❗️The Southern Military District has begun the first stage of an exercise involving practical training in the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the Defence Ministry said.

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As part of non-strategic nuclear weapons exercises, the Russian missile formations are practising such tasks as:

◻️ Obtaining special ammunition for the Iskander complex, equipping missiles with it and moving covertly to a position area to prepare for launch.

◻️ Equipping special warheads for air defence systems, including Kinzhal missiles

◻️ Flights to designated patrol areas.

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💸Profits from frozen Russian assets to go to Ukraine: what's known so far

EU members have approved a plan to use the profits generated by frozen Russian state assets to support Ukraine, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky tweeted on Tuesday.

According to him, the move means the Kiev regime will receive $3.3 billion in 2024, with 90% of the sum due to go to the military, which will reportedly get such assistance twice a year.

The plan also stipulates that Ukraine will be provided with the net profits from February 15 onwards. About $172 billion of frozen Russian assets have already generated a net profit of $605 billion since that date.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the US is ready to provide Ukraine with a loan backed by frozen Russian assets if Washington gets EU guarantees that the loan will be repaid and the assets will remain frozen.

The US’ G7 allies have reportedly been warming to Washington’s scheme to rush tens of billions of dollars in funding to Ukraine before Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House. The scheme, due to be discussed at a June summit, purportedly envisages Kiev receiving money “upfront from a G7 loan.”

Most of the immobilized Russian funds, roughly $232 billion, are held in the EU, while the US has frozen only a fraction of Russian funds, about $5 billion. In April, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to allocate $60.8 billion in aid to Ukraine, a document that also allows for the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Kiev.

Russia has repeatedly warned that using its frozen assets to assist Ukraine “will have legal consequences for those who initiated and implemented it." Moscow has also rejected the possibility of exchanging new Russian regions for the country’s assets frozen by the West. “Russian assets must remain inviolable, otherwise Western theft will be met with a harsh response,” the Kremlin said.

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🇷🇺⚓️ Today the Russian Pacific Fleet celebrates its professional holiday. It has been protecting the Russian Far East for almost 300 years and continues to play a vital role in ensuring the security of the state.

📹Watch our video to discover the most legendary ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet.

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⚖️🇮🇱 International Criminal Court vs. Israeli leadership: The ball is served

On May 20, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan issued an application for arrest warrants of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three leading Hamas officials. Khan listed several reasons backing up war crime claims against Israel, including murder, starvation, attacks against civilians, and extermination.

The ICC statement caused a storm in the international community, with nations quickly splitting into two opposing camps.

Who backed who?

⚖️Team ICC:

🔺France advocated for “the fight against impunity in all situations”;

🔺Belgium called for prosecution “at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators”;

🔺Slovenia stood for “independent and impartial” prosecution;

🔺Switzerland expressed concern “about possible war crimes” and reaffirmed ICC jurisdiction.

🇮🇱Team Israel:

🔺US (not party to the ICC) reiterated that it “will always stand with Israel”;

🔺UK pointed out that the effort “does nothing to make progress towards a sustainable ceasefire”;

🔺Czech Republic slammed the application as “appalling and completely unacceptable”;

🔺Italy opposed the warrant as “unacceptable”;

🔺Austria said the notion is “non comprehensible”;

🔺Hungary called the proposal “absurd and shameful”.

◻️ Germany said it “respects the court’s independence”, but rejects a “false impression of an equation” between Israel and Hamas.

◻️ Russia (not party to the ICC) pointed out the bias of the US, which is “eager to use sanction pressure within the ICC” and, at the same time, acts as “a scorpion that stung itself”.

◻️ China (not party to the ICC) commented that it “hopes the ICC will uphold an objective and fair stance”.

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