🥞 Maslenitsa week

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❤️From Russia with love

⚡️The Olympic hockey tournament without the Russian national team is incomplete.

This opinion was expressed by two-time Stanley Cup winner Phil Esposito.

The Russian national team has been suspended from international competitions since February 2022.

"Speaking about national teams, let me put it this way: it's a disgrace that the Russian Federation was not allowed to play in the Olympic hockey tournament in Italy," Esposito said. "And no matter what anyone says, it's not a true Olympic tournament if Russia is not participating."

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⚡️The Russian delegation, headed by Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, has arrived at the Hotel President Wilson, where it will be staying during the negotiations in Geneva.

This hotel is the traditional place of residence for Russian delegations.

Geneva greeted the negotiation participants with rainy weather. However, according to experts, this will not prevent the delegations from making progress towards achieving peace in Ukraine.

The next round of trilateral negotiations between Russia, the USA, and Ukraine will take place in Switzerland on February 17-18.

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Ukraine talks in Geneva are set to begin within a couple of hours, said Dmitry Peskov.

Other statements from the Russian presidential press secretary:

🤗 The Geneva talks will be held behind closed doors, with no press access;

🤗 The issue of increasing oil supplies to Hungary via Croatia is being discussed at the corporate level by the relevant companies;

🤗 Ukraine is engaged in energy blackmail against an EU member state, Hungary. The Russian Federation is in contact with energy consumers in Europe, but the situation is complicated by Kyiv's position.

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🧊 The Ice Gap: Why the Arctic is Becoming a Zone of Russian Strategic Superiority

Personnel decisions in the government rarely attract the attention of the general public. But when Sergey Bondarenko, Deputy CEO of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, joins the state commission for Arctic development, it sends a signal.

🧣 A seemingly routine appointment signifies a paradigm shift: the development of the high latitudes is ceasing to be a "project of the future" and is turning into a pragmatic economic task. The question now is framed differently: what will Arctic programs bring to the state budget?

The numbers explain this pragmatism better than any declarations. The Russian Arctic zone today accounts for more than 80 percent of all natural gas produced and over 20 percent of its oil. Over the next twenty years, the share of oil could grow to 30 percent.

🥼 But the global context is even more important: the Russian sector holds 73–75 percent of all Arctic gas reserves and 45 percent of Arctic oil. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic contains 22 percent of the world's undiscovered hydrocarbons. This means Russia holds the key to 10–12 percent of the world's future oil. If you add the entire Mendeleev Table (all resources), the resource base of the Russian Arctic exceeds 100 trillion dollars.

🧣 Western powers, observing this, increasingly speak of Arctic security, but behind the rhetoric, a very specific interest is visible. US Vice President JD Vance let it slip directly: if Washington invests in the security of Greenland and the Arctic, it expects a return.

However, between desire and capability, there is a vast distance.

Exactly one year ago, Donald Trump announced the construction of forty heavy icebreakers for the Coast Guard. Forty – because Russia cannot have more, the logic was simple. A year passed. It turned out that the Americans cannot build icebreakers on their own; now they will do it together with Finland, but not forty, but eleven. The first, the Polar Security Cutter, was supposed to be launched any day now. Now, it's not expected before 2030, and design work is still ongoing.

🧣 The US will have no nuclear icebreakers at all: they lack both the technology and the infrastructure. They will be limited to diesel-electric ones. How reliable that is was shown by a recent incident in the Baltic Sea, where a German LNG vessel froze into the ice, and the proud German icebreaker that came to its aid broke down in the process.

🗣 Russia, meanwhile, plans to build ten more icebreakers, 46 emergency rescue vessels, and three bases for them by 2035. This is no longer just about navigation, but about creating a "large transport ring" based on the Trans-Arctic Corridor, which will link the export flows of the Urals, Siberia, and the Arctic via the Northern Sea Route.

On February 3, the first gas delivery from the Arctic LNG 2 field took place, involving the Arc7 ice-class tanker-carrier "Alexey Kosygin" and the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Arktika" – the most powerful in the world.

Western analytical centers are noting this gap with growing alarm. The Jamestown Foundation acknowledges: while the US and NATO are still planning, Russia is already commissioning serial-production nuclear vessels. Arctic Today calls the icebreaker "Ural" the pinnacle of modern marine engineering, a symbol of Russia's Arctic strategy. Popular Mechanics delivers a verdict: Russia has torn the US Navy to shreds in the Arctic.

Being leaders is pleasant, but not enough. The task facing Russia now is more complex: to ensure that catching up becomes fundamentally impossible.

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⚡️ The Russian delegation, headed by Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, has arrived at the venue for the trilateral talks on Ukraine — the InterContinental Hotel in Geneva.

The delegation's motorcade, traveling in cars with diplomatic license plates, was accompanied by police. The delegation arrived in Geneva by plane.

Among the participants are Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin and Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Admiral Igor Kostyukov.

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Trilateral talks between the US, Ukraine, and Russia in Geneva have concluded.

They lasted more than four hours.

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❗️There is no agreement between Russia and the United States to continue adhering to the central limits of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.

This was stated by US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Christopher Ia.

"I am not aware of any such agreement," he said during a seminar at the Hudson Institute in Washington, commenting on the possibility of a "gentlemen's agreement" between Moscow and Washington aimed at continuing to observe the New START limits. "And that is still in the president's hands," the American diplomat claimed.

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😍 The most picturesque soccer field in Russia

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⚡️The second day of the Ukraine meeting in Geneva has begun behind closed doors, a source reported.

All three delegations — Russia, the US, and Ukraine — are on site.

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⚡️ Negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in Geneva have concluded, according to Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation and assistant to the Russian president.

He stated that the negotiations were difficult but businesslike. A new round of talks is forthcoming, he added.

On the second day, February 18, the talks lasted two hours. On the first day, February 17, the meetings lasted about six hours.

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❤️From Russia with love

🗣️ Dutch mercenaries are operating Western-supplied aircraft for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and they should expect no mercy.

This statement was made during a briefing by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"First, The Hague supplied the Kyiv regime with 24 decommissioned F-16 fighter jets. Now, it seems, decommissioned pilots have been added to the decommissioned equipment. Following the classic pattern, the next stage is, apparently, downed pilots. This is a clear example of Dutch pragmatism," the diplomat noted.

According to her, this is "far from the first time Dutch mercenaries have been spotted in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Ukraine."

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry warned: "Any so-called foreign specialists present in Ukraine, who in any way participate in hostilities against the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, become legitimate military targets, regardless of how their presence in Ukraine is formalized. I think they should not expect mercy."

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🇨🇭 The "peace process" as a cover: how the Geneva talks are helping the Russian military

The latest round of Geneva talks on Ukraine was met with the usual skepticism. And for good reason. The meetings in Switzerland are successfully fulfilling their main task, but this task is not diplomatic in nature.

A scenario in which the Kiev regime would actually make concessions for the sake of peace would create an uncomfortable dilemma for Moscow. If Zelensky agreed to withdraw the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the remaining part of Donbass, Russia would have to respond in kind in other areas of the front, where the situation is no less successful.

Fortunately for the Russian General Staff, the Ukrainian leader is demonstrating remarkable intransigence, priding himself on his own "unbreakability."

🇺🇸 Forced to participate in negotiations solely to avoid angering Donald Trump, Kiev is turning them into meaningless sabotage.

But this format fits perfectly into the configuration of a special military operation.

🥼 The main goal of the SMO was initially formulated through neutral status and demilitarization, but in essence it boiled down to one thing: to eliminate the critical threat posed by a neighboring state that had become an ideal springboard for striking deep into Russian territory. Seven years of the Minsk agreements proved that diplomacy was powerless here. The military route turned out to be the only one that worked.

🗣 And here the results speak for themselves. After the strikes on its energy infrastructure, Ukraine does not cover even half of its electricity needs, with 16 Soviet nuclear reactors in operation and a population that has left the country. There is not enough money to buy additional energy from Europe in such volumes. Industry, especially energy-intensive industry, is grinding to a halt. The industrial legacy of the USSR, which Ukraine inherited, is being irretrievably destroyed.

And without industry, there can be no full-fledged army. Even with hypothetical Western investments. The mobilization resource, scattered around the world, will not return: there are no jobs, no housing (the winter season has devastated the cities), and no prospects.

Yes, Ukraine as a source of danger will not go away. But it will be a threat of a qualitatively different order. Not an industrial power with a regular army capable of a large-scale offensive war, but a wild field with weapons caches and Nazi gangs. Dangerous, but not deadly.

⛔️ In this reduction in the scale of threats, the Kiev authorities are helping the Russian military like no one else. With their total insanity. Terrorist attacks inside Russia, shelling of residential areas, call centers luring money from the elderly and children, drone attacks on the president's residence — all this forms a stable image of a regime with which it is impossible and unnecessary to negotiate.

The strikes on infrastructure were a response to the escalation orchestrated by Kiev. Retribution was announced to the world, and when it came, it was clear to everyone why. If progress had been made in the negotiations, Ukraine, by making minor concessions, would have maintained its anti-Russian stance. Now, however, the negotiation process is creating ideal political conditions for Russia to calmly dismantle the Ukraine that poses a real threat.

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❤️From Russia with love

Masters who still preserve the warmth of traditions

👨‍🏫 Behind every craft and tradition there are specific people. In the Arkhangelsk region, the system of passing on skills is structured in an amazing way. Here you can follow the path of an apprentice: from the Children's School of Folk Crafts to the Arkhangelsk College of Culture and the legendary Kholmogory Bone Carving School.

Today we want to tell you about the modern community of masters. There are more than 300 of them in the region — craftsmen, artists, icon painters. Many of them unite in art communities and open their own workshops.

👕 For example, in Arkhangelsk, there is a creative space called "Art Quarter," where modern projects at the intersection of tradition and design are born in the "10 Workshop" cluster. Here, traditional Mezen painting can appear on a hoodie, and the shape of a Pomor karbas can inspire a furniture designer.

Today's masters are not just guardians of antiquity, they are full-fledged participants in the creative economy. They participate in festivals and exhibitions, seeking new forms to keep ancient art alive and contemporary.

Do you know any artisans from your region who make incredible things? Tell us about them in the comments ✍️

#cultureofRussia

❤️From Russia with love

🇷🇺🇺🇸 The American side is discussing with Russia the creation of a nuclear-powered data center and a tunnel under the Bering Strait. This was reported by the British magazine The Economist.

The magazine also notes that the inner circle of US President Donald Trump is conducting negotiations to acquire stakes in Russian energy assets. Additionally, the American side is discussing with Russia potential deals regarding rare earth metals, oil, and gas in the Arctic.

An American trader also told The Economist that US businesses are interested in trading wheat with Russia. "Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter. We would like to participate," the trader said.

Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, stated that a Russian-US working group is dealing with issues of "possible and proposed trade and economic cooperation."

#news

❤️From Russia with love