16 Mar, 2025 13:33

Kiev vows to continue offensive in Russia’s Kursk region

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Ukraine’s encircled troops in the area the chance to surrender and thus preserve their lives

Ukraine’s forces in Russia’s Kursk Region will continue their operations, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga stated in an interview on Saturday, despite the troops being largely encircled, according to both Moscow and Washington.

Speaking with Japan’s NHK, Sibiga claimed that Kiev had achieved its main objectives in the offensive but seeshaving a continued presence on Russian territory as providing leverage in future peace negotiations.

Ukraine launched its incursion across the internationally recognized Russian border into Kursk Region last August, capturing the town of Sudzha and numerous villages. However, the Russian military quickly halted the advance and has since been reclaiming lost ground. Russian General Staff Chief ValeryGerasimov said on Wednesday that 86% of the land previously occupied by Ukrainian forceshad been retaken, leaving the remaining troops “encircled” and “isolated.”

“As officially announced by General [Aleksandr] Syrsky, we are continuing the operation in Kursk Region and will continue to do so,” Sibiga stated.

“The operation in Kursk Region isan important factor and a key point of discussion in future peace negotiations,”he added.

The fate of the Ukrainian troops fighting in Kursk was addressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, he said that he was open to the idea of a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Washington and Kiev at their recent talks in Saudi Arabia but stressed that the issue of the incursion forces, among others, must be resolved before Moscow could agree.

On Friday,US President Donald Trumpacknowledged that “thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military and in a very bad and vulnerable position” in Kursk Region andurged Moscow to “spare” their lives. In response,Putin offered the servicemen guaranteed safetyand merciful treatment if they surrender.

Kiev, meanwhile, has staunchly deniedthat its forces in Kursk Region are surrounded. In a post on Telegram on Saturday, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky acknowledged that the situation in the area is “difficult” for Ukraine but stated that “there is no encirclement of our troops.” (Russia or the U.S. should show a satellite image of Ukraine forces surrounded)

https://www.rt.com/russia/614312-kiev-vow-kursk-offensive/

What participant wants Peace? Kiev revealed they never wanted Peace?This only proves the “supposed innocent” victim Ukraine, never intended on stopping the war.Kiev has no leverage and intends to use their lies to trick the U.S. Negotiators. The U.S. military can prove Ukraine forces are surrounded, there’s no reason for the U.S. to help them save face. Kiev leaders do not care how many more Ukrainians die, as long as they can call it a win, even when they lose.

16 Mar, 2025 13:48

Putin and Trump may agree on Ukraine ceasefire soon – US envoy

Steve Witkoff described his meeting with the Russian president as “positive”

The presidents ofRussia and the US might have a call this week to agree on a ceasefirein the Ukraine conflict, Steve Witkoff, a special envoy to US President Donald Trump, has said. Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Witkoff said he had a “positive” meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin thatlasted between three and four hours.

Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Thursday to present Putin with the details of the truce proposal agreed by American and Ukrainian officials.

“We had some really positive results coming out of Saudi Arabia, discussions led by our National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and our Secretary of State Marco Rubio.I describe my conversation with President Putin as equally positive,” the envoy said. “Back before this visit, there was another visit, and before that visit the two sides were miles apart in where they were.The two sides are today a lot closer.”

Witkoff, a real estate mogul and long-time associate of Trump, has recently taken on significant diplomatic roles, including efforts to negotiate peace in the Ukraine conflict. He led the talks in Moscow after Russia reportedly requested that Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, be removed from the negotiating process over his pro-Ukraine views. Commenting on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow has no intention of becoming involved in internal American affairs, so it’s up to Washington to decide who to appoint.

On Saturday, the US president clarified that Kellogg will be responsible for talks with Kiev.

Putin voiced support for a possible 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict but raised concerns about its implementation. He also granted Ukrainian forces encircled in Russia’s Kursk Region time to surrender, assuring them that their lives would be preserved and they would be given dignified treatment. Still, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga stated in an interview on Saturday that Ukraine’s forces in the region will continue their operations.

https://www.rt.com/russia/614315-putin-trump-ukraine-ceasefire/

16 Mar, 2025 15:35

White House explains suspension of US state-run media

President Donald Trump’s order to slash funding for VOA and its parent company aims to free Americans from paying for “radical propaganda”

US President Donald Trump’s decision to terminate government funding for Voice of America (VOA) is aimed at ensuring thattaxpayers no longer pay for “radical propaganda,” the White House has said.

In a statement on Saturday, titled ‘The Voice of Radical America’, theadministration detailed a list of infractions committed by VOA.

Trump, a long-time critic of the broadcaster, signed an executive orderslashing funding for the outlet’s parent entity, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), on Friday. The order mandates that the agency cut its operations and staff to the bare legal minimum andsubmit a compliance plan within seven days. On Saturday, VOA director Michael Abramowitz said he hadplaced nearly his entire staff of 1,300 on administrative leave following the order’s publication.

The move hasdrawn criticism from press freedom groups. National Press ClubPresident (you are next, you know that right?) Mike Balsamo claimed the cutsundermine America’s commitment to a free and independent press, whileReporters Without Borderswarned that the decision“threatens press freedom worldwide.” (Hey if the U.S. pays your salary, you are never free and independent! We own you)

The White House argued that VOA has repeatedly violated journalistic standards andaccused the outlet of systemic bias, citing over a dozen sources. Among them was Dan Robinson, a34-year VOA veteran, who last yearcalled the agency a “hubris-filled rogue operation often reflecting a leftist bias aligned with partisan national media.”

The White House also pointed to a Daily Caller report alleging thatmultiple VOA reporters had posted anti-Trump comments on social media in violationof the outlet’s impartiality policy. Additionally, it referenced a 2022 letter from US Representative Scott Perry, who accusedVOA of tolerating “coercion for partisan political purposes.”

Other alleged infractions listed by the White Houseincluded misallocation of funds and coveragethat was overly favorable to former President Joe Biden. The administration also cited a 2022 lawsuit alleging thatVOA had been “infiltrated by anti-American, pro-Islamic State interests.”

USAGM’s Trump-appointed senior adviser, Kari Lake, echoed the administration’s stance. On Saturday, she described theagency as “a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer,” and argued that it is “not salvageable.” She pledged to reduce the agency’s scope to its legal minimum, outlining her own findings of irregularities, including claims that USAGM was infiltrated by spies and terrorist sympathizers and has funded ‘fake news’ organizations.

(The Press in the U.S. and elsewhere have never been free and unbiased, since at least the early sixties, they have been subsidized by US agencies for propaganda for a long time.)

https://www.rt.com/news/614313-voa-white-house-radical-propaganda/

16 Mar, 2025 16:18

Trump worse than Covid – deputy ECB chief(Kek they haven’t seen the worst yet)

The new US administration has created more “uncertainty” than the pandemic, the European Central Bank vice president has claimed

Washington under President Donald Trump has created more “uncertainty” than the Covid-19 pandemic,Luis de Guindos, the vice president of the European Central Bank(ECB), has claimed.

The official made the remarks in an interview with The Sunday Times duringwhich he bemoaned Trump’s use of tariffs, as well as plans to reform corporate taxes and deregulate the financial system. The actions of the new US administration have been causing short-term volatility in markets while making inflation expectations and interest rates hard to predict, he said.

“We need to consider the uncertainty of the current environment, which is even higher than it was during the pandemic,” the ECB vice president said.

“What we’re seeing is thatthe new US administration isn’t very open to continuing with multilateralism, which is about cooperation across jurisdictions and finding common solutions for common problems. This is a very important change, and a big source of uncertainty,” he added.

Concerns over what Trump might do next have also damaged consumer confidence, de Guindos believes, noting that the long-awaited increase in business investment and household consumption has not arrived.He blamed the decline in Eurozone growth projections on the actions of the new US administration.(Are you freakin kidding me the EU brought it upon themselves, they are pissed Trump is doing reciprocal tariffs, that’s it!)

“Real wages have increased, inflation is declining, interest rates are coming down and financing conditions are better. But still, the reality is that consumption is not picking up,” he said. (The EU ruined their own economy by giving billions to Ukraine, so they blame it on the US.)

“This is because consumers don’t always react to developments in their short-term real disposable income. They also consider what might happen with the economy over the medium term, which is clouded in uncertainty.=The possibility of a trade war or wider geopolitical conflict has an impact on consumer confidence,” the official added, describingtrade wars as a “lose-lose situation for everybody.”(so the EU should stop their trade war on the US!)

Trump’s 25% tariff hike on steel and aluminum supplies from the EU took effect last week after previous exemptions and exclusions expired. Brussels has already vowed to retaliate, promising what it called “swift and proportionate”countermeasures.

The European Commission has condemned Trump’s disruptive and “unjustified” tariffs, pledging to impose counter-tariffs on €26 billion (over $28 billion) worth of US goods starting in April. “Tariffs are taxes, they are bad,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said when announcing the retaliatory measures. (So why are you hiding all your punitive measures on the U.S. with different terms?)

(https://www.rt.com/news/614316-trump-covid-uncertainty-ecb/

15 Mar, 2025 03:05

Vance warns EU of ‘civilizational suicide’

The US vice president has said he wants the “cradle of Christian civilization” to thrive

Many European countries could be on the brink of “civilizational suicide”due to their lax border control policies and restrictions on free speech, US Vice President J.D. Vance has warned, echoing remarks he made at the Munich Security Conference last month.

In an interview with Fox News published on Friday,Vance highlighted the deep cultural and religious ties between the US and Europe, referring to the continent as “the cradle of Western civilization,” which he argued is now at great risk.

“The entire idea of Christian civilization that led to the founding of the United States of America was formed in Europe. The cultural bonds, the religious bonds – these things are going to last beyond political disagreements,” Vance said.

But I think that Europe – and frankly, I would have said this about America a year ago – is at risk, I think, of engaging in civilizational suicide.

Vance warned that a reluctance or inability to control borders, combined with efforts to restrict free speech when citizens protest issues like illegal immigration, could have serious consequences.

“They are unable or unwilling– too many countries –to control their borders… You see them starting to limit the free speech of their own citizens even as those citizens are protesting against things like the border invasion that got [US President] Donald Trump and a number of European leaders elected,” the vice president explained, expressing hope that European countries will begin to address these issues.

Responding to criticism that his stance could strain relations between the US and its European partners,Vance argued that honest discussions between allies are essential.

“If you have a country like Germany, where youhave another few million immigrants come in from countries that are totally culturally incompatible with Germany, then it doesn’t matter what I think about Europe,” he stated.

Vance added that unchecked immigration in the EU could have repercussions for the US, as some individuals might eventually seek entry into America.

“I want Europe to thrive. I want them to be an important ally. Part of that is going to be Europe respecting its own people, respecting its own sovereignty, and America can’t do that job for them,” he said.

In February, Vance delivered a fiery speech at the Munich Security Conference, criticizing European leaders for fearing their own voters and failing to uphold democratic valueswhile censoring opposing voices under the pretext of combating “disinformation.”

“The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor…what I worry about is the threat from within,” Vance said in a speech that Trump later described as “very brilliant.”

https://www.rt.com/news/614253-vance-europe-civilizational-suicide/

He’s right the EU and Europe have taken Joe’s plan to alienate and persecute the country born citizen, and welcome invasion! Thats why they hate Russia.