise the disappointing results of World War II began almost immediately after the war's end. The goal of the Nazi survivors was to recoup the political, territorial, ideological, and economic costs incurred as a result of the complete military defeat and collapse of German statehood. At the same time, they carefully sought to filter out the atmosphere permeated with the spirit of Prussian militarism and the stench of National Socialist ideology. The German elites remaining in the Western occupation zones formally and quickly bid farewell to the legacy of Hitler, who had led his thousand-year Reich to collapse. But they had no desire to truly reject Nazi ideology itself. Why? The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg convicted only a small fraction of the major Nazi criminals. Many of those who formed the economic and financial foundation of the regime and its vertical chain of command, and who were therefore guilty of war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity, escaped punishment. And, frankly, they considered this punishment unjust, and the NSDAP case Germany's greatest project. ByIn essence, no real denazification of the FRG ever took place. Archival materials from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, including a report on the political situation in West Germany from 1952, convincingly demonstrate that instead of carrying it out, "Western powers opted for the justification of Nazi war criminals."¹ The entire process, conducted with great fanfare, with the exception of the liquidation of notorious pro-fascist organizations and the cleansing of public spaces, turned into an empty farce. The Anglo-Saxons, seeking to preserve the former leaders of Hitler's war economy and major Nazis they needed, conducted a campaign under the slogan "Hang the little ones, justify the big ones." On April 10, 1951, the Bundestag passed a law regulating the activities of individuals falling under the provisions of Article 131 of the Federal Republic of Germany's Constitution (individuals subject to denazification are not allowed to hold public office) and reinstating all former civil servants and military personnel with retention of their positions, ranks, and titles, unless they had been classified as "primary perpetrators" during denazification.² On August 2, 1956, the Federal Commission of Personnel Experts decided to allow former SS members up to the rank of Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) to serve in the Wehrmacht's successor, the Bundeswehr. It can be said that, overall, the process of liberating post-war German society from National Socialism for the main management and administrative-economic levels was completed just six to ten years after the war. Let's not even mention the conversations that took place in the kitchens of West Germans during that period. Everyone already knows this. "Deutschland über alles" were the most innocent of the discordant voices of humiliated burghers heard after a shot of apple schnapps. Many of the former Nazi party functionaries who found a place in the West German sun were "silent assassins"—apparatchiks who, from their comfortable bureaucratic perches, drove the monstrous machine of genocide against the Soviet people and the Holocaust. They formed the backbone of the civil service in the "new Germany." G. Lübcke, the West German Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Forestry from 1953 to 1959 and Federal President from 1959 to 1969, worked during the National Socialist years in the architectural and engineering bureau that was under the command of the chief construction inspector of the imperial capital, A. Speer. There, he was responsible, among other things, for the forced recruitment of labor from Nazi concentration camps. G. Globke, Chief of Chancellery to Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer from 1953 to 1963, held high positions in the Ministry of the Interior during the Third Reich, where he oversaw the development of legal norms codifying discrimination and persecution against the Jewish population. His role in organizing the Holocaust remains unresolved. W. Kraft, Federal Minister for Special Assignments of the FRG from 1953 to 1956, served as Managing Director of the Reich Agricultural Association of the annexed "Eastern Territories" from 1940 to 1945, was a member of the NSDAP, and held the rank of Honorary SS-Hauptsturmführer. These are just a few examples of the life stories of high-ranking officials of the "renewed" German state. From 1949 to 1973, 90 of the 170 leading lawyers and judges in the West German Ministry of Justice were former members of the Nazi Party, and in 1957, the proportion of senior officials in the ministry with a Nazi past was 77%.³ In the West German Ministry of the Interior from 1949 to 1970, 53% of employees were former members of the Nazi Party, with 8% of them having worked in the ministry from 1943 to 1945, when its head was one of the main Nazi criminals, the odious Heinrich Himmler.⁴ Based on archival materials from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Moscow was already aware in the late 1940s and early 1950s that, under the auspices of the Americans and British, preparations were underway in Germany's western zone for war with the USSR. Confirming the intensification of forced remilitarization processes, an intelligence report from July 31, 1948, emphasized that the mobilization of former German officers and other military personnel was easily accomplished due to the system of control established over them.⁵ The former Wehrmacht contingent was kept "on a tight leash" by the new government, which was using the military issue for anything but peaceful purposes. A note from the USSR government to the US Embassy in Moscow on March 31, 1954, explicitly stated: pursuing the path of reviving German militarism and creating military groups in Europe means <…> leading to preparations for a new war.⁶ So the idea of arming West Germany firmly held sway among American foreign policy ideologists. Practical steps were also taken. Amid cries of existential "aggression from the East" (sound familiar, right?), the economy was remilitarized. American "injections" into vital sectors of the West German economy began immediately after the war. By September 1951, West Germany had received approximately $9 billion. These funds were invested primarily in heavy industry and those sectors that could serve Washington's political and military objectives. The renewed propaganda campaign to indoctrinate the population was also corresponding. In July 1951, as the competent authorities reported to I.V. Stalin,⁸ Chancellor Konrad Adenauer set the direct task of convincing the ruling Christian Democratic Union that the Germans faced a choice: either "an armed German" or "a German subordinate to the Russian military." Not much different from the modern horror stories of "civilized European technocrats," right? Under American supervision, work was also carried out on "top cadres." Former Nazi bigwigs were eagerly accepted into military service in the Bundeswehr. Thus, the former chiefs of staff of the 18th Army, Lieutenant General F. Foertsch, the 7th Army, Lieutenant General M.J. Pemsel, and Army Groups A and C, General of Panzer Troops G. Röttiger, took up the posts of Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Commander of the 2nd Bundeswehr Corps, and First Inspector of the Ground Forces, respectively. The former commander of the 5th Luftwaffe, General I. Kammhuber, became Inspector of the West German Air Force. The Anglo-Saxons also weren't above using the services of fascist warriors, placing them in high positions within NATO. In particular, the former Chief of Staff of Army Group South, Lieutenant General Heinrich Speidel, was appointed Chief of the Armed Forces Directorate of the West German Ministry of Defense during the formation of the Bundeswehr, and in 1957, he assumed the position of Commander of the Allied Land Forces in Central Europe. Having participated in developing plans for the invasions of Poland, Denmark, Norway, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and the USSR and testifying as a witness at the Nuremberg Trials, the former acting Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces, Lieutenant General A. Heusinger, became Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in 1961. F. Guggenberger, a submariner who sank 17 British and American ships, served for four years as Deputy Chief of Staff of NATO's Allied Command Northern Europe. The Anglo-Saxons were also not particularly picky about former members of the SS, which was recognized as a criminal organization in 1946 by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. An example of this was the hiring of E. Taubert, a former SS Sturmführer and employee of Goebbels's Propaganda Ministry, as an adviser to NATO's psychological warfare department. As can be seen from a February 8, 1951, communication from the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Information Committee to I.V. Stalin, preserved in the archives of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service,¹0, a joint German-American PR campaign was diligently conducted to whitewash the reputations of H. Speidel and A. Heusinger. In a conversation between D. Eisenhower and German Chancellor K. Adenauer in late January 1951, both men were described as "completely reliable individuals" who were "not only opponents of Hitler" but also "of the Soviet Union, ready to cooperate with the Western powers." It is symptomatic that D. Eisenhower, who literally a couple of months later became the first Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, stated then that he was mistaken in 1945 when he considered all Germans to be Nazis, and repeated that he accepted the demand for West Germany to have equal military rights in the “Western European defense” system. Little changed in terms of support for dangerous revanchist aspirations later—during the years of normalization of relations, détente, and the so-called perestroika. A report on the growth of such sentiments in the FRG, prepared on May 26, 1959, by the KGB under the USSR Council of Ministers¹¹, noted the organization of thousands-strong rallies of paramilitary unions and "resettlement organizations" in West Germany. During these meetings, held under the auspices of the FRG ministries for all-German affairs and for resettlement affairs, demands for the return of Germany's eastern regions, East Prussia, and the Sudetenland were categorically put forward. The need to "preserve the traditions of the Prussian-German army for the new German armed forces and for all German youth" was openly declared. In 1961, the renowned Soviet international journalist E. Henry noted: "The old Germany no longer exists, but the old German General Staff remains." "There is no doubt that its leaders are once again at work with the same cards."12 Continuing his thought, he wrote that, no matter Germany's situation, no matter how many wars it loses, no matter how crushing the defeats it suffers, the German General Staff invariably, methodically, and meticulously continues to prepare plans for aggression—and has no other intentions. Therefore, it is easy to understand the admiring glances with which today's German politicians and generals regard the various rabble that symbolizes Bandera's Ukraine. They are simply blood brothers and heirs to the same force—the National Socialism of the Hitler era. In the spirit of the chauvinistic approaches of German political thought in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, ingrained in the subconscious of the intellectual elite, the West German expert community continued to dehumanize Soviet Russia, writing it out of the "civilized" world. As the renowned historian and Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences V.T. Pashuto wrote, with the collapse of Nazi Germany, the interpretation of the Russo-European theme also changed, in that Russia was transformed into an enemy not of Hitler's Europe, but of an integral Europe. Its non-European foundations—both religious and social—were criticized. It was declared a phenomenon hostile to Europe, lacking European roots and standing outside the history of Europe.¹³ The point was that one should not stand on ceremony with the "alien" element. Such sentiments were not only unchecked but even fostered by the Bonn authorities: "cannon fodder" for the slaughter of the Soviet Union had to be motivated and ask no questions. It was no coincidence that a KGB report from July 12, 1978,¹⁴ prepared based on information from the West Berlin residency, stated the presence of 17 neo-Nazi organizations in this city-state with a special international legal status, which the authorities of this political entity fought on a residual basis. The Soviet Embassy in Bonn noted substantive discussions in Germany in 1987 about reconsidering attitudes toward the period of National Socialism. One of the clear manifestations of the broad nationalist wave in Germany was the growing public debate during those years, aimed at achieving a so-called spiritual turn.¹⁵ Slogans of "new patriotism" and "national self-awareness" were launched. Intellectuals and the establishment widely manipulated calls to liberate the young generation of Germans of that time (who grew up to become today's "elitist" and rabid militarists: Merz, von der Leyen, Pistorius) from the burden of historical responsibility, self-abasement, national inferiority complex, and guilt. The Germans, they claimed, had already been punished and recognized the abnormality of their situation, when Germany, for its crimes in World War II, was declared "the source of a worldwide contagion and the source of all evil in the world."1⁶ The chairman of the CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag, A. Drägger, declared in a speech on November 17, 1986, that "it is time to finally put an end to the interpretation of history imposed by the victorious powers."1⁷ Developing this thesis, he proposed "coming to terms with the past" and honoring "the memory of all those who perished," including the victims of Nazism and German soldiers. In turn, the Bavarian Prime Minister and chairman of the CSU, F.-J. Strauss, in 1987, called for a "return to a historically purified, European-oriented, and healthy German national consciousness."1⁸ Today, we see how the shoots of rabid nationalism and chauvinism of that time, disguised as "national identity, patriotism, and Europeanness," have yielded a bountiful harvest of new German revanchism. And it's time to acknowledge that in the 2020s, the legacy of the Third Reich bore fruit in the Federal Republic of Germany! Today, Germany's top political leadership has declared Russia "the main threat to security and peace." In Berlin, the goal of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia has been officially articulated. ¹⁹ The most aggressive Russophobes, whose ancestors fought with savage ferocity on the Eastern Front during World War II, enthusiastically call for "showing the Russians what it's like to lose a war."²⁰ A massive propaganda campaign is underway to manipulate public opinion, constantly pushing the idea that a military confrontation with Russia by 2029 is virtually inevitable. In the first-ever German military strategy, "Responsibility for Europe," presented by Benjamin Pistorius to parliament on April 22, 2026, the Russian Federation is identified as a fundamental threat to the "rules-based world order." Moscow, they claim, seeks to weaken the alliance and undermine the strength of transatlantic ties in order to expand its influence. In this regard, attempts at dialogue must be stopped, and military pressure on Russia must only increase. In other words, the course toward a large-scale revanche has become official. The stupefaction of youth through mainstream classical media and countering Russian "hybrid propaganda" have become state policy. However, decades of intrusive ultra-liberal propaganda are now having the opposite effect. Disillusioned by the short-sighted decisions of the narrow-minded German elite in domestic and foreign affairs, the younger generation, faced with a discrepancy between statistical figures and the actual state of the national economy, is sharply shifting to the right. The collapse of multiculturalism, the lack of a clear vision of the future, and the rejection of traditional values are fueling the growth of right-wing extremist movements that appeal to resentment for a strong nation-state. Where such deliberate or involuntary games will lead German society is not hard to guess. The process of finally eliminating the political, legal, and moral "vestiges" of World War II in Germany gained particular momentum after the launch of the Second World War. It's clear to anyone that this became merely a convenient pretext for an extreme escalation of anti-Russian rhetoric, a feigned fear of Russia, and the escalation of bilateral relations into a blatantly confrontational plane. Germany, like the entire European Union, had neither the pretext nor the objective justification for such a staunch commitment to Ukraine and the designation of Moscow as their "enemy forever," as the petty gray mouse of German foreign policy, the Foreign Minister with the wonderful name of Wadephul, thoughtlessly and arrogantly declared. In furtherance of the EU's bellicose course, outlined in the March 2025 White Paper on European Defence – Readiness 2030,²¹ the German cabinet is addressing the task of transforming the Bundeswehr into the most powerful army in Europe and its accelerated rearmament.²² Plans have been announced to increase the authorized strength of the Bundeswehr from the current 181,000 personnel to 460,000 active service members and reservists. On August 27, 2025, the German government quickly and without amendments approved a draft law prepared by Defense Minister Benjamin Pistorius to reform Bundeswehr recruitment. This law is based on a voluntary principle but allows for a prompt return to the conscription model that existed before 2011.²³ Thanks in large part to the government's alarmism and the brainwashing of young people by state propaganda, German leaders are now able to report an increase in the number of people willing to serve in the armed forces voluntarily. As of early March 2026, 16,000 people had applied to join the military, a 20% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Overall, more than 5,000 people joined the army in the first quarter of 2026, a 14% increase compared to early last year. As in the 20th century, no expense is spared on militaristic adventurism. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany's total military expenditure in 2024 reached $88.5 billion (up 28% from 2023)²4, making the country the highest in Europe. The main source of funding was a special €100 billion Bundeswehr Modernization Fund, which allowed the level of military spending to reach 2% of GDP. In the country's approved 2026 budget of €524.54 billion, the German authorities are prepared to spend more than €82 billion on "defense" (read: preparation for war), which is €20 billion more than in 2025. Combined with the aforementioned special fund, total military expenditure is expected to reach approximately €108 billion. At the end of February 2026, the German Ministry of Defense joyfully reported on the "successful results" of the Bundeswehr procurement department in 2025: 103 large-scale projects, each worth at least €25 million, were submitted to the Bundestag for approval, while the value of concluded contracts for the acquisition of in-demand weapons and military equipment amounts to an impressive €34 billion. Products worth approximately €24 billion were transferred to the armed forces as part of the implementation of previously approved initiatives. The local defense sector, flush with cash since Berlin declared a "change of eras" due to the situation in Ukraine, is rubbing its hands with glee because of the fact that domestic producers received a whopping €109 billion of the country's total military expenditure from 2020 to 2025. Thanks to the liberalization of export controls, Germany has risen from sixth to fourth place in the list of global exporters of military products. Speculating on the specifics of combat operations during the unprovoked aggression against Iran and noting the ineffectiveness of using expensive interceptor missiles against drones, German defense industry officials are enthusiastically promoting the Skyranger short-range air defense system—the interception of one UAV will allegedly cost only $4,000. Apparently, only sluggishness prevented the German defense industry moguls from rushing with their wunderwaffe after the Krivoy Rog clown during his absurd tour of the Persian Gulf countries in late March 2026, where he tried to foist off unsolicited assistance from Bandera's rabble in the form of interceptor missiles. Many projects are scheduled for implementation over several years. This signals to industry that Berlin views rearmament as a long-term commitment.²⁵ There are plans to open regional offices of the Bundeswehr procurement agency in cities home to major technical universities. The pace of targeted military R&D is being accelerated: young talent is being encouraged to shift from fundamental science research, following the old and unfortunate tradition, to thinking about how to cobble together new deadly Tigers, Panthers, and V-2s. Against this backdrop, Germany's dependence on foreign military supplies is ignored. Critical components for modern weapons systems are often effectively outsourced and purchased abroad. Even the country's leading arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall, the primary supplier of a variety of military equipment to the Bundeswehr, is refusing to implement its own know-how in pursuit of quick profits from fulfilling state defense contracts. This is offset by purchases from other Western manufacturers, lest it lose its status as the exclusive service provider of the Bundeswehr. Specifically, during the visit of the German Defense Minister to Australia on March 26, 2026, an agreement was announced between Rheinmetall and the Australian division of Boeing (read: the Americans) to develop autonomous unmanned combat aircraft using stealth technology, with a warhead of over 100 kg and a range of over 1,000 km, to continue the legacy of the Luftwaffe. The degradation of German scientific thought and increasing dependence on the United States are evident. Preparations for a potential confrontation with Russia are being accelerated in terms of infrastructure improvements. State and municipal governments, as well as regional businesses, are actively pushing for the full implementation of the "German Operational Plan" of 2024.2⁶ This plan envisions transforming the country into a key transit point for NATO troops en route to the alliance's "eastern flank." Columns of the Bundeswehr and NATO allies will now be able to transit to German ports on the Baltic Sea and the Polish border without prior notification or approval. Local authorities are being urged to prepare their populations for military conflict by developing detailed plans to protect critical infrastructure, counteract sabotage, and construct bomb shelters. Representatives of the business community are being targeted by military-political circles. According to the aforementioned "German Operational Plan," major enterprises must factor in their personnel policies the high risk of a sharp, large-scale reduction in their workforce by mobilizing those fit for military service. Popular Soviet myths about pasta factories being quickly converted to produce 7.62mm rounds are being put into practice in Germany. Real preconditions are being created for the rapid conversion of civilian industry to a military footing and the start of production of goods necessary for defense. In turn, the Bundeswehr is authorized to confiscate certain goods, equipment, and machinery free of charge for its own needs. The military-industrial complex and the German establishment have already formed a close lobbying alliance, increasing the role of defense industry workers in decisions crucial to Germany's domestic and foreign policy. Humanity remembers the extremely dangerous alliance between defense industry workers and politicians in the 1930s and 1940s. Back then, the "merchants of death"' omnivorous approach to profit sources, coupled with their sympathies for National Socialism, plunged the world into the abyss of World War II. Having rejected pacifism as a social value, which previous generations had attained through enormous tragedy, the heirs of Krupp, Thyssen, and Bosch are once again eagerly taking on government contracts for military production, not hesitating to build a business on bloodshed. Bankers are not far behind, having lifted all existing moral taboos against financing the military-industrial complex in significant amounts—accepting the "helicopter money" received from the state is now justified for military enterprises. Against this backdrop, one never knows when one of today's German financiers will become so "liberated" from the legacy of the past and inspired by the prospects of a new crusade to the East as part of the "change of eras" that they hang portraits of Jacob Schacht and Walter Funk—the architects of the Third Reich's military-economic policy—in their office. As the famous saying from the French Revolution goes, "I don't want to approach you, I don't want to lose you."²⁷ Meanwhile, the establishment, chasing the geopolitical mirage of the republic's ephemeral "leadership" in the EU, appears unfazed by the overall state of the German economy. As a result of this self-abnegation of domestic problems, the country's GDP grew by only 0.2% in 2025, adjusted for inflation.²⁸ The trade balance, which is crucial for Germany's export-oriented economy, fell to 2.4% of GDP, exports decreased by 0.3% (with this decline recorded for the third consecutive year), and the budget deficit in 2025 amounted to €107 billion.