What's Your Take on the Possible Supply of German Leopard 2 Tanks to Kiev?

Germany has been facing immense pressure from its NATO colleagues over its failure to agree to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Berlin reportedly said it would do so only if Washington approved the delivery of its Abrams tanks to Kiev.

Sputnik wants to know your opinion on the matter - feel free to take part in our poll!

DARPA AI Security Camera Defeated by US Marines Pretending to be Trees & Boxes, Book Claims

The US government may be concerned about China getting its hands on its artificial intelligence technologies, but Beijing may be thinking twice about trying to acquire them after reading about how easily a few creative US Marines defeated one.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon’s private bureau of mad scientists, was testing out a new AI developed as part of its Squad X program. The program aimed to integrate unmanned assets with dismounted ground troops by providing them with many of the resources that vehicle-based units enjoy, such as multi-directional threat detection and both increased autonomy and coordination.

Unfortunately for DARPA, the US Marines working with the program developed a cheap and easy way to defeat the AI. Fortunately for readers, it was really hilarious.

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EU's Borrell Claims Russia Capable of Destroying Satellites in Space

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell alleged hat Russia poses a threat in outer space on Tuesday, claiming that Moscow is capable of conducting cyberattacks on satellites as well as physically destroying them with anti-satellite weapons.

"In November 2021, Russia tested a kinetic anti-satellite weapon. This was an irresponsible act that not only generated dangerous debris in the space, it [also] signaled to everyone that Russia is prepared to put everyone’s satellites at risk. If they could do that with one satellite, they could do it with our satellites," Borrell said at the 15th European Space Conference.

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💬 "The more the West throws sanctions on other nations, the less of the engagement there is on the global scale with the West. Because, as you sanction countries like China and Iran - huge economies, huge populations and landmass and resources - the other third parties in the world, they have to choose either not to do business at all with these huge economies or do business with the United States, with expensive prices that are inflated. Of course, the rest of the world is choosing to do business with itself and ignore the super national legal jurisdiction that the West is trying to impose on the rest of the world outside United Nations mechanisms." says Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon.

🎧 Listen to more of Laith's analysis in our Fault Lines podcast: Germany Pushes Back on Tanks for Ukraine; DC Anti-War Protest; Nord Stream Investigation

Massive US-Israeli War Games Aimed at Iran, Top US General Suggests

Massive joint US-Israeli war games being carried out this week will include simulated bombings of Iranian nuclear sites, Israeli media has claimed.

Channel 12 news reported Tuesday that imitation Iranian nuclear sites in the Negev desert will be subjected to 100 tons of explosives. Although the outlet failed to cite a source for the claim, Monday statements from a senior US military official seemed to confirm the sentiment.

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China Tells US to ‘Solve Its Debt Problem’ Instead of Worrying About Zambia’s

A statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Lusaka on Tuesday has urged the US Treasury to focus on “solving the US’ own domestic debt problem."

“The biggest contribution that the US can make to the debt issues outside the country is to act on responsible monetary policies, cope with its own debt problem and stop sabotaging other sovereign countries’ active efforts to solve their debt issues,” the statement blasted.

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Russia's Ambassador Antonov: US Abrams Tanks Delivered to Ukraine Will Be Destroyed

US media reported earlier on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden is set to announce the delivery of 30-50 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as soon as Wednesday.

"If a decision to transfer M1 Abrams to Kiev is made, the American tanks without any doubt will be destroyed as all other samples of NATO military equipment," Antonov said, as quoted by the embassy on Telegram.

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❗️ The US may send Abrams tanks to Ukraine this week; the package could include 30 to 50 tanks, Turkish media reported, citing a Biden Administration official

🇳🇿 The leader of New Zealand's Labour Party, Chris Hipkins, was sworn in as the country's new prime minister in an official ceremony on Wednesday following the resignation of outgoing prime minister Jacinda Ardern last week.

The Labor Party elected former COVID-19 Response Minister and Police Minister Hipkins, 44, to lead the party and country on Sunday. Ardern, 42, resigned last week, saying she "no longer has the strength" to lead the country.

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📹 Check out Sputnik's video of the Ukrainian Army hiding heavy military equipment behind residential buildings

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Two UK mercenaries fighting for Ukraine, Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw, were killed near the city of Soledar in Russia's Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), UK media reported.

According to a family statement quoted by in the reports, the UK nationals were killed while "attempting a humanitarian evacuation."

Earlier, a female resident of Soledar told Sputnik that there were many foreigners from Poland and the UK among the Ukrainian troops.

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📹 Orlan-10 drones in the area of the special operation (video of the Russian Ministry of Defense)

The task of the drone is to search for and recognise targets, as well as record videos of their elimination.

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'Not Anything Political': House Speaker McCarthy Boots Democrats Schiff, Swalwell From Intel Panel

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unilaterally blocked Democratic Congressmen Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from serving on the House Intelligence Committee in an attempt to restore credibility to the panel, the lawmaker said in a statement.

“I have rejected the appointments of Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell for the House Intelligence Committee. I am committed to returning the House Intelligence Committee to one of genuine honesty and credibility that regains the trust of the American people,” McCarthy said on Tuesday.

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📹 The crew of the frigate "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov", operating in the Western part of the Atlantic Ocean, conducted an exercise on the use of hypersonic missile weapons using a computer simulation (video by Russian MoD)

In accordance with the training situation, the frigate "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov" worked out the organization of launching a missile strike with a hypersonic "Zirkon" missile at a sea target simulating the ship of a mock enemy and located at a distance of more than 900 kilometers.

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Report: US Army Doubles Artillery Shell Production Target, Again

The US military’s anticipated production of howitzer rounds is now set to be six times higher than it was at the beginning of 2022.

The US Army doubled its goal for howitzer shell production as NATO’s proxy battle against Russia rages on, a new report claims, as war hawks and war profiteers alike look to take advantage of the conflict in Ukraine.

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❗️Cambodia🇰🇭 will not provide military aid to Ukraine, local media report

The country's foreign ministry reiteraited that Cambodia is a “peace-loving country, which strictly adheres to a foreign policy of neutrality.”

🇪🇸 Spain has joined the European plan for the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, local media reports

What is Behind Scholz's Reported Move to Send Leopard 2 Tanks to Ukraine?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz responded to Washington’s alleged attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipeline with a concession on Ukraine and restrictions on the Germans, Max Blumenthal, the editor-in-chief of an independent news outlet, has tweeted.

“Since the US destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline supplying cheap gas to Germany, the German Cuckmeister Olaf Scholz has retaliated by caving to US demands to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine and asking German citizens to take fewer hot showers,” Blumenthal argued.

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🥴 The video shows Ukrainian air defense systems called “A boy with a bat” in multiple attempts to shoot down an alleged Russian drone (actually, the video was filmed at a Ukrainian wedding and the drone is just a toy)

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❗️ Russia confirmed its position regarding the UN Security Council reform to increase representation of developing countries, African in particular, foreign minister Lavrov said

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❗️Latest statements by Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ The Kremlin on the cyberattack in Germany: Every group of hackers is associated with Russia, this is absurd;

▪️ Prospects for the development of the global situation does not yet promise elements of detente, given NATO's line, Russia must be on alert;

▪️ Kremlin on West's controversial statements about the supply of Abrams tanks to Ukraine: not everything is as smooth in NATO, including with the presence of tanks;

▪️ Kremlin on Russia being accused of cyberattacks: a lot of hacker attacks on Russia come from the United States, but is it worth associating it with the White House;

▪️ Kremlin on statements from Kiev about strikes on Russian cities: this regime does not shun anything, this confirms the correctness of our intentions;

▪️ Abrams tanks are expensive, this will fall on the shoulders of European taxpayers, and the Americans will be left with profits;

▪️ Kremlin about the supply of Abrams tanks to Ukraine: in terms of technological aspects, a failed plan and a reassessment of what it can give Kiev;

▪️ Prospects for the development of the situation in the world, taking into account NATO's line, do not yet promise elements of detente, one must be on the alert. There are currently no prospects for entering diplomatic ways of resolving the situation around Ukraine;

▪️ Moscow not in contact with Berlin in light of possible deliveries of Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

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