FBI director confirmed the existence of an unclassified document alleging then-Vice President Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national: US congressman

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Wednesday that during a call with FBI Director Christopher Wray, the latter confirmed the existence of the FD-1023 form alleging then-Vice President Joe Biden engaged in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national.

The FD-1023 form is a document tapped by the bureau that both collects and catalogs information provided to agents by confidential human sources.

The FBI has previously indicated that it would not be willing to hand over the requested document as it may compromise the department's confidentiality rules and put sources at risk.

Earlier Wednesday, Comer said that the US House Oversight Committee will take steps to hold Wray in contempt of Congress after the agency refused to provide unclassified records pertaining to an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden.

However, despite the contempt threat, the initiative would only serve as a public reprimand as serious action against the FBI director can only be put forth by US Attorney General Merrick Garland after having been referred by the US Department of Justice.

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The new package of US military assistance to Ukraine immediately after recent drone attacks on Moscow shows Washington's indifference to the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists

"The [US] authorities are again proudly talking about providing financial assistance and another batch of materiel to their crazed Kiev puppets," Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said.

"And this is right after a series of terrorist attacks by US proteges in Moscow and the Moscow Region. Instead of calling the Zelensky regime to account, Washington is demonstratively showing indifference to the crimes of Banderites."

The Pentagon said in a release on Wednesday the new security assistance package the United States has announced for Ukraine is valued at $300 million.

"The new US 'security package', totaling $300 million, effectively fuels the rotten regime in Kiev," the Russian ambassador said, later noting that Washington's statements that it does not support Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory are not worth a penny.

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❗️The operational headquarters of Russia's Belgorod region denied the information about the alleged breakthrough of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into the region

▪️ The operational headquarters of the Belgorod region reports that the situation in Shebekino, a town located 30 kilometers southeast of Belgorod, is now difficult; shelling is underway and the sound of the military forces engaging each other can be heard.

▪️ Residents have been asked to remain calm, be vigilant and trust only official and trusted sources of information.

▪️ The number wounded in the shelling of the Shebekinsky district in Belgorod region increased to 8, there were no deaths, the governor said.

▪️ Almost 20 buildings were damaged today during the shelling of Shebekino in Belgorod Oblast , emergency services told Sputnik.

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❗️ There was and is no enemy on the territory of Russia's Belgorod region, but there is constant bombardment, the governor of the region said

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces, border guards, Federal Security Service, and National Guard are on the spot, the governor added.

💬 "The lives of civilians, the population is under threat. First of all, in Shebekino and in the surrounding villages. The administration of districts and cities is now engaged in the evacuation of people. Of course, this cannot be done under fire. We need to wait for the end of the shellings, the end of the explosions, the end of the risks of being injured or killed by the shells of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

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📹 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will take part in a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), which will be held in Cape Town, South Africa

▪️ Our special correspondent @BolotskySputnik will cover the upcoming event.

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DPR head: It is strategically important to liberate the city of Maryinka in Russia's Donetsk People's Republic from Ukrainian troops soon

“We need to liberate the entire settlement [of Maryinka] in the foreseeable future. The advance there takes place literally daily, but not so fast... [The liberation of the city] is very important in strategic terms, in terms of moving toward the next localities," DPR acting head Denis Pushilin said.

Earlier, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said Chechen units had received an order to redeploy forces, their area of responsibility will be the DPR; the Akhmat special forces and the Sever-Akhmat regiment were deployed to the Maryinka sector.

The day before, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that assault detachments of the 5th motorized rifle brigade and soldiers of the Akhmat special forces detachment were successfully advancing in the Maryinka sector.

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Russian Deputy FM Sergey Ryabkov sharing his views on BRICS expansion on the sidelines of the organization's ministerial meeting in Cape Town.

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⚡ The Security Service of Ukraine, with the help of the Save Ukraine Foundation, is preparing an informational provocation on the subject of the allegedly forcible deportation of children to Russia, a source told Sputnik

▪️ According to the source, the women, whose children were evacuated to Russia from Kherson, received financing for a trip to Russia on the condition that they give an interview after returning with their children to Ukraine.

▪️ One of the women confirmed that she had helped in organizing the trip and paid for travel expenses, but with the condition that the child should give an interview: "maybe they are preparing surprises there; I will be simply amazed."

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⚡️The FSB has revealed the activity of American intelligence agencies, carried out using Apple devices

▪️ The security service reported that during the course of ensuring the security of Russia's telecommunications infrastructure, anomalies were identified that are characteristic only among users of Apple mobile phones and are caused by the operation of previously-unknown malicious software.

▪️ Several thousand Apple mobile phones were infected, the FSB said. The information received by the Russian special services testifies to the close cooperation of Apple with the US intelligence community, Russia’s security service reported.

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⚡ Putin constantly briefed on situation in Belgorod Region by defense ministry, FSB- Kremlin

Elon Musk took back the top spot in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index after US electric car maker Tesla's stakes jumped by 1.38%

Now Musk's fortune stands at $192 billion, a 55.3-billion-dollar increase since the beginning of 2023, while LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault’s fortune is estimated at $187 billion, showing a rise of $24.5 billion since early January, according to the world’s billionaire index.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ranked third with a fortune of $144 billion and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates took the fourth place ($125 billion), according to BBI.

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📹 VIDEO: Russia's FM Sergey Lavrov meets his Indian counterpart on the sidelines of the BRICS ministerial meeting in Cape Town 🇿🇦

❗️FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES: https://sputniknews.in/20230601/lavrov-meets-eam-jaishankar-subrahmanyam-on-sidelines-of-brics-ministerial-meet-in-cape-town-2277148.html

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📹 Footage obtained by Sputnik shows the woman confirming the plot of Ukrainian services to prepare an interview with a child returned from Russia to the territory of Ukraine in order to subsequently accuse the Russian authorities of forcibly deporting the children

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▪️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled Shebekino, a town in Russia's Belgorod region using Grads; there is no light in the town, the governor said

▪️ He added, that in Shebekino, a hostel building is on fire from a direct hit by shells, there is destruction in the administration building.

▪️ According to Belgorod region's governor, information about those killed in the shelling of a bus in Shebekino is not confirmed, it was empty.

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📹 Footage from Shebekino, where a hostel is on fire after a Ukrainian shelling

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📹 🇿🇦 🇷🇺 Naledi Pandor & Sergey Lavrov's meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS foreign ministers' event

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⚡️ A fresh attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist act against the civilian population of Russia's city of Shebekino in the Belgorod region was thwarted this morning, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

At about 3am, Ukrainian formations with up to two motorized infantry companies, reinforced with tanks, attempted to invade. The Russian military repelled three attacks by the terrorist groups.

Formations of the Kiev regime were thrown back, having suffered significant losses. More than 30 Ukrainians were killed.

🇷🇺🇸🇦 Sergey Lavrov holds talks with a counterpart from Saudi Arabia on the sidelines of the BRICS Ministerial Summit

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Washington is worried over a possible threat to the US that emanates from the Russian Northern Fleet as Moscow is “seeking to expand its military presence” in the Arctic

“The fear is that a modernized Russian Northern Fleet could swing down through the straits between Greenland, Iceland and Britain, a move known in NATO as a ‘red right hook,’ to cut sea lanes and underwater cables and threaten the American East Coast with cruise missiles,” an American newspaper has claimed.

According to the media outlet, Russia remains “a vast Arctic power, with naval bases and nuclear missiles stationed in the Far North but also along Russia’s western edge: in the Kola Peninsula, near Norway, where Russia keeps most of its nuclear-armed submarines.”

The newspaper argued that climate change had led to a situation where shipping routes are becoming “less icebound and easier to navigate, making the Arctic more accessible and attractive for competitive commercial exploitation, as well as military adventurism.”

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📹 The Russian Armed Forces’ TOS-1A Solntsepyok heavy flamethrowers destroy fortified long-term strongholds and positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the zone of the special military op

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