📹 Russian paratrooper assault units capture a Ukrainian stronghold north-west of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut).

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❗️ Air defence forces have destroyed several Ukrainian aircraft-type drones over Russia's Smolensk and Tula regions, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

The Smolensk Region governor Vasily Anokhin said that there were no casualties as a result of the incident.

There is also no damage or casualties in the Tula Region, the regional security ministry said.

Pro-Israel hardliners in the US Congress have been slowly losing trust in PM Netanyahu's leadership and his war effort in Gaza, lawmakers told NBC News.

Several representatives from both the Democratic and Republican parties, who spoke with the channel on condition of anonymity, admitted their frustration with how President Joe Biden's longtime ally was handling the Gaza offensive.

"It’s really hard to defend Bibi or to justify his political strategy in all of this," an unnamed House GOP who deals with national security issues was quoted.

A House Dem who serves on a national security committee said he was worried that Netanyahu's military campaign could be nothing but a ploy to prolong his hold on power.

"Everybody has been a strong friend of Israel, but Netanyahu is a disaster ... And the worst part of it is, a lot of us fear that Netanyahu could potentially be stringing this out, because he knows that the moment that the conflict ends he’s out of a job," the lawmaker said.

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Thousands of Israelis protested nationwide on Saturday to call on PM Netanyahu's cabinet to reach a deal with Hamas that would secure the release of hostages.

Massive demonstrations took place not far from the government complex in Tel Aviv, outside the presidential residence in Jerusalem and the prime minister's residence in the coastal town of Caesarea, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

Hostages released by Hamas and relatives of those taken showed up at the rally in Tel Aviv, the Sputnik correspondent said. The protesters called on the government to put human lives above its military and political ambitions.

Netanyahu took to social media during the demonstration to reiterate that he would never "compromise on Israel's full security control of the entire area west of Jordan," which he said ruled out the creation to an independent Palestinian state.

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Turkish FM Hakan Fidan held a meeting with the chairman of the political bureau of Palestinian movement Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, during which the parties discussed the release of hostages, the importance of a ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, a Turkish diplomatic source told Sputnik.

"Foreign Minister Fidan received the head of the Hamas political bureau, Haniyeh. During the meeting, topics such as an early ceasefire, increasing the supply of humanitarian aid, the release of hostages and a two-state solution to the crisis to ensure long-term peace were discussed," the source said.

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A number of US soldiers are being examined for traumatic brain injuries after "Iranian-backed militants" carried out a missile attack on US airbase Al-Assad in western Iraq's Anbar Province, the US CENTCOM said on Sunday.

"At approximately 6:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) time Jan. 20, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in Western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase. Most of the missiles were intercepted by the base’s air defense systems while others impacted on the base. Damage assessments are ongoing. A number of US personnel are undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries. At least one Iraqi service member was wounded," the CENTCOM said on X.

Iraq's Shafaq news agency reported the rocket fire attack on US Ain al-Asad airbase, citing a security source, adding that the missiles were fired from the al-Baghdadi neighbourhood in Anbar.

Syria urges the international community to stop Israeli attacks on civilians, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following an Israeli airstrike on Damascus which killed at least five people.

"Syria calls on the international community to take urgent measures to stop the crimes and massacres committed by the Zionist entity against innocent civilians and civilian objects," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

On Saturday, Iranian media reported that Israel’s air strike on Damascus killed five military advisers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Syrian Defense Ministry added that several civilians were also killed and injured as a result of the attack.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned Israel’s missile strike on the Syrian capital of Damascus, which reportedly killed five advisers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including Quds Force intelligence chief, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

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US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers that Ukraine will lose NATO’s proxy war against Russia in the coming weeks, months at most, if it does not receive more aid soon.

The assessment, described as “incredibly stark” was given to the lawmakers in a private meeting on Wednesday, reported US media.

Sullivan and Haines, two of the highest-ranking aides to US President Joe Biden, blamed a lack of artillery shells and air defense missiles as the most pressing needs. However, Russia has already demonstrated its capability to hit targets all over Ukraine earlier this month.

Biden requested that Congress pass an additional $60bln in aid for the Zelensky regime, but it has been stalled in Congress for months. House Republicans are demanding significant concessions on border security that Democrats would have difficulty justifying to their base.

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New Hampshire: The Last Stand of Trump’s GOP Opposition?

After Donald Trump’s historically large win in Iowa, New Hampshire is increasingly appearing to be the last, best hope for anyone to make the Republican Presidential primary a real competition.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are the only Trump opponents who remain in the race. According to the most recent Suffolk University poll, Trump leads the pack with 53% compared to Haley’s 36%. DeSantis sits at a distant third with just 7%; it has been reported that his campaign is shifting its focus to South Carolina.

If Haley doesn’t perform better than predicted, Trump will have easy wins in two of the first three primary states, which will make an upset in South Carolina even more unlikely.

Despite DeSantis’ focus in South Carolina and Haley’s roots there, Trump has an even larger lead in the State and just received the endorsement of South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.

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Russian engineer troops: ‘Unique’ forces that helped crush Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive - analyst

The skill of these specialized soldiers added greatly to the flop of Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year, retired colonel and veteran military analyst Viktor Litovkin told Sputnik.

“The minefields installed by Russian combat engineers proved unassailable for Ukraine’s Western-supplied modern military equipment, such as the Leopard-2 tanks,” Litovkin said.

He stressed that the Russian special military operation helps the country’s engineer forces further improve their skill as they successfully overcome combat missions in the Ukraine conflict. Litovkin remained upbeat about the future of what he touted as “unique” Russian engineer troops, whose work he said would be based on “new physical principles”.

Touching upon the military hardware used by the Russian combat engineers, he referred to the Uran-9 remotely-controlled demining system and the UR-77 mine clearing complex, commonly known as Zmey Gorynych (a three-headed firedrake mentioned in Russian folklore).

Additionally, Litovkin mentioned the so-called smart mines, which are designed to self-destruct or self-deactivate depending on sappers’ plans.

January 21 marks the Day of Engineer Troops, one of the oldest branches of the Russian Armed Forces. On that day in 1701, Tsar Peter the Great signed a decree to create a school to train artillery officers and military engineers in Moscow.

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Biden launched anti-Houthis campaign because of ideology, not economics - report

Ideology and idea of US indispensability were the key drivers behind US President Joe Biden to start military campaign against Yemen Houthis, The Washington Post reported, citing undisclosed sources in the administration.

The Houthi attacks on commercial vessels did not pose any direct threat to US economy since the latter relies on the Pacific trade routes rather than on the Mideast ones. However, Biden decided to mount strikes on the military organization because of his conviction that the US must be an “indispensable nation” with supreme army and capable of unifying other states behind a single cause.

The anti-Houthi campaign will likely resemble the war against other Islamic militarized organizations, who were able to rebuild and recover after serious blows thus turning US efforts into waste of time, money and lives, the politicians quoted by the WaPo said.

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▪️At least 15 missiles were fired at the US Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq late on Saturday. Two of the missiles landed on the territory of the base, AFP reported, citing local security officials.

▪️Syria urged the international community to stop Israeli attacks on civilians.

▪️Thousands of Israelis protested to call on Netanyahu's cabinet to reach a deal with Hamas that would secure the release of hostages.

▪️What might be the aftermath of NATO’s upcoming Steadfast Defender 2024?

▪️Air defense forces have destroyed several Ukrainian aircraft-type drones over the Smolensk and Tula regions of Russia. Two attempts were made to attack the Smolensk region.

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❗️🇮🇳 Indian passenger plane heading to Moscow crashed in mountainous northeastern Afghanistan: Afghani Media citing officials

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⚡️Falcon plane missing in Afghanistan is registered in the state register of civil aircraft of the Russia: Russian Aviation authority

Preliminarily, there were 6 people on board: 4 crew members and 2 passengers.

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What is known about the plane crash in the mountains of Afghanistan:

▪️ On Saturday evening, January 20, while in the airspace of Afghanistan, the Falcon 10 aircraft registered in the State Register of Civil Aircraft of Russia stopped communicating and disappeared from radar screens.

▪️ According to preliminary data, there were 6 people on board - four crew members and two passengers.

▪️ The Falcon 10 was produced in 1978 by the French company Dassault Aviation. The aircraft is owned by Athletic Group LLC and a private individual.

▪️ The aircraft performed a charter medical flight on the route Gaya (India) - Tashkent (Uzbekistan) - Zhukovsky (Russia).

▪️ The search for the plane is underway, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency reported.

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📹 Dnepr Group’s 152-mm Giatsint-B cannons destroy Ukrainian Armed Forces’ armored vehicles, fortified positions and boats in the Kherson region.

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❗️At least 12 civilians have been killed in Donetsk as a result of the Ukrainian shelling of a local market, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

Ukrainian troops fired at least six 155mm shells in the Kirovsky district of the city, where markets and a large number of shops are located.

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❗️The death toll from the Ukrainian shelling of the market area in Donetsk increased to 13, ten more were injured, said the head of the Republic of DPR Denis Pushilin.

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❗️A criminal case has been opened on the fact of the plane crash in Afghanistan with Russian citizens on board - The Investigative Committee of Russia.

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❗️The village of Krakhmalnoye in the Kharkov region was liberated as a result of the successful actions of the Russian "Western" group of troops, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

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❗️Russian troops defeated the temporary deployment point of foreign mercenaries in the Konstantinovka area of the DPR and destroyed the ammunition depot of the Ukrainian armed forces.

🇷🇺🪖 Other statements from the Russian Defense Ministry briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️ In the Kupyansk region, Russian forces repelled seven attacks by Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 55 soldiers;

▪️ In Krasny Liman, Russian troops repelled three attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces' warplanes. Ukrainian losses amounted to 80 servicemen;

▪️ In Donetsk, Russian forces repelled two attacks in one day. Ukrainian losses amounted to 310 servicemen; in the south of Donetsk, Ukrainian losses amounted to 70 servicemen and two vehicles during the day;

▪️ Russian air defense systems destroyed 43 drones of the Ukrainian armed forces, repelled one Tochka-U missile and two HIMARS MLRS projectiles.

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