🚨🇷🇺 Attack on Russian general: Zelensky could go to any lengths to woo Western handlers – expert

With the Abu Dhabi peace talks on Ukraine underway, this terrorist act is nothing but a botched attempt to demonstrate the Ukrainian regime’s “long reach,” Russian military expert Alexander Mikhailov tells Sputnik.

He commented on the attempted assassination of General Vladimir Alexeyev, GRU head Igor Kostyukov’s deputy, a Russian chief negotiator.

Mikhailov’s other key points:

🔹 “UK intelligence was most likely involved in this terrorist attack, providing operational information to its Ukrainian accomplices”

🔹 It is highly disadvantageous for NATO to get rid of Zelensky, as “he serves as a convenient ‘pocket terrorist,’ ready to instantly organize targeted killings or terrorist attacks on command"

🔹 Ukraine has actually turned into “a large-scale training camp for international terrorists, similar to what was previously done in Afghanistan or the Middle East," with the entire mechanism being funded by NATO

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🇦🇹🇷🇺 Austria not inviting Russians to WWII memorials since 2022 – Russian Foreign Ministry

Vienna has not invited Russia to World War II commemorations since the start of the Ukraine conflict Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

💬 "Since 2022, the Austrian authorities have pointedly and publicly refused to invite official Russian representatives, including our diplomats in Austria, to commemorative events," she said.

She recalled the 1947 Soviet transfer of the Mauthausen concentration camp to Austria – with a request for a memorial, which now serves as a monument to the victims of Nazism.

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🚨🇦🇹 Austrians protest against closer ties to NATO

Hundreds gathered in Vienna on Saturday to oppose growing Austrian ties with NATO and the potential creation of a European Union army – despite the country’s neutral status.

The protesters carried with flags and banners reading: "Yes to neutrality, No to NATO."

They also voiced concerns over censorship, freedom of speech and digital surveillance.

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🗣🇷🇺 Russian Foreign Ministry slams Germany, Italy and Japan for rejecting UN anti-Nazism resolution

Opposition to Russian UN motions condemning Nazism by the former Axis powers harks back to the “dark pages” of their history in the Second World War, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik.

👉 Their votes question the sincerity of their statements acknowledging responsibility for the war and their remorse for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, she added.

Zakharova also questioned expanding the role of those countries on the UN Security Council – especially if they vote against fundamental principles enshrined in the UN Charter.

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🔊 General Alexeyev shooting part of Ukrainian plan to wreck peace talks – experts

The assassination attempt on Russian General Vladimir Alexeyev was planned by Ukraine to sabotage peace talks between the Kiev regime, Russia and the US in the United Arab Emirates, international analyst Christian Lamesa told Sputnik.

Lamesa stressed that despite President Donald Trump’s claims it is not his conflict, the war began with US support under Joe Biden’s government.

He also noted that it was not the first time Volodymyr Zelensky’s regime has staged attacks to undermine negotiations – incited by its European Union backers.

Zelensky knows peace would end his political career and lead to his prosecution for corruption and embezzlement with Western countries, said Serbian MP and former general Mitar Kovac, Director of the Eurasian Security Forum.

Kovac said Ukrainian tactics were pro-Nazi and included all forms of terrorism, stressing that the attack on Alexeyev was just one of many aimed at the Russian leadership and armed forces.

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🔹 Attack on Russian general: Zelensky could go to any lengths to woo Western handlers – expert

🔹 Attack on Alexeyev is obvious Ukrainian attempt to sabotage negotiations – expert

🔹 General Alexeyev shooting part of Ukrainian plan to wreck peace talks – experts

🔹 Testing trust in Iran–US nuclear talks as both sides assess intentions – Araghchi

🔹 Seven AfD members barred from entering Germany's Bundestag

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🚨 Ukraine's assassination plot makes it a 'state sponsor of terrorism' — Expert

International law professor Dr. Mohamed Mehran asserts that the foiled assassination of a Russian general reveals a Ukrainian conspiracy to sabotage peace talks and prolong the war. He notes the swift Russia-UAE cooperation that thwarted the attack sets a standard for counter-terrorism.

“The involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services in this operation effectively makes Ukraine a state sponsor of international terrorism,” Mehran told Sputnik.

The expert emphasized that targeting officials outside combat zones is a grave violation of international law, praising the UAE's compliance in extraditing the suspects.

