Inside Russia / Outside Russia is a news insight by the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bangladesh on 02 February 2025
Dhaka 03 February 2025 :
INSIDE RUSSIA
Russia will not allow turning Baltic Sea into NATO’s ‘internal waters’
“Russia will do everything needed to protect its interests with reliance on international law,” Vladimir Barbin said
MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. NATO is trying to turn the Baltic Sea into internal waters of the alliance but Russia will do everything to protect its interests, Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin told TASS, commenting on the decision of NATO member-countries to launch patrols in the Baltic Sea with the use of warships and aviation.
“This is an attempt to turn the Baltic Sea into internal waters of NATO, limit the freedom of navigation and put observation of sanctions introduced by the West against our country under the NATO’s stringent control. Russia will do everything needed to protect its interests with reliance on international law. Our opponents should not have any illusions in this regard,” the diplomat said.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said earlier that the alliance would launch a patrol operation in the Baltic Sea to protect the subsea infrastructure of member-countries, with frigates and marine aviation to be involved. He did not detail the number of warships and aircraft to take part in the operation.
OUTSIDE RUSSIA
Putin says European elites eventually to be “at Trump’s feet wagging their tails”
Russian President has expressed confidence that his US counterpart Donald Trump will quickly establish order among European elites
MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed confidence that his US counterpart Donald Trump will quickly establish order among European elites, which will soon “stand at the master’s feet, wagging their tails tenderly.”
“Trump, given his personality, his firmness, will establish order fairly quickly. And all of them, quickly, you will see, stand at the master’s feet, wagging their tails tenderly,” he said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin.
European politicians actively interfered with American political processes in their fight against Donald Trump being elected president, whereas now they are lost, Putin said.
“There is some fuss now between European political elites and the newly-elected president Trump. Has anything changed since [the administration of the former President Joe] Biden? Nothing has changed,” he said. “They simply followed any order by Washington under Biden with pleasure. They simply don’t like Trump, and they fought against him actively, interfering with the political life, the election processes in the United States,” the president added.
“And now that Trump has won they are lost,” Putin noted.
Putin says failure to invite Russia to events to Auschwitz liberation anniversary shameful
Russian President also expressed bewilderment at the fact that Stepan Bandera’s supporters were invited to those memorial events
MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the fact that Russia has not been invited to memorial events marking 80 years since liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp as shameful.
“As far as being or not being invited to events devoted to the Auschwitz liberation is regarded, this is, of course, a strange, shameful thing,” he said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin.
“One can have any approach to Russia’s policy, to the head of the Russian state, to me, no one is asking for any invitations. But on the second thought, it would be possible to act much more subtly. If it is impossible to invite Auschwitz liberators due to health, age, at least relatives could be invited,” Putin said.
The events on the occasion of 80 years since liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp were held on January, which is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This date was chosen to commemorate the day in 1945 when Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz, a concentration camp located in Poland. During the camp’s operation, more than 1.1 million people were killed there, including around 1 million Jews.
Putin also expressed bewilderment at the fact that Stepan Bandera’s supporters were invited to those memorial events. “Well, inviting people who chose Bandera as their national hero, who is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Jews, Russians, the same Polish! <…> this is very strange, of course,” Putin emphasized.
“Political youngsters” in Europe trying to ban ‘alternative’ parties
The present and future generations of Germans are not responsible for crimes of the Hitler Germany’s time, Russian president stressed
MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. European political elites have degenerated, which is why instead of presenting an attractive program to voters they are fighting against competitors using bans, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin as he commented on the situation with the Alternative for Germany party whose ban is being discussed by the country’s authorities.
Putin characterized the European elites as “simply political youngsters.” “This is what the emergence of various ‘alternatives’ stems from, by the way. And then [they] are trying to use bans for fighting against those ‘alternatives’, as if they did not understand that, well, today’s bans will be followed tomorrow by another ‘alternative’, with another name emerging,” he said.
“If the society needs promotion of a certain political idea, there is no way around it. How did they (European politicians – TASS) taught us at some point? Present a more effective program,” the Russian president noted.
The present and future generations of Germans are not responsible for crimes of the Hitler Germany’s time, Putin stressed.
“Today’s German society has nothing to do with it. Indeed, the historical memory exists, it is important to remember it, one cannot forget about it, but I don’t think that it is fair to put blame for what happened in the 1930s and the 1940s on today’s generation of Germans,” he said.
Representatives of European elites are not doing a job right up their alley, Putin said, adding that among them there are no those having their own opinion or equal to political figures of the end of the 20th century.
“In Europe there were outstanding global political figures, such as [French presidents Charles] de Gaulle, [Francois] Mitterrand, in the contemporary world – [Jacques Chirac], in Germany – [chancellors] Willy Brandt, [Helmut] Kohl, and [Gerhard] Schroeder,” Putin noted. “Those are people who had their own opinion and the nerve to fight for their own opinion, bring it out, speak about it and at least try to implement it practically,” he added.
“Today there are almost no such people there. Sometimes I even look at what is going on with surprise. Some people having no education, which are obviously not doing a job right up their alley,” Putin said.
Hamas intends to request Russian aid to relieve humanitarian crisis in Gaza — source
The Palestinian movement also hopes to enlist Russia’s support to exert “pressure on the Israeli occupier to abide by its commitments
DOHA, February 3. /TASS/. A Hamas delegation, led by the deputy chairman of the movement’s politburo, Mousa Abu Marzook, plans to request Russia’s assistance in alleviating the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip during its visit to Moscow, a source within the Hamas leadership told TASS.
“We will ask for assistance to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip,” the source said, outlining the delegation’s objectives for visit to Moscow, scheduled for February 3. The Palestinian movement also hopes to enlist Russia’s support to exert “pressure on the [Israeli] occupier to abide by its commitments,” the source said.
The previous visit of the Hamas delegation to Moscow took place in October 2024. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated at the time that Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip with the deputy chairman of the Hamas politburo, paying special attention to the issue of releasing Russian hostages held in the enclave.
This January, Bogdanov held telephone talks with Mousa Abu Marzook and Khaled Mashal, chairman of the Hamas political bureau. On January 24, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that during another conversation with Abu Marzook, Bogdanov reaffirmed Moscow’s interest in prioritizing the release of Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov and Donbass native Maxim Kharkin from the Gaza Strip.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on January 15 that Egypt, Qatar and the US brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas to hold a ceasefire in Gaza and release hostages from the enclave. During the 42-day first phase of the deal, Hamas will release 33 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody. The name of Russian Alexander Trufanov, who also holds Israeli citizenship, was on a list of 33 hostages published by Kan.
Russia outraged at UN chief not mentioning Soviet losses in WWII in his Holocaust speeches
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that Russia views such historical and political exercises, bordering on outright falsification and revision of the results of World War II, as unacceptable
MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. Russia finds it outrageous that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres did not mention the multi-million casualties of the Soviet people in WWII in his recent remarks, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a comment.
“We view as inadequate the emphasis laid by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the context of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust,” the Russian diplomat said, referring to Guterres’ remarks at an event at the UN General Assembly on January 27 and at Park East Synagogue Memorial Service in Honor of the Victims of the Holocaust on January 25.
“We also consider it outrageous that Antonio Guterres <…> did not say a word about the multi-million casualties sustained in WWII by the Soviet Union whose peoples made a decisive contribution to the Victory over Nazi Germany and whose feat put an end to the Holocaust,” she added.
Zakharova noted that Russia views such historical and political exercises, bordering on outright falsification and revision of the results of World War II, as unacceptable. “For our part, we continue to make every effort toward preserving historical truth,” she emphasized.
The diplomat recalled that Russia commemorates two significant dates on January 27: the anniversary of the Lifting of the Siege of Leningrad and the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established by UN General Assembly Resolution 60/7. “The latter date was chosen by the international community in recognition of the feat of the Red Army troops who liberated the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau on this day in 1945,” she stressed.
