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Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told The Guardian he favors deploying military instructors with air defense cover to Ukraine

NATO could create a coalition of military instructors to be sent to Ukraine, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis suggested in an interview with The Guardian on Thursday. If such a deployment goes ahead, participating nations would need to provide their military personnel with additional air defense cover, he said.

In recent months, French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly refused to rule out the idea of sending NATO troops to Ukraine, describing his comments as part of the West’s “strategic ambiguity.” Several other member states have pushed back on Macron’s comments, however, insisting they have no plans to deploy troops.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the US-led military bloc “has no intention of deploying forces to Ukraine,” adding that Kiev has not made such a request.

Speaking to The Guardian on Thursday, Landsbergis said it would be “more practical” to train Ukrainian troops in their home country rather than on NATO soil.

Read more NATO to rule out boots on ground in Ukraine – media

“You don’t need to transport them all the way. You have everything that they need right there,” he said. “It could be that the trainers stationed as part of the coalition to train the Ukrainians in Ukraine could be defended with air defense.”

According to the diplomat, such a move would send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that “it’s not up to him to decide the way that we’re helping Ukraine.” 

Landsbergis also revealed that the Lithuanian parliament has already given the green light to a potential training mission. He noted, however, that Vilnius would prefer to do it as part of a broader coalition with other Western nations.

On Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed that “there are some [NATO] troops there, I mean soldiers” in Ukraine. He clarified that these are “observers [and] engineers.” He said that NATO has no desire to further embroil itself in the Ukraine conflict for fear that a “nuclear war could break out.” 

READ MORE: Russia launches new offensive – Kiev

A day earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that the “entire Western community is working for our enemy, dreaming about Russia ceasing to exist in its current form.” 

Speaking during a press briefing earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that tactical nuclear weapons drills announced on Monday were a response to a new and “unprecedented” escalation of tensions on the part of some top Western officials. 

“They talked about the readiness and even the intention to send armed contingents to Ukraine, that is, to actually put NATO soldiers in front of the Russian military,” he clarified. 

The US has threatened to cut off supplies of offensive weapons if Israel enters population centers in the Gazan city

A “measured expansion” of Israel’s operation in the densely populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Thursday night, multiple outlets have reported.

The reports come after US President Joe Biden vowed to stop the supply of offensive weapons to Israel if its military goes into the city’s population centers.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks and troops entered the eastern part of Rafah in the early hours of Tuesday morning, seizing the border crossing that links Gaza and Egypt, as well as launching airstrikes.

Axios reported on Friday that an “expansion of the area of ​​operation” had been approved, citing three sources with knowledge of the decision. Hebrew media also reported that the IDF was widening its area of operation.

Two of Axios’s sources said the operation does not cross Biden’s stated red line, while a third believed it “could be interpreted by the US” as going too far.

Read more Israel will fight with its ‘fingernails’ – Netanyahu defies US ultimatum

All three said the cabinet had instructed Israeli negotiators to continue efforts to reach a deal to free hostages captured by Hamas in its October 7 cross-border attack on Israel. National Security Minister Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are said to have voted against that decision.

Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel was ready to “stand alone” in its war on Gaza after Biden threatened to halt the supply of certain weapons. “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone,” he said.

According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Washington has already paused one shipment of weapons to Israel due to concerns over Rafah, which is currently sheltering 1.4 million Palestinians who have fled the northern parts of the enclave that have been bombarded by Israeli strikes since October. 

Reuters reported on Friday that Israeli tanks had captured the main road between the eastern and western parts of the city, while Hamas said it had attacked Israeli tanks near a mosque in the east.

READ MORE: WATCH Israeli tank crush ‘I love Gaza’ sign in Rafah

The IDF reported on X (formerly Twitter) that some Hamas militants were killed in”face-to-face” battles with its troops near the border crossing and that several underground tunnels dug by the Palestinian fighters have been found.

So far, around 110,000 people have fled Rafah seeking safety amid increasing attacks, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said. “Nowhere is safe in the Gaza Strip and living conditions are atrocious,” the agency wrote on X.

The US has threatened to cut off supplies of offensive weapons if Israel enters population centers in the Gazan city

A “measured expansion” of Israel’s operation in the densely populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Thursday night, multiple outlets have reported.

