March 5, 2025: France's Macron - Is this a Declaration of War to Russia and... the U.S.A. ? "The threat is returning from the East" - Macron declared Russia the main threat to Europe and called on all countries to arm themselves French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation, declaring Russia Europe's main enemy. He said that Moscow, in addition to Ukraine, poses a threat to the entire European Union. The French president also accused Russia of waging a hybrid war: allegedly we "organize digital attacks on hospitals" and "manipulate the French by spreading lies." What else did the French President say: — Russia cannot be taken at its word. Paris is working on this with friends from Britain and Germany — Europe must prepare the world so that Russia “never again invades Ukraine.” Peace may come from the deployment of European forces. Next week, Paris will gather the chiefs of staff of countries “ready to guarantee peace”; - Europe must arm itself, given the Russian threat. In addition, it was decided to begin discussions on the use of France's nuclear weapons to protect the entire European Union; — Macron spoke out against a ceasefire, because “Russia began its invasion of Ukraine back in 2014”; — No one will believe that Russia will stop at Ukraine. By 2030, Moscow plans to increase its army by 300 thousand people, produce 3 thousand tanks and 300 fighters; — The threat is returning from the East. Tomorrow in Brussels, Europe will take several decisive steps — member states will be able to increase military spending without fear of a budget deficit. "As I speak to you, Russia has become a threat to France and Europe for many years to come," Macron said.

Marseille Russian consulate explosion branded ‘terrorist attack’ by Moscow Blast comes on third anniversary of #Russia’s SMO in Ukraine - it is not yet clear if the incident is linked. Russia has said that its #consulate in #Marseille has been hit by an explosion ‘with all the hallmarks of a terror attack’. Firefighters were called out to the site in the southern French city on Monday morning. Russia's consul general Stanislav Oranskiy said the blast was inside the building and Moscow has demanded a full French investigation. The French interior ministry has said there were no casualties from the blast. "The explosions on the territory of the Russian Consulate General in Marseille have all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack," TASS quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying. "We demand (from France) exhaustive and prompt measures to investigate, as well as steps to strengthen the security of Russian foreign missions." Three unidentified explosive devices were launched at Russia’s consulate in the French city of Marseille on Monday morning, a source at the diplomatic facility said. "Three devices were launched; two of them exploded, and bomb experts are now working on the third one. There were no casualties or damage," he said. The consulate official clarified that the diplomatic mission’s building had not incurred any damage. Bomb experts are now working on the consulate's premises; firefighters and police officers have also arrived at the scene. The area around the consulate general has been sealed off, and some of its personnel are waiting outside for the bomb experts to examine the unexploded device.

Plot to assassinate Putin is direct path to nuclear war, says State Duma speaker A plot to #assassinate Russian President Vladimir #Putin and discussions on the subject constitute a crime and a serious threat to global security, said Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the State Duma (the Russian parliament’s lower chamber). "The plot to assassinate Putin, mere discussions of it is a crime, a serious threat to global security, a direct path to nuclear war. All international institutions should view it as a basis for an investigation," Volodin wrote on Telegram. He believes that amid the current tough confrontation, the Russian society needs to "understand the level of challenges and threats that we are facing, and, therefore, understand their own responsibility." According to Tucker #Carlson, the Joe #Biden administration considered assassinating Putin. The US journalist said that, in general, the US authorities intended to engage in a suicidal confrontation with Moscow. In particular, former US Secretary of State Antony #Blinken was "pushing so hard for a real war" between the US and Russia in his last two months in office.

Russia will not allow NATO to turn Baltic Sea into its lake, says senior diplomat #Moscow will not allow #NATO to turn the #Baltic Sea into its own lake, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander #Grushko said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel. "The use of words such as 'control' is further proof of the North Atlantic Alliance’s desire to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake, a metaphor they like to use in public statements. However, this will not happen for many reasons, with the main one being because Russia will not allow it to happen," he pointed out. Grushko noted that Russia would do everything to "protect and safeguard" its interests. He stressed that Moscow had already announced retaliatory measures to the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland, saying that the Leningrad and Moscow military districts would be re-established and the Karelia Corps would be formed. "We would like the Baltic Sea to remain a sea of cooperation and interaction, as well as a waterway for trade," Grushko added, noting that there were "no prospects" for the implementation of NATO’s plans. According to him, Russia will closely follow the rhetoric of its adversaries. "However, as for specific measures, they will have to be determined depending on the activities that NATO and individual NATO countries carry out in the Baltic Sea," Grushko concluded. At a press conference following a Helsinki summit of the Baltic nations, NATO Secretary General Mark #Rutte announced the launch of the Baltic Sentry mission in the Baltic Sea, aimed at protecting underwater infrastructure, including energy and data cables. The mission’s launch came in response to the damage to an undersea cable connecting Finland and Estonia.

