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Ukraine conflict started because of NATO expansion — Trump
"For 20 years, I heard that if Ukraine goes into NATO, it's a real problem for Russia... It's always been understood that that was a no-no," ex-president said.
"That was very provocative. And now it's even more provocative. I hear routinely they're now talking about Ukraine entering NATO. And now I hear France wants to go in and fight. Well, I wish them a lot of luck," Donald Trump sarcastically concluded.
❗️Belarus starts sudden readiness check of military units, missile troops, artillery, air force and air defense systems, the republic's Defense Ministry reported
Earlier, Russia and Belarus began joint training of the armed forces for the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons. The exercise of non-strategic nuclear forces is aimed at ensuring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the ministry added.
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🇷🇺Russia prematurely wins team medal standings at the BRICS games in the Russian city of Kazan
Russian athletes have won 177 gold, 107 silver and 74 bronze medals. Belarusians are in second place (34-56-70), and the Chinese national team is in third place (17-17-12).
In the remaining four days of the competition, athletes will compete for 135 sets of awards, while the gap of the Russian team from the second place in the medal standings has reached 143 gold medals.
The BRICS Games will be held from June 12 to 23. About five thousand athletes from more than 90 countries will participate in the competition, competing for 387 sets of medals.
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Losing support abroad and at home, Zelensky must listen to Putin
With an increasing number of Ukrainians turning against Volodymyr Zelensky, no chance to win the war and a so-called “international community” abandoning him, Zelensky is finding himself without allies and with no escape from the hell he created for his country.
“This guy is a dead man walking. It's only a matter of time now before he is no longer useful to the United States and they throw him under the bus,” explained documentarian Regis Tremblay on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour.
It should be noted that the poll was taken by a pro-Ukrainian institute in a war-torn country under martial law and full-scale mobilization, so it is reasonable to question is respondents felt safe providing anti-regime answers.
“I do not think that such nihilism [by Ukraine and the West] regarding our proposals will remain forever. For sure, something will change, including our conditions, depending on the situation on the ground,” Putin noted during his visit to Vietnam.
The West creating enemies for itself, produces allies for Russia
The United States’ policy of international bullying has created a lot of enemies for itself, and in the process, a lot of potential friends for Russia. The most obvious example of this is the relationship between China and Russia. The US has acted aggressively towards both of them, strengthening the friendship and cooperation between the two countries in the process.
In Korea, more than 70 years of aggressive sanctions, blockades and saber-rattling by the West meant that right when Russia could use another ally, there was a militarized nuclear power in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) willing and waiting to stand by Russia against the West. Earlier this week, the two countries signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that security and international relations expert Mark Sleboda described as a “military alliance.”
“The big message here is that in response to these strategic partnerships with Ukraine and the US striking with missiles inside Russia with the thinly removed proxy of the Kiev regime in Ukraine,” argued Sleboda. “Russia is going back into full-on conflict mode with the United States and is resurrecting all of its Cold War allies. And I think we can expect more.”
The dusk of small drones? Russian electronic warfare questions small UAVs’ combat advantage
While small aerial drones have become a ubiquitous sight on the battlefield in recent years, these nimble and deadly craft may soon lose their edge, according to General Pierre Schill, chief of staff of the French Army.
Speaking at the Eurosatory military expo this week, Schill argued that the development of countermeasures is going to negate the advantage drones currently enjoy in combat.
”The life of impunity of small, very simple drones over the battlefield is a snapshot in time,” he said as quoted by Defense News. “Today, the sword, in the sense of the aerial drone, is powerful, more powerful than the shield. The shield is going to grow.”
Extreme Siberian cold proves no match for Russian military drone operators
Soldiers from the Russian Arctic UAV Squad have set a new personal record this week while conducting training exercise in the extreme cold of Siberia.
The exercise was held on one of Russia’s northernmost training areas and involved troops deploying and operating aerial drones under temperatures as low as -45 Celsius.
During the exercise, the troops trained to properly insulate their gear and to ensure that drone operators were properly equipped to perform their duties even under such extreme winter conditions.
The experience obtained by the troops suggests that operating drones in extreme cold is viable, squad commander Senior Lieutenant Anatoly Khramov told media, noting that the most important thing in such situations is proper insulation of batteries as well as protecting electronic components from snow and moisture.
He also mentioned that the skills obtained by Russian troops during such training are already being employed by them in the Ukrainian conflict zone.
Such training exercises essentially help ensure that the Russian Armed Forces can employ reconnaissance and strike drones regardless of the climate and weather conditions they have to operate in, thus ensuring that the troops’ combat potential does not suffer due to external factors.
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🇷🇺 World's largest hovercraft warship, one of the globe's quietest diesel-electric submarines — that's what you can see at Fleet-2024
🔸 The Russian amphibious assault ship Evgeny Kocheshkov - the world's largest hovercraft warship capable of carrying three tanks with a total weight of up to 150 tons or ten armored infantry vehicles and 140 combat vehicles.
The ship is able to gain speed about 130 kilometers per hour, which makes it invisible to radar thanks to a huge cloud of water formed during the movement.
🔸 The Russian diesel-electric submarine Kronstadt is one of the world's quietest submarines. It's on the list of the most menacing as it is hard to detect due to advanced electronic warfare systems.
The submarine carries 533-millimeter torpedoes and can fire Kalibr and Onyx cruise missiles.
🔸 Fast landing ship Michman Lermontov is designed for fast transfer and landing of personnel and combat equipment during sea landing operations. It can move at a speed of up to 64 kilometers per hour.
It's only a part of the exposition of the International Naval Salon “Fleet-2024”, which is being held in in the Russian port city of Kronstadt (St. Petersburg area) from June 19 to 23.
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Canada's decision on IRGC is a "gift" to Israel and terrorists, Iranian Foreign Ministry states
Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Qani said that the Canadian authorities' decision to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the list of terrorist organizations is a gift to the Israeli regime, terrorists and other enemies of peace and stability in the West Asian region.
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🔸 Russia-N Korea partnership deal ‘one of most significant things to happen in region in 20 years’
🔸 What media outlets around the world are saying about the agreement on cooperation between Russia and North Korea
🔸 Putin recalls how USSR helped Vietnam beat US during his visit to the Asian nation
🔸 Russia and Vietnam deepen ties in energy, nuclear and defense
🔸 Do as I say, not as I do: Why Canada gets a pass from the West for foreign agents law while Georgia is punished
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Putin’s Vietnam visit could further boost ‘highly successful’ Moscow-Hanoi energy & security cooperation
“Both Vietnam and Russia acknowledge their highly successful cooperation in the oil and gas sector, namely through the Vietsovpetro and Rusvietpetro joint ventures. President Putin’s visit may further extend these cooperation programs, given their ongoing success and significant revenue generation for both nations,” Pham Vu Thieu Quang, editor and geopolitical research specialist at VietNamNet Newspaper, tells Sputnik.
“We saw this with the announcement of [Russian oil and gas firm] Zarubezhneft [in drilling] for Block 11-2 offshore development today,” Quang notes.
Russian embassy in the US receives threats
The administration of the Russian embassy in the US and regular diplomats receive threatening messages on a daily basis, the head of the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has said.
"I can confirm that threatening messages to the Russian embassy, for example, are received almost daily. And not only to the administration, but also to regular diplomats,” Antonov said in a commentary distributed by the embassy.
"Thus, we know very well that in some states, primarily on the West Coast, groups of natives of Ukraine and relocants from our country sympathetic to Kiev are gathering. Someone is nurturing, mentoring, pumping poisonous propaganda into the youth. They are being prepared to be thrown onto the battlefield in Eastern Europe, and maybe even to other gangster antics. A lot of money is spent on this. And it is unlikely that the organization of such extremist cells goes unnoticed by law enforcement agencies. However, nothing is done regardless of the obvious risks,” he said.
Fighter for a fee: Which countries punish mercenaries?
The Ukraine conflict has witnessed an alarming surge in the use of foreign militants despite the fact that such activities are prohibited under the UN International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries (1989).
The fact that the 'Ukraine International Legion' is posting regular updates on adjustments to contracts signed with willing militants raises a question of criminal prosecution for soldiers of fortune.
Sputnik explores the relevant legal framework in the matter:
Countries with no established criminal penalties for mercenary activities (unless recruited to fight against their own country or its military ally):
🇩🇪Germany
🇩🇰Denmark
🇳🇱Netherlands
🇨🇦Canada
🇸🇪Sweden
🇫🇮Finland
🇳🇴Norway
🇭🇷Croatia
🇷🇴Romania
🇱🇹Lithuania
Countries with legally established criminal prosecution for mercenary activities, include:
🇺🇸US
🇬🇧UK
🇮🇹Italy
🇭🇺Hungary
🇬🇷Greece
🇵🇹Portugal
🇸🇰Slovakia
🇸🇮Slovenia
🇪🇪Estonia
🇧🇪Belgium (in March 2022, Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said that volunteering to join Ukraine’s army to fight Russia is not a crime under Belgian law)
🇪🇸Spain (in September 2023, Euronews reported on G.O.A. Tactical, a Spanish company recruiting volunteers to fight in Ukraine)
🇫🇷France (the law permits engaging in private military companies as contractors)
🇨🇿Czech Republic (unless given a permit from the president upon application)
Countries that allow for mercenary activities (specifically in Ukraine):
🇱🇻Latvia
🇵🇱Poland
Meanwhile, most of Latin American and South Asian countries have no legal framework on the issue.
