▪️Why is the Ukrainian stronghold of Avdeyevka in Donbass so important?

▪️Who wants to be the next NATO boss?

▪️Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused the previous government of illegally using Pegasus spyware against citizens

▪️Turkish President Recep Erdogan arrived in Egypt for the first time in 12 years and was met by President al-Sisi.

▪️How does Russia protect its border with Finland after Helsinki’s NATO entry?

▪️EU could use a European army to subjugate dissent member states

▪️International Forum of Supporters of the Fight Against Modern Neocolonial Practices at risk because of the West

▪️Sky News acknowledges the truth about the Ukrainian crisis

▪️The US and NATO have brought Europe under their yoke

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US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who previously supported Ukraine, shifted his stance after consulting with former President Trump, voting against $60bln in aid for Kiev regime, The Washington Post reports. Graham cited Trump's opposition to the aid package, advocating for loans instead of grants for Ukraine.

According to a publication, Graham's changes in behavior have given rise to rumors that he may seek a post in the Trump administration if he is re-elected. Other rumors link them to sentiments in the Republican Party regarding Ukraine.

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❗️ Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to negative assessments of his interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, saying, "it is good that the West is watching and listening to what I have to say."

▪️ The president added that he regrets Russia did not start active operations in Ukraine earlier.

▪️ He further acknowledged that it's not possible to have direct dialogue with the West at present, noting that Moscow is grateful to Carlson for mediation.

▪️ Russia is trying to end the war, the president stressed, adding that Moscow initially wanted to resolve the conflict through peaceful means.

Off the record Putin and Carlson discussed the demonization of Russia in the West, the president revealed.

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The United States imposed new sanctions on three individuals and four entities for alleged involvement in an Iranian procurement network tied to the country’s central bank, the US Treasury Department said.

"Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a procurement network responsible for facilitating the illegal export of goods and technology from over two dozen US companies to end-users in Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which is designated for its role in providing financial support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and Hezbollah," the department said in a statement.

The network allegedly procured US technology for use by CBI, including information security items, the Treasury claimed.

CBI has played a "critical role" in providing financial support to the IRGC-QF and Hezbollah, the statement added.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Tucker Carlson for his good work. Here are the president’s key points:

▪️ According to Putin, US journalist Tucker Carlson is a "dangerous man" because he chose an unexpected tactic for the interview.

"I think that Carlson... is a dangerous man... Because, to be honest, I thought that he would behave aggressively and ask these so-called pressing questions. And I was not just ready for it — I wanted it. Because it would give me the opportunity to respond just as sharply, which, in my opinion, would give a certain specificity to our entire conversation," Putin told Rossiya 1 reporter Pavel Zarubin.

▪️ Carlson chose a different tactic, and was surprisingly rather patient for a Western journalist, Putin said.

▪️ Regarding the threat of Carlson's arrest after his visit to Russia, the president stressed that it would show the true face of the modern liberal and democratic dictatorship in the United States.

“But from the point of view of making people all over the world understand what a modern liberal-democratic, in quotes, dictatorship, which is allegedly represented in today’s ruling class of the United States, is, this would be nice. Thus, they would show their true face,” Putin clarified.

The president highlighted that everything is possible these days in the United States.

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Hotter-then-expected inflation shows Bidenomics isn't working

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) – a popular gauge for inflation – indicated persistent price increases in key areas of the US economy.

While overall CPI amounted to 3.1% in January – a downward trend from the 3.4% rise in December – so-called core inflation (which excludes food and energy prices) rose 3.9%, the same as in December. The index's monthly increase of 0.4% was "the biggest since last spring," according to Axios.

This also means that markets shouldn't expect early interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. As a result, yields on government bonds have risen while stocks went down. On the other hand, the newly released indicators have called into question the belief that the US economy will receive a "soft landing."

Biden's back-patting for nearly defeating inflation in 2023 seems to have worn thin. It's appears unlikely that Team Biden will be able to successfully play a "disinflation" card ahead of November 5, 2024. The US mainstream press suggests that the CPI report may provide "more fodder" for Republicans who argue that Democrats are out of touch when it comes to soaring prices.

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❗️ Russian President Vladimir Putin answered the question of who is better for Russia - Biden or Trump:

“[US President Joe] Biden, he is more experienced and predictable. But Russia will work with any US leader.”

