A CNN report dating back to 2014 went viral on X, shedding light on the suffering of Donetsk civilians at the hands of Ukraine's forces
The report accused then-president Petro Poroshenko of killing his own people in the region. It featured footage of civilians caught in the crossfire between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian troops.
One Donetsk resident, Alexander Omelyavenko, shared his sentiment, saying, “We are Ukrainian but they kill us, so we probably need our own country. Because these people in Kiev, they are not brothers for us.”

After the onset of the special military operation in Ukraine, CNN referred to it as "Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine".

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Special Operations Forces: Meet Russia’s Elite Commandos

Tuesday is the professional holiday of Russia’s Special Operations Forces (SOF), the high-readiness, high-mobility, specially trained and equipped troops reporting to the chief of the Armed Forces General Staff and tasked with carrying out the most complex and difficult missions and covert operations.

The SOF’s mission and capabilities include:

▪️ Reconnaissance and sabotage, including collection of information and the destruction of important enemy targets behind the lines.

▪️ Counter-terrorism, including preventing and suppressing acts of terror, freeing hostages, and conducting covert missions to eliminate terrorist leaders and groups.

▪️ Ensuring the safety of individuals, facilities and locations in difficult conditions – like providing security at the Olympics in Sochi, or ensuring President Putin’s security during his visit to Khmeimim Air Base in late 2017.

▪️ Special operations at sea and in the air, from the seizure or release of ships, to anti-piracy and smuggling missions.

SOF troops played a decisive role in the operation to secure Crimea in 2014 in the aftermath of the Euromaidan coup in Kiev amid the imminent threat of Maidan thugs descending on the peninsula to crush a pro-Russian uprising. Their surprise appearance on the peninsula, lack of identifying markings, and courteousness toward the local population gave rise to their popular nicknames ‘polite people’ and ‘little green men’.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Zelensky must prove his legitimacy as president before May 20

The Office of the Ukrainian President has prepared the text of an appeal to the Constitutional Court (CC) of Ukraine regarding the legitimacy of Vladimir Zelensky’s tenure as head of state after the expiration of his powers on May 20, the local publication “Mirror of the Week” reports, citing sources in the Zelensky administration.

It is noted that they want to pose several questions to the judges. In particular, despite the fact that, according to the constitution, voting cannot be organized during martial law, the office plans to clarify whether the basic law allows for presidential elections to be held under these conditions.

The second question concerns the legitimacy of the powers of the president after the expiration of his five-year term in office. The publication writes that, according to the plan of the leadership of the presidential office, deputies from the pro-presidential Servant of the People party will make an appeal to the Constitutional Court. But the appeal has not yet been transmitted to parliamentarians.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

French civil servants secretly confer with Le Pen, undercutting Macron's grip on power - report

Meetings between French civil servants and the leader of the right-wing National Rally parliamentary group Marine Le Pen signal diminishing influence of President Emmanuel Macron, as strategists craft blueprints for Le Pen's potential ascent to power, The Economist reports.

The National Rally is cultivating ties with Parisian elites, strategically positioning itself as a viable alternative to Macron's administration. With the recruitment of top civil servants and figures like Fabrice Leggeri, Le Pen's party is set to pose a formidable challenge in the upcoming elections, the report says.

As Macron grapples with mounting criticism and policy setbacks, the National Rally is undergoing internal reforms, shedding its once controversial image and focusing on core national interests, the report concluded.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Are NATO soldiers already fighting in Ukraine?

Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) explains that “professional killers” from NATO militaries have been operating in Ukraine since 2015, often under the guise of mercenaries.

“These are the guys that run the complex equipment. Ukrainian soldiers aren't the ones shooting the HIMARS. Ukrainian pilots won't be the ones flying F-16s here. So, the professionals have always been here, but they've kept a low profile.”

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Macron’s ‘pseudo-martial’ remarks show his ‘megalomania got the better of reason’

Emmanuel Macron’s belligerent statement about the possible dispatch of NATO soldiers to Ukraine is mostly posturing – but it could easily take Europe down a slippery slope, becoming a “de facto declaration of war,” Mikael Valtersson, a former defense politician and chief of staff with the Sweden Democrats, told Sputnik.

He suggested that the French president was using “the paralysis within the US political system about support for Ukraine” to try to replace Washington as the leading pro-Kiev power.

“NATO is partially incapacitated, especially in regards to Ukraine… The second tier nations now try to fill the empty space created,” Valtersson said. “Even if this suggestion probably is posturing, it opens up a door to talk about direct Western military involvement in Ukraine.”

According to the ex-officer, “a full-scale military conflict between Russia and several European countries” could be the end result of the French president’s escapade.

Macron must be aware that it is “game over” for Ukraine, ex-Colonel of the French Special Forces Task Group under NATO command in Kosovo Jacques Hogard added.

Macron may be under the delusion that he is “showing off his muscles,” but “they are those of a paper puppet,” Hogard added, stressing that the French president’s “megalomania” seems to be getting the better of reason.

“We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is indispensable to security and stability in Europe,” Macron told reporters after Paris hosted a meeting of some 20 European leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine on Tuesday.

However, France failed to get any viable support, turning the “demonstration of European unity” into proof of Europe’s deep disillusionment in Ukraine.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Special forces officer: If Russians hadn’t intervened in 2014, Crimea would’ve been in total shambles

Nikolai Brovchenko is the deputy commander of the special forces battalion. He took part in the operation to defend Crimea and later volunteered for the Donetsk People's Republic militia. Ten years ago, at the end of February 2014, he came to Crimea in order to protect people from Ukrainian neo-Nazis.

"My former colleagues and I put together a group and went to Sevastopol. I had to work at Chongar, together with Berkut, to organize a defense line there. And when our regular troops arrived, we gave up these positions, left for Sevastopol itself, and carried out work in Sevastopol, Simferopol, and Feodosia," he revealed in an interview with Sputnik.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Battle of Donbass: Where will the next big showdown take place?

Following the fall of Avdeyevka, Russian forces have begun moving ahead towards the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk defensive line, the last major Ukrainian fortification in the Donbass. Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) breaks it down.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Retreating Ukrainians try (and fail) to halt Russia's advance with bungled chemical weapons terror plot

Ukrainian saboteurs plotted a terrorist attack in Russia's Zaporozhye region using an analog of a US-made BZ (3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate) chemical warfare agent, the Russian Federal Security Service revealed. This would-be act of terrorism was foiled and three Ukrainian suspects behind the plot are now in custody.

"The chemical warfare agent has been used by the US since the late 1950s," Igor Nikulin, military expert, former member of the UN Commission on Chemical and Biological Weapons, told Sputnik.

"BZ is considered a non-lethal weapon, but it incapacitates a person for quite a long time. Even if one gets just one milligram of the substance, that person becomes incapacitated for 70-80 hours."

Despite being considered a non-lethal weapon, BZ can lead to paralysis of the heart muscle and death if used in large doses, Nikulin cautioned.

The expert noted that BZ was developed by the US military at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. Though it was claimed the United States had destroyed its chemical weapon stockpiles, no one can be sure, the expert emphasized. Unlike Russia, the US did not allow OPCW inspectors into their facilities. To date there has been no independent confirmation that the United States has eliminated its chemical arms, Nikulin stressed.

The expert presumed that the US supplied the BZ-like substance directly to Ukraine in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention: "The Ukrainian military is losing on the battlefield and are trying to stop the Russian offensive with acts of [chemical] sabotage."

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️The United States will not send military personnel to Ukraine to participate in hostilities there, White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said following Macron’s statement about the West discussing sending troops.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔺Western leaders get cold feet over Macron’s idea to send NATO troops to Ukraine

🔺Special forces officer: If Russians hadn’t intervened in 2014, Crimea would’ve been in total shambles

🔺Are NATO soldiers already fighting in Ukraine?

🔺Battle of Donbass: Where will the next big showdown take place?

🔺Special Operations Forces: Who are Russia’s Elite Commandos?

🔺What are French Mirage 2000 jets Ukraine once refused but is now begging for?

🔺Is Communism making a comeback in the West?

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The US Army is reducing its strength by about 24 thousand people (almost 5%) as part of the restructuring

As ABC News says, citing a report from the armed forces, this will help to participate more effectively in future wars.

According to the document, most of the job cuts are related to countering insurgency abroad. A reduction of about 3 thousand will be made to the Army Special Operations Forces. Now these places are empty, which emphasizes serious problems with recruitment into the US Army, the channel notes.

Instead, it will add air defense and counter-drone units, as well as five new task forces around the world with expanded reconnaissance and long-range strike capabilities.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US President Joe Biden requires legal authority from Congress to confiscate Russian assets, which he currently lacks, White House National Security Communications adviser John Kirby said.

"I want to make a couple of things clear. Number one, we still need more legislative authorities from Congress for the President to be able to act on that [unlocking assets]," Kirby said during a press briefing.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier in the day that the Group of Seven countries should work together to explore different approaches to utilizing frozen Russian assets, including seizing and using them as collateral to borrow on global markets.

Russia said it would view any move to seize or use its frozen assets as an "escalation of economic aggression" and would respond harshly.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

NATO’s Steadfast Defender exercises: A precursor to war?

Sputnik’s Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) warns that recent Western rhetoric about sending troops to Ukraine is not necessarily a bluff. He notes that NATO has gathering 90,000 troops in Europe as part of the Steadfast Defender exercises, which are scheduled through the end of May.

“But at the end of May, that doesn't mean that they all go home the next day. It means that they're all still here. They're still all in their positions. They still have all their gear and they plan their next move.”

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The chairmen of the House Judiciary Committee and Oversight Committee issued a subpoena demanding that US Attorney General Merrick Garland provide all documents on Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of President Joe Biden’s “willful” mishandling of classified information.

According to the cover letter accompanying the subpoena and signed by Congressmen James Comer and Jim Jordan respectively, the US Justice Department to date has not provided either records related to Hur’s investigation or a deadline when it expects to produce all of the requested material.

The initial request to provide the documents was made on February 12, according to the letter.

The Judiciary and Oversight Committees are leading an investigation into business dealings and other activities of the Biden family to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to draft articles of impeachment against Biden.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Ukraine is on track to lose additional territories in the coming months due to a lack of military support from the US, White House National Security Communications adviser John Kirby said.

“If they continue to get no support from the US, in a month or two, it is very likely that the Russians will achieve more territorial gains and have more success against Ukrainian frontlines in terms of just territory gain,” Kirby told reporters.

He pointed out that such a situation could happen in eastern Ukraine, but also potentially in the south of the country.

Kirby stressed that the situation on the ground is dire.

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the need to provide additional support to Ukraine is urgent.

Russia has repeatedly warned NATO countries that arms supplies to Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets. Moscow has accused NATO countries of "playing with fire" by arming Ukraine, emphasizing that such actions hinder the possibility of Russia-Ukraine negotiations.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US journalist Tucker Carlson recounts how he was spied on on at least two separate occasions during his trip to Moscow.

Carlson first realized he was being surveilled when news of his planned interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin leaked to the press. Carlson had only told three people of his plans.

The journalist was reminded of the "intense" spy campaign around him when news of a private meeting with whistleblower Edward Snowden found its way to an online news outlet. Carlson notes the NSA admitted to infiltrating his Signal account two years ago. Signal is an encrypted messaging app hardened to prevent snooping from all but the most determined and technologically sophisticated state-backed spy agencies.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Tucker Carlson says he had a private meeting with Edward Snowden, who refused an interview.

However, due to constant surveillance by the US government, this information became public.

"If you have a media establishment that acts as an auxiliary of, or acts as employees of the national security state, you don't have a free country. And that's where we are," Carlson emphasized.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Journalist Tucker Carlson notes the ways the American public is lied to about the conflict in the Donbass -- not just in the broader narrative of a supposed Ukrainian victory, but also in the finer details of the confrontation.

Carlson notes that Russia is producing seven times more artillery shells than all European NATO countries combined, giving the country a significant advantage.

That's "the significant fact" of the conflict, claimed Carlson, but it's a fact most Americans are entirely unaware of because US media only serves "the interests of the US government, period."

Subscribe to @SputnikInt