RT News - June 21st 2024 early, Russia reserves the right to arm allies

President Putin said any nuclear attack on Russia would cause a "catastrophic response" during a press conference in Hanoi. Russia reserves the right to arm allies, in the same way as the west does. Donald Courter talks about Pres. Putin's comments, including the implications in light of the Ukraine conflict.
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John Kirby (UNSC spokesperson) says Russia and her allies are desperate and that they "don't have a lot of friends" (but then he forgets that the collective west is only 13% of the world's population and the approval ratings for the governments ruling them are at all time lows. Britain 13% cross party approval (YouGov) US congress 13% (GALLUP) and various polling upwards to only 28% - the exceptions being Hungary and Slovakia with both more than 60%). Comments from International Security Consultant Earl Rasmussen, who says Russia does not bluff.
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South Korea continues to send money to Ukraine but may soon start "officially" sending heavy weaponry direct too. Up until now, exports of materiel have been going via other (3rd party) countries. Mourad explains.
Victor Gao says it's a case now of mixed messages.
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The EU is to sanction Russia's liquified natural gas (LNG) distributed by Asian countries to the rest of the world, whilst simultaneously allowing Russia's LNG exports to the EU. Rachel Marsden reports. The sanctions package bans re-exports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in EU waters.
Many companies dependent on cheap energy have either gone bankrupt or are moving to the USA.
Pathikrit Payne (Strategic Policy Researcher) says this is all to do with the EU feathering it's own next at the expense of the citizens and cost penalty to other non-EU countries. The west has been interfering in India's internal policies and elections.
Me - if you want to see something truly bizarre, read this: Ukraine is to import LNG from USA https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venture-global-dtek-sign-lng-supply-deal-ukraine-eastern-europe-2024-06-13/#:~:text=DTEK%20Group%2C%20Ukraine's%20largest%20private,until%20the%20end%20of%202026. )
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Israel / Gaza Updates. The IDF continues with strikes against Gaza. Overnight they struck the largest medical facility in Gaza in Khan Yunis; a deadly attack on Rafah claimed the lives of dozens of civilians. Sad footage as the relatives say farewell to their dead family members. Stats: 70% of Rafah is now destroyed, 65,000 civilians remain in the city (which was once so beautiful, I got some photos before it was destroyed as the Israel .gov told the citizens in the north to make their way there)

In Israel the protests continue demanding the resignation of Pres. Netanyahu. An Israeli journalist Robby Berman reports. Ultra-Orthodox Jews have blocked a Tel-Aviv highway, protesting military conscription.

A spokesman for the IDF said Hamas cannot be defeated or destroyed. This is exactly the opposite of the aims of Israel .gov see also CH4 interview from a bit back with Mercer https://youtu.be/jcU6008E-DU?t=384 - I don't know who he is but his face is familiar) There are a lot of contradictions going on.
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John Kirby (Whitehouse spokesman) said supplies of weapons to Ukraine will take priority over weapons supplies to allies. Caleb Maupin reports, "things have to look just right" - the propaganda machine must be fed.
Larry Johnson (former CIA Analyst) says all opposition voices have been silenced and there's only one narrative which is allowed to be heard, is there a massive amount of corruption going on? (Also see very last article below)
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Short take: Vladimir Putin promises a catastrophic response if Russia is nuked. That stark warning wraps up Putin’s Asian tour, marked with a historic visit to the DPRK. Russia’s new strategic pact with the DPRK, prompts South Korea to review its policy over lethal arms supplies to Ukraine. We delve into how Seoul might have already indirectly provided Kiev with more munitions than all of Europe. The EU ramps up its sanctions against Russia, this time targeting liquefied natural gas exports but the bloc itself will keep importing LNG from the country. We break down why Asian economies in particular could suffer from the restrictions. As the IDF pummels Gaza with relentless bombardment the Israeli military admits a rare disagreement with PM Netanyahu as it says it would be impossible to completely eliminate Hamas.

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Russia intercepts 120 Ukrainian drones overnight – MOD 21 Jun, 2024 04:44

Dozens of UAVs have been downed over the Black Sea, Crimea and Krasnodar Region, according to the Defense Ministry.

