❗️Key takeaways from Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to a factory in Tula, Russia, where he spoke to workers of the enterprise:

▪️Exports of Russian agricultural products have recently increased significantly;

▪️Russian agricultural products are of a much better quality than those from the West;

▪️It is necessary to strive for 100% localization of production in critical areas in Russia;

▪️Current support measures to the national automobile industry are enough to multiply the volume of car production.

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❗️ Latest statements by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu:

▪️NATO is intensifying its activity near the borders of Russia and Belarus;

▪️NATO is strengthening its anti-Russian stance, leading to an escalation of the conflict;

▪️ 200 contracts have been signed for the construction and modernization of aviation equipment;

▪️The electronic format has helped ensure the efficiency of connoscription for military service in Russia;

▪️The actions of the US and NATO create risks of expanding the conflict in Ukraine;

▪️Belarus has received the Iskander missile system, which is capable of using nuclear missiles;

▪️Since the beginning of the year, 59 M-777 howitzers, 13 Paladin self-propelled guns, and 14 HIMARS have been destroyed in Ukraine;

▪️The Russian armed forces have disrupted the production of a number of Ukrainian weapons, as well as the transfer of ammunition and fuel to the front, with high-precision strikes.

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❗️Latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

▪️NATO is a structure hostile to Russia, so the accession of new countries will affect the bilateral relations of the Russian Federation with these states;

▪️Finland’s accession to NATO is another aggravation of the situation, and Moscow considers the expansion of the alliance as an infringement on the security of Russia;

▪️The expansion of NATO forces Russia to take countermeasures to ensure its own security;

▪️The situation with Finland's accession to NATO is fundamentally different from the Ukraine crisis, as this country has never been anti-Russia, and there have been no disputes with it;

▪️The second part of the Black Sea grain deal, which requires the West to ease restrictions on Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports, has not yet been realized;

▪️On the possibility of resuming deliveries from the Nord Stream: Deliveries will be resumed when there are buyers.

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🇷🇺 Putin has shared his impressions after visiting the Tula Heavy Duty Machinery Plant.

“A lot has been done in terms of modernization. The effect is colossal,” he said.

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According to Putin, the export of agricultural products from Russia has grown exponentially.

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Australia Says US’ Tech Edge Against PRC ‘Totally Gone’ in Some Areas, Urges AUKUS to Pool Resources

The chief of Australian intelligence has warned of America's declining technological edge vis-a-vis China.

💬 “We are seeing our longstanding technological edge start to erode, and in some cases that edge is totally gone,” Andrew Shearer, the director-general of Australia’s Office of National Intelligence, said.

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Catch our Fault Lines show, where we provide updates and analysis on all the most vital stories! Here's our line-up for today:

🔺To kick things off, we’ll be discussing the increase of oil prices after the OPEC+ decision to cut output
🔺Next, we’ll cover the Trump indictment
🔺Finally, we’ll speak about Finland's accession to NATO and Speaker McCarthy's meeting with the President of Taiwan

More trending stories coming your way! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 7am EST|4am PST|1pm CET via the website or app!

📻Also in the United States at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

📹 Activists held a rally near the US Embassy in Moscow on the day of NATO's founding (the alliance is 74 years old today).

Among the slogans were: "Stop NATO," "NATO, you're killing old people and children," and "We don't need NATO."

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🇷🇺🇫🇮 The border between NATO and Russia will almost be doubled following Finland's accession to the bloc

Moscow has vowed to increase its military potential in the western and north-western directions in response to the accession.

Finland and Sweden applied to become NATO members in May 2022, abandoning decades of neutrality.

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

▪️ In the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 30 Ukrainian troops, two armored fighting vehicles, one motor vehicle, and one D-20 howitzer;

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 225 troops, three armored fighting vehicles, one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, and one D-30 howitzer in the Krasny Liman direction;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, the Russian Army destroyed more than 65 Ukrainian troops, four armored fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and one D-30 howitzer during the day.

▪️Ukrainian losses in these directions during the day amounted to 70 servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, and one D-20 howitzer in the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Russian troops neutralized up to 10 Ukrainian servicemen, two motor vehicles, and two D-30 howitzers;

▪️The Russian Army destroyed four AFU artillery ordnance depots in the Kharkov region, Donetsk People's Republic, and Kherson region;

▪️Three HIMARS and three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down in the DPR and in Kherson region.

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EXCLUSIVE: How Can India, Russia Achieve Technological Sovereignty?

💭 On the sidelines of the Russia-India Business Forum in Delhi, Sputnik reached out to Valentin Makarov, president of St. Petersburg-based RUSSOFT, who spoke about the impact of Western sanctions on the Russian IT sector, the new technological order, and the possibility of India and Russia attaining tech sovereignty.

💡"We have seven billion people on one side and one billion on the other side, both dependent on the dollar-based financial system. If we are able to create these agreements for the implementation of technologies, we will win — but if not, then one billion people will say that "we are better, so forget about your independence, accept our technologies and enjoy colonialism," Makarov told Sputnik.

Tap to read full interview

🇫🇮 Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Tuesday handed over the document on the country's accession to NATO, making it the 31 member of the alliance.

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🇺🇬🌍 Africa should "provide the lead" to save the world from homosexuality, Ugandan President urges

🗣 "Africa should provide the lead to save the world from this degeneration and decadence, which is really very dangerous for humanity. If people of opposing sexes stop appreciating one another then how will the human race be propagated?" Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan President said.

▪️Museveni complimented Ugandan parliamentarians for passing a law against homosexuality and vowed "never to allow the promotion and publicization of homosexuality in Uganda," stressing that "it will never be tolerated".

▪️His comments came after a two-day inter-parliamentary conference hosted at the State House in the central Ugandan city of Entebbe on "Family Values and Sovereignty" which was attended by members of parliament and delegates from 22 African countries

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