Timur Ivanov is charged with a bribe of about $11 mln, his lawyer told Sputnik. The deputy minister has been removed from office, the defense confirmed.

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Russian Armed Forces deliver massive strike on strategic targets across Ukraine

Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones targeting energy and military-industrial facilities across Ukraine in the early hours of May 8.

The strikes reportedly targeted five Ukrainian regions – Poltava, Kirovograd, Lvov, Ivano-Frankovsk, and Vinnitsa – as well as part of the Zaporozhye region currently under the Kiev regime’s control. Air defense systems were also operating in Kiev and the capital’s environs.

▪️ The Russian military carried out a series of strikes on industrial facilities in Kiev, according to coordinator of the Nikolayev underground network Sergey Lebedev. Explosions were heard near the Darnitsa car repair plant and the Antonov aircraft manufacturing plant.

▪️ Two critical energy infrastructure facilities were hit in the Lvov region: an energy generation facility in the Chervonograd district, and a large underground gas storage facility in the Stryi district.

▪️ A missile impact caused a fire at the Dobrotvor Thermal Power Plant (Lvov region).

▪️ Blasts were heard in the Ivano-Frankovsk region in the area of the Burshtyn Thermal Power Plant.

▪️ Detonations echoed around the Ladyzhin TPP (Vinnitsa region).

▪️ In the Dnepropetrovsk region, explosions were registered in the city of Kamenskoye, the site of the Srednedneprovskaya hydroelectric power station.

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces attacked infrastructure facilities in Stryi (Lvov region), including a military airfield being prepared to receive Western F-16 fighters, according to Lebedev. A fire broke out after impact. A railway junction was hit, along with a factory housing Western military equipment.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly stated that it targets the Kiev regime’s energy and military-industrial facilities, as well as related infrastructure.

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Speaking of American "technological superiority"

US Boeing is back in the headlines:

The Boeing 767 plane's nose hits the runway as the FedEx flight makes an emergency landing in Istanbul without its landing gear.

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❗️EU permanent representatives have tentatively agreed on the use of proceeds from Russia's assets for military aid to Ukraine, the Belgian presidency has said.

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❗️Armenia announced that it would refrain from participating in the financing of CSTO.

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❗️Russian troops repelled 11 Ukrainian counterattacks; the enemy lost up to 415 militants.

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

▪️ The Russian Armed Forces took more advantageous positions and repelled two counterattacks by Ukrainian forces in the areas of the towns of Urozhaynoye and Staromayorskoye in the Donetsk people's republic.

▪️ Russian troops destroyed the UAV production workshop of the 101st Territorial Defence Brigade and ammunition and rocket-artillery armament depots of the Ukrainian forces.

▪️ Russian air defence forces shot down 11 Ukrainian UAVs, an ATACMS missile, and three Hammer bombs.

▪️ The losses of the Ukrainian forces due to successful combat operations of the Russian Battlegroup Yug amounted to 355 militants.

▪️ Russian army destroyed a German-made Leopard tank.

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Russia's Victory Parade: honoring the past, shaping the future

The parade commemorating the 79th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 fought by the USSR against Nazi Germany and its allies – a part of World War II – will take place on Red Square on May 9.

🔺Over 9,000 individuals and 70 military vehicles and weapon systems will participate in the event.

🔺The parade on Red Square will feature battalions and companies organized according to military types and branches, as well as crews from military schools, Youth Army members, female military personnel, Cossacks, and a combined military orchestra.

🔺Veterans of Russia's special military operation will also take part in the parade.

🔺The Russian Air Force's aerobatic teams, the Russkiye Vityazi (Russian Knights) and Strizhi (Swifts), will showcase air maneuvers over Moscow in highly-maneuverable Su-30 and MiG-29 fighter jets.

Among other national military equipment, the following Russian-made weapons will roll out during the parade:

🔺The legendary Soviet main battle tank T-34, renowned for its superior armor, formidable firepower and cast turret during World War II.

🔺Typhoon-K armored vehicles designed for transportation of personnel and cargo, and capable of being armed with Kornet-M guided missiles which makes them effective tank destroyers.

🔺The Multi-purpose Tigr (Tiger) all-terrain infantry mobility vehicle designed to carry troops, escort and protect columns, patrol and support units with fire.

🔺The mobile short-range ballistic missile system Iskander-M, which can carry conventional and nuclear warheads.

🔺The S-400 Triumph, a state-of-art mobile surface-to-air missile system.

🔺The Yars mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system, a vital component of Russia's nuclear triad, capable of launching nuclear missiles from land post.

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🤡 The Boy Scouts of America will change its name to Scouting America for the first time in 114 years to become more inclusive

While the gender-confused Boy Scouts can't decide on their orientation, members of Russia’s “Young Army” movement are learning how to defend their Motherland.

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The US is exploring the possibility of a military presence in West African countries and expanding its partnership with them, the Pentagon chief has said.

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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed disappointment at the European Union's failure to propose a "meaningful" pathway towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.

"The European Union emerged as a peace project, I am disappointed that it cannot offer a meaningful peace plan for the conflict that is currently taking place in Ukraine."

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An exhibition of captured Western equipment has opened in Grozny. The exhibits include armoured vehicles of Ukrainian, British and American manufacture.

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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said today that the Biden Administration is re-examining a shipment of arms to Israel worth about $1 billion. This is due to Israeli operations in Rafah, which some officials believe are putting Palestinian civilians at risk. Austin said that no final decision has been made.

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📹 WATCH LIVE: Victory Day Military Parade in Moscow on May 9 at 7:00 GMT

The parade in honor of the 79th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War will take place on Red Square on May 9. More than nine thousand service members, over 75 pieces of weapons and military equipment, will take part in the event.

❗️Stay tuned to Sputnik to catch all the details of this wonderful event!

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Unmasking the French Foreign Legion, which has reportedly popped up in Ukraine (part 1)

Russian war correspondents reported on troops from the French Foreign Legion allegedly being eliminated near Chasov Yar. However, the French Foreign Ministry has officially denied any involvement of such units in Ukraine. What is the French Foreign Legion, and what do we know about it?

◾️The French Foreign Legion was established at the end of the 19th century in order to allow foreigners to join the French army. At that time, its primary focus was Africa.

◾️The Foreign Legion reportedly consists of 9,000 soldiers. In 2024, the Legion has recruited about 1,600 soldiers. It is also made up of 11 different regiments, and three of them are considered to be special-purpose regiments.

◾️Two regiments are permanently based outside France, although all units carry out tasks both domestically and internationally.

◾️Since July 2023, the French Foreign Legion has been under the command of Brigadier General Cyrille Youchtchenko, a French national of Ukrainian origin.

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Unmasking the French Foreign Legion, which has reportedly popped up in Ukraine (part 2)


◾️Historically, the French Foreign Legion’s units were chiefly involved in quashing the colonies of France during their fight for independence. The Legion's efforts to suppress these uprisings were characterized by their brutality and were unsuccessful. However, since the 1990s, the Foreign Legion has taken part in various conflicts, including those in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Libya, Afghanistan, and Mali.

◾️In April 1996, the Foreign Legion’s troops were sent to intervene in an armed rebellion in the Central African Republic. Back in France, Jacques Chirac and his administration were already being labeled the “gendarme of Africa” due to the Legion’s actions. Eventually, the Legion handed over control of the capital of the CAR to a military mission of African states. By the end of February 1999, all French troops had completed their pullout from the country.

◾️French units also participated in the Libyan civil war in 2011. Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, Axel Poniatowski, said that there were anywhere from 200 to 300 soldiers from the French special operations forces in Libya at that time. Various Foreign Legion soldiers later admitted to having participated in an operation to plot the assassination of then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

◾️In 2011, France decided to withdraw Foreign Legion units from Afghanistan. The decision was made by then President Nicolas Sarkozy following the deaths of 17 French soldiers between June 1 and September 17 of that year.

◾️In January 2013, French President Francois Hollande deployed a contingent of the Foreign Legion to Mali, initiating a military operation without waiting for parliamentary approval. The primary objective behind this move was to combat terrorism. Despite lacking a UN mandate, the contingent remained in Mali for nearly nine years. The military operations 'Serval' and 'Barkhane' proved to be unsuccessful for the French military. Following a coup in 2020, the new leaders in Mali criticized the French military for what they deemed to be "flagrant violations" of their national sovereignty. Consequently, in August 2022, France decided to completely withdraw its troops from the African country.

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Unmasking the French Foreign Legion, which has reportedly popped up in Ukraine (part 3)

◾️Foreigners who join the Legion are required to sign an initial contract for a period of five years. This commitment is mandatory. The starting salary for recruits is officially set at €1,380 per month. Additionally, recruits are required to change their own names upon joining the Legion.

◾️A legionnaire is first trained as a fighter, and can choose a specialization only after two years of service.

◾️Losses sustained by the Foreign Legion in any operation are never disclosed.

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Belated halt to US arms deliveries may threaten Israel’s aura of ‘invincibility’

“Overall, if the United States were to suspend large shipments to Israel, this would be a significant step on the part of the US government to restrain Israel,” Ankara Baskent University international relations professor Hasan Unal told Sputnik, commenting on the potential rift stemming from reports that American has halted the delivery of 2000 and 500 pound bombs to Tel Aviv over the invasion of Rafah.

“I think the motive to suspend these arms shipments to Israel by the US government is that they want to influence Israeli policymaking. They want to restrain Israel from an onslaught on Gaza or on Rafah in particular, because the US government is well aware that it would turn into an undeniable genocide. And that would make the United States a clearly complicit party…The present US administration cannot afford to have all that criticism directed at itself at a time of elections,” Unal explained.

Regardless of Israeli chest thumping about its “invincibility,” the setback in arms supplies would “have a significant impact on Israeli policy-making,” with Israel desperately reliant on US weapons aid going back to the Arab-Israeli wars of the 20th century, he added.

But Kuwait University assistant professor and Arab Gulf States Institute non-resident fellow Bader Al-Saif fears the US halt of heavy bomb deliveries may have come “too little, too late” to change Israel’s plans.

“We do not know how significant this is until we see how impactful it will [be in relation] to other decisions. Will this become a one off episode or will it be recurring?” Al-Saif said.

“Don’t forget, Rafah has the biggest density of Palestinians in Gaza right now. Just the simple fact of pushing them out of all other districts of Gaza and [gathering] them in Rafah, going in there and bombing it, this is already a genocide in the making,” Al-Saif warned.

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