Zelensky's shake-up of top brass can't stop Russia's advance – military experts

"The Ukrainian army has exhausted its offensive capabilities; it is currently exhausting its defensive ones and is suffering defeat on all fronts," Colonel in Reserve Rustem Klupov told Sputnik.

Klupov compared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's rush to reshiffle the nation's military leadership with that of Hilter in 1943-1944, when Nazi Germany faced a string of defeats. Ukraine doesn't have enough troops and the West's military funding is dwindling, so the Kiev regime's fate appears to be sealed, according to the expert.

New commanders and generals appointed by Zelensky have one thing in common: they, figuratively speaking, "swore allegiance" to neo-Nazi ideals, noted military expert and retired colonel Anatoliy Matviychuk.

"I believe that Zelensky gathered this military camarilla specifically to solve his problems as a commander, and most importantly, to have someone to rely upon until the end of his rule," Matviychuk told Sputnik, adding that none of the Ukrainian president's picks have ever demonstrated outstanding tactical or strategic skills.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US Senator Rand Paul slams Republican and Democratic leadership over new Ukraine funding push

“Open the champagne, pop the cork! The Senate Democrat leader and the Republican leader are on their way to Kiev! … They’re taking your money to Kiev! They didn’t have much time — really no time and no money — to do anything about our border,” Paul said in a speech on the floor of the US Senate.

On Sunday, a $95 billion bill to fund Ukraine and Israel passed a procedural vote in the Senate. The bill has infuriated pro-Trump Republicans, who note the absence of border control measures.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

European states skimping on NATO dues shows they do not believe in ‘Russian menace’

US presidential candidate and former POTUS Donald Trump did not really suggest that the United States would leave NATO members who are not paying their dues to fend for themselves if they come under attack, says Earl Rasmussen, retired US Army lieutenant colonel and international consultant.

“He's sending a message that he has concerns as far as people not providing them. The last time he was in office, he was able to get a lot of countries to actually increase their contributions. And he does not feel that the United States should carry the bulk of the burden for NATO, and I would agree with him on that,” he explains.

As Rasmussen points out, the fact that some NATO countries in Europe skimp on their defensive spending basically suggests they do not believe they are facing a threat that requires the protection provided by the military bloc.

“President Putin pointed out recently in his interview with Tucker Carlson, no, it would be insane to attack a NATO country unless they attack them. That's another story. So most countries realize that their security really is not threatened, no matter what they're telling their public, no matter what the politicians are saying,” Rasmussen notes.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺📈 The Russian economy is on a positive growth trajectory and is developing better than expected, the IMF said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

▪️Syrsky the Butcher’s ‘right-hand man’: what to know about Ukraine’s new drone force head. When did Syrsky go down the wrong path?

▪️Ukraine’s military leadership reshuffled after becoming face of ‘defeat’

▪️Zelensky's shake-up of top brass can't stop Russia's advance

▪️Bingo! NATO defense ministers in Europe repeating the same false thesis

▪️Netizens slam Team Biden's video on the "banned" TikTok

▪️GOP leadership sabotaging Donald Trump to help Ukraine

▪️69 years ago the government of the USSR decided to build a cosmodrome on the territory of the Kazakh SSR.

▪️'Not like Davos': Europe's most exclusive and secretive financial forum

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Western drug trials in Ukraine: bioweapon research in bed with 'Big Pharma'

The Donbass city of Mariupol, where evidence of Western pharmaceutical companies testing drugs on psychiatric ward patients was recently found, was the perfect place to conduct such activities while under Ukraine’s jurisdiction, says Jeff J. Brown, co-founder and curator of the Bioweapon Truth Commission and author of The China Trilogy.

“This city was under Ukrainian, meaning NATO control, and had over 400,000 inhabitants, so it offered a concentration of hospitals, laboratories and convenient regional flight connections, to more easily coordinate the West’s bioweapon programs across Europe,” Brown notes.

According to him, the “West’s bioweapon development and use around the world is intimately interconnected with Big Pharma, vaccines and the military,” and Ukraine since 2005 “has become a hub for these four facets to merge.”

“Since the destruction of the USSR by the West starting in 1990, Ukraine has become ground central for the West’s global crime cartels: organ harvesting, arms and child/human trafficking, money laundering, prostitution, torture, illegal drug experiments and neo-Nazism. They are all part of a seamless whole and with Ukraine being one of the most corrupt places on earth, there is plenty of local collusion,” Brown notes.

As such, he argues that the West is “committing bioweapons-Big Pharma-vaccine-military crimes against humanity since the end of WWII, and continues to do so with impunity.” Nonetheless, no legal repercussions await the culprits “until the collapse of the West, when the global majority can finally have truth and reconciliation tribunals and a Nuremberg 2.0,” Brown warns.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

President Joe Biden is not mentally fit to serve as US president and his reelection may put US national security at risk through the weaponization of the justice system and engagement of the US in multiple wars, US Senate candidate Michael Hoover's spokesperson told Sputnik.

"American sovereignty, independence and national security is at stake," Hoover campaign spokesperson Hannah Ellithorpe said about the upcoming presidential election. "We have an invasion occurring across our borders, the weaponization of our justice system, and Biden has us engaged in multiple wars."

Ellithorpe added that Biden is "mentally not fit" to serve as US president.

Last week, US Special Counsel Robert Hur released a report on his investigation into Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, in which he cited several instances of Biden forgetting key dates in his life and career, including his time serving as US vice president and the date of the death of his son Beau Biden.

Following the release of the report, Biden delivered a speech defending his memory, but subsequently mixed up Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as the leader of Mexico and became upset after reporters questioned whether his memory had gotten worse with age.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US President Joe Biden told reporters that the US is working on an Israel-Hamas hostage deal that would include up to six weeks of calm in Gaza.

“As the King [Abdullah II of Jordan] and I discussed today, the United States is working on a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, which would bring an immediate and sustained period of calm to Gaza for at least six weeks, which we could then take the time to build something more enduring,” Biden said on Monday during a joint press conference with the monarch.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II said that the separation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank cannot be accepted.

“The separation of the West Bank and Gaza can not be accepted,” the King told reporters at the White House on Monday.

Previously, Biden cautioned PM Benjamin Netanyahu against a military operation in the city of Rafah if that operation did not include the evacuation of civilians in the area.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Democratic congressmen want to fight Russia to 'the last Ukrainian drop of blood', US Senator J.D. Vance said in an interview with Tucker Carlson.

“Everyone knows that this war will lead to the destruction of Ukraine,” Vance said on Monday. “I’ve had conversations with Democratic colleagues where they get this sort of dark look in their eyes, and they say, effectively, that they want to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian drop of blood.”

Later on Monday, the US Senate will consider further measures to advance a $95 billion supplemental funding bill, which includes approximately $60 billion in aid for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.

Now is the best opportunity for senators to block the bill, Vance said. The US House of Representatives will also have an opportunity to improve or block the legislation, Vance said.

Earlier on Monday, Vance sent a memo to Senate Republicans, contending that the legislation could allow Democrats to attempt to impeach Donald Trump if he is reelected in 2024 and tries to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

A group of Republican US Senators began filibustering on the Senate floor on Monday, amid disagreements over a $95 billion supplemental funding bill with aid for Ukraine and Israel.

"Talking filibuster begins in earnest this afternoon," Paul said in a statement via social media platform X.

Later on Monday, the US Senate will consider further procedural motions to advance the legislation, which includes approximately $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.

Senators were able to speak for one hour each on the floor, delaying consideration of the bill. Senators Paul, Mike Lee, and J.D. Vance have delivered remarks in opposition to the legislation. Senator Thom Tillis also delivered a speech blaming his Republican colleagues for holding up an agreement to unlock amendment votes.

Earlier on Monday, Vance sent a memo to Senate Republicans, contending that the bill could allow Democrats to attempt to impeach Donald Trump in 2024, if he is reelected and attempts to end the conflict in Ukraine.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ LIVE: Russian Progress MS-24 cargo ship departs from International Space Station

The Progress MS-24 is scheduled to be deorbited after undocking from the ISSC, causing it to enter the atmosphere and disintegrate. Its place on the station will be taken by Progress MS-26, which is scheduled for launch on February 15.

WATCH the livestream here or follow the link to the Sputnik's website for more details

Israel’s actions in Rafah will “complicate the situation for Israel enormously” while even its staunchest ally, the United States, has expressed concerns publicly about the operation, Dr. Hasan Unal, a professor of political science and international relations at Baskent University in Turkiye, told Sputnik’s Fault Lines.

“In Bosnia [...] when the Western channels [started] broadcasting all the ugly pictures coming, streaming out of Bosnia, which in the end was recognized [...] by the international court as genocide. [...] the public began to clamor for action by their governments.

“There's a growing risk [that Biden could pay] quite a big price for [his] unconditional support to Israel,” he added.

Unal said the situation requires a cease-fire and a two state solution, but said that will be difficult under Netanyahu’s government and with the illegal settlements in the West Bank.

“[Israel] would have to take out many of the settler groups that have been, basically, sprawled around the West Bank and so forth. How are they going to create [a] viable corridor between Gaza and the West Bank territories in another question.”

While the prospects for peace are “quite bleak,” Unal noted that the October 7 attack put the conflict “onto the world radar quite firmly” and that the situation is “not sustainable” for Israel.

Read more in the full article

The US Senate moved closer to the final passage of a $95 billion supplemental funding bill with aid for Ukraine and Israel after officially attaching the foreign aid to a legislative vehicle and ending debate on the bill.

Senators on Monday night adopted the foreign aid package as an amendment to an unrelated bill in a vote of 66-33. The legislation includes approximately $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.

The Senate then invoked cloture on the bill, which limits debate, in another vote of 66-33, setting up the legislation for a possible final vote as early as Wednesday.
Earlier on Monday, US Senator J.D. Vance sent a memo to fellow Senate Republicans, contending that the legislation could allow Democrats to attempt to impeach Donald Trump if he is reelected in 2024 and attempts to end the conflict in Ukraine.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he will not bring the Senate's $95 billion foreign aid bill to the House floor for consideration if it reaches the lower chamber.

"In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters," Johnson said in a statement.

Johnson said the Senate's foreign aid bill fails to address the United States' most pressing issue: border security. The House Speaker added that the Senate should have pushed to include meaningful border security measures in the $95 billion foreign aid bill, which includes approximately $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and additional funding to address US national security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Senate could pass the foreign aid bill as early as Wednesday.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Lidia Trofimova, a resident of Mariupol, born in 1978, died after being treated for arthritis with untested foreign drugs at Mariupol Hospital No. 7, her son Mikhail Trofimov told Sputnik

In this hospital those drugs were tested on patients for research in the interests of Western pharmaceutical companies, revealed documents seen by Sputnik.