Eminent jurist and veteran senior SC advocate Fali S Nariman passes away at 95
He began his career as an advocate of the Bombay High Court in November 1950 and was later designated as a senior advocate in 1961.
FBI informant who lied about the Bidens’ ties to Ukrainian energy company had high-level Russian contacts: DOJ
A former FBI informant charged with lying about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme between a Ukrainian energy company and the Bidens had contacts with Russian intelligence officials, prosecutors said Tuesday. In court filings, prosecutors said Alexander Smirnov admitted during an interview before his arrest last week that “officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story” about the president’s son, Hunter Biden. They said Smirnov’s contacts with Russian officials were recent and extensive, and said Smirnov had planned to meet with one official during an upcoming overseas trip. They said Smirnov has had numerous contacts with a person he described as the “son of a former high-ranking government official” and “someone with ties to a particular Russian intelligence service.” They said there is a serious risk that Smirnov could flee overseas to avoid facing trial. Prosecutors revealed the alleged contact as they urged a judge to keep Smirnov behind bars while he awaits trial. HUNTER BIDEN WAS PAID $100K A MONTH THROUGH CHINESE FIRM VENTURE, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIED Smirnov, who holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, is charged with falsely reporting to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016. Smirnov had only routine business dealings with the company starting in 2017 and made the bribery allegations after he “expressed bias” against Joe Biden while he was a presidential candidate, prosecutors said. Special Counsel David Weiss said Smirnov’s lies were aimed at affecting the 2024 presidential election. Smirnov is charged with making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record. The charges were filed in Los Angeles, where he lived for 16 years before relocating to Las Vegas two years ago. Smirnov was due in court later Tuesday in Las Vegas. He has been in custody at a facility in rural Pahrump, about an hour drive west of Las Vegas, since his arrest last week at the airport while returning from overseas. U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts allowed Smirnov to be released from custody on electronic GPS monitoring while he awaits trial. He must stay in Clark County, Nevada, and is prohibited from applying for a new passport. Before his arrest, Smirnov had been scheduled to leave the U.S. for a months-long, multi-country trip that – by his own admission – involved meetings with officials of foreign intelligence agencies and governments, prosecutors said. Ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, Defense attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld had argued for Smirnov’s release while he awaits trial “so he can effectively fight the power of the government.” Smirnov’s claims have been central to the Republican effort in Congress to investigate the president and his family, and helped spark what is now a House impeachment inquiry into Biden. Democrats called for an end to the probe after the indictment came down last week, while Republicans distanced the inquiry from Smirnov’s claims and said they would continue to “follow the facts.” Hunter Biden is expected to give a deposition next week. The Burisma allegations became a flashpoint in Congress as Republicans pursuing investigations of President Biden and his family demanded the FBI release the unredacted form documenting the allegations. They acknowledged they couldn’t confirm if the allegations were true. Fox News’ David Spunt and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
DNA Verified: Is Modi govt giving students free laptops under ‘One Student One Laptop’ scheme? Know truth here
DNA has tried to find out if the government has implemented such a scheme. If the scheme is implemented, what needs to be done to avail its benefits? We have tried to find answers to all these questions.
WATCH: Trump condemns Alexei Navalny’s death as ‘horrible thing’ after facing sharp backlash from Haley
FIRST ON FOX: Former President Donald Trump openly condemned the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny for the first time on Tuesday after facing sharp backlash from Republican rival Nikki Haley. Trump addressed the suspicious death while participating in a Greenville, South Carolina town hall hosted by Fox News’ Laura Ingraham just days ahead of the state’s Republican presidential primary. “Navalny — a very sad situation. He was very brave because he went back [to Russia] when he could have stayed away,” Trump said when asked about the outrage from world leaders surrounding Navalny’s death, as well as claims by his opponents that he doesn’t care about human rights and freedom. ALEXEI NAVALNY’S WIFE SAYS ‘PUTIN KILLED THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN,’ VOWS TO CONTINUE HIS ANTI-CORRUPTION WORK “It’s a horrible thing, but it’s happening in our country too. We are turning into a communist country in many ways,” he added, going on to talk about the various prosecutions he faces in New York, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. Trump was initially slow to condemn Navalny’s death, and received criticism after posting on social media that it had made him “more and more aware of what’s happening in our country. It is a slow, steady progression with crooked radical left politicians and prosecutors and judges.” Haley told Fox News Digital earlier in the day that she was dismayed by his response after the circumstances surrounding Navalny’s death spurred speculation it was an assassination directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. She argued Trump’s comments were intentionally and obviously self-serving. STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS ‘MAJOR SANCTIONS PACKAGE’ COMING TO HOLD RUSSIA ‘ACCOUNTABLE FOR NAVALNY’S DEATH’ “This is on the heels of Trump saying that he would encourage Putin to invade any NATO countries that didn’t pull their weight – And now the only comment he’s going to make about Navalny is not hitting Putin for murdering him, not praising Navalny for fighting the corruption that was happening in Russia. But instead he’s going to compare himself to Navalny and the victim that he is in his court cases?” she said. According to prison officials, Navalny, 47, fell unconscious and died on Friday. He had been serving a roughly 30-year sentence at the penal colony in northern Russia. Navalny’s body was reportedly found with “signs of bruising” last week despite Russian officials telling his mother he died of “sudden death syndrome.” ALEXEI NAVALNY’S MOTHER DEMANDS PUTIN HAND OVER SON’S BODY ‘SO THAT I CAN BURY HIM HUMANELY’ Sudden death syndrome is a broad medical term that is not a formal condition or diagnosis. It rather refers to a wide range of scenarios that lead to sudden and unforeseen death. Navalny had previously organized anti-government demonstrations and ran for office to advocate for reforms against what he called corruption in Russia. He was the victim of an alleged assassination attempt in 2020 when he suffered poisoning from a suspected Novichok nerve agent. World leaders and Navalny’s own spokesperson have declared that he was, in fact, murdered by Putin’s regime. Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday that “we don’t know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.” Fox News’ Charles Creitz, Anders Hagstrom and Reuters contributed to this report.
On challenging Biden to debates, Trumps tells Ingraham ‘I’ll do it right now on your show’
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Former President Donald Trump says he’s ready to face off with President Biden on the debate stage. Trump, the commanding frontrunner for the 2024 Republican race, on Tuesday reiterated his call for Biden to debate him this year as the two move closer to a rematch of their 2020 presidential election face-off. Asked by host Laura Ingraham during a Fox News town hall held in Greenville, South Carolina if he’ll challenge the president to a debate, Trump quickly answered “I’ll do it right now on your show. I’ll challenge him right now.” TRUMP CAMPAIGN PREDICTS ‘A**-KICKING’ FOR HALEY IN KEY PRIMARY And Trump, in his “Ingraham Angle” appearance in front of a live audience of several hundred people, added “I’ll take anybody,” as he referred to a debate moderator. “I think you have an obligation in this case, you really have an obligation to debate, Trump emphasized. “As many as necessary. I could do it starting now.” And Trump, pointing to Biden, argued “I don’t think he’s going to debate. I really don’t think so.” HALEY VOWS ‘I REFUSE TO QUIT’ IN CHALLENGE AGAINST TRUMP FOR GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION After Trump, who is moving closer to locking up the GOP presidential nomination as he runs a third straight time for the White House, earlier tihs month challenged Biden to debate, the president said “well, if I were him, I’d want to debate me, too.” Speaking with reporters during a campaign stop in Las Vegas, Biden argued that Trump has “got nothing else to do.” But the president, who tangled with Trump at two general election debates in the autumn of 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, has yet to say if he’ll take part in debates as he runs for re-election. Trump’s Fox News town hall comes four days before South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary, where the latest public opinion polls indicate he maintains a very large double-digit lead over former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, his last major rival for the GOP nomination. TRUMP HOLDS LARGE DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD OVER HALEY AHEAD OF CRUCIAL SHOWDOWN And Trump sat down for his town hall hours after his campaign, in a memo, argued that Haley’s White House bid would end “fittingly, in her home state” and that the former president would clinch the nomination by the middle of next month. But Haley, in a speech in Greenville, South Carolinaa couple of hours before Trump landed in the city, said that “some of you – perhaps a few of you in the media – came here today to see if I’m dropping out of the race. Well, I’m not. Far from it.” “I refuse to quit. South Carolina will vote on Saturday. But on Sunday, I’ll still be running for president. I’m not going anywhere,” Haley emphasized. And she added that “I have no fear of Trump’s retribution.” Asked about Haley’s comments, Trump said during the Fox News town hall that “you’re not supposed to lose your home state. It shouldn’t happen anyway and she’s losing it bigly.” “I don’t think she knows how to get out,” Trump surmised. “She just can’t get herself to get out.” And Trump reiterated that he’s ruled out Haley as his running mate. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Georgia lawmakers advance bill allowing state aid for school districts that lower property taxes
Property tax rates could drop in some Georgia school districts under a House plan that would let districts with low property wealth continue to qualify for state aid even if they decrease property tax rates. The House voted 161-12 on Tuesday for House Bill 987, sending it to the Senate for more debate. The measure would let districts drop their minimum property tax rate to 10 mills, from the current 14 mills, and still be able to qualify for state equalization funds. SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL GEORGIA HOUSE SEAT WILL SEE 3 REPUBLICANS, 1 INDEPENDENT FACE OFF IN APRIL “This bill has the potential to lower property taxes for thousands of Georgia citizens across the state,” said Rep. John Corbett, a Republican from Lake Park. It’s one in a series of measures that Georgia lawmakers are considering this year to reduce property tax bills. The House also wants to increase the statewide homestead tax exemption, which would cut property tax bills for homeowners in some counties. The Senate, by contrast, is seeking to limit the future increase in homeowner property values, as assessed for tax purposes. Senators believe that move, in turn, could decrease future increases in property tax bills. Some school districts in recent years have told constituents they can’t decrease tax rates, despite rising property tax values, because they would become ineligible for millions in equalization money. Georgia is distributing $756 million in equalization funds this year, with districts allowed to spend their share as they see fit. The money is aimed at making sure districts that don’t have much valuable property to tax still have enough money to educate students. It has traditionally most benefitted districts in the southeastern part of the state, Georgia State University scholar Nicholas Warner found in a 2019 study The equalization program began in 1987 with a minimal tax rate required and the state spending $84 million. But with the cost of the program rising and state tax revenues stagnant, lawmakers rewrote the program to require districts to tax property at 14 mills or greater to participate, beginning in 2019. That requirement is clashing with another goal of Republican lawmakers, that districts hold total tax receipts level by lowering tax rates when property values rise. “There are school systems throughout the state, even though they are able to go lower, who are remaining at the required rate of 14 mills because they don’t want to put their equalization at risk,” said Rep. Chas Cannon, the Moultrie Republican sponsoring the bill. “In doing so, they’re passing on sometimes significant property tax increases to their citizens year after year.” Statistics show overall property tax collections rose 41% from 2018 to 2022 in Georgia. During that same period, total assessed value of property statewide rose by nearly 39%. Those Georgia Department of Revenue figures represent not only existing property but also new buildings. So they don’t clearly state how much valuations rose on existing property. Cannon’s bill would for the first time reduce the amount of equalization money going to districts that dip below the 10-mill floor. Those districts would lose 25% of their equalization money in the next year.
Trump or Haley? South Carolina voters prepare for ‘first in the South’ contest
Almost every winner of the South Carolina primary has gone on to become the presidential nominee. “South Carolina has a really strong history of picking the Republican nominee,” said Jessica Taylor, the Cook Political Report Senate and governors editor. “Only in 2012, when they voted for Newt Gingrich, did they not do that.” Smaller, less populous states like Iowa and New Hampshire give lesser-known candidates the opportunity to compete against those with high name recognition, whereas South Carolina has often ended an unlikely candidate’s momentum and instead boosted establishment politicians. “A lot of folks who work in politics down here know that South Carolina is sort of the graveyard of presidential campaigns,” South Carolina Republican Party Chair Drew McKissick said. “South Carolina tends to be very representative of the Republican coalition at large around the country.” TRUMP HOLDS LARGE LEAD OVER HALEY 4 DAYS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY In 2016, it was Donald Trump who was thought of as the establishment outsider. He was able to break through the South Carolina firewall and secure the republican nomination. “Whether you consider somebody establishment or not establishment, I think you can certainly look at President Trump as definitely being not an establishment [pick] in 2016 and more of the establishment pick now,” McKissick said. Fox News spoke with Competition Cars owner Bill Garofalo first in 2016. He was planning to back Trump. “With Trump, here comes a guy that is speaking the things that we want to hear,” Garofalo said before the 2016 primary. Eight years later, he still thinks the former president is the best choice. MEDIA DEEM TRUMP THE NOMINEE, DESPITE HALEY TYING HIM TO PUTIN “It’s a lot of the same commonsense ideas,” Garofalo said. “All of his policies, he just needs to go back and do what he did before. And I think we could be back on track in a very short time.” While his political preference hasn’t changed, his business has. “When COVID kicked in, we had the supply chain issue going on. New cars were difficult to get. So, the new car dealers were scooping up all the used cars,” Garofalo said. He shifted his business away from selling late-model used cars and now sells classic cars. “Part of me changing and adapting was because of the 40% increase, the supply chain issue that Biden never fixed,” Garofalo said. THESE GOP LAWMAKERS ENDORSE TRUMP IN HIS 2024 RUN FOR POTUS He believes Trump would have handled the supply chain issues differently. “Trump wouldn’t have put up with that. He would have had solutions,” Garofalo said. “It takes common sense and reason to deal with a lot of the problems that we had with COVID and what the Democrats did, and the way they’re running things right now, it’s just ridiculous.” Criticism of President Biden and his party isn’t reserved solely for Republicans. “I don’t want to vote for Biden. I don’t think he has all his capabilities. I think he’s honestly getting senile. And I’m really disgusted with the Democratic Party for not coming up with a better candidate,” South Carolina voter Elizabeth Ballard said. Ballard has voted Democrat for decades and most recently backed Biden in 2020. This election cycle, she has changed her tune. HALEY SPOTLIGHTS TRUMP ‘CHAOS’ AS JUDGE SETS FORMER PRESIDENT’S HUSH-MONEY TRIAL START FOR MARCH Elizabeth and her husband, Steve, have been married for three years. They have voted for different candidates in past elections. This time, the couple hopes former Gov. Nikki Haley is the nominee. “I’m saving my vote for Nikki Haley,” Ballard said. “It’s been coming the past couple of years. My husband’s a Republican and is actually more informed than I am. And so I’ve been listening to what he has to say.” “I like what I hear from Nikki so far. I’m here to learn more,” Ballard said at a recent Haley rally. If Haley is not the nominee, she said she won’t vote for Biden or Trump. “I’ll probably look for an independent candidate,” Ballard said. “They may not get in, but I can’t in good conscience vote for either of them.” HALEY MAKING FINAL STAND AGAINST TRUMP 1 YEAR AFTER LAUNCHING GOP PRESIDENTIAL BID Trump has had major influence in the state. Some of his top campaign issues are resonating with voters. “The key issues that you’re hearing about at the national level, immigration being at the top and the economy, certainly those are all things that are definitely resonating here,” McKissick said. With two candidates left in the Republican race, some voters are still undecided after their first choices dropped out of the race early on. They’re hoping to hear more from Trump and Haley on their top issues. “I feel that if you’re going to come into the country, do it legally,” South Carolina voter Paul Hunter said. “The country and our politicians need to get together and figure out a nice, comprehensive immigration plan.” Paul and his wife, Teresa, had planned to vote for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis before he suspended his campaign last month. PUTIN CLAIMS HE PREFERS ‘MORE PREDICTABLE’ BIDEN OVER TRUMP “Now we have to decide whether Haley’s going to give us some answers to what we want to hear,” Teresa said. The couple attended Haley’s event in Newberry, South Carolina, hoping to hear more about her immigration and economic plans. “We have our daughter living in our house with us. So, we know with the adult children coming back home and that multifamily living situation, it affects us personally,” Teresa said. “I have to know that there is somebody out there who’s going to have plans for that.” While they hold the same top issues, the couple is leaning toward different candidates. “I want to say that I would go for Nikki Haley and pray that I’m not throwing away my vote,” Teresa said. Paul is leaning toward Trump but wants the rhetoric to change. “The guy is brilliant. He’s got all the
Haley says Biden’s mind is ‘closing up shop’ in South Carolina speech
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley took a swipe at President Biden during a speech on Tuesday and boasted that she has “no fear” of retribution from her Republican primary rival. Haley noted the growing debate over Biden’s mental acuity, saying the Democratic Party has made a strategic mistake by sticking with the 81-year-old president for another election. “Every time he opens his mouth, he sounds like his mind is closing up shop. The Democrats are getting weaker by holding a coronation for Biden. Republicans will get stronger through a vigorous competition,” said Haley. TRUMP HOLDS LARGE LEAD OVER HALEY 4 DAYS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY She also criticized her own Republican Party for its widespread enthusiasm for former President Trump’s attempt at an Oval Office comeback. Citing both candidates’ less-than-ideal performance in public opinion polling, Haley is trying to position herself as a sensible third option. “Do we really want to spend every day from now until November watching America’s two most disliked politicians duke it out?” Haley said. LAST RIVAL STANDING: HALEY FACES STEEP UPHILL CLIMB AGAINST TRUMP WITH 1 WEEK UNTIL SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY She continued, “I feel no need to kiss the ring, and I have no fear of Trump’s retribution.” Despite poor performances across the board until now — and little hope of clinching victory in her home state on Saturday — Haley says she has no plans to drop out anytime soon. “I’ll keep fighting until the American people close the door,” Haley said. “The presidential primaries have barely begun. Just three states have voted, three.” Haley took a short break from her South Carolina stumping to raise cash and campaign Thursday and Friday in Texas, one of the 15 states holding Republican nominating contests on Super Tuesday in early March. She hauled in more than $1 million during her first day in Texas. And Haley raked in $1.7 million in fundraising, as Fox News first reported, during a two-day campaign swing a week and a half ago in California, another large Super Tuesday state. The stops in Texas and California appear in part to be a marker for Haley as she pushes back against calls by some Republicans to drop out of the race and allow Trump to focus his efforts on Biden ahead of the November general election. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
First Lady of New Jersey, Democrat US Senate candidate, opposes power plant that husband could shut down
New Jersey’s First Lady Tammy Murphy, who is running for U.S. Senate, said Tuesday she opposes construction of a gas-fired backup power plant in a minority neighborhood already heavily burdened with pollution. But she did not say whether she has discussed her view with the one person who could stop the project in its tracks — her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy. And questioned by reporters afterward, she would not say whether she planned to try to lobby him to kill the proposal. NEW JERSEY POLICE USING NEW TECHNOLOGY TO DETECT FENTANYL “I am not speaking for the governor,” she said. “I’m talking to other people about this. I’m not here to stand up and speak for the administration. That’s not my role here today. With all due respect, that’s the end of the conversation.” Tammy Murphy said she opposes construction of the backup power system at the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission in Newark’s Ironbound section. The neighborhood is where her husband signed New Jersey’s environmental justice law in 2020 with great fanfare. The measure aims to ensure communities already overburdened by pollution are not forced to accept additional sources of contaminants. “Families living in Newark are already disproportionately exposed to pollution and will experience further serious health risks as the result of this new gas-fired power plant,” she said. “For all residents of Newark, this power plant is a step in the wrong direction, and for mothers and babies in particular, it is extremely and unacceptably dangerous.” She said New Jersey has made extensive resiliency upgrades to the power grid, which will help make other options more feasible. The proposal has been pending for several years and remains under review by state environmental regulators. In January 2022, Gov. Murphy directed the commission to cancel a vote on the project to allow a more thorough evaluation of whether the project would violate environmental justice law. But just three months later, the commission pressed forward with the project. Tammy Murphy is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Robert Menendez. Menendez is facing federal corruption charges and has not said whether he will seek