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American taxpayers are likely not shocked to learn their government has deceived them about the true recipients of billions of dollars ostensibly being sent to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, or that it has not in fact benefited them at all, a former Pentagon analyst told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The new indictment against Hunter Biden and struggles with Congress to get more funding for Kiev before the holiday break could pressure President Joe Biden into supporting efforts to end the Ukraine conflict peacefully, experts told Sputnik.

Washington has announced the transfer of technical documentation for the localization of production of arms from the FrankenSAM program – the air defense ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ created by combining Western missiles with Ukraine’s Soviet-era launchers and radars. Veteran military expert Andrei Koshkin explains why the program is destined to fail.

The European Union (EU) has launched an open debate about its relations with BRICS in the European Parliament, marking a pivotal moment amid global shifts away from American hegemony toward a multipolar world.

An international human rights lawyer said the United States is the only country with the necessary pull on the Israeli government to be able to force an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, which has generated a massive humanitarian crisis.

A senior US official has threatened to turn 2025 into a nightmare for Russia unless Moscow comes to the negotiating table on terms amenable to Kiev. Asked to comment, a respected political and military affairs expert told Sputnik that the rhetoric coming from the White House reeks of desperation and may actually signal preparations to dump Kiev.

Given Ukraine’s pitiful state both on the battlefield and at home, President Volodymyr Zelensky will likely face an unprecedented backlash from his own military personnel in the near future.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - On Thursday, US federal prosecutors indicted Hunter Biden on nine criminal charges for allegedly engaging in a scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4Mln in taxes between tax years 2016 and 2019.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Russia's economic growth rates exceed those of all European Union (EU) countries. Sputnik's expert commentators analyzed Moscow's strengths.

There is apprehension about whether an asteroid will fully eclipse a giant star, leading to a unique blackout, or create a 'ring of fire' effect, where a thin, bright ring of the star would remain visible to many observers in some parts of the world.

In 2021, the EU and US reached a two-year deal to settle their steel and aluminum tariff dispute through the Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum. The US reduced tariffs with a quota system, and the EU halted its restrictions, causing a trade imbalance with EU exporters. Without a new deal, tariffs may return next year.

Berlin has been by far the biggest donor of ammunition and military equipment to Ukraine for NATO’s proxy war against Russia after the US, to the Bundeswehr’s detriment. Last month, German media reported that the nation’s military only has enough resources to last a “maximum” of 48 hours if Germany ever faced a hot war.

Riyadh froze plans for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the UK, given the scheduling proximity to President Putin's official trip to Saudi Arabia, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing London officials.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Rwanda has received an extra 100 million pounds ($126 million) from the United Kingdom from the 2023-24 budget, UK Home Office Permanent Secretary Matthew Rycroft said, without acknowledging however that the money was linked to an updated scheme to send undocumented migrants to the African nation.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine has lost more than 1,560 soldiers in the Donetsk direction over the past week, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Reelection Campaign De Facto started on Friday, but not de jure as he is yet to be registered as a candidate, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops have spent nearly two years shedding light on the extent of US military-biological activities in Ukraine, from the deliberate infection of Ukrainian servicemen with deadly viruses to gauge response to work on deadly new pathogens designed specifically to target certain genotypes.

As the Kiev regime forges ahead with its lackluster counteroffensive, it is not only increasingly running out of ammo, but is also forced to acknowledge the gravity of Ukraine’s losses.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The ongoing migrant crisis at the US southern border has hit an all-time record for daily encounters, with over 12,000 undocumented migrants detained while attempting to cross the US-Mexican border unlawfully, Fox News reported on Friday.

Russians will go to the polls for presidential elections in March 2024, with the incumbent presently enjoying overwhelming public support, according to polling by a number of Russian public opinion institutes.

Chancellor Scholz's perceived incompetence in handling Germany's economic problems has resulted in public discontent, clearly indicated by a decrease in his approval ratings and the heckling he encountered during his recent speech in the Bundestag, just over a week ago.

More than 200 service members and civilians who have demonstrated outstanding courage and heroism have been invited to the ceremony.

