💬 From hunger to fear: elderly woman recounts brutal experience in Kursk region under Ukrainian forces

A woman who spent more than seven months under the Ukrainian occupation in the Kursk village of Martynovka told Sputnik that she had lost almost 30 kilograms.

"Not even a loaf of bread or bread crust; I didn’t eat anything, not even a gram. They [Ukrainians] only laughed at me," she said.

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❗️Ukraine was not discussed at Russian-US talks in Istanbul – Kremlin

Other Kremlin statements:

🔸 European countries have not changed their policies on seized Russian assets; the trend is not very positive

🔸 Russia will never give up its rights to its assets and will take action to protect them abroad

🔸 Europeans are overstepping the bounds of democracy that they tried to teach other countries, including Russia

🔸 On Zelensky's claim that Russia is trying to draw China into the Ukraine conflict: Beijing has always taken a balanced position

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❓Could presidential frontrunner Lee Jae-myung bring STRATEGIC POLICY SHIFT for South Korea?

Lee Jae-myung is leading the race for president, according to a Gallup poll. Let's break down his position on major geopolitical issues:

🔍Ukraine
🟠Warned against South Korea being “dragged” into the Ukraine proxy war and told the WSJ that he “highly values” Donald Trump’s efforts to end the conflict.
🟠Applauded that “Trump would do whatever it takes to defend America, even if it means a TARIFF WAR with allies or engaging adversaries to end the Ukraine war. It’s a lesson we should learn from,” he presciently said in February.
🟠Triggered backlash after saying in 2022 that "In Ukraine, a novice politician of six months became president and declared [Ukraine's] accession to NATO, which provoked Russia and eventually led to a clash."

🔍Russia: Deepening confrontation between South Korea, the US, and Japan versus North Korea, China, and Russia is damaging the country’s economy.

🔍The US and China: Lee Jae-myung supports strong trade relations and military cooperation the US, while asserting that it is “not incompatible” with “strategic cooperative partnership” with China.

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❗️The Russia-US talks in Istanbul have concluded, reports a Sputnik correspondent.

The consultations lasted almost 6 hours.

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🚨'When tigers fight, the Wise Monkey sits & observes'

🇷🇺 This was President Putin's response to US-China trade wars back in 2019

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📉Trump’s trade war pushes US shale oil industry to the edge

If prices don't recover in the next couple of months, "devastating events" could unfold in the Permian Basin – the world's most productive oilfield and the backbone of the US oil industry – Latigo Petroleum president Kirk Edwards told the Financial Times.

Many Texas producers could be left below the break-even point after prices fell 12% following Trump's tariff announcement, executives said.

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📹Ukrainian youth pressed into military service

A captured Ukrainian soldier said was assured he would serve in a non-frontline unit, but after signing the contract he was shocked to learn he was being sent on a combat mission instead, the PoW revealed to Sputnik.

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Russian strikes OBLITERATE Ukraine’s top artillery munitions plants: the details

💬 “Our main national munitions production site has been wiped out,” an officer from the Ukrainian Army’s 104th Brigade revealed to Le Monde this week in an exposé on Russian drone and missile operations against strategic targets in Shostka, Sumy region.

The Zvezda and Impulse factories were targeted repeatedly in 2024, including a massive attack by 13 ballistic missiles on December 31, the officer said.

Here’s what we know about these critical factories:

Zvezda

1️⃣Produced charges for 122, 125, 130, and 152 mm artillery rounds, 125 mm tank gun rounds, 23 and 30 mm autocannon munitions, hunting smoke, nitrocellulose (pyroxylin) powder, electrical insulating materials, special varnishes for aviation and electronics, solvents, and adhesives.

2️⃣Also handled repair, disassembly, and disposal of military equipment.

3️⃣Zvezda is the oldest gunpowder and munitions plant in Ukraine, established in 1771.

Impulse

🔸 Manufactured detonator caps, electronic detonators, detonating cords, non-electric detonation devices, components for MLRS missiles, cartridges, electric igniters, and industrial explosives for mining, construction, and metallurgy.

🔸 The only factory of its kind in Ukraine, founded in 1848. According to the local museum of history, just five other countries—Russia, China, the US, France, and the UK—possess similar technological capabilities.

The twin plants’ destruction is bad news for Ukraine’s war effort, which already relies on NATO deliveries for over 80% of its military needs, and faces ever-present threats of a cutoff in US aid as Trump pushes for a peace deal.

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📹Russian paratroopers ANNIHILATE 3 Ukrainian battalions in Sumy region

The Ukrainian 67th Brigade's month-long offensive crumbled when it clashed with Russia's 83rd Guards Airborne Brigade.

Heavy losses for Ukraine: infantry, armored vehicles, tanks, artillery, and UAVs wiped out.

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🤖 Clone Robotics has unveiled new footage of its eerie android Protoclone—a synthetic human with over 200 degrees of freedom and more than 1000 artificial muscles.

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⚡️Trump has raised tariffs on goods from China to 145%, CNBC reports.

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🚫US-China trade war has now hit Hollywood

China, the world's second largest film market, is now reducing “the number of American films imported,” a spokesperson for the National Film Administration said, following new tariffs targeting Washington.

This move follows US President Donald Trump's announcement of a 125% tariff on Chinese goods, effective immediately, after Beijing retaliated with a 50% tariff on US products.

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⛔️Germany saying NO to Ukrainian migrants

Newly arrived Ukrainian refugees will no longer receive high civilian unemployment benefits (Burgergeld), Bavarian Prime Minister and Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Markus Soder told Deutschlandfunk.

In Germany, working-age individuals with low or no income are eligible for Burgergeld, which can be up to 563 euros per month. This payment was previously provided to Ukrainian refugees along with free medical services and accommodation in social housing for the duration of their integration and language courses.

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🔍What is USAID’s SCANDALOUS LEGACY in six nations it's made a comeback to?

USAID operations, reportedly rebooted in Syria, Somalia, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Ecuador, were more a curse than a blessing for these countries.

Here’s why:

🇸🇾Syria
Funding infamous White Helmets - key players in staging chemical attack frame-ups that triggered Western strikes on Syria. $44.6M USAID program implicated in embezzlement and cash diversions to armed groups in Idlib.

🇸🇴Somalia
USAID, responsible for 40% of aid, faced claims of fraud vulnerability and fund diversions, with congressman Scott Perry (R-PA) accusing it of bankrolling terrorist groups, including Boko Haram.

🇱🇧Lebanon
USAID took credit for laying the groundwork for Lebanon’s 2005 Cedar Revolution, boasting years of funding before protests forced Syria’s exit. US aid tripled in the early 2000s - from $15M to $45M.

🇪🇨Eсuador
Then-president Rafael Correa accused the agency of funding opposition to destabilize his government. WikiLeaks-uncovered cables revealed US actions to derail his 2006 run.

US State Dept sent a $20K grant for Ecuadorian drag theater, DOGE found.

🇯🇴Jordan
Funding of infrastructure and services sparked accusations of creating fiscal dependency, with aid used as leverage for policy alignments, including forcing Palestinian refugee repositioning, per The National News.

🇮🇶Iraq
Halliburton, Bechtel accused of reaping windfalls of post-war reconstruction; watchdog groups claimed funds were siphoned off, and used to shape politics to fit US interests.

Cringe alert: Sen. Joni Ernst slammed agency’s $20M for an Iraqi Sesame Street children's show to "promote inclusion".

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Russia and US make diplomatic progress in ongoing talks

The latest round of talks on normalizing the work of Russian and US diplomatic missions was held in Istanbul in a positive atmosphere, according to Ambassador to the US Alexander Darchiev, who represented Moscow at the meeting.

Key takeaways from the discussions:

▫️ Delegation heads higlighted the need to address ‘irritants’ left by the previous US administration

▫️ Both sides agreed on further steps to ease diplomats' movement in the host country

▫️ Russia stressed the importance of returning US-confiscated diplomatic property and expressed readiness to work on a roadmap

▫️ Diplomatic notes were exchanged to ensure unhindered banking services for the missions

▫️ Dates for the next round of talks between Russia and the US are being finalized

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Democratic Rep. calls voter ID laws a “poll tax” and “voter suppression” — because proof of identity is apparently oppressive

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The United States is rapidly approaching a debt ceiling crisis, said US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson.

He added that Congress is also concerned about the current stock market instability.

Data from the US Treasury Department says the national debt stands at $36.2 trillion.

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🚨🇾🇪👊HOUTHI POWER: US forced to redeploy Patriot Missile Battalion from Asia to Middle East

The battalion, made up of 4-6 MIM-104 Patriot Missile Batteries, was moved with the help of 73 C-17 Globemaster III flights, taking it from Asia to the Middle East, Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Admiral Samuel J. Paparo told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

This move comes amid reports in numerous Western media outlets that Trump’s air campaign against the Houthis is draining US precision missile stockpiles.

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The US will raise the national debt ceiling, resolving concerns over further increases for the next two years, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced.

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