📹 Russian paratroopers captured the Ukrainian stronghold northwest of Artemovsk (Bakhmut), improving their position along the front line.

The paratroopers carried out a diversionary maneuver, forcing the enemy to focus its attention on some of the attackers, while other attackers bombarded the dugout where Ukrainian fighters were hiding.

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❗️Russian air defenses shot down six Ukrainian Neptune missiles over the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported heavy shelling and drone fire near the Al-Amal Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday.

"Intense artillery shelling in the vicinity of PRCS Al-Amal Hospital, in Khan Younis. Shrapnel from the shelling scatters on the building," the PRCS said on X.

The shelling is accompanied by drone attacks, the PRCS said, without elaborating on the number of casualties.

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🗣 Dedollarization is an existential threat for US economy:

“The US has been living in a fantasy world since the World War Two. But that ride is now coming to an end. If you look at the US dollar's share in the global reserve currencies, it's now only 58%. So when that drops to like, say 48%, then you have a huge impact on the psychology of the world. And then when it drops to, say 40%, then the value of the dollar will start to plummet,” SL Kanthan, India-based geopolitical analyst, told New Rules podcast.

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🇮🇱🇵🇸 Latest updates on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

▪️Death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza Strip residents exceeds 22,700, according to Gaza's Health Ministry;

▪️The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported heavy shelling and drone fire near the Al-Amal Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip;

▪️Turkish Foreign Minister at talks with Blinken called for ceasefire in Gaza, said that fighting threats whole region, a source told Sputnik;

▪️Israeli military aircraft have struck areas near the Lebanese cities of Tyre and Saida, broadcaster Al Jazeera reported.

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The Epstein files raise doubts about the Clintons' and Zelenskys' Ukraine aid projects

The recently unsealed Jeffrey Epstein files have brought into question the morals and motives of the rich and powerful and turned the spotlight on the Clintons — who are trying to cash in on the Ukraine disaster in cahoots with the Ukrainian presidential family, as per Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst and charity fraud expert.

"By the time Hillary Clinton commenced work with Ukraine's First Lady, the Clinton family had more than twenty years of experience breaking key charity laws," Ortel told Sputnik.

"As during the Clinton years as Secretary of State, there is no oversight of monies flowing towards Ukraine from donors who believe they might be helping Ukraine repel Russia's special military operation. Because there is no oversight, and given the sordid public record of the Clinton family 'running' charities, I suspect the joint effort you mention is likely nothing more than a vehicle to divert aid to corrupt ends," the Wall Street analyst stressed referring to the Clinton Global Initiative's Ukraine Action Network.

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Biden administration is A-OK with Israel’s actions in Gaza Strip

The US leadership has no intention of putting an end to the hostilities in the Gaza Strip, opting instead to arm Israel as it perpetrates “genocide against the Palestinians,” says Francis Anthony Boyle, American human rights lawyer and professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law.

Commenting on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent voyage to the Middle East, Boyle argued that the former actually intends to “better coordinate the escalation of conflict” there instead of stopping it.

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If Congress fails to fund Ukraine soon, Biden will need to 'freeze' conflict – DC think tank

"Congress may well fail to pass new funding for Ukraine aid this year," warns the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a Washington DC-based think tank.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has gone nuclear, signaling that he wants his Republican party's sweeping migrant reforms passed into law before approving new aid packages for Ukraine. Many many of H.R.2 bill's provisions appear to be a "no-go" for Democrats.

Now that the US has officially run out of funds for Ukraine, any delay by the US Congress will impact Ukraine's ability to fight. This may force Joe Biden to try to "freeze" the Ukrainian conflict, the think tank argued. Russia in turn is wary of the West's repeated broken promises and wants a long-term solution.

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In addition to its defense work, the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom is developing a number of defense initiatives that have been presented to President Vladimir Putin, the agency's head Alexey Likhachev said Saturday.

"Rosatom completely fulfilled the state defense order in 2023… Additionally, a number of initiative developments are progressing. We presented them to the president and to the defense minister [Sergei Shoigu]," Likhachev told the broadcaster Rossiya 24.

Rosatom also fulfilled the plan for 36 billion tonnes of freight traffic along the Northern Sea Route via the Arctic, the agency’s head said.

"I am very proud of the staff of our defense industry complex and nuclear weapons complex, because they are very zealous, and a lot has been done, including exceeding the target that was set at the beginning of the year," he added.

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“Beggars shouldn’t be choosing,” said White House budget director Shalanda Young to reporters yesterday, insisting US President Biden would welcome more Ukraine funding “however [Congress] can pass it.”

The plea comes on the heels of a $250 million lethal aid package from lawmakers last month, which Young insisted wasn’t enough to shore up Kiev’s crumbling military effort in the Donbass.

But the prospect of more funding is damaged by the plummeting popularity of continued Ukraine support among Americans, as well as political dysfunction in the country.

Congress faces a deadline to pass basic federal funding in two weeks after narrowly averting a government shutdown last year.

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“We do not want people to spend longer than necessary without a settled place to call home,” said Scottish social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville recently as continued funding to accommodate Ukrainian migrants has become politically controversial.

Along with other European countries the UK has taken in Ukrainians since the escalation of conflict in the eastern Donbass region in 2022.

But London already faces a shortage of housing, with 4.3 million new homes needed.

Europe has experienced economic difficulty as Western sanctions against Russia have backfired spectacularly, likely threatening the political viability of continued Ukraine support.

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The budget deficit of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for 2024 is 36% or 430 billion hryvnias ($11.33 billion), a member of the Ukrainian parliament, Oleksiy Goncharenko, said on Saturday.

"At a meeting of the National Security Committee, information was announced about the budget deficit of the Ministry of Defense for 2024. It amounts to 36% or 430 billion hryvnias only in terms of monetary support expenses," Goncharenko stated on Telegram.

The head of the Ukrainian parliament's tax committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, said in November that Ukraine's state budget was critically dependent on external assistance and that Kiev needed to attract about $9.5 billion in financial support in the form of grants and soft loans by the end of the year.

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The Israeli military has completed the destruction of Hamas’ infrastructure in the northern Gaza Strip and will now focus on fighting the Palestinian movement in the central and southern parts of the enclave, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Saturday.

"We have completed the dismantling of Hamas structures in the northern Gaza Strip and will continue to deepen achievements, as well as strengthen the barrier and defense along the border. We are now focused on eliminating Hamas in the center and south of the Gaza Strip," Hagari told a briefing.

According to the spokesman, the complete destruction of Hamas will take a long time, so "fighting will continue through 2024".

He added that the center of the Gaza Strip is densely populated with Hamas fighters and there is an underground city of tunnels under the city of Khan Yunis in the south.

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🇫🇷 Demonstrations were held in several French regions near the Alps against holding the 2030 Winter Olympic Games in the country, French media reported on Saturday.

The France Bleu radio reported that protests occurred in Chambery, Grenoble and the Hautes-Alpes department.

The demonstrators claimed that the Olympic Games would cause serious harm to the environment, as well as entail large costs and rising property prices, the report added.

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“Today we are facing an all-out battle with the enemy,” said the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami Saturday.

The commander-in-chief made the remark during a televised ceremony where the country unveiled a new ship and several missile launchers.

“It will be harmful for the enemy to be found near and at a half distant,” the general added, sounding a note of defiance as the United States has announced attempts to counter Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

But President Joe Biden has struggled to secure significant commitments for the operation with France and Spain recently denying any involvement.

The tensions come as South Africa brings charges of genocide against Israel in the International Court of Justice, with Israel expected to answer next week.

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