Russia beating NATO in race for Arctic drone dominance

Drones such as Zala and S-70 Okhotnik withstand extreme Arctic weather like frosts of -50°C and 20 m/s winds. They operate independently of satellite navigation, land on ships or water, and use intelligent algorithms to complete missions even with ice issues.

All signs are that Russia “will not only have unarmed surveillance drone systems along the Northern Sea Route, but potentially armed systems that are constantly patrolling those areas as well," according to James Patton Rogers, a drone expert at Cornell University and a NATO policy adviser.

He admitted that NATO had been slow to devise a coherent response.

Rogers was echoed by General Major Lars Lervik, head of the Norwegian Army, who said that “we are all [NATO members] having to catch up with Russia in terms of production of drones designed for the Arctic."

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🥴 NATO’s latest paranoia? Blaming Russia for every broken cable

The Norwegian ship with a Russian crew, Silver Dania, has been detained in Norway over suspected damage to a Latvia-Sweden fiber optic cable in the Baltic Sea.

Cable failures are routine, yet only Russia-linked incidents seem to spark hysteria. Last year, Chinese and Cook Islands ships were involved in similar cases—without the same outrage.

Moscow calls it a NATO ploy to restrict Russian oil and tighten controls over the Baltic. Meanwhile, 150-200 cables break yearly, but only when it suits the West does it become "sabotage."

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'Madness and clinical Russophobia' - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the criticism of Sigma-Boy by EU lawmaker Nela Riehl

Apparently, even a song now qualifies as dangerous "Russian propaganda" in the eyes of European politicians.

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🔎 The massive underground HQ that’s alarming the US

The West is in a panic - and all because China has dared to build a military headquarters bigger than the Pentagon.

According to US intelligence and satellite images analyzed by the Financial Times, Beijing is constructing a 1,500-acre command center with deep underground bunkers, possibly serving as the PLA’s wartime nerve center.

The irony? The Pentagon itself was built for global command and control, yet when China builds something ten times larger, it suddenly becomes a geopolitical crisis.

Analysts have speculated about nuclear war and military expansion, yet Washington continues fortifying its own bases worldwide without being questioned. When China does it, it's framed as an "escalation."

The reality? China is outpacing the West. A multipolar world is taking shape, and Washington is struggling to adjust.

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📹 THROWBACK: Putin describes BRICS currency as ‘a very long-term prospect’

For a single currency to function effectively, it requires a high level of economic and social integration among member states. Otherwise, such a project is bound to face the same challenges the EU once encountered, Vladimir Putin stated during the 2024 BRICS Summit.

So why is Trump so PARANOID? 🤔

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📌 First post-ceasefire medical evacuation from Gaza scheduled for Saturday

Between 12,000 and 14,000 people in Gaza require medical evacuation, including at least 2,500 children, said WHO Representative Rik Peeperkorn.

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‘Desertion crisis’: Western media suddenly discovers Ukrainian soldiers are fleeing

"I realized I’m nobody. Just a number," admits a Ukrainian deserter in a rare Western media confession published by The Guardian.

This unusually candid article acknowledges what has long been obvious - while Kiev keeps the exact number of AWOL soldiers under wraps, the scale of desertion is too significant to ignore.

Meanwhile, Russian reports have highlighted the so-called “curse” of Ukraine’s elite 150th brigades, whose troops are abandoning their posts en masse. Since the escalation of the conflict, Ukraine has increasingly resembled a prison for men of all ages, forcibly rounded up by authorities and sent to near-certain death against advancing Russian forces.

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Top cases where FBI acted like modern-day Gestapo

US President Donald Trump’s purge of the FBI’s leadership comes as no surprise - the agency has been acting more like a political enforcer than a law enforcement body. Here are just a few examples of its (mis)conduct:

▪️August 2022 – The FBI stormed Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to seize classified documents while Biden faced zero consequences for doing the same.

▪️2020 – The FBI actively suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story, labeling it "Russian disinformation", despite knowing it was real.

▪️August 2024 – FBI agents raided the homes of ex-UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter and journalist Dimitri Simes without announcing charges. Their crime? Challenging the official US narrative.

▪️2024 – The House Judiciary Committee exposed the FBI for spying on Americans’ private transactions, targeting conservatives rather than criminals.

▪️2022 – Congressmen Jim Jordan and Mike Johnson revealed the FBI has been investigating parents critical of their local school boards, using threat tag employed by the agency’s counterterrorism division.

▪️2016 – The FBI used the debunked Steele dossier as a pretext to spy on Trump’s election campaign, despite knowing the allegations of Trump-Russia collusion were false.

