89% of the French support the farmers' protests that have erupted in France, an Odoxa-Backbone Consulting poll for Le Figaro newspaper showed on Wednesday.

According to the poll, the level of support for the farmers' protests reaches 97% among the supporters of France's Republican Party.

Some 78% of the French believe that the European Union's agricultural policy is having a negative impact on the business of French farmers. The majority of French citizens, or about 83%, also said French President Emmanuel Macron does not sufficiently support the country's farmers — the opinion shared by 58% of those supporting Macron's Renaissance party.

Since last Thursday, farmers in France have been blocking highways and dumping manure and waste in front of government buildings across the country. The farmers are demanding recognition of the importance of their profession and denouncing the government's agricultural policies, which they believe make them uncompetitive.

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Continued attacks on the US in Iraq and Syria highlight the US’ vulnerability, Dr. Seyed Mohammad Marandi told Radio Sputnik’s Critical Hour.

“The American government has taken the Iraqi government hostage,” Dr. Marandi explained. “The US is despised because of these policies. And if the US had treated Iraq as a friend, if it had treated the government with respect, then US interests in Iraq would be a much higher priority for everyone.”

He explained that a softer approach, like that taken by Russia and China, has been much more effective, allowing them to expand their economic interests. “When it comes to the Americans, everyone wants to have the minimum amount that they can have, that will keep the Americans quiet,” Dr. Marandi explained, saying that the US government is seen as a thug around the world. “ But when it comes to [Russia and China] … they want as much as is possible.”

But it's the US’ inability to stop the attacks that change the perception of the US around the world.

“Now that they're regularly targeting American positions, the Americans have lost that aura,” he explained. “If you can just every day lob a few rockets or fire a few missiles, then it shows they're not a real power. They're vulnerable. They're weak,” he added.

The comments come after another attack on the al-Assad Airbase, during which some US troops were injured. The attack also renewed calls from the Iraqi government for US troops to leave the country.

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These youthful faces of the multipolar world remind us that even the powerful leaders we admire for their strength and resilience were once innocent children and naive teenagers, just like any of us. 🎈

Please share in the comments below which of these young faces captivated you the most. 👇

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The future of warfare will resemble an episode of “Black Mirror” or the “Terminator” movie franchise, Mark Sleboda, a foreign relations and security expert told Radio Sputnik’s Fault Lines on Wednesday.

“This is all going to compound and steamroll going forward,” Sleboda explained. “Underwater drones, maritime drones, [they are] changing not only ground warfare and air warfare, but changing naval warfare as well, all very rapidly, and [control is] slipping out of [major world powers].”

Additionally, the changing military battlefield, along with “global shifts of capital from the West to the East, the rising of China and the resurgence of Russia [and] Iran emerging as a serious regional power, mostly due to the US taking out Iraq,” has made the US realize its global hegemony “is fading out of its grip,” Sleboda argued. He added that has pushed the US “to provoke conflicts with their potential hegemonic rivals.”

He warned that this could be the start of the next World War.

“We've already seen this World War start, and it's not starting with a big bang and two sides, but it's starting with a series of local and proxy wars. And those wars aren't really dying down. They're just piling on top of each other,” he said, pointing to Yemen and Syria as examples, as well as rising tensions in Korea and the Taiwan Strait.

“There’s so much possibility for insanity,” Sleboda lamented.

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Iran has become a "legitimate target" for Israel's missile strikes for supporting armed movements opposing Israel, said Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat.

"Iran is a legitimate target for Israel ... The head of the snake is Tehran. My recommendation is to adopt the strategy that [US] President [John F.] Kennedy used in the Cuban missile crisis. What he basically said then was a missile from Cuba will be answered with a missile to Moscow ... And we should very very clearly make sure the Iranians understand that they will not get away with using proxies against Israel," Barkat said in an interview with The Telegraph.

Barkat told the newspaper that Israel could afford to keep fighting and open up a new front with Lebanon despite military spending of over $250 million a day. He also said that the war in Gaza had not been fought "aggressively enough," adding that Palestinians from the West Bank would never be allowed to work in Israel again and would be replaced by over 250,000 workers from abroad.

On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip while its fighters breached the border, opening fire on the military and civilians. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted.

Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 20,000 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.

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At least 400 Americans have died in Ukraine and the US authorities are concealing this information, said former Pentagon Adviser Col. Douglas Macgregor.

