War

[right]

Is that OK?

 

[armedoldhippy]

These guys were going to lose big financially. This was something that they believed in.

most everybody believes something. not all of them can be right.

 

[armedoldhippy]

Who are the evils?

they are all evil depending on your viewpoint, i'm afraid. mere fallible humans...

 

[greyfader]

Not so.

The right loves Russia and it has nothing to do with collusion (ostensibly).

Nobody really knows why yet...

But the cards have been read.

the extreme right in the US is fascist and Putler is a fascist. they recognize one another. there is something about the fascist mindset that causes them to idolize and worship a strongman father figure.

in Germany they had Hitler and Italy had Mussolini. the Russians have Putler, a.k.a. Uncle Vova, watching over them like a good shepherd. and the US has Trump. the fascist mindset needs a cult hero to unify them and make them complete. to make them feel secure.

In other words, they can't think for themselves. it's easier for them to let someone else do the thinking

 

[armedoldhippy]

it's easier for them to let someone else do the thinking

obvious now that far too many are not capable of doing it for themselves.

 

[greyfader]

the Russians have just shot down one of their own state-of-the-art fighter jets.

A SU-35, 100 million per copy in US dollars, was shot down by a S-300 sam missile.

 

[greyfader]

this shoot down occurred this last week somewhere around Tokmak. the pilot did not survive.

Russia has just started forcibly conscripting Ukrainian men in the four occupied oblast. forcing Ukrainians to fight against their fellow citizens. i predict this is not going to work well for them on the battlefield.

Putler is desperate for bodies to throw into the fight.

 

[Roms]

Under fire, a Russian soldier evacuated an injured Ukrainian from the battlefield - video​

11:21 02.10.2023

A soldier from the South Troop Group of the Russian Armed Forces evacuated an injured Ukrainian from positions that Kiev units were trying to storm. He entrusted his story to the journalists.

A video that Sputnik took possession of shows the evacuation of this Ukrainian. On the sequence, the Russian soldier withdraws, taking the soldier from Kiev, while the Ukrainian artillery continues to target him, trying to hit him. Braving the shots, the Russian took first aid to his captive.

Successful transport​

"The order had come to evacuate a prisoner of war. No one knew how we should approach him, what will happen there, if there was no ambush, nothing. The guys on the front line covered us. My task was to come, see if there is an ambush, and take the prisoner away. It turned out that he was seriously injured. He had to be helped. His fingers were damaged, he had to tighten the tourniquet harder and give a pain reliever."
Due to the soldier's poor condition, the Russians had to approach the front line more than expected to help transport it. Ukrainians started shooting at the group at that time. At one point, the shells fell nearby, and the group left the injured for a moment, before returning to recover it after the shelling was interrupted.

The Ukrainian was brought alive to Russian positions, but the soldier does not know what will happen to him.

Sous les tirs, un soldat russe a évacué un Ukrainien blessé du champ de bataille

Sous les tirs, un soldat russe a évacué un Ukrainien blessé du champ de bataille

odysee.com

 

[Roms]

The Russia-China partnership endangers the American empire​

by Pepe Escobar

China's State Council has released a crucial policy paper titled "A Global Community with a Shared Future: China's Proposals and Actions," which should be read as a detailed and comprehensive roadmap for a peaceful, multipolar future .

Provided that the hegemon – of course faithful to its configuration of War Inc – does not drag the world into the abyss of a hybrid war turned hot with incandescent consequences.

In line with the constant evolution of the strategic partnership between Russia and China, the white paper recalls that “President Xi Jinping first raised the vision of a global community with a shared future in a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 2013».

It was ten years ago when the New Silk Roads – or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – was launched: it became the overarching foreign policy concept of the era. Xi. The Belt and Road Forum, to be held next month in Beijing, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the initiative and restart a series of projects under it.

The “shared future community” is a concept virtually ignored in the collective West and, in many cases, lost in translation to the East. The ambition of the white paper is to introduce “the theoretical basis, practice and development of a global community of shared future».

The five key points include building partnerships “in which countries treat each other as equals», a fair and equitable security environment, a “inclusive development“, exchanges between civilizations and “an ecosystem that prioritizes Mother Nature and green development”, as Mr. Xi explained during the 2015 United Nations General Assembly.

