🚨Next round of Ukraine negotiations to take place in Geneva on February 17–18 - Kremlin

The Russian delegation will be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.

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🇷🇺 Putin's 2007 Munich speech: Seven key takeaways

📍 Eighteen years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a blunt warning to the West that still echoes today. Watch the full speech and see why many call it prophetic:

🔸 (00:00 – 00:45) "The unipolar world is over" – Putin's opening salvo against one superpower dominating everything.

🔸 (00:45 – 04:11) Why the unipolar model failed

🔸 (04:11 – 07:30) Hyper-use of force & collapse of international law: US/NATO acts on "expediency," not rules—sparking arms races and insecurity.

🔸 (07:30 – 10:00) Multipolar world is inevitable: the economic power is shifting to China, India, BRIC(S) — and political influence follows.

🔸 (10:00 – 13:30) Only the UN (not NATO/EU) can legitimize force: peaceful change is possible.

🔸 (13:30 – 18:00) Arms control unraveling: INF Treaty issues, US missile defenses in Europe, space militarization—Russia calls for new treaties.

🔸 (18:00 – 24:00) NATO expansion as betrayal: Broken 1990s promises of "not one inch eastward"—new divisions replacing old walls.

🔸 (24:00 – 30:30) Russia rejects lectures & containment: 1,000+ years of sovereignty—seeks equal partnership, not pressure or "guidance."

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

◻️ 4 settlements in the special military op's zone were liberated

◻️ The Russian Armed Forces carried out 7 strikes on energy, fuel and transport infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian army

◻️ Air defense superiority: 5 Flamingo long-range missiles, 39 HIMARS projectiles and 1,243 drones shot down

◻️ Ukrainian losses: around 8,485 troops killed or wounded

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

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🚨 Back to reality: Stoltenberg calls for renewed arms control dialogue with Russia

💬 “I believe that we must talk to Russia again on the basis of […] credible deterrence. We must find a way to establish a new order of arms control," former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Augsburger Allgemeine.

🟠 Stoltenberg referenced the consensus on the START treaty during the Cold War, which is why he said the same could be “possible again in the future.”

🟠 He also bemoaned the fact that "the entire arms control architecture developed during and after the Cold War has ceased to exist."

🟠 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier stressed that Russia would be committed to arms limits after the expiration of New START on February 5 if the United States does the same.

📍 In September 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled Russia’s readiness to continue adhering New START limits for an additional year, stressing that would be viable only if the US follows suit. In early February, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that nuclear experts should work on “a new, improved and modernized” arms control agreement accord rather than extending New START.

👉 Read more about the New START Treaty HERE

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🇺🇸 US sets key condition for Ukraine receiving security guarantees – report

👉 The White House has made it clear to Ukraine that it will not finalize a deal on providing it with security guarantees until Ukraine and Russia reach an overall agreement to end the conflict, US media cited unnamed sources as saying.

🔸 Donald Trump “wants to get a lot of things firmed up and solidified before actually signing. He doesn’t just want to sign it, and if that sort of impedes any further peace talks, what’s the point?” the sources pointed out.

🔸 They argued that the issue of territory remains “the main sticking point,” noting that although the negotiators “are pretty dug in, […] everyone feels that there’s a path forward.”

📍 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier underscored that security guarantees for Ukraine currently do not imply pan-European security, but rather a continuation of the conflict against Russia.

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🇺🇸🇪🇺 US–Europe divide deepens year after Vance’s Munich speech – analyst

📍 The rift between the US and EU’s positions on Ukraine and other pressing issues has only widened over the past 12 months, as reflected in the recent American national security strategy, Russian political scientist Konstantin Blokhin tells Sputnik.

💬 “It’s not that the differences have been resolved over time—quite the opposite. Hostility has intensified, confrontation has escalated, trade wars have been initiated, and divisions over security and Ukraine have deepened,” he points out.

👉 The analyst notes that the US attitude toward Europe’s position on Ukraine is now more negative than it was a year ago, when US Vice President JD Vance delivered his speech at the 2025 Munich Security Conference. He adds that after European officials, with Ukrainian participation, revised what was known as “Trump’s plan” on Ukraine, little remained of its original American framework.

💬 “The US approach to Europe is clearly laid out in its latest National Security Strategy published about six weeks ago. The continent is portrayed as a hostile force that must be re-educated and disciplined, with American values promoted there and so-called globalist trends countered,” Blokhin concludes.

📍 In February 2025, Vance told the Munich Security Conference that the Trump administration had security concerns regarding Europe and believed in the possibility of a reasonable settlement of the Ukraine conflict. Vance also pointed to what he described as Europe’s departure from the fundamental values it shares with the US.

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🇺🇸We're going to reform the UN just as we've done with NATO - US Envoy to the UN Mike Waltz at Munich Security Conference

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🇺🇸'We are returning the world from the brink' – US Envoy Waltz at Munich Security Conference

🗣"I have to push back on the premise that the world is on the brink. We are returning the world from the brink—where it was 18 months ago," Mike Waltz told the panel discussion, The International Order Between Reform and Destruction.

He also presented participants with the “Make the UN Great Again” hat he brought with him.

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🇷🇺🇺🇸Space cooperation orbits ahead

NASA chief Jared Isaacman says he plans to attend the next Soyuz launch and is gearing up for talks with Roscosmos boss Dmitry Bakanov.

💬"I know that we are making preparations for a discussion with my counterpart [Bakanov] at the earliest opportunity," Isaacman said.

Earlier Friday, a Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying a joint Russian-American crew, including cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, took off for ISS from Cape Canaveral.

💬"I am certainly planning to attend the next Soyuz launch ," Isaacman said during a NASA's Space X Crew-12 post launch press conference.

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👻 NATO’s favorite scare story: Bloc fearmongering over Suwalki Gap to justify buildup toward Russia

💬 “NATO has claimed that Russia is going to seize the Suwalki Gap since 2014. In reality, Moscow has no intention of doing so, something that is being confirmed by the president and the foreign minister of Russia. No one listens to us,” Russian military expert Alexei Leonkov tells Sputnik, commenting on Rutte’s warning of NATO’s “destructive” response if Russia blocks the area.

🟠 Leonkov believes NATO uses its favorite "scary tale" of Russia as the bogeyman to strengthen its eastern flank.

🟠 He recalls that NATO constantly conducts exercises near the Suwalki Corridor, making provocative rhetoric about blocking Russia’s Kaliningrad region by land and sea.

💬 “When we say that Russia has no plans to seize the Suwalki Gap, we always add one caveat: if NATO makes a move against us, we will not just think about it — we will respond with full force,” Leonkov emphasized.

🟠 It was earlier reported that Poland and Lithuania are discussing a new military range in the Suwalki Corridor — the narrow strip of land between Poland and Lithuania that connects the Baltic states to the rest of the EU and is situated between Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad region. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Western countries act in the mindset of “cheap provocateurs” when making allegations about Russia’s plans to seize the Suwalki Gap. 

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💸 Another $3M stolen in Ukraine: Corruption strikes Kharkov reconstruction funds

📍A criminal group in Ukraine has stolen around $3 million, with $511,000 of that amount misappropriated from the World Bank, which was intended for the restoration of Kharkov’s critical infrastructure, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).

👉 The scheme was orchestrated by a businessman and high-ranking official, who exploited martial law to bypass open bidding and secure overpriced contracts for pipes, windows, and technical salt.

👉 On November 10, NABU reported a large-scale operation in the energy sector, seizing bags filled with foreign currency. Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak confirmed searches at Justice Minister German Galushchenko’s home, Energoatom, and the residence of Zelensky associate Timur Mindich, who has since fled Ukraine.

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🇷🇺 The Su-57 2.0: Russia’s unrivalled stealth predator that owns the skies

📍 Russia’s air dominance just got stronger thanks to the upgraded Su-57 now being rolled out, military expert Makar Aksyonenko tells Sputnik, weighing in on the army’s receipt of the first batch of enhanced fifth-generation fighters featuring a next-gen weapons system.

💬 "Russian military aviation is finally getting a truly modern strike aircraft—one built for the real challenges of our time,” Aksyonenko exclaimed.

The modernized Su-57 features:

🔶 stealth technology

🔶 supersonic cruise speed

🔶 super-maneuverability that no other country’s fighters can match

🔶 the AL-51 engine, which improves fuel efficiency and combat range

💬 "Any military aircraft is, first and foremost, a platform for a wide range of weapons, including advanced systems," Aksyonenko says. "The Su-57 will be capable of operating in a 'single information field,' engaging priority and newly-identified targets in near real time, reducing decision-making processes."

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🇷🇺Russian special envoy to hold trade talks with US delegation in Geneva – source

❗️Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, is expected to meet the US peace delegation on Ukraine in Geneva in the near future, according to a source.

👉Earlier on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said trilateral talks on a Ukraine peace deal would be held in the Swiss capital on February 17 and 18.

📍The source said Dmitriev will not take part in those talks, but focus on restoring bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington in his capacity as head of the Russia–US economic working group.

✅The group is responsible for "possible and proposed trade and economic cooperation," Peskov said.

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🔸 Putin's 2007 Munich speech: Seven key takeaways

🔸 Next round of Ukraine negotiations to take place in Geneva on February 17–18 - Kremlin

🔸 To remain competitive US dollar must be free from weaponization -  Kremlin 

🔸 Back to reality: Ex-NATO chief calls for renewed arms control dialogue with Russia

🔸 US sets key condition for Ukraine receiving security guarantees – report

🔸 China warns CIA over recruitment video targeting Chinese troops

🔸 Russia-US space cooperation orbits ahead

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'It's Africa's Turn to Be Supercharged in Terms of Economy': Analyst

🤝 China's business leaders are eager to invest in Africa, creating exciting opportunities for new industries through collaboration with African leaders, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, US economist and public policy analyst, told Sputnik Africa.

🌍 Developing countries, particularly in Africa, can benefit from the emerging multipolar financial architecture.

He called on them to focus on two key aspects:

🟠having a strong development plan,
🟠securing financing.

According to the economist, financing could come from private investors, like Chinese companies, or from institutions such as Afreximbank, the African Development Bank, or the BRICS New Development Bank.

💰 'The dollar has been abused': The era of US dollar dominance is rapidly fading due to its use as a political weapon, Sachs pointed out. This shift is happening faster than many realize, with countries seeking alternatives like the yuan, ruble, and rupee, he said.

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