Trump’s threatened 100% tariffs will not stop BRICS’ de-dollarization

Trump has issued a threat to the BRICS+ countries, saying he will slap 100% tariffs Some economists are saying this threat betrays Trump’s ignorance of the way economies work.

Before getting into a discussion of this issue, it is important to investigate the “Triffin dilemma.” And even before we get into that, it is important to understand a vital concept: Currencies can have 2 different roles:

1—as a vehicle for trade settlements, or in other words, as an instrument for paying for goods and services.

2—as a reserve instrument or as a means of saving our assets. Savings can be put aside in various forms, ie, in gold or other precious metals, in fiat currencies such as Bitcoin, as real estate, or in any of various currencies, but primarily the US dollar. Since the US dollar generally holds a stable value, the USD is generally accepted as the world’s reserve currency.

The fact that the dollar has these two distinct roles complicates things a lot.

If you want the dollar to retain its use as a vehicle of debt settlement, then the central bank issuing the dollar must perform a delicate balancing act. To preserve the second role of the dollar describe above, the interest rate paid to the holder of the dollar must be attractive enough to induce savers to use this currency. For example, the prime rate may be at about 3-6%, to allow the holder of the currency on deposit at the bank to see a bit of a profit. Otherwise, if the rate is too low, the depositor will see the value of his savings fall below inflation, causing them to lose value.

On the other hand, if the interest rate is too high, the central bank (Federal Reserve) will not be able to pay the depositor the agreed interest rate, leading to default.

Already, the dollar system is spinning out of control, with the US government debt at $36 trillion, requiring the Fed to pay at least one trillion dollars in interest per year!

With all this in mind, let us see what the Triffin Dilemma is and why it makes the dollar’s role as a reserve currency problematic.

But before we get into this, let me say that Trump’s glib threat to use sanctions as a tool to enable the US to preserve the reserve currency role of the dollar betrays Trump’s ignorance of the Triffin dilemma and the delicate balance of reserve vs debt settlement roles of the dollar.

Economists have been showing that Trump has no grasp of the interplay of macroeconomic mechanisms and that this disqualifies him as president. Actually, though, to be fair to Trump, no president has ever had a sufficient understanding of macroeconomics and therefore, none has really been qualified to make the delicate kind of decisions that ought to be made. Which is why we see our economy completely out of control, causing the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer.

Here is a video that briefly explains the Triffin Dilemma:

Here is what Investopedia says, with my notes in bold and in [brackets]:

https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1011/how-the-triffin-dilemma-affects-currencies.aspx

How The Triffin Dilemma Affects Currencies

By Tim Smith Updated May 19, 2024

Reviewed by Akhilesh Ganti

Robert Triffin's Dollar Prediction

In October 1959, a Yale professor sat in front of Congress' Joint Economic Committee and calmly announced that the Bretton Woods system was doomed.

The dollar could not survive as the world's reserve currency without requiring the United States to run ever-growing deficits. [Apparently this statement lies at the heart of our $36 trillion debt] This dismal scientist was Belgium-born Robert Triffin, and he was right. The Bretton Woods system collapsed in 1971, and today the dollar's role as the reserve currency has the United States running the largest current account deficit in the world. [In other words, this situation cuts into the dollar’s competitiveness, making it increasingly difficult for the US to be a competitive exporter. It is obliged to buy more and more goods and services from abroad. Thus, ironically, a strong dollar is bad for the economy]

For much of the 20th century, the U.S. dollar was the currency of choice. Central banks and investors alike bought dollars to hold as foreign exchange reserves, and with good reason. The U.S. had a stable political climate, did not experience the ravages of world wars like Europe had, and had a steadily growing economy that was large enough to absorb shocks.

Key Takeaways

Robert Triffin believed the dollar could not survive as the world's reserve currency without requiring the United States to run ever-growing deficits.

