Hungary's Szijjarto says arms supplies to Kiev only prolong Ukraine conflict

Hungary has been the only country to oppose Europe's arms supplies to Kiev during a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, as the delivery prolongs the Ukraine conflict. Other EU member states have called to provide more weapons to the country, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting is taking place on Monday in Luxembourg.

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🇺🇳 Sergey Lavrov met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after the meeting of the Security Council

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Tu-214 aircraft with Russian equipment may be produced by late 2023

The Tupolev Tu-214 passenger aircraft equipped with domestically made equipment will be produced by the end of 2023, Alexander Voit, the head of the Ulyanovsk Instrument Manufacturing Design Bureau, part of Russian state-owned defense corporation Rostec, said on Monday.

"Now we [the Ulyanovsk Instrument Manufacturing Design Bureau] will participate in the project of adapting the on-board radio-electronic equipment for the Tu-214 aircraft. The first aircraft should be produced at the end of this year and then a contract for a large number of aircraft for Aeroflot will be signed," Voit told reporters.

He added that the pilot flight of the new Russian passenger aircraft SSJ (Sukhoi Superjet) New with domestically produced equipment will take place in May.

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🫠 Joe Biden: "We know that there's no, there's no such, there's, there's so much more to finish the job!"

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🇮🇳🇨🇳 The Indian and Chinese armies on Sunday held the first round of military-level border talks in 5 months, to ease tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) -- the de-facto border between the two nations.

Watch our video to learn more!

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🔺 First off, we’ll update you on the latest developments around Ukraine
🔺 Next, we discuss how many people and efforts it takes to brush off Hunter Biden laptop story
🔺 Also, US Afghanistan watchdog warns that Ukraine aid urgently needs oversight to prevent pilferage

The Critical Hour will cover these and more stories! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

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

🇷🇺🗿 GigaChat: Russia's Sber introduces GhatGPT rival combined with graphic AI

Russia’s biggest financial conglomerate Sber announced the launch of its conversational artificial intelligence app GigaChat as a rival to ChatGPT, joining the artificial intelligence chatbot race.

The main advantage of the Russian chat robot over ChatGPT, according to the company's press release, is that it supports multimodal interaction and communicates more intelligently in Russian.

💬 "The innovation of Sber that we presented today is a breakthrough for the vast universe of Russian technologies," Sber CEO German Gref pointed out.

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Poland сonducts drills against backdrop of anti-German sentiment

Poland has conducted military exercises suggesting a mock enemy from the West, during which the capture of the port city of Szczecin was prevented, against the backdrop of anti-German sentiment, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said on Monday.

According to the SVR data, the mock enemy is located to the west of Poland and relies on the national diaspora living in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It refers to ethnic Germans who carry out "military aggression."

The exercises, focused on tackling a hypothetical threat from the West, have been taking place amid growing anti-German sentiment in Warsaw and Poland's increasing suspicion towards its Western neighbor, which is reflected in the Polish military planning, the SVR added.

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Embattled Credit Suisse loses $75 bln in deposits during first quarter

In early 2023, Credit Suisse announced that it had lost a significant amount of deposits, amounting to around $75 billion, during the first quarter of the year. As a result, the bank's share price took a major hit, dropping by nearly 30%.

In response, the Swiss government approved a bailout plan to facilitate the acquisition of Credit Suisse by its rival, UBS. The plan includes urgent guarantee credits of $118 billion, which will be used by UBS and the Swiss National Bank to take over Credit Suisse before the end of the year.

Despite these efforts, Credit Suisse continues to experience outflows of funds, as UBS works to stabilize the situation. The outflows were most pronounced in the days following the announcement of the merger, but have since stabilized at lower levels.

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⛰♨️ 220th anniversary of a Russian resort rich in history worth seeing

On April 24, 220 years ago, Emperor Alexander the Blessed signed an edict that marked the beginning of the transformation of the Caucasian Mineral Waters into a Russian resort.

From misty mountains and gorgeous landscapes to fine examples of XIX-century architecture – this region has it all.

☝️Take a look!

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Biden family's 'circle of lies' tightening around White House cover-up

Garrett Ziegler, a former aide to ex-US president Donald Trump, and conservative commentator Steve Gill, attorney and CEO of Gill Media, told how the "Biden crime family" is trying to cover its tracks.

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❗️Kiev's recent strikes on humanitarian corridor threaten extension of grain deal, Moscow says

💬 "On March 23 and April 24, 2023, in violation of these guarantees, Ukraine launched repeated attacks on the Black Sea Fleet's base in Sevastopol and the civilian infrastructure of Crimea by unmanned surface vessels," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, vessels came from the port of Odessa, designated for the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

💬 "Their deployment was carried out in the area of the humanitarian corridor, which is also involved in the export of agricultural products from the ports of Ukraine. Terrorist acts committed by the Kiev regime jeopardize the next extension of the grain deal after May 18, 2023,” the ministry added.

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🇨🇦🧊 Arctic threat won't be posed by 'one country alone,' Canadian defense minister says

💬 “The Arctic threat is not just about Russia. We are seeing greater activity in that region by, for example, China, which has declared itself a near-Arctic state,” Anita Anand said.

Canada’s analysis of the threat will include what the government needs to accomplish in terms of military capabilities and human resources to effectively defend its interests in the Arctic, Anand added.

In a joint statement in March, Russia and China said that the two countries stand for preserving the Arctic as a territory of peace and constructive cooperation.

Shortly before that, US media reported the US National Guard is preparing for possible conflicts with Russia and China in the Arctic, including in the event of a military clash between Moscow and Beijing with Washington's NATO allies.

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🇷🇺 Russia’s state-of-the-art Armata tanks reportedly on mission in Ukraine

The T-14 Armata tank is a next-generation combat vehicle that has an unmanned remote-controlled turret, while the crew is protected by an armored capsule. According to the insider, the T-14s taking part in the Russian special operation have been fitted with "additional side protection from anti-tank ammunition."

Touted as the world's only third-generation tank with no equal, the Armata has a combat module that is completely remote-controlled, while the crew is securely accommodated in an armored capsule isolated from both the fuel section and munitions. This means that in the event of the tank being hit, its crew is more likely to survive. The T-14’s armament includes a 125-mm smooth-bore cannon and a 7.62-mm remote-controlled machine gun.

The Armata tanks are being used to shell Ukrainian troop positions; however, these armed vehicles have not yet been involved in “direct assault operations,” a well-informed source told Sputnik.

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🇺🇸 "I'm shocked": Donald Trump reacts to Tucker Carlson being ousted from Fox News

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🇷🇺🇺🇳 “Nice dress”: Lavrov shuts down rude journalist with compliment

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🇷🇺🚂 Fortress on wheels: How Russia’s Baikal armored train operates in the military op zone

The Baikal crew carries out tasks such as technical reconnaissance, de-mining and restoring railway tracks and lines.

This special train is armed with all indispensable means to combat enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups, as well as anti-aircraft systems for destroying unmanned aerial vehicles.

While operating along the route, the Baikal crew monitors the area, checks the railway tracks and bridge crossings for mines, while restoring destroyed tracks and structures along the way.

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🇫🇮 Finland's military spending soars to Cold War levels as it joins NATO

The Nordic country's military expenditure has risen from 1.3 to 2 percent of its GDP within a matter of several years, underpinned by a number of costly purchases such as a new fleet of 64 US-made F-35 jets. The 10-billion-euro procurement was billed as the single largest splurge in the Nordic country's history.

Last year alone, Finland's outgoing five-party government led by the Social Democrats agreed to add more than 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in defense spending, citing hostilities in Ukraine as a pretext. In doing so, Finland notably eclipsed its fellow European nations, such as Lithuania, Sweden and Poland, which saw the next biggest spikes in their defense budgets at 27%, 12% and 11%, respectively.

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🦠 World Malaria Day 2023

Facts: Maldives and Sri Lanka have managed to maintain their malaria-free status; five nations in Southeast Asia — Bhutan, North Korea, Nepal, Thailand and Timor-Leste — are deemed capable of eliminating the disease by 2025.

What about 🇮🇳 India? Learn more in our video!

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