Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny has allegedly agreed to leave his post and be the country's ambassador to Britain, a Rada deputy claimed.

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Why is Tucker Carlson so popular in Russia?

American political commentator Tucker Carlson arrived in the Russian capital on February 3, with rumors swirling that the goal of the visit is to interview President Vladimir Putin.

The unofficial popularity rating of Carlson in Russia appeared to be extremely high. Here’s why:

▪️Tucker remains the American journalist of choice for more than one million viewers who earlier signed up to the Russian-language YouTube channel CarlsonTV;

▪️Many users in the comment section praised Tucker, describing him as a "straightforward person who tells the whole truth." They expressed their desire for more brave and honest individuals like him in the US that they perceive is drowning in lies and attempting to dictate to others how they should live;

▪️Russian TV channels frequently include clips from Tucker's shows in their programs, as numerous political pundits in Russia believe that his nonbiased stance towards Russia, particularly regarding Ukraine and President Joe Biden, evokes sympathy among Russian viewers;

▪️There are more than 46,000 subscribers to the CarlsonTV channel on Russia’s social media giant, VKontakte;

▪️Social media users on VKontakte cheered on the straight-shooting US commentator’s visit to Moscow saying: “Welcome to the country of a free people,” “Thank you, comrade Tucker,” and “Wow, that's some news indeed, he has made up his mind!”;

▪️A recent video on social media shows Tucker thanking one of his Russian fans and lauding Moscow as a beautiful city that he had planned to visit for a long time. A man is heard, behind the screen, praising the ex-Fox News host as the “best American journalist”;

▪️Chairman of the Union of Russian Journalists, Vladimir Solovyov, announced that Tucker Carlson would be welcomed into the organization if such a discussion takes place.

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The van allegedly carrying prominent US political commentator Tucker Carlson is seen leaving the Russian Presidential Administration, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

Whether the much-anticipated interview with Putin took place, remains a mystery.

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NYC is allocating $53mln for migrants - 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg are NOT having it

The New Your City administration will soon start giving out pre-paid credit cards to immigrant families currently staying in hotels. The initiative cost $53mln and will cover some 500 migrant families, as the city alone is now housing over 66,000 asylum seekers.

NYC has seen some major budget cuts recently, with Mayor Eric Adams even describing the situation as “extremely painful” amid the city’s growing homeless population. Some prominent entertainers didn’t tighten with the reaction to the US government priorities.

“[…] I don’t understand how this works […] I’m stuck maybe TRUMP is the answer,” 50 Cent took to social media.

This comment came just days after Snoop Dogg said that he has “nothing but love and respect for Donald Trump”. The former POTUS is known for his staunch stance on illegal immigrants in the US.

Earlier, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already spent over $124mln to bus migrants to New York City and other states. Texas taxpayers are reported to be on the hook for more than 99% of the costs, with citizens of all states involved being frustrated by legislators that choose to stay blind to domestic problems, such as growing poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity among Americans.

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What do ordinary Russians think about Tucker Carlson?

Sputnik posed that question to Moscow residents. Many of our interviewees praised Carlson as a “courageous journalist who is willing to challenge the anti-Russian propaganda” dominating the Western mainstream media.

Watch for yourself what ordinary Russians have to say about Tucker Carlson.

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⚡️ Three people have been detained in Crimea accused of planning to blow up a car belonging to one of the representatives of the Crimean authorities on the orders of Ukraine's Security Service, according to Russia's Federal Security Service.

A radio-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) made from a modified anti-tank mine made in Germany with a hexogen-based charge weighing 1.9 kg, as well as an IED with a foreign-made explosive based on hexogen C-4 weighing 3.05 kg were found and seized from the suspects. Criminal cases have been initiated.

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Authorities in the US state of Texas will expand the scope of border force operations to combat illegal migration. They will now control a larger section of the US-Mexico border, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

"Since Texas gained control of the park in Eagle Pass, illegal crossing have decreased from thousands a day to just three a day," Abbott claimed.

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The Hungarian parliament has failed to ratify Sweden's application to join NATO due to lack of quorum.

The ruling parties did not attend the session as previously promised. As such, it was not even possible to approve the agenda, which should have included the issue of Sweden's NATO bid.

Earlier, the ruling parties of Hungary, which hold two-thirds of the parliamentary seats, stated that they would not participate in the vote on Sweden’s admission to NATO, and would wait for a meeting between Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson.

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Why Senate's border bill 'won't even receive a vote' in House?

Immediately after the US Senate released a new bipartisan border security and foreign aid bill, House Republicans signaled that the legislation will not go to a vote in the lower chamber as it does not include any of sweeping measures outlined in the GOP's H.R.2 Secure the Border Act of 2023.

Here's why:

▪️The bill disproportionally allocates funding for US overseas military efforts: $60 billion for Ukraine and $14.1 billion for Israel, whereas allocating just $20 billion for border security, which is deemed not enough to curb the crisis;

▪️The bill provides just $650 million to build a border wall, whereas Congress appropriated at least $1.4 billion to Homeland Security in the fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to build a barrier system along the southwestern US border;

▪️The legislation's asylum reform would mandate the expulsion of illegal immigrants only if the number of illegal border crossings exceeds 5,000 daily for a five-day average. House Republicans are seeking to tighten asylum standards by restricting asylum to only those who come through legal ports of entry;

▪️Besides allowing 5,000 illegal immigrants a day, the bill would give automatic work permits to asylum seekers, turning the process into "a magnet for more illegal immigration";

▪️The law clarifies the definition of the Biden administration's humanitarian parole system to stop abuse at the border, whereas Republicans seek to cancel the measure altogether;

▪️The new bill was drafted in "secrecy" by top senators who reportedly did not allow lawmakers to participate.