A popular reserve currency lifts its exchange rate, which hurts the currency-issuing country's exports, leading to a trade deficit. [Yes, the higher exchange rate of the dollar to other world currencies makes the dollar rather expensive for countries with other currencies to afford! So they import less US goods and services. As one economist put it, having the world’s reserve currency is therefore a curse. Thus, by fighting to retain the exclusive reserve currency status of the dollar, Trump is actually trying to maintain this curse. He is, in fact, fighting to continue to keep the US debt high, and even higher. But of course, he has succeeded in convincing his low-information voters that having the USD as the world’s reserve currency is good for the US economy, while in fact, it is not!]

A country that issues a reserve currency must balance its interests with the responsibility to make monetary decisions that benefit other countries.

Another reserve currency replacing the dollar would increase borrowing costs, which could impact the United States' ability to repay debt.

A new international monetary system could potentially help countries maintain a reserve currency status.

Reserve Currency Considerations

By "agreeing" to have its currency used as a reserve currency, a country pins its hands behind its back. To keep the global economy chugging along, it may have to inject large amounts of currency into circulation, driving up inflation at home. The more popular the reserve currency is relative to other currencies, the higher its exchange rate and the less competitive domestic exporting industries become. This causes a trade deficit for the currency-issuing country but makes the world happy. If the reserve currency country instead decides to focus on domestic monetary policy by not issuing more currency, then the world becomes unhappy.

Reserve Currency Paradox

Becoming a reserve currency presents countries with a paradox. They want the "interest-free" loan generated by selling currency to foreign governments, and they need to be able to raise capital quickly because of high demand for reserve currency-denominated bonds. At the same time, they want to be able to use capital and monetary policy to ensure that domestic industries are competitive in the world market and to make sure that the domestic economy is healthy and not running large trade deficits. Unfortunately, both of these ideas—cheap sources of capital and positive trade balances—usually can't happen at the same time.

This is the Triffin dilemma, named after Robert Triffin, an economist who wrote of the impending doom of the Bretton Woods system in his 1960 book, "Gold and the Dollar Crisis: The Future of Convertibility." He pointed out that the years of pumping dollars into the world economy through post-war programs, such as the Marshall Plan, was making it increasingly difficult to stick to the gold standard. The country had to achieve this by instilling international confidence through a current account surplus while also having a current account deficit by providing immediate access to gold.

National Bureau of Economic Research. "Triffin: Dilemma or Myth." Pages 3-8.

Issuing a reserve currency means that monetary policy is no longer a domestic-only issue—it's international. Governments have to balance the desire to keep unemployment low and economic growth steady with its responsibility to make monetary decisions that will benefit other countries. The reserve currency status is, thus, a threat to national sovereignty.

Another Reserve Currency

What would happen if another currency, such as China's yuan, were to become the world's reserve currency of choice? The dollar would likely depreciate relative to other currencies, which could boost exports and lower the trade deficit. The bigger issue, however, would be an increase in borrowing costs as demand for a constant flow of dollars tapered off, which could have a severe impact on the ability of the U.S. to repay its debt or fund domestic programs. China, on the other hand, will have to quickly modernize its financial system, long lamented for protecting its export-led industries, through currency manipulation. Demand for yuan convertibility means that China's central bank would have to relax regulations relating to yuan-denominated bonds.

New International Monetary System

There is another possibility for reducing the pressures countries face trying to maintain reserve currency status: a new international monetary system—an idea floated for several decades as a potential solution. One possibility is the special drawing right, a type of reserve asset maintained by a global institution, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While this is not a currency, it does represent a claim by other countries on foreign exchange assets. A more radical idea would be to create a global currency, a concept pushed by John Maynard Keynes, with a value based either on gold or the mechanizations of a global central bank. This is probably the more complex solution available and does present problems relating to sovereignty, stability, and administration. After all, how can you hold an organization accountable that is voluntary?

