PKZ machine gun: What you need to know about the new Russian chatterbox

Designers from the Russian city of Perm have developed the PKZ, a new compact machine gun for assault units who have to fight in constrained conditions.

🔸 The 7.62mm PKZ is based on the renowned Kalashnikov machine gun (RPK), according to the Perm-based design bureau Labi.

🔸 The PKZ will be of help to soldiers during attacks on сlosed premises and field strongholds, where using light and portable machine guns is of paramount importance.

🔸 Additionally, the PKZ will be needed to protect convoys.

🔸 The 85-centimeter-long PKZ weighs about 7 kg, 1.5 kg less than the RPK. The new machine gun’s effective range is about 1,200 meters (0,74 miles).

🔸 The PKZ is currently going through field tests and is expected to be delivered to the special military operation zone in the next three months, Labi Chief Designer Andrey Malkov told reporters.

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Hezbollah attacked 15 military sites in northern Israel today, including several unit headquarters, according to Al Jazeera.

The large-scale strike is meant to “deter” Israel following the assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Talib Abdullah earlier this week.

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📹 Vladimir Putin inspected the NICA Collider at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in the city of Dubna, Moscow region.

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G7 summit: doomed before it began?

Even before the G7 summit began, some media reports are calling it a failure.

According to Politico, low approval ratings, economic crises, and weak performances in local and European elections - each of the G7 leaders has plenty of pressing issues to deal with:

▪️French President Emmanuel Macron, in an effort to regain popularity, has called for snap elections after Marine Le Pen's National Rally outperformed his party in the European Parliament elections with 31-32 percent of the vote compared to 15 percent for the president's Renaissance.

▪️German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been "humiliated" by the victory of right-wing parties in the European Parliament elections and could soon be "toppled" - the Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is set to secure the second largest share of the EU vote, over 16%, in its best ever showing.

▪️British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, facing a historic defeat for his conservative party, called for snap elections in a desperate attempt to reverse his position. Some pundits, however, believe that Sunak may have to say goodbye to the premiership and that the Conservatives will most likely lose their status as a "governing party.

▪️Justin Trudeau, who has been Prime Minister of Canada for nine years, announced his intention to step down after the Conservative Party opened up a double-digit lead in the polls over his Liberal Party less than a year and a half before the next federal election.

▪️Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been challenged by unprecedentedly low ratings ahead of upcoming elections.

▪️US President Joe Biden has reached his lowest approval rating of 36% just five months before the US general election, according to Reuters poll. Moreover, Biden is rapidly facing pressure from his fellow Democrats amid the Israeli offensive operation on the city of Rafah, which has also caused massive waves of protests against Israeli aggression across the US.

▪️ Italy's Prime Minister Georgia Meloni appears to be the only strong figure at the summit, says Politico, after her right-wing Brothers of Italy party strengthened its position over the past two years. Italy has also played a key role in negotiations between European and US officials over a G7 plan to use frozen Russian assets to provide a loan to Ukraine. But beset by domestic concerns, leaders are unlikely to find common ground on the issue.

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Israeli soldier shoots a flaming arrow over the border wall with Lebanon. Earlier, a viral video showed Israeli troops launching flaming projectiles into Lebanon.

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The silence of international institutions regarding Kiev's terrorist attacks means complicity in these crimes, said Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commenting on Ukraine's attack against Russian journalists in the village of Golmovskiy in the Donetsk People's Republic.

“The blood of Russian journalists is not only on the hands of the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants, but also on the conscience of international officials in Vienna, Geneva, Paris and New York. I hope that at least now at the briefing of the representative of the UN Secretary General, Mr. Dujarric, this topic will not be left without comment, and they will find the strength to say who inflicted the blows and condemn them," she said.

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Could the petrodollar's end make the US economy scream?

The Saudi Central Bank has joined the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, mBridge, which is seen as a step towards reducing global oil trade in US dollars.

The "petrodollar agreement" concluded between the US and Saudi Arabia in 1974, in which Saudi Arabia agreed to sell oil exclusively in US dollars, is said to have expired on June 9 this year. Neither Washington nor Riyadh has commented on the matter so far.

▪️"Petrodollars" are revenues paid to an oil-exporting country denominated in US dollars.

▪️The "petrodollar" agreement was struck by the US and Saudi Arabia following the OPEC oil embargo of 1973-1974 over US military aid to Israel.

