⚡️ 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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❗️The Pentagon chief confirmed that the United States will begin negotiations in the coming days on replacing the coalition military presence in Iraq with bilateral cooperation.

Back in 2020, the Iraqi parliament voted for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

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‘Both were planned special operations’: how Il-76 provocation resembles MH17 catastrophe

“Both then and now, these were planned special operations,” Alexei Leonkov, editor of Russia’s Arsenal Otechestva military affairs magazine, told Sputnik, when asked whether there were any parallels between Wednesday’s shootdown of a Russian Il-76 full of Ukrainian PoWs by Ukraine and the 2014 destruction of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over the Donbass.

“But back then, the Ukrainian side was aware of the events that took place, and therefore, Russia could reliably reconstruct events as they took place. This time, I believe the British deliberately deceived the Ukrainian side,” Leonkov said, pointing to the UK’s role in instigating Wednesday’s provocation.

“This is absolutely unprofitable for Zelensky,” who has “made a whole show out of” PoWs’ return, the observer noted. “Here the situation is not in Ukraine’s favor.”

“On the other hand, this suggests that the British, unlike the Americans, will not allow Ukraine to take any steps to the left or to the right, and will hold onto them tightly. Now, if you look at the kinds of statements being made by Britain’s defense ministry and other officials, they are saying clearly that Europe must be ‘prepared for war with Russia’. That is, the British have taken the lead in NATO’s European front against Russia, and are leading Europe to the slaughter,” Leonkov fears.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 went down in the eastern Donetsk People’s Republic on July 17, 2014, with the crash killing all 298 people onboard. Kiev and its Western partners immediately accused Russia of shooting the liner down. Russia conducted its own forensic investigation, showing that the plane was downed by a Ukrainian Buk missile system.

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Which NATO members are beefing up army personnel in response to "prospect of war with Russia”?

🇬🇧UK: General Patrick Sanders, the head of the British army, has warned that Britons should be prepared to serve in the military in the event of a war with Russia. He plans to increase the number of UK Armed Forces personnel to 120,000 within the next three years. Currently, there are 75,980 active military personnel.

🇩🇪Germany: German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has stated that a Russian attack on the NATO military alliance could be possible within the next five to eight years. In November 2023, Pistorius called for "fundamental changes" to the Bundeswehr and aims to increase the number of Bundeswehr soldiers from the current 183,000 to 203,000 by 2031.

🇳🇱The Netherlands: Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, a top NATO official, has previously stated that the military bloc is facing "the most dangerous world in decades" and has called for a "warfighting transformation of NATO." In 2022, the Netherlands had approximately 41,600 military personnel. The Dutch Ministry of Defense plans to recruit 3,000 to 4,000 service year recruits, in addition to the regular intake of 4,500 professional staff, by 2028.

🇵🇱Poland: Ex-Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in 2023 stated that the Polish army must have “the most powerful land forces in Europe.” The East European country wants to recruit about 150,000 troops in the next decade, which will bring its army from the current 128,000 active personnel to 300,000 soldiers by 2035.

🇫🇷 France: French land forces chief, Lt. Gen. Bertrand Toujouse, stated in May 2023 that France's army is undergoing transformation for the modern era. However, the military program for 2024-2030 will maintain land forces troops at around 77,000 soldiers.

🇱🇻Latvia: In 2023, Latvian Minister of Defense Ināra Mūrniece reported significant enhancements to the Baltic country's military capabilities. Latvia aims to increase its military personnel to 31,000 "in a very short time." Currently, there are more than 7,250 soldiers and 10,000 national guard members. According to Leonīds Kalniņš, Commander of the Latvian army, this increase has been made possible "thanks to the public, our citizens, responding to the occurred threat."

🇱🇹Lithuania: In May 2023, Lithuania’s Chief of Defence Lieutenant General Valdemaras Rupšys announced plans to establish a division – the country's largest military unit to date – in response to the so-called threat from Russia. The division is expected to consist of around 17,500 troops. Lithuania currently has approximately 11,000 soldiers in full-time service.

🇪🇪Estonia: Hanno Pevkur, Minister of Defense of Estonia, has put forward a proposal on beefing up its wartime structure from 26,700 to 43,700 personnel. Estonia will also build hundreds of bunkers on its border with Russia "under new plans to create a Baltic defense line".

How Russia transformed a T-80 into a powerful new MLRS

▪️Footage of RBU-6000 (Smerch-2) naval rocket launchers attached to ground-based vehicles began appearing online last fall, with the latest video showing one fitted to a T-80B tank chassis.

▪️At sea, the RBU-6000 is used to attack subs, drones, enemy torpedoes and other undersea targets at ranges up to 6 km, and at depths up to 500 meters (increased to 1,000 meters in a modernized variant known as the RPK-8). The system was introduced into service in the early 1960s.

▪️The RBU-6000 has 12 individual launchers, with its 113.5 kg apiece rockets fitted with 23 kg of high explosives.

▪️The T-80 main battle tank was created in the mid-1970s, and upgraded several times over its nearly 50-year lifespan. The tank chassis is fitted with a powerful 1,100 horsepower gas turbine engine, giving the vehicle plenty of pep, plus armored protection, to maneuver in dangerous battlefield areas.

▪️Mating an RBU-6000 to a tank’s armored tracked chassis is typical practice for Russian military engineers, who have previously used the latter to create armored engineering vehicles, mobile howitzers, heavy flamethrowers and even laser combat platforms.

❗️The Russian Federation Investigative Committee opened a criminal case about a terrorist attack after the crash of the Il-76 in the Belgorod region.

The initial results of investigative actions, including preliminary data from the inspection of the scene of the incident, allow us to conclude that the aircraft was attacked by an anti-aircraft missile from the territory of Ukraine, the department notes.

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