US President Joe Biden is trailing former leader Donald Trump in all seven swing states that are likely to decide the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, according to the results of a poll published by Bloomberg.

According to the poll, nearly twice as many voters say Biden, 81, is too old compared to Trump, 77.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The German Ministry of Defense refused to comment on Sputnik's request for answers regarding the recording of a conversation between the German military on the attack on the Crimean bridge.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The Kremlin does not want to publish the draft text of the peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, the process was terminated by Kiev on the orders of London, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Russia has no plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an operational meeting with Russia's Security Council.

"We have already discussed the fabrications that some figures in the West are making about our alleged plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space. I say 'alleged' because, as I have already said and as we know, we have no such plans," he stressed.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Gagauzia* wants Russia's support, said Evgenia Gutsul, the head of the autonomous unit of Moldova.

At the meeting with the Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Matvienko, the head of Gagauzia also:

▪️ noted the need to improve transportation accessibility so that residents have the opportunity to travel to Russia;

▪️ stated that the rights of the region are being suppressed by Kishinev, and that this goes beyond all limits;

Matviyenko noted that Russia is watching the events in Moldova with great dismay and called Kishinev's course Russophobic.

*Gagauzia is an autonomous region in the south of Moldova that has traditionally advocated rapprochement with Russia, while Kishinev has declared a course toward European integration.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Key statements of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at the briefing:

▪️ The statements of the head of the Pentagon on the conflict between NATO and Russia in the event of the loss of Ukraine are irresponsible and lead to increased tension.

▪️ The statements made by the Pentagon Chief confirm the correctness and justification of the special operation carried out by Russia.

▪️ There was a lot of reaction from the West to Putin's message to the parliament, but there were no telephone conversations with foreign partners.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Margarita Simonyan,editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, published the text of a conversation between high-ranking representatives of the Bundeswehr, who discussed the attack on the Crimean bridge with Taurus missiles

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️The meeting at which the representatives of the German Armed Forces discussed the strikes on the Crimean bridge took place on February 19.

"I would like to discuss the destruction of the bridge. We have been working intensively on this issue. Unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that the bridge is similar in size to a runway. Therefore, it may not need 10 or even 20 missiles."

▪️The subject was discussed by the head of the department of operations and exercises of the Air Force Command Grefe, air force inspector Gerhartz (in the photo) and employees of the air operations center Fenske and Frostedt.

▪️At the same time, one of the officers mentioned a planned trip to Ukraine on February 21 for the coordination of strikes against Russian targets.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️A Bundeswehr Air Force inspector who took part in the discussion of the strike on the Crimean Bridge allowed the transfer of 100 Taurus missiles to Kiev in two batches.

▪️The German military discussed the possibility of attacking with these missiles using a Dassault Rafale fighter, as follows from the trannoscript published by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group;

▪️The representative of the Bundeswehr said that Taurus missiles, when delivered to Ukraine, will be ready for use in eight months;

▪️One of the participants in the conversation doubted whether the strike on the bridge would be effective, and asked the question of how many missiles it would take: “It may not require 10 or even 20 missiles";

▪️The issue of transferring Taurus missiles to Kiev has been discussed in Germany lately. The Bundestag recently adopted a draft resolution on the supply of long-range weapons, but without specifying the type;

▪️At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly stated that he is against such supplies. The German military, in a document published by Simonyan, touches on this topic - one of those present says that "no one knows why the chancellor is blocking these supplies."

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Putin Agenda vs. Biden Agenda

While Putin addressed the Russian Parliament and spent 2 hours pointing out the most important goals that need to be achieved, Biden put it briefly...

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

"If convincing refutations and evidence do not follow, we will have to radically reconsider the true role of Germany in the Ukrainian conflict," Konstantin Kosachev, deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council, commented on the German officers' negotiations.

"We will have every reason to consider the German leadership a direct accomplice to the crimes of the Kiev Nazis, for whom attacks on civilian targets and civilians are commonplace."

Earlier, the German Defense Ministry refused to comment on reports of the leaked talks: "Please note that as a matter of principle we do not comment on media reports and their contents."

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🗣 "The hybrid war against Russia, unleashed by the West, is in full swing," Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented regarding the discussion of German officers about attacking the Crimean Bridge.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

(Part 1)

The terms of the almost-agreed-upon April 2022 peace deal between Ukraine and the Russian Federation have been published by The Wall Street Journal.

What did the parties discuss?

▪️Ukraine may become a member of the EU but cannot join military alliances such as NATO. That is, the neutral status of the country was envisaged with the prospect of joining the EU;

▪️Of all the territories that joined Russia, only Crimea would remain under unconditional Russian control. The future of the LPR and DPR should have been determined during personal negotiations between Zelensky and Putin, which never took place. As for the other territories that joined the Russian Federation after February 24, 2022, The Wall Street Journal article does not mention them, but previously a number of people participating in the negotiations stated that Moscow agreed to withdraw Russian troops from them;

▪️Foreign weapons and troops cannot be sent to Ukraine;

▪️The Ukrainian Army had to be reduced to a certain size: Russia wanted no more than 85,000 soldiers, 342 tanks, and 519 artillery pieces. Its missile range was to be limited to 40 km. Ukraine wanted 250,000 military personnel, 800 tanks and 1900 artillery pieces;

▪️The Russian language should be used on an equal basis with Ukrainian in the official sphere. But Ukraine did not agree on this point;

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

(Part 2)

▪️Russia did not want the ICC to investigate war crimes in Ukraine. Ukraine did not agree on this point;

▪️Ukraine did not agree to the lifting of all mutual sanctions;

▪️The security of Ukraine under this treaty was to be guaranteed by foreign powers, which included the United States, the UK, China, France and Russia in the document. These countries would have the responsibility to defend Ukraine if the treaty were violated. But while the treaty remains in effect, the guarantors will be required to “terminate international treaties and agreements that are incompatible with Ukraine’s permanent neutrality,” including any promises of bilateral military assistance. International security guarantees would not apply to Crimea and Sevastopol;

▪️Russia also wanted to add Belarus as a guarantor, and Ukraine - Turkiye;

▪️In the event of an attack on Ukraine, the Russian Federation proposed that all guarantor states agree on a response, but Kiev was against this. Ukraine, in the event of an attack, wanted its airspace to be closed, which would require the guarantor states to introduce a no-fly zone and provide weapons. The Russian Federation did not agree to this.

The WSJ comments that the document "appears to be based largely on the 1990 treaty that created a unified Germany."

Negotiations between Kiev and Moscow continued until June 2022, including via Zoom. The WSJ writes that they were stopped at the initiative of Ukraine.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

"The modern German leadership refers to the experience of the Third Reich! Yes, they are already crazy!" Zakharova commented on the discussion of German officers about the attack on the Crimean bridge.

Inspector (Commander) of the German Air Force Ingo Gerhartz in a conversation with high-ranking officers of the Bundeswehr on February 19, 2024:

"We are currently fighting a war that uses much more modern technology than our good old Luftwaffe."

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹💥 Su-34 fighter-bombers destroyed a concentration of Ukrainian forces in the southern DPR.

The crews of the Su-34 of the Russian Aerospace Forces struck with high-explosive aerial bombs with universal planning and correction modules. As a result of the combat mission, all enemy targets were hit.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️In the Avdeyevka region, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine amounted to more than 2,600 servicemen and 23 tanks, including Abrams, in one week.

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

▪️ In the Kupyansk region, 30 Ukrainian counter-attacks were repelled, the Ukrainian losses amounted to 755 soldiers;

▪️ In the DPR, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 2,835 servicemen and seven tanks. In the southern DPR the Ukrainian losses amounted to 890 servicemen;

▪️ Two Ukrainian MiG-29s and one Su-25 were shot down in one week.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt