Vladimir Putin predicts the “most dangerous” decade since 1945 and mobilizes ex-convicts

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news of the day

A speech in the form of a warning. Before the Valdai discussion forum, Vladimir Putin judged on Wednesday that the world is entering its “most dangerous, most important, most unpredictable” decade since the Second World War. With, in the viewfinder of the Russian president, the Western nations.

“The West is not able to lead the world, but it is trying desperately, and most of the people of the world cannot accept it”, supported Putin, therefore considering the planet in “revolutionary situation”.

“Russia is not challenging the West, Russia is just defending its right to exist,” insisted the head of state, accusing Americans and Westerners of wanting to “erase (Russia) from the map. »

The number of the day

8. For the Russians, all means are good to supply soldiers to the Ukrainian front. The Duma on Thursday approved the enlistment of former detainees convicted of serious crimes, while 230,000 people have already been mobilized. Ex-convicts who were released from prison less than eight years ago, or less than ten years ago (for particularly serious crimes) are now “eligible” for a departure to Ukraine.

Until now, the law on the mobilization of soldiers prohibited the recruitment of former convicts. “It’s fair: they are defending our country,” said Vyacheslav Volodin, the president of the Duma, in a press release. Only detainees convicted of pedophilia, hostage-taking or an attack, trafficking in radioactive materials, espionage or high treason cannot be mobilized. At the same time, the paramilitary group Wagner, deployed in Ukraine, uses ex-prisoners on the front line to serve as human bait.

sentence of the day

The text was in fact ready. (…) And then, suddenly, the Ukrainian side disappeared from the radar, (it) declared that it no longer wanted to continue the negotiations”

The sentence signed Dmitry Peskov accuses Ukraine. The spokesman for the Russian presidency accuses kyiv of having withdrawn from peace negotiations in March with Russia “on orders” from the Americans.

A “very, very difficult balance had been struck,” Peskov said. At the end of September, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine would not negotiate with Russia as long as Vladimir Putin was president.

The trend

New Russian strikes on energy infrastructure are forcing the Ukrainian government to reduce electricity consumption in the central regions of the country.

The purpose of these restrictions? Avoid the total stoppage of the supply. The regions of the capital kyiv, Cherniguiv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr are concerned. Ukrainian authorities did not say whether the Kremlin strikes caused any casualties.