The Bottom Line

In the short-term, the prospect of a reserve currency replacing the dollar is slim to none. Despite the economic and political problems facing the United States, its "safe-haven" status is hard to beat, especially in light of the plight of the euro. It is hard to parse out what exactly would happen if the dollar were to be overtaken by another currency, and it is equally difficult to predict what budgetary and austerity measures in Europe and the United States will do to the global economy in the coming years.

…

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://vz.ru/news/2024/12/1/1300987.html

December 1, 2024, 15:45

Expert calls Trump's threats to BRICS over dollar status a bluff

[Actually, this Russian author is being really nice. Personally, I think Trump may actually not be smart enough to understand that he is in way over his head. I recall that, during the campaign running up to his first term, Trump once told his audience “I’m smart” – in his Brooklyn accent: I’m smaaht.” It occurred to me at that time that people who are truly smart never say “I’m smart” because when you are smart, your intelligence is obvious to those around you. Only people who are mentally challenged feel the need to assert that they’re “smart”]

American studies expert Dudakov: Trump will not be able to stop BRICS de-dollarization with threats

Expert calls Trump's threats to BRICS over dollar status a bluff@ REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Text: Rafael Fakhrutdinov

US President-elect Donald Trump is trying to stop de-dollarization processes in the world, including in the BRICS countries, but will not be able to do so, American area studies expert Malek Dudakov told Vzglyad newspaper. Earlier, Trump threatened 100 percent duties on the BRICS countries for abandoning the dollar.

"This is not the first time Donald Trump has commented on the de-dollarization processes taking place around the world. Let me remind you that even the Republican Party's election program in August at the party convention included a point about the need to save the dollar's status as a global reserve currency," noted American studies expert Malek Dudakov.

"Trump also proposed introducing 100% tariffs on those countries that abandon the dollar in global trade. But everyone understands that this is a lever of pressure and, in many ways, a bluff on the part of the Americans. Because it is impossible to imagine introducing 100% tariffs, for example, on China, given the volume of trade between the United States and China - and this is hundreds of billions of dollars," he recalled.

"One can understand what a blow the duties will ultimately have for the American economy, although for the Chinese economy as well. Therefore, perhaps, some "Trump" tariffs against the BRICS countries should be expected, but still far from the scale with which he is now threatening," the expert predicted. [It must also be noted that tariffs are never paid by the exporter. As I showed in yesterday’s feature commentary, tariffs only punish your own people.]

"We see that the share of the dollar in world trade, in principle, remains quite high, but mainly due to the fact that it eats up the share of the euro in the framework of, for example, transactions going through SWIFT. At the same time, the share of the yuan is growing rapidly, which is becoming one of the key world currencies for trade outside of SWIFT," the analyst noted.

"The work of the digital yuan infrastructure is developing, and clearing banks are appearing in many countries of the Global South that allow trading in yuan with Chinese businesses, bypassing the dollar. This is already working in Africa, and in many countries of Southeast Asia, and in Russia, although there are some problems with payments. I think Trump will not be able to reverse the de-dollarization processes," the speaker continued.

"By the way, Trump has planned a major monetary restructuring in the United States. He is trying to put the Federal Reserve System under the control of the executive branch [president] and arrange a devaluation of the dollar in order to increase the competitiveness of the economy and American goods in the framework of exports abroad. I think that if such a devaluation of the dollar happens, it will only speed up the processes of this very de-dollarization,” Dudakov emphasized.

Previously, US President-elect Donald Trump said that he would demand that BRICS countries commit to not creating a new currency, or they would face the introduction of 100 percent tariffs.

“There should be no thoughts that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the dollar, and we stand and watch. We demand that these countries commit to not creating a new BRICS currency and not supporting any other currency to replace the almighty US dollar, otherwise they will face 100 percent duties and will have to say goodbye to sales to the wonderful US economy,” Trump wrote on the Truth Social social network.

