🇺🇸 🇰🇷 🇯🇵 The strengthening of defense cooperation between the United States, South Korea, and Japan under the guise of deterring North Korea can be considered as the basis for the establishment of "Asian NATO" that would be aimed against China and Russia, Russian Ambassador in Seoul Andrey Kulik has told Sputnik.

🗣 "In fact, under the guise of expanded deterrence of the 'North Korean threat,' there is a strengthening of the 'triangle' of the US-South Korea-Japan, which in the future can be seen as one of the cornerstones of the future 'Asian NATO.' Moreover, the bloc's headquarters in Brussels makes no secret of its plans to expand the alliance's area of responsibility to the Indo-Pacific region in order to deter China and Russia," the ambassador said.

▪️ Kulik noted that the three states have noticeably strengthened cooperation in defense and security and resumed various military exercises off the coast of the Korean Peninsula, citing the growing threat and "provocations" by North Korea as the reason.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Chinese Foreign Ministry: If Hersh's Nord Stream investigation is true, the US should explain itself to the world community

⚡️🇮🇩 Karangetang volcano erupts in Indonesia, residents evacuated from nearby villages

📹 Russia's MoD has revealed footage showing a Russian Su-35S destroying a Ukrainian Su-25 warplane

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

💡"Ayatollah Khameini"

A House Oversight Committee hearing aimed to shed more light on former Twitter executives and their actions halted in the middle of the questioning due to a power outage.

▪️ A power outage brought the hearing to a halt while Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., was asking questions about how Twitter allowed supporters of terror to use the platform to promote their views. Palmer noted that Twitter had banned former President Donald Trump after an examination of his tweets and how they were interpreted, yet they continued to allow Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to use Twitter.

▪️ As the congressman uttered the words, "Ayatollah Khameini," the room went dark.

🗣 Many social users reacted to what happened in ironic way, saying "What a coincidence!" or "Looks like God is sending a message"

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📊 Which countries have the largest number of earthquakes?

Sputnik has prepared an infographic that shows which parts of the world suffered the largest number of earthquakes since the 20th century.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ A Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly will take place on February 21st;

▪️ The Kremlin is not aware of any "Russian plan to destabilize Moldova";

▪️ The possible deprivation of Putin of the French Order of the Legion of Honor will not be a problem, the president has other, higher-priority issues;

▪️ Putin's approval of the new Foreign Policy Concept is expected in the near future.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 🇹🇷 One of the buildings in Kahramanmarash, Turkiye has fallen on its side due to the earthquake

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇿🇦 Turmoil erupted in South Africa’s parliament ahead of president’s address on Thursday

▪️Members of the opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) tried to stop President Cyril Ramaphosa from delivering his annual State of the Nation address.

▪️At first, the group of EFF legislators succeeded in delaying the speech for several minutes, and then made an attempt to storm the podium where the president was waiting to start his address.

▪️House Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula ordered security guards to remove the legislators from the parliament. Proceedings were suspended for ten minutes.

▪️The leader of EFF Julius Malema later told media that they were kicked out of the house for questioning the legitimacy of the incumbent president

Subscribe to @sputnik_africa

📹 Russia’s MoD has revealed footage showing Russian servicemen assisting in eliminating consequences caused by the earthquakes in Latakia, Aleppo, and Hama

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US Spy Balloon Program Goes Back 70 Years, Included Flights Over China, Documents Reveal

Washington's officials have claimed the Chinese high-altitude balloon shot down off the US Atlantic coast last weekend carried communications-monitoring equipment and was part of a globe-spanning program to spy on other nations. Beijing has rejected the accusations, saying it was a civilian scientific balloon that researchers lost control of.

The truth about the issue remains to be seen, since the Americans have provided no evidence to support their claims as of yet. However, there is a considerable volume of evidence showing that the Pentagon ran an identical program during the Cold War and has poured billions in recent years into new balloon projects.

Read more

🎥 Dear followers! Sputnik's exclusive video interview with Austria's ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl will soon be released on our website.

Stay tuned!

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Putin's 2007 Munich Speech: Stark Prophecy or Reasonable Warning That Fell on Deaf Ears?

Sixteen years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a landmark speech at the 2007 Munich Security Conference. In it, he called NATO's easterly expansion a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust. He also nailed the unipolar world order as an unrealistic and hypocritical project.

What global events preceded this speech and what impact did it have on the world?

👉Find out in our article

⚡️ Russian MoD’s latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️ The offensive operations conducted by the Russian Armed Forces, have resulted in the complete liberation of Dvurechnoye in Kharkov region.

▪️ Army Aviation and artillery have neutralized Armed Forces of Ukraine troops and hardware in the LPR and in Kharkov region. Ukraine has lost over 70 personnel, 2 infantry fighting vehicles, 2 motor vehicles, 1 U.S.-manufactured M-777 artillery system, and 1 D-30 howitzer.

▪️ Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, as well as the artillery of the Russian Armed Forces, have neutralized the enemy in the LPR. Up to 100 Ukrainian personnel, 4 armored fighting vehicles, one D-20 howitzer, 1 fighting vehicle equipped with Grad multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS), as well as 1 US-manufactured AN/TPQ-50 counterbattery warfare radar have been eliminated.

▪️ The offensive operations, conducted by the Russian Armed Forces, aviation, and artillery have resulted in the elimination of up to 125 Ukrainian troops, 2 tanks, 3 armored fighting vehicles, 5 motor vehicles, 1 D-30 howitzer, and 1 fighting vehicle equipped with Grad MLRS.

▪️ Operational-Tactical Aviation and the artillery of the Russian Armed Forces have neutralized Ukrainian troops and hardware in the DPR. Ukraine has lost over 60 troops, 1 tank, 2 infantry fighting vehicles, 4 pickups, 3 U.S.-manufactured M-777 artillery systems, 1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, as well as 1 D-20 howitzer.

▪️ Firepower operations against the Ukrainian troops and equipment have resulted in the elimination of up to 60 Ukrainian personnel, 1 Msta-B howitzer, and 2 D-30 howitzers.

▪️ The Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of Russia have neutralized 89 AFU artillery units at their firing positions, as well as manpower and military hardware in 122 areas.

▪️ A Russian Aerospace Forces fighter shot down 1 Ukrainian Air Force Mi-8 helicopter in Zaporozhye region.

▪️ Air defense units have shot down 14 rocket-propelled projectiles, launched by HIMARS MLRS, and 12 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past 24 hours.

▪️ Some 384 airplanes, 207 helicopters, 3,069 unmanned aerial vehicles, 403 air defense missile systems, 7,812 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,014 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 4,046 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 8,313 units of special military motor vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt