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Trump says US fiasco in Afghanistan 'emboldened' Russia to launch special op in Ukraine

The politician said that the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was "the worst humiliation in the history of" the US

MILWAUKEE /Wisconsin/, July 19. /TASS/. Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump claims that Russia was inspired to launch its special military operation in Ukraine after seeing the disaster that was the US pullout from Afghanistan.

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Trump says he seeks re-election as US president to save democracy

"Look at what’s happening with Ukraine. <...> It began to unravel with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. <...> Emboldened by that disaster, Russia invaded Ukraine. They saw this group of people [the current US administration] that were incompetent," Trump insisted in his speech on Thursday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. During the speech which was a focal point of the forum, he officially accepted the Republican presidential nomination to run in the November election.

Trump said that the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was "the worst humiliation in the history of" the US. "And we also left behind $85 billion dollars’ worth of military equipment, along with many American citizens," he said.

On April 14, 2021, US President Joe Biden announced his decision to end America’s military operation in Afghanistan — the longest foreign military campaign in the history of the country. The US launched the operation in October 2001. At its peak (from 2010 to 2013), the number of Western forces in Afghanistan surpassed 150,000. The withdrawal of US troops began in May 2021. The US and NATO main combat forces left Afghanistan in 2014.

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Alexander Stepanov pointed out that "this also applies to intermediate-range high-precision systems such as the Tomahawk and other weapons that NATO countries may provide to Ukraine"

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West deploying troops to Ukraine to up ante in fight with Russia — senior diplomat

Mikhail Galuzin described such plans as provocative and noted that they "confirm the West’s intention to continue its profound engagement in a direct standoff with Russia"

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Ukrainians facing critical battlefield situation amid manpower shortages — CNN

Earlier reports indicated that an official in the Biden administration had surmised that Ukrainian forces need more manpower

No existing missile defense system can counter Oreshnik — US expert

Theodore Postol also vehemently rejected suggestions that the Oreshnik system represents previous outdated developments of Moscow

Chad severs defense cooperation agreement with France — AFP

On April 18, the Chadian authorities sent a letter to the United States, in which they notified Washington about their intent to sever the military agreement

Nuclear arms unable to protect Ukraine, likely to aggravate conflict — Chinese expert

"If Ukraine were to acquire nuclear weapons again, they would not only fail to enhance its security, but would escalate the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a potential nuclear war," Sun Qi said

Oreshnik’s massive strike comparable to nuclear weapons — Putin

The Russian leader additionally stressed that "certainly, Oreshnik is not a weapon of mass destruction"

Russia ready for talks with Ukraine on conditions proposed in June — Putin

The head of state held a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry in June, where he listed the conditions for talks with Ukraine

Kiev troops attempted to kill British mercenary who surrendered to Russians — officer

In his words, they fired conventional 120mm mortar rounds, silent munitions and at least one FPV drone with a fragmentation charge

Belarusian President Lukashenko points to 'NATOfication' of Europe, entire world

"The arms race is rapidly gaining momentum," Alexander Lukashenko underlined

Oreshnik becomes serious problem for Ukraine — Polish general

According to Waldemar Skrzypczak, satellite reconnaissance failed to detect the launch and flight of this missile

Russia's opponents see Finland as springboard in case of open conflict — politician

Leonid Slutsky noted that the current and previous leadership of Finland has been and remains engaged "on the lower turn of the sine wave, which is now marked by a sharp cooling of bilateral relations"

Hungarian PM’s office rules out his trip to Moscow for 80th anniversary of Victory

Gergely Gulyas was commenting on the decision of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to go to the Russian capital to celebrate the anniversary of Victory at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin

Ukraine not South Korea's ally to demand weapons — newspaper

The author of the article recalled that in September the Ukrainian ambassador to Tokyo visited the Yasukuni Shrine, considered in East Asia as a symbol of Japanese militarism, of which the Korean Peninsula was a victim

Root causes need to be addressed to settle Ukrainian conflict — Kremlin spokesman

"Everything here is much deeper than a decision to send a peacekeeper mission," Dmitry Peskov said

Israel violates ceasefire agreement multiple times — Lebanese army

According to the statement, the Lebanese military command "is keeping an eye on [Israel’s] violations in coordination with the relevant agencies"

Russia’s top diplomat slams NATO for discussions of preemptive strikes on Russia

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Russia winning in Ukrainian conflict, Polish national security chief says

"The Russian side unquestionably holds both the initiative and the advantage on the battlefield," Head of the Polish National Security Bureau Jacek Siewiera said

Takeaways from Putin’s Q&A session in Kazakhstan: Oreshnik missile, inflation, ruble

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Western analysts describe Russia's Oreshnik as longest-range weapon ever used in Europe

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US cutting aid to become death sentence for Ukraine — Russia’s mission to UN

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