🇷🇺🇬🇪Putin expanded the visa-free regime for Georgian citizens entering the Russian Federation to work for a period of more than 90 days.

Let us recall that parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia in two weeks, on the eve of which the Georgian Dream is making statements about the need for cooperation with the Russian Federation.

At the same time, the EU cites the threat to cancel the visa-free regime with Georgia as one of the measures of influence on the Georgian authorities.

🇷🇺🇺🇦An Orion strike with an X-UAV (TKB-1030) missile on a Ukrainian armored vehicle near the village of Zaoleshenka in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region.

🇪🇺❌🇭🇺 Ursula von der Leyen attacks Viktor Orbán over pro-Russia stance

Pointed speech by EC president in Strasbourg rebukes Hungarian leader for economic and political policies

Ursula von der Leyen has accused Viktor Orbán of a historic failure to support Ukraine, economic mismanagement and making his country a “back door for foreign interference” in her sharpest public rebuke yet to Hungary’s strongman leader.

Von der Leyen was speaking after Orbán set out the priorities for Hungary’s six-month EU presidency, in an address where he sometimes offered a fairly conventional script calling for less regulation and efforts to bolster the EU’s single market.

After Orbán lamented Europe’s declining share of global trade, von der Leyen took him to task for Hungary’s economic policies such as taxes that target foreign companies, export restrictions, “arbitrary inspections” and public contracts awarded to a small group of beneficiaries.

While Orbán attempted to cast himself as a strong defender of European borders, she said Hungarian authorities had released convicted people smugglers and traffickers early from prison, adding: “This is not fighting illegal migration in Europe, this is not protecting our union, this is just throwing problems over your neighbour’s fence.”

Referring to an agreement that allows Chinese police to patrol with their local counterparts in Hungary, she said: “This is not defending Europe’s sovereignty, this is a back door for foreign interference.”

And she criticised Orbán for failing to follow through on an EU pledge made in 2022 to end dependency on Russian fossil fuels. “Instead of looking for alternative sources [of energy], in particular, one member state just looked for alternative ways to buy fossil fuels from Russia.”

The Hungarian leader said he was surprised by what he had heard from von der Leyen and accused her of turning the commission into “a political weapon”. He rejected any comparison between the events of 1956 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while reiterating that the EU, he believed, had a “losing strategy” over the war.

“We are never going to accept that European unity means that you tell us what to do and that we should keep quiet,” he said.

🔗 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/09/ursula-von-der-leyen-attacks-viktor-orban-over-pro-russia-stance

🇮🇹🇮🇱❗️Italy has accused Israel of "war crimes" after shelling UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, leaving several soldiers wounded.

🇮🇱🇱🇧The IDF Chief of General Staff and the head of the Shin Bet security service were spotted for the first time in Lebanon in the area of ​​a military operation.

🇮🇷🇮🇱Gulf states are pressuring Washington to stop Israeli attacks on Iranian oil facilities.

Reuters reports this.

The agency writes, citing sources, that these countries are concerned that their own oil facilities could be targeted by Tehran's proxies if the conflict escalates.

In an attempt to avoid crossfire, Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are also refusing to allow Israel to fly over their airspace for any attack on Iran and have communicated this to Washington, three sources close to government circles said.

🇷🇺🇺🇦The Russian Armed Forces have liberated the village of Olgovka in the Kursk region. The offensive continues. Bad days await the enemy in the Kursk region.

🇷🇺🇺🇦The Russian Armed Forces continue to operate successfully in the area of ​​Lyubimovka and Zeleny Shlyakh. There is also progress in the direction of Sudzha, and battles are underway for Plekhovo.

Tomorrow the map of the Kursk salient will be significantly different.

🇺🇦Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his army is facing a shortage of military equipment, Bloomberg reports.

"Before winter comes, we need your support," Zelensky said in Paris after meeting with Macron.