‼️Report: Biden may announce decision on Ukraine-bound Abrams tanks as soon as Wednesday; however, it could take either 'months or years' to be delivered

🔺 First, we discuss the disagreement between NATO allies over Leopard tanks to Ukraine
🔺 Next, we talk about the resignation of several high-profile Ukrainian officials amid Kiev's anti-corruption drive
🔺 And, John Burris joins us to discuss another wave of senseless mass shootings taking place across the US

And lots of other topics will be covered today! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

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📹 Russian tanks under the cover of Terminator BMPT neutralize an AFU attacking infantry group on IFV (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

The advancing attacking group was uncovered in the wooded area by a reconnaissance team using unmanned aerial vehicles.

A Russian Terminator tank support combat vehicle advanced towards the militants and opened fire on the adversary.

As a result of the battle, the enemy IFV and tank were destroyed and the AFU fighters suffered losses and fled.

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What is the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank Biden Wants to Send to Ukraine?

The NATO allies waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine have rushed in recent weeks to send their most potent weapons yet to the battlefields in the Donbass: armored fighting vehicles and main battle tanks.

After reports appeared in US media on Tuesday that the White House was preparing to send dozens of M1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) to Kiev, the Pentagon said it was aware of the reports but had nothing to announce. US Army leaders have warned Ukrainians forces are ill-equipped to operate and maintain the advanced armored vehicles, making such a venture both costly and unproductive.

However, it seems more likely than ever that Germany will allow Poland to send its Leopard 2 MBTs to Ukraine, and it’s unclear how that development will influence Washington’s thinking.

💬 "And this is another crazy moment coming out of Europe. Now they want to basically put the military force of Iran under the terrorism list. And they want to also add the president of Iran Raisi to this list. And what does this mean? It means that they're going to declare war. That's the next step. They want to declare war on Iran. So the Iranian parliament in the past 24 hours has met. They have called for reciprocatory steps, meaning that they will be declaring European military forces as terrorist organizations, which they are. They have been terrorist organizations for hundreds of years - European militaries marauding in the Americas, Africa and Asia until now. They're doing so as we see in Syria and Yemen and Libya and what have you," says Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon.

🎧 Listen to more of Laith's analysis in our Fault Lines podcast: Germany Pushes Back on Tanks for Ukraine; DC Anti-War Protest; Nord Stream Investigation

Nearly Half of New York Republican Voters Want George Santos to Resign, Poll Finds

Almost half of registered Republicans in New York agree Rep. George Santos should resign amid a slew of controversies enveloping the politician, a recent Siena College Research Institute Poll has found.

The Monday poll determined that 59% of surveyed registered voters believe Santos should resign while only 17% believe he should remain in office, and that at least 56% have an unfavorable view of the representative.

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What's Your Take on the Possible Supply of German Leopard 2 Tanks to Kiev?

Germany has been facing immense pressure from its NATO colleagues over its failure to agree to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Berlin reportedly said it would do so only if Washington approved the delivery of its Abrams tanks to Kiev.

Sputnik wants to know your opinion on the matter - feel free to take part in our poll!

DARPA AI Security Camera Defeated by US Marines Pretending to be Trees & Boxes, Book Claims

The US government may be concerned about China getting its hands on its artificial intelligence technologies, but Beijing may be thinking twice about trying to acquire them after reading about how easily a few creative US Marines defeated one.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s private bureau of mad scientists, was testing out a new AI developed as part of its Squad X program. The program aimed to integrate unmanned assets with dismounted ground troops by providing them with many of the resources that vehicle-based units enjoy, such as multi-directional threat detection and both increased autonomy and coordination.

Unfortunately for DARPA, the US Marines working with the program developed a cheap and easy way to defeat the AI. Fortunately for readers, it was really hilarious.

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EU's Borrell Claims Russia Capable of Destroying Satellites in Space

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell alleged hat Russia poses a threat in outer space on Tuesday, claiming that Moscow is capable of conducting cyberattacks on satellites as well as physically destroying them with anti-satellite weapons.

"In November 2021, Russia tested a kinetic anti-satellite weapon. This was an irresponsible act that not only generated dangerous debris in the space, it [also] signaled to everyone that Russia is prepared to put everyone’s satellites at risk. If they could do that with one satellite, they could do it with our satellites," Borrell said at the 15th European Space Conference.