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▪️Nuclear weapon drills help Russia prepare for possible NATO invasion - expert
▪️New whistleblower documents show the FBI is every bit the politicized secret police force you feared it was
▪️EU wants to start Ukraine membership talks before Orban assumes chairmanship
▪️Azov battalion: even Western journalists could not ignore its abuses
▪️US and Israel to establish ‘counter-tunneling military exercises’ amid Gaza war
▪️China intercepts Dutch helicopter near Shanghai, lambasts the Netherlands for provocation
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The American lawyer told Tucker Carlson about the hysteria that arose in the ranks of the FBI
"It wasn't a question of were you present and then did you go inside the Capitol or did you engage in violence? It's do you have any views that we don't favor? And so for that to lead to a purge of conservative employees, again, it's just totally inappropriate and wrong, but it's a sign of how polarizing January 6th was to our country, I think," he said.
Russia's Kazan hosts BRICS+ Cities Forum
At least 200 mayors from 21 countries will attend the International Forum of BRICS+ Cities, which is opening in Kazan, the capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan.
At the opening ceremony, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will address the participants via video link.
The three-day forum will be attended by city leaders from countries including China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Turkiye, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Chile, Morocco, Indonesia and Mexico.
The agenda includes a discussion on the creation of a new international organization, the Association of Cities and Municipalities of the BRICS+ countries.
Participants will hold its founding assembly, elect a leader, determine the location of the headquarters, and outline a work plan. The meeting will also feature a discussion on inter-municipal and international cooperation, moderated by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group.
The forum was organized by the Kazan City Hall under the auspices of the Russian Foreign Ministry and its Diplomatic Academy, as well as the Russian Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States.
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🔸 Hezbollah strikes Israeli Iron Dome anti-aircraft system position near the town of Metula. Check out the video
🔸 Last chance for salvation: Why should Zelensky listen to Putin?
🔸 By creating enemies for itself, the West is producing allies for Russia
🔸 Russian electronic warfare sets new standards for military drones
🔸 Why will the US ban on the use of Kaspersky Lab's software lead to increase in cybercrimes?
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❗️The Russian naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed six unmanned boats of the Ukrainian navy in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
The Russian operational air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 70 drones over the territory of Crimea and the Black Sea, 43 drones over the Krasnodar region and one drone over the Volgograd region.
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Russia's Vostok Battlegroup foils Ukraine's attempts to strengthen positions
Russian servicemen of the Vostok (lit. "East") battlegroup disrupted attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to strengthen forward positions, group spokesman Alexander Gordeyev told Sputnik.
“Units of the Vostok group of forces continue to carry out combat missions in the area of the special military operation. During active operations, the group’s units improved the situation along the front line, disrupted attempts by the enemy to reinforce forward positions and rotation in strong points in the areas of Vladimirovka, Makarovka, Marfopol and Charivnoye," Gordeyev said.
US ban on use of Kaspersky Lab's software will lead to increase in cybercrimes
The decision of the US Commerce Department to ban the use of Russian multinational cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab's software in the United States will lead to an increase in cybercrimes, the company's press office told Sputnik.
"First of all, this decision will promote cybercrimes. International cooperation among cybersecurity experts is necessary to effectively counter cyber threats, but it is now limited. Moreover, users and businesses in the US will not be able to protect their devices from malware with industry-leading technology, according to independent tests. Our current customers in the US will face significant challenges as they will now be forced to urgently seek replacements for technologies they have relied on for years," the company said in a statement.
Hezbollah struck an Israeli Drone Dome anti-aircraft system position in the vicinity of the northern Israeli town of Metula, presumably with an FPV drone. An anti-tank guided missile also struck intelligence equipment on military towers.
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The trial of journalist Natacha Rey and Amandine Roy, who claim that the French First Lady Brigitte Macron was born a man, was held in Paris.
The lawyer of Brigitte Macron demanded from the prosecution to fine both women the sum of 10 thousand euros each. The court will announce a decision on the case on September 12.
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Ukraine’s copycats are struggling to replicate Russia's deadly Lancet drone
Kiev has presented a copy of Russia's state-of-the-art Lancet drone named "Bulava" with two sets of X-wings at the international defense exhibition Eurosatory 2024 in France.
