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I’m sure it’s just a coincidence the area they want to dump their waste into is a Serbian-majority area…Читать полностью…
🇹🇷⚡️ — Turkey has carried out a new test of its Tayfun ballistic missile, developed by ROKETSAN, which struck its target in the Black Sea with high accuracy.
➡️ Work is ongoing on a much larger Tayfun Block-4 variant, expected to weigh about 7 tons and have a range of up to 1,000 km, compared to the current version’s estimated 500–800 km range.
➡️ The missile will use GPS and inertial navigation systems, or inertial guidance alone.
—The channel has reached 420.000 views in the last month.
That's almost half a million. This wouldn't be possible without our dear partner channels who gave us visibility from the beginning when literally no one was reading Balkan Spectator, and thanks to you, dear friends, who follow, read and value our content.
Thank you so much for being there.
—🪖🇭🇷🤝🇫🇷 NEW: Croatia has signed a contract with France’s KNDS for 18 Caesar 6x6 MkII 155mm self-propelled howitzers and 15 Serval 4x4 armored vehicles, deepening defense ties with Paris and boosting Zagreb’s long‑term artillery and command capabilities within a second wheeled regiment alongside existing PzH 2000 systems.
➡️ The deal, signed in Paris on 8 December during Prime Minister Andrej Plenković’s visit, is supported by EU defense funds and envisages first deliveries around mid‑2029.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—☢️🇭🇷/🇧🇦 NEW: Croatia’s parliament has adopted a special law to build a radioactive waste management and disposal center at the Čerkezovac site on Trgovska Gora, with 77 MPs voting in favor, 36 abstaining and 21 opposing, paving the way for long‑term storage of waste from the Krško nuclear power plant and other Croatian sources near the Bosnian border.
➡️ The move comes despite strong and long‑running objections from local communities and institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who warn of cross‑border environmental and health risks and say they were excluded from the decision‑making process in violation of international environmental conventions.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇦🇱/🇲🇰 WATCH: Thousands of ethnic Albanians rallied in Skopje in one of North Macedonia’s largest recent public gatherings, marching in support of former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders on trial in The Hague and waving Albanian, KLA and US flags in the city’s central Skanderbeg Square.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
This is one of those cases where they have you looking at the shiny political toy of the past. Already talked about it.
If you're with these Jews - you're just not going to make it. You're low IQ and are a liability to Southern Slavs.
Really disappointed in many telegram "news" channels these days. This story pops up every couple of years; 2017, 2022 being the last couple of times.
Non-story, these two will die. In jail. Where they belong. They are race traitors. Responsible for the displacement of millions, sent the region backwards by decades.
Worst of all -- are responsible for allowing the entrance of Islamists into the region.
—🇷🇸/🇦🇺/🇮🇱 NEW: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has condemned what Australian authorities describe as a terrorist attack targeting a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, where gunmen opened fire on the “Chanukah by the Sea” event, killing at least 11–12 people and injuring dozens more.
➡️ Vucic said Serbia “condemns in the strongest terms” the attack against the Jewish community in Sydney and voiced solidarity with Jewish communities worldwide, as global leaders denounce the shooting as an act of antisemitic terrorism.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—❗️🇺🇸❌🇺🇸 NEW: Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has introduced HR 6508 in the US House of Representatives to withdraw the United States from the NATO alliance, calling the bloc a “Cold War relic” and arguing Washington should stop funding the collective budgets of the alliance.
➡️ The bill, backed by at least one Republican co-sponsor, would require President Donald Trump to formally notify NATO of US withdrawal under Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty within 30 days of the law’s entry into force.
🔗 Thomas Massie
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇫🇷❌🇲🇪 NEW: France has blocked the opening of Montenegro’s EU accession chapters 11 (agriculture and rural development) and 13 (fisheries), citing insufficient readiness and alignment with EU standards.
➡️ The move has raised political questions, as French Ambassador in Podgorica has been criticized for close ties with pro‑Serbian nationalist circles — including the recently decorated rector of the University of Montenegro, known for backing Aleksandar Vučić and advocating the country’s “de‑Westernization.”
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇧🇬 NEW: Bulgaria’s government has decided that the country will withdraw from the International Organization for Space Communications Intersputnik and will submit a proposal to the National Assembly to denounce the accession agreement, in force since 1972.