The Russian military has repelled several large-scale Ukrainian drone raids, shooting down 114 UAVs overnight and intercepting six naval drones in the Black Sea, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

Russian air defense units prevented an “attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack using unmanned boats and airplane-type UAVs on Russian infrastructure,” the military said in a brief statement on Friday.

At least 70 drones were intercepted over the territory of Crimea, while the Black Sea fleet tracked down and destroyed six unmanned surface vehicles.

Another 43 drones were downed over Krasnodar Region, while one UAV was intercepted in Volgograd Region, the military added.

“During the night, the civilian infrastructure of our region came under a massive attack by the criminal Kiev regime,” Krasnodar Region governor Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram on Friday.

In the city of Krasnodar, a boiler facility near the Yuzhny bus terminal was damaged. One worker was killed in the attack, and several more were injured, Kondratyev said.

Elsewhere in the city, UAVs damaged administrative buildings on the territory of an oil refinery, according to the governor.

On Friday morning, the Defense Ministry reported that air defenses had intercepted another three drones in Russia’s Bryansk Region, which borders Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military has been routinely launching UAV attacks on Russian border regions since the start of the conflict in February 2022, with many raids targeting critical infrastructure and residential areas. Kiev’s attempts to damage Russian oil refineries and storage facilities using long-range kamikaze drones have intensified since January.

President Vladimir Putin has cited those attacks as the reason Russia decided to ramp up its strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and military-industrial facilities. The Russian bombing began after the weather became warm enough for rolling blackouts not to pose a significant humanitarian threat, Putin stressed.

On Thursday, the Russian military confirmed that it had carried out another large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukrainian targets. According to Ukraine’s national electric company, Ukrenergo, its facilities were damaged in several parts of the country, including those located in Kiev Region, providing energy to the capital. The Russian barrage was the seventh of its kind since March 22, and will result in further restrictions on electricity consumption, it said.
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related : Moscow confirms attacks on Ukraine’s energy system 20 Jun, 2024 13:36

The latest strikes were in retaliation for Kiev’s continued targeting of Russian infrastructure, the Defense Ministry has said.

The Russian Defense Ministry has acknowledged striking parts of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight, saying the military used air-launched missiles and drones, which all reached their intended long-range targets.

The operation was ordered “in response to attempts by the Kiev regime to damage Russian energy sites,” and targeted Ukrainian locations “that are used for the production of arms and military equipment,” the ministry said in a regular update on Thursday.

Ukrenergo, the state-owned operator of the electric transmission system, has reported damage in several parts of the country, including Kiev Region, which supplies power to the capital. It claimed the Russian barrage was the seventh of its kind since March 22, and will result in further restrictions on consumption. Rolling blackouts are being imposed nationwide to address the growing shortage of generation capacity.

”To deal with the deficit in the energy system we resort to import and emergency aid from Europe,” the company said, adding that over the past 24 hours Ukraine received over 27,000 megawatt-hours from Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Moldova.

Since January, Kiev has been trying to damage Russian oil refineries and storage facilities using long-range kamikaze drones. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow decided to ramp up strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure in response to those attacks. Such operations began after the weather became warm enough for blackouts not to pose a significant humanitarian threat, according to the Russian leader.

Kiev’s latest drone raids took place overnight, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Earlier on Thursday it reported intercepting unmanned aircraft over the Republic of Adygea, and the regions of Bryansk, Krasnodar, Rostov, Belgorod and Oryol.

Damage to oil facilities was caused by drones in Tambov Region and Adygea, while in Krasnodar Region a woman was killed, after a drone struck her home, according to regional officials.

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‘Strategic defeat’ means end of Russia – Putin 20 Jun, 2024 22:50

The president has warned the West against making “another big mistake”

The West must realize that inflicting “a strategic defeat” on Russia is impossible due to the unity of its people, who understand that this would spell the end of the country’s thousand-year history, President Vladimir Putin has argued.

Speaking at a press conference in Hanoi following meetings with the Vietnamese leadership on Thursday, Putin addressed the issue of Western powers “raising the temperature” of the Ukraine conflict through gradual escalation.

“Apparently, they expect us to get scared at some point. But at the same time, they also say that they want to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia on the battlefield. What does this mean for Russia? For Russia, this means the end of its statehood. This means the end of the thousand-year history of the Russian state. I think this is understandable for everyone,” Putin noted.

"...And then the question arises: Why should we be afraid? Wouldn’t it be better to go all the way then? This is elementary logic...."

Even though Putin has repeatedly admitted that any conflict involving the use of nuclear weapons would have dire consequences for humanity, he has maintained that Moscow would be forced to defend itself using all available means if the country’s existence were at stake.

Back in 2018, he famously said that “as a citizen of Russia and the head of the Russian state I must ask myself: Why would we want a world without Russia?”

The US and its allies have funneled weapons, ammunition, and equipment to Ukraine over the past two years, while insisting they are not a party to the conflict but want to inflict “a strategic defeat” on Moscow. In recent months, Washington, London, and other NATO members announced they were lifting restrictions on Kiev’s use of their weapons against Russia.

Citing the need to send the West a message, last month the Kremlin ordered the military to carry out drills in deploying non-strategic nuclear weapons. Asked on Thursday whether Russia could change its nuclear doctrine to include a clause on the possibility of launching a pre-emptive nuclear strike, Putin emphasized there was no need for that.

“We do not need a preventive strike yet, because the enemy is guaranteed to be destroyed in a retaliatory strike,” he said.

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West could ditch Zelensky early next year – Putin 21 Jun, 2024 00:39

Ukraine’s backers are keeping the politician in place to act as a future scapegoat, the Russian leader has said.

Ukraine's supporters in the West will likely remove Vladimir Zelensky as soon as he outlives his usefulness, after pushing through all the necessary “unpopular decisions,” Russian President Vladimir Putin has predicted.

Zelensky remains in power in Ukraine despite his term in office having officially expired on May 20. He opted not to hold a presidential election, citing martial law imposed due to the conflict with Russia.

Putin has repeatedly stressed that the Ukrainian constitution does not provide for prolonging a president’s term, and explicitly states that elected lawmakers should retain their powers until a new parliament can be chosen by the Ukrainian people. On Thursday he reiterated, that the country’s laws clearly state that Zelensky’s “train has left” and that presidential power should be transferred to the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.

“What are we even talking about? The West simply doesn’t want to replace him right now, the time has not come yet. I’ve already said it, but I think it’s obvious to anyone,” the Russian leader said at a press conference in Hanoi, Vietnam.

“They will pin all unpopular decisions on him, including lowering the military age, and that’s it, then he will be replaced. I believe it will be sometime in the first half of next year,” he added.

Putin echoed фт analysis shared by the Russian foreign intelligence service (SVR) earlier in the day, which claimed Zelensky will be scapegoated for the country’s inevitable military defeat. “It is becoming increasingly evident that the White House will soon shut down ‘Project Zelensky’,” the SVR stated on Thursday, noting that retired General Valery Zaluzhny, the former top commander of the armed forces, is a likely candidate to replace him.

Last week, Putin noted in a keynote speech on Russian foreign policy that Zelensky remains of use to foreign sponsors only as long as he can enforce policies that will help Kiev prolong hostilities with Russia. The Russian president also said any agreements signed by Zelensky with foreign nations after May 20, such as the recent bilateral ten-year security deal with the US, can be easily discarded by other parties, since he no longer has any legal authority to represent Ukraine.

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Russia will ‘never’ withdraw troops – Putin 20 Jun, 2024 17:56

Ukraine’s unrealistic demand is intended to make peace talks impossible, the Russian president has said.

Ukraine’s demand for the withdrawal of Russian troops is only designed to perpetuate the conflict, because that’s the only way the current Kiev government can stay in power, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Putin was speaking at a press conference in Hanoi following his meetings with the leadership of Vietnam on Thursday. Among other topics, he addressed the Ukraine conflict.

“If negotiations are linked to the withdrawal of our troops, about which the Kiev regime dreams, then this will never happen,” Putin told reporters.

“Because the Kiev regime does not want to relinquish power, does not want to hold normal elections according to the Ukrainian constitution, they will forever drag out the ceasefire talks,” the Russian president added. “This means that Kiev has an interest in our troops remaining there, because they don’t want to hold elections.”