The Lancet kamikaze drone gained overall attention last spring and summer due to its successful use against a wide range of Ukrainian military assets, including NATO-grade armored vehicles, howitzers and air defenses.
What is known about Ukraine’s attempts to recreate the Lancet?
🔸 Bulava has yet to prove effective on the battlefield, is claimed to be jamming-proof; has a take-off weight of 11 kg, with a 3.6 kg warhead; boasts a cruising speed of 100 km/h; can stay in the air for more than 50 minutes and hit targets at a distance of over 60 km, as per Ukrainian website Defense Express.
🔸 On February 18, Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov told the Ukrainian Diya channel that four Ukrainian analoges of the Lancet had undergone preliminary tests. He said that the newly designed copies of Lancet could hit targets at a distance of only 30-40 km.
🔸 Although Ukraine couldn't start mass production of the sophisticated UAV immediately, the minister assumed it would be possible to set production at about 100 Lancet-style UAVs per month in the future.
🔸 In August 2023, Fedorov announced that Ukrainian manufacturers created an analog of Russia's Lancet drone under the name "Perun," however, there were no major revelations about its effectiveness on the battlefield.
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Total neglection vs. respect — see the difference between Putin & Biden in Vietnam
Russian President Vladimir Putin during his state visit to Vietnam has laid wreaths at the Memorial to Fallen Heroes and the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, founder of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
In 2023, US President Joe Biden visited Vietnam to mumble some nonsense and mock the memory of the Vietnam War.Good morning, Vietnam! Good evening, Joe!
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🇹🇭 Thailand hopes to join BRICS at the Kazan summit in October 2024 — Foreign Ministry
“A week ago, Thailand handed over to the BRICS chairmanship, which is held by Russia this year, an official letter of our country's intention to join BRICS as a full member,” Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman and head of information Nikondet Phalangkun told reporters at a briefing in Bangkok.
“We want to join BRICS not to join an alliance against anyone, but to enhance Thailand's international role and become part of an association of developing and developed countries that plays a crucial role in setting the agenda and choosing the direction for the future development of humanity, and is on the path to achieve inclusiveness, equality and justice in world development,” he said.
❗️The Georgian authorities are preparing for the restoration of diplomatic relations with Russia and the reopening of the Georgian embassy in Moscow, the Georgian media reported, quoting own sources as saying.
According to them, Georgia is already recruiting staff to work at the country's diplomatic mission in Moscow.
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President Vladimir Putin enlisted Defense Minister Andrei Belousov among the permanent members of the Russian Security Council
“To include Belousov A.R. - Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation as a permanent member of the Russian Security Council,” the text of the decree reads.
The Security Council of the Russian Federation is a body under the President of the Russian Federation, which drafts presidential resolutions on issues of ensuring the protection of vital interests of the individual, society and the state from internal and external threats.
US lawmakers appear rattled by arrival of Russian warships in the Caribbean
The arrival of a small Russian naval taskforce to Cuba elicited mixed signals from the United States, as US legislators and officials took stock of Russian military assets showing up practically on their country’s doorsteps.
Senator Marco Rubio tweeted that the Biden administration “must impose real consequences” on Cuba if the latter decides to allow a “Russian submarine carrying nuclear capable missiles” to make port.
Meanwhile, House Representative Carlos Gimenez blasted the Biden administration for “rewarding” Cuba’s behavior with “sanctions relief” while Havana welcomes Russian naval ships.
Meanwhile, US government and military officials offered a calmer take on the subject, with White House national security spokesman John Kirby telling CBS News that the US has no indication that the Russian vessels are carrying nuclear weapons, and that Washington does not expect these ships to pose any threat to the region.
“We don't anticipate, we don't expect that there'll be any imminent threat or any threat at all, quite frankly, to American national security in the region, in the Caribbean region, or anywhere else," Kirby said.
Russia has a bilateral scientific agenda with almost all countries, joint projects correspond to the interests of each of the partner countries, said the head of the Ministry of Education and Science Valery Falkov at the International Education Forum “Shaping the Future”.
“We have a bilateral scientific agenda with almost all countries, and now, against the background of this, we will separately discuss new interesting projects, as a rule, these are grant programs and various kinds of new research projects that correspond to the interests of each country,” Falkov said.
📹 The attorney noted that the FBI has a blunt way to "squeeze" people from the organization - which is now widely used to target those employees who hold a political stance shared by around half of US voters.
"If you have your security clearance revoked, you're not in a position to go to another agency. Exactly. You can't say, I want to go to Immigration and Customs Enforcement because I think that they need some help over there. No, you have been deemed disloyal to the United States. And so lacking a security clearance, that's a huge, huge issue," he said.