🇬🇧 UK to start training Ukrainian pilots this summer

💬 "We are supporting Ukraine to develop the air force it needs for the future, with the UK training Ukrainian pilots starting this summer," UK PM Rishi Sunak told a press conference on the sidelines of G7 summit in Japan, adding that "we've made a real breakthrough at this summit."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, also attending the G7's summit in Hiroshima, vowed to continue training Ukrainian troops.

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🥴 British media details conflicting reports about status of Artemovsk by Ukrainian officials

After Volodymyr Zelensky responded with a direct “no” to a reporter’s question on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima if Artemovsk (Bakhmut) is still under Kiev’s control, while also adding that the city is completely destroyed and that it remains “only in our hearts," his press office said that the president’s choice of words does not equate to confirming the loss of the city.

Adding to the confusion, a Ukrainian military commander, Sergey Cherevaty, told a British media outlet that Russia has attached too much of a “symbolic meaning” to Artemovsk, a city Zelensky previously called a “fortress of Ukraine's morale.” Cherevaty added that it is destroyed and will not bring Russia any “political or economic benefit.”

At the same time, another Ukrainian official, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, claims the fighting continues and that Ukrainian forces still “control some industrial and infrastructure facilities in the area and the private sector."

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🇪🇺 Western Balkans phase of NATO Defender Europe 2023 drills starts in Kosovo

The opening ceremony in the center of Pristina lists Kosovo's highest-ranking officials among the attendees, including President Albin Kurti. The United States European Command (EUROCOM) will be leading the exercise.

💬 "Our intentions are clear, the army of the Republic of Kosovo is ready to join the NATO family," Kosovo's defense minister, Armend Mehaj, said on social media.

Over 7,000 troops from the United States and 17,000 from 20 allied and partner countries are expected to participate in the drills. Kosovo's media have reported that the former Serbian province's 1,300-contingent will be one of the largest.

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Western media hypocrisy strikes again

🗞 A Financial Times article published after the Modi-Zelensky meeting at the G7 summit claimed that 🇮🇳India’s Prime Minister is "Putin’s enabler" because of New Delhi’s balanced position on Ukraine.

The article says that Zelensky was expected to put pressure on the Indian leader and influence the South Asian giant’s independent foreign policy. On top of that, the article branded India's appeal for diplomacy and negotiations as an "obfuscation" of the Ukrainian crisis.

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📹 Russian MoD releases video marking Pacific Fleet Day

The naval force that would eventually become known as the Pacific Fleet was created in 1731, and is today responsible for protecting Russia's interests in the Pacific Ocean and maintaining security in the Far East region.

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Germany will not participate in F-16 supplies to Ukraine

"First of all, everyone knows that we do not have such jets," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told German broadcasters on the sidelines of the

G7 summit in Japan's Hiroshima, adding that Germany will continue supporting Ukraine in other ways, including by sending financial and humanitarian aid and weapons.

Scholz also said that the training programs announced by the US and some European countries for Ukrainian pilots to fly F16s would send an "important message" to Russia.

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Russian Investigative Committee brings charges against ICC prosecutor, judge in absentia

"The investigation has now collected sufficient evidence to warrant the indictment in absentia of International Criminal Court prosecutor Khan Karim Asad Ahmad and International Criminal Court judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala," the investigative authority said.

Both have been accused of preparing to attack a representative of a foreign state, with the aim of complicating international relations.

"As previously noted, criminal prosecution is knowingly unlawful as there are no grounds for criminal liability. Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons of 14 December 1973, heads of state enjoy absolute immunity from the jurisdiction of foreign states," the authority said.

On February, Prosecutor applied to ICC to obtain an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova.

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A Sputnik correspondent was the first journalist to visit the "Samolet" district in Artemovsk (Bakhmut), the last area where Kiev forces remained before the liberation of the city.

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Looted ancient relics return to Greek soil after lengthy legal tussle

Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni has announced that a collection of 351 ancient artifacts, spanning from the Neolithic to Byzantine era, will be repatriated to Greece after a 17-year legal battle.

The artifacts include a white stone Neolithic-era statuette, an Early Cycladic figurine, and a bronze statue of Alexander the Great.

The collection was seized from a UK antiquities dealer, Robin Symes Limited, which is currently undergoing liquidation. Robin Symes is believed to have acquired the artifacts through an illegal network of traders.

In 2016, Italian and Swiss police recovered stolen archaeological artifacts from Symes' possession, but it is unclear whether the current repatriation is linked to that discovery.

