The Ukrainian Army plans to build anew 10,000 km of fortifications, the Ukrainian mass media reported. The previous fortifications turned out to be inefficient, of poor quality or unfinished.

Earlier, a captured Ukrainian border guard said that they had to prepare engineering structures and dugouts literally from handmade tools.

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What is the danger of Srebrenica resolution? Ex-Senator of Republika Srpska explains

The upcoming vote on the resolution on events in Srebrenica at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) will have a disastrous political effect on the Serbian people, ex-senator of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and a professor of law at the University of Belgrade Kosta Čavoški told Sputnik. Its main purpose to label all the Serbs as ‘genocidal nation’.

“They [the initiators of the resolution at UNGA] invented a new legal term which so far has been non-existent in law. Its name is collective responsibility,” Čavoški said.

“They say that [Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan] Karadjic, Ratko Mladic and Bilana Plavsic – they all had a criminal plan aimed at creating the Serb Republic [in Bosnia]. And all the people who created Republika Srpska were like tools… So, they are summarily declared a criminal group which is made responsible for all the crimes committed then, including those in Srebrenica.”

Čavoški noted that the co-authors of the resolution were Germans. "It never occurred to them to push through a UN resolution condemning the genocide of Jews by the Nazis, and now they are promoting a resolution that should condemn those who committed 'genocide' in Srebrenica. In a political sense, indirect guilt will fall on all Serbs," he said.


The expert pointed out that of the 8,000 killed or missing in Srebrenica, about 1,000 were prisoners of war who were executed after one seized a guard’s gun and killed him. That act, although cruel and despicable, was not a genocide. Most buried at the Potocari Memorial Center were not prisoners of war, but men retreating from Srebrenica facing ambushes and minefields.

Čavoški noted that genocide implies the systematic killing of members of a particular nationality regardless of gender and age, and that nothing of that kind happened in Srebrenica.

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US President Joe Biden said he plans to visit Africa after he is re-elected in November.

"I plan on going in February after I'm re-elected," Biden said alongside Kenyan President William Ruto at the White House.

Meanwile, Biden's approval rating fell to 36% in the April, marking the lowest level in two years, the resent Reuters poll revealed.

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Passenger car drives into gates of Russian Consulate General in Bonn

A passenger car drove into the gates of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn, causing material damage, and the driver was detained by the police, the diplomatic mission said.

"On May 22, 2024, at about 20:00 [local time, 18:00 GMT], the entrance gate of the Consulate General of Russia in Bonn was damaged after a passenger car drove into them, the driver of which, according to preliminary information, was in a state of alcoholic or narcotic intoxication," the consulate said.

Police officers have detained the attacker, inspected the scene of the accident, recorded facts and evidence, as well as the damage done to the property and evacuated the car, the consulate added.

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Nikki Haley endorses Trump, since Biden is a 'catastrophe'

Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley announced that she will vote for Donald Trump in November as he meets her priorities better than Biden.

“As a voter, I put my priorities on a president who is going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account…,” Haley said at the Hudson Institute. “I will be voting for Trump.”

Trump has not been perfect but Biden has been a "catastrophe," she said.

Haley also expressed hope that Trump will actively engage her voters rather than simply expect their support.

Earlier, an Axios report said that Trump's campaign is considering Nikki Haley for the vice presidential role.

Haley, who was a key Republican rival in the presidential race alongside Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, could be chosen if Trump believes she would enhance his chances of winning the November election, avoid potential imprisonment, and manage his multi-million dollar legal bills, the report added.

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Half of Moldovans disapprove gov't policy on Gagauzia, over 50% distrust NATO

Half of Modova's residents consider the government's policy toward the autonomous region of Gagauzia wrong, while more than half do not trust NATO, Moldovan social research company IMAS found in a fresh survey.

Asked what they thought of the policy of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) toward Gagauzia, 50% of respondents said it was wrong, 29% said it was right and 21% said they could not answer the question.

Respondents were also asked to evaluate their level of trust in various international institutions, including the World Health Organization, NATO, the European Parliament, the European Union, World Bank, the UN and others. Speaking of NATO, 18% said they had "little" trust, 42% said they had "no to very little" trust, 21% said they trusted the military alliance and only 9% said they trusted it a lot. Additionally, 2% of Moldovans said they they'd never heard of NATO and 8% said they could not give an answer.

The poll was conducted among 1,088 people from May 2-19 with a maximum margin of error of 3%. Its results were broadcast live on the Realitatea website.

According to the country's constitution, Moldova has neutral status, but from 1994 it has been cooperating with NATO, and with the accession to power of PAS, which is informally led by President Maia Sandu, military exercises involving the US, the UK, German and Romanian military have become more frequent.

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Israel allegedly abandoned major invasion of Rafah in favor of targeted raids

Israel has allegedly abandoned its plans for a major invasion of Rafah in the Gaza Strip in favor of targeted incursions after talks with the United States, The Telegraph has reported, citing a senior US official.

The report cited the official as saying that Israel had taken concerns of the US into account, which had for weeks warned Israel against full-scale operation in Rafah.

