🇺🇸‘What am I doing?’: Confused Biden elegantly wipes table with Kansas City Chiefs jersey

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The Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station in the Kherson region of Russia was partially destroyed as a result of shelling by armed formations of the Kiev regime.

Check out our infographics for more details.

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📍 On the birthday of the great 💭 🇷🇺 Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (224 years in 2023), the Russian House in India 🇮🇳 celebrates Russian Language Day.

To mark the occasion, officials from the Russian House and esteemed guests from the University of Delhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru University, among others, laid flowers at the monument to Alexander Pushkin in New Delhi.

Sputnik shares glimpses from the event with you!

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🗣️”What they are talking about is actually taking hegemonic control of waters. The rules-based maritime order, the US, we set the rules. We make the orders as a unilateral US hegemonic tool”: International affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda on Western military forces testing China with incursions into Chinese waters and airspace

🎧Listen to more of Sleboda’s analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

❗️Latest statements by Russian Foreign Ministry on Kakhovka HPP attack:

▪️Destruction of Kakhovka HPP planned by Kiev for military purposes as part of so-called counteroffensive;

▪️Russia strongly condemns destruction of Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station by Ukrainian troops, calls it terrorism;

▪️Russia calls on the international community to condemn criminal acts of Kiev against Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station.

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Former UN weapons inspector and US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter says there’s another compelling reason: a bid to attract fresh sympathy for Kiev from the West and cure the United States and its allies of growing “Ukraine fatigue” against the backdrop of Kiev’s failing counteroffensive, and the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius next month.

“The objective here is to create a source of international controversy,” Ritter told Sputnik.

“The United States and Europe – the collective West, have shown a propensity to accept at face value anything the Ukrainian government says regarding allegations against Russia even though there’s no evidence to back it up,” Ritter said.

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Morning Consult surveys indicate that from February 2022 to May 2023, there has been a decrease in the average percentage of Americans who support sanctions against Russia.

According to the analysis, in February 2022, Democrats showed the highest level of support for sanctions at 70%, but this percentage had decreased to less than 50% by May 2023.

Meanwhile, Republicans, who initially supported sanctions at a rate of over 50% a year ago, saw a decline to 30%. Independent voters exhibited a slightly more consistent level of support, starting at 50% and decreasing to 35% by May 2023.

Overall, the level of support among Americans for sanctions against Russia has decreased over the given time period, based on Morning Consult survey data.

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Russia's drone arsenal includes a range of sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

Among them is the Orion drone, which has been in production since 2019 and boasts a top speed of 200 km/h and a maximum altitude of 8 km. The Orion's flight time can extend up to 24 hours.

Another drone, the Sirius, is scheduled to begin production in 2023 and has a top speed of 180 km/h, a maximum altitude of 7 km, and a flight time of up to 20 hours.

In addition, Russia's Altius drone is an advanced UAV that can reach a maximum altitude of 12 km, has a top speed of 250 km/h, and can remain aloft for up to 48 hours. The drone has been in mass production since 2021.

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🗣️”A lot of these people were just sold to the CIA, right? They would literally, someone had a grudge against him or wanted money. And they just say, 'My neighbor over there in Afghanistan, he was part of 9/11.' Or what ever is totally untrue. And they were sent to Guantanamo”: labor attorney, human rights activist, and author Dan Kovalik on how the prisoners are treated in Guantanamo

🎧Listen to more of Kovalik’s analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

🗣️”He [Li Shangfu] said 'When friends come, they have good wine, and when jackals come, they get shotguns'. So I think he's definitely taking a stance. The US is trying to provoke China, and the US is rising to that game of chicken”: International affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda on the state of the US-China relations

🎧Listen to more of Sleboda’s analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

🔺Deliberate sabotage by Ukraine: upper part of Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant damaged by shelling
🔺France objects to NATO opening liaison office in Japan
🔺Can China’s yuan stake a bigger claim to global prominence following US debt ceiling crisis?

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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🎙 As Africa takes a stronger stance in today’s world, your #AfroVerdict host sits down with a Nigerian delegation to discuss business and cultural cooperation between Russia and Nigeria.

🎧 Tune and and enjoy the episode!

What do we know about Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, attacked by Kiev forces?

The Kakhovka HPP is situated on the Dnepr River, five kilometers away from the city of Novaya Kakhovka in Russia's Kherson region. This is the sixth and lowest-situated of the cascade of HPPs on the huge waterway.

Power station capacity - 335 MW
Annual power Generation - 1.4 TWh (terawatt-hours)
3 out of 6 power units in operation
Reservoir volume: 18.19 km³
Surface area 2,155 km²
Number of staff (as of 2022) - 251 people.

Sputnik takes a closer look at the Kakhovka HPP, its importance for the region, and the attacks it has been under by Ukraine's forces