The white paper forcefully dismantles the “Thucydides Trap”: “There is no iron law that dictates that a rising power will inevitably seek hegemony. This hypothesis represents typical hegemonic thinking and is based on memories of catastrophic wars between hegemonic powers in the past.».

While criticizing the “zero sum game» to which «certain countries» still cling, China fully aligns with the Global South/global majority, as in “the common interests of all the peoples of the world". When the world prospers, China prospers, and vice versa.

It’s not exactly the “rules-based international order” that’s at stake.

It's all about harmony​

When it comes to building a new system of international relations, China prioritizes "in-depth consultations» between equals and at “principle of sovereign equality" who "underpins the Charter of the United Nations". However, history and realpolitik mean that some countries are more equal than others.

This white paper comes from the political leaders of a state-civilization. He therefore naturally encourages “theincreased exchanges between civilizations to promote harmony» while elegantly emphasizing that a «refined traditional culture embodies the essence of Chinese civilization».

Here we witness a delicate blend of Taoism and Confucianism, where harmony – touted as “the central concept of Chinese culture» – is extrapolated to the concept of “harmony within diversity»: and this is exactly the basis of the acceptance of cultural diversity.

In the context of promoting the dialogue of civilizations, these paragraphs are particularly relevant:

«The concept of a global community with a shared future reflects the common interests of all civilizations: peace, development, unity, coexistence and win-win cooperation. A Russian proverb says: “Together we can weather the storm».

The Swiss-German writer Hermann Hesse proposed: “Do not serve war and destruction, but peace and reconciliation.” A German proverb says: “An individual's effort is an addition; the effort of a team is a multiplication. An African proverb says: “A single pillar is not enough to build a house”. An Arab proverb states: “If you want to walk quickly, walk alone; If you want to walk far, walk together.”

Mexican poet Alfonso Reyes wrote, “The only way to be profitably national is to be generously universal.” An Indonesian proverb says: “Sugar cane and lemongrass grow in dense clumps.” A Mongolian proverb concludes: “Neighbors are linked by the heart and share a common destiny.” All these stories testify to the deep cultural and intellectual essence of the world».

The IRB caravan continues its journey​

Chinese diplomacy has placed great emphasis on the need to develop a “new type of economic globalization» and to engage in a “peaceful development» and true multilateralism.

This inevitably brings us to the BRI, which the white paper defines as “a striking example of building a global community with a shared future, a global public good and a cooperation platform provided by China to the world».

Of course, for the hegemon and its Western vassals, the BRI is nothing more than a massive debt trap mechanism triggered by “autocratic China”.

The white paper states that “more than three quarters of the world's countries and more than 30 international organizations» have joined the BRI and refer to the sprawling and ever-expanding connectivity framework of six corridors, six roads, a set of ports, pipelines and cyberspace connectivity, among others via the new Eurasian land bridge, the express China-Europe railway (a “fleet of steel camels”) and the new land-sea trade corridor across Eurasia.

A serious problem could concern China's Global Development Initiative, the fundamental goal of which, according to Beijing, is "to accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development».

This agenda was designed by the Davos elites, who describe themselves as such, and imagined in 1992 by Maurice Strong, a protégé of Rockefeller. His dearest dream is to implement the Great Reset, accompanied by a ecological program absurd without carbon emissions.

Better to listen to Medvedev's warning​

The hegemon is already preparing the next stages of its hybrid war against China, even as it remains buried in a hot proxy war de facto against Russia in Ukraine.

Russian strategic policy, in essence, fully aligns with the Chinese White Paper, proposing a Great Eurasian Partnership, a concerted effort towards multipolarity and the primacy of the Global South/global majority in shaping a new system of international relations.

But the Straussian neoconservative psychopaths in charge of the hegemon's foreign policy continue to raise the stakes. It is therefore not surprising that after the recent attack on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, a new report from the National Security Council leads to a worrying warning from the vice president of the Security Council, Dmitri Medvedev:

«NATO has transformed into an openly fascist bloc similar to Hitler's Axis, but larger (…) It seems that Russia has little choice other than direct conflict with NATO (…) This would result in much heavier losses for humanity than in 1945».

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, revealed that Ukraine suffered a staggering 83 battlefield deaths. since the start of the counter-offensive – which failed – four months ago.

As for Defense Minister Shoigu, he practically set the tone for long-term strategy when he declared that “consistent implementation of measures and business plans until 2025 will enable us to achieve our goals».

The SMO will therefore not be assembled before 2025 – much later than the next American presidential election. After all, Moscow's ultimate goal is the destabilization of NATO.

Faced with a cosmic humiliation of NATO on the battlefield, the Biden combo has no way out: even if it declared a unilateral ceasefire to rearm Kiev's forces with a view to a new counter-offensive in spring/summer 2024, the war would continue to rumble until the presidential election.

There is absolutely no chance that any Beltway intellectual will read the Chinese white paper and be “infected” with the concept of harmony. Under the yoke of Straussian neocon psychopaths, there is no prospect of détente with Russia – let alone Russia-China.

Chinese and Russian leaders know very well how the MICIMATT (military-industrial-congressional-espionage-media-academies-think tank complex) defined by Ray McGovern works.

The kinetic aspect of MICIMATT concerns the protection of global interests of major US banks, investment/hedging funds and multinationals. It's no coincidence that MICIMATT behemoth Lockheed-Martin is primarily owned by Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street. NATO is essentially a mafia protection racket controlled by the US and UK, which has nothing to do with "defending" Europe against the "Russian threat".

The real dream of MICIMATT and its extension to NATO is to weaken and dismember Russia to control its immense natural resources.

The war against the new “axis of evil”​

The graphic humiliation of NATO in Ukraine is now compounded by the inexorable rise of the BRICS 11, which represents a mortal threat to the hegemon's geo-economy. Short of a nuclear war, MICIMATT can do virtually nothing except increase hybrid wars, color revolutions and plans for division and domination. What is at stake is nothing less than the complete implosion of neoliberalism.

The Russia-China strategic partnership of true sovereigns has been coordinated on a full-time basis. Strategic patience is the norm. The white paper reveals the magnanimous side of the world's largest economy in terms of PPP: it is China's response to the infantile notion of “de-risking”.

China “de-risks” geopolitically when it comes to not falling into the serial provocations of the hegemon, while Russia exercises Taoist-type control so as not to risk a kinetic war.

Yet Medvedev's remarks suggest that the despairing hegemon might even be tempted to launch a third world war against a new "axis of evil" made up of three BRICS nations: Russia, China and Iran.

[Russian] National Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev could not have been more clear :

«In its attempts to maintain its dominance, the West itself destroyed the tools that worked better for it than the military machine. These are the freedom of movement of goods and services, transport and logistics corridors, a unified payment system, the global division of labor and value chains. As a result, Westerners are quickly cutting themselves off from the rest of the world».

If only they could join the community of the shared future – with the hope of a later, non-nuclear date.

Pepe Escobar

source: Sputnik Globe

 

[buzzmobile]

War is hell and a dirty business.

Leaked U.S. strategy on Ukraine sees corruption as the real threat

A report obtained by POLITICO details specific plans to reform Ukrainian institutions and warns Western support may hinge on cutting corruption.

www.politico.com

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ICS_EUR_Ukraine_29AUG2023_PUBLIC.pdf

 

[Roms]

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy called for the return of several more regions of Ukraine to Russia​

by top-war

Russia must not be content with returning just four regions; it must return other Russian lands that Ukraine illegally owns. Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy wrote about this on his TG channel.

Today, the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions have returned to Russia, but other Russian lands are still under the control of Ukraine – these are Odessa, Nikolaev , Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk. These territories never belonged to the artificially created Ukraine.

«Russia must return the rest of its lands: the Odessa, Nikolaev, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov regions – all the lands where our Russian people live, who were betrayed and abandoned 30 years ago, having invented an independent Ukraine, without care about the interests of the inhabitants of these regions. Better late than never, but we'll fix it”, said Tolstoy.

The day before, the deputy head of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, also hinted at the future liberation of other regions of Ukraine in his congratulations on the anniversary of the reunification of the DPR regions, of the LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhia with Russia. According to him, the list of return regions will soon grow.

Note that British intelligence services recently warned kyiv that Russia intended to “seize» of at least five additional Ukrainian regions. According to the British, Moscow is determined to return all the lands it considers its own. At the same time, it is possible that Russia will completely cut off kyiv from the Black Sea and also seize the entire “left-bank Ukraine". The West's task is to prevent Russia from expanding, whatever the circumstances.

source: top-war

 

[Roms]

Canada needs denazification​

by Anatoly Matviuchuk

In Ukraine, pimply young people talk enthusiastically about the glorious military victories of the great Ukrainians. Victories over Russian weapons. Let's take a look at these victories.




