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US funding of Ukraine: Already more expensive than Marshall Plan – in all ways
Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Western leaders at the recent G7 summit in Italy to come up with a new “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine, referring to the initiative of the American diplomat George Marshall to provide aid to war-torn Europe in 1947-1952. Meanwhile, statistics reveal: Biden spent on Ukraine more than Marshall did on all of Europe.
When a French columnist Renaud Girard wrote in Figaro that Americans are giving Zelensky more money than they gave US Secretary of State Marshall to save 16 European states from hunger, it looked like a hyperbole. But here are the facts:
▫️ According to the Marshall Plan, the US lent Europe $12.4 billion, which would be worth $146.3 billion now. The money was disbursed on “targeted” projects, which made Europe look more attractive than the USSR, whose Western lands suffered the worst destruction.
▫️ The total amount of US aid to Ukraine, according to the US Council of Foreign Relations, is $175 billion dollars, out of which $107 billion already went directly to the Kiev regime.
▫️ The main source of information from the US government is the response to a congressional request by senator J.D.Vance, signed by the Director of the White House’s Budget Office Shalanda Young. In her letter, sent in March and quoted by Fox News, she wrote that US funding of Ukraine totaled $113.4 billion. The remaining $61.38 billion were added after the congressional vote in April. That makes the US aid to Ukraine more costly than George Marshall’s aid to all of Western Europe.
The EU, in the meantime, hit the “Marshall mark” earlier. In February 2024, Odile Renaud-Basso, the head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), said: “Financial aid to Ukraine from the EU is much greater, whatever method of estimate you choose, than the aid from Marshall Plan.”
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Allied armies: How many soldiers do Russia and North Korea have?
During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s June 18-19 visit to the DPRK, he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a new comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, which specifically stipulates that one party should provide immediate military assistance if the other party is attacked.
So what is the joint military potential of the Russian and North Korean armies in terms of the number of troops and military hardware? Here’s the data based on open sources.
🇷🇺Russia
The Russian Armed Forces currently has 1.32 million soldiers, in line with last year’s decree by President Vladimir Putin to expand the country’s army by 8.3%.
🔺Army Aviation (including helicopters and transport planes): 1,156
🔺Artillery systems: 2,000
🔺Multiple launch rocket systems and operational-tactic missile systems: 1,700
🔺Tanks: about 13,000
🔺Surface ships (including warships and motor boats): 207
🔺Submarines (including nuclear-powered and diesel ones): 54
🔺Nuclear warheads: 4,380
🇰🇵North Korea
The Korean People's Army, which encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea, has about 1.37 million people, even though some sources put the figure at 850,000 and 650,000.
🔹Army Aviation (including helicopters and transport planes): 1,200
🔹Artillery systems: 4,500
🔹Multiple launch rocket systems: 2,920
🔹Tanks: 5,845
🔹Surface ships (including warships and motor boats): about 505
🔹Submarines (including nuclear-powered and diesel ones): between 54 and 70
🔹Nuclear warheads: up to 30
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What was the true cause of the fire at the Diehl plant?
A technical malfunction triggered the May fire at the factory of the Diehl defense firm in Berlin, safety experts have concluded. Diehl manufactures Iris-T air defense systems.
Earlier, Bild wrote that foreign intelligence agencies had allegedly received information that there were signs of Russian involvement in the fire.
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Russian Armed Forces have initiative on entire front line – Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov
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❗️Russia's President Vladimir Putin announces plans for further development of the nuclear triad.
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Red Alert: Russian troops march on New York
Moscow's troops are fighting to liberate the town of New York in the Donetsk People’s Republic, which is currently occupied by the Kiev regime forces.
What military significance does this settlement have and why does it have such an out-of-place name?
🔸 What makes New York and the nearby town of Dzerzhinsk so important is the fact that they shield the Konstantinovka-Adveyevka route used by the Kiev regime's forces to resupply their troops in the area, one of the Russian soldiers explained during an interview with Russian media.
🔸 Situated near the city of Gorlovka, New York has been turned into a veritable stronghold by the Ukrainian forces which, coupled with its strategic location, makes it a priority target for the Russian Army.
🔸 Also, New York is located on an elevation relative to Gorlovka, which allows Ukrainian forces to survey the city and coordinate artillery and HIMARS rocket strikes against it from the covered positions in Dzerzhinsk.
🔸 New York was founded by Mennonite settlers from Germany who were invited to the Russian Empire in 18th century by Empress Catherine the Great.
🔸 In 1951 the town was renamed Novgorodskoye amid worsening relations with the United States as the Cold War was in full swing (even though it wasn’t clear whether the town’s original name was a reference to the famous US city or the UK's York or any other York).