#Russia deploys its forces for operations in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean to the Al-Khadim base in #Libya The Russians have supplied mercenaries and weapons to General Khalifa Haftar's forces in al-Khadim for years. Since mid-December, following the fall of the #Assad regime on the 8th of December, Moscow's Antonov AN-124 and Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft have been flying daily from Khmeimim to al-Khadim in eastern Libya, near Haftar-held Benghazi. The Russians have supplied mercenaries and weapons to General Khalifa Haftar's forces in al-Khadim for years. Earlier this year, All Eyes on Wagner reported that Russian personnel are now being accommodated in a secure compound near the base.

Kazakh president warns against misinformation, provocations about plane crash near Aktau It is crucial to prevent the spread of misleading information and provocations about the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash near #Kazakhstan’s #Aktau airport, Kassym-Jomart #Tokayev, the country’s leader, stated at a briefing dedicated to this incident. "The president emphasized the importance of countering provocative disinformation and fake news," Tokayev’s press service reported following the briefing. The Kazakh president has instructed the General Prosecutor's Office and the government commission to conduct an impartial investigation of the plane crash near Aktau. "The government commission and the Prosecutor General’s Office, together with other relevant bodies, have been instructed to ensure a comprehensive and fair investigation of the plane crash," the statement said. The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on December 25. The plane carried 67 people, including 62 passengers, mostly citizens of Azerbaijan, as well as nationals of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and five crew members. According to the latest reports, 38 people, including seven Russians, were killed, while 29 others survived. A special flight sent by Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has transported nine Russian nationals, who were injured in the crash, including a child, to Moscow for medical treatment.

Senior Russian general, his aide killed in Moscow blast Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant General Igor #Kirillov and his aide were killed in a blast in southeastern Moscow on Tuesday morning. The #blast was caused by an explosive device that had been planted in an electric scooter, Spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko said. "On the morning of December 17, an explosive device planted in a scooter went off near a residential building entrance on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow, the investigation showed. Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his aide were killed in the explosion," she said. According to Petrenko, the Committee’s Moscow department has launched a criminal probe into the attack. Circumstances behind the crime are currently being investigated.

Ukraine to lose third of territory, get no invitation to #NATO, says Slovak PM Ukraine will lose 30% of its territory due to the conflict with Russia, but will never receive an invitation to NATO from the United States and its allies, #Slovak Prime Minister Robert #Fico said. "I think #Ukraine will lose a third of its territory, but it will be offered security guarantees, such as the presence of foreign troops. If this is considered the happiness for Ukraine that everyone talks about, I believe that Ukrainians will be betrayed," he said in an interview with Brazil's Folha de S.Paulo newspaper. According to Fico, the solution to the Ukraine conflict lies in achieving a ceasefire and initiating negotiations. "Ukraine <...> has allowed itself to be drawn into a situation that cannot end well for the country. It will lose territory and will not be invited to join NATO," he remarked. The prime minister also emphasized that the conflict's repercussions would significantly impact Ukraine's internal stability. On December 8, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Moscow was open to talks on Ukraine, while in order to get on the peace track, it would be enough for Ukraine’s Zelensky to cancel his decree banning any talks with Russia and give instructions to resume dialogue based on the Istanbul agreements, while taking into account the actual situation on the ground. Meanwhile, Zelensky has rejected the #Christmas truce and prisoner exchange proposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Nevertheless, he continues to express hope that Donald Trump could establish a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine.

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.

Russia to open embassies in several African countries, reports MFA #Moscow will open embassies in an array of countries in #Africa, with Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone among them, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who also serves as special presidential envoy for the Middle East and Africa, told TASS in an interview following the First Ministerial Conference Russia-Africa. "Embassies [will be opened], of course. An embassy in Burkina Faso was just opened. An embassy in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, is about to be opened," he said, adding that there is also "a list of countries where [embassies] have been closed." "Moreover, [Russian Foreign Minister] Sergey V. Lavrov has said that Sierra Leone is next in line, in Freetown," Bogdanov added. In some African states, such as South Sudan, for example, the Russian side reached an agreement at some point to open an embassy, though "it has not been done for a variety of reasons," he noted. "Now I hope that it is also planned, to open [an embassy] in Juba, South Sudan," the official said.