At least 75 French mercenaries in Ukraine have been killed, wounded or have returned to France since the start of Russia's special military operation, Nicolas Cinquini, a former French counter-terrorism intelligence officer, told Sputnik.

Cinquini is currently searching for information about French nationals who fight in the conflict on the side of Ukraine.

“Including those killed, wounded and those who have returned, the list I have published as of today includes 75 individuals who have been identified accurately or under pseudonyms, which can already tell us a lot,” Cinquini said.

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Trump allies Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and Jenna Ellis are among 18 people charged in an election interference case in the state of Arizona, court documents revealed.

"Defendants' attempts to declare Unindicted Coconspirator 1 and Pence the winners of the 2020 Presidential Election contrary to voter intent and the law, involved numerous other charged and uncharged coconspirators," the court documents said.

Former President Donald Trump is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the filing.

The defendants are accused of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Arizona, the court documents stated.

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❗️ US officials to meet with Niger's authorities on April 25, 29 to initiate discussions on the US troops pullout from Niger, the US state department spokesperson said.

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'Terrifying': Israel may have used the conflict with Iran as a 'Red Herring' for Gaza occupation – report

An article questions whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has used Iran’s attacks as leverage for his war strategy in Gaza. The conflict between Israel and Iran prompted the US to funnel billions of dollars into Israel’s war chest, with the country now making preparations to invade Rafah. Journalist, Palestine activist, and author Robert Fantina joined Sputnik’s The Critical Hour to discuss these unfolding events.

“The Iranian reprisal attack on Israel, which, of course, was in compliance with international law following Israel's violation of international law by bombing the Iranian consulate in Damascus. This was something that the US was trying to demonize Iran for doing when it was simply a matter of reprisal for a crime that had been committed against it,” the Fantina said. “The welfare of the people of Gaza has never been a concern of the US. Iran was just a red herring to distract it.”

Following Iran’s retaliatory attack against Israel on April 13, the US approved $14 billion to Israel in the aftermath, with 90 congressional lawmakers urging House Speaker Mike Johnson to immediately advance the foreign funding bill. House Democrats also called for lawmakers to pass a $95 billion foreign funding bill which includes aid to both Ukraine and Israel - with $17 billion in defense for Israel.

Analysts expect that just $2 billion of US funding will go to humanitarian aid in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Palestinian presidency said that this funding will be a “dangerous escalation” and added that the money would “translate into thousands of Palestinian casualties in the Gaza Strip”.

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Analyst: anti-Russia “bluster” designed to make Biden appear strong in election

Filmmaker Regis Tremblay insisted Russia would not be “intimidated” by Congress’ passage of $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, noting most of the money would remain in the United States.

“I don't think it's very much on the minds of ordinary Russian people,” said the documentarian on Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program. “Now how much is going to get to Ukraine? Well, I think people could be sure that some of that money is going to go into the pockets of Zelensky and his cronies.”

“What little arrives is not going to make any difference on the battleground,” he insisted. “What people are thinking who are paying attention to what's going on in the United States, they know that Biden has got to appear strong as a wartime president who is doing everything he can to win this war against Russia… It is all bluster, it is all designed to make sure that Joseph Biden remains a viable candidate in the coming election.”

“I think that the United States is sending this money just to save face, period. It is not going to affect anything that's going on on the front lines.”

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Biden rushes aid to Ukraine as US cost of living skyrockets

American households in 2024 are spending an extra $11,434 annually to maintain a similar standard of living to the one they enjoyed just three years ago, according to a new study by Republican members of the US Senate Joint Economic Committee. Geopolitical consultant David Oualaalou pointed to the troubling data during an appearance on Sputnik's The Critical Hour program, questioning the US president's focus on foreign policy amidst a grim economic outlook for millions of Americans.

"The fact that [the US] keeps sending more money to Ukraine [and] it's already a failed state, what is it for?" asked the former US security analyst. "We have been taking money out of average Americans that are paying taxes... and giving it to the corrupted government in Ukraine."

"I saw those images of the incompetent members of Congress waving the Ukrainian flag inside Congress. Well to me it became like, why don't you go and represent Ukraine? Shame on our politicians. But, again, until the structure of our system has changed, nothing is going to change fundamentally."

Former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower famously warned Americans about the emergent US military-industrial complex in 1961. What's less well known is that an earlier draft of his speech referred to a "military-industrial-congressional complex." Eisenhower reconsidered the term out of fear of offending Washington lawmakers, but the designation makes clear legislators' key role in what the decorated military general considered a corrupt and dangerous phenomenon.

Military contractors make up one of the largest political lobbies in Washington; recently, a study found lawmakers who voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act received four to five times more in donations from the defense industry than those who did not.

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📹💥Russian Orlan drone crews conduct round-the-clock surveillance of Ukrainian positions near Ugledar, DPR.

One of the main advantages of the Orlan drone is its autonomy, it can stay in the air continuously for up to 12 hours. The drone is equipped with advanced optics, thermal imaging and infrared cameras.

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Poland to tighten rules on Ukrainian refugees

Poland will make a joint effort to return to Ukraine men of military age who left the country for fear of being sent to the front as cannon fodder.

Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that Poland is "ready to help", following the rules announced by the Ukrainian government on Wednesday. According to this regulation, passports for men of military age can only be issued in the country and not at foreign diplomatic missions.