re-election. Democratic U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who is also seeking his party’s nomination for the Senate seat, also opposes the project. ANDY KIM GAINS MOMENTUM OVER NJ FIRST LADY IN DEMOCRATIC SENATE CONVENTION TO REPLACE BOB MENENDEZ “There is simply no need for yet another gas power plant in the city of Newark when renewable energy solutions are possible, especially at a time when so many residents in that community are already living with some of the worst air pollution in the country,” he said in an email to The Associated Press. Kim also said such pollution “disproportionately impacts communities of color who are already too often put at risk by existing environmental hazards, and we should be working to transition to renewable energy solutions by utilizing federal funds like the Inflation Reduction Act.” The sewerage commission has proposed a $180 million backup power project that would kick in during severe storms, power outages or instances of a cyber attack. It’s designed to avoid a repeat of what happened after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. When power went out from the storm, nearly a billion gallons of raw sewage spilled into area waterways while the plant was knocked offline. A coalition of environmental and community groups wants the governor to reject the plan and order the commission to redesign it so that it does not add to the pollution burden on the neighborhood. Kim Gaddy, an environmental activist and a member of the governor’s Council on the Green Economy — whose honorary chair is Tammy Murphy — noted that the state’s public transit agency pulled the plug last month on a similar project in Kearny, near Newark. “Black and brown lungs have had enough,” she said. “If the Murphy Administration and NJ Transit can pull the plug on a dirty gas plant just a couple miles away, as they just did, why can’t it happen here in Newark? Governor Murphy and PVSC, are you listening?” The backup power plant originally was proposed to run solely on natural gas, which residents say would worsen already poor air quality in the neighborhood. The commission has said it has modified the plan to incorporate the use of “alternative green renewable fuels” in conjunction with burning natural gas, and if and when technology advances to that point, using such fuels to replace natural gas entirely. A spokesperson for the commission declined comment on Tammy Murphy’s opposition. The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Without a backup power source, the commission says, the loss of power combined with heavy rain could result in raw sewage backing up into homes and potentially flooding streets in Newark and surrounding cities including Jersey City and Bayonne. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP It previously said it has almost all the approvals it needs for the project, needing only a review of technical specifications by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Putin says Russia has no intention of putting nuclear weapons in space
Last week, the White House claimed that Moscow had obtained ‘troubling’ anti-satellite weapon capability. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the US. Putin’s statement on Tuesday follows the White House claim last week that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said it would violate the international Outer Space Treaty, but declined to comment on whether the weapon was nuclear-capable. The treaty, signed by more than 130 countries – including Russia, prohibits the deployment of “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit or the stationing of “weapons in outer space in any other manner”. The White House said it would look to engage the Russians directly about the concerns. “Our position is quite clear and transparent: we have always been and remain categorically opposed to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space,” Putin said. “Just the opposite, we are urging everyone to adhere to all the agreements that exist in this sphere.” He called the accusations part of a “clamour being raised in the West”. Putin said Russia has “many times suggested to strengthen joint cooperation in the [space] sphere but for some reason, in the West, this topic has not come up again”. Speaking during a meeting with his defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, Putin noted that Russia has only developed space capabilities that “other nations, including the US, have”. “And they know it,” he said. “We haven’t deployed any nuclear weapons in space or any elements of them to use against satellites or to create fields where satellites can’t work efficiently,” Shoigu said. Shoigu alleged that the White House could have made the allegations of a new Russian space capability to force Congress to support aid for Ukraine and also encourage Moscow to re-enter nuclear arms control talks that Russia has suspended amid the tensions with the US over Ukraine. Putin did not rule out possible future contacts with the US, but reaffirmed his view that Washington’s push for Russia’s defeat in Ukraine makes such a scenario impossible for now. “The US and the West, for one thing, are calling for Russia’s strategic defeat, while, on the other hand, they would like to have a dialogue on strategic stability, pretending that those things aren’t connected,” he said. “It won’t work.” Adblock test (Why?)