Almost 80% of Russians believe Putin doing good job - poll

The survey by Russia's Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) also showed that 76% of respondents trust the head of state, 15% do not trust him, and 10% are unsure.

In addition, the poll asked about the level of fear among the respondents' relatives, friends, colleagues and acquaintances. Almost half of those polled (49%) said that the average mood was calm. At the same time, 45% of Russians said that fear prevailed in their immediate environment, and another 6% of respondents found the question difficult to answer.

The FOM poll was carried out from June 30-July 2 among 1,500 adults in 104 cities, towns and villages across 53 Russian regions through in-person interviews. The margin of error did not exceed 3.6%.

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Cluster bombs will kill Ukraine civilians, curse land for generations, former CIA officer says

"It [cluster munitions] will not win the war for Ukraine. What the bombs will do is kill a lot of civilians as they spread their charges wide and the unexploded buried ordnance will be a curse on Ukraine's farmland wherever they are deployed for a long time to come," former CIA station chief Phil Giraldi told Sputnik.

The former CIA officer said the decision comes as Ukraine is losing on the battlefield against Russia, measured by its failing counterattack which has been supported enthusiastically by NATO, and the chanceries in Europe and the US.

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Air defense forces in Russia’s Voronezh Region, about 500km south of Moscow, have found and destroyed two drones, regional Governor Alexander Gusev said.

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🥴 No, thank you! Joe Biden confuses Russia with Ukraine when talking about NATO membership

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🇷🇺 Shoigu inspects combat training of military personnel of new formations

The Russian Defense Ministry specified that service members receive training in special tactical, medical, and firefighting skills, driving military and special equipment, as well as communications. The course of intensive training of contract soldiers lasts 38 days.

The ministry added that Shoigu checked the preparation and training of T-90 Proryv tank crews, as well as the way contract soldiers are trained in conducting combat operations in various conditions and terrain, including urban combat.

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🇺🇸 At least 38 rights groups are opposing the US delivery of cluster bombs to Ukraine, US media report.

President Joe Biden called the decision “difficult” but proceeded with it nevertheless.

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🇳🇱 Dutch ruling coalition falls apart over failure to agree on refugee issue

The Dutch cabinet held a final meeting Friday evening on the migration crisis, preceded by a number of consultations, during which the ruling parties discussed measures to curtail the stream of asylum-seekers, Dutch media reported.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte and his cabinet's resignation now triggers a general election set to take place later this year; however, until a new ruling coalition is brought in, the current cabinet will maintain control in a caretaker capacity.

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🇺🇸 Throwback to 2022: Jen Psaki says using cluster bombs is a war crime

Now that Washington has confirmed that it's sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, it’s "obviously" not a war crime?

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Ukrainian troops have abandoned their positions near the village of Pyatikhatki, Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, head of the public movement "We are together with Russia," told Sputnik

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📹 Russian Ka-52 helicopter crew eliminates Ukrainian armored fighting vehicle in South Donetsk direction

After a precise hit by a guided missile, the armored vehicle’s ammunition ignited and detonated (0:20), resulting in its complete destruction.

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🇺🇸 Tucker Carlson hopes Trump & RFK Jr. win 2024 nomination despite 'very tough time' getting it

The journalist, who emphatically said that he "loves Trump," insisted that in 10 years, “we’re going to see the former US president’s emergence as the most significant thing to happen in American politics in 100 years because he reoriented the Republican Party against the wishes of Republican leaders.”

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🇷🇺 BRICS needs qualitative expansion, says Russian lawmaker

The bloc, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, needs more countries, but they must be a good fit and not just selected artificially simply for the sake of getting "more flags," said Andrey Klimov, deputy head of the Russian upper chamber's committee on foreign affairs, adding that it is worth considering different formats for membership.

Klimov cited the example of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which did not expand quickly, and recalled that BRICS initially consisted only of Russia, India, and China.

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📹🇷🇺 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected the organization of training of military personnel of new formations at the training grounds of Russia’s Southern Military District

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

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Russian forces destroyed over 500 Ukrainian troops, three tanks, six infantry fighting vehicles, an American-made M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, one D-30 howitzer, as well as a HIMARS MLRS depot and ammunition depot;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye direction, the actions of a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were thwarted. Russian troops neutralized up to 170 Ukrainian soldiers, three infantry fighting vehicles, one US-made M777 artillery system, one French-made CAESAR self-propelled howitzer, one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, two Msta-B and two D-20 howitzers, as well as an ammunition depot;

▪️In the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 30 Ukrainian troops, an American-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar station, one D-20 howitzer, a Giatsint-B towed gun, one US-made M777 artillery system, and one Akatsiya self-propelled howitzer;

▪️In the Krasny Liman direction, the actions of a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group were thwarted. Russian forces neutralized up to 60 Ukrainian personnel, one tank, three armored combat vehicles, two D-30 howitzers, as well as three ammunition depots;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Russian troops neutralized up to 40 Ukrainian soldiers, one tank, and one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer;

▪️A military fuel depot was hit in the city of Zaporozhye;

▪️Russian air defenses shot down one Su-27 aircraft, six HIMARS rockets, as well as 17 unmanned aerial vehicles in the DPR, LPR, and Sumy region.

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⚡️ Moscow says by supplying cluster munitions to Kiev, US will become accomplice in mining territories, bear responsibility for death of people

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