☦️ The Ukrainian Orthodox Church published a video in which a believer is on her knees praying surrounded by a crowd of rabble-rousers at the entrance to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

Earlier on Friday, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky, said that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church must be "physically cleansed" as it is a "pro-Russian" force.

💬 "I think that the first three-six months of the war were a unique chance to resolve everything in a very fast and painless manner. Then you could just physically cleanse many pro-Russian [forces], now it is a bit more difficult. But once again 'a bit more difficult' does not mean 'impossible.' And now we have to be legally motivated and quite harshly go through this path," Podolyak told Ukrainian media.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🇧🇾 Vladimir Putin sent Alexander Lukashenko congratulations on the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Russia and Belarus

💬 "Dear Alexander Grigoryevich, accept our warmest congratulations on the occasion of the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Russia and Belarus ... Despite the unprecedented sanctions pressure from outside, we are effectively coordinating efforts in the international arena, in the sphere of defense and security, and successfully implementing programs aimed at strengthening financial and economic, and scientific and technological sovereignty," Putin said.

The Russian leader also noted that Russia and Belarus were systematically expanding mutually beneficial cooperation, vigorously improving the mechanisms of the Union State. Putin said that he was confident the partnership between the fraternal peoples would only grow in the future.

The Russian president also wished Lukashenko good health and success, and the citizens of Belarus happiness and prosperity.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇳🚀 WATCH: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully conducted the air-drop landing experiment of the space agency's reusable launch vehicle prototype.

The experiment was performed in the early hours of Sunday at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka.

Subscribe to @sputniknewsindia to keep up to date

🇰🇵 Kim Jong-un's sister blasted the Zelensky regime for exhibiting "incurable megalomania" by believing that they could defeat Russia

Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, and sister of the DPRK's head of state Kim Jong-un, has railed against the junta in Kiev over its nuclear ambitions.

Earlier this week, a petition calling for the placement of US nuclear weapons in Ukraine or for the Kiev regime to acquire its own nukes was registered on the website of the Ukrainian president’s office.

💬 "Zelensky's talk about the introduction of US nuclear weapons and the independent development of nuclear weapons is a manifestation of his very dangerous political ambition to prolong his remaining days at any cost by gambling with the destiny of his country and people," Kim Yo-jong said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Disney Plies Legal Loophole Linked to King Charles III to Dodge DeSantis' Self-Governance Crackdown

The Republican Governor and Disney have been feuding since he signed the "Parents Rights in Education" bill in March 2022. The legislation, branded "Don’t Say Gay" by its opponents, effectively bans all discussion of sexual or gender identity in grades pre-K to the third grade (approximately age 8). Disney had publicly opposed the 2022 bill and moved to halt political donations to the GOP in Florida.

Read more

▪️The number of people killed in tornadoes and severe winds that swept across several parts of the United States has increased to 26, while dozens others sustained injuries, US media reported.

About 140,000 people remain without power in Pennsylvania as a result of tornadoes, nearly 82,000 in Ohio and over 65,000 in Virginia, according to data from the PowerOutage.us portal.

Media reported on Saturday that a tornado hit Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas and the state's most populated city, severely damaging and destroying many houses. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and deployed the National Guard, pledging to spare no effort to restore the state.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso deported correspondents from French dailies

▪️The two women from France's Le Monde and Liberation newspapers arrived in Paris on Sunday after being expelled, according to the media.

▪️Earlier, Burkina Faso's military government halted all broadcasts by the France 24 news channel after it interviewed the head of al-Qaeda* in North Africa

*a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other countries

Subscribe to @sputnik_africa

Trump's Lawyers May Seek to Move NY Criminal Case to Staten Island in Hopes of 'Less Biased' Jury

Trump's lawyers, along with his advisers and allies, believe that the southernmost of New York City's five boroughs - which is known to be more conservative - might offer Trump a fairer, less biased trial, according to sources cited by a US publication.

