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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev demands compensation from the United States for Artemovsk (Bakhmut) and Mariupol

The United States must compensate Russia for the destruction of Artemovsk, Mariupol, and a host of other places, said Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev.

Medvedev was asked whether the United States should compensate Russia for the damage caused by blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines.

"And not only this damage. Let them return the funds, or at least allocate funds, for the restoration of Artemovsk, Mariupol, and a host of other places that were destroyed with their help and support. With their money," Medvedev replied.

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🎧 In today's episode of the AfroVerdict podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa, meet Dr Anthony Ajayi, a researcher with the African Population and Health Research Center in Kenya, who explains how "community driven" approaches could help in the fight against HIV in Africa.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing the remains of a Ukrainian sabotage group force after heavy fighting with Russian troops

Dozens of Ukrainian saboteurs attempted to slip across the border into the Russian region of Belgorod on Monday. On Tuesday, the Russian military reported that the formations had been blocked and eliminated, with over 70 Ukrainian saboteurs killed, and four armored fighting vehicles and five pickups destroyed.

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Paratroopers destroy enemy armoured vehicles on right bank of Dnepr

The Airborne Troops self-propelled artillery units conduct daily combat work to destroy the enemy manpower, hardware and fortifications on the right bank of the Dnepr River.

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🥴 Josep Borrell confuses Belgorod with Belgrade

▪️ Journalist asked the 76-year-old head of EU diplomacy what he thought about the attack on the Russian Belgorod region. He asked in response: “Tell me, what happened in Belgrade?”

▪️ Borrell's assistant had to explain in more detail the difference between the Russian region and the Serbian capital, but even after that, he could not give a clear answer to the question.

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🔺 Zelensky's visit to G7 Summit was a success: US-Approved Military Aid to Ukraine 'Will Soon Be Tapped'
🔺Turkish President Erdogan accuses Biden of attempting to topple him
🔺China hits out at Japan over G7 Summit, accuses US-led bloc of ‘camp confrontation and cold war mentality’

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

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An attempt to ban users in the US state of Montana from accessing the TikTok social media app is sure to fail one way or another

TikTok announced it had filed a lawsuit against Montana’s recently-passed law banning the social media app from the US state starting on January 1, 2024. The suit argues that the law violates several aspects of the US Constitution, including the Commerce Clause, which blocks states from interfering with interstate trade, and the First Amendment, which protects the right to free speech.

The law is just the latest attempt by US politicians to ban TikTok and other Chinese social media apps, which they have argued pose a security risk due to their supposed connections to the Communist Party of China. Beijing and TikTok owner ByteDance have both denied the accusations, and ByteDance has taken significant steps to separate the data of US-based TikTok users from the rest of its users in an attempt to assuage US critics.

Barbara Lazarotto, a PhD researcher in law and a Marie Curie Actions fellow at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel, told Sputnik that while the lawsuit’s outcome is unpredictable due to its legal complexities, the law is likely to be impossible to enforce nonetheless.

"I believe the outcome of this case is unpredictable, due to the complexity of the case which evolves apart from a legal (and constitutional) analysis, a geopolitical and societal one. Users are already protesting against the ban at the same time the world is already settled in a cold war against Chinese tech companies," he said.

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The European Union's defense ministers failed to agree on a new package of military assistance to Ukraine

"We have proposed what will be the eighth package [of aid] in the amount of €500 million, on which negotiations are continuing. I hope that we will overcome any obstacles one by one to approve assistance at a technical level from this week. Right now we have not reached an unanimous decision on this issue," EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said, speaking to reporters after a meeting of the European Defense Agency.

"The next weeks, the next months will be strategically decisive for the war in Ukraine. We are all in agreement on this. It is precisely for this reason that the European Defense Agency has focused ninety percent [of our funds] on our military support," Borrell said.

The diplomat did not elaborate on what's holding up the aid talks. However, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto indicated last week that Budapest would not support an additional €500 million in aid so long as Hungary's OTP Bank remains on a list of 'sponsors of war' over its refusal to leave the Russian market.

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📹 Artillerymen continue to carry out firing tasks within special military operation

In cooperation with unmanned aerial vehicle crews, artillerymen of the Russian Armed Forces neutralise identified targets, as well as conduct counter-battery warfare against the enemy artillery.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Eduard Nikitin, director of the decommissioning programmes at TVEL, ROSATOM, has commented on the prospects of Russian-Chinese cooperation in dealing with nuclear legacy and radioactive waste management

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Tel Aviv has announced the nation's readiness to conduct strikes against Iran in the event of "negative developments" involving Tehran's nuclear program

"Without going into details, there are possible negative developments on the horizon that could prompt action," Israel Defense Forces Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said, speaking at a security conference in Herzliya, Israel.

"Iran has made more progress in uranium enrichment than ever before. We are also closely examining other aspects of the way to nuclear capability," the commander said, warning Tehran that "we have abilities and others have abilities," and that Israel has "the ability to hit Iran."

Halevi characterized the current Israeli military potential prepared to attack Tehran as "good," but recommended that they be further "strengthened" so that Tel Aviv "can carry out a broad campaign against Iran."

The IDF faces a number of hurdles which hamper its capabilities against Iran, Halevi admitted, pointing out that the country is over 1,500 km from Israel, which makes it a challenging target for Israel’s air force.

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Exclusive: Russia can provide Africa with 'know-how' on media sovereignty, Algerian minister tells Sputnik Africa

🇩🇿 🇷🇺 Countries like Russia could bring added value to Africa's media sovereignty which would not say no to outside cooperation, the Algerian minister of communication told Sputnik.

🗣 "Africa's sovereignty in the media sector is paramount. It is necessary […]. The partnership of Russia, China and also some Latin American countries is a positive point for Africa because we need the know-how of these countries; they are great countries," Algerian Minister of Communications Mohamed Bouslimani told Sputnik on the sidelines of the General Assembly of the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB-UAR) held in Abuja, Nigeria.

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🥴 Joe Biden said that Nancy Pelosi helped rescue the economy during the Great Depression

Pelosi was born in 1940, one year after the Great Depression ended.

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Claims by the US government that it pursues the promotion of democracy abroad are simply “fake”

"The United States and [some] Western countries are not after democracy, but domination and plundering of other countries' wealth," Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi  said during an official visit to Indonesia, according to Iranian media.

“With the rise of emerging powers, the era of US domination has come to an end, said Iran's chief executive,” media summarized.

Raisi pointed out that if Western powers are really after democracy and self-determination, they can start by guaranteeing Palestinians the right to choose their own destiny.

“Let the Yemeni and Afghan people decide for themselves,” he concluded, asking: “Why are you interfering in their affairs?”

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Russia pursues the policy of supporting African countries as it sees them as one of the centers of the shaping world order, and is ready to take part in opposing neocolonialism

Russian Ambassador in the United States Anatoly Antonov hosted a gala evening at his residence in Washington for his African counterparts in preparation for the second Russia-Africa summit, which is scheduled to be held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg from July 26-29.

"We believe that African states must be treated decently and equally ... The Soviet Union contributed significantly to the struggle against colonialism, racism, and apartheid. Our country rendered assistance to the nations in gaining and defending their independence. And now Russia continues the policy of all our support for the African states," Antonov told the meeting.

"Through our joint efforts, the continent will become one of the leaders of the emerging multipolar world order. We will counter the neocolonialistic ideology that is being boasted by the others."

The ambassador added that Russia advocates for a "broader representation of the African states" in international organizations, including the United Nations Security Council and the Group of Twenty, aims to "enhance Africa's economic and human potential" and pay special attention to "transfer of advanced technologies" apart from expanding economic and trade ties.

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Troops with the British special forces began training so-called "moderate" Syrian rebels in 2011, conducting cross border raids into the country in 2012

A comprehensive analysis by the group of credible reports on covert British military operations in over a dozen countries over the past dozen years found that special forces units were "regularly" deployed into Syria despite explicit prohibitions on doing so in a 2013 parliament ruling.

These operations included the provision of military equipment, training and intelligence assistance to Syrian rebel commanders in Lebanon and Turkiye at the start of the conflict, and Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS) raids into the country via Jordan starting in the summer of 2012.

The non-profit’s analysis confirmed that before the 2013 parliamentary vote, special forces troops and MI6 agents had been deployed to the region in order to mark Syrian air defenses that might be used to target British jets.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Premier of the State Council of China Li Qiang meets Russian PM Mishustin in Beijing

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