Tiraspol asks Russia to step up its political and diplomatic settlement of the ongoing conflict, Transnistrian Foreign Minister Vitaly Ignatiev said on Wednesday.

“We have asked to intensify political and diplomatic measures, since the Russian Federation is one of the international mediators in the international settlement process in the 5+2 format,” Ignatiev said.

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📹 Ten years ago, residents of Crimea expelled former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko from Simferopol. Poroshenko had opted to become a mediator between the parties of Ukraine and Crimea in order to promote himself.

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President of Transnistria Vadim Krasnoselsky: The media of foreign countries tried to “scare people, silence them” and disrupt the meeting of the Congress of Deputies (at which the unrecognized republic turned to Russia for help).

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Key statements by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova at today's briefing:

▪️ The NATO military is already in Ukraine and is actively helping the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while Moscow will consider the participation of the Western soldiers in the conflict as a direct escalation.

▪️ Russia's steps after Sweden joins NATO will depend on Stockholm's specific actions in the alliance.

▪️ The Danish decision to stop the North Stream investigation confirms the West's lack of interest in identifying the clients and perpetrators of terrorist attacks.

▪️ Media reports about secret negotiations between Germany and India on the purchase of ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine are information stuffing.

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Erdogan said that Turkiye is ready to "re-establish the negotiation table" for peacebuilding in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to Turkish media.

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Are there NATO military personnel in Ukraine?

Special forces from NATO countries have been serving in the Ukrainian forces in various capacities for some while, a commander of one of the volunteer units of the Russian Armed Forces participating in hostilities in the Artemovsk region told Sputnik.

At a meeting of European leaders in Paris on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron claimed to not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine.
In response to Macron's remark, a senior European defense official admitted that "everyone knows there are Western Special Forces in Ukraine — they’ve just not acknowledged it officially."

*In June 2022, the New York Times revealed that there is a strong CIA presence in the Eastern European country, while the NYT's recent bombshell on February 25 lifted the veil of secrecy on a whopping 12 CIA bases there.

*In October 2022, the Intercept cited several former and current intelligence officers who shed light on covert operations in Ukraine by the CIA and US Spec Ops "under a presidential covert action finding." In November 2022, the US stated it was sending a team of military "weapons inspectors" into Ukraine.

*Later, in April 2023, an apparent Pentagon leak revealed that at least 97 special forces from five NATO countries — including 14 US military personnel — have been operating in Ukraine.

NATO military personnel have been in Ukraine for a long time and are actively assisting the Ukrainian military on the ground, according to Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova. Earlier, Moscow warned NATO that putting boots on the ground in Ukraine could lead to a direct confrontation.

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Vladimir Putin approved the strategy for Russia's scientific and technological development

Among the priority areas for the next 10–15 years are:

▪️transition to advanced digital, intelligent manufacturing technologies, robotic systems, new materials and design methods;

▪️creation of systems for processing large volumes of data, machine learning and artificial intelligence;

▪️transition to environmentally friendly and resource-saving energy, highly productive and environmentally friendly agro- and aquaculture;

▪️introduction of personalized medicine and high-tech healthcare;

▪️creation of intelligent transport and telecommunication systems;

▪️occupying and maintaining leadership in the development and use of outer and air space, the world's ocean, the Arctic and Antarctic.

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Putin’s upcoming Federal Assembly address: What we can expect

On February 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to deliver his address to the lower and upper chamber of the country’s parliament, a speech that is expected to focus on Russia’s state of affairs and the main directions of its domestic and foreign policy.

The Russian head of state recently made it clear that during the Federal Assembly address which is scheduled to start at 9:00 GMT, he will touch upon “setting goals for the next six years”.

Additionally, issues related to the ongoing Russian special military operation are expected to be discussed in the course of the upcoming address.

Previous such speeches saw Putin make an array of important statements:

• In the 2020 remarks, the Russian president praise his country’s steps to “strengthen national security in a timely manner,” stressing that “for the first time in the history of nuclear weapons, we are not chasing anyone; on the contrary, other countries have yet to create weapons that Russia possesses.”

• In the 2021 speech, Putin revealed that the first full regiment of Russia’s new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile would come online by 2022, while the Zircon hypersonic missiles would be put on alert in the near future.

• In the 2023 address, he, in particular, announced that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

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Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu checked the organization of the educational process and the state of the military training center at Tula State University.

Sergei Shoigu was shown the center's advancements, which allow drones to fly at non-standard frequencies and in difficult weather conditions.

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Warhawk Mitch McConnell to step down as US Senate Republican leader in November.

McConell has been one of the most vocal supporters of additional Ukraine funding among Congressional Republicans. He also has agitated for confrontation with China, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, and Libya.

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Donetsk is a symbol of resistance to the world

The story of the uprising in Donetsk is the ultimate David and Goliath story, says Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley(@TXDPR).

“Even though in the beginning, the Donetsk People’s Militia were manning roadblocks with maybe shotguns or baseball bats, they fought the full force of the Ukrainian army, which had airstrikes, artillery, tanks, and they fought them to a standstill. They set an example for the world just like the Vietnamese or Cubans did. “

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▪️Putin’s upcoming Federal Assembly address: What we can expect

▪️Are there NATO military personnel in Ukraine?

▪️A former Neo-Nazi that was part of Azov claims that Russian "nuclear weapons aren't so scary"

▪️Transnistria (the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) bordering Ukraine that turned to Russia for help

▪️US sole nuclear weapons manufacturing plant shuts amid wildfire threat

▪️Pentagon's attempt to track Putin failed

▪️Abrams destroyer: What we know about the Piranya drone

▪️'What the .... is this?’ Ukrainian soldiers mistook video glitch for UFO

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Syrian air defense systems have taken down most of the Israeli missiles near Damascus, Syrian state-run broadcaster Al Ikhbariyah reported.

Earlier in the day, the broadcaster reported that the air defense was repelling an attack in the vicinity of Damascus, and explosions were heard in the city.

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The EU-established European Endowment for Democracy (EED) fund is interfering in the parliamentary elections to come in Georgia by financing various political parties, Georgian parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili said.

"EED does not disclose its own expenses in Georgia. Apparently, the fund directly finances political parties and interferes in the elections," Papuashvili told reporters.

If not stopped, foreign funding will harm the elections, which are scheduled to take place in the country, on October 26, and hinder the choice of the Georgian people, the parliamentary speaker added.

"We are seeing that a significant part of the opposition is being financed directly from abroad and, given the fact that the current year is an election year, this is equivalent to foreign interference in the elections in Georgia. Foreign interference is one of the threats expected in these elections … For the elections to be transparent, it is necessary to prohibit and stop direct or indirect funding of parties in Georgia through European channels," Papuashvili said.

Established in 2023 by the European Union, EED officially aims to promote democracy in the European Neighborhood, the Western Balkans, and Turkiye.

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Europeans and Americans cannot afford to ignore their governments’ violence abroad

Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) warns that it is only a matter of time before the weapons that Western governments use against their foreign enemies are turned against their domestic opponents as well.

“What they’re doing to people in Gaza, the Donbass, Syria, Yemen, they’re going to get around to doing to their own people. They will find out what real war is like when their owners and masters bring it to them on their street, in their house, to their family.”

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The United States will have to explain during an upcoming meeting on March 4 the reason for casting a veto on a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, General Assembly presidential spokesperson Monica Grayley said.

"On Monday, March 4, the General Assembly will call the plenary debate on use of the veto," Grayley said during a press briefing.

The debate will be held at the General Assembly hall under the agenda item "The situation the Middle East, including the Palestinian question" and will take place at 10:00 a.m. ET, Grayley said.

The president of the General Assembly will chair the meeting, Grayley added.

On February 20, the United States vetoed an Algeria-drafted UN Security Council resolution that was calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Thirteen members of the UN Security Council voted in favor of adopting the resolution, with the United Kingdom abstaining.

The US has regularly impeded any resolution on Gaza that may hinder Israeli military operations. On December 8, Washington blocked a United Arab Emirates-drafted resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a Brazil-drafted resolution on October 18.

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❗️ Negotiators in Congress struck a government funding deal; lawmakers will vote on the stopgap measure by the end of week, Politico reported.

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Anti-Houthi naval effort makes EU party to the ‘Israeli-Palestinian war’

The deployment of a German frigate Hessen to the Red Sea to help US anti-Houthi naval operations is a “worrisome development,” says Nikolas Kosmatopoulos, assistant professor of public policy and international affairs at the American University of Beirut.

According to him, the decision made by Germany and other EU states to send their warships to the Red Sea leads to “extreme militarization of the waters” in the region.

“It also means that the EU becomes a party to the war waging in Israel-Palestine,” Kosmatopoulos notes, pointing out that the Houthis started their attacks on Israeli-linked cargo vessels in protest against Tel Aviv’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

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Russian troops destroyed a group of Ukrainian saboteurs who were attempting to land on the Tendrovskaya kosa (an island near the northwestern coast of the Black Sea) in the Kherson region, said Vladimir Vasilenko, the spokesman for the region's governor, to Sputnik.

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US Army restructuring suggests neocons scheming new 'forever wars'

"They're once again looking to the older conventional type of warfare on the battlefields, such as what they're witnessing now in Ukraine," Michael Maloof, former senior security policy analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, tells Sputnik.

"We [the US] need to be pulling our troops back. We need to be shutting down a lot of our bases, because they are a magnet for tensions and for wreaking havoc around the world," the military expert continues.

The US Army is cutting its force by 24,000 and restructuring to be capable to fight the next major wars as it struggles to recruit new troops, according to a new service document noscriptd "Army Force Structure Transformation."

The proposed changes include bolstering the US Army's anti-drone and air defense capabilities.

"Taking into account the fact that technologies on the battlefield are going to be absolutely critical, I think they've learned a lot from the battle with Ukraine," Maloof suggested.

The future "great power" conflicts the army is bracing for could envisage the US taking on China and Russia, which would be "mindless" and "crazy", as per the expert.

"We're never going to muster enough troops to counter what Russia is capable of putting together or China or a combination of the two. It's suicidal and it's crazy. We need to be working together in this world and with healthy competition, not military competition," he concludes.

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Drones are the most deadly weapon of the Ukraine conflict

Whereas artillery was the most lethal weapon in previous conflicts, it has taken second place to drones over the past two years, Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley (@TXDPR) explained.

“Drones have also made the use of artillery twice as deadly as it was before because now they can hover over an area and correct the fire within meters,” he added.

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