Ukraine openly admits to fueling ethnic tensions in Russia after Crocus terror attack

Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD), disclosed to The Times that the center is exploiting the attack to stoke ethnic divisions in Russia.

The CCD infiltrated Russian social media and Telegram chats, amplifying sympathy for the terrorists, pitting ethnic groups against Russian police, and inciting hatred against national minorities.

The CCD has about 50 full-time analysts and is subordinated to the National Security and Defense Council, the body supervising Ukraine's security services.

Russian Investigative Committee has found that the terrorists responsible for the Crocus City Hall shooting were apparently funded by Ukrainian masterminds. The Russian Foreign Ministry alleges that Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) head Vasyl Malyuk could be involved in the terror attacks against Russia.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against provoking an increase in ethnic enmity and Islamophobia in Russia: "It is unacceptable, I want to emphasize this, to use recent tragic events to provoke national hatred, xenophobia, Islamophobia and so on," he said.

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US Treasury Department removes former European subsidiary of Russia's VTB bank from sanctions list, according to a statement.

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The US Treasury Department on Tuesday removed a former European subsidiary of Russia’s VTB Bank from its sanctions list.

In April 2022, German regulator BaFin said that Russia’s VTB can no longer exercise any control over its European subsidiary in connection with new sanctions. The watchdog shortly after appointed a special representative to help run the European arm of the Russian bank.

In March 2023, an annual meeting of new shareholders decided to liquidate VTB Bank Europe as of April 1, 2023. VTB calls the moves illegal and political.

In November 2023, the former subsidiary changed its name to OWH SE after VTB refused to allow it to operate under the brand.

In February 2024, VTB said that OWH SE denies VTB's right of ownership over the German bank and is demanding the return of dividends since 2013 worth more than 433.8 million euros.

Western countries did not expect Russian banks to be able to cope with sanctions imposed against them, Vladimir Putin said in 2023, noting that the Russian economy has withstood sanctions pressure.

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The US was not notified by the Israelis about their strike or the intended target of their strike in Damascus, Syria that killed several senior Iranian military personnel, Pentagon deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.

“We were not notified by the Israelis about their strike or the intended target of their strike in Damascus,” Singh said during a press briefing.

Singh added that the US does not support strikes on diplomatic missions.

"We have made it very clear in private channels to Iran that we were not responsible for the strike that happened in Damascus. I would reiterate, the US had no involvement in that strike, and we had no knowledge about that ahead of time," Singh told reporters.

The US had reached out to Iran as it wanted to make its non-involvement in the attack very clear amid high tensions in the region, the spokesperson added.

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The Israeli air force strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on Monday killed four Syrians and injured 13 more, Syrian Health Minister Hassan Al-Ghabbash said.

"The number of Syrian citizens killed in the Israeli aggression against the Iranian consulate on Monday reached four, 13 are injured," the minister told Syria’s state-run SANA broadcaster.

On Monday, Israel carried out an airstrike on the consular annex of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, destroying the building. Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said seven of its members were killed in the attack, including two commanders.

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North Korea successfully test-fired a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile Hwasong-16, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing North Korean state media.

The report cited the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday as saying that all North Korean missiles are now solid-fuel and nuclear capable.

On Tuesday morning, Yonhap reported, citing the South Korean military, that Pyongyang launched an an unspecified ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan. The Japanese Defense Ministry later said the missile flew 650 kilometers (403 miles) at a maximum altitude of 100 kilometers and splashed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

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The US warning for Russia about a potential terrorist attack allegedly mentioned Crocus City Hall as a possible target two weeks before the attack, The Washington Post reported, citing an unnamed US official.

Previously, The New York Times reported, citing European and US security officials, that the US intelligence agencies did not provide the Russian side with all the information they had about the threat of a terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in the Moscow Region out of fear that Russian authorities might learn about their intelligence sources or methods of work.

Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov also said that the information transmitted by the United States on the preparation of a terrorist attack was of a general nature, and the Russian special services responded to it.

On March 22, several armed men broke into Crocus City Hall concert venue. The attack left 695 casualties, including 144 dead, according to the latest data from the Russian Emergencies Ministry.

The four main suspects in the case tried to flee the scene in a car but were detained and charged with terrorism. Russian authorities believe their plan was to flee to Ukraine, where the masterminds of the attack had arranged a safe haven for them. An investigation is underway.

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Kim Jong Un guides test-fire of North Korean new hypersonic ballistic missile

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided the first test-fire of Hwasongpho-16B, a new-type intermediate-range solid-fueled ballistic missile loaded with newly-developed hypersonic gliding warhead, KCNA reported.

All North Korean missiles are now solid-fuel and nuclear-capable and are equipped with maneuverable warheads, agency added.

The state media reported that the launch of the missile was aimed at confirming the designed technical specifications and verifying the reliability of the weapon system.

"It was conducted in the way of verifying the characteristics of gliding-skip flight orbit and cross-range maneuvering capability of the hypersonic glide vehicle (warhead) while confining its range to less 1 000 kilometers, in consideration of safety, and forcibly controlling the speed and altitude by means of delaying the start-up of the second-stage engine and rapidly changing the flight orbit in the active region," KCNA reported.

The agency added that the characteristics of the missile and its maneuverability were proved through the test-fire.

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‘Havana Syndrome’ more likely US homegrown as Western media bangs anti-Russia drum

The so-called “Havana Syndrome,” a long-debunked theory that has been revived by Western media in recent days is part of the “game” the administration of US President Joe Biden plays of trying to blame “everything on Russia,” Michael Maloof, a former senior security analyst in the office of the US secretary of defense told Sputnik's Fault Lines.

“Why would ‘60 Minutes’ be resurrecting it? Because somebody put a bug in their ear and they’re trying once again [to] play the game of the Biden administration to blame everything on Russia,” Maloof asserted.

If there is a real affliction affecting these people, Maloof contends that it is more likely coming from within the US than from Russia. “One of those who got hit was in an area where the president of the United States was, and that was in Western Europe. Why wasn’t [the president] affected? Or anybody around him?”

“The only thing I can conclude is that this is coming from within… They’re saying who it isn’t but not what it is, and that’s strange, which means they don’t know,” he added.

“So, once again, this tortuous approach is basically to put up their own little narrative and then shoot it down, but say it still could be true. And this is supposed to be our basis for fact-finding? I don’t think so,” Maloof said, adding “You cannot mistrust these people enough.”

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Magnitude 7.5, 6.6 quakes hit near Taiwan, tsunami warning issued in Japan's south

A 7.5-magnitude and 6.6-magnitude earthquakes were registered in the vicinity of Taiwan early on Wednesday, and tremors were felt on the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako, prompting authorities to issue tsunami warnings for the islands, data of the Japan Meteorological Agency showed.

The 7.5-magnitude earthquake was recorded at 8:58 a.m. local time on Wednesday (23:58 GMT on Tuesday) near the eastern coast of Taiwan at a "very shallow depth," the agency said without providing further details. The second earthquake was recorded in less than 15 minutes - at 9:11 a.m. local time.

Tremors up to magnitude 4 were also felt in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa, according to the agency.

After the earthquakes, tsunami warnings were issued for the islands of Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama. The agency said tsunami waves as high as three meters (10 feet) were expected immediately for the Miyako and Yaeyama area and estimated that tsunami waves would reach Okinawa at 10:00 a.m. local time.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

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US President Joe Biden in a statement called for a swift probe into the incident that killed seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen in Gaza.

"Israel has pledged to conduct a thorough investigation into why the aid workers’ vehicles were hit by airstrikes. That investigation must be swift, it must bring accountability, and its findings must be made public. Even more tragically, this is not a stand-alone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed," said Biden in a White House release.

The president added that Israel has not done enough to protect civilians and that the United States will continue its humanitarian efforts in Gaza while urging Israel to do more to facilitate the aid.

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The magnitude of the most powerful earthquake off Taiwan was 7.7, not 7.5., a spokesman for Japan's Meteorological Agency said during a press conference.

"Indeed, the magnitude has been increased, but there are no changes regarding the tsunami warnings issued," the spokesperson told a news conference.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told journalists that no damage in Japan has so far been reported and that the government continues to gather information.

Naha Airport in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture has temporarily suspended arrivals and departures following a tsunami warning after the earthquakes, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported. The report also said that people who were at the airport's terminal at the time were evacuated to the third floor of the building.

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US set EU up as 'casualty' in war against Russia

The US set up the European Union to be a “casualty” in its war against Russia and EU leaders should have known that, American journalist and RT correspondent, Rachel Blevins told Sputnik’s The Critical Hour.

Noting that the administrations of both former US President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden had threatened sanctions against Germany and that Biden threatened the pipeline itself, Blevins said the EU should have seen it coming.

“It’s fascinating to see that these countries within the EU were not smart enough to kind of see the writing on the wall here and realize that they would end up being casualties of the US and its attempts to try to increase its control,” she reflected. “The political leaders of the EU should [have been] watching that and going, ‘Wait a second, that doesn’t exactly sound like something your friend or close ally would be saying.’”

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One person was killed and more than 50 were injured after a series of powerful earthquakes hit the eastern coast of Taiwan, Reuters reported, citing Taiwan's fire department.

According to the China Earthquake Administration, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan on Wednesday. The earthquake was followed by more than 11 earth tremors with a magnitude of over 4, the administration said.

US Navy shipbuilding efforts face yet new delays

US Navy shipbuilding efforts for Columbia-class nuclear-armed submarines and other vessels face delays in excess of a year, US Naval Institute News reported, citing a one-page summary of a US Navy shipbuilding review.

The USS District of Columbia faces a 12 to 16-month delay, the US Navy reportedly said. As for Columbia-class nuclear-armed submarines, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the cost of the program increase up to $120 billion, which is 20% over initial estimates.

The guided-missile frigate USS Constellation faces a delay of up to three years, the Navy said.

The USS Enterprise aircraft carrier also faces an 18 to 26-month delay, the Navy said.

The Navy attributed the delays to factors including design maturation, supply chain challenges and difficulty finding skilled workers.

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✈️📹Su-25 attack aircraft crews carried out a strike with unguided air missiles on Ukrainian strongholds and personnel in the north of the Donetsk People's Republic.

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The terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall prompted many Russians to join the armed forces on contract, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"During the interviews held last week at selection points in Russian cities, most candidates cited the desire to avenge those killed in the tragedy that occurred on March 22, 2024 in the Moscow region as the main motive for signing a contract," the message said.

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