❗️Ukrainian intelligence, under cover of the RAND Corporation, recruits in Russia to obtain classified information – Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)

Using messaging apps, Ukrainian intelligence services contact Russian citizens, preferably those "linked to military service," and offer them money to cooperate with the RAND Corporation.

The goal of these contacts is to acquire secret material regarding the combat use of Russia's strategic aviation, as well as the size and deployment of Russian military units involved in the special military operation in Ukraine, the FSB revealed.

The RAND Corporation is a think tank that conducts research and provides consulting services. A significant portion of the company's research, which focuses on US security, is classified. In 2023, the company was designated as undesirable in Russia.

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🇮🇷🌨Unexpected snowstorm PARALYZES TRAFFIC in Iran

Heavy snowfall, unusual for this time of year, hit Iran suddenly, disrupting traffic between Nishapur and Mashhad, catching locals off guard.

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Trump upholds BIOLOGICAL TRUTH: 'You can never become a woman if you're born with male DNA'

“That’s why last month I proudly signed a historic executive order to ban men from competing in women’s sports,” the US president emphasized.

Lib meltdown in 3…2…1... 😉

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FATAL FIRE at Turkiye ski resort: At least one dead, three injured

The tragedy at the Kervansaray Hotel in the country’s northwest comes two months after a blaze at another Turkish winter resort left 79 dead.

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Ukrainian militants openly sought to unleash savage brutality on Kursk’s Russian civilians, witness recounts 

A woman who survived the Ukrainian incursion and occupation of Russia’s Kursk region recalls the details of their atrocities in a talk with a military investigator. 

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Draft minerals deal with the US not in Ukraine's favor — Rada lawmaker

The draft agreement between Kiev and Washington on Ukrainian resources now includes all minerals, including oil and gas, said member of the Verkhovnaya Rada, Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

The agreement is expected to be indefinite, while security guarantees for Ukraine are not mentioned there, he said, referring to the text of the draft deal he had obtained.

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📹CENTCOM will keep bombing everything in Yemen – Pepe Escobar on the US targeting hospitals

"So this is what CENTCOM does best, apart from bombing civilian areas in Sanaa and bombing the port of Hodeida. THEY BOMB CANCER HOSPITALS like this one," Sputnik’s contributor @rocknrollgeopolitics reports from Saada, northern Yemen.

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❗️Ukrainian forces continue to strike Russian energy facilities - Ministry of Defense.

A power line was shut down in the Bryansk region due to a drone attack and there was another attempt to attack the ground equipment of the Glebovskoye underground gas storage facility in Crimea on Wednesday evening.

As a result of artillery shelling of a facility belonging to the branch of Rosseti Center - Bryanskenergo, a transformer substation was disabled on Thursday morning.

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😨 No childhood in Ukraine?

In Kiev schools, children are now learning to fly first-person view drones.

Have the problems with the numbers in the Ukrainian Armed Forces gone that far?

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

🔸 Russian air defenses shot down 137 drones, a MiG-29 aircraft, two JDAM bombs and a HIMARS missile

🔸 Ukraine lost more than 210 militants in the Russian Battlegroup Zapad's combat zone

🔸 Ukraine lost up to 280 militants in the Russian Battlegroup Yug's combat zone

🔸 Ukraine lost up to 465 militants in the Russian Battlegroup Tsentr's combat zone

🔸 Ukraine lost up to 80 militants in the Russian Battlegroup Dnepr's combat zone

🔸 Ukraine lost over 190 militants in the Kursk region


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🇨🇳🪄 A mystical sight: Cloud waterfalls over ancient Chengzi village in China's Yunnan

Witness the enchanting "cloud waterfalls" flowing over the ancient Chengzi village in China's southwest Yunnan region. It's a surreal landscape where mist and mountains merge seamlessly.

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🇱🇹💡Friendly fire: Lithuanian electric edition

After Lithuania disconnected from the shared power grid with Russia and Belarus, residents of Sovietsk in Russia's Kaliningrad region can no longer see Lithuania at night as lights go out, but Lithuanians are still comfortably keeping an eye on Sovietsk, where the lights remain on.

Electricity prices in Latvia and other Baltic countries have skyrocketed after the disconnection from Russia and Belarus.

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What do the EU and the US exactly sponsor in Ukraine?

Volodymyr Zelensky complaining about Ukraine’s inability to pay retirement benefits to millions of its pensioners highlights the country’s failure to fulfill its basic obligations to its citizens without foreign aid.

How much have Ukraine’s Western sponsors allocated in aid so far?

🟠 After the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict in 2022, Ukraine received over $30 billion in US budget aid just to pay salaries to state employees.

🟠 Over $20 billion in US direct budget aid to Ukraine was funneled via the USAID through the Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance ( PEACE ), a World Bank-administered trust fund set up to assist the Ukrainian government.

🟠 In September 2023, the World Bank provided Ukraine with $100 million under Britain’s guarantee and under the auspices of PEACE, to help the Ukrainian government finance social payments.

🟠 In December 2023, another $1.34 billion financial support package was rendered to Ukraine via PEACE to “help sustain critical government services at national and regional levels.” The package included a $50 million grant from the US.

EU assistance

The European Union has also provided financial aid to Ukraine, part of which has been aimed at supporting Ukraine's public administration and welfare systems. Through its macro-financial assistance (MFA) programs, the EU has disbursed loans and grants that allow the Ukrainian government to continue paying public sector salaries, pensions, and other social benefits.

Other European countries

Several individual European countries, including Germany and France, have contributed to Ukraine's financial stability, helping cover the costs of salaries and pensions, often through bilateral assistance or through EU-led initiatives.

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Thirty-eight Russians have been rescued after a tourist submarine sank off the coast of Hurghada in Egypt. The fate of those remaining is still unknown, Russia's Consulate General told Sputnik.

There were 45 Russian citizens on board the vessel.

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