❗️NATO announced the start of the “largest exercise in decades”, Steadfast Defender-2024, on January 22, which will involve about 90 thousand troops. The exercises will last several months, the commander in chief of the alliance forces in Europe said.

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❗️The French Ambassador was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry after the destruction of the location of foreign mercenaries in Kharkov, among whom were French, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova told Sputnik.

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Fair elections in Ukraine would be end of Zelensky, analyst says

Volodymyr Zelensky knows that elections "will mark the end of his career as president of Ukraine. Therefore, he will resist until the end," Paolo Raffone, a strategic analyst and director of the CIPI Foundation in Brussels, told Sputnik.

Furthermore, elections in Ukraine are currently “not feasible, and the results would have no credibility,” he stated.

“The Ukrainian internal distribution of power” has “annihilated any internal dialogue, banned opposition parties, shut-down independent media outlets and persecuted journalists and dissidents,” the analyst noted.

“Significant sectors of Ukrainian Armed Forces have shown their discontent with Zelensky. However, the capillary infiltration of Western advisors and of ‘volunteers’ makes the coup option very slippery,” according to Raffone.

Ukraine’s president was advised by the West to reject any settlement with Russia, Raffone recalled, but pointed to remarks made by Russia’s foreign minister on Friday. Sergey Lavrov outlined a set of preconditions towards ending the conflict during his presser, “requiring to cancel the decree forbidding contacts with Russia; constitutional amendments to outlaw all anti-Russian policies and practices in Ukraine; constitutional amendments to renounce joining NATO.”

"As Lavrov stressed, the ball is in the US camp. When will the Biden administration accept reality?"

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Scott Ritter: All foreign mercenaries in Ukraine are now fair game for Russian forces

A strike on a Kharkov hotel that eliminated at least 60 French-speaking mercenaries marks a shift in the Russian mindset, ex-US intelligence officer Scott Ritter said.

“What does this indicate? That there is no differentiation in the minds of Russian military planners between foreign mercenaries and Ukrainian soldiers. If you are fighting for the Ukrainian side, whatever your nationality is, you are a legitimate target,” Scott Ritter, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, told Sputnik.

Previously, there was a certain leniency towards NATO military personnel and advisers fighting for Ukraine. However, if these casualties include French military professionals, it signals a new approach – everyone in Ukraine is fair game.

On January 16, Russian missiles struck a Kharkov center housing French-speaking mercenaries, dealing a devastating blow — 60 dead, 20 wounded. These soldiers, crucial for operating complex weapons, were key assets for Ukraine.

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A drone attacked the US military base near the Erbil International Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan, Al Arabiya reported, citing its correspondents.

According to the broadcaster, an explosion occurred near the airport, while air raid sirens sounded in the US consulate.

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Biden says strikes against Yemen's Huthis to continue

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Israel will not accept anything less than complete victory over Hamas, fighting will continue, Netanyahu says

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🇷🇺🇵🇸 Russian-backed push for Palestinian state could end Mideast crisis if US, Israel want peace

A sustained effort by Moscow and its allies to reconcile Palestine and Israel and create a Palestinian state is the key to ending the escalating crisis in the Middle East, Riyadh-based political analyst Dr. Ahmed Al Ibrahim says.

"Definitely the whole world would welcome Russia and the BRICS members to be mediating,” Al Ibrahim said.

“But the solution is going to be very hard. Russia and the BRICS members [would] have to coordinate with the United States and with Britain because they are the majority stakeholders of this file, in order to yank it from them and do something on the ground,” Al Ibrahim told Sputnik.

The latest escalation of violence in the 75-year-old Palestinian-Israeli crisis began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a Nat Turner Rebellion-style surprise attack into southern Israel from Gaza. The IDF pushed the Palestinian militia back into the 365 square km strip of land. Over 24,600 Gaza residents have been killed, with nearly 62,000 others wounded. 1,410 Israelis have been killed, with over 250 in Hamas captivity.

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"Are the airstrikes in Yemen working?"

Biden: "Well, when you say working, are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they gonna continue? Yes."

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Top stories that we covered for you today:

Scott Ritter's Insight: Russian forces unleash full force on foreign mercenaries

Zelensky vs democracy: analyst Paolo Raffone assesses why fair election will be end of Ukraine's President

Clowns & Drug Addicts: French Donbass veteran lambasts neo-Nazis from France and Canada fighting for Ukraine

Russia to emerge as 'ultimate winner against NATO' - Pepe Escobar

Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley explains the Ukrainian military's growing dependence on foreign mercenaries

Can Russian initiative bring peace to the Middle East crisis?

❗️ The US Senate on Thursday passed a new resolution to avert a partial government shutdown to extend its funding through March less than two days before the upcoming shutdown, the vote results show.

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The military aviation of the Russian aerospace forces have conducted air patrols along the separation zone between the armed forces of Israel and Syria, Vadim Kulit, the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said on Thursday.

“As part of monitoring the situation, the military aviation of the Russian aerospace forces organized air patrols along the border of the separation zone of the Israeli armed forces and the Syrian armed forces [the Bravo Line],” Kulit told a briefing.

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President Joe Biden met with congressional leaders and warned them that not approving additional funding for Ukraine could possibly result in the deployment of US troops to that country, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday.

"The president conveyed a sense of urgency about the stakes for our NATO partners in the region, what it would mean for our NATO partners in the region, and certainly we don't want to see our own troops put in a position where we might need to put boots on the ground," Jean-Pierre stated.

Biden's supplemental request includes more than $60 billion for Ukraine.

The US and its NATO allies have been providing military support to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian military operation. The Kremlin has repeatedly warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev, stressing that such moves only fuel the conflict, adding that Western military equipment will be eventually destroyed.

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The US Senate on Thursday passed a continuing resolution (CR) to extend temporary government funding and give lawmakers more time to pass appropriations bills, sending the legislation to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Senators passed the legislation in a vote of 77-18. House lawmakers are set to take up the bill later on Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed confidence that the House will also pass the legislation.

In November, the US Congress passed a so-called "laddered" CR, which temporarily funded separate portions of the government through January 19 and February 2. The CR passed by the Senate would extend the funding deadlines to March 1 and 8.

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"I don’t know where that goes": Joe Biden’s analysis of recent strikes between Iran and Pakistan

"And where that goes, we're working on now", he said.

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🤖 Code red, memory error

Biden experienced yet another mental hiccup in North Carolina, claiming he managed to take a picture with Rep. Deborah Ross... who was in another US state at the time.

"Where's Deborah? I just had my picture taken with her ... Oh, she couldn't be here, actually. That's not true. I got it mixed up. She’s up in Washington right now," he admitted.

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❗️ The Shiite movement Ansar Allah (Houthis) ruling in northern Yemen said they attacked a US ship off the Yemeni coast near the town of al-Mukalla. It marks the third attack on US ships since the launch of strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen a week ago, a Houthi military source told Al Jazeera.

"Yemen's naval forces attacked an American ship in the vicinity of the Yemeni port city of Mukalla," the source told the broadcaster.

Earlier on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it had received information about a new incident 85 nautical miles (NM) southeast of the Yemeni town of Ash Shihr. The vessel approached by drones was a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker sailing near Mukalla. However, the tanker did not suffer any damage, UK broadcaster Sky News reported, citing UK maritime security firm Ambrey.

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📹 Footage of tests of the Bratishka (lit. ‘Little Brother’) unmanned tracked vehicle, a new robotic ambulance designed to evacuate wounded troops from the battlefield

The drone is the brainchild of a Russian robotics enthusiast and engineer named Konstantin, who has been working on the robotic transporter with his 15-year-old son Vyacheslav, and was inspired to create the robot after friends participating in the special military operations told him about the difficulties they would face evacuating wounded from the line of fire during periods of enemy shelling.

👉 Read more about the Bratishka

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US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, will appear before Congress for a deposition on February 28, the Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability said in a joint release on Thursday.

"Hunter Biden will appear before our committees for a deposition on February 28, 2024. His deposition will come after several interviews with Biden family members and associates. We look forward to Hunter Biden's testimony," the release read.

Lawmakers are seeking Hunter Biden’s testimony as part of the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry into US President Joe Biden.

The measure specifically accuses Hunter Biden of failing to appear for a closed-door deposition as part of the lower congressional chamber's impeachment inquiry into US President Joe Biden.

Hunter Biden repeatedly refused to appear privately, instead offering to stand for a public testimony. However, Republicans indicated they first wanted him to testify privately.

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🇷🇺🇳🇪 Russia is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to Niger, Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Thursday after the talks between Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Niger’s Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare and Defense Minister Gen. Salifou Mody in Moscow.

“During the exchange of views on the international and African agendas, special attention was paid to the situation in the Sahel region… the Russian side confirmed its readiness to help overcome social and economic issues in Niger, including by providing the necessary humanitarian assistance,” the ministry said in a statement.

Mody arrived in Russia on January 15 as part of a governmental delegation. The minister held talks with the Russian Deputy Ministers of Defense, Colonel-General Alexander Fomin and Colonel-General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. The countries highlighted the positive dynamics of the development of bilateral military cooperation and identified promising areas of collaboration.

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Yemen's Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) has attacked a US ship, the Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker Chem Ranger, in the Gulf of Aden with naval missiles, "resulting in direct hits," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Thursday.

"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against an American ship (Chem Ranger) in the Gulf of Aden with several appropriate naval missiles, resulting in direct hits," Saree said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), adding that "a retaliation to the American and British attacks is inevitable, and that any new aggression will not go unpunished."

The spokesman added that Yemen's armed forces "confirm that navigation traffic in the Arab and Red Seas will continue to all destinations around the world except for the ports of occupied Palestine" while vowing to continue blocking "Israeli navigation" and ships "heading to the ports of occupied Palestine" until a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is achieved.

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