⚡️The settlement of Ukrainsk in the Donetsk People's Republic came under the control of Russian troops, law enforcement agencies told Sputnik

The photo shows the ventilation shaft of one of the mines, where Russian soldiers raised a flag.

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The number of victims in Lebanon as a result of the explosion of communication devices has exceeded 1,500, Sky News Arabia TV reports.

Hospitals in Beirut, Nabatieh, Saida, and Tyre are overcrowded with victims of explosions caused by communication devices, according to Lebanon’s acting Health Minister Firas Abiad. The devices allegedly detonated as a result of a large-scale Israeli sabotage.

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Sergei Shoigu, Russia's former minister of defense and current secretary of the Security Council, arrived in Iran on an unannounced visit

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Hezbollah calls the Lebanon pager explosions "criminal aggression" by Israel, vows "just punishment"

The Lebanese military group issued a statement following the deadly attack:

"After examining all the facts, current data and available information about the sinful attack that took place this afternoon, we hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression, which also targeted civilians and led to the deaths of a number of martyrs and the injury of a large number with various wounds," the statement reads.

Israel will "certainly receive just punishment for this sinful aggression, whether it expects it or not," Hezbollah concluded.

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Safer society? ‘Big Brother’ will forever be watching people’s daily life - Oracle co-founder

Larry Ellison, co-founder of computer software company Oracle, did not think twice before claiming that artificial intelligence (AI) surveillance could finally become an essential part of people’s daily life.

He mentioned AI-powered networks of security cameras, police body cams and vehicle dashcams, which would purportedly play an important role in creating a “safer society.”

Ellison then went further by arguing that “citizens will be on their best behavior” thanks to AI-powered surveillance cameras.

Critics have repeatedly insisted that fully-fledged surveillance could ride roughshod over personal freedoms, resulting in the emergence of a “surveillance state.”

"The first tranche, concerning extraordinary income from immobilized Russian assets, has already been allocated. €1.4 billion has already been directed through the European Peace Facility to pay for the most urgent supplies, primarily artillery shells and air defense systems," he said.

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US crackdown on Sputnik, RT is meant to ‘discourage others from speaking out’ and intimidate Americans - journalist

Meta’s decision* to block the accounts of Sputnik and RT was the result of a growing pressure from the Biden administration that comes as the United States is “losing the war in Ukraine” and is thus “growing increasingly desperate,” independent journalist and author Daniel Lazare tells Sputnik.

According to him, the purpose is not to strike out against the Russian media, but “it's essentially to regiment political discourse in general. To discourage others from speaking out, to make it known that criticism of the war is now impermissible, that further action may be taken by the government and that people should watch their step. That's what the message is.”

Lazare says, “Internet censorship is simply the logical next step” for the US as it is “raising the stakes by providing Kiev with medium-range missiles capable of striking deep within Russian territory while at the same time stepping up repression at home.”

“This is very dangerous, but this is what a government does when it is losing a war. So, what we see here is this growing panic in official circles,” Lazare remarks.

Having noted that the freedom of speech in the United States is now “under attack,” Lazare warns that “other nations will follow suit” and that “censorship is spreading.”

“Global censorship is increasing. It is increasing, but I must point out that given the internet, critical speech is impossible to stop. But nonetheless, they can dampen it, they can tamp it down and they can discourage it by essentially making it more and more difficult for people to speak out here in the US. It is very dangerous because the situation in Ukraine is increasingly dangerous,” he says.

*Meta is banned in Russia as an extremist organization.

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Telling the untold: What in Sputnik's coverage has hit the US elite's nerve? Part 1 👉 Part 2

Meta* has banned Sputnik globally under the pretext of election interference. However, it appears that the real reason behind the ban is that Sputnik serves as an obstacle in the US deep state's efforts to unleash its own vision and narrative on American and global public.

Here’s the list of topics unnerving the US elite:

🔹 "Russiagate". Sputnik consistently debunked groundless accusations about President Donald Trump's alleged "collusion" with Russia. The Mueller investigation did not find any Trump-Russia ties, whereas the Durham probe exposed the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign's role in fabricating the ruse.

🔹 US elections. Sputnik covered presidential and midterm elections in the US giving a platform for conservative voices advocating election integrity and busting instances of alleged voter fraud, ballot manipulation and illegal voting by non-citizens. The US mainstream press has been insisting for years the problem is "non-existent" despite emerging evidence across the country and especially in swing states.

🔹 Hunter and Joe Biden investigations. Sputnik shed light on Hunter Biden's "laptop from hell" at the time when the New York Post's bombshell was blacked out in the US mainstream press and social media platforms ahead of the 2020 elections. Being initially degraded as "Russian disinformation", the collection of Hunter's damning emails was later proved legit. The US Congress concluded that the Biden family sold the "Joe Biden" brand for personal enrichment.

🔹 Botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Sputnik provided the full picture of the disastrous US pull-out during which weapons, Afghan translators and allied troops were left behind despite the White House and media attempts to downplay the failures. Sputnik's story of the orderly Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan by land in 1988-89 underlined the Biden administration's flawed Afghan policy.

*Meta is banned in Russia as an extremist organization.

Part 1 👉 Part 2

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The ugly truth nobody in the West wants to hear — Part 2 👉 Part 1

While the US presents itself as a champion of human rights, democracy and peace, the reality proves the opposite and Sputnik shows it.

🔹 Human rights abuses of January Sixers. While the US media tried to demonize the participants of the Capitol riots, Sputnik raised concerns over human rights abuses of January Sixers and persecution of political opposition by the Biden administration. After an FBI agent disclosed to Sputnik that the bureau excessively used SWAT teams against the protesters, he was fired.

🔹 Clinton Foundation. Sputnik covers investigations into the charity's alleged fraud amid the present US media silence on the issue. Sputnik's pundits called the Clinton charity a self-enrichment vehicle and raised concerns about the apparent cover-up by the FBI, Justice Department and IRS.

🔹 Globalist cabal. Sputnik busted US liberal foundations, including the Soros Open Society Foundation, the Clinton Foundation, the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation and the Clooney Foundation, for peddling globalist agenda at home and abroad, including efforts to cash in on Global South nations, trying to silence alternative media, and fuelling the flames of regional conflicts, including in Ukraine.

🔹 Regime change ops. Sputnik sheds light on former and present US regime change ops, including the Solomon Islands electoral coup effort earlier this year, as well as brewing regime change plots against Georgia and Serbia.

🔹 Use of depleted uranium (DU) in Iraq and Yugoslavia. As the US press hailed Washington's decision to provide Ukraine with DU shells, Sputnik held interviews with researchers and survivors of DU contamination, showing that the weapons pose a grave threat to people and environment.

🔹 Trump assassination attempts. Largely neglected by the US mainstream press, the attempts to kill the Republican candidate received much attention from Sputnik. After the first attempt on Trump's life, Sputnik's pundits didn't rule out a second assassination plot that materialized later.

Part 2 👉 Part 1

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Syrian terrorists and Ukrainian militants form ‘symbiotic relationship’ nurtured by ‘CIA connections’

Cooperation between the Ukrainian military and Syrian organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* (HTS) is hardly a surprise, says veteran international consultant and retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen.

“If we look at HTS history, formerly they were Al-Nusra [Front]*, aligned with al-Qaeda* and they were beneficiaries of Timber Sycamore weapons coming from Libya into anti Assad rebels, into Syria along with CIA training. So, there's kind of a symbiotic type of relationship,” he says, adding that there are “CIA connections on both sides.”

The objectives shared by the Syrian group and the Ukrainian militants are to “counter Russian influence” and to “weaken the Russian forces,” Rasmussen suggests.

On one hand, he explains, the US is “very upset that Russia intervened” in the Syrian conflict and dashed any hopes of their groups overthrowing the government of Bashar Assad.

On the other hand, there is the Ukrainian conflict where things do not go well for Kiev, with the latter now desperately looking for “other ways to kind of divert the attention of the Russians.”

“The conflict in Ukraine was, in my view, provoked by Western powers. Essentially it [the West] really didn't care about Ukraine at all,” Rasmussen elaborates. “The initiative was to weaken Russia and to potentially, in people's dreams, to cause an overthrow of Putin in Russia and a puppet person then [imposed] optimally, but that's not going to occur.”

According to him, there are American neocons who cling to this “fantasy,” and that he believes it is a “continuation” of Washington’s desire to create problems for Russia by ousting Assad.

“At the same time, [the US] have a desire to weaken Russia in the Ukraine area and weaken Russia overall. So, the joint concept that’s supported on both of them is to weaken Russia - is to divert forces away from things, to weaken Russia to ultimately obtain their objectives,” he speculates.

*Terrorist organizations banned in Russia

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