"Our friend [US Senator] Lindsey Graham said we should be so grateful no Americans have died in Ukraine. This is a Lie. We know that at least 400 Americans have died whether they are contractors or in uniform," Macgregor said on X without saying where the number came from.

Macgregor added that the Biden administration "won't say this and it won't be published by the media."

The former Pentagon official also believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "will end up in one of his mansions in Cyprus or Italy or possibly end up in Florida" when the Ukraine conflict is over, adding that "this whole thing is a scam and the Ukrainians have been exploited by the United States."

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More than 130 fighters from the neo-Nazi Kraken unit and Russian Volunteer Corps* were eliminated in Kharkov by Russian forces on Wednesday night, Sergey Lebedev, coordinator of the Nikolaev resistance movement, told Sputnik, citing his sources from Kharkov.

The strikes were carried out near where French mercenaries were destroyed on January 17, Lebedev said.

More than 100 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were also eliminated in the city of Balakleya, Kharkov region, Lebedev added.

The so-called Russian Volunteer Corps is part of the neo-Nazi Kraken unit, formed by the leaders of the Azov** Regiment and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

*Russian Volunteer Corps is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.
**Azov Battalion is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

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▪️ Need to buy time to cover up for Ukraine? France rejects Russia's request to hold a UN Security Council meeting on the downed Il-76

▪️ North Korea launches its new ‘top-notch’ Pulhwasal-3-31 strategic cruise missile

▪️ At least 400 Americans have died in Ukraine, former Pentagon advisor Col. Douglas Macgregor says

▪️ A US warship suffered a "direct hit" as a result of clashes between Houthi forces and several American naval vessels

Check out more stories:

▪️ Why have European farmers and workers gone on strike?

▪️ Are EU elites funding Ukraine at the expense of their own people?

▪️ What’s the price tag for seizing Russian assets? $288 billion

▪️ How Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has outmaneuvered Joe Biden

▪️ Reality continues to highlight the US’ vulnerability

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Key points of Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin’s interview to Sputnik:

▪️ Today, as the West is losing on Ukrainian soil, the probability of carrying out a variety of provocations is very high.

▪️ The West will organize new provocations against Russia, but they will not have a long-lasting effect, because lies are quickly exposed today.

▪️ The crisis in Ukraine provoked by the Western bloc "gives many examples of the fact that the United States, United Kingdom, and their allies are ready to resort to the most heinous provocations in order to change the course of events in their favor.”

▪️ The collective West, losing its hegemony, is rushing in rage like a wounded animal, lashing out in all directions, and this is very dangerous.

▪️ The Anglo-Saxons, if they are not stopped, are ready to drag the rest of the world into the vortex of history.

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⚡️ Both flight recorders of the Russian Il-76 military transport aircraft shot down by Ukraine have been found at the crash site in the Belgorod region and are in good condition, a representative of the emergency services told Sputnik

❗️Twenty-four hours have passed since the downing of a Russian Il-76 strategic airlifter, carrying Ukrainian POWs for exchange, yet the Kiev regime has offered nothing but vague “investigation” promises.

The Ukrainian military originally spent over six hours “clarifying data” regarding the crash and deflecting journalists’ questions.

On Wednesday night, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Kiev would investigate the circumstances around the crash, as “facts” were a priority.

Nine Russian crewmembers and servicemen and 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed after the plane was struck by Ukrainian air defense missiles over Russia’s Belgorod region.

Why do you think Kiev is still not saying anything meaningful on this issue?

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📹 Rare footage of the Russian military's use of RBU-6000 Smerch-2 naval rocket launchers mounted on an MTLB armored personnel carrier

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🇷🇺 After visiting Chukotka, Russia’s easternmost region, Vladimir Putin decided to visit the country’s westernmost one – Kaliningrad.

This visit is not a message to NATO, but ordinary work as part of visiting Russian regions, the Kremlin said.

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Putin's visit comes following a recent announcement by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda that Lithuania and Poland are planning to hold exercises in the so-called Suwalki Gap on the border of the two countries in April.

The Suwalki Gap is a section of territory near the city of Suwalki in northeastern Poland located between Russia’s Kaliningrad region and Belarus’ Grodno region. Its length is about 100 kilometers.

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"Being a regional military organization, NATO has been waging wars and participating in them since its inception," Wu Qian stated.

He noted that in recent years, NATO has continued to approach the Asia-Pacific region, using the non-existent "Chinese threat" to provoke a bloc confrontation, and that it also endangers regional security.