SPECIAL MILITARY OPERATION IN UKRAINE
Russian ombudswoman calls on UN, Council of Europe to condemn attack on Sudzha
Tatiana Moskalkova stressed that the attack on a civilian facility sheltering the most vulnerable people is a crime that cannot be forbidden and forgotten
MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Russia’s human rights ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova has called on the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights and a number of European organizations to condemn the strike on a boarding school in Sudzha in Russia’s borderline Kursk Region.
“I demand that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE ODIHR director, the secretary general of the Council of Europe, and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights condemn the Kiev regime’s crime against humanity,” she wrote on her Telegram channel.
She slammed Ukraine’s missile strike on the boarding school in Sudzha, where “the invaders were holding abducted Russian citizens – women, the elder and the sick” as a “bloody provocation.”
She stressed that the attack on a civilian facility sheltering the most vulnerable people is a crime that cannot be forbidden and forgotten. “I am convinced that those responsible for this crime, who cynically violated all conventions and agreements, will be severely punished,”she added.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian troops had committed a military crime by delivering a purposeful missile strike on a boarding school in the city of Sudzha. Russian air defense assets registered the missile launch by the Ukrainian army from the Sumy Region toward Sudzha, the ministry added.
Russian army destroys Ukrainian military aerodromes, fuel storage facilities — top brass
Ukraine’s armed forces lost up to 515 troops, a tank and six armored fighting vehicles, in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup Center in 24 hours
MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. The Russian army’s units have destroyed the infrastructure of military aerodromes and fuel storage facilities used in the interests of the Ukrainian armed forces, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
“Operational-tactical aviation, combat unmanned aerial vehicles, missile forces and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces’ group of forces inflicted damage on infrastructure of military airfields, fuel storage facilities used in the interests of the Ukrainian armed forces, as well as troops and equipment of the Ukrainian armed groups in 153 areas,” the report said.
Battlegroup Center
Ukraine’s armed forces lost up to 515 troops, a tank and six armored fighting vehicles, in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup Center in 24 hours, the ministry said.
“Units of Battlegroup Center continued active advance actions. Damage was inflicted on troops and equipment of two mechanized, two jaeger brigades, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian army, and an assault brigade Lyut of Ukraine’s National police near settlements of Dzerzhinsk, Druzhba, Lysovka, Nadezhdinka, Shevchenko, Uspenovka, Andreyevka, and Kotlino of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The enemy lost up to 515 troops, a tank, six armored fighting vehicles, ten cars, and six field branch artillery weapons, one of them produced by a NATO country,” the report said.
Battlegroup West
Ukraine’s armed forces lost up to 295 troops and three armored fighting vehicles in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup West in 24 hours.
“Damage was inflicted on troops and equipment of five mechanized and a tank brigades of the Ukrainian army near settlements of Kondrashovka, Kolodeznoye, Kislovka, Monachinovka of the Kharkov Region and Makeyevka of the Lugansk People’s Republic. The enemy lost up to 295 troops, three armored fighting vehicles, 11 cars, a multiple-launch rocket system, four field branch artillery weapons. Two ammunition depots and an electronic warfare station were eliminated,” the ministry said.
Battlegroup South
Ukraine’s armed forces lost up to 200 troops in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup South in 24 hours.
“The units of Battlegroup South took more favorable positions. Damage was inflicted on formations of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian army and two territorial defense brigades near settlements of Ulakly, Belogorovka, Verkhnekamenskoye and Chasov Yar of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian army lost up to 200 troops, two cars, a multiple-launch rocket system, and seven field branch artillery weapons, two of which were produced by NATO countries. Four ammunition depots were destroyed,” the report said.
Battlegroupы Dnepr, North
The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr and Battlegroup North reached up to 80 troops, the ministry added.