As a result, men between the ages of 18 and 59 living abroad will not be able to renew expiring passports or obtain new ones.

Earlier, Poland had already expressed its willingness to "help" Ukraine repatriate the refugees.

"I think many Poles are outraged when they see young Ukrainian men in hotels and cafes and hear how much effort we have to make to help Ukraine," he said.

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❗️The Hamas movement is ready to disband its military wing if the statehood of Palestine is guaranteed in accordance with the pre-1967 borders of Israel, according to the Associated Press.

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No amount of military aid can stop Russian advance - Scott Ritter

"Russia has the strategic advantage, and regardless of the amount of money that the United States, Europe or anybody else pours into Ukraine, Russia will retain the strategic advantage until victory," the former US Marine Corps intelligence officer told Sputnik.

Speaking about the military equipment the United States will send to Ukraine, Ritter added:

"There's talk about magic weapons, the ATACMS, F-16s, more artillery ammunition, and all of these, of course, if they make it to the front line, will complicate the military situation... but it won't stop the Russian advance," he said.

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❗️👨‍🔬 Russian scientists create the world's first drug to treat Bekhterev's disease

The drug has demonstrated a high efficacy and safety profile and has already been registered by the Russian Ministry of Health.

Bekhterev's disease, also known as ankylosing spondylitis, is a form of chronic rheumatic inflammation that primarily affects the spine and sacroiliac joints, which connect the spine to the pelvis. It causes pain and stiffness in the spine, which can lead to limited mobility.

Once the drug is registered, the manufacturing company can start its industrial production, the ministry's press service told the media.

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Russia’s S-400 and S-500 vs US-made Patriot and THAAD: baseline comparison

Russia's already robust air defenses are to be supplied with additional missile systems, the Ministry of Defense said in a recent statement. The new and improved systems will play a crucial role in demilitarizing the Kiev regime and ensuring the safety of Russian citizens.

Russia’s S-400 Triumf (lit. Triumph) is a mobile surface-to-air missile with comprehensive upgrades to its combat predecessor.

S-500 Prometey (lit. Prometheus) is a road-mobile air and missile defense system with new impressive capabilities, such as being able to target space satellites.

“This year, the troops will receive the first units of the new-generation S-500 anti-aircraft missile system in two modifications – long-range anti-aircraft missile systems and missile defense systems,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted.

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The United States is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, but this will not be able to change the outcome of the special operation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Commenting on the covert supply of ATACMS missiles to Kiev, he noted that Russia would get its way anyway, and this military assistance would create more problems for Ukraine itself.

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President of Poland Andrzej Duda on May 1 invited the Prime Minister of the country Donald Tusk to a conversation about the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of the republic.

Earlier, President Duda said that Warsaw was ready to host American nuclear bombs. The Polish cabinet said shortly afterwards that this would be a very serious decision and that the ministers had not yet discussed it.

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Macron in hot water as he discusses European defense, Ukraine ahead of elections

Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at Paris' Sorbonne University, where the French president outlines his vision for a "stronger Europe" and reaffirms support for Ukraine as he faces challenges in his campaign for European Parliament elections in early June.

Thursday's speech comes amid Macron's efforts to gauge support for a plan to install former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, known for his pro-Ukrainian stance, in a new post of European Commission president. Draghi has previously said that Kiev's defeat would be "fatal" for the European Union and its values, and has regularly promoted arms supplies to Ukraine.

Before the speech, Macron sat down at the presidential palace to discuss the creation of a European defense architecture and further aid to Ukraine. Some experts at the meeting said he was "just laying out grand visions."

"…There’s no such thing as a real European defense today, and we’ve been downgrading our ambitions now for 25 years," a European political scientist said later.

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Ukraine is receiving no less support from the United States than Afghanistan received at the time, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

The situation is developing according to the same scenario, only "much more dramatic for the fate of the citizens of Ukraine as a people," she noted.

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The US' deployment of medium-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region undermines regional peace and stability and China will take decisive countermeasures, the Chinese Ministry of Defense has said.

The comments come after the Pentagon announced that it intends to deploy medium-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the year.

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🇨🇳🇭🇺 Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Budapest in a fortnight and meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said the head of the Hungarian prime minister's administration, Gergely Gulyas.

"The Chinese president will be visiting Budapest from May 8 to 10. It comes 20 years after his last visit to Budapest. It is in the interests of the Hungarian economy and Hungary to maintain good relations with as many countries as possible. China is one of the leading world powers, after the EU, that is unfortunately weakened. It is among not even the three, but the two strongest economies in the world,” Guillas said at a government briefing broadcast by M1 TV.

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Relations between Russia and China are not affected by the external environment, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said, commenting on the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Beijing.

"As for US attempts to drive a wedge into the strategic partnership between Russia and China, the US is talking about them literally openly... This, alas, unfortunately, is the tactic of a certain part of the political establishment in the United States, which is based on the well-known historical expression 'divide and rule', and in this case: 'sow chaos and rule', they still manage to sow chaos, but they don't really rule anymore," Zakharova said at the briefing.

The Russian spokeswoman pointed out that Russia-China cooperation is based on the principles of respectful, equal, trust-based partnership, and mutual support on key issues for both sides, which is not directed against third countries.

"This is the value of the Russian-Chinese strategic bond, which is not influenced by the external environment," Zakharova explained.

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