🇨🇦 Canadian police probe ‘circumstances’ behind death of five on board Titan sub

Superintendent Kent Osmond of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told reporters that a team of investigators had been formed with the "sole purpose" of defining whether a criminal investigation would be warranted.

Asked whether the police had any suspicion of criminal activity, Osmond said that "There is no suspicion of criminal activity per se, but the RCMP is taking initial steps to assess whether or not we will go down that road."

Apart from the police probe, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board announced its own investigation, as Titan's support vessel was the Canadian-flagged Polar Prince. This followed the USCG asking the country’s National Transportation Safety Board to assist in its investigation into the implosion of the Titan submersible, which has been called a major marine casualty.

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🇺🇸 US intelligence two weeks ago received data indicating that Prigozhin was preparing a mutiny, and warned the White House about this, but they decided not to make the information public, US media report, citing officials

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❗️Wagner Group forces are leaving Lipetsk region, about 400 kilometers south of Moscow, local authorities say

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🇷🇺📹 'No need to pay attention': Sergey Lavrov comments on statements by Biden and Zelensky about Russian nuclear threat

The foreign minister said that he cannot provide commentary on “stream of consciousness” statements by these politicians, adding that he doesn’t have a medical education to do that – quipping that Ursula von der Leyen does.

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🇷🇸 Serbia will never support a coup in any country, President Aleksandar Vucic said

‘We did not support one in Turkiye or in Russia, and we would not support one in America either,’ he said, adding that power is won through elections.

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🇨🇳 China completes construction of its longest undersea oil and gas pipeline

The Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation has recently finished construction a new pipeline which now links an offshore extraction platform operating at an undersea natural gas field in the South China Sea with an "onshore receiving station" on the Hainan Island.

According to Chinese media, the 115.5-kilometer pipeline became a "key transmission project" that now links the offshore extraction platform with the "onshore receiving station."

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💬 "They need, in many ways a Ukrainian defeat"

In latest episode of our New Rules show, we were joined by Scott Ritter, an ex-US Marine intelligence officer, who explains why NATO knew the Ukrainian counteroffensive would fail from the start.

🔊If you missed the episode, watch it on Rumble or listen to it via the website or app!

❗️Russia's MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️ The Ukrainian Armed Forces continued to attempt offensive operations in the DPR, near Krasny Liman and in the Zaporozhye region;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces repelled two attacks in the south of the DPR and in the Zaporozhye region;

▪️ Russia also repelled ten attacks in the Artemovsk area;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces repelled four attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of Avdeevka, Maryinka, Pervomaisky;

▪️ Russian troops stopped the activities of two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the Serebryansky forest area;

▪️ The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the south of the DPR and in the Zaporozhye region amounted to over 170 soldiers;

▪️ The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 430 soldiers in the DPR;

▪️ Russian troops destroyed up to 130 Ukrainian servicemen near Krasny Liman;

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces destroyed up to 25 military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Kupyansk;

▪️ Russian air defense systems intercepted a Tochka-U missile and a MLRS HIMARS projectile of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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🇷🇺 Putin reveals that he keeps a close eye on ongoing special operation

Speaking with a Russian reporter this week, Putin stated that his work day starts and ends with issues related to the military operation in Ukraine, holding meetings and making phone calls related to that matter.

💬 "Of course, it's my first priority. That's how the day begins and that's how it ends," Putin said.

The Russian president also mentioned that he takes a keen interest in the situation with Russia's military-industrial complex, frequently discussing matters of weaponry production with the heads of Russian defense contractors.

💬 "There are conferences, meetings, talks on the phone, discussions about the production, which is being set up, of the military-industrial complex, with the directors of enterprises, with the heads of companies, with those who use these forces and means, these technical means, these armaments. We talk about their effectiveness, about where and what still needs to be improved and what is lacking. We talk about how, in what ways, at what pace, at what rate we need to increase our efforts," Putin said.

According to Putin, such conversations are usually related to the overall efficiency of arms manufacturing and to the aspects the military-industrial sphere that require improvement.

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💬 "Reality will crush rhetoric every step of the way"

On the latest episode of New Rules podcast, Scott Ritter says that no amount of "words coming out of a NATO summit in Vilnius" will change the reality on the battlefield.

🔊If you missed the episode, watch it on Rumble or listen to it via the website or app!

🇦🇺 Taipei urges Australia to send military attaché to Taiwan

💬 "I think it is very important when the Australian government is paying so much more attention to the regional security issues for the two countries to be able to share their observations, their assessment of the situation," Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told The Australian media.

The report specified that the United States, Japan and Singapore have long placed their attaches on the island in order to maintain communication with Taiwanese intelligence services.

Wu added that Taiwan also wanted to send a military attache to the Canberra office.

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📹 Consequences of a Ukrainian MLRS strike in the center of Donetsk on Sunday

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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Meets Chinese Foreign Minister in Beijing

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang exchanged views on a number of issues in Beijing on Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

"On June 25, 2023, a member of China's State Council, Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Rudenko in Beijing and exchanged views with him on Sino-Russian relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest," the ministry said in a statement.

No further details of the meeting were given.

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💬 "Turning F-16s over to the Ukrainians isn't doing them any favors"

On the latest episode of the New Rules podcast, Scott Ritter explains why F-16 deliveries to Kiev will condemn Ukrainian pilots to death.

🔊If you missed the episode, watch it on Rumble or listen to it via the website or app!

Musk vs Zuckerberg: Cage fight ‘might actually happen’, Tesla CEO says

Amidst reports of Meta planning to launch a rival platform to Twitter called Threads, Elon Musk has expressed his willingness to train for a proposed MMA cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg.

Musk tweeted that he would start training if the fight were to happen and warned that it could go badly for Zuckerberg if the Twitter owner takes it seriously.

The exchange began when Musk stated he would be up for a cage fight, and Zuckerberg responded with a challenge to specify the location.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed Zuckerberg's seriousness about the fight, and Musk jokingly mentioned the UFC Octagon in Las Vegas, suggesting it as a potential venue.

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📹 UAF armored vehicles hit by a Ka-52 reconnaissance attack helicopter (video by Russian MoD)

Ka-52 crews detected the movement of UAF armored vehicles and destroyed the target with a guided missile.

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US concerns about stalled Ukrainian counteroffensive ‘surely not vote of approval’

The slow progress of the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces has raised concerns in Washington, with Kiev fearing a potential halt in US military supplies if Joe Biden fails to win the 2024 election, according to analyst Mark Sleboda.

A US military official noted that the counteroffensive is falling short of expectations, while Russian forces have displayed greater competence than anticipated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's acknowledgment of the slower progress suggests that the Ukrainian regime is attempting to mitigate the situation.

Sleboda believes that Kiev's concerns over potential changes in US military assistance due to a change in presidency are unwarranted, as the president's influence over foreign and military policy is limited.

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China backs Russia's efforts to stabilize situation amid Wagner events

Beijing has expressed support for Moscow's efforts to stabilize the situation in Russia amid recent developments involving the Wagner Group private military company (PMC) and its head Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

"The Chinese side expressed support for the efforts of the leadership of the Russian Federation to stabilize the situation in the country in connection with the events of June 24 and reaffirmed its interest in strengthening the unity and further prosperity of Russia," the ministry said following a Sunday meeting of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing.

The Russian ministry stressed that Moscow and Beijing are bound by "trust-based" relations.

"The sides praised the current state of Russian-Chinese relations and confirmed readiness for joint efforts to steadily strengthen them," the statement read.

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North Korea supports Russia's leadership in situation with Wagner mutiny attempt

North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Im Chon Il met with Russian Ambassador in Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora on Sunday and expressed his country's support for the Russian leadership during an attempted armed mutiny by the Wagner Group private military company (PMC), the North Korean news agency reported.

"Im Chon Il, vice foreign minister of the DPRK, met with Alexandr Matsegora, Russian ambassador to the DPRK [North Korea], on June 25 ... During the talk, Im Chon Il expressed firm belief that the recent armed rebellion in Russia would be successfully put down in conformity with the aspiration and will of the Russian people, saying the DPRK will strongly support any option and decision by the Russian leadership," media reported.

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The situation at the frontline in the Zaporozhye region remains stable and Ukrainian troops have not made any significant advances, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye regional administration, told Sputnik.

"The frontline in the Zaporozhye region is stable and is under the control of our troops. The enemy is making attempts to advance, fighting is underway in the gray zone and on a small section of the first line of defense, where the enemy is trying to gain a foothold," Rogov said.

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Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are testing Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communications network in a bid to officially introduce the technology next fiscal year starting April 2024, a Japanese newspaper has cited unnamed government sources as saying.

The sources claimed that the service has been tested for the SDF’s land, sea and air forces since March with the system deployed in about ten locations and in training.

According to the insiders, although the Japanese Ministry of Defense already has access to communication satellites in geostationary orbit, using Starlink’s constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit would provide an additional layer of capability. The Defense Ministry has not commented on the matter yet.

The reported developments come after Musk’s SpaceX aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company said it had orbited 72 more Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 medium-lift launch vehicle.

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