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Serbia exposed as EU nation behind $1.64bln ‘Israel’ arms deal

Al Mayadeen | August 17, 2025

Israeli media reported that Serbia was the European country behind a $1.64 billion deal signed with Israeli defense company Elbit Systems.

Last week, Elbit announced a deal for the supply of its long-range precision strike artillery-rocket systems and unmanned aerial vehicles, though it did not disclose the identity of the customer, The Times of Israel reported. Under the five-year defense contract, Elbit was set to supply a suite of AI-powered unmanned aerial combat systems, which included personally operated drones for tactical and operational missions.

The contract covered the supply of Elbit’s long-range precision artillery rockets and defense systems equipped with advanced intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities, along with communications and signal intelligence systems, as well as the delivery of advanced electro-optical and night-vision equipment.

Investments in Elbit Systems soar despite genocide

Elbit Systems is an Israeli arms firm and the main supplier for “Israel’s” land-based equipment and UAVs used in its wars.

According to a May 31 report by Novara Media, a UK government-backed pension scheme tasked with managing retirement funds for British workers had been investing in the major Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.

UK workers who contributed to Nest’s Retirement Date Fund starting in December 2024 were indirectly financing Elbit Systems, described as “Israel’s” largest defense company, which marketed its weapons as battle-tested by the Israeli military during operations in the Palestinian territories.

In February 2025, Morocco signed a defense contract with Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, further solidifying its military cooperation with the Israeli occupation.

According to French newspaper La Tribune, the deal involved the purchase of 36 ATMOS 2000 self-propelled artillery systems, while the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found that this would make Israel Morocco’s third-largest weapons supplier, representing up to 11% of its total arms imports.

August 18, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Hungary and Serbia to build new oil pipeline in defiance of EU energy policy

By Thomas Brooke | Remix News | July 22, 2025

Hungary announced plans to build a new crude oil pipeline linking it with Serbia, bypassing European Union restrictions on Russian energy and challenging Brussels’ energy strategy.

The project, unveiled on Monday by Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, is being carried out in cooperation with Serbian and Russian partners and is expected to be operational by 2027.

“A series of wrong decisions made in Brussels has put Europe in a very difficult position on the international energy market,” Szijjártó said.

“Today, energy prices in Europe have increased several times more than in the rest of the world. This is not a miracle, as Brussels forcibly disconnects energy connections, bans the use of Russian energy carriers, and shuts down transport routes.”

The new pipeline is planned to carry 5 million tons of crude oil annually and will span 180 kilometers on the Hungarian side. According to the minister, the aim is to secure stable, affordable energy supplies and to resist what he described as harmful EU policies that have led to higher costs for households.

“This situation can be solved by attracting more energy sources and developing more transport routes,” Szijjártó said, calling the project a way to protect Hungary’s energy sovereignty.

Zoltán Kovács, the Secretary of State for International Communication and spokesman for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, reinforced the government’s position on social media, declaring: “Brussels wants to cut us off from Russian oil and gas, forcing Hungarian families to pay 2–4 times more. We won’t allow it.”

He added that Hungary is committed to “building new sources, not shutting them down,” and that the pipeline would safeguard the country’s decade-long policy of utility cost reductions.

The move sets up another confrontation between Budapest and Brussels, as Hungary continues to resist the EU’s sanctions on Russian energy and pursues bilateral infrastructure deals with countries outside the bloc’s common strategy.

Energy security in Central and Eastern Europe has been jeopardized by its reliance on pipelines running through Ukraine. On Jan 1., Kyiv halted the transit of gas from a major Russian pipeline, sparking criticism from both Hungary and Slovakia.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiations over the matter. However, Kyiv’s refusal to play ball led to Fico accusing Zelensky of “begging and blackmailing” European nations for financial aid while simultaneously cutting off gas supplies.

Slovakia has also sought alternative energy supplies this month, meeting with the Croatian government over the potential use of its LNG terminal on the island of Krk to offset the loss of Russian gas.

Slovak President Peter Pellegrini met with his Croatian counterpart, Zoran Milanovic, at the beginning of the month, and confirmed discussions with Croatian officials are underway.

“We are trying to find solutions to buy gas as cheaply as possible,” Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Saková stated, noting that Slovakia is now relying on a mix of Russian supplies and imports from other European partners, prioritizing price above all.

