Ukrainian troops abandoned their positions and retreated north-west of the village of Verbovoye in the Zaporozhye region under pressure from the Russian Army, Vladimir Rogov, head of the regional civic movement "We Are Together with Russia," told Sputnik.

Now the forest zone is being cleared, one enemy stronghold has been captured, and positions along the front line have been improved.

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Switzerland is planning to hold a summit on Ukraine in mid-June that will be attended by 80 to 100 countries, Bloomberg quoted sources as saying.

"The Swiss city of Lucerne would likely host the summit if it were to go ahead," the article read, citing sources.

Russia has repeatedly stressed the lack of intention to participate in this event.

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🇮🇷🇸🇾 Iranian FM Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

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Ukrainian shelling of Zaporozhye nuclear plant creates risk of catastrophic fallout - British physicist

The radioactive fallout from a disaster at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant would "make Europe pretty much uninhabitable," said Dr. Chris Busby, a veteran chemical physicist with decades of experience studying the health effects of internal ionizing radiation.

According to the scientist, the Ukrainian forces shelling the plant probably "don't have the faintest idea" of what they're doing.

Zaporozhye is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, with six reactors capable of generating up to six gigawatts of electricity - enough to power more than 1.8 million average European homes.

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Why Crimea still remains Russia’s key strategic Black Sea base 80 years on?

Russia marks the 80th anniversary of the Red Army’s offensive to liberate the Crimea from Nazi invaders during WWII this Monday. The Crimean offensive ended with total defeat of the 200,000-strong 17th German Army.

The Crimean operation “had strategic value and was a considerable success for the Red Army,” Alexander Hill, a professor of military history at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, tells Sputnik.

“It was a very successful operation… The Red Army managed to recapture Sevastopol and conclude the whole operation in little over a month, whereas it took Germany and the axis powers more than six months to do the same thing... By this point, of course, the Red Army was very good at breaking through defensive positions, concentrating assets like artillery, and very good at the initial exploitation phase,” Hill explains.

The professor points to “similarities” between the objectives of the Crimean offensive and the goals of Russia’s ongoing special military operation.

“Obviously, the special operation is in part about protecting Crimea, which is important today for Russia, as it was for the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War. It's obviously a key naval base” good for patrolling the sea, and a major warm water port, Hill notes.

“It allows for the domination of the Black Sea region,” the professor of military history concludes.

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Scrutinizing the Scorpio: Russia’s new innovation disables Ukrainian booby traps

Russian bomb disposal units in the liberated city of Avdeyevka are using a light-wheeled UGV (unmanned ground vehicle) to clear mines and booby traps left behind by retreating Ukrainian troops. The vehicle, known as "Scorpio," helps reduce the risk for personnel dealing with these hazards.

The compact "Scorpio" weighs only 30 kilograms and can move at speeds of up to 5 kilometers per hour on dirt and 10 kilometers per hour on pavement. It is equipped with onboard cameras, including an infrared camera, which allow combat engineers to examine potentially dangerous objects from a safe distance. The vehicle's mine-clearing attachments enable it to sweep for booby traps and land mines effectively.

In addition, the "Scorpio" can transport up to 25 kilograms of explosives in a special cart. This feature allows for controlled explosions without the need to send personnel in to set up charges, further minimizing the risk to individuals on the ground.

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The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant was “pretty close” to a nuclear accident after the Ukrainian attack on Sunday, this is not a made-up scenario, according to media.

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Ukraine’s drone attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Plant lacks ‘military sense’ but creates radioactive threat in Europe

Russia's Rosatom nuclear agency has condemned the Kiev regime’s recent "unprecedented" drone attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which left at least three employees injured.

“There is no slightest military sense in similar strikes, given that the facility is not running now,” Alexander Uvarov, a nuclear energy specialist and head of Atominfo Center, tells Sputnik.

“The plant’s nuclear reactors are not being operated, and they are not producing electricity. Namely, the strikes cannot cause any damage to the energy supply system of [Russia’s] new regions,” Uvarov adds.

On the other hand, he warned of possible radiation-related consequences, which could “affect everyone, including those living on the territories controlled by the Ukrainian side.”

The expert explains in this regard that a potential disruption of one of the plant’s reactors would be followed by “the uncontrolled release of radioactive substances into the atmosphere.

When asked about how Europe could respond to the Kiev drone attack, Uvarov says that he doesn’t believe in any such reaction and that, at best, the International Atomic Energy Agency will issue a statement on a strike by “unidentified drones,” ignoring the threat of Ukraine’s attacks that might lead to a disaster.

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❗️WATCH: Australian police and fire fighters remove a boycott Israel sign in Sydney, sparking outrage from local Palestine supporters.

There have been mass protests in Australia against Israel’s war in Gaza ever since the conflict erupted six months ago.

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Crocus City Hall terrorist attack reeks of NATO's asymmetrical shadow wars

"I would not be a bit surprised to discover that the US has induced some extremist groups into fighting in Ukraine as mercenaries against Russia to overcome the shortage of Ukrainian soldiers, and even introduce plausible denials in some of the black operations which are part of the neocon-induced asymmetrical war," Fabien Chalandon, chevalier of the French Legion d'Honneur, investor, and writer, told Sputnik.

The controversy surrounding the recent terror attack near Moscow continues to be a topic of debate, with the US media providing contradictory accounts on how 'Duty to Warn' signals were allegedly sent to Moscow. Additionally, Team Biden persists in denying any possible involvement of Ukraine in the incident.

From the beginning, the coverage of the terrorist attack and the response from the White House have raised questions. Following the massacre, Washington repeatedly denied any connections between Ukraine and the tragedy, despite a long-standing history that links the Kiev regime to previous terror attacks on Russian territory.

"Team Biden and his predecessors since Bush Jr., with its fabricated evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, have lost all credibility as they have replaced politics with a delusional game of concocted narratives - straight lies masquerading as plausible truths – to cover up their serial obsession of regime change by destruction of the target country, to the point where, enmeshed in their deceits, they have lost their basic sense of realism, common sense and ethics, thus undermining the international order they falsely claim to underpin," Chalandon stressed.

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❗️A Russian Iskander missile strike completely destroyed a Ukrainian heavy drone warehouse and workshop in the city of Zaporozhye.

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Is there a US link behind Hungary's anti-government protests?

"[The rally] looked very similar to an American campaign. The events [opposition leader Peter] Magyar has been holding in recent weeks - with a stage, lighting, music and singers - require hundreds of millions of forints [Hungarian currency], something that he does not have," Hungarian political expert Georg Spottle tells Sputnik, suggesting Washington may be behind the event.

According to Spottle, Team Biden is seeking to create a big opposition front in Hungary in order to exert considerable pressure on Viktor Orban and his government, and then replace Orban with Magyar during the 2026 election cycle. In March, Joe Biden publicly claimed that Orban is pursuing a "dictatorship". Just days after that, Magyar, 43, a former member of the ruling Fidesz party, announced his intention to establish a new opposition coalition.

In the eyes of the Biden administration, Orban's many "sins" range from opposing the NATO proxy war in Ukraine to maintaining lonstanding working relations with former President Donald Trump.

"Yes, they are trying to oust [Orban]. But they will still do this in more a civilized ways than what happened in Ukraine. Hungary's membership in the European Union imposes certain restrictions here," Russian political scientist Vadim Trukhachev tells Sputnik.

The timing of Magyar's sudden rise preceded both the European Parliament elections which could see the increase in right-wing and Euroskeptic MEPs and the US presidential vote. "They have very little time. Now it looks like Trump could win the presidential election [in the US]. But until then, there is time to create a new opposition in Hungary," Spottle states.

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US visibly nervous as Russia and China strengthen strategic partnership.

Just one day before Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's arrival in China, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen threatened Beijing over its economic ties with Moscow. Sputnik examines why the burgeoning Russia-China strategic partnership poses a serious geopolitical problem for the Biden administration.

🔸Following the start of the Ukraine conflict, Russia-China trade surged 64% to hit a record $240 billion in 2023. This boom in bilateral trade has helped both countries to overcome Western sanctions and other forms of economic pressure.

🔸Russia and China work through BRICS to promote de-dollarisation and offer the Global South new financial and economic mechanisms that aren't beholden to the West.

🔸Russia and China are strengthening their technological cooperation through ambitious initiatives such as the International Scientific Lunar Station. The pair is also looking to collaborate on AI’s military application.

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