Vladimir Putin reelected as Russia’s president

March 18, 2018 — Israel National News reports: “Russian President Vladimir Putin won reelection Sunday, gaining a fourth term in office, early results suggest.

According the TASS media outlet, the Russian president, who won in 2000 and 2004 before serving as Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012, only to be reelected as president in 2012, is projected to win 72% of the vote, according to exit polls. Other agencies have projected Putin with 74% of the vote.

With some 22% of the vote counted, it appears that Putin will avoid a run-off vote with the runner-up, having secured more than half of the votes.

The 65-year-old ran as part of the All-Russia People’s Front movement, and was challenged by Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin, who made his first-ever presidential bid this year. Exit polls show Grundinin with some 15% of the vote…”

(Vladimir Putin has been in power as either the Prime Minister or President of Russia since 1999.  Constitutionally, he will be required to step down from power in 2024, however, he could do what he did in 2008 and groom a successor like Dmitri Medvedev, whom he controlled, and seek to become president again in 2030.  In essence, setting himself up as ruler for life in Russia, much as Xi Jinping is set to be ruler for life in China.  Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 predict the union of Russia and China [Revelation 16:12; Daniel 11:44] as leaders in the battle for the greatest war in history called Armageddon – Revelation 16:16.  Revelation 9:14 – 18 pictures its upcoming disastrous results.  See the next report.)

Xi applauds Putin re-election, hails ‘best level’ ties

March 19, 2018 — SpaceDaily.com reports: “Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday congratulated Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on his re-election, saying Beijing was willing to work with Moscow to bring ties to a ‘higher level’.

Putin won in a landslide on Sunday, one day after China’s parliament unanimously re-appointed Xi to a second term.

Xi has drawn comparison with Putin as the Chinese leader has consolidated power and gained a path to indefinite rule after the rubber-stamp National People’s Congress lifted presidential term limits last week.

‘Currently, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership is at the best level in history, which sets an example for building a new type of international relations,’ Xi said in a congratulatory message to Putin, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

‘China is willing to work with Russia to keep promoting China-Russia relations to a higher level, provide driving force for respective national development in both countries, and promote regional and global peace and tranquility,’ Xi said…”

‘You Listen to Us Now’: Putin Reveals Nuclear Weapons He Claims NATO Cannot Intercept

March 2, 2018 — Breitbart.com reports: “Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that NATO cannot intercept a new range of Russian nuclear weapons in a speech Thursday, displaying computer-generated images of the weapons.

In a state of the nation address on Thursday, the Russian strongman boasted of a new array of weapons including a nuclear-powered cruise missile, a nuclear-powered underwater drone, and a new hypersonic missile that he claims are unparalleled in strength and would render any NATO missile defense system ‘useless.’

‘I want to tell all those who have fueled the arms race over the last 15 years, sought to win unilateral advantages over Russia, introduced unlawful sanctions aimed to contain our country’s development: all that you wanted to impede with your policies have already happened,’ Putin declared. ‘You have failed to contain Russia.’

Putin’s speech was accompanied by a series of computer-generated images showing the strength of his underwater drone, which he says operates at a speed ten times faster than a typical vessel, making it near impossible to intercept.

‘No one in the world has anything like that,’ he said. ‘It may appear someday, but by that time we will develop something new.’

Such developments are seen largely as a response to President Donald Trump’s substantial increase of the U.S. military budget, to which Russia has repeatedly threatened a reaction.

‘No one has listened to us,’ he continued. ‘You listen to us now.’…”  (Nuclear war is part of the battle of the ages – see Revelation 9:18. Other prophesied texts are predicted in Psalm 97:3; Isaiah 66:15; Ezekiel 20:47: “…Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched…” Study also Zephaniah 1:8; Malachi 4:1; and Revelation 8:7.  See the next report.)

Expert: U.S. Military ‘Over a Decade’ Behind China, Russia on Space Defense

March 15, 2018 — Breitbart.com reports: “U.S. military satellites used to warn of a missile strike or to deploy nuclear weapons are vulnerable to attacks by the Chinese and Russian armed forces, which have eclipsed their American counterparts in developing some significant space warfighting capabilities, experts cautioned lawmakers.

Specifically, the United States is ‘over a decade’ behind in developing a system to counteract the advancements made by China and Russia in the anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons domain, Douglas Loverro, the former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, warned a House panel.

Echoing the U.S. intelligence community in written testimony prepared for a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, the former Pentagon official noted:

    While China and Russia are driving through generations of ASAT systems every three to five years, it is taking us over a decade to even begin to field a system responsive to their first-generation threat.

    Stated more clearly, when it comes to strategic missile warning and nuclear command and control, the evolved US response to the ASAT threat we see being deployed today will be ready near the end of the next decade; meanwhile, the threat will have [leaped] forward two more generations, and likely made our response moot…”