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Get Ready for a ‘Wartime Scenario’ in Europe and Be Wary of Russia and China, Top NATO Officer Warns

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Europeans must be ready to sacrifice some “luxuries” to pay to support Ukraine and to prevent a “wartime scenario” coming to the nations of the continent if they are insufficiently prepared, NATO’s most senior military officer said in a speech namechecking both Russia and China as threats.

NATO’s Admiral Rob Bauer, the Dutch naval officer who is chair of the NATO Military Committee addressed a conference of the European Policy Centre think tank on Monday, and while asserting the alliance is more ready now “than it has ever been”, delivered a somewhat pessimistic message of the need for preparedness for conflict. In a speech aimed at businesses across the alliance, the Admiral outlined that businesses had to be ready for war, but by improving their readiness they also reduced the likelihood of future fighting by improving NATO’s level of deterrence.

The scale of spending needed to keep the peace in Europe is such that ordinary people would feel the pinch in the pocketbook, Admiral Bauer said, calling on politicians to provide strong leadership to make the case this is necessary to voters. He said: “if you ramp up your deterrence and if you ramp up support to Ukraine, there will be less money to spend on other things. It will take away some of our luxuries, it will require sacrifice.”

Also implied is the extra cost on businesses, making a shift away from efficient, cost-cutting but fragile ‘just in time’ models to more robust practices to make businesses in America and Europe more insulated to shock. This itself increases the deterrence of NATO to its adversaries, he said, because knowing Western economies can’t be knocked over by the hybrid warfare of a sudden supply shock denies that weapon to those who would weaponise trade. (Read more from “Get Ready for a ‘Wartime Scenario’ in Europe and Be Wary of Russia and China, Top NATO Officer Warns” HERE)

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Donald Trump’s Ally Rejects Putin Negotiation Plan

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South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds has dismissed calls for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, suggesting Russian President Vladimir Putin could not be trusted to honor such an agreement.

“As much as I would like to believe we can negotiate with a tyrant, I suspect we may be deceiving ourselves,” Rounds said in reference to Putin at the Halifax Security Forum on Friday.

“Do you believe that this tyrant, if you offer him a part of a free country, do you think he’s gonna stop?” Rounds said.

“I wish I could say there’s an easy way out, there’s not.” (Read more from “Donald Trump’s Ally Rejects Putin Negotiation Plan” HERE)

Russia Threatens to Attack New U.S. Base in Poland With ‘Advanced Weapons’

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Russia has threatened to attack a new US defense base in Poland with “advanced weapons” — just hours after reportedly launching an intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine on Thursday.

Moscow leveled the warning after saying the opening of the ballistic missile defense base, located in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, would lead to an increase in overall nuclear danger.

“Given the nature and level of threats posed by such Western military facilities, the missile defense base in Poland has long been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction, which, if necessary, can be executed with a wide range of advanced weapons,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

The US base at Redzikowo, which opened Nov. 13, is part of a broader NATO missile shield — known as “Aegis Ashore” — that can intercept short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles, according to the alliance.

“This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilizing actions by the Americans and their allies in the North Atlantic Alliance in the strategic sphere,” Zakharova said of the base’s opening. (Read more from “Russia Threatens to Attack New U.S. Base in Poland With ‘Advanced Weapons’” HERE)

Ukraine’s Former Military Commander in Chief Delivers Chilling Message: WWIII ‘Has Begun’

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Kyiv’s former military commander in chief said the direct involvement of Russian allies in Ukraine means that World War III has officially begun.

“I believe that in 2024 we can absolutely believe that the Third World War has begun,” former military chief Valery Zaluzhny warned Thursday, according to Politico.

Zaluzhny, who now serves as Ukraine’s envoy to the UK, said Kyiv’s conflict is now on a global scale following the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia earlier this month.

Along with the presence of North Korean and Iranian weapons on the frontlines, Zaluzhny said his nation was besieged by international forces, urging Kyiv’s allies to respond in kind.

“It is obvious that Ukraine already has too many enemies. Ukraine will survive with technology, but it is not clear whether it can win this battle alone,” he said. (Read more from “Ukraine’s Former Military Commander in Chief Delivers Chilling Message: WWIII ‘Has Begun’” HERE)

Big Change to Russian Nuclear Doctrine Now Allows Putin to Use Nukes in Ukraine

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Just days after the United States allowed Ukraine to use its long-range missile for deep strikes within Russian territory; President Vladimir Putin has approved changes to his country’s nuclear doctrine.

The changes to the nuclear doctrine have been approved by Putin on Tuesday.

The most noticeable change is that it expands the conditions under which nuclear weapons can be used by Moscow.

To put things into perspective, Russia can now use nuclear weapons in instances when a non-nuclear state supported by nuclear power attacks its area.

The timing suggests that it is the U.S. President Joe Biden’s approval to Kyiv for using the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for deep strikes within Russian territory that has brought about this shift in the Russian nuclear doctrine. (Read more from “Big Change to Russian Nuclear Doctrine Now Allows Putin to Use Nukes in Ukraine” HERE)

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Russia Begins Mass Production of Radiation-Resistant Bomb Shelters

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These bomb shelters are designed to protect against radiation and natural disasters.

