News from Russia/Ukraine - 8 June, 2024
Massacre without end in Ukraine: 1600 Ukrainian military dead in 24 hours
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are suffering losses that they will gradually be unable to replace
Russia continues to record significant military successes in its special military operation in Ukraine.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces amounted to up to 1,600 soldiers in a single day.
Army Group " North " continued its advance on the Ukrainian defense lines, moving even closer to Kharkiv, while Volodymyr Zelensky reassured with statements about " stopping the Russian offensive ".
In the Black Sea, the forces of the Russian Fleet managed to destroy five unmanned vessels, strengthening security in the region and preventing potential threats.
At the same time, a new and much more strengthened overlapping air defense system is being created in Kherson, Russian officials told RIA Novosti, to ensure protection from air attacks.
In addition, three Ukrainian drones were shot down in Mozdok, according to the head of North Ossetia.
Despite the arrival of Western military aid in Kiev, which did not have a decisive effect on the situation for Ukraine on the battlefield, Russian forces continue to maintain the advantage.
The New York Times notes that Western military aid has failed to turn the tide, confirming the West's misguided and careless approach to trying to defend Ukrainian territory.
Internationally, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has quietly abandoned plans to create a 100 billion euro fund for Kiev due to internal disagreements within the alliance, Bloomberg reports.
UPDATED 7:28 PM: New Arms Race! Biden Signs "New Guidance" for Using U.S. Nuclear Weapons
President Joseph Biden has signed "new guidelines" on the conditions for the US use of nuclear weapons.
This was announced by Special Assistant to the US President, Senior Director for Arms Control at the National Security Council, Pranay Vaddi.
"The updated guidance takes into account the realities of the new nuclear era. They emphasize the need to address the growth and diversity of China's nuclear arsenal, as well as the need to contain Russia, China, and North Korea, simultaneously," he said.
Notice they did this after 5:00 PM on a Friday. I am endeavoring to obtain the actual new guidance text.
UPDATE 7:28 PM EDT --
A new Arms Race is now kicking off. US is making changes to its nuclear weapons strategy with an emphasis on competition, US sees the need to increase its nuclear arsenal.
French President is At It Again; Now French "Mirage 2000-5" Fighter Jets for Ukraine
As if he hasn't already caused enough pain, suffering, and death in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron is at it again. He will announce that French Mirage 2000-5 Fighter Jets will be given to Ukraine to fight Russia.
He will also announce those jets can be used to strike targets inside territorial Russia, and that Ukrainian Pilots will be trained to fly them, in France.
Looks as though Macron is not going to stop until Russia hits Paris with a nuclear bomb.
Hal Turner Snap Analysis
If it wasn't so pathetic, it would be laughable that Macron is doing this. His army just got thrown out of Africa by the local tribesmen, and now Macron thinks he can fight Russia? The guy seems to me to be insane.
We should start referring to him as "Maniacal Macron."
Vladimir Putin speaks at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum
SPIEF 2024: Over $71 billion worth of deals signed in St. Petersburg
Guests from 139 countries have attended the annual economic forum in Russia’s second city
Almost 1,000 deals and contracts, with a value of more than 6.43 trillion rubles ($71.87 billion) have been signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), according to Russian presidential adviser and Executive Secretary of the SPIEF Organizing Committee Anton Kobyakov.
Speaking at the forum’s final press briefing on Saturday, the top official said that 21,300 people visited from 139 countries, including Russia. Kobyakov added that 3,550 foreign and Russian companies from more than 90 countries participated in the event this year.
“We have announced figures that are not commercially confidential,” he added.
According to Kobyakov, 59 nations stated their willingness to join BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as these groupings “are providing new members with opportunities to boost cooperation in new formats of the multipolar development concept.”
“Now most of the Earth’s inhabitants are with us,” the official said, highlighting that “Russia and its allies account for nearly 45% of global economy.”
READ MORE: SPIEF 2024: Rosneft chief reveals cost EU paid for rejecting Russian gas
The presidential adviser noted that the weight and importance of the SCO in a global context is increasing. Although it was launched as a forum for China, Russia and the Central Asian states, it has been actively developing and now includes India, Pakistan and Iran.
“We can safely say that the SCO is destined to become a new center of economic power in a changing world,” Kobyakov concluded.
St. Petersburg, known as Russia’s ‘northern capital’, hosted the 27th annual SPIEF beginning on Wednesday. The main theme of this year’s forum was ‘The Foundations of a Multipolar World – The Formation of New Areas of Growth’. The three-day event featured around 400 business events, including panel discussions and international business dialogue meetings.
Russian MFA spokesperson Zakharova speaks with RT
Watch HERE
West wants escalation with Moscow – Slovak PM
The decision to allow Kiev to strike deep into Russia will lead to further tensions, Robert Fico has said
© Facebook / Robert Fico
The recent decision by Washington and its allies in Europe to allow Kiev to use Western-supplied weapons for long-range strikes deep into Russian territory shows that Ukraine’s backers “do not want peace,” Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday.
His was referring to a recent series of statements from the US, UK, Germany, and other Western nations, in which their leaders said that Kiev can now use weapons supplied by them in strikes targeting internationally recognized Russian territory.
Earlier this week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the move a way to ensure peace, claiming that Russia’s potential success on the battlefield is the biggest threat to peace on the continent.
The Kremlin responded to the Western statements by accusing NATO of provoking a new “round of tensions.” In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that using long-range weapons against Russia would have “serious consequences” for the West.
These types of actions by the US and its allies are bound to lead to a further escalation of tensions between Moscow and the West, Fico warned, adding that he does not want his nation to take part in such “military adventures.”
EU could stop Ukraine conflict in 24 hours – Orban
“The Western [nations] do not want peace, but an escalation of tensions with the Russian Federation, which will surely happen,” the Slovak prime minister said in a Facebook post.
Fico called on his fellow countrymen to vote in the European Parliament election and back candidates that “support peace initiatives and not the continuation of war.”
The remarks come just days after another statement in which he said the EU and NATO have “sanctified the concept of the single correct opinion – namely that the war in Ukraine must continue at any cost in order to weaken the Russian Federation.” Anyone who does not agree is automatically branded a “Russian agent,” he added.
On Saturday, another European leader – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – warned that the West is “within centimeters of a direct conflict” with Russia, adding that both the EU and US desperately need pro-peace forces to come to power in order to avoid further escalation. He went on to claim that the West could reach a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict “within 24 hours” if only it has the will to do so.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who survived multiple gunshot wounds in an assassination attempt on the 15th of May, has released an address to the world, blaming in part, George Soros, for the attempt to end his life.