▪️Earlier, in 1971, the US ended dollar convertibility to gold, turning the dollar-gold fixed Bretton Woods system into a fiat and more volatile one.

▪️The US and Saudi Arabia struck a major cooperation deal on June 9, 1974. Under the special agreement, Riyadh was allowed to buy US treasuries before they were auctioned. In return, Saudi Arabia agreed to sell its oil in dollars, investing its revenues into US debt and enlarging the dollar's liquidity.

▪️Saudi Arabia also convinced other OPEC oil producers to sell their crude in US dollars. Thus, the dollar became "pegged" to oil instead of gold.

▪️Nearly 80 percent of global oil sales are priced in dollars. However, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, and others are increasingly shifting to local currencies in energy trade. In 2023, 20 percent of global oil was bought in other currencies, as per the Wall Street Journal.

▪️If world players significantly reduce the use of US dollars, the US' ability to issue dollar debt and earn dollars for exports will diminish and the nation's economy will shrink, according to international economists.

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Sputnik Afghanistan journalist Khaibar Akifi has returned to work after being injured when a Ukrainian drone crashed in the Belgorod region last year

Akifi, who has Russian citizenship, and his wife Olesya were seriously injured on the night of October 12, 2023, as a result of a Ukrainian drone falling on a house on the outskirts of Belgorod, where the journalist’s family was located; their four-year-old daughter Amina and the wife’s parents were killed in the fire.

It was reported that the journalist had burns on 15% of his body, severe mine explosion trauma, broken ribs, pelvic damage and brain contusion. Akifi was treated at the Vishnevsky National Medical Research Center for Surgery in Moscow. In early February, Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko told Sputnik that the journalist’s life was no longer in danger.

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Russian weightlifter Elizaveta Zhatkina secured gold at the BRICS Games in the 49 kg weight category.

She achieved a snatch of 76 kg and a clean and jerk of 95 kg, totaling 171 kg. Fellow Russian Polina Andreeva took silver with a total of 162 kg (77 kg in snatch and 85 kg in clean and jerk), while Venezuela's Victoria Milano earned bronze with 143 kg total (61 kg in snatch and 82 kg in clean and jerk).

In the men's 61 kg category, Haider Sultan of Pakistan claimed victory with a total lift of 261 kg (115 kg in snatch and 146 kg in clean and jerk). Russia’s Oleg Musokhranov came in second with 260 kg, and his compatriot Elkan Gvazava placed third with 258 kg.

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Trump Jr. has arrived in Budapest to meet Hungarian PM Viktor Orban. Topics of the dialogue include the future of US-Hungary relations, peace in Ukraine and illegal migration.

Orban has repeatedly said that Trump Sr., if he wins the US presidential election, could end the conflict in Ukraine.

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AI gap: How China’s lead in artificial intelligence challenges US military superiority

China is racing ahead of the US in artificial intelligence (AI) development, which makes it almost impossible for America to prevail in a possible conflict between the two, according to a report by Virginia-based data analytics firm Govini.

The company’s CEO Tara Murphy Dougherty on Wednesday briefed reporters on the document. So what does the report single out in terms of AI-related US vulnerabilities?

▪️As compared to the US, China has more patents in 13 of 15 critical areas, which clearly indicates how America is lagging behind in AI development.

▪️The US Department of Defense (DoD) is yet to perform in-depth patent analyses to figure out why Washington is behind Beijing in this regard.

▪️When it comes to a potential conflict, “If you add in an AI advantage that the US doesn’t have, it potentially tips the war into unwinnable [for the US].”

▪️In case of a tension between the two countries, China can weaponize AI by hacking into the US energy grid, which would “have a major impact on the warfighter.”

▪️Instead of perceiving AI as “the most transformational technology that matters” in a possible armed standoff, the Pentagon continues “treating AI like it is just a science project.”

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What is known about Hezbollah's armed strength?

Part 1

With Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah exchanging fire on the border lately, Tel Aviv has been urged by some rightwing politicians to enter southern Lebanon and destroy Hezbollah. If Israel makes such a decision, what kind of armed forces is it going to face there?

Although there are no official statistics on what the Hezbollah military wing in Lebanon is like, here are some facts we’ve collected relying on open sources.

🔸Military personnel
In 2021, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah noted that the Lebanese movement's military structure includes approximately 100,00 "trained, organized and experienced Lebanese men".