And they’re now being mass produced in Russia, the country’s emergency ministry research institute has said.

That announcement coming as U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration agreed to allow Ukraine to fire American long range missiles deep into Russia.

Though the research institute did not link the production increase to any current crisis.

The ”KUB-M” shelter is said to defend against a variety of threats including shrapnel, debris and fires. (Read more from “Russia Begins Mass Production of Radiation-Resistant Bomb Shelters” HERE)

Bombshell Poll Reveals Majority of Ukrainians Think ‘Territorial Concession Required’

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More than two years of death and destruction later, the majority of Ukrainians want the country to negotiate to end the war with Russia immediately.

A new poll released Tuesday revealed that 52% of Ukrainians want peace to be negotiated as soon as possible and nearly four in 10 Ukrainians (38%) want the country to fight until victory, according to a Gallup poll conducted between August and October.

The current attitudes toward the war reflect a massive shift from the overwhelming view at the beginning of the conflict.

The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians wanted to fight until victory (73%) after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in the immediate months after the war.

Support for the fight did not appear to slip in 2023, though more than twice as many Ukrainians at the time wanted to continue fighting (63%) over negotiating peace (27%). (Read more from “Bombshell Poll Reveals Majority of Ukrainians Think ‘Territorial Concession Required’” HERE)

Famous Ballet Dancer And Putin Critic Falls Out Of Building, Dies: REPORT

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Renowned Russian ballet star Vladimir Shklyarov reportedly died Saturday at the age of 39 after falling from the fifth-story balcony of a building in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Shklyarov was a vocal advocate for ending the war against Ukraine since the initial invasion in 2022, and it remains unclear whether his outspoken stance on Putin’s war could be related to his death. However, many critics of Putin have suffered unexplained early deaths that include mysterious circumstances, according to a 2024 report issued by Newsweek. Shklyarov was the top-ranking dancer at the Mariinsky Theater, according to TMZ.

Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti reported that authorities have begun an investigation into Shklyarov’s death, but initial findings suggest the famous dancer’s fall was accidental, according to TMZ.

Shklyarov’s died two days prior to a scheduled complex spinal surgery, and local news outlet Fontanka reported that he had been using painkillers for his ailments. (Read more from “Famous Ballet Dancer And Putin Critic Falls Out Of Building, Dies: REPORT” HERE)

WWIII Watch: Biden Reportedly Approves Ukraine Long-Range Missile Strikes in Russia Before Trump Comes to Power

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Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has reportedly approved the use of long-range American missiles by Ukraine to strike within the Russian mainland, in a move which may escalate the conflict two months before President-Elect Donald Trump comes into office with a mandate to seek a peace settlement.

According to reports from the Democrat-aligned Washington Post and New York Times newspapers, both citing unnamed U.S. officials, lame-duck President Joe Biden has lifted restrictions barring Ukraine from using American Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles to strike targets within Russia.

The Biden White House previously approved the use of ATACMS by Kyiv to strike Russian targets within Ukrainian territory, including Russian-occupied lands such as Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Moscow under the Obama administration in 2014. The Biden administration had also approved the use of shorter-range American missiles for limited cross-border strikes within Russia.

However, President Biden had been hesitant to permit the Ukrainians to use ATACMS within Russia for fear of escalating the conflict, with reported concerns over the world’s largest nuclear power potentially using more powerful weapons within Ukraine, Moscow increasing assistance to American adversaries such as the Islamist regime in Iran or to the Houthi terrorists in Yemen in their quest to disrupt global shipping.

The apparent about-face from the Biden administration may be seen as an attempt to undermine peace efforts by incoming President Donald Trump, who has already embarked upon unofficial diplomatic efforts to fulfil his promise of negotiating an end to the war. (Read more from “WWIII Watch: Biden Reportedly Approves Ukraine Long-Range Missile Strikes in Russia Before Trump Comes to Power” HERE)

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Ukraine’s Plan for International Suicide: Zelensky May Build a Nuke If Trump Doesn’t Support War

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Ukraine could develop a rudimentary nuclear bomb within months if Donald Trump withdraws US military assistance, according to a briefing paper prepared for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

The country would quickly be able to build a basic device from plutonium with a similar technology to the “Fat Man” bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945, the report states. “Creating a simple atomic bomb, as the United States did within the framework of the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years later,” the document reads.

With no time to build and run the large facilities required to enrich uranium, wartime Ukraine would have to rely instead on using plutonium extracted from spent fuel rods taken from Ukraine’s nuclear reactors.

Ukraine still controls nine operational reactors and has significant nuclear expertise despite having given up the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal in 1996. The report says: “The weight of reactor plutonium available to Ukraine can be estimated at seven tons … A significant nuclear weapons arsenal would require much less material … the amount of material is sufficient for hundreds of warheads with a tactical yield of several kilotons.” . . .

“That would be enough to destroy an entire Russian airbase or concentrated military, industrial or logistics installations. The exact nuclear yield would be unpredictable because it would use different isotopes of plutonium,” said the report’s author, Oleksii Yizhak, head of department at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies, a government research centre that acts as an advisory body to the presidential office and the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine. (Read more from “Ukraine’s Plan for International Suicide: Zelensky May Build a Nuke If Trump Doesn’t Support War” HERE)