July 22, 2025 Posted by | Economics | , , | Leave a comment

EU’s new ambassador to Serbia proud to have witnessed Maidan uprising

Brussels continues to pressure Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s secession

By Ahmed Adel | July 22, 2025

Andreas von Beckerath, currently the Swedish ambassador to Poland, will be the new head of the European Union delegation to Serbia and is scheduled to take office on August 1, replacing Emanuele Giaufret. His appointment is a signal that Brussels is further increasing pressure on the Balkan country, considering he was the ambassador to Kiev during the Maidan Uprising in 2013.

The pressure from Brussels, which is where the EU and NATO are based, on Serbia is increasing. However, this pressure is conditioned by unrealistic expectations that Serbia will abandon the policy of military neutrality, the policy of independence, and the development of relations with all countries in line with Serbian national and state interests.

Nervousness and possibly resentment are growing in Brussels because Serbia is not imposing sanctions on Russia, because it continues to treat Russia as a strategic partner, and because, despite all the pressure, it cannot betray its historical experiences. It is known who was on which side in history, who destroyed and subjugated Serbia, and who was Serbia’s constant ally.

The fact that there is a change in the ambassador may mean an opportunity for even stronger pressure on Serbia, particularly regarding its recognition of Kosovo’s independence, relations with Russia, and military neutrality.

Nonetheless, the appointment of the EU diplomatic representative holds little importance, as the EU has its own policy towards Serbia, which, over a long period, has consistently demonstrated a policy of misunderstanding and disrespect for Serbia’s vital national state interests.

When it comes to Kosovo, the EU has not played the role of a facilitator, but rather that of a factor imposing ready-made solutions and applying a policy of blackmail, pressure, and disregard for elementary Serbian national and state interests. The EU continues to pressure Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s secession. Therefore, whoever comes to Belgrade follows this policy of disrespecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia.

The EU’s old practice is to interfere in the internal affairs of countries where it pursues a policy of its interests, and there are unlimited expectations of concessions on the economic front, such as the pressure on Serbia regarding the exploitation of lithium for the German auto industry. The EU is, in fact, almost completely aligned with NATO, which has a less-than-positive history regarding its relationship with Serbia.

The same members of NATO and the EU do not have two policies. Their policy is ultimately neo-colonial in nature. Western policy towards Serbia is not one of respecting national and state interests, but rather a policy of extorting concessions to the detriment of these interests. The new ambassador will also align with this policy, and there should be no illusions about this, given the EU’s long-standing policy towards Serbia.

During his career, Andreas von Beckerath held several positions at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, as well as in the country’s diplomatic missions abroad. He was a European correspondent at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm, a political counselor at the Swedish Embassy in Berlin, and a deputy Swedish ambassador in London.

Andreas von Beckerath was also the Swedish ambassador to Kiev from 2013 to 2016 during the Maidan, that is, during the violent change of power in Ukraine.

“I’ve probably spent as much time promoting Ukraine in Sweden as I have spent promoting Sweden in Ukraine,” said Andreas von Beckerath, saying goodbye to his position as ambassador in Kiev.

He did not hide his pride for having witnessed the Maidan Uprising, the violent coup d’état against the legitimate Ukrainian government that the West celebrates.

“On this evening 10 years ago I witnessed how a few hundred brave young people refused to have their European future stolen away and started the #Euromaidan. Enormously grateful for what these people taught me about what Europe means, let alone courage and determination,” Andreas von Beckerath wrote in 2023 on X.

As Sweden’s ambassador to Poland, Andreas von Beckerath, in an interview with local media, spoke about the cooperation between the two countries regarding the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the need for them to be prepared for potential “Russian aggression.”

Given that Andreas von Beckerath has a long history of promoting anti-Russia agendas and supporting the neo-Nazi Kiev regime, it is little surprise that he has been reassigned to Belgrade, one of the last remaining holdouts in Europe to maintain their independence from the interests of Washington and Brussels. Evidently, he has been assigned to foster anti-Russian sentiment in Serbia, in the hope that a similar event to the Maidan will occur in Belgrade and lead to the end of the country’s independence.

Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher

July 22, 2025 Posted by | Russophobia | , , | Leave a comment

Serbia, Hungary sign military agreement in response to Croatia’s Tripartite Pact

By Ahmed Adel | April 3, 2025

Hungary and Serbia signed a military agreement following the joint declaration of cooperation on defense by Albania, Croatia, and Kosovo on March 18 in Tirana. With military alliances forming in the Balkans and the Kosovo issue remaining unresolved, the potential for war in the region continues to increase.

The defense ministers of Serbia and Hungary, in the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, signed a Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan for 2025 on April 1. Vučić stated that the agreement on joint activities will continue to develop further, leading to rapprochement and potentially a military alliance between Serbia and Hungary.

“We aim to forge the closest strategic relations in the field of defense, and we believe that this agreement on joint activities will pave the way for a military alliance or union between Serbia and Hungary,” the Serbian leader emphasized.

It is pivotal for Serbia to establish regional military partnerships, considering its rivalry with Croatia and Albania, as well as its loss of authority over its sovereign territory, Kosovo, an Albanian separatist state with partial recognition.

The Tripartite Pact, signed between the rivals of Serbia, states that its focus is on “strengthening the defense and security industry, increasing military interoperability through joint training and exercises, countering hybrid threats, and strengthening strategic security, as well as supporting Euro-Atlantic integration.” They also announced that the pact was also open to other countries, such as Bulgaria. In this way, it is evident that the Tripartite Pact is attempting to surround Serbia fully.

Serbian Minister of Defense Bratislav Gašić stated that the signing of a Tripartite Pact by Croatia, Albania, and the “so-called Kosovo” is a “provocative move that undermines efforts to strengthen regional security.”

“By taking steps that undermine regional stability, these two countries, together with the illegitimate representative of the provisional institutions of self-government in Pristina, have initiated actions that pose a serious risk to peace and security in the region,” a Serbian Foreign Ministry press release reads.

According to Vučić, the pact was a “violation of the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control” signed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia in 1996.

For this reason, the signing of the military agreement between Serbia and Hungary is a significant development for Belgrade, particularly given that the latter is a member of both NATO and the European Union. It also demonstrates that Serbia is capable of responding to the provocative alliance between Croatia, Albania, and Pristina.

Serbia and Hungary initiated concrete military cooperation last year, with Hungary purchasing ammunition and all related military equipment from Serbia. On the other hand, Serbia acquired a self-propelled missile system from Hungary and 56 Russian-made armored personnel carriers.

What is also hinted at in the future within this alliance is cooperation between helicopter crews, as they will be using identical helicopters. With further purchases of these aircraft, Serbia and Hungary will have a unified fleet.

Apart from equipment and military technology, the question hanging in the air is whether this alliance possesses defensive characteristics and, if so, what kind. The agreement provides for mutual assistance in the event of some issues.

Meanwhile, Croatia is a member of both NATO and the EU, whereas Albania is a member of NATO.

Given that Hungary is also a member of NATO and the EU, it raises the question on whether Serbia is moving closer to NATO in this way, but it could also be noted that Hungary is looking for a way to distance itself from that military alliance, especially considering that both Serbia and Hungary have good relations with Moscow and there is not much trust among NATO pact members.

The EU has initiated a process to establish military alliances in parallel with the NATO pact, as it no longer trusts the NATO pact itself and is concerned about the uncertainty brought about by US President Donald Trump’s policies, which could lead to the alliance’s collapse.

Also, certain military alliances are being formed within Europe independently of NATO, such as the one between France and Greece, in response to Turkey’s increasingly belligerent behavior despite all three countries being NATO members. Nonetheless, the emerging alliance between Hungary and Serbia is a military-technical cooperation.

Croatia has a significant and historical rivalry with Serbia. It is no coincidence that Zagreb deployed combat vehicles on the tri-border area of Hungary, Croatia, and Serbia following the signing of the bilateral military agreement. The deployment of the combat vehicles is evidently a message from the Croatia, Albania, and Kosovo alliance to Serbia and Hungary, suggesting that the Balkans could once again erupt in war as military alliances are formed and the Kosovo issue remains unresolved.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.

April 3, 2025 Posted by | Militarism | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Serbian president hails budding ‘military alliance’ with NATO maverick

RT | April 2, 2025

Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky visited Belgrade on Tuesday to sign a roadmap outlining 79 joint military activities between Hungary and Serbia for this year. According to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the two countries are edging closer to a “military alliance.”

Both Serbia and Hungary have been challenging the prevailing Western consensus regarding the Ukraine conflict and relations with Russia.

The Serbian leader also expressed gratitude to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his role during NATO’s military intervention in the Balkans in 1999, stating that Orban’s influence helped prevent “a land attack against what was then Yugoslavia.”

“A full 26 years later, the two parties now have the opportunity to build extremely close strategic ties, to further deepen cooperation, coming closer to a Hungarian-Serbian military alliance,” Vucic remarked.

Orban first served as prime minister from 1998 to 2002. Hungary joined NATO in March 1999, weeks before the bombing campaign commenced.

Szalay-Bobrovniczky voiced support for Serbia’s EU aspirations, asserting that Brussels’ enlargement plans should include the entire West Balkans. His statement contradicted EU leaders’ demands for Belgrade to align its foreign policy with Western nations against Russia before its candidacy would be considered.

Both Hungary and Serbia remain skeptical of the bloc’s confrontational approach toward Russia. Orban has accused Brussels of harming the EU economy through sanctions on Russia while supporting a conflict that Kiev is unable to win. Vucic has pledged to resist Brussels’ pressure, citing Serbia’s historic ties with Russia as a foundation for their relationship.

Last month, Kosovo, the Serbian region that broke away after the NATO intervention, entered a trilateral defense agreement with Albania and Croatia. Vucic has condemned those nations for allegedly breaching previous security agreements and possibly going over the head of the NATO leadership in signing the deal.

April 2, 2025 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , | Leave a comment

Serbia between political destabilization and a new military front in the Balkans

By Lorenzo Maria Pacini | Strategic Culture Foundation | March 24, 2025

Bosnia’s dysfunctional political system, the result of the 1995 Dayton Accords that divided the country into two entities jointly governed by Serbs, Croats (a Catholic majority) and Muslims, with a rotating presidency under international supervision, is inexorably collapsing. In Serbia, protests against corruption and for regime change have been going on for months, and last weekend’s protests were the most impressive to date. Images of the human tide that invaded the streets of Belgrade went around the world in no time at all, but also caused a lot of confusion about the events.

In Bosnia, recent tensions have arisen from the issuance of arrest warrants by the central authorities against the president of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, his prime minister and the president of the parliament. The measures stem from their refusal to comply with the directives of the “high representative” Christian Schmidt, whose appointment in 2021 by the Biden administration was not approved by the UN Security Council. Consequently, neither Dodik nor Russia recognize his authority, believing that his requests aim to reduce the autonomy of the Republika Srpska in order to favor the centralization of the Bosnian state for the political advantage of the Islamic component.

One of Schmidt’s main objectives would be to eliminate the Republika Srpska’s veto on Bosnia’s entry into NATO, which would explain the international pressure on Dodik and the attempt to remove him. Despite the differences between the Biden and Trump administrations, the latter does not seem to actively oppose this strategy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Dodik of undermining the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stating that the country should not fragment; simultaneously, Dorothy Shea, the US chargé d’affaires at the UN, has expressed support for EUFOR (European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina), hinting at the possibility of intervention against the leadership of Republika Srpska. Nothing new from the western Atlantic front.

In response to these unpleasant provocations, Dodik invited Rubio to a dialogue to present the Serbian point of view and made an interesting proposal: to grant American companies exclusive rights to extract rare earth minerals from the Republika Srpska, a deal with an estimated value of 100 billion dollars, which could attract the attention of the Potus, and emphasized that US policy in the Balkans is still influenced by the so-called Deep State, in particular by elements of the American embassy in Bosnia, historically hostile to Trump.

British involvement in Bosnian tensions cannot be ruled out, considering that the Russian Foreign Secret Service, the SVR, recently denounced the UK’s role in sabotaging Trump’s policy of rapprochement with Russia, almost coinciding with the accusation that Nikolai Patrushev, Putin’s advisor, made towards London, saying that he tried to destabilize the Baltic countries, hinting that he could act in a similar way in the Balkans.

Things are not much better in Serbia

The situation in Serbia is equally delicate. The country has been shaken by protests, which began after a train station incident in Novi Sad last November, fueled by discontent over corruption, with demands for accountability that could lead to a change of government. However, the protest movement is heterogeneous, including both Western-linked groups and Serbian nationalists.