However, Trump’s lawyers will purportedly hold off from any definite decisions on attempting to relocate the case until familiarizing themselves with the charges in the sealed indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Read more

UK Gov't 'in Negotiations' Over Three Britons Held by Taliban* in Afghanistan, Home Secretary Says

Britain does not have an embassy or consulate in Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August of 2021, triggering the collapse of the Western-backed puppet government.

The US and NATO ended a speedy and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, culminating in a massive airlift of foreigners and Afghans eligible for evacuation from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The Taliban has since governed the country.

Read more

* under UN sanctions over terrorist activities

🇷🇺🐻 A bear named "Rozochka" (which means 'rose'🌹) was spotted in Moscow zoo eating an extremely appetizing sweet pumpkin, peering around suspiciously, worried that there might be someone hoping to purloin a portion of her treat.

Just look at those eyes full of charm!

Subscribe to @sputniknewsindia

🇨🇳🇯🇵 China will deal with the Japanese national, detained on suspicion of espionage, in accordance with the law, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Sunday during talks with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Beijing.

The Japanese foreign minister embarked on a two-day state visit to Beijing on Saturday to mark the 45th anniversary of the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty. This is the first trip by a head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry to China since December 2019.

Japanese state media reported earlier in the day that Hayashi lodged a strong protest over China's detention of a senior employee of Japanese pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma in Beijing last week, and called for his quick release.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran Navy has issued a warning to a US reconnaissance aircraft for entering Iranian airspace without permission. It's unclear so far as to when the incident occurred, but the Iranian Navy's commanders responded immediately by sending a warning to prevent the aircraft from entering the country's airspace without authorization. The aircraft in question was a Lockheed EP-3E, which is responsible for collecting information and data.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

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

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 210 servicemen;

▪️Russian air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles

▪️Russian troops destroyed a command post and communications unit of the Ukrainian Army;

▪️Russian forces destroyed up to 30 Ukrainian troops, two motor vehicles, three armored fighting vehicles, and one D-30 howitzer in the Kupyansk direction;

▪️Russian troops destroyed two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the DPR and Zaporozhye direction;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, Ukrainian losses amounted to over 40 troops and two howitzers;

▪️Russian forces destroyed three Turkish-made Kirpi armored personnel carriers in the Donetsk direction;

▪️Russian troops in the LPR and the Kharkov region suppressed six Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups;

▪️Russian troops hit two Ukrainian command and observation points;

▪️In the Krasny Liman direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 100 Ukrainian troops and eight pieces of equipment.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

As Russia Creates New Radar-Absorbing Material, Who are the World Leaders in Stealth Tech?

Experiments in the use of special radar-absorbing materials and aerodynamic designs to provide combat aircraft with stealth characteristics go back to the Second World War.

How are such aircraft defined? What are their advantages and drawbacks? And who is leading the charge in the development of next-gen stealth?

Sputnik explores

⚡️ US Secretary of State Blinken has called Lavrov

🇷🇺 🇺🇸 The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that the top diplomats discussed the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia earlier this week on espionage charges.

☎️ During the phone call, Lavrov told Blinken that the WSJ journalist attempted to gather information classified as a state secret. The Russian foreign minister stressed the need to respect the decisions made by the Russian authorities, adding that the reporter's fate will be decided by court.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️ Donald Trump to deliver remarks at Mar-a-Lago in Palm beach, Florida on Tuesday

🇺🇸 At least three people were killed in a shooting at a bar in Oklahoma City in the United States, while another three were injured, US media reported on Sunday.
Police officers arrived at the Whiskey Barrel Saloon on Saturday evening and found three dead bodies inside the bar, media reported. The Oklahoma City Police said that three other people had been taken to a hospital, with one of the injured being in a critical condition, the report said.

"We are working a significant incident with large law enforcement presence in the 4100-block of Newcastle Road. The scene is just west of S. Portland Avenue. Please avoid the area as investigators will be on scene for some time," the Oklahoma City Police tweeted.

Yet, there has been no information about the perpetrators and causes of the incident.

⚡️Russian war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky killed in blast at St. Petersburg cafe