Ukraine’s worn-out Western-supplied artillery ‘puts more guns out of action’

The Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) are facing a problem of worn-out artillery pieces that they have received from the US as part of Washington’s military aid to Kiev, an American media outlet has reported.

“The wear and tear on Western-provided artillery has put more guns out of action and [the UAF’s] artillery ammunition stocks again run perilously low,” the outlet said.

This followed Russian Foreign Intelligence Agency chief Sergey Naryshkin warning Western countries against relying on the use of force when it comes to their relations with Russia.

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🗣️”The US hypocrisy and paranoia, I think, is coming to the fore. And, once again, they do not want China to have military relations, but they send in their aircraft carrier and missile cruisers to Da Nang”: KJ Noh, peace activist, teacher, and writer, told Sputnik

🇷🇺🇨🇺 Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu met his Cuban counterpart in Moscow

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Poland begins screening thousands of officials for Communist ties

Poland has published a law on the screening of state officials to determine whether they used to collaborate with Polish People's Republic security services between 1944 and 1990.

The lustration law, which appeared in the Polish government's media, provides, among other things, for banning people with communist ties from holding official posts. All those found to be in violation of the new law will be fired.

The state-run Institute of National Remembrance will run the checks. It estimates that some 40,000 serving government officials will be vetted.

Civil servants aged 51 and above have 30 days to submit declarations to confirm or deny their record of cooperation with communists or face sacking within 15 days.

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🗣️”While the US is continuing on a humanitarian line like this, I think it should also consider attempting to remove, what, 19 million UXO in Laos that it dropped. So I think these are just kind of ways in which this horrific US legacy continues to plague and cause suffering all around the world”: KJ Noh, peace activist, teacher, and writer, told Sputnik

🇺🇸 Descendants of slave owners rule the US: Only one living former American president is an exception

Joe Biden and every living former US president – except Donald Trump – are direct descendants of slaveholders, Western media has discovered: among them are Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and even Barack Obama, through his mother’s side.

Also many of both Republicans and Democrats lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and governors have slaveholding ancestors: for example, Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Elizabeth Warren (who, ironically, backs reparations for black Americans), and others.

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⚡️ US announces $500mln in additional security assistance for Ukraine, including more munitions for Patriot defense systems, Stingers, and HIMARS, Pentagon said.

New US military package for Ukraine also includes 30 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 25 Stryker armored personnel carriers

Hungary expects ban on Ukrainian grain imports to be extended in September

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has spoken in favor of extending the EU ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural goods to European countries bordering Ukraine in order to ensure that excess grain does not harm local producers, his office said on Tuesday.

"We share the concerns that grain arriving from Ukraine is causing in our countries. We support grain from Ukraine going to destinations outside Europe, but we are not in favour of that grain staying here, for example in Hungary, and destroying the entire Hungarian grain market. Therefore 'yes' to transit, 'no' to import, and we continue to believe that this ban should be maintained from mid-September onward," Orban said at a Monday meeting of Visegrad Group heads of government, according to his office.

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Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday she was disappointed by criticism of the government's $74 million military aid package to Ukraine from the country's opposition

On Monday, the Australian government announced a new 110 million Australian dollar ($73.6 million) military aid package for Ukraine, which included military equipment and artillery ammunition. The Australian opposition said, however, that the package did not meet Ukraine's key requests, including for Abrams tanks and Bushmaster armored vehicles. Opposition leader Peter Dutton also noted that the government's aid to Kiev "has taken too long and is too little."

"It is disappointing, isn't it. That Mr Dutton's negativity really continues to operate, even in this area where, as you might recall, until now there's been bipartisan support including when we were in Opposition," Wong told radio broadcaster, adding that the package had been worked out in cooperation with Kiev.

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💰 The total amount of US military assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Joe Biden's office as US president has exceeded $41.2 billion, the Pentagon said

Kremlin not aware of plans to hold international talks on Ukraine in July

A German broadcaster previously reported that talks may start in July after international consultations hosted by Denmark on the weekend.

Kremlin is not aware of plans to hold talks on conflict resolution in Ukraine in July, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"The Kremlin knows nothing about this, and, probably, you need to contact the ARD channel for more information," Peskov told reporters.

Kremlin spokesman added that there are currently no prerequisites for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

"As for the negotiation aspect in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, we can repeat once again: at the moment, there are no prerequisites for such a possibility," Peskov told reporters.

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Sending illegal migrants to Rwanda could cost UK over $215,000 each

The UK's Home Office has revealed that each deportation of an illegal migrant to Rwanda could cost London approximately £169,000 ($215,410), but it may save taxpayers between £106,000 and £165,000.

