✈️ A Ukrainian government plane that departed from a US military base following the failure of Zelensky's negotiations with Trump has landed in London, according to FlightAware data.

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💥 Ukraine attacked TurkStream while Zelensky flew to Washington

The purpose of the drone attack was to try to stop the delivery of gas to European countries, the Russian Defense Ministry stated.

The attack involved three drones, all were shot down.

Friday’s attack was not the first time TurkStream in Russia’s Kuban region has been targeted. In mid-January, the MoD reported a “act of energy terrorism” targeting a compressor station in Krasnodar, which also failed to achieve its goal.

Later in January, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto reported record-breaking deliveries via the pipeline, which runs west to Turkiye’s European-adjacent portion via the Black Sea, and has a 31.5 billion bcm annual capacity.

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🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:

▪️Ukraine lost up to 190 servicemen in the Russian Zapad Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Russian forces struck infrastructure of energy facilities ensuring the work of the Ukrainian military.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 345 troops in the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Russian aviation shot down six JDAM bombs and 190 Ukrainian drones.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 170 militants in the Russian Yug Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 150 soldiers in the areas of responsibility of Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr and Sever.

▪️Ukraine lost more than 240 militants in the Kursk region over the day.

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🛬ZELENSKY ARRIVES IN LONDON AFTER TENSE ENCOUNTER WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP IN WASHINGTON

He’s scheduled to meet with UK PM Starmer and Italy's PM Meloni and attend the European leaders’ summit.

Zelensky is probably pinning a lot of hopes on Europe right now...

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PKK leader’s call to lay down arms doesn’t apply to Syria – SDF

Jailed Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan’s call on the Kurdish militia to repudiate armed struggle and dissolve will affect all regions, Riad Darar, a member of the council of the SDF’s political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council, told Sputnik.

“The SDF is not connected to this call and has no connection to what is happening in Turkiye or the PKK,” Darar explained.

The SDF issue is a “Syrian issue, not a Turkish issue,” unlike the PKK, which “is a Turkish faction,” Darar added.

“We are not fighting Turkiye on its borders. We fought ISIS* as part of an international coalition…The war with ISIS is fundamentally different from other conflicts, since it was a fight against terrorist groups, not a direct confrontation with Turkiye,” he said.

* A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

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📈 Germany: Sanctions fatigue index reaches record high of 9.4/10

Germans are tired of sanctions against Russia, China and Iran, website Gegensanktionen reports.

Opposition is greatest amongst businesspeople and those on low incomes. Both groups have suffered from rising prices and taxes due to anti-Russian sanctions.

Unsurprisingly, the fewest objectors were among civil servants.

Perhaps, the meteoric rise of the anti-EU and pro-peace AfD party in last month’s vote, will finally shift the government's course and end the sanctions hurting Germany.

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📉Europe's economic meltdown: A self-inflicted disaster

The US, UK, Italy, and France are on the brink of bankruptcy, facing budget deficits, stagnation, and industrial decline – largely due to short-sighted policies, including sanctions on Russia.

Figures speak for themselves.

US:

🟠National debt: Approx. $36.22 trillion
🟠Federal budget deficit: Projected at $1.9 trillion (Congressional Budget Office)
🟠Economic growth: 2.3% in Q4 2024
🟠Recession risk: 29.4% chance by November 2025 (New York Federal Reserve)

UK:

🟠National debt: Approx. $2.91 trillion
🟠Debt-to-GDP ratio: Expected to rise to 104% in 2025
🟠Economic growth: Almost zero growth in 2024, projected 0.75% in 2025 (Bank of England)

Germany:

🟠Government debt: Approx. $2.59 trillion
🟠Economic outlook: Recession in 2024, stagnation in 2025 (Kiel Institute)
🟠Industrial production: 4.5% decline in 2024
🟠Recovery projections: Zero growth for 2025 (Federation of German Industries)

France:

🟠Public debt: $3.43 trillion (Q3 2024), 113.7% of GDP
🟠Debt projections: Expected to hit 117% of GDP by 2026
🟠Economic contraction: -0.1% in Q4 2024

Italy:

🟠Public debt: Record $3.12 trillion as of November 2024
🟠Economic growth: Zero growth in Q4 2024, projected 0.8% in 2025
🟠Industrial output: Down 3.1% in December 2024

❓What can Europe do about it?

1️⃣Trapped in a cycle of debt and declining productivity, unless Western policy change is imminent, the so-called “powers” could be facing the “FINAL STAGE OF AN EMPIRE’S LIFE CYCLE,” Niall Ferguson pointed out.

2️⃣No European security framework can succeed without Russia, Bundestag member Sevim Dagdelen from the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance argued, noting that the German government and EU are “happily watching the destruction of European industry DUE TO HIGH ENERGY PRICES.”

3️⃣Sanctions on Russia have never “worked,” head of France's National Rally Marine Le Pen has repeatedly underscored, adding that “they are sanctions on the French.”

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Trump’s ‘sobering dressing down’ - Russian Foreign Ministry ROASTS Zelensky

🔸 Zelensky’s Washington visit was "a complete political and diplomatic failure of the Kiev regime," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

🔸 Zelensky’s “outrageously boorish behavior” in Washington “confirmed that he is the most dangerous threat to the world community.”