As for attempts to “beat back” Russian troops from Kharkov, Putin said that Kiev’s orders to achieve a victory on the battlefield “at all costs” will mean it is Ukraine that will suffer. Kharkov, he said, is a tactical operation, which Ukraine is trying to portray as strategic.

When asked about the Western rejection of the peace terms he offered Ukraine last week, Putin said that it was true to form.

“I expected just such a reaction, at first,” he said. “What happens later, time will tell. It all depends on how the situation develops on the ground.”

Russia has always been willing to negotiate, while Ukraine and its Western backers sabotaged the Minsk process and the Istanbul talks, Putin said, noting that the terms he outlined will not be valid forever.

According to the Russian president, Ukraine has to recognize Russian sovereignty over the entire territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, “as defined by their administrative borders at the time they joined Ukraine [in August 1991].” Kiev must withdraw its military from the four regions and inform Moscow in writing that it no longer plans to join NATO, before any ceasefire talks can begin, Putin said last Friday.

Vladimir Zelensky has denounced the proposal as an “ultimatum,” insisting that the only way to end the conflict is based on his “peace formula,” which amounts to a Russian surrender.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed that Putin’s offer was not “made in good faith,” and would cost Kiev “significantly more land,” while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a “classic land grab” and an attempt to influence the 'peace conference' in Switzerland.

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US astronauts stuck in space 20 Jun, 2024 11:37

NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will have to spend another week aboard the ISS as experts struggle to fix their spacecraft.

Two NASA astronauts are stranded aboard the International Space Station as their spacecraft, a Boeing Starliner, continues to experience technical difficulties. The two scientists, who traveled to the station on June 6, were originally meant to stay for only one week.

During a press conference on Tuesday, NASA and Boeing announced that the two Americans – Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore – will not be coming back to Earth before June 26 as experts are struggling to fix the spacecraft.

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner initially registered several mechanical issues during its maiden manned launch on June 6. En route to the station, the crew reported problems with five thrusters and four helium leaks, and another leak was revealed soon thereafter. Prior to the flight, the company also stated that the spacecraft already had a “small helium leak” but insisted it was not a critical “safety of flight issue” and could be managed.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich explained on Tuesday that the reason for the hold up was the agency’s desire “to give our teams a little bit more time to look at the data, do some analysis, and make sure we’re really ready to come home.”

Stitch also insisted that NASA doesn’t currently foresee a scenario in which the two astronauts would not be able to come home on the Starliner. The return trip is currently scheduled for June 26, when the crew will attempt to land in the White Sands area of New Mexico. If that proves impossible, then the next “prime opportunity” would be a week later on July 2.

Despite the extended delay, NASA’s Dana Weigel, who manages the agency’s ISS program, said the crew is feeling positive. Boeing’s vice president and program manager for the Commercial Crew Program, Mark Nappi, has also said the crew was taking advantage of the extra time and saw the situation as an “opportunity” to do more work.

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A top US senator has betrayed Washington’s worst kept secret about Ukraine 13 Jun, 2024 17:17

Lindsey Graham spoke the quiet part out loud when he said the country is a “gold mine” America can’t afford to lose.

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a reliably hawkish Republican who loves provocative statements, has caused a fresh stir by saying the quiet part out loud. In a recent interview on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” Graham argued that Washington must not permit Russia to win the war in Ukraine because of the rich deposits of critical minerals on Ukraine’s territory, which are worth 10 to 12 trillion dollars, according to the senator.

In particular, Graham made three claims: First, that Russian control over this “gold mine” would enrich Moscow and enable it to share the extracted minerals with China; second, that Ukraine, if it retains control over them, could be “the richest country in all of Europe” and “the best business partner we ever dreamed of”; and, third, that therefore the outcome of the war in Ukraine is a “very big deal.” Indeed, according to Graham, the stakes are so high that the US must help Kiev win “a war we can’t afford to lose.”

There were other striking statements in that interview, but it is this passage that has attracted most attention and condemnation: Graham, critics point out, has revealed what the Hindustan Times, for instance, calls the “real reason why the US is aiding Ukraine.” That reason, as it turns out, is commercial, selfish, and strategic. So much for all that talk about Kiev’s “agency,” “democracy,” and “freedom.”