“The units of Battlegroup North in the Kharkov area inflicted damage on formations of Ukraine’s infantry and air assault brigades near settlements of Liptsy and Volchansk of the Kharkov Region. The enemy lost up to 20 troops, two cars, and four field branch artillery weapons,” according to the report.
Units of Battlegroup Dnepr inflicted damage on troops and equipment of Ukraine’s mechanized brigade and two coastal defense brigades near settlements of Rabotino, Primorskoye of the Zaporozhye Region, and Antonovka of the Kherson Region. The enemy lost up to 60 troops, three cars, three field branch artillery weapons, and two electronic warfare stations, the ministry said, adding that an ammunition depot was destroyed.
Battlegroup East
Moreover, Ukraine’s armed forces lost a tank and 140 troops in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup East in 24 hours.
Russia’s air defense downed a HIMARS system and 44 unmanned aerial vehicles of the Ukrainian armed forces in 24 hours, the Defense Ministry said.
“Air defense systems downed a US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and 44 drones,” the ministry said.
In all, the Russian forces have destroyed 652 Ukrainian warplanes, 283 helicopters, 42,139 unmanned aerial vehicles, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 20,997 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,513 multiple rocket launchers, 21,129 field artillery guns and mortars, and 31,127 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the ministry added.
Ukrainian officer charged with ‘terrorism’ in occupied Russian town
Russia has charged a Ukrainian colonel for allegedly ordering a missile attack on a boarding school in Sudzha
The Russian authorities have charged in absentia a high-ranking Ukrainian officer with terrorism for allegedly playing a key role in an attack on a boarding school in the occupied Russian town of Sudzha in Kursk Region. Dozens of civilians are feared dead in the strike, although the exact death toll is unknown.
In a statement on Sunday, the Russian Investigative Committee alleged that Colonel Rostislav Karpusha, commander of the Ukrainian 19th Separate Missile Brigade, “issued an illegal order to his subordinates to launch a missile attack on a boarding school building in the town of Sudzha, where civilians were present.”
Officials added that authorities are now trying to locate Karpusha in order to hold him accountable.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the alleged war crime was committed on Saturday when Kiev’s forces launched missiles from neighboring Sumy Region. The ministry also suggested that this “false-flag attack is aimed at distracting public opinion from the atrocities of the Kiev regime” in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye, also in Kursk Region.
The ministry was referring to the testimony of a captured Ukrainian soldier who told Russian investigators on Friday that a Ukrainian military unit raped and killed eight women and murdered at least 14 other civilians in Russkoye Porechnoye. After liberating the village, the Russian military reported having discovered the decomposing bodies of civilians in the basements all over the settlement.
Ukraine has rejected the accusations of war crimes in Russkoye Porechnoye, dismissing the allegations and highly disturbing footage from the site as part of Moscow’s “disinformation campaign.” Kiev also claimed that the boarding school in Sudzha had been targeted by a Russian airstrike and that at least four people were killed.
Russian war correspondents, however, have suggested that many bodies could still be under the debris, meaning the actual death toll in the alleged Ukrainian strike could be much larger.
Moscow has also long accused Kiev of establishing Nazi-style “concentration camps” in Kursk Region, where it has been deporting local civilians at a gunpoint.
Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale incursion into Kursk Region last summer, initially making some progress, but their advance was promptly halted. Russia has since accused Ukraine of committing numerous atrocities in the occupied territory, including indiscriminately shelling civilians and torturing prisoners of war.
Russian forces have been gradually pushing the Ukrainian troops out of Kursk Region. The Defense Ministry has reported the liberation of several settlements over the past month.
INSIGHTS
Who Controls What Americans Listen to, Read & See in the News?
Elon Musk has publicly criticized the concentration of media ownership in the US, which allows a select few to “filter” information to fit a narrative.
There are “like five people that control all the news,” Musk said in a clip going viral on his social media platform X.
It is these individuals that decide “what is newsworthy,” he claimed.
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