Globalist liberals accuse President Aleksandr Vucic of being too pro-Russian for not having imposed sanctions on Moscow, while Serbian patriots consider him excessively pro-Western for his ambiguous positions on Kosovo, Russia and Ukraine. Vucic, for his part, claims that the protests against him are part of a Western strategy to destabilize him, and Russia itself has allegedly confirmed a supposed plot for a coup against him.

Despite accusations of Western interference, Vucic has maintained cooperation with NATO, signing a “Partnership for Peace” agreement in 2015 allowing the Alliance to transit through Serbia and in August 2024, while facing large-scale protests, he signed a three billion dollar deal with France for the supply of warplanes, raising doubts about the West’s real hostility towards him. Throughout all this, the United States continues to exert pressure on him through various channels.

The tensions in Bosnia and Serbia are not unrelated: the Western objective seems to be for Bosnia to join NATO and for Russian influence in the Balkans to be reduced. If Trump does not oppose the current policy or does not accept Dodik’s offer on rare earths, the risk of an escalation in Bosnia could increase.

Geopolitically speaking, the American doctrine of division and control continues to prevail in the Balkans, seeking to exclude any possible reunification of Bosnia and Serbia.

The only chance for the Serbs to improve their position will be close coordination between Serbia, the Republika Srpska and, if possible, Russia, to counter Western pressure and obtain the best possible result.

NATO takes advantage of the situation

Throughout all this, NATO doesn’t miss the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. The Secretary General, Mark Rutte, has declared that the actions of the Republika Srpska are unacceptable and that the United States will not offer any support to Dodik, a position also reiterated by the American Embassy in Bosnia.

EUFOR has announced that it will reinforce its contingent to deal with the growing tensions, sending reinforcements by land through the Svilaj and Bijaca passes and by air to Sarajevo airport. An excellent excuse to deploy a good number of soldiers to guard what increasingly seems to be a color revolution involving two countries.

Despite growing international pressure, the Republika Srpska can count not only on the support of Moscow and Belgrade, but also on the diplomatic support of Budapest and Bratislava, who have expressed their support for a peaceful resolution of the situation, avoiding participating in veiled military threats.

On March 10, the Chief of Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Milan Mojsilović, met his Hungarian counterpart, Gábor Böröndi, in Belgrade and they discussed regional and global security, as well as joint military activities aimed at strengthening stability in the area. The intensity of bilateral military cooperation was reaffirmed, with the intention of expanding it further. Particular attention was paid to joint operations between the land and air components of the two armies, as well as to the contribution of Hungarian forces to the international security mission in Kosovo and Metohija.

It seems clear that the only way for NATO to put an end to Serbian-Bosnian sovereignty is to trigger a new internal conflict, using local armed groups along the lines of what happened in Syria, or a sort of Maidan based on the 2014 Ukrainian model.

The military risk fueled by KFOR

The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is an international mission led by NATO, established in 1999 with the aim of ensuring security and stability in Kosovo, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.

At the beginning of the operation, it had over 50,000 soldiers from 20 NATO member countries and partner nations. Over time, the presence has been reduced. As of March 2022, KFOR consisted of 3,770 soldiers from 28 contributing countries. ​

To give an idea of the type of deployment, consider that there are:

– Regional Command West (RC-W): unit based at “Villaggio Italia” near the city of Pec/Peja, currently consisting of the 62nd “Sicilia” Infantry Regiment of the “Aosta” Brigade. RC-W also includes military personnel from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Poland, Turkey, Austria, Moldova and Switzerland.

Multinational Specialized Unit (MSU): located in Pristina and commanded by Colonel Massimo Rosati of the Carabinieri, this highly specialized unit of the Carabinieri has been present in Kosovo since the beginning of the mission in 1999. The regiment has been employed mainly in the northern part of the country, characterized by a strong ethnic Serbian population, particularly in the city of Mitrovica.

The main operational activities of KFOR include:

– Patrolling and maintaining a presence in Kosovo through regular patrols;

The activity of the Liaison Monitoring Teams (LMT), which have the task of ensuring continuous contact with the local population, government institutions, national and international organizations, political parties and representatives of the different ethnic groups and religions present in the territory. The objective is to acquire information useful to the KFOR command for the carrying out of the mission;

– Support for local institutions, in an attempt not to give in to Serbia’s demands.

These are forces that are deployed and ready to intervene. This is a detail that must be taken into consideration. NATO is not neglecting the strategic importance of that key area of the Balkans.

With their backs to the wall, the governments of Serbia and Republika Srpska don’t have many options: they will soon have to face difficult choices, which could radically change the face of the Balkans.

In short, we are once again at risk of seeing the Balkans explode, as happened just over 100 years ago. Who will be responsible for the explosion this time?

March 24, 2025 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

Serbia Will Not Join NATO or CSTO – Deputy Prime Minister Vulin

Sputnik – 24.03.2025

BELGRADE – Serbia will not become a member of NATO or the CSTO, it must ensure its own security, although this is difficult, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin told Sputnik.

“Serbia strictly adheres to the policy of military neutrality. This means that we will not expand our participation in any military bloc. And we will try to maintain the best relations with everyone, first of all — with the countries in our neighborhood. So Serbia will not become a member of NATO, will not be a member of the CSTO,” Vulin said.

He admitted that for a country the size of Serbia, this is the hardest path.

“We must guarantee our own security, which is not easy. But this is the most honest path — to make decisions about ourselves,” he emphasized.

Currently, the parliament of Serbia is an observer in the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly.

March 24, 2025 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Situation in Serbia Unaffected by USAID Funding Cuts Yet – Deputy Prime Minister

Sputnik – 23.03.2025

BELGRADE – The cuts in USAID funding have not yet affected the situation in Serbia, the money has already been allocated and is being spent, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin told Sputnik.

Anti-government protests by students and the opposition have been taking place in Serbia since November 2024. They were triggered by the death of 15 people when a concrete canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad on November 1. The country’s leadership calls on students and opposition forces to engage in dialogue, but this call remains unanswered. The authorities believe that the goal of the protesters is to overthrow the government and the president, and that Western-funded media and organizations are behind their actions.

“The result [of USAID cuts] will be in the long term. In the short term, there is none, because this money has already been allocated and distributed, and they are doing what they were paid for,” Vulin said.

Earlier, he said that since the beginning of 2025 alone, USAID had transferred over $40 million to Serbia.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said that the United States was officially closing 83% of USAID programs, adding that they spent tens of billions of dollars on purposes that do not meet US interests.

March 23, 2025 Posted by | Corruption | , , | Leave a comment

Ukraine admits attacking key oil pipeline to EU

RT | March 11, 2025

The Ukrainian General Staff has confirmed that one of the targets of Tuesday’s mass drone attacks was Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline system, a key delivery route to EU countries, according to a statement on its official Telegram channel.

Druzhba is one of the world’s longest networks, transporting crude some 4,000km from Russia to refineries in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

“Ukraine’s security services carried out the operation, reporting explosions near the linear production dispatching station ‘Stalnoi Kon’ (Steel Horse) in Russia’s Oryol region, which manages the pipeline’s operations,” the statement read.

Hungary, which relies on oil shipments through the system, has called the attack “unacceptable” and accused Ukraine of threatening its sovereignty. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced that crude shipments via the pipeline had been temporarily halted, but later resumed. Szijjarto criticized the European Commission, arguing that assurances it had offered regarding the safety of Hungary’s energy infrastructure had been repeatedly violated.

According to media reports, three Ukrainian fixed-wing drones struck the Druzhba terminal in Russia’s Bryansk Region. The attack was part of a wider assault involving more than 340 UAVs hitting civilian targets across Russian territory, killing at least 3 people and injuring over 20 and causing a fire at a Rosneft oil depot in Bryansk.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian energy infrastructure throughout the conflict, despite resulting supply disruptions for Kiev’s European allies.

In January, Ukrainian forces attempted to attack a compressor station of the TurkStream pipeline, which supplies natural gas to Turkish customers and several European countries, including Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece.

In March 2024, Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, causing a fire and temporary shutdown. Similarly, in January of that year, a drone attack hit a fuel depot in St. Petersburg, reportedly damaging storage tanks.

The most notable attack on Russian energy infrastructure during the conflict was the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022. The explosions, which severely damaged Nord Stream 1 and 2—key conduits for Russian gas exports to EU—sparked international speculation about the perpetrators. While various theories have emerged, no definitive culprit has been identified.

Moscow has condemned attacks on its civilian energy infrastructure, labeling them acts of terrorism.

March 12, 2025 Posted by | Economics, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ukrainian attack on TurkStream threatens Hungary’s sovereignty – FM

RT | March 1, 2025

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has condemned a recent drone attack on a compressor station of the TurkStream gas pipeline, labeling it an assault on his nation’s sovereignty due to the conduit’s critical role in its energy security.

Szijjarto’s comments came on Saturday after the Russian military reported thwarting a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russkaya compressor station on Friday night. This station is a critical facility for the TurkStream, also known as Turkish Stream, pipeline in Russia’s Krasnodar Region, serving as the point of exit on Russian soil for gas deliveries. The Defense Ministry stated that three drones were neutralized by air defense systems, preventing any damage to the station’s operations.

“The Turkish Stream pipeline is the guarantee of Hungary’s natural gas supply security; therefore, any potential disruption would seriously jeopardize our energy security,” Szijjarto wrote on Facebook. “Energy security is a matter of sovereignty, and therefore this type of attack should be considered an attack on sovereignty.”

The pipeline, which has been operational since January 2020, delivers Russian natural gas to Turkish customers and several European countries, including Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece.

The Hungarian minister also called on the European Commission to clarify its stance on the matter, reminding it of its recent assurance that Ukraine would not target EU-bound infrastructure.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed Szijjarto about the attempted attack during a phone conversation initiated by Hungary, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. He explained the incident and its implications for the pipeline’s security.

The incident is not the first involving the facility. Back in January, Ukrainian forces attempted to attack it with nine kamikaze drones, according to the Russian military. All of the UAVs were intercepted, but debris from the explosions caused minor damage to the station.

Commenting on the incident at the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine of engaging in acts of “energy terrorism.”

March 1, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, War Crimes | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Serbian president slams USAID for inciting regime change, demands journalist say how much money his outlet received

By Liz Heflin | Remix News | February 21, 2025

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told “Epilogue” viewers on TV Insider that U.S. President Donald Trump directly mentioned Serbia as a place where USAID wanted a regime change, reports Blic.

“Someone was only waiting for additional tragedies, meanwhile preparing different types of scenarios for some new riots and for some new attacks on the state. And that is nothing new, and it can be seen through the words of President Donald Trump. Donald Trump directly mentioned Serbia yesterday, the president of the United States of America directly mentioned Serbia as a place where they wanted a political change of government. Those who received American money to overthrow the government,” said Vučić in the Epilogue show on TV Insider.

In July of last year, the government of Serbia issued a joint statement with USAID regarding $18 million of new funds for a “development partnership,” and outlets have pointed out that the government has thanked the U.S. for such money in the past.

The July statement noted that the new “funds will be used, among other things, to improve public procurement procedures in Serbia, improve access to justice for citizens, improve environmental protection and energy security, promote a stronger media environment, improvement of economic opportunities for vulnerable groups, as well as for greater competitiveness of the Serbian economy.”

Vučić admitted during his TV interview that money has been received and used, but primarily for “senseless projects that were supposed to cover the eyes,” while the real intent of most funding was to overthrow the government. Asked about the “many videos” of himself and other officials thanking USAID for funding projects, Vučić said that “when someone gives you 1,000 euros, it is up to you to still politely say ‘thank you.’”

He then indicated that money was spent on equipping Serbian courts with various recording devices, microphones and many other things. But far larger amounts were being handed to NGOs such as Trag and CRTA.

“In the last four years, there were 400 million (dinar), of which not even 10 million went to the state. Everything went your way for the non-governmental sector,” said Vučić.

Oddly, in April of 2024, a few months before USAID’s additional $18 million was announced, Trag and CRTA jointly announced a USAID competition for grants under what they called a “Mobilization Fund program.”

“Trag Foundation and CRTA, with the financial support of the American Agency for International Development (USAID), invite you to apply for the competition for the Mobilization Fund program.”

Listed activities that could receive grants included: “local community development, human rights, anti-discrimination, women’s rights and women’s empowerment, youth empowerment, inclusion, solidarity economy, environmental protection, socio-economic development, rule of law, accountability of public institutions, fight against corruption, urbanism and public spaces and all others in which activists recognize challenges.”

