❗️ Belgorod Region, Russia has been shelled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine

💬 "According to preliminary data, seven people were injured, including one child with a broken collarbone ... All the victims are in a moderate condition," the Governor of Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote on Telegram.

▪️Additionally, five residential buildings and four private houses were damaged in the shelling, the official added.

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Antony Blinken has made little progress in promoting Washington's agenda in his talks with Chinese officials in Beijing

Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing on June 18 in what became his first visit to China in his current role and also the first US Secretary of State visit to Beijing since 2018. It took the Biden administration almost six months to put this visit back on the schedule as it was originally set for February.

Blinken has already met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who said on Sunday that China-US relations were at their lowest point.

The US media reported on Sunday that the ambiguity following the talks indicates little substantive progress on Blinken’s agenda items, which include concerns over Taiwan, jailed US citizens in China and Beijing’s stance on Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

Blinken and Qin Gang are said to be "inching toward an off-ramp from months of rancor" but Beijing maintains its "stern" stance on key issues.

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📹 Footage showing the combat work of the assault units of the Marine Corps of the Pacific Fleet

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📹 "Scarlet Sails", a holiday dedicated to graduation, was held in Mariupol. The event was attended by the mayor of the city, who said that this holiday is becoming a significant tradition for residents of Mariupol

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Ukrainian troops who have attempted to advance in the south Donetsk direction have lost over half of personnel

"In the south Donetsk direction, subunits of the Vostok group of forces, with the support of artillery and aviation, inflicted fire damage on the enemy, who was trying to conduct offensive operations. Motorized rifle units thwarted two enemy attacks in the Novodonetsk area. A tank, armored fighting vehicles and more than half of the advancing manpower were destroyed," a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson said.

Two Ukrainian attacks in the direction of Ravnopol were repelled and an attempt by the enemy to conduct reconnaissance by force in the Zaporozhye direction was thwarted, the spokesperson added.

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Skyrora, a private space company based in the UK, will be testing its new 3D-printed rocket engines this summer for potential orbit launches

The engines, made using Skyrora’s own Skyprint 2 machine, will be tested at a facility in Midlothian, Scotland, the largest rocket testing facility in the United Kingdom, UK broadcaster said on Monday.

The weekly tests will take place over the summer.

Skyrora, which has received funding from the UK and EU space agencies, plans to scale up production if the 3D-printed engine trials are successful and will then conduct more tests of its three-stage launch vehicle, Skyrora XL.

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❗🇧🇩 Bangladesh has filed a formal application to join BRICS

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The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service received information about the decision of the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine to send a batch of irradiated fuel from the Rovenskaya NPP for reprocessing

▪️ This fuel was moved in two containers to the storage site at Chernobyl without the IAEA being notified.

▪️ All this can be explained by the intentions of Ukraine to continue work on a dirty nuclear bomb, the Foreign Intelligence Service noted.

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🇨🇳 🇺🇸 Xi Jinping meets US Secretary of State Blinken in Beijing

The Pentagon is trying to obtain populations of small animals that carry HIV and hepatitis B, and cultures of mosquitoes infected with the hepatitis B virus have already been obtained, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, a Russian senior military official, said

▪️ He also noted the high technical level of US readiness for the use of infected vectors - this is evidenced by the presence of a patent for a drone designed to spread infected mosquitoes via the air.

▪️ The flooding of the territories of the Kherson region planned by Kiev can form foci of West Nile fever transmitted by mosquitoes, Igor Kirillov added

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Moldova's projects under a program to strengthen the country's defense capabilities with NATO support have tripled over the past year

"NATO asked Moldova to formulate assistance requests … After studying the list, NATO made a political decision, which included individual support, expanded support for Moldova. In May 2022, there were six projects on paper and three real projects, now we have 18 projects with NATO," the Moldovan Ambassador to Belgium Viorel Cibotaru said on air of the local broadcaster.

The ambassador also said that Moldova had asked for assistance related to the organization of the armed forces and the training of law enforcement agencies, adding that all projects were expected to be realized over the period from three to six months.

In January, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, in an interview with the US newspaper, said the country should abandon neutrality to be admitted to a military alliance. Sandu had repeatedly stated that the neutrality clause of the constitution could be revised if Moldovans decide they want a rapprochement with NATO.

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Beijing will not compromise on the issue of Taiwan, and Washington must respect China's sovereignty

At the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Office Director Wang Yi focused on analyzing the essence of the Taiwan issue, emphasizing that there is no room for any compromise for China on this matter, a Chinese broadcaster reported.

The US must genuinely adhere to the one-China principle established in the three joint US-China communiques, respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and clearly oppose Taiwan independence, the top official added.

Seven members of the US House of Representatives have addressed Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to include a stopover in Taiwan on his visit to China this week, calling the breakaway island “friends and allies.”

Despite the rhetoric, the US does not officially recognize Taiwan in order to keep economic and diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

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❗️ Xi Jinping's latest statements at the meeting with Antony Blinken:

▪️ The future and fate of mankind depends on whether China and the US can coexist correctly;

▪️ The United States must respect China and not harm its legitimate rights and interests;

▪️ China hopes that US-China relations can overcome all difficulties;

▪️ China respects the interests of the United States and will not challenge the United States or try to replace it.

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❗️US not supporting Taiwan's independence not planning to enter into conflict with China, Antony Blinken said

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel will pay visits to European countries from June 20-24 

"Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez will visit Europe from June 20-24. He will participate as Chairman of the G-77 + China in the Summit for a New World Financial Pact to be held in Paris," the Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The president is also scheduled to visit Italy and pay a private visit to Vatican. Besides, the foreign ministry plans to come up with an official program of the visit to Serbia.

Diaz-Canel will also meet with European leaders and attend other events, the ministry said.

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📹 Russia's Su-25SM attack aircraft destroy enemy assets in the zone of the special military op

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Qatar, UAE resume work of diplomatic missions from Monday

Diplomatic missions of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will start working in Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai from Monday after the full restoration of diplomatic relations severed six years ago, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

"Based on the desire of the two countries to strengthen relations, Qatar and the UAE announce the restoration of diplomatic missions, in particular, the Qatari embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate general in Dubai, as well as the UAE embassy in Doha, starting from Monday, June 19. The parties confirm that this step is aimed ... at strengthening joint Arab activities," the ministry tweeted.

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Turkiye has launched an investigation into Google for alleged abuse of market dominance

The Turkish Competition Authority discussed the information, documents and conclusions obtained during the preliminary investigation, and, recognizing the findings as serious and sufficient, decided to launch an investigation into the economic integrity of the Alphabet company and its branches, including Google, in order to determine whether there was a violation of the competition law, according to the local broadcaster’s report.

In 2020, the Turkish competition regulator fined Google $25 million over abuse of its leading position on the market of search browsers after a year-long probe into the company's advertising algorithms that allowed its search engine to display contextual ads on top of other search results.

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📹 The Russian Ministry of Defense showed footage of a German-made Leopard 2A6 tank being hit by a kamikaze drone

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The Russian MoD’s latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces launched a long-range sea-based high-precision weapons group strike against foreign-manufactured military hardware storage sites. All the assigned targets have been neutralized. The goal of the attack has been reached.

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces have successfully repelled four Ukrainian attacks in the DPR. Ukraine’s losses included over 340 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 armored fighting vehicles, 5 motor vehicles, 1 Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, as well as D-20 and Msta-B howitzers.

▪️ As a result of army aviation strikes, artillery and the units of the Russian Armed Forces, the actions of 2 Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been prevented in Kharkov region. Ukrainian losses included up to 45 troops, 3 armored fighting vehicles, 4 motor vehicles, and a Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system.

▪️ Russia’s aviation and artillery have hit Ukrainian units in the LPR. The activities of three Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been disrupted. Ukrainian losses included up to 105 troops, 2 infantry fighting vehicles, 2 armored fighting vehicles, 2 pickup trucks, 2 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems, as well as D-20 and D-30 howitzers.

▪️ Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Russia have eliminated 93 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions, as well as troops and hardware in 102 areas.

▪️ Air defense facilities have shot down a Ukrainian Air Force Mi-8 helicopter in Zaporozhye region.

▪️ Five HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system projectiles have been also intercepted.

▪️ Some 444 airplanes, 240 helicopters, 4,700 unmanned aerial vehicles, 426 air defense missile systems, 10,192 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,125 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,163 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 11,047 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military op.

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🗣️”They want to keep their global hegemony intact. In order to do that, they have to undermine, they have to weaken and destabilize their strategic competitors such as the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation and the BRICS summit”: Abayomi Azikiwe, the editor of the Pan-African News Wire, on the decline of the Collective West’s influence in the emerging multipolar world

🎧Listen to more of Azikiwe’s analysis in our podcast By Any Means Necessary