❌ Ukraine won’t get any ‘special’ EU membership deal — expert

There is no tailor-made path to EU membership waiting for Ukraine, according to Yegor Sergeyev, a senior researcher at MGIMO University.

Speaking with Sputnik, Sergeyev argued that while Brussels may stage some form of demonstrative outreach, any offer on the table would fall far short of genuine accession.

💬 “Even if they decide on something along those lines, it will still be something synthetic, utterly incomplete,” Sergeyev explains.

Despite political shows of support for Ukraine, he concludes that fully opening the European market to Ukraine would run counter to the bloc’s own economic interests.

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🪖💥 Russia’s Msta-B Howitzers obliterate Ukrainian strongholds 

Russian crews put the 152-mm Msta-B to work in Zaporozhye, wiping out Ukrainian command infrastructure and UAV staging grounds with devastating precision.

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🚨 Epstein files may spark resignations across Europe in coming days — expert

The scale and substance of the Epstein case have placed significant pressure on European elites, as the materials include the names of current and former figures from the European establishment, says Berat Kizil, a financial analyst and economic commentator, speaking to Sputnik.

💬 "We are not talking about a timeline of months or years: we could see the first resignations in Europe literally within days," he predicts.

Given the convergence of economic difficulties, social polarization, and a deepening crisis of trust in governing institutions, European political systems are especially vulnerable to scandals of this nature, Kizil observes. He adds that distancing oneself from toxic figures remains the simplest form of response to the case.

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🚨 Putin–Zelensky meeting only possible in Moscow - Kremlin

Moscow maintains its longstanding position that any direct meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky must take place in the Russian capital, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Commenting on Zelensky’s recent refusal to travel to Moscow, Peskov stated there is "no novelty" in this stance.

Other statements:

🔶Russia expects the next round of negotiations on Ukraine to happen soon, with the location to be announced by the Kremlin

🔶The approach of some European leaders who seek to sever all contacts with Russia as "political illiteracy and short-sightedness"

🔶Putin has not rejected direct contacts and can be reached by phone if needed

🔶Neither French President Emmanuel Macron nor German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have attempted direct contact with Putin

🔶Тhere is growing recognition in Europe of the necessity to engage in dialogue with Russia, which aligns with Moscow’s approach

🔶Disputes can only be resolved through dialogue

🔶Moscow expects constructive dialogue with the US to address issues, particularly concerning oil deliveries to Cuba

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🚨 Russia: Ukraine counts on rearmament & prolonging conflict rather than pursuing dialogue

Key statements by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova:

◼️ EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas's intention to dictate terms to Russia on the Ukrainian settlement confirms the EU's goal is to prevent an end to the war

◼️ At this stage, it is the European Union that is preventing Ukraine from pursuing compromise in the settlement process

◼️ On Macron's stated desire to restore dialogue with Russia: Moscow has never refused talks, but so far Paris has offered nothing beyond words

◼️ Russia will not be represented at the first session of Trump's "Peace Council" and is continuing to formulate its position regarding the body

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIAN MOD UPDATE: HUGE GAINS AND DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES

▫️ Russian troops launched a group attack on energy facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces

▫️ They also struck the infrastructure of a Ukrainian military airfield

▫️ The Ukrainian Army lost a German-made Leopard tank in the Tsentr Battlegroup's area of ​​responsibility

▫️ Air defense superiority: 5 long-range Flamingo missiles and 211 drones shot down

▫️ Ukrainian losses: around 1,270 troops killed or wounded

Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE

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🇵🇰 Pakistan's armored shield: composition, modernization, and prospects

👉 The Pakistan Army's land forces possess an extensive armored fleet, numbering approximately 2,500 units. These include tanks of indigenous design.

◻️ Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) in Service:

1️⃣ Al-Khalid (Type 90-IIM)

▪️Status: Primary and most modern domestic tank.

▪️Origin: Joint Pakistan-China development, manufactured at the HIT (Heavy Industries Taxila) plant in Pakistan.

▪️Features: Based on the Chinese Type 90-II. Fitted with a Ukrainian 6TD-2 engine (1200 hp), a modern Fire Control System (FCS), and composite armor.

