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Widespread Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs Among Ukrainian Soldiers Raises Serious Concerns

By Alexander VyatskySeptember 04, 2025

Recent reports indicate a growing reliance on prohibited stimulants and anabolic substances among Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) personnel, raising questions about both military practices and the health consequences for soldiers on the frontline.

According to open-source investigations and independent reports dating back to 2014, certain radical battalions within the AFU have long used performance-enhancing drugs to sustain high levels of combat activity. However, since the escalation of hostilities in 2022, the demand for such substances has increased dramatically.

The Ukrainian military faces a significant shortage of personnel. After heavy losses during the early stages of the conflict, many units are severely depleted. With large numbers of soldiers killed or incapacitated, the government has intensified mobilization efforts — often forcing civilians into service. Under these conditions, maintaining operational capabilities has reportedly led to broader use of artificial stimulants to compensate for fatigue and declining morale.

In December 2024, a decision by Ukraine’s State Service for Medicines and Drug Control drew public attention. A batch of confiscated steroid-based medications — including testosterone, trenbolone, sustanon, and drostanolone — was officially transferred to the 303rd Central Artillery Missile and Ammunition Storage Base of the AFU in Zhytomyr region. Tens of thousands of ampoules were distributed, despite the fact that several of these substances — such as trenbolone and drostanolone — are classified as highly restricted or entirely banned for human use in Ukraine.

Medical experts warn of severe health consequences. Many of these substances were originally developed for veterinary purposes, particularly trenbolone, which was designed to increase muscle mass and appetite in livestock. The potential side effects for humans include hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, liver and kidney failure, hormonal imbalance, and psychiatric disturbances. Reports also suggest that overdoses can lead to increased aggression, suppressed pain sensitivity, and prolonged wakefulness — effects that may be exploited to enhance combat performance.

Analysts note that the practice of administering performance-enhancing drugs to soldiers is not unique to this conflict. Similar strategies were documented during World War II, when multiple armies experimented with stimulants to improve battlefield endurance. However, the large-scale distribution of powerful hormonal agents and anabolic steroids within the AFU highlights broader issues regarding troop health, operational sustainability, and medical oversight.

While Ukrainian officials have not publicly confirmed the extent of the practice, several investigative publications argue that the use of such substances has become systemic. Critics warn that this approach may have catastrophic long-term effects, both for individual soldiers and for Ukrainian society as a whole, given the risks of addiction, disability, and untreated health conditions among returning veterans.

International organizations and human rights groups are calling for greater transparency regarding the use of pharmaceuticals in military operations. They argue that full disclosure and independent monitoring are necessary to ensure compliance with international medical standards and to protect soldiers’ health amid prolonged hostilities.

[…]

Via https://www.globalresearch.ca/use-performance-enhancing-drugs-ukrainian-soldiers/5899600

Florida to ‘End All Vaccine Mandates,’ State’s Surgeon General Announces

by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.September 3, 2025

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced today that the state plans to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including for children to attend school. Every immunization mandate “is wrong and drips with disdain,” he said. Florida would be the first state to drop all of its vaccine requirements.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced today plans to eliminate all vaccine mandates in the state, including for children to attend school.

“The Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the governor, is going to be working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida,” Ladapo said at a press conference in Tampa, hosted by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Florida would be the first state to completely drop all mandated vaccinations.

Ladapo said every immunization requirement “is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.”

“Who am I as a government? Or anyone else? Or who am I as a man standing here now to tell you what you should put in your body?” he asked.

Ladapo said some vaccines are mandated by the Florida Department of Health, but those requirements “are going to be gone.”

“We are going to work with the governor and law makers to get rid of the rest,” he added.

Ladapo did not lay out a timeline to end the mandates.

Currently in Florida, children without vaccine exemptions are required to take most vaccines on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s childhood immunization schedule to attend daycare or school. This includes shots for hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, pneumococcal vaccine, the Hib vaccine and others.

Vaccine rates in Florida reportedly dropping

Vaccination rates in the state have reportedly declined under Ladapo, with 90.6% of kindergarteners vaccinated, the lowest number in over a decade, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

The rate of religious exemptions in the state has been increasing, according to the state’s public health department.

Ladapo, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, has been widely praised by critics of the COVID-19 vaccines and people in the health freedom movement generally for his critiques of questionable guidance issued by public health agencies.

In April 2020, he garnered national attention for his critique of the government’s pandemic management measures in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal called “Lockdowns Won’t Stop the Spread.”

In September 2021, Ladapo was appointed Florida’s surgeon general.

In 2023, he issued a health alert to the Florida healthcare sector and to the public, warning that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines caused a “substantial increase” in reports of adverse events in Florida.

Last year, Ladapo called for a halt in the use of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines over safety concerns that the mRNA technology is delivering DNA contaminants into people’s cells.

