◾️ US and Israel have reportedly put their forces on alert

◾️ Iran warns American leadership not to get dragged in Netanyahu's trap for US

◾️ Take a look at bold nighttime raid: Russian paratroopers' armored group neutralizes Ukrainian nationalists in stronghold

Check out other stories we have covered:

◾️ What’s behind US Security Council Resolution proposing ban on nukes in space?

◾️ Scott Ritter: Strengthened Russia-DPRK relations signal new world beyond US hegemony

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The Russian Armed Forces attacked an ammunition warehouse in Kharkov, the coordinator of the Nikolayev resistance movement Sergey Lebedev told Sputnik.

The destroyed warehouse contained shells for Czech Vampire MLRS, Lebedev added.

According to him, another strike was carried out in near the Nikopol railway station in the Dnepropetrovsk region, and there were dead and wounded among the Ukrainian troops.

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What are Russia’s BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, also known as Bradley 'killers'?

The Rostec State Corporation has delivered a new batch of third-generation infantry fighting vehicles, the BMP-3, to the Russian Defense Ministry, the press service of the High-Precision Complexes holding company said.

The Russian Armed Forces have already been actively using BMP-3 vehicles in the special military operation zone.

What are the key characteristics of this advanced IFV?

🔺It is designed for both general combat and special missions.

🔺The combat vehicle has a powerful armament complex, including a 100-millimeter launcher equipped with an automatic fire control system.

🔺The BMP-3 can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour on land and up to 9.5 kilometers per hour on water.

🔺The total combat weight of the vehicle without additional protection is 19 tons.

The BMP-3 is developed and mass-produced by Kurganmashzavod in Russia’s Kurgan region in the Urals.

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New rustled-up joint NATO mission shows West 'has no real plan in Ukraine' - analyst

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski’s touting of a new joint NATO mission in Ukraine is “more a wish than reality,” strategic analyst Paolo Raffone told Sputnik.

According to him, NATO “has no real plan for Ukraine, but it would like to see the situation ‘stabilized’ to be more manageable.” “To date, nobody in NATO is willing to engage with a stable allied military presence in Ukraine,” said the director of the CIPI Foundation in Brussels.

Paolo Raffone underscored that the alliance’s support for Ukraine is “limited to certain logistic, advisory and training functions,” and under the current North Atlantic Treaty, “it would not be possible to do more.”

As for the 100-billion-euro five-year package of military aid to Ukraine floated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, this is a “plan on paper without any concrete fiscal coverage from NATO member states," Paolo Raffone noted.

Overall, all these statements, Raffone noted, “should be interpreted in view of the possible return of [Donald] Trump to the White House at the end of 2024. They look like attempts to create ‘Trump-proof’ conditions, preemptive declaratory engagements to balance candidate Donald Trump suggesting the US could cut support [to Ukraine] and claiming some NATO members were not paying their way.”

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❗️Ukraine is trying to bleed Australia’s weapons stockpiles dry

The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia has launched a large-scale media campaign to browbeat the Australian government into donating more weapons to the Zelensky regime.

Sputnik contributor Simeon Boikov (@AussieCossack) explains why ordinary Australians are becoming fed up with this insolent begging.

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The descent vehicle of the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft has landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan.

Belarus’ first space flight participant, Marina Vasilevskaya, Russian Oleg Novitsky, and American Loral O'Hara have returned to Earth from the ISS.

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Forty members of US Congress urge Biden to cease offensive arms supply to Israel

Forty members of the US Congress, including former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sent a joint letter to US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for an end to the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel following a deadly Israeli attack on the World Central Kitchen (WCK) humanitarian convoy in Gaza.

"We write to express our shared concern and outrage over the recent Israeli airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including an American citizen. In light of this incident, we urge you to reconsider your recent decision to approve the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed," the letter said.

On April 1, seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in the Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip. The humanitarian organization suspended its operations in the region.

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He crystal-balled it: Russian politician who predicted major geopolitical events

Two years ago, one of Russia’s most famous politicians, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, passed away.

