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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The US House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (CR) to extend temporary government funding into March and give lawmakers more time to pass appropriations bills, sending the legislation to US President Joe Biden’s desk.

US House lawmakers passed the legislation on Thursday in a vote of 314-108. The US Senate passed the bill earlier on Thursday, placing it on track to be finalized by Biden.

The US Congress had until January 19 to pass a government funding measure or the government would begin to shut down. In November, lawmakers passed a so-called “laddered” CR, which temporarily funded separate portions of the government through January 19 and February 2.

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Russian FPV drone operators hit Ukrainian servicemen in their strongholds, trenches and shelters near Berestovoe settlement

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The European Commission's recent proposal on how to use proceeds from the Russian assets frozen in the EU is a serious step towards Kiev receiving the money in one way or another, EC Executive Vice-President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Thursday.

"We put forward a proposal on how to use proceeds from frozen Russian assets. First of all, it provides legal clarity that these proceeds do not belong to Russia and tasking financial institutions to put those funds aside with the possibility at a later stage to take them to the EU budget and then, use them for the Ukrainian support," Dombrovskis said.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that Western countries would face repercussions if they used Russia's frozen assets to assist Ukraine.

In December, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that the seizure of Russian assets abroad is illegal, fraught with serious harmful consequences, and will be another blow to the global economy.

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US House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers in a letter demanded US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin appear before the panel for a testimony to discuss the lack of transparency of his hospitalization earlier this month.

"Your unwillingness to provide candid and complete answers necessitates calling a Full Committee hearing on February 14, 2024, where the Committee expects to hear your direct testimony regarding decisions made to withhold information from the President, Congress, and the American people," Rogers said in the letter on Thursday.

The chairman clarified that although Austin did respond to some of his questions on this matter, several others were not addressed. Rogers highlighted that he was "alarmed" that Austin refused to answer whether he instructed his staff to not inform President Joe Biden or anyone else about his hospitalization.

The Congressman asked Austin to provide a written response to additional questions by February 7.

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🇷🇺 Artillery crews launched strikes on the strongholds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces before the start of active operations by the assault units, which, with the support of artillery fire, continue to gradually move forward.

Target designation and adjustment of howitzer fire was carried out using unmanned aerial vehicles.

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❗️ North Korea tested “underwater nuclear weapon system” in protest against joint military drills by South Korea, US, Japan, AFP reported, citing North Korean state-run news agency KCNA.

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“We have to remember that the Israelis have a long lasting relationship with ISIS* because ISIS during the Syrian Dirty War had bases alongside the Golan Heights,” said international affairs expert Professor Mohammad Marandi on Sputnik’s Fault Lines program Thursday.

The analyst discussed the destabilizing role of Israel and the United States in the Middle East as the death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza approaches 25,000.

Iran angered Pakistani officials earlier this week when they launched an attack on terrorist bases over the country’s border with Pakistan, but Marandi asserts Western intelligence agencies are ultimately to blame for supporting various anti-Iran groups.

The Israeli Defense Forces chief admitted in 2019 to supplying ISIS-aligned Syrian rebels with weapons, while the United States has long backed extremists in the region to undermine various geopolitical foes.

* ISIS is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.

👉 Follow the link for more details

North Korea has tested an underwater nuclear weapon system in response to joint military drills by South Korea, the United States and Japan, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported citing a statement by a spokesman for North Korea's Defense Ministry.

"Joint maritime exercises were staged again in the waters off Jeju Island for three days from Jan. 15 with the involvement of the U.S. nuclear carrier Carl Vinson and Aegis cruiser Princeton and warships of the Japanese maritime "Self-Defense Force" and the ROK navy," the spokesman said.

He said the drills further destabilized the regional situation and seriously threatened North Korea's security.

"In response to it, the Underwater Weapon System Institute under the DPRK Academy of Defense Science conducted an important test of its underwater nuclear weapon system "Haeil-5-23" under development in the East Sea of Korea," the spokesman said.

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❗️EXCLUSIVE: "The French government is clearly complicit in the participation of French citizens in the fighting and therefore in their deaths," a French politician argues

The statement on behalf on Florian Philippot to Sputnik comes after at least 60 foreign mercenaries were killed in a Russia's precision strike on a temporary deployment location of foreign fighters in the city of Kharkov on Tuesday. The majority of the mercs were the French.

💬 "It's the very 'nice' Zelensky and the very 'nasty' Putin, full stop. So, that encourages. And then, because the French government has been delivering money and weapons to the Zelensky regime for two years now and therefore seems to be signaling, leading the way, setting an example."

According to him, the French government bears direct responsibility in this commitment and in these deaths.

"French citizens feel authorized to go and fight on the front for Zelensky's Ukraine, because the French government lets it happen, because it's being valorized in the media, because no one is clearly telling them that it's very dangerous and not explaining the deep motivations of this conflict."

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🐴🎀😍 Analyst Mark Sleboda mocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “peace formula” unveiled in Davos this week, speculating the highly aspirational plan also included “Zelensky's demand for a little pink pony with a little pretty ribbon on top.”

“It is the opposite of a peace formula,” said the expert on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program Thursday. “It is a childish demand for Russian unconditional surrender that Russia should withdraw all of its troops from Ukrainian territory – including Crimea – [and] surrender the people of Crimea and Donbass to the tender mercies of Azov* Neo-Nazis.”

Among the elements of Zelensky’s proposition is a call for Russia to put political and military leaders on trial and pay reparations to the Kiev regime.

The proposal is highly unlikely to achieve traction with even The New York Times recognizing Ukraine’s failure on the battlefield, Sleboda pointed out.

*Azov Battalion is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other US officials have called the charges against Israel “meritless” as acknowledging “Israel’s genocide” would not only “expose US culpability” it would also cause the US to acknowledge their own mistakes, writes Margaret Kimberley, an author and senior columnist, in a recent article published to the Black Agenda Report.

“Israel could not do any of this without the US. So it's only proper that the US also be charged,” Kimberley stated.

Last week, South Africa formally accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. Israel brushed off the accusation and said it was acting to defend itself against Hamas and not the Palestinian population.

“South Africa's case, frankly, is based on the public pronouncements of Israeli officials, they've been bragging about it that they're committing ethnic cleansing," Kimberley told Sputnik’s Political Misfits on Thursday.

👉 Follow the link for more details

It’s been revealed that the British Armed Forces have flown 50 surveillance flights over the besieged Gaza Strip since December alone. The flights departed from RAF Akrotiri, the UK’s air force base in Cyprus. The revelation comes after reports the UK had been shipping weapons to Netanyahu’s regime from the base.

British Defense Minister Grant Shapps had previously admitted the UK was providing “surveillance support to Israel,” although he couched the assistance in terms of “preventing the transfer of weapons to terrorist groups.”

A recent poll showed 71% of the British public support a ceasefire in Gaza.

👉 Follow the link for more details