▪️ Military operation in the Gaza Strip could be over in one to two months, Netanyahu says

▪️ Orban: Trump won’t give money to Ukraine if he became president again

▪️ The West is not investigating the Nord Stream explosions because the US and ‘a number of countries like Norway and the UK’ are to blame, French politician Philippot says

▪️ Watch Russian Su-34 bomb Ukrainian forces' positions in the southern Donetsk region

▪️ US security agencies are working with ‘gaming’ companies to combat ‘violent extremist content’

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Canada rebukes US over snag with NASAMS delivery to Ukraine

Canada’s Defense Minister Bill Blair has accused the US of delaying the delivery of NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine, the Edmonton Journal has reported.

While the Canadian Ministry of Defense has already given the money for the NASAMS to the US government, Washington is yet to finalize the deal, which is reportedly mired in “red tape.”

Blair noted that without the purchase deal between Washington and Ottawa, his country would need years to acquire the NASAMS via the standard procurement process.

The delay comes as the Biden administration’s own Ukraine aid package is still in limbo in Congress.

Ottawa announced the donation of the mobile air defense systems worth $303 million to the Kiev regime in January 2023. The arrangement was that Canada would cover the costs, but would dodge having to apply to the US government for approval to send the system to Ukraine, as is the case with American military technology sold outside the country.

Moscow has repeatedly warned NATO countries that by supplying arms to Ukraine, they are both prolonging the conflict and dangerously escalating it.

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Britain's Challenger 2 tanks donated to Ukraine lack reliability, ability to maneuver over ground – report

Only half of the Challenger 2 tanks handed over by Britain to Ukraine in 2023 can be used for combat by Ukrainian forces, according to The Sun.

As the newspaper notes, 5 of the 14 tanks are out of service and waiting for spare parts, which could take months to be delivered from the UK. One was destroyed by a Russian Lancet UAV and another is being used by Ukrainian forces to train Ukrainian tank crews deep behind the front lines. It is also reported that two Challenger 2 tanks were damaged in, fighting but have been repaired, with one having its barrel replaced.

“It takes a long time to get spares. The logistics are very complex, at this end and your end," a Ukrainian tank company commander told The Sun. The tanker also said that some parts of the Challenger 2 broke "from the very beginning," while others require frequent replacement, including some components of the tank's turret and precision targeting system, as well as rubber linings on the tracks.

Another drawback of the tanks is their inability to effectively maneuver on the ground, as they often get stuck in the mud due to their weight, the commander reportedly said.

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📹 Footage has emerged online of a fourth destroyed US Abrams tank

The tank was destroyed by the village of Berdychi near Avdeevka, according to Igor Kimakovsky, adviser to the head of the DPR, as quoted by Russian media.

Kimakovsky specified that Russian troops hit the tank using an anti-tank grenade launcher. Along with the armored vehicle, its entire crew was eliminated.

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Russia earns $56 billion from redirecting fossil fuel exports

Russia earned almost $187 billion from oil, gas, and coal supplies to a number of friendly countries last year, which is $56 billion more than the average exports to European countries before they imposed anti-Russian sanctions, Sputnik has calculated.

Twenty-seven EU countries purchased an average of $102.5 billion worth of hydrocarbons from Russia per year before sanctions were imposed, compared to only $31.6 billion last year.
However, this is more than offset by revenue from increased exports to the following six nations: Turkiye, China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Malaysia, which amounted to $186.7 billion last year, compared to an average of $59.9 billion for 2019-2021.

Thus, Russia earned an additional $126.8 billion from these destinations, which is $56 billion more than from shipments to the European Union.

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🇷🇺 The Russian Army will start testing a modified version of the Zubilo unmanned armored vehicle in several military units as early as April, the press service of the Remdizel development company told Sputnik.

The armored vehicle, designed to support assault groups, bring ammunition, transport cargo and wounded, as well as recharge radios and quadcopters, has been reduced in weight and increased in cross-country capability. The Zubilo prototype was first shown at the Army-2023 forum.

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❗️ Commanders and soldiers of elite units of the Ukrainian forces are not satisfied with the reshuffle in the military leadership and are seriously discussing overthrowing Volodymyr Zelensky, a representative of the Russian security services told Sputnik.

According to him, experts have gained access to a closed chat room called ParaBelum. In the chat, Ukrainian soldiers call on fellow troops to stand up in defense of General Valery Zaluzhny.

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❗️ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on the Polish foreign minister's statement that NATO military personnel are present in Ukraine:

The relevant services have long had information that in one way or another, people who call themselves advisers and are directly related to NATO are indeed on the territory of Ukraine.

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Twelve Ukrainian pilots will be ready to fly F-16 fighter jets in combat conditions by this summer, The New York Times reports.

However, according to the publication's calculations, by the time the trained pilots return to Ukraine, Kiev will have received only six aircraft.

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📹 Ukrainian soldiers discuss overthrowing 'rat' Zelensky in voice messages that were leaked from a private chat room

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❗️ Germany's position on supply of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine has not changed, government said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly opposed the idea of supplying Ukraine with missiles capable of striking deep into Russian territory. However, recently UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron expressed London’s readiness to assist Berlin in overcoming any obstacles preventing the delivery of Taurus long-range missiles to the Kiev regime. In response, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock signaled openness to Cameron's proposal of a missile swap for Ukraine, per Der Spiegel.

❗️ The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed the destruction another US-made Abrams tank in the Avdeyevka area

- Macron: Why not send NATO troops to Ukraine?
- Spanish trans-soldiers with German rifles that "can't shoot straight": Only if you show us how to bypass the Russian bush defense!

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🇵🇱 The Polish Army is in decline, like all European armies, former Deputy Defense Minister Waldemar Skrzypczak assessed its condition as.

He believes that "there is little time left to repel possible aggression," saying that what is usually done in 10 years should be done in 2-3 years.

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An option? Germany weighs in on UK's Taurus swap proposal

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is open to her British colleague David Cameron's suggestion of a swap of long-range cruise missiles for their further transfer to Ukraine, Der Spiegel reported.

Germany could supply Taurus cruise missiles to the UK, and in return the British side would transfer Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. Thus, Berlin would formally be relieved of responsibility for providing cruise missiles to the Kiev regime, the outlet stated.

“That would be an option,” Baerbock was quoted as saying regarding the proposed exchange on the ARD program Caren Miosga.

The German minister pointed out that exchanges of a similar nature had already taken place. This was a nod at Chancellor Olaf Scholz's previous use of indirect military aid to Ukraine, such as when he was reluctant to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to the conflict zone.

During a recent interview with German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, David Cameron stated that London was ready to help Berlin solve problems preventing the delivery of the cruise missiles to the Kiev regime.

Russia has repeatedly warned that providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry such as the German-made cruise missiles will only escalate the conflict to ever-new dangerous heights.

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🤡 British journalists from newspaper The Sun wanted to make a nice report about the Challenger 2 tank in Ukraine, but it sank in the mud during a demonstration run for them. They had to call a second tank of the same model to pull the first one out of the quagmire.

"Even just on the training exercises, we've seen the main problem that the Challenger’s been facing here in Ukraine, and that [is] its mobility. It keeps getting stuck in the mud. And if you have a look at the terrain, it’s this soft, deep, rich, black soil, that’s been proving problematic for it in this war," the correspondent said.

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❗️ Putin signs law allowing use of digital financial assets in international payments

The measure, aimed at developing alternatives to the US dollar in payments, will allow Russia to ease export and import transactions with friendly countries.

Russian economy is booming despite sanctions pressure, The Economist admits

Going on two years now, Russia’s economy has “defied the doomsayers” predicting imminent collapse, rapidly climbing out of a recession in 2022, and moving to curb the menace of inflation in 2024. That’s according to a new analysis by The Economist, which points to forecasts of inflation shrinking from 7.5 percent in November to as little as 4 percent.

“Who deserves credit for the turnaround? The finance ministry is advancing its claim. Last year its officials successfully lobbied for exchange-rate controls, which compel exporters to deposit foreign currency in the Russian financial system,” the outlet suggested. The central bank also likely played a role, according to the magazine, with crushingly high interest rates curbing both lending and spending.

“Few other central banks have been as tough. Yet Russia still seems to be heading for a ‘soft landing’, in which inflation slows without crushing the economy. The performance of the economy is now in line with its [pre-2022] trend; GDP grew in real terms by more than 3% last year. Unemployment remains at a record low. And there is little evidence of corporate distress; indeed, the rate of business closures recently hit an eight-year low,” The Economist said.

As for sanctions, Russia has beat them by reopening factories once owned by foreigners under new management, while setting up new “durable supply chains with ‘friendly’ countries” unwilling to slap Western-style restrictions on Moscow.

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🇷🇺 Vladimir Putin could receive 82% of the vote in the presidential election, with an expected turnout of 71%, according to the electoral calculations of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center

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