"It’s fair to say, I think, the Israelis have updated their plans. They’ve incorporated many of the concerns that we have expressed ... This is an ongoing discussion, ongoing conversation. It’s been constructive," the official said, referring to a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Jerusalem last week.

Last week, Sullivan traveled to the Middle East and visited Saudi Arabia and Israel, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Israeli leadership.

Earlier in May, the Pentagon confirmed media reports that the Biden administration halted deliveries of 1800 2000-pound bombs and 1700 500-pound bombs to Israel after the country began its allegedly limited military operation in Rafah while making public its plans to proceed with a major ground operation.

In early May, US President Joe Biden said during an interview with CNN that Washington would not supply weapons to Israel if the Jewish state's military went into Rafah.

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The US House Armed Services Committee adopted an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to ban Russian and Chinese nationals from national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production sites.

The panel adopted the amendment to the legislation during a markup hearing for the FY25 NDAA.

The amendment was offered by US Congressman Doug Lamborn.

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Palestine doesn't expect EU states' recognition to influence position of US

Palestine does not expect the decision of European countries to recognize it as a state to have any effect on the position of the United States, Palestinian Ambassador to Austria and permanent observer to the UN in Vienna Salah Abdel Shafi has told Sputnik.

"No. But in any case, international pressure will grow. For example, we have already seen during the vote in the [United Nations] General Assembly that the US is becoming more and more isolated internationally. Let me remind you that there were only nine states, including the US, who voted against Palestinian membership in the UN," the ambassador said when asked whether he expected European countries' recognition of Palestine to have an impact on the position of the US.

On Wednesday, Norway and Spain said they would formally recognize Palestine as a state on May 28. Later in the day, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris announced his country's recognition of Palestine.

Until Wednesday, Palestine was recognized by nine EU member states. Eight countries — Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — recognized it in 1988 before joining the European Union, and Sweden in 2014.

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President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in New Caledonia amid pro-independence protests triggered by a controversial electoral reform which gives voting rights to people who became citizens after 1998, thus making the indigenous population a minority.

“My purpose here is to stand with the ministers and the whole government to support the people ... I came here with great respect, humility and the thought of the victims with the determination to do everything to restore calm,” he said.

With the island in a state of emergency, Macron said additional security totaling 3,000 personnel would remain, even during the Paris Olympics if required.

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China's large-scale military drills in areas around Taiwan: what's known so far

The exercises, codenamed Joint Sword 2024A, will be conducted from May 23 to 24, and involve military services including the army, navy, air force, and rocket force, the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced.

Specifically, the drills are being conducted in the Taiwan Strait, north, south, and east of Taiwan, as well as areas around the Taiwan-controlled islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin, as per the command’s statement.

The exercises serve as a "strong punishment" against the separatist acts of the "Taiwan independence" forces and a "stern warning" to interference and provocation by “external forces,” Li Xi, spokesperson for the theater command, said in a statement. The maneuvers will focus on practicing joint maritime and aerial combat readiness in areas around the island of Taiwan to test joint real combat capabilities, Li said.

The show of strength comes just days after US-backed Taiwan’s new regional leader, William Lai Ching-te, took his oath of office. In response to that, China's Taiwan Affairs Office chief Chen Binhua declared that Beijing “will adhere to the 1992 consensus, which embodies the One China principle, and firmly oppose separatist actions aimed at achieving Taiwan's independence, as well as interference by external forces."

The drills also come as the US has been further stoking tensions in the region with a swathe of joint drills. The expansive US-Philippines Balikatan war games in April were held near the South China Sea, where both Beijing and Manila have territorial claims, with Beijing slamming the drills as exacerbating regional tensions.

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▪️ Israel allegedly abandons major invasion of Rafah in favor of targeted raids

▪️ French President Macron arrives in New Caledonia amid civil unrest triggered by Paris-backed changes to local voting rights

▪️ WATCH: Farewell ceremonies for the late Iranian President Raisi continue in the city of Birjand

▪️ Will European countries’ decision to recognize Palestine influence the position of the US?

▪️ The danger of Srebrenica resolution explained ahead of upcoming vote on it at UNGA

▪️ Neocon Nikki Haley endorses Trump, referring to Biden as a 'catastrophe'

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❗️ General Vadim Shamarin, head of the main communications directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, has been arrested in a case of receiving a particularly large bribe, Sputnik was told in court. Shamarin faces up to 15 years in prison, the court said.

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Russian artillerymen support the army's offensive near Avdeyevka

Crews of 2S19 Msta-S SAUs fired 152 mm shells to suppress Ukrainian firing points and strongholds. Orlan-30 UAVs carried out fire correction and target engagement control.

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❗️LIVE: Funeral ceremony for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi takes place in Mashhad

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Interest in the adoption of a law noscriptd On Transparency of Foreign Influence in Georgia and the criticism of it are caused, in particular, by the fact that it has been demanded that Tbilisi to open a “second front” since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.

According to him, a “global war party” which has influence over various countries is involved. Kobakhidze did not specify which powers are meant by this term, noting that “in the end, coordination is carried out by one hand.” In his opinion, the EU and US need “deoligarchization.”

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🗣 'Butcher of Gaza': a crowd reminded Blinken again that people know and remember the terrible US-backed events in Gaza

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