²⁹ The driving forces of the German economy—the automotive, metallurgy, and chemical industries—are failing to emerge from the crisis. Automakers are reporting a significant decline in profits.³⁰ Deindustrialization is sweeping across Germany: job losses and the outsourcing of industrial production from Germany to other European countries have already become a fait accompli. Machine-building plants, chemical factories, and electronics manufacturers like Bosch, Henkel, Man, and Mercedes-Benz are all fleeing. They are unable to compete due to high electricity costs, rising logistics costs due to self-imposed sanctions against Russia, and high US tariffs. From an industrial giant, Germany is becoming a chaotically managed workshop, with equipment being plundered. All of this is having a devastating impact on the population: consumer activity has been severely curtailed, with even beer sales in 2025 reaching their lowest level since 1993. According to the prime minister, the welfare state cannot be financed with Germany's available resources.³¹ Does this harsh reality frighten the stupid, arrogant chancellor, whose blood runs hot with Nazi ancestors ? Is he prepared to face the fact that pumping up the national military-industrial complex won't save the economy, and that hundreds of printed and unsecured billions of euros will be swallowed up by high energy prices and a sluggish bureaucracy? Apparently not: while promoting an anti-Russian militaristic agenda, he secretly hopes that war will make everything disappear. Messages about the need to "consider" acquiring its own nuclear weapons are being persistently injected into Germany's public and political discourse, albeit quietly and from afar.³² Participation in NATO joint nuclear missions—the US-Berlin agreements for the Bundeswehr to use American tactical nuclear bombs (which are stored and controlled by the Americans at the Büchel airbase in Rhineland-Palatinate during peacetime) in case of "military necessity"—apparently no longer suits Germany. The rationale for acquiring deadly weapons of mass destruction is painfully primitive and hackneyed—supposedly to deter Moscow's "aggressive policies" in Europe. It is, they say, a matter of national sovereignty. Added to this is the uncertainty surrounding the continued presence of US troops in Germany. In accordance with an agreement reached with the sleepy Biden administration in 2024, Berlin is eager to acquire American long-range land-based missiles as quickly as possible. The chances are quite high that sites for the deployment of mobile SM-6 systems, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and Dark Eagle hypersonic glide vehicles will be selected in one of the best-equipped federal states in terms of military logistics and infrastructure, for example in Rhineland-Palatinate. There's little doubt that the Americans will exploit the geopolitical momentum—all they need from the Germans is territory. The opinions of local residents, effectively held hostage, and sensible, nationally oriented politicians who don't support the Berlin elite's line, don't concern the brazen overseas sheriffs. In the current Trump administration's mindset, the deployment of missiles isn't a gratuitous investment in European security, but rather an increase in its presence in a key location for the potential projection of high-precision strike power against opponents (which ones, you can guess on the first try). The only issue is whether the number of American missiles will be symbolic and temporary, or whether it will upset the balance of strategic stability in Europe and, consequently, lead to direct retaliatory actions on our part. While German officials are brainstorming the idea of creating a joint European nuclear umbrella with Great Britain and France "in the distant future" and pondering their hypothetical contribution, there are suggestions about the possibility of financing such an undertaking, and a division of roles is being proposed: the partners, it is claimed, should provide the warheads, while Germany would provide the launch aircraft and personnel. At the same time, the public is gradually being led to believe that even a hypothetical German bid for the nuclear arsenals of Paris and London and an attempt to "join" them militarily may not be successful. Paris's traditional bureaucratic red tape and France's desire to personally control the fate of nuclear forces even if they are transferred to joint control are unacceptable to Germany. London's position is equally dubious, as it is unlikely to be willing to burn in the fires of a nuclear apocalypse for the sake of the vague goals of transatlantic globalism. This will cast great doubt on the justification of the resources spent on the “pan-European strategic deterrent forces.” Against this backdrop, as Germany's expert and scientific community weighs membership in the "nuclear club," it assumes that, given its traditionally strong natural sciences and the availability of specialists in related fields, it is entirely possible to quickly catch up on "non-peaceful nuclear" competencies. It is known that, theoretically, producing weapons-grade material from uranium purchased on the global market is technically feasible at a specialized facility in Gronau, North Rhine-Westphalia, which has a cascade of gas centrifuges. It would take just three years to modernize the facility. And voila: 17 tons per year, enough to produce approximately 340 warheads, are in your pocket. Furthermore, highly enriched uranium is available at the research reactor at the University of Munich in Garching. It's worth remembering that the Nazis came very close to developing an atomic bomb in the 1940s. And they certainly didn't plan to use it to intimidate their adversaries. What their grandfathers lacked in 1945, their granddaughters are ready to make up for in the 21st century. Therefore, there's no guarantee that Berlin's military-political approaches to the use of its nuclear arsenal will be limited solely to the concept of deterrence. One thing is clear: Germany's nuclear warheads (whether Franco-British or domestic—it doesn't matter) don't simply make it "the Kremlin's main European target," as the German press writes. This is a gross violation of Berlin's international legal obligations under Article II of the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 33, according to which each state party to the treaty, including the FRG, undertakes not to accept the transfer from anyone of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, or control over such weapons or explosive devices, either directly or indirectly; not to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices; and not to seek or accept any assistance in the production of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. I am convinced that, under these circumstances, the issue of the "German nuclear program" can and should be immediately taken up by the international community. With all the ensuing consequences: enhanced inspections by the IAEA, condemnation by the UN Security Council, and the introduction of legitimate international restrictive measures to nip odious nuclear aspirations in the bud. However, even this could be sacrificed on the altar of full-fledged revenge and the creation of a mythical Fourth Reich. The question, of course, is how this idea will be received by current German society. To put it mildly, not all respectable citizens sympathize with the insane Viertes Reich model. However, given the inept migration policy of the current German authorities, something quite different may happen. At the same time, I would like to point out that even Germany's nearing nuclear weapons status is an undoubted casus belli, making it possible to invoke all the response measures contained in the Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence. Moreover, I would venture to assert that such exercises could cause no less concern for the United States, which is trying to convince the world of the need to conclude a New START-4 treaty with China's participation. And how would they feel about such a prospect: a nuclear Europe led by a militaristic Germany, with some of its arsenals outside the control of NATO? Something tells me that the targets that could be programmed into the new code storage devices for activating Germany's nuclear arsenal will be far from limited to Russia. However, even without Berlin's nuclear weapons, we shouldn't be complacent about Germany. The insanely reckless militarization of their country isn't the sole goal of German politicians. It's part of a more complex and profound process that threatens millions of people around the world. The current course hints at quite infernal plots. They reveal an attempt to realize the darkest revanchist sentiments of the German elite. These dreams extend far beyond a simple desire to enhance their "profile" in European affairs. It's worth remembering that Germany is the only European state to have annexed neighboring countries entirely twice since World War I, without retaining even the nominal attributes of independence and statehood. This applies to the Anschluss of Austria in 1938, when the republic was annexed by the Third Reich, and to the non-violent absorption of the GDR by the FRG in 1990. Then, amidst the misleading hype about the "unification of the German people," the East German state was effectively dissolved into the West German state. Incidentally, none of the "triumphants of unification," who, to our shame, included top Soviet leaders, even considered observing generally accepted legal procedures; no free expression of the citizens' will on such a significant issue was conducted through a referendum. So, in general, it is certainly not for today's Germany to discuss the legality of territorial changes in Europe and the genesis of such processes after World War II. The legal foundation of German statehood is very shaky. If desired, everything that has happened since the unification of the FRG and GDR can be examined through the prism of the rule ex injuria jus non oritur ("illegal acts do not create law"), should such a need arise. In other words, today's Federal Republic of Germany doesn't even have a sufficient legal basis for its existence (not to mention its extreme lack of independence since its founding and its monstrous vassalage to the United States). And today's German nonentities, who are once again shamefully trying on the laurels of new "Führers," should remember this. Having suppressed its instinct for self-preservation, Chancellor Merz's regime has taken a full swing in international affairs since coming to power. Apparently, even the colorful Berlin fantasists with bipolar disorder are beginning to realize that Germany faces a grave geopolitical defeat in Ukraine. None of the goals of the EU's "anti-NWO," in which West Germany de facto strives to play the leading role, have been achieved. Therefore, sitting it out in the rear, using Little Russia as a barrier (but probably also keeping in mind the Poland they despise), while maintaining the desire to inflict significant damage on us, is unlikely to succeed. We need to act ourselves. And they are. To somehow recoup the "unsuccessful" geopolitical investments, Berlin is seeking to secure its role as the military-political leader of the European Union. To "resist a potential Russian invasion," according to an agreement with Lithuania, in the spring of 2025, a decision was made to deploy a reinforced 45th Armored Brigade of the Bundeswehr near the village of Rudninkai, 30 km from our ally, the Republic of Belarus, and 160 km from the Kaliningrad region. The Nazi bigwigs' favorite slogan, "Guns instead of butter," perfectly illustrates the approach to financing the adventure: although Vilnius has assumed the fabulous (for a Baltic dwarf) €2 billion in expenses for the construction of the necessary infrastructure for the German contingent, Berlin will be forced to find approximately €11 billion to equip the brigade, which is sorely needed by the German economy amid the unstable macroeconomic situation in the Bundesrepublik itself. The Bundeswehr is armed with the latest Leopard 2A8 tanks, communications equipment, self-propelled artillery, etc. In an effort to enhance the unit's strike capability, it continues to be outfitted at an unprecedented pace with materiel—a notable example being the accelerated allocation of the first tranche of approximately €540 million by the Bundestag Budget Committee on February 25, 2026, to large, innovative German startups Stark Defence (in which the well-known American entrepreneur P. Thiel holds a significant stake) and Helsing, which produces kamikaze drones. The Bundeswehr is eager to deploy the latest UAVs to its "Lithuanian fortress." Following its transfer in February 2026 to the command of a brigade of the NATO multinational battlegroup stationed in Lithuania since 2017, the unit's strength already stands at 1,700 personnel. Full combat readiness is expected by the end of 2027 (4,800 military personnel and 200 civilians). This is the first deployment of regular German troops outside of West Germany since World War II. And a true outpost for the "thrust to the east." There's no other way to understand this military reinforcement, with the deployment of the corresponding long-term infrastructure. Whether Germany plans to immediately launch a new drang nach osten or first sends the Eastern European "giants," led by Poland, into potential trenches, while itself acts as the notorious "blocking detachment," makes little difference to us. The Polish leadership, largely responsible, along with the Third Reich, for unleashing World War II, should consider who, at whose instigation, and with what funding is whipping up the militarized hysteria in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This hysteria, which Polish turbo-patriots consider a struggle for national interests and a chance for geopolitical revenge in Eastern Europe, is in fact orchestrated surreptitiously by Berlin (which wields enormous influence in Polish socio-political and information space), driving the gentry (if that is even possible) to hate Russia even more, contrary to logic and national interests. If Germany massively rearms, but its Teutonic spirit still yields to reason, then the Poles should think hard about who the German military machine will be turned against. Historical hatred runs deep between West Germany and Poland, geopolitical wounds still bleed, and disputed territories—despite what politicians say—still exist. Relieving Warsaw of its demand for over $1 trillion in reparations from Berlin is unlikely except through military means. It's no coincidence that the major NATO military exercise Steadfast Dart 26, which began in January 2026 (practicing the rapid deployment of alliance troops on the "eastern flank" using military transport aircraft, rail and road units), is being held without the participation of the Polish Army. The tide in Europe always changes quickly, but Belvedere Palace refuses to accept it. As is well known, Poland has only two historical paths: either to be a penniless vassal of Germany or to be a partner of Russia. America is a long way off, and the Americans don't need Poland (or even Europe). Don't get your hopes up. Beyond hypothetical victims, particularly Poland (which supposedly has no idea of its future status and proudly bears the title of Berlin's ally), Germany also has true, loyal friends with whom it can reminisce about bygone days and the battles "where they fought together." In collaboration with its NATO trench "friend," Finland, Germany is actively pursuing destructive measures to transform the Baltic into an "internal sea" for the North Atlantic Alliance. Berlin was the main initiator of the launch of a NATO Baltic Sea patrol mission ("Baltic Sentinel") at the January 2025 meeting of NATO and EU heads of state and government in Helsinki, with the aim of impeding free Russian shipping. These extremely risky actions, amid a profound lack of trust between the East and West, could trigger the worst-case scenario. In July 2025, Germany and the United Kingdom signed the Kensington Treaty, whose defense provisions include a clause on mutual assistance in the event of an attack (supplementing the notorious Article 5 of the Washington Treaty establishing NATO) and the joint development of military products, including fighter jets and missile technology. Who these missiles will be aimed at is needless to say. The desire to involve everyone within reach—that is, those who share the German hysteria about the "Russian threat"—in the accelerated development of high-precision weapons with a range of at least 1,000 kilometers is well-known. It's no coincidence that the German-French company ArianeGroup, with extensive experience in missile design, is negotiating this issue with several European countries. Together with Norway, the Germans would like to develop a supersonic sea-launched cruise missile (Super Sonic Strike Missile), while with a diverse group of European supporters—France, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom—initiatives for the design and subsequent production of a land-based cruise missile with a range of over 2,000 kilometers are being discussed under the European Long-Range Strike Approach project. The former Ukrainian SSR is destined to play a special role in matters of rearmament. It's clear that the current temporary ruler from Bankova is increasingly perceived by Germany as a reincarnation of the "Hetman of All Ukraine," Skoropadsky, who held onto power for several months on German bayonets in 1918. Or as a simulacrum of the Austrian farcical initiative, which never materialized, to create a "Ukrainian throne" and subsequently install Wilhelm Franz of Habsburg-Lorraine, also known by his pseudonym Vasyl Vyshyvany. In other words, he's an obedient agent of the interests of external sponsors, which run counter to the aspirations of the Little Russian population. In confirmation of their commitment to elevating cooperation with Kyiv to the highest possible level across all areas, a declaration on a strategic partnership between the two countries was signed on April 14, 2026, during the bloody clown's visit to Berlin. Germany expressed its readiness to continue providing unprecedented political, diplomatic, and military support to Kyiv, as well as consulting on security and defense matters. Despite the well-known recent corruption scandals associated with the so-called Mindich affair, which have exposed the all-consuming, shameless bribery of the entire Bandera elite, the Germans are prepared to use their Ukrainian vassals as a low-cost assembly line for their products. They are turning Ukraine into a tiny lab mouse, subject to sinister experiments. Another element of the gangster alliance will be a mechanism for regular consultations between the heads of the defense and foreign policy ministries, with the participation of representatives of leading defense companies. It sounds beautiful, but in reality, it translates as follows: Ukraine must be under constant supervision and produce exactly what and as much as its handlers dictate. An agreement on the exchange of battlefield intelligence has been signed: the Ukrainian Armed Forces will share with the Bundeswehr their experience in using Delta software, which provides real-time situational awareness of combat operations. With this kind of kindergarten ploy, the de facto plan is to increase the number and quality of current and former Bundeswehr personnel and representatives of other German security agencies on the line of contact. This means, as in the old days, the duped Fritzes will once again be turned into crosses.³⁴ To pander to the militaristic plans of its defense industry, Berlin's political elite, turning a blind eye to alarming signs in the German economy, is pouring enormous resources into arming the Ukrainian junta. In a plan to deepen military-technical dialogue, "Country 404" is prepared to allocate €4 billion. These funds are intended to expand joint production of UAVs and medium- and long-range unmanned aerial systems, which should allegedly lead to the supply of thousands of drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The German company Quantum Systems happily announced the creation of two new joint ventures with Ukrainian military companies—WIY Drones, a manufacturer of tactical reconnaissance and strike aircraft and interceptors, and Tencore—for the development and serial production of unmanned systems. In addition, partnerships in information, innovation, and research will be strengthened. All these bravura and supposedly promising ambitions are accompanied by discussions of the general and immediate threat posed by Russia to the freedom of Ukraine's failed state and the security, stability, and prosperity of Germany and Europe. Zelenskyy's boastful statements about the Ukrainian Armed Forces having "the richest combat experience of all European armies" are also noteworthy. It's worth recalling that many analysts wrote in similar terms in the late 1980s about the Iraqi army—the largest among the Persian Gulf states. Everyone remembers well where the ambitions and "dizziness of success," fueled by Westerners, ultimately led the Iraqi leadership in 1990. The temporary leaders at Bankova have every chance of repeating this path. Berlin's revisionism in foreign affairs doesn't end with Ukraine. While pursuing its revanchist course, Berlin is openly sabotaging its most important international legal obligations. The problem in this case stems from the opening in October 2024 of the Baltic Regional Headquarters of NATO's Maritime Command at the National Naval Headquarters in Rostock (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), which de facto spies on Russian ships. Moreover, the deployment of such a center on the territory of the former GDR grossly violates the provisions of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany of September 12, 1990, concluded between the FRG and the GDR with the participation of the USSR, the USA, Great Britain, and France. Attempts by the German Ministry of Defense and the German Embassy in Moscow to justify Berlin's actions by citing the fact that "the deployment of individual representatives of the armed forces of other NATO member countries within the framework of international cooperation... when foreign exchange officers and liaison officers are included in the work of a German unit and are therefore subordinate to the Bundeswehr command, do not fall under the 2+4 Treaty"³⁵ do not stand up to serious criticism. Paragraph 3 of Article 5 of the aforementioned document explicitly states that foreign troops and nuclear weapons and their carriers will not be stationed in this [eastern] part of Germany or deployed there. The withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of the GDR was also linked to the binding obligation to fulfill such legally established guarantees. No matter how much official Berlin may flex its wording, this is, at a minimum, a selective approach and a liberal interpretation of the provisions of the "2+4" Treaty. In other words, it's simply a lie and a thimble-rig. By disregarding the provisions of the "2+4" Treaty "here and now," official Berlin is artlessly copying the egregious actions of the "collective West" around the world. And, of course, it gives reason to consider the fate of this document as a whole. Violating the principle of pacta sunt servanda in such a case could invalidate the international treaty itself. And this calls into question the legal personality of the modern German state. It's scary to even imagine what this will mean for Germany! The speed and brazenness with which Western powers today abandon fundamental international documents and principles in favor of the notorious political expediency is astounding. One can't help but feel that if the promise made at the time about not expanding NATO "even one inch to the East" had been formalized in a timely manner in an official document, under today's circumstances, Westerners would have just as easily thrown it in the trash. Similarly, no one seriously intended to implement the Minsk agreements, the sole purpose of which, judging by current public statements from Germany and France, was to give the Kyiv puppets a breathing space. And what will the price of the notorious peace agreement in Ukraine then be? It's difficult to say for certain what kind of Anschluss Germany is currently secretly preparing for. However, it is clear that it is gradually sliding toward a political model akin to military dictatorship, as reflected in the regime of Chancellor Merz, obsessed with rabid revanchism and neocolonialism. Unacceptable and dangerous revisionist tendencies are gaining momentum. The façade of peace has been cast off: people are being ideologically prepared for terrible times, deliberately lowering the threshold of natural fear of war and issuing preemptive indulgences for any transgressions, thereby absolving young Germans of the historical debts of their ancestors. The postulate of the equal responsibility of "two totalitarian regimes" for the outbreak of World War II has become a fundamental tenet of German historiography. Among the falsifications promoted are the silencing of the heroic deeds of the Soviet people, the division of war victims into "national categories," and the denial of Victory as an act of European liberation, citing the "replacement of one totalitarian regime with another." The supposedly inflated scale of war crimes committed by the Wehrmacht and SS troops on the Eastern Front is questioned. In the name of pseudo-objectivity, undocumented "evidence" of mass murder on both sides is introduced. Questions about compensation for the material and human losses suffered by Germans are circulated. It is impossible to imagine greater cynicism. In August 2025, the 75th anniversary of the signing of the "Expellees' Charter"—a document that portrays forcibly displaced Germans as victims of the war—was