🇫🇷 Ukraine's accession to NATO unlikely - Macron

France is putting the blame on both Zelensky and Biden.

French newspaper Le Figaro quotes Emmanuel Macron: "If Ukraine joins NATO, it will need security guarantees. But right now we cannot guarantee it.

❗️We should bear in mind that for Russia the security guarantees would be the complete demilitarisation of Ukraine, which (if Ukraine joins the alliance) cannot be ensured.

Macron also added that Russia's SMO forces Europe to think about independence from the United States

📝 "There cannot be a European security architecture without strategic autonomy, in and with NATO, but not dependent on NATO. The alliance is not something I depend on, it is something I choose. We need to rethink our strategic autonomy. Europe needs to get autonomy in technology and capacity, including from the US," Macron said.

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Bloomberg: Surovikin prepares a new offensive against Ukraine.

"The Russians, under the command of General Sergey Surovikin, are preparing an echeloned defense and adding recruits to their ranks." "Moscow may launch new offensives in the new year; until then, it seeks to undermine Ukraine's economy and national will by destroying its energy infrastructure," the agency writes. 

As the authors of the article note, it is unclear now which side will have the upper hand. "After months of claiming victory is near, Putin now admits his war will be long and says Russia has 'no limits' on military spending," Bloomberg notes.

#Source
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Biden ready to meet with Putin if Russia shows serious willingness to negotiate - John Kirby

The United States would not have been able to provide the same amount of assistance to Kyiv if it had not made the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan - Blinken.

https://t.me/AleksandrSemchenko/13903

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Update on the Marinka map showing Ukr presence in the hospital & surrounding buildings
again based on geolocation of a video

The appearance near Avdiivka of a new brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - the 45th Airborne Assault Brigade, still raises questions, because such a brigade has never existed before.
At the same time, in 2015-2018, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had experience in the formation of temporary consolidated brigades for tasks in the "ATO zone", a couple of times then the numbers "46" and "45" were also lit.
Now it is quite possible that these events will repeat, although the answer is most likely simpler - the mobilized simply has the old chevron left.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin/73435

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🇺🇸🛢 US strategic oil reserves

It took over 40 years to use the mechanism. Did it work well?

▪️Last week the US Department of Energy said announced that it would soon start replenishing the country's strategic oil reserves. For now world oil reserves created by governments are around 1.6 billion. Not taking into account commercial oil reserves, that would be enough for two weeks of world consumption. Both governments and commercial entities create oil reserves to compensate possible supply interruption in case of war or embargo. There are also investment companies that buy big amounts of oil and hold it for a certain time, but that’s a market operation.

▪️The US government decided to create strategic oil reserves back in the 1970s after the energy crisis broke out. The Gulf monarchies reaction to Israel's support was unexpected. The imposed embargo led to dramatic oil shortage, and the only way out was to buy and control enough oil. The US oil reserves were primarily based on petrodollars, since the FED got the possibility to print as many dollars as they needed without gold backing in 1976 (Jamaica Accords). Republicans Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush contributed greatly to piling up oil reserves. At the peak, they managed to accumulate 700 million barrels of oil. When Biden run for presidency, it was about 670 million barrels.

▪️That was enough to supply the equivalent amount of Russian oil for 200 days to Europe. So, when the US started financial attack on the EU energy market under cover of the military conflict in Ukraine, they had not much time for this very risky maneuver. That’s why they imposed embargo on Russian oil on December 5, 2022 and not before. If Russian oil supplies stopped completely back in February, Europe would face an economic and social catastrophe in 3-4 months. It took US almost a year to set new supply chains, while compensating gradually disappearing Russian oil with their strategic oil reserves.

▪️Conquering EU energy market is not an easy task. American oil reserves dropped to 380 million barrels. Washington paid a high price spending about half of the oil that had accumulated for almost 50 years. It was not enough to meet the EU oil needs, but enough to take control over EU energy market.

▪️Now the United States need to restore the oil reserves. It will take the several years to reach the previous volumes, if there are no global changes. For that period Russian oil will be shipped to Europe in various, mostly illegal ways. And some multinationals will help to bypass embargo, in favor of their profits. Old Europe will remain one of the main consumers of fossil fuels for several years.

