Bulgarian Farmers Resume Protests Over Cheap Ukrainian Grain

"Bulgarian farmers will hold a new protest to demand that the government stop allowing duty-free imports of cheap Ukrainian grain.....The four-hour protest will take place in the Bulgarian towns of Ruse and Kardam....3.5 million tonnes of Bulgarian wheat and 1 million tonnes of Bulgarian sunflower seeds are sitting in warehouses at the moment." Sputnik

France hit by gasoline shortages

"In recent days, industrial action by refinery workers has intensified, leading to supply
disruptions as members of French unions stopped refineries and depots from delivering fuel....... the Val-de-Marne department in Ile-de-France is the worst affected with nearly half (49.4%) of local petrol stations facing partial or complete fuel supply disruption." RT

US opposes NATO ‘roadmap’ for Ukraine

"President Joe Biden’s administration has reportedly opposed efforts by some European
allies to give Ukraine a clear “roadmap” for joining NATO, urging partners to focus on providing short-term aid to Kiev.The US is siding with Germany and Hungary in resisting efforts from such allies as Poland and the Baltic states to offer Ukraine deeper ties with NATO and clear support for its future membership in the Western military bloc......Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has warned that he will only attend the summit in Vilnius if he’s offered clear steps for Kiev’s ascension to NATO." RT

Moscow warns of chaos in the Arctic

"Cooperation on the Arctic Council was suspended last year after Western member states decided to boycott Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. “Our so-called Western partners produced one-sided unfriendly actions in the Arctic Council. Such moves destabilize the Arctic,” Aleksey Chekunkov said of the situation." RT

Russian Defence Ministry building is on fire in Moscow

"A fire has broken out in the Defense Ministry building on Znamenka Street in the center of
Moscow." Pravada

Russian Su-35 fighter jets drop bombs on Chernihiv Oblast

"At around 17:31, the State Emergency Service dispatcher reported that a private house and
outbuildings were on fire in the village of Pecheniuhy. As it became known, the fire was caused by an air strike carried out by two Russian Su-35s." Pravada

Nato's border with Russia doubles as Finland joins

"Finland has become the 31st member of the Nato security alliance, and its flag will soon be
raised at the alliance's headquarters." BBC

No Joke: Russia Assumes Presidency of U.N. Security Council

"Russia’s rise to the presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month is not an April Fool’s joke, Moscow’s delegate to the globalist organization indignantly declared Monday.

The presidency has rotated monthly in alphabetical order among its 15 members since it was founded at the conclusion of World War II." Breitbart

Nord Stream: WaPo Report Further Demolishes Official Narrative

"German investigators are now expressing severe doubts about the official Nord Stream

sabotage narrative that was pushed hard in the aftermath the bombshell Seymour Hersh report which pointed the finger at a joint CIA-US Navy covert operation, with help from Norway.

A source within the US intelligence community told the famed Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, "It was a total fabrication by American intelligence that was passed along to the Germans, and aimed at discrediting your story."

The favored narrative became one that said pro-Ukraine partisans did it in a rogue op. Hersh has maintained this was by design concocted in order to shield the US and Biden administration for ordering the operation. 

But now a fresh, lengthy investigative Washington Post story published Monday is actually confirming many of Hersh's conclusions. Indeed the 'cover story' is already fast unraveling. What's more is that the WaPo article bluntly states Western officials are not at all eager to talk about the Nord Stream sabotage, suggesting a continued cover-up in progress.......Experts noted that while it was theoretically possible to place the explosives on the pipeline by hand, even skilled divers would be challenged submerging more than 200 feet to the seabed and slowly rising to the surface to allow time for their bodies to decompress." ZH

Russian fighters make further advances in central Bakhmut

"Wagner Group fighters have seized the building of the Bakhmut administration, and Russian forces have made further advances in central Bakhmut. Russian Airborne Forces are increasingly supporting Wagner operations in Bakhmut." PRAVADA

Oil Soars, Futures Flat After Shock OPEC Output Cut

"US equities hit the brakes as investors digested the shocking move by OPEC+ to cut oil production by a total of 1.66  million barrels a day......he Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia pledged on Sunday to make the cuts from next month that will exceed 1 million barrels a day, with Saudi Arabia leading the way with 500,000 barrels." ZH

Iran Says It Chased Off US Spy Plane Over Territorial Waters

"Iran's military has claimed a US spy plane violated or at least came close to violating its

airspace, having flown over Iranian territorial waters. An Iranian navy statement said it tracked the movements of "an American spy plane" that approached Iran without authorization. "After the US Navy’s EP-3E aircraft entered Iran’s territorial waters, vigilant Navy commanders sent a warning to prevent the aircraft from entering the country’s airspace without authorization," the statement said." ZH

Wagner Raises Russian Flag In Center Of Bakhmut

"Russia's Wagner paramilitary group in the overnight hours has claimed victory (or at least a
partial victory) over Bakhmut by raising the Russian flag as well as its own PMC Wanger Group flag over central government administration buildings of Bakhmut. 

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin described that the key city in Donetsk is "ours" but only in a "legal sense". He wrote on Telegram: " ZH

Russia will not send fencers to Poland

"Russia will not send fencers to an Olympic qualifier event in Poland this month because of
“unacceptable” conditions, the head of Russia’s Fencing federation was quoted by Russian media as saying. “Will Russian fencers take part in Poland? Of course not, it is unacceptable,” Ilgar Mamedov told RIA Novosti after Poland said Russian athletes had to sign a written statement saying they did not support Russia’s campaign in Ukraine." AlJazeera

Russia’s shelling of Kostiantynivka

 "The death toll in Russia’s shelling of the Donetsk region’s city of Kostiantynivka has
increased to six." UKRIN