❗️ Russian air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the city of Voronezh, regional Governor Alexander Gusev said.

"The air defense systems on duty located and shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle of airplane type over the city of Voronezh. According to preliminary information, there are no injuries," Gusev wrote on his Telegram channel.

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“That's why all the foes are floundering. God give all OUR people strength!” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel, reposting the Russian Defense Ministry's message about Shoigu's report to President Putin on the liberation of Avdeyevka.

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❗️ The order of Commander-in-Chief Syrsky on the abandonment of Avdeyevka was issued only 24 hours after the uncontrolled flight of Ukrainian troops began, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

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💸 Cryptos allow "transactions without discrimination," Cameroonian economist tells Sputnik

🔸"Transactions in the Bretton Woods system, particularly with SWIFT, leave traces that the United States and its allies control. We can avoid using SWIFT by replacing it with blockchain technology for digital currency transactions," Jean René Ndouma explained.

🔸Digital currencies allow new modes of financing, via the tokenization of raw materials.

🔸By using cryptos instead of dollars, African countries can pursue a more sovereign policy and avoid being "divested of their reserves."

Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar recently said that his country supports the Russian idea of payments in digital currencies, which can benefit Africa.

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Ukraine adopts a tactic used by the German Nazis in WWII, an American news agency says.

US outlet Business Insider published a unique Western media analysis, comparing the battle strategies of the Kiev regime and German Nazis and noting the Ukrainian armed forces are “shifting to a defensive strategy that failed Nazi Germany'' in World War II. Moreover, Kiev’s strategy is likely to fail for much the same reason the Nazis’ did, retired US Army colonel Douglas Nash believes.

The tactic of “active defense” was developed by Nazi Field Marshal Erich von Manstein late in World War II to account for shortages in soldiers and equipment as the Soviet Red Army went on the offensive after repelling German troops in Stalingrad.

Unlike the German army under Manstein’s command, the Ukrainian “squads, platoons, companies and battalions” amassed for the regime’s “mobile defense” operations have been far too small to succeed, Nash claims.

Once again Russia’s thoughtful strategy is playing a key role in its favor, with Moscow’s troops able to outperform their opponent even after two years of fighting.

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Support for Israel has poisoned allies’ attitudes toward US for 'generation', State Department fears

Diplomatic cables being sent to Washington from Middle Eastern countries are warning that the Biden administration’s firm support for Israel amid its military operations in Gaza will have long-reaching consequences.

A cable from the US diplomatic mission in Morocco, for example, indicated that pro-US “collaborators” in the Northwest African country felt that ties with the US were now “toxic” thanks to the “blank check” Biden gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Criticism of the US position has proven unshakable despite significant adjustments to US messaging to highlight the need to protect civilian lives,” the cable, marked ‘sensitive’, warned, complaining that US messaging about sending “aid into Gaza or diplomatic pressure for Israel to avoid civilian casualties” were falling on deaf ears in the Moroccan press.

The Embassy’s social media accounts have been targeted by “waves of unfollows or negative and abusive comments,” according to the cable. US intelligence agencies reportedly believe the negativity will blow over in the long term, while State Department officials fear it could take up to a “generation” to reestablish frayed ties.

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Germany will have to cut social spending to realize its 'grand military ambitions,' the Financial Times reports.

Germany will spend nearly 72 billion euros on defense this year, more than at any time in the Bundeswehr's history, the news agency says.

Some 52 billion euros will come from the regular budget and 19.8 billion euros from an investment fund, according to the paper.

A new fund of 100 billion euros has also been created, financed by the Bundeswehr's debt, and Berlin wants to reach a defense spending target of 2 percent of GDP in the medium term, the report says.

“But concern is growing about what will happen after 2027, when the fund has dried up. Experts believe the country will then have to stump up an additional €25-30 billion a year out of the general budget to meet the 2 per cent goal — an eye-watering sum that could require swingeing cuts in welfare spending if the country is to balance the books,” the FT highlights.

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💥Russian paratroopers used the 122mm D-30 howitzer to eliminate a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry on the right bank of the Dnepr River in the Kherson region.

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Four anti-ship missiles were fired from areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen, with at least three of them targeting Danish merchant ship MT Pollux in the Red Sea, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

"Four anti-ship ballistic missiles launched from Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea. It is assessed that at least three of the missiles were launched towards commercial vessel MT Pollux, a Panamanian-flagged, Denmark-owned, Panamanian-registered vessel. There were no reported injuries or damage from MT Pollux or any other ship in the area," the command said in a statement.

At the same time, US forces launched on Friday self-defense strikes against one anti-ship cruise missile and one mobile unmanned surface vessel (USV) in Yemeni waters, the statement added.

"CENTCOM identified the mobile missile and USV in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined it presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," the statement read.

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Western sanctions on Russia have driven energy costs sky high throughout Europe. Now some analysts say the coercive policy is harming American consumers too. “If there are more gas consumers and higher demand, that translates to higher prices,” noted Benjamin Leibowicz, a professor of energy policy at the University of Texas.