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A Sputnik correspondent witnessed the last major building in Artemovsk being cleared before the city was liberated from Ukrainian militants.

Currently, the ousted Kiev militants are conducting mortar shelling from outside the city, attempting to target the Russian flag flying above one of the high-rise buildings.

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Cuba and Russia unveil new economic deals as bilateral trade soars

At the economic forum in Havana where the deals were arranged, Ricardo Cabrisas, Cuba’s foreign trade minister, told audiences on Friday that the agreements “constitute a milestone in the history of our bilateral and business ties.”

Joint plans were reportedly announced to reinvigorate Cuba’s tourism industry. The agreements include “a contract for Russia’s Prodintorg to supply wheat to Cuba’s state-owned Alimport. Agreement also declares the intention of Russian and Cuban authorities to renovate a run-down beach community just outside Havana.

In addition, Russian progress Agro group of companies, and Cuban Azcuba Sugar Industry Business Group, reportedly described the deal as a joint venture to overhaul Cuba’s aging “Uruguay” sugar mill, in the hopes of eventually exporting up to 150,000 tons of sugar per year.

Trade between Cuba and Russia in 2023, it hit $137.6 million.

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292 years ago today, Empress Anna Ioannovna issued a decree to establish a new naval force in Russia's far eastern territories.
The purpose of the flotilla, based at Okhotsk in Khabarovsk Krai, was to protect the coasts and islands of the Russian Empire's far eastern territories.

In order to facilitate transportation of goods and people between Okhotsk and Kamchatka, a small shipyard was established in Okhotsk.

These ships were used to navigate local waters, explore towards Japan in the south, and venture eastward to the shores of Alaska and California, where Russian settlers would eventually establish multiple colonies.

Read about the Russian Pacific Fleet’s history on our website

Moscow says G7 'irreversibly degraded,' summit's decisions politicized

"Its [the G7 summit's] main result is a series of statements filled with odious anti-Russian and anti-Chinese passages. This was yet another G7 meeting that has resulted in politicized statements aimed at drawing division lines in international relations," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The G7 used to be a group whose members coordinated their positions on a variety of important international issues, whereas now "it has irreversibly degraded," the statement read.

"The G7 has become literally fixated on a comprehensive confrontation with Russia. At the US' behest, it assumed the role of a headquarters for the planning of sanctions and other hybrid war tools against our country, including deciding the scale and timing of Western arms supplies to Kiev. That is the group's purpose of existing today," the ministry added.

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🇭🇺 Hungary is waiting for explanations from Ukraine and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen concerning reports on a possible stop of oil supplies from Russia to the European Union via the Druzhba pipeline, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

"We have received no explanations concerning this from Kiev. I think this is an issue of such importance that the European Commission's president should personally present explanations as energy security is a question of sovereignty," Szijjarto told a Hungarian radio station.

If someone attempts to make a secure energy supply impossible for a country, it can be considered an infringement on the country's sovereignty, he explained.

International treaties guarantee Hungary transit oil supplies from Ukraine, the minister said, going on to accuse Ukraine and Croatia of taking advantage of conflict to raise the transit fee by five to six times.

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What is the fastest missile in the world and how much does speed really matter?

Russia’s Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile made the news this week after destroying a Patriot radar station and five launchers in overnight strikes in Kiev on May 16. How did the Kinzhal get through? What other countries possess ultrafast missiles? Why is it that speed isn’t always everything?

Check out our explainer to find out

A tragic incident occurred in El Salvador, Central America, where a stampede took place as people tried to squeeze through the stadium gate. Approximately 12 people lost their lives in the incident, and numerous others sustained injuries.

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Estonia says NATO fighter jets will move to Latvia during air base repairs in 2024

"The Amari Air Base in Estonia will undergo reconstruction in 2024, during which the Baltic airspace will be secured from Latvia and Lithuania. After the reconstruction is completed, the allied fighter jets will return to Estonia," the Estonian Defense Ministr said.

NATO's air policing planes will relocate from Amari to Latvia's Lielvarde air base from spring to fall of 2024, while air security will also be ensued by allied jets deployed in Lithuania's Siauliai air base, the statement read.

As Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania do not possess the aircraft fit to conduct patrol flights, their NATO allies provide the necessary capabilities for them. On a four-month rotation basis, they patrol the airspace over the Baltic region, with the Baltic states contributing by hosting the allied aircraft and providing the necessary personnel.

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