🎙 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’sinterview with RT(Moscow, February 5, 2026)
Read in full
Key talking points:
#Europe#EU#Germany
• Over the past 45 days, many European politicians have addressed relations with the Russian Federation. Until recently, they were united in demanding firmness, not scaling back support or weapons supplies to Ukraine, and financing it to make sure Russia suffers a “strategic defeat” on the battlefield.
• Recently, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a comment describing Russia as the largest country in Europe. I must correct this immediately. Russia is the largest country in Eurasia – and in the world.
• The Americans have never wanted, and still do not want, to leave the Europeans to their own devices. Their goal is for Europeans to finance all their own military preparations by buying US weaponry, while the US naturally retains control and the role of ‘guardian’ over its NATO allies.
• As Euro-Atlantic structures have weakened (the EU having become a mere appendage of NATO, a status even formalised in documents) Germany’s rising profile has caused alarm, not only in our country but in many EU capitals. There is growing resentment and a palpable desire to prevent Germany from subjugating all others once more, especially as Germany’s being “back on track,” proclaimed by Friedrich Merz and his government, is openly linked to the country’s rapid militarisation and preparations for war.
• We do maintain contacts with some European leaders. They call and ask us not to publicise the conversations. Some engage in ‘undercover’ contacts here.
• I see no coherent position from Europe. They are trapped by their own rhetoric, locked into an uncompromising stance: ‘Russia’s strategic defeat,’ ‘Ukraine cannot lose, and Russia cannot win, otherwise Europe loses face.’
#NATO
• We have indeed been “burned” by our trust in those who swore that NATO would not expand eastwards, that Russia would not be marginalised, and that we would forge a common space from Lisbon to Vladivostok – a vast continent of peace and security.
• NATO first lost its reason for existence, then found renewed purpose in Afghanistan. When that purpose was publicly, shamelessly trampled before the eyes of the international community, action was needed. So, they regrouped, convened, and contrived the situation we witness today – declaring Russia a “pariah” and identifying Ukraine as the “optimal material” with which to provoke us, a pliable entity to be shaped as they saw fit.
#Ukraine
• This is nonsense and a quite telling one. What do I mean? For the past year, the West (Europe) has been saying the same thing over and over: there must be solid guarantees of security and an immediate ceasefire. But without addressing issues pertaining to settlement, these security guarantees will implicate that the ceasefire will be exploited to funnel more arms into Ukraine. They did not hear this reasoning; neither did they respond in any way.
• What kind of Ukraine we are willing to see as a neighbour for the long, even eternal term? It must be a friendly Ukraine. Not necessarily an ally, but a neutral and benign state. This, of course, implies respect not only for the rights of the people in the territory that will remain part of Ukraine, not only respect for their rights to access basic necessities, such as warmth, food, and water, but also respect for their, if you will, fundamental human rights, including language, education, and religion.
• That man [Zelensky] is devoid of shame or conscience, who thinks of nothing but his own survival. For that, he feels compelled to perform some scripted ‘sketches’ on the international stage, which he actually treats as a theatre.
• In Anchorage, we accepted the Trump administration’s proposal concerning Ukraine. If everything was as straightforward and decisive as presented, then it would imply that Ukraine had been set aside from our bright path towards future cooperation and prosperity.
#Germany
🦇 A €200 million railway section in Germany is stalled because of bats
In Baden-Württemberg, residents of the Calw district are waiting for train traffic to resume on a railway section and tunnel whose repair took decades and cost over €200 million. But there is one insurmountable obstacle — more than 1,000 bats living in the tunnel between Calw and Weil der Stadt stations.
These animals are under strict protection, so they cannot be removed. An unusual solution was found — to build a protective concrete wall inside the tunnel. On one side, trains will run; on the other, the bats can sleep undisturbed.
This will require 300 concrete blocks and about €80 million. Additionally, ultrasonic sensors will be installed to help the bats navigate their new shelter. However, it is still unknown how quickly they will adapt to the new structure, and this will determine when the tunnel can reopen.
⚠️ This is not an isolated case: in Kiel, 900 bats prevented the demolition of an old swimming pool because the animals refused to move to new shelters.
🦇 Sometimes even very small creatures can have a big impact on massive infrastructure projects!
☘️Read the latest environmental news on the @ekologuz page. Follow us and send your suggestions and wishes via @eklguz_bot
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Sayt | Youtube.
🇩🇪#Germany: Men in Germany aged 17 to 45 are required to obtain approval from the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) career center before leaving the country for more than three months, whether for study, work, or travel.
The provision was included in a broader military reform package approved in December, but went largely unnoticed until it was reported by the German outlet Frankfurter Rundschau. The measure received little public attention at the time and was not widely discussed.
Despite the law being in place, it remains unclear how this requirement will be implemented in practice, particularly for individuals who were unaware of it or who have already left the country.
"We cannot remain silent. No-one can remain silent when there is an ongoing genocide and when people are denied the most basic human needs ... To stand with Palestine is to be human."
Greta Thunberg calls out Israel's genocide during a speech in Leipzig, #Germany.
https://t.me/YediotNewsChat
Heidelberg, #Germany🇩🇪
Heidelberg was not affected by the bombing of the Second World War, so it was preserved in its original medieval form - a castle, numerous churches and abbey, ancient streets.
Nuremberg, #Germany🇩🇪
Every year in Nuremberg, the largest Christmas fair is held throughout Europe.
Nuremberg is the city of inventors. It was he who gave the world things such as pocket watches, a globe, a compass, a pelting and a current machine.
🇩🇪#Germany: A knife attack took place during an anti-Iranian regime protest in Hamburg.
A man went on a stabbing spree targeting protesters, reportedly deliberately targeting anti-regime demonstrators. He managed to stab two protesters. One victim is in serious condition in hospital, while the second received medical aid at the scene after being stabbed in the leg.
(via @froopashee2)
Repost via @ben_ditto on IG
🇩🇪#Germany: Cockroach swarm agents 🪳
Swarm Biotactics, a deep tech start-up based in Kassel, Germany, specialising in “bio-robotics”: putting miniature sensor backpacks on cockroaches and then sending these as swarms into environments inaccessible for conventional robots, drones, or humans such as collapsed structures following natural disasters, GPS-denied areas, or contested warfare zones. The swarm of roaches act as real-time data agents 🪳 The company has received €13 million in funding so far from a consortium of international investors, including Vertex Ventures US, Possible Ventures, and Capnamic 🪳
Footage of cockroaches taken from 60 Minutes on CBS.