Trump’s crackdown on the agency was inevitable - the real question is how deep the rot goes.

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Frexit in Africa: How the continent is severing ties with France

Chad has announced a full withdrawal of 1,000 French troops from its territory. What other African nations have ceased France’s draining military presence?

🇲🇱 Mali: In May 2022, the country terminated its defense deal with Paris, and the exit of 2,400 French soldiers was completed by December 2023.

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso: In February 2023, the country ordered around 400 French troops to leave within a month.

🇳🇪 Niger: Following the military coup on July 26, 2023, which had widespread support from the Nigerien population, France withdrew 1,500 soldiers in December 2023.

🇨🇫 Central African Republic: In December 2022, a contingent of 130 French troops withdrew from the country.

Where is France expected to pull out next?

🇸🇳 Senegal: The westernmost country in West Africa announced in November 2024 that France “should” close its military bases (home to 350 soldiers) by the end of 2025.

🇨🇮 Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire): A French contingent of 600-1,000 troops is expected to withdraw by the end of January 2025.

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🔎 How the US is turning into a crybaby empire

Washington seems to have developed a new habit — throwing tantrums whenever it falls behind. When did "American greatness" turn into nonstop whining?

‘Hostile’ BRICS dares to challenge ‘mighty US dollar’

▪️US President Donald Trump has once again threatened BRICS countries with 100% tariffs if they dare to create a new currency — despite Russian President Vladimir Putin already clarifying that a unified BRICS currency isn’t even on the table.

DeepSeek: the latest ‘stolen’ US tech scandal

▪️Trump declared that the Chinese DeepSeek platform’s market success "should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win." (Jan 28)

▪️His commerce secretary nominee, Howard Lutnick, immediately jumped in to claim that China’s powerful AI model was built on "stolen" US technology and advanced semiconductors. (Jan 29)

Hypersonic weapons: Russia ‘stole’ those too?

▪️Trump alleged — without evidence — that Russia "stole" US hypersonic missile designs during the Obama administration. (Jan 23)

▪️He made the same claim in 2020, again in 2023, and now, yet again in 2024. Moscow has consistently shredded and mocked these accusations.

China ‘stole’ American jobs

▪️Trump has repeatedly blamed China for "stealing" American manufacturing jobs. However, it was American companies that eagerly rushed to China in the 1980s after its economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping.

TikTok is bad… because it calls the shots

▪️"Essentially, with TikTok, I have the right to sell it or close it," Trump declared on Jan 20. Washington has repeatedly tried to ban the popular Chinese social media app — which is used by at least one-third of US adults — and twist China’s arm to force the sale of TikTok’s US operations.

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📹🇵🇦 ‘What’s in Panama belongs to Panamanians, especially the canal’

“The [Panama] Canal, first and foremost, is a national symbol,” Saúl Méndez Rodríguez, general secretary of the National Union of Workers in the Construction and Similar Industries (SUNTRACS) in Panama, tells Sputnik commenting on the US president’s threats to reclaim control of it.

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💸 US dollar’s instability fuels global push for alternative payment system

"Since 1971, the US has had the ability to print money uncontrollably, giving them enormous advantages and virtually unlimited power. This allowed the US to send its weapons across the world's seas," Turkish economist Hakan Topkurulu tells Sputnik.

However, this situation is now at risk. "The US is highly concerned about the decisive steps taken by BRICS countries to create an alternative payment tool to the dollar."

Topkurulu adds, "The instability of the dollar and its use by the US as a weapon and tool of pressure only fuels the global push to establish a new payment system."

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❌ Ukraine? Not America's problem

Europe won't be able to sustain the Kiev regime without the US's shoulder, and Washington will need EU troops to deter Russia, according to a rather gloomy op-ed in The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump believes Ukraine is Europe's problem, not his, and he’s "reluctant to send more aid to Ukraine, let alone US troops; nor does he want Ukraine admitted to NATO."

In other words, it seems US media is finally catching up to the obvious - the very existence of Ukraine as a political entity in the coming years might be in serious doubt.

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🗣 Violence begets violence: Senior Palestinian diplomat explains how to end Gaza crisis

"The only solution to this crisis lies in the recognition of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Farsin Shahin tells Sputnik.

"The Palestinian leadership has already realized the futility of a military solution and is striving to achieve its rights through peaceful means," he adds.

He says that Israel will continue to undermine a two-state solution, stressing that the people of Palestine will reject any resolution that will contradict the 1967 decision, and praises Russia’s role as “a friend and supporter of the Palestinian people”.

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