As usual with this source i will give a content warning that this is a right wing source and if you step outside of their solid geopolitical analysis you may see them say some very cringe reactionary things.

The piece itself is ok, as usual a decent summary of recent events. I could see nothing particularly objectionable, except perhaps for a couple of somewhat unserious terms that a Marxist wouldn't use, such as "totalitarian".

Also, i don't vouch in any way for the comment section, i generally don't read those but it's probably a mix of ok and very very awful, so enter at your own peril. I hope this is enough to address the recent criticism that was expressed here about sharing content from problematic sources.

Military expert Leonkov: The idea of Ukraine's contacts with Syrian terrorists may belong to London

Text by Anastasia Kulikova

Kiev has no weighty arguments left that would allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to seize the initiative in the free defense zone. Therefore, Ukraine, with the help of militants from Idlib, will try to open a second front against Russia in Syria, military expert Alexey Leonkov told VZGLYAD newspaper. Earlier it became known about the arrival of Ukrainian instructors in Idlib and the contacts of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine with terrorist organizations in the region.

"Idlib province is a special zone, a kind of terrorist reserve, so to speak. Fighters who fought government forces in Syria and then laid down their weapons swore they would never fight again. And then they and their families were exiled there. Among them were immigrants, including from the former republics of the USSR. Russian aircraft, Syrian troops and the Hezbollah movement did not touch them. Those, in turn, very rarely attempted terrorist attacks, " said military expert Alexey Leonkov.

"Now, apparently, these militants have been used, "he added, noting that the" recruiter " Kirill Budanov has become one of the main terrorists. However, according to the interlocutor, the idea of Ukraine's contacts with Syrian terrorists may belong to MI6 and its head Richard Moore.

"But in the media space, the whole story is presented as if the initiator is Kiev, despite the fact that the Ukrainian leadership serves only as a screen. If the Anglo-Saxons are accused, they will shift responsibility to Ukraine, " the expert believes. At the same time, the Kiev authorities are not able to independently organize any of the announced operations.

"So, if we talk about the "purchase" of fighters from Idlib in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the question arises: how will they be moved to the free defense zone? We are talking about recognized terrorists who, as expected, will have to cross the territories of a number of sovereign countries. It seems that Ukraine does not have enough resources for such an action, so everything can happen under the patronage of London and, possibly, Washington, " Leonkov says.

He does not rule out that the militants will first be transported by British transport planes to a military base in Romania, and then sent on foot in armored vehicles to the territory of Ukraine. "Sending AFU instructors to Syria also looks feasible," the analyst continued. "They can travel by passenger transport to Turkey, posing as tourists, and then cross the border and end up in Idlib province."

The analyst recalled that the Ukrainian military often conducts terrorist operations using drones. "Despite the fact that the Syrian terrorists were the pioneers in this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces now have a lot of experience," he said.

Leonkov admitted that Ukraine, with the help of Britain and the United States, is trying to open a second front against Russian forces. "Kiev has no weighty arguments and forces left that would allow the Ukrainian army to achieve success on the line of contact in the free zone. In this regard, they targeted Russian military bases located on the territory of Syria. The enemy's plans look crazy, " the source emphasized.

However, this is quite in the interests of London and Washington. "Their gamble with the Gaza Strip is over. The Israeli army has not achieved a single goal, " the expert believes. The resumption of full-scale military operations on the territory of Syria will end in the defeat of the terrorists, he believes. "The Syrian Arab Republic will have a chance to clear the province of Idlib from militants. We should expect that the government forces will be supported by Hezbollah, the IRGC, as well as Russian forces that assist Damascus in the fight against terrorists, " the speaker said.

He separately mentioned the Syrian government forces. "Syria has strengthened its army since 2018. Damascus regularly conducts counterterrorism operations. In fact, the Syrian Arab Republic is in a semi-military situation, and the army is on high alert, " the speaker stressed. But, according to the expert, Syria will take steps only in the event of aggression by terrorists from Idlib.

Against the background of the encroachments of Ukraine and Britain in Syria, Russia faces significant risks. "The threat of terrorist attacks against our military bases in Syria exists constantly. If fighting starts from Idlib province, we will provide air support to government forces, " Leonkov concluded.

Earlier it became known that Ukrainian instructors are arriving in the Syrian province of Idlib. According to local sources, at least 250 people have already arrived. They should train the banned terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* to make drones. The Ukrainians were distributed to production facilities in the area of Jisir al-Shughur.

It is also indicated that various components for assembling UAVs were transferred to the militants. Their instructors brought them to Idlib in parts under the guise of civilian goods. According to a RIA Novosti source, "the Ukrainians and Americans are moving battles from Ukraine to Syria to open a new front against Russian forces in Syria."

It is noteworthy that a day earlier it became known that the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, is in constant contact with the aforementioned group. It is also indicated that the dialogue is being conducted with the head of the terrorist "Nusra" (banned in Russia terrorist organization), whose nickname is Abu Mohammad Julani. "They solve the issues of selling terrorist mercenaries and sending them further to Ukraine against the Russian army, "writes the Arabic edition of Al-Watan.

The focus of recruitment is on immigrants from the former Soviet Union, then these people are trained and transferred to Ukraine for at least two months. According to information from the west of Idlib and from the north of Latakia province, Ukrainian intelligence officers are recruiting fighters from the Caucasus, Uighurs, Turkomans, and Russians who consider Russia a hostile country.

SHOCKING report on the total collapse of business in China by the Financial Times was yesterday blown out of the water by users on x dotcom—and then the newspaper's own source joined critics of the news outlet.

The FT reported on Thursday that Chinese entrepreneurship had virtually disappeared, with just 1,202 companies launched last year. Evidence was data from a monitoring service called IT-Juzi.

The grim report by FT writer Eleanor Olcott and its eye-catching graph was viewed more than a million times on x dotcom, slotting naturally into the excessively negative narrative the paper carries every day on mainland China and Hong Kong.

'VOICE OF REASON' The first person to raise an objection was Arnaud Bertrand, a China-based Chinese medicine specialist who has become a popular "voice of reason" against the western narrative that is poisoning minds against the country.

He pointed out yesterday morning that if you looked at a single business sector, such as restaurants, in a single location, such as one city, you could immediately tell that there were large numbers of new companies.

Multiply that over a country of 1.4 billion people and you ended up with millions of new companies—exactly as Chinese government figures said.

ERROR IDENTIFIED Then investment specialist Glenn Luk stepped in and pointed out the precise mistake that the Financial Times had made. It had taken its figures from a narrow list that limited itself to new start-ups funded by institutional investors time-lagged to a specific period.

The data in no way could be used to determine how many new companies had been started in China, Luk pointed out.

FT writer Eleanor Olcott fought back by posting that: "IT Juzi is China’s leading data provider on startups, tracking companies across basically every conceivable vertical that a VC would be investing in."

HE SHOULD KNOW Then, yesterday, a message appeared from Wen Feixiang, the head of the company whose data was used by the Financial Times for its shocking graph.

"Hey, I am Feixiang, the ITJUZI. COM Founder and CEO," he wrote. "The citation in this article regarding the number of Chinese startup companies From ITJUZI is inaccurate."

He confirmed that his research firm's list in no way showed the total number of new firms in China.

"The only ethical thing to do at this stage for the FT is to apologize to its readers, and withdraw the article," Arnaud Bertrand posted last night.

And it just coincidentally happens that the US has been threatening WADA to withhold funding if they don't do what the US wants (and this wasn't the first time either, they also issued the same threats in 2019).

So weird how WADA then concludes that they "had no choice" but to turn a blind eye to US doping and stay silent about the US's violations for "security reasons".

An interesting take on the current events in Bangladesh that i think is worth considering but i'm not sure that i agree with this perspective. Honestly i just don't know enough yet about the situation and i will reserve judgement until i do.