▪️ 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🔻Ukrainian command confirmed that troops were being withdrawn from the Zenit fortified area in southern Avdeyevka on February 16.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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'Russophobic US elite' sought to weaken Russia with Euromaidan, 'but failed' - Ex-MEP

The hypocritical EU undermined its own authority when it went along with a plan concocted by part of the “openly Russophobic” US elite to use the Euromaidan coup in Kiev to “weaken” or even “fragmentize” Russia, ex-MEP from Spain Javier Couso told Sputnik.

It is obvious that the West’s plan “was a complete failure,” the pundit saud. "The EU is a vassal of the United States... Just like NATO, which has subordinated our [Europe’s] military capabilities to Washington, the EU is under the geopolitical leadership of the US, or, as some historians and analysts believe, is a successful project of the United States," Couso underscored.

"In reality, countries that are members of the EU have lost monetary, macroeconomic, and defense sovereignty, [...] strictly following the foreign relations policies and instructions coming from Washington. The population of the EU is daily forced to pay out of their own pockets for the geopolitical mistakes of their leaders who shot themselves in the foot by continuing unlimited support for a failing Ukraine," said Couso.

"I imagine that there will be a lot of turmoil in the future not only for the EU, but also for NATO, because this war will end… And as all analysts say, Russia will win... In other words, they will not achieve what they set out to achieve," Javier Couso summed up.

👉 Follow the link for more details

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❗️The operation to liberate Avdeyevka was completed by 4 am Moscow time (1 am GMT) on February 17, Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defense minister, and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, reported. Putin heard a report that the operation was actually completed at 11 am (8 am GMT), Dmitry Peskov said, speaking about Putin's work while the Russian Armed Forces were liberating Avdeyevka

Other statements by the Kremlin spokesman:

▪️At 11 am on February 17, Ukrainian forces began to flee, abandoning their positions

▪️It took the Russian military several hours to begin the cleanup of the city

▪️In the afternoon, Putin was informed that the operation had been fully completed and that Russian troops had completely taken control of Avdeyevka

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❗️Key points from Putin on gas supplies to Europe in interview with journalist Zarubin:

🔻Today's policy of the German authorities is causing colossal damage to the future economy of the FRG.

🔻European countries hoped that if they did not take Russian gas, Russia would collapse, but irreversible processes are beginning to occur for them.

🔻Russia does not refuse energy resources to anyone, and the Turks have proven to be the most reliable partners.

🔻Let European countries decide for themselves whether to take Russian gas or not; Russia will manage without them.

🔻Russia copes after Europe stopped taking Russian gas, using other routes, and working on its own gasification.

🔻Ukraine receives money for gas transit; they say that Russia is the aggressor, but they still collect the money.

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Putin is receiving real-time reports from Shoigu and Gerasimov on the development of the offensive in the Avdeyevka area, Dmitry Peskov said.

"At the moment, the minister of defense and the chief of the General Staff are reporting to the president that our units are developing an offensive, preventing the enemy from gaining a foothold on new frontiers," Kremlin spokesperson said.

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❗️The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 1,500 servicemen in the defense of Avdeyevka.

🇷🇺🪖 Other statements from the Russian Defense Ministry briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️In the southern DPR, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 190 soldiers;

▪️Near Krasny Liman, Ukrainian troops lost up to 100 servicemen;

▪️In the Kherson region, Russian troops took more advantageous positions and defeated Ukrainian forces in four districts;

▪️In the Kupyansk area, Ukrainian losses amounted to 40 soldiers;

▪️ Russian air defenses destroyed 105 Ukrainian drones.

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The Russian Ministry of Defense has released footage depicting the disorderly retreat of Ukrainian Armed Forces units from Avdeyevka.

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Ukrainian militants at the Avdeyevka coke plant are not offering much resistance, Igor Kimakovsky, adviser to the head of the DPR, said.

According to him, the Ukrainian soldiers prefer to surrender and leave the factory alive.

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Surrogat-V: What’s known about Russia’s secret, stealthy super-heavy sub imitator

🔺The Surrogat-V is the Rubin Design Bureau’s latest multi-purpose autonomous underwater drone design, with the system envisioned as a wingman for manned submarines.

🔺The drone sub’s capabilities include searching for naval mines, conducting reconnaissance in ice-covered waters, and doing other missions which are dangerous or time-consuming for manned boats, like terrain mapping. One of its crucial functions is the imitation of noises generated by manned nuclear and diesel-electric subs to take enemy subs and warships off the scent of manned Russian submarines.

🔺The underwater vehicle is expected to displace a whopping 40 tons, with a 17-meter length and a cruising range up to 800 miles at speeds of 5 knots (accelerating to up to 24 knots for short bursts).

🔺The vessel will be powered by lithium ion batteries, but an electrochemical power plant is also said to be in the works.

🔺Rubin is one of the top submarine developers in the world, creating many of Russia’s most iconic submarines, submersibles and unmanned underwater drones and robotic equipment.

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American freedom unshackled everything that was taboo in humanity, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented after the march of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe in Nashville.

"They staged their demonstration right outside the administrative buildings, and then marched through the central streets of the capital of Tennessee. They had ‘2218’ written on their backs — apparently the alphanumeric code of the neo-Nazi chant 'Bring back Adolf Hitler,'" Zakharova wrote in her Telegram channel.

The spokeswoman was outraged by the behavior of the US, which every year votes against the United Nations resolution on "combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to the escalation of modern forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" on the pretext that it is a "violation of freedom of speech and assembly."

"But resistance to this evil [neo-Nazism] is punishable, according to American freedom, as a violation of it," she added.

While Russia is fighting neo-Nazism in Ukraine, the West demolishes monuments to WWII heroes and applaud a Nazi collaborator in the Canadian parliament. "After all, this is exactly what all NATO bosses, led by the United States, do."

Coverage of the deaths of American journalist Gonzalo Lira and Alexey Navalny in leading American and British media, number of publications according to Sputnik calculations.

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It turned out who Kuleba was imitating when he was smoking a cigar.

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