RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 30.12.2024
Including geopolitical issues affecting the balance of power in the ongoing end game war to establish our common future, a closely monitored prison planet or tolerance for diverse modes of governance.
We would like to thank you and to wish all those who regularly receive and open our newsletter a very happy holiday period. May you find warmth and joy during all these days with your families.
We hope with you that 2025 will bring humanity more to its senses, realising that to survive we must start to get along with each other, mend broken fences and bridges, and progress to the better world that is possible… together.
THE RUSSIAN VICTORY AGAINST THE WEST & ITS UKRAINIAN PUPPETS IS INEVITABLE. THE ONLY QUESTION NOW IS HOW MUCH OF UKRAINE WILL REMAIN AFTERWARDS.
COLLECTIVE WEST | RUSSIA
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN: Oreshnik Power Confirmed; Russia Takes Kurakhovo; Zelensky Gas Row; US Kiev Aid Damp Squib.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU of THE DURAN: LAVROV, we stopped paying attention to Elensky. EU prepares big ENERGY WAR. Al-Jolani suit & tie.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Putin on Rescuer's Day.
DANNY HAIPHONG - PEPE ESCOBAR: Russia BRACES for War as Putin Drops BOMBSHELL on NATO, Oreshnik Terrifies Kiev.
DANIEL DAVIS: How Ukraine is Losing the Attrition War with Russia.
SEBASTIAN SAS: Ukraine’s DISASTER In KURSK Is Now Complete.
DDGEOPOLITICS: Sunday Spotlight: Donbass Visit & Week in Review.
EMIL COSMAN: Ukrainian Pilot surrenders to the Rus. West+Ukr Sober up, accept defeat? Rus cuts all Gas to Moldova.
LEVAN GUDADZE: The Final Countdown Before US - Russia Large-Scale Escalation? Fate of Russia's Bases in Syria...
REAL REPORTER: Inside Russia's Elite Drone Unit.
THROUGH THE EYES OF… ANIA: Follow the Children = Follow the Money / from Ukraine to Europe.
CYRUS JANSSEN: How Russia Survived 16,000 Sanctions (Genius Strategy).
RUSSIA'S NEW THUNDER: A Hypersonic Weapon That Could Obliterate New York in 60 Seconds.
Mass Destruction: Russian Forces Burn German Tanks in a Day.
BORZZIKMAN: This Genius Strategy by Putin Shook NATO To Its KNEES: The North Atlantic Alliance is DONE.
PROFESSOR JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER: Why is Ukraine the West's Fault?
PROFESSOR JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER: The most important video on Ukraine.
Major Winners and Losers of Halting Russian Gas Transit Through Ukraine.
As the Ukraine gas transit contract with Russia is set to end, Ukraine’s largest private energy company DTEK received its first delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US on December 27.
Winners
US LNG producers:
The halting of Russia's gas deliveries through Ukraine will increase the US share and reduce competition in the EU market.
The latest US LNG delivery amounts to 100 million cubic meters of gas (1 TWh of energy, or 3,530,000 MMBtu), bought by D.Trading, DTEK’s pan-European trading subsidiary. The shipment arrived at Greek LNG terminals such as Revithoussa, where it will be "re-gasified" and distributed "through EU and Ukrainian gas networks,"according to DTEK. One network, the Vertical Corridor, will transmit US LNG deliveries between Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
LNG from the US for Europe is at least 30-40% more expensive than pipeline gas from Russia.
In December 2022, the US became the world’s leading exporter of LNG amid Europe's energy crisis and the sabotage attack on Russia's Nord Stream pipelines.
Ukraine: Ukraine will lose almost $1 billion annually from Russian gas transit fees. Additionally, Ukraine is likely to pay more for US LNG coming through the Revithoussa LNG terminal than for Russian pipeline gas, which used to come in the form of a "virtual reverse."
Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia which have long relied on Russian gas transit through Ukraine, will face challenges. Being landlocked, access to LNG delivered to marine terminals is costly and difficult. Long-term contracts with Russia's Gazprom allowed them to buy natural gas considerably cheaper than EU gas spot prices. For instance, Austria had been receiving Russian gas at a price almost three times cheaper than EU spot prices in 2022, according to Reuters.
European Union: After sliding to $11.79/MMBtu in October, European gas prices rose to almost $15/MMBtu on November 22. On December 27, benchmark futures rose further by 5% on the news of halted Russian gas transit through Ukraine. Stopping the supply of Russian gas through Ukraine will cost Europe around $125 billion in total losses in 2025-2026, according to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Speaking of Moscow’s military bases in the country, Ahmed al-Sharaa has said Damascus has “strategic interests” with one of the world powers.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa.
The new Syrian authorities led by Islamists Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) would like to remain on good terms with Russia, the country’s de facto leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa has said. Also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, he suggested in an interview with broadcaster Al Arabiya on Sunday that his government would not necessarily be seeking the withdrawal of Moscow’s military installations from the country.
After the militant groups in Syria took control of Damascus and forced former President Bashar Assad to resign, the fate of Russian troops stationed in Syria at Khmeimim and Tartus bases came into question. Moscow operates the Khmeimim Air Base and a logistics support center in Tartus, both situated in the country’s Mediterranean coast. In 2017, Russia and Syria agreed to station Moscow’s troops there for 49 years.
Syria has “strategic interests” in maintaining good relations with the “second most powerful country in the world,” al-Sharaa said.
“We don’t want Russia to exit Syria in a way that would not be befitting for its long-standing relations” with the Middle Eastern nation, the HTS chief emphasized. According to al-Sharaa, the new authorities in Damascus want to avoid conflicts with foreign powers.
Earlier this month, he similarly told reporters that the “Syrian leadership was keen to avoid provoking Russia,” and was willing to give Moscow the “opportunity to re-evaluate the relationship with Syria in a way that serves common interests”.
Speaking to RIA Novosti on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that the accords stipulating the presence of Russian military personnel in Syria were “valid” and had been “concluded under the norms of international law.”
The diplomat clarified that Russia was prepared to discuss the future of its military installations with the new authorities in Damascus once the declared transition period, which runs until March 1, has expired.
Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is maintaining “contact with the representatives of the forces in charge of the situation in [Syria], and everything will be decided through dialogue.”
Around the same time, TASS reported, citing anonymous sources, that Moscow had “secured temporary security guarantees, so the military bases are operating as usual.”
Several armed opposition groups, spearheaded by HTS, launched a sudden offensive in late November. This operation saw them swiftly capture vast territories across Syria in a matter of days, culminating in the dramatic seizure of the capital, Damascus. The speed and scale of their advance stunned both regional and international observers, leaving the Syrian government in disarray. Assad was forced to relinquish his position and flee the country, ultimately seeking asylum in Russia.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU & ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN: South Korea political crisis deepens.
VIJAY PRASHAD - PROFESSOR MOHAMMAD MARANDI: Syria War Exposed.
COLONEL JACQUES BAUD: Israel Facing Devastating Reality.
JIMMY DORE - MAX BLUMENTHAL: U.S., Israel, Turkey & Al Qaeda CARVING UP Syria.
KATIE HALPER: The SHOCKING TRUE Death Toll In Gaza With Palestinian Writer Susan Abulhawa.
GEORGE GALLOWAY: MOATS with George Galloway - EP 408.
GEORGE GALLOWAY: Al-Qaeda in suits.
COLLECTIVE WEST | BRICS
CARL ZHA: How China deals with US provocation.
Potential Features of China's 6th Generation Aircraft.
MICHAEL RUTLAND: The Unstoppable Rise Of Asia: Bhutan Leads The Way.
USA
US homelessness hits new record.
Critics say inadequate recording methods may be understating the scale of the crisis.
A homeless person takes shelter in a subway station in New York, United States.
