Top Russian General Reportedly Killed by Ukrainian Sniper; Russia Threatens to Execute Western Volunteers

By Washington Examiner. One of Russia’s top generals was reportedly killed this week by a Ukrainian sniper.

Maj. Gen. Andrey Sukhovetsky, the deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of Russia’s Central Military District, was reportedly killed during a heated fight between Russian and Ukrainian forces, according to the Daily Mail. The report talks of a military source who said Sukhovetsky was killed “by a sniper,” noting a funeral is planned for Saturday.

Russia’s military has not confirmed the death, but Sergei Chipilyov of the Union Airborne Forces Union of Russian Paratroopers reacted to the news on social media.

“With great pain, we received the tragic news about the death of our friend, Major-General Andrey Aleksandrovich Sukhovetsky, in Ukraine during a special operation,” the post said, according to Newsweek. “We express our deepest condolences to his family.” (Read more from “Top Russian General Reportedly Killed by Ukrainian Sniper” HERE)

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Russia Threatens to Execute Western Volunteers

By Washington Examiner. An influx of thousands of Western volunteers to fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine has heartened Ukrainian officials while simultaneously spurring the Kremlin to issue a dire threat against the members of this growing force.

“None of the mercenaries the West is sending to Ukraine to fight for the nationalist regime in Kyiv can be considered as combatants in accordance with international humanitarian law or enjoy the status of prisoners of war,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov on Thursday, per Russian state media.

That threat represented an emphatic effort to discourage the growing force, which has taken shape in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for combat veterans from European countries to join the fight. About 16,000 people have volunteered, the Ukrainian leader announced as he touted their aid as a vivid example of the Western support against the Russian invasion.

“Ukraine receives weapons from its partners on a daily basis,” Zelensky said Thursday, according to an official translation. “From real friends. More and more powerful weapons every day. Ukraine is already meeting foreign volunteers who are going to our country. The first of 16,000. They are going to defend freedom. Defend life. For us. For all. And it will be successful. I’m sure.” (Read more from “Russia Threatens to Execute Western Volunteers” HERE)

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Russia-Ukraine Agree to a Temporary Ceasefire

Ukraine and Russia say they have agreed to temporary local cease-fires to create “humanitarian corridors” for the evacuation of civilians and delivery of vital supplies, as Russian forces encircled major port cities and advanced toward other population centers.

The details of the limited cease-fires — which followed a second round of talks Thursday — are still being worked out, officials said. Ukrainian leaders are warning that food, medicine and other essentials are running low in southern cities under siege. In Kherson by the Black Sea, one official warned of disaster within days unless a corridor opened. In coastal Mariupol, near the Russian border, the mayor said residents have “no light, water and heat.” (Read more from “Russia-Ukraine Agree to a Temporary Ceasefire” HERE)

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‘Unexplained’ Ukrainian Oligarch Found Dead in UK Mansion

An investigation is underway after a Ukrainian oligarch was found dead in his British mansion earlier this week, police revealed Thursday.

Mikhail Watford, 66, was pronounced dead after authorities were called to his home in Surrey, just outside London, on Monday at about midday.

Authorities said the circumstances surrounding the tycoon’s death didn’t appear to be suspicious but they called it “unexplained.”

The father of three — who made his fortune in oil and gas after the demise of the Soviet Union — was found hanged in his garage, the Sun reported.

His associates and friends told the outlet that the timing of his death raised questions, especially following the attempted murder of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal on UK soil. (Read more from “‘Unexplained’ Ukrainian Oligarch Found Dead in UK Mansion” HERE)

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‘10 Times Larger Than Chernobyl’: Fire Breaks Out at Ukrainian Nuclear Plant

A fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine as Russian forces bombard the facility, leading Ukrainian officials to claim that the threat is “10 times larger than Chernobyl.”

“Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted on Thursday evening. “Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!” . . .

Tuz added that firefighters are unable to subdue the flames due to the continued Russian bombardment. “We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire,” he said in a video statement. “There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe.” (Read more from “‘10 Times Larger Than Chernobyl’: Fire Breaks Out at Ukrainian Nuclear Plant” HERE)

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‘Wanted: Dead or Alive’: Russian Tycoon Puts $1M Bounty on Putin’s Head

A Russian businessman is offering $1 million to any military officer who apprehends Russian President Vladimir Putin “dead or alive” for committing war crimes in his invasion of Ukraine.

Alex Konanykhin, an entrepreneur and former banker, posted the bounty on social media as Russia enters a full week of military action against the neighboring country. Western governments and companies have responded to the invasion by seeking to economically punish Putin and Russia’s ruling elite. The bounty offered by Konanykhin, who is now based in the U.S., places an even more direct target on the Russian leader as backlash over the invasion continues to escalate.

Konanykhin said in a Facebook post Tuesday that he promised to pay the officer or officers the money for arresting “Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws.” (Read more from “‘Wanted: Dead or Alive’: Russian Tycoon Puts $1M Bounty on Putin’s Head” HERE)

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China Largely Ignores Biden’s State of the Union Speech

President Joe Biden had very little to say about China in his first State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday night, and Chinese media returned the favor by saying very little about Biden’s speech.

China’s state-run Global Times counted only two mentions of China in the speech, neither of them terribly confrontational (Biden added a third in the remarks as delivered). The Chinese paper dismissed Biden’s address as a weak imitation of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s famed “Iron Curtain” speech that unsuccessfully sought to use Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to rally the divided American political parties behind Biden’s presidency.

The Global Times quoted Fudan University professor Shen Yi mocking Biden’s claims of leadership against Russia:

“If the US has been prepared for Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, why is Washington still discussing with other countries on how to sanction Russia on SWIFT? If US intelligence agencies can make correct early-warnings about Russia’s operation, but the White House failed to fully prepare for sanctions, the US’ capability and national strength are in trouble,” Shen said.

Biden said in his speech that “Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO Allies.” But Shen said this is another pointless line that shows Biden’s weakness. “This means the US will leave Ukraine alone even though Kiev pinned high hopes on Washington. To defend NATO? Did Russia say it wants to invade NATO?”

(Read more from “China Largely Ignores Biden’s State of the Union Speech” HERE)

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Russia’s Ultimatum: No Western Troops, Nukes in Ex-Soviet Countries; ‘He Has No Idea What’s Coming’: Biden Sends Message to Putin

By Washington Examiner. Following calls from apprehensive neighbors of Russia for an increased U.S. military presence, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that his country opposes any Western military activity in the former Soviet bloc.

Lavrov told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday amid his country’s invasion of Ukraine that Western powers, especially America, must not operate in Eastern Europe and should remove nuclear weapons from the region.

“The Western countries need to abandon creating military sites on the territories of countries previously constituting the Soviet Union and not members of the alliance, including using their infrastructure to conduct any military activity,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov centered his demands on U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe, saying it is “unacceptable for us that U.S. nuclear weapons still remain in a number of European states in contradiction to the basic points of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.” (Read more from “Russia’s Ultimatum: No Western Troops, Nukes in Ex-Soviet Countries” HERE)

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‘He Has No Idea What’s Coming’: Biden Sends Message to Putin

By Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden assailed Russian President Vladimir Putin, barred Russian flights from American airspace and led Democratic and Republican lawmakers in a rare display of unity on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Let each of us if you’re able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world,” Biden urged Democrats and Republicans. . .

In a deviation from his prepared remarks, Biden said of Putin: “He has no idea what’s coming.” (Read more from “‘He Has No Idea What’s Coming’: Biden Sends Message to Putin” HERE)

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‘We Won’t Give Up Our President’: Ukraine Foiled Zelensky Hit Squads With Leaked Russian Intel

Two elite Chechen death squads sent to kill Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky have been “neutralized” — thanks to intel from Russian security forces sympathetic to Ukraine, according to a senior Ukraine official.

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Ukrainian TV Tuesday that sources inside the Russian FSB gave Kyiv the intelligence needed to track down the assassins, according to a report in The New Voice of Ukraine.

“They were divided in two groups, we were tracking them,” said Danilov.

“One group was handled near Hostomel [northwest of Kyiv], the other one is in our sights.”

“We won’t give up our president, our country,” Danilov added. “This is our land, be gone.” (Read more from “‘We Won’t Give Up Our President’: Ukraine Foiled Zelensky Hit Squads With Leaked Russian Intel” HERE)

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Left-Wing Mexico President Refuses to Impose Sanctions on Russia

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador vowed that his government will not be placing economic sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.

The leftist leader said Tuesday that his decision was solely based on his administration’s preference to maintain a positive image with his counterparts across the globe.

‘We are not going to take any sort of economic reprisal because we want to have good relations with all the governments in the world,’ López Obrador said Tuesday during his daily presidential press briefing.

López Obrador position stands in contrast to the international sanctions imposed on President Vladimir Putin’s actions as his military attacked a war-torn Ukraine for a fifth straight day.

The Kremlin has built strong links to various governments in Latin America, especially authoritarian administrations in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. (Read more from “Left-Wing Mexico President Refuses to Impose Sanctions on Russia” HERE)

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Joe Biden’s America Pays Putin $70 Million per Day for Oil

Think about the madness of this… Joe Biden is running around trying to look tough, hitting Russia with sanctions over Vladimir Putin’s obscene invasion of Ukraine. But at the same time, we pay Russia in the vicinity of $70 million per day for oil imports.

In other words, during these seven days of Putin’s criminal war against Ukraine, we’ve sent this same Putin during those same seven days close to a half-billion dollars! . . .

On the one hand, Biden claims to be crippling Vlad with sanctions, while on the other hand, we’re slipping him $70 million PER DAY! . . .

“In 2021, the U.S. imported an average of 209,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and 500,000 bpd of other petroleum products from Russia.”

And last I checked, oil is currently valued at $106 per barrel, and one of the reasons oil is so high is the war in Ukraine, so…. So Vlad is making more money on his oil by waging his war with a peaceful neighbor! (Read more from “Joe Biden’s America Pays Putin $70 Million per Day for Oil” HERE)

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