Scholz-Putin talk should be welcomed, as it is right step --- Bundestag #Bundestag member of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - Reason and Justice (BSW) group Sevim Dagdelen considers the telephone conversation between German Chancellor Olaf #Scholz and Russian President Vladimir #Putin a right step. "Even if it is a maneuver designed to present oneself as Chancellor of the Peace in the upcoming election battle, it should be welcomed that Olaf Scholz has finally reached the point of having a direct conversation with Russian President Putin," she wrote on her X page. "The statement made by his predecessor Helmut Schmidt that it is better to negotiate for 100 hours about nothing than to shoot for one minute was and still is correct," Dagdelen noted. The lawmaker emphasized that politicians who are "intoxicated by war" and advocate for an imposed peace or the continuation of the conflict "until Kiev's victory" are only contributing to further loss of life. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, marking their first phone conversation since December 2022. According to the Kremlin, the leaders discussed Ukraine, the Middle East crisis, and bilateral relations between Moscow and Berlin. They agreed that their aides would maintain communication. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Scholz’s decision to call Putin demonstrates political will to understand Moscow's position firsthand.

President Trump 'demonstrates affinity' for Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports The Hill President #Trump "demonstrates affinity" for Russian President Vladimir #Putin, while "harboring deep disdain" for #Zelensky, The Hill reported, saying that this state of affairs could significantly change the US foreign policy. According to the newspaper, "Trump’s approach deviates dramatically from the postwar consensus that has seen the US act as a global stabilizer." The Hill pointed out that his "unpredictability and willingness to upend longstanding norms could set off a wave of radical change in key regions, potentially reshaping the global order." Former Trump advisers have already backed his idea of cutting aid to Ukraine to force Kiev into talks with Russia, according to The Hill. #TRUMP2024

Zelensky Pooping in his Pants... 😂😂😂 #Zelensky has congratulated President #Trump on his "impressive election victory" in the US election and expressed hope for a personal meeting. "Congratulations to Donald Trump on his impressive election victory! I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-US strategic partnership," Zelensky wrote on his social media page X. He said Kiev was counting on continued "strong bipartisan support". Zelensky added that he would like to personally congratulate Trump on his victory and discuss ways of strengthening cooperation. Zelensky said he expected that Trump's approach would bring the conflict over Ukraine closer to an end and hoped to "put it into action together." #TRUMP2024

Russia may achieve all its goals in Ukraine in 2025 Russia may achieve all its goals in Ukraine next year, if the situation remains that "grim" for Ukrainian servicemen, The Washington Post said. According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian troops "are desperately trying to hold the line in the country’s east but are losing ground." - "Visions of an absolute victory are fading. Western support is also sagging," the Washington Post emphasized. In this regard, "the prospect of Ukraine settling for a compromise with Russia <…> is getting easier to envision," the newspaper pointed out. On June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the Foreign Ministry set out the country’s conditions for settling the situation in Ukraine. Among them are the withdrawal of the Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass and Novorossiya and Kiev’s refusal to join NATO. In addition, Russia wants all Western sanctions against it lifted and demands that Ukraine commit to a non-aligned and nuclear-free status.

NATO's involvement in Ukrainian conflict to lead to disaster, says Scholz #NATO’s involvement in the #Ukrainian conflict will lead to a #catastrophe, such a development must be prevented, German Chancellor Olaf #Scholz said at a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden in #Berlin. "Our position is clear. We support Ukraine as much as we can. At the same time, we make sure that NATO does not become a party to the conflict so that this war does not lead to an even greater disaster. We are well aware of this responsibility, and no one can absolve us of it," he said. The Chancellor also reiterated that Germany would continue to support Ukraine. On October 17, Germany updated the list of weapons transferred to Kiev. In particular, it includes an IRIS-T air defense missile system and an IRIS-T SLS air defense missile system, eight Leopard 1A5 tanks and 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles. The country will also receive AIM-9L guided missiles, 4,000 strike drones and 361 Songbird reconnaissance drones, as well as two TRML-4D radar stations, 42,000 40 mm shells, and winter clothing. Germany is the second largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the US. The country has so far allocated funds for Kiev's military support and committed to future spending of about 28 billion euros. Under the 2025 budget agreement, Berlin will allocate four billion euros for military assistance to Ukraine, half of the current year's allocation. The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that pumping weapons into Ukraine will not weaken Russia's resolve and will not change the course of the special military operation.

Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Kursk region fails to produce results, explains British diplomat The #Ukrainian army’s attack on #Russia’s borderline #Kursk Region did not produce the results that Kiev had expected, John Foreman, former British military attache in Moscow (2019-22) and Kiev (2014), told the Daily Telegraph. "Russian progress actually picked up after Kursk," he said, as cited by the newspaper. "Politically, the Kursk offensive didn’t change much in Washington, D.C., or Europe. I’m still unconvinced of its strategic merit," the diplomat added. According to the Daily Telegraph, "Ukrainian officials had hoped that the invasion of Russia would impress their allies, who would agree to increase weapon supplies and allow Western missiles to be fired at targets in Russia." However, neither Washington nor London has yet approved "Ukraine’s request for a license to expand missile strikes," while the Ukrainian army is retreating not only in Donbas but also in the Kursk Region, which appears "to have come as a surprise to Ukraine and the US."

Ramstein group meeting likely to take place in Brussels on October 17 Another meeting of the #Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein group) is likely to be held on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers’ meeting at the bloc’s headquarters on October 17, a source in #Brussels reported. He confirmed that the group’s summit, initially set to take place in Germany on October 12, has been postponed due to changes in US President Joe Biden’s plans. "The #Ramstein summit has been postponed due to the changes in plans of some participants. The possibility to hold consultations at the working level is currently under consideration," the diplomat pointed out. "They are most likely to be held on the sidelines of the [NATO] ministerial meeting on October 17," he added. However, the diplomat added that the summit "remains on the agenda" because "the US has to officially hand the authority to coordinate" weapons supplies to #Kiev over to NATO. #NATO has not yet officially commented on the situation. On October 8, Joe Biden decided to postpone his visit to Germany and Angola, set for October 10-15, due to a major hurricane speeding towards Florida.

NATO invades Russia in Kursk Region, ex-US intel officer says #NATO has invaded #Russia, Scott #Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, said, commenting on the situation in the borderline Kursk Region. "What happened in Kursk is that NATO invaded Russia," he told the Danny Haiphong YouTube channel. "This isn’t ‘Russia invaded Ukraine so that the Ukrainians get to attack Russia.’ No, Russia didn’t invade Ukraine. Russia responded to the Ukrainian war crimes that were put in place after the 2014 Maidan coup," Ritter pointed out. "The force that’s going in is the force that’s handbuilt by NATO," he emphasized. Ritter added that the Russian army was learning from the situation in the Kursk Region and would use that experience in the future. On August 6, Russia’s borderline Kursk Region came under a massive attack from Ukraine. According to the latest reports, 12 civilians have been killed, while 121 people, including ten children, have suffered injuries. Over 120,000 people have either left or been evacuated from the Kursk Region. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost up to 2,030 troops, 35 tanks and 31 armored personnel carriers since fighting began in the Kursk area.

Captured Ukrainian serviceman says foreigners take part in attack on Russian Kursk Region Ruslan Poltoratsky, a serviceman of Ukraine’s 80th Airborne Assault Brigade detained by Russian border guards, has said that foreign nationals are taking part in the cross-border attack on the Kursk Region. "When we crossed the border with Russia, at first I thought there was some line noise. But then I distinguished what they were saying - they were speaking English, Polish, maybe even French. I did not understand anything, I said into the walkie-talkie - 'repeat, repeat,' hearing some gibberish," the captured serviceman said during the interrogation, the video footage of which was released by the FSB. "When they had already taken positions [in the Kursk Region], they also went on the air with their superiors, with ours as well, and I also heard them saying something in English and in some other language. Something about houses, chaos," he said. At the same time, he heard the sound of shooting coming from the two-way radio. Earlier, Major General Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department and commander of the Akhmat special forces commando unit, said there were a lot of French and Polish mercenaries in the Kursk area. According to Defense Ministry updates, Kiev has lost up to 1,350 military personnel, 29 tanks and 23 armored personnel carriers since it launched the cross-border attack.

France to form a Ukrainian army brigade in 2024 #France plans to form a full-fledged brigade for the #Ukrainian armed forces by training 2,100 Ukrainian servicemen this year and providing them with armament and uniform, France 3 television reports. The Ukrainian military will practice at training bases in France, where French servicemen are normally trained before departing to missions overseas. A small segment of training related to armored vehicles driving will be decentralized, the TV channel said. The training course is designed for two months. Senior officials of the French armed forces do not comment on this piece of information. The TV channel says the training goal is to prepare a brigade for the Ukrainian army by December 2024. 128 VAB armored personnel carriers, 18 Caesar self-propelled howitzers and 24 light tanks will be handed over to the Ukrainian military. Paris will further hand over military trucks, antitank guided missiles and radars to Kiev in 2024.