Emmanuel Macron asserted that it is up to the Ukrainians to decide whether Russian athletes should participate in the 2024 Games despite claiming that the Olympics should not be politicized

The president said that while there must be "no Russian flag" at the Olympics, "the Olympic world must determine the place of Russian athletes who have trained all their lives."

In March, the IOC executive board recommended that international sports federations allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag, while also advising that Russian teams not be considered for participation in international team sports competitions.

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Klyushin's lawyer says 'we will appeal' verdict after Russian businessman sentenced to 9 years in US prison

A US court on Thursday sentenced Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin to nine years in prison on hack-and-trade charges, a Sputnik correspondent reported. The defense sought a 36-month sentence to include time served in Switzerland and the United States. US prosecutors asked for 14 years in prison.

The judge said that the 3-year sentence would minimize seriousness of the crimes he committed, citing their sophisticated geography. She still mentioned mitigating factor including that he is the first time offender and that he has participated in charities and helped individual neighbors.

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Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau may open a criminal case against Rustem Umerov, who was recently appointed the country’s defense minister, a Ukrainian media outlet has reported

The bureau received a complaint that Umerov, the former head of the State Property Fund (SPF), along with his two deputies, "took actions aimed at concealing the facts of theft of state property."

The three are accused of concealing the sale of electricity at below-market prices to companies related to Tsentrenergo, one of Ukraine’s energy giants.

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🇷🇺A true hero: Russian serviceman with the call sign Casper saved his brothers-in-arms from a Ukrainian drone

During the drone attack, Casper took the armor from the bulletproof vest, stretched out his arms and directed the defense towards the flying drone, closing the gap in the trench where his comrades were located.

Watch the video to find out more details of how this happened – from Casper and his comrades.

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Pro-Russian blogger Mika Badalyan and columnist for Sputnik Radio Armenia Ashot Gevorgyan have been detained in the Armenian city of Goris.

The reason behind the detention is not disclosed yet and investigative procedures continue.

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🇵🇱 Poland's defense spending has quadrupled to 155 billion zlotys ($36 billion) since 2015, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday.

🗣 "Improving the system of public finances allows us to spend enormous amounts of money on the military. Just to compare 2015 and 2024, in 2015, we spent 37 billion zlotys, while in 2024, we will spend over 150 billion, that is, about 155 billion zlotys. This is an increase of about four times, or by 400%," Morawiecki told reporters.

Poland has recently purchased large quantities of arms and military equipment from domestic and foreign defense companies, mainly from the United States and South Korea. The weapons purchased include aircraft and helicopters, rocket and cannon artillery systems, air and missile defense systems, drones, small arms and a wide range of ammunition.

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After Russia's recent grain shipment announcement to six African countries, listen in on what experts have to say on the matter in the new episode of the #AfroVerdict podcast from Sputnik Africa.

https://news.1rj.ru/str/sputnik_africa/8343

🗣 "Walter Isaacson, an author and journalist, in his biography of @elonmusk writes that last year the businessman shut down Starlink to prevent Ukraine’s attack on Russia’s Navy stationed in Crimea. He was concerned about a retaliatory nuclear strike. If what Isaacson has written in his book is true, then it looks like Musk is the last adequate mind in North America." Russia's Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev on the information that Elon Musk limited the work of Starlink to disrupt Kiev's attack on the Russian fleet.

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🗣️ On the US efforts to turn Taiwan into a powder keg similar to Ukraine:

“This is exactly what the US was doing with Ukraine in the lead up to the Russian special military operation. They were training Ukrainian troops, they were arming them, they were creating a national security threat to Russia on its border that Russia could not ignore. Now with Taiwan, the United States is doing the same thing, except it's within China's borders…The United States, through its one China policy, actually recognizes Taiwan as part of China. So they're violating international law,” Brian Berletic, ex-US Marine, independent geopolitical researcher, and writer, told Sputnik.

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

📻 Catch us at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

Regime Change vs. Capital Market Openness: What Soros' OSF Means for Africa?

Open Society Foundations' (OSF) move into the Global South, including Africa, has raised many questions and concerns about its motives, methods, and impact.

The organization has long been accused of being a tool for its founder's agenda and personal interests, such as promoting liberal policies, often in opposition to the views and values of the host countries.

Sputnik Africa has talked to three analysts, who delivered different opinions on George Soros' group's goals and perspectives in the Global South.

👉 Read the full story!

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❗️US aims to have depleted uranium rounds in Ukraine when Abrams tanks arrive, according to the Pentagon

"The goal is to have the rounds there, specifically in time or when the tanks are [there]," Defense Department Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said during a press briefing.

The United States expects the first Abrams tanks to arrive in Ukraine later in September.

❗️Pentagon unveils new $600Mln Ukraine package, including additional ammunition for HIMARS, 105mm artillery rounds, electronic warfare and counter-electronic warfare equipment maintenance, and sustainment activities, the Pentagon said in a press release.

❗️ Russian air defenses shot down a UAV over the Bryansk region, Governor Alexander Bogomaz has said. There were no reported casualties or damages.

❗️ Russia's sovereign assets blocked under sanctions are estimated at $280 billion, most of them in the EU, US Treasury said

🇷🇺 Russia's FM Lavrov Raises Concerns about East Asia's Militarization Due to #NATO

🌐 Sergey Lavrov discussed Russia's commitment to regional security and cooperation at the East Asia Summit in Jakarta. emphasizing the importance of maintaining the mechanisms of multilateral cooperation within the framework of #ASEAN.

He also highlighted Russia's initiatives for epidemic response, tourism, and volunteer organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.

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🗣️ On UK supplies of Challenger tanks for Ukraine:

“The myth of the Challenger Two's invincibility was carefully crafted by the UK Ministry of Defense by carefully deploying it to conflicts where it really didn't face that much of a danger, and also careful narration management, because as a matter of fact, two Challenger Two tanks were seriously damaged in Iraq... And this information was covered up. But it was only later revealed in the media. And now we have the Challenger Two tank in Ukraine. It is fighting Russian forces, which are better equipped and better armed than the insurgents were fighting British troops in Iraq,” Brian Berletic, ex-US Marine, independent geopolitical researcher, and writer, told Sputnik.

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

📻 Catch us at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM