❗️Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the commissioning ceremony for the Admiral Gorshkov frigate equipped with Zircon hypersonic missile systems on Wednesday, where he said the following:

▪️Russia will continue to equip the strategic forces with the latest types of weapons;

▪️The ship is equipped with the latest Zircon hypersonic missile system, which has no analogues;

▪️The Zircon systems are able to ensure the security of Russia.

According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who also took part in the ceremony:

▪️The Admiral Gorshkov frigate equipped with "Zircons" is going on a long voyage across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea;

▪️During the mission, the frigate will practice the use of Zirkon hypersonic missiles;

▪️Zircon is capable of evading all current and prospective air and missile defense systems, and it has a range of up to 1,000 km, and can fly at a speed of up to Mach 9.

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

▪️The Russian Army eliminated more than 40 Ukrainian servicemen in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️Russian troops eliminated a Ukrainian sabotage group the Kharkov region;

▪️The Russian Air Force shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 and an Su-25 in the Kramatorsk region, the DPR and in the Nikolaev region;

▪️Russian forces eliminated over 100 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk direction;

▪️The Russian Army eliminated five Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the LPR and DPR;

▪️Russian forces destroyed two US-made counter-battery radars in the DPR;

▪️Russian troops destroyed five Ukrainian warehouses with artillery ammunition in the DPR and in the Zaporozhye region;

▪️Ukrainian troops lost more than 150 soldiers killed and wounded in the Krasny Liman direction;

▪️The Russian Army destroyed three Ukrainian 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers in Kharkov and Zaporozhye regions;

▪️Russian troops repelled counterattacks by Ukrainian forces in the South Donetsk direction;

▪️Russian forces eliminated more than 180 Ukrainian servicemen in the DPR and the Zaporozhye region.

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❗️ Trump urges all Republicans to back McCarthy’s bid for House speaker

The former US president has expressed his support for the Congressman, as Kevin McCarthy failed to secure enough votes to become the next House speaker on Tuesday.

The deadlocked House is set to convene again on Wednesday for Republicans to elect a speaker.

House lawmakers held a third round of voting on Tuesday following two earlier failed votes. In the first two rounds, 19 Republican members voted against McCarthy, while 20 voted against him in the third.

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🇰🇵🇰🇷 The Republic of Korea may rip up the landmark 2018 military agreement with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea if airspace violations involving the use of unmanned aerial vehicles continue, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s press secretary has warned.

According to the spokesman, the president also ordered the military to create a new multipurpose drone warfare unit for surveillance, reconnaissance and electronic warfare operations, as well as a “drone killer” for anti-drone missions.

Yoon was also said to have asked Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup to create the capability to mass produce small, difficult-to-detect drones. Two squadrons of drones are already operational as part of the South Korean military’s Ground Operations Command. The military plans to spend some $440 million over the next five years on anti-drone technology, including laser and signal jamming weapons.

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📹 Admiral Gorshkov frigate leaves naval base (video courtesy of Russia’s MoD)

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US Failed to Weaken 'Axis of Resistance' by Killing Soleimani, Hezbollah Head Nasrallah Says

Soleimani's killing alongside Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces deputy chairman Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were meant to "break the resistance, terrorize the Iraqis, and weaken the parties of the Axis of Resistance," according to the Hezbollah chairman. But the project "failed to achieve its goals and to subjugate Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen," instead launching "new elements of power in our region."

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🇷🇺🐱 Despite Covid limitations having been withdrawn, Timofey the manul at Moscow Zoo prefers to stay at home.

The animal, also known as a Pallas's Cat, is not even prepared to venture further than the edge of its wooden house. Exemplary behavior from a model citizen!

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Russian Sappers Land in Laos to Clean Up Mess Made by US During Indochina Wars

According to an MoD press statement released Wednesday, the current mission, which will run until March, will see the clearance of some 56 hectares of land (over 138 acres), plus the training of Laotian sappers.

The current mission is the Russian sappers’ fifth, with previous operations seeing Russian forces clear and destroy over 2,200 explosive objects across an area of over 140 hectares (346 acres) in the central Laotian provinces of Bolikhamsai, Khammuan and Xiangkhousang. Russian troops have also already trained about 100 Laotian troops in mine-clearance.

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🦠 The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday expressed hope that the COVID-19 pandemic ends in 2023.

