August 12 is Russian Aerospace Forces Day. In light of the critical role played by Russian air power in the military operations in Ukraine, Sputnik decided to reach out to retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski for her take on the conflict, and what the Pentagon got dead wrong in its assessment of Russian capabilities.
Saturday marks the 111th anniversary of the August 12, 1912 order establishing the Imperial Russian Air Service as a separate branch of the armed forces. In the century-plus since, Russia’s air forces have faced multiple reorganizations, and been known by multiple names, from the Soviet Air Forces (1918-1991) to the Russian Air Force (1992) and finally the Russian Aerospace Forces (2015 on). But throughout, its mission remained the same – to defend the nation’s airspace and provide ground support for the Army.
From the very beginning of the escalation of the Donbass crisis into a full-blown Russia-NATO proxy war in Ukraine in February 2022, the Aerospace Forces have played a key role in Russian offensive and defensive operations......more below
US lawmakers in the House Oversight Committee have unveiled new pictures from disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, some featuring several of the most well-known figures in the world, including Donald Trump.
The House Oversight Democrats on Friday released 19 new pictures from Epstein’s estate, including pictures showing Trump, former president Bill Clinton, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
“Oversight Dems received 95,000 new photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate,” the Democrats wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“These disturbing images raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world,” the lawmakers said.
The development came after release of an initial number of images and videos of the island estate.
Epstein, a notorious sex offender, who died in prison, would traffick underage girls to .....more below
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/12/12/760519/Trump-Epstein-Files-Ties
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denounced the United States for using allegations of drug trafficking as a pretext to seize his country’s natural resources, particularly oil.
The Venezuelan chief executive’s Friday remarks came days after US President Donald Trump announced seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump had said, “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever, actually, and other things are happening.” “It's going to be starting on land pretty soon,” he had added without elaborating on the specifics of the operation.
In response, Maduro declared, “The mask has fallen,” asserting that the true motive behind US actions is Venezuela’s oil.
“The issue is not drug trafficking. It’s the oil they want to steal,” he said, adding that imperialist powers were after Venezuela’s crude, asphalt... more below
...
Islamic Republic inflicted “heavy” and “extensive” damage on Israel during its US-backed aggression of June against Iran.
Speaking on Monday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said in the course of the aggression, Iran dealt a “severe blow” to Israel, which had remained arrogant since the wars in the 1960s, particularly the Six-Day War and subsequent conflicts with Arabs.
“During the war, we inflicted very heavy losses upon the Zionist regime, only a portion of which was made public. Israel itself prevented the full disclosure of the extent of damage caused by Iran’s missile attacks.”
“The reports and images we received from various satellites, together with information obtained from multiple sources in the Israeli-occupied territories, all indicated that the damage sustained [by the regime] was absolutely extensive.”
He said Iranian missiles penetrated through the host of defense systems deployed by several ...
