Gonna smoke you out: Russia's new 'Malva' self-propelled gun sees action

The brand-new 2S43 'Malva' self-propelled gun made by Rostec has been inaugurated into combat action in Russia’s special military op zone in the Kharkov region.

The truck-mounted artillery boasts unique features, making it more maneuverable and extremely difficult for the enemy to track down or destroy.

There’s no dodging the ‘Malva’’s scorching fire. Here’s why:

◾️ Mobility is key to the survival of cannon artillery. The 'Malva' is the first Russian self-propelled gun on a wheeled base. It utilizes BAZ-6010-02 8 X 8 wheeled chassis produced by the Bryansk Automobile Plant.

◾️ The Malva is much lighter and more mobile than the Russian army’s self-propelled howitzer of the same caliber, the 152 mm Msta-S. The combat weight of the new gun is 32 tons, allowing it to be transported by Il-76 aircraft.

◾️ The integrated 152-mm 2A64 gun is mounted on the chassis of the wheeled system, allowing it to take full advantage of its ability to quickly move into position, deploy, fire, and then relocate.

◾️ Thanks to its powerful YaMZ-8424.10, 470 horsepower diesel engine, the four-wheel drive combat vehicle is capable of accelerating up to 80 kilometers per hour, and the 'Malva' can cover 1,000 km without refueling, while tackling off-road terrain with ease.

◾️ The cabin in the front part of the chassis accommodates a crew of five in a double-row formation. The artillery mount is at the vehicle’s rear.

◾️ The range is 24 km for High Explosive (HE) and up to 28 km using rocket-assisted projectiles. Its range expands to 43 km when using the newest 2K25 Krasnopol precision-guided artillery munition.

◾️ The 2S43’s onboard equipment facilitates gun feeding and ensures automatic fire direction. The rate of fire can reach 7 shots per minute, with the combat load consisting of several dozen shells.

◾️ The gun’s mobility and precision create the illusion that a whole battery is flattening the enemy.

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Pepe Escobar: the three key messages from St Petersburg to the Global Majority

The main takeaway from SPIEF 2024 is that Russia has positioned itself as the world's 4th largest economy by purchasing power parity despite the total economic war the collective West launched against it, geo-economic and geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar told Sputnik.

“What was made perfectly clear is how Russia managed to reposition itself beyond sidestepping the – illegitimate – sanctions tsunami to establishing a solid, diversified system oriented towards global trade – and completely linked to the expansion of BRICS,” Escobar said.

Another major breakthrough at the forum was BRICS nations developing their own payment infrastructure, immune to sanctions pressure by the collective West, the analyst noted.

Last but not least, there were significant announcement on BRICS expansion. No less than 59 nations — and counting — plan to join not only BRICS but also the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU), reflecting the stark resilience on the Global South.

Finally, the St. Petersburg event showed total awareness about the "Hegemon’s desperation-fueled warmongering masked as 'defense'," and that "Project Ukraine" is doomed no matter how hysterical the collective West is.

“Putin made it quite clear: Russia will prevail, no matter what,” Escobar concluded.

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🇧🇷 Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, in exclusive comments to Sputnik Brasil, backed the participation of both sides in negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis.

"As for the issue of Ukraine, I also believe that all countries want full-fledged negotiations involving both sides to begin,” Vieira said. “Brazil is more than ready to defend, promote, or participate in all initiatives that are truly effective. And initiatives in which both sides participate and in which we can seriously and openly discuss this issue."

The minister also praised the level of Russian-Brazilian relations and called his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov a friend and an outstanding diplomat.

💬 "Our trade turnover is at a record high level, and it only grows every year. Thus, on a bilateral level, we have many interests and a very busy agenda,” Vieira said. “As for the international agenda, we also work on many issues: the United Nations, Gaza, all interesting issues, and we have always maintained a very high level of dialogue, it is very busy and very active.”

“I have known Minister Lavrov for many years,” he added.

“When I was Foreign Minister under President Dilma Rousseff, he also headed the ministry here. Since then, we have had a very good dialogue… He is a good friend and an outstanding diplomat."

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❗️The plane carrying Malawi's Vice President Saulos Chilima "disappeared from radar and cannot be tracked."

According to authorities, the aircraft, with the vice president of the African state and nine other people on board, missed its scheduled landing time, and all attempts to establish contact have been unsuccessful. Search and rescue operations have commenced.

