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Morning Headlines
Reuters: Putin said in an interview that aired on Thursday that Russia will fight for its interests "to the end" but has no interest in expanding its war in Ukraine to other countries such as Poland and Latvia.
AP News: Putin used the interview to urge Washington to recognize Moscow's interests and persuade Ukraine to sit down for talks.
ISW: Putin attempted to present to a wider Western audience a long-standing Kremlin information operation that falsely asserts that Russia is interested in a negotiated end to its war in Ukraine. Putin illustrated throughout the interview that Russia has no interest in meaningful or legitimate negotiations, however, and that he still seeks to destroy Ukraine as a state. Putin also displayed his overarching hostility towards the West and falsely accused the West of forcing Russia to attack Ukraine.
CNN: Chinese leader Xi Jinping heralded a new year of growing coordination with Russia during a call with counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday that comes as the two countries continue to cement their partnership amid frictions with the West.
More News
Semafor: While in Moscow to interview Putin, Tucker Carlson also met with Edward Snowden and Tara Reade.
Reuters: Russian troops are engaged in fighting with Ukrainian forces inside the beleaguered town of Avdiivka, which has been under sustained Russian assault since mid-October, Ukraine's military said on Thursday.
The Kyiv Independent: The American-made Patriot missile system is likely responsible for the Russian Il-76 plane crash, American officials anonymously told The New York Times. The plane was also likely carrying at least some Ukrainian prisoners, officials reported.
Reuters: Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 100 prisoners of war from each side in the nearly two-year-old war, with the United Arab Emirates acting as an intermediary, both countries said on Thursday.
The Kyiv Independent: The new EU Russian sanctions package will likely target individuals and firms involved in the production of Russian weapons and key technologies used by Russian defense companies to create weapons, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 8.
Reuters: A $95.34 billion bill that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan advanced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday after Republicans blocked compromise legislation that included a long-sought overhaul of immigration policy.
AFP: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday appointed commander of the ground forces Oleksandr Syrsky as the country's new army chief, in a major military shakeup nearly two years into Russia's invasion.
RFE/RL: Ukraine's security service says Russia hacked security cameras for the purpose of intelligence-gathering before a deadly strike on Kyiv last month, and that it has done the same before other attacks.
Meduza’s sources say Kremlin barred anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin after fears he would get over 10 percent of presidential vote.
POLITICO: It's going to take years for Europe to build up the arms and ammunition production capacity needed to both aid Ukraine and re-equip national forces, Belgium's former deputy chief of defense said.
WSJ: Russian intelligence agencies are trying to undermine U.S. influence in Africa by spreading disinformation that Africans have been the unwitting test subjects in Pentagon biological research programs and casting aspersions on Western public-health programs, U.S. officials said (archive).
Reuters: Intesa Sanpaolo is working to dispose of its business in Russia but "bureaucratic steps" have so far prevented it from closing the deal, the CEO of Italy's biggest bank said.
Reuters: The Finnish government will extend the closure of crossing stations on its border with Russia until April 14, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.
Reuters: The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child on Thursday urged Russia to end the forcible transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine in violation of international law, and return them to their families.
AP News: A panel of U.N.-backed experts that focuses on children’s human rights called Thursday on Russia to prevent efforts to rewrite school curricula and textbooks to reflect the government’s “political and military agenda,” including over the war in Ukraine.
Reuters: Italy will help with the rebuilding of a cathedral in the Ukrainian city of Odesa that was badly damaged by a missile strike last year, the Italian foreign ministry said on Thursday.
AFP: Large numbers of Russian forces are pushing to capture the frontline Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, its Ukrainian mayor said on Thursday, escalating a months-long effort to capture the industrial hub.
Reuters: Whichever of the two remaining candidates wins Finland's presidential election on Sunday, the country's new head of foreign and security policy will be a pro-European cosmopolitan and strong supporter of Ukraine.
AFP: Nepali mercenaries are fighting for Russia in Ukraine, lured to kill far from their Himalayan homeland by promises of a passport and cash, but wounded returnees warn anyone tempted to join the war: "Do not come."
Reuters: With the German government's temporary seizure of Russian oil firm Rosneft's assets in Germany set to expire, Berlin is looking at nationalising them, the company's lawyer said on Thursday. Moscow criticised the potential nationalisation and said it would defend its interests.
worth mentioning
Five facts about Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's new army chief
Tucker Carlson joins long line of ‘useful idiot’ journalists helping tyrants – POLITICO
Inside the resistance sabotaging Putin’s plans for Ukraine - CEPA
Russia expands musician ‘blacklist’
Russian Post suspends ground delivery to 23 countries
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