Russian Armed Forces carried out 35 group strikes with precision weapons against energy and military-industrial complex facilities of Ukraine in one week, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The strikes were carried out in response to attempts by the Kiev regime to damage Russian energy and industrial facilities, the ministry added.

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❗️In a week, units of the Yug Battlegroup liberated Novomikhailovka and Bogdanovka in the DPR, repelled 19 counterattacks by Ukrainian assault groups and defeated the soldiers and equipment of 16 brigades of the Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 3,890 soldiers.

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

▪️Battlegroup Tsentr repelled 63 counterattacks and defeated 12 brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the week. Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 2,950 soldiers;

▪️The Russian Vostok Battlegroup eliminated up to 825 military personnel, two tanks, and seven armored combat vehicles in the week;

▪️The Dnepr Battlegroup defeated ten Ukrainian brigades and destroyed eight US-made M777 howitzers. Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 360 soldiers;

▪️ Russian troops destroyed eight Ukrainian HIMARS, Vampire and Grad MLRS. In the week, Russian air defenses shot down MiG-29 and Su-25, 18 guided Hammer bombs, and 1,700 Ukrainian drones;

▪️During the week, Russian troops destroyed a S-300PS air defense missile launcher, two Hawk air defense systems and the Osa-AKM of Ukraine.

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Lithuania and Latvia recruit Russians and Belarusians at the border - Head of the Belarusian Border Committee Konstantin Molostov

"At the existing checkpoints, the Baltic states have intensified control measures against citizens of Russia and Belarus. Attempts to recruit them by employees of the special services of Lithuania and Latvia are being recorded," Molostov said in an interview with the Belta news agency.

According to him, the situation on the border with Poland and the Baltic states is developing under the influence of military threats.

"The NATO military grouping is increasing, including within the framework of multinational exercises. The Lithuanian landfill Pabrade, which is located only 10 kilometers from our border, is actively used," the head of the committee noted.

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Western media weep after Russia detects US-made tanks’ critical vulnerability

Two months after entering service, at least five US-made Abrams tanks have been destroyed by Russia in the special military op.

“We cannot live in a world where drones costing a few thousand dollars have free rein to attack $10 million tanks where they are most vulnerable: from above, where the armor is only thick enough to stop machine gun fire,” the Telegraph complains.

But this is what the Russian forces do – destroy them one by one, making Ukraine withdraw the Abrams from battlefield.

“When used as a pillbox however, it [the tank] just exploits its firepower at the expense of its manoeuvrability. This appears to be how the Ukrainian Armed Forces are deploying it, and makes it very vulnerable to drone attack,” the outlet reads, emphasizing that the Ukrainians themselves do not utilize the tanks in a proper way, thus "providing the service" for the Russian Army.

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😄 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was seemingly a "very welcome guest" in China

Xi Jinping: When will he [Blinken] leave?
Assistant: He's leaving this evening.

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‘Formidable nightmare for enemy’: Meet Russian FPV drones with radio relay systems

Russian servicemen stationed in the special military operation zone have started to use first person view (FPV) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fitted with unique radio communication relay systems, Andrei Ivanov, developer of the Ovod (Gadfly) kamikaze drone "Gadfly", told Sputnik.

Made in the Russian city of Tula, such a system allows a drone operator to work from both open and closed positions at an unlimited range and at any frequencies, according to Ivanov. He added that the system is compatible with any ground equipment.

On the whole, radio relay systems aim to help FPV drones fly over very rough terrain, when there is a high probability of losing direct vision between an UAV and an operator.

An array of Russian FPV drones equipped with such systems include:

▪️Ovod, a cutting-edge UAV designed to transport fragmentation and high-explosive fragmentation ammunition to extremely hazardous areas at the front line.

▪️Upyr (a prototype of vampire), an advanced drone, which can carry RPG-7 mortar rockets as well as anti-tank hand grenades.

▪️Dzhoker (Joker), specially designed to “wait” for at least a month so that it can be remotely activated when in an ambush.

▪️UAVs, manufactured in Siberia’s Tyumen region and equipped with a powerful battery that helps increase their flight by at least 10 km (6 miles).

▪️Kub (Cube), developed by Russian defense company Zala Aero, a subsidiary of the world famous Kalashnikov Group, is not an FPV drone but is also fitted with a radio relay system. Kub can deliver a variety of weapon payloads with high precision and may be used as a kamikaze drone or an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system. Newsweek referred to Kub as Russia’s “formidable nightmare for the enemy."

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🛰 The Arktika-M satellite No. 2 was put into operation, making Russia the first in the world to create a space system for observing the Arctic, state space agency Roscosmos has reported.

