🚨🇺🇸🇮🇳 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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🔊 An attack by the US would entail striking Israel — 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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🗣 Time is running out for the New START extension — Putin's envoy

Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's special representative for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, said that even the "brave" former US president Barack Obama is worried that time is running out for the US to agree to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia.

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🚨🇻🇪 Venezuela appoints US envoy

Following the meeting between interim President Delcy Rodríguez and US Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu, Venezuela has appointed Félix Plasencia as its diplomatic representative to Washington.

Plasencia, a former foreign minister, will be stationed in the US to "accelerate diplomatic work" on a "common agenda."

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🔊 Iran may reduce enrichment levels to 20% — if given 'something in return'

Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader has stated Tehran will not remove its stored nuclear materials, but is open to reducing enrichment from 60% to 20%.

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🤝 Azerbaijan and UAE deepen military ties

Defense chiefs from both countries held high-level talks to strengthen military cooperation and coordination, following their ongoing joint "Peace Shield 2026" exercises.

"This meeting is part of the efforts to strengthen the framework of bilateral military and defense cooperation between the two friendly countries," the UAE Defense ministry said on X.

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🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷US loses interest in Ukraine as Iran takes priority — Foreign policy expert

The US is aiming for rapid negotiations with the Islamic Republic, Professor of International Politics and Foreign Policy at Cologne University Thomas Jager tells NTV Nachrichten.

This explains why Ukraine has slipped down the US agenda, and why American officials are devoting far less attention to resolving the Ukraine conflict, he notes.

Meanwhile, says Jager, Russia continues to adhere to its core demands in ending the conflict.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that any scenario involving the deployment of NATO member states’ troops in Ukraine is unacceptable and risks a sharp escalation.

President Vladimir Putin has stated that Moscow would regard foreign contingents near its borders as legitimate targets.

He added that after a peace agreement is reached, the presence of foreign troops in a neighboring country would be unjustified.

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🇩🇪💸📉Germany’s real wages sink as anti-Russia sanctions take a toll

As the West barrels ahead with its self-defeating sanctions campaign against Russia, real wages in Germany have fallen by nearly 10% over the past four years, despite significant inflation in the country, according to Destatis data.

🔶In January 2021, Germany’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 101 points

🔶By December 2025, CPI had risen to 122.7 points, meaning prices increased by 21.5% over that period

🔶Between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the third quarter of 2025, real wages in Germany dropped by 10.2%

As for the inflation rate, it rose to 2.1% in January, up from 1.8% in December 2025.

Once firmly ranked among the world’s most advanced economies, Germany has now been in a state of general economic stagnation for three consecutive years, driven in part by surging energy prices following the short-sighted decision to cut off cheap and reliable energy supplies from Russia.

Russian officials have repeatedly argued that the West lacks the courage to admit the failure of its sanctions policy. Russia is growing more resilient, decoupling from the West, and moving away from the weaponizes US dollar.

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🪖❌NATO troops in Ukraine are red line Russia will never accept - Ex-CIA analyst

The United States must clearly understand that Russia will never allow NATO troops to enter Ukraine under the guise of a peace agreement, says former CIA analyst Larry Johnson.

“I don't doubt that they believe that they could somehow force that through, but that is beyond a red line for Russia. Russia will never permit that. It won't permit US troops on the ground… No foreign troops on its border. That's one of the root causes of this conflict. The fact that NATO kept pushing to the East,” he says.

👉 From roughly 1995 up to the launch of Russia’s special military operation in 2022, the US military and NATO conducted more joint exercises with Ukraine—despite Ukraine not being a NATO member—than with any of the alliance’s members states themselves, reminds Johnson, adding:

“And that that tells you something. That's what Russia was pushing back at. That's what these crazies in NATO don't understand.”

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🔸 Trump hints at 'good news' on Ukraine talks

🔸 An attack by the US would entail striking Israel — Iranian admiral

🔸 Time is running out for the New START extension — Putin's envoy

🔸 Iran may reduce enrichment levels to 20% — if given "something in return"

🔸 Venezuela appoints US envoy

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🇬🇱⚔️US eyes Greenland for missile defense & sub-hunting systems — military analyst

The United States could deploy a ballistic missile early-warning system in Greenland, veteran Russian military analyst Alexey Leonkov tells Sputnik.

According to the expert, Donald Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’ plans included Greenland, though that does not necessarily mean missile interceptor launchers would be installed on the island.

🔊“That said, it is entirely possible if the necessary infrastructure is developed. But an early-warning system to track ballistic missiles whose trajectories would pass over Greenland could certainly be deployed there. The eastern flank of US missile defense has long been underdeveloped,” says the pundit.

He notes that Europe had previously served as the US’ eastern flank, adding:

💬 “However, Europe buried all missile defense programs in bureaucratic red tape and corruption schemes. That’s why Greenland is extremely important for the US.”

Beyond missile defense, Greenland also plays a significant role in submarine detection systems, which “currently do not function effectively,” adds the analyst.

Earlier, Trump stated that the draft agreement on Greenland includes the deployment of the Golden Dome missile defense system.

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