❗️Participation in NATO actions outside the Alliance should be voluntary, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg confirmed this and said he accepted Hungary's decision not to participate in the Alliance's mission to coordinate assistance to Ukraine.

"I have asked the Secretary General to clarify that all NATO military actions outside the territory of the alliance, in accordance with NATO rules and traditions, can only be voluntary. This was confirmed at today's talks, Hungary received the necessary guarantees," Orban said at a press conference with Stoltenberg.

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🇷🇺Putin congratulated Russians on National Day, noting that citizens celebrate this holiday with respect for their country.

"Russians today are united by patriotism and responsibility for the fate of the motherland," the Russian president said.

He added that all of Russia supports its heroes [of the special military operation].

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BRICS Bridge: Sustainable payment system ‘outside the sanctions’ field’

The Russian Finance Ministry has announced plans to launch the BRICS Bridge platform, designed to conduct cross-border payments between the member states, which currently include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.

◾️ According to the ministry, the initiative aims to increase the speed and accessibility of financial transactions, as well as ensuring sustainable payments “outside the sanctions’ field.”

◾️ The platform’s main idea is to use digital financial assets (DFA) issued by the central banks of the BRICS members.

◾️ These assets are supposed to be linked to the member states’ national currencies, which will allow the sides to make payments almost instantly with minimal costs.

◾️ Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov explained that the focus would be put on using modern technological solutions to simplify and improve payments-related procedures rather than creating a single payment instrument for BRICS countries.

◾️ The platform, which will be compatible with traditional real-time payment systems, is still being hammered out, with the Finance Ministry stressing that the project will be implemented on a stage-by-stage basis.

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

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 500 soldiers in one day due to the actions of the Zapad Battlegroup;

▪️Units of the Sever Batllegroup defeated five brigades of Ukranian forces and the defense, including in Liptsy, Tikhiy, and Volchansk in the Kharkov region;

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to 600 soldiers in the zone of responsibility of the Yug Battlegroup in one day, five ammunition depots were destroyed;

▪️Units of the Tsentr Battlegroup improved their tactical situation in their area of responsibility. Ukrainian losses amounted to 350 soldiers;

▪️Units of the Vostok Battlegroup occupied more advantageous positions, Ukrainian forces in their area of responsibility lost up to 115 soldiers;

▪️Russian air defenses shot down nine ATACMS operational-tactical missiles, two Hammer guided bombs, and 61 drones in one day.

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March to Pristina: How Russian paratroopers disrupted NATO’s plans in the Balkans

The goal of the eyebrow-raising takeover of the Slatina airport outside Pristina in 1999 was to show “the Russian people’s fraternal support for Serbs and to influence the situation in the future,” Retired Lieutenant General Nikolay Staskov, former chief of staff of the Russian Airborne Forces and one of the participants of the mission, told Sputnik.

The operation was conducted on June 12, 1999, by just 206 Russian paratroopers, whose actions stopped NATO from escalating the conflict in Yugoslavia.

He stressed that Russian troops acted faster than NATO forces who were also tasked with seizing the Slatina airport. The BTR-80 armored personnel carriers with Russian paratroopers moved at “an almost unthinkable” speed to cover more than 416 miles so that the highly secretive mission could be accomplished ASAP, Staskov recalled.

“NATO leadership reacted angrily that the Russian airborne battalion had managed to outpace them. UK General [Mike] Jackson saw that the Russian troops were in full combat readiness and could use weapons, so he made his famous remark ‘I'm not going to start Third World War for you',” Staskov said.

The general recalled then-Russian President Boris Yelstin praising actions by Russian paratroopers as "excellent." Yelstin also remarked that he “at last managed to give NATO a flick on the nose." An unnamed official responded: "You didn't give them a flick on the nose - you punched them in the face."

“Most importantly, the Russian Armed Forces felt at the time that they were capable, in the person of the Airborne Troops, of carrying out tasks for the sake of the Motherland,” Staskov concluded.

The “March to Pristina” operation at the end of the 1999 Kosovo war allowed Moscow to outstrip NATO and secured its right to partake in the settlement of the Yugoslavian conflict. The Pristina mission has turned into an example of an immaculate special operation.

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US to send another batch of Patriot missiles to Ukraine

Biden has agreed to send "the scarcest weapons systems in the US arsenal" to Ukraine after an internal debate over the Patriot shipment, the New York Times reports, citing senior administration and military officials.

The second batch of new US Patriot systems is being delivered from Poland and could be deployed to the Ukrainian frontline within days.

However, the US is not prepared to supply enough Patriots because moving batteries from US territory could jeopardize combat readiness.

"Nations that have those weapons systems have to make the decision to take more risk against their own readiness," Adm. Rob Bauer, the chairman of NATO's military committee, urged in an apparent nod to Europe.

Since the beginning of the year, Ukrainian forces have lost five Patriots, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that the Patriot PAC-2 air defense systems are a legitimate target for its military, as are all other weapons fueling NATO's proxy conflict.

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💥 Russian forces hit the Ukrainian division of the S-300 air defense system with a strike from the Iskander-M anti-aircraft missile system in the Polyvyany area of the Poltava region, according to the Ministry of Defense.

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Russia's Northern Fleet warships arrive at main port of Cuba, Sputnik correspondent reports

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🇷🇺🇨🇺Russian naval strike group enters port of Havana, Cuba, as part of long-range cruise, Sputnik's correspondent reports

At present, the rescue tugboat of the Russian Navy "Nikolai Chiker" has arrived.

Two solemn welcoming ceremonies for Russian ships will be held successively in the port of Havana - separately for a frigate and a submarine.

A diverse tactical group of four ships, including support vessels that previously practiced the use of high-precision missile weapons in the Atlantic, will pay an official visit to the port of Havana from June 12 to 17.

The Russian sailors plan to meet with the Cuban naval command and the governor of Havana, visit historical and cultural sites.

"The visit to Cuba is just one of the tasks of a long-term campaign and is being carried out within the framework of our country's international cooperation," Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Alexander Moiseev told Sputnik.

Commenting on the visit of the Russian ships, the Cuban Foreign Ministry noted that it corresponds to the friendly relations between Cuba and Russia and strictly complies with international rules, stressing that none of the ships carry nuclear weapons and their parking does not pose a threat to the region.

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📹Fire near Israeli city of Safed, following a rocket attack from Lebanon.

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