🇺🇸 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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⚡️ Key statements made by Russian Foreign Ministry on Biden's cluster munitions transfer to Ukraine:

▪️The US' decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine is another "blatant" manifestation of the aggressive course against Russia;

▪️The supply is aimed at prolonging the Ukraine conflict "until the last Ukrainian," and will not affect the course of Russia's special military op;

▪️The international community has no right to ignore the US supplying cluster munitions to Kiev and must adequately respond.

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📹 Russian troops thwart attack by Ukrainian forces in Zaporozhye direction

Russian forces destroyed a mortar that was covering Ukrainian assault units in the Zaporozhye direction, a commander of a unit of the Russian Armed Forces said.

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Karine Jean-Pierre caught lying about Biden family's presence in WH when cocaine was found

Jean-Pierre snapped at a reporter on Friday, denying the suggestion that the cocaine belonged to a member of the Biden family and said they were absent at the White House that day.

But according to the White House pool report from Friday, all of them including Hunter were in fact there.

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🇨🇦 Canada announces opposition to use of cluster munitions amid US supplies to Ukraine

The Canadian government said on Saturday that it remained opposed to the use of cluster munitions following the United States' decision to deliver such weapons to Ukraine.

Ottawa's stance on the matter is guided by the Convention on Cluster Munitions to which it is a signatory, the government reportedly added. The treaty prohibits the production, use, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions.

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🇺🇸Congressman Paul Gosar condemns US government's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine

"No one in the Biden administration or in NATO are seeking peace, so war continues. The long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive started, and the Russian Federation stopped the American weapon-backed and trained Ukrainian troops. Ukraine gained little to nothing. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Russians have been killed,” he said.

“I condemn the ongoing war and Biden’s latest decision to escalate the conflict by sending cluster munitions to Ukraine. I continue to call for peace talks, as I have since March 2022, and I continue to maintain that the United States has no business in this war,” stated Congressman Gosar.

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The return of Azov* leaders from Turkiye to Ukraine is a violation of the terms of existing agreements. This is a violation by both Ankara, Kiev. No one informed Russia about the transfer of Azov leaders to Ukraine from Turkiye, the Kremlin has told Sputnik.

*Azov Battalion is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

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In the context of preparations for the NATO summit in Turkiye, significant pressure was exerted on Ankara, and as a member of the alliance, it shows solidarity with it, which Russia understands well, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik. However, violating agreements does not reflect well on anyone, he added.

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🇪🇸 Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles does not support the decision of US President Joe Biden to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine

"Spain does not support this decision. We are against the sending of cluster munitions. This is not a NATO decision. Spain is acting based on its firm commitments to Ukraine, but also firmly holds the position that certain types of weapons and ammunition cannot be supplied under any circumstances," Robles told reporters.

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Foreign mercenaries openly roam the cities of Ukraine, and pro-Russian underground networks in various Ukrainian regions have recently begun to often receive information about this

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How much money has NATO pledged to Ukraine to date?

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg announced a 500 million euro security assistance package to Ukraine at a press conference in Brussels on Friday.

US officials announced their own $800 million military aid package for Kiev, including howitzer-fired cluster bombs, Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles, Patriot air defense systems, AIM-7 air-to-air missiles, and Stinger man-portable anti-air missiles.

Who is the single biggest NATO donor to Ukraine? What does Ukraine do with the military aid it gets?

Sputnik crunches the numbers