⚡️The US has resumed the construction of biological laboratories in Ukraine and is expanding the format of training Ukrainian biologists, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian armed forces, said

❗️ Russian MoD’s latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️ Russia’s military aircraft and artillery have engaged the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kharkov region. During the day, up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen, two motor vehicles, and one D-30 howitzers have been eliminated.

▪️ Russia’s ground-attack aircraft, artillery and units have inflicted a fire damage on enemy manpower and military hardware in the DPR. Over 50 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, one pick-up truck, one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and one D-30 howitzrt were eliminated.

▪️ Russian artillery have eliminated up to 260 Ukrainian troops, three tanks, one infantry fighting vehicle, three armoured fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, Msta-B and D-20 howitzers in the DPR.

▪️ In South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, Russia’s aviation and artillery inflicted a fire damage on the Ukrainian units in the DPR. The enemy's losses have amounted to over 20 Ukrainian troops, two pick-up trucks, and one D-20 howitzer in this region during the day.

▪️ The Operational-Tactical and Army aircraft, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Russia have neutralized 86 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions, enemy manpower and hardware in 102 areas.

▪️ Two ammunition depots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been wiped out in the DPR and the LPR.

▪️ Russian air defence forces have intercepted two HIMARS MLRS shells during the day.

▪️ Some 406 airplanes and 228 helicopters, 3,695 unmanned aerial vehicles, 415 air defence missile systems, 8,563 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,078 combat vehicles equipped with MRLS, 4,525 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 9,334 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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🇫🇷🗣 The French people did not choose to sanction Russia at the cost of soaring prices and inflation at home

▪️ Thierry Paul Valette, the leader of the Yellow Vest movement's political arm, argues that imposing sanctions against Moscow was not a fully sovereign decision of the French government, with French President Emmanuel Macron having made that step at the instructions of Brussels.

▪️ Among the consequences of Russia sanctions in France, the Yellow Vests leader listed energy insecurity, price hikes and logistical disruptions.

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📹 Former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano debunks the myth of ‘American freedom’ in an interview with Sputnik

Full interview

Ted Rall, political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss French President Macron's meeting with China's President Xi in Beijing and the French president’s alleged will to stop the conflict in Ukraine

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

Russia More Reliable Defense Partner Than US: IAF and Navy Veterans

🇷🇺🇮🇳According to them, the Indian Army, IAF, and the Navy have a deep-seated trust in Russian weapons systems and are more comfortable and confident about the arms and ammunition procured from Russia than acquired from Western nations, including Washington.

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Russian MoD gives new names of participants in military biological programs from the US

💬 "Today we are adding to the list of persons involved in the biological research of the Pentagon. Among them is Eliot J. Pearlman, head of the NGO 'International HIV/AIDS and TB Institute' in Kiev, who was directly involved in the creation of a laboratory base for the implementation of military biological research on the territory of Ukraine," Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, a Russian senior military official, said.

The official also named Greg Glass, a professor in the Department of Geography and the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida, who was studying the spread of the pathogen tularemia in Ukraine. He was involved in the implementation of the UP-8 project (Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever and orthohantavirus in Ukraine).

Another professor, Andrew Pekosz, was also involved as one of the leading consultants in the UP-2 project (application of geoinformation systems, remote monitoring and laboratory diagnostics for the detection of tularemia and anthrax diseases in humans and animals in Ukraine), according to Kirillov.

The official added that many defendants in the military biological programs left Ukraine, and the US is urgently looking for them to prevent leaks.

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⚡️ France should submit its settlement plan on Ukraine, China will support it, says Xi Jinping

🇷🇺🇻🇪 Trade shipping route between Russia and Venezuela will start operating soon

💬 "We want to [launch the corridor] in the nearest future. On March 15 we had a video conference with all the village councils of Latin America. They are not bureaucrats and they want to work and cooperate, they have already given plans of what they need. Russian Agricultural Bank has already joined this project," Frolenko said.

Frolenko listed three options of the routes from Russia as Sevastopol, Saint Petersburg and Novorossiysk. The transport corridor will go to Puerto Cabello in Venezuela.

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📹 Aftermath of Ukrainian shelling of the center of Donetsk

At least one dead and 16 injured, according to the local authorities

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Meet Dr. Seema Rao, India's Only Female Combat Trainer

🇮🇳🥊 "A woman is as strong as a man if trained adequately, and she's as capable as a man," the 54-year-old said.

👉READ FULL STORY HERE

⚡️Biden extends national emergency related to Russia sanctions over Ukraine for another year

Russia and IAEA outline measures to improve interaction at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

💬 “The consultations held in Kaliningrad on April 5 between the IAEA Director General [Rafael Grossi] and the Russian interdepartmental delegation headed by Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev were very constructive and business-like. Measures for possible improvement of interaction at ZNPP are planned for further study, where three experts of the Agency are permanently located,” Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told Sputnik.

ZNPP was liberated by Russian forces in March 2022. Since that moment on it is persistently shelled by Kiev regime. Moscow has repeatedly stated that such attacks should be considered as acts of nuclear terrorism.

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China's Saudi-Iran Deal Indicates US No Longer Pulling Mideast Strings

"Iran has been trying to reestablish relations with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states for a number of years, as made evident in President Rouhani’s 2019 proposal called the Hormuz Peace Endeavor, or HOPE," Mehran Kamrava, professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Sputnik.

As per Kamrava, a few factors are at play here: first, the Iranians may help the Saudis to settle their longstanding conflict with the Houthis in Yemen; second, Saudi Arabia has realized that Iran is "a permanent neighbor, whereas the United States is an impermanent friend."

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