Why is Zelensky pushing for separate security pacts with France and Germany?

Ukraine’s president wants interim support from Kiev’s patrons as his quest to join NATO threatens to drag on into infinity, says Mikael Valtersson, a former Swedish Armed Forces officer and chief of staff of the Sweden Democrats Party, explaining Kiev’s push for bilateral security treaties with European countries.

The pacts are “an easy way out for NATO countries” when it comes to the proxy war quagmire with Russia. “They’ve already promised that they will do a lot for Ukraine in the coming ten years but what’s important for Ukraine is what happens over the next year,” the analyst told Sputnik.

“The European countries – the major powers, and especially Germany and the United Kingdom, have said that they must keep supporting Ukraine even if the US doesn’t continue support. It’s hard to get support from the US right now, and if Trump will become president in the elections, it will become even harder. I believe the US will stop supporting Ukraine. So, the European countries are talking about taking over the US role. It’s very hard. It means a lot of money, and moreover, they can’t replace the United States when it comes to military means because they have no reserves,” Valtersson said.

The bilateral pacts, which are also designed to keep Europe in a state of a permanent “Cold War with Russia,” are inherently unstable given the political weakness of their signatories, who face being thrown out of office in elections, after which the agreements could be nullified, the Swedish observer believes.

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US President Joe Biden said that he has seen no evidence that Russia has decided to move forward with doing anything in space amid reports Russia is considering placing some anti-satellite capability into orbit.

"There is no evidence that they [Russians] have made a decision to go forward with doing anything in space," Biden said.

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🔺Why is Zelensky pushing for separate security pacts with France and Germany?

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Battle for Avdeyevka: The view from Donetsk (Part 1)

Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) writes:

I feel the liberation of Avdeyevka not only in my bones, but in my soul. Not only have I lived in Donetsk under shelling from the Nazi strongpoint of Avdeyevka for almost ten years, but my first military position, back in December 2014, was in Yasynuvata, just across the Donetsk - Gorlovka Highway from Avdeyevka.

In 2016, I was in Avdeyevka, when DPR forces pushed back a Ukrainian advance into what was then the ‘Grey Zone’ residential area of Avdeyevka, on the north side of the highway. Shortly after my visit, the entire residential area of Avdeyevka was razed to the ground by Ukrainian artillery, and until recently, everything north of the highway has been under control of Banderastan. In the summer of 2017, I served on the very front line of the Avdeyevka front. One side of the highway was ours (DPR), the other side belonged to the Ukrainians. I could look through a periscope and see Ukrainian flags flying a few hundred meters away.

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Battle for Avdeyevka: The view from Donetsk (Part 2) by Texas Bentley

"Most of the shelling of Donetsk civilian areas over the last ten years have come from Avdeyevka, including the recent mass murder of 27 civilians at the Tekstilshchik Market, in my neighborhood, less than a month ago. Avdeyevka was known as an ‘impregnable fortress’ of Nazi power, and yet I have lived to see it begin to fall. Many of my friends, both civilian and military, did not. But those of us who lived, swore a solemn oath on their blood that we would see it fall, or die like they did, trying. That's why I say I feel this victory in my soul, because I know my friends feel it in theirs today, even from another world. And today, we kept that promise.

And I feel it in my bones today, too, because today, instead of the steady rumble of Avdeyevka artillery, there was silence. There hasn't been any shelling of Donetsk today, at all. Today, the Nazis who have bombed us for almost a decade from Avdeyevka are too busy running for their lives to target civilians or anyone else. My wife even commented today, ‘It's been really quiet today.’ So far, from experience, we know that every time we have a significant military victory, the Nazis take it out on our civilians. The Nazis have HIMARS, CAESAR and TOCHKA-U, that can target Donetsk from far behind Avdeyevka, and we know what kind of atrocities to expect in the coming days. But we are not going anywhere, we are ready to face whatever comes. We know there will be retribution by the nazis against civilians soon. But we stand fast, civilians and soldiers, ready to move forward, for the future of humanity.”

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Friday that the state will establish a base camp for military personnel at the United States’ border with Mexico near Eagle Pass, in an effort to secure the border from illegal immigration.

"To expand our border security capabilities, we are building a new Texas Military Department base camp that allows the Texas National Guard to increase and to improve operations in this area," Abbott said during a press conference.

Construction of the base camp has already started on an 80-acre area designated for the base camp, Abbott said.

The base camp will be able to house up to 2,300 soldiers, if needed, Abbott added.

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Ukrainian media sources publish footage showing Ukrainian armored vehicles with evidence of damage reportedly leaving Avdeyevka.

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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the situation around Rafah does not require the introduction of any additional measures against Israel that are being demanded by South Africa.

"The Court notes that the most recent developments in the Gaza Strip, and in Rafah ... demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures indicated by the Court in its Order of 26 January 2024, which are applicable throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah, and does not demand the indication of additional provisional measures," the ICJ said.

On February 13, the South African government said that it had made an "urgent request" to the ICJ over Israel's decision to expand its operation in the Gaza Strip to the southern city of Rafah.

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“The Russian flag over a monument to Soviet soldiers. Now that's the news of the day. Thank you, brothers!” Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group wrote on her Telegram channel, commenting on a video purportedly showing Russian soldiers placing a Russian flag on a monument to Soviet soldiers in Avdeyevka.

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Russian Marines of the Pacific Fleet are storming Ukrainian Armed Forces positions near Novomykhailovka.

Marine infantry units have significantly improved their position on the front line and continue to advance. With artillery and assault aviation support, the marines are attacking the enemy from multiple directions simultaneously, systematically breaching their defenses.

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A US judge ruled that former President Donald Trump is liable for more than $354 million in his civil fraud trial in the state of New York, court documents revealed on Friday.

The civil fraud case against Trump was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James for allegedly lying about the value of Trump properties, for which James sought $370 million in fines and to ban Trump from the New York State real estate industry. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Moreover, US Judge Arthur Engoron ordered that defendants Donald Trump, Allen Weisselberg, and Jeffrey McConney are prohibited from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for three years. Engoron also banned Trump and the Trump organization from applying for loans from any New York-chartered financial institution for three years.

Aside from the punishments, Engoron removed the order that Trump's companies must be dissolved.

Trump’s attorney Alina Habba called the ruling a “manifest injustice” and added that, “given the grave stakes” of the case, Trump’s legal team plans to appeal it.

“It is the culmination of a multi-year, politically fueled witch hunt that was designed to 'take down Donald Trump,' before Letitia James ever stepped foot into the [New York State] Attorney General's office," Habba said in a statement to CNN.

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🇺🇸 🇸🇴 US will establish five advanced military bases in Somalia, media reports

The corresponding memorandum of understanding was signed in Mogadishu, as reported by the foreign agency, citing the Ministry of Defense.

These military bases will be utilized by the special forces unit called "Danab," consisting of 3,000 soldiers, who will receive training and instructions from American instructors in their efforts to counter the terrorist group al-Shabaab*.

Al-Shabaab, created in 2004, has about 10,000 militants active in central and southern Somalia.

*al-Shabaab is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries

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❗️ Commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian forces Oleksandr Syrsky announced the decision to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Avdeyevka and switch to defense.

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🇷🇺 Aggressive manifestations of neocolonialism are seen in West's behavior today, says Putin

Colonial policy should have remained a "shameful" page of the past, but the West is still trying to resort to such practices, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, addressing the participants of the international forum "For the Freedom of Nations", which is being held in Moscow.

"Neocolonialism is a shameful legacy of the centuries-long era of plunder and exploitation of the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America, and other regions of the planet. We see its aggressive manifestations today in the attempts of the collective West to maintain its dominance and supremacy by any means, to economically subjugate other countries, to deprive them of their sovereignty, to impose foreign values and cultural traditions," he said in a message read at the event.

👉 Read the full story!

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❗️ Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky announced the decision to withdraw units from the city of Avdeyevka.

“Based on the operational situation around Avdeyevka... I decided to withdraw our units from the city and move to defense,” Syrsky wrote on Facebook*.

Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, citing the commander of Ukrainian Armed Forces group Tavria, Alexander Tarnavsky, reported that Ukrainian troops had already left Avdeyevka.

A senior US defense official said Friday that Ukrainian troops in Avdeyevka are experiencing a critical lack of ammunition that could be a harbinger of the collapse of this defensive line to advancing Russian forces.

Avdeyevka is a northern suburb of the city of Donetsk; it was a powerful fortified area of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

*Facebook belongs to Meta which is banned in Russia as an extremist organization.

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A negotiated settlement to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is both possible and desirable, a report published by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft said.

Former CIA analyst George Beebe and Eurasia expert Anatol Lieven, the authors of the 43-page paper, believe that it is possible to reach a compromise by diplomatic means.

"Conventional wisdom holds that a negotiated end to the Ukraine war is neither possible nor desirable. This belief is false. It is also extremely dangerous for Ukraine’s future," the US think tank highlighted in the report.

The United States and its allies cannot fix Ukraine’s "acute manpower problems" without direct involvement in the conflict, the authors clarified.

"The war is not trending toward a stable stalemate, but toward Ukraine's eventual collapse," the report emphasized.

Russia has withstood sanctions and improved its military, whereas Ukraine has gradually exhausted its forces, according to the authors. There is "little realistic prospect" of future Ukrainian territorial gains, Beebe and Lieven insisted.

Ukraine’s best hope lies in a negotiated settlement that prevents future escalation and bolsters regional and global security, the analysts highlighted.

US public rhetoric should demonstrate openness to peace talks instead of a belief that the conflict ought to continue indefinitely, the analysts stressed.

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

During the last few weeks, Ukrainian forces have been desperately trying to hold their positions in Avdeyevka in the face of advancing Russian troops who now threaten to cut off the Ukrainian garrison. There appears to be a number of reasons why Kiev is so intent on holding Avdeyevka despite the losses incurred in the process, says a veteran Russian academic specializing in military and international affairs, Andrey Koshkin.

🔸Ukrainian troops have been fortifying Avdeyevka ever since they seized control of the city in 2014 at the onset of the Ukrainian conflict, investing considerable resources and efforts into turning this population center into a fortress;

🔸Ukrainian artillery in Avdeyevka can shell residential areas of the nearby Donetsk with relative impunity;

🔸Liberating Avdeyevka will allow Russian forces to push further to the west, driving back the Kiev regime forces and preventing them from launching further attacks against Russian towns and cities.

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❗️ The Russian air defenses shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

No injuries were reported per preliminary information.

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Western media prefers an interview with ‘evil’ Hamas over the Russian president

The double standards of Western mainstream media were on vivid display recently when US television network CBS aired several minutes of footage from an interview with a Hamas recruiter, but nothing from journalist Tucker Carlson’s historic interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The discussion with the representative of Hamas, which is heavily stigmatized and labeled as a “terrorist” group in the West, was conducted by CBS foreign correspondent Debora Patta. In total, more than 12 minutes of television coverage were dedicated to the interview.

Although the network’s coverage was peppered with loaded language and bias against Hamas, at least the network conducted reporting on the group. Meanwhile, CBS, along with other US mainstream news outlets, devoted no coverage at all to Tucker Carlson’s interview with the Russian president despite the discussion racking up over two hundred million views online.

The only reference to the interview at all was offered cryptically during a short discussion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s power struggle with former military chief Valery Zaluzhny. During the coverage, an on-screen chyron briefly noted that President Putin had expressed openness to negotiations on the Donbass conflict – a revelation that emerged from Carlson’s historic sitdown.

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