During his lifetime, many considered his forecasts completely fanciful. However, his predictions – the events in Donbass, the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russia-NATO confrontation, as well as the Middle East crisis, including the escalation between Iran and Israel – continue to come true.

Sputnik has collected Zhirinovsky's most striking forecasts, which we now see in reality.

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The Russian military has destroyed two Ukrainian SAMP-T anti-aircraft missile systems of French-Italian origin in the Kharkov region, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

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❗️The Russian Armed Forces conducted a group strike in the night using high-precision long-range weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles against military-industrial facilities in Ukraine that produced and repaired equipment, military airfields, and the temporary locations of foreign mercenaries. All assigned targets were hit successfully.

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian MoD's daily briefing on the progress of the special military op in Ukraine:     

🔺Russian troops repelled two attacks by Ukrainian assault groups in the Donetsk region. The Ukrainian losses amounted to 470 militants.

🔺The Russian army repelled 12 Ukrainian counterattacks near Avdeyevka. Ukrainian losses exceeded 280 militants.

🔺Russian air defense systems shot down 205 Ukrainian UAVs, a Hammer bomb, and six MLRS shells.

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Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky has admitted the situation on the eastern front is especially difficult for Ukrainian troops due to the offensive actions by Russian forces in three directions.

According to him, a particularly difficult situation has developed in the Artemovsk area, east of Chasov Yar and Kleshcheevka, in Avdeyevka area, near Berdichev, Orlovka, Vodyanoy, Pervomaisky, and in the Novopavlosk area, near Novomikhailovka.

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Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has expressed his apologies to Mexico following the incident where Ecuadorian police attacked the country's diplomatic mission in Quito.

"What the Noboa government has done has no precedent in the history of Latin America. Even under the most terrible dictatorships, the rights of the embassy of any country were not violated. We do not live in a state governed by the rule of law, but in a barbaric..."

The administration of the President of Ecuador has described the storming of the Mexican embassy in Quito as a defense of their sovereignty.

Earlier, the Mexican government announced its intention to take legal action against the Ecuadorian government before the International Court of Justice in order to condemn their actions.

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China has brought the former empire back to a harsh reality

"Britain is not a competitor for China, the British government should not overestimate it's impact on the global scene."

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Strike on aid workers in Gaza: 'US knows how to be silent' on Israel's violations – analyst

Washington “knows how to be silent” when it comes to Tel Aviv’s violations of the law, global affairs analyst Mehmet Rakipoglu told Sputnik.

“In rhetoric, the US is the most important country concerning the international law, civilian casualties, not targeting civilians, but it's obvious that it's not the case when it comes to the implementation," Rakipoglu noted.

Current US 'frustration' with the Israeli Army’s actions in Gaza is “all about politics and upcoming presidential elections,” added the researcher on international affairs at Dimensions for Strategic Studies think tank.

After the Palestine-Israel conflict spiraled, the US showed little concern about civilian deaths. But “politics” has prompted Washington to speak up in the wake of the Israeli strike on aid workers from the World Central Kitchen organization, Rakipoglu noted.

He also suggested that the US “could plan that if there is any problem with the elections that can lead to a loss for Biden, Biden can say ‘Okay, now Netanyahu is responsible for that crisis, we are not and Israel is not.’”

One can expect “more problems between Netanyahu and Biden” to play out in the future, the expert concluded.

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Ukraine's ammunition shortage is so severe that soldiers have to search for unexploded Russian shells in swamps

Ukrainian armed forces commanders make soldiers search for unexploded shells in marshes for future use, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The publication quotes 36-year-old military officer Maxim Polyukhovich, who said he has to dive into mud and walk several kilometers through minefields in search of shells. According to him, "the commanders' appetite is increasing." “If I send 100 rounds, they call the next day asking for more ammo,” he says.

In March, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk said that stockpiles of certain types of ammunition in Ukraine have fallen to critical levels, making it difficult for the Ukrainian military to carry out its tasks.

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'Russia's evil empire': Poland resorts to hysterical pretexts to justify militarization

Recent statements by Polish officials on a “pre-war” situation near the borders with Russia have raised concerns about the full-blown participation of NATO in the Ukraine crisis.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski sent shockwaves in the media by declaring in Brussels that NATO was setting up a “special mission” in Ukraine, but later rushed to “clarify” that the alliance was not dispatching its forces against Russia, but set its mission for logistics and training. Later, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said he visits Poland’s eastern border almost every day, with the frantic comment that “Russia is rebuilding the evil empire.” The minister said defense spending had soared to four percent, up from NATO’s requirement of two percent.

Leading Polish weekly Polityka lambasted Sikorski’s statements, noting that they could be made to justify huge purchases of weapons abroad, which literally “drain the country of all resources still left here.”

Another Polish weekly, Do Rzeczy, questioned Poland’s ability to pay for the military reform that is expected to make Poland’s Army “the strongest in Europe.” Last year alone, Poland bought 32 F-35A fighter jets and 366 Abrams tanks from the US, and also ordered 1,000 K2 tanks from South Korea. Between 2022 and 2035, Warsaw plans to spend over $164 billion on weapons.

And with all the anti-Russian hysteria in official rhetoric, it seems obvious against whom Poland intends to fight.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on March 29 that Poland was in “a pre-war state” because of Russia, claiming that Moscow would escalate its campaign against Kiev.

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🇪🇬Hamas said its delegation would visit Cairo on April 7 at Egypt's invitation to take part in a new round of ceasefire talks while maintaining all its demands.

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"A war with Russia can only lead to the complete destruction of France," said Jean-Luc Melenchon, founder of the left-wing La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party, noting that it is necessary to find ways to talk about peace.

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How Russia can disarm threat of Ukraine’s ultra-long-range drones

Ukraine won’t be able to attack Russia behind the frontlines with its alleged ‘long-range drone capabilities’ as Moscow has an array of tools for dealing with this threat, military observers Evgeny Mikhailov and Edward Bagdasarian told Sputnik, commenting on reports in German media about Kiev’s new extended UAVs.

“Ukraine can’t win along the line of contact and is suffering defeats along the entire front, resorting to the launch of a systematic programme of terrorist actions in the depths of the Russian Federation,” Mikhailov said. Russia can counter these attacks in part by expanding strikes targeting drone infrastructure in Ukraine.

Another step in blunting the threat is to increase Russian strategic enterprises’ anti-drone defences, Bagdasarian noted.

“I think, firstly, that all these factories where things are produced for the special military operation will be classified. Secondly, the security services of such enterprises and objects of critical infrastructure within 1,500–2,000 km [of the front] will acquire anti-drone defences.”

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine will make every effort, spending the last of their resources, to continue carrying out such attacks,” Bagdasarian emphasised, adding that NATO will assist Kiev by providing intelligence support and cash.

But drones aren’t the end-all be all solution Kiev and its allies may be looking for as the Ukrainian crisis turns into a quagmire, Bagdasarian stressed.

“Their range is about the same as that of cruise missiles, but cruise missiles are faster, their flight path is closer to the ground, and they are more difficult to detect.… These homemade drones are more primitive, seemingly slapped together whatever was available. Therefore, their reliability, accuracy, safety and survivability are significantly lower,” the observer said.

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🔺He crystal-balled it: Russian politician who predicted Russian special operation in Ukraine, escalation in the Middle East and much more

🔺China has brought the former empire back to a harsh reality

🔺How Russia can disarm threat of Ukraine’s ultra-long range drones?

🔺'Russia's evil empire': Poland resorts to hysterical pretexts to justify militarization

🔺Ukraine's ammunition shortage is so severe that soldiers have to search for unexploded Russian shells in swamps

🔺Strike on aid workers in Gaza: 'US knows how to be silent' on Israel's violations – analyst

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❗️ A car rammed into a crowd of protesters in Tel Aviv who were demanding early elections and an immediate deal to release hostages in Gaza. One woman was taken away by ambulance, Sputnik's correspondent reports