Ukraine, for the US, is an asset to be used – and used up – in a much greater, global geopolitical game, or to be precise a collection of assets: Apart from a strategic location, critical minerals, black-earth soil, and some gas as well, there are, of course, people. Graham also has a record of calling for more military mobilization in Ukraine. He is infamous as well for his May 2023 comment, in a conversation with Vladimir Zelensky, that “Russians are dying” in the war, while US aid was the “best money we’ve ever spent.” Apart from the general nastiness of Graham’s proudly brutal way of thinking, to make those Russians “die,” plenty of Ukrainians, of course, have to die as well. Zelensky did not seem to mind.

Graham’s critics are, of course, correct. But most of them, I suspect, would also acknowledge that there is nothing surprising or unique here. In essence, the senator’s statement is simply a form of brutal honesty: While he is provocatively shameless about his cold and mercenary approach to politics, he represents the mindset of the Washington elite. At the same time, however, there is also something deeply misleading about his position, if in less obvious ways. Let’s try to separate the cynical frankness from the persisting dishonesty.

Disregarding his specific figures, Graham is right that, unlike most other European countries, Ukraine has substantial reserves of critical minerals, and there is no doubt that these raw materials are of great significance. In general, the term refers to “elements necessary to produce the chips and batteries found in high-tech devices such as smartphones and laptops” and “for the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, electric vehicles and solar panels.” At the same time, the global supply of many critical minerals is complicated because they are concentrated in limited locations, which makes them objects of geopolitics. Oil 2.0, if you wish.

The importance of these substances for the US, for instance, is so great that its Secretary of Energy has established a precise list of 50 minerals considered “critical” (mostly overlapping with a second list of 18 “critical materials for energy”). Driven by its desire to diminish its reliance on China, the EU as well has shown intense interest in Ukraine’s critical minerals, which are at the core of its official strategic partnership on raw materials with Kiev, formally set up in 2021. Since 2022, the Ukrainian Geological Survey has partnered with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, to, in essence, catalogue and digitize Ukrainian deposits for Western investors. Ukraine’s environmental impact assessments rules have been “simplified” for the purpose, that is, most likely, loosened. In 2024, the EU solidified these operations with its Critical Raw Materials Act.

At the same time, even despite the ongoing war, international investors from the West have already been lining up, including from as far away as Australia. Indeed, it is an American-Ukrainian venture, the BGV Group, “that has the largest and most diverse stake in Ukraine’s critical minerals.”

So, here is the first point Graham is wrong about: If anyone has been busy securing Ukraine’s critical minerals (and, more broadly, materials), it is actually the West. We see a classic case of projection, with a loud accusation directed at Moscow betraying what the West has been up to. Nothing very surprising there, either. Consider “spheres of influence,” for instance, a thing Russia must not be allowed to claim – even right up on its border – while that of the US extends to east of Kiev and Taiwan, for instance.

Yet there is a larger point here, beyond the senator’s run-of-the-mill hypocrisy. What is perhaps most fundamentally misleading about his claims is their implicit premise, namely that there cannot be a way in which the West and Russia – and others – could share Ukraine’s resources, obviously under conditions of international trade and investment no worse than usual, so that Ukraine as well would benefit. It is not Russia that has insisted on making economic warfare a routine tool of geopolitical competition, but the West. Graham is not only a rather vile cynic. He is also shortsighted; blinded by his poor man’s realpolitik. He has lost sight of the simple option of cooperation, even among competitors. In that respect as well, he is representative of America’s sadly declining elite.
**** By Tarik Cyril Amar is a historian and expert on international politics.

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Russia could arm North Korea – Putin 20 Jun, 2024 16:28

Such a move by Moscow would mirror the West’s arming of Kiev, the Russian president has warned.

Russia reserves the right to provide arms to allies, as the West claims it can arm Ukraine with impunity, and could send long-range weapons to the DPRK and other countries, Vladimir Putin has said.

