A country that possesses nuclear weapons must demonstrate a sense of responsibility and a call of duty in the case of the hospitalization of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Mikhail Popov said.

"It is clear that the Secretary of Defense is not young and probably not an absolutely healthy person, like many US leaders... But in this case, on the contrary, a sense of responsibility and a call of duty should be demonstrated. We are talking about... a state possessing nuclear weapons and constantly claiming to be a global hegemon," Popov said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia.

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A hardline strategy by the United States after the resolution of the Ukraine conflict could make war with Russia in Europe more likely, the US think tank RAND Corporation said in a report.

“A hardline postwar US strategy in Europe could make conflict with Russia more — not less — likely,” the report stressed on Tuesday.

Hardline policies, such as further military buildup in Europe, are unlikely to be necessary to effectively deter a Russian attack on a NATO country, the corporation emphasized. Such policies could increase the risk of conflict with Russia, the report highlighted.

A “longer, more violent” conflict in Ukraine could have long-term and irreversible negative consequences for US interests, the corporation warned. The US has policy options to encourage Russia and Ukraine to pursue a ceasefire sooner rather than later, the report insisted.

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the Department of Defense said in a statement.

"Following consultation with medical staff, Secretary Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center today at approximately 3:30 pm," the statement said on Tuesday.

The statement said that Secretary Austin is recovering well and has resumed his full functions and duties at 5 pm today day.

"On the advice of his doctors, Secretary Austin will recuperate and perform his duties remotely from home for a period before returning to work at the Pentagon later this week," the statement added.

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“[Ukraine] can literally not afford to lose any more young people because then there will be no one left to have children,” international relations and security analyst Mark Sleboda told Sputnik’s Fault Lines on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, Ukraine has to go forward with the mass connoscription plan if it wants to replace its massive losses, particularly in Avdeyevka, according to the analyst.

“However bad you think [Avdeyevka] is, it’s much worse,” Sleboda emphasized, saying that newly-appointed Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky is repeating Ukraine’s failed strategy in Artemovsk (Bakhmut) and is doubling down on the increasingly encircled city.

Sleboda noted that even without the latest connoscription law being adopted, Ukraine is already forcing men to the front, focusing on small villages in Western Ukraine rather than Kiev and other big cities “to try to limit the potential for political protests,” he explained.

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❗️ An explosion and subsequent fire occurred on the main line of a gas pipeline in the central Iranian city of Borougen, the Iranian news agency Mehr reported, citing the emergency services of the republic.

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Moldova has saved $553 million by buying gas from Russian gas giant Gazprom between November 2021 and November 2022, Vadim Ceban, the head of Moldovan gas company Moldovagaz, said on Tuesday.

The director of Moldovagaz said in January that Gazprom could again become the sole supplier of gas to the republic from May if it offers a favorable price. Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said Moldovan authorities were ready to buy gas from Gazprom if the Russian company offered a better price.

"For all those interested in the details of signing the contract for natural gas supply between Moldovagaz JSC and PJSC Gazprom in October 2021, once again, using figures, I will clearly explain the advantages of this deal. It is not a higher mathematics — you can simply compare the indicators of the exchange price with the price provided by Gazprom. Due to this difference, the savings for the period from November 2021 to November 2022 amounted to $553 million," Ceban said on Telegram.

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An explosion and a subsequent fire occurred at the main line of the Iranian gas pipeline in the city of Borujen, but no casualties were reported, Iranian news agency Mehr reported on Wednesday, citing the country's firefighters.

A loud sound of the explosion and the fire caused by it occurred on the pipeline's Line 65 between Halvai Pass and Boldaji Highway in Borujen, the report said.

The report also quoted Borujen Mayor Fatah Karemi as saying that the fire will continue "until the remaining volume of gas in the pipeline is completely burned out."

The mayor added that the gas supply from Borujen to other regions of Iran was suspended, and rescue and fire brigades were at the site of the fire.

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❗️ The US House of Representatives passed a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his alleged failure to secure the United States’ borders from illegal immigration, making him the second sitting Cabinet secretary ever to be impeached.

