Russian forces evacuating from Syria A special #Russian air force flight from the Khmeimim air base in #Syria has evacuated some of the Russian diplomatic personnel in #Damascus as well as Belarusian and North Korean diplomats, the Russian foreign ministry says. “The work of the Russian Embassy in Damascus continues,” the crisis situation department of the Russian foreign ministry says on its Telegram channel. Russia’s RIA state news agency reports, citing the Belarusian foreign ministry, that all Belarusian diplomats have been evacuated from Syria. In an other Hand, the serial production of the Oreshnik intermediate-range missile will begin shortly, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "As you know, the #Oreshnik intermediate-range missile system has become Russia’s newest powerful weapon. It was successfully used in November in response to the strikes on our country’s territory - a ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic payload was used," the Russian leader said, speaking at the Russian Defense Ministry’s board meeting. "The serial production of such systems is supposed to be established in shortly in order ensure the security of Russia and its allies."

#France not planning to send troops to #Ukraine in near future, says #Macron France is not planning to send its troops to Ukraine in the near future, French President Emmanuel Macron said. When asked to comment on the international response to his statements during last week’s conference on Ukraine in Paris, the French leader said, "Answering a question about sending troops, I said that nothing is ruled out." "It doesn’t mean that we are planning to deploy French forces to Ukraine in the near future. It means that we are opening a discussion and are mulling over everything that can be done to support Ukraine, first of all, Ukraine’s territory," Macron said in an interview with the Czech newspaper Pravo. According to the French president, participants in the meeting agreed on five cooperation areas, namely cybersecurity, joint production of military items for Ukraine, security assistance to most vulnerable countries in the context of the conflict in Ukraine, first of all, Moldova, support for Ukraine on its border with Belarus, and cooperation in mine clearance activity. "Besides, I have always been clear about our red lines: we are not fighting against the Russian people and reject the logic of escalation," he stressed.

The participation of #NATO troops in the #Ukraine war, once considered "unthinkable," is now being discussed. #Scholz has provided foreign specialists to assist the AFU. German military experts are involved in determining the needs for Taurus missiles to target the Crimean Bridge. Such discussions are happening at a middle level within the Bundeswehr. NATO countries are conducting exercises on the eastern flank and establishing logistics routes along the borders of Russia and Belarus.