💬 "COVID-19 will no doubt still be a major topic of discussion, but I believe and hope that with the right efforts this will be the year the public health emergency officially ends," Tedros told a briefing.

The WHO chief added that the world is now in "a much better place" than it was a few years ago due to improvements in clinical care, vaccines and treatments.

However, there are still serious disparities in "access to testing, treatment and vaccination," and ultimately COVID-19 remains "a dangerous virus" for human health, the economy and society at large, he added.

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❗️Kevin McCarthy loses fourth vote for speaker despite Trump's endorsement

CENTCOM Confirms Its Illegal Base Sitting on Top of Syrian Gas Field Was Attacked by Rocket Fire

The United States military command responsible for the illegal occupation of northeastern Syria, including its lucrative oil and gas fields, has confirmed that its base at Syria's largest gas field was hit in a rocket attack Wednesday morning. The confirmation affirmed reporting by Sputnik Arabic from earlier in the day.

👉 Read more about it here

➡️Another one bites the dust, folks!

A fifth round of voting on the next US House speaker proved fruitless on Wednesday as the GOP remains divided.

The current status marks the first time in a century that the House has failed to select a speaker on the first ballot.

‼️US may include more HIMARS systems in future Ukraine aid - Kirby

Biden Confirms Bradley Fighting Vehicles on Table for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday confirmed that Bradley Fighting Vehicles are on the table for delivery to Ukraine, according to a Bloomberg White House reporter.

"Yes," Biden is quoted as saying when asked if Bradleys are on the table for Ukraine. The statement confirms earlier US media reports about the Biden administration considering the lightly armored vehicles for use by Ukrainian forces.

Keep up with the latest updates here!

🇷🇺🇮🇷 Moscow and Tehran signed a contract on Wednesday to build a vessel based on an order by the regional office of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group (IRISL) located in Solyanka, a port near the Russian city of Astrakhan, Iranian media reported.

Iran's consul general in Russia's port of Astrakhan, Mehdi Akouchakian, was cited as saying by Iranian media that adding a new vessel to the IRISL fleet would help reduce the final price of Iranian exports in the region. In addition, the official said, as cited in the report, that the decision to order the new vessel is a sign that Iran and Russia are strengthening their ties.

Commenting on the deal, IRISL CEO Mohammad Reza Modarres Khiabani said at the signing ceremony that such initiatives could enhance trade and transportation ties between Russia and Iran, as cited in the report.

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49-year-old Amber McLaughlin (born Scott) became the first transgender individual to be executed in the US. McLaughlin was put to death by lethal injection for the rape and murder of the convict’s ex-girlfriend in 2003 after a clemency request was denied.

😱 The US House has failed yet again to select its next speaker, paving the way for a required 7th voting session on this Wednesday.

‼️House will adjourn until 8 p.m local time

💬 "The US has provided so much support, the West has gotten behind U.S. sanctions to a degree that is deindustrializing Europe. Europeans are basically volunteering themselves in line with the US to destroy their own economies and impoverish their own people. And they have admitted this to get behind the US on Ukraine. Does he expect every boy from Topeka, Kansas, to be marching into Crimea tomorrow? I don't think that many people take John Bolton seriously any more," says Mark Sleboda, a military and political analyst.

🎧 Listen to more of Sleboda’s analysis in our podcast Fault Lines: Is Israel Under Netanyahu Abandoning Ukraine?

Cristiano Ronaldo Banned From Making Debut for Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr

Newly surfaced reports have indicated football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will be unavailable to make his official debut for Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr club on Thursday as he's expected to serve out a two-match ban.

The ban was handed down by the FA after Ronaldo smacked a cellphone out of the hand of an Everton fan at a match in April between Everton and Manchester United, his former club. The 14-year-old fan’s mother said his hand had been left “bruised,” and that he was “in complete shock” due to Ronaldo's outburst. The boy was also reportedly autistic.

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Never Gonna Give You Up: US Will Continue Backing Venezuela's Guaido Despite Opposition Jumping Ship

"Our approach to [Venezuelan President] Nicolas Maduro is not changing,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated in comments to reporters on Wednesday. The head of state recognized by the country’s military and civic institutions, Price insisted, “is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela.”

Instead, the US will “continue to recognise” what Price called “the only remaining democratically elected institution in Venezuela today… the 2015 National Assembly.”

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