🇧🇾 Recent statements by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko:

▪️ Ukraine should realize that if it throws UAVs at Russia, they will be hit back tenfold.

▪️ NATO wants to drag Belarus into the conflict in Ukraine.

▪️ There can't be peace talks in Switzerland on Ukraine without Russia.

▪️ Belarusian opposition activists are "shouting" at Poland to strike the Mozyr oil refinery, but Minsk would respond in such a way that there would be hell to pay.

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❗️ The US expects major Iranian attack against Israel as soon as Friday, could include more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles, CBS reports, citing US officials.

"Two U.S. officials told CBS News that a major Iranian attack against Israel was expected as soon as Friday, possibly to include more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles aimed at military targets inside the country. The officials said it would be challenging for the Israelis to defend against an attack of such a magnitude, and while they held out the possibility that the Iranians could opt for a smaller-scale attack to avoid a dramatic escalation, their retaliation was believed to be imminent." the media says.

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🇷🇺 Recent statements by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the summoning of the French Ambassador:

▪️ French ambassador was told that the remark by France’s Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s on his lack of interest in talking to the Russian side was unacceptable.

▪️ Russia considers Sejourne’s statement as a deliberate move by France aimed at undermining the possibility of dialogue.

▪️ France's claims that Russian officials publish false information have nothing to do with reality.

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🗣 "Don't worry. He's alive, he's doing fine. He will continue working," Vasily Prozorov's assistant told Sputnik, commenting on the fact that the ex-SBU officer's car was blown up.

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Russia has carried out 1 large-scale and 47 group attacks on the fuel and energy sector and the military-industrial sector of Ukraine in response to Kiev’s attempts to damage facilities in the Russian fuel and energy sectors, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

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❗️Ukraine lost more than 3,000 militants and three tanks in the Donetsk region

🇷🇺🪖 Other statements from the Russian Defence Ministry weekly briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine: 

🔺Ukrainian losses near Kupyansk amounted to more than 380 militants and three tanks.

🔺Ukraine lost more than 2,130 militants and six tanks near Avdeyevka.

🔺Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 840 militants and two tanks to the south of Donetsk.

🔺Ukraine lost more than 335 militants and three tanks near Kherson.

🔺Russian troops destroyed five SAMP/T SAM launchers of Franco-Italian origin, the S-300 and S-125.

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There will be no 'Ukrainian counteroffensive,’ as Ukraine teeters on brink of collapse – Ritter

There will be no “great Ukrainian counteroffensive,” as Russia has entirely “changed the game” on the battlefield, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter told Sputnik.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky dangles empty promises of a new counteroffensive simply to wangle more aid from Western patrons, the retired US Marine Corps intelligence officer said. He likened the two opposing sides in NATO’s ongoing proxy war against Russia in Ukraine to two “Jenga blocks.”

“What is going on between Russia and Ukraine today is that Russia is making Ukraine lose ‘Jenga blocks’ at a rate far greater than NATO can replace them. Ukraine’s ‘Jenga block’ structure is becoming weak, and may collapse at any moment,” he said.

According to Ritter, Ukraine is “teetering on the brink of collapse. Not just militarily, but also economically, politically. Russia has taken apart the Kiev regime’s energy infrastructure, which spells an imminent collapse of the defense industries.”

He added that, “politically speaking, the world is tired of the Ukrainian conflict, tired of a nation that begs for more and more, but cannot produce any positive outcomes on the battlefield.”

He added that the Ukrainian “Jenga block” structure is "about to collapse, and that is going to happen sooner rather than later."

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Check out the latest updates on Iran-Israel escalation

As tension between Israel and Iran mounts, Sputnik has collected the latest developments on the situation.

▪️The US expects a major Iranian attack against Israel as soon as Friday, which could involve over 100 UAVs and dozens of missiles, CBS reports

▪️Israel expected a direct attack from Iran on southern or northern Israel within the next 24 to 48 hours, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier, quoting a person familiar with the matter.

▪️The US expects that a retaliatory attack by Iran against Israel will not be of a magnitude that would draw Washington directly into the conflict, Reuters reported, quoting sources.

▪️The US dispatched its top military commander for the Middle East to Israel on Thursday after President Biden stated that, despite recent friction, US support for Israel was “ironclad” in the event of an attack by Iran, Western media said.

▪️Oil prices have surged on fears of further escalation in the Middle East, raising risks of supply disruptions from the oil-producing region, market data shows.

▪️France advised French citizens not to travel to Israel, Palestine, Iran and Lebanon.

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