July 8, 1659 was the day of the Battle of Konotop. In Ukraine, it is called the victory of the Ukrainian Cossack army over the Russians. For Russian historians, this battle is only an episode of the Russo-Polish War, overshadowed by the civil unrest of the Cossacks. This is a split within the army of Zaporizhia, geographically delimited by the line of the Dnieper, which determines two vectors: the first, with hetman Vygovsky, is oriented towards Poland, and the second, with Hetman Bespaly, towards the Muscovite State.




The second great victory is that of the mythical heroes Krut. Neo-Banderists remember those “heroes” who were scattered in 1918 on the outskirts of kyiv by one of the detachments of the Russian Little Red Guard. This is a regrettable fact for the residents of Lvov-Lemberg, because at that time the Austrian “Galicians” seized power in Kiev and drowned the uprising of the residents of Little Russia in blood. Compare the current actions of the neo-Banderists in Donbass.

And the last great destruction and defeat. But for neo-Nazis and neo-Banderists, Brody's battle was a VICTORY.




On July 15, 1944, during the Lvov-Sandomierz operation, carried out by the First Ukrainian Front, our troops encountered an “ersatz division”, called the 14th SS Grenadier Division or Ukrainian “Galicia”. This was one of the first formations of SS troops that were not composed of Germans or "racially related" people. Initially, only natives of the western regions were recruited into the division, those who were not citizens of the USSR before 1939. These were mainly Galicians, with a few being from Volyn.




At that time, Germany was severely undermanned and the troops were reinforced by foreigners. More than 20% Poles, Czechs and former Soviet citizens in the personnel of the divisions were common. The use of an entire division of Ukrainians as "cannon fodder" was understandable, although its combat value was considered very low. All leadership positions in “Galicia” were occupied by Germans, Ukrainians were not appointed to positions higher than battalion commander, and even then there were only three of them.




Unlike other German divisions, which numbered no more than 10 people, “Galicia” was fully equipped. It is true that not all the members of this division went to the front, so that it numbered a little over 000 men. The Galicians do not have an independent defense sector and take position behind the 14th Army Corps

Located on the second line of defense, “Galicia” entered the battle only on July 15, when Soviet troops broke through the first line of defense. On July 16, Soviet mobile formations broke through to a depth of 80 km and crossed the Western Bug. Caught between Soviet tanks, the 13th Army Corps was surrounded.

Four divisions fall into the “cauldron”, including the “Galicia” division. The Soviet command immediately began to destroy the group surrounded near Brody, using significant aviation and artillery forces for this. There is no need to speak of any resistance from the Ukrainian SS; they are simply destroyed. On July 22, the surrounded group was eliminated. According to various sources, from 5000 to 7000 people managed to escape from the encirclement. After this defeat, the division was reconstituted using reserves, but was no longer used at full capacity. According to some sources, they were used as punitive troops against partisans and civilians.

The fate of the remains of the Galicia division is not known to all; it was also actively hidden until the beginning of the 14th century. At the end of hostilities, more than 000 soldiers of the division remained in service, the core of which surrendered to the British in Austria on May 10, 1945. They were taken to a camp near Rimini. The issue of extradition to the USSR is actively discussed, but they have active intercessors. The commander of the Polish armies was General Anders and Pope Pius XII. Anders argued that they were citizens of Poland and not the USSR (the passports were mostly Polish), and therefore could not be returned, while Pius XII insisted that they were good Catholics who had no place in a country of atheists. In 1947, most of the division was transported to Britain, given citizenship and resettled in small towns. In the mid-1980s, Israeli investigators of Nazi crimes reached “Galicia.” Then, in Canada, very quickly, a law was passed to exempt the fighters of this division from any responsibility and any extradition in cases related to war crimes. Most of Galicia's veterans therefore left Britain for Canada.

Information relating to the lives and activities of Ukrainian SS veterans in Britain remained confidential until the end of the Cold War, but was not made public thereafter. In the collective consciousness of the inhabitants of the Earth, Canada has acquired the status of a Ukrainian SS reserve, a promised land for those who escaped the trials of war criminals and Ukronazis.

Today, socialist Justin Trudeau and ethnic Jew Vladimir Zelensky, who is also President of Ukraine, salute the veteran of the 14th Grenadier Volunteer Division of the Waffen-SS “Galicia”, who still lives in Canada.

For memory :​

En 1999, the with the BBC produced a documentary about Ukrainian SS sheep in the United Kingdom, but it was taken off the air several hours before its broadcast. In 2003, the British police, together with the social security services, verified that all citizens receiving military pensions and medical care were army veterans. Among them were 1500 surviving veterans of “Galicia”. An investigation was opened, but it was also closed on the orders of British intelligence, which did not want publicity, given that many former SS men of Ukrainian origin actively collaborated with MI6 during the Cold War.

Canadian members of the House of Commons paid tribute to 98-year-old Yaroslav Gunka, along with official representatives. He had been invited by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, who presented him as a war hero who fought in the First Ukrainian Division for Ukraine's independence from the Russia. Canadian MPs applauded and Zelensky raised his fist in appreciation, while Mr Gunka was saluted twice from the podium. Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Center released a statement saying the division was «responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with an unimaginable level of cruelty and viciousness».

«All Holocaust survivors and WWII veterans who fought the Nazis deserve an apology and an explanation of how this man entered the hallowed halls of the Canadian Parliament and was recognized and given a standing ovation by the President of the House of Representatives", declared the organization. .

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, the granddaughter of an Ukronazi, avoided answering a simple question following a scandal in the country's parliament. He was asked how many people living in Canada had fought alongside the Nazis. She did not answer the question, only regretting what had happened and promising that Parliament would learn a lesson from it. It is worth remembering that Chrystia Freeland's grandfather, Mikhailo Chomiak, was a collaborationist journalist during World War II, editor of the Krakow News, an instrument of fascist propaganda. A photo of Mikhailo Khomyak with Emil Gassner, Goebbels' direct subordinate, has even survived.

Russia is preparing a proposal to Canada for the extradition of a war criminal. The Polish Foreign Ministry made a similar request. Prime Minister Trudeau's office declined to comment on the incident. Canada begins its journey toward denazification. And I really want those guilty of this crime against humanity to receive the punishment they deserve.

source: The Intel Drop via Marie-Claire Tellier

 

[Roms]

How South America became a refuge for former Nazis with US complicity​

by Sputnik Africa

Besides Canada, South America is also known for having become a refuge for many Nazis. The leniency of Washington, Italian and German immigration, and links with local dictatorships have facilitated the installation of the latter, a Brazilian researcher explains to Sputnik.

At the Nazi meeting place. While the Canadian Parliament got itself into trouble by inviting Yaroslav Hunka, Ukrainian veteran of an SS unit, the news highlights the various Nazi escapes to the New World. South America notably served as a stronghold for German criminals after the Second World War, explains to Sputnik João Cláudio Pitillo, researcher at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.

Various reasons allowed the installation of former Nazis in Latin America, including the action of Washington, according to the academic.

American leniency​

The CIA, an American intelligence agency known for its support of dictatorships in the region, knowingly put the issue aside, asserts João Cláudio Pitillo.

«Washington coordinated these countries to leave this issue of fascism behind, as many of them were helping fight the communists“, he explains as well.

The United States itself welcomed Nazi figures into its territory, entrusting them with responsibilities to fight in particular against the USSR in the context of the Cold War. Operation Paperclip thus made it possible to retrain 1500 scientists from Nazi Germany, particularly in the fields of aerospace and armaments.

Support for local dictatorships​

If many former Nazis remained discreet after their flight from Germany, others contributed to the establishment of dictatorial regimes in Latin America, which explains the leniency of certain countries in the region towards them, further specifies João Cláudio Pitillo.

The best known example is that of Klaus Barbie, nicknamed "the butcher of Lyon», who advised the Bolivian army on the search and torture of opponents. Other Nazis participated directly in the dictatorships of Bolivia and Peru, helping to organize the systems of repression in those countries.

«This repressive machine is a machine borrowed from Nazi Germany […] This scientific systematization of torture, these experiments which will be carried out throughout Latin America with death squads, national guards, commandos, secret operations (the most famous of which is Operation Condor), all directly linked to the fascist school», Lists João Cláudio Pitillo.