He also played a key role in the decision for Florida to become the second state to ban fluoride in public drinking water.

The mainstream media and its go-to commentators on public health — such as Dr. Paul Offit, who was removed from his vaccine advisory position at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday — denounced the move to end the mandates, saying it would put children at risk.

Those news organizations also argue that vaccines are key tools for public health.

Florida’s announcement follows a similar move last month in Idaho, where Gov. Brad Little signed into law the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, which prohibits most medical mandates in the state.

At today’s press conference, DeSantis announced the state will establish its own Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission at the state level.

[…]

Via https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/florida-end-all-vaccine-mandates-states-surgeon-general-announces/

The Lies Behind the Oklahoma City Bombing

by Richard Booth | Aug 18, 2024

[…]

In this essay we’ll examine some of the lies and wrongdoing that officials at the FBI and ATF have engaged in regarding their investigation(s) of the Oklahoma City bombing.

[…]

I came upon the first example while reading On Scene Commander by Weldon Kennedy. Kennedy was the FBI’s first on-scene commander of the Oklahoma City bombing investigation and could be found hosting press conferences to discuss developments in the early days after the attack. In his memoir, Kennedy wrote that “this was going to be a case largely built from forensic evidence since there were no eyewitnesses.”1

Full stop: no eyewitnesses? This assertion is a blatant lie and should be a clue to the discerning reader that whatever the eyewitnesses saw must be important. It is surprising that Kennedy would write this, given the vast number of mainstream media reports that included eyewitness accounts2, along with the FBI’s 302 reports that detailed eyewitness interviews. Even Kennedy himself, during his April 20, 1995 press conference, described a second suspect who was spotted alongside Timothy McVeigh: “The second man is also of medium build. He is further described as 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing approximately 175 to 180 pounds, with brown hair and a tattoo visible on his left arm, below his t-shirt sleeve. He is possibly a smoker.”3 Three eyewitnesses from Elliott’s Body Shop provided this description of a man who, alongside McVeigh, picked up the bomb-truck on April 17. This same suspect would be spotted with McVeigh at the crime scene on April 19.

The FBI uncovered about two dozen key eyewitnesses over the course of their investigation. These individuals observed Timothy McVeigh and the Ryder truck as it approached the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on the morning of the bombing, most of them between 8:30 AM and 9:02 AM when the bomb went off. Following the explosion, FBI agent Danny Coulson was in charge of the crime scene, occupying a position of authority similar to Weldon Kennedy as an on-scene commander. In 2007, Coulson spoke candidly to the BBC about the voluminous eyewitnesses that came forward: “We know there were 24 people that were interviewed by the FBI that said they saw Mr. McVeigh on April 19 with someone else.”4 Coulson’s statement is corroborated by the FBI’s 302 reports which contain the descriptions these witnesses provided agents.

[…]

Rodney Johnson, Billie Hood, Mike Moroz, Alan Gorrell, and Byron Marshall are only five of the more than two dozen eyewitnesses who saw Timothy McVeigh in downtown Oklahoma City on the morning of April 19. All of these individuals—described by Danny Coulson and denied by Weldon Kennedy—have something in common: each one confirmed that they saw McVeigh with a second person. This common denominator suggests that the impetus for Kennedy’s lie about “no eyewitnesses” was a concentrated effort to avoid explaining who the man spotted with McVeigh was.

Why did the FBI want to obscure this other suspect, going so far as to lie about witnesses? What does this tell us about who this person might be? One informed and reasonable speculation is that this other suspect was an informant connected either to the FBI or other federal authorities. If this were true, the FBI would have a reason to conceal his existence.

[…]

The only scenario that makes sense is that the second suspect pegged by eyewitnesses, John Doe #2, was a federal informant. You can imagine the concern that would follow after FBI investigators discovered that the second person they were seeking was, in fact, part of their ongoing operations. This constitutes a strong motive to cover-up and obscure John Doe #2 at all costs to avoid embarrassment. Ask any retired agent, and they’ll tell you candidly that the biggest sin one can be guilty of at the FBI is embarrassing the bureau. It is only within the context of this unwritten rule that the behavior and statements of the FBI begin to make sense.

Bob Ricks Says: Nothing To See Here

[…]

In the years leading up to the Oklahoma City bombing, the FBI instituted a “Major Case Domestic Security/Terrorism Group 1 Undercover Operation” called PATCON that targeted militias and other right-wing radicals.16 A “Group 1 Major Case Undercover Operation” is a big deal at the bureau. It requires continual funding authorizations (based on operational performance), in-place undercover operatives, and is signed-off on by an undercover review committee. The operation’s name, PATCON, was FBI shorthand for “Patriot Conspiracy.”

