The Russian people is the only source of power in Russia, this is enshrined in the country's Constitution, Vladimir Putin said in an address to Russians shortly before the presidential elections, shown on Channel One.

“I would like to stress that the people is the only source of power in our country. This key legal provision is enshrined in the Constitution. Its main point is that only you, citizens of Russia, determine the fate of the Fatherland,” Putin said.

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💥 Fagot ATGM crew of the Zapad Battlegroup wipes out Ukrainian command and observation post near Kupyansk

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Ex-DoD official: US to be isolated with Israel

The US risks becoming isolated in the world along with Israel as it continues to support Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, former senior security analyst at the US Office of the Secretary of Defense, Michael Maloof told Sputnik’s Fault Lines.

“What’s unfortunate is that [the United States] is going to get dragged into it. So that the United States and Israel ultimately could become isolated,” Maloof explained. “We’re hypocrites in that regard as long as we continue to support this action, we are going to be labeled and isolated in the world right along with Israel and we will have only ourselves to blame.”

“[Israel is] following the old Talmudic notion that everyone else is beneath them, that [everyone else] are animals to serve them, and that’s how they’re treating people today,” Maloof argued. “They want ethnic cleansing, they want the Palestinians out, they want to expand and extend their Jewish state concept.”

Maloof said he fears that even after Israel halts its campaign in Gaza, Israel will expand its operations to nearby countries. “Even if they have a conclusion [in] Gaza, they’re going to go into Lebanon and they’re already showing it,” Maloof explained.

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Vladimir Putin: Russia has own view of future, critically important not to stray from this path

"We have our own view on how and what kind of country to build, what plans to implement. And it is critically important today not to stray from this path and to achieve the outlined large-scale goals. Thus, a lot depends on each of you in the coming days," Putin said in a video address to Russians ahead of the upcoming presidential election, aired by the Russia Channel One broadcaster.

The Russian president added that citizens have already proven they can stand together to defend freedom, sovereignty and security.

"We have already proven that we know how to be together, defending Russia's freedom, sovereignty and security, defending our values, traditions, history and culture, acting according to conscience and truth, according to justice," Putin said.

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Yemen's Houthis test-fired hypersonic missile, says military source

Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, has carried out a test flight of a hypersonic missile with high destructive capability and is preparing to add these missiles to its military arsenal, a military source close to the movement has told Sputnik.

"Missile forces of the movement have successfully tested a missile that can reach speeds of up to Mach 8 [10,000 kilometers per hour or 6,200 miles per hour] and is powered by solid fuel. Yemen plans to begin manufacturing it for use in attacks in the Red and Arabian Seas and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel," the source said.

At the same time as the hypersonic missile test, the armed forces in northern Yemen upgraded their missiles and drones, having modified the explosive warheads to double their destructive power, after a test that lasted three months, the source added.

Last Thursday, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi spoke about the movement's efforts to produce hypersonic missiles, saying that "our enemies, friends and our people will see a level of achievement of strategic importance that will place our country in terms of its capabilities among the few countries in this world."

He then said that Yemen's forces have used new weapons in recent operations in the Red and Arabian Seas, which "surprised the US and the UK." He added that the movement attacked 61 vessels and a military ship since the Palestinian movement Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

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🛥 The International naval drill 'Sea Security Belt-2024' enters active phase in the Gulf of Oman

The exercise involves over 20 ships, including support and warships from the Russian Navy, Iranian Navy, and PLA Navy. Its primary purpose is to practice safety in maritime economic activities.

The final phase of the exercise will occur on March 14 on the shores of the Iranian city of Chehbehar, where a debriefing will also take place.

The Sea Security Belt-2024 International Naval Exercise is being held for the sixth time. This year, representatives from Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Oman, India, and South Africa will participate as observers for the first time.

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Kim Jong Un test-drives North Korea's new-type main battle tank

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has personally test-driven a new-type battle tank of North Korea during a training match between the country's tank units, North Korean state-run news agency KCNA reported.

After reviewing tank crews, the North Korean leader "mounted a new-type main battle tank, seized the control lever and drove the tank himself," the report said.

He expressed "great satisfaction" with the demonstration of the new-type tank, its striking power and maneuverability, KCNA reported.

The report added that the training match was aimed at inspecting tank crews' combat capabilities and familiarizing them with combat action methods on different tactical missions.

The leader expressed "great satisfaction" with the combat readiness of tank crews participating in the match, saying that none of the other exercises "satisfied him more than the tankmen's preparedness displayed at the match" and that "he would never worry about preparing for war" if all army unites were as prepared.

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Moldova not seeking NATO membership due to low public support, Moldova's Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi said

"As for cooperation with NATO or some kind of NATO membership, it is out of the question at the moment because there is not enough public support for it," Popsoi said in an interview with the RTVI broadcaster.

Moldova's neutrality means it cannot join any military alliances, but does not prevent it from cooperating at the political level even in the security sphere, the minister said.

Most of Moldovans have a negative perception of NATO, so the issue should be brought to a broad discussion, Popsoi said.

"We need to have a open public debate about the pros and cons and decide through this democratic process. But it will be a more long-term prospect. At the moment, there are no discussions about joining [NATO] or any closer cooperation other than what we have had so far," the minister said.

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Ted Rall: ‘no appetite’ for French deployment, even within military

Political analyst and cartoonist Ted Rall told Sputnik’s Fault Lines that he suspects the recent internal French documents leak was motivated by a lack of appetite for sending troops to France.

There is no “appetite for sending French troops [to Ukraine], and that includes within the French military,” Rall said.

“There are at least some factions inside the French military who think this would be a truly idiotic idea, and they’re not into it. So, they’re like ‘Alright, we’ll leak this and once the public gets wind, they’ll blow it up,’” Rall theorized.

“I don’t know why [Macron] would say that a French [operation], or even a French [operation] as part of a European project in Ukraine would be likely to go any better than these other disasters,” Rall added.

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Ukraine's military planning takeover of Ukrainian parliament in Kiev by force

The Ukrainian military, dissatisfied with the policy of the country's leadership, is planning the takeover of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, in Kiev and attracting other Ukrainian armed forces' military personnel to their side, a correspondence on a closed resource obtained by Russian specialists has shown.

"The most important action that we will need to pull off lightning fast is the takeover of the VR [Verkhovna Rada] at a certain point," one of the chat participants wrote.

"When the staff is recruited, fighters are trained, the mass will be ready," another chat participant said.

"There must be support from the military. Without it, nothing will work. The main driving force. [They] will say from the trenches that [they are] with us, and people will follow," one more chat participant said.

"Especially when the people see that the military is at the helm and the rest of the military is following them - they automatically take the right side," another chat participant added.

Earlier this week, a source in the Russian law enforcement agencies told Sputnik that Russian specialists had gained access to a classified Telegram channel noscriptd "ParaBelum," where commanders and fighters of elite units of the Ukrainian armed forces are "seriously discussing options for overthrowing the current authorities and the command of the Ukrainian armed forces."

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Biden’s $1T military budget to fund ‘boutique, expensive, fragile’ equipment

US President Joe Biden’s request for over $1 trillion in military spending is the result of military contractors who are incentivized “to sell expensive items, not necessarily the most useful and effective items,” Independent journalist Jim Kavanagh told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour.

We have seen in Ukraine “with the destruction of the Abrams tanks and the HIMARS missiles, that the American equipment is boutique,” Kavanagh said. “[Military contractors] send expensive, boutique, very complicated, fragile equipment,” which inflates the military budget. Kavanagh contrasted that with the simpler Russian equipment, “that’s cheaper to build and is suited for hard condition warfare.”

The issue cannot be solved by voting for Biden’s most prominent opponent in the upcoming presidential election, Former US President Donald Trump, Kavanagh explained, because he is also “focused on getting all the money to the military-industrial-complex.”

“This is the best you’re going to get from either party. Perpetual warfare, nothing to do for your healthcare, nothing to do for housing and rental, nothing to do for jobs… But $1 trillion for military plus supplemental appropriations, this is what the US is in for if we don’t have a change and that is not going to come from either the Democrats or the Republicans.”

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Ukrainian 'radicals' repeatedly threatened Hungary's parl't faction's members

Laszlo Toroczkai, the leader of Hungary's right-wing Our Homeland Movement party, has told Ria Novosti that he and members of his faction received threats from Ukrainian "radicals".

"Ukrainian terrorists are threatening an entire parliamentary faction in Hungary and me personally - I am also a member of the [Parliamentary Assembly] of the Council of Europe - because of our position on the war in Ukraine," Toroczkai said.

Toroczkai said that the faction's lawmakers on February 13 received emails from Ukrainian ultras threatening "severe punishment for plans to occupy Transcarpathia." He added that members of the radical organization threatened to "set the office on fire, blow up a car, kill" the lawmakers.

The second threat came to the emails of Hungarian lawmakers on February 28: members of the Fan at War organization recorded a video in which they demanded "an official apology to the Ukrainian people for calling for the annexation of Transcarpathia."

"I will not apologize to the Ukrainian people because I have nothing to apologize for. Because you guys have completely misunderstood us. Hungary does not want to occupy Transcarpathia, we do not want war, we want peace. We did not and do not threaten the Ukrainian people, Hungary has accepted tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees," the official said.

He recalled that the party's program includes recognition of the legitimacy of the 1991 referendum in Ukraine's Transcarpathia, which proclaimed granting autonomy to Transcarpathia and Hungarian territorial autonomy to the Berehove district within Ukraine.

"This legitimate referendum is illegally ignored by the government in Kiev," he said.

The Hungarian lawmakers added that the reason for the threats is not their position on Transcarpathia but the position of Hungarian authorities on Ukraine's accession to the EU and the financing of Ukraine at the expense of European taxpayers.

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Russia earns $56 billion from redirected hydrocarbon exports

Since 2022, the European Union has been slapping sanctions on energy supplies from Russia. Before the barrage of sanctions was imposed, the 27 countries of the EU purchased an average of $102.5 billion worth of hydrocarbons from Russia annually, but this figure plummeted to $31.6 billion last year.

Despite this, the increase in exports to friendly nations has more than made up for it. In total, exports to just six countries – Turkiye, China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Malaysia – reached $186.7 billion last year, compared to an average of $59.9 billion between 2019 and 2021.

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

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The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that it has crushed a clandestine cell of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), a terrorist organization banned in Russia, in St. Petersburg, and detained the militants.

The cell, which consisted of four local residents who adhered to a neo-Nazi ideology, had the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. They conducted reconnaissance of life support facilities, transportation, and other critical infrastructure.

According to the FSB, the RVC members in St. Petersburg intended to poison food for Russian soldiers serving in the special operation zone with a highly toxic substance on the instructions of the Ukrainian military intelligence service.

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▪️ Vladimir Putin envisions the future of Russia in address to compatriots

▪️ Is a military coup looming over Ukraine?

▪️ Ukrainian radicals threaten Hungarian politicians over human rights activism in Transcarpathia

▪️ Houthis in Yemen go hypersonic, modifying warheads

Check out even more stories:

▪️ Why will the theft of frozen Russian assets backfire on Europe?

▪️ Biden’s 2025 budget ignores realty and is doomed to be blocked by Congress

▪️ The US’ $1 trillion military spending plan shows the Ukraine lessons have not been learned

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❗️ Ukrainian forces attacked a critical infrastructure facility at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, dropping an explosive device five meters from a fuel storage facility, the plant's press service said