➡️ The move will formally end Bulgaria’s more than five-decade participation in the Soviet-era-founded satellite communications organization once parliament approves the government’s proposal.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🤝🇺🇸/🇽🇰 NEW: The U.S. Embassy in Pristina and the Kosovo Police will conduct a large-scale joint crisis response exercise in the capital on Friday, December 12, focusing on crisis management, interagency coordination, and emergency response procedures.
➡️ Residents are advised to expect an increased security presence around the embassy and other training sites, temporary traffic disruptions and short-term road closures, as well as the possible use of sirens, loudspeakers, and other visible training effects, with authorities stressing this is only a drill and not a response to any incident.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—❗️🇷🇺/🇷🇸/🇪🇺 WATCH: A hot mic picked up Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic telling European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that he had “just received a message from Moscow,” prompting her to respond “let’s wait till we are alone,” in what appears to show Belgrade relaying a communication from Russia to top EU officials during their Brussels meeting.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—❗️🇧🇬 BREAKING: Bulgarian government resigns minutes before the no-confidence vote.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—❗️🇧🇬 UPDATE: Some pictures of today's protests shared by our source in Bulgaria.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🇹🇷 NEW: Turkish media report that the corruption trial of jailed former Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Erdogan’s main political rival, is scheduled to open on 9 March 2026 and could run for 12.5 years, with prosecutors seeking more than 2,000 years in prison on over 140 graft and organised crime charges.
➡️ Opposition figures say they have gathered tens of millions of signatures and votes backing Imamoglu as their preferred presidential candidate, but the drawn-out court calendar would effectively keep him off the political stage for years.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
🇹🇷🇬🇷⚡️Greece – Turkey: The rift in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean resurfaces again!
Despite recent optimism expressed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about holding the Greece–Turkey Supreme Cooperation Council in early 2026, tensions have resurfaced following Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s speech in the Turkish National Assembly. Fidan reaffirmed Ankara’s revisionist positions on the Aegean, the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, and the minority in Thrace, rejecting Athens’ stance that the sole dispute is the delimitation of maritime zones (EEZ and continental shelf).
Turkey’s long-standing claims spanning territorial waters, airspace, FIR, search and rescue zones, and island sovereignty, remain central to its agenda. Athens dismisses these as unacceptable, insisting dialogue must be limited to maritime delimitation. While both sides express willingness to continue talks, consultations have stalled since late 2024, with any upcoming meetings expected to focus narrowly on cooperation in areas like migration and civil protection.
Fidan also emphasized Cyprus, calling for greater recognition of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” and the lifting of embargoes, while Turkish media accused Greece, Cyprus, and Israel of encircling Ankara’s interests. He further raised the issue of the minority in Thrace, framing it as a matter of reciprocity with the Greek minority in Constantinople, an interpretation Athens rejects under the Treaty of Lausanne.
Although rhetoric remains sharp, the confrontation is unlikely to escalate significantly in the near term, given pending diplomatic initiatives and U.S. efforts to prevent new flashpoints in the region.
🔗 Tovima
—🇧🇬 NEW: A photo from the mass anti-government protests in Bulgaria has appeared on the front page of The New York Times.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
The law also sets out the conditions for conducting an environmental impact assessment at the Čerkezovac site and permits construction of the facility if the project is found to be environmentally acceptable.
Croatia, however, faces a complex dilemma. While it receives approximately 16 per cent of its electricity from the nuclear power plant in neighbouring Slovenia, it is responsible for managing 50 per cent of the plant’s nuclear waste.
The affected area is predominantly Bosnian—around 70 per cent—while roughly 30 per cent lies within Croatia. The Una River, which would be most at risk if nuclear waste were improperly managed, is shared by both countries, making the potential environmental consequences a transboundary concern.
Croatia could ignore BiH as it has so far, but that would open up avenues via international courts and local backlash. Not to mention, you're leaving dirty bomb material at the feet of Muslims. I'm surprised no one thought about the long term consequences of that.
—🪖🇭🇷🤝🇩🇪 NEW: Croatia has signed a €1.48 billion agreement with Germany to purchase 44 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks, with the contract inked in Berlin by Defence Minister Ivan Anušić in the presence of PM Andrej Plenković and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
➡️ Deliveries are scheduled between 2028 and 2030, with around €1.14 billion financed through the EU SAFE instrument and the remainder covered by Croatia’s state budget through 2033.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
Two of the biggest threats to the Balkans:
Dumb niggers
Diaspora niggers
The dumb nigger will learn history as the state sees fit. He'll hold on to that until he dies or is convinced otherwise; hard to do but not impossible. For whatever reason -- he believes someone is fighting for his benefit. Those above him will use his ignorance against him for the rest of his life.
