🇧🇾🇷🇺 Belarus will conduct a surprise inspection synchronized with Russia using carriers of tactical nuclear weapons, the Russian Security Council reported.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

NATO's 1999 Chinese embassy bombing: Misguided Missiles or Misleading Excuses?

On May 7, 1999, NATO once again violated international law. The illegal bombings of Yugoslavia had been ongoing for a month and a half by that time. But on that very day, NATO missiles struck the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

The attack killed Xinhua news agency correspondent Shao Yunhuan, Chinese newspaper reporter Xu Xinghu and his wife Zhu Ying and injured 20 others — severely damaging the building, which was later demolished.

NATO claimed that the target was supposed to be a different building and blamed the use of outdated maps for the error.

Serbian war correspondent Davor Lukac, who covered the conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo, witnessed these events. In an interview with Sputnik, he dismissed NATO's excuses.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Scott Ritter: Putin’s inauguration began final stage of Russia’s purge of malign Western influence

“This time, it was different,” former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter told Sputnik, commenting on Vladimir Putin’s inauguration for a fifth term as Russia’s president on Tuesday.

“In his inauguration speech, Vladimir Putin made it clear that the security of Russia and the Russian people are his top priority. Why would he have to say this? Because as we speak, Russia finds itself under attack from many nations around the world – nations that seek the existential extermination of Russia, if not through violence, then through economic strangulation,” Ritter said.

Over Putin’s tenure, Russia has gradually “purged” itself of these attitudes, Ritter said, with the conflict in Ukraine serving as a catalyst accelerating Russia’s transformation, forcing elites and ordinary citizens alike to reconsider who they are and what defines them.

Going forward, Ritter expects Putin’s new term to “redefine Russia in the final stages of this transformation that it has been making continuously since 1999, a Russia that will for once and all purge the poison of Western malign influence out of its system, and create a pure Russian notion of what Russia is.”

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇺🇳 Statements by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regarding the escalation of the situation in Gaza:

🔺An Israeli offensive in Rafah would become a strategic blunder and trigger a wider political and humanitarian disaster.

🔺I urge the government of Israel to stop any escalation and engage constructively in the ongoing diplomatic talks.

🔺I am disturbed and distressed by the renewed military activity in Rafah by the Israeli Defence Forces.

🔺The closure of both the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation. They must be re-opened immediately.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🇸🇱 Russia plans to open an embassy in Sierra Leone by the end of this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his counterpart from the West African country.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

After deploying military biolabs across the globe, US urges biodefense buildup

US biodefense planners are preparing a bombshell report calling on all levels of government to radically enhance national biodefense measures and create a national strategy to address global biological threats.

The document, seen by Axios ahead of publication, was put together by the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, a panel of former high-ranking US officials and lawmakers, including senior ex-Clinton, Bush and Obama administration staffers.

The ‘blueprint’ document highlights the growing risks stemming from the outbreak of infectious diseases, bioweapons research and lab leaks, predicting that the number of biothreat incidents will increase over time, and urging policymakers to make major new investments in biodefense.

The Committee is calling for a unified federal biodefense budget, multiyear funding for programs, the creation of a congressional working group and biodefense reviews once every four years, and amendments to the 1944 Public Health Service Act to “produce a research and development plan for reducing pathogen transmission in built environments.”

Additional details on the contents of the report have yet to be publicized. However, based on the information made available by media, it will offer little if any data on the US government’s own role in creating, manipulating and spreading biological threats globally, from the NIH gain of function research that may have sparked the global Covid-19 pandemic, to the operation of dozens of military-grade biolabs around the world, including in Ukraine, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Why did CIA aim ‘smart bombs’ at China’s embassy in Belgrade in 1999?

The visit of China’s President Xi Jinping to Serbia coincided with the 25th anniversary of the infamous destruction of China’s embassy in Belgrade by US “smart bombs” on May 7, 1999.

By mentioning this tragedy in his article for daily newspaper Politika on the day of his arrival, Xi made the date of his visit a snub to the US.