A potential increase in valuation may propel Elon Musk's SpaceX into the hundred-billion-dollar company club, with a prospective share sale worth $500 to $750 million.

The Russian Su-25 is a versatile ground attack aircraft equipped with a 30mm cannon and various missiles and bombs, it is capable of engaging ground targets with precision and accuracy. Its low-altitude capabilities and ability to operate from unpaved strips make it a formidable asset in close air support missions.

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, whose record on foreign policy during his five-year prime ministership was marked by a series of failures, in his new capacity as foreign secretary has been determined to explain to increasingly skeptical Republicans why the US should shell out more money for Kiev in its failing proxy war with Moscow.

According to a recent report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Western military aid to Ukraine has plummeted by 87% year-on-year from August to October, reaching its lowest since January 2022 of $2.3 billion. This plunge can be attributed to the lack of new commitments by the European Union and the United States.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he had decided to step down as leader of the Kochikai faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over a scandal involving years of concealing income and expenditure from ticket sales for fundraiser events.

The annual press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin will be held on December 14, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated earlier, and combined with the \"Direct Line\" a question-and answer-session.

BUDAPEST (Sputnik) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he discussed with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez the topic of Ukraine's admission to the European Union.

A fossilized animal specimen, previously thought to be a plant, evoked memories of the popular video game for a pair of researchers.

Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Thursday that 66 US military personnel have been injured in a spree of attacks on bases in Iraq and Syria.

New files have been declassified relating to a hitman for Augusto Pinochet’s secret police. The despot came to power after a US-backed coup against Chile’s democratically-elected president.

“We had no money, no expertise, no plans, no artist impressions to go off, and nothing remaining of the palace. It’s naivety and just hard work that has led us to it.”

TBILISI (Sputnik) - The multinational command post exercise Maple Arch 2023, organized by the Canadian Department of National Defense, began in Georgia, the Georgian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the US Senate failed to advance the massive supplemental spending package that is supposed to ensure funding for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the Southern border. In order to pass the Democrats’ massive spending bill, GOP senators are demanding changes to the bill’s immigration policy.

As conservative House Republicans move forward with an attempt to impeach President Biden, analyst Armen Kurdian cautions them against overplaying their hand: “Hunter Biden’s not the one being impeached.”

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US federal prosecutors filed nine new counts against Hunter Biden and alleged he engaged in a scheme to evade over a million in taxes, a court filing revealed.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Fifty US commercial space launches in the private sector have failed since the beginning of the 21st century, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report.

\"This is good news,\" said a former Pentagon deputy assistant secretary.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Relations between Russia and Iran are developing very well, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated.

DONETSK (Sputnik) - The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) was shelled by Ukrainian soldiers 19 times over the past day, the DPR representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of issues related to Ukraine's war crimes said in a statement.

Unlike with the Soviet Union in the 20th century, the US economy is closely intertwined with China’s, making American strategists wary of totally severing relations with the nuclear superpower. This has made economic fora like the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) into key diplomatic arenas, too.

The non-Trump candidates competing for voter attention at the Republican debate Wednesday largely failed to make their key points most likely to resonate with voters, as they focused on poorly-researched attacks on each other and furious debate over “culture war” issues, an analyst told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday underscored the importance of maintaining a dialogue between Bratislava and Moscow, thereby refusing to follow the Western trend of pretending that \"Russia does not exist.\"

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US and Ukrainian officials agreed during a series of meetings over the past two months that the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia had failed and reached a stalemate, media reported on Thursday, citing unnamed US officials.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin threatened to send Americans to \"fight Russia\" if lawmakers do not approve more aid for Ukraine, media personality Tucker Carlson said via X (formerly Twitter).

The United States is reportedly using the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus as a hub of support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which has killed upwards of 16,000.

“This is a first for Seychelles,” the president told reporters.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Crown Prince of Oman Theyazin bin Haitham al Said said on Thursday he shared the views of Russian President Vladimir Putin that the existing West-dominated world order should be transformed into a new fair order without double standards.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Thursday that he has never been more worried about a terrorist attack against the United States than he is at present.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is unable to promise Ukraine that any additional funding is going to be provided to them amid Congress' failure to approve President Joe Biden's supplemental bill, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday.

