🇺🇸❌🇷🇺 U.S. president, Joe Biden on X:

Today, we're imposing over 500 new sanctions in response to Putin's brutal war and Aleksey Navalny's death.

Putin is betting on us to walk away.

We won't.

🔗 POTUS

🇺🇸🇪🇺❌🇷🇺 US targets Russia with more than 500 new sanctions

The US has announced more than 500 new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

These include measures against Russia's main card payment system, financial and military institutions, and officials involved in Navalny's imprisonment.

The EU has also announced new sanctions on access to military technology.

The newly-announced US measures also include nearly 100 firms and individuals which will also face export restrictions.

Others target the state-owned operator of Mir, Russia's main payment system, which has become more prominent since Visa and Mastercard suspended their services there.

Companies involved in powering Russia's war effort, developing the country's future energy production and its co-operation with Iran over drones will also be hit.

More than two dozen entities outside of Russia - including people in China, the UAE, Vietnam and Liechtenstein - have also been sanctioned, accused of being connected to businesses that send materials to Russia's military.

The sanctions are unlikely to have an impact on Russia's economy. It is already the most sanctioned country in the world, and there are very few key entities or sectors that are not already subject to US and European restrictions.

Russian banks and military-industrial enterprises have adapted, and developed workarounds to evade existing sanctions.

🔗 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68380251

🇺🇸❌🇷🇺 U.S. Sanctions Russia’s State-Owned Shipping Company Sovcomflot

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday imposed sanctions on Russia’s largest shipping company, Joint Stock Company Sovcomflot (Sovcomflot), part of an effort to curb Russia’s revenue from oil sales.

The state-owned shipping company and fleet operator were targeted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as part of an action that also identified 14 crude oil tankers as Sovcomflot’s property.

“The price cap on Russian oil continues to serve its twin goals of limiting Kremlin profits while promoting stable energy markets,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Today, we take the next step by targeting Russia’s largest state-owned shipping company and fleet operator, dealing a huge blow to their shadow operations. We are entering the next phase of increasing Russia’s costs in a responsible manner to mitigate risks.”

🔗 https://gcaptain.com/us-sanctions-russias-state-owned-shipping-company-sovcomflot/

🇺🇸🔭🪐 Astronomers spot new tiny moons around Neptune and Uranus

The latest tally puts Neptune at 16 known moons and Uranus at 28.

Astronomers have found three previously unknown moons in our solar system — two additional moons circling Neptune and one around Uranus.

The distant tiny moons were spotted using powerful land-based telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, and announced Friday by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center.

🔗 https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/astronomers-spot-new-tiny-moons-neptune-uranus-rcna140285?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma&taid=65d943194acb130001936c0e

🇺🇸🛠💵📝: First Druckenmiller.

Now Elliott Management.

The Big Boys are telling you its time to pay attention to metals and mining assets.

🔗 Brandon Beylo

🇵🇸❌🇮🇱 — On February 21, 2024 AD, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas movement, published a footage from the clashes between their fighters and units of the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza city

According to the Palestinian side, the clash took place in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

During the video, Al-Qassam Brigades fighters are seen conducting attacks against several attacks on IDF Troops and Merkava Tank in Gaza as they move on the destroyed buildings across the city

According to War Noir's Analysis, the Palestinian militants from HAMAS used RPG-7 with 🇵🇸 Gaza-made "Al-Yassin 105" Tandem rocket; 12.7mm AM-50 Sayyad / "Ghoul" anti-materiel rifle and 🇮🇷 Iranian-made 60mm HM-14 mortar with M61 shells.

🇵🇸❌🇮🇱 — On February 23, 2024 AD, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas movement, published a footage of its fighters conducting strikes against Israel Defense Forces units across Gaza city

As in the previous case, according to the Palestinian side, the clash took place in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

During the video, Al-Qassam Brigades fighters are seen conducting attacks against advancing IDF armored units, as well conducting mortar strikes against IDF positions in the city.

In the end of the video, Hamas fighters are seen watching what seems to be the evacuation of a IDF wounded soldier out of Gaza via helicopter

According to War Noir, the Palestinian group used RPG-7 Launchers with "Al-Yassin 105" Tandem rockets; 🇮🇷 Iranian-made 120mm HM-16 mortar with M48 bombs and 60mm HM-14 mortar with M61 bombs.

🇺🇸🪖🇪🇺 Russia's invasion of Ukraine sparked a defense boom. It’s likely to outlast the war

Since February 23, 2022, the day before Moscow began bombing several Ukrainian cities, the stocks of five of the top US and European defense contractors have all risen. The companies — Europe’s BAE Systems, Thales and Rheinmetall, and Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) in the United States — have all either provided weapons for the battlefield in Ukraine or signed agreements to do so.

Governments have donated ammunition, tanks, and fighter jets to Ukraine, are replenishing their own depleted stockpiles, and have committed billions more to their defense budgets.

Canada and the European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which make up the bulk of NATO’s membership, spent 11% more on defense in 2023 than the previous year.

Record earnings, more jobs

For major defense contractor Saab, it has been “a dramatic two years,” according to chief executive Micael Johansson.

In that time, the Swedish company has invested billions to build up production capacity. It has expanded its workforce by 3,600 people since the start of 2022, and expects it to grow by another 2,000 this year, Johansson told CNN.

Saab’s profit soared 30% last year to hit an all-time high.

The company’s biggest customer is the Swedish government, which announced another package of military support for Ukraine last week, including donations of artillery ammunition and anti-tank weapons. Meanwhile, Poland, Ukraine’s neighbor, has become a “big customer” since the war broke out, Johansson said.

BAE Systems has also enjoyed healthy earnings. On Thursday, the UK defense contractor reported profit of £2.6 billion ($3.3 billion) in 2023, up 8% from 2022.

But the pressure on Western governments to beef up their military coffers will outlast the Ukraine war, analysts say, and it started to rise even before Moscow sent its troops marching toward Kyiv two years ago.

📝 Defense *industry* is booming but it’s still fundamentally broken. It’s not producing what we need rapidly at huge scale despite tons of additional money.

The heavily financialized, consolidated industry needs fundamental root and branch reform.

🔗 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/24/business/us-europe-defense-industry-spending/index.html

📎 Elbridge Colby

🇺🇸🇺🇸 We are calling for an immigration referendum.

A new report from the Centre for Migration Control, based on Official National Statistics data, casts further doubt on the supposed economic merits of mass immigration, which the cheerleaders of that policy so often claim, whether they be in the treasury or the liberal media.

It found that since 2020, £24 billion has been given to jobless migrants or £36 billion if foreign students are included- a substantial number of whom are doing low-quality degrees to acquire a visa solely for themselves and to invite their relatives.

Immigration policy, like any other policy within the state’s purview (whether about economics, defence, pensions and so on), should be made with the best interests of the people of this country at heart.

Such a statement should be wholly uncontroversial. Yet our immigration policy is not being made with our people’s benefit in mind but rather for the benefit of the aliens who migrate here and for the multinationals who employ them as cheap labour.

⬇️ Continued:

🔗 https://homelandparty.org/news/immigration-referendum/

🇺🇸🎈🇨🇳📰 Fox News journalist, Lucas Tomlinson on X:

Balloon currently flying over the United States that prompted NORAD to scramble fighter jets is not from China, but instead the property of an amateur balloonist, defense officials say.

🔗 Lucas Tomlinson

🇺🇸❌🌐🏴 — Video: Donald Trump vows to carry out the biggest deportation campaign that ever happened in United States history:

“It will be the largest deportation in the history of our country… They’re killing our people. They’re killing our country. We have no choice!”

🔗 AF Post (@AFpost)

🇺🇸❌🏴 — At the CPAC, Former US President Donald Trump promised to bring the Judgement Day for the enemies of America:

“For hardworking Americans, November 5th will be our liberation day. But for the liars, cheaters, fraudsters, censors, and imposters who have commandeered our government, it will be their judgment day.”

🔗 AF Post (@AFpost)

🇺🇸 More than 50,000 Americans died by suicide in 2023 — more than any year on record

📝: Not surprised but very sad. US suicides topped 50,000 in 2023 to hit the highest level ever recorded. Just looking at the state of society truly not hard to see why. People are not hopeful for the future & this hits mental health and family formation.

📎 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp-video/mmvo201161285832

🔗 Demographics Now & Then

🇮🇱❌🇵🇸 Israeli cabinet to approve 'operational plans' on Rafah next week

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the regime’s war cabinet is set to approve “operational plans” for the ground invasion of the southern city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, despite widespread global condemnation.

Talks for a prisoner swap deal between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas began in the French capital, Paris, on Friday.

Hamas has already said the only way for the group to release Israeli captives alive is for the Israelis and their supporters to accept its conditions, including the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

🔗 https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/02/25/720766/Palestine-Israel-Gaza-war-Netanyahu-war-cabinet--approve-operation-plan-Rafah-global-condemnation

🇮🇱❌🇵🇸 Netanyahu says hostage deal will delay Rafah operation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas will delay an IDF operation in Rafah, but stressed Israel will still conduct the operation later.

The Biden administration is working to reach a hostage deal that would lead to at least six weeks of cease-fire in Gaza.

"We really need this deal because we really need this pause," a U.S. official told Axios on Saturday.

The Biden administration is highly concerned about a possible Israeli military operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians are living.

The U.S. fears the operation could move forward within weeks if a hostage deal isn't achieved.

The updated framework proposes that Hamas release roughly 40 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a six-week ceasefire and the freeing of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the sources said.

The deal would also allow some Palestinians to begin returning to northern Gaza.

🔗 https://www.axios.com/2024/02/25/netanyahu-israel-gaza-hamas-hostages-rafah

🇮🇱❌🇱🇧 Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant stated today that even if a Hostage Deal is reached with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, they will continue and Intensify their Combat Operations against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon.

🔗 OSINTDefender

🇺🇸 This is pure madness.

His charges? “burning with intent to intimidate” because he took part in a torchlit march at Charlottesville….” SEVEN YEARS AGO.

Reminder that BLM Literally burned a Wendy’s Restaurant and cities to the ground in 2020- zero arrests.

Freedom of Speech and Freedom of assembly are dead and gone in America.

No matter what you think about Patriot Front- this is a complete injustice, and extremely dangerous.

🔗 Lauren Witzke

🇺🇸🇺🇸 Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, on X:

Biden has blood on his hands for the horrific murder of the student in Georgia.

Her death is directly linked to Biden’s policy to release, dangerous illegal immigrants into our country.

Biden must be held accountable for the slaughter of his fellow Americans.

🔗 Greg Abbott