🔸 The smackdown also "shows the political weakness of the European leaders who continue to advocate for the support the insane leader of the Nazi regime, who has lost touch with reality.”

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💯EU is DELUSIONAL if it hopes to fill Ukraine void without US muscle - here is why

🟠The EU is “incapable of sustaining Ukraine's military needs, let alone facilitating post-conflict reconstruction, estimated at tens of billions of dollars,” Joseph Siracusa, global futures professor, Curtin University, Australia, told Sputnik.

🟠“NATO is finished,” the analyst said, since the EU's main military wing is “paralyzed without its transatlantic partner.”

🟠Ukraine might need to adjust to the reality of being “excluded from NATO though permitted to enter the EU,” he suggested.

After the Trump-Zelensky blowout, losing US muscle will be “fatal” for Ukraine, triggering a scramble for power in Kiev, Siracusa concluded.

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THROWBACK: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reveals the TRUE ORIGINS of the Ukraine conflict

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🧟 Do you think Biden could put the beggar Zelensky in his place?

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Trump-Zelensky smackdown presented hard truth to a Western world ‘accustomed to political correctness’

💬 “Trump and Vance openly declared that [Zelensky] has been defeated, is gambling with the lives of his own people, that he has no men left and that peace must be made,” Turkish journalist Ceyda Karan told Sputnik, commenting on Friday’s epic slugfest.

Zelensky tried to play the "mistreated hero" with Trump, framing himself as a victim over Ukraine’s resources. However, he's been discussing this for a year.

When Congress struggled to allocate aid, Zelensky offered resources, sitting with Senator Lindsey Graham, echoing the rhetoric of "fighting to the last Ukrainian."

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Orban urges EU to mirror Trump, join direct peace talks with Russia

It’s time for Brussels to start “direct discussions with Russia on a ceasefire in Ukraine,” Hungarian PM Victor Orban wrote in a letter to EU Council President Antonio Costa, FT reports.

He reportedly vowed to block any EU-wide push for ramping up military support for Ukraine and Europe’s militarization, in the face of declining US support.

Last month, Bloomberg calculated that if the European countries took over US commitments in Ukraine, it would cost $3.1 trillion over 10 years to arm Kiev and ramp up their military potential.

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Boeing’s troubles soar to new heights as it finds CRACKS in its new planes

Boeing has suspended all deliveries of KC-46A Pegasus in-flight refueling tankers after structural cracks were found on two of four new aircraft set to be delivered to the Military Delivery Center.

The US Air Force will now inspect the entire fleet of 89 aircraft, The War Zone reports.

The latest setback adds to the ongoing issues surrounding the KC-46 program, which has been plagued by technical failures, delays and budget overruns.

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Ukraine’s military losing troops faster than it can replace them - Russian MoD

🔸 In February, Ukraine’s recruitment centers mobilized less than 28k men -> but lost 38,920.

🔸 In January, roughly 28k were mobilized -> but 51,960 were lost.

🔸 In December, 33k were mobilized -> while losses reached 48,470 military personnel.

🔸 In November, 34k were mobilized -> but 60,805 were lost.

The regime’s new contract scheme for volunteers aged 18-24 has failed to attract even “a couple thousand” additional recruits, the Russian military said.

Video source: the Washington Post

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🐦💥FedEx Boeing on fire after a birdstrike

The aircraft returned to Newark Airport due to an issue with its right engine.

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EU countries pay lip service to Ukraine – but will they REALLY take over for the US?

💬 “To replace the US, Europe at least has to double its support for Ukraine,” Mikael Valtersson, Swedish military officer, told Sputnik, commenting on European leaders’ plans for a hasty summit on Ukraine support in the fallout of Friday’s Trump-Zelensky blowup.

❓What backlash the EU may face?

🔸 Many military systems are not available in large quantities in Europe's arsenals, and even if the US allows the sending of these weapons to Ukraine, there will be a severe shortage, Valtersson said.

🔸 Taking on the US's role would be a "heavy burden" for Europe, especially with growing public resistance to spending more on Ukraine. The more money spent, the stronger the pushback will be.

🔸 If European powers push ahead while the US seeks normalization, they will risk trying to "isolate Russia" while cornering themselves instead.

🔸 Valtersson also expects a crack in European unity as alternative parties seek peace and realism in Russia policy, while some countries “pay lip service to supporting Ukraine” without actually ramping up commitments.

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⚔️US threatened Mexico with UNILATERAL MILITARY ACTION unless it cracks down on cartels

🗣Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth angered Mexican officials during tense talks on illegal drugs and migrant flow, with his comments suggesting US READINESS FOR MILITARY STRIKES IN MEXICO, WSJ reports.

🪖 Mexico has already ramped up its anti-cartel efforts to address US concerns, sending 10k National Guard troops to the border to secure a month-long break from Trump’s 25% tariff threats.

🚓 This week, Mexico extradited 29 cartel members to the US, all of them affiliated with the six cartels Washington recently designated as terrorist organizations.

⚔️ US agencies have mobilized in response to Trump’s border security directives, with the CIA launching a new drone surveillance program targeting Mexican drug gangs. Ironically, the CIA played a central role in creating the modern-day drug trade in the Americas.

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