Russia welcomes the resumption of Syria’s participation in the work of the League of Arab States

"Moscow welcomes this long-awaited step, which has become a logical result of the process of returning Syria to the ‘Arab family’ that has gained momentum. For our part, in contact with the Arab capitals, we consistently called on them to restore full-fledged relations with Damascus," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

She added that the resumption of Syria's participation in the work of the Arab League, of which it is one of the founding states, will help improve the atmosphere in the Middle East region.

Zakharova expressed hope that LAS will support Syria in its post-conflict reconstruction, which is complicated by the illegitimate unilateral sanctions against Damascus.

On Sunday, LAS foreign ministers announced that Syria was returning to the organization.

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❗️ Detainee charged with terrorism for attempted assassination of politician and writer Zakhar Prilepin - Russia's Investigative Committee

The trade relations between Russia and China are open and fair and do not target any third countries

"Trade and economic relations between Russia and China are fair and transparent, they are not targeting third countries and are not subject to a third-party interference and coercion," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday, referring to possible EU sanctions against Chinese firms.

On Sunday, media reported that the European Union might for the first time impose sanctions against Chinese companies, which were allegedly selling military equipment to Russia amid Moscow's ongoing special operation in Ukraine.

The spokesman added that in case the bloc applies sanctions against the Chinese entities, the move could "seriously violate trust and cooperation with China, exacerbate division and confrontation in the world."

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❗️ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has commented on the words of the head of intelligence of Ukraine Budanov, who recently called for the killing of Russians: this is a monstrous statement

Russia strongly condemns the words of the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence Budanov; our special services will do everything to protect Russians, said Peskov.

He added that these statements by Budanov confirmed the correctness of Putin's decision to launch the special military operation.

This is direct confirmation that the Kiev regime is not just a sponsor, but also an organizer of terrorist activity, Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman added that Moscow would closely monitor the reaction of the countries of the world to these statements by the Kiev regime, including the United States.

Russia and India collaborate on new military-tech project

As part of developing hypersonic cruise missile (HCM) capabilities in India, India 🇮🇳 and Russia 🇷🇺 are trying to pursue the BrahMos-2 project, which will be based on Russia's Zircon HCM.

🚀 A Russian hypersonic anti-ship missile is being developed by NPO Mashinostroeniya.

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Polish oil firm Orlen says ban on Russian oil causes $27mln losses per day

Daniel Obajtek, the chief executive of Polish state-owned oil company Orlen, told a British business daily on Sunday that the ban on Russian crude oil was costing the firm around $27 million in losses per day due to a price difference of nearly $30 per barrel between Russian supplies and their alternatives.

At the same time, the Polish businessman himself did not call it a loss, but rather "a matter of not supporting Russia."

However, he reportedly admitted that Orlen was still using Russian oil supplied via the Druzhba pipeline at the company's refinery in the Czech town of Litvinov.

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📹 The Russian Armed Forces have stormed a building near a medical school in the west of Artemovsk (Bakhmut)

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Russian Su-34 bomber strikes foreign mercenaries in Kharkov region

A Russian Su-34 frontline bomber has struck the deployment point of foreign mercenaries in the Kharkov region with guided bombs, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

"The crew of a Su-34 fighter-bomber, using universal modules for planning and correcting aerial bombs, struck at a temporary deployment point of foreign mercenaries near the village of Ivanovka [Ivanivka]," the spokesperson said.

In addition, in the LPR, Russian forces have located and destroyed two Ukrainian sabotage reconnaissance groups and have thwarted three attempts of enemy troop rotation, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also told Sputnik that a combat vehicle of the Osa anti-aircraft missile system was destroyed using the Lancet precision loitering munition near the village of Velykyi Burluk. An Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer used by Ukrainian troops was also destroyed by Russian forces.

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

▪️ Russian assault units continue to attack in the western part of Artemovsk;

▪️ Russian troops in the LPR destroyed up to 55 Ukrainian soldiers, three tanks and five armored vehicles;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces destroyed two ammunition depots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the DPR and the Zaporozhye region;

▪️ Russian troops destroyed up to 70 Ukrainian military in the south of the DPR and in the Zaporozhye region;

▪️ Russian troops destroyed up to 70 military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Krasny Liman in a day;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces destroyed two Ukrainian ammunition depots in the DPR;

▪️ Russian troops in the DPR destroyed more than 380 soldiers and three howitzers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces in the Kharkov region hit a warehouse with weapons and military equipment of a group of troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces;

▪️ Russian air defense systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian UAVs in a day.

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The little elephant and his love of fruit

Have you ever seen a small elephant 🐘 that is so stubborn that it stands on its hind legs to get fruit it desires from a 🌳 tree? This hilarious scene is quite common in the wild.

Young elephants love to eat fruit 🥭 and berries, and their appetite sometimes reaches such proportions that they use every possible means to get to their food.

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently warned that unless the congressional limit on the country’s debt servicing is raised by June 1, the US government will likely begin defaulting.

With a US default scenario grabbing global headlines, Sputnik has reached out to renowned experts to ask them about the possible implications of a default and what ordinary people should do if it happens.

What is the 2023 US default all about? Will the US default? What should the US and its citizens do?

🇨🇳🌌 China successfully completes test of reusable spacecraft

▪️China has successfully completed a test of a reusable spacecraft after it returned to Earth on Monday morning, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) said

▪️The uncrewed spacecraft returned to the Jiuquan launch center in northwest China on Monday as scheduled.

🗣 "The test was successful, showing China's breakthrough in the field of research of reusable spacecraft technologies," CASC said in a statement

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📹 A 100-year-old WWII veteran in Russia's Republic of Altai celebrates his birthday with family.

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Ukraine claims Kiev targeted with heaviest attack since launch of special operation

Ukrainian media has reported a series of powerful explosions around the country, including Kiev, on Sunday night. Authorities in the capital stated that a tank with diesel fuel was damaged in the Solomensky district. Explosions and fires were also reported in Odessa.

"This is the most massive attack (…) on our city," Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The attacks come after Ukraine organized a number of terrorist hits on Russian territory, including the recent drone attack on the Kremlin that was thwarted by Russian security services.

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History repeating itself? Rising US-led militarization shows Europe failed to learn from WWII

Military expenditures by Central and Western European nations have surpassed the levels seen in 1989, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

With the collective defense budgets of the European Union (EU) and the UK now exceeding those of China and Russia combined, there are growing concerns about the ongoing militarization of Europe.

Some experts believe that the rearmament of NATO members is driven by the geostrategic interests of the United States, which is seen as the hegemonic power that is militarizing Europe.

Paolo Raffone, a strategic analyst and director of the CIPI Foundation in Brussels, discusses the reasons behind the surge in military expenditures by European nations and the implications of this trend for the region's economic and political stability.

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🇳🇬 Nigeria's president to inaugurate world’s largest single-train refinery

▪️Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will commission the multi-billion dollar Dangote Refinery in Lagos in two weeks, Buhari’s Special Assistant on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad said

💭 "Efforts by the Federal Government to make Nigeria self-sufficient in local refining of crude oil to save the scarce foreign exchange used in the importation of petroleum products have received a boost as the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery is set for inauguration on May 22nd, 2023, by President Muhammadu Buhari," the assistant said.

▪️He also noted that Dangote Refinery in Lagos, the construction of which started in 2016, is the world’s largest single-train refinery

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