🔺What’s next?
The idea of creating oil reserves was a good strategic decision that allowed US to dominate the world energy market. In a few years, after replenishing oil reserves, the Americans will be able to set full control over European market. The EU economic development will depend completely on the US vision. This big game is being played for decades, not for years. That’s why it was so deceiving for generations of EU politicians.

#Oil #USA #EU

@songofoil

Russia is stepping up its military presence in the Arctic, according to CNN

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/21/europe/russia-arctic-military-intl

#source

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Near Artemovsk, the Russian Army destroyed a close friend of Arestovich Alexander Snegurovsky, a former actor of the "Black Square"

#source

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Pyongyang's November test of the Hwaseong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, whose range, according to Japanese Defense Ministry estimates, could reach 15,000 km, showed North Korea's readiness to "retaliate with nuclear weapons for nuclear weapons." This is stated in the comments of the Central Telegraph Agency of Korea published on the website.

#source

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The artillery raid was not accidental and was in fact an attempt on the former Dep PM of the Russian Federation for the defense industry, which the Ukrainian special services had been preparing for a long time, having decided to ritually coincide with Rogozin's birthday. At the same time, it did not matter where he would be on that day, the black-and-white terrorists were considering several murder options, including an operation in Moscow. The executive "legal" basis for the terrorist attack was created by the Border Service of Ukraine, which accused Rogozin of a crime (illegal presence on the territory) and subsequent internal acts of the SBU.

The target was Rogozin's room, and not the restaurant halls of the first floor, as can be seen from the nature of the destruction and shell hits. (in the photo, Rogozin's room, completely destroyed by a direct hit, is circled on the left, the restaurant is on the right and in the center)

The Excalibur has a spread of about 4-5 meters. GPS guidance and INS. They were beaten, perhaps, just by time, without being drained by someone local, expecting that in any case Rogozin, returning with his group from the next task, would be in the room or hall

We assume, of course, that there was someone who reported, but this is not necessary. And without this, it was enough to know that Rogozin invited someone to a birthday party or gathered his own group.

Rogozin, despite being seriously wounded, visited his seriously wounded comrades in another Donetsk hospital.

/Soloviev/

🇰🇵North Korean Foreign Ministry denies accusations of supplying weapons to Russia

The Foreign Ministry said that Russia can ensure its security without the help of other countries.

The people of Russia are the most resilient, and they have the will and ability to ensure the security of the country and its territorial integrity without anyone's military assistance.

About American arms supplies to Ukraine: they are criminal, Washington has created a bloody tragedy.

#source

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🤯 Rituals of "Azov": Ukraine has become a satanic cemetery

Mystical rituals of the Nazis "Azov", the cultivation of death. All this is modern Ukraine.

The persecution of Orthodoxy, which Zelensky actively supports, has its roots in the neo-pagan religion of the country's aggressive minority.

#source

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Turkey fears that Bayraktar TB2 UAVs received by Mali can be carefully studied by Wagner PMC, which is located at the same airfield

#source

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The head of the Moldovan Information and Security Service (ISS), Alexander Musteata, decided to speak out in accordance with the general rule of Europe - when your government destroys industry and energy, try to blame everything on the Russians, start a hurdy-gurdy with a song about terrible and dangerous Russia.

Musteata said on TVR Moldova: “The question is not whether the Russian Federation will launch a new attack on the territory of Moldova, but when it will happen: either at the beginning of the year, in January-February or later - in March-April. But, judging by the information we have, the Russian Federation intends to go further.”

Under the guise of Russophobia, the Sandu regime hides its failures in the economy. But Mustiata obviously overdid it. Even the head of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Bogdan Addresscu, was forced to pull him up. Romanians have their own game. Bucharest wants not only to annex Moldova, but also to grab a piece of Ukrainian territory. And Musteata's inappropriate statements draw too much attention to the plans of Romania, which is not yet ready for active actions to absorb neighboring lands.

The chair of the head of the SIS begins to stagger under Musteata. Someone should play the role of the Moldovan "scapegoat".

#source

Zin Note: I want that painting...

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❗️❗️❗️❗️Russia will ban oil supplies under contracts with a price ceiling and is ready to reduce production, Novak said

“We are ready to go for a reduction in partial production, at the beginning of next year we may have a reduction of somewhere by 500-700 thousand barrels per day. This is about 5-7% for us," the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation added in an interview with the Russia 24 channel.

https://t.me/zvezdanews/104274

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