Moscow is considering arming adversaries of West in “sensitive” areas | Russia is considering “asymmetric” measures against Kyiv’s sponsors due to Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons against its territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. The Russian leader’s remarks came at a meeting with heads of international news agencies on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

💬 “We have no illusions in this regard,” Putin added, repeating his prior comments that Ukrainian troops might be pulling the trigger but the US and its allies are providing the intelligence and targeting information. [...] “Secondly, if someone deems it possible to supply such weapons to the war zone, to strike our territory… why shouldn’t we supply similar weapons to those regions of the world, where they will be used against sensitive sites of these countries?” the Russian president added. “We can respond asymmetrically. We will give it a thought.” [...] If the West continues to escalate, such actions “will completely destroy international relations and undermine international security,” Putin noted. “If we see that these countries are being drawn into a war against us, and this is their direct participation in the war against Russia, then we reserve the right to act in a similar way. This is a recipe for very serious problems,” he warned.

The Russian president also brought up the fact that some military instructors and advisers from NATO countries have already been deployed to Ukraine, and that a number of them were killed in Russian strikes.

■ Retired US Army Officer: Scary How West Pushing World to Brink of Nuclear War (Sputnik News)
■ US close to ‘fatal’ miscalculation – Moscow (06/04/24)
■ No One Can Rule Out A Transition of the Conflict to Its Final Stage (05/31/24)
■ Russia may arm US enemies, just like Washington does with Ukraine (Dmitry Medvedev)
■ Это весьма существенное изменение нашей внешней политики. (Дмитрий Медведев)

The West and particularly the US are to blame for the crisis, the Russian president insists | The tragic events currently unfolding in Ukraine started with the US-backed 2014 coup d’etat in Kyiv, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, stressing that the West is to blame for the conflict. Putin was speaking with heads of international news agencies on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

💬 “Everyone [in the West] believes that Russia started the war in Ukraine. But no one – I want to emphasize this – no one in the West, in Europe, wants to remember how this tragedy began,” the president said, responding to a question by a German journalist. [...] “It began with a coup in Ukraine – an unconstitutional coup d'état. This is the beginning of the war. Well, is Russia to blame for this coup? No.” [...] “No one planned to execute the Minsk agreements, they publicly stated they were not going to implement it,” the Russian president stressed, adding: “We were deceived.”

The Russian leader pointed out that everyone seems to have forgotten how the foreign ministers of Poland, Germany, and France arrived in Kyiv and signed the Minsk agreements as guarantors of peacefully resolving the crisis in Ukraine. These countries now prefer not to remember this, instead, they decided to resolve the conflict by use of arms against civilians in Eastern Ukraine, Putin said.

■ War in Ukraine Began After the 2014 Coup, Not Because of Russia - Putin (Sputnik News)
■ Zelensky ‘seized power’ in Ukraine – Putin (RT.com)
■ Kremlin calls US ‘an enemy’ for first time (RT.com)
■ The Reckless Brinkmanship With Russia Just Keeps on Escalating (Caitlin Johnstone)

Doctors Without Borders said at least 70 bodies and 300 wounded Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been taken to a hospital in central Gaza since Tuesday after a wave of Israeli strikes. | The charity said on Wednesday in a post on X that Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al Balah was struggling to treat “a huge influx of patients, many of them arriving with severe burns, shrapnel wounds, fractures and other traumatic injuries”. ● The Israeli military said earlier it had launched new air and ground operations in central Gaza focused on the eastern parts of Deir Al Balah and the built-up Bureij refugee camp.

■ Gaza Resistance Defiant as ‘Israel’ Commits More Massacres, Attacks UN School (Al Manar TV)
■ Israeli strike on UN school kills at least 40 in central Gaza (aNews)
■ Israel strikes UN school; Gaza media says at least 40 killed (GMA News)
■ 'Israel' commits massacre by striking UNRWA school as people slept (Al Mayadeen)
■ Israel to phase out use of military detention camp after torture allegations (The National)
■ Caught Red-Handed: Israel Bombing Lebanon with BANNED White Phosphorus (Hal Turner)

No replacement for Barak is immediately announced and officials tell media that Israeli may not appoint a new representative to the World Court hearing genocide case | Retired High Court of Justice President Aharon Barak resigned from his role as an ad hoc judge on behalf of Israel at the International Court of Justice on Wednesday night, citing personal reasons. Barak was a member of the 15-judge panel at the top UN court hearing of South Africa’s case accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

■ Spain to Join South Africa’s Gaza Genocide Case against ‘Israel’ at ICJ (Al Manar TV)
■ Spain asks UN court for permission to join South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide (Just the News)

Former Major General [Res] Gershon Hacohen described Hezbollah's military operations in northern occupied Palestine as “a great art by the likes of [Sayyed Hassan] Nasrallah." | In an interview with Zionist Radio 104.5FM, Hacohen discussed the security situation in northern occupied Palestine, stating "I did not enter into hysteria, ‘Israel’ is in a state of war on all its land, and we are reasonably agitated, because Hezbollah is humiliating us in a very efficient manner, and this is a great art for the likes of Nasrallah.” ● He further added: “We must unite in this war for our existence, grasp the need for leadership and common understanding, and acknowledge the concepts that existed before October 6.” In parallel, the former military official underlined that “In order to achieve victory, we must understand the magnitude of the situation we are in.” ● He then discussed the threats made by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, so-called “National: Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and War Cabinet member Benny Gantz to withdraw from the government if Netanyahu agrees to a ceasefire deal in Gaza. He emphasized that “we are in a fateful hour, and this is not a time for political games or for threats of quitting, as this is not how things work in these critical times.” ● In a message to the settlers in northern occupied Palestine who are preoccupied with the date of their return to their homes: “War is not a contractual dispute between a client and a contractor seeking a key.” ● We must grasp the assumptions behind our involvement with Hezbollah: “US hopes that calm in Gaza will extend to the north are uncertain, no one can guarantee this assumption.”

■ Hezbollah video confirms Iron Dome struck by missile (The National)

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Researchers have called for deeper probes into side effects and links to mortality rates | More than three million excess deaths were registered in Western countries during the first three years of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study that suggests that Covid vaccines could be partly to blame. ● According to the research from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, published in the journal BMJ Public Health earlier this week, a total of 3,098,456 excess deaths were reported in 47 countries between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022. ● In 2020, 1.03 million excess deaths were reported in the first full year of the pandemic, the study found. The year 2021, when the first vaccines were rolled out, saw over 1.25 million excess deaths, and in 2022 – when Covid-related restrictions were lifted – over 808,000 excess deaths were recorded, according to preliminary data cited in the study.

The results of the votes could very much affect Brussels' approach to climate change, ties with the US and China, aid to Ukraine, EU development and memberships, and the integration of AI innovations. | The four-day election marathon across the 27 countries of the European Union has kicked off in The Netherlands, with France, Germany, and others voting on Sunday, as the bloc's 370 million voters are voting at a time of deep geopolitical uncertainty. ● The Netherlands is just one of the bulk of nations where nationalist and far-right parties are expected to prevail in the results, while the Freedom Party (PVV) of Geert Wilders, who won the national elections last November, is also expected to take another win. ● The results of the polling could very much affect Brussels' approach to climate change, ties with the US and China, aid to Ukraine, EU development and memberships, and integrating AI innovations. ● Meanwhile, the votes count as a challenge for EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who is trying to run for a second term. Even if she does get votes, she would still need support from parliament.