Arktika-M satellite No. 1 was launched into orbit in February 2021 and the second in December 2023.

Two spacecraft provide round-the-clock monitoring of the surface and cloudiness of the Earth and seas in the Arctic region and adjacent territories, as well as constant and reliable exchange of meteorological information.

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Foreign aid that Zelensky claims goes to the front only sponsors corruption — French politician

Leader of the French Patriots party Florian Philippot caught Zelensky, who promises that all the aid provided 'goes to the battlefield', out lying:

"In reality a large part is diverted and goes into corruption! A few weeks ago, Zelensky admitted that €16 billion in EU aid 'could not be found'," Philippot wrote on X, giving the example of Ukraine's minister of agriculture who recently resigned for corruption to the tune of €6.9 million"

"Yet another case of corruption in this country, which is one of the most corrupt on the planet!" he added.

Philippot stressed that, "any euro sent to Ukraine" only prolongs the conflict, causing casualties, impoverishing the Europeans, and "has a strong chance of enriching the corrupt."

"Let's stop this immediately! Peace quickly!" he concluded.

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Witch Hunt 2024: Alternative for Germany crucified publicly, dubbed “nest of spies” ahead of European elections

An unprecedented campaign of insults and witch hunt has been unleashed against Maximillian Krah and Petr Bystrom, the two top candidates of AfD.

“Money from Russia, espionage for China? These young guys from AfD have no fatherland”, read the headline in Spiegel Plus. “Obviously, it is not Germany that you love," said Dirk Wiese, the spokesman for Social Democrats, adding that objects of their patriotism are Russia, China and Belarus. A Bundestag deputy of CDU Marc Heinrichmann accused the whole AfD party of high treason: “You sold yourself out. You betray the German nation.”

In fact, the preliminary investigation of two AfD deputies was started by Dresden’s prosecutor office after these insulting statements and until court’s rulings, these politicians are protected by the presumption of innocence – however, media and ruling elite pretend not to know this rule.

The evidence against them is shaky at best –for instance, Petr Bystrom’s accusation is on audio where he complains about not being able to pay with €200 banknotes.

AfD’s leader Tino Chrupalla complained that the media campaign is aimed at preventing the party from participating in the European elections on June 6-9. Obviously, even verbal support for Russia or China is enough to make a German citizen a suspect in the ongoing witch hunt.

Der Spiegel warns that “many people in AfD admire” foreign rulers like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping and urges AfD voters “to think about it”, clearly violating standards of fact-based journalism.

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How proxy war in Ukraine became a boon for US Big Five arms makers

The Ukraine conflict has become a great boon for American Big Five defense contractors, sending their stocks up and boosting their profits. In January 2022, they openly lauded a deteriorating state of global peace and security as a business opportunity for their investors and employees.

Shares in Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics grew in value 12.78% on average in just one year since the start of the special military operation.

▪️Lockheed Martin provides Javelin anti-tank missiles, HIMARS mobile artillery rockets, and PAC-3 air defense missiles, as well as other munitions and missiles to Ukraine. The company's revenue for the twelve months ending March 31, 2024, was $69.6 billion, a 5.28% increase from 2022.

▪️General Dynamics is known as the producer of Abrams main battle tanks which up until recently had been used by Ukrainians at the front line. They've been recently quietly withdrawn to avoid the threat from Russian drones. The company's full-year revenue for 2023 was $42.3 billion, a 7.3% increase from 2022.

▪️On the eve of the conflict RTX Corporation is famous for producing Stingers, Advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM), MIM-104 Patriots and air defense munitions used by the Ukrainian military in the combat zone. RTX reported sales of $68.9 billion in 2023, up 3% compared to 2022.

▪️Northrop Grumman has supplied Ukrainian troops with various types of military equipment, including Bushmaster automatic cannons and ammunition and, allegedly, RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. Northrop Grumman's sales increased 7% to $39.3 billion in 2023, compared with $36.6 billion in 2022.

▪️Boeing is known for providing Ukraine with ground-launched small-diameter bombs. Boeing earned $77.7 billion in revenue in 2023, ending the period with a net loss of $2.2 billion.

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‘Land of the Free’? How US lawmakers restrict students’ right to peaceful protest

A new bill about to be proposed by congress duo Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) would empower the US Department of Education to deploy a "third-party anti-Semitism monitor" to any college in the United States that receives federal funding, according to Axios.

Said monitor would evaluate "the progress that a college or university has made toward combating anti-Semitism," with the results of said evaluations to be released publicly on a quarterly basis.

The bill is expected to become the first such legislation to be introduced in the US Congress in response to a series of protests against the Gaza War that has rocked colleges and universities across the United States.

Cracking down on campus protests is hardly a novelty for the powers that be in the United States, with suppression of protests dating as far back as the Vietnam War.
In 2019, a non-governmental organization called the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) also observed that a number of laws threatening disciplinary measures against protesters have been introduced in several US states.

For example, a bill introduced in Illinois that year would allow a person whose “expressive rights are violated” on campus to bring a legal case against the university even if the violation was performed by student protesters and not by faculty.

“This creates an incentive for university administrators to overzealously police demonstrators to avoid potential liability,” the NGO warned.

The organization also pointed at the executive order issued by then-US President Donald Trump in 2019 “that ties federal funding of universities to these institutions taking appropriate steps to ‘promote free inquiry’.”

According to the ICNL, this order “could lead to politicized interference with university governance in the future and government monitoring of the political activity of students and faculty.”

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📹 Ukraine tears down monuments to generate money for drones

Ukraine's Rovno authorities have recently destroyed a Soviet monument to soldiers of the Great Patriotic War, with the monument’s wreckage to be sold to purchase drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the city's mayor wrote on social media.

In recent months, Ukraine's military situation has deteriorated, attributed partly to a lack of weapon supplies, despite receiving multimillion dollar financial and military assistance.

A significant setback occurred in June 2023 when the Ukrainian counteroffensive failed.

Recently, the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu highlighted the effectiveness of drones in countering the attack.

Moreover, an analysis by Foreign Affairs suggested that Ukraine is struggling in the aspect of drone warfare.

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▪️How proxy war in Ukraine became a boon for US Big Five arms makers

▪️Ukrainian negotiator: 2022 Russia-Ukraine draft peace treaty was ‘best deal sides could have clinched’

▪️Russia seizes US-made Abrams-type Assault Breacher Vehicle from Ukrainian troops

▪️NATO arms shipments can't make up for Ukraine's manpower shortage

▪️‘Formidable nightmare for enemy’: Meet Russian FPV drones with radio relay systems

▪️‘Land of the Free’? How US lawmakers restrict students’ right to peaceful protest

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US troop withdrawal from Chad and Niger forecasts decline of hegemony

US Special Operations forces will withdraw from Chad in the coming days in response to the Sahel nation's questioning of the legality of its military presence in the region. The move comes after US troops were likewise forced out of Niger.

"It's failing. It's the easiest way to put it," Larry Johnson, a retired CIA intelligence officer and State Department official, tells Sputnik. "It is really a black eye for these United States in terms of its overall loss of influence. And I think it’s going to be replaced by Russia," he adds.

Chad was under French colonial rule from 1900 to 1960. After the Sahelian nation gained independence, France continued to interfere in its internal affairs. The US began increasing its military presence in Chad and elsewhere in Africa after the NATO invasion of Libya in 2011. However, neither French nor American troops have been able to reduce the terrorist threat in the Sahel, leading regional governments to question their deployment.

Paris is believed to still maintain a 1,000-strong contingent in Chad, but Western analysts suggest the French could also withdraw after the US Spec Ops leave the region, according to the Washington Post.

"Both Russia and China are viewed as more honest brokers much more so than the US," Johnson explains. "The United States effort to dominate the world has been reversed. It had reached a zenith, and it's now heading back downhill. So I think this is just one more sign that the US policy has gone astray," he concludes.

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Why US wants to curb China’s economic advance

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent visit to China has, among other things, highlighted Washington’s fondness of using threats and ultimatums as negotiating tactics.

Blinken’s primary goal was to clarify the US’ stance on China and all countries who independently shape their respective policies towards Russia and regarding Asia’s development, according to Alexei Maslov, director of the Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African Studies.

The US essentially wants China to stop its technological and financial assistance to Russia, as well as to decrease government support to Chinese companies that operate on Western markets, Maslov tells Sputnik, noting that these demands were delivered in the form of an ultimatum.

He points out that the US has already revealed how it might try to pressure China into doing Washington’s bidding.

These measures include tripling the existing tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum exports; ramping up restrictions against Chinese banks, up to cutting off some of these banks from SWIFT; and landing sanctions against certain Chinese companies that would be prevented from exporting their products to the US.

China, however, firmly stated that it is going to decide for itself with whom to trade, Maslov remarks, noting that Beijing did offer to Washington to resolve their differences through talks.

The US was fine with China's trade expansion until it entered high-tech development and began competing with Western technologies.

Thus, Maslov explains, the US wants China to remain a “world factory” and to manufacture consumer products for Western countries and for ASEAN nations, whereas the high tech sphere must remain the domain of the US and the Western world.

According to the scholar, this is not really a trade matter – this is about the ability to shape the future, and the US wants to maintain a monopoly on that.

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