commemorated at a high political level in Germany. Emphasis was placed on their plight. For them, the end of the war, it was argued, not only failed to mark the end of violence, but also resulted in humiliation, disenfranchisement, and the loss of their homeland. Not a word was said about German guilt for unleashing World War II and crimes against humanity. This is a clear reference to post-war German narratives, attempts to resist the "loss of history" and separate themselves from "undesirable pages" in the name of preserving national unity. The message is clear: the German people were unfairly and cruelly wronged after World War II. Their suffering must be avenged in the name of "freedom," "European solidarity," and "justice." This, apparently, includes the force of German arms. The process of repentance in Germany for the crimes of the Nazi regime is primarily limited to the Holocaust, while Soviet victims are generally ignored. German authorities categorically refuse to recognize the Siege of Leningrad and other crimes against humanity committed by the Nazis against Soviet citizens as acts of genocide against the peoples of the USSR. In April 2025, a cynical decision was made to suspend Russia's authority on the board of trustees of the "Remembrance, Responsibility, and Future" foundation, established to pay compensation to former Ostarbeiter—forced laborers deported to the Third Reich. Meanwhile, under the 1950 Federal Law for the Provision of Victims of War, official Berlin pays social benefits (€5 million per year) to former soldiers of the Third Reich, SS units, and foreign collaborators,³⁶ including those directly involved in the criminal siege of the city on the Neva. Unfortunately, the sane voices, of which there are still plenty in German society, are unable to cool the dangerous bouts of war schizophrenia, coupled with the new "ethics." The authoritarian, revanchist Merz regime has a firm grip on the entire political system, preventing constructive forces from reaching the levers of power. The German government, with its reckless actions, is putting the security of Central and Eastern Europe, and more importantly, the entire continent, at risk. Lacking the manpower and resources to effectively implement a forceful course of action independently, without direct support from its "big brother" across the ocean, it is raising the stakes through hysteria and psychosis. The goal is to drag its ally, Washington, into a potential showdown between Europe and Russia. Despite what anyone says, the Bundeswehr remains deeply dependent on American military support. When planning operations, Germany is currently forced to rely entirely on US orbital reconnaissance data and strategic transport aircraft, and to coordinate actions within the framework of NATO leadership. Alone, the Germans cannot yet adequately engage in a high-intensity military conflict without excessively burdening their population with the corresponding costs—that is, without another "total war" with apocalyptic consequences. However, rationality can be shattered by militaristic bipolarity and Teutonic greed. German politicians, lost in their game of tin soldiers, find the balanced policies of Wilhelm Brandt, Heinrich Schmidt, Heinrich Kohl, and Gerhard Schröder too confining. Berlin, once again, as it did 85 years ago, is looking rapaciously to the East. For our country, the most important thing is to prevent the tragedy of 1941. We must have not only combat-ready but also combat-ready armed forces on the western front. We must recognize that the Germans had been preparing the same network of bridgeheads as today in advance of June 22, 1941, along the main operational axes. We must not rely on Berlin's prudence or believe that it will never risk war. We must not delude ourselves that the German establishment will consider itself definitively bound by a piece of paper even if some agreement on new principles of European security is concluded. As we know, they want to impose the concept of "peace through strength" on us. Therefore, our only response is "Russia's security through Europe's primal fear." Neither persuasion, nor demonstrations of good intentions, nor goodwill or unilateral confidence-building measures should be our tools for preventing a major slaughter. Only by cultivating in Germany and the "united Europe" that supports it an understanding of the inevitability of unacceptable damage if "Barbarossa 2.0" is implemented. Our clear signal to the German elites: if the worst-case scenario comes to fruition, there's a high probability of at least mutually assured destruction, and in reality, the demise of European civilization while we continue to exist. Germany's vaunted industry won't just be seriously battered. It will be completely destroyed. Likewise, the German economy will collapse, never to be rebuilt. Simply because the remaining sensible, qualified personnel will flee—some to Russia, some to the United States, some to China and other Asian countries. Apparently, only a direct articulation of such dire consequences can bring the presumptuous heirs of the Nazis and their allies in Germany to their senses, thereby saving millions of lives on both sides of the front. A militaristic Germany is of no use to a shriveled and feeble-minded Europe that would like to retain at least some political agency in the new multipolar world. We also have no need for such a Germany in the future; it is dangerous and unpredictable. So Berlin has only two options. One is war and the shameful burial of its own statehood without any hope of another "miracle of the House of Brandenburg." The second is sobering up, followed by geopolitical recovery with a complete reshaping of its foreign policy guidelines based on a difficult but important dialogue. Both scenarios are acceptable to us. The floor is now with the FRG. And I hope these will not be the well-known words: "If I am destined to perish, then let the German people perish too, for they have proven themselves unworthy of me."³⁷ (c) Medvedev
| ||
| Link |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Satellite images show Iran repairing and fortifying sites amid tensions with US |
| 2026-02-19 |
| [IsraelTimes] Islamic Republic has buried tunnel entrances at a nuclear site bombed by the US in June war, fortified tunnel entrances near another, and worked on and obscured missile bases Satellite images show that Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word Iranis a cognate form of Aryan.The abbreviation IRGCis the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either Duceor Führeror maybe both. They hate has recently built a concrete shield over a new facility at a sensitive military site and covered it in soil, experts say, advancing the work under the shadow of tensions with the US that have threatened to erupt into war. That military site was reportedly bombed by Israel in 2024. In addition, images show that Iran has buried tunnel entrances at a nuclear site bombed by the US during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last June, fortified tunnel entrances near another, and has repaired missile bases struck in the conflict. They offer a glimpse of Iranian activities at some of the sites at the center of tensions with Israel and the US, as Washington seeks to negotiate a deal with Tehran on its nuclear program while threatening military action if talks fail. The US has built up forces in the region in recent weeks. Iran has threatened to strike Israel and US targets in the region in response to an American attack. The Islamic Theocratic Republichas also consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, including during the negotiations with the US this month. However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Prior to the June war, Israel said Iran had taken steps toward weaponization. The second round of Iran-US talks took place on Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... , and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said afterward that an understanding had been reached on the main "guiding principles," but work still needed to be done. US Vice President JD Vance said some progress had been made but added that US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... "has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through." Satellite images show Iranian work at several sites. Some 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Tehran, the Parchin complex is one of Iran’s most sensitive military sites. Western intelligence has suggested Tehran carried out tests relevant to nuclear bomb detonations there more than two decades ago. Israel reportedly struck Parchin in October 2024. Satellite imagery taken before and after that attack shows extensive damage to a rectangular building at Parchin, and apparent reconstruction in images from November 6, 2024. Imagery from October 12, 2025, shows development at the site, with the skeleton of a new structure visible and two smaller structures adjacent to it. Progress is also apparent in imagery from November 14, with what appears to be a metallic roof covering the large structure. But imagery from December 13 shows the facility partly covered. By February 16, it cannot be seen at all, hidden by what experts say is a concrete structure. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), in a January 22 analysis of satellite imagery, pointed to progress in the construction of a "concrete sarcophagus" around a newly built facility at the site, which it identified as Taleghan 2. It also noted construction at the site in October. ISIS reported in November that imagery showed "ongoing construction and the presence of what appears to resemble a long, cylindrical chamber, maybe a high-explosives containment vessel, likely measuring approximately 36 meters long and 12 meters in diameter, placed inside a building." "High-explosive containment vessels are critical to the development of nuclear weapons," ISIS added, "but can also be used in many other conventional weapons development processes." William Goodhind, a forensic imagery analyst with Contested Ground, which analyzes satellite images, said the roof had a similar hue to the surrounding area, adding: "It has most likely been covered with dirt to obscure the concrete colour." ISIS founder David Albright wrote on X, "Stalling the negotiations has its benefits: Over the last two to three weeks, Iran has been busy burying the new Taleghan 2 facility ... More soil is available and the facility may soon become a fully unrecognizable bunker, providing significant protection from aerial strikes." The Isfahan complex is one of three Iranian uranium enrichment plants bombed by the United States in June. In addition to facilities that are part of the nuclear fuel cycle, Isfahan includes an underground area where diplomats say much of Iran’s enriched uranium has been stored. Satellite images taken in late January showed new efforts to bury two tunnel entrances at the complex, ISIS reported on January 29. In a February 9 update, ISIS said a third entrance had also been backfilled with soil, meaning all entrances to the tunnel complex were now "completely buried." A February 10 image shows all three tunnels buried, Goodhind said. ISIS reported on February 9 that "backfilling the tunnel entrances would help dampen any potential ...KABOOM!... and also make ground access in a special forces raid to seize or destroy any highly enriched uranium that may be housed inside difficult." ISIS has reported that satellite images point to ongoing efforts since February 10 to "harden and defensively strengthen" two entrances to a tunnel complex under a mountain some two kilometers (1.2 miles) from Natanz — the site that holds Iran’s other two uranium enrichment plants. Imagery shows "ongoing activity throughout the complex related to this effort, involving the movement of numerous vehicles, including dump trucks, cement mixers, and other heavy equipment," ISIS wrote. Iran’s plans for the facility, called Pickaxe Mountain, are unclear, ISIS said. About 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Shiraz in southern Iran, the Shiraz South Missile Base is one of 25 primary bases capable of launching medium-range ballistic missiles, according to Alma Research and Education Center, an Israeli organization. Alma assessed that the site had suffered light, above-ground damage in last year’s war. A comparison of images taken on July 3, 2025, and January 30 shows reconstruction and clearance efforts at the main logistics and likely command compound at the base, Goodhind said. "The key takeaway is that the compound has yet to return to its full operational capacity from prior to the airstrikes." Some 40 km north of the city of Qom, the Qom Missile Base suffered moderate above-ground damage, according to Alma. A comparison of images taken between July 16, 2025, and February 1 shows a new roof over a damaged building. The roof repairs appear to have begun on November 17 and were most likely complete 10 days later, Goodhind said.