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Meet the most insane American neocon warmonger ever

From "blow Iran off the map" to "I'm not gonna let Putin control NATO", Lindsey Graham usually goes ridiculously off the deep end when it comes to anti-Russia, anti-China and anti-Iran rhetoric.

We've collected the most inflammatory and irrational remarks by Graham for you and rolled them all into one video.

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the European Parliament elections:

"The elections took place under conditions of strict limitations, absence of fair competition, information space cleansing from alternative sources, and rampant anti-Russian campaigning," said Zakharova.

💬 "Political forces opposing mindless and damaging confrontation with Russia were subjected to discrimination, often facing direct pressure and harassment," she said, adding that "in many EU member states, voting took on a distinctly protest character: both through support for opposition parties and demonstratively low turnout.”

“Significant strengthening of positions of nationally-oriented political forces opposing erosion of national sovereignty and identity, as well as substitution of traditional values with neoliberal attitudes, was observed," the spokeswoman said.

💬 "Over the past years, the EP's confrontational position towards our country has degraded to an unprecedented level of hostility," Zakharova noted.

"As a result of the European Parliament elections, the 'ideological basis' for further support of the EU's current self-destructive political course based on Russophobia has been maintained," she concluded.

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❗️❗️❗️ South Africa’s case against Israel in ICJ helped show UN's inability to protect civilians, South Africa's foreign minister says

"Can the court help us to stop [the purported genocide in Gaza]? And what the court has done is help us to expose the inadequacy of the United Nations Security Council in the ability to enforce peace and security, but also the failures of the United Nations to ensure that innocent people are protected," Naledi Pandor told Sputnik Africa. "So it's been a very important experience."

According to Pandor, the reason Pretoria went to court "very early on" after Israel began its military operation in the enclave was to try to prevent genocide.

"We should stop the slaughter and not let it happen, and then we say, 'oh, this was genocide; we're so sorry. We didn't act.' We must act before harm is done. So South Africa went to the court very early on to say something bad is happening here," the top diplomat explained.

Last but not least, the minister expressed hope that all nations around the globe will support the case because it concerns humanity and human rights.

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🤝BRICS foreign ministers welcome proposals for mediating a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine through dialogue and diplomacy, according to a joint statement.

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Who broke up with Zelensky over the past 5 years?

Western control over Zelensky is not limited to the country’s refusal to settle with Russia or its draconian draft laws. The west also dictates comings and gongs from his government.

Here’s a quick overview of Zelensky’s most memorable sackings:
2024

◻️ Serhiy Shefir, former first aide responsible for making business contacts and Zelensky’s daily schedule

◻️ Oleksiy Danilov, ex-secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, ousted from the position he held from October 2019

◻️ Valery Zaluzhny, former Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief: The general’s dismissal grabbed headlines worldwide amid claims of a spat with Zelensky

◻️ Kyrylo Tymoshenko, ex-deputy head of the presidential office, who oversaw regional policy from 2019
2023

◻️ Oleksiy Arestovych, Zelensky’s former communications advisor for defense and national security. He resigned after saying a residential building in Dnepropetrovsk had collapsed because Ukrainian air defenses ahot down a Russian missile onto it, causing a public outcry
2022

◻️ Ivan Bakanov, ex-head of Ukraine’s security service, removed from the position due to suspected treason
2021

◻️ Dmytro Razumkov, former speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, dismissed from the Ukrainian parliament by a vote of MPs
2020

◻️ Andriy Bohdan, former Head of the Presidential Administration, now one of the fiercest critics of Zelensky and his his drug addiction

◻️ Oleksiy Honcharuk, ex-PM: led the cabinet for less than five months before quitting over a leaked recording suggesting he had criticized the Zelensky

◻️ Ruslan Ryaboshapka, former Ukrainian Prosecutor General: ousted from the post by the pro-Zelensky majority in parliament
2019

◻️ Oleksandr Danylyuk, ex-secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and Zelensky’s campaign advisor: Resigned, saying publicly he was not able to stand behind-the-scenes struggle

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How Alternative for Germany stays afloat in hostile ‘liberal’ waters

The leadership of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is ecstatic and jubilant following the party's success in the EU elections. With 15.9% of the votes nationwide, they came in second only to the Christian Democrats, securing 15 seats in the European Parliament.

This consistent upswing demonstrates a strong trend for the party. In the last Euro-election in 2019, AfD received 11% of the vote. In the 2021 Bundestag election, they garnered just over 10%.

💬 “The party is stronger than ever now, and with its double-digit electorate it is stronger than every individual party in the ruling coalition,” the German press highlighted.

However, the fight is far from over, as German mainstream parties show no intention of playing fair. On the eve of the vote, AfD was nearly declared “anti-constitutional” and went through several scandals. Here is what happened:

◻️ On May 26, Germany’s Federal Minister of the Interior and Community Nancy Faeser publicly looked into the legal possibilities of declaring several AfD candidates “enemies of the Constitution” and prohibiting them from running. This was done 10 days before the vote, and it is worth noting that the German authorities have been conducting covert operations against the party for an extended period.

◻️ The main candidate of AfD, Maximilian Krah, was accused of spying for China when police arrested his aide. Additionally, the second candidate, Petr Bystron, was accused of "acting in Russia's interests." Despite the prosecutor's office being unable to produce any proof or bring the MEPs' cases to court, the party ultimately replaced Krah with another candidate.

◻️ The anti-AfD German press openly celebrated and omitted a lot of facts when AfD was expelled from the EP Identity and Democracy faction because of a misinterpreted interview, which Krah gave to the Italian newspaper La Reppublica.

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Macron gambles with snap vote after centrists lose EU election

Macron’s decision to call snap elections is a tactical retreat, Dr John Laughland, a lecturer in politics and history at ICES, the Catholic Institute of the Vendée, told Sputnik.

The gamble is that if the right-wing National Rally (RN), which crushed his Renaissance party in the European Parliament elections, wins the vote and controls Parliament for the next two to three years, by 2027 some there would be “some kind of successor to Macron,” who “would hope to beat the Rally” in the next presidential election.

💬 “It's nearly always the case in French elections that the incumbent government is voted out,” Laughland said. “I suppose that's his calculation. That they'll have power for a few years and then everything will get back to ‘normal’ in 2027.”

If the RN wins control of parliament “it is conceivable” that there might be a shift in France’s policy of supporting the proxy conflict in Ukraine, suggested the expert — as Marine Le Pen’s party seemed more “cautious on provoking Russia.”

“But that's a hypothetical scenario. It depends on whether they do indeed win a parliamentary majority,” Laughland added.

According to him, there is widespread discontent over Macron’s increasingly hawkish Ukraine policy.

“I personally think he made a fool of himself at D-Day in Normandy, when he gave an interview after the Normandy landings ceremony, because he said that it didn't make any difference if there were already French nationals or German or British nationals in Ukraine as mercenaries or as civilians,” Laughland said.

He suggested that Europeans were “sort of asleep,” or “sleepwalking” when it came to the dangerous escalation in the West’s rhetoric. The policy of sending ever more arms to Ukraine will unfortunately continue, he concluded.

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🇨🇳 China has cautioned against underestimating its determination and capability to defend its territorial integrity, including over Taiwan, Sputnik reported at the PRC embassy, noting that US arms sales to Taiwan undermine China's sovereignty.

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🇩🇴🇷🇺The Dominican Republic wants its students to graduate with knowledge of the Russian language

The Dominican Republic aims to prepare students so that upon completion of their studies, they not only know English but also Russian, Oscar Radames Amagos Perez, Deputy Minister of Education of the Dominican Republic for Monitoring and Quality Control of Education, stated.

"We are preparing our graduates so that upon completion of secondary education, they can speak two languages, one of which is English, and the other, of course, we would like it to be Russian, because in 2022 we received a very strong influence from Russia," noted the Dominican representative at the international education forum "Shaping the Future."

He also added that it is important for the republic to welcome Russian tourists and speak Russian.

The "Shaping the Future" forum is taking place on June 10-11 in Kazan. The event showcases the achievements of the domestic sovereign education system and presents the experience of organizing the educational process.

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◻️ Pepe Escobar: the three key messages from St Petersburg to the Global Majority

◻️ Why did Macron roll the dice with dissolving France’s parliament?

◻️ Meet the most insane American neocon warmonger ever

◻️ Who broke up with Zelensky over the past 5 years?

◻️ How Alternative for Germany stays afloat in hostile ‘liberal’ waters

◻️ Macron gambles with snap vote after centrists lose EU election

◻️ Gonna smoke you out: Russia's new 'Malva' self-propelled gun sees action

◻️ HeliRussia-2024 showcases outstanding Russian choppers tested in real combat

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