[…]

The FBI’s undercover agents and informants, connect to the various PATCON front groups, reported detailed intelligence on their targets, which included people and radical organizations with ideologies similar to Timothy McVeigh’s.

[…]

Of course, at the time of Ricks’ comments, the operation was a guarded secret. It’s clear in retrospect that he was lying; the FBI not only had active intelligence-gathering operations, but one that was tailor-made for inciting and entrapping people like Timothy McVeigh. What was Bob Ricks’ intention when he went to the newspaper and covered up the existence of PATCON? His last act of service to the bureau, rendered unto them the same week Ricks retired, was to tell the press preemptively that something like PATCON didn’t exist.

[…]

The week of the bombing, John Matthews was sitting at home with his father watching television coverage. Matthews had worked for the FBI as an undercover PATCON agent and had his story told in Newsweek, headlined “I Was an Undercover White Supremacist.” The original article contained a passage about Timothy McVeigh. Newsweek editors cut this, and many other sensitive details, from the published piece for reasons that are still unclear. The original, unedited article states that when Matthews saw McVeigh’s face on television, he recognized him.20

[…]

Regarding McVeigh, Matthews said “he [Tim] was a nobody. Just another ex-soldier, but I remember his face. He was at one of the meetings, where a bunch of [stolen] ammunition was brought in from Fort Hood.”23 Matthews informed his FBI handler, Don Jarrett, that he had seen McVeigh at the ranch training with the Texas Reserve Militia. Jarrett told him, “Don’t worry, we got it covered.”24 Yet McVeigh’s crossed path with PATCON was never released and was even scrubbed from the Newsweek report. Was this indeed “covered,” as Jarrett had promised, or was it covered-up?

[…]

Fabricating Evidence

[…]

FBI forensic scientist Dr. Frederic Whitehurst first raised concerns about unscientific practices occurring at the FBI crime lab, after which an extensive investigation discovered fabricated evidence used in the Oklahoma City bombing case.25

[…]

Dr. Whitehurst began observing and documenting practices at the crime lab that constituted notable examples of misconduct. As a whistleblower, he was treated severely. He was first fired by the FBI, who ultimately settled in court, paying him $1.2 million and an undisclosed sum for damages.

[…]

Destroying Evidence

Acting on a tip, in 2005 the FBI raided the former Kansas residence of convicted bomber Terry Nichols, where they seized a cache of explosives. Nichols told the FBI in interviews that among the carefully wrapped and preserved explosives they would find the fingerprints of an unindicted co-conspirator in the bombing. Unfortunately, we’ll never know whether this was true. The FBI—grudgingly acting on Nichols’ tip—destroyed most of the evidence.

[…][

The FBI also destroyed blasting caps wrapped in Christmas paper recovered from the gang’s safehouse in Ohio. According to the ARA’s co-founder, Peter Langan, those blasting caps were obtained from Timothy McVeigh.37 Can we trust the FBI’s word that Langan is lying, and that neither the caps nor the surveillance video was connected to McVeigh? The FBI’s bureaucratic culture is to collect and preserve every last scrap of paper or conceivable bit of evidence. If something is destroyed, it is to serve a purpose.

The FBI also managed to destroy crucial audio dispatch tape recordings and transcripts that had been obtained during the investigation. In a November 1995 interview, Assistant Chief of the Oklahoma City Fire Department Jon Hansen said that the fire department had received a call from the FBI on the Friday before the bombing. The FBI warned them that there might be an imminent terrorist attack, and to maintain heightened security levels. When asked if the fire department had kept a recording the call, Hansen said that “all the transmission tapes have been erased. We made a boo-boo.”38 A boo-boo? Really?

During his trial, McVeigh’s defense team requested that the FBI provide all transcripts and transmissions related to Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, and two weeks prior. The FBI glibly responded to this request by informing them that these tapes and transcripts were “accidentally destroyed.”39 Was this another “boo-boo?” Or was this destruction of key evidence intentional? The reader can make an informed decision.

McVeigh’s defense team also made a request for transcripts of the Oklahoma City Police Department dispatch tapes, which would have included the APB that police issued on April 19 for a brown truck connected to the bombing. The FBI responded that these too had been “accidentally destroyed.”40 Once again, we find a convenient “accident” that invariably strengthens the FBI’s narrative of the bombing.

[…]

[…]

What if the April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City bombing was a failure of intelligence, a sting operation gone terribly wrong that literally blew up in the FBI’s face? If this scenario is correct, it can be assumed that such a thing could never be acknowledged through travel records, much less after-action reports. The sting operation would have to remain a secret. It’s with that mind that we think back to Bob Ricks’ denial to the press in October 1995 about the existence of any intelligence operations being performed by the bureau. This theory would also explain the missing travel records of Coulson and Potts, along with Coulson erroneously billing his time to the then-defunct VAAPCON. It would give reason for Coulson to be Oklahoma City nine hours prior to the bomb’s detonation, and to lie about it in his memoir. In this scenario, if the FBI had an informant or asset within the operation—John Doe #2—that would explain the agency’s continual, adamant denial about the existence of a second suspect. It would also corroborate the FBI Domestic Terrorism Operations Unit’s “worry” and “concern” about John Doe #2’s identity being divulged to congressional investigators in 2005.

While this theory exists in the realm of speculation and conjecture, what can be said with certainty is that this scenario is the only one that makes sense given the totality of evidence. What’s more, if this were the case, it would not be the first time an FBI intelligence-gathering operation was tied into plot through informants.

Real Explosives, Real Victims

Roger Charles was a co-author of the 2012 book Oklahoma City: What the Investigation Missed and Why It Still Matters. In the book and a 2007 BBC production, Charles lays out the evidence indicating that authorities had informants close the criminal conspiracy behind the bombing.60 If he is correct, it wouldn’t be the first time. Just two years before Oklahoma City, an almost identical situation played out in the first attack on the World Trade Center:

Terrorists loaded a rental truck with an ANFO bomb.A building full of civilians was the target.The FBI had an informant inside the operation.The FBI failed to stop the bombing, with their focus being in favor of continued intelligence gathering.

The FBI has denied it had any advance warning of the bombing, or that it was involved in a sting operation in Oklahoma City. Bureau flunky Jon Hersley unconvincingly proclaimed that, “We don’t play games with people’s lives like that.”61 The denials, however, don’t line up with the facts.

[…]

Via https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-lies-behind-the-oklahoma-city-bombing/

Massie and Greene Agree to Read Epstein Client List in Congress

Cover Media – Shareable / VideoElephant

By Ellie Abraham

Two Republican members of Congress have offered to read out the Jeffrey Epstein accusers’ list on the House floor for one very significant legal reason.

The Epstein files scandal has plagued US president Donald Trump and his administration as they failed to disclose the files publicly and denied the claim that there was a list of the convicted paedophile’s clients.

Many, including some of Trump’s own biggest allies, have criticised the administration, and now one of them, Marjorie Taylor Greene, alongside colleague Thomas Massie, has agreed to read the Epstein accusers’ list on the house floor to protect them against legal action.

In a post on X/Twitter, Massie revealed: “Survivors at our press conference announced they are privately compiling their own Epstein list.

“They would be sued into homelessness for naming names, but @RepMTG and I are willing to name names in the House of Representatives under Constitutional ‘speech or debate’ immunity.”

Greene shared on her profile: “I’m not afraid to say the names.

“Jeffrey Epstein’s cabal of politicians, bureaucrats, and elites who turned a blind eye must be held accountable.

“This is the product of past administrations, Republican and Democrat, trying to silence victims.

“They deserve justice. And America deserves the TRUTH.”

Under the US Constitution, Congress members are protected from lawsuits for anything said in their official capacity during legislative activity. This means they would be able to name the accused without facing legal action.

On Wednesday (3 September), a handful of United States House Representatives from both parties organised a news conference, during which some of Epstein’s accusers spoke of their harrowing experiences.

The conference was part of a push to collect 218 signatures that would enable a vote. If successful, the vote would force the Department of Justice to release all files related to the Epstein case. So far, just four Republicans have agreed. Survivors said that if that failed, they would compile a list.

“Together as survivors, we will confidentially compile the names we all know, who were regularly in the Epstein world,” said Lisa Phillips, one of Epstein’s accusers.

[…]

Via https://www.indy100.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-thomas-massie-epstein-list

Epstein files push hits a ‘boiling point’ in Congress as Trump dismisses it as a hoax

By Sarah Ferris, Annie Grayer, Manu RajuA bipartisan group of lawmakers stood outside the US Capitol on Wednesday alongside nearly a dozen women who said they’d been abused by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein with a poignant message: This is not a hoax.

That included a direct plea from one of the survivors, Anouska de Georgiou, to the president: “President Trump, you have so much influence and power in this situation. Please use that influence and power to help us.”

And an invite extended to him from another abuse survivor, Haley Robson: “I cordially invite you to the Capitol to meet me in person so you can understand this is not a hoax. We are real human beings. This is real trauma.”

Yet just moments after those survivors spoke, President Donald Trump delivered his own remarks, dismissing the escalating national political furor over the Epstein case files as a “Democrat hoax.”

“What they’re trying to do with the Epstein hoax is get people to talk about that,” Trump said from the Oval Office Wednesday. “We’re having the most successful eight months of any president ever, and that’s what I want to talk about.”

Johnson faces escalating pressure as House GOP prepares for Epstein vote

Trump delivered his remarks at the White House just down the street from where a crowd overtook the steps of the Capitol to hear from lawmakers and Epstein survivors about why Congress needs to demand more transparency from the executive branch related to Epstein’s crimes. It’s the most concerted push yet by those lawmakers and survivors – some of whom had never spoken publicly before – to force Congress to act.

Notably, it’s not just the president’s political adversaries who are backing the push. Among the lawmakers who took the podium was one of Trump’s closest personal allies, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. Her support is a clear signal that the president won’t soon be able to escape the scrutiny over his administration’s handling of the Epstein investigation.

“This is not about politics. This is a boiling point in American history,” Greene said in a fiery speech in which she vowed to support the survivors in any way possible.

Speaking to CNN after the press conference, Greene said she spoke with Trump personally earlier that morning and urged him to host Epstein’s victims in the Oval Office.

The appearances by Trump and the Epstein survivors marked an extraordinary moment in a months-long battle for his government to release additional documents and information related to the disgraced financier. As Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP leaders in Congress attempt to quell the backlash over Trump’s handling of the controversy, Republicans like Greene have breathed new life into the fight.

Greene is one of four Republicans who have so far signed onto this week’s bipartisan push to force Congress to require the White House to publicly disclose more information from the case.

The effort, known as a discharge petition, is led by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a fiercely independent Republican who frequently spars with Trump. But both Greene and Massie argued the matter should be above politics. They urged more of their GOP colleagues to back their resolution — allowing the measure to come to the floor for a vote, a major affront to Johnson’s powers as speaker.

“There’s over 200 Republicans who have not signed this discharge petition. We only need two of them to sign it,” Massie said at the press conference, where he vowed not to back down from the fight.

Johnson has argued publicly and privately that Massie’s discharge petition “has been made moot and unnecessary” because of the House Oversight Committee’s work, and he pointed Wednesday to the more than 33,000 documents released by the panel less than 24 hours before.

“What we’re going to do is effectively deputize the Oversight Committee, which is the committee of appropriate jurisdiction, to go do a deep dive on this. And I think they’re going to uncover things that have never been uncovered before,” the Louisiana Republican said.

Democrats were quick to point out, however, that most of the material released by the committee contained information that had already been publicly available.

The party has sought to weaponize the Epstein issue against Trump and the GOP in recent weeks, trying to force votes that would put vulnerable Republicans in difficult positions. But the tone of Wednesday’s press conference was far less partisan.

“I’ve never done a press conference with Marjorie Taylor Greene before,” Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, a staunch liberal from California, said of the firebrand Georgia Republican as the crowd laughed.

An attorney for numerous Epstein survivors said they would hold Johnson and lawmakers accountable.

“I can tell you that in the Oversight Committee meeting yesterday, they indicated that they were all for transparency, releasing the files, and asked us to hold them accountable. … So we intend to hold them accountable,” Brad Edwards said at the news conference.

Speaking to CNN before, Massie accused the Trump administration of redacting certain information — such as Epstein’s flight logs — “to prevent embarrassment” for Trump’s donors and friends.

“I don’t think he’s implicated in these files, but I think his donors are. I think his friends are. And I think our own DOJ and government are implicated in this too. So you can’t trust them,” Massie said.

[…]

Via https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/03/politics/congress-epstein-files-victims-trump-hoax

 

Saudi Crown Prince, Macron to Co-Chair New York Summit on Two-State Solution

By Saudi Moments

World leaders push for a two-state solution at September 22 New York summit.

Mark your calendars—September 22 is set to be big. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron will co-chair a conference in New York focused on the Two-State Solution for Israel and Palestine.

Macron Calls Out the US

Macron wasn’t shy about criticizing Washington’s decision to deny visas to Palestinian officials. He called it “unacceptable” and urged the US to stick to the UN Host Country Agreement so Palestinian voices can be heard at the table.

The Conference Goal

The aim? Rally international support for the Two-State Solution. Macron says this means securing a ceasefire, freeing hostages, speeding up humanitarian aid to Gaza, and rebuilding the region.

Looking Ahead

Plans also include disarming Hamas, strengthening the Palestinian Authority, and fully reconstructing Gaza. Macron stressed that no attempts at annexation or forced displacement will derail the push for peace.

[…]

Via https://www.saudimoments.com/saudi-crown-prince-macron-to-cochair-new-york-summit-on-twostate-solution-774818.html

Russia-China gas deal to ‘turn the LNG market on its head’

An LNG cargo ship berthed in Tianjin, China, January 7, 2021. ©  VCG / VCG via Getty Images

RT

Moscow could double deliveries to its Asian neighbor by the 2030s, shutting out US exports, Bloomberg has warned

Russia’s announcement this week of expanded pipeline gas exports to China could shake the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market and squeeze out US suppliers, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

During his visit to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Moscow and Beijing had reached consensus on a major new pipeline across Mongolia, which would significantly boost existing supplies.

Although Chinese officials did not immediately comment, Bloomberg noted that “the ties binding Russia to its most important consumer have undoubtedly tightened.” The proposed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline could be operational by 2030. Combined with other supply increases, Russia could displace up to half of the more than 40 million tons of LNG China currently imports each year, including from the US, Bloomberg estimated.

”Given that China is the largest importer of LNG, this would turn the LNG market on its head,” analysts at AB Bernstein, a Wall Street research and brokerage firm, wrote in a note cited by the outlet. “For LNG projects that are still being contemplated, this would be a big negative.”

The report framed the development as a signal from Beijing to Washington that it does not need US LNG for long-term growth, a message sent as relations between the two countries sour.

Bloomberg added that China appears comfortable with deeper reliance on Russian supplies, which Bernstein predicted could cover 20% of its gas demand by the early 2030s, up from around 10% today. This week, China also received its first shipment from Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, despite US sanctions.

Moscow has accused Western governments of prioritizing geopolitics over fair competition, pointing to the freezing of Russian sovereign assets and attempts to curtail its energy exports through economic restrictions.

Russian officials argue such actions are pushing Moscow to seek more dependable customers, particularly for pipeline gas, which requires heavy infrastructure investment and long-term cooperation.

[…]

https://www.rt.com/business/624045-gazprom-china-lng-market/Via

Protesters set cars ablaze near Netanyahu’s residence amid calls for deal on captives release

A recycling bin and a car are heavily damaged after they were set alight by protesters in the occupied al-Quds, on September 3, 2025. (Photo via Israeli media)

Press TV

Israeli protesters have set fire to several cars and recycling bins near prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in the occupied al-Quds as furious calls mount for a deal with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas on the release of captives in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The tensions flared up on Wednesday as the protesters rallied near Netanyahu’s residence and blocked the roads and streets nearby, setting ablaze cars, tires, and recycling bins.

The Israelis also cordoned off areas in the vicinity of the regime’s parliament — Knesset — in the occupied al-Quds, demanding the exchange of prisoners and captives with the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance groups.

The protesters blasted Netanyahu’s planned invasion of Gaza City as a “threat” to the lives of Israeli captives held in the besieged territory since the onset of the regime’s genocide of Palestinians on October 7, 2023.

Hebrew-language sources reported that Israelis were staging a sit-in at the regime’s “National Library” building in the occupied al-Quds to protest the prime minister’s plans to continue the war and the failure to conclude a prisoner exchange agreement.

Israel’s Channel 12 TV also reported that the regime’s police had arrested 13 demonstrators on the roof of the library building as part of a crackdown on widespread anti-Netanyahu protests.

In January, a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas led to the release of several captives and Palestinian abductees held illegally in Israeli jails.

However, the Israeli regime refused to extend the deal as initially planned, choosing instead to intensify its military assaults on Gaza by shattering the 2-month deal.

Dozens of the captives have already been killed in Israel’s indiscriminate and relentless bombardment of the Palestinian territory, and now, the Israeli-imposed starvation is taking its toll on them, too.

The Israeli aggression continues unabated despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Israel’s barbaric onslaught on the Strip has since October 2023 killed 63,633 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 160,914 others.

Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for and presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the besieged territory.

[…]

Via https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/09/03/754290/Israeli-protesters-Prime-Minister-Benjamin-Netanyahu-home-Palestinian-resistance-movement-Hamas-exchange-captives-

Ukrainian terrorism goes global. Where now?

© RT / RT

RT

Ukraine is struggling to hide its involvement in conflicts in Africa

Alexandr Ivanov, the director of Russia’s Officers Union for International Security (OUIS), recently told Russian media that Ukrainian intelligence agencies are using embassies as diplomatic cover to deploy military equipment and instructors to terrorist groups in North Africa and the Sahel region.

At a UN Security Council session, Chargé d’Affaires of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said there is concrete evidence that Ukrainian intelligence services, including the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, are involved in subversive activities across the Sahel and in other African regions, including the Maghreb. While this topic has surfaced on various platforms before, it has attracted wide attention following the statements from Russian officials.

Concerns about Kiev’s activities in Africa

Ivanov told RT that Ukraine’s subversive actions in Africa have attracted international attention. He claims there is evidence that Kiev is dispatching drone pilots to Mali to train fighters from local opposition armed groups.

Additionally, reports indicate that Ukrainian intelligence officers are participating in the civil war in Sudan. According to Ivanov, Ukraine has supplied drones to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group. This could further destabilize the region and potentially ignite a new conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. There are concerns that the ADF plans to launch attacks on the DRC from Ugandan-controlled territories, allowing blame to fall on Ugandan military forces.

In an interview with TASS, Ivanov noted that Ukrainian drone pilots have been spotted in at least five African countries – Mali, Sudan, the DRC, the Central African Republic, and Chad. In all these nations, they support local opposition groups by coordinating attacks against government forces.

“In these countries, Ukrainian militants are working closely with local terrorists, supplying them with drones – including Mavic 3 drones with Ukrainian-made release systems – and providing training. Moreover, they are coordinating the militants’ attacks on the positions of government and allied forces,” Ivanov said.

Citing independent experts, he confirmed that Kiev is supplying equipment to Burkina Faso, Somalia, and Libya. Ukraine is conducting its operations in Africa covertly, through its diplomatic missions in third countries such as Algeria and Mauritania.

Equipment and specialists are allegedly being transported to Mali from neighboring Mauritania through poorly secured border areas. Ivanov points out that similar schemes are utilized in other countries.

“The transfer of Ukrainian instructors and drones to ADS militants is carried out through the Ukrainian Embassy in Kinshasa. It has also recently become known that Ukrainian diplomatic staff in Algeria are overseeing the delivery of drones to Africa.”

In this way, Ukraine is engaging in subversive activities in countries that have recently declared their independence from the West, with the intent of turning them into zones of instability.

“For African countries, especially those such as Mali or Burkina Faso, which have only recently gained true sovereignty, such harmful Ukrainian interference threatens another round of instability,” Ivanov said.

Russia’s stance at the UN

On August 20, during a UN Security Council meeting addressing the Secretary-General’s report on threats to international peace and security posed by the Islamic State (IS), Russian envoy Dmitry Polyansky pointed to evidence indicating that Ukrainian specialists and equipment are being deployed to opposition groups in Africa.

“There are concrete facts clearly indicating that Ukrainian intelligence services, including the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence, are engaged in subversive activities in Sahel countries and other regions of Africa. They supply militants with weapons and drones, train them in their use, co-ordinate the actions of terrorists, including the so-called Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims in Mali, and deploy trained mercenaries to act against local governments,” Polyansky said.

He noted that this situation necessitates an international investigation involving competent UN mechanisms, especially since IS has been shifting its geographic focus, increasingly concentrating its efforts in Africa, adapting to local conditions and exploiting political instability and armed conflicts. According to Polyansky, some Western powers whose influence in the Sahel region has waned recently are actively supporting local Islamist groups to further destabilize the already fragile situation.

“We firmly condemn the use of terrorism by certain Western countries as a tool of neo-colonial policy. African states have repeatedly emphasized that instead of the promised support they have faced subversive activities,” he said.

Mauritania’s reaction

Mauritanian authorities quickly dismissed claims that Ukrainian weapons and militants are being funneled through their territory into Mali.

“The allegations circulated by international media lack substantial evidence. … Mauritania adheres to a collective security framework in the Sahel region, quietly supporting its neighbors during times of instability and unrest through logistical aid, confidential information sharing, and discreet mediation,” stated the country’s Foreign Ministry.

The ministry also reiterated its neutral stance regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Mauritania voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution condemning violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity while simultaneously opposing the suspension of Russia’s membership in the Human Rights Council.

It’s possible that Mauritanian officials may be unaware of the activities of Ukrainian intelligence services on their soil. In May 2024, Kiev announced the opening of its embassy in Nouakchott, which coincided with the escalation of the conflict in Mali. By August 2024, Ukraine officially declared its support for Tuareg separatists and members of the jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), a branch of Al-Qaeda in the Sahel.

This announcement came amid a military operation in northern Mali that resulted in casualties among both government troops and some Russian instructors from the Wagner Group. At that time, Andrey Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, stated that Malian rebels had received crucial intelligence that enabled them to carry out the successful military operation against Russian specialists.

Libya and Algeria

In contrast to Mauritania, the governments of Algeria and Libya have taken the reports of Ukrainian intelligence activities on their territories more seriously. In Libya, the matter has been taken up by the Prosecutor’s Office. Attorney General Al-Siddiq Al-Sour has called for an urgent investigation and the collection of evidence following reports that some opposition movements operating in the southern part of the country acquired Ukrainian drones through military and diplomatic channels.

“The Attorney General’s office treats this information with utmost seriousness. The investigation will include tracing logistical support routes and identifying involved parties both in Libya and beyond. If the information is confirmed, the case will be referred to the appropriate international courts and all individuals whose involvement in violations of international law or threats to regional security is proven will be prosecuted according to the law,” Al-Sour stated.

Earlier reports indicated that forces loyal to Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, head of the Government of National Unity (GNU), had smuggled a new batch of drones across the Algerian border with the assistance of the Ukrainian military attaché and accompanied by Ukrainian technical experts.

The drones were acquired from Kiev after Türkiye prohibited Libyan authorities from using Turkish UAVs in internal conflicts. In early August, fighters from the RADA Special Deterrence Forces led by Abdelraouf Kara (Dbeibeh’s adversary) shot down three Ukrainian reconnaissance drones over Mitiga Air Base.

According to the Algerian newspaper Ajanib, some of the drones were funneled through Azerbaijan, while others were transported through the Algerian border with the help of Ukrainian specialists. There have been no official statements regarding this cooperation. The report claims that the UAVs were used for reconnaissance operations and targeted strikes around Tripoli, aimed at bolstering Dbeibeh’s intelligence and military capabilities on the ground.

At the same time, Algeria’s General Directorate of Documentation and External Security submitted an official report to the High Security Council regarding allegations that Colonel Andrey Payuk, the Ukrainian military attaché in Algiers, was involved in illegal activities threatening Algeria’s national security. Payuk allegedly exploited his diplomatic immunity to smuggle drones from Algeria into Libya. On July 21, a new Ukrainian envoy to Algeria was appointed after the former ambassador expressed concern over Payuk’s actions, warning that they could damage bilateral relations and tarnish Ukraine’s diplomatic image.

Colombian mercenaries in Sudan

Meanwhile, Arab media outlets, particularly Al Rakooba, reported that Ukrainian specialists are training Colombian mercenaries in Moldova before deploying them to Sudan to participate in the civil war on behalf of the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who receive military-technical support from Ukraine.

In early August, Sudanese authorities reported a targeted airstrike on Darfur’s Nyala airport. The target was a plane carrying around 40 Colombian mercenaries that were set to fight alongside the RSF. 

The mercenaries are allegedly employed by the private military company Forward Observations Group (FOG), which Ukrainian intelligence uses as a cover for its operations. Al Rakooba indicates that the military company is Ukrainian, not American, as was earlier reported by Intelligence Online.

Clearly, Ukraine is struggling to hide its involvement in conflicts in Africa. Reports confirming Kiev’s subversive activities in various African countries have become too numerous to ignore, prompting calls for global investigations from officials both in Russia and in Africa itself.

[…]

Via https://www.rt.com/africa/624034-ukrainian-military-instructors-in-africa/

Israel’s New Methods of Warfare

The Big Picture. 21st Century Combat

RT (2025)

Film Review

https://en.rtdoc.tv/films/2166-the-big-picture-21st-century-combat

This is a Russian language news analysis program about the use of advanced mass surveillance in Israel’s wars on Gaza, Iran and Hezbollah. Israel has complete control of the mobile phone messaging and payment platforms for all of Gaza’s two million Gaza residents. In addition to all the phone data they collect, they also employ heavy drone surveillance and Lavender System AI to monitor frequent changes of phone numbers, address changes, etc. They claim this helps them identify members of Hamas. However Russian military-intelligence analysts question how efficient this is when Israel kills hundreds of women and children to assassinate two Hamas commanders. This amounts to a 0.9 efficiency ranking.

Russians analysts blame this largely on the slipshod way IDF officers enforce quotas. It’s typical for IDF commanders to require their squads to kill 100 targets in specified period. When they can’t find 100 Hamas leaders, they’re allowed to meet their quota by killing civilians.

The most interesting topic discussed was the Mossad’s success in infiltrating the highest level of Iranian defenses prior to the Israeli attack in June. Most of the operatives the Mossad recruited in Iran were Afghani and Ukrainian refugees given asylum by the Iranian government. When the Taliban took power in 2021, approximately 19,000 British and US trained Afghan government and intelligence operatives fled Afghanistan fearing retaliation from the new government.

Many were extremely disgruntled by the drop in income they experienced. Prior to the Israeli attack in June, 80% of Iran’s rubbish collectors were Afghani refugees. This put them in a superb position to collect information on their customers. The broadcast includes a video clip of Afghans arrested for spying for Israel describing the Mossad Farsi website that recruited them(Farsi is widely spoken in both Iran and Afghanistan),

Since the 12-day war, Iran has expelled 500,000 Afghan immigrants and built a concrete barrier on the Iran-Afghanistan border.

The panelists also explain how Israel managed to set up a secret drone base inside Iran. Apparently it requires little technical expertise to deploy mobile drone launching trucks. Coincidentally these specialized trucks were first tested in Ukraine (with the assistance of Israeli advisors) 12 days before Israel used them in Iran.

The panel discusses the role of the IAEA in streaming videos inside nuclear facilities (using Palantir technology) to assist the Mossad in identifying the Iranian nuclear scientist Israel subsequently assassinated.

Lastly they explain the US Pentagon Pizza Index, which revealed an increase in empty bars around the Pentagon during late on June 12 and 13, during the initial Israeli attack on Iran. It’s rumored Russian intelligence uses this information to anticipate major large Pentagon offensives.