❗️ Sputnik's informed source has provided details of the British plan regarding NATO's expeditionary corps in Ukraine, creation of a no-fly zone and "undermining" Russia's offensive capabilities:

▪️ UK plans to prepare such a scenario for realization by May 2024;

▪️ it is planned to secretly transfer to Ukraine large highly maneuverable NATO forces from the border areas of Romania and Poland to occupy defensive lines on the right bank of the Dnepr;

▪️ a preventive strike by the armed forces of Moldova and Romania against Transdniestria is also not ruled out;

▪️ in order to "overstretch" the forces and resources of the Russian Armed Forces, it is envisaged to deploy in Norway and Finland a contingent of NATO forces and the armies of selected members of the bloc;

▪️ at the same time, strategic infrastructure facilities in Russia's northern regions may be attacked;

▪️ after that, according to the British plan, NATO forces would create a "buffer zone" within the occupied positions, including the border with Belarus and the territory around Kiev, and the released forces of the Ukrainian army should withdraw to the special operation zone.

▪️ Warplanes carried out three waves of strikes on positions of pro-Iranian formations located in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province, Al Hadath TV channel reported

▪️ Six IRGC advisers, two Iranian journalists and four Iranian citizens were killed in Syria, as reported by Al Jazeera, adding that among the six dead there are three Iraqis.

The speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry wrote an angry post in his X account after a video by ZDF correspondent Armin Kerper, who saw with his own eyes that Mariupol was being quickly restored, and people there were living a normal life and were pro-Russian.

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▪️ The US airstrikes hit the positions of the Syrian government army and pro-Iranian militias in Ayyash settlement of Deir ez-Zor province, local sources report

▪️ 10 people were killed and 18 wounded as a result of the US airstrikes, Sputnik correspondent reports

▪️ The US has begun airstrikes on Middle East targets from multiple platforms, a US Defense official has told Fox New

▪️ There are wounded and dead as a result of US airstrikes on Badiyah on the Syrian-Iraqi border, Al Jazeera reports

The Pentagon told Sputnik that the US has initiated airstrikes in the Middle East in response to an attack on a US base near Jordan

Earlier, the ABC had reported that airstrikes were initiated by the US, but later denied its own report, saying that "an initial battery of strikes in Syria did not come from the US", citing its sources.

Sputnik correspondent reports on the fourth wave of US airstrikes on targets in al-Mayadeen and al-Bukamal towns in eastern Syria

⚡️ Centcom confirms US strikes on Syria and Iraq

"At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. US military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States," read the message posted by US CENTCOM on X.

The agency also claims that more than 125 precision munitions were used in the airstrikes, and among the targets hit were command and control posts and centers, intelligence centers, missile and munitions storages, unmanned aerial vehicles, and logistics and ammunition supply facilities for militia groups and their IRGC sponsors that have facilitated attacks against US and coalition forces.

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Sputnik correspondent reports on a missile strike on US Army facilities near the Koniko gas field in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria

US airstrikes targeted the headquarters of the Hashd al-Shaabi group in the al-Qaim town near the Iraqi-Syrian border, Al Jazeera reported, citing an Iraqi security source

Hashd al-Shaabi is a coalition of Shiite, Yazidi and Christian militias fighting on the side of the Iraqi government against IS*.

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

The US has no plans to strike Iranian territory, CNN reported, citing sources

Joe Biden's statements on US airstrikes in the Middle East

▪️ US response to the attack on the American base near Jordan will continue at times and places of US choosing

▪️ US does not seek conflict in the Middle East, but will respond to all who harms an American

The US airstrikes have completely cut off electricity in Deir ez-Zor, Al-Mayadeen reported, citing its correspondent in Aleppo

US attacks are a violation of Iraqi sovereignty, Yahiah Rasoul, the spokesman for the commander-in-chief of Iraq’s Armed Forces, said

The first strikes against targets in Iraq and Syria, which the US began launching after a recent attack on its base near Jordan, are just the beginning of a response, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin warned.

"This is the start of our response," he said in a released statement. The US defense secretary added that US President Joe Biden has already ordered additional actions.

Those actions "will unfold at times and places of our choosing," he noted and emphasized that the US will take all necessary steps to protect its country, its forces and interests.

Earlier, a source told Sputnik that drones attacked positions of Syrian army allied forces in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria. Syrian state TV Al Akhbar reported that several people were killed in US strikes on positions in the Syrian desert and on the border between Syria and Iraq.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the US hit more than 85 targets belonging to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces and affiliated militias in Iraq and Syria as part of retaliatory strikes against an attack on its military base near Jordan on Friday.

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"Nothing of importance was struck," Scott Ritter commented on today’s US airstrikes against targets in Iraq and Syria

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⚡️ US notified Iraq before airstrikes, White House says