The first Nazis established in South America subsequently supported new arrivals, maintaining the phenomenon. Josef Mengele, the doctor at the Auschwitz extermination camp, maintained relationships with other Nazis who had fled like him to Brazil, the researcher emphasizes.

Nationals from former fascist countries​

Italian and German immigration in previous decades notably created bridges between fascist or Nazi regimes and the countries of the region. Local elites sometimes shared these ideologies and economic ties were strong.

«Italian and German immigration was very present in this region, so the cultural link was strengthened. These relationships have been built to the point of making the transit of people from these countries comfortable.», sums up João Cláudio Pitillo.

The demographic boom in Latin America only began in the 1960s, adds the researcher, so this vast, sparsely populated continent offered an ideal refuge for “conceal the presence of these foreigners with fascist tendencies". Many of them were granted passports by authoritarian regimes of Salazar in Portugal and Franco in Spain.

On September 22, the House of Commons invited and applauded Yaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian who fought in the 14th SS “Galicia” division known for having massacred Russians, Poles, Slovaks and Jews. The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, took part in the ovation, causing an outcry, in particular from Jewish associations. Justin Trudeau finally apologized.

source: Sputnik Africa

 

[Roms]

Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (1 October 2023)

In total, 483 airplanes and 250 helicopters, 7,314 unmanned aerial vehicles, 439 air defence missile systems, 12,247 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,159 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 6,611 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 13,656 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

https://eng.mil.ru/en/special_operation/news/more.htm?id=12480554@egNews

 

[audiohi]

Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (1 October 2023)

https://eng.mil.ru/en/special_operation/news/more.htm?id=12480554@egNews

Russia's Gas Production Collapses to Late-Stage USSR Levels​

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-gas... production so far,billion cubic meters (bcm).

"That aspect of Putin's planned energy war has backfired. He prepped for a year before the invasion to keep EU storage empty and then have maximum blackmail leverage by selectively cutting and supplying to EU states—but it failed."

 

[mean mr.mustard]

He's as much of a stable genius as Trump was.

I can hear him now:
"land wars are easy"

 

[mean mr.mustard]

Canada needs denazification

Putin's heading to Canada!

 

[Roms]

Russia's Military Budget Set To Rise By 70%​

BY TYLER DURDEN
SUNDAY, OCT 01, 2023 - 02:10 PM

Via Remix News,

Russian military spending is set to rise by almost 70 percent — to €106 billion — by 2024, according to a Russian Finance Ministry document published Thursday, an increase that illustrates Moscow’s determination to continue its military intervention in Ukraine despite the human and economic costs.

According to the document, Russian defense spending will increase by 68 percent in 2024 compared to this year and will reach 10.8 trillion rubles (€106 billion).

As a result, the amount allocated to defense will represent about 30 percent of total federal spending in 2024 and 6 percent of GDP — a first in Russia’s modern history.

The budget for internal security is set to rise to 3.4 trillion rubles (€33 billion), almost 10 percent of annual federal spending.

The priorities for this budget are outlined as “strengthening the country’s defense capacity” and “integrating the new regions” of Ukraine whose annexation Moscow has demanded, as well as “social aid for the most vulnerable citizens,” just months ahead of the Russian presidential elections in spring 2024.

Conversely, total spending on education, healthcare and environmental protection accounts for barely a third of the defense budget, according to ministry figures. Overall, federal spending will total 36.7 trillion rubles (€359 billion), a dramatic 20 percent increase over 2023.

The government, however, has explained little about how it will finance this large increase, as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Musustin said last Friday that revenues from the sale of hydrocarbons will be down sharply and will account for “a third of next year’s budget” in 2024, whereas before the invasion of Ukraine, they accounted for half the budget.

The sector used to drive Russia’s growth, hydrocarbon sales are declining due to international sanctions and the European Union’s determination to move away from energy dependence on Moscow.

One indication that the government expects a delicate month ahead for the Russian economy is that it has announced that it has based its budget forecast on the assumption of a dollar worth around 90 rubles, thus betting on a weakening of the national currency in the medium term. The draft budget law for 2024-2026 is due to be sent to the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, on Friday.

 

[mean mr.mustard]

He'll have to fix the economy before that's going to happen.

 

[audiohi]

Russia's Military Budget Set To Rise By 70%​

BY TYLER DURDEN
SUNDAY, OCT 01, 2023 - 02:10 PM

how else would they replace their confiscated yachts?