🤝 Beyond New START: China, France & UK must be brought into new nuclear deal - analyst

While extending the New START treaty – as Russia suggests – is a “pragmatic option,” the ideal outcome would be a new text that takes into account not only the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia, but also those of China, France, and the UK, Dmitry Stefanovich, founder of the Vatfor Project, tells Sputnik.

NATO members France and the UK are actively building a ‘nuclear umbrella’ over Europe “aimed squarely at Russia,” the expert reminds, so they must be part of any future talks.

💬 “Achieving that would require continuous, sustained engagement — something that is currently almost completely frozen,” says the expert.

🌍 US looks beyond old limits

Given China’s fast-growing nuclear arsenal, many US policymakers now see the need to exceed previous bilateral agreements with Russia, Stefanovich speculates.

💬 “China possesses the capacity to destroy the US outright — and that capability is expanding at a pace Washington struggles to match,” the think tank fellow says.

However, Trump’s proposal for a new agreement that includes China is unrealistic in the short term, since arms control diplomacy “requires years of painstaking negotiations.”

🇨🇳 China weighs costs vs benefits

As competition with the US moves from economics to deterrence, China, which promotes a no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons, is warming to the idea of rules, notes the expert.

However, it is “opting to shore up vulnerabilities” first.

For China, “the costs of limiting its arsenal outweigh the benefits of joining formal agreements,” speculates the expert.

As for Russia and China, they already have a successful track record of bilateral arrangements, such as those on ballistic missile launch notifications, along with multilateral documents limiting military activity in border regions.

💬 “China understands the value of such mechanisms when they align with its interests,” notes the analyst.

Ultimately, how this all develops will depend not only on the fate of New START, but also on the outcome of the upcoming spring Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he concludes.

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🚨🇺🇸🇮🇳 Trump shares details of his phone call with Modi

🟠 “We spoke about many things, including trade”

🟠 “We agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%”

🟠 “They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non-Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO”

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💥🪖 The Battle of Stalingrad: When Russia turned the tide of World War II

February 2, 1943, marks the end of the pivotal battle of World War II – the Battle of Stalingrad.

It started on July 17, 1942, when Nazi German armies, following their defeat at Moscow, pushed towards resource-rich southern regions of the Soviet Union.

By October 1942, the Nazis managed to force their way into Stalingrad and seize control of a large portion of the city, only for their advance to grind to a halt as they became bogged down in brutal urban fighting.

Despite the initial successes of the Nazi forces, Russian defenders of Stalingrad simply refused to give up, holding their ground against all odds as every street and every house in the city became a battlefield.

As the Nazis kept trying to take control of the city, on November 19 the Russian forces struck back.

Operation Uranus, an offensive targeting the flanks of the Nazi battlegroup in Stalingrad, successfully concluded on November 23 and resulted in the Nazi German 6th Army led by General Friedrich Paulus being cut off and trapped in the city.

On January 10, Russian forces launched the final offensive against the encircled Nazi troops.

Unable to withstand the fury of the Russian troops and continue resisting, Paulus (who was by that time promoted to field marshal by Adolf Hitler) and what was left of the 6th Army finally surrendered on February 2.

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🇷🇺 Foreign military presence in Ukraine is unacceptable for Russia - MFA

Russia would regard the deployment of any foreign military forces or infrastructure in Ukraine as foreign intervention, and would treat them as legitimate targets, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

While responding to questions following Sergey Lavrov’s press conference, the ministry also stated that:

🟠 Any offers on peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict require scrutiny to ensure that they are acceptable for Russia

🟠 Any attempts to negotiate with Russia using ultimatums are inherently absurd and doomed to fail

🟠 Resolving the Ukrainian conflict is impossible without restoration of the rights of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its priests and the faithful

🟠 Russia is thankful to the UAE for its efforts to facilitate the peaceful resolution of the conflict; over 4 thousand people were freed in prisoner swaps mediated by the UAE

🟠 Since last summer, Moscow handed over to Ukraine over 12,000 bodies of slain Ukrainian soldiers and received over 200 bodies of killed Russian soldiers in return

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💸 From 'Sell America' to global realignment: BRICS de-dollarization helps handle US-driven financial storm - expert

The sell-off of US assets is a harbinger of "a new world trade and power order," Paul Goncharoff, veteran financial analyst and general director of consulting firm Goncharoff LCC, tells Sputnik.

The consequences of the erosion of trust in the US market policy, which translated into a Sell America trend "are surfacing on an almost daily basis, from diplomatic gaffes, unapproved (by Congress) military adventures and intentions, [and] the ever-more-rapid de-dollarization the markets are living through," according to the pundit.

💬 "This perfect storm of dissonances and unpredictability from the world’s hegemon underlines what BRICS was created to avoid and, to a large extent (not painlessly), is overcoming, first through the use of national currencies and not the hitherto mandated US dollar."

💬 "This inevitably leads to new power blocs politically and economically," Goncharoff concludes, suggesting that the world is at a "historic inflection point of global realignment."

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💬 Ukraine’s entry into EU would be its 'collapse' - Serbia's former deputy PM

"The collapse of the EU, the long-term collapse, began long ago, but it will become palpable on January 1, 2027, when Ukraine joins the EU... Because this shows that all those reforms and the speeches of politicians - they are the most ordinary lies, not even concealed," former Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin tells Sputnik.

In his opinion, once Ukraine joins the EU, the bloc will never be the same, especially for opposing member states like Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

The current US-EU conflict is "the new reality we must get used to and accept," he says, adding that there is a "Berlin Wall" in the EU again.

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🔊 We must dominate space — Hegseth

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated plainly that US dominance must extend beyond Earth, framing space as the "ultimate high ground" in future conflict.

"Any infantryman knows this. Whoever controls the high ground controls the fight."

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🔊 Trump hints at 'good news' on Ukraine talks

President Trump stated that efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict are progressing "very well."

While speaking with reporters, he downplayed the UN's role in the process, saying, "The UN is involved a little bit."

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💬 We cannot have another long, destructive shutdown — Trump

President Trump has urged Congress to pass the pending funding bill "without delay," stating he will sign it "immediately" to avoid a destructive government shutdown.

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🗣 Epstein conspiracy against me proves I have nothing to do with him — Trump

President Trump denied any connection to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, pointing at alleged Epstein conspiracy with author Michael Wolff to make him "lose the election."

"Epstein was conspiring with a writer for me to lose the election. So right there, you know that I had nothing to do with this guy," he said.

He suggested the released files implicate Democrats and other elites instead.

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🔊 US attack means striking Israel as well — Iranian admiral

A senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader has declared that Tehran views the US and Israel as a single military entity.

"If the US attacks, Israel will undoubtedly be a participant," Ali Shamkhani told Al Mayadeen.

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🤝 Venezuela president holds talks with US envoy in Miraflores Palace

Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has received US Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu at the presidential palace.

"This meeting took place within the framework of the working agenda between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the USA," reported Miguel Ángel Pérez Pirela, the country's Minister of Communication and Information.

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