A US Pentagon official declined to comment on Ukraine's strikes on Belgorod

"We will leave it to Ukrainian officials to comment on recent strikes they’ve conducted," the official told
Sputnik.

The White House National Security Council did not respond to Sputnik's requests for comment on this matter.

The death toll from the collapse of a multi-story residential building in Russia's Belgorod due to Ukrainian shelling has risen to 19.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian air defense systems destroyed 12 Vilkha rockets and 12 drones over the Belgorod region, eight drones over the Kursk region, four air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles and seven drones over Crimea, while four more drones were intercepted over Lipetsk region.

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Israel has completely stopped all aid shipments going into Gaza, Lebanon-based journalist and geopolitical analyst Leila Hatoum told Sputnik’s Fault Lines.

“They control the whole area and… they have shut down all border crossings. Nothing has entered Rafah or Gaza for the past eight days. Israelis have shut down all borders,” Hatoum explained, citing her sources on the ground in Gaza.

“Nothing has entered Gaza, not even water, flour, medicine, children’s needs, baby formula, hygienic products. Nothing. Nothing whatsoever,” she emphasized.

On Monday, videos emerged on social media showing Israeli citizens destroying aid intended for Gaza on trucks waiting to cross the Tarqumiya checkpoint. There doesn’t appear to be any police presence attempting to stop the looters in the videos.

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Biden prohibits China-linked companies from buying property near air force base

President Joe Biden issued an order prohibiting the purchase of real estate property in the vicinity of a US Air Force base in the state of Wyoming by four companies, including MineOne Partners Limited, owned by Chinese nationals.

The Biden administration concluded that MineOne Partners Limited; British Virginia Islands-based MineOne Cloud Computing Investment LLP; Delaware-based MineOne Data Center LLC; and MineOne Wyoming Data Center LLC intended to use the real estate they acquired in June 2022 to conduct cryptocurrency mining within one mile of the Warren Air Force Base without obtaining special permission from the US government, according to the order.

"The proximity of the foreign-owned Real Estate to a strategic missile base and key element of America's nuclear triad, and the presence of specialized and foreign-sourced equipment potentially capable of facilitating surveillance and espionage activities, presents a national security risk to the United States," the order said. "The Transaction is hereby prohibited."

The order prescribes the purchasers of the property to divest from it no later than 120 days after the date of the order.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Ukraine where he will hold a number of meetings, including with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, to discuss the course of the armed conflict with Russia, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken arrived in Ukraine today to meet with senior Ukrainian officials and highlight the United States’ enduring support for Ukraine. While in Ukraine, Secretary Blinken will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss battlefield updates, the impact of new U.S. security and economic assistance," Miller said in a statement.

The visit comes amid the successes of the Russian armed forces in their offensive in the Kharkov area.

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The Russian military struck an area in Kharkov where, according to the local resistance movement, police units were being transformed into military battalions and sent to the eastern front, coordinator of the Nikolayev underground Sergey Lebedev told Sputnik, citing his colleagues.

The Russian military also struck an airfield and factory where military equipment was being repaired in Uman, Cherkasy region, Lebedev added.

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Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's claims about “nuclear escalation” and gas supplies desperate.

Earlier, Sunak alleged that Putin's “recklessness” had brought the world closer to nuclear escalation. The British prime minister also alleged that when Russia cut off gas supplies, it threatened Britain's energy security.

“Sunak's lies are so desperate that I even feel sorry for him. What if it's just stupidity?” Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.

Speaking about the “dangerous nuclear escalation,” Zakharova noted that it is Ukraine shelling the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also emphasized that Russia had not stopped gas supplies, and that this is an “irrefutable fact.”

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👀 Biden has revealed the true balance of power in the White House.

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▪️ Scott Ritter: Russians advance and Ukrainians can't stop them

▪️ Replacing Shoigu with Belousov isn’t a sign of weakness – here’s why

▪️ US Secretary of State Blinken makes unannounced visit to Ukraine

▪️ A car with British number plates destroyed by Russian forces in Donbass

▪️ There is 'no genocide happening in Gaza', US National Security Advisor Sullivan claims

More stories

▪️ President Biden signs a bill prohibiting US imports of Russian uranium

▪️ Why the US’ B-2 ‘wonder-bomber’ is just an attractive museum piece

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❗️ Vladimir Putin will visit China on May 16-17 at the invitation of Xi Jinping, the Kremlin said.

