Contacts between the "Arctic Five" - Russia, Denmark, Canada, Norway, and the United States - have been interrupted, Maxim Musikhin, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's legal department, told Spurnik.

Previously, the countries could discuss "problematic issues related to the continental shelf" in a "confidential manner," and now "there is no mechanism" - and this did not happen on Moscow's initiative, Musikhin said.

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US extended shelf contradicts Russia's national interests

Of all the areas of the world's oceans in which the United States claims the "extended shelf," the Arctic Ocean region - the Chukchi and Bering seas - is the most important for Russia from the point of view of national interests, Director of the Legal Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maxim Musikhin told Sputnik.

In March, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia had sent a demarche to the United States in connection with Washington's December 2023 change to the external boundaries of its extended continental shelf in a number of areas of the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

"There are no questions in this case with the 200-mile shelf, but with the "extended" [shelf] there is legal uncertainty," Musikhin said.

"We are again encountering non-compliance by the United States with the procedure for confirming that the seabed area belongs to the geological continental shelf," the Russian diplomat said.

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🔸 Zelensky's unconstitutional power grab amidst Ukraine's military failures

🔸 American diplomacy at its finest

🔸 Viral video shows IDF soldier calling for military coup, Israeli rule over Gaza

🔸 Orban’s bid to ‘redefine’ NATO status means Hungary won't be dragged into confrontation with Russia

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Ukrainian businessman organized human trafficking corridor through Poland to the EU

The man, originally a citizen of a South Asian country, arrived in Ukraine in the early 2000s and since the beginning of Russia's special military operation organized a human trafficking corridor through the Polish border to the EU, Politico reported.

"With the help of his foreign connections, the businessman organized the mass illegal transfer of people from countries with a high terrorist risk to the EU," the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) was quoted as saying.

The perpetrators tried to distribute up to a hundred illegal migrants in EU countries, the article said, adding that the organizer of the corridor in Poland, who was on the international wanted list, will be prosecuted for "crimes against European security.

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During the Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk, a missile hit a private apartment building and got stuck in the floor.

At that moment there was an elderly woman in the house, she is alive.

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No, Jens: Italy slams NATO chief's idea to lift restrictions on Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia

The Italian government has rejected NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's plea to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons deep inside Russian territories.

"We will not send a single Italian soldier to Ukraine, and the military equipment that Italy sends should be used on the territory of Ukraine," Tajani was quoted as saying by the Adnkronos news agency on Saturday.

He added that Italy "must always work for peace and lower the tone." Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister and leader of the League party, echoed the same sentiment, insisting that no one was seeking a "prelude to World War III."

"Italy is not at war with anyone, and while it was right to assist Ukraine militarily, lifting the ban on Kiev to strike military targets in Russia is out of the question. Similarly, I reiterate that Lega opposes sending even a single soldier to fight in Ukraine. We seek peace, not a prelude to a Third World War," he stressed.

Russian officials repeatedly warned against military supplies to Kiev regime stressing that this move only fuels the conflict with no chance to anyhow affect the ultimate course of special operation.

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Major non-NATO ally: What does the designation mean?

US President Joe Biden has pledged to designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally (MNNA), a move that came during his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto's recent visit to America.

Although the MNNA status de jure "does not entail any security commitments to the designated country," according to the US State Department, it provides special military and economic conditions to the country.

🔸 US-owned war reserve stockpiles may be placed on MNNA territory;

🔸 MNNA companies may bid on contracts to repair and maintain the US Department of Defense (DOD) equipment outside the US;

🔸 MNNAs can be considered for the purchase of depleted uranium ammunition;

🔸 Such members can enter into a formal agreement with the DOD to conduct research and development projects;

🔸 MNNAs are eligible for loans of materials and equipment for research, development, or testing.

The US previously designated 18 countries as MNNAs, including Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand, and Tunisia.

The move to have Kenya as a non-NATO member is dangerous because it will force the country to pander to US and Western demands, which means the African nation is loosening its international bargain on important issues, Dr. Nicodemus Minde, Adjunct Lecturer in International Relations at the United States International University - Africa in Nairobi, earlier told Sputnik.

According to him, Washington also feels that it is losing allies in Africa, and Kenya presents itself as a key gateway to US influence on the continent.