Member of the Federation Council Alexei Pushkov noted that “this measure is declarative in nature, but is not feasible in practice.” “By promoting globalization in its own interests, the US has ultimately become dependent on it and on imports from other countries. The US also cannot prevent the BRICS countries from switching to mutual settlements in national currencies, or from working on a new system of mutual payments, an alternative to SWIFT,” he said in his Telegram channel.

“At the same time, in trade with third countries, for example, with the US, the BRICS countries naturally do not intend to abandon the dollar, which seriously reduces the pathos of the measure announced by Trump,” the senator emphasized.

Earlier, VZGLYAD calculated three scenarios of Trump’s trade war with China.

**

https://mishtalk.com/economics/trumps-obvious-bluff-over-brics-currency-proves-he-is-clueless-on-trade/

Trump’s Obvious Bluff Over BRICS Currency Proves He Is Clueless on Trade

November 30, 2024

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2:31 pm

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100 comments on Trump’s Obvious Bluff Over BRICS Currency Proves He Is Clueless on Trade

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Economics

Let’s start with the obvious. First, Trump is bluffing. Second, he is clueless as to what the real problem is.

Truth Social Post [by Trump]

“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy.”

“They can go find another “sucker!” There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America.”

Video of Trump’s 100 Percent Tariff to the Economic Club of Chicago.

[Trump to BRICS nations] We love your product and we hope you sell a lot of it but you are going to pay 100 percent tariff.

They will then follow it up by saying, sir it would be an honor to stay with the reserve currency.

That’s not even chess it’s checkers.

The idea of passing a 100 percent tariff is such an obvious a bluff, that the correct response is to laugh.

Nonetheless, that’s what he said and clueless supporters are cheering.

Who Really Wants Reserve Currency Status?

Despite moaning about the dollar, China does not want to have the world’s reserve currency because it would imply running trade deficits in which other nations accumulate yuan reserves. [See the above explanation of the Triffin Dilemma]

Japan and the EU (led by Germany), don’t want to have the reserve currency “advantage” either, for the same reason.

Since Nixon trashed the gold standard, an export-based, current account surplus economy is incompatible with reserve currency status.

Please read the above lines over and over until it sinks in.

Reserve Currency Curse

The reserve currency irony is that despite protestations of US advantage, no country wants the alleged advantages the US purportedly receives.

Since no one really wants it, having the reserve currency is best viewed as a “curse” not an “exorbitant privilege“.

Reserve currency status allows the US to run deficits with policy set by foreign nations.

Q: How so?

A: If China subsides exports (call it dumping if you would), the US gets to choose between higher unemployment, slower growth, or trade and budget deficits.

The US choice has always been higher trade and budget deficits.

What Happens When you Raise Tariffs?

In isolation, tariffs act to strengthen the dollar, reduce growth, and increase inflation.

Strengthening the dollar is counterproductive to the idea of increasing exports.

Carried to extreme, and 60 percent or 100 percent tariffs on China would be extreme, retaliations would be swift, and likely drastic.

If Trump really did what he said, we would likely have an instant global recession.

Trump is playing neither chess nor checkers. It’s a nonsensical rant from someone who fails to understand the massive problem that started after Nixon ended gold convertibility.

Global Consumers of Last Resort

The US is stuck with the reserve currency because we have the largest, most open capital markets in the world, the world’s largest bond market, and a far better business climate than the EU, China, or Japan.

To ensure the US remains the curse holder, China does not float the Yuan but props up corrupt SOEs [state-owned enterprises], and Germany punishes the rest of the EU.

Everyone wants to export to the US, and they do.

The result is a currency war with everyone hoping to devalue their currencies against the dollar.

As a direct result, and aided further by better US demographics, US consumers have become the global consumers of last resort.

Total Credit Market Debt Owed

Base money supply is the sum of currency in circulation and reserve balances, or deposits held by banks and other depository institutions in their accounts at the Federal Reserve.

US Current Account Balance

The current account balance is the financial inflow and outflow record. It is part of the balance of payments, the statement of all transactions made between one country and another.

No Restrictions on Debt and No Enforcement Mechanism

As a direct result of having the global reserve currency with no restrictions on money supply (no gold standard or other enforcement mechanism) we now have nearly $100 trillion in total US dollar denominated debt with base money supply at $5.7 trillion.

And the US trade deficit has soared. [In other words, we import much more than we export]

Trump threatens to keep this scheme in place with dollar-strengthening, growth-slowing, and export-weakening tariffs.

Tariffs cannot and will not fix this because the problem is the lack of an enforcement mechanism that gold once provided and now nothing does.

A currency crisis awaits as the current path is not sustainable.

Addendum

A reader accurately commented “There isn’t really any other country that can have the reserve currency.”

That is correct. But that was true immediately after WWII. The US Current Account was essentially zero from 1947 to 1971.

What Happened?

Also note the irony. BRICS is no threat to the US dollar except possibly as a sanction avoidance mechanism. So it’s just Trump huffing and puffing nonsense like a big blowfish.

**

Why Trump’s sanctions on BRICS will backfire

https://sputnikglobe.com/20241201/trumps-threat-of-100-tariffs-targeting-brics-would-blow-up-in-americas-face-heres-why-1121061233.html

Trump’s Threat of 100% Tariffs Targeting BRICS Would Blow Up in America’s Face: Here’s Why

5 hours ago

President Donald Trump holds up examples of tariffs, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. - Sputnik International, 1920, 01.12.2024

Donald Trump has threatened to slap BRICS members with 100% import duties if the bloc tries to create its own monetary unit or backs "any other currency to replace the mighty dollar." How could this look in practice? And who would stand to lose more if the president-elect made good on the threat? Sputnik asked a renowned British economist.

"The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER," Donald Trump wrote in a social media post Saturday outlining his plans to reestablish US global economic primacy after stepping into office next month.

"We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty US Dollar, or they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US Economy. They can go find another 'sucker!' There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the US Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America," Trump warned.

Expressing a penchant for steep tariffs targeting allies and adversaries alike during his first term in office, and hinting at plans to repeat his old policy by tapping his former trade czar Robert Lighthizer to return to the job come January, Trump's threat of "100% Tariffs" against the BRICS is his most sweeping trade-related intimidating remark yet, targeting an economic bloc that accounts for some 35% of global economic activity in PPP terms, and over 40% of the planet's population.

The US is heavily dependent on the BRICS economically, and President-Elect Trump has got another thing coming if he thinks he can threaten and cajole the bloc into submission, veteran British economist and Global Justice Movement co-founder Rodney Shakespeare told Sputnik.

"Trump thinks he can target BRICS countries individually but doing this will cause BRICS to act collectively in response and then the situation is about who has the bigger overall trade, population and resources. Trump's thinking is fundamentally based upon a situation of past hegemony whose time is rapidly passing," Shakespeare, who now teaches as a visiting scholar at Indonesia's Trisakti University, explained.

How Would US-BRICS Trade War Look?

The United States has a trade deficit of nearly $433.5 bln with BRICS member countries. None of the BRICS partner countries and candidates for membership (over 50 countries total) have major trade deficits with the US, while several boast major surpluses. Potential partner Vietnam alone had a surplus topping $109 bln in 2023.

Chart showing US trade surplus and deficit with core BRICS countries. - Sputnik International, 1920, 01.12.2024

Chart showing US trade surplus and deficit with core BRICS countries.

© Sputnik

The US relies on BRICS for a broad array of physical products, from household goods, machinery and electrical gear to pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, energy, chemicals and rare earth minerals, with bloc accounting for between 40%-70% of the production of these goods and materials. By comparison, the US’s main physical exports (arms, petroleum, food and automobiles) are plentiful in the world economy, especially among BRICS members.