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⚡️ A Russian court has found Daria Trepova guilty of carrying out a terrorist attack at a St. Petersburg cafe, resulting in the death of Vladlen Tatarsky, a military correspondent. Trepova has been sentenced to 27 years in a penal colony, with the prosecution initially requesting a 28-year sentence.

In April 2023, Russian military correspondent Maxim Fomin, known under the name of Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in the blast of an improvised explosive device that had been brought to a cafe in St. Petersburg. Daria Trepova, was detained on suspicion of involvement in the explosion. Later, Trepova was charged with planning the terrorist attack. Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the Ukrainian special services had masterminded the terrorist attack.

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❗️ Russian air defenses shot down 91 Ukrainian drones in the DPR, LPR, Kharkov, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions over the past day

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from Russian MoD briefing on progress of special military op in Ukraine:

▪️ In the Kherson region, Ukrainian forces lost up to 45 soldiers;

▪️ Air defense systems shot down four HIMARS missiles and one Tochka-U tactical missile;

▪️ In the Zaporozhye region, Ukrainian troops lost up to 130 soldiers killed and wounded; a Czech-made RM-70 Vampire MLRS and Polish-made Krab self-propelled howitzer were hit;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces improved their positions in the DPR, repelling three attacks; Kiev lost up to 310 military personnel and four tanks;

▪️ Near Krasny Liman, up to 270 Ukrainian military personnel, two tanks, and two infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed;

▪️ In the south of the DPR, enemy losses amounted to up to 130 military personnel, a tank, and two infantry fighting vehicles;

▪️ Four attacks were repelled near Kupyansk, with Ukraine losing up to 40 servicemen;

▪️ Near Krasny Liman, up to 270 Ukrainian military personnel, two tanks, and two infantry fighting vehicles were destroyed.

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Il-76 shootdown provoked by NATO to ‘burn bridges’ of communication between Russia and Ukraine

“I believe [the PoW-carrying Il-76 shootdown] was an operation prepared ahead of time. Because the Ukrainian air defense system fired without turning on its radar, that is, fired using external target designation means. Such means are possessed by the Americans and the British, who are now factually managing the conflict in Ukraine,” veteran Russian military analyst Alexei Leonkov told Sputnik.

The Il-76 shootdown has cast doubt on the possibility of continued Russian-Ukrainian prisoner exchanges – which until this point served as one of the last major channels of communication and cooperation between Moscow and Kiev. It was also the latest in a long chain of provocations by London, Leonkov emphasized, recalling former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s central role in breaking off peace talks in the spring of 2022, and newly tapped Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s recent remarks about the UK being “prepared to support” Ukraine through the year 2026.

“The British are burning all the bridges so that Ukraine has no chance of conducting any negotiations,” the observer stressed.

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“Suicide mission”: Ukrainian troops reveal their dire situation on the battlefield

Ukraine’s troops are running out of ammunition at breakneck speed, with shells being rationed, a Ukrainian soldier has admitted to a journalist from Le Figaro.
With less and less ammunition at hand, any attempt to attack Russian positions is like “suicide,” a senior sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by the name of Mikhail said.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces, which have sustained tremendous casualties and hardware losses since the failed summer counteroffensive, have “nothing to fight back with” as Russia continues a probing offensive in the Kupyansk area, per the French outlet.

“We no longer have ammunition. We are allowed to fire only three shells a day,” the Ukrainian soldier told journalists.

“We're running low on ammunition… We have at our disposal only 40% of the number of shells that we need. If the Russians launch a serious offensive here, we won't last long,” another Ukrainian soldier, senior sergeant Sergey, added.

The article also quoted the Ukrainian troops as saying they are “suffering colossal losses in manpower."

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US military racks up $1.6B tab for Middle East buildup since October 7

“It is a bill that will be due and we will have to pay for it within a limited amount of resources,” a Defense Department official said.

The Pentagon estimates the cost of the military surge in the Middle East since October 7, 2023, to be $1.6 billion. This tab includes warships, jets, and deploying equipment. It is important to note that this estimate does not cover the expenses associated with missile usage in Yemen or threats in the Red Sea. This financial estimate comes at a time of budgetary gridlock.

The Pentagon's operations in the Red Sea now lack funding due to the absence of a finalized Defense Department spending bill. Lawmakers are contemplating how to address this cost, considering options such as integrating it into the annual spending bill, the emergency supplemental for Ukraine and Israel, or a standalone war cost supplemental.

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