The number of homeless people in the United States has reached a record level since the federal government began tracking teh figures in 2007. According to data released this week, almost three quarters of a million people, 771,000 are homeless in America, an increase of 18% compared to 2023, marking the sharpest annual rise in decades.
The figure published by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday translates to approximately 23 out of every 10,000 people in the US. The increase follows a 12% rise in 2023, which the department attributed to skyrocketing rents and to the conclusion of pandemic assistance.
A severe lack of affordable housing nationwide is being compounded by “rising inflation, stagnating wages among middle- and lower-income households, and the persisting effects of systemic racism,” natural disasters, and an influx of migrants without access to stable housing, according to the HUD statement.
Median rent was up 20% in January 2024 from rent costs for the same month three years earlier, the National Low Income Housing Coalition wrote in March.
According to the HUD, there has been a 39% increase this year in the number of individuals in families with children who depended on shelters or slept outside. This amounts to approximately 259,000 people, the highest figure recorded since data collection began.
The report also shows that nearly 150,000 children were homeless on the targeted January night, a 33% increase from the previous year’s count. Meanwhile, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness declined by 8% from 2023.
The new homelessness figures come amid the Biden administration’s pledge to increase funding for affordable housing and expand services aimed at preventing homelessness. However, advocacy groups argue that more systemic reforms are needed, such as stronger tenant protections, rent controls, and a focus on mental health and addiction services.
The US Supreme Court ruled in June that cities may ban homeless residents from sleeping outside; more than 100 jurisdictions around the country have since taken steps in that direction, Associated Press writes.
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Donald Trump repeatedly pointed to illegal immigration as the cause of high housing costs, vowing that his plan to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history” would lower home prices, as quoted by the New York Post. Immigration “is driving housing costs through the roof,” Trump said at a September rally in Arizona.
Slovakia Urges EU to Pay Attention to Ukraine's Decision to Stop Gas Transit From Russia.
In an open letter, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico asked the leadership of the European Union to pay attention to Ukraine's decision to stop gas transit from Russia, calling this situation unprecedented.
"I am convinced that it is in the interests of all citizens of the European Union that European efforts to support Ukraine are rational, and not in the form of self-destructive and extremely harmful gestures for the European Union. In this regard, I would like to ask you, not only on behalf of Slovakia, but first and foremost on behalf of the entire European Union, to pay due attention to this unprecedented situation and attach urgent importance to it," Fico said in an open letter addressed to the heads of the European Commission and the European Council.
Fico recalled that Volodymyr Zelensky "unilaterally, without any open consultation with the bodies of the European Union or the Member States concerned, announced that after January 1, 2025, Ukraine will not ensure any transit of gas through its territory to Slovakia and other recipients in Western Europe."
The European Union's ignoring of Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to stop gas transit through Ukrainian territory will lead to tensions and retaliatory measures, Fico warned.
PATRICK LANCASTER: Georgia Protesters LOST? It's OVER? President Leaves Palace.
‘Hardline Critic of the West’: What’s to Know About Georgia’s New President?
Mikheil Kavelashvili took his oath on the Bible and the Georgian constitution, swearing to serve the country’s national interests amid a political standoff.
On December 29, Mikheil Kavelashvili was sworn in as Georgia’s new president in an inauguration at parliament that was attended by members of the ruling Georgian Dream party and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Who is Georgia’s new president and how does the US meddle in internal affairs of the former Soviet republic?
Mikheil Kavelashvili's Record
A former Dinamo Tbilisi and Manchester City football player, Kavelashvili was appointed president by the parliament during the December 14 elections, in which 224 out of 225 members of Georgia's electoral college voted for the only candidate on the ballot.
The 53-year-old is a founder of the People's Power party, allied with the Georgian Dream and known for being the main voice for anti-Western sentiments in Georgia. The Guardian recently called him "a pro-Russia, hardline critic of the West."
Kavelashvili has repeatedly said that Western intelligence agencies are seeking to drive Georgia into war with Russia.
He accused opposition parties of acting as a "fifth column" directed from abroad, slamming outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili as a "chief agent". The new president accused her of violating the constitution and declared that he would "restore the presidency to its constitutional framework.”
The footballer-turned-politician insisted that Georgian society is divided," and that "radicalization and polarization" in the country are being fueled from abroad. He pledged to do his best to unite the society "around the idea of Georgia’s identity and independence."
US Interference
Earlier this week, the US did not think twice before sanctioning Georgian Dream party’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili for allegedly "undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation," according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In September, the US cited the aforementioned allegations as it slapped sanctions on Zviad Kharazishvili, head of the Department for Special Assignments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and his deputy Mileri Lagazauri. Georgian Dream spokesman Givi Mikanadze denounced the sanctions as "interference in the pre-election processes and an attempt to influence the will of voters."
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), in turn, said in a statement in July that Moscow has data that indicates Washington’s determination to seek a change of power in Georgia following the results of the parliamentary elections in the small Caucasian nation on October 26, which was finally won by the Georgian Dream.
According to the SVR, the US instructors have already given the command to the opposition forces in Georgia to start planning protests in the country timed to coincide with the elections.
The October 26 elections saw Georgian Dream obtain 54.2% of the votes, with the four opposition parties together gaining 37.33%. The remaining political forces failed to overcome the 5% ceiling needed to make it to the parliament.
EMIL COSMAN: Courageous Elon Musk supports Alternative For Germany Party. TRUTH terrifies German "Media."
EU states seek to protect Russian gas flow despite Ukrainian threat – Bloomberg.
Central European nations are weighing options to secure energy supplies before a transit deal between Moscow and Kiev expires.
Slovakia's prime minister Robert Fico.
Countries in central and southern Europe are exploring solutions to ensure the continued flow of Russian natural gas, as a key transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine is set to expire on December 31, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources.
Kiev has refused to extend the agreement, citing ongoing tensions and unresolved disputes with Moscow.
Slovakia, Hungary, Austria and Italy are reportedly pursuing alternative strategies to avoid disruptions to their gas supplies. Among the options considered is a commercial agreement that bypasses the need for a renewed intergovernmental deal between Kiev and Moscow, Bloomberg wrote in a report on Saturday.
This could involve Slovakia and other Central European countries striking direct contracts with Russian energy giant Gazprom, ensuring uninterrupted gas flows despite Ukraine's objections.
Slovakia’s state gas utility, Slovenský Plynárenský Priemysel AS (SPP), is also in discussions with Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company SOCAR. According to reports, one potential solution could involve a gas swap between SOCAR and Gazprom, where the Azeri company would purchase equivalent volumes of Russian gas to supply European buyers.
Azerbaijan’s gas exports already reach several EU countries through the Southern Gas Corridor, an infrastructure project designed to reduce dependence on Russian gas. The strategy was adopted by the EU following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also proposed moving the location of Russian gas sales to the physical border between Russia and Ukraine, which would transfer gas ownership to European buyers and oblige Kiev to ensure transit under its free-trade agreement with the EU, Bloomberg wrote, citing persons familiar with the matter.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that various proposals have been discussed, involving Hungary, Slovakia, Türkiye, or Azerbaijan. He noted, however, that any such arrangement would be difficult to enact because of Gazprom’s long-term contracts.
Ukraine is punishing Europe by banning the transit of Russian gas, which will become more expensive, the Russian leader argued.
Moscow has also insisted that it’s ready to continue supplying natural gas to the EU.
Although only about 5% of the EU’s total gas supply now transits through Ukraine, the route remains vital for landlocked countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the EU has sought to reduce its reliance on Russian gas, shifting toward alternatives such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and increased imports from Azerbaijan via the Southern Gas Corridor.
Before February 2022, Russia was the bloc’s top gas supplier, accounting for more than 40% of its imports. Last year, Russian gas made up around 8% of EU imports.
AFRICA
Ukraine’s ‘Second Front’ in Africa: Zelensky ‘Will Bite Dust’ There.
The Kiev regime, unable to defeat Russia on the battlefield, has opened a "second front" in Africa by aligning with terrorist groups in Mali and Niger, both of which have already severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine, said the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Ukraine's opening of a "second front" on the African continent is "a desperate move aimed at media sensation, with no clear vision and strategy," Professor Alexis Habiyaremye, Research Chair in Industrial Development at the University of Johannesburg, told Sputnik.
Context for Ukraine in Africa
It is unclear what Ukraine's strategy in Africa is "beyond participation in destabilization" of the continent, he said, mentioning the Confederation of Sahel States, which are "led by a vision of sovereignty that is stronger than Ukrainian hatred and racism."
"African countries are motivated by the determination to wrest their full independence from the neocolonial Western powers, while Ukraine is acting erratically based on anger and frustration. [Volodymyr] Zelensky and his agents will certainly bite the dust in Africa," Habiyaremye stressed.
Ukrainian intelligence services "have unashamedly claimed to collaborate" with terrorist groups in Africa, "hoping to destabilize Russian security partners, and by doing so, to discredit Russia," the analyst added, pointing to "the blanket impunity granted to Ukraine by its Western backers."
The professor singled out the Sahel region, where he said the Kiev regime relied on "French logistics and American satellite technology" to help "terrorists ambush troops of Malian Armed Forces."
"By allying itself with terrorists to attack African countries, Ukraine has squandered any possible goodwill it could hope to get from Africa and the rest of the Global South. It is therefore unlikely to achieve anything of significance as it tied its lot with that of the terrorists," Habiyaremye concluded.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier stated that Mali’s and Niger’s decision to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine indicates the African countries’ growing understanding of the terrorist nature of the Kiev regime.
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VICTORY BELONGS TO RUSSIA: IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Each day that passes makes a conclusive Russian victory in the Donbass and beyond more certain. As Russia bolsters her forces, and weaponry, those of Ukraine decrease. Russian forces gain ready access to rest and recuperation as troop numbers increase. The increasingly exhausted and demoralised Ukrainian troops have an ever decreasing prospect of such respite. This situation is likely to bring them to complete breakdown as Russia unleashes the firepower of the more modern and advanced weaponry that is arriving with the newly mobilised Russian troops.
The various Ukrainian offensives are now weak when confronted by the reinforced Russian lines. A few futile efforts achieve quite miserable results before fire reigns down on the Ukrainian troops and they are forced back to their starting positions.
And now, all this being said, we have arrived at the wet, and later, freezing conditions where these pathetic Ukrainian forces will be subject to myriad forms of abject misery with death and injury all around them while they lie sodden or frozen, abandoned to their fate by Kiev.
The pitiable young and old of Ukraine have been frogmarched to their deaths as cannon-fodder while the bestial elites of the collective West urge their "president" to add more to their number there at the gates of Hell and their doom. We must feel for the majority of them as they are not the Nazis we revile, in most part they are decent men, fathers, sons, brothers, husband and uncles, who no doubt saw through the coup of 2014 for what it was. But sadly, their fate seems sealed.
Nothing will stop Russia now. Every factor favours them. Victory will be Russia's. In Donbass and beyond and in due course across the world.
THE RUSSIAN VICTORY AGAINST THE WEST & ITS UKRAINIAN PUPPETS IS INEVITABLE. THE ONLY QUESTION NOW IS HOW MUCH OF UKRAINE WILL REMAIN THEREAFTER.
We would like to thank you and to wish all those who regularly receive and open our newsletter a very happy holiday period. May you find warmth and joy during all these days with your families.
We hope with you that 2025 will bring humanity more to its senses, realising that to survive we must start to get along with each other, mend broken fences and bridges, and progress to the better world that is possible… together.
