Live Update - Serbian president says all US might is focused on fighting Russia

©Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview with the Happy TV channel on Monday that the US is focusing all its efforts to fight Russia.

"Let’s not be naive. They [the US] aren’t on the side of Serbia," he said. "They are trying to behave rationally, seriously, so they don’t waste energy and power on someone else because they focused all their efforts against Russia."

The president al so said that "good relations with the US are important for us."

Derek Chollet, counselor of the US Department of State, said on his visit to Belgrade on January 12 that Serbia should impose sanctions on Russia or the country won’t be able to develop.

Vucic earlier described sanctions on Russia as a "double-edged sword." He said he was expecting increasing pressure on Serbia with respect to Kosovo and Metohija and sanctions on Russia. The Serbian president said it would require something significantly more than diplomatic pressure for him to impose sanctions on Russia.

After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Vucic said in an address to the nation, following a meeting of the Security Council, that Serbia supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but wouldn’t impose sanctions on Russia. The president said that the republic was temporarily suspending army and police exercises with all foreign partners. He said that Serbia considers Russia and Ukraine fraternal states, regrets what is happening in the east of Europe, and is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to Kiev.

Austrian foreign minister says Russia to play role in future European security

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said Russia has a role in the European security architecture and rejected the idea to deny Schengen visas to all Russians, as he spoke at a conference at Sciences Po, or the Paris Institute of Political Studies, on Monday, the Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported.

"We must not overshoot the mark, for example by introducing a visa ban for 144 million Russians," Schallenberg said, the newspaper reported.

"We also have to think about the day after, the week after, and the months after," he went on to say. "The European security architecture will have to include Russia in one way or another in the future as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and as a nuclear power."

The top Austrian diplomat also said the OSCE should be kept as a negotiating platform and criticized Warsaw’s refusal to invite Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the group’s recent meeting in Poland.

As the minister traveled to Paris on a one-day visit, he also met with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna. The Kronen Zeitung reported that Schallenberg told her that "a stable European security architecture that ignores Russia is inconceivable.".

Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

In Kharkov region, Russian Army Aviation and artillery have neutralized units from the 92nd Mechanized Brigade and 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Over 30 Ukrainian personnel, two armored fighting vehicles and three motor vehicles have been eliminated.

In the DPR, attacks launched by artillery units at the concentration of manpower from the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade and 125th Territorial Defence Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have resulted in the elimination of over 75 Ukrainian personnel, three tanks, five armored fighting vehicles and one pickup.

Russian troops supported by airborne troops continue their offensive operations in the DPR. Over 50 Ukrainian personnel, one armored personnel carrier, and eight motor vehicles have been eliminated.

Russian forces have launched strikes at the 65th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Zaporozhye region and 108th Territorial Defence Brigade in the DPR. Up to 30 Ukrainian personnel, one armored fighting vehicle and two pickups have been eliminated.

Aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised a depot of ordnance, military and special hardware of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Krasny Liman in the DPR, as well as a hangar with the military hardware of 9th Special Regiment of Ukrainian National Guard in Zaporozhye region and 79 artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and hardware at 101 areas.

Counterbattery warfare operations have resulted in the destruction of: One Ukrainian Grad multiple-launch rocket system and 2A36 Giatsint-B howitzer near Avdeyevja, the DPR; One D-30 howitzer near Antonovka in the Donetsk People's Republic; One 2A65 Msta-B howitzer and 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer in Zaporozhye region; One 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer in Kherson region; Two US-manufactured AN/TPQ-37 and AN/TPQ-50 counterbattery warfare radars have been destroyed in the LPR and DPR.

Air defense facilities have destroyed three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.

At the height of the Cold War 60 years ago, Nikita Khrushchev told the world that the USSR had a hydrogen bomb in its arsenal. Prior to this, the United States considered itself a nuclear monopoly.

This event changed the balance of power in the world: the hydrogen tsar bomb made everyone aware of the threat of a nuclear race. Already on August 5, 1963, the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain signed the first international treaty banning nuclear tests.

In honor of the anniversary of the creation of the powerful weapon, it prepared footage of the bomb test.