tyb
https://www.rt.com/news/612781-us-caution-f-16-friendly-fire/
Ukrainian F-16 downed by friendly fire – WSJ
The crash may have been due to a lack of coordination between ground and air forces, an editor at the outlet has claimed
Ukraine may have accidentally shot down one of its own F-16 fighter jets due to the Biden administration’s decision to withhold critical coordination technology, according to a column by a member of The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board on Friday.
The crash in late August killed Ukrainian pilot Aleksey Mes, 30, who had recently returned from training in Denmark. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said at the time that an F-16 fighter jet had crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack. Moscow did not comment on the incident. An investigation is ongoing.
The crash is likely to have been a case of friendly fire involving Ukraine’s western-provided Patriot air defense system, columnist Jillian Kay Melchior claimed, citing a Ukrainian lawmaker and other sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The allegation was first made by Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuglaya days after the crash. Melchior cited a source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation as saying that physical evidence at the crash site suggested the jet was shot down by a missile.
According to Melchior, the Biden administration withheld the Link 16 tactical network, a key technology that helps ground-based air defense systems distinguish between friendly and enemy aircraft. Link 16 provides real-time situational awareness by connecting all network members, including aircraft, ground units, and air defense.
Neither Ukraine’s F-16s nor its Patriot systems were equipped with Link 16 when the jets arrived in Ukraine in mid-2024, the column noted.
”Link 16 is such a vital and sensitive tool that the US might have been reluctant to provide it – in keeping with the abundance of caution that characterized the Biden administration’s Ukraine policy.”
While the US has been one of Ukraine’s largest military backers, delivery of advanced weaponry was often delayed over concerns about escalating the conflict with Russia. Washington initially hesitated to provide long-range missiles, advanced air defense systems, and fighter jets, only to approve their transfer after months of debate.
The F-16s, delivered to Kiev by Denmark and the Netherlands, were seen as a potential game-changer. However, their effectiveness has been limited by outdated radar systems and the absence of Link 16. Ukraine has received fewer than 20 F-16s so far, and the crash in August was the first reported loss of one of the aircraft.
https://www.rt.com/news/612756-media-zelensky-declines-us-minerals-accord/
Zelensky refused to sign rare earths deal with US – media
President Trump has said he wants access to the country’s natural resources in exchange for American aid
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has declined to sign an agreement that would give the US access to his country’s rare earth minerals, Washington Post reporter Josh Rogin and Reuters have claimed.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump made it clear that he wanted Kiev to pay for the assistance it has received from Washington with its natural resources.
According to the 2024 World Economic Forum report, Ukraine “holds immense potential as a major global supplier of critical raw materials” that could be “essential” for defense, the technology sector, and green energy. The nation boasts Europe’s largest titanium and lithium reserves, which are not classified as rare-earth elements.
Kiev also has considerable beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel deposits.
In a post on X on Friday, the Washington Post’s Rogin claimed that “multiple lawmakers here in Munich told me the US Congressional delegation presented Zelensky with a piece of paper they wanted him to sign which would grant the US rights to 50% of Ukraine’s future mineral reserves. Zelensky politely declined to sign it.”
Reuters also cited anonymous members of the Ukrainian delegation at the Munich Security Conference as saying essentially the same thing. The supposed meeting between the Ukrainian leader and a bipartisan group of US lawmakers reportedly lasted 90 minutes.
According to the agency, Zelensky “felt he was being asked unreasonably to sign something he hadn’t had a chance to read,” with two of the sources describing the proposal as “one-sided.” Kiev still needs to work out “some details,” according to the report.
On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Kiev, where he presented the draft to the Ukrainian leader. In an interview with Reuters last week, Zelensky said he would like to have a mutually beneficial partnership with the US as opposed to simply giving Ukraine’s natural resources away.
Zelensky acknowledged however, that a large chunk of mineral-rich territories is currently under Russian control.
According to Forbes, around $7 trillion worth of Ukraine’s total mineral wealth is located in what is now the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which joined Russia in 2022.
Ukraine has “tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earth [and] in terms of oil and gas,” President Trump told Fox News this week.
