🇺🇸 NATO could send troops to western Ukraine if Kiev’s spring offensive fails

Anonymous Biden administration officials told US media this week that the White House is “quietly preparing” for the contingency of Ukrainian forces failing to gain any significant ground against Russia during Kiev’s much-hyped spring offensive, and for the reputational blow this might have for Washington via-a-vis other allies and clients.

💬 “I have long felt that the signals they’ve been giving are that they believe that US-led Western global hegemony, their ‘rules-based order’ is at stake here – they really do believe that," international affairs Mark Sleboda has told Radio Sputnik.

For more of his analysis and insights, click here

☢️🤖💥 US lawmakers introduce bill to prevent AI from launching nuclear weapon

The legislation is called Block Nuclear Launch by Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Act.

💬 "The bill is expected to make sure that AI will never be allowed to substitute human judgment when it comes to making a decision about launching a nuclear weapon," congressmen Ted W. Lieu said.

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Catch our Fault Lines show, where we provide updates and analysis on all the most vital stories! Here's our line-up for today:

🔺To kick things off, we’ll be discussing the situation in Haiti, where people tired of gang violence started to take matters into their own hands
🔺Next, we’ll continue monitoring the situation in Ukraine and discuss new Russian laws
🔺Finally, we’ll speak about the US debt ceiling negotiations as well as the presidential campaigns launched by Biden and Trump

More trending stories coming your way! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 7am EST|4am PST|1pm CET via the website or app!

📻Also in the United States at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

☦️📦 Humanitarian aid arrives at St. Kasperovsky female monastery in Donbass

The Moscow-Donbass international volunteer group, with the support of the First Donetsk Army Corps, has delivered humanitarian cargo to the monastery. Volunteers brought shoes, various household appliances, household chemicals, and a milk separator, which was severely needed by the monastery.

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🥷 Elon Musk reportedly took over other user's Twitter account

Zoe Schiffer, a managing editor at Platformer News, alleges that Elon Musk used his CEO and Twitter ownership status to take control of the inactive @e account, which currently follows NASA, LAist, and Musk himself.

The account was created in November 2022 and has 1,908 followers.

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❗️The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned a senior diplomat from the US Embassy and handed the official a note of protest. Moscow castigated US diplomatic mission’s failure to issue visas to journalists as sabotage.

'We Dare Not Stop Working for Freedom': Prince Buthelezi on South Africa's Freedom Day

This year, on April 27, South Africa marks the 29th anniversary of the first democratic elections held in 1994. On this day, known as Freedom Day, Sputnik talked to one of the most prominent liberation leaders during the apartheid era – Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

🗣"Freedom Day commemorates more than an event in our history. It is a reminder of an ideal, and the possibility of attaining an ideal, regardless of the obstacles, if one is willing to pursue it," the politician underlined

👉 READ THE FULL STORY

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📹 Russian artillerymen quash Ukrainian fortified positions in Artemovsk (Bakhmut)

Russian 2S4 Tyulpan 240mm heavy self-propelled mortars are capable of destroying even the most well-fortified enemy defense structures. Russian artillery units use them to support assault troops, engaging the most embattled Ukrainian positions in the Artemovsk direction.

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🇷🇺🇫🇮'Unacceptable' anti-Russian discrimination found in Finnish song contest

Following the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Russians and individuals with Russian roots have been subject to various forms of discrimination, including harassment and violence.

Recently, the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman in Finland ruled that two contestants in a popular TV show, who were Finnish-Russian dual citizens, were discriminated against due to their nationality and awarded them compensation.

This incident is part of a larger trend of discrimination against Russians and those with Russian backgrounds in Finland, which has been ongoing since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

"Harassment or discrimination against Russian citizens or Russian speakers is unacceptable in any form," Ombudsman Kristina Stenman said in a press release.

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

▪️In the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 110 Ukrainian troops and two armored fighting vehicles, as well as a Grad MLRS combat vehicle;

▪️In the Krasny Liman direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to 70 servicemen, one armored fighting vehicle, as well as one D-30 and one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Russian forces destroyed more than 400 Ukrainian troops, two infantry fighting vehicles, six armored fighting vehicles, a D-20, a D-30, and a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, and a US-made AN/TPQ-50 radar system;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, Ukrainian losses amounted to 60 soldiers, a Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missile system, a US-made M777 artillery system, and one armored personnel carrier;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Russian forces neutralized up to 30 Ukrainian troops, four Ukrainian S-300 surface-to-air missile launchers, one German-manufactured Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft system, and two D-30 self-propelled howitzers;

▪️Russian air defense systems also intercepted an Su-24 aircraft, four HIMARS missiles, as well as 21 Ukrainian UAVs in the LPR, DPR, and Kharkov region.

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol flew 11,000 km to impress Biden by singing "American Pie" at the White House.

😏 Well, nice choice for a tune!

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❗️LIVE NOW: Putin joins fuel delivery ceremony for Turkiye's Akkuyu NPP via video link
Join the live stream here or follow this link to Sputnik’s website

Vladimir Putin and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have exchanged greetings online.

According to Ankara, Erdogan thanked Putin for Russia’s contribution in the construction of the Akkuyu NPP. The Russian leader wished Erdogan speedy recovery during the conversation.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev are also participating in the event at the nuclear plant

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Russia ready to provide materials for Turkiye's reconstruction after earthquakes, President Putin says

The statement comes as Putin and his Turkish colleague Recep Tayyip Erdogan participate in nuclear fuel loading ceremony at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant built by Russia’s Rosatom in the town of Buyukeceli in Turkiye's Mersin Province, via video link.

On February 6, two earthquakes of magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6 hit the southeastern regions of Turkiye at a nine-hour interval, toppling thousands of homes.

In total, about 5,600 enterprises in 34 industrial zones of Turkiye were significantly or moderately damaged, according to Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank

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⚡️ Jerome Powell, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve System, spoke frankly about the problems in the US. The sensational information was obtained thanks to Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who called him on behalf of Volodymyr Zelensky.

Powell told the pranksters about the highest inflation in the US in 40 years, the budget deficit, the huge US national debt, the failed sanctions against Russia, as well as the “glamorization” of Davos. He also praised the work of the head of the Russian Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina.

Watch the video to find out more!

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🗣️”The US is furious about Saudi Arabia and Iran, because they want peace”: international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda speaks about American objection to peaceful changes happening in the Middle East

Listen to more of Sleboda’s analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

📹 Russian assault troop drills (video courtesy of Russian MoD)

Trainers with fighting experience hold military exercises for assault troops in the rear area of the special military operation.

Soldiers practice real battle scenarios and undergo fire and tactical training every day.

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🇸🇩🇪🇺 EU has already evacuated almost all of its citizens, who were in Sudan when the armed clashes in the African country broke out, Nabila Massrali, the EU spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, said on Thursday.

"With regards to the evacuation of EU citizens, significant number of estimated 1,700 EU citizens, who were in Sudan when the conflict erupted, have already been evacuated. The current estimates are over 1,600 EU citizens already evacuated," Massrali said during the EU Midday Briefing.

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