Each fourth US citizen wants their state to secede, Alaska first to leave

The survey conducted by YouGov in February showed that 36% of Alaskans want their state to leave the federal United States and establish an independent nation.

The idea of saying farewell to Washington is also supported by 31% of residents of Texas, 29% in California and 28% in New York and Oklahoma, respectively. Independence movements are also popular in US territories such as Hawaii and Puerto Rico. On average, one in four US citizens is pro-secessionist.

Secessionism is especially popular among Republicans – for instance, in Texas 44% of GOP-aligned citizens support the possible ‘Texit’, believing that this bold move will help solve the migration crisis and gain full control over the border with Mexico.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin extends his heartfelt congratulations on International Women's Day:

"Dear women, you take responsibility for solving some very difficult tasks. You achieve success and impressive results in a wide variety of fields. You amaze us, men, with your ability to do anything quickly, argumentatively and at the same time carefully, taking all details into consideration".

Putin also noted the bravery and courage of women serving in the special operation zone:

"You prove time and again the irresistible power of a woman's heart. You set an example of perseverance and confidence, proving that goodness and truth are on our side".

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The French president is preparing public opinion for the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine if the fighting moves toward Odessa or Kiev, the deputy who participated in a closed meeting of parliamentary parties with Macron.

"It worries me because with these words he is participating in a military escalation, because every time it is a new step towards the global incitement of this conflict, and it is dangerous," said Fabien Roussel.

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Long-range missiles will not be decisive for the conflict in Ukraine, Germany does not intend to cross this line, said Boris Pistorius, German Defense Minister.

Scott Ritter on Biden’s State of the Union address: ‘America's running away from Ukraine’

“Instead of a State of the Union address, the US Congress and indeed the American people were treated to a rousing campaign speech which POTUS was using to kick off the 2024 presidential election campaign,” former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and independent military analyst Scott Ritter tells Sputnik.

Citing Joe Biden as saying during the address that America “will not walk away from Ukraine”, Ritter notes that “in many ways, the 46th US president is right.”

“Biden didn't walk away from Ukraine. He ran away from there, straight into issues about domestic politics because it's a campaign address, not a State of the Union speech,” the ex-US Marine Corps intelligence officer insists.

“America's running away from Ukraine. And that's the reality,” Ritter said, adding that “people need to understand” that the next months will see Biden “almost singularly focused on domestic American policy, trying to differentiate himself from [Donald Trump].”

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❗️Over the course of a week, Russian forces carried out 34 group strikes with high-precision weapons and drones. Arsenals of the fuel base and deployment points of the Ukrainian troops were hit;

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

▪️In the Donetsk area, Kiev's losses amounted 2,000 soldiers, 103 pieces of equipment, and 10 field warehouses;

▪️In the Kherson area, Russian forces repelled two attacks by Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian losses amounted more than 295 troops;

▪️Near Avdeyevka, the Russian Army repelled 65 attacks by Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian losses amounted to seven tanks and more than 2,860 soldiers;

▪️Russian aviation and air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft, five Storm Shadow missiles and a Patriot air defense system.

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Russian forces may soon strike a crucial blow to Ukrainian defenses near Donetsk

Russia's offensive in the Donetsk People’s Republic in the city of Chasov Yar, which is currently held by Kiev regime forces, threatens to disrupt the stability of the Ukrainian defenses in the region, says Anatoliy Matviychuk, a military analyst and retired colonel of Russian Armed Forces.

“It allows us to move into and take control of the infrastructure regions and the supply lines through which Ukrainian forces receive reinforcements and munitions, as well as the access to the Kramatorsk area,” he tells Sputnik.

Matviychuk also notes that, despite the fact that Ukrainian forces lack the fighting spirit and face a serious shortage of manpower, their foreign sponsors will likely continue sending weapons and military hardware to Ukraine, seeing how the West aims for a direct confrontation with the Russian army.

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Piranha - the drone that kills Western tanks in an instant!

The Russian army is testing the brand-new Piranha kamikaze drone in a special military operation, and thanks to the Kiev regime's Western backers they have plenty of targets to choose from, including main battle tanks and IFVS.

Earlier it was reported that Piranha had been tested against M1 Abrams tanks, costing US taxpayers millions of dollars.

Have a look at the Piranha's superior capabilities.

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❗️Two people were killed and one seriously injured in the village of Rozhdestvenka, Belgorod region, as a result of an attack by three kamikaze drones, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

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💥 The crew of the "Zala" reconnaissance drone destroyed two Ukrainian artillery positions and a radar station on the right bank of the Dnepr River.

While flying over the territory controlled by Ukrainian units, the drone operator detected several targets, the coordinates of which were immediately transmitted to the command post.

The drone crew skillfully adjusted the approach of the Lancets and recorded the defeat of two artillery positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a forest plantation. The enemy radar station was hit in a similar way.

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Why are EU and NATO hesitant to give posts to Eastern Europeans?

Eastern European nations’ ongoing underrepresentation in the EU's political institutions is fraught with repercussions, Milan Uhrik, member of European Parliament (MEP) from the Slovak Republic and leader of the REPUBLIKA political movement, tells Sputnik.

He says that “one of the risks is that these countries will feel unheard and unappreciated.”

According to Uhrik, “the very functioning of the EU, the incompetence of the current leadership, the promotion of harmful policies like the [2019] Green Deal or the [2023] New Migration Pact, the taking away of competences and funds from countries due to their disagreement with the center can have a greater impact.”

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who expressed interest in taking NATO’s top position last year, earlier minced no words when voicing irritation over the problem. “There is a question [of] whether there are first-rank and second-rank countries in NATO. Are we equals or are we not equals? These questions still remain,” she stressed at the time.

Representatives of Eastern European nations have been “conspicuously absent” from top positions in NATO and other key EU structures for the past 20 years, despite Brussels’ formal stance claiming that all members are equal within the bloc.

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📹 Russian crews of the Tornado-G MLRS destroyed Ukrainian objects and positions in the Kupyansk area.

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🇷🇺 Russia hosts thousands of foreign guests at the World Youth Festival

One of the most significant events of this week was the world's biggest youth gathering — the #WYF2024

The festival was held on March 1-7 in the Russia's federal territory Sirius on the Black Sea coast. More than 300,000 people across all continents and 190 countries have shown their interest in participating. Unfortunately, Russia has "not been able to accept everyone," as the country's president, Vladimir Putin, said.

Join our AI-powered host Joy in her report on this week's main topic to learn more details!

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The leader of France's right-wing party The Patriots, Florian Philippot, accused President Emmanuel Macron and his NATO allies of doing everything to keep the conflict in Ukraine going after the French leader appeared to have acknowledged that Moscow was open to a ceasefire.

On the other side of the spectrum, French Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel cited Macron as saying during Thursday's talks with the opposition that Russia had requested a ceasefire, but the West could not agree to it over concerns that the battlefield situation would be frozen, allowing Russia to rearm.

"This is a real bomb, it proves that Macron and his cabal in NATO are doing everything to protract the conflict in Ukraine. Back in April 2022, they banned Ukraine from negotiating. Let's stop them for the sake of peace!" Philippot wrote on X.

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🇺🇬 Uganda's "son" of Putin tells Sputnik Africa what he wants to learn from Russian leader

At the closing ceremony of the World Youth Festival in Russia, a particularly memorable participant from Uganda asked the Russian president to accept him as his son, to which Vladimir Putin replied with paternal concern: "What can I say, son?"

Sputnik Africa contacted the participant and asked him to explain why he'd chosen Putin as a mentor.

"First of all, I want to say that I told Putin to be my mentor because I believe in him. I feel he's a visionary leader. I feel he's a leader that many people can look up to, especially the young people, those who are still growing. And that's one reason why I thought he should mentor me to be a greater leader, to be a leader for the future," he pointed out.

👉 Read the full story!

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"I didn’t think there would be such a stir, everyone was scared by one photo" - the head of Moldova's autonomous Gagauzia region about the reaction of the Moldovan authorities to her meeting Vladimir Putin.

“We have been going to this meeting for a very long time. Until the last minute we were worried that it would not happen (...) Vladimir Vladimirovich heard about the problems of Gagauzia and promised support. Our goal is for our people to be heard,” said Evgenia Gutsul at a meeting with members of the Executive Committee of Gagauzia.

According to her, she discussed the problem of Gagauzia and its people with Putin, as well as talking about the problem of gas supplies.

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▪️A ballet dancer with a machine gun

▪️Which topics did the Russian and United States' leaders touch upon most during their recent speeches?

▪️Piranha - the drone that kills Western tanks in an instant!

▪️Scott Ritter on Biden’s State of the Union address: ‘America's running away from Ukraine’

▪️Why are EU and NATO hesitant to give posts to Eastern Europeans?

▪️Russian forces may soon strike a crucial blow to Ukrainian defenses near Donetsk

▪️Each fourth US citizen wants their state to secede, Alaska first to leave

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