📹 A Russian Lancet kamikaze drone destroyed a Czech-made RM-70 MLRS in the Avdeevka direction, Russia's Defense Ministry said.

The ministry added that the Russian drone is in effect used to destroy the military equipment of the Ukrainian troops, such as artillery pieces, tanks, armored vehicles, and air defense systems.

Earlier this month, a well-placed source told Sputnik that Russia's Izdeliye-52 (Lancet) had been modernized based on the experience of using it during the special military operation in Ukraine. The basic version of the drone has been significantly upgraded and now has a more powerful warhead, a new optoelectronic guidance system and a control system with updated software.

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🇷🇸🎾 The world's number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic, officially withdrew from the 2023 Miami Open

He had not been allowed to enter the US because he was not vaccinated against the coronavirus. The Serb applied for special permission to enter the US, but did not succeed.

💬 "Obviously, we're one of the premier tournaments in the world, we'd like to have the best players that can play. We did all that we could. We tried to talk to the government, but that's out of our hands. We tried, and he wasn't able to play," Miami Open tournament director James Blake said.

His place in the main draw will be taken by Colombian player Daniel Elahi Galan. Sebastian Korda will also miss the competition in Florida and will be replaced by Denis Kudla. Djokovic is scheduled to play on the clay of the Monte Carlo Masters from 9 April.

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🇷🇺 Russia's flag was unfurled at the top of Ak-Kaya (White Rock) mountain to celebrate the anniversary of the reunification of Crimea with Russia (video courtesy of the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Crimea)

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Greeks Bemoan Aging Infrastructure, Maintenance Issues in Wake of Deadly Train Crash

Greek citizens blame aging public infrastructure, lackluster maintenance and staff cuts as well as EU-imposed austerity policies for the recent train collision that killed nearly 60 people, according to the people surveyed by Sputnik.

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🇵🇸 Palestinians consider Russia to be one of the main supporters of their drive for self-determination and independence, head of international relations office of Palestinian movement Hamas, Musa Abu Marzouk, told Sputnik following his visit to Moscow and talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

The senior official pointed out that this week's visit to Russia was different from the previous ones because of the changes that are taking place in the region and in the world, as the special military operation in Ukraine "caused great turmoil in the world and in the international system."

Palestinians need consultations, information exchanges and constant reminders of their rights to ensure changes in the Middle East, the senior official said.

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Absurd ICC 'Warrant' Under US Aegis Proves Russia 'Faces Implacable Enemy It Must Defeat'

Firstly, the absurdity of the ICC's "warrant" lies in the mere fact that the prosecutor's office has "done no independent investigations on the issue raised regarding children," Christopher C. Black, an international criminal lawyer with 20 years of experience in war crimes and international relations, told Sputnik.

💬 "The ICC has no jurisdiction over Russia or its officials. Russia is not a party to the Rome Treaty, nor is the USA and China. The ICC has no jurisdiction to issue a warrant against a Russian official," stated Black. However, he added:

"They will argue that a letter that Ukraine sent to the ICC in April 2014 in which Ukraine stated it acceded to ICC jurisdiction, even though not a member of the Treaty, gives it jurisdiction. But the legitimacy of that letter is questionable since it was sent by the NATO imposed coup regime just after the coup of 2014 in Ukraine so any lawyer would argue it had no legitimacy since it was not filed by the legitimate government of Ukraine but a NATO puppet government."

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📹 Ukrainian troops in Ugledar are using civilians and social infrastructure as cover, as can be seen on footage recorded by a UAV operator of the Viking special forces detachment

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⚡️ Pakistani police have entered the property of the country's former PM Imran Khan, local media reports

SpaceX loses lawsuit against Ukrainian company Starlink over name

According to the Ukrainian online news outlet, the Kiev Economic Court rejected SpaceX's claim for early termination of registration of its Ukrainian namesake in early March. In November, Ukrainian media reported that SpaceX, which operates Starlink, filed a lawsuit against Starlink LLC and intellectual property agency Ukrpatent citing trademark infringement.

However, the Ukrainian Starlink filed for trademark registration in 2010 and was registered a year later, while Musk's Starlink Ukraine obtained the rights to its trademark in 2020.

The founder of Starlink LLC said, as quoted by Ukrainian media, that SpaceX officials contacted him back in 2021, urging him to ditch the brand name. The owner did not rule out negotiations with the US company on condition that he would be compensated for the losses associated with rebranding.

