⚡️ Since the beginning of the special military operation, the Ukrainian forces have lost more than 444,000 servicemen, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said

❗️ More statements by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu:

▪️ After the capture of Avdeyevka, Russian troops continue to improve the situation in the DPR and near Kupyansk, gaining new lines and positions;

▪️ Russia will soon learn about the feats that are being performed almost daily by special operations forces;

▪️ Since the beginning of the year, some 327 square kilometres in Russia’s new regions have been liberated from the Nazis along the entire front;

▪️ The command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is trying to stabilize the situation at the expense of the remaining reserves and to prevent the collapse of the front;

▪️ The progress of the special military operation shows the futility of the US strategy to contain Russia at the expense of Ukrainian lives and Kiev's military and economic support;

▪️ Over the past week, Ukrainian forces have been knocked out of three settlements in the DPR - Pobeda, Lastochkino and Severnoye;

▪️ In other areas, Russian forces have been firing heavily on Ukrainian military facilities, preventing them from regaining their combat capability;

▪️ The Russian Army is destroying enemy reserves with high-precision weapons, preventing Ukrainian forces from transferring new troops, and depriving them of the opportunity to counterattack;

▪️ On average, Ukrainian forces have lost more than 800 servicemen and 120 units of various weapons per day since the beginning of the year;

▪️ Against the backdrop of the special military operation in Central Asia, pro-Western NGOs have increased their anti-Russian activities, and the Russian Defense Ministry is taking proactive measures;

▪️ The combat capacity of the Central Military District will be increased by the end of the year to ensure security in the Central Asia strategic area;

▪️ The Defense Ministry will increase the combat capabilities of the Eastern Military District against the backdrop of growing military activities of the US and its allies in the Pacific Ocean;

▪️ In 2024, the Eastern Military District will receive more than 200 units of modern and modernized equipment, including Tornado-S MLRS and Tor-M2 SAM systems;

▪️ Reserve battalions will be trained in the Eastern Military District as part of its combat capability build-up;

▪️ Washington is building up nuclear capabilities in European countries and adopting advanced nuclear delivery vehicles;

▪️ Russia's heavy flamethrower systems have carried out more than 4,000 missions to strike the enemy since the beginning of the special military operation.

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❗️ Olaf Scholz said that NATO and European countries will not send their ground troops to Ukraine

🇮🇷 Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani described the screams of the American officer who set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington as the voice of an awakened conscience against the complicity of the US government in the genocide of the Palestinians.

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❗️ Russia believes the settlement proposal being prepared for Russia by Volodymyr Zelensky is an ultimatum, Sergey Lavrov said.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that it does not accept and condemns the so-called Zelensky's "peace formula."

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❗️ Discussions on the possibility of Europe sending military personnel to Ukraine are linked to the lack of results of increasing aid to Kiev, Sergey Lavrov said

❗️ The creation of a European coalition for missile strikes on Russia would be suicidal if this information is confirmed, Sergey Lavrov said

🚩 Is Communism making a comeback in the West?

On Monday, a new communist party was launched in New York. Supporters of the Revolutionary Communists of America marched through Brooklyn, waving red flags and posters of Marx.

The Revolutionary Communists of America is the US branch of the Revolutionary Communists International, also known as the International Marxist Tendency, which was established in 1992. They are also working to establish Revolutionary Communist Parties in Great Britain, Switzerland, and Canada.

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❗️ In its briefing, the Russian Ministry of Defense officially confirmed the destruction of a US-made Abrams tank, having been hit in the Avdeyevka area. Three BMPs, including a Bradley, were also destroyed in the area over the course of the day.

❗️The total losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) in the Donetsk region exceeded 420 servicemen.

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian MoD’s daily briefing on the progress of the special military op in Ukraine:  

▪️The Russian Armed Forces repelled two counterattacks of the UAF near Kupyansk; the enemy lost up to 30 servicemen.

▪️The Russian Armed Forces repelled three attacks by Ukrainian assault groups in the south to Donetsk; enemy losses amounted to up to 130 servicemen.

▪️Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft in the Nikolaev region.

▪️The Russian Armed Forces hit a fuel warehouse for military equipment of the UAF, the P-18 radar, and the control center of the 128th defense brigade.

▪️The Russian Armed Forces took advantageous positions near Avdeyevka and repelled nine Ukrainian counterattacks; the enemy lost up to 485 servicemen.

▪️The Russian Armed Forces repelled seven counterattacks by Ukrainian assault groups in the Donetsk region near Krasnogorovka, Georgiyevka and Novomikhaylovka.