According to an economic impact assessment report on the Illegal Migration Bill, for these measures to be cost-effective, they would need to reduce the number of migrants trafficked on overloaded small boats by 37%. The report clarifies that the cost would only apply to those who enter the UK illegally, and no cost would be incurred if individuals are deterred from doing so.

Additionally, if the number of asylum seekers arriving in the UK reaches 185,000 people, migrant accommodation costs could amount to £32 million per day by the end of 2026. The report highlights that if recent trends continue, the average support cost per person per night would rise to £126 in 2024, £152 in 2025, and £178 in 2026.

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🗣️”As events are developing, it appears that China is growing by leaps and bounds. And therefore, if Europe is not careful, it too will be rueing the day that China became the unrivaled number one that would be seen in some circles in Brussels as inimical to the interests of the European Union. So I think that the fact that Europe is caught between these two poles will probably lead to Europe pursuing contradictory, if not incoherent policies”: Dr Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, and researcher, told Sputnik

Philippines plans to deepen agricultural cooperation with Russia

The Philippines intends to maintain and deepen agricultural cooperation with Russia, after its sector-related exports to the country increased by 26% in 2018-2021, the Philippine Agricultural Department (DA) said on Tuesday.

The announcement came after representatives of both Philippine and Russian agricultural departments attended a business mission of Russian companies in Manila last week. The results of the event will contribute to fostering bilateral collaboration and exploring potential business opportunities between the two countries, the Philippine Agricultural Department said.

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🔺Military and law enforcement officers in fact stopped civil war, Putin told them
🔺“The president speaks clearly. He speaks candidly. I’ve worked for him for more than 20 years, and he speaks for all of us,” Blinken on Biden calling Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’
🔺Air-fight over the Black Sea? Russian jets escort UK reconnaissance aircraft

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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📹 Russia’s Ka-52 reconnaissance attack helicopters located enemy armoured hardware movement and launched missiles at the targets

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Russia enters top 20 world food exporters in 2022

Russia entered the top 20 world food exporters in 2022, ranking 17th, the Russian Federal Center for the Development of Exports of Agricultural Products (Agroexport) said on Tuesday, citing ITC Trade Map data as of June 5.

"Among the largest suppliers of food products and agricultural raw materials, Russia took 17th place, increasing its share to 2.1%. At the same time, among the top 20 countries, Russia showed the largest increase in exports of agricultural products over the past 10 years - a 2.5 times increase," the agency said in a statement.

In 2022, Russian agricultural exports grew by 12% to $41.6 billion compared to the previous year, the statement read, adding that revenue from the export of grain increased by 18%, of meat products by 23% and of the food and processing industry by 1.6%. At the same time, exports of fish and seafood decreased by 12% and of dairy products by 1.9%.

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While European missile manufacturer MBDA announced its intent to develop an interceptor capable of defending against “hypersonic threats”, it remains unclear how fruitful this venture is going to be

Military expert with independent Russian military affairs think tank Center for Military-Political Journalism, Boris Rozhin, told Sputnik that it seems unlikely that some MBDA prototype interceptor would be adopted in the next three years or so.

As Rozhin pointed out, even the United States is currently experiencing serious problems with the development of an air defense system capable of dealing with hypersonic weapons, and Europe currently lags behind the US in that sphere.

“Some additional funds will definitely be allocated, additional research and development teams will be assigned,” he pondered. “But I don’t think that Europe will be able to acquire within the next two-three years more variants of air defense system that could effectively combat modern hypersonic missiles.”

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Soyuz-2.1b rocket with 42 small satellites launched from Vostochny cosmodrome

Russia has launched a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a Meteor-M weather satellite and 42 small spacecraft, including three foreign satellites from the Vostochny cosmodrome, according to a broadcast by the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos on Tuesday.

In 9 minutes 24 seconds after the launch, the rocket will put the Fregat upper stage with satellites into the reference orbit. It is expected to turn on its propulsion system twice and, 50 minutes after separation from the third stage of the rocket, to deliver the Meteor-M to the calculated orbit.

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🗣️”I think that US, the United States, no matter how you cut it, would be better served if he had stuck with his original premise that escalating in Ukraine was a blunder”: Dr Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, and researcher, told Sputnik

🇭🇺 Hungarian prime minister says sanctions against Russia are useless

🗣 Western sanctions not only failed to bring Russia to its knees, but also failed to play a positive role in the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, as the EU initially wanted, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban admitted. "The sanctions failed. I am surprised that we [the EU] (...) were not able to develop them adequately," Orban explained.

▪️ The Hungarian leader added that the EU failed to both "bring Russia to its knees" and achieve peace in Ukraine. "None of this happened," the Hungarian prime minister stressed.

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