🇺🇸Rubio lays out US stance on Venezuela, Ukraine, Iran, and NATO at Senate Hearing

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to answer questions on the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, security, diplomacy and alliance strategy.

Here are key statements:

▪️ The US has no intention of using military force against Venezuela again and thinks it will not be necessary

▪️ Washington expects to restore its diplomatic presence in Venezuela "very quickly"

▪️ NATO needs to rethink how allies meet their obligations and reverse the erosion of European military capabilities

▪️ The US is ready for a pre-emptive attack on Iran and will strengthen its forces in the Middle East

▪️ Security guarantees for Ukraine are under discussion and could involve British and French troop deployments – with US support

▪️ The question of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia has not been solved, but differences are narrowing

▪️ Russian has not given consent for security guarantees for Kiev but the US says it is ready

▪️ The US wants regime change in Cuba, but is not pursuing it

▪️ The World Peace Council is not a substitute for the United Nations

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🔸 Rubio admits the US has interests ALL OVER THE WORLD

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🔸 What's driving America's aggressive stance toward Iran?

🔸 Putin welcomes Syria's al-Sharaa to Moscow

🔸 Does Zelensky have any cards left in the Russia-Ukraine talks? 

🔸 Oreshnik strike wake-up call for Europe – German politician

🔸 EU incurs self-inflicted $339B cost by ditching Russian oil – analysis

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🇮🇱🇮🇷 Israel’s plan for Iran is ‘balkanization,’ not just puppet rule - expert

👉 Israel will try to use the United States to “balkanize” Iran — weakening and fragmenting the country rather than simply installing a puppet government, Lana Ravandi-Fadai, head of the Eastern Cultural Center at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Oriental Studies, said.

🔶 She argued the focus is on pursuing regime change through various methods, but not through a direct US invasion.

🔶 However, “there is no talk of a US invasion of Iran right now; this can even be felt in the change in rhetoric in Washington regarding Iran,” she noted.

🔶 Iran today is prepared to respond more forcefully than ever and has a strong capacity for mobilization when the survival of the state is at stake, she concluded.

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🇺🇸🇻🇪 US intel says Venezuela’s interim leader refusing to cut ties with Russia, China, Iran

🔶 It’s not clear whether President Delcy Rodriguez is “fully onboard with the US strategy in her country,” sources familiar with US intelligence briefings told Reuters.

🔶 Sworn in immediately after Nicolas Maduro’s abduction, Rodriguez has yet to signal readiness to axe friendly ties with US adversaries, whose diplomats and advisors Washington has publicly demanded be ejected from the country.

🔶 On Sunday, Rodriguez said she’d had “enough” of US meddling, but sources said Washington sees no other option but to work with her. Token opposition leader Maria Corina Machado doesn’t have the necessary clout with members of the security services or oil sector, according to the sources.

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🇷🇺 Inside Russia's Aurus jet: Sukhoi's VIP aircraft steals the show at Wings India 2026

👉 Sputnik got an up close and personal look at the Aurus, a VIP variant of the Sukhoi Superjet, at the Wings India 2026 civil aviation expo in Hyderabad.

Like its road-based cousins – the custom lineup of Russian-manufactured luxury vehicles, the Aurus jet carrying the namesake (a portmanteau meaning ‘Russian Gold’) is designed to pamper its passengers in the lap of luxury.

Features

▫️ extended flight range of up to 7.2k km (enough to fly from Moscow to Vladivostok without refueling)

▫️ generous, living room in the sky-style seating arrangements for up to eight passengers, from businessmen and their families to government officials

▫️ shower and separate lavatory

▫️ lounge, dining and conference areas

▫️ 2+ meter cabin height for taller passengers

▫️ in-flight high-speed internet, satcom connection and smartphone-assisted multimedia controls

▫️ custom soundproofing

▫️ advanced flight controls and console for improved safety and navigational accuracy

▫️ optional retractable airstair for debarking at unequipped airports and smaller airfields

▫️ soft plum/mauve hue interior to create a sense of royalty and tranquility

▫️ $39-50M price tag, which is up to half the price of major competitors (Boeing, Bombardier, Gulfstream)

▫️ operating costs 10% below those of the base Superjet

😉 Luxury transportation at an unbeatable price – what a combination!