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ICC Has Been 'Weaponized to Buttress US Imperialism' & 'Deserves to be Abolished'

"No one from the West was ever indicted" after the establishment of the ICC in 2002, said professor Alfred de Zayas, former UN independent expert on international order.

💬 "In 20 years it only indicted Africans and for that reason it was rightly called neo-colonial. Now it indicts Putin, revealing its flagrant Western bias. Since the entry into force of the Rome Statute there have been thousands of war crimes under the responsibility of NATO governments… War crimes have been documented in NATO wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. Why has no one ever been indicted there?" the author of 10 books, including "Building a Just World Order," asked.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳🇮🇷 Russia, China, and Iran have finished the Maritime Security Belt-2023 joint naval exercises in the Arabian Sea, the Russian Northern fleet said

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Majority of Russians Support Reunification With Crimea, Poll Shows

The majority of Russians (86%) believe that the 2014 decision to incorporate the Crimean Peninsula into Russia was correct, and 56% of those surveyed feel proud of the reunification, a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center has shown.

Crimea became part of independent Ukraine after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but was incorporated into Russia nine years ago after a referendum on March 16, 2014.

Before the inhabitants of the Crimean Peninsula had attempted to hold an independence referendum for several times, however, that was deemed illicit.

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🇨🇬 🇷🇺 Russia's multinational energy corporation, PJSC Lukoil Oil Company, is in talks with the Republic of Congo about cooperating in new oil projects as an operator, said Ivan Romanovsky, Luckoil's vice-president for America, Africa and the Middle East, after a meeting with the Congolese Minister of Hydrocarbons Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua

▪️ Romanovsky said that Lukoil is working in Congo at the Marine XII project operated by Italian business. He added that this project is very important for Lukoil.

🗣 "Lukoil is focused on development in the Republic of Congo. First, we are interested in projects where Lukoil could act as an operator. We have discussed such opportunities," he said.

▪️ At present, Lukoil's sole involvement in the Republic of Congo is as a participant in the Marine XII oil and gas project. The Russian company bought 25 percent of the project from British company New Age M12 Holdings Limited in 2019. Italian Eni (project operator, with 65 percent) and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Congo (10 percent) are the other participants in the project

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❗️Former US President Donald Trump claims he will be arrested and calls for protests in a Truth Social post

The "illegal leaks" referred to by Trump relate to reports that Trump could face a grand jury indictment over the hush money allegedly paid to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump has vocally denied any wrongdoing, saying he never slept with "Horseface Daniels," and has accused Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg of going after him instead of taking on violent crime in New York City.

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❗️Twitter CEO Elon Musk says that if Trump is arrested, he will be re-elected in a landslide victory

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📹 Vladimir Putin arrived in Sevastopol driving the car himself, the region’s acting Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev

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At Least 186 US Banks At 'Potential Risk of a Run' Similar to SVB, Economists Warn

A team of economists has analyzed US banks' asset exposure as the central banking system raised interest rates, assessing their asset books, market value losses, and funding percentages. They found that US Treasury notes and mortgage loans were vulnerable to value decreases when new bonds offered higher rates.

The team concluded that almost 190 banks could face potential risk of impairment to insured depositors if half of the uninsured depositors were to withdraw their funds swiftly, potentially resulting in $300 billion in insured deposits facing losses.

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#USInvasionofIraq20🇮🇶 Alexander Minakov, who is believed to be the first journalist in the world to report the beginning of the US invasion of Iraq, was in Baghdad on the morning of March 20, 2003. As American bombs began to pound the Iraqi capital, he found himself at the center of the massive blitz

💬 "I opened my eyes and heard a distant rumbling, like an airplane. Nothing like that had been heard in Baghdad lately, and I knew immediately that it was no accident."

Read the full interview here

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

▪️ In the Kupyansk direction, Russian artillery destroyed up to 60 Ukrainian servicemen and three motor vehicles in the Kharkov region and LPR;

▪️In Krasny Liman direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to over 100 troops, two armored fighting vehicles and one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Russian forces eliminated up to 120 Ukrainian servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, two Uragan MLRS vehicles and one D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, Russian troops eliminated up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen and two pick-up trucks;

▪️In the Kherson direction, the Russian Army destroyed over 25 Ukrainian servicemen, four motor vehicles, and two D-30 howitzers;

▪️Russian Forces eliminated a Ukrainian command post in the Donetsk People's Republic;

▪️Russian air defense systems intercepted 15 HIMARS, Smerch, and Uragan missiles in DPR.

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