Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree to increase the number of Armed Forces service members to 2,389,130 today, including 1.5 million active personnel (previously, it was 2,209,130 service members of which 1,320,000 were active).
This move will effectively result in Russia surpassing the US and becoming the country with the second-largest standing army in the world.
According to public data, the ranking of countries by active military personnel will look as follows:
1.China, 2.035 million
2.Russia, 1.5 m
3.India, 1.455 m
4.US, 1.328 m
5.Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1.32 m
In the first half of 2024, according to the data provided by Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, about 190,000 citizens signed contracts with the Defense Ministry.
Western Threats
The West is now discussing lifting the ban on the Ukraine's use of Western long-range weapons for strikes deep inside Russia. The issue was supposed to be discussed at a meeting between US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but in the end there were no announcements on the subject.
Putin, commenting on these discussions, noted that NATO is discussing not just the possibility of the Ukrainain army using Western long-range weapons, but its direct participation in the conflict.
If the West takes such a step, it will significantly change the essence of the Ukrainian conflict and will mean that NATO members - the US, European countries - are at war with Russia and the latter will make decisions based on the threats it faces, the president concluded.
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 ...