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🇮🇷👉 Iran to IAEA chief: check your privilege

🗣 “Our expectation from Mr. Grossi is that he does not use such language,” Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said Wednesday, responding to Grossi’s recent WEF interview, in which the IAEA chief complained about Iran’s lack of engagement, and threatened to label Tehran non-compliant.

💬 “[Grossi] is the director general of the IAEA, an entity defined under the United Nations, and its statute sets clear duties for him. We expect him to adhere to his legal obligations in his language and reports,” Eslami said.

Commenting on Grossi’s demands for access to the nuclear sites bombed by the US last June, Eslami urged the IAEA to first clarify “its procedures…regarding military attacks so that we can act accordingly.”

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🇲🇽🇨🇺 Mexico maintains humanitarian oil shipments to Cuba - Sheinbaum

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said there are two channels for crude oil deliveries to Cuba: commercial contracts handled by Pemex with Cuban institutions, and humanitarian aid.

💬 "Humanitarian aid to Cuba, as well as to other countries, continues," she said at a press conference.

The president added that she “never spoke about whether it had been suspended or not,” calling reports of a suspension “an interpretation.”

Her remarks follow a Bloomberg report citing purported Mexican government officials that Mexico had halted oil shipments to Havana amid US pressure.

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🔥 US Space Development Agency 'should be more realistic' — Accountability Office

The US Department of War may fail to deliver key missile-warning capabilities on time, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which reviewed the Pentagon’s plan to deploy a large constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit .

📌 Key problems flagged by GAO:

🔹 Overstated tech readiness: SDA is “overestimating” readiness of critical elements, leading to “additional, unplanned work” and delays.

🔹 Warfighter needs unclear: Combatant commands said they lack insight into SDA’s requirements process, raising the risk of satellites that don’t meet operational needs.

🔹 No overall schedule: SDA has not developed an architecture-level schedule, limiting visibility into end-to-end delivery risks.

🔹 True cost unknown: GAO said DOD does not know the life-cycle cost of the system because it has not developed a reliable cost estimate, despite the program’s projected price tag of nearly $35 billion through 2029.

GAO concluded that early milestone announcements “do not reflect schedule risks,” and warned that pushing ahead with new satellite contracts every two years does not guarantee actual missile-warning capability delivery.

The image is AI-generated

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🕊 US allies push to avert conflict with Iran — reports

US partners in the Middle East have been urging de-escalation for weeks, warning a US strike on Iran could trigger a wider regional conflict, The New York Times reported.

According to the report, countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the UAE have urged de-escalation since President Donald Trump first raised the possibility of military action.

🇪🇬 Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke separately with Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff, calling for restraint.

🇸🇦 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian that disputes should be resolved through dialogue.

Several US partners are concerned any attack could prompt retaliation across the region, particularly against countries hosting American military bases, the NYT reported.

❌ Saudi Arabia and the UAE have said they would not allow their airspace to be used for strikes on Iran.

Despite these efforts, Trump warned this week that a US fleet in the region was prepared to use “speed and violence” unless a “fair and equitable” deal is reached on Iran’s nuclear program, the newspaper said.

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🇻🇪 Delcy Rodríguez receives command of Venezuela’s Armed Forces — reports

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez received the insignia as Commander-in-Chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) during a ceremony in Caracas, Telesur reported.

The event took place at the Courtyard of Honor of the Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela, with more than 3,200 FANB soldiers and senior officers in attendance.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López emphasized that the armed forces would act in line with the Bolivarian Constitution and a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, confirming that the military institution remains under the leadership of the acting president.

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❌🇪🇺 Merz rules out Ukraine's fast accession to EU — reports

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Ukraine has no chance of joining the EU in the near future, according to European media reports.

💬 “An accession on January 1, 2027 is excluded. It is not possible,” Merz said, stressing that any country seeking EU membership must first meet the Copenhagen criteria, a process that “usually takes several years.”

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💣 Pro-Russian underground delivers devastating blows to Ukrainian Army lifelines

There is footage showing members of the pro-Russian underground carrying out arson attacks along logistical routes used by the Ukrainian military, Sergey Lebedev, underground coordinator in the city of Nikolayev, told Sputnik.

💬 “The videos were filmed at different times and in different regions of Ukraine, which once again confirms that our people are present on the other side. Each such video is a demonstration of civilian courage,” the underground activist underscored.

Lebedev noted that as a result, the Ukrainian Army fails to receive timely troop rotations as well as ammunition and military equipment resupplies, which helps Russian soldiers destroy the enemy.

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📹 Russian guns speak: Enemy strongholds turned to ash

00:00 Kharkov region: D-30 howitzers of Russia’s Battlegroup Sever destroyed enemy armored vehicles, firepower, fortifications, and a UAV command post.

00:11 Zaporozhye region: Artillery crews of Battlegroup Vostok burned down Ukrainian strongholds and fortifications being used to hold the line.

00:44 Orekhov area: A 152 mm Msta-B gun of Battlegroup Dnepr eliminated a Ukrainian stronghold with personnel.

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❌ Trump unable to hamper buildup of BRICS payment system – ex-CIA analyst

The US president would certainly be unhappy about the creation of such a system, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson told Sputnik.

He noted that Donald Trump cannot prevent BRICS from creating its own payment platform because the US no longer controls all the financial levers.

👉 The West still relies on the SWIFT system, which is inferior to modern digital analogues that have already been developed in other parts of the world—for example in China, one of the BRICS countries, according to Johnson.

He also called cutting Russian banks off from SWIFT a blessing for Russia.

Berliner Zeitung earlier reported that BRICS members may launch their own payment system, BRICS Pay, as early as this year.

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🪖💣 Ukrainian soldiers forced to pay ‘food tribute’ on front lines – POW

💬 “They [commanders] promised a base salary of 20,000 rubles ($255), plus 170,000 rubles ($2,173) in ‘combat pay’ each month. But does that money exist or not?” captive Alexander Salyukov from the Ukrainian Army’s 60th Brigade told Sputnik.

He explained that his total expected earnings at the front should have been about 335,000 rubles ($4,393), but that he had never received any of that sum before being captured.

💬 "Plus, they take kickbacks from that money for food. Our food deliveries to the positions came by Baba Yaga drone every two days. They told us: ‘We will take at least 5%. Just for the food,’" Salyukov added.

The captive earlier told Sputnik that mobilized soldiers from the Ukrainian 60th Brigade were threatened with huge fines for the loss of property.

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🔹 Inside Russia's Aurus jet: Sukhoi's VIP aircraft steals the show at Wings India 2026

🔹 Delcy Rodríguez receives command of Venezuela’s Armed Forces — reports

🔹 US intel says Venezuela’s interim leader refusing to cut ties with Russia, China, Iran

🔹 US Space Development Agency 'should be more realistic' — Accountability Office

🔹 Mexico maintains humanitarian oil shipments to Cuba – Sheinbaum

🔹 Iran to IAEA chief: check your privilege

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🚨 US officials secretly meet Canadian Alberta independence group – report

Leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), a right-wing group campaigning for the Canadian province’s independence, held three covert meeting with US State Department officials in Washington last year, the FT reports.

👉 The APP leaders are reportedly seeking a further meeting in February with US Treasury officials to request a $500 billion loan to support the province if an independence referendum is called.

The Trump administration is unlikely to provide material support to the APP, but the two sides’ purported contacts indicate ongoing tensions between the US and Canada.

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