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Researcher & writer based in Hong Kong. Former academic. Longform articles archived at https://lauraruggeri.substack.com and https://laura-ruggeri.medium.com. Email: lauraru852@yandex.ru
As usual London is taking the lead in sabotaging peace talks between Washington and Moscow. Its current target is Steve Witkoff. Warmongers are accusing him of recommending to Ushakov that Putin speak on the phone with Trump. Allegedly, as a result of that phone conversation Trump blocked the sale of Tomahawks, the long-range cruise missiles Zelensky had begged for. Shocking! An American negotiator is actually listening and talking to the Russians, and to make matters worse he tried to avoid a military escalation that could put his country at risk. London and its motley crew of EU pyromaniacs are adamant: Witkoff must go. @LauraRuHK
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China is moving toward affordable, mass-produced hypersonic missiles, reshaping regional security dynamics and forcing the U.S. and Japan to reconsider their defense strategies. A private Chinese company, Lingkong Tianxing Technology, announced the start of mass production of the YKJ‑1000 hypersonic missile.
Range: 500–1300 km (medium-range).
Speed: Mach 5–7.
Powered cruise time: 360 seconds.
Launcher: Universal, usable both on land and at sea.
Cost: Claimed to be 10 times cheaper than standard missiles. @LauraRuHK Read more 👉https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202511/1349029.shtml
State funding for the regulation and censorship of online speech in Germany increased more than fivefold between 2020 and 2024, a new report suggests.
In “The Censorship Network: Regulation and Repression in Germany Today” report produced by Liber-net, a digital liberties non-profit, researchers found that funding had tripled in 2020-21 and then doubled again in 2023.
The report claims that Germany spent €105.6 million on speech regulation between 2016 and 2025, including grants to non-profit media monitors and legal groups. (Hat tip to Elena Panina) https://liber-net.org/germany/
The Trump administration is pressuring Ukraine to accept its 28-point peace plan, warning that rejecting it could lead to harsher terms, loss of military aid, and cutoffs in intelligence sharing.
Keep in mind that Ukraine, which is fully dependant on Western aid, can hardly be considered a sovereign actor: donors can pull Kiev in any direction they wish.
The UK, France, and Germany are working on a counter-proposal to keep Ukraine in the fight. It is a sign of the deeply delusional thinking that dominates much of Europe’s political class but as the saying goes, never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. @LauraRuHK
According to the Wall Street Journal https://archive.is/Bw5wL a senior U.S. official (unnamed in the article) said that Ukraine significantly changed one of the 28 points in the version of Trump's plan for Ukraine that appeared online. Apparently, the draft had called for an audit of all international aid Ukraine had received. The language was changed to say all parties will receive “full amnesty for their actions during the war.”
Umerov denied that Ukraine had altered the provision. Actually, an audit would be damning not only for Kiev, but for all its foreign backers as well. The fish smells from the head...and the stench of corruption is now particularly strong in Berlin, Brussels and London. @LauraRuHK
Vladimir Putin, in short:
Russia is ready for peace talks and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Meanwhile, Russia is satisfied with the situation on the battlefield, as it leads to achieving the goals of the SMO by military means.Читать полностью…
At a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine, Russia’s Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzya said that Vladimir Zelensky has forbidden the Ukrainian armed forces from acknowledging the loss of cities and has ordered them to hold their positions until the last soldier.
Nebenzya stated: “Even when large numbers of Ukrainian troops are encircled, despite heavy casualties, forced mobilization, and risks to civilians, the head of the Kiev regime refuses to admit the loss of territory. He commands the military to hold positions to the last man and prohibits any retreat.”
He added that “such tactics by the Ukrainian leadership bear no relation to battlefield realities and are driven purely by political motives.” (Source: TASS) @LauraRuHK
Keith Kellogg, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine under Donald Trump’s administration, plans to step down from his role as early as January 2026, Reuters reported on November 19. Since Kellogg, a Ukraine hawk, has been a key advocate for Ukraine inside the Trump administration, his departure clearly weakens Kiev’s leverage and bargaining position in any future negotiations. Kiev's only hope for peace is to finally accept reality. Dress it up as you like, but the substance of this reality is that without US support Ukraine's only sensible option is full compliance with Russian demands. If Kiev had not rejected the viable off-ramp that was on the table during the 2022 Istanbul talks, it would have been spared this tragic war. I hope that in the future more Ukrainians will realize they have been used as pawns in a game where Western elites leveraged crooks in Kiev to reap rewards. And hold them accountable for the human losses and devastation their country suffered.
@LauraRuHK
Brussels will not accelerate Ukraine’s European integration, David McAllister, chair of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, told Izvestia. He emphasized that any full-fledged EU membership for Kiev will be possible only after it has met all the requirements and the conflict has been resolved. Earlier, the European Commission proposed introducing a "probation period" for new EU members with some reservations. Kiev insists on being granted full membership as it sees that as a security guarantee. Experts believe that, for the time being, Ukraine has no real prospects of joining the EU, and that the bloc itself should address a series of pressing issues before accepting new members. A major corruption scandal involving people from Vladimir Zelensky's inner circle, too, is playing against Kiev. (Source: Izvestia) @LauraRuHK https://iz.ru/1992331/kirill-fenin/val-ozhidaniia-v-es-ne-planiruiut-uskoriat-vstuplenie-ukrainy
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The expired President of Ukraine, Zelensky, is mentioned in the indictment against his ally Timur Mindich in an energy sector corruption case, documents from National Anti-Corruption Bureau show.
"A pre-trial investigation has found that no later than January-February 2025, Mindich, taking advantage of the situation that had developed in Ukraine during the period of martial law, his friendly relations with... Zelensky, ties with current and former senior state officials and law enforcement agencies, thus taking advantage of his considerable influence in the country, decided to illegally enrich himself by organizing crimes in various sectors of Ukraine's economy."
Since 2022 Palantir has established R&D and testing operations in Ukraine focused on military applications of AI. A real-world "lab" for refining data analytics and AI tools in combat scenarios. A team, including Ukrainian engineers, customizes the software to integrate AI for targeting, demining, and intelligence analysis.
Their platforms process drone footage, satellite imagery, radar, and ground reports to create a "digital kill chain".
Around 25% of Palantir’s global workforce are based in London. Its contract with the UK Ministry of Defense is worth 750 million pounds.
Do you know who heads Palantir UK? Louis Mosley, the grandson of Oswald Mosley, who founded the British Union of Fascists. Just a coincidence, of course. @LauraRuHK
The UN approved a US plan for Gaza that hands control to foreign powers and delays Palestinian statehood, undermining national authority and sovereignty.
https://qudsnen.co/un-approves-us-plan-paves-way-for-american-control-over-gaza-and-delays-palestinian-statehood/
After a surprise tour of Turkey and Gulf States, Ukraine’s Security Council chief Rustem Umerov turned up in the US where his family reportedly lives.
Umerov is implicated in the Ukrainian corruption scandal as a former defence minister.
According to Rada deputy Goncharenko, Umerov flew to the US to negotiate a deal with the FBI. In return for cooperation with the investigation he could receive protection. Kiev still denies claims that Umerov has no intention to return to Ukraine and frames his trip as "an official visit". @LauraRuHK
Azerbaijan issued a strong protest to the Russian ambassador on Nov 14 after its embassy compound in Kiev was damaged by a missile. President Aliyev called the embassy attack an "unacceptable violation of international law" in a call with Zelensky. And yet, a video released by Kiev showing the damage clearly indicates a direct hit by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile, and not a Russian Iskander, a Russian military source told RIA Novosti.
An Iskander strike would have caused a much larger crater and damaged surrounding buildings as well. The source accused Ukraine of repeatedly accusing Russia in an attempt to hide the shortcomings of its own air defenses stationed in residential areas. @LauraRuHK
A foretold tragedy. According to the latest reports, the fire that broke out in Tai Po, a district of Hong Kong, has claimed the lives of 44 people, including a firefighter. Some 279 residents are still missing
Among those hospitalised, 45 are in serious condition.
The eight residential blocks in the estate had been undergoing renovations since July 2024, sheathed in highly flammable green plastic mesh, waterproof tarpaulin and styrofoam applied to seal the windows.
The rapid spread of fire was NOT caused by bamboo scaffolding, which is traditionally used in the local building industry.
