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🗣 Zelensky’s goal is to sabotage the negotiations with Russia in Istanbul, Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told Sputnik.
“To make the Americans impose the toughest sanctions, to ruin everything, and then go home as a winner.”
“He will do everything to prevent any peace. Peace means holding elections, lifting martial law. His own people would tear him apart there.”
💥 Another humiliation resurfaced: Houthis nearly took down the 'invisible' F-35
Having shot down around a dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones, Yemeni fighters also forced pilots of the “most advanced” and “stealth” US jet to break a sweat dodging their missiles.
▪️ An F-35 fighter jet was "nearly struck by Houthi air defenses" earlier this spring, reported The New York Times on May 12, citing US officials.
▪️ The War Zone elaborated: the stealth jet "had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit by Houthi surface-to-air (SAM) missiles."
▪️ It remains unclear which missile — or how many — were launched, according to TMZ. Despite being labeled as "rudimentary," the Houthis' air defense system employs unconventional passive infrared sensors and other tech, reportedly giving the "invisible" F-35 aircraft a headache.
Social media is melting down:
👉🏻 "Lots of interesting takeaways from [the NYT] piece, but the winner has to be 'multiple US officials' confirming the Houthis nearly shot down an F-35, the most advanced aircraft ever built," quipped Eurasia Group analyst Gregory Brew on X.
👉🏻 "It now makes all the more sense as to why Israel dared not go anywhere near Iran’s border with its own F-35Is: the West knows their planes are in fact detectable by the radars of the resistance," suggested blogger and X influencer Simplicius.
'Most advanced aircraft ever built'? Give me a break
✔️ The much-hyped F-35 program is projected to cost over $2 trillion throughout its lifetime.
✔️ Yet for all that money, the F-35 keeps malfunctioning — the latest crash occurred as recently as January.
✔️ "The F-35 design was broken at the requirements level," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said bluntly last year.
✔️ Matt Gaetz, a former US congressman and Trump's initial pick for attorney general, called the F-35 "a $100 million paperweight", while Rep. Adam Smith, a senior Democrat, called the F-35 program a "rathole" in 2021.
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❗️The meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the Russian delegation has begun in Istanbul, a source told Sputnik.
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❗️Russian delegation is heading to site of talks on Ukraine in Istanbul – source to Sputnik
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🇵🇱🥴 When all explanations backfire: Tusk’s cringy attempt to blend in goes viral
Caught on camera, the Polish prime minister desperately tries to slip back into the crowd chatting with Zelensky — either hiding the fact he’s checked out on Kiev’s leader or somehow even getting ghosted by Zelensky’s own fan club of weirdos. Ouch.
The video was shot last weekend when European leaders arrived in Kiev but just now blew up on Polish social media.
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🇩🇰❌🇺🇸 Denmark warns: If the US tries to snatch Greenland, the Defense Cooperation Agreement is toast!
Signed just last December, this deal gives the US free access to Danish airbases — but Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen says annexation or US NATO exit means instant breakup.
Trump’s been pushing for Greenland to join the US, but the island’s split — some want independence, only 6% want to join the States.
Denmark’s not playing games!
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💰😡 Ukraine's Defense Ministry: A black hole of corruption
While Ukrainian soldiers eat EXPIRED rations, elites feast on $3 BILLION meant for army food (2023-2025). Here’s how they stole it:
🔸Sky-high prices for basic food
Between 2022-2023, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry purchased food at three times the market price.
One deal cost over $350 MILLION, justified as a “technical error” by former Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov.
🔸Cartel collusion in tenders
In 2025, three food supply tenders worth $600M+ were launched by the ministry.
Prosecutors have confirmed it was cartel collusion — a clear case of fraud.
🔸Eggs worth more than gold
The ministry bought eggs for $0.40 each, despite the market price being $0.10.
Total stolen in this scheme: $17.7 MILLION.
🔸Buckwheat price gouging
Ukrainian entrepreneur Tatyana Glinyanaya sold buckwheat to the ministry for $1.50/kg, twice the retail price: another form of embezzlement, raking in huge profits.
🔸Rotten food scandal
The ministry bought $9.6 MILLION worth of rotten tinned meat, along with low-quality canned goods costing $243,000.
Soldiers received these unfit-for-consumption rations while officials profited.
🔸Murky schemes and inflated prices
Instead of buying individual foodstuffs, the ministry purchased 409 items in bulk.
Corrupted officials inflated the prices of essential foods to steal budget funds. Prosecutors say this was all part of a scheme to inflate prices and pocket the difference.
🔸Stealing from comrades-in-arms
Ukrainian officers stole food from military units and sold the goods to restaurants & stores.