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❗️Russian troops liberated the Berestovoye settlement in the Kharkov region as a result of successful military operations, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

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Russia hammers Ukrainian military airport adapted for Western F-16 fighter jets

The Russian Armed Forces conducted a series of strikes on military and energy infrastructure in the city of Starokonstantinov, the representative of the underground resistance told Sputnik. He added that Moscow hit the military airfield that is currently being prepared for US F-16 fighter jets.

“One of the strikes was targeted towards military training grounds in Starokonstantinov, where, according to the resistance’s data, foreign military equipment is deployed and drafted Ukrainians are trained to use it. Foreign instructors conduct the training," the source explained.

Moreover, the Russian Armed Forces targeted an electrical substation and hit the bull’s eye with a “very powerful explosion” being heard, and the city blacked out. Ukrainian media also published reports about a number of other major blasts in the area.

Russia has started to conduct precision strikes on Ukrainian military and energy assets in response to the October 2022 terror bombing of the Crimean Bridge and other attacks on Russian soil.

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❗️During the day, the Sever battlegroup attacked Ukrainian troops in the Lipetsk, Volchansk and Russkie Tishki areas of the Kharkov region

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

▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 480 servicemen in the area of responsibility of the Russian Yug combat group;

▪️The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 285 servicemen in one day as a result of the actions of the Zapad group;

▪️In the area of responsibility of the Russian Tsentr combat group in the DPR, Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 355 servicemen and three armored vehicles, including a Bradley;

▪️ Russian air defense systems shot down 41 drones, five ATACMS tactical missiles and 32 HIMARS rockets during the day.

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West's talks about using US weapons to strike Russia reflect desperation - Lavrov

Talks in the West about allowing Kiev to conduct strikes with US weapons on Russia reflects desperation and understanding that they will not achieve their goals by the "usual honest means," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"As I understand it, these conversations reflect in a sense a desperation and a realization that by the usual honest means that apply in international law even in times of hostilities, they will not achieve their goal. It feels like agony," Lavrov told Russian media.

Russia has shown the West that it will not tolerate attempts to use Ukraine as a threat to Russia's security and as a tool to destroy everything Russian in the historic Russian lands, Lavrov said. After that, Western countries began to make decisions, including on supplying Kiev with weapons, Lavrov added.

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❗️Thousands of Australians marched in Melbourne today chanting "All Zionists are terrorists"

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Russian soldier survives after being shot in the head and later in the leg while being tortured in Ukrainian captivity

"[Ukrainian soldiers] put me on my knees, nobody spoke to me, and I was shot in the head," Donetsk People's Republic connoscript Sergei Belitsa told Sputnik.

The bullet went through the head, entering near the left ear and exiting near the right cheekbone, the connoscript said, adding that he later woke up and was able to free himself.

When he tried to return to Russian positions, he encountered Ukrainian soldiers and was initially mistaken for one of their own, so they called medics, Belitsa said. But after they gave him first aid, they discovered Russian markings under his jacket, and Belitsa was interrogated and tortured, he added.

During the torture, Belitsa repeatedly lost consciousness and was revived with water, and the interrogator also shot him in the leg, Belitsa recalled. He was soon transferred to a hospital in the city of Kharkov (also known as Kharkiv), where he received medical care. After the hospital, he spent about two months in Ukrainian prisons and was exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war in March 2023.

Upon his return to Russia, Belitsa again received medical help and his jaw was fused, but his left ear will never be restored.

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Russia makes artillery shells three times faster and four times cheaper than West

Artillery ammunition is being produced about three times faster by Russia compared to shells made by Ukraine's Western supporters - and at a quarter of the cost, Sky News has complained, citing research by Bain & Company.

Russia's military-industrial complex will produce about 4.5 million artillery shells this year, while all of Europe and the US combined will be able to produce 1.3 million shells. The cost of a typical NATO 155 mm shell is $4,000, while Russian 152 mm shells cost about $1,000. The math is absolutely against Ukraine in the "battle of fire."

The news agency also talked to Ukrainian artillerymen who admitted that for every round they fire, the Russian side fires back up to five. Moreover, according to the Ukrainians, they do not even use Western shells during training and only pretend to do so.

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Why is Zelensky illegitimate as Ukrainian president?

Russia will proceed from the fact that Volodymyr Zelensky's legitimacy as the Ukrainian head of state has expired, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated.

Zelensky's term in office ran out on May 20, so speaking of his legitimacy makes no sense, Andrey Yakovlev, chairman of the Moscow Bar Association "Yakovlev and Partners," explained to Sputnik.

◾️ Ukraine’s Constitution doesn’t contain any other instruments to extend the legitimate five-year power of the Ukrainian president, except for early elections, in line with the 2014 Constitutional Court ruling;

◾️ This means that to amend the Constitution, it is the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) that should introduce a relevant bill, and lawmakers are to vote to authorize the president to continue exercising his powers – something they have not done;

◾️ That said, it is impossible for parliament to even do this because Article 157 of the Constitution states that the Carta Magna cannot be changed under martial law or a state of emergency;

◾️ Martial law was introduced on February 24, 2022, by a presidential decree and then ratified by the parliament’s overwhelming majority. Thus, Kiev cut off its path to chang the Constitution;

◾️ Currently, there is sort of legal absurdity in place, in which the constitutional norms and steps made by Zelensky and the parliament exclude the possibility of changing the Constitution and re-granting the president legitimacy;

◾️ 2015 martial law legislation, now cited by Kiev, contradicts the Constitution, which directly refers to the preservation of only the parliament’s legitimacy during martial law, not presidential legitimacy. Apparently, the Constitutional Court never checked this legislation;

◾️ Even if Zelensky is recognized by others, any act signed by him after May 20, without any clarification from the Constitutional Court, is unlikely to have legal force, Andrey Yakovlev concluded.

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Get your priorities straight: Example of the US police

It's been four years since George Floyd's death caused massive protests all over the US. During pro-Palestinian protests, police don't shy away from using their batons, unraveling their wrath on those who dare to criticize Israel. While at the BLM rallies on May 25, protestors seem to enjoy their time...

🤔Why is that so? Write your opinion in the comments

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‘Expired president’ Zelensky remains legitimate only to the West – expert

”The West believes that they have invented a very savvy formula for keeping Zelensky in power until they decide whether to change or leave him and with whom to replace him,” Alexander Dudchak, leading researcher at the Institute of for CIS Studies, has said.

Zelensky is legitimate only for the West, “but Russia is not obliged to follow the lead of those who do not observe the laws, and who have been destroying international law for decades. Moscow doesn’t consider Zelensky a head of state, albeit a puppet one,” he underscored, recalling that even in Ukraine, Zelensky is nicknamed the “expired president.”

As for who Russia should negotiate with now, the expert said “there is no one to negotiate with in Ukraine, which is also the case with the West.”

“If a regime remains on any Ukrainian territory that the West will see as a successor to the current government – the Zelensky regime or that of similar functionaries whom the collective West could put in power – it would be a constant threat to Russia because the West will pump this territory with weapons,” Dudchak said.

Per him, it’s all the same to Russia who will finally be at the helm of Ukraine because Moscow will pursue the main goal of its special military operation – to rid the world of the neo-Nazi threat posed by the Kiev regime, as such regimes are “contagious” and could spread further across the globe.

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Vladimir Putin arrives in Uzbekistan, where his talks with the country's leadership will take place.

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🇺🇿🇷🇺 The Russian president was met by his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the airport.

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France’s Macron on first visit to Berlin in 24 years to mend cracks in 'Franco-German unity'

Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Germany on an official state visit on Sunday. This trip has become the first official visit by a French president to Germany since 2000, with Reuters reporting that the visit is apparently meant as a show of unity between Berlin and Paris amid unresolved tensions.

Managing Director for Europe at the Eurasia Group think tank Mujtaba Rahman told the media outlet that Macron’s visit is "an attempt at the highest political level to demonstrate that the relationship is working."

Meanwhile, Berlin and Paris keep disagreeing on many issues - such as the defense and security situation in Europe.

Whereas Germany is keen to rely on the US military protection, France favors self-reliance, with Macron consistently advocating for Europe’s greater autonomy in defense matters. Paris’ recent belligerence – extremely obvious in comparison to Berlin’s slow pace – may be well explained by the fact that France has its own, albeit small, nuclear arsenal while Germany has no nukes of its own.

During a cabinet meeting slated to take place on Tuesday, May 28, top French and German officials are expected to discuss important matters related to the bilateral relations between the two countries.

The French president’s visit takes place mere days before the elections for the EU Parliament, scheduled on June 6 through 9, with a report suggesting that France and Germany are now seeking to “find common ground on the EU agenda for the next five years.”

A year earlier, Macron had to scrap plans for his visit to Berlin – originally expected to take place in July 2023 – amid protests that broke out in France over the death of a 17-year-old teenager who was killed by police.

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