Maria Zakharova stressed that "the level of nuclear risks have risen dramatically as a result of the West’s destructive policy, which is fraught with a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers" | Russia warns the United States and NATO against taking any actions that undermine its security, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

💬 "We are sending clear and unequivocal signals to the United States and NATO warning them about potentially catastrophic consequences of their policy toward jeopardizing Russia’s security." ● "Regrettably, the level of nuclear risks have risen dramatically as a result of the West’s destructive policy, which is fraught with a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers," she said, adding that Russia never stops efforts to ensure nuclear deterrence. ● "Apart from that, Russia regularly reviews its doctrines to assess their relevance to the current threats," Zakharova noted. "Thus, the reliability and effectiveness of nuclear deterrence in Russia are ensured at a proper level and should not be doubted."

■ Russia must fear NATO – bloc member (RT.com)
■ New US $6Bln Aid for Ukraine Includes Munitions for NASAMS, Patriot, HIMARS (Sputnik News)
■ Russia has never threatened NATO – Shoigu (RT.com)
■ Russia Defense Minister: We Will Target Western Weapons Shipments into Ukraine (Hal Turner)

The spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces says it has carried out new operations against American and British targets in retaliation for their aggression on the country. | Brigadier General Yahya Saree said on Friday that Yemen’s naval forces struck a British oil tanker in the Red Sea with missiles. Saree also said the military also shot down an American MQ-9 drone in Sa’ada province. He added that the new operations were also a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, amid the Israeli genocide there.

■ 'Incident' reported off coast of Yemen in Red Sea (Al Mayadeen)
■ USS Dwight D Eisenhower leaves Red Sea after failing to stop Yemenis (Al Mayadeen)

Belarus has announced that it intercepted a kamikaze drone attack from Lithuania. It is the first time that Minsk has officially spoken of an attack by NATO forces stationed in Lithuania. | In their statements, the Belarusian security authorities and the country's president have implicated Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine. ● In particular, the head of the Belarusian security service said this morning that it had prevented an attack on the capital Minsk by drones launched from Lithuania. ● The president of Belarus, A. Lukashenko, emphasized that there is a NATO attack plan against his country. According to him, the plans of the opposition and its Western facilitators are to occupy the Kobrin region of Belarus, declare a new government, turn to NATO and ask NATO to send troops. “64,000 US troops along with 33,000 more from NATO are permanently stationed in Europe. Of these, 20,000 have been deployed in Poland and the Baltics," Lukashenko added. He claimed that 120,000 Ukrainian soldiers were deployed near the border with Belarus and that he is "very sure" that a serious incident is about to happen.

The Americans will get stuck in a bloody swamp in Ukraine, Russia’s Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov has warned | The long-range ATACMS missiles that the US has supplied to Ukraine are “extremely dangerous weapons,” but they will not help Kyiv turn the tide of the conflict against Moscow, Russian ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov has said. ● On Wednesday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that back in February, US President Joe Biden had ordered the provision of Kyiv with a “significant” number of ATACMS missiles for use inside Ukraine, which commenced the following month. The ATACMS, which have a range of 300km, “were transferred quietly to Ukraine in order to maintain operational security,” Pentagon spokesman Major Charlie Dietz stressed. ● The delivery of long-range missiles to Kiev is “impossible to justify,” Antonov said in a post on Telegram on Thursday. The move by Washington “increases the threat to the security of Crimea, including Sevastopol, the new Russian regions [the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, and the Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions] and other Russian cities,” he added.

💬 The assurances by the US officials that the long-range missiles will not be used against Russian territory are “particularly cynical,” the ambassador stressed. “How can we ignore the numerous terrorist attacks by Kyiv’s criminals? Deadly strikes on hospitals, schools, kindergartens, bridges and even their own servicemen?”