The diaspora nigger will be an outcast his whole life trying to find his identity between multiple worlds, afraid to pick one or unable to. His tragedy is that usually he's shipped off to Western society where the majority become assimilated to vastly different cultures.
The dumb nigger will be used to stage local fires, the diaspora nigger will be used to fan the flames globally.
They work in tandem. Re-educate the dumb nigger and repatriate the remaining salvageable diaspora.
🇷🇺 🇷🇸 🇺🇳 Russia Demands Release of Ratko Mladić
At a recent UN Security Council session, Russia criticized the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) for refusing the humanitarian release of 82-year-old Serbian General Ratko Mladić, citing severe health issues including high blood pressure, diabetes, muscle atrophy, impaired mobility, kidney strain, and progressive dementia. Russia called for his urgent transfer to Serbia for palliative care, warning the Mechanism would bear responsibility for his death.
Similarly, Radovan Karadžić, first president of RS, imprisoned in the UK, faces poor medical care and psychological pressure, including constant artificial lighting that prevents normal sleep, restricted visits from Serbian Orthodox priests, and threats from other, mostly muslim inmates. Russia condemned these conditions as cruel and in violation of the “Mandela Rules,” calling for IRMCT oversight.
Moscow also urged transferring all remaining functions of the Hague Mechanism to member states, labeling it temporary and unnecessary, and expects its complete closure by 2026.
—🇧🇬 Our source in Bulgaria sent us this picture.
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BREAKING: The EU has approved an indefinite freeze on €210 billion in Russian central bank assets held in Europe, ending the six-month renewal cycle and locking the funds until Russia withdraws from Ukraine and pays reparations. 🇪🇺🇷🇺
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—🇹🇷 NEW: A viral claim that the “current prince of the Ottoman royal family” married another man last week has been debunked, with descendants of the dynasty preparing legal action against a US‑based Turkish man accused of falsely presenting himself as an Ottoman prince and exploiting the family name on social media.
➡️ The individual, using the name “Sina Osmanoglu” online, reportedly announced a same-sex marriage as “the first marriage in my dynasty,” prompting public backlash and a statement from genuine family members that he is not part of the Ottoman lineage.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—🐶 While the Serbian president was delivering a speech, two stray dogs wandered into the frame, briefly hijacking the scene and drawing attention away from the address itself.
➡️ The light-hearted moment underlined a serious and long-running problem across the Balkans, where large stray dog populations continue to pose public safety and animal welfare challenges despite repeated calls for more effective management.
—🪖🇷🇸 WATCH: The Serbian Gendarmerie has fully integrated trench warfare and high-intensity tactical drills into its regular training cycle since the start of the war in Ukraine, reflecting a shift toward preparing for large-scale, high-intensity conflict scenarios.
➡️ Some operators are reportedly training with calibers smaller than the standard 7.62×39 round, suggesting experimentation with different weapon setups for sustained trench and close-quarters engagements.
🔗 Dunav Intel
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
—❗️🇧🇬 WATCH: Impressive drone footage of yesterday's protest in Sofia, one of the biggest in Bulgaria's recent history.
➡️ Bulgaria’s government has stepped down following nationwide anti-corruption demonstrations led by Gen Z activists. The unrest was triggered by the controversial 2026 budget — the country’s first in euros — ahead of Bulgaria’s planned eurozone entry on January 1, 2026.
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English
A Bulgarian court has refused to extradite a Russian citizen to Lebanon over the Beirut port explosion case
The court ruled that Lebanese authorities cannot provide sufficient security guarantees, specifically, that the man would not face the death penalty, Reuters reports.
Russian national Igor Grechushkin, the owner of the ship Rhosus, from which nearly 3 tons of ammonium nitrate ended up in a Beirut port warehouse before causing the explosion, was detained in Bulgaria in September. Interpol issued a warrant for his arrest in 2020 at Lebanon’s request.
The August 4, 2020, blasts at the Port of Beirut were among the deadliest non-nuclear explosions in history, killing more than 200 people and injuring several thousand.
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—❗️🇧🇬 MAP: Where did today's protests take place?
✅ @balkanspectator — the leading Balkan news channel in English