House lawmakers passed the resolution to bring articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in a vote of 214-213 on Tuesday, after the effort failed in a vote last week.

The resolution accuses Mayorkas of willful and systemic refusal to comply with and enforce immigration laws.

"If Secretary Mayorkas truly wished to do his duty by the American people, he would start enforcing our laws and demand the Biden Administration take the actions House Republicans have clearly laid out to secure the border in HR 2. As it stands, Secretary Mayorkas has demonstrated no intention to begin complying with our laws and defending our communities," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in a statement on the resolution.

Last week, the effort failed to pass the US House of Representatives, in part because Scalise was absent from the vote, due to receiving treatment for blood cancer. The measure now heads to the Democrat-majority Senate, which will hold an impeachment trial against Mayorkas.

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US President Joe Biden said in a statement that the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is a "baseless" and "blatant act" of unconstitutional partisanship.

"History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games," Biden said on Tuesday. "Sadly, the same Republicans pushing this baseless impeachment are rejecting bipartisan plans Secretary Mayorkas and others in my administration have worked hard on to strengthen border security at this very moment — reversing from years of their own demands to pass stronger border bills. "

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Naval forces of the Ansar Allah movement (the Houthis) have prevented the passage through the Gulf of Aden of all ships that have been heading to Israeli ports recently, the movement's leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said.

"Operations of Yemen's naval forces have resulted in a great victory - a complete halt to the passage of Israeli-affiliated ships to Israeli ports. During these weeks, not a single ship related to the Israeli enemy has been able to pass through the Gulf of Aden. It is a great victory and a real achievement, as well as proof of the effectiveness of Yemen's maritime operations," the leader said in a video message aired by the Al-Masirah broadcaster.

The Houthi movement vowed in November 2023 to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. This led US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to announce the creation of a multinational operation to secure navigation in the Red Sea.

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🇰🇵 North Korea fired several cruise missiles off its east coast toward the Sea of Japan, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The JCS detected an unspecified number of missile launches around 9:00 a.m. local time (00:00 GMT) over waters northeast of the North Korean port city of Wonsan, the report said.

The report quoted the JSC as saying that the South's military "has been closely coordinating with the United States to monitor additional signs of North Korea's provocations" while "strengthening our monitoring and vigilance."

The missile firing marked the fifth cruise missile launch in 2024, the report said.

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Israel is likely to continue its actions in Gaza despite protests from the international community because it is “living in a parallel reality,” where it faces “no repercussions, the bombs keep being delivered, the guns keep being delivered, the aid keeps being [delivered],” journalist and editor of The Cradle Esteban Carillo told Sputnik’s Fault Lines.

“[US Secretary of State] Antony Blinken can travel to Israel, ten, 12, 15 times and he is going to get the same response every time, because everything you hear from the White House is completely toothless,” he said.

Carrillo noted that the IDF has been pushing Gazans further and further south, into a smaller area, and now there is nowhere left to flee.

Israel has said publicly that there are safe areas to flee to, Carrillo challenged them to show one. “I would like to see an Israeli official point to a place in Gaza that is safe for the Palestinians to move to, because there are none,” he asserted.

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“The US imposing [sanctions against Israeli settlers] is in lieu of what it is ought to really be doing, which is [stop] funding to Israel sufficiently so that it hurts and Israel stops raining genocide on Gaza,” Dr. Radhika Desai of the University of Manitoba, told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour, adding that Israel would have to halt its actions “if the US said, 'look, Mr. Netanyahu, either you comply with us, or your funding stops.’”

Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden imposed sanctions on four Israeli settlers. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich blasted the action, calling on Israeli banks to ignore the order. Nevertheless, the Bank of Israel announced that financial institutions in the country have to comply with the sanctions.

However, the US is taking more drastic action because, Desai says, Israel “is a critical part of the infrastructure of US dominance, and that infrastructure has already become so diminished that they can’t afford to lose Israel.”

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