📍 Sputnik’s infographic showing a map of Russia’s Bryansk region, where today, March 2, a Ukrainian sabotage group infiltrated the border region, killing one person and injuring a 10-year-old child

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Russia's External Debt in 2022 Sees 3-Year Record Drop, Debt-to-GDP Ratio Lowest in G20

Despite the West's attempt to weaken Russia's economy and finances by imposing sweeping sanctions over Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine, these self-mutilating restrictions have not succeeded in causing any significant harm to the country.
Russia’s foreign debt decreased for the first time in three years in 2022, reaching 4.039 trillion rubles ($53.3 billion), the country’s Accounts Chamber has revealed.

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❗️The operation on the 10-year-old child who was injured in the Ukrainian terrorist attack in the Bryansk region was a success, Governor Alexander Bogomaz has said.

Doctors extracted a bullet fired from a NATO firearm. The boy is now under the constant supervision of medical staff.

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Netizens were left unimpressed by the lack of empathy shown by the US president as he chuckled after weighing in on the fentanyl overdose deaths of two children.

The footage triggered strong disapproval on social media, with many deploring it as "inappropriate and vile."

💬 “I don’t always laugh about people dying from fentanyl overdose, but when I do, I do it in front of the entire country,” wrote one user, with others joining the Twitter crowd, which was left unimpressed by the gaffe. “Biden is a disgrace and owes that Mom an apology,” another user said in disdain.

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📍Today marks the anniversary of one of the largest bombing crusades since World War II, Operation Rolling Thunder in Vietnam.

The first air raid on the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) as part of the operation took place on March 2, 1965. During the operation, the USAF carried out massive bombings against North Vietnam: they targeted railroads, highways, and civilian industrial objects. The offensive included the destruction of crops, as American forces dropped chemical substances on them.

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International affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda joined us to discuss the recent drone incursion into Russia and what was behind it

🎧Listen to more of Sleboda’s analysis in our podcast Political Misfits: Insulin Prices Lowered, Chicago Votes, US-China Chip War, Bakhmut

❗️At least two injured after fire erupts in skyscraper under construction in Hong Kong

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Bill Gates Says US Won't Be Able to Limit China's Microchip Industry

Regarding a possible military conflict between China and the US within the next decade, Gates argues that restricting Chinese chip sales and manufacturing would only warn Beijing about the intention for military escalation and thus further damage bilateral relations and provide China with advance warning of a future threat. The billionaire personally does not believe in a military conflict between the two countries.

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❗️Grain deal doesn't work, West sabotages Russian part of 'package' - Russian Foreign Ministry

‼️US to announce next round of Ukraine aid on Friday, White House's John Kirby has announced

Bipartisan US Senate Group Says It's Able to End Force Authorizations Behind 1991, 2003 Iraq Wars

“Every year we keep this authorization to use military force on the books is another chance for a future president to abuse or misuse it. War powers belong squarely in the hands of Congress, and that implies that we have a responsibility to prevent future presidents from hijacking this AUMF to bumble us into a new war,” US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said.

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🔺Behind the scenes: Blinken's Central Asia trip was meant to open a 'Second Front' against Russia
🔺Burkina Faso says 'Au revoir!' to former colonial master
🔺Russia will not allow Nord Stream probe to be swept under the rug, Lavrov tells Sputnik

The Critical Hour will cover these and more stories! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

📻 Also in the United States at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

📹 The Russian Army uses the Volga armored train for mine clearance and rebuilding railways in the special military operation zone.

The train is equipped heavy machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, and ZU-23 anti-aircraft guns. It can also carry a BMP-2 or a T-62 tank.

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🇦🇿 🇫🇷 Azerbaijan's Aliyev calls on France to apologize for "bloody colonial crimes"

Azerbaijan, as chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), calls on France to apologize and acknowledge responsibility for the "bloody colonial crimes" and "acts of genocide" it committed in Africa, Southeast Asia, and other places, President Ilham Aliyev said on Thursday during a speech at the NAM Contact Group summit in Baku on post-COVID recovery.

🗣 "NAM always strongly supported the unquestionable sovereignty of the Union of Comoros over the island of Mayotte, which continues to be under the colonial rule of France," Aliyev said. "We call on the French Government to respect the rights of the New Caledonian people and other peoples in French overseas communities and territories."

The Azerbaijani leader also argued that French-administered territories outside of continental Europe are "nasty remains of the French colonial empire."

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'Cynical' Bryansk Terror Attack Designed to Taunt Russia Into Offensive

If Russia responded quickly and forcefully, this would "effectively nullify Lavrov’s work and, in general, break off any contact with our delegation. But it did not work out that way; we have yet to respond. It’s clear that we aren’t going to go on any offensive. But this is something that’s clear to us, here. In Kiev and Washington it’s probably not clear. They were counting on it," hoping “that we would deploy the tanks and advance. This is the situation,” international affairs expert Andrey Suzdaltsev said.

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G20 Roundup: New Payment Systems, Supply Chains Will Weaken West’s Grip on Global South

The G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Delhi wrapped up on Thursday, with officials from the world's top 20 economies failing to agree on a final communique. What were the key takeaways from the two-day event?

Sputnik spoke to three Indian international affairs experts to find out

Scott Ritter: New START All But Collapsed Due to US 'Duplicity,' Negotiating 'In Bad Faith'

"No longer will Russia allow nebulous terms, anything that's going to be negotiated must be nailed down in writing with absolute strict levels of compliance verification. In fact, it's a whole new world of arms control, one that the United States hasn't been used to since the beginning, back in 1987, 1991, when we signed the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty and the initial START Treaty. These were treaties negotiated in good faith, where we treated the Russians as our equals with total reciprocity. And that's going to have to be the case going forward. Or else from the Russian perspective, there is no reason to engage in arms control," former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter believes.

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EU Expects Limited Volumes of LNG Supplies Due to Reduced Global Output

The bloc has been facing an energy crisis in the aftermath of imposing sanctions on Russia after it launched a military operation in Ukraine in 2022. The Ukraine crisis and sanctions have led to disruptions of supply chains and a spike in energy prices worldwide.

The EU started seeking ways to limit its dependence on Russian fuel. As part of these efforts, the bloc has increased energy cooperation with a number of countries including Algeria, the United States, Qatar and Nigeria, importing either pipeline gas or LNG.

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Russian Foreign Ministry Says Grain Deal Fails, West Sabotaging Russian Part of 'Package'

"We have to state that the 'package' of agreements proposed by Antonio Guterres and signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, does not work. The main problem is the sabotage of the implementation of the Russia-UN Memorandum by Western countries," the ministry said in a statement.

"It is obvious that the Americans and Europeans do not care about the countries in need and efforts of the UN, which they have long and stubbornly been trying to turn into an obedient tool for serving their political goals."

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Biden, Scholz Set for White House Talks With Ukraine & China Topping Agenda

US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are set to meet at the White House on Friday to discuss a range of shared issues, with a focus on support for Ukraine, as Berlin and Washington exchange conflicting messages over aid to Kiev.

The US and Germany since Scholz took office last December have had their differences on a range of issues, with Washington especially wanting Berlin to do more with respect to Ukraine along with cracking down on Russia and China.

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📹 The Russian nuclear ballistic missile submarine Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky has fired a Kalibr cruise missile from the Sea of Japan at a ground target as part of combat training

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