Putin was speaking with reporters in Hanoi following his meetings with Vietnam's leadership on Thursday. One of the questions related to his previous suggestion that Moscow could send missiles to adversaries of the West, in response to the US and its allies greenlighting Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia.

”We do not rule out supplying weapons to other countries, including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Putin said. “Let the West think where they might end up.”

Western countries that have supplied long-range and other weapons to Ukraine have said they can’t be held responsible for how Kiev uses them, and insist that it does not make them parties to the conflict, Putin elaborated, adding that Russia therefore reserves the same right for itself.

The Russian president also noted that Moscow is considering modifications to its doctrine on the use of atomic weapons, as the West appears to be working on low-yield weapons to lower the nuclear threshold.

“We don’t need a first strike,” he said in response to another question. “Because our return strike is guaranteed to destroy any attacker.”

When asked about the peace terms he offered Ukraine last week, Putin said that Russia has always been willing to negotiate, while Kiev and its Western backers sabotaged both the Minsk process and the Istanbul talks. However, the terms he outlined will not be valid forever, Putin cautioned.

”Our terms will change depending on the situation on the ground,” the Russian president said.

Putin arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday evening from Pyongyang, where he signed a strategic partnership treaty with DPRK leader Kim Jong-un. His trip to Vietnam has involved the strengthening of bilateral ties with Hanoi, including trade and nuclear energy cooperation.

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Putin’s visit to Vietnam: From historical friendship to future plans 20 Jun, 2024 22:17

The Russian president has met with his counterpart in Hanoi following his historic trip to Pyongyang.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited Vietnam, heading a top-level delegation and signing a dozen strategic partnership and cooperation agreements.

The trip followed the Russian president’s state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, where a comprehensive new partnership treaty was signed with Kim Jong-un’s government in Pyongyang.

Putin met with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, parliament speaker Tran Thanh Man, and the general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong. The main topics of the meetings in Hanoi were economic partnership, trade, and scientific and technical cooperation.

Red carpet in Hanoi

The Vietnamese delegation greeted Putin on the red carpet with a guard of honor, as he landed at Hanoi’s Noi Bai international airport late on Wednesday night.

Among the officials who met the Russian president were Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang and Le Hoai Trung, secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and head of its Commission for External Relations.

On Thursday, Putin paid his respects at the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi and the Memorial to Fallen Heroes, opened in 1994 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Vietnamese victory over French colonial occupation.

He also invited President Lam to the 2025 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.

Nhan Dan article
Ahead of his visit to the Southeast Asian country, Putin wrote an article for Nhan Dan, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam, where he laid out the agenda for his meetings with the leadership in Hanoi, in particular boosting investment and mutual trade.

“[Russian] food, mineral resources, machinery and equipment are exported to Vietnam. Many Vietnamese goods, including clothing, fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products, are in demand on the Russian market,” he wrote.

Putin also reminded the Vietnamese of the support they received from the Soviet Union in “their heroic struggle against the French, and then the American invaders,” and to rebuild Vietnam afterward.

The Joint Statement

According to the joint communique released in Hanoi, Russia and Vietnam agreed to strengthen their bilateral interaction and create new mechanisms for cooperation.

Moscow thanked Hanoi for Vietnam’s “balanced and objective stance on the Ukraine crisis,” while Vietnam expressed support for Russia’s fight against terrorism.

The two countries called for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, opposed the deployment of weapons in space, and endorsed strengthening the role of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in tin regional interstate relations.

At the Hanoi Opera House

On Thursday, Putin took questions from Vietnamese graduates of Soviet and Russian universities at the Opera House in Hanoi, followed by a gala reception hosted by President Lam.

“I believe that the fight for one’s historical roots, for one’s traditional values ​​is an extremely important aspect for any state, for any country and for any people who want to survive as such and preserve their identity,” the Russian president told his Vietnamese audience.

During the question-and-answer session, Putin addressed topics ranging from science, technology, space exploration and eye surgeries to music, patriotic upbringing and tourism.

Agreements and memoranda

During Putin’s visit, Russia and Vietnam signed a total of 15 documents, including eleven agreements aimed at strengthening the “comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two countries.

According to the Kremlin, the agreements signed concerned higher education, justice, combating epidemics, nuclear technology, offshore oil exploration, tax policy, customs, and transportation.

