Majority of Russians Support Reunification With Crimea, Poll Shows

The majority of Russians (86%) believe that the 2014 decision to incorporate the Crimean Peninsula into Russia was correct, and 56% of those surveyed feel proud of the reunification, a poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center has shown.

Crimea became part of independent Ukraine after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but was incorporated into Russia nine years ago after a referendum on March 16, 2014.

Before the inhabitants of the Crimean Peninsula had attempted to hold an independence referendum for several times, however, that was deemed illicit.

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🇨🇬 🇷🇺 Russia's multinational energy corporation, PJSC Lukoil Oil Company, is in talks with the Republic of Congo about cooperating in new oil projects as an operator, said Ivan Romanovsky, Luckoil's vice-president for America, Africa and the Middle East, after a meeting with the Congolese Minister of Hydrocarbons Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua

▪️ Romanovsky said that Lukoil is working in Congo at the Marine XII project operated by Italian business. He added that this project is very important for Lukoil.

🗣 "Lukoil is focused on development in the Republic of Congo. First, we are interested in projects where Lukoil could act as an operator. We have discussed such opportunities," he said.

▪️ At present, Lukoil's sole involvement in the Republic of Congo is as a participant in the Marine XII oil and gas project. The Russian company bought 25 percent of the project from British company New Age M12 Holdings Limited in 2019. Italian Eni (project operator, with 65 percent) and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Congo (10 percent) are the other participants in the project

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❗️Former US President Donald Trump claims he will be arrested and calls for protests in a Truth Social post

The "illegal leaks" referred to by Trump relate to reports that Trump could face a grand jury indictment over the hush money allegedly paid to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Trump has vocally denied any wrongdoing, saying he never slept with "Horseface Daniels," and has accused Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg of going after him instead of taking on violent crime in New York City.

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❗️Twitter CEO Elon Musk says that if Trump is arrested, he will be re-elected in a landslide victory

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📹 Vladimir Putin arrived in Sevastopol driving the car himself, the region’s acting Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev

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At Least 186 US Banks At 'Potential Risk of a Run' Similar to SVB, Economists Warn

A team of economists has analyzed US banks' asset exposure as the central banking system raised interest rates, assessing their asset books, market value losses, and funding percentages. They found that US Treasury notes and mortgage loans were vulnerable to value decreases when new bonds offered higher rates.

The team concluded that almost 190 banks could face potential risk of impairment to insured depositors if half of the uninsured depositors were to withdraw their funds swiftly, potentially resulting in $300 billion in insured deposits facing losses.

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#USInvasionofIraq20🇮🇶 Alexander Minakov, who is believed to be the first journalist in the world to report the beginning of the US invasion of Iraq, was in Baghdad on the morning of March 20, 2003. As American bombs began to pound the Iraqi capital, he found himself at the center of the massive blitz

💬 "I opened my eyes and heard a distant rumbling, like an airplane. Nothing like that had been heard in Baghdad lately, and I knew immediately that it was no accident."

Read the full interview here

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

▪️ In the Kupyansk direction, Russian artillery destroyed up to 60 Ukrainian servicemen and three motor vehicles in the Kharkov region and LPR;

▪️In Krasny Liman direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to over 100 troops, two armored fighting vehicles and one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Russian forces eliminated up to 120 Ukrainian servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, two Uragan MLRS vehicles and one D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, Russian troops eliminated up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen and two pick-up trucks;

▪️In the Kherson direction, the Russian Army destroyed over 25 Ukrainian servicemen, four motor vehicles, and two D-30 howitzers;

▪️Russian Forces eliminated a Ukrainian command post in the Donetsk People's Republic;

▪️Russian air defense systems intercepted 15 HIMARS, Smerch, and Uragan missiles in DPR.

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#USInvasionofIraq20🇮🇶 Minakov explains how he sought to leave the city as part of a Russian diplomatic convoy on April 6, but the convoy came under fire - presumably by US troops. He calls that day "his second birthday," after he survived the shelling.

💬 "Within seconds, there wasn't a single piece of glass left in
the car. It felt like the bullets were flying between all of us."

Read the full interview here