“25 years ago, on May 7, 1999, NATO flagrantly bombed the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia, killing three Chinese journalists – Ms. Shao Yunhuan, Mr. Xu Xinghu and his wife Zhu Ying.”

“This we should never forget,” Xi wrote in his article. The Chinese foreign ministry called the bombing “a barbaric crime” which China will never allow to be repeated.

Two bombs hit the embassy, killing 20 people — three of whom were Chinese nationals. The bombs were dropped by a US Air Force bomber on a mission from its base in Missouri. They were GPS-guided precision bombs, the “margin of error” of which was limited to 13 meters.

The US called the destructive hit “an accident,” insisting its aircraft was actually targeting Yugoimport, an office of Yugoslav government located 440 meters away. Later, in July 1999, then CIA Director George Tenet acknowledged that the bombing was the only one of the war organized by his agency. He claimed that the crew was given the wrong coordinates for some reason.

China did not accept that version of events, saying the bombing could only be deliberate. Russia shared that view, also doubting the US explanation.

On October 17, 1999, British newspaper The Observer published an article stating that the bombing was deliberate. Two subsequent stories in The Observer and Danish newspaper Politiken cited evidence that the US and NATO had deliberately “punished” China for its “help” for Yugoslav leaders. The real reason, Beijing continues to asset, was China’s opposition to NATO’s war against Yugoslavia.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Putin signed the Decree “On the national development goals of the Russian Federation for the period until 2030 and for the future until 2036.”

According to the decree, the main national goals of Russia's development are:

▪️The preservation of the population, the strengthening of health and the improvement of the well-being of individuals, as well as family support.

▪️The realisation of the potential of each individual, the development of their talents, and the education of a patriotic and socially responsible person.

▪️A comfortable and safe living environment.

▪️Ecological well-being.

▪️A sustainable and dynamic economy.

▪️Technological leadership.

▪️The digital transformation of state and municipal governments, the economy, and the social sphere.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Unveiling Aurus motorcycles: The sleek new addition to Putin's motorcade

During Russian President Vladimir Putin's swearing-in ceremony on May 7, a striking addition caught the eyes of onlookers. Alongside the Aurus Senat armored limousine, nine sleek Aurus motorcycles made their debut, ushering in a new level of sophistication to the presidential motorcade.

Here are some facts&figures about the Аurus Мerlon electric motorbike:

Development began in 2017, and the first prototype was revealed at the 2022 Innoprom International Industrial Exhibition. The bike features a high-endurance aluminum alloy space-frame and external panels made from Russian-produced composite materials.

The Aurus Merlon features a completely domestic-made high-voltage traction battery, electric motor, power control system (including software), touch-sensitive electronic instrument panel, LED optics, suspension elements, and thermostat system. This cutting-edge motorbike is designed as a rear-wheel drive, but can also operate in reverse.

Technical Characteristics:

🔺190 hp electric engine at 350 Nm of torque;

🔺Top speed of 240 km/h without sidecar;

🔺Accelerates to 100 km/h in under 4 seconds;

🔺The 21 kWh battery, when fully charged, provides enough energy to travel 200 km.

🔺Weight without sidecar totals 350 kg.

The motorcycle’s primary function is to provide year-round motorcade escort for top state officials and diplomatic missions. The Aurus Merlon is tailored to operate in temperatures ranging from -25º to +40ºC, and can travel at high speeds on slippery roads. With its low center of gravity, this domestic electric motorcycle offers reliable stability.

Mandatory features include:

🔺Anti-lock brakes

🔺Traction control

🔺Electric windshield

🔺Heated seats and steering wheel controls.

The Aurus Merlon electric motorcycle is currently being produced in limited quantities, but there is potential for a wider release to appeal to all bike enthusiasts in the future.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Putin's next term will bring new dynamic to Russia's development

The West's expectation that Russia would collapse under sanctions and suffer a military defeat in Ukraine has proven futile, marking a complete failure of the Western strategy, said Mikael Valtersson, a former officer in the Swedish Armed Forces, commenting on Vladimir Putin's speech after inauguration.

"The Russian economy grew by 3.6 percent during 2023 and the Russian economy has now surpassed the German economy in gross domestic product (GDP) in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP)," Valtersson told Sputnik.

The Swedish expert noted that even the US-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledged that the Russian economic growth in 2024 might be the highest among industrialized economies.

The resilience and growth of the Russian economy have highlighted the weaknesses of the Western-centered economic world order, which relies on sanctions and the dominance of the US dollar as tools to control other nations, according to Valtersson.

The expert noted that, based on Putin's previous speeches and interviews, The Russian president was likely to focus on increasing Russian economic and technological independence from the West, strengthening ties with non-Western countries, sustaining economic growth and resolving the conflict in Ukraine on favorable terms for Russia.

"We are eagerly looking ahead, filled with confidence, and actively implementing new projects and programs to further enhance our development, making it even more dynamic and robust," Putin stated in his speech.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Large defense industrial base and combat-tested army keys to Russia’s ability to stand up to NATO

Russia's military benefits from "a massive military-industrial base capable of producing large quantities of arms and ammunition including highly capable advanced weapons, and a large professional fighting force,” military affairs expert and US Marine Corps vet Brian Berletic told Sputnik on the occasion of Russian Armed Forces Day Tuesday.

“Backed by a significant nuclear deterrent, the Russian military is designed and demonstrably capable of defending what is the largest nation by land area in the world,” Berletic said.

“Russia’s political leadership has ensured that the military-industrial base and the fighting forces it arms and equips exists to underwrite the nation’s national defense rather than serve as an opportunity for private enterprise to enrich itself either through the procurement process and/or through military-backed expansionism overseas. These are the key factors that distinguish the Russian military from its Western counterparts and is why amid Washington’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, Russia has so far successfully outmatched the collective wealth, resources, and military power of the West,” Berletic said.

The observer stressed that throughout the Ukrainian conflict, Russia’s defense sector has proven able to expand and adapt more quickly than its Western counterparts to the needs of the front, and to produce weapons in greater quantities and at lower cost.

Berletic recalled that during the Second World War, the USSR was able to achieve victory over Nazi-occupied Europe in large measure due to its ability to out-produce the Nazis “across every metric.” And while the scale, circumstances and conditions of today’s conflict with NATO may differ, Russia is once again “confronting foreign aggression along its borders with a massive military industrial base able to out produce its adversaries,” the former soldier emphasized.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Biden admin. might exploit the F-16 nuclear controversy as a provocation in Ukraine

"The primary and most likely nuclear weapon that the F-16 can carry is the B61[-12] gravity bomb – which has been continually maintained and improved for both accuracy and reduced yield, so smaller than its predecessors but able to be guided," retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a former analyst for the US Department of Defense, told Sputnik.

Ukraine is slated to receive its first F-16s later this year, with Ukrainian pilots undergoing training to operate the fighter jets. Moscow has consistently cautioned against this deployment, raising concerns that the warplane can be equipped to carry nuclear bombs.

Kiev is expected to get its F-16s from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. In October 2022, Politico reported that the US had expedited the deployment of B61-12s to NATO bases in Europe, lending credence to Russia's security concerns.

On December 13, 2023, The War Zone (TWZ) published a photograph of an F-16 at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands, seemingly carrying a training version of the B61-12 under its wing.

"If the F-16s are to be flown by Ukrainian pilots and manned by Ukrainian ground crews, they would not be allowed access to nuclear weapons by any NATO country," Kwiatkowski pointed out.

But she stressed that US president Joe Biden’s administration could use the controversy surrounding the nuclear-capable F-16 to create a crisis in a bid to tip the balance of the conflict in its favor and, possibly, delay a US election which the geriatric US leader could easily lose this November.

Even though the scenario seems fantastic, the Biden administration had no scruples about blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022, Kwiatkowski remarked.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt