🇨🇳This year's winter Olympic Games are officially over. Head of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach has pronounced the games in Beijing closed.

🇮🇹Italy's Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo will host the 2026 winter games.

❗️ Blinken: the decision of Belarus and Russia to continue military exercises is a concern

❗️ Biden ready to work with Putin at any time, it's important to prevent war, Blinken says

⚡️ Kremlin: Putin tells Macron of NATO effort to push Kiev into military solution in Donbass

❗️ Pentagon claims the US gave Russia "several serious proposals" on security, but "heard nothing back on them"

🎥: Evacuees board a train in Lugansk

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❗️DPR's forces return fire at Kiev forces' positions

The DPR said that since this morning, Kiev forces have opened fire on its territory 37 times, with more than 500 shells, mines, and grenades used. The DPR has been forced to return fire from non-prohibited weapons

The evacuation is underway, while the siren is being tested by the authorities

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Blinken explained in an interview with CNN why the US does not want to unveil the sanctions against Russia ahead of time:

"The purpose of the sanctions in the first instance is to try to deter Russia from going to war. As soon as you trigger them, that deterrent is gone and until the last minute, as long as we can try to bring a deterrent effect to this, we're going to try to do that."

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❗️ Macron will speak with Scholz and Biden in the next few hours - AFP

❗️Blinken says the US is not considering for Ukraine to give part of territory to avoid war

⚡️ Donald Trump's Truth Social app will begin to roll out this week on Apple app store - TMTG CEO Devin Nunes

⚡️Stoltenberg says NATO supports any diplomatic initiative for Ukraine, the main goal is to prevent war

⚡️⚡️ Russian envoy to US: Moscow doesn't plan to invade Ukraine

The ambassador insisted that Russia regards Donbass as part of Ukraine and has no intention to seize a foreign country's territory

❗️LPR: Situation extremely tense, Kiev preparing offensive along entire contact line territory

😐Justin Bieber tests positive for COVID-19 and postpones Las Vegas concert

⚡️ Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said it is inappropriate to talk about a potential Russian attack in the coming days

Two civilians have been killed and five residential buildings destroyed in artillery shelling by Ukrainian forces on the settlement of Pionerskoye as Kiev reportedly intensifies its attack on the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic.

Meanwhile, thousands of people are being forced to leave theirs homes as the evacuation of civilians continues.

⚡️ American soldiers in Poland have started exercises near the Ukrainian border, according to the Polish Ministry of Defence