Following the talks between Putin and Xi Jinping, it is planned to sign a joint statement by the heads of state and a number of bilateral documents, the Kremlin added.

This will be Putin's first foreign trip since his inauguration

❗️ During Putin's visit to China, the leaders of Russia and China will determine areas of further development of cooperation and discuss the most pressing problems, the Kremlin said.

🇷🇺🇨🇳 Putin's upcoming visit to China: details

▪️ The leaders of Russia and China will discuss in detail the entire range of issues of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.

▪️ Putin and Xi will thoroughly exchange views on the most pressing international and regional issues.

▪️ Following the talks, a joint statement by the heads of state is planned to be signed, as well as a number of bilateral documents.

▪️ Putin and Xi will take part in a gala evening to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of the Russian-Chinese Years of Culture.

▪️ The program includes a meeting between Putin and Premier of China’s State Council Li Qiang.

▪️ Putin will also visit Harbin, where he will take part in the opening ceremony of the eighth Russian-Chinese EXPO and the fourth Russian-Chinese Forum on Interregional Cooperation.

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❗️ A criminal case has been opened against Yuri Kuznetsov, head of the personnel department of the Russian Defense Ministry, as he is suspected of taking a bribe on a particularly large scale, the Russian Investigative Committee said.

Kuznetsov received a bribe from members of commercial structures to carry out certain actions in their favor, the committee added.

During searches, cash in rubles and foreign currency in the amount of more than 100 million rubles ($1 million), gold coins, collector watches, and luxury items were found and seized. Kuznetsov has already been arrested.

❗️ Vladimir Putin has signed decrees on a number of appointments:

▪️ Nikolai Patrushev appointed as presidential aide

▪️ Dmitry Peskov reappointed as press secretary for the Russian president

▪️ Anton Vaino reappointed as head of the presidential administration

▪️Maxim Oreshkin, who was previously an aide to the Russian head of state, has been appointed deputy head of the presidential administration

▪️ Tula region Governor Alexey Dyumin has been appointed presidential aide and relieved of his previous post

▪️ Sergey Kiriyenko, Alexey Gromov and Dmitry Kozak retained their positions as deputy heads of the presidential administration

❗️ The western and northern parts of Volchansk in the Kharkov region are already controlled by Russian troops, the head of the region’s Russian administration, Vitaly Ganchev, has said.

More than 60 people from the Kraken* neo-Nazi formation have been captured in the Kharkov region and are testifying, Ganchev added.

*Terrorist organization banned in Russia

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❗️ Russia’s Battlegroup Sever will soon start liberating the village of Liptsy in the Kharkov region, as Russian troops have approached the outskirts, Vitaly Ganchev has said.

Ukraine is pulling up new reserves to fortified positions in the Kharkov region, but the Russian Air Force is operating there, so they will not be able to resist them for long, he added.

❗️ Former Rada MP Andrey Derkach has said that information about work by Ukrainian intelligence services on creating a “dirty bomb” is being investigated.

The politician emphasized that nuclear blackmail is normal for Ukraine's leaders.

“They did it both before the start of the special military operation and during the special military operation. We will voice this information so that our non-partners in the West have no questions later,” media quoted him as saying.

❗️ Sergei Shoigu is moving to a very high-ranking post with a broad scope of tasks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

He noted that Shoigu's new position is of great importance for the whole country.

❗️ Other statements by Dmitry Peskov:

▪️ We are aware of Blinken's visit to Ukraine, just as we are aware of nervousness in Ukraine, Europe, and the US about the situation in the special operation zone.

▪️ Every single European accusation against Russia regarding cyberattacks is groundless and Russia firmly rejects them.

▪️ What is happening in Georgia is the country’s internal affair and Russia has no intention of interfering.