🇷🇺🇨🇳An air group of Russian Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers and Chinese Hun-6K strategic bombers flew over the waters of the Japan and East China Seas. Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters provided escorts for the air group. The duration of the flight was about eight hours.

For the first time in the course of joint air patrols, Russian aircraft landed at an airfield in China and Chinese aircraft landed at an airfield in Russia.

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⚡️ Warsaw wants to hold referenda in Western Ukraine to justify inclusion of these lands in Poland, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Head tells Sputnik.

"Duda instructed the specialized services to prepare an official justification for Polish claims to Western Ukraine in a short time," Sergei Naryshkin said.

❗️ Main task for Ukraine now is to remain as independent state, not to join NATO, Stoltenberg says

Catch our Fault Lines show where we provide updates on all the most vital stories! Here's our line-up for Wednesday:

🔺 First, we will be discussing the US government efforts to squash the railroad union and prevent the strike
🔺 Next, we cover French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Washington DC
🔺 And, we have a look at Apple’s war against Twitter

Prepare for this and much more! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 7am EST|4am PST|1pm CET via the website or app!

📻 Also in the United States at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 13.90AM

❗️ Russia’s MoD’s latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️ Belogorovka and Pershe Travnya in the DPR have been fully liberated.

▪️ Three Ukraine Armed Forces company tactical groups, reinforced with tanks, unsuccessfully tried to attack Russian positions in the LPR near Krasniy Liman .

▪️ The Operational-Tactical and Army Aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery have neutralised 97 AFU artillery units in firing positions, manpower and military equipment in 157 areas.

▪️ A large warehouse of missile and artillery weapons of the Ukraine Armed Forces Khortitsa group of troops, where HIMARS, MLRS, Uragan and barrage munitions have been stored, has been destroyed near Dnepropetrovsk.

▪️ Moreover, two US-manufactured AN/TPQ-37 counterbattery warfare radars have been destroyed in the DPR.

▪️ The command post and communications centre of the 1st Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been destroyed in the DPR.

▪️ A platoon of US-made M777 artillery system has been hit at a firing position during a counter-battery battle in the Kharkov region.

▪️ Su-25 aircraft has been shot down in the DPR.

▪️ Some 334 airplanes and 177 helicopters, 2,589 unmanned aerial vehicles, 391 air defence missile systems, 6,903 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 904 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 3,634 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 7,424 units of special military hardware have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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A mobilized Ukrainian soldier told how he is threatened in captivity.

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❗️ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov may make two trips to Africa in January and February, visiting 8 countries in total, a senior diplomat said.

❗️ Putin expresses condolences to Xi over death of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin - Kremlin

📹WATCH: Russian forces use signals intelligence complexes Leer-3 to perform combat tasks as part of the special military operation in Ukraine (video courtesy of Russia's MoD)

▪️The Leer-3 system is set on Orlan-10 UAVs and suppresses GSM communications by jamming them.

▪️The drones are equipped with radio signal transmitters that mimic the operation of GSM base networks.

▪️This kind of equipment allows them to completely block cellular networks.

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🇬🇧🏏England Cricket Board considering calling their team back from 🇵🇰 Pakistan due to the spread of an "unknown illness" among its players.

According to media reports, 14 members in the camp, including Captain Ben Stokes, are down with the virus. Initial reports suggested they were affected by food poisoning.

This comes just ahead of the first test match between England & Pakistan on Thursday.

❗️ Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s latest statements:

▪️ Moscow will take adequate measures in response if it comes to the confiscation of Russian assets in the European Union.

▪️ The decision of the EU Council to recognize the circumvention of sanctions as a "criminal offense" is legally arbitrary.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto Warns NATO Against Turning Into Anti-China Bloc

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warned NATO against turning into an anti-China bloc, as the global security situation is already tense. "There is no need for the risk of another cold war, there are enough problems," Szijjarto said. The example of Hungary "clearly proves that cooperation [with China] based on mutual respect is possible," he added.

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❗️ As a result of the offensive actions of the Russian troops, Andreevka in the DPR was completely liberated from the Ukrainian units, successful operations continue to liberate Vodyanoye: Russia's MoD

🇩🇪 🤔 The population of Germany has increased by 2.9 million since 2014, while the number of German citizens has decreased by 1.46 million, official statistics show.

▪️ The number of foreigners is growing, primarily due to refugees from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Ukraine, as well as migrants from Romania, Bulgaria and Poland.

▪️ At the same time, migration in the first half of 2022 hit a record high since the reunification of Germany - 1.05 million people, of whom 0.7 million are refugees from Ukraine.

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See No Problem? EU May Face Diesel Crisis Amid Anti-Russian Sanctions

After February 5, sanctions will cut off sea imports of Russian diesel and other refined products to the European Union. Russia remains a key supplier of hydrocarbons to the EU. Economists point out that Europe must reinforce its search for new suppliers or face a market crunch.

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⚡️ Arab media says that Daesh* leader al-Qurashi has been killed.

▪️ The leader of Daesh*, Abu al-Hasan al-Qurashi, was killed, Arab media reported, citing IS representatives.

▪️ According to reports, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi had been appointed the new leader of Daesh*.

* Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states

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🇮🇳🇺🇸 China said that it was opposed to the joint Indo-US military exercises being held near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Wednesday, asserting that they violate the spirit of the two border agreements signed between Delhi and Beijing.

▪️ The 18th edition of the India-US joint military exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ is currently underway in Uttarakhand, about 100 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

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💬 Dr. Karin Kneissl - Austria's former minister of foreign affairs and energy analyst - stated that France is committed to a policy of distancing from the US:

"We have had several very clear statements by French government members, in particular Bruno Le Maire, the finance and economy minister. He has said now, I recall at least three occasions very, very clearly, that they're very upset about what's happening in terms of outsourcing of European economic activities to the US. And I would interpret it in the following: The French have always been in the Gaullist tradition when it comes to foreign policy. Gaullist tradition means going back to Charles de Gaulle, 50s-60s, who was always much more outspoken about taking a distance from Washington, not being a complete follower in transatlantic affairs"

🎧Listen to more of Dr. Karin Kneissl's analysis in our podcast: Five Major Media Outlets Call for Julian Assange to Be Released

First-Ever Male World Cup Game Refereed by Woman to Take Place in Qatar

The upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup match in Qatar between Germany and Costa Rica is expected to go down in history as the first-ever men’s World Cup game overseen by a female referee.

The Group E match is scheduled to take place on December 1, with the referee in question being Stephanie Frappart, who previously refereed men’s football games in the Champions League and Ligue 1.

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Boris Johnson Says His Family Roots Trace Back to Moscow Rabbi

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday, speaking in a synagogue, that his family roots "traced back to a Rabbi in Moscow," according to a Jewish newspaper in Britain.

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What's Behind Growing EU-US Spat & Could Macron's Visit Save the Day?

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Washington to discuss the unfolding trade row between the US and the EU over Joe Biden's protectionist Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It's Macron's first visit to the US after the submarine deal debacle that sidelined Paris and cost the French a lucrative defense contract.

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