The reports come after US President Joe Biden vowed to stop the supply of offensive weapons to Israel if its military goes into the city’s population centers.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks and troops entered the eastern part of Rafah in the early hours of Tuesday morning, seizing the border crossing that links Gaza and Egypt, as well as launching airstrikes.

Axios reported on Friday that an “expansion of the area of ​​operation” had been approved, citing three sources with knowledge of the decision. Hebrew media also reported that the IDF was widening its area of operation.

Two of Axios’s sources said the operation does not cross Biden’s stated red line, while a third believed it “could be interpreted by the US” as going too far.

Read more Israel will fight with its ‘fingernails’ – Netanyahu defies US ultimatum

All three said the cabinet had instructed Israeli negotiators to continue efforts to reach a deal to free hostages captured by Hamas in its October 7 cross-border attack on Israel. National Security Minister Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are said to have voted against that decision.

Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel was ready to “stand alone” in its war on Gaza after Biden threatened to halt the supply of certain weapons. “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone,” he said.

According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Washington has already paused one shipment of weapons to Israel due to concerns over Rafah, which is currently sheltering 1.4 million Palestinians who have fled the northern parts of the enclave that have been bombarded by Israeli strikes since October. 

Reuters reported on Friday that Israeli tanks had captured the main road between the eastern and western parts of the city, while Hamas said it had attacked Israeli tanks near a mosque in the east.

READ MORE: WATCH Israeli tank crush ‘I love Gaza’ sign in Rafah

The IDF reported on X (formerly Twitter) that some Hamas militants were killed in”face-to-face” battles with its troops near the border crossing and that several underground tunnels dug by the Palestinian fighters have been found.

So far, around 110,000 people have fled Rafah seeking safety amid increasing attacks, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said. “Nowhere is safe in the Gaza Strip and living conditions are atrocious,” the agency wrote on X.

The US has threatened to cut off supplies of offensive weapons if Israel enters population centers in the Gazan city

A “measured expansion” of Israel’s operation in the densely populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Thursday night, multiple outlets have reported.

The reports come after US President Joe Biden vowed to stop the supply of offensive weapons to Israel if its military goes into the city’s population centers.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks and troops entered the eastern part of Rafah in the early hours of Tuesday morning, seizing the border crossing that links Gaza and Egypt, as well as launching airstrikes.

Axios reported on Friday that an “expansion of the area of ​​operation” had been approved, citing three sources with knowledge of the decision. Hebrew media also reported that the IDF was widening its area of operation.

Two of Axios’s sources said the operation does not cross Biden’s stated red line, while a third believed it “could be interpreted by the US” as going too far.

Read more Israel will fight with its ‘fingernails’ – Netanyahu defies US ultimatum

All three said the cabinet had instructed Israeli negotiators to continue efforts to reach a deal to free hostages captured by Hamas in its October 7 cross-border attack on Israel. National Security Minister Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are said to have voted against that decision.

Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel was ready to “stand alone” in its war on Gaza after Biden threatened to halt the supply of certain weapons. “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone,” he said.

According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Washington has already paused one shipment of weapons to Israel due to concerns over Rafah, which is currently sheltering 1.4 million Palestinians who have fled the northern parts of the enclave that have been bombarded by Israeli strikes since October. 

Reuters reported on Friday that Israeli tanks had captured the main road between the eastern and western parts of the city, while Hamas said it had attacked Israeli tanks near a mosque in the east.

READ MORE: WATCH Israeli tank crush ‘I love Gaza’ sign in Rafah

The IDF reported on X (formerly Twitter) that some Hamas militants were killed in”face-to-face” battles with its troops near the border crossing and that several underground tunnels dug by the Palestinian fighters have been found.

So far, around 110,000 people have fled Rafah seeking safety amid increasing attacks, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said. “Nowhere is safe in the Gaza Strip and living conditions are atrocious,” the agency wrote on X.

The US is expected to veto the resolution at the Security Council

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution accepting Palestine as the 194th member of the world body on Friday. The US has previously vetoed Palestinian statehood at the Security Council, however.

Palestine has been a non-voting observer in the global body since 2012. The new resolution would grant it “new rights and privileges,” as well as full membership if approved by the Security Council. It was adopted with 143 votes in favor, nine against, and 25 abstentions.

US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said his government was opposed to the resolution, indicating that Washington would veto Palestinian membership at the council again – as it did last month.

Friday’s resolution included an expression of “deep regret and concern” by the General Assembly that the US had vetoed the admission of Palestine on April 18, and urged the council to “reconsider the matter favorably” in line with the UN Charter and decisions by the International Court of Justice.

Read more US could stop funding UN over Palestine – Reuters

The General Assembly voiced its “unwavering support for the two-state solution of Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 borders.”

Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan accused the General Assembly of “shredding the UN Charter with this vote,” proceeding to feed a copy of the document through a paper shredder he brought to the podium.

Though Israel has nominally accepted the idea of Palestinian statehood in the abstract, the government in West Jerusalem has rejected its implementation in practice. During last month’s Security Council debate, Erdan described the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, as “a terror-supporting entity that does not deserve any status in the UN.”

Watch: Israeli ambassador to the UN @giladerdan1 used a paper shredder to shred the UN charter on the podium of the UN general assembly ahead of a vote that will give new privileges to the Palestinians at the UN pic.twitter.com/mWQ85c8uwK

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 10, 2024

Israel has also vowed to completely destroy Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, after last year’s October 7 attacks.

After exercising his veto last month, Ambassador Wood said that the US action “does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgement that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties,” adding that Palestine can’t join the UN so long as Hamas is in control of Gaza.

Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia has accused the US of holding the Security Council “hostage” over events in the Middle East. He also argued that Palestinian statehood and UN membership would “equalize the starting negotiating positions of the parties.”

READ MORE: US has taken UN Security Council hostage – Moscow

An estimated 1,200 Israelis died in the October 7 attacks by Hamas. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in the subsequent Israeli offensive, which is presently targeting the city of Rafah in the south of Gaza. Israel has pressed the attack despite the reservations of the US, made known at official levels.

The prime minister’s pledge comes after President Biden warned the IDF against a major offensive in the Gazan city of Rafah

Israel will continue its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza regardless of disapproval from its key allies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. His remarks came shortly after US President Joe Biden warned the Israeli leadership that any large-scale operation in Rafah would mean a halt in the supply of key defense equipment.

The city in southern Gaza is the last major population center still not under Israeli control. Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Palestinians have taken shelter there in recent months, with some estimates putting the current population of the city, usually around 400,000, at over a million. Movement of humanitarian convoys bringing food and medicine has reportedly been disrupted as the Israeli offensive continues.

Earlier this week, Israeli troops and tanks entered the eastern districts of Rafah in what itl described as a “limited” operation, after fighter jets bombarded the city.

Speaking on Thursday, Netanyahu stated: “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails.” He noted that in 1948 Israel gained independence despite an “arms embargo.”

Read more US ‘actively participating in genocide’ in Gaza – congresswoman

On the same day, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari insisted that the military “has armaments for the missions it plans, and for the missions in Rafah, too.”

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, US President Biden warned: “If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem.”

He noted that the Israeli military has not “gone into the population centers.” He also reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Israel’s defense, saying that the US would “continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently.”

On Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told members of Congress that Washington had already put arms shipments to Israel on hold last week, as quoted by the Financial Times. The newspaper claimed that the US had not made the final decision regarding the weapons though.

The paused delivery allegedly included thousands of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs.

According to the FT, the US had not resorted to such shipment restrictions since the start of the conflict in Gaza last October, with more than 100 arms deliveries approved to date.

The defense minister also announced that Berlin had purchased three HIMARS rocket launcher systems for Ukraine

The majority of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) will be under NATO command by 2025, with around 35,000 soldiers placed on the “highest levels of readiness,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced during a keynote speech at Washington’s Johns Hopkins University on Thursday.

The announcement comes as Germany struggles to resolve major personnel and equipment shortages in its army, with many replacement items purchased for the Bundeswehr being sent to aid Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. A parliamentary report in March revealed that the army is also “aging and shrinking,” with 20,000 unfilled positions and a “very high” dropout rate.

“The security of our allies is our security. Therefore, by next year, the majority of the Bundeswehr will be placed under NATO command,” Pistorius said in his Thursday speech, adding that “approximately 35,000 of them will be at the two highest levels of readiness.”

The minister said Berlin’s focus remains on “protecting our allies on NATO’s eastern flank,” and pointed to Germany’s recent moves to increase its military presence in the region.