Services and intellectual property – which accounted for $1.1 trln in US exports in 2023 and included things like franchising, design, management, consulting, financial and advisory services, patents, trademarks, software and art, are ethereal goods which the BRICS bloc could gradually replace with domestic alternatives if the US were to suddenly disappear from the global market for any reason - in the event of a major trade war involving someone leveling 100% tariffs, for example.

As the de facto world reserve currency, the dollar itself has long been a major American export, with foreign countries owning some $7.6 trln in US Treasuries, and dollars accounting for some 54% of global trade (although in BRICS-to-BRICS trade 65% of trade is now settled in local currencies).

All this means that if Trump greenlights the 100% tariffs on the BRICS bloc, "there would be huge increases on [the price of] American-imported consumer products," Dr. Shakespeare said. "Trump hopes that American industry would then revive sufficiently to produce the same products at cheaper cost. That could happen except that the new factories will NOT produce large numbers of jobs (they will be near-automated)."

Ultimately, "since economic power is shifting away from the US," if the US goes ahead with major trade war, against either BRICS countries collectively or even major bloc members individually, "it could be a war which the US will lose," the veteran economist warned.

If Trump made good on his threats, this would accelerate dedollarization, speed up global efforts to reduce dependence on key US exports, and quickly bring a nation that has spent decades exchanging green pieces of paper for real, physical goods to the brink of economic ruin.

**

Excerpt

https://watcher.guru/news/heres-why-trump-might-fail-to-stop-de-dollarization

However, Trump’s plan may backfire, as it may make the US dollar expensive for other countries to transact with. The greenback gaining strength might be good for the US, but for other nations, it may become a problem worth ditching as its overvaluation may compel nations to search for alternatives.

In simpler words, the dollar’s surge would make it an unaffordable currency to trade with, expediting de-dollarization narratives around the world.

“A stronger USD would weaken its role as reserve currency,” economists at Allianz, an international financial services firm, wrote in a June 29 report. “If access to USD becomes more expensive, borrowers will search for alternatives.”

**

Here’s your air strike update for Dec 1, 2024

Search phrases for those who want to do their own research:

EN phrase for translation: Dec 1, 2024, russian missiles, drones, bombs hit Ukraine

Translated into RU: 1 декабря, 2024, российские ракеты, беспилотники, бомбы поражают Украину

Google translate:

https://translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=en&op=translate

To optimize results, searches must be done in Yandex search –

https://ya.ru/

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://ria.ru/20241201/aerodromy-1986710076.html?ysclid=m46enthafm713212206

12:17 01.12.2024 (updated: 13:27 01.12.2024)

Russian troops have damaged Ukrainian military airfields

Ministry of Defense: Russian aviation has damaged Ukrainian military airfields

MOSCOW, December 1 - RIA Novosti. Russian aviation, attack drones and artillery have damaged Ukrainian military airfields, as well as assembly shops and warehouses for drones, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

"Operational-tactical aviation, attack drones, missile troops and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces' troop groups damaged the infrastructure of military airfields, assembly shops and warehouses for drones," the Russian military department's report says.

In addition, concentrations of enemy manpower and military equipment were defeated in 136 areas.

**

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://rg.ru/2024/12/01/fejerverk-na-poziciiah-vsu-posle-udara-kassetnoj-bomby-sniali-na-video.html?ysclid=m46ev9o5wc231962456

01.12.2024 23:09

"Fireworks" at Ukrainian Armed Forces positions after cluster bomb strike captured on video

Alexey Komolov

Frames of "fireworks" at Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in the Zaporizhia oblast after a cluster bomb strike have appeared online.

The published footage, taken from a bird's eye view, shows flashes of explosions covering a section of forest where, allegedly, Ukrainian Armed Forces positions were located.

"The Russian Aerospace Forces fired RBK-500 cluster bombs at the enemy," ANNA NEWS writes.

