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

📻 Also in the United States at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

🎙 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

Fact check: Who attacked Novaya Kakhovka dam?

The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant suffered heavy damage Tuesday morning, with its dam destroyed and water flowing uncontrollably downstream, risking major flooding, power cuts and water shortages on both sides of the Dnepr River. Western legacy media quickly blamed Moscow for the attack.

But does that allegation make sense?

Sputnik explores

World Bank leaves Russia's growth forecast for 2023, 2024 unchanged

"Output in Russia is projected to contract slightly, by 0.2 percent in 2023, a 3.1 percentage point upgrade from the January 2023 forecast,” the World Bank said in its Global Economic Prospects report on Tuesday.

The bank expects that contractions in export, along with sanctions, weak domestic demand, and other challenges, will continue to apply pressure on economic activity.

“In 2024, growth is expected to turn positive, but remain modest at only 1.2 percent, which is lower than the average pace of growth in the 2010s,” the report added.

At the same time, the Russian economy will face less contraction than anticipated in January because of oil production, mainly due to more resilient than expected oil production and higher than expected growth momentum from 2022, according to the report.

The bank also noted that the continued flow of energy exports allowed Russia to improve the situation in its economy.

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Moscow to host 3rd Russia-Gulf Summit in July

"The third session of the strategic dialogue between Russia and the countries of the Persian Gulf will be held soon — in July in Moscow — with the indispensable participation of Kuwait," the new Russian Ambassador to Kuwait, Vladimir Zheltov told Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas.

Zheltov pointed to the continuation of the Russian-Kuwaiti political dialogue and the existence of a mechanism of political consultations between the two countries.

The ambassador presented his credentials to Kuwaiti Crown Prince Meshal AlJaber Al-Sabah in late May.

The first meeting of the strategic dialogue initiated in 2016 between Russia and Gulf Cooperation Council member states was held in Riyadh in 2017, and the second in Abu Dhabi in 2019.

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The Supreme Court of Sweden has greenlighted the extradition of a supporter of the Kurdistan Workers' Party to Turkiye

The Supreme Court has approved the first such extradition, Swedish newspaper reported. The Swedish government will now have to decide on the extradition.

A man aged 35 was arrested in Sweden in August 2022 at the request of the general prosecutor's office in the Turkish city of Adana, the report said.

The court's decision has been made shortly before the summit of NATO countries in Vilnius, which is scheduled for July 11-12, the newspaper reported.

Sweden, together with Finland, submitted its NATO bid in May 2022, several months after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine. Finland's application has been ratified by all 30 members of the alliance.

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🗣 Russia believes that Kiev carried out the attack on the Kakhovka HPP to regroup its forces and inflict humanitarian damage, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said.

▪️According to Nebenzia, Moscow regrets that the international community has not heeded its warnings about the threat of destruction by Ukraine of the Kakhovka HPP, and it places all responsibility for the tragedy regarding the plant on Kiev and the countries sponsoring it.

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📹 Combat work by T-80BV tank crews belonging to the Russian Armed Forces at the vanguard of the special military op

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