Russia puts “Terminator 2” tanks into use, Syrian President drives into “hell” Ghouta

1. Russian army is about to put the "Terminator 2" tank into use

The Russian army is about to put the "Terminator 2" tank into use.

Xinhua News Agency quoted a source in the Russian defense industry on March 20 that the country's military will soon put into use the latest version of the BMPT-72 combat support tank, also known as "Terminator 2".

Sputnik news agency quoted the source as saying: "The decision to use 'Terminator 2' has been approved. The signing of relevant documents is expected to be carried out soon." The BMPT-72 tank is manufactured by Russia's UralVagonZavod Corporation and there is currently no similar model in the world.

This tank is designed to protect tanks from missile attacks in urban environments and is equipped with a guided missile weapon system, capable of destroying enemy tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other armored objects.

2. Russian election results: “The worst nightmare for the West has come true”

“The West's worst nightmare has come true”

Ria Novosti quoted the statement of Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov saying that President Vladimir Putin has a plan for the future development of Russia.

According to Mr. Peskov, this plan began to take shape after the President made speeches and issued instructions. On this basis, a roadmap for the development of Russia will be created. In addition, Mr. Peskov noted that the presidential election proved that Russian society is maximally consolidated and united.

Under the headline "An absolute victory and complete defeat of his opponents", the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda said that the results of the Russian presidential election had dealt "a heavy blow" to the West, and "the worst nightmare for Russia's Western partners has come true".

3. US - South Korea shorten Foal Eagle exercise time

South Korean soldiers participate in the 2017 Foal Eagle joint military exercise. Photo: Reuters.

"The Foal Eagle joint exercise will last for a month, in April, due to the influence of the Winter Olympics and the South Korean and US armies each have their own plans,"AFPquoted a spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of National Defense on March 20.

Foal Eagles 2017 ran for two months, March and April. This year, the event was postponed to avoid affecting the Olympic and Paralympic Games held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February and March.

In addition to Foal Eagle, South Korea also announced on March 20 that it would resume the Key Resolve joint military exercise with the United States, on a scale similar to previous years. The exercises are scheduled to begin on April 1.

4. Syrian President Assad "leisurely" drives around East Ghouta

Syrian President Bashar Assad.

RT reported that while driving, Mr. Assad explained the location where he was. “This is al-Nashabiya. The first city liberated by the Syrian army since the Ghouta offensive began three weeks ago,” Mr. Assad said.

“This city has been heavily bombarded by artillery and is considered an important line of defense in eastern Ghouta. Therefore, it took the Syrian army several days to liberate this area in the face of strong resistance from terrorists. The successful liberation of al-Nashabiya will pave the way for the liberation of the entire Ghouta,” Mr. Assad shared.

“We can see that people have started cleaning schools even without teachers. This shows the high awareness of the people,” President Assad said as he drove past a school.

5. Former French President Sarkozy detained

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Photo: Reuters

French police on March 20 temporarily detained former President Nicolas Sarkozy in connection with an investigation into allegations that Mr. Sarkozy received illegal election funding.

Mr Sarkozy is accused of receiving thousands of euros from L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt when he ran for office in 2007. In return, Bettencourt is accused of receiving huge tax breaks on her multi-billion-euro fortune after Sarkozy came to power. French law limits individual campaign donations to 4,600 euros.

Sarkozy has also been accused of receiving illegal campaign funding linked to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. In a 2011 interview, Gaddafi said he had provided a large sum of money for Sarkozy's campaign. Mediapart news agency quoted sources as saying that Sarkozy had received 50 million euros in campaign funding from Gaddafi's foundation. Sarkozy has denied the allegation.

6.What will be the consequences when the relationship between Kiev and Moscow "breaks down halfway"?

What will be the consequences when the relationship between Kiev and Moscow "breaks down halfway"?

Recently, in an interview on NewsOne channel, former Ukrainian Minister of Economy Viktor Suslov commented: cutting off economic relations between Moscow and Kiev in the field of nuclear energy will cause great damage to the Ukrainian economy.Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman announced that next week the government will end the economic cooperation program with Russia.

“The nuclear sector is the most sensitive issue for Ukraine. Ukraine is still using nuclear reactors designed in Russia, built by Russians. Stopping the supply of nuclear fuel will hurt the Ukrainian energy industry and will cause serious damage to it.

I hope that people are sober enough not to break economic relations in this area. In addition, Russian experts are expanding the resources of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant," said Mr. Suslov.

7. Russian diplomats expelled from UK on March 20

Russian diplomats expelled by the UK will return to Moscow on a special Aeroflot flight on March 20, 2018.

TASS news agency recently reported that 23 Russian diplomats expelled by the UK will return to Moscow on March 20 on a special Aeroflot flight.

"A total of about 80 people, including 23 Russian diplomats and their family members, will leave the UK today, March 20," TASS news agency said.

The move came after the British Prime Minister announced on March 14 that he would expel 23 Russian diplomats and postpone all previously planned high-level bilateral meetings, as London accused Moscow of being involved in the poisoning of former Russian intelligence colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the British city of Salisbury on March 4.