Kirill Budanov refused, however, to take responsibility for previous strikes on the Crimea Bridge and airfields inside Russia
Russia will continue to experience “problems” until it withdraws from Ukraine and restores the country's territorial integrity, Kiev’s top intelligence official, Kirill Budanov, warned in an interview with the Washington Post on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate (GUR) chief added that Kiev currently has people planting explosives on the territory of Russia, and hinted at a potential string of terrorist attacks in the country in the near future.
Asked about his involvement in the attack on the Crimean Bridge in October and the two drone attacks on Russian air bases in December, Budanov refused to confirm his special forces were behind the strikes. He did, however, warn that there would be more attacks of that nature.
“This shattered their illusions of safety,” Budanov told the Post. “There are people who plant explosives. There are drones. Until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored, there will be problems inside Russia.”
He also issued a warning to the Kremlin, stating that there are Ukrainian collaborators in its midst –“people who are very easy to work with” and who Kiev actively supports.
Budanov went on to insist that Ukraine must “do everything to ensure that Crimea returns home by summer” and dismissed suggestions that Moscow could use nuclear weapons if Kiev’s troops reach the peninsula, which officially joined Russia following a referendum in 2014.
It’s a scare tactic,” he said. “Russia is a country that you can expect a lot from but not outright idiocy. Sorry, but it’s not going to happen. Carrying out a nuclear strike will result in not just a military defeat for Russia but the collapse of Russia.”
Moscow, meanwhile, has insisted that Crimea is part of Russia and warned that it would respond to any threats to its territory with “more powerful weapons.”
Earlier this month, Duma chairman Vyacheslav Volodin also cautioned that a “global tragedy” could be in store for humanity if the West continued to arm Ukraine with weapons that Kiev could use to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize Russian territories.
https://www.rt.com/news/570760-ukraine-threatens-russia-attacks/
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