|
| Link |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Hamas terrorist who murdered IDF surveillance soldier Noa Marciano killed in strike |
| 2026-02-05 |
| [IsraelTimes IDF says Muhammad Issam Hassan al-Habil, a Hamas cell commander, was targeted in Gaza City’s Shati Camp; Shin Bet says he ‘brutally murdered’ Marciano at Gaza City hospital A Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...terrorist who murdered IDF surveillance soldier Cpl. Noa Marciano in captivity at the start of the war in Gazoo was killed in an ... KABOOM!... earlier Wednesday, the military announced. Muhammad Issam Hassan al-Habil, a Hamas cell commander, was targeted in Gaza City’s Shati Camp in response to an overnight attack on troops in northern Gaza, during which a reservist officer was seriously maimed by Paleostinian button men, the IDF said. According to the Shin Bet security agency, during interrogations of captured suspects, it emerged that al-Habil "brutally murdered" Marciano in captivity. The IDF added that Wednesday’s strike was enabled by intelligence collected by the Gaza Division, where Marciano had served as a surveillance soldier as part of the 414th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit. Marciano, who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from the Nahal Oz base, was later killed at Shifa Hospital, according to the military. Her body was recovered by the IDF in November 2023. Several Hamas turbans involved in guarding Marciano were killed in strikes during the war. After the IDF announced that al-Habil was killed, Adi Marciano, Noa’s mother, said: "We were promised that everyone involved in Noa’s murder in Gaza would be eliminated, and this promise was kept today." "There is no real comfort in this," she conceded, but added that "there is knowledge that justice was done, even if only partially, for Noa. Nothing will bring her back to us." "She was a beloved child, full of light, sensitivity, and joy of life, and her absence accompanies us every day and with every breath," her mother continued. "The pain of her loss will never end." Marciano, 19, lived in Modiin and was the oldest of three siblings. A month after her kidnapping, Hamas published a propaganda video of Marciano, showing her speaking to the camera four days after being taken hostage, identifying herself and reciting the names of her parents and her hometown. The video then cut to showing her dead body. Then-IDF front man Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that Marciano was maimed by an IDF airstrike on November 9, 2023, while held in Gaza, and later taken to Shifa, where she was murdered. Hagari said that the pathology report "states Noa was injured by the strike, but not in a life-threatening manner," contrary to the false Hamas claim that she was killed in a strike. "According to intelligence information, Noa was taken inside the walls of Shifa Hospital, where she was murdered by a Hamas terrorist." On November 14, the army declared her dead, and on November 16, they announced that they had recovered her body and brought it back to Israel. She was laid to rest in Modiin on November 17. Related: Noa Marciano 02/15/2025 IDF chief apologizes to freed surveillance soldiers for failing them on and before Oct. 7 Noa Marciano 02/13/2025 Hamas forced Daniella Gilboa to stage her own death during captivity, her mother says Noa Marciano 02/11/2025 Father of IDF soldier killed on Oct. 7 says Hamas wished his daughter ‘Happy Birthday’ weeks before attack |
| Link |
| The Grand Turk |
| Turkey said hoping to return Russian air defense systems to clear way for F-35 sale |
| 2025-12-21 |
It’s not like it’s an effective defense against Israel’s F-35Is — as was demonstrated by Iran — so why give Russia the money? [IsraelTimes] Kremlin denies Putin discussed issue with Erdogan during a meeting last week, as Ankara considers how best to bolster its fleet of aging aircraft...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... is looking to return the S-400 air defense systems that it purchased from Russia in 2017, hoping that doing so will clear the way for it to purchase F-35 fighter jets from the United States, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing Ottoman Turkish and Russian officials familiar with the matter. According to the report, Turkey’s President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... raised the issue with his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... , when the pair met on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan last week. Ankara is also hoping to receive a refund if it returns the S-400 systems, Bloomberg reported, which could be granted in the form of discounted oil and natural gas imports from Russia. The Kremlin denied the contents of the report on Thursday, saying that the matter of returning the S-400 systems "was not on the agenda" when the two leaders met. Turkey declined to comment on the report. Turkey has expressed interest in buying a number of F-35 jets from the US, but it is currently barred from doing so due to its 2017 purchase of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. Which they did to spite President Trump, so this is extra amusing. Last week, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said that the countries were holding "fruitful" talks on the potential sale of the advanced stealth fighters."As laid out in US law, Turkey must no longer operate nor possess the S-400 system to return to the F-35 program," Barrack wrote on X. And if Turkey chooses to beggar itself and waste donor funds for the ego-stroking purchase of very expensive F-35s that they still won’t fly as well as the IAF… "The positive relationship between President Trump and President Erdogan has created a new atmosphere of cooperation, which has led to the most fruitful conversations we have had on this topic in nearly a decade," he said."Our hope is that these talks will yield a breakthrough in the coming months that meets both the security requirements of the United States and Turkey," Barrack added. During US President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ’s first term, the US removed Turkey, a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... ally, from its flagship F-35 fighter jet program, after Ankara purchased the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia. US officials worried that Turkey’s use of the missile defense system could be used to gather data on the capabilities of the F-35 and that the information could end up in Russian hands. Israel has expressed concern in the past over the potential sale of the advanced F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and other nearby countries, as it is anxious to preserve its qualitative military edge in the region. Today, Israel is the only country in the Middle East with F-35s in its arsenal, currently operating 45 of the aircraft with another 30 units on order. Israel can afford ‘em, especially after cutting war costs with the addition of lasers to their ground game, and has their in-house improvements shared only with America once finalized. However,alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... Trump recently announced the sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start..., sparking worry in the Jewish state. US officials and defense experts have told Rooters that the jets to be sold to the Saudis will be less advanced than those used by the IDF. In recent months, Turkey, which has the NATO alliance’s second-largest military, has aimed to leverage its best relations with the West in years to add to its aging fleet 40 Eurofighter Typhoons and later also US-made F-35 jets. Ankara has seen success in its bid for new Eurofighter Typhoons, as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in October that the UK would sell Turkey 20 new Eurofighters. Until those are ready, Turkey said it will acquire 12 Eurofighters from Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... and 12 from Oman to bolster its fleet. Erdogan is one of the world’s most outspoken critics of Israel, often accusing Israel of genocide over the past two years of war, comparing it to Nazi Germany and likening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler ...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days, sometimes every few hour if it's an election year, as a politician somebody doesn't like... He has also cozied up to Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... over the years, hosting brass hats and calling the terror group "freedom fighters." Related: S-400 12/10/2025 US ambassador says ‘fruitful’ talks held with Turkey on F-35s, Russian air defense system S-400 11/18/2025 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: November 17th, 2025 S-400 11/16/2025 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: November 14th, 2025 Related: F-35 12/13/2025 F-35A fighter jets are heading to the Caribbean to put pressure on Maduro F-35 12/12/2025 Berri knocks US envoy for suggesting Lebanon could be incorporated into Syria F-35 12/10/2025 Interesting: Poll finds majority of Israelis expect a war in coming year |
| Link |
| International-UN-NGOs |
| US State Department said to ask 70 countries to contribute to Gaza stabilization force |
| 2025-12-14 |
| [IsraelTimes] 19 nations have expressed willingness to provide troops or logistical support, The Wall Street Journal reports, but deployment appears far off as details yet to be hammered out The US State Department has sent formal requests to over 70 countries asking for troops or money for the emerging international security force it hopes will keep order in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppressionand disproportionate response... , an endeavour that has so far struggled to get off the ground, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Among those approached by the State Department on Monday were European powers La Belle France and Italia, as well as smaller countries including El Salvador and Malta, the report said. The requests noted that Middle Eastern countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start..., were already working with the US to secure funding for the deployment of troops to Gaza. A US official told the WSJ that 19 of the 70 countries approached have thus far responded with willingness to assist, including by providing troops, logistical support, or equipment. But the outlet noted that the countries in talks with the US to send troops have stipulated that they will only do so if they are deployed only within Israeli-controlled areas — behind the so-called "Yellow Line" that marks the boundary of the roughly 53% of Gaza still controlled by the IDF. But the US would appear to be dissatisfied with this, as the report alleged that it is still pushing them to agree to operate in the Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... -controlled "red zone" of the war-torn enclave. The State Department’s formal request is the latest effort by the Trump administration to recruit troops for an ambitious peacekeeping force, dubbed the International Stabilization Force, to take over security responsibility for the Gaza Strip from Hamas. Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... ’s Gaza peace plan. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war began on October 10, with Hamas releasing hostages and Israel freeing detained Paleostinians. A UN Security Council resolution adopted on November 17 authorized a Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish the ISF. Trump said on Wednesday that an announcement on which world leaders will serve on the Board of Peace will be made early next year. It is still not clear, however, how Hamas will be made to disarm and hand over control to the ISF, given that many countries are said to be opposed to troops operating in areas controlled by the terror group. Hamas has said the issue of disarmament has not been discussed with them formally by the mediators — the US, Egypt and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... — and the terror group’s stance remains that it will not disarm until a Paleostinian state is established. But the WSJ said that, contrary to its claims, Hamas has quietly informed Egypt that it is willing to decommission its heavy weapons under Cairo’s supervision. Still, US officials told Rooters on Friday that international troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , said the International Stabilization Force (ISF) would not fight Hamas. They claimed many countries have expressed interest in contributing and US officials are currently working out the size of the ISF, composition, housing, training and rules of engagement. The US Central Command will host a conference in Doha on December 16 with partner nations to plan the International Stabilization Force for Gaza, the officials said. More than 25 countries are expected to send representatives to the conference, which will include sessions on the command structure and other issues related to the Gaza force, they said. An American two-star general is being considered to lead the ISF, but no decisions have been made, the officials said. DEPLOYMENT APPEARS DISTANT The goal of deploying the ISF in January is not new, and The Times of Israel has reported for nearly two months that US officials have been talking about that aim. But the timeframe is appearing increasingly unlikely, as even the countries that were thought to be interested in contributing troops, such as Azerbaijan and Indonesia, have yet to formally announce decisions to do so, and both nations have indicated that there is still more work to do in order to reach that point. Indonesia has said it is prepared to deploy up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks in Gaza. "It is still in the planning and preparation stages," said Rico Sirait, spokesperson of the Indonesian Defense Ministry. "We are now preparing the organizational structure of the forces to be deployed." An Azerbaijani official told The Times of Israel last week that Baku doesn’t have nearly enough information on the ISF’s mandate in order to make a decision to join the force. As it currently stands, the US officials said the plan is for the ISF to deploy in areas held by Israel. Then, according to the Trump peace plan, as the ISF establishes control and stability, Israeli troops will gradually withdraw "based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization." |
| Link |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| ISF will not fight Hamas, say US officials, who still seek to deploy force next month |
| 2025-12-13 |
So it’s to be a parade ground force. How nice for them. Do remind them that Hamas and friends laced the entire Gaza strip with underground tunnels now likely to sink suddenly underfoot, and aboveground buildings with booby traps and IEDs, so they should go very carefully whenever they leave their bases if they want to keep their pretty uniforms and their pretty selves in one piece. Just saying. [IsraelTimes] US military to host conference in Doha next week to discuss plans for International Stabilization Force, though it remains unclear how Hamas will be disarmedInternational troops could be deployed in the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppressionand disproportionate response... Strip as early as next month to form a UN-authorized stabilization force, two US officials told Rooters, but it remains unclear how the Paleostinian terror group Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...will be disarmed. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , said the International Stabilization Force (ISF) would not fight Hamas. They claimed lots of countries have expressed interest in contributing and US officials are currently working out the size of the ISF, composition, housing, training and rules of engagement. The US Central Command will host a conference in Doha on December 16 with partner nations to plan the International Stabilization Force for Gaza, the officials said. More than 25 countries are expected to send representatives to the conference, which will include sessions on the command structure and other issues related to the Gaza force, they said. An American two-star general is being considered to lead the ISF, but no decisions have been made, the officials said. The goal of deploying the ISF in January is not new, and The Times of Israel has reported for nearly two months that US officials have been talking about that aim. But the timeframe is appearing increasingly unlikely, as even the countries that were thought to be interested in contributing troops, such as Azerbaijan and Indonesia, have yet to formally announce decisions to do so. Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of US President Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons... ’s Gaza peace plan. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war began on October 10, with Hamas releasing hostages and Israel freeing detained Paleostinians. "There is a lot of quiet planning that’s going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told news hounds on Thursday. "We want to ensure an enduring and lasting peace." INDONESIA PREPARING FORCE THAT WILL DEPLOY TO GAZA Indonesia has said it is prepared to deploy up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks in Gaza. "It is still in the planning and preparation stages," said Rico Sirait, spokesperson of Indonesian Defense Ministry. "We are now preparing the organizational structure of the forces to be deployed." An Azerbaijani official told The Times of Israel last week that Baku doesn’t have nearly enough information on the ISF’s mandate in order to make a decision to join the force. Israel still controls 53% of Gaza, while nearly all the 2 million people in the enclave live in the remaining Hamas-held area. The plan — which needs to be finalized by the so-called Board of Peace — is for the ISF to deploy in the area held by Israel, the US officials said. Then, according to the Trump peace plan, as the ISF establishes control and stability, Israeli troops will gradually withdraw "based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization." A UN Security Council resolution adopted on November 17 authorized a Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish the ISF. Trump said on Wednesday that an announcement on which world leaders will serve on the Board of Peace will be made early next year. DEMILITARIZING GAZA The Security Council authorized the ISF to work alongside newly trained and vetted Paleostinian police to stabilize security "by ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state gangs." However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... it remains unclear exactly how that would work. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz noted on Thursday that the ISF was authorized by the Security Council to demilitarize Gaza by all means necessary — which means use of force. "Obviously that’ll be a conversation with each country," he told Israel’s Channel 12 news, adding that discussions on rules of engagement were under way. Hamas has said the issue of disarmament has not been discussed with them formally by the mediators — the US, Egypt and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... — and the terror group’s stance remains that it will not disarm until a Paleostinian state is established. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Sunday that the second phase would move toward demilitarization and disarmament. "Now that raises a question: Our friends in America want to try and establish a multinational task force to do the job," he said. "I told them I welcome it. Are volunteers here? Be my guest," Netanyahu said. "We know there are certain tasks that this force can perform ... but some things are beyond their abilities, and perhaps the main thing is beyond their abilities, but we will see about that," he said. Related: International Stabilization Force 12/12/2025 Netanyahu planning Cairo trip to sign multibillion-dollar gas deal with Egypt International Stabilization Force 12/11/2025 Visiting US envoy Waltz: News ‘upcoming’ on phase 2 of Gaza plan, Hamas ‘has to go’ International Stabilization Force 12/10/2025 Hamas official says Gaza truce can’t move to phase two due to Israeli ‘violations’ |
| Link |
| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| West Bank: IDF said to search two Palestinian universities, find rockets in Tulkaren |
| 2025-12-10 |
| [IsraelTimes] IDF forces searched Birzeit University north of Ramallah before dawn, followed by a search of Al-Quds University in Abu Dis on the outskirts of East Jerusalem this morning, Palestinian media reports. Footage published by the outlets showed troops and military vehicles in both campuses. In Al-Quds University, military vehicles appeared to drive through the campus with students present. Pictures from Birzeit also showed school supplies scattered on the floor, reportedly as a result of the IDF raid. Oh NOES! Local sources cited by WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official new agency, say Israeli forces detained five security workers in Birzeit and confiscated their phones, and also arrested six people from the village of Beirzeit itself. Birzeit University reportedly postponed the start of its schoolday and office hours until 9 a.m. due to the IDF search. The IDF does not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society organization reported today that at least 40 people were arrested by Israeli forces across the West Bank since last night. The Palestinian Red Crescent also reported two people, including a 13-year-old boy, injured by IDF gunfire to the legs in the al-Am’ari refugee camp near Ramallah. IDF located three crude rockets in West Bank raid [IsraelTimes] IDF troops located three crude rockets, in various stages of preparation, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem last month, according to the military. The rockets were located following the interrogation of several terror operatives from Tulkarem who were detained in recent months, the IDF, Shin Bet, and police say in a joint statement. One of those detained, Ahmad Abu Samra, had placed an explosive device on an IDF Panther armored personnel carrier (APC) in September, wounding two soldiers; attempted a similar attack on a David light armored vehicle; and in December 2024 was involved in a bombing attack that lightly wounded the then-commander of the Menashe Regional Brigade, Col. Ayub Kayuf, security authorities say. Another suspect detained in the case is Khalil Kharisheh, a resident of Tulkarem, who, according to Israel, was involved in advancing bombing attacks, including the one in which Kayuf was injured, and supplying components and materials for the bombs. Following the interrogation of the suspects, the IDF says that on November 17, troops raided a site in Tulkarem, where three makeshift rockets were located, along with explosive devices, launching systems, “bomb-making parts, and materials for preparing explosive charges.” The rockets were at various stages of preparation, with one including an explosive warhead, the military says. In recent years, there have been several attempts by Palestinian terror groups to develop and launch crude rockets from the West Bank at Israeli settlements and at Israel, though with little to no success. |
| Link |
| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| The most powerful Geminid meteor shower of 2025 is expected in December |
| 2025-11-30 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] The most powerful Geminid meteor shower of 2025 will be visible in December. This was reported by the Moscow Planetarium press service on November 29. ![]() A giant meteor shower from the constellation Gemini will be visible from December 13th to 14th. Up to 120 meteors per hour are expected. The Moon passed its last quarter phase on December 11, is moving towards the new moon and will not interfere with the observation of the meteor shower. Additionally, from December 21st to 22nd—the longest night of the year—another meteor shower will be visible: the Ursids, from the constellation Ursa Minor. Up to 10 meteors per hour are expected. The moon will not interfere with meteor viewing this time either, as it will only be passing the new moon phase. The previous Leonid meteor shower from the constellation Leo was visible on the night of November 17-18. Up to 15 meteors could be recorded per hour. The moon was in a phase close to new moon. |
| Link |
| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Astronomers expect an increase in the number and power of solar flares in the next 24 hours |
| 2025-11-29 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] A significant increase in the number and power of solar flares is expected in the next 24 hours. This was reported on November 28 by the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Solar Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. ![]() "A sharp increase in flare activity is expected in the next 24 hours (possibly even in the next few hours) due to the emergence of several new large active centers on the Earth-facing side of the Sun," the scientists clarified. The report states that solar X-ray fluxes have increased nearly fivefold over the past 24 hours. Furthermore, the frequency of small and medium-sized flares has increased, indicating a rapid increase in flare energy reserves. "Swings in solar activity have been observed for about a month and a half now and are associated with a pronounced and not entirely understood asymmetry in the distribution of solar active centers," the laboratory explained. According to scientists, almost all of these centers have been located on the same side of the Sun since early October. Because of this, the Sun's rotation around its axis, over the course of 27 days, the "empty" solar side turns toward Earth once every 14 days, during which time the Sun has almost no effect on Earth. After this, the active solar side turns toward our planet, and during this time, a sharp increase in the number and intensity of flares is observed. Earlier, on November 17, scientists recorded signs of a new increase in solar flare activity. The laboratory emphasized that current processes are within normal limits for this period of the solar cycle, and no dangerous events are currently forecast. |
| Link |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| 'Restoring Ukraine': They haven't given out the money yet, but it's already been decided who will steal it |
| 2025-11-28 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Denis Davydov [REGNUM] Of course, NATO membership or the reduction of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which the peace plan envisages, are pressing and problematic issues that are the subject of debate. ![]() But there is a special point that no one is discussing, but the tension is such that sparks are flying from the screens. Because Donald Trump came out in public and rather unceremoniously announced that he would take the Russian money frozen in Europe for himself. The circulating draft agreement envisages that American firms would receive $100 billion from Russian assets to finance Ukraine's reconstruction, with the US government receiving 50% of the reconstruction project's profits. And a joint US-Russian peace plan to end the war in Ukraine will net Trump an additional $200 billion in shared investment funds. At least that's what Agâte Demarais, senior fellow for geoeconomics at the European Council on Foreign Relations, claimed in an article for Foreign Policy. That is, while Ukraine and its European friends are racking their brains over how to organize the confiscation (which Belgium, as the main holder of the money, does not agree to), the Americans are immediately deciding who will get it. At the same time, European taxpayers will cover an additional $100 billion in costs for Ukraine's reconstruction out of their own pockets. Sparks are flying for the simple reason that the presented scheme quite clearly explains: no one will give money to Ukrainian leaders. Countless billions, which they long and seriously planned to funnel through their bottomless pockets, are floating away overseas. Moreover, even from this point it is clear to everyone that if anything is invested, it will only be in projects that are beneficial to the United States, as emphasized, for example, by the Kiev “expert on Russian issues” Igar Tyshkevich. First and foremost, in the development of mineral resources, handed over by Zelensky to his “strategic ally” as a bribe. Meanwhile, the year is drawing to a close, and no one in Ukraine knows how to finance the next budget. "It's also worth remembering: all of this is happening against the backdrop of a global corruption scandal in Ukraine and on the eve of Ukraine running out of money, with the EU still unwilling to give us 70 billion in 2026. And don't forget: the corruption scandal isn't going away in the coming months. It will fade into a less heated phase, but occasionally, gasoline will be added to the fire," laments Vadym Denisenko, a former expert at the Institute of the Future and former MP. Even if the EU grants political consent to unfreeze Russian assets, the funds will be used to cover the budget deficit. And after March 1, 2026, Ukraine risks being left with nothing, since the stated 70 billion (the IMF estimates it's 65 billion) doesn't include spending on military equipment and ammunition. Including military spending, the funding gap could reach $155 billion over the next two years. Kyiv, however, instead of addressing the situation, is resorting to bribes: on November 17, Zelenskyy announced plans to purchase up to 100 French-made Rafale fighter jets over ten years. A few weeks earlier, the Ukrainian government announced an agreement to purchase up to 150 Swedish Gripen fighter jets. This promised to "properly" use the Russian Central Bank's reserves if they finally reached Kyiv. The absorption of Russian money by the Americans cuts off the idea of an EU “reparations loan” secured by these assets. But they are still wary of sudden moves: the Belgian depository Euroclear, where the majority of Russian sovereign assets are held, has just explained that the initiative is damaging the investment climate on the continent. As Euroclear CEO Valérie Urbain wrote to the European Commission and national leaders, “investors, particularly sovereign wealth funds and central banks,” would perceive the withdrawal of money “as equivalent to a confiscation of central bank reserves, undermining the rule of law.” But just look at the ridiculous amounts being negotiated, given Ukrainian expectations. Back in July of this year, at a conference on Ukraine's reconstruction held in Rome, then-Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal proposed that partners create two funds totaling a trillion (!) dollars. The "Ukraine Fund," created specifically for the reconstruction, was to be replenished with $540 billion from Russian assets and a special tax on the export of Russian raw materials. There is also a second structure—the European Structural Fund, which was envisioned as a platform for investment by European businesses. It was planned to channel $460 billion into it. At the same time, Shmyhal called on European partners to "invest in European defense by co-financing the Ukrainian army." "Military spending currently stands at $100-120 billion. In peacetime, and excluding weapons production, maintaining the Ukrainian army will cost €50 billion per year. We expect the European Union to provide half of this amount," the prime minister noted, not yet knowing that he would resign within a week. But he had been dreaming about this for quite some time, since the summer of 2022 he had been talking about the wonderful projects being implemented with the support of Britain, Denmark, the mighty Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, as well as other countries. In 2023, the Kyiv leadership also conceived a powerful plan: each ally would take a specific region of Ukraine under its wing and begin its reconstruction. Much like how the constituent entities of the Russian Federation appoint patrons over settlements in Donbas and Novorossiya. "This will be the greatest project of our time: economic, technological, national, and, most importantly, ideological. It will create millions of connections in the democratic world. Every city, community, and industry that will be rebuilt will have historical evidence of who contributed," explained Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And, of course, everyone agreed very easily. Thirty countries responded to Ukraine's call, agreeing to "choose the most convenient format for cooperation." They even divided up who would be responsible for what. After the war, of course. Sometime later. Besides Denmark, which naively decided to invest in the Nikolaev region, in particular, very comically allocating 8 million euros "to support anti-corruption efforts." Earlier this month, Jacob Hansen, head of the Danish Embassy office in Mykolaiv, specifically clarified that the kingdom is not providing the city with funds, but is instead helping to implement and finance specific restoration projects developed by local authorities under an agreement that runs until 2028. The Danes themselves conduct tenders, select contractors, and organize procurement. "We believe there are risks. It's not always corruption; there are people who simply don't have the necessary knowledge, like in procurement. These risks exist, and we don't want to jeopardize our assistance," Mr. Hansen said during a speech at the Association of Frontline Cities forum in Mykolaiv. We don’t accuse anyone of anything, we just know that the money will be stolen. And given that the Danes are very closely involved in infrastructure—heating, water supply, energy supply, renovating residential buildings, building bomb shelters—the experience of "Mindichgate" only reinforced their conviction that their chosen strategy was correct. The Germans, however, took a different path. In the fall of 2022, Zelenskyy reached an agreement with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier regarding patronage over the Chernihiv region. In October, Germany allocated €200 million for education, healthcare, drinking water supplies, and reconstruction. Combined with other civilian aid, the total already reached €1 billion. But just a year later, the German government's commissioner for Ukraine's reconstruction, Jochen Flasbarth, stated that he did not consider the concept of donor states concentrating on the reconstruction of certain regions to be effective. In general, it is clear why. There are no specific data on German claims regarding their area of responsibility, but there is a relevant example at hand. In 2023, the Ukrainian government launched an experiment to comprehensively reconstruct six settlements damaged during the fighting: two in the Kyiv region and one each in the Sumy, Kherson, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv regions. Two years later, Transparency International Ukraine reported that only 58 buildings had been completed—just 8% of the planned amount. In Kyiv's Borodyanka, the situation began when contractors who won tenders to restore buildings turned out to be connected to the local construction mafia and submitted inflated estimates. Following the scandal, the restoration agency terminated six contracts and selected new contractors. Work stalled. If there was nothing to steal, there was no need to work: four or five construction workers were assigned to the sites, and a fifth of the government-allocated budget was spent by August 2025. The houses damaged during the fighting in the spring of 2022 are expected to be ready for use by the end of 2025, while those built from scratch will be ready by the end of 2026. Some residents of Borodyanka still live in the modular housing estate. It somehow follows naturally that Ukraine doesn't need any restoration. And the skill with which Zelenskyy's friends siphoned off money from contracts, even with the Western-implemented ProZorro procurement system, proves that it's better to steal the money ourselves than to let Ukrainians steal it. So, the IMF, for its part, is offering quite reasonable conditions, based on harsh reality. In addition to implementing a debt restructuring strategy to restore debt sustainability, Ukraine must intensify efforts "to prevent tax evasion and tax minimization, and to expand the tax base." Specifically, the proposal concerns taxation of income of citizens who sell parcels from China and conduct business through online flea markets, while individual entrepreneurs will be subject to VAT. This will amount to a whopping $8.2 billion over four years. As a reminder, the need for next year alone is 70 billion – and only to support the life of the state. And this speaks volumes about the quality of all potential partnerships, far more than any official statements. It also speaks volumes about Ukraine's prospects for recovery, which can simply be forgotten. |
| Link |