Putin says he has no right to comment on Biden's health, admitting he is "not a doctor.”

"When I met with Biden in Switzerland, it was really a few years ago, three years, and then there was already talk about him being incapacitated. I have not seen anything like that," he told journalist Pavel Zarubin, in a video posted on the Kremlin's Telegram channel.

Describing former US President Donald Trump, Putin said that Trump has his own view on how American relations with allies should develop.

"Trump, on the other hand, has been called a non-systemic politician all along. He has his own view on the topic of how the US should develop relations with its allies," Putin told Rossiya 1, when asked to comment on Trump's relations with European leaders.

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❗️ In an interview with Rossiya 1 reporter Pavel Zarubin, Russian President Vladimir Putin also made statements regarding US allies:

▪️ The US, EU must deal with defense spending or payment for NATO's “nuclear umbrella” themselves, as Trump proposes.

▪️ Germany's foreign minister grown hostile towards Russia, but has also become hostile towards her own country and neglects the nation's economic interests, the president stressed.

▪️ The position of the US administration today is extremely harmful and simply wrong, the president emphasized.

▪️ NATO is a tool of US foreign policy, and if Washington believes it is redundant, this is their decision, Putin clarified.

"I think that NATO is no longer necessary at all, there is no point. It only has one meaning — it is an instrument of US foreign policy. But if the United States believes that it does not need this tool, this is their decision," the president stressed.

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In an interview with Rossiya 1 reporter Pavel Zarubin, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's trip to Kiev in 2022 to derail peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine was at the expense of the United States.

"Former Prime Minister Mr. Johnson could not have traveled [to Ukraine] on his own personal initiative without consulting Washington on the matter. Probably, not only were there such consultations, but I think he simply went on the business trip at the expense of the US administration. They paid him travel expenses for this," Putin highlighted.

In November 2023, David Arakhamia, the head of Ukraine's ruling Servant of the People party's faction in parliament and the former chief negotiator with Russia, said former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked Kiev out of signing an agreement with Moscow to end the conflict in the spring of 2022.

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Why the US' $60 billion won’t save Zelensky

The decision by the US Senate to approve $60 billion in funding to Ukraine was a mistake based on a myth, several Western experts agree. It is simply wrong to say that more US military assistance would become a game changer.

🔻American public policy analyst Jeffrey D. Sachs thinks that the American funding package will not save Ukraine. “Ukraine’s security can only be achieved at the negotiating table, not by some fantasized military triumph over Russia.” “The $60-61 billion will make no difference on the battlefield except to prolong the war, the tens of thousands of deaths.”

🔻Another expert, Mark Episkopos from the Quincy Institute’s Eurasia Program, stressed that the Russian Army has “adapted to all Western weapons” and “can preemptively draw up countermeasures against such weapons.”

🔻Meanwhile, Andrei Nekrasov, an independent Russian analyst writing for the German online magazine Overton, disputed the claim of some Western analysts about the “superior motivation” of Ukrainian soldiers. Nekrasov proves his case that Russian soldiers also have a very strong motivation, especially after Kiev’s recent strikes by Western weapons against Crimea and other Russian regions.

The Western media is trying to pass these facts and assessments off with silence, pushing for more funding with the “name and shame” strategy against those Republican lawmakers who oppose the next huge bailout for Ukraine.

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“David Cameron can "kiss my a**": Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) blasted the UK's "immature" foreign secretary for comparing Republicans who oppose aid to Ukraine to "weak" politicians who appeased Nazi leader Adolph Hitler in the 1930s.

Green added that "Cameron should be concerned about the Nazis in Ukraine’s army, the Azov Battalion," in a post on the X platform.

“We’re all sick of the absurd name calling, it isn’t going to bully me into funding the war in Ukraine,” the representative proclaimed.

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❗️ A fire broke out at an oil depot in Russia's Kursk region after a Ukrainian drone strike, but there were no casualties reported so far, Governor Roman Starovoit said early on Thursday.

"A fire broke out at an oil depot in the Kursk region as a result of a Ukrainian UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] attack. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties. All special services are currently working at the scene. I ask you to remain calm," Starovoit said on Telegram.

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Check out #AfroVerdict's latest podcast that explores the West's attempted strike at Russia's diamond supply and the unforeseen consequences for Africa.

https://news.1rj.ru/str/sputnik_africa/13587

With the Kiev regime in crisis, even foreign policy hawk Lindsey Graham seems to have come around on the wisdom of Ukraine funding with the South Carolina senator voting against a compromise foreign aid package this week.

“I talked to President [Donald] Trump today and he’s dead set against this package,” Graham Sunday, demonstrating the collapse of GOP political support for funding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proxy war against Russia.

But with the Kiev regime consumed by both political instability and failure on the battlefield, Graham may understand that Ukraine faces imminent collapse, recognizing an opportunity to force US President Joe Biden to “own” the situation as he runs for reelection.

The Washington Post’s displeasure over Senator Graham’s political change of heart is not surprising, given the outlet’s owner Jeff Bezos is one of the US Central Intelligence Agency’s largest contractors. But with even Graham apparently recognizing that Russia’s complete victory is only a matter of time, Langley may face few options beyond scolding lawmakers through its media mouthpieces.

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Israel has decided against sending a delegation to Cairo, Egypt to continue discussing a ceasefire deal with Hamas, more than four months into its campaign against the group in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Hamas’ proposal “delusional” again, echoing comments he made last week. “The day after is the day after Hamas. All of Hamas,” he said at a press conference last week. “Continued military pressure is a necessary condition for the release of the hostages.”

The Israeli delegation returned from Cairo on Tuesday, and there are no plans for them to return to resume talks.

Hamas’ offer would have seen the return of all women, children, sick and elderly Israeli hostages in exchange for women and children held by Israel during the first stage of the ceasefire. A second phase would include an exchange of the remaining hostages and a negotiated peace plan.

The Israeli hostage families forum, a group dedicated to advocating for the return of Israelis held by Hamas, decried the decision by Netanyahu’s government to pull out of the Cairo talks, calling it a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages.

“It appears that some members of the cabinet decided to sacrifice the lives of the hostages [while] admitting it,” the group said in a statement. It promised to hold a barricade outside the Kirtya Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv.

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At least 41 of the UK Labour Party’s 197 sitting MPs have accepted money from pro-Israeli lobbying groups and individuals, a report from Declassified UK has revealed.

More than £280,000 have been spent by the groups, paying for more than 50 visits to Israel by Labour MPs since 1999, the report stated. It also noted that an additional £210,000 has been spent by individual pro-Israel lobbyists.

The funders include the Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) and its primary benefactor, Trevor Chinn, a multi-millionaire business tycoon who has long been a supporter of Israel and pro-Israeli groups in the UK.

The Labour Friends of Israel describes itself as a “Westminster based lobby group working with the British Labour Party to promote the State of Israel,” and currently counts 75 Labour MPs as supporters or officers a number that has increased even as Israel’s campaign in Gaza has intensified and that the International Court of Justice described as a “plausible” genocide in its preliminary hearing.

The Labour Party in the UK has not called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the UK has been one of Israel’s staunchest supporters, arguably behind only the United States.

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Tucker Carlson ‘shocked’ by Moscow Metro

“It’s perfectly clean and orderly. And how do you explain that? […] How does Russia, a country we were told is a gas station with nuclear weapons, have a subway station that normal people use to get to work and home every single day that’s nicer than anything in our country?” asked the stunned journalist.

Carlson accompanied the video with music from Alexander Glazunov's ballet Raymonda in a post on the X social media platform.

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North Korea test-fired the new-type surface-to-sea missile Padasuri-6, which will be equipped by the country's navy, North Korean state-run news agency KCNA reported.

"Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, supervised the evaluation test-fire of new-type surface-to-sea missile Padasuri-6 to be equipped by the navy on the morning of February 14," the report said.

The missiles flew over the Sea of Japan for 1,400 seconds and hit a target boat, the report said. the North Korean leader expressed "great satisfaction over the results" of the missile launch and "gave important instructions to bolster up military preparedness particularly in the border waters north of Yonphyong Island and Paekryong Island."

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday that North Korea fired several unspecified cruise missiles off its east coast toward the Sea of Japan in the morning.

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