Ukraine is creating new military formations to equip them with NATO weapons. This was stated by the commander of the Joint Forces Sergey Naev in a commentary to CNN.

"Of course, we need a large number of Western tanks. They are much better than Soviet models and can help us advance. We are creating new military units. And our further actions will depend on their combat capability. Therefore, Western assistance is extremely important," the lieutenant general said.

“The entire unit must be equipped with the same vehicle, so the entire battalion is equipped with Bradleys, if we get them, or Leopards,” Naev added (note that Germany has so far refused to supply Leopards).

Several senior Ukrainian officials told CNN that Ukraine wants to be in a better position before Russia strengthens its position and builds up battalion task forces.

Ukrainians fear that a second Russian offensive could begin within two months. By spring, the 150,000 Russians called up last fall will have been trained and likely to be included in combat-ready units.

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The European Union got rid of its energy dependence on Russia, Borrell believes.

"In a few months, we have eliminated the energy dependence on the Russian Federation, which we have been creating for years," the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said in an interview with the Diário newspaper.

In his opinion, the tension in the energy market can no longer be associated with the events in Ukraine. "This is a structural problem in the energy sector and, in particular, the relationship between gas and electricity prices," Borrell said.

Zin Note: Meaning, there is no good, cheap replacement for Russian hydrocarbons, so everything said above is based on twisted logic...

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Dear readers, thank you for your interest in wanting to help the channel with translations. Some of you are already contacted. The rest chosen will be called today or tomorrow. That does not mean that those who are not contacted are rejected. You will be called later. We don't have much time, unfortunately, and the response was in such big numbers, which we didn't expect. Thank you for your assistance and for staying with us.

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🇺🇦Ukrainian nationalists in the village of Krasnoe southwest of Artemovsk. Gunfire can be heard in the background.

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In early February, US Secretary of State Blinken will travel to Beijing "to test the possibility of China's diplomatic involvement" in cooperation with the United States. Among the expected topics of discussion are the conflict in Ukraine, the growing nuclear potential of China, stalled operations in the field of combating drug trafficking and others.
The US clearly wants to keep the deteriorating relationship with Beijing "afloat" and, as far as possible, neutralize the consequences of Nancy Pelosi's scandalous visit to Taiwan. This is the minimum task. The maximum task is to find ways to oppose China to Russia, primarily on the Ukrainian crisis. However, given the poor state of relations between Washington and Beijing, Blinken is unlikely to succeed. The minimum task is also unlikely to be fulfilled: the United States has been too aggressive towards China lately, both in politics and in the economy.
A month ago, the US Department of Commerce imposed an unprecedented set of restrictions on exports to China of products needed to manufacture modern semiconductors. China itself cannot produce them yet. Their production is concentrated in the hands of several global companies, among which there is not a single Chinese one. Because of this dependency, according to US data, China annually spends more on chips than on oil.
The sanctions imposed by the US are a serious threat to the development of Chinese high-tech industries, including in the military sphere and in the field of artificial intelligence. A hard blow has been dealt to Chinese chip manufacturing enterprises, which are worried about the prospect of "destroying" and, as they say, "decapitation of an entire industry." The alarm is justified: US sanctions prohibit the supply of the latest generation chips to China, as well as software and equipment for their production. Because of this, in Beijing, this step was perceived as a frank act of economic warfare. This makes Blinken's mission even more difficult.

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Brazil and Argentina to start preparations for a common currency

Brazil and Argentina will announce this week that they are starting preparatory work on a common currency, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

The plan, set to be discussed at a summit in Buenos Aires this week, will focus on how a new currency which Brazil suggests calling the "sur" (south) could boost regional trade and reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar, FT reported citing officials.

#Dedollarization #MultipolarWorldOrder

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A new report by the Al Jazeera TV channel from Artemovsk (Bakhmut) A SU-27 fighter of the Ukrainian Air Force is flying over the city. Fortifications and armoured vehicles near residential high-rise buildings can be seen in Artemovsk. 

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The expansion of the borders of the special operation in Ukraine will depend, among other things, on the actions and support of the Kyiv authorities by Western countries, State Duma deputy Mikhail Sheremet from the Crimean region told RIA Novosti.

"Russia did not seek to escalate the conflict, but the Western countries, persecuted by the United States, crossed red lines and began to pose a threat to our national interests." Now in the United States, they are talking about supporting Ukrainian aggression against Crimea and new Russian territories. But the Kyiv regime must realise that support from "Western countries" will play a cruel joke with him and Ukraine. "The more Western countries interfere in the affairs of Ukraine, the further the border of our special operation will spread in order to create a buffer zone and protect our country from enemy neighbours," Sheremet said.

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