⚡️ Russia will strengthen its military capabilities in the western and northwestern directions in response to Finland’s accession to NATO, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said.

Moscow will take additional steps to ensure military security in the event of deployment of forces and assets of other NATO members in Finland, he added.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

South Korea, US, Japan Launch Joint Naval Drills Involving USS Carrier

South Korea, the United States, and Japan have launched joint naval exercises in response to recent missile launches by North Korea. The exercises, involving the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, focus on enhancing the ability to respond to underwater threats from North Korea, including ballistic missiles for submarines.

North Korea has complained about the exercises, warning the parties not to build up a military presence near the Korean peninsula and criticizing them for preparing for invasion.

Read more

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

▪️ In the Kupyansk direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 75 servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and a D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the Krasny Liman direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 50 servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, a pickup truck, and a D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Ukrainian losses during the day amounted to up to 285 servicemen, one tank, three infantry fighting vehicles, two armored personnel carriers, one armored combat vehicle, eight motor vehicles, two pickups, a Grad MLRS combat vehicle, four D-30 howitzers, as well as two ammunition depots;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, Ukrainian losses amounted to over 45 troops and two truck pickups, a D-30 howitzer, as well as one Polish-made Krab self-propelled howitzer;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 10 servicemen, two motor vehicles, and one Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer;

▪️Russian air defenses shot down 10 HIMARS and Smerch MLRS rockets.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️🇷🇺 Vladimir Putin has named the city of Kazan as the venue for the 2024 meeting of BRICS heads of state, according to the relevant decree published.

The decree also appoints Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov as the chairman of the organizing committee for the preparation and maintenance of Russia's chairmanship in BRICS.

A number of countries intend to join the economic bloc, including Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The next BRICS summit will take place on August 2023, in South Africa.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The United States need to be pushing for peace in Ukraine, not funding a proxy war with Russia, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said during an interview.

"We can't afford another foreign war," she said, pointing out that Ukraine was not a NATO member nation nor the 51st state of the US.

Last April, Russia sent a note of protest to NATO on account of its weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said that any such deliveries would be a legitimate aim of the Russian military and that the NATO are "playing with fire."

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

☦️ Throngs of Orthodox believers have gathered at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra for prayers on Monday amid growing pressure from authorities after the eviction of monks last week.

Monks placed an Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk outside the monastery. Police and ambulance personnel are present in the vicinity of the monastery.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️ The Russian Investigative Committee is now treating the murder of Vladlen Tatarsky as a terror attack. According to the committee, there's evidence that the attack was masterminded in Ukraine

🇺🇸 Trump has confirmed on social media that he will arrive in New York today to appear in court tomorrow morning, adding that the US should not have been this way.

Caleb Maupin, writer and political analyst, joined us to discuss the Biden administration’s second Summit for Democracy

🗣️”They talk about protecting the freedom of speech when we know what the US government was involved with when it comes to Twitter and suppressing freedom of speech and suppressing certain views there. The whole thing was just kind of a smattering of hypocrisy,” he stated

🎧Listen to more of Maupin’s analysis in our podcast Fault Lines

🇷🇺Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on Monday that it is proposed to introduce criminal liability for calls for the execution of decisions of international bodies, the activities of which are directed against Russia.

"We are talking about the introduction of a ban on public calls for the execution of their decisions and cooperation with them… These crimes should be punished with criminal liability. To this end, proposals are being prepared to introduce norms on punishment in the form of fines and imprisonment into the Russian Criminal Code," Volodin said.

Relevant committees of the State Duma are preparing amendments that will ban the activities of the International Criminal Court in Russia.

"The relevant committees of the State Duma are preparing amendments to the federal law 'On Security,' which will prohibit the activities of the International Criminal Court and other international bodies directed against Russia and its citizens on our territory," he said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Germans Savage Foul-Mouthed, Warmongering Ukrainian Official

Andriy Melnyk, former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, has faced criticism on Twitter for his angry and disrespectful comments in response to a letter from German politicians calling for dialogue to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

The diplomat told the authors of the initiative, including historian Peter Brandt, the son of former Chancellor Willy Brandt, to "go to hell," calling it "absurd" and stating that "all" Ukrainians reject such calls.

Read more

🇺🇸 Supporters of Donald J. Trump are rallying today on Southern Blvd near Mar-a-Lago and Palm Beach Airport as he heads to New York to face a perceived unjust investigation.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Jim Kavanagh, an editor at Thepolemicist.net, joined us to discuss Trump’s indictments, which could lead to a successful election campaign

🎧Listen to more of Kavanagh’s analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour