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

⚠️ WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Social media publish a footage showing a dead man, presumably killed by the US airstrikes in Iraq

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Italian Agricultural Minister Francesco Lollobrigida punctuated the government's commitment to defending the "Made in Italy" brand and its support for the nation’s agro-industry.

He criticized EU policies that, in his view, encourage the reduction of domestic agricultural production in favor of imports from non-EU countries.

"Enough of this policy! We are a small nation, and we must protect our production," he stressed.

Europe has seen an explosion of protests in recent weeks by farmers against what they say is excessive red tape, high fuel costs and unfair competition resulting from the EU's liberal trade policies.

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Scott Ritter: Is Zaluzhny Getting Ready to Take Down Zelensky?

The growing rift between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and top general Valery Zaluzhny could soon prove fatal for the country’s fragile political system, argues Scott Ritter in his latest column.

“If the reports of what is tantamount to a refusal to obey the lawful order of his civilian commander in chief are true, General Zaluzhny has opened a pandora’s box which, if left unresolved, could lead to the rapid unravelling of Ukraine’s civilian-controlled government and open the door for the emergence of a government that is either subordinated to the will of the Ukrainian military, or which has been replaced by a military junta.

Neither bodes well either for the sustainment of the notion that Ukraine functions as a democracy along the lines of its European and US allies, or for the prospects of stable governance for Ukraine at a time when it faces unprecedented economic, military, and foreign policy challenges.”

Read full article here

Reports about a complete power outage in the Deir ez-Zor province of Syria following US airstrikes are not true, a source in the Syrian Ministry of Electricity told Sputnik correspondent

📹 WATCH: Russian loitering munitions hit Ukrainian artillery near Staromayorskoye settlement in the DPR.

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The disconnect between the Biden administration and its employees shows how “morally bankrupt” the administration’s stance on Gaza is, Dr. Margaret Flowers, the co-editor of Popular Resistance, told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour

“You have congressional staffers, hundreds of them, that called upon their bosses to support a ceasefire. You have White House staffers, executive office staffers protesting outside of the White House, calling on President [Joe] Biden to push for a ceasefire,” Flowers summarized. “The fact that people within the administration who are risking their jobs often to take these actions are speaking out, I think, is important and just shows a real shift in this country and just how morally bankrupt this administration is for supporting genocide.”

The comments came after the head of the USAID, Samantha Power, was interrupted by former members of her staff, demanding that she call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

After co-host Garland Nixon pointed out that USAID is responsible for killing “ unmentionable thousands of people,” even before Israel’s war on Gaza, Flowers agreed and said this illustrates how despicable the situation is.

“I think [that] some of the people that go to work in these institutions don't fully have a good political analysis of what it is that they're actually working for,” Flowers responded. “We know that the the USAID, which has 'AID' in its name, is an institution that has really worked hand-in-hand with the CIA to undermine governments all around the world.

“This is a huge issue for people, whereas foreign policy has not typically been a strong factor that folks care about. Things have gone so far that people do now,” Flowers explained.

She also condemned the decision by the US and other Western countries to cut funds off from the UNRWA. “Not only did they deny [Israel’s genocide], but they doubled down on the genocide of Palestinians,” she said.

Read more in the full article

What we know so far about the US strikes on Syria and Iraq?

▪️ The strikes were conducted in response to an attack on a US base near Jordan;

▪️ More than 85 targets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated formations have been hit with more than 125 precision munitions, US CENTCOM stated;

▪️ US used B1 bombers, which have a higher destructive power, instead of F-15s and F-16s;

▪️ US administration considers the strikes a success;

▪️ US notified Iraq before the strikes, but it is unknown whether US warned Syrian authorities;

▪️ Pentagon chief Austin warned that the strikes are just the beginning of a retaliatory response;

▪️ President Biden said that "response... will continue at times and places of US choosing" but "US does not seek conflict in the Middle East"

▪️ US has no plans to strike Iranian territory, CNN reports, citing sources;

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

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Ukraine faces critical ammunition shortage, Politico reports

Ukraine's artillery capabilities are being severely limited as the country struggles with a significant shortfall in ammunition, since despite efforts to increase domestic production of shells, Ukraine continues to depend heavily on international support to meet its military needs.

The EU, one of Ukraine's key supporters, has fallen short of its promise to deliver a million shells by March, with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell announcing a reduced figure of 524,000 shells by the deadline.

The situation is exacerbated by a halt in military aid from the US, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged the cessation of military support and its tangible effects on the Ukrainian front, where soldiers report a persistent shortage of ammunition, particularly of 122 mm caliber shells.

“On average, we fire 15 shots per day. But there were days when we made more than 100 shots, or haven’t made any at all. Now hostilities intensified in our direction, but we have as few shells as we used to have,” Politico reports, citing an anonymous Ukrainian artilleryman.

The disparity in artillery firepower is stark, with Russia able to conduct significantly more daily artillery attacks, leveraging its military industrial might to "enable its troops to fire tens of thousands of projectiles at Ukrainian positions," admitted Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

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