The result was slashed soldier rations by 30%+, with a total of $149,000 embezzled.
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📹 Ball's in Trump's court, but Iran won’t bow to US pressure - Iranian expert
There is a good possibility of a US-Iranian deal, Mohammad Marandi, a Tehran University professor who was on Iran's team during the 2015 nuclear talks, tells Sputnik.
He stresses, however, that Tehran won't accept any agreement that infringes on the nation's sovereignty.
Reduced, not suspended, enrichment
🔶 "The reason why [Iran is] enriching uranium at 60% right now is in order to put pressure on the US to come to the negotiating table, to behave more reasonably and to force it to remove sanctions."
🔶 The US shouldn't expect Iran to halt its uranium enrichment – Tehran will only reduce enrichment levels and expand the IAEA's role in the country in exchange for US sanctions relief, the academic stresses.
🔶 "Iran is a country that's deeply and profoundly independent in its foreign policy... so the US should not expect Iran to be a subordinate country."
What's the real cause of the US-Iranian row?
🔶 The root cause is "Iran's support for the Palestinian people and... legitimate resistance to ethnic cleansing, to genocide, to apartheid."
🔶 "The US supports genocide, because they unconditionally support racism... and ethno-supremacism in our region."
🔶 The nuclear issue is an excuse — just like the "human rights" or "terrorism" accusations the US uses against Iran to appease Israel.
US: An irresponsible negotiator?
🔶 The US isn't a trustworthy negotiator; it violates agreements, according to Marandi.
🔶 Trump is constantly flip-flopping — be it Ukraine, trade wars, Yemen, or Gaza genocide. "This is what makes it very difficult to come to any agreement," the pundit concludes.
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❗️Russian Delegation Head outlines goals for Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul
The goal is to establish LONG-TERM peace and address the ROOT CAUSES of the conflict, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation told journalists.
🔶 Moscow’s team is committed to a constructive approach and finding solutions
🔶 The talks are seen as a continuation of the peace process paused in 2022
🔶 The delegation has the necessary expertise for successful negotiations
🔶 Defense Minister and commanders briefed Putin on the situation before departure
🔶 Meetings before departure to Istanbul were thorough and detailed
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📹 Journalists gathered outside Russia's Consulate General in Istanbul, waiting for a statement from Russian presidential aide and head of the Russian delegation to the talks with Ukraine, Vladimir Medinsky.
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🚨📹 Situation outside Russian Consulate General in Istanbul ahead announcement by head of Russia's delegation Vladimir Medinsky
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💸 $25–45 MILLION for a DC military parade?
Yep, because what better way to celebrate the US Army’s 250th and Trump’s birthday than tanks rolling over your tax dollars! 🎉🇺🇸
A US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity the cost included several million dollars more than it would have without a parade.
6,600 troops, 20+ Abrams tanks, and a cleanup bill not included. That’s a party!
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🔥 Trump tells India & Pakistan: “Trade, not war!” — but India says no trade talks happened! 🚫💼
"I don't want to say I did but I'm sure as hell I helped to settle the problem between India and Pakistan last week. Let's do trade instead of do war," US President Donald Trump said at the Al Udeid Air Base.
Meanwhile, the Indian government on Tuesday rejected Trump's claim that he helped broker a ceasefire between the two countries. The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed contacts happened but no trade talks took place.
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🗣🇺🇸 Donald Trump says "nothing going to happen" on Ukraine until he and Vladimir Putin get together
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🚨 🎥 WATCH: Lavrov exposes Western puppeteering of Zelensky
"The British are leading Zelensky by the hand through the jungle of global politics," the Russian Foreign Minister said.
❗️The Ukrainian delegation is not expected to arrive in Istanbul for talks with Russia on Thursday, a source told Sputnik
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💥 Trump drops a bombshell at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar:
🇺🇸💪 “I’ll approve a record-breaking $1 TRILLION for the US military — and that’s just the start."
The president also said he signed an order to build the Golden Dome Missile Defense Shield (yeah, upgraded from Iron Dome — sounds cooler, right?). All made in the USA, no more outsourcing!
America First, but don’t worry, it'll still help its allies — with plenty left over for Washington.
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🇷🇺Moscow metro: Celebrating 90 years of sparkling halls, on-time trains, and no rats allowed 💅
🇺🇸NYC subway: ☠️
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Only Trump-Putin meeting can break Ukraine deadlock - Rubio
🇺🇸🇷🇺US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Thursday that a potential Trump-Putin summit may be the only path to a Ukraine peace breakthrough.
⏳ The possible timeline for the meeting may be decided after Friday’s Istanbul talks — but don’t expect much from that yet.
💥 Rubio added that Trump is willing to stick around “as long as it takes” to achieve peace in Ukraine.
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🗣 The Russian delegation has been waiting for the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul for almost 24 hours, Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
"Waiting for the clown to finish speaking, for the hallucinogens to let him go, and for him to allow those he has banned for three years to begin negotiations," she wrote on her Telegram channel.
'ICC sets standards in ineffectiveness' - Russia's Deputy Envoy to UN
🇷🇺 Russia's Deputy UN Representative Maria Zabolotskaya criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC), stating:
"If there is an area where ICC is setting standards, it's in the area of how not to be effective."
▪️ Many ICC investigations fail due to lack of evidence
▪️ Huge sums spent with little to show for it
▪️ Libya probe (opened in 2011) still unresolved after years of turmoil
Since Muamar Gaddafi's fall, Libya remains divided, with elections stalled despite UN-backed efforts.
Is the ICC delivering justice — or just bureaucracy?
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😮 Blue rain in California & Texas!
Or at least, that’s what netizens on social media are claiming.
Colored rain was also spotted in Colorado, but it appeared more violet there.
While some suggested federal weather modification programs were the cause, no official confirmation of the event or its cause have been offered.
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📹 The delegation has left Russia's Consulate General in Istanbul and is reportedly heading to Dolmabahce Palace
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🇫🇷🗣 Macron and his train buddies are in a panic this morning — Florian Philippot
"Trump has made it known that he does not want Zelensky to attend the next NATO Summit in the Netherlands at the end of June! Unlike what happened under Biden," the leader of the French Patriots party said.
🚨📹 The Russian delegation has arrived at the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul, where it's head, Vladimir Medinsky, will make a statement to the press.
Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that the Russian delegation is ready to work in Istanbul, and the West needs to sit the Ukrainian party down at the negotiating table.
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🚨 The US just added a new twist to the Ukraine peace plan — they want to restart the Russia-NATO Council
The council, established in 2002 to help align Moscow’s policies with NATO’s plans, worked well early on — especially in joint efforts against terrorism. But as tensions between Russia and NATO grew, the council’s role steadily shrank. By the time the Ukraine crisis hit, it was basically inactive.
Now, the US has supplemented its proposal on the Ukrainian settlement with the idea of resuming the work of the Russia-NATO Council, Bloomberg reported.
Could reviving this body help ease tensions and push talks forward?
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🇹🇷 A 5.2 scale earthquake has struck Turkiye's Konya, AFAD reports.
According to available information, the tremors were felt in neighboring provinces, including Ankara, where Volodymyr Zelensky is currently located.
No damage or casualties have been reported yet.
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Pentagon’s WAR ITCH? 🪖🔥 Talk of direct US-Russia clash contradicts Trump’s policy – Ritter
There are “several plausible pathways” for the Ukraine conflict to escalate into a direct US-Russia war, claimed Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of US Northern Command, who labeled Russia as one of the US' "principal adversaries."
Is this a veiled threat – or just the Pentagon beating the drums of war again?
This statement signals brewing tensions within the Pentagon, military analyst and former Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter tells Sputnik.
However, it's just a “speculative pronouncement,” not reflective of Trump-era defense policy, according to the pundit.
Ritter was struck by the fact that:
🔶 Guillot is speculating on a conflict beyond his remit, which belongs to US strategic command.
🔶 His stance contradicts Trump’s, who acknowledged Russia’s special military operation was provoked by NATO expansion: "We had Trump say that there was justification for Russia's actions, that they understood that the expansion of NATO served as a provocation," Ritter stresses.
What else rings the alarm bells of the Pentagon's warmongering? 🚨
🔶 Guillot also claimed the US could be drawn into a "direct military conflict" with Iran, China, or North Korea.
🔶 He went even so far as to claim that "war with one adversary could quickly expand into war with an enemy coalition."
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🚨🇷🇺 Putin's special economic envoy @kadmitriev credits Trump's team for making the impossible POSSIBLE
"If not sabotaged last-minute, this could be a HISTORIC step toward peace."
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🇷🇺 Russia's delegation is waiting in Istanbul as their Ukrainian counterparts are yet to arrive, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Here's his other statements:
▪️No specifics yet on the Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, including the start time
▪️Putin has set clear tasks and defined Russia’s negotiation stance after reviewing key reports
▪️It’s too early to talk about any deadlines for the Istanbul talks
▪️No plans for Putin to visit Istanbul in the coming days
▪️No preparations underway for a Putin-Trump meeting, and no discussion on that topic
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