How many foreign mercenaries are fighting on Ukraine's side?

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense's data published on 17 June, since the beginning of the special military operation, 6,956 foreign mercenaries have arrived in Ukraine.

The eyewitnesses also say that there are many mercenaries from Poland, US, and the UK. For example, Andrei, who lives in Lisichansk (the last city of the LPR cleared of Ukrainian troops before the full liberation of the republic), says "there was a whole city full of them".

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🎥Russian servicemen provide first aid to a Ukrainian soldier who blew himself up on his own PFM-1 mine (the use of which is prohibited by the Ottawa Treaty) while retreating, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

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🇦🇹Ex-Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said she is “not giving interviews” and has emigrated from Austria because of “death threats”, The Washington Post reports, citing WhatsApp text messages from Kneissl.

‘No new oil’: Just Stop Oil activists have glued themselves to a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper in London's Royal Academy of Arts. Here's what the activists said:

“The future of this planet is facing its last supper in many regards.”

“Any more oil production or new oil infrastructure projects are going to tip us over the edge possibly to 2 degrees of warming."

"We have no time left, to say that we do is a lie."

Police have been called to the scene.

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🇺🇸Jenn Mason, a school board director in Bellingham, Washington state, has announced she will teach sex education classes to children aged 9 and over on topics such as "sexual anatomy for pleasure" and "safer sex practices for all kinds of sexual activities." The sex education classes are expected to be held at a sex shop called WinkWink, which is owned by... Mason herself.

Mason announced that there will be several sex education classes next month as part of an event called the "Uncringe Academy."

So, cringe or uncringe?

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Police: Highland Park gunman wore women's clothing during shooting spree to blend into fleeing crowd

Police: July 4 parade gunman planned the attack for weeks

'Awake the Rapper’: It turns out that the Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooter, who killed six people and injured 24, was a rather strange "artist".

⚡⚡UK Cabinet Minister Sajid Javid steps down in protest at Boris Johnson's leadership

Javid has submitted a letter to Boris Johnson explaining his resignation

⚡⚡Rishi Sunak has quit the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Exchequer

‘There is no place in this government for anybody who is a predator or who abuses their position of power’: Boris Johnson has apologized for appointing Chris Pincher deputy chief whip, who recently resigned from his post following an incident during a drunken night out

❗Georgia prosecutor seeks to compel testimony of Rudy Giuliani, Lindsey Graham, other Trump allies in 2020 election probe

🇺🇲🇲🇽‘Invasion’ of the US

Authorities in several counties in the state of Texas are preparing to declare the crisis at the border with Mexico an "invasion”, Fox News reports, citing local officials.

Article I of the US Constitution allows states to "engage in war" when the states are "actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay" without the approval of Congress. They also note that Article IV says the US "shall protect each [state] against invasion."

The invasion declaration may put pressure on the governors of Texas and Arizona to act on the matter.

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💭‘They recognize that she does not represent them’: Republican politician explains the likely reason why Ilhan Omar was booed at a concert

Russian MoD delivers briefing on Ukraine op:

▪Ukrainian militants and nationalist groups are preparing a provocation with the use of toxic substances in Nikolaevka, the Donetsk People's Republic.

▪Ukrainian neo-Nazis have brought tanks with liquid chlorine (over six thousand liters) to the pumping and filtration stations of the Slavyansk TPP, which they mined and plan to blow up when Russian troops and formations of the Donetsk People's Republic approach.

"We warn the 'civilized West' in advance of an impending provocation, where Ukrainian authorities will once again accuse the Russian military of indiscriminate strikes on chemically hazardous facilities," the MoD said, adding that the "fabricated material" will be widely spread in the Ukrainian and Western media.

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😰🚨At least three people died this Monday and seven others were injured as a result of a shooting at a neighborhood party in Gary, Indiana, as part of the celebrations for Independence Day in the United States.

Local media reported that two men, 25 and 27, along with a 20-year-old girl were killed. The condition of the injured is unknown.

“The victims of the shooting were taken to hospitals in the area, by ambulance, and in private cars. Due to the shocking nature of the scene, mutual assistance was requested from surrounding law enforcement agencies," Gary Police said in a statement.

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⚡️”In 2019, Police confiscated numerous knives and a sword from the Highland Park Parade shooter after he told a family member he was going to “kill everyone” but no further action was taken”, police say.

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⚡️🌪🌨A tornado was confirmed around 5:30 p.m. near Bowie, Maryland with a report of damage and injuries.

The National Weather Service reported damage to structures and injuries near Annapolis Road and Superior Lane in Bowie.

The rotating storm that produced the tornado pushed through central and southern Anne Arundel County, south of Annapolis, Maryland's state capitol.

Showers and storms are possible this evening and overnight. Some brief heavy rain and lightning may occur. With high humidity increasingly entrenched, temperatures won’t dip much. Lows will range across the 70s, between 72 and 78 in most spots, according to The Washington Post and The National Weather Service.

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🗳🔎The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a suit against the state of Arizona Tuesday seeking to strike down its new law requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship.

“Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections,” Clarke said, according to a press release in which she called the proof-of-citizenship requirement "onerous."

The Arizona law, which would not go into effect until next year, could force voters to provide documentation proving citizenship, such as a driver’s license, passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers, in order to participate in federal elections.

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