■ Upon $61 Billion in new U.S. Aid to Ukraine, Russia Declares It Must Now Also Take Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts

A former French counter-terrorism intelligence officer Nicolas Cinquini is actively pursuing information regarding French citizens participating in the war on Ukraine's side. | Nicolas Cinquini, a former French counter-terrorism intelligence officer currently looking into information regarding French citizens participating on Ukraine's side in the conflict, informed Sputnik on Thursday that approximately 75 French mercenaries in Ukraine have either been killed, injured, or have returned to France since the beginning of the conflict.

💬 “Including those killed, wounded, and those who have returned, the list I have published as of today includes 75 individuals who have been identified accurately or under pseudonyms, which can already tell us a lot,” Cinquini said. (He mentioned that the list also comprises two individuals whom French authorities refer to as "volunteers.") "The government presented them as 'humanitarian workers', employees of a Swiss NGO, but I am convinced that they were government agents. Their existence was revealed to us with their death on February 1," the former intelligence officer said.

■ At Least 75 French Mercenaries Fought for Ukraine - Ex-Intel Officer (Sputnik News)

President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran has issued a stern warning to the Israeli regime in the event of any act of aggression against Iranian territory.

President Raisi has sent a pointed warning to West Jerusalem | Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has threatened Israel with annihilation if it attempts to attack Iran again. ● Raisi arrived in Pakistan on Monday for a three-day visit. He addressed the recent tensions between Tehran and West Jerusalem at an event in Punjab on Tuesday.

💬 “If the Zionist regime once again makes a mistake and attacks the sacred land of Iran, the situation will be different, and it is not clear whether anything will remain of this regime,” the state news agency IRNA quoted Raisi as saying.

■ Nothing will remain of Israeli regime if it attacks Iran: Raisi (IRNA)

"It is obvious that the upcoming combat training on the territory of Finland is part of a hybrid war against our country," Maria Zakharova said 💬 "NATO’s military exercises close to the Russian borders are provocative. Their aim is to exert military pressure on the Russian Federation by the demonstration of force," the diplomat said. ● These maneuvers near the Russian borders "increase the risks of potential military incidents," she stressed. ● The military alliance’s representatives "are deliberately whipping up hysteria around the alleged Russian ‘threat’" and "are actively spreading insinuations about some plans by Russia to attack the bloc’s member states" in order "to justify their own aggressive intentions." "It is obvious that the upcoming combat training on the territory of Finland is part of a hybrid war against our country." [...] "Helsinki seeks to complete its official ‘registration’ in NATO as ‘a new recruit’ as soon as possible and become a full-fledged participant in this adventure," the diplomat said.

■ Russia Has Moved Tactical Nuclear Missiles to their Western Border (Hal Turner)
■ Upon $61 Billion in new U.S. Aid to Ukraine, Russia Declares It Must Now Also Take Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts
■ It turned out where the ATACMS missiles transferred to Ukraine by the Americans can fly to the Russian Federation
■ US-led West on verge of causing nuclear war – Lavrov (04/23/24)

The three Western nuclear powers are among the chief sponsors of the Kiev regime and main organizers of provocations against Russia, the foreign minister has said | The US-led collective West could cause a potentially catastrophic war between global nuclear powers due to its openly hostile stance toward Russia and efforts to undermine existing arms control agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. ● Addressing the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference organized by the Centre for Energy and Security Studies, Lavrov noted that the globe is in a state of crisis with regard to mechanisms for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation and that this jeopardizes international security. He placed the blame for this on Washington, which, according to the diplomat, has been “cynically combining the deliberate destruction of balanced and equal [arms control] agreements” with “blatantly dishonest schemes” that are advantageous solely to the US. ● Lavrov explained that the US and allies were responsible for blocking the recent review cycles of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which, Lavrov says Washington long used to pressure its foes. He also noted the potential danger posed by the three-way AUKUS agreement between the US, UK and Australia, which is becoming “increasingly similar to a military bloc,” as well as NATO, which has been boosting its military spending.

