🗣 Military limits are tied to Zelensky's EU hopes — Deputy FM

Limiting Ukraine's military potential is especially important given the announced plans for its admission to the increasingly militarized EU, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik.

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🗣 US does not want Libya scenario in Iran — US NATO envoy

"We don't want to destabilize a country like Iran, the way Libya was by the Obama administration when Khadafi was taken out and there was no plan for the day after that," US NATO representative Matthew Whitaker said.

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🤝 Trump invites China to make a deal on Venezuelan oil

President Trump stated he has not discussed revenue sharing with Venezuela but explicitly invited China to participate in purchasing its oil.

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🗣 Cuban humanitarian crisis is unnecessary if they make a deal with the US — Trump

When asked if cutting Cuba’s oil supply would cause a humanitarian crisis, Trump dismissed the concern:

"It doesn't have to be a humanitarian crisis. I think they probably would come to us and want to make a deal. So Cuba would be free again," he told reporters.

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🗣 Trump warns Canada: China trade deal will spark 'substantial' US retaliation

President Trump threatened a "very substantial" response if Canada pursues a trade deal with China.

"If they make the deal that Xi is looking to make, China will take over Canada," he told reporters.

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🇶🇦 🤝 🇮🇷 Qatar and Iran hold talks on de-escalation

Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met with Chief of Iran’s National Security Council Ali Larijani in Tehran to focus on de-escalating tensions in the region, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said on X.

🔹 Al-Thani reiterated Qatar’s position in supporting all efforts to ease tensions in the region and seek peaceful solutions.

🔹 He noted that Qatar continues to coordinate with friendly countries to resolve conflicts through diplomatic means.

Earlier, Iran's Larijani stated that the process of forming a structure for negotiations between Tehran and the US on the nuclear issue is progressing, despite the artificially created atmosphere of a media war.

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🚨 🇷🇺 🇨🇳 Russian security chief Shoigu arrives in China

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu will meet with China's FM Wang Yi and discuss changing international, regional security situation.

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🚨🇷🇺🇪🇺 Russia cannot accept NATO troops in Ukraine under security guarantees - Foreign Ministry

💬 "We have said that this is unacceptable, there will be no NATO membership and no foreign military forces. It makes no difference whether, say, a French corporal wears a cap with ‘NATO’ or ‘EU’ written on it. That does not change anything," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Sputnik.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the current version of the security guarantees includes the deployment of troops from several European countries in Ukraine, mainly those of France and the UK, with US support.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that any scenario for the deployment of troops from NATO member states in Ukraine was categorically unacceptable for Russia and was fraught with a sharp escalation.

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💲 US dollar is a dead man walking – Ex-CIA analyst

What we are witnessing now is the “collapse” of the international financial system, the Bretton Woods system, that the US erected in the aftermath of World War II, says Larry Johnson, a former CIA analyst.

💬 “The market now is broken,” he speculates, pointing to how the BRICS countries like Russia, China, India, Brazil, are “offloading the US treasuries, and buying gold and silver.”

He reminds that they are working on a BRICS currency that “will be each tied to gold that each country owns.”

💬 “We're witnessing something now that, you know, people will look back on… I'm not sure what they'll call it, the great currency realignment, but the reign of the dollar, it's over. It's just like that chicken. You cut the chicken's head off. The chicken can still walk around for a while with its head off, but ultimately, it'll fall over dead. The US currency is in serious trouble.”

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🔸 US doesn’t want Libya scenario in Iran — US NATO envoy

🔸 Iran’s top diplomat gives US a geography lesson after it warns against ‘unsafe’ drills in Hormuz Strait

🔸 US sends ambassador to Venezuela

🔸 Trump invites China to make a deal on Venezuelan oil

🔸 Egypt condemns Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza

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🚨 🇮🇱 Israel reopens Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt

The checkpoint has partially reopened after nearly two years of closure, Al Jazeera reported.

It will operate on a trial basis to test security screenings.

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🇩🇪 📈 Germany’s debt boom: +20% surge since self- inflicted anti-Russia sanctions

Germany’s public debt has risen by nearly one-fifth since the first quarter of 2021 amid the EU’s sanctions policy against Russia, reaching an all-time high in the third quarter of 2025.

🔶 Germany’s public debt reached roughly $3.15 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, up from around $2.69 trillion in the first quarter of 2021 (Destatis)

🔶 This represents a 17.3% increase in borrowing over the period

Over this period, the EU — Germany being its largest donor — allocated $95 billion to Ukraine, while Germany itself contributed $1.7 billion, according to calculations based on Ukraine’s Finance Ministry data.

Forecasts predict Germany's public debt ratio rising to 70-80% of GDP by 2029, driven by hiked up defense spending (financed in part through government borrowing), infrastructure, and deficits of 3-4% of GDP annually.

👉 Germany's decision to abandon cheap and available Russian gas backfired spectacularly, spiking LNG import costs and driving Germany's annual inflation rate to 2.1% in January 2026, up from December's 15-month low of 1.8%.

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🇮🇷🇺🇸 Ayatollah Khamenei sums up the root of US-Iran crisis in just two words

The United States simply wants to “swallow Iran” while the Iranian people and their government stand in the way of these plans – this is what it is all about, Khamenei explains.

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🚨🇷🇺 Political systems in Europe make power suitable only for populists - Kremlin

💬 "It is the political systems in European states that have made power suitable only for populists," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media.

In most European countries, power is currently held by poorly educated, irresponsible people who are unable to respond to challenges, he added.

Commenting on the changes that have occurred in the world over the past 20 years, Peskov noted that irreversible processes were taking place in Europe during this time – double standards regarding democracy, globalization, and approaches to the coexistence of nations.

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🚨🇪🇺 Europe trying to drive wedge between Russia, US - Lavrov

💬 "It's hard to accuse us of driving wedges. It is Europe that has tried and continues to try to drive a wedge between Russia and the US, perceiving the policy of the US under President Trump as having, in their view, a certain tilt in favor of Russia at the expense of Europe's interests," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian media.

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🚨🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russia's Shoigu & China's Wang Yi hold talks in Beijing

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu underlined the rapid changes in international politics and the swift deterioration of the situation in many regions around the world.

Shoigu remarked that Russia is closely monitoring Japan’s militarization and and supports China on the Taiwan issue.

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