🔸General amount of missiles
Hezbollah possesses more than 1 million rockets of various types, including precision-guided missiles and modified Katyusha rockets for increased accuracy, as well as anti-tank missiles, an unnamed official with Iran’s Quds Force recently told Foreign Policy. In 2022, Nasrallah also stated that Hezbollah had the ability within Lebanon to convert thousands of rockets into precision missiles and to produce drones.

🔸Ballistic missiles
In November 2023, Nasrallah said the movement used a Burkhan missile against Israel. Hezbollah has “thousands” of such Burkhans with a range up to 10 km, causing destruction within a radius of 150 meters. The Lebanese movement also has Zelzal-1 and Zelzal-2 artillery ballistic missiles, and Fateh-110 short-range, road-mobile ballistic missiles.

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What is known about Hezbollah's armed strength?

Part 2

🔸Anti-aircraft missiles
Hezbollah stated it had shot down an Israeli drone over southern Lebanon with a surface-to-air missile on several occasions. The latest was on June 10, according to the movement's official statement.

🔸Anti-tank missiles
Hezbollah has repeatedly used guided anti-tank missiles extensively. The movement's social media confirmed that Hezbollah had used Kornet anti-tank guided missiles, designed for heavy battle tanks, and the Almas ATGMs. Both are mostly used in attacks against the Israeli Meron airbase.

🔸Anti-ship missiles
Hezbollah first proved it had anti-ship missiles C-802 in 2006, when it hit an Israeli warship 16 km off the coast. The movement also released videos showing more of the same type of anti-ship missile used in 2006.

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What is known about Hezbollah's armed strength?

Part 3

🔸Drones
Hezbollah claims to have its own kamikaze drones called Ayoub and Mersad, which they regularly use in their attacks on Israeli territory.

🔸NLOS
Talking to Al Mayadeen in February 2024, commander of Hezbollah's anti-armor unit mentioned a new NLOS (Non Line Of Sight Launch System) weapon developed by the resistance. He noted that 'Hezbollah's anti-armor capabilities had the lion's share in the fighting due to the nature of the mission'. Hezbollah is adhering to secrecy because it doesn't not want 'to put all of its cards on the table', he said.

🔸 With more to come
Hezbollah has not yet unleashed "the weapons of the great war," member of the Lebanese Parliament Mohammad Raad told local media in March 2024.

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Lithuania's Seimas (highest legislative body) has approved the return of compulsory military service from 2026

According to the law, men aged 18 to 22 will be called up for nine months.

85 deputies voted for the bill, 3 people voted against it, and another 14 abstained.

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❗️One of the NTV journalists injured during Ukrainian shelling in Gorlovka has died. The local mayor named the deceased as cameraman Valeriy Kozhin. The NTV channel also confirmed the death of its operator.

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New US sanctions backfire: dollar dips as yuan dominates Moscow Exchange

"The share of the yuan, which now amounts to more than 50 percent on the Moscow Exchange, will probably be the main settlement currency for many transactions," Yaroslav Kabakov, director of strategy at the investment company Finam, tells Sputnik, commenting on the US sanctions against Russia's Moscow Exchange (MOEX), National Clearing Centre and National Settlement Depository (NSD).

After the US and its allies froze Russia's sovereign assets and cut the nation off from SWIFT, the yuan has replaced the US dollar as the most traded currency in Russia in 2023. In May, the share of the yuan in Russia's foreign exchange market reached a new high of 53.6 percent; it also increased by 1.3 percentage points in the over-the-counter market, up to 39.2 percent, compared to the previous month, according to the Russian Central Bank.

The US Treasury's announcement of restrictions against third countries trading with Russia is likely to bolster the de-dollarization trend. US secondary sanctions "created an incentive to diversify away from the US dollar to avoid these sanctions," Antoine Berthou, an economist at the Banque de France, warned in his September 2023 study.

Despite Western headlines claiming that the Russian currency "swings to opaque trading territory", the ruble has not been weakened by the US measures and the Russian market participants didn't panic, according to Sputnik's pundits.

"It was clear that [Russian] regulators were ready for this kind of solution. The Central Bank warned Russian banks in advance about how it would act. By and large, there is no surprise here," Nikita Maslennikov, an economist, the head of finance and economics at the Institute of Contemporary Development and a leading expert at the Center for Political Technologies, tells Sputnik.

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