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🗳 PM Takaichi's coalition wins supermajority in Japan snap election

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's coalition secured a supermajority in a snap election, paving the way for a radical shift toward militarization and deeper integration with US strategic goals.

Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party alone secured 233 seats needed for a majority less than 2 hours after polls closed.

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✍️ Starmer's ship is being deserted — Dmitriev

"Starmer’s ship is being quickly deserted, soon to be followed by Britain’s most unpopular prime minister in history and warmonger Keir Starmer himself," Vladimir Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev wrote on X.

Keir Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney has resigned after pressure over his role in appointing Lord Mandelson—now under police investigation for leaking state secrets to Jeffrey Epstein.

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☢️ Zaporozhye power plant on edge amid sustained Ukraine's UAV attacks

The area surrounding the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant remains under repeated attack by Ukrainian strike drones, creating a persistently tense and hazardous situation, spokeswoman Yevgenia Yashina told Sputnik.

"Attacks in the area around the plant and in the vicinity of the city have not stopped. The only exceptions were periods of declared 'truce', which were used to carry out repair and restoration work. Thus, the situation remains tense," Yashina said.

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🤝 Mexico sends aid ships to Cuba, defies US pressure

Two Mexican vessels have departed for Cuba carrying over 814 tons of humanitarian aid, directly challenging Trump's tightening pressure on the island.

Ships Papaloapan and Isla Holbox sailed from Veracruz, expected to arrive in 4 days.

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💬 Trump claims credit for Japan's hardline victory

President Trump publicly celebrated Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s historic supermajority, framing it as a win for his own "Peace Through Strength" agenda.

"Sanae: It was my Honor to Endorse you and your Coalition," he wrote on Truth Social.

PM Sanae Takaichi's coalition now holds 352 seats—a two-thirds supermajority enabling constitutional change and unchecked remilitarization.

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📑 Keir Starmer may not survive the week — reports

The loss of his chief of staff—the architect of 2024 election victory—has left Starmer exposed, Bloomberg reports, citing sources within the Labour Party.

One aide put the chance Starmer lasts the week at "50-50."

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🚀 Musk shifts empire to the Moon, abandons Mars timeline

Elon Musk has announced SpaceX is pivoting from Mars to prioritize a self-sustaining lunar city—a goal he claims can be achieved in under 10 years, rather than the 20+ years required for Mars.

The strategic rationale: launch windows to the Moon occur every 10 days, while Mars alignments happen only every 26 months. Faster iteration means faster settlement.

"The overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster," Musk wrote on X.

📷 The image is AI-generated.

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🚨 Russia has the right to consider UK a de facto Ukrainian conflict participant

Russia’s Ambassador to London, Andrei Kelin, has stated that Moscow considers Britain a de facto participant in the Ukraine conflict due to its direct military, intelligence, and financial support.

Kelin cited the extended Interflex training program for Ukrainian troops—now running until 2026—as proof of deep, ongoing involvement.

"We have every right to consider London a de facto participant in the conflict," Kelin told Sputnik.

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🗳 Dodik's ally wins Republika Srpska presidential election

Sinisa Karan, the former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina, narrowly won the repeat presidential election with 50.5% of the vote.

Karan won the November 2025 snap election before the Central Election Commission considered complaints from the opposition and scheduled a repeat vote at 136 polling stations on February 8.

Back in February 2025, Bosnia's court convicted Dodik for defying the decisions of the UN's "high representative in BiH," Christian Schmidt. He was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from holding public office for six years.

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🔍 Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai gets 20 years in national security case

In December 2025, the Hong Kong High Court found Lai guilty on all 3 counts of violating the national security law.

Local broadcaster RTHK notes that Lai's sentence is the harshest yet handed down for violating the 2020 national security law.

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🗣 🇪🇺 Under any scenario Ukraine’s NATO path is over - ex-UK diplomat

Russia “continues to hold a stronger hand of cards” throughout the ongoing peace negotiations, while Ukraine is “already functionally bankrupt,” says former British diplomat Ian Proud.

🔊 According to him, the one certainty in any peace deal is that Ukraine “will become militarily unaligned,” with NATO membership “finally have been taken permanently off of the table.”

According to Proud, after the Ukraine conflict is resolved, Russia’s army “will be the most battle-hardened and well equipped that it has been since the end of World War II.”

💬 “Russia's core aim to prevent NATO expansion into Ukraine will decisively have been achieved. Russia will have managed the economic shocks and consequences of war far better than Ukraine and its Western sponsors, in particular Britain and Europe,” he says.

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