Bornholm Island: NATO’s Baltic Bridgehead for Aggression Against Russia
By Ilya Tsukanov – Sputnik – 14.07.2025
Copenhagen is using the old ‘Russian threat’ excuse to justify the militarization of its easternmost island, but NATO operational planning and drills reveal otherwise.
Where is Bornholm?
Situated about 140 km southeast of Copenhagen in waters between Sweden, Poland and Germany, the 588 km2 island has been a strategic stronghold since medieval times, used by Vikings, Scandinavian kings, Napoleon and the Nazis for both defensive and offensive operations.
In 2022, NATO announced plans to turn the Baltic Sea into a ‘NATO lake’. Bornholm would play a key role in this calculus.
Breaking Old Agreements
Freed from the Nazis by the Red Army in WWII, Bornholm was returned to Denmark by Moscow on the understanding that foreign troops would never again be stationed there. Denmark reneged in 2022, okaying large-scale NATO drills on and around the island.
Drills have included deployments of US HIMARS MLRS (300 km max range) and Typhon missile system components (2,500 km range). The Typhon TEL can fire SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles, whose payload, notably, can include nuclear warheads.
Military Infrastructure Buildup
- construction of a 85m spy tower in Ostermarie (2017)
- inclusion in NATO’s Baltic “island chain” strategy alongside Gotland and Aland (2023)
- plans to add 5k troops to the local garrison (2025)
Air and Naval Power Projection
Bornholm’s Ronne Airport has a military apron, and has been used in drills by Finnish F-18 jets (2024). Moscow has accused USAF strategic bombers flying toward Russian cities including Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg of hiding in the island’s airspace to avoid interception by Russian jets.
Ronne’s seaport has undergone expansions (2023) to accommodate large ships, including military and support vessels.
Fictitious Justifications
“Bornholm’s militarization is taking place under the false pretext of the need to protect the island from the ‘Russian threat,’” even though Russia “has never had aggressive intentions toward Denmark,” Ambassador Vladimir Barbin has said.
Trump issues threat to Russia over Ukraine conflict
RT | July 14, 2025
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose “severe” tariffs of up to 100% on Russia’s trading partners unless a deal is reached to end the Ukraine conflict within 50 days.
Trump issued the warning on Monday during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
“We’re very, very unhappy – I am – with [Russia], and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” he stated.
Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for dragging Washington into the conflict, saying the US had spent approximately $350 billion on aid for Ukraine.
The US president also mentioned a congressional bill that would impose tougher sanctions on Russia, saying, “I’m not sure we need it, but it’s good they’re doing it… could be very useful.” A Senate vote is expected next week.
He noted that, if there was no progress on Ukraine, slapping Russia with secondary US tariffs would not require congressional approval.
Secondary tariffs are sometimes introduced on countries that do business with a sanctioned country.
Trump also announced that the US will send weapons to Ukraine through NATO, which would handle both payment and distribution.
“We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them,” he said.
Russia has repeatedly denounced the West for supplying Ukraine with weapons, warning that this only serves to prolong the conflict and makes no impact on its outcome.
The Russian stock market soared on Trump’s remarks, with the main index jumping nearly 3%, according to data from the Moscow Exchange.
Zelensky threatens ‘long-range strikes’ in Russia
RT | July 14, 2025
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has threatened new strikes deep inside Russia, days after the US pledged to resume military aid to Kiev.
Zelensky made the remarks after a meeting with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Aleksandr Syrsky, and Chief of the General Staff Andrey Gnatov on Sunday.
“Our units will continue to destroy the occupiers and do everything possible to bring the war onto Russian territory. We are preparing our new long-range strikes,” Zelensky wrote on X.
He added that Ukraine is preparing for a visit by US presidential envoy Keith Kellogg and will “work with partners on arms deliveries and scaling up joint production of essential defense assets.”
Among its recent attacks far from the front line, Ukraine targeted military airfields housing strategic bombers in several Russian regions last month. Ukrainian drones and missiles also repeatedly struck apartment blocks and other civilian infrastructure. According to Moscow, Ukraine was responsible for the passenger train derailment on March 31, which left seven people dead.
The EU has allocated hundreds of billions of euros in recent months to expand its military-industrial complex and support Ukraine’s domestic armament production.
Berlin will provide Ukraine its first batch of long-range missiles financed by Germany in the coming weeks, Major General Christian Freuding, who oversees the coordination of the country’s military support for Kiev, has said.
US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the Pentagon will resume deliveries to Kiev, following weeks of suspension, and reportedly considers approving a first new aid package since returning to office.