Three people in charge of the construction company involved in the renovation have already been arrested for gross negligence. @LauraRuHK
Why do I keep this Telegram channel alive, posting almost every day (sometimes three, four times a day) when nobody pays for it and the reach is modest? It is not missionary zeal. I do not believe that “getting the truth out” automatically changes anything; history is full of truths that everybody knew and nobody acted upon. Information alone is inert. Without organization, networks, money, weapons, or institutions ready to weaponize it, even the most explosive revelation or the most penetrating and lucid analysis evaporates in a week. Unless you are self-delusional, you have probably come to the same conclusion. As Yasha Levine wrote a few months ago, "Information is not power. Information is pacification." In a world engineered as a consumerist spectacle, he argues, we've been gaslit into treating facts like a magical incantation, a compulsive scroll that lulls us into passivity. Drawing on Julian Assange's WikiLeaks saga as a tragic exhibit, where floods of classified docs were meant to ignite global revolt, he concluded that this "psychic trap" keeps us hooked on the illusion of agency. So no, I am not here to save the world with facts. This channel is just a searchable archive where I store information that helps me make sense of processes.
As far as i am concerned, the act of selecting information and writing go hand in hand with thinking. The channel is simply the public trace of that private labour.
Most of what I publish is ignored. That is fine. But I know that some of it isn't. 😏
@LauraRuHK
The EU is offering Washington a joint China policy as both carrot and insurance. Brussels hopes that a shared rivalry with Beijing will keep the US engaged in Ukraine.
On Monday in Brussels, EU ministers waved the China card at US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, hoping a united front against Beijing would persuade Trump to ease tariffs on the EU and stay committed to Kiev. The pitch came even as German public opinion has soured dramatically: a new Koerber Stiftung poll shows only 31 % of Germans now see the U.S. as a partner on China (down from 49 % a year ago) and just 38 % on Ukraine (down from 70 %). Three-quarters of respondents say transatlantic relations are bad, and almost as many believe the EU has been too timid with Trump. Ministers from Denmark, Lithuania, and Poland stressed the need to “push back on China together,” especially on what they call 'overcapacity' and rare-earth dominance. Lutnick welcomed the alignment but made clear that relief from steel and aluminum tariffs would require the EU to soften its digital regulations and resolve cases involving American tech giants. @LauraRuHK
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3334031/eu-ministers-court-trump-joint-china-policy-even-public-scepticism-grows?module=top_story&pgtype=homepage
Japan’s defense minister Shinjiro Koizumi has announced plans to deploy missiles on Yonaguni island, the Japanese base about 110 kilometers from Taiwan. Chinese analysts condemned the deployment as a dangerous escalation, warning that it reflects Tokyo’s shift away from its principle of “exclusive self-defense” and its growing alignment with Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy. They stressed that stationing offensive missiles so close to Taiwan exposes Japan’s strategic ambitions and heightens tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
The plan has also unsettled Yonaguni’s residents, who fear being drawn into conflict, while some Japanese commentators criticized the government for prioritizing U.S. military interests over Japan’s own security. Shii Kazuo of the Japanese Communist Party argued that participation in U.S. “preemptive strikes” endangers citizens rather than protecting them. Military expert Song Zhongping warned that if Japan interferes in China’s internal affairs, Beijing could retaliate against Japan’s main islands. Overall, Koizumi’s visit and statements are seen by Chinese experts as aggravating an already volatile situation, making reconciliation between Beijing and Tokyo more difficult and increasing the risk of confrontation. @LauraRuHK 👉 https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202511/1348922.shtml
Occasionally I leave my jungle den and trade flip flops for high heels. 😇 Have a nice weekend!
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EUnuchs reject the US-proposed Ukraine peace plan. It has too many points. The EU's peace plan on the other hand is beautifully simple because it contains only two points: Weaken Russia, Strengthen Ukraine.
Kaja Kallas insists that any deal should reflect the positions of the EU and of Kiev. That’s all from the Brussels asylum. @LauraRuHK
Russian forces have fully liberated the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkov Region, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin. Military expert and retired LPR Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Marochko emphasized that this development will significantly strengthen the security of the Lugansk People’s Republic’s border areas.
Marochko explained: “The liberation of Kupyansk will have a profound impact on the LPR, particularly on its northern outskirts, where Ukrainian attacks have severely disrupted the lives of ordinary civilians. By pushing Ukrainian militants further from our borders, the risk of strikes against our republic will be reduced, creating a far more favorable situation overall.”
According to Gerasimov, around 15 battalions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces remain encircled in Kupyansk and its surrounding territory.
Meanwhile, Russian troops are confronting a new tactic: Ukrainian fighters disguising themselves as civilians. Military analyst Vladislav Shurygin described how such individuals are identified. “Ordinary residents typically carry passports with local registration. Without documents, a person is immediately subject to verification. Everyone in the cleanup zone undergoes mandatory filtration,” he noted.
Shurygin added that there are numerous indirect signs that reveal a disguised soldier, including traces of carrying weapons regularly—these details provide experienced eyes with clear indicators. @LauraRuHK
Donald Trump’s peace plan on Ukraine stipulates that the country’s armed forces should be reduced by 2.5 times, the Economist reporter Oliver Carroll wrote on the X social network.
Earlier, the Financial Times informed that, in line with the US plan, the size of the Ukrainian armed forces is to be halved.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS that Moscow had not received any information from Washington through official channels regarding the "agreements" on Ukraine reported in the media.
Previously, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a TASS question that Moscow and Washington are not working on any new initiatives regarding the Ukrainian settlement beyond the agreements reached by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska. @LauraRuHK
From Seizure to Surrender: Dutch Government Backpedals. The Netherlands has suspended its takeover of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, easing a six‑week EU–China dispute that threatened car production.
The decision comes as a delegation from the Netherlands met with officials in Beijing to try and resolve matter after a bitter war of words erupted last week between the economy minister and the Chinese ministry of commerce.
Dutch economy minister Vincent Karremans said “In the past few days we have had constructive meetings with the Chinese authorities. We are positive about the measures already taken by the Chinese authorities to ensure the supply of chips to Europe and the rest of the world. We see this as a show of goodwill. We will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with the Chinese authorities in the period ahead.” ▪️The Dutch government had seized Nexperia on September 30 under a Cold War‑era law, reportedly at U.S. insistence, with Washington demanding changes to its leadership and governance. China retaliated by restricting exports from Nexperia’s subsidiaries, raising alarms in Europe and the U.S. over potential supply disruptions. Industry groups had warned that automakers including VW, BMW, Ford, GM, Toyota, and Hyundai could face production halts within weeks. @LauraRuHK
I am currently working on an editorial project largely based on my archive. As i am revisiting material collected during the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, i had a chance to watch this BBC report again. It's pretty well-known but if you have never seen it, or forgotten about it, it's worth five minutes of your time. Warning: high cringe value. @LauraRuHK https://www.bbc.com/news/av/education-29723763
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Henry Johnston argues that both Washington and BRICS nations frame de-dollarization as a response to U.S. sanctions, but the deeper reality is economic. The true driver is structural U.S. debt and negative real interest rates, which erode the purchasing power of dollar-denominated reserves. Why Washington and BRICS tell the same story about de-dollarization? Read more here
https://swentr.site/news/627896-dedollarization-real-story-brics-us/
Attempted Assassination on Sergei Shoigu Foiled at Troyekurovskoye Cemetery
Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets has revealed new details about a thwarted assassination attempt targeting Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
According to the report, a group of saboteurs operating in Moscow under the direction of Ukrainian special services was preparing to attack Shoigu during his planned visit to the graves of close relatives at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery. The Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the group’s detention on November 14, but the identity of the intended target was disclosed only now.
Investigators stated that the group consisted of an illegal migrant from Central Asia and two Russian nationals with prior drug convictions. All three were recruited to carry out the killing and have since been detained.
During the operation, authorities seized communications with Ukrainian handlers and uncovered the group’s main surveillance tool: a CCTV camera disguised as a flower vase, capable of transmitting footage abroad. This device was used to monitor Shoigu’s movements at the cemetery.