Read more Germany backs arming Ukraine with Russian funds

Last month, Germany sent an advance team of soldiers to Lithuania as part of a plan to establish a full-strength armor brigade of 4,800 soldiers, which are to be permanently stationed in the Baltic nation bordering Russia by 2027. At the time, Moscow said the move would require “special measures” be taken in response.

Speaking about the Lithuanian deployment in the US, Pistorius called it “an unprecedented case in German history” and a “clear signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin that “every inch” of NATO territory will be defended.

Earlier in the day, Pistorius also met with his US counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and revealed that Berlin had purchased three US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers for Ukraine.

“They come from US armed forces’ stocks and will be paid for by us,” he said. HIMARS launchers are mounted on a truck chassis and can fire multiple missiles in quick succession.

READ MORE: NATO soldiers operating in Ukraine – Polish PM

Pistorius also commented on the possibility of reintroducing compulsory military service in Germany to help solve its personnel issues, saying its decision to end conscription in 2011 was a “mistake.” 

Times have now changed, he said, and “I am convinced that Germany needs some form of conscription.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appears less keen on the idea, however, saying last year that reintroducing the draft is “not a good idea.”

The defense minister also announced that Berlin had purchased three HIMARS rocket launcher systems for Ukraine

The majority of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) will be under NATO command by 2025, with around 35,000 soldiers placed on the “highest levels of readiness,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced during a keynote speech at Washington’s Johns Hopkins University on Thursday.

The announcement comes as Germany struggles to resolve major personnel and equipment shortages in its army, with many replacement items purchased for the Bundeswehr being sent to aid Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. A parliamentary report in March revealed that the army is also “aging and shrinking,” with 20,000 unfilled positions and a “very high” dropout rate.

“The security of our allies is our security. Therefore, by next year, the majority of the Bundeswehr will be placed under NATO command,” Pistorius said in his Thursday speech, adding that “approximately 35,000 of them will be at the two highest levels of readiness.”

The minister said Berlin’s focus remains on “protecting our allies on NATO’s eastern flank,” and pointed to Germany’s recent moves to increase its military presence in the region.

Read more Germany backs arming Ukraine with Russian funds

Last month, Germany sent an advance team of soldiers to Lithuania as part of a plan to establish a full-strength armor brigade of 4,800 soldiers, which are to be permanently stationed in the Baltic nation bordering Russia by 2027. At the time, Moscow said the move would require “special measures” be taken in response.

Speaking about the Lithuanian deployment in the US, Pistorius called it “an unprecedented case in German history” and a “clear signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin that “every inch” of NATO territory will be defended.

Earlier in the day, Pistorius also met with his US counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and revealed that Berlin had purchased three US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers for Ukraine.

“They come from US armed forces’ stocks and will be paid for by us,” he said. HIMARS launchers are mounted on a truck chassis and can fire multiple missiles in quick succession.

READ MORE: NATO soldiers operating in Ukraine – Polish PM

Pistorius also commented on the possibility of reintroducing compulsory military service in Germany to help solve its personnel issues, saying its decision to end conscription in 2011 was a “mistake.” 

Times have now changed, he said, and “I am convinced that Germany needs some form of conscription.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appears less keen on the idea, however, saying last year that reintroducing the draft is “not a good idea.”

Five Indian nationals, a Filipino and an Estonian are free to go home. The Portuguese-flagged container ship was seized near the Strait of Hormuz on 13 April. Diplomats are working to free the remaining 17 crew members.

The Reserve Bank of India has changed its rules allowing Russia to use the rupees it earns from crude oil sales in India to invest in local government bonds, stocks, equities, and loans. India's imports from Russia are up by 32.95 per cent to US$ 61.44 billion.

The document released by the International Truth and Justice Project reports the testimonies of 123 victims of detention, abuse and torture. During the conflict that ended in 2009 - between 80 and 100 thousand people died - both separatists and government officials were accused of violence. But the persecution of Tamils by the security forces continued unpunished even after the war was over.

Among the 18 agreements signed in Budapest with Xi Jinping there is also cooperation on nuclear power plants. In the background are the difficulties of the new Paks II plant project, under construction with the Russian agency Rosatom and at risk of sanctions. For his part, the Chinese president praises Hungarian support for Beijing on "Taiwan, Hong Kong and human rights".

Authorities in Latvia and Germany took issue with individuals displaying Soviet and Russian symbols on May 9

Latvian police apprehended 19 people across the country for displaying banned Soviet and Russian symbols during Victory Day celebrations on May 9 – the date when WWII commemorative ceremonies were traditionally held in the Soviet Union. Similar scenes played out in Berlin.

Jauns media outlet, citing the Latvian police, reported that the authorities had launched two criminal probes into the “justification of genocide, crime against peace, and war crimes.”

One man was reportedly detained for “listening to music loudly” at Salaspils Memorial, the site of a Nazi concentration camp near Riga. RT Russian, citing an eyewitness, said that the man was listening to a popular Soviet song, ‘Zhuravli’ (Cranes), which was written in the late 1960’s and devoted to the fallen soldiers of WWII.

Read more Russian military parade celebrates victory over Nazi Germany (VIDEO)

Among other violations detected by Latvian officers throughout the country were attempts to lay flowers at the sites of dismantled war memorials as well as cars featuring Soviet symbols.

Elsewhere in Europe, a group of bikers donning t-shirts and vests with the ‘Night Wolves’ biker club insignia arrived at Treptower Park in Berlin on Thursday, where a major Soviet war memorial is situated. According to Bild, there was a heavy police presence at the site, with officers checking people for forbidden symbols and attire that included historic military uniforms and the ribbon of Saint George. The media outlet reported that a total of ten people were detained for various offenses. The article claimed that some people managed to smuggle banned items through the police cordons, with some reportedly also insulting officers.

Commenting on the Berlin authorities’ ban during a press briefing on Wednesday in Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described it as yet another manifestation of Western “cancel culture.”

“They are also banning the songs that Red Army soldiers were singing as they liberated Berlin... Is that normal?” the diplomat inquired. Zakharova added that such bans are the true face of “liberal democracy.”

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman urged Berlin authorities to rescind the restrictions and to “stop rewriting history.”

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were once all constituent Soviet socialist republics of the USSR, but this period of their history is now officially regarded there as having been a foreign occupation; as a result, there are laws in place making most Soviet symbols off-limits. The three Baltic states have removed a number of WWII memorials since declaring independence in 1991.

Since the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, a number of other European countries have imposed similar restrictions, also covering numerous Russia-related symbols. These include the flags of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Latin letters Z and V, which have come to symbolize Moscow’s military campaign against Ukraine. The ribbon of Saint George – a popular symbol of Victory Day celebrations in Russia in recent years – is also banned in a number of European nations.

Unless you have been living under a rock, I am sure you are aware that the Church is experiencing a vocation crisis. The numbers are bleak, and they have been for decades. Sure, there are bright spots here and there, mainly with traditional orders and societies of priests who often ordain more priests in a single seminary than the entire nation of Ireland did last year. Nonetheless…

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That Robert Louis Stevenson had a not-so-secret sympathy with Catholicism is evident in his book Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, where he describes a visit to the Trappist monastery Notre-Dame des Neiges (Our Lady of the Snows). I recall the white-washed chapel, the hooded figures in the choir, the lights alternately occluded and revealed, the strong manly singing…

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The besieged city in southern Gaza currently hosts 1.4 million Palestinians displaced from other parts of the enclave

Israeli tanks entered the city of Rafah in southern Gaza earlier this week, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting that the operation that had been delayed for several months was essential to secure “total victory” over the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

Rafah currently hosts some 1.4 million Palestinians displaced from other parts of Gaza as a result of Israeli airstrikes and ground offensives since October 7.

The UN warned that an Israeli invasion would be a “catastrophe” for civilians, while US President Joe Biden threatened to stop deliveries of “offensive” weapons to Israel in the event of a full-scale invasion of the city.

Netanyahu has been reluctant to give in to pressure from Washington, vowing that Israel would “fight with our fingernails” against Hamas if the flow of American arms comes to a halt.

More than a month after the attack on Krokus City Hall, the retaliation against Tajik migrants in Russia has not subsided, to the point of prompting a protest note from Dushanbe. Hundreds remain stranded at airports and at the border with Kazakhstan, but Moscow cannot afford to lose the country where its most important military base in Central Asia is located.

Today's news: arson attack by settlers on the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem, building closed for security reasons;Presidential elections in Sri Lanka between September and October;Seoul opens to foreign doctors in hospitals to cope with strike, controversy over racist web post; Gazprom sells off some properties in Moscow to compensate for losses.

