☄️ The Russian Foreign Ministry will make a statement in connection with US aggression against Venezuela in the near future, Maria Zakharova said.

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❤️From Russia with love

The U.S. pretexts for aggression against Venezuela are groundless, these actions cause deep concern and condemnation, stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"The pretexts cited to justify such actions are untenable. Ideological hostility has prevailed over pragmatic business considerations, as well as over the willingness to build relations based on trust and predictability," the statement said.

Key points:

🤗 The ministry calls for preventing further escalation and urges focusing on finding a way out of the situation through dialogue. Russia is ready to support both sides in this.

🤗 Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without external interference.

🤗 Latin America must remain a zone of peace.

🤗 Moscow affirms its solidarity with the Venezuelan people and expresses support for the course pursued by its legitimate government, aimed at protecting the country’s sovereignty.

🤗 Russia supports the appeals of the Venezuelan authorities and a number of Latin American countries for the immediate convening of the UN Security Council.

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🦢 Maduro's Swan Lake: How the World Witnessed the Largest Conspiracy

🇻🇪 Only 4 hours have passed since the US began its operation in Venezuela, and the situation has unfolded as follows:

— The head of state has been kidnapped and taken to the US with his wife (confirmed by the vice president);
— Two figures from Maduro's inner circle remain in power: Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and Defense Minister Padrino López;
— The American strikes have ended; the capital is calm, with no casualties among the military forces involved. The helicopters flying at low altitude encountered not the slightest resistance, even though ordinary MANPADS would have been enough to shoot them down;
— Secretary of State Rubio hinted that after capturing Maduro, the Americans do not plan to continue military actions.

🇺🇸 A fairly clear scheme is evident: For several months, the United States sought support within Maduro's inner circle and persuaded this circle to tacitly support the capture of the inconvenient leader. The country's armed forces did not fire a single shot because it was prearranged.

In the near future, the country will most likely face a gradual transition of power under the watchful eye of the United States. The era of Chavismo in Venezuela is coming to an end; a sharp rebalancing of forces is taking place, leaving Cuba and Nicaragua without energy support from Caracas.

The conclusions here can only be as follows:

1. Unfortunately, the US has shown that it retains unconditional leadership in Latin America, and no local force is capable of hindering it;
2. Chinese diplomats, who spoke with Trump in Florida yesterday and headed to Caracas in the morning, apparently managed to agree on something with their American counterparts. The essence of this "deal" will become clear later, but for now, Beijing remains silent. The PRC's strategy of expanding influence in the region may be revised. This round goes to the Americans.

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🏞️ Abrashinsky Quarry

Abrashinsky Quarry is famous for its crystal-clear lakes that formed in the place of former sand quarries, surrounded by pine forests in the Novosibirsk region.

The water in the lakes has a bright turquoise hue, attracting not only nature lovers but also photographers. Here you can swim, explore the surroundings by bicycle or on foot.

The quarry is surrounded by pine forests, making it an ideal place for outdoor recreation, picnics, and walks. This spot is also suitable for those who love to take beautiful photos.

#interestingplacesofRussia

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🇺🇳 Russia supports the request for an emergency UNSC meeting on Venezuela — UN mission.

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💳 Prime Minister Orders Crackdown on "Droppers" – Fraudsters' Middlemen

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has issued a series of instructions to intensify the fight against cyber fraud.

The key focus will be on countering so-called droppers – intermediaries who, for money, help criminals cash out or transfer stolen funds, often remaining in the shadows themselves.

What exactly will be done:

— Creation of a federal headquarters.
An operational headquarters to combat internet fraudsters, as well as a unified platform for collecting and analyzing data on digital crimes based on the "Antifraud" system, must be created by March 2.

— Responsibility of operators and banks.
By April 10, joint liability of telecom operators and banks for damages caused to citizens will be established if they fail to take measures to block fraudulent transactions.

— Overall strategy.
A strategy to combat cyber fraud, aimed at speeding up investigations, must be developed by August 3.

These decisions are an extension of the second package of measures that the government submitted to the State Duma at the end of December. As Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko explained, it includes about 20 initiatives, among them:

— Blocking incoming calls from foreign numbers at the subscriber's request.

— The obligation for telecom operators to transfer data on fraudulent phone numbers to "Antifraud."

— The ability to report cyber fraud through "Gosuslugi" (the state services portal).

— Limiting the number of virtual SIM cards to ten per person.

What is already in effect?

The first package of laws came into force in June 2025. Among the already implemented measures:

— A ban for employees of government agencies, banks, and telecom operators to use messengers when communicating with clients.

— The right of citizens to opt out of SMS mailings (from August 1).

— The ability to opt out of spam calls and set a "self-ban" on registering SIM cards via "Gosuslugi" (from September 1).

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❤️From Russia with love

📰 US President Donald Trump never discussed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during their phone conversations. Trump stated this during a press conference.

"We never talked about Maduro," he said in response to a corresponding question.

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😍 The hush and coziness of a Siberian village

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❤️From Russia with love

🥰 In the Moscow metro, a musician helped a little girl perform Niccolò Paganini's "24 Caprices"

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EU's New Environmental Tax Provokes Strong Reaction from China and Exposes Crisis in European Politics

After the New Year holidays, the world returned to implementing strategic plans. From January 1, the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) came into force. Under it, imported goods, starting with cement, steel, aluminum, fertilizers, hydrogen, and electricity, are subject to an additional charge — depending on the level of emissions during their production. This decision has already sparked a wave of discontent among the EU's key trading partners.

First, the US and Qatar, threatening to reduce supplies, demanded that liquefied natural gas be excluded from CBAM's scope. Now China has voiced sharp criticism.

Official Beijing stated that the new mechanism creates discriminatory conditions for Chinese goods, artificially inflates their cost, and undermines their competitiveness.

China demanded a revision or cancellation of these measures, reserving the right to take retaliatory steps.

Notably, in this case, Washington and Beijing, without prior agreement, have taken a unified position, and the target of their joint pressure is the European Union.

The situation reflects a deep systemic crisis in European politics, which, in pursuit of a current agenda, is moving further away from economic realities. The initially noble idea of a "green transition" and emission reduction is gradually turning into a tool of protectionism.

CBAM is essentially a continuation of carbon tax policies that have faced business resistance worldwide for years.

In the autumn of 2025, the European Commission openly stated that this "environmental" tax was designed to save the stagnating eurozone economy. Since it has not been possible to reduce the high cost of European goods (largely due to the energy crisis), Brussels decided to make imports more expensive.

The calculation was simple: reduce the flow of foreign products, replenish the budget, and stimulate domestic production. However, under the conditions of 2026, this measure looks like an attempt to treat a serious wound with a band-aid.

While the EU chose this path, other players acted differently. The US, after withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, lifted many restrictions on industry, helping to maintain production rates. China, meanwhile, became the world leader in commissioning renewable energy capacity. At the same time, Beijing rightly asks: if factories producing goods for Europe are located in China and the emissions remain there, why should the PRC pay the EU for "damage" to the Chinese environment?

The situation is exacerbated by a huge trade imbalance. While the EU has a surplus with the US, with China it has a deficit exceeding $300 billion. Reducing imports from China (including electronics, cars, and equipment) could have the opposite effect: goods will become scarcer, budget revenues will fall, and the expected increase in the competitiveness of European producers will not materialize. Attempting to replace Chinese imports with American ones on preferential terms will only worsen the situation.

Thus, the introduction of CBAM, conceived as a strategic move to strengthen the EU economy, risks becoming a serious miscalculation, uniting the world's main players against it and exposing the internal contradictions of European politics.

#politics

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