The German government announced the impossibility of using Nord Stream 2 after the explosions

BERLIN, October 27 - RIA Novosti. The German authorities proceed from the fact that both strings of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline were damaged as a result of sabotage, according to the German government's response to a parliamentary inquiry from the deputy chairman of the Alternative for Germany parliamentary group, Leif-Erik Holm.
"Contrary to Russia's statements, the German government does not currently believe that one of the two Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines remained intact after the September explosions," the German magazine Spiegel quotes the text of the response.
Berlin considers it very likely that the act of sabotage with strong explosions "had a negative impact" on both strings of the gas pipeline, so its basic technical readiness is no longer ensured.
In addition, the government reminded that Nord Stream 2 did not pass the mandatory certification procedure, so it cannot start work in any case.

On September 26, terrorist attacks took place simultaneously on two Russian export gas pipelines, Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2. According to available information, three of the four main lines were damaged.
The explosions took place in the exclusive economic zones of Sweden and Denmark.
In Berlin, Stockholm and Copenhagen, targeted sabotage was not ruled out.
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened a case on an act of international terrorism.
According to Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, the Danish government intends to prevent Russia from participating in the investigation of the sabotage.
Moscow, in turn, emphasizes that without the involvement of Russian specialists, no investigation can be considered reliable and objective.
In mid-October, the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, noted that the second string of Nord Stream 2 could be damaged, but there were definitely no gas leaks in it.

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U.S. speeds up plans to store upgraded nukes in Europe

The United States has accelerated the fielding of a more accurate version of its mainstay nuclear bomb to NATO bases in Europe, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable and two people familiar with the issue, — according to Politico.

The arrival of the upgraded B61-12 air-dropped gravity bomb, originally slated for next spring, is now planned for this December, U.S. officials told NATO allies during a closed-door meeting in Brussels this month, the cable reveals.

The move, which involves replacing older weapons with the newer version at various storage facilities in Europe for potential use by U.S. and allied bombers and fighter jets, comes amid heightened tensions over Russia’s threats to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine and growing concerns that the West needs to do more to deter Moscow from crossing that line.

The upgrades to the B61 program have been openly discussed in budget documents and public statements for years, and Pentagon officials have said the upgrades are necessary to ensure the stockpile is modernized and safe. Asked for comment, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder responded via email that “while we aren’t going to discuss details of our nuclear arsenal, modernization of US B61 nuclear weapons has been underway for years and plans to safely and responsibly swap out older weapons for the upgraded B61-12 versions is part of a long-planned and scheduled modernization effort. It is in no way linked to current events in Ukraine and was not sped up in any way.”

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WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The United States is considering sending older HAWK air defense equipment from storage to Ukraine to help it defend against Russian drone and cruise missile attacks, two U.S. officials told Reuters.

The HAWK interceptor missiles would be an upgrade to the Stinger missile systems - a smaller, shorter range air defense system - that the United States has already sent to blunt Russia's invasion.

The Biden administration would use the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) to transfer the HAWK equipment which is based on Vietnam-era technology, but has been upgraded several times. The PDA allows the United States to transfer defense articles and services from stocks quickly without congressional approval in response to an emergency.

Reuters was unable to determine how many HAWK systems and missiles the United States has available to transfer. The White House declined to comment.

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Vladimir Putin: The arrogant striving for world (American) leadership and dictatorship, actually turns into a decrease in the international authority of the leaders of the Western world, including the United States. The growth of distrust in their ability to negotiate as a whole. Today they say one thing, tomorrow another. Documents are signed and then they are rejected. What they want, they do. There is no stability at all, in anything. How to sign documents, what to talk about? What can you hope for? It's not at all clear!

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Putin: International law has been replaced by incomprehensibly invented rules. It seems there is one rule –that those in power should live without rules at all! The West has taken a number of steps to aggravate in recent months, they always act to aggravate

Humanity now faces two ways - either to continue accumulating a load of problems or to find a solution together Liberalism has changed beyond recognition, to the point of absurdity, when alternative points of view are declared subversive, threats to democracy

The West claims the wealth of the whole world But the West will have to start an equal dialogue about our common future.

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By using dollar as weapon, the West discredits the institution of international finance — Putin

Putin said that the West "stole our foreign exchange reserves." However, the transition to national currencies will actively gain momentum, it is inevitable, the president stressed.

❗️Humanity is not built by command, it is formed by taking into account all opinions!
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The Hill share the results of a poll released on Monday by Morning Consult, that found only 29 percent of registered GOP respondents believe the U.S. has an obligation to continue to support Ukraine.

By comparison, 56 percent of registered Democrats and 38 percent of independents believe that the U.S. has a responsibility to assist Kyiv in the war.

Overall, 42 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. has an obligation to help Ukraine, according to the survey.

In my opinion, given the very small sample size these numbers are very likely inflated. The true total number of those who support the continued flow of financial & military support is very likely less than 35%. The midterms will reveal how broadly that support has waned.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/3702492-only-29-percent-of-gop-voters-say-us-has-an-obligation-to-help-ukraine-poll/

Former Virginia State Senator & Retired Colonel Richard Black speaking about Germany/Nord Stream.

Translated from Ramzan Kadyrov:

I love my Motherland. My country. People. Traditions.
And I do not understand those who love the Motherland only in words.
I don’t understand those who don’t see the obvious - they want to break our Motherland into pieces, humiliate, trample in the dirt and, in the end, defile our faith and culture so that we don’t have any identity and not a single family value.
I use the word "Satanism" for a reason. Indeed, there, in the West, Satanism is openly acting against Russia. Satanic democracy is when the rights of atheists are protected, but believers are offended. Or when traditional couples are deprived of children and transferred to same-sex families. Intentionally same-sex, not by chance. And in Europe they swallowed it. They consider it modern, civilized. The more liberated the topic "below the belt", the better for them. And I see degradation and Satanism in this. And I'd rather fight it there than let it come to our Motherland here.

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continuation⬇️⬇️⬇️

continued from ⬆️⬆️⬆️
Translated from Ramzan Kadyrov:
Today the state and the president need us. Therefore, first of all, I appeal to the Caucasians: remember the rally in Grozny against the cartoons of our beloved Prophet. You came to this million meeting. You expressed dissatisfaction, like all Muslims. The same forces that insulted the best of people are now fighting against us in Ukraine, or rather, they are already fighting on the land of our Russia. The protesters in Grozny threatened to go to Europe and deal with the offenders. Where are these heroes?
A self-respecting Muslim will not look for excuses.
This is Jihad!
And our Chechen commanders decided not to defend themselves, but only to attack. Destroy these devils, wherever they are and no matter how well they hide.
So, expect good news. They will come.
And love your country! Love not only in words.

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What does Kadyrov's declaration of Jihad mean?

Recently, Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, has declared that the Geneva conventions are not considered valid by his forces, and besides other statements like Odessa and Kiev will be Russian again, he had an interesting thing to declare, Jihad.

Ramzan Kadyrov does not have the religious authority to command all the Muslims of the world to a Jihad, that would be a Caliph, and currently there is no Caliphate, however, his declaration of Jihad is valid to the Chechen people as they are his people and he is their leader.

To understand what Jihad is, I want you to understand something very clear, when a Jihad is declared, that means there are only two outcomes, either the Muslim will be a martyr, or you will die, it's either you or me and there's no in-between.

The declaration of Jihad by Ramzan Kadyrov means that every Chechen is obligated to contribute to the fight against Kiev, wether by offering their blood or their money, that means there are no diplomatic negotiations that is possible anymore, Kadyrov has signed a blood feud that will end only when Zelensky hangs or he becomes a martyr, and the Chechens take this very personally, this decision was not taken in the heat of the moment, Zelensky has checked off a criteria that has been put in place for a thousand years, this is a careful decision taken after intense deliberation.

To victory!

Motherland Calls

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Russian MFA: Latvia blocks 80% of Russian fertilizers for poor countries
Foreign Ministry: Russian fertilizers remain blocked in the warehouses of Latvia, Estonia, Belgium

MOSCOW, October 28 - RIA Novosti. Latvia and some other countries are blocking fertilizers that Russia is ready to donate to the poorest countries, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the implementation of the Istanbul food deal.
“Russian companies still cannot not only carry out commercial deliveries of fertilizers, but even transfer about 300 thousand tons of products to the poorest countries. And do it free of charge. These fertilizers remain blocked mainly in the warehouses of Latvia (80%), as well as Estonia, Belgium and Netherlands, whose leadership does not allow them to be sent through the UN World Food Program," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russia is one of the world's leading exporters of fertilizers, without which not only food consuming countries, but also producers will be at risk of starvation, recalled on Smolenskaya Square.
According to the UN, from August 1 to October 26, 390 ships passed through the humanitarian corridors on the Black Sea, which took out 8,899,048 tons of food from Ukraine, mainly corn. At the same time, the geography of grain recipients turned out to be inconsistent with the humanitarian goals of the agreement.
Thus, half of the deliveries fell on the EU countries, the UK, Israel and Korea. While the needy states, in particular Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, received only three percent of food.
On July 22, representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN signed a package of two documents in Istanbul. The first memorandum deals with the UN commitment to remove restrictions on the export of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products to world markets. The second defines the algorithm for the export of Ukrainian grain from the ports on the Black Sea. This package deal aims to ensure global food security.

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Overrated democracy
Language issue and confiscation

MOSCOW, October 28 - RIA Novosti, by Elena Popova. In Latvia, it was forbidden to renew a residence permit, Georgia is considering a visa regime, the Finns are proposing to take away property - according to experts, we are talking about political repression against all Russians.

Latvia is at the forefront of pressure not only on the Russian leadership, but also on the population. In August, the Baltic republic stopped issuing visas to Russians. The exception is travel to the funeral of close relatives. They also refused to provide asylum to men evading mobilization "for security reasons."
In addition, at the end of September, the country tightened the conditions for issuing temporary residence permits to citizens of Russia and Belarus. Valid residence permits obtained on the basis of the acquisition of real estate or investments will be cancelled from September 1 of the next year. In order to issue the document again, it is necessary to pass a test for knowledge of the Latvian language.
There are more than ten thousand real estate objects in Latvia owned by Russian citizens. So many will be forced to either get rid of apartments or learn the state language of the republic.
The Finnish authorities have gone even further: they intend to confiscate the property of Russians there if it is located on territory important for the country's security. Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen said he would submit a proposal to parliament in the coming weeks. "It is also possible if a real risk is established and sufficient grounds are presented. We have a tool for this," the head of the department said.

Against the backdrop of statements by the Finnish authorities, the Russians are beginning to put up real estate for sale. For example, over 30 offers for the sale of apartments have been posted on the Avito site, most of them in the border town of Imatra.
And on September 27, it became known that the country's border guard was going to erect a barrier on the border with Russia. At the same time, according to Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, the situation there is calm, there is no military threat.

"We are talking about political repressions against all bearers of a Russian passport. They will also apply to ethnic Russians, and to some extent to the Orthodox. These states are returning to the medieval rules of collective guilt and responsibility, which indicates a significant level of civilizational degradation of Europe", - explains political scientist Sergei Markov.
In his opinion, Western democracy is a big exaggeration. Otherwise, the EU countries would have sided with Russia, not Ukraine. "Instead, they participate in the isolation of the country and support the anti-democratic regime in Kyiv," the expert notes.

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Putin took on the solution of the main contradiction of the era

In yesterday's speech by Vladimir Putin at the Valdai forum, many considered his main warning that "we are standing at a historical turning point, ahead of probably the most dangerous, unpredictable, and at the same time important decade since the end of World War II." But the prediction of the upcoming tests is not at all new, and it was not valuable in itself for Putin - the context in which it was said is important here:
"The historical period of the West's undivided dominance in world affairs is ending, the unipolar world is becoming a thing of the past... The West is not able to single-handedly govern humanity, but it is desperately trying to do so, and most of the peoples of the world no longer want to put up with it. This is the main contradiction of the new In the words of the classics, the situation is to a certain extent revolutionary: the upper classes cannot, and the lower classes do not want to live like this anymore."

"Power over the world is exactly what the so-called West has staked in its game. But this game is certainly dangerous, bloody and, I would say, dirty. It denies the sovereignty of countries and peoples, their originality and uniqueness, not considers the interests of the other states".
The American-style liberal world order not only multiplies chaos every day, it is becoming more and more intolerant even towards the Western countries themselves, towards their attempts to show any independence, Putin said.

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THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
The New York Times
Putin Is Onto Us

Putin is now fighting a ground war to break through Ukraine’s lines and a two-front energy war to break Ukraine’s will and that of its allies. He’s trying to smash Ukraine’s electricity system to ensure a long, cold winter there while putting himself in position (in ways that I’ll explain) to drive up energy costs for all of Ukraine’s allies. And because we — America and the West — do not have an energy strategy in place to dampen the impact of Putin’s energy bomb, this is a frightening prospect.

When it comes to energy, we want five things at once that are incompatible — and Putin is onto us:

1. We want to decarbonize our economy as fast as we can to mitigate the very real dangers of climate change.

2. We want the cheapest possible gasoline and heating oil prices so we can drive our cars as fast and as much as we want — and never have to put on a sweater indoors or do anything to conserve energy.

3. We want to tell the petrodictators in Iran, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia to take a hike.

4. We want to be able to treat U.S. oil and gas companies as pariahs and dinosaurs that should pump us out of this current oil crisis and then go off in the woods and die and let solar and wind take over.

5. Oh, and we don’t want any new oil and gas pipelines or wind and solar transmission lines to spoil our backyards.

In an energy war like the one we’re in now, you need to be clear about your goals and priorities. As a country, and as a Western alliance, we have no ladder of priorities on energy, just competing aspirations and magical thinking that we can have it all.

If we persist in that, we are going to be in for a world of hurt if Putin drops the energy bomb that I think he’s assembling for Christmas. Here’s what I think is his strategy: It starts with getting the United States to draw down its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It is a huge stock of crude oil stored in giant caverns that we can draw on in an emergency to offset any cutoff in our domestic production or imports. Last Wednesday, President Biden announced the release of 15 million more barrels from the reserve in December, completing a plan he laid out earlier to release a total of 180 million barrels in an effort to keep gasoline prices at the pump as low as possible — in advance of the midterm elections. (He didn’t say the last part. He didn’t need to.)

Putin wants America to use up as much of its Strategic Petroleum Reserve cushion now — just like the way the Germans gave up on nuclear energy and he got them addicted to Russia’s cheap natural gas. Then, when Russian gas was cut off because of the Ukraine war, German homes and factories had to frantically cut back and scramble for more expensive alternatives.

Next, Putin is watching the European Union gear up for a ban on seaborne imports of crude oil from Russia, starting Dec. 5. This embargo — along with Germany and Poland’s move to stop pipeline imports — should cover roughly 90 percent of the European Union’s current oil imports from Russia.

So add all of this up and then suppose, come December, Putin announces he is halting all Russian oil and gas exports for 30 or 60 days to countries supporting Ukraine, rather than submit to the European Union’s fixing of his oil price. He could afford that for a short while. That would be Putin’s energy bomb and Christmas present to the West. In this tight market, oil could go to $200 a barrel, with a commensurate rise in the price of natural gas. We’re talking $10 to $12 a gallon at the pump in the United States.

The beauty for Putin of an energy bomb is that unlike setting off a nuclear bomb — which would unite the whole world against him — setting off an oil price bomb would divide the West from Ukraine.

However, don't you think, that it is not Putin, but the West is preparing for itself that Christmas present by all its policies and actions? Putin will simply react in a very predictable (or unpredictable) way to the threats.
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Read more in The NYT ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Member of European Parliament Mick Wallace says as long as Assange is not free, the EU officials have no credibility talking about media freedom.
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The American people deserve to know how the war in Ukraine will end
BY JOSHUA C. HUMINSKI, for The Hill

Perhaps the most important question to be asked is how does this war end? It is unsurprising that the United States and its allies have largely left such questions unanswered. The oft-used refrain is that it is Kyiv’s decision as to how and when the conflict with close. While not wholly wrong, it is a politically convenient and expedient fiction to leave that question open.

Indeed, it is Ukraine’s decision how the war terminates, but to suggest that the United States or the West more broadly do not have agency in this conflict is to ignore reality — it is very much a party to this conflict and the sooner that the fiction that it is not is jettisoned, the better. The West has interests in this conflict and to suggest that it is merely loading a gun and handing it off to Ukraine is disingenuous at best and dangerous at worst.

Allied capitals do not wish to answer this question as asking it alone risks exposing very real schisms in support of Ukraine — support that is fundamentally critical to the success of the recent offensive, and indeed offensives to come. Were it not for the West’s substantive support Ukraine would likely not have achieved the success that it has met with thus far, the bravery of Ukraine’s fighters notwithstanding (or Russia’s attendant abysmal performance.)

Leaving it “up to Kyiv” allows each country that is providing support to labor under the illusion that it too is not a party to this conflict. If Germany and France do indeed differ on an outcome in Ukraine from Estonia and Poland, and again from the United States and United Kingdom, that necessary unity risks fracturing, opening avenues for Russia to exploit.

Kyiv has been impressively controlled and successful in its control of the messaging of this information war. The West, at least publicly, has very little insight into Kyiv’s aims and intentions, or indeed its losses or battlefield performance beyond that which is conveyed via social media and journalistic accounts. Even raising questions related to these critical factors is tantamount to heresy within the present geopolitical and cultural environment — as if asking the questions themselves is akin to supporting Russia. It is not. It is simply prudent interrogation of geopolitical realities that have significant policy implications.
Failing to ask what Kyiv’s aims are or what the West’s aims could or indeed should be creates conditions where the latter could well be drawn into a situation that is neither viable nor sustainable or that is even outright escalatory. Ukraine has demonstrated a willingness and capability of launching attacks into Russian territory. Indeed, it is suspected of carrying out the assassination of Daria Dugina — daughter of ultra-nationalist polemicist Alexander Dugin. That the administration exposed the hand of Ukraine in the killing suggests that the United States is unhappy with the transparency Kyiv is providing and wishes to avoid being drawn into something to which it cannot and does not want to be a party.

How far is the United States willing to back and support Ukraine? Not in its present fight for national survival or reclamation of its territory, but to what strategic end? If Kyiv desires to reclaim Crimea, will the United States provide the aid and support necessary for that campaign? What if Ukraine determines that launching greater strikes into Russian-held and indeed Russian territory proper is necessary? Will the West provide the long-range arms necessary for that offensive? Or will that be a redline for Washington, London and Brussels? Hyperbolically, what if Kyiv demands nothing less than regime change in Russia? Will the United States support that outcome?

To put the long article short — Kiev is lying so well, that the ordinary Americans are generally and genuinely misguided, albeit those in the US, who may know the truth, can not speak it out because of the conflict of interests...
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Shoigu announced the completion of partial mobilization measures
Defence Minister Shoigu reported to Putin on the completion of partial mobilization measures

MOSCOW, October 28 — RIA Novosti. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin on the completion of partial mobilization measures.
"More than 1,300 representatives of executive authorities at various levels were called up and sent to the troops, over 27,000 entrepreneurs, 13,000 citizens, without waiting for summonses, expressed a desire to fulfil their duty and were sent to the troops as volunteers. The average age of mobilized citizens was 35 years", — he said.
Now, according to the head of the Ministry of Defence, 218 thousand people are being trained. 82,000 people completed their training and were sent to the area of ​​the special military operation in Ukraine, of which more than 41,000 operate as part of units. Those who participate in hostilities will receive veteran status and a corresponding package of social benefits.
"The dispatch of citizens called up for mobilization was completed today. The notification of citizens has been stopped. The task you set — 300 thousand people — has been completed. No additional tasks are planned," Shoigu concluded.
He noted that the military registration and enlistment offices will continue recruiting troops only by accepting volunteers and candidates for contract service.

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Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has figured out the general of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who ordered to block the humanitarian corridors in Mariupol

MOSCOW, October 28 - RIA Novosti. Russian investigators have identified a Ukrainian lieutenant general who ordered the blockade of humanitarian corridors in Mariupol in order to use civilians as human shields.

"Currently, work continues with the military personnel of the Azov special forces regiment, who carried out general coordination of actions on the territory of Mariupol. The identity of the commander of the South and East group of troops, Lieutenant General Pavlyuk, who was given orders to block humanitarian corridors, has been established," noted there.

As the investigation established, the defence headquarters under the command of the general ordered the destruction of all those moving in Mariupol, including those who did not pose a threat to Ukrainian military women and children.
The Investigative Committee has assigned Pavlyuk the status of an accused, and measures are being taken to search for and arrest him.
In March, Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Commander of the Joint Forces Operation in Donbass, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavlyuk, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration in order to strengthen the defence of the Ukrainian capital. In May, Pavlyuk was removed from this position due to the lack of hostilities in the Kyiv region.
During the liberation of Mariupol, the Russian side opened humanitarian corridors both towards the DPR and towards the territories controlled by Kyiv, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine disrupted their work and repeatedly fired at civilians who tried to leave the city.

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