🇩🇪 The German Defense Minister expects that the first results of the examination regarding publication of the military conversation will be at the beginning of next week.

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The German defense minister says he is unaware of other information leaks at the moment.

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Irony of fate: Ukraine would still have an arms industry if not for 2014 coup

“Ukraine’s 2023 offensive was a failure for a variety of reasons including a lack of arms and ammunition, but also due to poorly trained forces and a poorly conceived operational plan,” former US Marine-turned geopolitical analyst Brian Berletic told Sputnik, commenting on President Zelensky’s latest bout of complaining about a lack of additional arms aid.

Ukraine would still have an impressive domestic industry of its own were it not for the US and EU-backed Euromaidan color revolution a decade ago, Berletic stressed, pointing out that “up until 2014, Ukraine had its own thriving arms industry with much of it done in cooperation with Russia.”

“From 2014 onward, cooperation with Russia ended. Between an inability to find partners capable of replacing Russian inputs for various industrial processes and the general economic decline of Ukraine resulting from incompetent and corrupt leadership in Kiev, these military industrial capabilities atrophied leaving Ukraine increasingly dependent on the West as a source of arms and ammunition,” the observer said.

“This is an example of what awaits nations which subordinate their sovereignty and future to Washington, London, and Brussels,” Berletic lamented.

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NATO already has ‘boots on the ground’ in Ukraine conflict – ex-CIA officer

With its bombshell intercept featuring German war talk on Ukraine, Moscow is signaling that, “this is going to stop, or you are going to have to pay a price,” former CIA officer Larry Johnson stressed on Judge Andrew Napolitano’s podcast Judging Freedom.

“There are Americans in there, there are NATO forces already on the ground in Ukraine, operating systems which are attacking Russia,” the CIA vet stated.

The timing of the leak comes as "Russia is confident that it has got Ukraine on the run," especially with the recent liberation of the stronghold of Avdeyevka, Johnson said.

At the same time, according to the expert, the trannoscript comes after remarks made by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during his annual State of the Union address. The Russian leader accused the West of instigating the Ukraine conflagration, and “put it on notice that attacks on Russia will not go unanswered,” Johnson stressed.

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BRICS entry holds promise for Egypt's economic advancement

Egyptian analyst Nourhan Elsheikh of the Valdai Discussion Club emphasizes the significance of Egypt joining BRICS, foreseeing positive impacts on various sectors, including investments, trade, and tourism.

She believes Egypt's strategic location and position will contribute to shaping a fairer economic order within BRICS and beyond.

“I think we expect a lot from BRICS and within BRICS we can do also and we can introduce also a lot. Egypt is an African-Arab-Mediterranean country with a very strategic position and location,” she told Sputnik on the sidelines of the World Youth Festival in Sirius, Russia.

While acknowledging that the de-dollarization of the Global South will require time, she underscores the importance of initiating change for a more equitable global financial system.

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Musk received a response from a fighter for the 'freest' world

Earlier, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov noted that following the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the USSR's exit from the political arena, hopes for genuine multilateralism in the Euro-Atlantic space were dashed. Instead of promoting equal collective engagement through the OSCE, Western nations maintained NATO and pursued expansion into areas crucial to Russian interests.

The Latvian president seemingly forgot that NATO was established by the US in 1949 and was directed against the Soviet Union, part of which Latvia was until 1990.

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❗️Another American Abrams tank was destroyed near Avdeyevka by the FPV drone Upyr, a representative of the manufacturer told Sputnik

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Zelensky blames West after botching ‘counteroffensive that should have never taken place’

“I think he’s just looking for the reasons to point fingers at [now former military commander-in-chief] General Zaluzhny. He was trying to divert the blame,” retired US Lt. Col. Earl Rasmussen told Sputnik, commenting on remarks by Ukraine’s president on Saturday accusing the West is playing “internal political games” instead of providing much-needed arms aid to Kiev.

“The counteroffensive…should never have taken place. The Russians had established a multi-tier, defensive line, dug in, had superiority as far as artillery, as far as air defense. There was no air support capable to be even provided to Ukraine. Manpower as well as another factor there. It was an impossible task. It should never have happened,” Rasmussen said.

Ukraine became critically dependent on Western arms aid in at least the 2014 coup, the observer added, recalling NATO training of Ukrainian troops, the CIA sites set up across the country, the biolabs, the weapons systems delivered to Kiev, and the gradual destruction of Kiev’s own defense industrial base thanks to the conflict in the Donbass, the disruption caused by cutting off defense ties with Russia, and the loss in capabilities to Russian strikes after the 2022 escalation.

“They have no industrial base. Their industry’s been completely destroyed. They cut off their trade relations before the conflict with Russia, essentially, and going into this stupid EU cooperation agreement. And they don't meet the standards for selling into the EU to begin with. So their industry was falling apart, corruption was rampant, just a horrible situation. And then you're going to go against one of the best militaries in the world? Not, not a good idea. [But the] West kept poking them,” Rasmussen said.

🔺 Another US Abrams tank was destroyed near Avdeyevka by the FPV drone Upyr

🔺 Déjà vu: Why West has reasons to doubt Zelensky amid fresh demands for arms aid

🔺 Russia ‘delivers blow to NATO ranks’ with trannoscript of leaked German war talks - experts

🔺 Irony of fate: Ukraine would still have an arms industry if not for 2014 coup

🔺 No amount of additional Western arms assistance will save Zelensky regime

🔺 BRICS entry holds promise for Egypt's economic advancement

🔺 NATO already has ‘boots on the ground’ in Ukraine conflict – ex-CIA officer

🔺 The West's superiority in propaganda tools and how it is used as a weapon? Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, explains

🔺 German Defense Minister commented on the scandal surrounding the wiretapping of Bundeswehr generals

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Watch footage of Abrams tank destruction near Avdeyevka by Russian FPV drones Upyr (lit. "Ghoul")

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❗️ Russian army soldier's address to the US President Joe Biden:

Dear Mr. Joe Biden, President of the United States of America!

As Russian Warriors, we want to express you most sincere gratitude for the Abrams tanks that the US is supplying to Ukraine now.

As you probably know, we are paid bonuses for destroying such tanks. We would like to ask you to, please, send more tanks, because, right now, there are so few tanks that is not going to be enough for all of us. We have to spend a lot of time and effort to find them.

We are ready to wire a 10% commission to your "MIR" credit card for each tank we destroy. You are truly a great patriot and the best president America ever had. We look forward to mutually beneficial cooperation.

Together we will prevail!

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The Palestinian Hamas did not agree to the previously proposed US formula for the exchange of hostages for prisoners with Israel, the New York Times reports.

The US formula envisioned the release by Hamas of 40 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, and provided for the exchange of different numbers of prisoners for hostages of different categories.

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French farmers' union head pledges 'action on ground' will continue in coming weeks

French farmers will continue "action on the ground" in the coming weeks despite the measures the government has promised to allay the sector's concerns, the head of major farmers' union FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that he would hold a meeting with "all trade unions" to discuss the situation in the country's agricultural industry at the Elysee palace in mid-March.

"The embers are still smoldering ... We will continue to carry out action on the ground in the next two weeks ... A lot of things have been put on the table, a lot of announcements have been made. Now our task is to make them tangible so that they can be seen on the farms," Rousseau told French broadcaster BFMTV.

In late February, French PM Gabriel Attal said that a new law guaranteeing fair prices for French agricultural products would be drafted by the summer to reinforce the Egalim law, which requires retailers to offer a fair price for farm products.

Farmers in France have been protesting heavily since January, blocking highways and dumping manure and waste in front of government buildings across the country. They demand recognition of the importance of their profession and denounce the government's agricultural policies, which they say make them noncompetitive.

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🌍 🇷🇺 About 30,000 people from African countries come to Russia every year to study at universities, Russia's humanitarian cooperation agency says

The most popular fields for international students at Russian universities are medicine, economics, energy and construction, Deputy Head of Rossotrudnichestvo, Pavel Shevtsov, said at the #WYF2024

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will continue cooperation with African countries in the field of education and increase the quota of African students in Russian universities.

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The US Air Force wants at least 1 thousand unmanned fighter jets, which will be able to operate autonomously thanks to artificial intelligence. It is expected that the US military will need a hundred of them in the next 5 years, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Such unmanned fighters, according to the newspaper, will be designed to escort and protect manned aircraft (for example, F-35 or B-21), they can be equipped with their own weapons to attack air and ground targets, they can be used in reconnaissance and can be used as a "communication hub". The budget of the development program is $6 billion. The Pentagon would like to decide on the companies that will receive such a contract by this summer.

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Russian paratroopers seized an enemy stronghold near Verbovoye in the Zaporozhye region and captured several Ukrainian soldiers.

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Sudan denies receiving request from Iran to build naval base in country

Sudan has never received any requests from Iran to build its naval base in the country, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq told Sputnik on Sunday, adding that the relevant article by The Wall Street Journal was not accurate.

Earlier in the day, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a senior Sudanese intelligence official, that Iran had allegedly sought Sudan's permission to build a permanent naval base on its Red Sea coast in exchange for military equipment, but Khartoum rejected Tehran's proposal to avoid cutting ties with the US and Israel.

"I read The Wall Street Journal article today, this report is incorrect … Iran has never asked Sudan to build an Iranian base. I recently visited Iran, and this was not discussed," Sadiq said on the sidelines of the 2024 Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

In October 2023, Sudan and Iran resumed their diplomatic ties, seven years after Sudan severed them in line with the same move by Saudi Arabia when Saudi Arabian diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked following the execution of Shiite cleric Ayatollah Nimr al-Nimr, who questioned the Gulf monarchy's authority.

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Several armed gangs attacked the National and Kwadèbouke prisons in Port-Au-Prince, noting that prison guards and prisoners had been killed in the attack.

“The National Police are taking all measures to find the escaped prisoners and arrest those responsible for these criminal acts as well as all their accomplices so that public order can be restored,” The Communication Ministry of Haiti wrote on Twitter.

According to US media, hundreds of inmates escaped, with some reports from the ground saying the number could be in the thousands. The attack came as interim PM Ariel Henry, who took power following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, was abroad attempting to revive a plan to bring UN troops to stabilize the country.

Haiti has been hit with an increase in violence and protests calling on Henry to resign. Last month, a Haitian judge indicted Moise’s widow Martine Moise, Henry’s immediate predecessor Claude Joseph and former National Police chief Leon Charles for being responsible for Moise’s death. Joseph, who was injured during the attack on Moise accused Henry of being behind the assassination.

Henry has pledged to hold elections sometime next year.

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Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Sputnik that he plans to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"I will definitely go to Sochi, and I was invited to SPIEF, I think I will go there," Szijjarto said.

Szijjarto told Sputnik that he would attend the upcoming 2024 Atomexpo International Forum, which would take place in Russia’s Sochi from March 25-26. SPIEF 2024 will be held from June 5-8 in Russia's St. Petersburg.

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