The FSB further reported that similar plots were being prepared in other regions of Russia. @LauraRuHK https://www.mk.ru/incident/2025/11/17/diversanty-gotovili-na-troekurovskom-kladbishhe-pokushenie-na-shoygu.html
The five Central Asian nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — are often viewed as a cohesive group, bound together by geography, their shared past as Soviet republics, and increasing cooperation in recent years. Now, Azerbaijan, despite being located in the South Caucasus.
has become a sixth member.
At a summit in Tashkent, Central Asian leaders endorsed Azerbaijan’s inclusion as a full participant in the region’s Consultative Meeting which serves as a platform for high-level collaboration among Central Asian states on trade, security, and regional development.
In his remarks, Azerbaijan's president Aliyev highlighted that he had visited Central Asian countries 14 times in the past three years, while their leaders had traveled to Azerbaijan 23 times during the same period. He emphasized that Azerbaijan and Central Asia “now form a single geopolitical and geo-economic region, whose global importance is steadily increasing.”
Aliyev also announced that his country is finalizing the construction of its segment of the Zangezur Corridor, a transport route set to become the main artery of the Middle Corridor connecting China to Europe via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and Türkiye.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said the Zangezur Corridor is strategically aligned with the under-construction China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway. The Zangezur corridor, actively promoted and sponsored by the West to bypass Russia and Iran, could easily amplify geopolitical fault lines and turn into a flashpoint for confrontation.
Read more 👉 https://lauraruggeri.substack.com/p/azerbaijan-a-pawn-on-the-wests-chessboard
🇩🇪🇨🇳 Politico reports that the German government is set to get new powers to bar Chinese technology suppliers from its critical infrastructure.
On Thursday, lawmakers in the Bundestag approved legislation empowering the Interior Ministry to ban components from specific manufacturers across a wide range of sectors—energy, transport, and health care included. While the bill echoes earlier European restrictions in telecoms, its scope is far broader, potentially destabilizing supply chains that Germany’s export-driven economy depends on.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz amplified the rhetoric by declaring at a Berlin business conference that he “won’t allow any components from China in the 6G network.” Such absolutist language suggests a myopic disregard for practical costs. Merz is expected to carry this message into a Franco-German summit on digital sovereignty, but critics warn that the posture risks alienating China, a key trading partner, while offering little in terms of concrete cybersecurity gains.
The timing is notable: the EU is still debating how to balance what it calls "de-risking" with economic pragmatism, and Germany’s unilateral hard line could undermine European cohesion. Extending restrictions beyond telecoms into sectors like solar power and connected cars risks collateral damage to industries where Chinese firms are deeply embedded. Even the European Commission’s forthcoming overhaul of the Cybersecurity Act is unlikely to justify such sweeping exclusions.
Skeptics point out that Germany already had the legal authority to block Chinese components under its IT security law, yet the Interior Ministry has never exercised those powers decisively. The cost was simply too high.
Industry voices are sounding the alarm. Bitkom, Germany’s leading tech trade association, warned that the unpredictability of these rules could be “detrimental” to innovation and competitiveness. Meanwhile, ministries responsible for the economy and digital affairs have historically resisted blanket bans, fearing economic retaliation from Beijing.
In short, Merz’s hardline stance risks substituting political optics over pragmatic risk management, and Germany may end up with a policy that is unsustainable for its industrial base, already undermined by high energy costs after severing ties with Russia, its most reliable supplier of affordable energy and an important market for its products. @LauraRuHK
Japan's PM Mulls Review of Non-Nuclear Principles
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is reportedly planning to review Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles, according to government sources. This dangerous move would mark a historic reversal of Tokyo’s postwar pacifist commitments and seriously undermine peace and stability in East Asia. As the only nation to have suffered atomic devastation, Japan has upheld since 1967 the principles of not possessing, not producing, and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons – a national pledge first declared by then-Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, who was awarded the 1974 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in global disarmament. Yet now, Takaichi’s administration seeks to weaken the "non-introduction" clause, effectively paving the way for U.S. nuclear-armed warships to freely enter Japanese ports under the pretext of “strengthening deterrence.”
Japan’s new security strategy reveals a calculated intent to militarize under a U.S. nuclear umbrella. Far from enhancing security, this would heighten tensions in the region.
Beijing views this development with alarm.
@LauraRuHK