The row over the bill shows that House Republicans have lost their appetite to fund Ukraine and are now prioritizing domestic issues and Israel instead. Having signaled that the bill is a non-starter, House Speaker Johnson announced a standalone $17.6 billion Israel funding package, while putting Ukraine on the backburner.

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Elon Musk is against the idea of banning Tucker Carlson from returning to the US if, as American media suggest, he interviews Vladimir Putin.

Musk agreed with American journalist Brian Krassenstein's statement that the idea of banning Carlson's reentry contradicts the principles of journalism and freedom of information.

Krassenstein noted on his X account that the American press has always interviewed any speakers, regardless of their political position.

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🇮🇷🇷🇺🇨🇳 Iran, Russia and China will hold joint military naval exercises in the upcoming weeks, Iranian Navy Commander Shahram Irani said.

“Other countries have also been invited to take part in joint naval exercises between Iran, Russia and China, which will take place at the end of March,” Fars news agency quoted Irani as saying.

This will not be the first joint exercise for these countries. In March 2023, Russia, Iran and China held the “Maritime Security Belt 2023” naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman. The Russian side was represented by a detachment of ships from the Northern Fleet - the frigate "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov" and the medium sea tanker "Kama".

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Could Europe bear the whole burden of funding Ukraine?

"Europe is still acting like they have a structural advantage over the US economically which is a delusion," financial and geopolitical analyst Tom Luongo told Sputnik.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson has made it clear that if the bipartisan border security and foreign aid bill reaches the House, it will be dead on arrival - meaning that the Kiev regime won't see its much-anticipated funds anytime soon.

In that case, the burden of supporting Ukraine will be passed to Europe which is incapable of carrying it, according to Luongo. The UK signed a security deal with Kiev recently, with Germany planning to follow suit. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden are due to meet on February 9 at the White House, where they may discuss the Ukraine-Germany security deal.

“Ukraine just got a lifeline from the European Union after Hungary’s Viktor Orban finally succumbed to the worst arm-twisting I’ve ever seen from them… But that money from the EU will barely pay the administrative costs of the current Ukraine government, no less the war effort against Russia,” Luongo said.

Without "generous" US funding, the UK and Germany's security agreements with Ukraine will not work, per the observer. The European countries simply cannot bear the whole burden of military action given that Germany is on track for recession with prices remaining high and de-industrialization dragging the economy down. The UK is likewise in no better shape, with the OECD projecting that the nation will suffer the highest inflation rate among G7 economies in 2024 and 2025.

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▪️Watch: What do ordinary Russians think about Tucker Carlson? Sputnik posed that question to Moscow residents.

▪️Why is Tucker Carlson so popular in Russia?

▪️Why Senate's border bill 'won't even receive a vote' in House?

▪️Could Europe bear the whole burden of aiding Ukraine, while Senate's border security and foreign aid bill is stuck in Congress?

▪️"What a clown!": Zelensky accused of filming fake videos "from the frontline"

▪️NYC is allocating $53mln for migrants - 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg are NOT having it

▪️Take a look at the advanced Russian military gear displayed at the World Defense Show expo in Saudi Arabia

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❗️ The White House, contrary to its previous statements, did not notify the Iraqi government of its intention to launch airstrikes against targets in the country, the American news agency The Intercept reported, citing a source in the US National Security Council.

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The US lied about warning Iraq in advance of strikes, the State Department admitted.

The US did not provide advance notice to Iraq before its recent strikes on Iraqi territory, contrary to last week's statement by Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, US State Department deputy principal spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Monday.

"Iraq, like every country in the region, understood that there would be a response after the deaths of our soldiers. As for this specific response on Friday, there was not a pre-notification. We informed the Iraqis immediately after the strikes occurred," Patel said.

Last week, Kirby said that the United States had informed the Iraqi government about its operation prior to conducting the strikes.

Both Iraq and Syria condemned the US strikes on their territory, and the Iraqi parliament's Security and Defense Committee called for the quick signing of an agreement on the withdrawal of the international coalition troops from the country.

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US State Department deputy principal spokesperson Vedant Patel reacted in a boorish manner to a Sputnik correspondent's question about the possibility of a Washington investigation of the terrorist attack on the Il-76, adding that he doubts the reliability of evidence of Ukraine’s involvement.

At the briefing, Patel refused to directly answer the question posed, asking the Sputnik reporter whether the evidence presented corresponded to "the same level of credible evidence that the Russians show when they tell the truth about other things".

Six Russian crew members, three Russian servicemen, and 65 Ukrainian POWs aboard the airplane were killed after a missile hit the Il-76 airplane over the Belgorod Region on January 24. The aircraft was en route for a planned prisoner exchange that was subsequently canceled.

The Russian Investigative Committee said that the Ukrainian armed forces used the MIM-104A guided missile of the Patriot system to shoot down the plane.

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Russia adds Ukraine's former representative of territorial defense Sarah Ashton-Cirillo to list of extremists and terrorists, according to a regulator.

Earlier, the military spokesperson threatened Russian journalists and the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova. After the threats, the Ukrainian Armed Forces removed him from the post and a criminal case was opened in Russia.

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