Kiev regime’s budget has netted over $23 bln from international partners in past six months, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said

"In the first six months of this year, the state budget received 1.3 trillion gryvnas from taxes, fees, and other payments. Expenditures during the same period amounted to 1.78 trillion gryvnas. We are grateful to our international partners who have allocated over $23 billion since the beginning of the year to finance the budget deficit," Shmygal wrote in a social media post.

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Ukrainian forces shell Donetsk, children among the wounded

The Ukrainian army has launched an artillery strike on a district in Donetsk, causing a fire in a residential building. There are casualties among civilians, including children, Sputnik correspondent reported.

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🇺🇸 Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, spoke to American media on Sunday. Key point from his speech:

▪️ The question of Ukraine's membership in NATO is resolved and not up for discussion, but democratic reforms are a condition for joining the alliance.

▪️ American military forces will not engage in combat with the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine. This position remains fundamental and constant.

▪️ The conflict in Ukraine is not at an impasse, and difficulties with Kiev's counteroffensive were expected.

▪️ The United States will give permission for Europe to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft and provide necessary resources. Europeans need "a couple of weeks" to arrange preparations.

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🗣️ On the US concerns about China:

“The US can't engage in a military confrontation because that would be insane. It can try to harass China economically, but that's not going to work. So, the US is really, really on a losing path. And the fact that things are going poorly in Ukraine just compounds the problem as far as the Biden administration is concerned,” Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War,” told Sputnik.

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

🎥 Russian Msta-S self-propelled howitzer crews operate in Zaporozhye direction

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UK legislators warn Britain's ability to arm itself in dire straits

NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine has uncovered fragility and cracks within the British defence establishment. On Tuesday, the UK's defence ministry will roll out its plans to respond to external threats and will prioritize integrating cutting-edge technologies, like drones and artificial intelligence, to augment its defensive capabilities.

“For the first time since the end of the cold war, we have to face the prospect that we could become involved in a peer conflict with Russia.....In this new, more challenging environment, we need a defence procurement system which can . . . equip our armed forces to fight and to win," the committee said.

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Ukraine stands to lose roughly $500 million per month if the grain deal with Russia is not extended Monday, an analysis by Russian media using data from the UN and Ukraine’s Ministry of Agriculture and Customs Service has shown.

According to the figures, between August 2022 and June 2023, Ukraine exported some 50.6 million tons of grain worth a total of $9.8 billion, with some 78-80 percent of exports accounted for by the country’s ports, and the remainder via rail, road and barge-based shipments.

Exports enabled by the Black Sea Grain Initiative accounted for 28.1 million tons of grain, or 55.5 percent of all Ukrainian sales abroad.

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Guinea Pig Appreciation Day: Is the Animal Really From Guinea?

Did you know that July 16 is Guinea Pig Appreciation Day? It is a day dedicated to raising awareness of the different breeds of these adorable pets. If you are a fan of small and furry animals, you probably have a soft spot for guinea pigs. But how much do you know about them? Where do they come from, and why are they called that?

👉 Read the full story!

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🇺🇸 Trump angling for 'indefinate' delays in classified docs prosecution battle

Donald Trump’s lawyers representing the 45th POTUS say that there are a plethora of reasons for seeking a delay to the trial, ranging from Trump’s need to devote a great deal of time to his campaign, to the bulk of evidence in the case that advocates have to sort through.

According to the indictment, the classified documents Trump stored in boxes at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida included information about defense and weapons capabilities of both the US and foreign countries, US nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the US and its allies to military attack, and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.

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🇮🇷 The Seventh Sand Statue Festival is taking place in the Iranian city of Babolsar. Look at the unique tallent of the artists!

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The Crimean Bridge was closed following an emergency but drivers can use an alternative land route, the Russian Ministry of Transport informs.

Crimean head Sergey Aksenov said on Telegram overnight that traffic was suspended on the Crimean Bridge due to an emergency and urged people to avoid traveling via the Crimean Bridge.

An operational headquarters was formed to coordinate the actions of all services in connection with the emergency, local authorities said. Crimea has all the necessary fuel, food and supplies.

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Police at the exit from Simferopol warn drivers that traffic on the Crimean Bridge is closed, a Sputnik correspondent reports

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The support structure of the Crimean Bridge has not been damaged, but there is road damage on the spans from the side of Crimea, the Russian Transport Ministry says.

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All necessary services are working at the Crimean Bridge, law enforcement will later inform about details of the emergency, local authorities say

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Two dead, one girl injured in Crimean Bridge emergency, local authorities say

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Russian forces destroy enemy infantry trying to attack in Zaporozhye direction

In the South Donetsk direction, the "Vostok" group of forces has been systematically attacking Ukrainian troops, having destroyed a pickup truck with nationalists and two mortar crews, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

In addition, Russian forces have destroyed a Ukrainian command and observation post in one of the sectors of the South Donetsk direction and prevented a planned attack.

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Railway traffic resumed following Crimean Bridge emergency, Simferopol-Moscow train departed towards Krasnodar region, local authorities say

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Chairman of the Parliament of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov on the Crimean Bridge emergency:

▪️Last night, the Kiev terrorist regime committed a new crime - the Crimean Bridge was attacked.

▪️The Kiev regime undoubtedly knew that the automobile section of the bridge serves exclusively as a civilian site. But it never stopped the terrorists and will never stop them.

▪️They can only be stopped by depriving them of the physical ability to inflict such attacks, as well as by the inevitability of retribution for such attacks.

▪️The railway track of the Crimean bridge was not damaged, Crimea is connected to mainland Russia by a land corridor in the north, so the peninsula is not isolated.

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