US Heated Midterms Determine the Course of the Country

Former US President Donald Trump during a campaign in Florida (AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump during a campaign in Florida (AFP)
TT

US Heated Midterms Determine the Course of the Country

Former US President Donald Trump during a campaign in Florida (AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump during a campaign in Florida (AFP)

Tens of millions of US citizens head to the polls on Tuesday to choose their representatives in the Senate and the House of Representatives in midterms between Democrats and Republicans, the results of which will determine the course of the country.

The ghost of elections' past looms over the polls amid fears of foreign interference after Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, admitted that he interfered in the US elections in the past.

"Gentlemen, we have interfered, are interfering, and will interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically, and in our own way, as we know how to do," Prigozhin posted on social media.

While the odds are still high that the Republicans will gain a majority in the House of Representatives, the fate of the Senate remains in hindsight, given the crucial races in several swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire.

The Republicans' chances of winning the Democrats' seats are increasing because President Joe Biden's popularity has fallen dramatically following the economic situation in the country.

Candidates struggle to secure victory in states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina, where Republicans usually win without competition. Some attribute it to the interference of former President Donald Trump in the race to support candidates with little political experience.



Russia: Hypersonic Missile Strike on Ukraine Was a Warning to 'Reckless' West

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
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Russia: Hypersonic Missile Strike on Ukraine Was a Warning to 'Reckless' West

Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin makes a televised address, dedicated to a military conflict in Ukraine and in particular to Russia's launch of a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile attack on a military facility in response to recent Ukrainian long-range strikes with Western weapons, in Moscow, Russia November 21, 2024. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS

The Kremlin said on Friday that a strike on Ukraine using a newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile was designed as a message to the West that Moscow will respond to their "reckless" decisions and actions in support of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a day after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had fired the new missile - the Oreshnik or Hazel Tree - at a Ukrainian military facility.
"The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries that produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine and subsequently participate in strikes on Russian territory cannot remain without a reaction from the Russian side," Peskov told reporters.
"The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns are not taken into account have been quite clearly outlined,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
Peskov said Russia had not been obliged to warn the United States about the strike, but had informed the US 30 minutes before the launch anyway.
President Vladimir Putin remained open to dialogue, Peskov said, but he said the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden "prefers to continue down the path of escalation".
Putin said on Thursday that Russia had fired the new missile after Ukraine, with approval from the Biden administration, struck Russia with six US-made ATACMS missiles on Tuesday and with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles and US-made HIMARS on Thursday.
He said this meant that the Ukraine war had now "acquired elements of a global character".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russia's use of the new missile amounted to "a clear and severe escalation" in the war and called for strong worldwide condemnation.