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Military operation in Ukraine

Scholz’s center-right challenger voices support for supplying Kiev with Taurus missiles

"Cruise missile supplies should be coordinated in the European Union," Friedrich Merz said

BERLIN, February 10. /TASS/. Friedrich Merz from the conservative CSU/CDU bloc, who is vying to succeed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has spoken out in favor of sending Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.

"I have always been very clear on the issue of Ukraine and Taurus supplies. And I have never changed my mind," the Christian Democratic Union leader said in a pre-election debate on Sunday. "I have always said that cruise missile supplies should be coordinated in the European Union. America has been delivering [cruise missiles], France has been delivering, and Britain has been delivering. We must be delivering, too," he added. The question is "whether the Ukrainian army should be given an instrument for actions against Russia," the politician explained.

Earlier, Scholz opposed the idea of supplying Kiev with Taurus cruise missiles that have a range of around 500 km. The German head of government has stated that sending such weapons carries major escalation risks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in late November that Moscow had repeatedly pointed out that the use of Western long-range weapons on Russian soil would mean direct NATO involvement in the conflict.

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Ukraine Germany Olaf Scholz Military operation in Ukraine

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Vladimir Putin said that the American leader has his own policies and objectives, while Russia and India are engaged in solving their own

Reports on Ukrainian military casualties demotivate people to enroll — expert

Boris Rozhin added that the Ukrainian army has been unable to gather a sufficient number of people who would voluntarily sign a youth contract

Russia seeks to end war unleashed by West — Putin

The Russian leader pointed out that the West had orchestrated a coup in Ukraine, while Russia had tried for eight years to resolve the issue peacefully

UK seeks to disrupt talks on Ukraine by imposing more sanctions — Russian Embassy

According to the statement, the release of a report on the outcome of a public inquiry into the death of British woman Dawn Sturgess in Amesbury "came at a time when Kiev’s situation is determining and the Ukrainian army is suffering failures on the battlefield"

If Russian assets are seized, retaliatory measures to 'surprise' EU — MFA

Maria Zakharova also criticized European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s conduct, describing it as inappropriate and expressing concern over what she called the "inadequacy" of her actions

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Alexander Grushko emphasized that "the collective potential of BRICS is higher than that of the G7"

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The European Union "needs to be independent or at least be ready to be strong in geopolitical developments," Andrius Kubilius said

Bank of Russia sets official dollar rate at 76.97 rubles for December 5

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Modi personally greets Putin upon arrival in India

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Maria Lvova-Belova thanked US First Lady Melania Trump for her continued commitment and participation in this work

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As Maria Zakharova pointed out, the Kiev regime is thus demonstrating "signs of abnormality and madness"

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The US leader stressed that Ukraine "has no cards"

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According to the Russian Permanent Representative to the Geneva-based international organizations Gennady Gatilov, it was the result of ongoing attempts on behalf of certain Western countries "to aggressively impose their unilateral approaches"

Putin explains what it takes to avoid big mistakes

When asked about the potential establishment of a BRICS currency and other alternative systems of payment aimed at reducing dollar dependence, Vladimir Putin noted that "in this process there's no rush anywhere"

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Trump wants to see early end to conflict in Ukraine, Putin says

As the Russian leader pointed out, Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to minimize losses

Ukraine’s army loses chance to get out of encirclement in Gulyaipole — expert

Sergey Yurchenko said that Russian troops are controlling all logistics routes leading to the city

Putin says freedom must be fought for only by legal means

The Russian leader emphasized that any actions involving criminal methods or those harming people cannot be supported

Israeli army names Hezbollah arms depots as targets of new strikes on Lebanon

The presence of the weapons storage facilities constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon

Europe has exhausted legal tricks on expropriation of Russian assets — FT

According to the publication, even allies of EC President Ursula von der Leyen have stated that she is essentially exceeding her authority by proposing to use emergency measures to push through 210 bln euros in loans to Ukraine

West punishes countries that dare to pursue independent policies — Russian diplomat

Russian Permanent Representative to the Geneva-based international organizations Gennady Gatilov pointed out that certain Western countries widely use the notorious and harmful practice of introducing unilateral coercive measures

Situation with Russian assets remains deadlocked due to conflicts among politicians in EU

According to European Politico edition reported, the proposal to allocate a so-called reparations loan to Ukraine became problematic after disagreements arose between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever

Press review: Russia and US discuss peace plan as experts doubt US will invade Venezuela

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, December 3rd

Russian Pacific Fleet anti-submarine aircraft stage sub detection drills

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India to pay $2 billion for lease of Russian nuclear submarine — Bloomberg

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Russia supports India in fight against terrorism — Putin

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India to lease submarine from Russia in 2028 — Indian government

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"No amount of indignant protests from EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas will change that brutal fact," British journalist Owen Matthews said in an article

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Many US companies want to return to Russia — Putin

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EU no longer key player in global politics, economics — top Hungarian diplomat

"By adopting pro-war, pro-migration, and pro-gender policies, Europe has simply isolated itself in world politics," Peter Szijjarto said

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One of the elements includes limits on the size of its army in the peacetime period and on the range of its missiles

Long range, multirole capability make S-400 most powerful air defense system — Almaz-Antey

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Putin, Modi begin informal talks in Delhi

Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said, this discussion can be considered the key event of the trip, as such informal settings typically address the most important and sensitive issues

Musk predicts Vance to be next US president

According to the Politico, he talked about this during a video conference on November 22 to the employees of the Department for Improving the Efficiency of the American government

India to become global growth leader in coming decades, Kremlin official says

Maxim Oreshkin noted that India is one of the key drivers of the global economy today

Donbass’ 30-50 km space mentioned by Rubio crucial to water supply — Ukraine’s former PM

Nikolay Azarov underscored the severity of the situation

Russian Foreign Ministry says meetings with US officials on Ukraine aimed at results

"They are aimed at results, not at an external effect," Maria Zakharova added

Swiss mercenary admits to violating Geneva Conventions in Ukraine

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US continues buying Russian nuclear fuel — Putin

The Russian leader noted that if the US has the right to buy Russian fuel, then India should rightly have the same privilege

Russian oil supplies to India going seamlessly — Putin

The head of state added that Russian energy companies view their Indian counterparts as reliable and very serious partners

Cocaine consumption in Europe sees sixfold increase over ten years — European Commission

European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner announced that the EC is launching a European anti-drug strategy

Russia did not annex Crimea, but extended helping hand to its people — Putin

According to the Russian leader, the residents of Crimea recognized that they had become part of an independent Ukraine following the Soviet Union's collapse

Moscow working on response to potential EU seizure of Russian assets — MFA

According to Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the EU employs every possible method, up to explicit threats, blackmail and fake news

Russian forces pound Ukrainian army’s transport, energy infrastructure over past 24 hours

Russia’s Battlegroup West inflicted roughly 210 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed an enemy tank and five armored combat vehicles in its area of responsibility over the past day, the Defense Ministry reported

Security should be guaranteed when using AI, Putin says

According to the Russian President, "the people who have these databases, in essence, they can use their capacities, the capacities of the developing technologies to shape the world view of people"

Fewer than half of UN member states back anti-Russian UNGA resolution

Despite this, the document was adopted

Russian embassy rejects UK’s allegations of Moscow’s involvement in Salisbury incident

The Russian diplomatic mission stressed that "there still are no clear answers to the key questions related to the Skripal case"

Afghanistan takes steps to reduce drug trafficking — Putin

The Russian president added that Kabul is also making strides in combatting terrorism

Russia actively shares defense technologies with India — Putin

The Russian President also added that, India is one of Russia's "reliable and especially trusting partners" in this area

US should not provide Kiev with security guarantees — US expert

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Countries wishing to host US missiles are likely targets — Russian MFA

According to Alexander Grushko, this situation is very dangerous, because Europe is moving down the path of the Cold War, when aggressive military planning is paired with aggressive policies

Russia offers Ukraine troop withdrawal from Donbass, but Kiev chooses war — Putin

The president recalled that Russia had refrained from recognizing the Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic for eight years

Russian diplomat slams Europe for being blind to Ukrainian army’s atrocities

Rodion Miroshnik stressed that Ukrainian militants don’t hide their hatred of the people who live in southeastern Ukraine and Donbass

Russian troops destroy Ukrainian special force group in Sumy Region

The enemy launched a counterattack using a special forces company from the 225th separate assault regiment near Alekseyevka, but it was unsuccessful

Russia says may respond to British sanctions against Main Directorate of General Staff

As Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed, the British can be confident in the inevitability of such measures

Putin likes how Russian intelligence does its job, makes no comment on foreign ones

The Russian leader still described the CIA and Mossad as powerful intelligence agencies

The Results of the Negotiations in Moscow: What the Parties Are Willing to Concede

Washington hopes for 'good news' on Ukrainian conflict settlement in few weeks — JD Vance

US Vice President JD Vance stated that the US administration has made "a lot of progress"

Kiev negotiators, EU, Ukraine corruption scandals: Foreign Ministry statements

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova assumed that Ukraine and the EU are linked by "unified corruption chains," which largely explains the inaction of numerous international anti-corruption structures

Geran-2 UAV upgraded version threat to Ukrainian fighters, helicopters — expert

According to Alexander Stepanov, the use of the new Geran-2 modification provides experience for more comprehensive testing of various scenarios for the S-70 Okhotnik unmanned attack drone

Putin’s visit to India to open new avenues for strengthening partnership — expert

This visit is an opportunity to reinforce India’s vision of a fair, multipolar world order, Dr. Rajneesh Kumar emphasized

Russia to take adequate measures in response to Denmark building factory for Ukraine — MFA

According to Maria Zakharova, this step confirms the absolutely hostile militaristic course of Copenhagen

Putin says he’s not one to dwell on past, always acts with conviction

The Russian president said that it's more or less pointless to look back and say that he would have redone any thing

Russia’s relations with India develop actively in many areas, Putin says

Vladimir Putin emphasized that the progress India has made since it gained its independence is nothing short of staggering

Kiev troops bombard Donetsk People’s Republic two times over past day

There was no reported information about casualties or damage to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure facilities