▪️Russian air defense destroyed 69 Ukrainian drones.

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🇷🇺🪖 Today is the 15th anniversary of the Russian special operations forces

Founded in 2009, these forces perform the most difficult tasks today. Participating in Russia’s special military operation, members of the special operations forces regularly conduct raids and ambushes behind Ukrainian lines.

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🇵🇱🚜 Polish farmers are holding a large protest in Warsaw. There is even an Abrams tank (but not quite real and not quite on the move)

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❗️ Sputnik’s first footage from the settlement of Severnoye in the DPR, which the Defense Ministry on Tuesday reported had been liberated

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What are French Mirage 2000 jets Ukraine once refused but is now begging for?

French President Emmanuel Macron has refuted Volodymyr Zelensky’s remarks about talks on supply of Mirage jets to Ukraine.

“Today we are not negotiating about Mirages, but we are training pilots,” said Macron.

Previously, Kiev rejected the Mirage 2000 as an outdated model. Now, apparently, beggars can't be choosers.

What are the French Mirage 2000 jets?

The French fourth-generation, multi-role, supersonic single-engine fighter Mirage 2000 was developed by Dassault Aviation in the 1970s and entered service in 1984. The lightweight fighter with its distinctive delta-shape wing has single- and twin-seat versions. Its characteristics are:

▪️ Wing span - 29.9 ft
▪️ Length - 47 ft
▪️ Combat weight - 21,000 lbs/9,500 kg
▪️ Internal weapons - two 30 mm cannon
▪️ Top speed: 1,450 mph/2,330 kph (Mach 2.2)
▪️ Operational ceiling - 60,000 ft

The Mirage 2000 has been developed into updated variants.

Mirage 2000C:

• Air defense-optimized
• Single-seat
• M53-P2 engine
• RDI pulse-doppler radar
• Night vision-compatible cockpit
• Provision for radar-guided MICA (Multi-Mission Air-to-Air Missile System) air-to-air missiles and laser-guided bombs.

Remaining Mirage 2000Cs retired in 2022 but still had “a bit of potential,” said an unnamed French official.

Mirage 2000D

• Optimized for ground-attack missions
• Two-seat, single-engine, supersonic jet
• Compatible with Safran Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) Hammer guided bombs France has pledged to Kiev
• Compatible with SCALP-EG cruise missiles already in Ukraine

Out of 86 Mirage 2000D fighter-bombers the French Air Force acquired about 30 years ago, around 20 are surplus to France’s needs. But French officials have reportedly said training Ukrainian pilots on the Mirage 2000 might take too long. Maintenance of ageing jets could also prove difficult.

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💀 Time travel is possible: "My 2020 agenda is to finish the job" - Joe Biden and the question "what is your agenda for 2024?"

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A CNN report dating back to 2014 went viral on X, shedding light on the suffering of Donetsk civilians at the hands of Ukraine's forces
The report accused then-president Petro Poroshenko of killing his own people in the region. It featured footage of civilians caught in the crossfire between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian troops.
One Donetsk resident, Alexander Omelyavenko, shared his sentiment, saying, “We are Ukrainian but they kill us, so we probably need our own country. Because these people in Kiev, they are not brothers for us.”

After the onset of the special military operation in Ukraine, CNN referred to it as "Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine".

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Special Operations Forces: Meet Russia’s Elite Commandos

Tuesday is the professional holiday of Russia’s Special Operations Forces (SOF), the high-readiness, high-mobility, specially trained and equipped troops reporting to the chief of the Armed Forces General Staff and tasked with carrying out the most complex and difficult missions and covert operations.

The SOF’s mission and capabilities include:

▪️ Reconnaissance and sabotage, including collection of information and the destruction of important enemy targets behind the lines.

▪️ Counter-terrorism, including preventing and suppressing acts of terror, freeing hostages, and conducting covert missions to eliminate terrorist leaders and groups.

▪️ Ensuring the safety of individuals, facilities and locations in difficult conditions – like providing security at the Olympics in Sochi, or ensuring President Putin’s security during his visit to Khmeimim Air Base in late 2017.

▪️ Special operations at sea and in the air, from the seizure or release of ships, to anti-piracy and smuggling missions.

SOF troops played a decisive role in the operation to secure Crimea in 2014 in the aftermath of the Euromaidan coup in Kiev amid the imminent threat of Maidan thugs descending on the peninsula to crush a pro-Russian uprising. Their surprise appearance on the peninsula, lack of identifying markings, and courteousness toward the local population gave rise to their popular nicknames ‘polite people’ and ‘little green men’.

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