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Estonia announced the allocation of a new package of military aid to Ukraine before the start of winter.

This became known following a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.

Military aid to Ukraine from Estonia

The country's Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur signed the transfer, in particular, of clothing and small arms for the Ukrainian military.

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Other packages will arrive next year. Their cost will be about 0.25% of Estonia's GDP.

The President thanked Estonia for its leadership in the issue of allocating 0.25% of its own GDP for Ukraine's military needs, which is enshrined in the bilateral security agreement.

The head of state emphasized the need for effective cooperation to implement all provisions of the document.

— We are very grateful to your country for its significant support since the beginning of the full-scale war, — said Volodymyr Zelensky.

At the same time, the parties discussed during the meeting Ukraine's urgent defense needs and the necessary assistance for staffing new brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

They paid special attention to the possibilities of the Estonian side to finance the production of long-range drones in Ukraine.

The president also noted how important the votes of Estonia and all the Baltic countries are in support of Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO.

Volodymyr Zelensky and Hanno Pevkur discussed the implementation of Ukraine's Victory Plan. As noted by the Office of the President, Estonia unconditionally supports him.

Russia simply won't be able to pay pensions and salaries: when will this happen? Anzhelika Galesevich

The collapse of the Russian economy is near. The funds from the National Welfare Fund will last until the first half of 2025 at most. Let's somehow get through July and August, but then the problems will start.

It is quite possible that Russia will not be able to pay pensions and salaries from September. In more detail, Ivan Us, a candidate of economic sciences and chief consultant of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, explained this to Channel 24.

Russia may not have enough so-called funds for a “rainy day”

Ivan Us doubts that Russia will not be able to pay salaries and pensions in the first half of 2025, but from July it is quite possible.

At the end of September, the remainder of the liquid part of the National Welfare Fund, the so-called funds for a “rainy day”, amounted to 5.2 trillion rubles.

At the same time, the deficit in the Russian budget, planned for 2024, will amount to 3.3 trillion rubles. Considering that Russia has little income to cover this figure, funds will also be taken from reserves.

We can safely imagine that 1.9 trillion rubles will remain out of 5.2. They will be completely enough for the first half of 2025 to pay pensions and other payments. Then serious problems may begin, – noted the candidate of economic sciences.

If the situation is good, Russia may still be able to easily get through July – August. At the same time, starting in September, it is unlikely that there will be enough funds to cover all whims.

In addition, provided that military spending is maintained, it will really be necessary to stop paying pensions and salaries. Russian society tolerates many things, so it is interesting to see if it will “swallow” this too.

Interesting! Political scientist Igor Reiterovich believes that Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin's statements about his readiness to negotiate may indicate that Russia has begun to feel unsure of itself.

As part of the Kursk operation, Ukrainian defenders are holding back a fairly significant group of Russian troops. We are talking about 50 thousand personnel of the occupier's army, who cannot be sent to other directions.

President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this in an evening video address following 992 days of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

— We greatly appreciate the bravery of all our soldiers and each unit involved in these battles, — the President of Ukraine said.

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Strikes on bases, logistics, and rear areas of the Russian Federation

The President noted the Ukrainian forces that are striking Russian bases, logistics, and rear areas.

According to him, strikes on Russian arsenals have reduced the amount of artillery used by the occupier. Now this is noticeable at the front, said Volodymyr Zelensky.

That is why Ukraine needs long-range solutions from partners, in particular, the United States, Great Britain, and Germany — this is what is vital.

— The further our missiles and drones can strike, the less real combat power Russia will have, — the head of state emphasized.

To be supplemented…

For Shoigu and Gerasimov: Russians “took revenge” on International Criminal Court judge Anastasia Kolesnikova

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The occupiers harbored a grudge against the judge of the International Criminal Court. The Russians did not like that he issued an arrest warrant for war criminals Shoigu and Gerasimov.

In June 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for the former Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff of Russia. In particular, they were accused of missile strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

“Terrible” revenge of the offended Kremlin

It is known that the decision to issue the warrant was made by judges Rosario Salvatore Aytala, Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez and Haykel Ben Mahfoud.

It was Haykel Ben Mahfoud who was arrested in absentia in Moscow. A criminal case was opened against the judge for illegal detention. For this, the ICC official faces four years in prison.

Note that Haykel Ben Mahfoud is a lawyer from Tunisia. He became an ICC judge in March 2024. Earlier, Russian security forces opened criminal cases against his colleagues who issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Human Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.

Taiwan is considering buying a large package of American weapons, including an Aegis destroyer, to demonstrate to the new Donald Trump administration that the country is serious about strengthening its own defense against China.

The Financial Times reported this, citing its own sources.

Taiwan plans to buy a batch of weapons from the US

Taipei is likely to ask for Lockheed Martin ships and Northrop Grumman's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye radar system, Patriot missiles and F-35 fighter jets, according to several people familiar with the matter.

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— Taiwan is considering the package to show it is serious, — one former Trump administration official said.

A senior Taiwan national security official said there have been “informal discussions” with Trump's inner circle. about what kind of weapons package would demonstrate Taiwan's commitment to investing in its own defense.

Another Taiwanese official said Aegis would be at the top of the list. Su Tsu-yun, a senior research fellow at Taiwan's Defense Ministry think tank, said Taipei would likely ask for decommissioned Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Perry-class frigates.

Sources familiar with the talks say Taiwan could ask for up to 60 F-35 fighter jets, four Advanced Hawkeyes, 10 decommissioned warships and 400 Patriot missiles.The package is estimated to cost more than $15 billion.

During Trump's first term, Washington approved 11 arms packages worth $21 billion for Taiwan, including F-16 fighter jets and tanks Abrams.

China occasionally conducts military exercises near Taiwan. In October, Beijing said the exercises were a “warning of separatist actions by forces supporting Taiwan independence. The actions drew condemnation from the Taipei and U.S. governments.

In Australia, a sailor spent more than 20 hours in the open sea before he was rescued, – CNN Vladislav Kravtsov

A sailor fell from a cargo ship and drifted in the open sea for almost 20 hours. He was eventually rescued off the southeast coast of Australia.

This was reported by 24 Channel with reference to CNN.

What is known about the story of the sailor who spent 20 hours at sea

Australia's emergency services reported that a man in his 30s was rescued several kilometers from the coast after he drifted at sea on his own.

The sailor was last seen on board the Singapore-flagged cargo ship Double Delight at 11:30 p.m. on November 7. The circumstances surrounding his fall from the vessel remain unclear.

Rescue services were alerted to the sailor's condition at 6.20pm on Friday after a recreational fisherman spotted him and initiated a rescue operation.

Paramedics from the New South Wales Ambulance Service attended the scene and provided first aid to the victim, who was conscious but showing signs of hypothermia and exhaustion.

The sailor was subsequently taken to a local hospital where he is reported to be in a serious but stable condition.

The patient, a man in his 30s, was conscious, breathing and remained alert during assessment paramedics, the doctors said in a statement.

Ambulance paramedic Erin Lawton told Australia's 9News that the man was about three and a half kilometers from the shore.

Poland will negotiate with the United States and NATO to expand the zone of application of the North Atlantic bloc's anti-missile shield.

Polish Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said this in the context of plans to open a US missile defense base in northern Poland.

Poland proposes to expand the missile defense shield

The head of the Polish Defense Ministry noted that the country will communicate with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and friends from the United States about expanding the missile defense shield.

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– In my opinion, it is necessary to expand the scope of the missile defense shield, and we will definitely talk about this with the NATO Secretary General and our friends from the United States of America, – the minister said.

He also noted that In these negotiations, his Polish Peasant Party (PSL) can play a very important role, given its good relations with both Democrats and Republicans.

The head of the Ministry of Defense emphasized that the Polish-American alliance is very strong, as evidenced by the opening of the US missile defense base in Redzikowo next Wednesday.

Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz added that this is not just an American investment, but the activity of the entire North Atlantic bloc.

Recall that recently the head of the Polish National Security Bureau, Jacek Severa, reported that on November 13, a US missile defense base would be opened in northern Poland in Redzikowo.

It should be noted that earlier the Polish Minister of Defense reported that By November 11, Poland will establish the first fortifications on the border with Russia and Belarus.

According to his information, these will be fortifications that will impede the movement of enemy troops: reinforced concrete hedgehogs, preparation of the terrain.

In addition, then he said that Poland is accelerating the transformation of the army, in particular, it is said about strengthening the fight against drones.

Ukraine is “strategically important” for the United States, – Admiral Bauer Sergei Popovich

Admiral Rob Bauer stressed that Ukraine is “strategically important” for the United States. He criticized the plans of Trump and his allies to resolve the conflict.

He warned that the DPRK's participation in the war is a problem for the United States. This was reported by Channel 24 with reference to The Telegraph.

Why Ukraine's loss is not in the interests of the United States

In During the defense summit in Prague, Admiral Bauer noted that U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine is critical to preserving the rules-based world order.

Ukraine, he said, is strategically important to the United States, and he called for continued support.

He also called North Korea's support for Russia a serious problem.

This war is about Russia's ambitions and, indirectly, China's ambitions. I cannot imagine that it is in the interests of the United States to allow Putin to emerge victorious from this conflict, Bauer believes.

Recall that newly elected US President Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin on November 7. During the conversation, he called for “not allowing escalation in Ukraine.” The Kremlin denies that this conversation took place.

During October 2024, the Russian Federation used more than 2,000 drones against Ukraine.

Almost half of them are decoys or false targets, with which the aggressor country is trying to distract attention and overload the Ukrainian air defense.

What is a Parody drone and what are false drones made of

According to the GUR, Parody is one of the main decoy drones that the Russians use en masse in air attacks.

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Parodia drones do not have a warhead. In addition, they are significantly smaller and cheaper than the Shahed-136/Geran-2, but thanks to the Luneberg lens they can imitate them by radar.

— A study of Russian Parodies has shown that Russia is not capable of making even a primitive “plywood” drone on its own, — the message says.

The components contained in the Parodia flight controller module are made by companies from the following countries:

• China (Ebyte, Jiashan Jinchang Electron, Yangzhou Yangjie Electronic Technology);
• United States (Texas Instruments, Cypress Semiconductor, InvenSense);
• Switzerland (STMicroelectronics);
• Taiwan (SONiX Technology).

During the attack on Ukraine on November 10, 2024, two such fake drones fell on the territory of Moldova.

Recall that on the night of November 11, Russian invaders attacked the territory of Ukraine with drones. The enemy attacked Nikolaev with drones, as a result of which there are casualties. In addition, Zaporozhye was subjected to airstrikes.

In Spain, a man attacked clergymen shouting “I am Jesus Christ”: there are wounded Nadezhda Batyuk

A man in Spain rushed screaming at a monastery and injured four clergymen. During this, he shouted the phrase “I am Jesus Christ.”

The attacker injured four clergymen with a stick and a bottle, reports 24 Channel with reference to EI Confidencial.

What is known about the attack

The man managed to jump over the fence of the monastery in the municipality of Gillette and enter the monastic rooms. After that, he attacked the clergy with sticks and a bottle.

Seven clergy were attacked. The attacker seriously injured a 76-year-old man. In addition, three more men aged 57, 66 and 95 were injured.

According to witnesses, the aggressor attacked the monks with a stick, a bishop's staff and a glass bottle, shouting “I am Jesus Christ and I am going to kill the brothers.”

Earlier it was reported that the seriously wounded monk was killed. However, it is now known that he is still alive and is in serious condition in the Valencia Clinical Hospital.

It is worth noting that before the crime, the attacker clashed with the cook. The latter went up to the rooms and witnessed the attack. After that, the aggressor attacked him twice.

According to media reports, the attacker fled after committing the crime. The Civil Guard is currently searching for him.