Russia has said that it views the use of foreign-supplied missiles as direct participation by Western states in the conflict and claimed that Ukrainian troops cannot operate sophisticated weapons systems on their own.
Lasha Kasradze: Azerbaijan as the Next Frontline Against Russia & Iran?
Glenn Diesen | July 13, 2025
As Azerbaijan takes an increasingly hostile approach to both Russia and Iran, it risks becoming a proxy in a wider regional war. Azerbaijan’s Zangezur corridor connects Azerbaijan closer to Turkey, and thus NATO. Many uncertainties emerge in terms of what happens to Armenia, to what extent Turkey and NATO can project power that deep into the South Caucasus, and how Russia and Iran will react. Lasha Kasradze is an international affairs analyst from Georgia, and an expert on the wider region.
Moscow dismisses US media’s Putin-Iran nuclear claim
RT | July 13, 2025
Moscow has dismissed a US media report claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Iran to accept a nuclear deal that would strip it of the right to enrich uranium, calling it a dirty ploy to stoke tensions in the region.
In a statement on Sunday, the Russian Foreign Ministry slammed Western outlets as a “tool” in the hands of the political establishment and “deep state,” which it said does not hesitate to resort to any means, including provocative acts and “fake news.”
Russian officials singled out the US outlet Axios, which it described as a “toilet tank” that consistently spreads targeted disinformation, mentioning in particular its recent article titled “Scoop: Putin urges Iran to take ‘zero enrichment’ nuclear deal with US, sources say.”
The Axios story, the ministry said, was “apparently yet another dirty, politicized campaign launched with the aim of escalating tensions around Iran’s nuclear program.” It also reiterated that Moscow’s position remains that the crisis around Iran’s nuclear program should be resolved “exclusively by political and diplomatic means.”
On Friday, Axios reported, citing European and Israeli officials, that Putin told both US President Donald Trump and officials in Tehran following the 12-day Israel-Iran war that he would support a nuclear deal involving “zero enrichment.”
One European official told the paper that Putin encouraged Tehran to move in this direction in order to aid talks with Washington, but noted that the Iranians declined to consider the idea.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing sources, reported that Tehran had received no such messages from Putin.
The US has insisted that Iran commit to zero enrichment as part of a potential nuclear deal, a demand Tehran has dismissed as unacceptable, explaining it needs such capacity for its civilian nuclear program. Iran also maintains it has no plans to create a nuclear bomb.
Russia Accuses NATO of Provoking Escalation in Baltic Sea
Sputnik – 13.07.2025
MOSCOW – Russia notes the line of NATO countries on restricting freedom of navigation in the Baltic region, the military-political situation has become significantly more complicated because of this, the risks of escalation have increased, Russian Ambassador to Oslo Nikolay Korchunov told Sputnik.
“We note the deliberate line of NATO member countries on restricting freedom of navigation in the region, launching for these purposes, under the pretext of threats to underwater infrastructure, among other things, the alliance’s mission ‘Baltic Sentinel,’ which is accompanied by the strengthening of the naval group operating in the open sea, as a result of which the military-political situation in the region has become significantly more complicated and the risks of possible escalation and conflict have increased,” Korchunov said in an interview with the agency.
The ambassador emphasized that the norms of international maritime law must be observed by all countries in the region.
“We proceed from the imperative of compliance by all countries in the region with the norms of international maritime law and the exercise of restraint in the interests of ensuring commercial shipping and preventing military incidents. It is obvious that in the current conditions, the forces and means of the Baltic Fleet and other security services of the Russian Federation in the Baltic Sea region are an important factor in ensuring freedom of navigation both in the interests of the Russian Federation and third countries,” Korchunov noted.
He drew parallels with the actions of Russia’s neighboring states in the past — Poland, Germany, Sweden — in the 17th-19th centuries.
“They also tried with all their might to prevent the passage of ships carrying Russian goods through the Baltic to the priority markets of Britain, Holland and France. The Swedes did not even shy away from pirate seizures. Ultimately, these efforts, as is known, ended in failure. It is regrettable that the spirit of unfair rivalry and confrontation is once again being implanted in the Baltic, which for decades has been a platform for peaceful multilateral cooperation,” the diplomat said.
US-led drills pose threat to peace in Asia – Lavrov
RT | July 12, 2025
The military activities of the US and its allies around the Korean Peninsula threaten the stability of the entire region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during his visit to North Korea.
The US, South Korea, and Japan are increasing the number of joint military drills, some of which involve “a nuclear component,” Lavrov told reporters at a press conference in Wonsan on Saturday.