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💬 "The more the West throws sanctions on other nations, the less of the engagement there is on the global scale with the West. Because, as you sanction countries like China and Iran - huge economies, huge populations and landmass and resources - the other third parties in the world, they have to choose either not to do business at all with these huge economies or do business with the United States, with expensive prices that are inflated. Of course, the rest of the world is choosing to do business with itself and ignore the super national legal jurisdiction that the West is trying to impose on the rest of the world outside United Nations mechanisms." says Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon.

🎧 Listen to more of Laith's analysis in our Fault Lines podcast: Germany Pushes Back on Tanks for Ukraine; DC Anti-War Protest; Nord Stream Investigation

Massive US-Israeli War Games Aimed at Iran, Top US General Suggests

Massive joint US-Israeli war games being carried out this week will include simulated bombings of Iranian nuclear sites, Israeli media has claimed.

Channel 12 news reported Tuesday that imitation Iranian nuclear sites in the Negev desert will be subjected to 100 tons of explosives. Although the outlet failed to cite a source for the claim, Monday statements from a senior US military official seemed to confirm the sentiment.

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China Tells US to ‘Solve Its Debt Problem’ Instead of Worrying About Zambia’s

A statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Lusaka on Tuesday has urged the US Treasury to focus on “solving the US’ own domestic debt problem."

“The biggest contribution that the US can make to the debt issues outside the country is to act on responsible monetary policies, cope with its own debt problem and stop sabotaging other sovereign countries’ active efforts to solve their debt issues,” the statement blasted.

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Russia's Ambassador Antonov: US Abrams Tanks Delivered to Ukraine Will Be Destroyed

US media reported earlier on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden is set to announce the delivery of 30-50 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as soon as Wednesday.

"If a decision to transfer M1 Abrams to Kiev is made, the American tanks without any doubt will be destroyed as all other samples of NATO military equipment," Antonov said, as quoted by the embassy on Telegram.

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❗️ The US may send Abrams tanks to Ukraine this week; the package could include 30 to 50 tanks, Turkish media reported, citing a Biden Administration official

🇳🇿 The leader of New Zealand's Labour Party, Chris Hipkins, was sworn in as the country's new prime minister in an official ceremony on Wednesday following the resignation of outgoing prime minister Jacinda Ardern last week.

The Labor Party elected former COVID-19 Response Minister and Police Minister Hipkins, 44, to lead the party and country on Sunday. Ardern, 42, resigned last week, saying she "no longer has the strength" to lead the country.

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📹 Check out Sputnik's video of the Ukrainian Army hiding heavy military equipment behind residential buildings

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Two UK mercenaries fighting for Ukraine, Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw, were killed near the city of Soledar in Russia's Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), UK media reported.

According to a family statement quoted by in the reports, the UK nationals were killed while "attempting a humanitarian evacuation."

Earlier, a female resident of Soledar told Sputnik that there were many foreigners from Poland and the UK among the Ukrainian troops.

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📹 Orlan-10 drones in the area of the special operation (video of the Russian Ministry of Defense)

The task of the drone is to search for and recognise targets, as well as record videos of their elimination.

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'Not Anything Political': House Speaker McCarthy Boots Democrats Schiff, Swalwell From Intel Panel

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unilaterally blocked Democratic Congressmen Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from serving on the House Intelligence Committee in an attempt to restore credibility to the panel, the lawmaker said in a statement.

“I have rejected the appointments of Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell for the House Intelligence Committee. I am committed to returning the House Intelligence Committee to one of genuine honesty and credibility that regains the trust of the American people,” McCarthy said on Tuesday.

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📹 The crew of the frigate "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov", operating in the Western part of the Atlantic Ocean, conducted an exercise on the use of hypersonic missile weapons using a computer simulation (video by Russian MoD)

In accordance with the training situation, the frigate "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov" worked out the organization of launching a missile strike with a hypersonic "Zirkon" missile at a sea target simulating the ship of a mock enemy and located at a distance of more than 900 kilometers.

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Report: US Army Doubles Artillery Shell Production Target, Again

The US military’s anticipated production of howitzer rounds is now set to be six times higher than it was at the beginning of 2022.

The US Army doubled its goal for howitzer shell production as NATO’s proxy battle against Russia rages on, a new report claims, as war hawks and war profiteers alike look to take advantage of the conflict in Ukraine.

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