Earlier, military correspondent channels posted footage of the destruction of Ukrainian Armed Forces supply routes in the Chernihiv oblast.

The publications say that in the settlements of Karpovichi and Timonovichi, special forces of the "North" group of the Russian Armed Forces destroyed two bridges through which Ukrainian Armed Forces were being supplied in the border zone.

The published footage shows a bridge span collapsing into the water after a powerful explosion.

**

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://www.mk.ru/politics/2024/12/01/v-kieve-vecherom-1-dekabrya-progremeli-vzryvy.html?ysclid=m46f37j8he554962062

Explosions thundered in Kyiv on the evening of December 1

Media: air raid siren declared throughout Ukraine, and explosions thundered in Kyiv

Ukrainian media, in particular the TV channel "Novosti. Live" reported that against the backdrop of an air raid siren declared throughout the country, a series of explosions thundered in Kyiv.

More detailed information about the situation in the Ukrainian capital has not yet been received, but local monitoring channels report that explosions are also heard in the Odessa, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv and Vinnytsia oblasts.

In addition, late on Sunday evening, air raid siren signals were heard in the Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Nikolaev and Kirovograd oblasts of Ukraine.

**

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://lenta.ru/news/2024/12/01/rossiyskie-voyska-udarili-po-ukrainskim-voennym-aerodromam/?ysclid=m46fb7paai313755960

12:34, December 1, 2024

Russian troops strike Ukrainian military airfields

Ministry of Defense: Russian Aerospace Forces defeat Ukrainian military airfields

Igor Dmitrov (Editor of the "Russia" Section)

Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), attack drones and artillery have defeated Ukrainian military airfields, as well as assembly shops and warehouses of drones. This was reported to journalists by the Russian Defense Ministry.

It is also noted that in addition to this, Russian troops have struck concentrations of enemy manpower and military equipment in 136 districts.

The Russian military department added that air defense systems shot down 55 aircraft-type drones over the past 24 hours.

Earlier on December 1, it was reported that the Russian Armed Forces took control of the settlements of Ilyinka and Petrovka in the Donetsk People's Republic

**

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://ren.tv/news/v-mire/1285638-rossiiskie-boitsy-unichtozhili-fpv-dronom-zamaskirovannyi-boekomplekt-vsu?ysclid=m46fjp58yz807001104

01 December 2024, 07:03

Russian soldiers destroyed camouflaged Ukrainian Armed Forces ammunition with an FPV drone

Russian military, using an FPV drone, destroyed camouflaged Ukrainian Armed Forces ammunition in the Kharkiv region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported, sharing footage from the scene.

Russian soldiers destroyed camouflaged Ukrainian Armed Forces ammunition with an FPV drone

"In the Kharkiv region, reconnaissance officers using a UAV identified camouflaged field ammunition of a Ukrainian Armed Forces unit in a wooded area," the department clarified.

After this, a decision was made to destroy the object using an FPV drone of reconnaissance officers of the North group of forces. The ammunition was destroyed by a direct hit.

The department noted that UAV operators regularly strike at accumulations of Ukrainian nationalist ammunition in the combat zone.

Earlier it was reported that Russian servicemen, having dropped a VOG-30D munition from a UAV, destroyed a Ukrainian Armed Forces ammunition depot near the village of Druzhba in the Donetsk People's Republic.

**

Don’t let them confuse you. The Syrian Democratic Forces are the US-led terrorists trying to destroy the legitimate Assad forces, which are called the Syrian Arab Army.

Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]

https://ria.ru/20241201/siriya-1986706988.html?utm_source=push&utm_medium=browser_notification&utm_campaign=ria.ru

11:40 01.12.2024 (updated: 14:24 01.12.2024)

Syrian army takes control of several areas

Syrian army [under president Bashar Al-Assad] takes control of several areas, expelling terrorists from them

DAMASCUS, December 1 - RIA Novosti. The Syrian army did not allow terrorists to pass north of the city of Hama and took control of several important areas, a source from the Syrian Ministry of Defense told the Al-Ikhbariya TV channel.

