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

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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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💬 "Australia was a colony of the British and now Australia remains to be a colony"

Australian political activist Simeon Boikov reflects on Australia's dependence on the US.

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Among the munitions exploded in Thursday’s blast in Greece were AGM Maverick missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft systems, and some shells

On Thursday, an ammunition depot, which belongs to the Greek air forces, caught fire near the town of Nea Anchialos in central Greece, local media reported, adding that the fire spread to the ammunition depot due to the strong wind from a wildfire raging nearby.

At the same time, The explosion did not affect the most advanced and expensive weapons, such as High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM) and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), the local newspaper reported.

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The Russian MoD’s latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️ On the evening of July 28, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a precision-guided weapons strike on a Ukrainian control point in Dnepropetrovsk. The assigned target has been neutralised. The goal of the attack has been reached.

▪️ 5 enemy attacks have been successfully repelled in the DPR. Enemy losses included up to 120 Ukrainian servicemen, 3 armoured fighting vehicles, 2 motor vehicles, as well as a Msta-B howitzer.

▪️ The enemy losses in South Donetsk and the Zaporozhye region were up to 135 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 tanks, 3 armoured fighting vehicles, 3 motor vehicles, and 1 D-20 howitzer.

▪️ The enemy losses near Krasny Liman were up to 170 Ukrainian servicemen, 3 armoured fighting vehicles, 2 motor vehicles, 1 Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, and 1 D-20 howitzer.

▪️ Near Kupyansk, the enemy losses were up to 20 Ukrainian servicemen, 3 motor vehicles and 1 D-20 howitzer.

▪️ In Kherson region, the enemy losses were up to 20 Ukrainian servicemen, 2 motor vehicles, and 1 D-30 howitzer.

▪️ Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Russia have neutralised 97 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and hardware in 103 areas.

▪️ 1 fuel depot of the Ukrainian grouping of troops 'Zaporozhye' has been destroyed close to Zaporozhye.

▪️ Air defence facilities have intercepted 2 S-200 surface-to-air missiles upgraded to attack ground targets, 7 Storm Shadow cruise missiles and 2 HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system projectiles.

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🗣️ On Russian military’s improved “network-centric warfare” capabilities:

“Today with modern technology… they can actually get the video feed from some private on the ground, a feed from some guy on the ground in Donbass. And they will know visually. And then, of course, they receive these immense datasets, an immense stream of information, much of which deals with their reconnaissance and also with the targeting,” Andrei Martyanov, a military and political analyst, told Sputnik.

🎧 Listen to more of Martyanov’s analysis in our podcast New Rules

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📹 The crew of a Russian tank was able to stop a whole column of enemy armored vehicles in the Zaporozhye region, hitting seven Ukrainian armored vehicles with the support of artillery and returning from the battle without significant damage.

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The United States plans to help Australia start manufacturing missiles in the coming years, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin following annual US-Australia ministerial talks, Marles said that visits of US nuclear powered submarines to Australian waters were expected to become more frequent. Austin added that the United States was also set on helping Australia produce guided multiple launch rocket systems by 2025.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 24 signed a law banning gender change operations after the upper and the lower chambers of the Russian Parliament passed the legislation earlier this month. From now on, gender reassignment will only be allowed for medical reasons.

What is Russia's ban on gender change?

Check this Sputnik’s article to find out.

Pepe Escobar: geopolitical chessboard shifts against US empire

Sputnik's columnist Pepe Escobar spoke about the loss of NATO's prestige and the beginning of an improvement in relations between the states of the Global South. The author also revealed the topic of the emergence of a new currency within the framework of the BRICS.

Check out his full article on Sputnik's website

Russian ombudswoman appeals to UN High Commissioner after attack on Russia's city of Taganrog

"Due to the shelling of residential infrastructure in Taganrog, I have appealed to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and other competent international bodies with a request that this outrageous violation of the norms of international humanitarian law by Ukrainian armed forces be publicized and brought to public attention," Moskalkova said on Telegram.

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The governments of the United States and Australia said on Saturday they had agreed to create a joint intelligence center by 2024 to enhance defense cooperation between the two nations.

"The principals agreed to establish Combined Intelligence Centre – Australia within Australia's Defence Intelligence Organisation by 2024. The Centre would further enhance the long-standing intelligence cooperation between the Australian Defence Intelligence Organisation and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, focused on analysing issues of shared strategic concern in the Indo-Pacific," the authorities said in a joint statement issued after the 33rd Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN).

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🇳🇦🇷🇺 'We Should Live Up to Africa's Weight': Namibian Vice President

Namibian Vice President Nangolo Mbumba recently attended the second Russia–Africa Summit, which took place in St. Petersburg on July 27-28. The summit brought together African leaders and senior officials, as well as representatives of business, NGOs and academia, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between Russia and Africa.

"We have a responsibility. Africa is a huge continent, bigger than Europe, even bigger than America, the US and Canada, put together," the Namibian VP said in an excusive interview with Sputnik. "So we should live up to that weight of the mother continent to make sure that we defend our own interests, that we cooperate with our friends"

👉 Read the full story!

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