CHECKMATE, MATE: Emmanuel Todd, French political scientist, says the West pushed Russia into a preventative war in Ukraine - counting on the fact it would not be able to survive the sanctions imposed.

In actuality, Russia is as close as it comes to being an autarky (self-sufficient), and in underestimating Putin - NATO may cease to exist, as it demilitarizes itself by sending stockpiles to Ukraine...

And that analysis is not even taking into account should China begin supplying weapons to Russia.

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⚡️Protest in Prague, Czech Republic - people demand no weapons supplies to Ukraine and the removal of the Ukrainian flag from the National Museum.

18 people are detained.

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FOOLISH POLISH: Poland to become the largest military force in Europe - this year, it will spend 4% of GDP on defense, which will take it to first place in NATO, in terms of military spending per capita (standard spending is 2%).

🇵🇱 The size of the army will reach 300,000 people, surpass the number of tanks in Britain (227) - Warsaw has already ordered 1,000 x South Korea K2 and 250 x Abrams tanks from the United States.

For the Air Force, they've ordered 96 x US Apache helicopters, and 48 x FA-50 aircraft from Seoul. Poland also intends to build more than 1,000 Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles, reinforce the artillery with 600 x K9 howitzers, 18 HIMARS and 288 x multiple rocket launcher K239 Chunmoo systems, also from South Korea.

🇰🇷 South Korea making bank off of clinical paranoia of the Polish government.

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RANK CORPORATION: Actually it's RAND but 'rank' is much more suitable.

In 2019, the US Army (anti) Think Tank thought up ways to "overextend Russia" - the blueprint of everything happening today; arming Ukraine, protests in Belarus, planned tensions in Transnistria and Moldova.

'Are we the baddies?' @IntelRepublic

⚡️Hundreds of people are walking from Balti to Chisinau, Moldova (135km) - their buses are blocked by the police.

Earlier, Moldovans demanded the authorites protect them as they protest their pro-Western government, not persecute them.

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⚡️🇲🇩 Police collect personal details of protesters on buses, headed to the main protest in Chisinau, Moldova.

In an attempt to intimidate the people - the Moldovan government is seemingly afraid of these old ladies.

Everybody has the right to gather and the right to a peaceful protest - nice democracy you got there Maia Sandu. 👍

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TROLL LEVEL - "GOD": Prigozhin, Head of Wagner PMC, tours the recently liberated Artwinery in Artyomovsk-Bakhmut, Donetsk Republic (ex-Ukraine) - this is the largest winery in Eastern Europe.

Jokingly, Prigozhin explains where the supposed oligarchs and the corrupt government officials stay - these are all hearsay and smears of whom Wagner allgedly has in its ranks.

*The referenced Rublevo-Uspenskoe Highway, and Barvikha are areas with the most expensive real estate in Russia.

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COME AT ME, BRO: Russian tank drivers study the vulnerabilites of foreign tanks - the Leopards, the Abrams and the Challengers; that's if this knowledge is ever needed, some countries have said they cannot deliver on what they promised until 2024/2025 or even later.

"Overpromise and underdeliver" a motto of the West.

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⚡️Wagner PMC take village of Orehovo-Vasilievka (Russian spelling), 15 km from Artyomovsk-Bakhmut Bakhmut town center, Donetsk Republic (ex-Ukraine).

UPDATE: This was reported pre-maturely, according to Wagner.

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⚡️Prigozhin, Head of Wagner PMC disputes the taking of Orekhovo-Vasilievka, Donetsk Republic (ex-Ukraine).

🗣 “This is premature - I would not forewarn the enemy about the nature of our actions and our current positions.

Whoever is spreading this needs to not 'run ahead of the train'. Success comes silently" - he said.

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⚔ SITREP ⚔

◾️ Russian troops prevented the work of 5 Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in Kupyansk, Kharkov region (East Ukraine);

◾️ Russian Forces (RF) destroyed more than 220 military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in Donetsk, Donetsk Republic (DPR, ex-Ukraine);

◾️ RF destroyed 3 sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the DPR and Zaporozhye regions (ex-Ukraine);

◾️RF destroyed up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers in Krasnoliman, DPR;

◾️ RF destroyed over 50 AFU soldiers and a D-30 howitzer in the Yuzhno-Donetsk and Zaporozhye;

◾️ Russian air defense systems shot down 2 x Mi-8 helicopters, 7 x HIMARS, 1x Uragan (Tornado) multiple rocket launcher, and 1 x drone over the course of the day;

◾️ RF destroyed an AFU ammunition depot, located on the territory of the state energy enterprise, near the city of Zaporozhye;

◾️ AFU lost a self-propelled artillery installation Gvozdika (Carnation) in Kherson region (ex-Ukraine);

◾️ RF hit the control posts of the 111th AFU Defense Brigade and the 25th Airborne Brigade of in Krasny Liman and Drobyshev, DPR.

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⚡️ Tehran and Washington reach agreement on exchange of prisoners - Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian.

🗣 "As part of the negotiations on the lifting of sanctions, we have come to a preliminary agreement on the exchange of prisoners.

If there are no objections from the United States, the exchange will take place in the coming days" - he said.

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