Particular attention was given to the project led by Russia’s atomic energy agency Rosatom, to build a Center for Nuclear Science and Technology in Vietnam over the next three years.

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US to ban popular anti-virus software – Reuters 20 Jun, 2024 20:33

The use of programs created by Russia-based Kaspersky Labs is reportedly seen as a threat to America’s national security

Washington is set to announce plans to prohibit the sale of anti-virus software made by the Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Labs in the United States, according to a Reuters report which cited sources.

People familiar with the matter told the outlet that the company’s close ties to the Russian government were considered by the Biden administration as posing a “critical risk.” The sources cited Washington’s concerns over the software’s privileged access to computer systems could allow it to steal sensitive information from American users, install malware or withhold critical updates.

According to the report, the Russian cybersecurity firm could also be added to a trade restriction list, which effectively prevents a company’s US suppliers from selling it. Such a move could mean a massive hit to the company’s reputation and international sales, the sources said.

The restrictions will reportedly come into effect on September 29, giving the businesses 100 days to find alternatives. Downloads of software updates, resales and licensing of the product will also be barred. Kaspersky Labs will be banned in the US 30 days after the announcement of the restrictions. The Commerce Department will notify the companies before taking enforcement action against them.

If the department only adds the Russian entity to its trade restriction list, the damage will be largely reputational, Reuters said. If foreign units are added, the move could significantly hamper the cybersecurity company’s supply chain, it said.

Sellers and resellers who violate the restrictions will face fines, with potential criminal cases being brought by the Justice Department in the event of willful violations. Software users will not face any legal penalty but are advised to stop using it.

In 2017, the US Department of Homeland Security banned all federal agencies from using Kaspersky software, citing national security concerns but providing no evidence. Company founder and Chief Executive Eugene Kaspersky denounced the move as “baseless paranoia at best” at the time, with the company filing a lawsuit, which was later dismissed by the court.

According to Reuters’ sources, there was a “significant back and forth” with Kaspersky before the ban, which proposed mitigating measures instead of an outright ban.

Founded in 1997, the cybersecurity and anti-virus provider Kaspersky is headquartered in Moscow and operated by a holding company in the UK. According to the firm, it operates in more than 200 countries and territories and has 400 million users around the world.

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NATO ‘moving into Asia’ – Putin 21 Jun, 2024 02:24

The Russian president has called for a “reliable security architecture” in the region

NATO is increasingly shifting its focus to the Asia-Pacific, creating security threats not only to all countries in the region, but to Russia as well, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

The Russian leader met with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam in Hanoi, a day after signing a strategic partnership treaty with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.

Speaking after the talks in Vietnam, Putin announced that the sides “showed a mutual interest in building a reliable and adequate regional security architecture based on the principles of the non-use of force and a peaceful settlement of disputes, in which there will be no place for selective military-political blocs.”

“The positions of Russia and Vietnam on these issues largely coincide or are close to each other,” Putin said.

At a press conference later in the day, the Russian leader noted that the situation worldwide is developing in a way that requires strengthening of cooperation with partners, “especially in those areas that we consider important, including taking into account what is happening in Asia.”

“We see what’s happening in Asia, right? A bloc system is being put together… NATO is already moving there as if to a permanent place of residence. This, of course, poses a threat to all countries in the region, including the Russian Federation. We are obliged to respond to this and we will do so,” he insisted.

Russia reserves the right to provide arms to allies, as the West claims it can arm Ukraine with impunity, and could send long-range weapons to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and other countries, Putin added.

Last month, in a thinly veiled reference to NATO and other Western-dominated organizations, Putin warned that the Asia-Pacific region is “no place for closed military and political alliances,” adding that both China and Russia deem the establishment of such blocs as “harmful and counterproductive.”

Back in 2021, the US, UK and Australia established the AUKUS security partnership, with the main goal of helping Canberra acquire nuclear-powered submarines. Washington is reportedly attempting to fast-track Canada and Japan’s membership.

Beijing has condemned the AUKUS pact as an attempt to build an “Asia-Pacific version of NATO,” with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin arguing last year that it is based on a “Cold War mentality which will only motivate an arms race, damage the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and harm regional stability and peace.”

Earlier this year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also denounced NATO as a “walking war machine that causes chaos wherever it goes.” Beijing has accused the US-led bloc of meddling in Asian affairs, branding it a “terrible monster” that has extended a “black hand” toward the region.

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NATO agrees on new chief 20 Jun, 2024 20:21

Dutch politician Mark Rutte has secured the consent of all bloc members to replace Jens Stoltenberg

Caretaker prime minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte has been tapped to become the next secretary-general of NATO. He will succeed Jens Stoltenberg, who has led the US-led military bloc since 2014.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis had announced his candidacy for the job in March, six months after Rutte began his campaign, but notified the bloc on Thursday that he was withdrawing from consideration.

Only Hungary had endorsed Iohannis, but Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Tuesday that he had reached an agreement with Rutte. Another holdover, Slovakia, quickly followed suit.

NATO at this point appears to have settled the succession issue before its July summit in Washington, where the bloc will celebrate its 75th anniversary. Rutte is expected to take over his duties on October 2. Not everyone has reacted to the news positively, however.

“I’m a hard NO on Rutte,” said Richard Grenell, former acting head of US national intelligence and a confidant of former – and possibly future – President Donald Trump. “The president of the United States in January 2025 will pick the NATO secretary-general,” Grenell added.

“Mark Rutte spent 10+ years destroying our country. His promises are worthless. He’s a pathological liar and a warmongering globalist,” Dutch political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek said following his endorsement by Orban, adding that having him as the secretary-general of NATO “means serious trouble for humanity.”

Rutte’s critics have pointed out that in his 14 years of ruling the EU’s fifth-largest economy, he failed to meet NATO’s goal of having military spending account for 2% of the Netherlands’ GDP. Likewise, he did not campaign hard in Eastern Europe, where a candiddate that is more hawkish on Russia would be preferable.

Stoltenberg has been the head of the bloc for a decade now. His term was extended four times due to disagreements about succession. The Ukraine conflict in 2022 saw his tenure extended through September 2023, which got pushed back again at last year’s summit in Vilnius.

Meanwhile, Rutte is still the caretaker prime minister of the Netherlands. He disbanded the Dutch government last July, after his coalition collapsed over immigration policy. The winners of the December 2023 election have not yet managed to form a cabinet.

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US to redirect air defense orders to Ukraine – White House 20 Jun, 2024 16:46

Countries waiting for Patriot and NASAMS missiles have been put on hold until Kiev’s needs are satisfied.

The US will prioritize deliveries of Patriot and NASAMS missiles to Ukraine over any pending orders from other countries, in an effort to shore up Kiev’s air defenses, the White House announced on Thursday.

White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby told reporters that Kiev is currently “in desperate need of additional air defence capabilities” as Russia continues to target Ukraine’s power grid ahead of the fall and winter.

At present, Kiev has at least four Patriot systems, provided by the US and Germany. Late last month, the Netherlands launched a joint initiative to deliver one more air defense battery to Ukraine, calling on several other nations to donate separate constituent parts. While Spain, Greece, Romania and Poland have Patriots at their disposal, they have so far refused to donate them to Kiev.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has asked Western backers to deliver at least seven more Patriot units amid an intensified Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities in recent months.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Ukraine’s demand for interceptor missiles would take precedence until the country “has enough to defend itself from Russia’s air attacks.” The original story suggested that all other orders – both for Patriot launchers and ammunition – would be halted. However, its authors later amended the article to say the restrictions would only affect missiles.

The newspaper noted that Poland, Romania and Germany all have open orders with American manufacturers for Patriot systems, with a separate outstanding contract for 1,000 missiles placed by a group of NATO member states back in January.

On Tuesday, Switzerland’s Blick newspaper reported that the US had delayed the scheduled delivery of Patriot interceptor missiles to the country, citing the Ukraine conflict as ‘force majeure’, which allows for the contract to be altered. The Swiss military later confirmed that the report was true.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy last Thursday, President Biden said countries that are expecting US air defense systems would have to wait.

The US head of state explained that “everything we have is going to go to Ukraine until their needs are met.”

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