❗️ The Security Service of Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the attacks on three oil refineries in Russia, a Ukrainian mass media outlet has quoted sources as saying.

The strikes are "a continuation of a series of special operations," the outlet said. Their goal is called "reducing Russia's economic potential."

Earlier, Ukraine tried to attack companies in the Russia's Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Leningrad regions with drones.

📹 "It is easier to negotiate with individuals who have 'their nose in cocaine' than with intelligent, dangerous people who influence the consciousness of society," Putin remarked.

Who was Putin referring to?

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Here’s why Putin reminded NATO about Russia’s nuclear capability

Russia is militarily prepared to defend its sovereignty and independence with nuclear weapons, but is not rushing to do so, Putin said in his interview with Dmitry Kiselev, the director general of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group. The Russian president made these remarks in response to a question about the United States potentially sending troops to Ukraine.

If NATO were to follow through on its recent threats, then Russia would be able to offer a swift and devastating response, explained Anatoliy Matviychuk, a retired Russian colonel and military expert.

"All targets that are critical for us -- this is the land of the Palatinate in Germany, where [US] nuclear warheads are stored, other economically developed centers of the European Union and NATO, which preach an aggressive stance towards us,” he said. “They are already in the crosshairs of our strategic nuclear forces. Our response will not be aimed at some areas, but against specific targets, the destruction of which will firstly undermine the economic power of the European Union and secondly will cause irreparable damage to the United States of America."

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❗️The Patriot air defense system was hit in the Kharkov region, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.

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▪️Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) lost up to 150 servicemen to the south of Donetsk.

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

▪️Ukrainian losses near Donetsk amounted to up to 245 servicemen, a tank, and a combat vehicle of the Strela-10 air defense system.

▪️The Russian Armed Forces repelled one Ukrainian counterattack near the settlement of Novodonetskoye in the DPR.

▪️The Russian Armed Forces repelled 12 Ukrainian counterattacks near Avdeyevka; the enemy lost up to 460 servicemen and a Braveheart self-propelled gun.

▪️The Russian Armed Forces destroyed two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters and hit the Patriot complex.

▪️Russian air defenses shot down 4 HIMARS missiles, 6 Grad MLRS shells, 3 Hammer bombs, and 136 Ukrainian UAVs.

▪️Ukrainian losses near Kupyansk amounted to up to 250 servicemen.

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❗️ Russian troops have broken through the front line in several locations in the Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, head of the regional public movement "We Are Together with Russia," told Sputnik

What is the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle Putin says has ‘nullified’ America’s missile defenses?

In his interview with Rossiya Segodnya’s Dmitry Kiselev, President Putin said that Russia had “basically nullified everything” the US has done by developing the ICBM-launched Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle.

▪️ Unveiled by Putin in 2018 and introduced into service in late 2019, the Avangard (lit. ‘Vanguard’) is a maneuverable, blazing fast, nuclear capable hypersonic glide vehicle designed to penetrate missile defense systems.

▪️ Carried by R-36 and RS-28 Sarmat ICBMs, Avangards can accelerate to speeds of up to Mach 27 (32,200 km) in near-space conditions, dropping to about Mach 15-20 (18,500-23,000 km) by atmospheric drag during descent.

▪️ The glide vehicles have a range of more than 6,000 km, and an explosive power of between 0.8 and 2 megatons.

▪️ The vehicle can survive temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius thanks to cutting edge Russian advances in special-purpose metallurgy, and are covered in plasma during flight, which absorbs electromagnetic rays and makes the vehicles virtually invisible to radar.

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Courage knows no gender: Shum's journey to the volunteer assault corps

A 33-year female soldier, call sign “Shum” ("Noise"), joined the "Don" Volunteer Assault Corps to defend her Motherland in the special military operation zone. Shum believes that at the front line, there are no "men" or "women," but only "comrades-in-arms."

"How do I prepare [for battle]? I don’t. You can't be prepared for this. What am I expecting? I can’t say anything about that. During war, you're just waiting for an order. I live according to the principle: 'Do your duty, come what may.' It can be scary. But only a fool or a dead person is not afraid of anything. Fear is a natural defense mechanism to survive. It's the so-called self-preservation instinct. He who is not afraid will die."

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🗣 Macron's remarks about the possibility of French troops entering Ukraine indicate the beginning of the country's partition, Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says.

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‘Cowardly’ US warmongers risk awakening Russian bear if they set foot in Ukraine

“Americans are very cowardly warriors. I dealt with them in Afghanistan, in other hot spots, in Yugoslavia when they were bombing the country. They are only capable of fighting from within the range of their artillery,” Col. Gen. Georgy Shpak (ret.), a former commander of the Russian Airborne Forces, told Sputnik, commenting on President Putin’s warning that Russia would consider US troops on the ground in Ukraine or Russia as invaders and treat them accordingly.

Putin “calmly said that as soon as an American soldier sets foot on the territory of Ukraine, he will be treated as an invader, and the appropriate conclusions will be drawn. The whole world knows that Russians know how to fight,” Shpak stressed.

Commenting on Putin’s remarks about Russia’s plans to increase the quantity and improve the quality of its defense output, the retired general said such measures can only be characterized as “just and timely” in light of the crisis in relations with the US and NATO.

“We have very strong design bureaus. When I was a commander, I visited almost all of them, from those in Volgograd to the factories in Tula and the Urals. They are an example for the whole world in how to make excellent equipment, excellent ammunition, excellent weapons. And today the president understands that we cannot stand in one place.”

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