Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin announces annexation of 4 Ukrainian territories after ‘sham’ referendums
- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed an order that will officially, in Russia’s view, annex four Ukrainian regions under the rule of the Russian Federation.
- “The people have made their choice,” he began his speech according to a translation by a Financial Times reporter.
- Putin vowed that Russia will now use “all available means” to guard the annexed territory in Ukraine and suggested Moscow could use any attack in the war torn region – where fighting has raged since February – to further escalate its aggressive tactics.
- Russian proxies in the regions claimed to have garnered 87% of civilian support in Kherson, 93% in Zaporizhzhia, 98% in Luhansk and 99% in Donetsk
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Putin sets partial military call-up, won’t ‘bluff’ on nukes
- Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia on Wednesday … nearly seven months after invading Ukraine.
- It’s the first call-up in Russia since World War II and is sure to further fuel tensions
- The total number of reservists to be called up could be as high as 300,000, officials said.
- The Russian leader, also warned the West that he isn’t bluffing over using all the means at his disposal to protect Russia’s territory, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to Russia’s nuclear capability. Putin has previously warned the West not to back Russia against the wall and has rebuked NATO countries for supplying weapons to help Ukraine.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Putin mocks the West, says Russia is gaining from the Ukraine conflict and will press on
- “I’m sure that we haven’t lost anything and we won’t lose anything,” he told an annual economic forum in Russia’s far-eastern port city of Vladivostok. “The most important gain is the strengthening of our sovereignty, it’s an inevitable result of what’s going on.”
- He added that the economic and financial situation in Russia had stabilized, consumer prices inflation had slowed down and unemployment has remained low.
- “Everything unnecessary, harmful and everything that keeps us from moving forward will be abandoned,” he said, adding that Western sanctions were “a danger to the entire world.”
- Taking aim at foreign corporations that have pulled out of Russia since the invasion, Putin said that many European companies were now folding because of their choice to leave.
- He added that Western attempts to cap prices for Russian oil and gas were “stupid” and Moscow will have enough customers in Asia.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Russia Strikes Port, Holds 20 Million Tons of Grain Hostage – Putin Accused of ‘Weaponizing Food’
- There was worldwide condemnation of the Russian missile strikes on the Black Sea port of Odesa just one day after Russia signed a U.N.-brokered agreement to allow grain ships to begin leaving.
- Firefighters battled the flames, dousing ships with water.
- Russia first denied it hit the port, then admitted it did, claiming it hit military targets.
- Ukrainian Parliament member Valentyn Nalyvaichenko says responsibility for getting Ukrainian grain to the world now rests with Vladimir Putin.
- Ukraine produces enough grain yearly to feed 400 million people, but last year’s harvest is still stuck in silos and there are fears that if it’s not shipped out soon, this year’s crop will be ruined because there’s no place to store it.
- S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink in a tweet called the Russian attack outrageous and said “the Kremlin continues to weaponize food.”
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- What Putin wants from Iran and why Tehran might be cautious
- “Russia deepening an alliance with Iran to kill Ukrainians is something that the whole world should look at and see as a profound threat,” U.S. National Security adviser Jake Sullivan said
- S. officials have said Iran is preparing to help supply Russia with several hundred unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, including some that are capable of firing weapons
- “Beyond supplying UAVs Iran can also help Russia evade sanctions and potentially collaborate on the manufacture of weapons systems that are less dependent upon supply chains through Western countries,” he said.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Russia bombards cities across Ukraine, with shelling in the north, cluster bombs in Mykolaiv and missile strikes in Odessa
- Russian forces struck a school, houses and a community center in Odessa using Kalibr missiles
- Cluster shells rained down on Mykolaiv, injuring two, while 150 mines and shells were fired in Sumy
- Ukraine is preparing a counterattack to recapture the biggest swath of territory taken since the invasion
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- In Message to the West, Putin Visits Iran to Bolster Ties as War Rages on in Ukraine
- Putin’s second trip abroad since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine
- Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- The talks will be centered on several pressing issues facing the region, including the Syrian civil war and a UN-backed deal aimed at resuming exports of Ukrainian grain to alleviate the global food crisis.
- Although Turkey is a NATO member and has fought against Russia in previous conflicts, both sides see something to gain in the high-stakes talks in Iran.
- Unlike other countries, Turkey has not imposed sanctions on Russia, making it a desperately needed potential partner for an increasingly isolated Moscow.
- Meanwhile, Turkey is relying on the Russian market as it grapples with economic woes of its own. Additionally, Turkey has sought to help broker talks to end the war in Ukraine.
- Iran is more open to talks with the Kremlin amid reports of an emerging US-backed Arab-Israeli alliance that could tip the balance of power in the Middle East away from Iran.
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Russia to place nuclear-capable missiles in Belarus
- That missile placement would continue a trend of Russian President Vladimir Putin subordinating Belarus to his vision of a “union-state” led by the Kremlin while sending an ominous signal to NATO — perhaps especially Poland and Lithuania, whose borders separate Belarus from Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave near the Baltic Sea.
- “Our decision has been made: We will hand over a number of tactical missile systems Iskander-M to Belarus within the next few months,” Putin said during a meeting with Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. “They can fire ballistic and cruise missiles with conventional and nuclear warheads.”
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Europe’s new Iron Curtain: The defenses designed to keep Putin out as Biden announces a new permanent base in Poland – while Sweden and Finland are formally invited into alliance and Russia blasts ‘destabilizing’ move
- US will sent thousands more troops to Europe along with fighter jets and ships to help defend against Russia
- Biden also announced first permanent US military base will be created in Poland – a move hailed by Warsaw
- Finland and Sweden were also formally invited to join the alliance, after Turkey dropped its opposition
- NATO has sent 4,000 extra troops to eastern flank and will boost high-alert force from 40,000 to 300,000
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Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
Important Takeaways:
- Russia defaults on foreign debt for first time since 1918 following sanctions
- The default signals the first of its kind since 1918, although Russia has called it artificial because it can afford to pay its debts, but sanctions have frozen its foreign currency reserves held abroad.
- The Russian Finance Ministry then said it would pay dollar-denominated debts in rubles and offer “the opportunity for subsequent conversion into the original currency.”
- The country owes around $40 billion in foreign bonds, about half of that is owed to foreigners.
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