■ US Goes 'Slippery Slide' With Sending Its Military Personnel to Ukraine (Sputnik News)

■ Will have a serious update soon on the F-35/nuclear bomb/EMP over Iran mystery (Pepe Escobar/Telegram)

Robert Inlakesh | Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel was framed in the West as a reckless attempt to spark a major regional war, but in reality, Israel has been attacking Iran for decades. | As is routinely the case with Western-backed wars, the corporate media’s timeline begins at the moment that suits their narrative. We have seen this play out recently, with the attempt to rob the Gaza war of all contexts before October 7, 2023. Similarly, when it comes to Israel’s conflict with Iran, the two have been embroiled in what is referred to as a “shadow war,” the details of which are pretty shocking. ■ While the international media’s attention was riveted on Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, drawing great focus to some 300 drones and missiles used in the attack, no major deal was made of Israel’s strike on April 1 against the consular segment of Iran’s embassy in Damascus, Syria, that killed a dozen people, including seven Iranian officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In this unprecedented act of aggression against Iranian soil, breaking international diplomatic norms, the Israelis were shielded by the U.S. government at the United Nations Security Council, blocking any condemnation of this act.

Video has emerged from Odessa, Ukraine showing elements of the French Army entering that city. This appears to be direct entry into the Ukraine conflict by a NATO-Member country. | It is likely being carried-out pursuant to a Bi-Lateral agreement between Ukraine and France, but that is not confirmed at this time. Russia has repeatedly made clear that any troops from foreign countries that enter Ukraine will be legitimate targets for the Russian Army. ● On April 13, France sent Foreign Legion troops into Slavyansk, Ukraine. Within 48 Hours, most of them were dead with many other injured from Russian strikes against Slavyansk.

■ Ukraine has lost almost half a million troops – Moscow (RT.com)

U.S. DOD issued contract for ‘COVID-19 Research’ in Ukraine in 2019 | The world first started to hear about a novel coronavirus in early January 2020, with reports of an alleged new pneumonia like illness spreading across Wuhan, China. However, the world did not actually know of Covid-19 until February 2020, because it was not until the 11th of that month that the World Health Organisation officially named the novel coronavirus disease as Covid-19. ● So with this being the official truth, why does United States Government data show that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) awarded a contract on the 12th November 2019 to Labyrinth Global Health INC. for ‘COVID-19 Research’, at least one month before the alleged emergence of the novel coronavirus, and three months before it was officially dubbed Covid-19? The shocking findings however, do not end there.

■ Sasha Latypova with Katherine Watt: SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 is a US DOD Military Prototype Project
[Alternaively:] ■ Discussion with Katherine Watt on American Domestic Bioterrorism Program | Congress and US Presidents legalized and funded the overthrow of the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. government and the American people, through a massive domestic bioterrorism program relabeled as a public health program, conducted by the HHS Secretary and Secretary of Defense on behalf of the World Health Organization and its financial backers.

Dmitry Medvedev (Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council) (Дмитрий Медведев) | No one doubted that American lawmakers would approve "aid" to a gang of neo-Nazis. It was a vote by the joyous bastards of the state:

a) in favor of continuing the civil war of the divided people of our formerly united country;
b) for maximizing the number of victims of this war.

We will win, of course, despite the 61 billion bloody dollars that will mostly go down the throats of their insatiable military-industrial complex. Strength and Truth are behind us. ■ But given the Russophobic decision, I cannot but sincerely wish the USA to plunge into a new civil war as soon as possible. Which, I hope will be fundamentally different from the war between the North and the South in the XIX century and will be conducted with the use of planes, tanks, artillery, MLRS, all kinds of missiles, and other weapons. And which will finally lead to the ignominious collapse of the vile, evil empire of the XXI century - the United States of America. (Translation: DeepL + Grammarly)

■ Ex-Russian president slams ‘American bastards’ (RT.com)
■ US House Passes Bill to Give "Frozen" Russian Assets to Ukraine (04/20/24)

A reconnaissance copter of the Russian Armed Forces has captured on video the Ukrainian military’s attempts to hide the AFU’s losses: the evacuation team of Ukrainian troops dumped the bodies of their dead comrades in a forest clearing. According to a source in the Russian security services, this is being done in order not to pay monetary compensation to the relatives of the dead. | The incident took place on the Kherson direction, where the Russian army struck an AFU facility on the contact line. The video shows how the military loaded the bodies of the comrades, who could still be alive, into a pickup truck, drove into a wooded area and dumped them there. ● On 20 March, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu said that the Russian Armed Forces were continuing to push Ukrainian troops out of their positions in the special military operation zone. According to his data, the military losses of the Ukrainian army since the beginning of this year have exceeded 71,000 people and 11,000 units of various weapons.

Drago Bosnic | NATO keeps escalating its crawling strategic siege of Russia | For well over 30 years at this point, NATO has been conducting a crawling, yet comprehensive invasion in Europe. After spending nearly a decade waging a war of aggression on Serbia/Yugoslavia, which effectively served as the testing ground for its "Barbarossa-like" strategic siege of Russia, the world's most bellicose military alliance moved to the active phase of this plan. After decades of futile attempts to build a mutually beneficial relationship based on peace and respect, Moscow responded with a special military operation (SMO) to push NATO back. What's more, the first stage of the SMO looked more like an expanded police action supported by some strategic assets. And it nearly ended in mere weeks, as expected by the intelligence services and military commanders. Unfortunately, the political West had other plans, so it sabotaged the already-signed peace deal.

The US House of Representatives passed legislation on Saturday to transfer frozen Russian sovereign assets to Ukraine and ban TikTok unless it severs ties to its Chinese parent company. | House lawmakers passed the bill, dubbed the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act, in a vote of 360 in favor and 58 opposed. ● The legislation allows the executive branch to transfer frozen Russian sovereign assets to Ukraine, sanctions Iran, disrupts the ability of Palestinian organization Hamas to fund terrorism and sanctions entities involved in international fentanyl trafficking.

💬 Christine Lagarde says US plan to raise debt against Russian assets carries legal risk (Financial Times) | “Moving from freezing the assets, to confiscating them, to disposing of them is something that needs to be looked at very carefully,” Lagarde said, warning it could entail “breaking the international order that you want to protect; that you would want Russia to respect”. ■ Legal risks loom over proposal to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, warns ECB chief (Yahoo)

■ IMF warns about confiscating Russian assets (RT.com)
■ US House approves 89 billion euros aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan (EuroNews)
■ US House advances $95 billion Ukraine-Israel package toward Saturday vote (Euractiv)

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has confirmed that the attack came in response to the aggression against the PMF, and in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza. | The Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched a drone attack against a strategic Israeli target in the '48 Israeli-occupied territories in response to the Israeli attack against a military base where a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) group was deployed. ● In a statement on its Telegram channel, the Iraqi Resistance adopted the operation against the Eilat port on Saturday morning, noting that it was in response to the violation of Iraqi sovereignty, the aggression against the PMF, and in support of Gaza against the Israeli massacres and genocide against Palestinians in the Strip.

Video shows the moment Iran's air defense shot down several mini quadcopters near Isfahan. pic.twitter.com/93dwwtAzPz

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) April 19, 2024

Air defenses have reportedly been activated in several provinces of the Islamic Republic | Israel carried out a series of strikes on Iran in the early hours of Friday, multiple news outlets have reported. The news comes less than a week after the Islamic Republic fired a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel. ● Iranian news agency Mehr reported that several explosions were heard around 4 am local time in the skies over the central city of Isfahan. ● IRNA news agency said that air defenses have been activated in several parts of Iran, and that Israel also struck military airfields and a radar site in Syria and Iraq. ● Hossein Dalirian, spokesman for Iran’s civilian space program, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that several drones had been shot down over the city of Isfahan. Iranian TV later said that three drones had been destroyed over the city. ● According to Al Jazeera, Iran has suspended flights at several airports, including Tehran and Isfahan. [...] Reports of the explosions came hours after Iran’s Foreign Minister Houssein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN that Iran's response would be “immediate and at a maximum level,” if Israel takes any further military action against his country. “If the Israeli regime commits the grave error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,” he stated, explaining that warning was sent to the White House via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

■ Iran’s Air Defenses Shoot Down Drones in Isfahan and Tabriz, No External Aggression Occurred (Al Manar TV)
■ Iranians mock Israeli strike on Isfahan (Al Mayadeen)
■ Residents: Iranian cities of Tabriz, Isfahan completely calm following blasts sound (IFP News)
■ Israel launched an attack on Iran VIDEO (b92)
■ Israel Strikes Several Sites in Iran - Reports (Sputnik News)
■ Iran destroys several micro air vehicles over Isfahan (Mehr News)
■ Air defense system activated as blast heard in Iran’s Isfahan: Official (IRNA)
■ Oil steadies after surge following reported Israeli attack on Iran (Channel News Asia)
■ Israel Can't Afford Escalation With Iran and Gaza (Ekaterina Blinova)
■ Israel Quietly 'Retaliates' For Iran's Retaliation Attack (Moon of Alabama)

Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack without saying when or how, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of unrest linked to the ongoing war in Gaza. | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday his country would be the one to decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air assault earlier this week, brushing off calls for restraint from close allies. ● Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack without saying when or how, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of unrest linked to the ongoing war in Gaza. ● Israel’s allies have been urging Israel since the attack to hold back on any response that could spiral. These calls were repeated on Wednesday during visits by the British and German foreign ministers.

■ Mediators urge Israel for a face-saving response, while Israel outlines 3 scenarios (albawaba.com)
■ Israel 'will make own decisions' in response to Iran attack, says Netanyahu after meeting with Cameron (LBC News)
■ Israel: "The Decision has been made" - Timing is now the issue for Iran Attack (Hal Turner)
■ US and UK Put Air Refueling Tankers up - Middle East . . . For Israel to Attack Iran (Hal Turner)
■ Jordan opened airspace for Israeli jets to counter Iran (The Cradle)
■ Iran warns Israel it knows where its nukes are hidden (RT.com)
■ IRGC warns of 'tit-for-tat' retaliation if Israel attacks Iran's nuclear facilities (PressTV)
■ Iran readies 1000 ballistic missiles, declaring, "We're crazier than you think" (albawaba.com)

Western states need to send more anti-air systems to Kyiv, the head of the bloc says | NATO members should prioritize arming Ukraine over bolstering their defense capabilities, the secretary general of the US-led military bloc said on Wednesday. ● Stoltenberg pointed to Denmark as “a strong example” as it pledged in February to donate all of its artillery to Kyiv. He praised both Denmark and the Netherlands for their plans to provide F-16 fighter jets, adding that he was “encouraged” by the news that the US Congress is expected soon to vote for additional aid to Ukraine, after months of delay. ● The NATO chief’s appeal comes at a time when member states are struggling to deliver sufficient amounts of weapons to Ukraine without depleting their stocks and compromising security. Officials in Kyiv have blamed ammunition shortages for last year’s failed counteroffensive, as well as recent battlefield losses.

Editor's comment: 💬 Mr. Stoltenberg probably suffers from ukrainitis, a relatively unknown disease until 2014. This debilitating disease now seems to be fairly prevalent in the West. It is an affliction characterized by a severe, u-shaped intracranial inflammation, a u-kranial inflammation, as it were. There is no known cure for it, except to resign from his (or her) position. Regular exercise may also be helpful. This can safely be done in a high-security prison with preventive custody.

Israeli officials say they didn’t see a strike on a high-level Iranian target in Syria as a provocation, and did not give Washington a heads-up about it until right before it happened. | [...] The Israelis had badly miscalculated, thinking that Iran would not react strongly, according to multiple American officials who were involved in high-level discussions after the attack, a view shared by a senior Israeli official. On Saturday, Iran launched a retaliatory barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, an unexpectedly large-scale response, if one that did minimal damage. ● Even after it became clear that Iran would retaliate, U.S. and Israeli officials initially thought the scale of the response would be fairly limited, before scrambling to revise their assessment again and again. Now the focus is on what Israel will do next — and how Iran might respond.

■ IRGC warns of 'tit-for-tat' retaliation if Israel attacks Iran's nuclear facilities (PressTV)
■ Iran readies 1000 ballistic missiles, declaring, "We're crazier than you think" (albawaba.com)

The Turkish leader slammed Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and said that the only way to ease tension in the region is to stop it 💬 [Erdoğan] stressed that it is necessary to identify the root of the problem in the region "rather than judge only by what happened on the night of April 13," when Iran conducted its operation against Israel. "No one spoke up after the attack on the Iranian embassy, but for several countries. But a race of accusing Iran’s retaliation started immediately. But first of all, it is necessary to blame [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu who killed 34,000 innocent people in Gaza. Netanyahu and his cannibalish administration are the ones who are responsible for what happened on April 13." [...] "Long before the current developments with mass killings, Turkey banned the sale of any materials that can be used for military purposes to Israel."

JOHN McEVOY | Over a dozen members of Britain’s unelected upper chamber work for, or profit from, arms firms linked to Israel. | Seven peers work for arms firms involved with Israel’s weapons trade, while another six hold shares in companies that supply the Israeli military, our research into the House of Lords has found. The value of these individual shareholdings is likely to be over £100,000 each, and is certain to have increased since 7 October. Among the peers are two former defence ministers, an ex-cabinet secretary and two retired heads of the UK armed forces. ■ Our revelation raises concerns about how British parliamentarians are financially benefiting from the suffering in Gaza, with activists accusing them of “profiting from genocide”. Campaign Against Arms Trade expressed alarm at how these unelected legislators could use their influence in Westminster to promote the interests of weapons manufacturers.

On April 13, this website reported the arrival of French Foreign Legion troops into Slavyansk, Ukraine. Overnight, those troops were hit and mostly killed by the Russian Army. The original story from April 13 appears HERE | According to the Military Chronicle, the brigade artillery group consists of 12 to 15 wheeled howitzers, as well as several Renault trucks with auxiliary equipment. According to preliminary information, the equipment was transferred for storage to the Starokramatorsky Machine-Building Plant from Dnepropetrovsk. In Slavyansk itself, in the area of ​​clay quarries, as well as to the south (in the Cherevkovka area), firing positions have already been prepared for these guns: a road has been rolled out and ammunition supply routes have been equipped. ● Those French troops and their CAESAR artillery were demolished overnight by the Russian Army. Russia had previously warned NATO countries that if they sent troops into Ukraine, those troops would become legitimate targets. Now, Russia has made good on its word (again) and a slew of French Foreign Legion troops are now dead.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israel cost up to 5 billion shekels ($1.35 billion) to intercept the Iranian missile attack on Saturday night. | The Israeli newspaper cited Brig. Gen. Ram Aminach, the former financial advisor to the Israeli chief of staff, on Sunday, who confirmed that "the cost of defense last night was estimated at between 4-5 billion shekels ($1.08-1.35B)." ● “One ‘Arrow’ missile used to intercept an Iranian ballistic missile costs $3.5 million, while the cost of one ‘Magic Wand’ missile is $1 million, in addition to the sorties of aircraft that participated in intercepting the Iranian drones,” the financial advisor further noted.

■ Israel's debt borrowing doubles in 2023 due to its war on Gaza (TRT World)
■ Iran Hit Secret Israeli Intel Base at Golan Heights! Smashed by Missile Attack (Hal Turner)