"Units of our Armed Forces <…> managed to take control of a number of areas after expelling terrorists from them, the most important of which were Qalaat al-Madiq and Maardas," he said. Syria is capable of destroying terrorists with the help of its allies, Assad said

Yesterday, 22:57

According to the channel's source, dozens of terrorists were destroyed there, and the rest escaped.

At the same time, units operating at night in the northern outskirts of Hama reinforced defensive lines with firepower, personnel and military equipment and did not allow the terrorists to break through, the source added. As a result, according to him, thousands of militants have been eliminated over the past three days.

Syrian aviation continues to destroy terrorist strongholds in the outskirts of Aleppo and Idlib, the channel's source concluded.

Syrian Air Force strikes on a column of militant armored vehicles on the M-5 Aleppo-Damascus highway - RIA Novosti, 1920, 12/01/2024

Source: Syrian Air Force destroys a column of terrorist armored vehicles

08:01

On Wednesday, November 27, groups that are part of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* violated the de-escalation agreement and attacked the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib. They struck settlements and military positions on a broad front. [It is widely believed that Israel, frustrated with the failure of their Lebanon invasion, is behind this terrorist invasion, which now, per Russian and Syrian sources, has failed]

The Syrian army responded to the attack, as a result of which the terrorists suffered losses in manpower and equipment. According to Oleg Ignasyuk, deputy head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, over the previous day, Syrian government troops destroyed at least 300 militants in Aleppo and Idlib. An armed conflict has been ongoing in Syria since 2011. After the army liberated most of the country, scattered groups of terrorists operate in the desert regions of the north and northeast. Militants periodically carry out raids on civilian and military vehicles on highways and terrorize residents of remote villages. The Syrian army continues active targeted operations to eliminate the remaining militant groups.

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Our thanks to AN for this tip:

Desperate escalations in Middle East & Ukraine – Alastair Crooke, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen

https://theduran.com/desperate-escalations-in-middle-east-ukraine-alastair-crooke-alexander-mercouris-glenn-diesen/

Alistaire Crooke explains why Hezbollah is so amazingly successful and handing Israelis their butts!

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How did you like the Biden administration?

Anyway, here it comes again!

Dialogue Works: How Donald Trump could destroy everything, with Col. Lawrence Wlikerson and Scott Ritter

https://yandex.ru/video/preview/16843974437077723864

Trump promises to repeat the mistakes of the Biden regime

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Putin easily puts down rebel invasion in few days

Hindustan Times (HT). Putin ends Syria war? Hay’at Tasrir al-Sham chief Al-Julani w/ $20 mn US bounty killed in Ru air strike

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Our thanks to JM for this:

Eyes Wide Open😳😬😡🤬.....Listen Closely👂

One Year Ago, a Historical Walk Through: The Perestroika Deception, "Overture", and WW3

The globalist sociopaths have not surrendered, they have merely switched sides......

https://leohohmann.com/2024/11/30/the-globalist-sociopaths-have-not-surrendered-they-have-merely-switched-sides/#more-19875

'I believe we are on the cusp of a technocratic takeover that will see more draconian measures in 2025 and eventually lead us straight into the global surveillance state. Because of the election of Trump, many will let their guard down and believe that Trump is going to fix all of America’s and the world’s problems. Problems of war, crime, failing economies, energy availability, and the immigration nightmares. That would be a mistake. Those who make up the brains behind the politicians have not surrendered to Donald Trump and the conservatives. They have simply changed sides. They have the same agenda. They will just go about implementing it a bit differently, using people on the “right” instead of those on the “left” to bring in the same agenda of greater human control....'

Food CONtrol=DePop:

And The Demolition Men:

And: America First - (Project 2025)