He stated he had told the leadership in Kiev “that I want the equivalent, like $500 billion worth of rare earths, and they’ve essentially agreed to do that.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/612698-nuclear-facilities-strikes-kiev/
Moscow responds to Chernobyl strike accusation
An alleged drone incident at the facility could have been a Ukrainian provocation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said
The Russian military does not target nuclear infrastructure, including what remains on the site of the destroyed Chernobyl power plant, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky had alleged earlier in the day that a Russian drone had attacked the containment structure built over what remains of the Soviet power facility which was devastated in a 1986 disaster. Zelensky reported “significant damage” in the incident.
Peskov stated that any claims that Russia is targeting nuclear facilities are false by default. He said he has no verified information about the situation, but assumed that most likely it was “the latest provocation, a frame up” orchestrated by Kiev. He added: “This is what they love doing.”
The Chernobyl protective dome, also known as the New Safe Confinement, was built in the 2010s to protect the remains of the destroyed reactor 4 unit from the elements and prevent the escape of contaminated material into the environment. The project cost a reported €2.1 billion ($2.2 bn) in international funding.
The alleged drone incident came days after the administration of US President Donald Trump ruled out Ukraine’s accession to NATO or restoration of control over all of its claimed territories as part of a potential peace deal with Russia. Zelensky had previously called both goals essential for Ukraine’s interests.
Russian officials have warned that Kiev could resort to extreme measures, including false flag operations meant to frame Moscow, in an attempt to derail Washington’s peace efforts and ensure the continued flow of Western aid to Kiev.
https://www.rt.com/africa/612648-south-africa-stance-against-us-pressure/
‘We will not be bullied’: This nation refuses to bow down to US pressure
Tensions between South Africa and the US have revealed deep and fundamental contradictions
At the start of 2025, tensions between South Africa and the US sharply escalated. It all started when the media published documents related to the correspondence between Starlink and South Africa’s state regulator for telecommunications and broadcasting, ICASA. Elon Musk’s company described the legislative requirement for the telecommunications business to be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups as a “barrier” to investment.
Then, on his social media platform, Truth Social, US President Donald Trump criticized the South African government for its land reform policy, which aims to redistribute land from the white minority to the black majority. “South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump said.
Finally, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he would not attend the G20 summit in South Africa later this month. “South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’ In other words: DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and climate change,” he said.
This ‘offensive’ culminated in an executive order signed by Trump on February 7, declaring that “as long as South Africa continues these unjust and immoral practices… the United States shall not provide aid or assistance to South Africa.”
As a result, South Africa lost about $400 million in international development aid, primarily aimed at combating HIV/AIDS. The rationale behind the order includes the previously mentioned points, along with criticism regarding South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its ties with Iran.
To win back Washington’s favor, South Africa may need to ease restrictions on foreign investors, particularly regarding local requirements (that is, allowing Starlink to operate), abandon the land reform initiative, withdraw the ICC lawsuit against Israel, and reduce ties with countries of the Global South.
Never before have the pain points in US-South Africa relations been exposed so strongly.
However, the contradictions run so deep that it seems unlikely they can be quickly resolved by the new US administration. Doing so would require fundamental changes in South Africa’s domestic and foreign policies, and reversing the course the country has followed since 1994, when apartheid was dismantled.
Despite extensive trade and economic ties with the US – annual trade exceeds $20 billion and American investments in South Africa surpass $7 billion (compared to China’s $6 billion) – the political relationship between the US and South Africa has historically been complex. This is driven by several factors, including South Africa’s independent foreign policy, its BRICS membership, strategic partnerships with China and Russia, and deliberate neutrality regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Already during the Biden administration, the US Congress introduced a bill to reassess relations with South Africa, criticizing the African National Congress (ANC) party for its policies, including foreign affairs.
With the change in US leadership, another problem emerged when US Secretary of State Rubio criticized South African authorities over the DEI agenda. The ANC has governed South Africa since 1994, and, influenced by leftist ideas, emerged from anti-colonial movements and struggles against racial discrimination. At that time, these ideas primarily focused on universal human values and equality – including racial, gender, social, and class equality – which were especially relevant for South Africa, given the apartheid regime that existed from 1948 to 1994.
For a country composed of diverse social, racial, ethnic, and religious groups, the concept of the Rainbow Nation, symbolizing national reconciliation and diversity, has been the foundation of post-apartheid restoration. The concept was popularized by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was convinced that the new South Africa must be inclusive to overcome its deep-seated divisions, uniting various racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural communities.
moar..
https://www.rt.com/news/612700-us-cut-embassies-staff/
US embassies told to reduce staff – media
Diplomatic missions have reportedly been directed to trim their workforce by 10%
The US State Department has directed embassies worldwide to prepare for staff reductions, ABC News and Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources.
Some diplomatic missions have been instructed to consider reducing both US and locally employed staff by 10%, Reuters wrote, citing sources close to the matter.
Senior embassy officials have reportedly been asked to compile comprehensive lists of all employees, including tenured, untenured, and temporary staff, sources familiar with the issue told ABC News.
The reported directive was issued shortly before US President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “One Voice for America’s Foreign Relations,” which mandates that State Department staff align with his administration’s foreign policy goals.
The order emphasizes the need for the US secretary of state to maintain an “exceptional workforce of patriots”
In line with efforts to cut costs, the Trump administration is also considering eliminating several US consulates and diplomatic posts around the world, NBC News reported on Wednesday. Consulates in Europe, Canada, Mexico, and the Pacific Islands are among those under review, the outlet said. Officials have reportedly been asked to assess the relevance of these facilities to Trump’s America First agenda, considering factors such as diplomatic necessity and potential additional government activities like military contacts and intelligence gathering.
The moves are part of President Trump’s broader initiative to reshape the federal workforce. He has proposed a 10% reduction in government employees, in a move to streamline operations and reduce costs. The US administration has already initiated extensive layoffs of probationary workers, impacting nearly all who have not yet attained civil service protection.
Additionally, the administration has launched the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk, in order to streamline federal operations with a target of trimming $2 trillion in expenditures from the federal budget. Musk has acknowledged that achieving this goal is a long shot, while suggesting that the drive might result in achieving $1 trillion in cuts.
As part of its cost-cutting measures, DOGE has already implemented significant reductions, including the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), as well as imposing severe restrictions on National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants as part of a broader strategy to eliminate wasteful spending and increase government efficiency.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/american-man-arrested-moscow-airport-cannabis-gummies-days-after-marc-fogel-swap
American Man Arrested At Moscow Airport For Cannabis Gummies, Days After Marc Fogel Swap
by Tyler Durden
Saturday, Feb 15, 2025 - 06:55 AM
Just days ago the Trump administration was able to finally secure the release of American school teacher Marc Fogel from Russian prison, who spent over three years in custody after being arrested for what he said was medical cannabis in August 2021.
But already Russia has another American in its custody, as Russian news agencies have reported a US citizen has been arrested for "drug smuggling" after being caught passing through Moscow's Vnukovo Airport with THC gummies.
The man, who had arrived from Istanbul, has yet to be identified but his age was given as 28. This comes after several Americans were caught in similar circumstances, most famously WBNBA start Brittney Griner.
"While passing customs, one of his suitcases drew the attention of a service dog," TASS reported of a Russia's Federal Customs Service statement. "During the customs search, inspectors found two plastic jars and a zip-bag with the candy in it… Chemical analysis showed narcotic substances of the cannabinoid group in it."
Like with the Fogel case, the newly detained man has "claimed that the sweets were prescribed by a doctor in the United States and that he needed them for traveling," according to TASS.
In the prior several years amid the Ukraine war, the Biden administration accused the Kremlin of detaining Americans on baseless charges in order to hold them as bargaining chips.
For example, Griner's release (in Dec. 2022) was secured in exchange for notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout earlier in the war, a controversial trade to say the least. And Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich were released last August in prisoner swaps.
Russia still holds several Americans, including:
ballerina Ksenia Karelina
retired English teacher Stephen Hubbard
former US Marine Robert Gilman
As for the newest incident involving the 28-year old, it goes without saying that at this point no one should be trying to enter Russia with cannabis or any other drug, whether for 'medical' purposes or not, as clearly the country's authorities are not messing around.
kekkity kek kek
rotfkmoa
G'Day Fren
>>22589531
global reported