🇪🇺 Zelensky’s demands provoke split within EU — expert

💬 "On the initiative of Ukraine, which seeks political confrontation, conflicts arise between Hungary and Brussels, between Slovakia and Brussels, and next time they might also arise between Austria and Brussels," political scientist Patrick Poppel tells Sputnik.

🔸 The EU, he argues, is failing to protect its own leaders from political attacks. An example of this is how the EU can't protect Hungarian PM Viktor Orban from Zelensky’s attacks as the organization lacks unity, Poppel notes.

💬 "There's no solidarity, no unity to defend the EU from Ukraine's political agitation. Individual leaders are completely defenseless."

🔸 This gives Ukraine freedom of action, the ability to get funds and dictate whom to subject to sanctions or drag into problems, the expert concludes.

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🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran not Iraq: Any US strike would require combined forces - expert

💬 “According to various estimates, about 600 sea- and air-launched cruise missiles could be aimed at Iran [by the US]: roughly two-thirds from ships carrying Tomahawk missiles, and one-third from aircraft using JASSM-ER missiles,” military expert Alexey Leonkov tells Sputnik.

For comparison, more than 800 missiles were launched against Iraq in 2003, with about 730 reaching their targets, Leonkov noted.

Potential military action against Iran would be more complex for the US, he added. Unlike Iraq, where satellite navigation was disrupted, US forces would first need to suppress Iran’s air defense systems, while the US Navy would simultaneously strike other military and infrastructure targets.

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🤔 How many F-16s does Ukraine actually have? Expert estimates

Western countries are providing Ukraine with only the minimum number of aircraft needed to launch Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles, military expert Alexey Leonkov says.

European states cannot supply EU-made aircraft due to specific agreements, so they are rationing their US-made F-16s out of concerns they might deplete their own reserves, he explained.

💬 “Some say there are six jets and six pilots left. Others say six pilots and 12 jets. Since 2024, their number has never exceeded 12 units,” the expert concludes.

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🔸 US Supreme Court blocks Trump’s emergency tariffs

🔸 US audit unveils $100M corruption scandal in Zelensky's orbit and battlefield realities

🔸 Massive losses leave Ukraine’s front lines thin and forces scattered – military experts

🔸 Trump says he's considering limited strike on Iran

🔸 Ukraine damaged Nord Stream to secure monopoly as energy supply mediator — Orban

🔸 Russia’s Tu-95MS bombers flex air muscle in 14-hour Bering Sea mission

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🇵🇸🔎 Palestinian politician exposes Board of Peace hypocrisy

📍 The presence of the Israelis and the absence of the Palestinians at the inaugural meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace looks very suspicious, Fatah movement representative Munzer Hayek told Sputnik Arabic.

Board of Peace’s true colors

There is a distinct possibility that the Board of Peace’s real goal is to separate the two Palestinian territories – the Gaza Strip and the West Bank – from one another, Hayek warned.

💬 “We haven’t seen neither the [Palestinian] flag nor even the word ‘Palestine’ at the Board of Peace meeting, which hints at something suspicious and unacceptable for us Palestinians,” he said.

Supplanting the UN

🔶 The absence of UN Security Council members at the meeting suggests that the Board of Peace is intended to act as an alternative to the UN.

🔶 He also observed that the meeting’s agenda was apparently all about raising money, while issues such as the rights of the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination weren’t addressed at all.

Hamas’s disarmament is a ploy

🔹 Israel’s demand to disarm Hamas is merely a pretext to avoid implementing the second stage of the peace plan i.e. the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, argued Hayek.

🔹 He noted that it is unclear what weapons actually remain in the Gaza Strip at this time, seeing how there have been no heavy armaments there even before the events of October 7.

🔹 Finally, Hayek insisted that Israel must withdraw, and that the only way to ensure security and stability in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank is to allow Palestinians to decide their own fate.

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🔥 Hungary blocks €90B EU loan to Ukraine in response to energy blockade

FM Peter Szijjarto announced freezing the massive EU loan package for Kiev until Ukraine restores oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary.

"Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by halting oil transit in coordination with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition to create supply disruptions in Hungary and push fuel prices higher before the elections," Szijjarto wrote on X.

Without the €90 billion loan—agreed by EU leaders in December—Ukraine faces a budget gap in April, with financial collapse looming in Q2, Financial Times reports.

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🗣 Treasury chief blasts SCOTUS: 'Loss for American people'

Scott Bessent responds after the Supreme Court blocks Trump's emergency tariffs, saying the move stripped the president of his leverage.

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💬 JD Vance calls the SCOTUS ruling 'lawlessness'

Vice President JD Vance erupts after the Court blocks emergency tariffs, accusing justices of ignoring Congress and undermining presidential power.

"Today, the Supreme Court decided that Congress, despite giving the president the ability to 'regulate imports,' didn't actually mean it. This is lawlessness from the Court, plain and simple."

Vance insisted Trump still has a "wide range of other tariff powers" and will use them.

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⚔️ US military is planning targeting individuals in Iran — reports

Two US officials told Reuters options now include striking specific individuals and even overthrowing Tehran's government if Trump orders it.

The sources did not specify which individuals are targeted or how the US military could attempt regime change without a large ground force.

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