🗣 "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.

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(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;

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(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.

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"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."

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📹💥 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.

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❗️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.

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❗️LIVE: Russian FM Sergey Lavrov Speaks at Antalya Diplomacy Forum

👉 Watch the livestream here or on Sputnik's website

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US defense contractors "behave like a cartel" - Blackwater founder Erik Prince

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🗣 In Ukraine there are not only foreign mercenaries, but there are career soldiers, among them the British and French, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

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Lavrov: The OSCE is currently not a substance that Russia can rely on

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The Yoshkar-Ola missile unit conducted a combat training launch of the Yars ICBM mobile solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile with a separable warhead at the Plesetsk State Testing Range.

The purpose of the launch was to confirm the tactical, technical and flight characteristics of a modern missile system.

In preparation for the event, the Strategic Rocket Forces worked out the procedure for moving the Yars launch battery to a remote area and preparing and carrying out the launch.

All tasks were successfully completed.

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🗣 Sergey Lavrov on Lloyd Austin’s words about the possibility of a conflict between NATO and the Russian Federation in the event of Ukraine’s loss: it came out of him telling Freud what’s on his mind.

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🗣 The situation with the recording of the conversation between German officers discussing the strikes on the Crimean Bridge is unsurprising, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“On the one hand, it’s surprising, but on the other hand, it’s not,” Lavrov said during a speech at a diplomatic forum in Antalya, commenting on information about the conversation between German officers.

“I don’t know what to call it, but our NATO colleagues are completely red-faced. I don’t know how they will explain themselves to their population,” the minister added.

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Ukraine is destroying itself – Blackwater founder Erik Prince

“We need to bring this war to a close because all Ukraine is doing right now is destroying itself demographically. They’re chewing up the next generation of Ukrainian manpower that they really can’t replace right now. The Western defense base is pathetic and you’re not going to out-conventional war the Russian bear,” he said on the Patrick Bet-David podcast.

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