Former prime minister and president of the National Assembly of Serbia Ana Brnabic has been called out as well for her gratitude in the past for USAID funds that had presumably “improved” the country. Now, with Trump in office, she is changing her tune, saying the “investigative media outlets” financed by USAID had systematically harmed Serbia, according to Tanjug.

“In the past 10-11 years, they have been implying that anyone who engages in politics is, in a way, corrupt or wants to be corrupt. That has made it impossible for the many quality people who wanted to help, or were perhaps helping from the background all the time, to get involved as state secretaries or ministers because they would, in fact, immediately be targeted by various media such as Krik,” Brnabic said on Pink TV.

Brnabic further let the cat out of the bag, noting there is no such thing as independent media, which merely implies reliance on U.S. money from special interest groups.

“You can see that those media outlets and the people working there were quite dependent. It is just that they were dependent on the American administration and, to make things worse, not on a U.S. administration elected by American citizens, but on what is referred to as the deep state,” Brnabic said.

According to Tanjug, Serbia will further investigate the spending of USAID funds if the U.S. asks.

Regarding the media portal Kric, mentioned above. President Vučić had a recent spat with one of its journalists who tried, again, to corner Vučić with supposed information on his brother at the opening of the International Tourism Fair in Belgrade.

The journalist said that Andrej Vučić’s name was brought up in recorded messages, indicating he held power over state contracts in Novi Sad and also regarding police appointments.

Vučić called the allegations “a notorious lie,” reiterated his brother holds no political office, and then turned on the journalist, asking, “I am interested in you answering the question of how much money you received from USAID, how much from NED? How much money did these two criminal organizations, both one and the other, transfer to you? How much, as the American president and one of the most famous secular, one might say, businessmen, Elon Musk, who calls these criminal organizations? How much money did they give you for this?

Making fun of the allegations from third parties, Vučić said, “Many people also write that I told them I would jump from the Smilovica lookout, but I haven’t jumped yet.” He then pointed out that, on the other hand, the funding Kric has received from the U.S. is a fact.

The journalist then accused the president of targeting journalists, again, to which Vučić replied: “How can I target you? I’m just asking how much money you received.”

The United States has reportedly given $937 million to Serbia since 2001. Although the USAID site is no longer online, a Google search still shows entries, with one for Serbia saying this money was meant for “economic and democratic development.”

February 21, 2025 Posted by | Corruption, Deception | , , , | 1 Comment

USAID or SorosAid? How US Tax Dollars Fund Chaos Worldwide

By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 07.02.2025

Soros’ vast NGO network has spent over $20 billion since 2000 on radical liberal causes across the world. Tens of millions or even billions of US taxpayer dollars were funneled through USAID, observers suspect.

  • The Soros-linked East-West Management Institute received over $260 million from USAID to influence foreign affairs in Georgia, Uganda, Albania, and Serbia.
  • Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center, backed by Soros, began receiving USAID grants in 2014 – the same year the US-backed Euromaidan coup ousted elected President Viktor Yanukovych with neo-Nazi support. Over $1 million has been funneled by USAID to the center.
  • In August 2024, a coup against Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina was allegedly fomented by USAID, IRI, and Soros-linked groups. Her successor, Muhammad Yunus, is a known Clinton and Soros ally. According to The Grayzone, US taxpayer money funded rappers, transgender activists, and LGBT initiatives to create a “power shift.”
  • Soros and USAID have long sought to unseat Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, who has actively opposed the globalist billionaire since 2017. During the 2022 elections, the Soros-linked NGO Action for Democracy funneled $7.6 million to his opposition.

Election Meddling at Home?

  • Soros-linked groups, backed by USAID, led resistance efforts against Donald Trump during his presidency, influenced the 2020 election through Black Lives Matter protests, and worked to flip battleground states in 2020–2021.
  • Soros funded the Electoral Justice Project, Black Lives Matter’s voter mobilization effort, and gave $22 million to Tides Advocacy, which supported the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s pre-election nationwide protests aimed against Trump in 2020.
  • USAID and Soros allegedly spent $27 million on anti-Trump prosecutions, claims journalist Mike Benz. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg was also accused of being “bought” by Soros.

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Corruption, Deception | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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