🔸 In 2021 the town was returned its original name as per the order from the powers that be (at the time) in Kiev.
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Over 18,000 cities join BRICS+ association
"The organization aims to establish productive relations and exchange of experience among 18,260 cities and improve the quality of life of 2.6 billion people. It will become one of the largest associations of cities in the world. For the period of its formation it will be headed by the Mayor of the Russian city of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin," the Forum's press service said.
❗️ Cumulative losses of Ukrainian troops for the week amounted to up to 13,710 people — Russian Defense Ministry
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Other statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov from briefing:
💬 Speaking a day earlier about Russia's readiness to go all the way, Putin had in mind the special operation and achieving its goals.
💬 Putin's visits to North Korea and Vietnam were productive.
💬 The Russian-Vietnamese negotiations were substantive and concrete, and further work will be carried out at the expert level.
💬 Russia knows that there are forces in Moldova that are interested in developing relations not only with Europe, but also with Russia.
💬 The enlargement of the EU may negatively affect the prospects of the Union's existence.
💬 The US ban on the use of Kaspersky software is an example of unfair and unjust competition.
💬 The dogs that Kim Jong-un gave to Putin as a present have yet to be given nicknames, as they are not yet in Russia.
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❗️Russia is ready only for comprehensive dialogue with US, which will include issues of Washington's participation in Ukrainian conflict, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
But he called the dialogue between Russia and the United States extremely urgent:
"Problems are accumulating, including in connection with global security," Peskov stressed.
Is the US secretly upgrading its nukes in Europe?
Washington is in the process of upgrading its nuclear arsenal deployed in five European countries by replacing older nuclear warheads with new generation-related ones, Alistair Burnett, head of media for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), told Sputnik.
"One can see it by the way the US Air Force aircraft designed for this type of transport are being tracked live on air. They [the Biden administration] don't talk about it publicly, but the upgrade of this [nuclear] arsenal is underway,” he says.
China imposed sanctions against American company Lockheed Martin over sale of weapons to Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced.
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Satellite images show massive destruction of Rafah after Israeli invasion
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Strategic deterrence? USAF B-1B bomber does 'routine missions' in Guam
A United States Air Force (USAF) B-1B bomber has arrived in Guam to support routine missions, the US Pacific Command wrote on X.
The island of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean is an unincorporated organized territory of the United States. These developments come after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov expressed concern that Washington's decision to deploy intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region "within the framework of the concept of dual deterrence is irreversible".
The statement came after a US Army Pacific spokesman told Sputnik that the Biden administration was on track to deploy an intermediate-range missile system in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of this year.
Earlier, the US Pacific Air Forces announced that USAF B-52 bombers based in North Dakota landed in Guam in late January on an alleged mission to support "strategic deterrence" in the Indo-Pacific region.
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New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) possible only after US stops arms supplies to Kiev and blocks Ukraine's NATO accession, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said
The United States is quite seriously proposing to Russia to negotiate a new treaty while continuing to supply arms to Kiev, the official said, calling the US authorities "cynical".
"This is possible only after [the US] refuses to supply weapons to the Bandera regime and blocks its admission to NATO," Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
Shock and awe: What reaction has renewed Russia-North Korean alliance evoked in the world?
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean head of state Kim Jong Un rocked the world this week as they signed a new strategic partnership agreement, which, among other things, contain a mutual military assistance clause.
News of these development have predictably rattled the United States and its allies as their continuous efforts to isolate both countries have once again proven futile.
🔸 South Korea, for example, promptly summoned the Russian ambassador and demanded that Moscow halt military cooperation with North Korea as it allegedly violates the UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang. South Korea even threatened to consider directly shipping weaponry to Ukraine in response.
🔸 Japan’s reaction seemed more restrained in comparison. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa insisted that the prospects of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang cause “great harm to the security situation around” Japan, which is “of great concern” to the Japanese government. She also claimed that Tokyo should boost its security capabilities and cooperate more closely with North Korea’s adversaries such as South Korea and the United States.
🔸 Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, unsurprisingly, “strongly condemned” the Moscow-Pyongyang pact during a phone conversation with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul. Both officials claimed that this treaty "poses a significant threat to the security of both South Korea and the United States," according to Yonhap news agency, with Blinken saying that the US will "consider various ways to respond" to this alliance.
🔸 While House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said Washington is not surprised by the pact, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller branded the possibility of Russia supplying weapons to North Korea as “incredibly concerning”.
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'Give us elections back': fans displayed Ukrainian flag with the message at the Ukraine-Slovakia Euro football match
The flag was removed in the middle of the first half.
According to the Ukrainian Constitution, the country now does not have a legitimate leader since Zelensky canceled presidential election that were supposed to take place on March 31.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Ukraine's only legitimate authority was the speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, while the latter claimed that Zelensky was the legitimate president.
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Ukraine reportedly struck Russia with German howitzers
The Ukrainian military has begun using the German Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzer to launch strikes against Russian territory, Bild has reported.
“We now have the opportunity to accompany the military personnel carrying out the mission as they bring the howitzer out of hiding to a firing position and strike a predetermined target inside Russian territory and then quickly retreat,” the outlet's reporter said.
❗️Russia will continue to improve Armed Forces, Putin said.
The President added that Russia will also work on modern high-tech models of military equipment.
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❗️Russia ready for broad discussion on creation of Eurasian security system with various associations, including NATO, Putin said
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🎥🎥 Putin сongratulates graduates of higher education institutions affiliated with military
Watch the livestream here or on Sputnik's website
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❗️Ukrainian losses in the area of responsibility of Russia’s Yug Battlegroup amounted to 4,290 soldiers, a Leopard tank and two MLRS launchers during the week — Russian MoD
🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry’s weekly briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:
▪️ Russia's Armed Forces carried out 14 group strikes, the infrastructure of Ukraine’s military airfields and mercenary deployment points were hit, 37 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered over the week;
▪️ Ukraine lost up to 3,330 military personnel, two tanks, 16 armored vehicles and 25 artillery pieces during the week as a result of the actions of the Zapad Battlegroup;
▪️ The Vostok Battlegroup hit concentrations of troops and equipment of the Ukrainian mechanized and motorized infantry brigades and two brigades of the teroprotection brigade during the week;
▪️ Russia's Dnepr Battlegroup defeated formations of Ukrainian infantry and mountain assault brigades, as well as two defense brigades. The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 610 military personnel due to the grouping’s actions;
▪️ The Tsentr Battlegroup repelled 31 enemy counterattacks during the week. Ukrainian losses amounted up to 2,530 soldiers;
▪️ Russian air defenses intercepted a Neptun-MD missile, 8 Hammer bombs, 55 HIMARS MLRS shells, and 397 drones during the week.
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📹Russia's Dnepr Battlegroup drones destroyed Ukraine's American-made M-777 howitzer and Giatsint artillery gun on right bank of Dnepr River.
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75% of UK residents express negative attitude towards current PM Rishi Sunak two weeks before elections to UK Parliament (July 4).
The study was conducted by YouGov. According to data, only Liz Truss is more disliked, her disapproval rating stands at 80%.
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Russian Investigative Committee (IC) has evidence of Hitler regime's intent to exterminate all Soviet people, head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin said.
"We are not talking about individual settlements and regions: the Nazis aimed at the complete extermination of the population."
"The facts we are now learning about can only be called monstrous," the head of the Investigative Committee stressed.
The Slovak Ministry of Defense did not find a document that allows for the transfer of 13 MiG-29 and air defense fighters to Ukraine by former department leadership.
Recently, the current Minister of Defense of Slovakia called the actions of his predecessors treason and promised to submit an application to law enforcement agencies.
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❗️Main statements from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's press conference on CSTO Ministerial Council results:
💬 The procedure of Armenia's withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was not discussed at the meeting of the foreign ministers, there were no statements on Yerevan's withdrawal.
💬 The CSTO considers it important to help the Afghan authorities in the fight against terrorism.
💬 Threats to Eurasian security come from different directions, the CSTO agrees on the need to create a security architecture in Eurasia.
💬 There are still politicians in the West who will understand that after each failed settlement of the conflict, Ukraine has lost territories.
💬 Statements about the necessity of inviting Russia to the settlement summit create misunderstandings about why Moscow was not invited to the meeting in Switzerland.
💬 NATO will hinder the processes of formation of the Eurasian security structure.
💬 The UN Security Council meeting on cooperation between the UN and the CSTO will be held in New York on July 19.
➖ Lavrov said that he had stopped following Ukraine's statements on the topic of the next "peace" conference.
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❗️NATO will send military mission to Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, noting that Budapest will not participate in it.
"We have achieved the minimum goal, I have agreed with the NATO Secretary General, Hungary will get off the train. NATO will have a military mission in Ukraine, but Hungary will not take part in it."
❗️LIVE: Lavrov sums up results of CSTO’s ministerial meeting
Watch the livestream here or on Sputnik's website
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❗️Twelve dead, over 100 hospitalized due to cholera outbreak in Kherson
The outbreak was recorded in Kherson among the Ukrainian military and civilian population. The Ukrainian authorities appointed by Kiev are trying to hide information about the epidemic, the pro-Russian underground in Kherson told Sputnik.
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