❗️Russia’s MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️ Russian forces destroyed Ukrainian radio and electronic intelligence centers near Brovary, Kiev region;

▪️Russian forces destroyed an ammunition depot of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian forces in the area near Artemovsk in the DPR;

▪️Russian troops destroyed up to 70 Ukrainian military personnel in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️Russian forces destroyed more than 250 Ukrainian military personnel in the Donetsk direction;

▪️Russian forces destroyed up to 60 Ukrainian military personnel and two D-30 howitzers in the Kherson direction;

▪️Russian forces destroyed about 140 Ukrainian military personnel, a self-propelled gun "Gvozdika" and one howitzer in the Krasny Liman direction;

▪️Russian forces destroyed an ammunition depot of the 63rd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian forces in the Nikolaev region;

▪️Russian forces hit the Ukrainian center of special operations near the city of Khmelnitsky;

▪️Russian troops destroyed 95 Ukrainian military personnel in Zaporozhye and South Donetsk directions.

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🇹🇷🇸🇪 Turkiye is still unable to approve Sweden's accession to NATO at this stage as Stockholm has not fully implemented its agreements with Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.

🗣 "There are certain obligations that were taken by Sweden and Finland in connection with their intention to enter NATO. We do not see the implementation of all steps on the part of Sweden, so at this stage we cannot approve its entry into the alliance," Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

The top Turkish diplomat acknowledged that Swedish authorities had implemented a number of obligations under the Madrid memo, but noted that the Kurdistan Workers' Party was still operating in the country.

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England, Wales Raise Legal Marriage Age to 18

"Vulnerable children across England and Wales will be better protected from the damaging impact of forced marriage as the legal age of marriage rises to 18 in England and Wales," the UK Justice Ministry said in a statement.

The new regulation came into effect on Monday as stipulated by the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022, which received royal assent last April. Under the legislation, marriage or civil partnership are prohibited for 16 and 17-year-olds even with parental consent, the statement said.

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🇬🇧 UK and EU reach deal on Northern Ireland trade rules

A new deal on Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trade rules has been agreed by the UK government and the EU.

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🔎 Chinese media outlet CGTN published a video explaining how the US blew up the Nord Stream pipeline in details. The story is based on an investigation by journalist Seymour Hersh.

🇩🇪 Germany's public debt increases tenfold since 2021

💬 "The country's debt burden has increased from four to almost 40 billion euros since 2021. This is the money that will be missing for other purposes, primarily for education, digitalization and investment in climate protection. Therefore, it is economically feasible to contain the growth of debts," the country’s finance minister Christian Lindner said.

Earlier, Lindner attributed the debt growth to emergency measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis.

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Wuhan Lab 'Leak' Yarn Returns: How US Reporter Pours Gasoline Into Washington's War Machine

The US Energy Department has claimed that the COVID pandemic most likely stemmed from a laboratory leak, the Wall Street Journal broke on Sunday, citing a classified intelligence report provided to the White House and US lawmakers.

"It is becoming clearer by the day that the government of the United States has become so delusional with its own lies that it is becoming violent against anyone exposing them," Scott Bennett, former US Army psychological warfare officer and US State Department counterterrorism analyst, told Sputnik.

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⚡️ US Treasury Secretary Yellen reportedly arrives in Kiev to meet Zelensky

John Ross, a senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, joins us to discuss US attempts to destabilize China, drawing parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan

🎧Listen to more of Ross’s views in our podcast By Any Means Necessary: Where Does the Movement Go From Here

📹 Footage from the meeting between the US Treasury secretary and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky

❗️ During a surprise visit by the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen told Zelensky that the first transfer of $1.25 billion of the $9.9 billion in US budgetary support would be made during the first three quarters of 2023.

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📹 In French cities, as well as in Milan, Genoa and Girona, over the weekend, on the initiative of the StopKillingDonbass movement, actions were held in support of the population of Donbass and against the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

🇫🇷 In France, protesters gathered in Roanne and Versailles in front of the buildings of the military company Nexter, which also produces Caesar howitzers, which Paris supplies to Kiev.

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📹 Combat work of the crews of the T-90M Proryv (Breakthrough) tanks at the front in the special operation zone (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

💥 The crews of the modernized T-90M Proryv strike at the water crossing, manpower and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Reconnaissance groups transmit the coordinates of the camouflaged targets of Ukrainian nationalists to tank crews.

📌 Adjustment of fire is carried out from drones.

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'Made in Russia' Chocolate, Oatmeal, Sauces Bound for Asia and Middle East

Russian exporters held about 500 B2B meetings with partners from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and other countries of Asia and the Middle East at the Gulfood 2023 event. The export potential of the deals negotiated at the 'Made in Russia' stand organized by the Russian Export Center (REC, part of the VEB.RF) exceeded $36.9 million, the center said.

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Brits Face Rising Household Bills Even as Watchdog Lowers Price Cap

Europhile Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt signalled a return to austerity when he was brought back into government in October during Liz Truss' short-lived stint as PM. He now plans a £500 cut to her Energy Price Guarantee scheme.

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What led to the current situation in Ukraine? Brian Becker, host of the Socialist Program, joined us to discuss the reasons behind Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine and how the conflict could have been avoided

💬“…and at the same time, the US not only didn't listen and didn't negotiate, but actually started pouring in billions of dollars of additional heavy weaponry into Ukraine.”

🎧Listen to more of Becker’s views in our podcast By Any Means Necessary: Where Does the Movement Go From Here

🔺More saber-rattling: Zelensky claims Ukraine is preparing to attack Crimea
🔺Anti-war protests erupt in Europe: protesters demand the West stops arming Ukraine
🔺What lies behind the US call to vote in the elections in Nigeria?

The Critical Hour will cover these and more stories! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

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⚽ Argentine footballer Lionel Messi has won FIFA's best men's player award

Earthquake Damage in Turkiye Estimated to Exceed $34 Billion

The two recent massive earthquakes in Turkiye caused around $34.2 billion in direct damages, and the costs of reconstruction could potentially be twice as large, the World Bank said in a new assessment on Monday.

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France's 'Unprecedented' War Games Underway as Paris Builds Up Military Might

More than 7,000 soldiers are currently taking part in France’s biggest military exercise in decades, which is dubbed Orion 23 and is scheduled to be wrapped up in May.

Apart from French soldiers, troops from the US, the UK and Spain are involved in the drills that will simulate parachute operations and amphibious landings along the Mediterranean coast.

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📹 Combat work of the crew of the Zoopark artillery reconnaissance complex (video by Russian MoD)

The uniqueness of the special machine lies in the fact that at a safe distance, specialists are able to detect a flying enemy projectile, a mine, a rocket, and even a shot from a tank gun. In two seconds, the complex calculates the reverse flight path with an accuracy of several meters, determining the coordinates of the place where the ammunition was fired from.

📌 The received coordinates are transmitted to the crews of multiple launch rocket systems, which immediately open fire on the enemy.

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Diplomacy Instead of Arming Ukraine: How Peace Movement is Scaling Up in Europe

A wave of anti-war protests has swept through Europe last weekend. Thousands of demonstrators in Germany, France and Italy rallied against arms supplies to Ukraine, warning that the NATO-fanned military escalation is fraught with the risk of sparking World War III.

"Sentiments in European societies about the conflict in Ukraine should be measured in terms of penetration of cognitive warfare," Paolo Raffone, a strategic analyst and director of the CIPI Foundation in Brussels, told Sputnik. "The powerful US machine has compacted two-thirds of the sentiment on the idea that the war will end only with a Ukrainian victory."

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