The Russian president further indicated that the fight against terrorism remains one of the main priorities for all Russian security agencies, primarily the Federal Security Service.

Speaking directly to the situation in Kherson, Zaporozhye, and the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, Putin acknowledged that the matter remained extremely difficult but that forces needed to do everything to ensure max security.

"I would like to especially note the units of security agencies that have begun to operate in the new regions of Russia. Yes, it is difficult for you now, the situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions is extremely difficult. But the people living there - Russian citizens - hope for you, for your protection," Putin said.

"And it is your duty to do everything necessary to ensure their security to the maximum, respect for their rights and freedoms."

Trump: Charges Against Him by Jan 6 Committee 'Fake', Meant to Prevent Him From Running

"The people understand that the Democratic Bureau of Investigation, the DBI, are out to keep me from running for president because they know I’ll win and that this whole business of prosecuting me is just like impeachment was — a partisan attempt to sideline me and the Republican Party," he said on his social media platform TruthSocial.

‼️US Intends to Provide $38 Billion More in Aid to Ukraine - Deputy Treasury Secretary

US Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo met with Polish Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa in Brussels and said the United States intends to provide an additional $38 billion in aid to Ukraine, the Treasury Department said.

"The Deputy Secretary congratulated Minister Moskwa on the EU’s agreement to impose further sanctions on Russia and underscored the United States' intent to provide further aid, including the additional $38 billion in Ukraine assistance that President Biden has requested from Congress," the Treasury Department said in a Monday release.

Adeyemo thanked Moskwa for Poland’s leadership within NATO and the broader coalition of nations that have imposed sanctions on Russia, the release said. The two officials also discussed the implementation of a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil.

The Russian Army has destroyed a command post of foreign mercenaries in Marinka in the DPR

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‼️ Harvey Weinstein found guilty on three of seven charges in California sexual assault case

💬 “Why would Russia now, when all of the advantages have been accrued to their side, they are on the verge of a strategic, decisive victory. Why would they trust the West to negotiate? Because the West isn't negotiating in good faith. The West would not be negotiating for a peaceful resolution. The West would negotiate simply to buy time for NATO to rebuild the Ukrainian military. I don't think Russia's ever going to make that mistake again,” said Scott Ritter, a former UN weapons inspector & weapons of mass destruction whistleblower.

🎧Listen to more of Ritter’s analysis in our podcast: US-Africa Summit Ends in Washington, DC With a Flurry of Promises From Biden

EU Energy Ministers Set Cap on TTF Gas Market at 180 Euros per MWh

"The market correction mechanism will be automatically activated if the following 'market correction event' occurs: The month-ahead price on the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) exceeds 180€/MWh for three working days," according tot he Council of the EU; The month-ahead TTF price is 35€ higher than a reference price for LNG on global markets for the same three working days.

The Council of the EU said that the mechanism will apply starting February 15, 2023, and will be monitored by the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

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Pivot to the Third World? China Shouldn't Focus on West Amid Rising Tensions, Beijing Adviser Says

As tensions with the United States continue to rise, China shouldn’t make the nuclear superpower its sole focus, Huang Ping, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s top political advisory body, told Chinese media recently.

While it is important to carefully manage its relationship with Washington, including cooperating where possible, Beijing should focus on building friendships with “emerging nations,” whose economic growth has already surpassed that of the West. “[This is] no longer a unipolar world, no longer a world in which the West has the final say,” he said.

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👶 Baby in a pod: Hashem al-Ghaili, a Berlin-based biotechnologist, has unveiled a new concept of human reproduction. Hashem claims “the world’s first artificial womb facility,” dubbed EctoLife, will be able to grow “30,000 babies a year.”

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👉 Follow our LIVE UPDATES on the Ukrainian crisis

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Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un and the deputy director of a department of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, said that the world will soon be able to witness the capabilities of the DPRK's missiles.

Kim Yo-jong also rejected statements from unnamed foreign experts who doubted whether the satellite systems which North Korea also tested are capable of working normally

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💷 The Bank of England has released images of banknotes bearing the portrait of Britain's new monarch Charles III. The banknotes are not due to go into circulation until the middle of 2024 although 50p coins with the King's head have just entered circulation. The King's image is the only change to be made to the design of existing banknotes. Since 1960, Charles III's mother Queen Elizabeth II, is the first and only monarch thus far to have appeared on banknotes

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🌍 Most of the grain exported under the "grain deal" has not reached Africa, Patrick Youssef, regional director for Africa in the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told Sputnik.

🗣“According to observations by the ICRC, most of the grain exported from Ukrainian ports under the 'grain deal' has not yet reached Africa. We welcomed with open arms the announcement that deliveries would be made to Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia and especially Ethiopia, but this does not solve the food crisis,” he explained.

🔹Russia's President Vladimir Putin had previously stated that almost all the grain exported from Ukraine has been sent to EU countries rather than the world's neediest nations, despite the deal that was initially signed "under the guise of protecting the interests of the poorest countries to prevent famine".

🔹The grain deal, signed on 22 July by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UN, involves transporting grain and fertilizer from three Ukrainian ports of the Black Sea basin.

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☢️ At present only six countries are able to build nuclear submarines. Such fleets were created with the aim to increase the time spent underwater and overall speed, which is usually kept completely confidential. How many submarines of such type does each country have? Which country has the biggest fleet?

Sputnik’s team has prepared a detailed review of nuclear submarines providing you with a comprehensive account of each country's fleet

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❗️ A number of DHL employees were arrested and interrogated in the Central African Republic during an investigation into the explosion of a parcel in the Russian House, a police source told Sputnik.

According to the source, the CAR police intend to appeal to Interpol to identify the sender of the explosive to the head of the Russian House, who was evacuated to Russia after being targeted in the terrorist attack.

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⚡️The chief of the Thai navy has confirmed that four people died after a US-made Royal Thai Navy vessel sank in the Gulf of Thailand

How Russian Ushanka Hats Found Their Way Into Kashmir

🗯️ "We forged good relations and began selling Ushankas to the Russian tourists. Eventually, tourists from the United States and Europe also started purchasing them,” Ali Mohammad, who has been making hand-woven caps for almost 45 years, told Sputnik.

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US Air Force Grounds B-2 Stealth Bombers After Emergency Landing Fire

The US Air Force has grounded its entire fleet of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers after one plane caught fire following an emergency landing earlier this month.

The billion-dollar bomber suffered an undisclosed in-flight malfunction on December 10, forcing a landing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri — home to the USAF's 20-plane fleet.

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⚡️Three people killed, one injured in explosion on gas pipeline in Russia's Chuvashia Republic, official says

❗️Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️The Russian Army destroyed up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️Russian troops eliminated more than 100 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk direction;

▪️Russian forces destroyed temporary deployment points for units of the 61st and 72nd Mechanized Brigades of the Ukrainian Army in the DPR;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the DPR;

▪️ Russian forces hit accumulations of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment in the Krasny Liman direction, eliminating up to 50 servicemen;

▪️The Russian Air Force shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft and a Mi-8 helicopter in the DPR;

▪️ Russian air defenses destroyed five Ukrainian UAVs;

▪️ Russian air defenses shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft near Ugledar in the DPR.

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Vatican Knew of Germany's Plans to Attack Soviet Union in 1941, Russian Intelligence Says

Pope Pius XII, head of the Catholic Church from 1939-1958, knew about an offensive being prepared by Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union and ordered that Jesuits in the western Soviet territories move closer to the border to be ready to flee, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said.

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