The whistleblower was previously targeted over her sexual assault allegations against the US president

The run-up to the US election is exposing President Joe Biden’s scandals to the public eye, including his family’s alleged money laundering schemes in Ukraine, RT contributor and former US Senate aide Tara Reade has said.

She accused the Biden administration of weaponizing government institutions to silence Americans like her and the 2021 Capitol riot participants.

In the wake of her 23-minute interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, which aired on Thursday, Reade told RT she hopes her example will motivate others to come forward and tell their stories.

“I’ve been contacted a couple of times in the past by women who wanted to come forward, but because of what happened to me, were too frightened,” she said.

Although Reade's claim that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 did not surface until the 2020 election campaign, she said she had logged a report with the Senate right after the purported incident, and was still trying to get the report files unsealed.

Read more Tucker Carlson interviews Biden accuser Tara Reade

“The election year is just bringing it to light, because I think there’s other corruption that needs to come to light about Biden, particularly the misconduct he’s done around Ukraine, and the money laundering and the other activities that he and his family had been enriched by, in this proxy war that the US and NATO are fighting against Russia via Ukraine,” Reade explained.

She added that while “people in America and other NATO countries are seeing the corruption,” the leaders of those states are “unfortunately still benefiting.”

After sharing details of the alleged assault, Reade described “weaponization of the government coming after me, that was quite frightening, and coming after my family.” 

READ MORE: Hunter Biden’s lawyers threaten Fox News

She suggested that the Carlson interview shows the public is becoming more aware of this.

“People are seeing the political weaponization of the DOJ (Department of Justice) and FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) against American citizens and other citizens,” she claimed, arguing that the Capitol riot participants were persecuted in a similar way, with the Biden administration “using intelligence to go after Americans.”

Watch the full interview below:

James Stavridis has called Kaliningrad a “geographic wedge” between the bloc’s members

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis has suggested that the US-led military bloc’s members should “neutralize” Russia’s westernmost exclave of Kaliningrad if Moscow seriously endangers the security of the Baltic states.

Kaliningrad (formerly Konigsberg) belonged to Germany until the end of World War II, when it was handed over to the USSR under the Potsdam Agreement. It remained part of Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union and, after several consecutive waves of NATO expansion, found itself completely surrounded by the bloc’s members.

In an op-ed for Bloomberg, published on Thursday as Russia was celebrating the 79th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, Stavridis outlined his views on Kaliningrad as the last remaining nuisance that prevents the Baltic Sea from turning into a “NATO lake.”

“A glance at a map shows that is largely (but not completely) true – the coastline has a couple of slivers of Russian territory. The rest of the coastal littoral is in NATO hands: Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark,” the retired US Navy admiral and former supreme allied commander of NATO wrote.

Stavridis praised last year’s Baltic Operations exercise as a demonstration of “how NATO could use its Baltic Sea forces across the spectrum of naval activity” to send an “ominous signal” to Russia.

Read more EU state threatens to ‘neutralize’ Russian region

“Look for NATO to use its Baltic lake to put pressure on tiny Kaliningrad, which acts as a geographic wedge between NATO’s Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – and the rest of the alliance,” Stavridis wrote. “In the event of war, Kaliningrad will need to be neutralized so Russian land forces – likely operating through Moscow’s vassal state Belarus – cannot take control of the critical Suwalki Gap.”

The Suwalki Gap is a narrow strip of land between Moscow’s ally Belarus and Kaliningrad that runs along the Lithuania-Poland border. In the wake of the Ukraine conflict, NATO’s Baltic members have limited overland traffic between the Russian mainland and Kaliningrad under an EU embargo. However, they stopped short of imposing a full blockade as some analysts have suggested severing Russia’s access to its own territory could, to some extent, be considered a ‘casus belli’ – a cause for the declaration of war.

Read more Russia will try to prevent global conflict – Putin

Poland and Lithuania recently staged military exercises in the strategic area, as Western media outlets and officials speculated that Russia could target the territory in the event of a full-scale conflict. 

Russia has repeatedly denied having any plans to attack the alliance, with President Vladimir Putin stressing that Moscow “has no interest… geopolitically, economically or militarily” in doing so.

“Russia will do everything to prevent a global conflict, but at the same time we will not allow anyone to threaten us,” Putin stated in his address to the Victory Day military parade in Moscow.