 U.S. senators urge Biden to stop arming Israel. A group of Democrats in the U.S. Senate has called on President Joe Biden to stop providing weapons to Israel until it lifts restrictions on Washington's humanitarian assistance to Gaza, according to a New York Times report. The Senate approved an emergency national security aid bill last month that would send an additional $14.1 billion in military aid to Israel, including $10 billion for offensive weapons for the country's war against Hamas. The New York Times cited a letter by Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and seven Democrats who urged that by continuing to arm Israel Biden was violating the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, which stipulates that no assistance should be provided to any country that restricts directly or indirectly the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance. We urge you to make it clear to the Netanyahu government that failure to immediately and dramatically expand humanitarian access and facilitate safe aid deliveries throughout Gaza will lead to serious consequences, as specified under existing U.S. law, the group reportedly wrote. Sanders separately told the New York Times, I hope the President understands that a growing number of members of Congress and the American people in general are sick and tired of seeing the destruction of the people of Gaza and the creation of mass starvation. Biden announced last week in his State of the Union speech that U.S. forces will build a temporary dock on the Gaza shoreline to allow delivery of humanitarian aid on a large scale. The decision to open a sea route for aid into Gaza had come amid Israeli obstruction of road deliveries and growing warnings of a widespread famine among 2.3 million Palestinians. Putin may intensify mobilization to attack other countries after elections, Ukrainian intelligence. The head of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, has reported the possibility of increased mobilization of Russians after the presidential elections in the Russian Federation states President Volodymyr Zelensky, chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Budanov also delivered a separate report. Political issues were raised, first of all, Russia's military plans, not only against our country but also against other nations, Zelensky states. According to the President, the world's common task is the necessity to defeat this sick Putin's fantasy that he supposedly has time to continue the war. Perhaps he will intensify mobilization after imitation of elections now in March. However, we must further limit the mobilization of resources and finances, tightening the remnants of Russia's ties with the world even more severely. And everyone who values the lives of their people must do this. Every leader. I'm grateful to everyone who helps, the President added. In Russia, the presidential elections will last for 3 days, from March 15 to 17, 2024. On December the 8th, 2023, the Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin officially announced his intention to be re-elected. As reported by Reuters in this case, Putin will be able to remain in power at least until 2030. Moreover, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, has already stated that Putin is being re-elected with a result of 90% of the votes. Also, the Kremlin hopes that 30% of the residents of the temporarily occupied territories will voluntarily participate in the elections of the president of the Russian Federation. It's time to discuss sending Western troops to Ukraine, Lithuanian MFA. Now is the right time to discuss the possibility of sending troops from Western countries to help Ukraine, says Gabrielus Lanzbergis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in an interview with Quest France. He was asked to comment on the fact that French President Emmanuel Macron's statement about the possible sending of Western troops to Ukraine has sparked serious debates. Now is the time for discussion. The beginning of the conversation destroys the self-imposed red lines, Lanzbergis replied. He emphasized that none of the capitals is too far from Kiev for the army of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Some of us may feel safe being far away. But the geographic fact is this. The Ukrainian front line can be compared to the distance between Vilnius and London. If the Ukrainians no longer defended this line, imagine how it could end. This concerns all of us, the foreign minister added. At the end of February this year, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out sending Western troops to help Ukraine. However, he clarified that there is no consensus on this issue. Russian President Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Paris' activity in trying to put together a coalition of those who are ready to send troops to Ukraine is a direct line to escalating tension. Of course, in general, the expansion of the discussion and the persistent activity of Paris in attempts to put together a coalition of countries that declare a hypothetical readiness to send certain contingents, of course, is nothing more than a direct line to escalate tension. This is a very dangerous line, very dangerous. And of course, it could potentially have very undesirable consequences, he said.