Ties between North and South Korea remain strained, with Pyongyang's November 21 launch of its first reconnaissance satellite prompting even more \"concerns\" from Washington and Seoul. But South Korea's deployment its first spy satellite on December 1 raises questions about double standards.

During his visit to Washington, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov publicly criticized the commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhny, focusing on the failure of the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive and Zaluzhny's admission of a \"stalemate\" at the front in an interview with The Economist.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Senate on Thursday blocked a joint resolution introduced by Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul directing the Biden administration to remove US military forces from Syria within 30 days.

Persistent inflation of the US dollar has impacted holiday sales, with a poll showing a majority of shoppers have cut back on end-of-year purchases this year due to price increases.

In a demonstration of resilience to Brussels' coercion, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has rendered the EU's financial pressures on his government superficial, reiterating his commitment to Hungary's national interests.

Four elections have been overturned this year in the US by courts, according to independent media outlet Just the News.

The unprecedented explosion of violence in the three-quarters-of-a-century old Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October prompted renewed calls by governments around the world to facilitate the creation of a full-fledged Palestinian state along the 1967 borders. The Netanyahu government has rejected these calls and pledged “total victory” in Gaza.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - On Thursday the US House of Representatives passed a joint resolution opposing the Biden administration’s draft to reform the Department of Education’s income-driven student debt repayment program.

Recent global events are swiftly up-ending the US-led world order as we have known it for the last couple of decades, thanks to Russia’s bold defiance of US geopolitical hegemony, journalist Jon Jeter told Sputnik.

Eric Adams has lost the support of the majority of voters from both major political parties, according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held high-profile meetings in the UAE and Saudi Arabia on November 6, while the next day he welcomed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow. Why are Western media so obsessed with Putin's Mideast talks?

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Seventy percent of Russian people believe that the Russian President Vladimir Putin should run for another term, showed Russia's Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) recent poll, published on Thursday.

President Putin joined the 'Russia Calling!' investment forum on Thursday, outlining the vision for the future of a multipolar world economy. Putin’s “common-sense” approach to business helps explain foreign companies’ readiness to do business in Russia in spite of sanctions, investment expert Paul Goncharoff tells Sputnik.

The forthcoming F-16 fighters that Ukraine is set to get from the West will be targeted and destroyed by the formidable 40N6 long-range missiles of the advanced S-400 air defense system deployed in the special military operation zone.

The former environmental lawyer-turned presidential candidate, who has been surging in the polls in recent weeks thanks to a big tent political agenda supported by many Republicans and independents, has called for more transparency in the Epstein case.

Economic cooperation between Russia and Iran has intensified in recent years. In 2022, the volume of Russian-Iranian trade reached $4.85 billion and increased by 20.2% compared to 2021. In the first nine months of this year, according to the Iranian side, the trade turnover between the countries reached almost $5 billion.

An investigation into the possible utilization of questionable engine components within the aviation sector, with specific emphasis on the prevalent CFM56 engines present in Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft, has led to temporary flight suspensions and raised significant alarm regarding aviation safety.

In a recent operation on the Kupyansk axis, the crew of the Su-34 fighter-bomber successfully eliminated a concentration of enemy ground troops.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech to the audience of the 'Russia Calling!' investment forum, a prominent platform aimed at attracting capital to the Russian economy, enhancing the investment climate, and bolstering the nation's foreign economic and business ties.

Volodymyr Zelensky announced plans last week to turn Ukraine into a fortress, tacitly admitting that Kiev’s counteroffensive had failed after a month of arguing with his top commander’s assessment. In line with that strategic shift, Ukraine plans to give its NATO-gifted armor with a new role as emplaced turrets.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in VTB Bank's investment forum Russia Calling! The event's theme was entitled: \"Making Deglobalization: Uniting Sovereign Economies.\"

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a working visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and discussed bilateral, regional and international issues.

Having Ebrahim Raisi arrive for talks with Vladimir Putin is not new in itself, as the Iranian and Russian presidents have been traveling between Tehran and Moscow for years, and these travels will increase as cooperation grows, as one expert has pointed out, but underscored the particular significance of the current visit's timing.

The VTB Bank investment forum \"Russia Calling!\" has been held since 2009. It is one of the leading platforms for attracting capital to the Russian economy, improving the investment climate, and developing the country's foreign economic and business relations.

Despite media scorn and a litany of criminal lawsuits against him, the former president remains well on track to securing the Republican nomination, is leading the sitting president nationally by between two to six points, and is favored to win five of six key swing states if elections were held today.

In October, Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) marked its 10th anniversary, with Russia's President Vladimir Putin being one of 130 world leaders who sent delegations to China to celebrate the achievements of the infrastructure megaproject that has helped to connect underdeveloped parts of the globe.

The presentation of the Termit helicopter drones took place during a visit by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, to the Rudnevo Industrial Park.

The United States is in danger of a \"second Vietnam\" in Ukraine, which every new US administration will have to deal with until a sensible person heads the White House, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin wrote in an article for the magazine Razvedchik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Australia and Papua New Guinea have signed a bilateral security framework agreement to strengthen military partnership and response to potential threats, the Australian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

After brief visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia on December 6, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin's agenda for Thursday was set aside time for extensive talks with visiting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Earlier in the day, the upper house of the Russian parliament adopted a decision to schedule the presidential election for March 17, 2024.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell traveled to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang for the first in-person EU-China summit since 2019 on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Two people were killed and five teenagers were injured as a result of a shooting incident at a Bryansk school, Alexey Kuznetsov, the Russian health minister's aide, said on Thursday.

According to Article 102 of the Russian Constitution, the Russian Federation Council has the exclusive right to determine the date of presidential elections.

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will step down as leader of the Kochikai faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over a scandal involving years of concealing funds by party factions and bribing lawmakers, Japanese media reported Thursday.

As of today, two Western countries, the Netherlands and Denmark, have agreed to transfer F-16s to Ukraine. Specifically, the Netherlands plans to send the initial batch of fighter jets to Kiev in 2024.

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japan will provide an additional $1 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukraine in line with the G7 countries' pledge to support Kiev, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Guyanese Defense Ministry said it had lost contact with the Bell 412 helicopter in the area of the Arau village located in the disputed Essequibo region on the border with Venezuela, and that a search and rescue operation was underway.

The Russian Armed Forces have been using kamikaze drones, which are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. Such UAVs provide an inexpensive and effective way to eliminate specific targets without risking the lives of servicemen.

The contentious discussion saw shouting, interruptions, and one conspicuous moment of drama provoked by Vivek Ramaswamy.

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China-Russia trade in January-November 2023 grew 26.7 percent to record $218.17 billion, so the goal set by the two countries' leaders for 2024 has already been achieved, China's General Administration of Customs said.

GOP legislators have warned of consequences if the president’s son doesn’t agree to appear at a closed-door deposition. Hunter Biden’s lawyer claims the request is a political stunt.

US lawmakers are debating a $111 billion supplemental spending package, of which $61 billion would be included for Ukraine. The spending package would also include funding for Israel, Taiwan, and US border security.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - European countries are committing metaphorical suicide by importing mass numbers of migrants that do not accept Western culture, Florida Governor and 2024 US presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said during a Republican Party primary debate.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy during the fourth Republican primary presidential debate said the Ukraine conflict is pointless and slammed former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for not backing efforts to reach a peace deal.

The OECD released a study of the academic performance of teenagers from over 80 countries. Their study found that performances in reading and math have dropped dramatically with scores down 10 points in reading and nearly 15 points in math compared to scores from 2018.

Journalist Christopher Helali says US aid flowing into the country, long ranked among the most corrupt in Europe, evokes memories of “money being carted around in Iraq on palettes.”

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Navy grounded all Osprey aircraft in light of a probe into a recent Osprey crash that killed eight US service members off the coast of Japan, the US Navy said in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States and Ukraine signed a statement on intent for military co-production and technical data exchange, the White House said in a press release.

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