What is 'Surovikin defensive line' which Ukrainian forces can't crack?

Ukraine’s president has acknowledged that Kiev’s counteroffensive is going “slower than desired,” claiming it’s because of his concern about “people’s lives.”

Moscow says otherwise, citing the loss of thousands of Ukrainian troops and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles for miniscule gains.

👉 What’s stopping Kiev’s offensive? Sputnik explains

❗️Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️The Russian Aerospace Forces launched long-range precision strikes at Ukrainian foreign-made hardware and a weapons depot. The assigned target was destroyed.

▪️In the Zaporozhye direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to over 110 troops, two tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, eight armored fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and two D-20 howitzers;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Russian forces eliminated over 185 Ukrainian servicemen, an infantry fighting vehicle, two armored fighting vehicles, as well as two ammunition depots;

▪️In the Krasny Liman direction, the actions of three Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were thwarted. Ukraine lost over 135 troops, two infantry fighting vehicles, two armored fighting vehicles, three pick-up trucks, one Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer, and one D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the Kupyansk direction, two sabotage and reconnaissance groups were neutralized. Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 30 troops, an armored personnel carrier, two motor vehicles, as well as an American-made M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system;

▪️In the Kherson direction, up to 45 Ukrainian servicemen, two motor vehicles, and a D-30 howitzer were neutralized; A command and observation post was destroyed in the Zaporozhye region;

▪️Russian air defense forces intercepted five Storm Shadow cruise missiles and two HIMARS rockets, and 15 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the Kharkov, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, as well as in the DPR and LPR.

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📹🇷🇺 Vladimir Putin lays flowers at Tomb of Unknown Soldier on Day of Memory and Sorrow

A traditional ceremony commemorating the Day of Memory and Sorrow, which marks the start of Nazi Germany's invasion of the USSR in 1941, has been held in Alexander Garden near the Kremlin.

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22 June, the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, people bow their heads before all those who perished in the fierce battle against the enemy, before the generation of Soviet people who brought humanity Victory and gave it a future.

No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten - throughout Russia, people carry flowers to the graves of their ancestors and light candles. The memory of generations is inside everyone. And if children remember this war as their ancestors did, there will never be war again.

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What is the Sarmat missile, and why does Western media call it the ‘Satan II’?

he RS-28 Sarmat is Russia’s next-generation silo-based, three-stage, liquid-fueled, multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV)-equipped ICBM. The missile has an operational range of up to 18,000 km, enough to target almost any spot on Earth, and can reportedly be equipped with 10-15 warheads, up to two dozen Avangard hypersonic glide vehicles, or a combination of warheads and countermeasures, including dummy warheads to distract and fool enemy missile defenses.

Why has the West given it the creepy name of 'Satan II'? And why do Russian military planners hope that the strategic weapon will never have to be used?

Sputnik explains

📹 NATO training paying off? Ukrainian tank appears to have an intimate moment with a US-gifted armored fighting vehicle

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😳 Breaking news: Joe Biden is Indian!

Okay, actually the US president just seems to have mixed up national anthems: Biden slowly lowers his hand from his heart after realizing that it’s the Indian national anthem playing

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⚡️ The US Coast Guard has reported discovering a debris field within the designated search area for the Titanic tourist submarine. Experts are currently assessing the information to determine if this is related to the missing sub

On Sunday, the OceanGate Expeditions Titan submersible went missing during an expedition to the Titanic wreckage in an area about 900 miles east of Cape Cod in the Atlantic, at a depth of approximately 13,000 feet. The submarine has a capacity to carry five people and has oxygen supply for 96 hours.

Biden calls Modi “Mr. President” and after correcting himself, jokes that he had “demoted” the prime minister.

You can see on Modi's face whether he liked the joke 🤷‍♂️

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🎥 The Russian Ministry of Defense has released a video showing a Russian Lancet drone strike a Ukrainian Bulat tank in the South Donetsk direction.

As a result of the kamikaze drone attack, the munition exploded and the vehicle was blown to pieces.

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Former Texas Republican Congressman announces presidential bid

Former US Congressman and ex-CIA officer Will Hurd has launched his campaign for the Republican nomination for president, stating that the "soul of our country is under attack" and that the US needs common sense in these "complicated times."

He highlighted issues such as illegal immigration, fentanyl, inflation, crime, and homelessness, stating that President Joe Biden is unable or unwilling to solve them. Hurd has served on the front lines of the US' most pressing fights, including being a counter-terrorism asset for the CIA.

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Ancient Nordic board game piece 'captured' during Norwegian city's sewer repairs

A soapstone token inscribed with the runic word "Siggsifr" has been discovered during repairs to a sewer pipe in Trondheim, Norway.

The token was found between wooden planks, possibly part of a medieval street, and a layer of coal dating from between AD 1030 and 1180. Although ancient gaming pieces are common, runic innoscriptions are rare. The Vikings had a passion for board games, with tafl being a popular game played on checkered game boards with pieces representing armies.

The token may have served as a king piece in a game, and is only the third item of its kind with runic innoscriptions to have been found in the city.

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🗣️”This is all about justifying their military presence so close to China that they have to continuously provoke tension and potential conflict to justify their military presence there so that they can maintain that significant base network really so close to China”: Brian Berletic, an ex-US Marine Corps, Bangkok-based independent geopolitical researcher and writer on why American troops are still in South Korea

🎧Listen to more of Berletic’s analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour

Archive documents on first days of Great Patriotic War released by Russia’s MoD

Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has for the first time published documents shedding light on the first days of the Great Patriotic War. The materials, available on the Telegram channel of Russia’s MoD, were released timed for the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow.

Check it out on Sputnik's website