Former President Barack Obama made significant efforts to increase domestic US fuel production and exports. Now US energy producers are selling liquefied natural gas on the global market to fill the shortfall caused by sanctions on Russia. The arrangement boosts the profits of fossil fuel companies but drives up costs for Americans because producers are able to raise prices to satisfy demand in Europe and Asia, where energy costs are traditionally higher.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of winter here – peak demand, inventories are low, prices are high – [foreign] countries will buy it away, drive up [the] price of gas and electricity,” said Paul Cicio of the Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA), which lobbies for cheap fuel prices for US industry.

A change in policy would require the United States to back down from the sanctions, and the demonization of Russia that fuels them.

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Controversial New York Governor Kathy Hochul was forced to apologize after comments she made defending Israel’s destruction of Gaza in front of a group of wealthy donors.

“If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo [New York], I'm sorry my friends, there would be no Canada the next day,” Hochul said during a speech that was widely considered insensitive to Arab American communities.

Nearly 29,000 people have been killed in Israel’s military operation in Gaza, with around 70% of the dead estimated to be women and children. Relief organizations warn the besieged enclave faces mass famine as Israel prevents aid from entering the territory.

“While I have been clear in my support of Israel's right to self-defense [sic], I have also repeatedly said and continue to believe that Palestinian civilian casualties should be avoided and that more humanitarian aid must go to the people of Gaza,” read Hochul’s statement on Friday.

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❗️British advisers to Kiev are guilty of the deaths of Ukrainian prisoners of war and the crew of the Il-76 that was shot down near Belgorod on January 24, a source familiar with the situation told Sputnik.

According to them, the attack on board was carried out under pressure from British advisers without coordination with the air defense headquarters in Kiev and additional rechecking of information on aircraft movement over the Belgorod region.

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▪️ Russian troops liberated the city of Avdeyevka, Shoigu reports to Putin, Russian president congratulated the troops

▪️ Watch the Russian flag replaced the Ukrainian rag on the building of the administration of liberated Avdeyevka

▪️ The Houthis launched three anti-ship missiles targeting Danish merchant ship, the US Central Command said

▪️ Several mass rallies in support of hostages held by Hamas took place on Saturday night in Tel Aviv

▪️ Germany will have to cut social spending to realize its 'grand military ambitions,' the Financial Times reports

▪️ Elon Musk agrees the US is lying about Ukraine's position in the Donbass conflict

More stories:

▪️ Ukraine adopts a tactic used by the German Nazis in WWII, an American news agency says

▪️ The US sanctions on Russia has driven up energy prices in Europe, have now been harming American consumers too

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❗️Everything happening in Ukraine is existential for Russia, a matter of life and death, Putin said.

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What is known about the liberation of Avdeyevka by Russian forces?

On February 17, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Putin about the complete liberation of Avdeyevka from Ukrainian nationalists.

Here is a look at how events unfolded:

🔻During the last few weeks, Ukrainian nationalists have been desperately trying to hold their positions in the face of advancing Russian troops. Kiev’s forces, which had been fortifying Avdeyevka since they seized control of it in 2014, had been the city to shell residential areas of the nearby Donetsk.

🔻Despite attempts by Kiev’s new Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky to try and rally his troops, Ukrainian units were reported to flee from the beleaguered city.

🔻The US admitted that the situation in Avdeyevka was critical. John Kirby said the city might come under control of Russia due to the Ukrainian forces' "lack of ammunition."

🔻Ukrainian command confirmed that troops were being withdrawn from the Zenit fortified area in southern Avdeyevka on February 16.

🔻Syrsky announced the decision to withdraw units from Avdeyevka “based on the operational situation” on February 17.

🔻The Russian MoD announced the complete taking of Avdeyevka noting that an area of 31.75 square kilometers has been liberated. It helped to move the front line away from Donetsk to protect it from attacks.

🔻The order of Syrsky on the abandonment of Avdeyevka was issued only 24 hours after the uncontrolled flight of Ukrainian troops began, the Russian MoD added. Only few Ukrainian militants managed to leave Avdeyevka in a hurry, abandoning weapons and equipment.

🔻Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Russian military on its success in Avdeyevka, Kremlin announced.

🔻Kiev decided to withdraw troops from Avdeyevka not to "save lives," as Volodymyr Zelensky earlier claimed, but because it can only fight for money, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel.

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Dmitry Kiselev, director general of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, has sent a request for an interview with Biden in order to continue the dialogue between Russia and the United States after Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson.

"We believe that our countries are now short of opportunities to listen to and hear each other and think that Russian President Vladimir Putin has set a worthy example by agreeing to an interview focused on an American audience," the letter says.

The request has been sent to the White House in Washington, Kiselev said.

If Biden agrees, the interview is planned to be translated into foreign languages and distributed on the media group's platforms around the world.

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