🇮🇳 🇷🇺 Russia and India Held Joint Exercises in Bay of Bengal

During the exercise, an Indian Navy helicopter practised landing on the deck of a Russian ship, and artillery firing was conducted.

🤝 The purpose of the exercise was to comprehensively develop and strengthen cooperation in the naval field between Russia and India, jointly counter global threats and ensure the safety of civil navigation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsindia

Watch LIVE: Vladimir Putin takes part in the CSTO Collective Security Council Meeting

Follow the live on Sputnik website

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

In recent weeks, there have been increasing rocket and drone attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria, believed to be in response to US support for Tel Aviv during the Gaza conflict. Despite the ongoing turmoil, there are also claims that the Pentagon continues to engage in oil theft in Syria.

One reported incident involves a convoy of 50 oil-loaded trucks travelling into Iraq from Syria through the unauthorized Mahmoudiyah crossing. These trucks were reportedly heading towards US bases in northern Iraq.

The US troops stationed in Syria's oil-rich eastern regions have become frequent targets as regional tensions rise due to the conflict in Gaza. The Pentagon has acknowledged that its forces have been attacked 66 times in Syria and Iraq since October 17, resulting in over 60 injuries. This count does not even include the additional injuries caused by a recent missile strike on Iraq's Al-Asad airbase.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Latest statements by the Gaza Ministry of Health Spokesman, Ashraf Al-Qidra:

▪️ The occupiers treated medical personnel and patients with cruelty and arrested the director of the Shifa medical complex;

▪️ The Israeli occupation and the United Nations are responsible for the arrest of medical personnel;

▪️ For this reason, we have decided to stop cooperating with the WHO on the evacuation of the wounded and medical teams until the director and other doctors are released.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇺🇸 “I don’t know that Ukraine can survive until February of 2024,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said.

This quote appears in a Politico article about funding problems in the White House.

“My sense is they start to run short on ammunition in the next several weeks,” the senator is quoted as saying.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇳 ✨ Indian Army's Makeover (or Tankover?)

The Indian Army is undertaking a major refurbishment of its T-72 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) to extend their service life. India boasts a massive fleet of over 2,400 T-72 tanks since the late 1970s.

🪖 Approximately 1,300 of these tanks were produced under license in India. The current initiative focuses on modernizing these tanks to ensure they remain effective against evolving threats.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsindia

The IDF warned Gaza Strip residents to leave their homes and move to a humanitarian zone in the south of the enclave.

“Residents of Gaza City, especially the Old City areas of Jabaliya and Shujaiya, we call on you to immediately leave your residential areas to maintain your safety, via the Salah al-Din road before 16:00,” the IDF said.

The message was published after information appeared in the media about the postponement of the hostage exchange.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Right-wing sentiment is on the rise in Europe due to factors like ‘Ukraine fatigue,’ a raging migrant crisis, and economic woes plaguing the EU

🇳🇱 Firebrand Dutch politician Geert Wilders, known for his stalwart anti-EU and anti-immigrant sentiments, in addition to seeking an end to Ukraine aid, is the latest right-wing politician to ride to victory on a wave of popular discontent.

🇫🇷 In France, Marine Le Pen's party recently topped an IFOP poll for next year's European elections, securing a comfortable lead over President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance.

🇮🇹 Italy witnessed the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, led by Giorgia Meloni, coming to power last year.

🇩🇪 In Germany, the right-wing Alternative for Deutschland boasts more support than any of the parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s beleaguered coalition.

🇸🇰 Slovakia joined the growing trend of right-wing parties, as illustrated by the victory of Robert Fico, an anti-EU politician, in the country's parliamentary elections. Since assuming the role of Prime Minister, Fico has terminated Slovak military aid to Ukraine.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Germany may prioritize lifeline for embattled businesses over Ukraine aid

Berlin will need to decide between giving priority to boosting Europe’s collective defense and directing more aid to the Kiev regime, or “cushioning the impact of surging energy prices and inflation on businesses and households,” WSJ reported.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner announced a freeze on public spending for the rest of the year on Monday in the wake of a court ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, which bans repurposing of COVID emergency funds towards other projects.

The impact of this move may impact Berlin’s ability to continue funneling money to Ukraine.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Ukraine Watch was created to expose the truth and break censorship.

🎙 Daily translations of Russian and Ukrainian TV : Subnoscriptd & Dubbed into English with precision

📝 Expert analysis of the economic, political and social situation — operatively translated.

🗝 Historical perspectives and hidden facts of Ukrainian history.

⚡️ Up to the minute news from the front.

Ukraine Watch: Facts without the fluff.

🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday operation Mercenary which is being conducted to combat terrorism, adding that cooperation of special services of CSTO countries continues.

"Cooperation between the special services and law enforcement agencies has been consistently strengthened. In particular, the CSTO operation Mercenary, aimed at suppressing recruitment and blocking the channels of departure of citizens of our countries to participate in the activities of international terrorist groups, has continued," Putin stated at a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Minsk.

The Kremlin said ahead of Putin's visit that the CSTO leaders would pay special attention to improving the security alliance's crisis response mechanisms, developing its peacekeeping forces and expanding the range of partnerships.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🪖 Key points of Russian MoD briefing on progress of special military op in Ukraine:

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces repelled an attack by Ukrainian assault groups in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️ Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter in the Kherson region;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces repelled two attacks by Ukrainian assault groups in the Donetsk direction, enemy losses amounted to up to 280 military personnel;

▪️ The Russian army repelled four attacks by Ukrainian assault groups in the Rabotin area in the Zaporozhye direction;

▪️ Russian troops defeated two Ukrainian brigades in the areas of Novomikhailovka and Priyutny settlements, the enemy lost up to 140 military personnel;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces hit a Ukrainian aviation ammunition warehouse and a communications center at an airfield in the Khmelnitsky region;

▪️ Russian air defense systems intercepted eight HIMARS shells and destroyed 24 Ukrainian drones;

▪️ Russian troops in the Kherson direction destroyed up to 50 Ukrainian soldiers and hit two Ukrainian Msta-B howitzers.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️A humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip will begin on Friday at 7 a.m. the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇦🇹 Austrian FM Warns Against 'Fast Lane' for Ukraine to Join EU

Rushing Ukraine towards European Union (EU) membership is a recipe for “geostrategic disaster,” Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has warned.

Brussels should not be looking at Ukraine’s EU bid through “rose-tinted glasses,” the politician told FT.

“You cannot have certain groups on the fast lane, others on service lane,” the politician stated in a nod at the holdup regarding Bosnia’s accession bid.

The European Commission recommended launching talks with Ukraine and Moldova on membership, but clarified that for Bosnia this should only begin “once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved”.

👉 Follow the link to learn more

🇷🇺 Medvedev visited the center of unmanned aerial systems in the Moscow industrial park "Rudnevo" and held a meeting on increasing the production of drones for the needs of the military.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇵🇸 Key points from the "Al-Qassam Brigades" (the military wing of Hamas) statement on the temporary truce:

▪️The truce will come into force on Friday at 7 am for a period of 4 days, accompanied by a cessation of all hostilities by the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

▪️Israeli planes will completely stop flying in the south of the Gaza Strip, and for 6 hours a day from 10:00 to 16:00 in Gaza City and in the north of the Strip.

▪️The truce agreement provides for the release of three Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, for every Israeli captive.

▪️The truce agreement provides for the entry of 4 trucks with fuel and gas into all areas of the Gaza Strip.

▪️200 trucks with humanitarian aid and medicine are delivered daily to all areas of the Gaza Strip.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇵🇸 A dive into war-torn Palestine's economy

What does Palestine export?

Top exports of Palestine include stone and construction materials (13.3%), furniture (11.7%), plastics (10.1%), as well as iron and steel (9.13%), with Israel being its largest customer.

🇮🇱 Israel - 86% share of all Palestinian exports
🇯🇴 Jordan - 5.12%
🇦🇪 The UAE - 1.45%
🇺🇸 The US - 1.13%
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia - around 1%

Still, the two parts of Palestine are developing unevenly: per capita GDP in the West Bank is roughly four times higher than in the Gaza Strip ($4,458 versus $1,257), as per the World Bank. Most foreign aid also goes to the West Bank. Given that up to 50% of all buildings in Gaza have recently been destroyed or damaged by the Israeli military, the small Mideast economy is facing a slide.