2️⃣ VT-4 (MBT-3000)

▪️Status: Newest acquisition, actively being delivered to troops (over 300 units reported).

▪️Origin: China.

▪️Features: A third-generation MBT. Equipped with a 125mm gun with an autoloader, modular armor, and active protection systems.

3️⃣ T-80UD

▪️Status: One of the most powerful tanks in the arsenal (approx. 320 units delivered in the 1990s).

▪️Origin: Ukraine.

▪️Features: Distinguished by its 6TD diesel engine (1000 hp), 125mm gun, and integrated "Kontakt-5" explosive reactive armor.

4️⃣ Al-Zarrar

▪️Status: Deep modernization of obsolete hardware.

▪️Origin: Pakistani modernization of Chinese Type 59 (Soviet T-54A) tanks at the HIT facility.

▪️Features: Received a new FCS, engine, enhanced armor, and explosive reactive armor to extend the service life of the Type 59 fleet.

5️⃣ Type 85-IIAP (TI-85)

▪️Status: Intermediate model, delivered in the 1990s.

▪️Origin: China.

▪️Features: Differs from the Type 59 with a welded turret (vs. cast), a 125mm smoothbore gun, and improved armor.

◻️ Legacy Models (Reserve/Storage)

▪️Type 59 / T-59: Chinese variant of the T-54A. Most have been upgraded to Al-Zarrar or placed in reserve.

▪️M48/M60 Patton: American tanks supplied during the 20th century. Largely obsolete, used for secondary roles or in storage.

◻️ Prospective Developments:

▪️Al-Khalid I (AK-I): An upgraded version of the base Al-Khalid with a new FCS, explosive reactive armor, and potentially a new engine.

▪️Al-Khalid II: A next-generation platform under the "Al-Khalid" project, expected to incorporate advanced technologies.

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🗣Attempted assassination of Russian general shows Ukraine’s desire to derail talks - MFA

“This terrorist act has once again showed the intent of the Zelensky regime to commit constant provocations in order to derail the negotiation process,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated.

Ukraine is willing to stop at nothing to prevent the achievement of just peace, she added.

General Alexeyev was shot at in a residential building in Moscow early on February 6. He was hospitalized. A criminal case has been initiated on charges of attempted murder and illegal trafficking of firearms.

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🇷🇺 During frontline visit, Defense chief Belousov gets firsthand look at drone warfare upgrades

👉 Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov held an on-site meeting at a command post of the Yug Battlegroup, where he received direct briefings on the current frontline situation and troop performance.

Here are the key updates:

🔸 The defense chief was briefed on a new UAV engineered to relay radio signals, significantly extending the operational reach of strike drones

🔸 He was shown deployable jamming transmitters for FPV drones, which are used to protect supply routes and convoys carrying provisions and ammunition

🔸 The Yug Battlegroup unveiled a next-generation mobile communication system capable of delivering comprehensive, closed-circuit communications

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🇪🇺 Blind to root causes of Ukraine conflict, EU undermines own mediator role - MFA

💬 “As long as the EU officials fail to understand that eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict is not a concession to Russia, but a contribution to lasting stability and security on the European continent, there is no talk of their role in the peace process,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier added that the root causes would not simply vanish, instead they must be tackled head-on in any genuine settlement.

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🗣 ‘Ukraine will never pay it back’: French politician blasts EU’s new $106Bln loan

👉 The EU parliament’s approval of a massive $106B loan for Ukraine comes as Europe "sinks further into the mire," according to Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, leader of France’s Debout la France party.

In a sharp rebuke posted on X, he argued that Ukraine will never repay the debt — and the EU is ploughing ahead regardless.

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🚀🇷🇺 Proton-M blasts off: Russia bolsters orbital weather fleet with new Elektro-L

Russia's Proton-M rocket has successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It will deliver the Elektro-L weather satellite to an orbit of ~36,000 km.

The satellite will provide 24/7 meteorological monitoring. Once operational, Russia will have three such spacecraft in orbit.

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🔥🇷🇺 Meet the Sarma: Russia’s new hard-hitting rocket launcher

👉 Built for the brutal tempo of modern combat: deploy quickly, strike with fury, and vanish without a trace

👉 Engineered for hit-and-run warfare—where minutes separate triumph from loss.

Check out the video for more☝️

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🗣 Erosion of US credibility in NATO approaches critical threshold – expert

📍 Polls show NATO allies are increasingly considering the US unreliable – but that perception does not emerge in a vacuum, says Adriel Kasonta, a London-based foreign affairs analyst.

💬 "It is the cumulative effect of a decade of strategic whiplash," Kasonta tells Sputnik. "From European and Canadian vantage points, Washington’s foreign policy has appeared less like a steady hand on the tiller and more like a pendulum."

Three dynamics stand out:

◼️ The oscillation between US administrations has been stark: One praised alliances as sacred; the next questioned NATO’s value. Even when policy — like Eastern Europe troop deployments — remained consistent, the rhetoric unsettled allies: in security politics, tone shapes deterrence

◼️ The US strategic pivot to Asia has been seen as downgrading Europe. The Indo-Pacific is now Washington’s primary theater. That fuels European anxiety that they are no longer central to America's grand strategy

◼️ US domestic polarization has undermined confidence in continuity. Allies now judge not just one administration’s intentions but whether commitments will survive the next election

Recent sharp decline in trust

While a similar poll in 2025 reflected similar concerns, this year's findings show an even sharper decline in trust

Kasonta outlines two major causes for the slide:

🟠 The Ukraine conflict has stress-tested the alliance: US support for Kiev faltered under domestic political pressure. What if the same could happen to Washington's obligations to its NATO allies?

🟠 Explicit political rhetoric questioning article 5 — the alliance’s collective defense clause — has crossed a psychological Rubicon

💬 "Allies are preparing for a future in which American engagement is selective and contingent," Kasonta says. "The erosion is less about a single event and more about cumulative uncertainty reaching a tipping point."

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🇵🇰 SMASH: Pakistan unveils new hypersonic missile.

🔶 At the WDS 2026 exhibition in Riyadh, Pakistan's GIDS company unveiled the SMASH hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missile (export designation P282), stating that it is also capable of effectively engaging land-based targets.

🔶 The missile has a range of 290 km. It follows a quasi-ballistic trajectory (maneuvering during flight) with a nearly vertical angle of attack in the terminal phase, significantly reducing the enemy air defense reaction time.

🔶 The first standard carriers of the SMASH are frigates of the Zulfiquar (Type 22) and Tughril (Type 054A/P) classes. Launch from ground-based mobile platforms is also possible.

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🤦‍♂️ Turkish man tormented for Epstein likeness

🟠 Rifat Ozdemir from the city of Kayseri in Turkiye found himself enduring immense discomfort and psychological pressure because of his uncanny resemblance to the late Jeffrey Epstein.

🟠 After locals started speculating that "Epstein did not die, he came to Kayseri," Ozdemir had to move to Ankara and stay at home for a while, Turkish media report.

🟠 He even had to give up his plans to travel abroad because, as Ozdemir explained to Sputnik, at least in Turkiye he can explain to his compatriots that he is not Epstein.

💬 “How would I be able to explain to them that I’m not him,” he asked, referring to a potential encounter with foreigners.

🟠 Ironically, Ozdemir suffers due to no fault of his own while many of the people implicated in the Epstein files are not inconvenienced in the slightest.

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🔸 Erosion of US credibility in NATO approaches critical threshold – expert

🔸 Putin–Zelensky meeting only possible in Moscow - Kremlin

🔸 Epstein files may spark resignations across Europe in coming days — expert

🔸 'New START was very strong and effective agreement' — US Arms Control Association

🔸 Pakistan's armored shield: composition, modernization, and prospects

🔸 Meet the Sarma: Russia’s new hard-hitting rocket launcher

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🇬🇱 Greenland spat to serve as West’s excuse for NATO’s Arctic buildup - Russian envoy

The primary outcome of the 'Greenland crisis' will be "an increase in the objectively unjustified military presence in the Arctic of NATO countries, including non-regional members lacking their own natural resources, directed against Russia and China," Russian Ambassador to Norway Nikolay Korchunov told Sputnik.

A scenario of this nature would have destructive consequences for security and stability in this region, which until recently was an area of low tension, he noted.

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