How is Ukraine's "voluntary" mobilization going amid the backdrop of a failed counteroffensive?

Sputnik asked some experts

The truth about Ukrainian war crimes against Donbass civilians was revealed by Pavel, a coffee shop owner who was detained and tortured at the Secret prison at the airport of Mariupol.

"I did not accept that their Bandera [Stepan Bandera, a WW2-era Ukrainian Nazi collaborator – Sputnik] was almost higher than the Lord. This is downright wrong. And so many people died because of this plague!" said Pavel.

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Vladimir Putin warned Poland against interfering in the Ukrainian conflict

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🇷🇺 Russian assault detachments of the Airborne Forces captured enemy's fortifications in the forest

After artillery preparation, paratroopers broke into the Ukrainian trenches, capturing and clearing the stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, forcing the enemy to retreat and abandon weapons and ammunition at positions, as well as leave the dead and wounded.

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The UK Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee said in a report out Friday that Scotland could require more military presence as melting Arctic ice is likely to open up new shipping routes that Russia and China are keen to exploit.

According to the Committee, geographical position of Scotland is crucial for UK and NATO defence and security in the North Atlantic and the High North, meaning that "should the situation in the region change, Scotland could become home to a larger defence presence," the report read.

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🇿🇦 Anti-Apartheid Fight's Unsung Hero: Honoring Andrew Mlangeni on Third Death Anniversary

July 21 marks the third anniversary of the death of anti-apartheid activist Andrew Mlangeni, convicted and imprisoned alongside former South African President Nelson Mandela and others in the infamous 1964 Rivonia Trial. Mlangeni was Mandela's last remaining co-defendant.

📝 Sputnik Africa outlines the most important and interesting facts about the venerable activist and close friend of Nelson Mandela.

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🦟🇫🇷 Three cases of dengue fever have been registered in northeastern France, a French broadcaster reported on Friday, adding that this week's cases occurred in the Bas-Rhin department.

Two cases of the fever were recorded in the Brumath commune, the report said. Another case was reported in Strasbourg. Authorities in both regions have taken measures against the tiger mosquito, which is the main carrier of the infection, the broadcaster said.

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🇷🇺 A Russian company has introduced compact radars to thwart maritime drone threats. Portable radars are capable of effectively detecting unmanned vessels at a distance of up to six kilometers, Andrey Komogortsev, the CEO of the Rybinsk Instrument-Making Plant (part of Ruselectronics), told Sputnik.

"The surface of the water does not cause any additional radio interference when this radar is operating. Even an amateur three-meter boat is guaranteed to be visible from a distance of six kilometers. This allows using such stations to protect sea and river objects from unauthorized intrusion," Komogortsev said.

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🇮🇷🇺🇳 Iranian foreign minister urges the UN secretary-general to take rapid action to prevent repeated desecration of the Quran in Sweden, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Further Quran desecration "under the guise of freedom of speech" would be an open insult to the Muslim community and a provocation by various groups that promote Islamophobia and extremism, the minister warned. Issuing permits to desecrate the Quran or any other holy book may pose a threat to the peaceful coexistence of the adherents of different religions, he added.

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Residents of Phoenix, Arizona, are suffering from abnormally high temperatures, with the city claiming to be the “hottest” metropolis in the United States.

On Thursday, the city's meteorological service announced another temperature record: the thermometer installed at the Phoenix airport exceeded 48 degrees, such a number was recorded only for the seventh time in the history of observations. Meteorologists reported a new temperature record for the fourth day in a row, each new day this week is hotter than a year ago.

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