“This does not contribute to peace and stability, not only on the Korean Peninsula but throughout Northeast Asia,” the diplomat said, expressing skepticism about Seoul’s intentions to normalize relations with Pyongyang.
Lavrov condemned what he described as “dangerous attempts by actors outside the Indo-Pacific to form exclusive alliances and expand NATO infrastructure in the region.” He emphasized that countries should not build alliances at the expense of others, adding that both Russia and North Korea are committed to “equal and indivisible security” for all nations in Eurasia.
The US, South Korea, and Japan conducted joint exercises this week involving the deployment of America’s nuclear-capable B-52H strategic bombers. In a joint statement, the allies accused Pyongyang of “unlawful activities” that “destabilize the Korean Peninsula.”
Russia and North Korea signed a defense pact in June 2024, after which Pyongyang dispatched troops to help expel Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region later that year. The cooperation is a testament to the “invincible brotherhood” between the two countries, Lavrov said.
Iran, US Respond With Attention to Russia’s Proposal to Help Iran Deplete Uranium
Sputnik – 11.07.2025
MOSCOW – Iran, the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have paid close attention to Russia’s proposal to remove excess enriched uranium from Iran, but the matter has not yet reached specifics, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik.
“We have conveyed this proposal to both the Iranian side and the American side, and the IAEA is also aware of it. Its purpose is to solve two problems at once – one is related to the fact that the Iranian side, as we understand it, is firmly insisting on the importance of preserving the right to carry out enrichment work on its territory. On the other hand, we see that there are opponents of Tehran who are expressing great concern about the accumulation on its territory of uranium enriched above the levels that are usually used in the manufacture of fuel for nuclear reactors,” Ryabkov said.
If Russia could take this material out of Iran and carry out appropriate work with it in order to produce fuel from it or manage it in such a way that it becomes a commercial product subject to sale, then both of these tasks could be effectively solved, he said.
“Considering that it is still unclear how the dialogue will proceed, whether it will proceed at all, and if it does, in what format, we have not yet reached the specifics of such practical measures. But all interested parties approached this with attention and, perhaps, one can say, perceived this as a reflection of the seriousness of our efforts, the seriousness of our intentions in this regard,” Ryabkov said.
Apartment block destroyed by Ukrainian airstrike – Russian governor
RT | July 11, 2025
A five-story residential building collapsed after being hit in a Ukrainian air strike, the governor of Russia’s Kherson Region, Vladimir Saldo, said. Ukraine’s forces are attacking the area with drones to prevent rescue teams from helping people trapped under the rubble, according to the local authorities.
The building was located in the town of Aleshki, about seven kilometers from the Dnieper River, which separates Russian and the Ukrainian forces in the area.
“The enemy has hit a residential building in Aleshki in an airstrike,” Saldo told Russian media, including TASS and Ria Novosti. “The building has collapsed. Civilians are trapped underneath.”
The exact number of people affected remains unclear, as Ukrainian troops are preventing emergency services from reaching the site with drone attacks, regional authorities said.
Kiev’s forces have been regularly launching attacks against various Russian regions bordering Ukraine, often hitting civilian targets. A Ukrainian drone struck a public beach in the city of Kursk as people gathered to celebrate the Day of Family, Love, and Fidelity, a holiday celebrated on July 8. The strike killed four civilians, including a five-year-old boy.
Last week, four people were killed in a Ukrainian strike on the city of Donetsk. Ukrainian forces used a US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher in the attack. Another woman was severely wounded and three others sustained moderate injuries, according to the local authorities.
Last month, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Kiev of deliberately committing atrocities against civilians in Donbass, including mass killings of elderly people and drone strikes on residential homes.
“It is a deliberate policy that has already been elevated to the level of state doctrine,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at the time.
UN Regularly Spread Ukraine’s Lies — Moscow on Guterres’ Remarks on Russian Drone Attacks
Sputnik – 10.07.2025
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and his subordinates regularly spread the lies fabricated by Kiev and Western countries, the Russian Foreign ministry said on Thursday, commenting on the UN chief’s remark about the allegedly largest series of attacks by Russian UAVs and missiles.
On July 5, Guterres strongly condemned “what is believed to be the largest series of attacks by Russia in the last three years using UAVs and missiles” that allegedly disrupted the power supply to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (ZNPP), and expressed concern about “the dangerous escalation and the growing number of civilian casualties,” the ministry said in a statement.
“[Antonio] Guterres and his subordinates regularly pick up and replicate the lies fabricated by the Kiev regime and Western capitals and aimed at discrediting Russia. They consistently keep silent about Kiev’s flagrant violations of international humanitarian law or, at best, limit themselves to calls for restraint on both sides. With such double standards, the Secretariat’s leadership grossly violates Article 100 of the UN Charter, which requires it to adhere to the principles of impartiality and equidistance,” the ministry said.
It is absurd to assume that Russia has grounds to create difficulties for the safe operation of the ZNPP, as it is Moscow that is responsible for ensuring the safety of the plant, the statement read, adding that the Russian armed forces only strike Ukraine’s military targets, while Kiev constantly attacks civilian targets.
“Russia insists that UN officials abandon their biased course, demands that they stop acting as mouthpieces for Western propaganda and disseminators of disinformation and fakes, take a neutral and responsible position befitting their status, and rely only on verified sources of information,” the statement said.
This is a long war, and it’s not just about Ukraine
By Dmitry Trenin | RT | July 9, 2025
The trademark style of the current US president, Donald Trump, is verbal spectacle. His statements – brash, contradictory, sometimes theatrical – should be monitored, but not overestimated. They are not inherently favorable or hostile to Russia. And we must remember: Trump is not the ‘king’ of America. The ‘Trump revolution’ that many anticipated at the beginning of the year appears to have given way to Trump’s own evolution – a drift toward accommodation with the American establishment.
In that light, it’s time to assess the interim results of our ‘special diplomatic operation’. There have now been six presidential phone calls, several rounds of talks between foreign ministers and national security aides, and sustained contact at other levels.
The most obvious positive outcome is the restoration of dialogue between Russia and the United States – a process that had been severed under the Biden administration. Crucially, this revived dialogue extends beyond Ukraine. A range of potential areas for cooperation have been mapped out, from geopolitical stability to transportation and sport. These may not carry immediate strategic weight, but they lay the groundwork for future engagement. Under Trump, the dialogue is unlikely to break off again – though its tone and pace may shift.
One visible result of this diplomacy was the resumption of talks with the Ukrainian side in Istanbul. While these negotiations currently hold little political substance – and the recent prisoner exchanges occurred independently of them – they nonetheless reaffirm a core tenet of Russian diplomacy: we are ready for a political resolution to the conflict.
Still, these are technical and tactical achievements. The strategic reality remains unchanged.
It was never realistic to expect Trump to offer Russia a deal on Ukraine that met our security requirements. Nor for that matter would Russia accept one that compromised its long-term security interests. Likewise, any notion that Trump would ‘deliver’ Ukraine to the Kremlin, join Moscow in undermining the EU, or push for a new Yalta agreement with Russia and China was always fantasy.
So the page has turned. What comes next?
Trump will almost certainly sign the new US sanctions bill into law – but he’ll try to preserve discretion in how those measures are applied. The sanctions will add friction to global trade, but they will not derail Russian policy.
On the military front, Trump will deliver the remaining aid packages approved under Biden, and perhaps supplement them with modest contributions of his own. But going forward, it will be Western Europe – especially Germany – that supplies Ukraine, often by buying US-made systems and re-exporting them.
Meanwhile, the United States will continue to furnish Kiev with battlefield intelligence – particularly for deep strikes inside Russian territory.
None of this suggests the conflict will end in 2025. Nor will it end when hostilities in Ukraine eventually wind down.
That’s because the fight is not fundamentally about Ukraine.
What we are witnessing is an indirect war between the West and Russia – part of a much broader global confrontation. The West is fighting to preserve its dominance. And Russia, in defending itself, is asserting its sovereign right to exist on its own terms.
This war will be long. And the United States – with Trump or without him – will remain our adversary. The outcome will shape not just the fate of Ukraine, but the future of Russia itself.
Dmitry Trenin is a research professor at the Higher School of Economics and a lead research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. He is also a member of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
This article was first published in Kommersant, and was translated and edited by the RT team.
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Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu: Leave No Palestinian or Arab Alive
By Jonas E. Alexis | Veterans Today | July 23, 2017
Israeli Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu seems to have picked up where the late Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef left off. The Israeli army, Eliyahu said, must slaughter the Palestinians “and leave no one alive.” The Palestinians, the good rabbi continued, must be “destroyed and crushed in order to end violence.” Here is Eliyahu’s algorithm:
“If they don’t stop after we kill 100, then we must kill 1,000. And if they do not stop after 1,000, then we must kill 10,000. If they still don’t stop we must kill 100,000, even a million.”
There is more to this “logic” than meets the eye and ear. Eliyahu even postulated that the Israeli army ought not to get involved in arresting Palestinians because “If you leave him alive, there is a fear that he will be released and kill other people. We must eradicate this evil from within our midst.”
You may say that this is just an isolated case. No Israeli official believes that, right? … continue
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