US to host trilateral summit with South Korea and Japan

US President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a trilateral summit at Camp David on August 18 to discuss expanding trilateral cooperation across the Indo-Pacific, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced on Friday.

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💬 "Ordinary Australian people see their own government, the Albanese government, as the enemy of Australia"

Australia has lost its independence and has morphed into a tool of Washington's foreign proxy hybrid wars against Russia and China, Australian political activist Simeon Boikov told Sputnik.

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NASA was forced to rely on backup systems to re-establish contact with astronauts aboard the International Space Station for the first time since its full operation began in 2009

The unexpected incident occurred on Tuesday and lasted for approximately 90 minutes before normal communications were restored.

During the outage, NASA utilized Russian communication systems to stay in touch with astronauts Frank Rubio, Woody Hoburg and Stephen Bowen, who form part of the Expedition 69 crew.

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African countries are grateful for Russia's offer of free grain supplies, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the Russia-Africa summit

Ramaphosa said that the main goal of African delegations was not to come to St. Petersburg to ask for free grain supplies from Russia, but African countries were nonetheless grateful for Russia’s offer to those in need.

Putin said earlier at the Russia-Africa summit that Russia was going to supply grain to African countries on a commercial basis as well as free of charge.

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The Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at least 42 shells at Russia’s Belgorod region over the past day, hitting at the Shebekino automobile border checkpoint 16 times, the governor said

No casualties or damage have been reported.

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💬 "We are really ready to work together hand in hand with our African friends for the future"

Vladimir Putin emphasizes Russia's desire to develop strategic partnership with African countries on the sidelines of the Second Russia-Africa Summit.

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📹 Russian paratroopers destroy (0:09) Ukrainian company with multiple-launch rocket system in the zone of the special military op

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The Russian government imposed a ban on the export of rice and rice groats until December 31, 2023, in order to maintain stability in the domestic market

The ban will not affect the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the government also said. Rice and rice groats could be sent abroad for humanitarian aid, as well as within the framework of international transit transportation, the government said.

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Sputnik is live as Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa are holding bilateral talks in St. Petersburg

WATCH LIVE on website or on Telegram!

A number of African leaders discussed the Ukrainian peace initiative at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the final statement is being prepared, a source in one of the African delegations told Sputnik

Putin will meet with the leaders of South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali and Congo, and may talk to journalists, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia-Africa summits will be regular, as stated in the declaration; they will take place once every three years, Peskov added.

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💬 "Russia could help Australia"

Australian political activist Simeon Boikov speaks about benefits Australia could have if took a course of neutrality and friendship towards Russia.

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The Russian Ka-52M crews successfully launch LMUR missiles beyond the range of Ukrainian air defense systems, the UK Defense Ministry admitted in its recent intelligence report

Russia’s Ka­-52M attack helicopters are equipped with a “new and highly effective” long-range missile that poses a serious threat to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a US magazine has reported.

The magazine cited the UK Defense Ministry’s recent Intelligence Update as saying that one of the key improvements of the Ka-52M is the integration of the LMUR, a new anti-tank missile, which has a range of approximately 15 km.

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📹 Ka-52 helicopter crew destroys (0:24) Ukrainian stronghold with guided missile strike

Having received a target designation, a Ka-52 ‘Alligator’ helicopter launched a strike, as a result of which a Ukrainian unit with anti-tank weapons was destroyed.

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Western military equipment supplied to Ukraine has a whole array of flaws, a well-informed source has told Sputnik

The source referred to Russian defense experts, who looked into trophy pieces of Ukrainian military hardware, which were earlier seized during the course of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

These include the German-made Leopard 2 tanks, the US Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and France’s AMX-10RC light tank.

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The US will continue to engage with Russia on operations in Syrian airspace, including in the context of the recent incidents with US drones - US secretary of defense

On Wednesday, Rear Adm. Oleg Gurinov, the deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said that an MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle of the US-led coalition in Syria had come into dangerous proximity to Su-35 and Su-34 aircraft of the Russian airspace forces. 

Gurinov called the actions of the US-led coalition "extremely provocative," but noted that thanks to "high professionalism" of Russian pilots, a possible collision had been prevented. The similar incident occurred on Friday, Russian officials said.

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