❗️ Vladimir Putin has appointed Leonid Gornin as first deputy defense minister and Anna Tsivileva and Pavel Fradkov as deputy defense ministers.

The president relieved Nikolai Pankov, Ruslan Tsalikov, Tatiana Shevtsova, and Pavel Popov of these positions.

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The Ministry of Defense has outlined how the responsibilities of the new deputy ministers of defense will be distributed.

▪️The First Deputy Minister, Leonid Gornin, will oversee the entire complex of issues related to the financial support of the Armed Forces.

▪️Pavel Fradkov will be responsible for managing property, land resources, as well as construction of facilities for the needs of the Ministry of Defense and national economy.

▪️Anna Tsivileva will handle issues related to the organization of social and housing support for military personnel, aiming to elevate associated processes to a new level.

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Pentagon anti-vaccine campaign against Russia, China revealed threats to cybersecurity

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) recorded a targeted and coordinated campaign against vaccination in Russia, including through various channels of disinformation, such as fake accounts, anonymous sources, and biased experts, the RDIF stated in response to a report that the Pentagon waged a secret campaign against a Chinese coronavirus vaccine to undermine China's position during the pandemic.

"Since the beginning of the registration of the Sputnik V vaccine, we have observed a targeted campaign to undermine confidence in the achievements of Russian scientists, in total, we have recorded more than 300 information attacks on vaccines of the Sputnik family," Kirill Dmitriev, head of the RDIF, said.

"Successful results of the Sputnik vaccine on foreign markets that demonstrated its safety and efficiency as one of the best vaccines, as well as the publication of these results and other studies in the world's leading scientific journals, played a key role in the RDIF successfully countering the information attacks on the Russian vaccine," Dmitriev added.

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❗️Russia is ceasing its participation in the dispute with Australia and the Netherlands being considered by the ICAO Council regarding the crash of Boeing flight MH17, announced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry noted that Russia was not allowed to fully participate in the investigation conducted by the Netherlands, and representatives from Moscow were not included in the Joint Investigation Team (Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, Netherlands, and Ukraine).

Furthermore, the ICAO Council is considering materials based on the outcomes of these investigations. Moscow has no intention to participate in this farce and does not recognize the authority of the Council to consider the allegations made by Australia and the Netherlands, stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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🇷🇺 Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov has provided details about Putin's upcoming trips to North Korea and Vietnam

🇰🇵 North Korea:

◻️ Possible signing of a strategic partnership agreement, with discussions underway focusing on security issues.

◻️ The Russian delegation will include Belousov, Manturov, Novak, Borisov, and Lavrov.

◻️ Moscow and Pyongyang's relations are built on principles of equality and respect for sovereignty.

◻️ A state concert will be held in Pyongyang in honor of Putin's visit, which the President will attend.

◻️ Kim Jong-un will accompany Putin to the airport after negotiations, with the leaders visiting the Holy Trinity Cathedral on the way.

🇻🇳 Vietnam:

➖ Talks with the Vietnamese Prime Minister will take place over a working breakfast, addressing economic topics.

➖ Russia and Vietnam actively cooperate in energy, medicine, and agriculture.

➖ Putin will meet with graduates of Soviet and Russian universities.

➖ A ceremonial reception will be held in Hanoi to mark Putin's visit.

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A group of Russian warships is leaving Havana, Sputnik correspondent reports.

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☢️ How many nuclear arms can NATO put on standby to threaten Russia and China?

NATO countries are in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons, placing them on standby to deter Russia and China, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg told The Telegraph on June 17.

At SPIEF-2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Moscow does not flex its nuclear muscles and warned against flirting with the use weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Scenarios under which Russia could use nukes are set out in the nation's military doctrine, including in response to a nuclear strike or a conventional attack which threatens Russia's existence and sovereignty.

How many nukes does NATO have?

◻️ Three NATO countries, the US, the UK and France, have nuclear weapons.

◻️ As of January 2024, the US has 3,708 nuclear warheads. Of them 1,770 are deployed and 1,938 are stockpiled. The number of retired warheads in the gradual process of dismantling is 1,336, bringing the nation's total nuclear inventory to 5,044, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

◻️ The UK has 225 nuclear warheads, although it announced in March 2021 that it would increase its stockpile to 260 by 2025. Of those, 120 are deployed and 105 stored.

◻️ France has 290 nuclear warheads, including 280 deployed and 10 in storage

◻️ Put together, NATO possesses 4,223 nuclear warheads — or 5,559 including stockpiled weapons. 2,170 of them are currently deployed.

◻️ The US and its NATO allies do not disclose how many US warheads are located in Europe. As of 2021, it was estimated that there are 100 US nuclear warheads deployed across six European bases: Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Büchel air base in Germany, Aviano and Ghedi air bases in Italy, Volkel air base in the Netherlands and Incirlik air base in Turkiye, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

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Pentagon’s smear campaign against China’s COVID vaccine echoes anti-vax attack on Russia

The latest revelations about the Pentagon-led anti-vaccine disinformation campaign against the Global South echo similar targeting of Russia’s Sputnik V.

◻️ As the European Medicines Agency tightened certifying the Russia’s Sputnik V, the developers clashed with Brazil's health regulator Anvisa that also delayed authorization and banned it from being imported. A legal defamation lawsuit was opened, with Sputnik V accusing the Brazilian agency of spreading disinformation.

◻️ The US Department of Health and Human Services admitted in 2021 report that it used "diplomatic relations" in order to force Brazil, one of the countries worst-hit by the pandemic, to reject authorization of the Russian jab.

◻️ Investigative journalist John McEvoy revealed in March 2021 that a US health attaché persuaded “Brazil to reject the Russian COVID-19 vaccine”. Health attachés sent to India, Mexico, and South Africa were likely charged with similar responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Western vaccines were expedited despite numerous scandals.

➖ The ongoing ‘Pfizergate’ scandal showed that Ursula von der Leyen negotiated a contract worth an estimated over $21 billion for 1.8 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses via text messages with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, the NYT revealed.

➖ The jab developed by US Pfizer and German BioNTech ended up in the spotlight after several patients suffered either temporary side effects, which halted the drug's application, or died soon after.

➖ In January 2021, Le Monde revealed leaked contents of Pfizer vaccine-related documents of the European Medicines Agency. It appeared the EMA was pressured into fast-tracking approval of the jab.

➖ Dozens of cases of potentially lethal blood clots in the brain resulted in the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine’s use suspended in Norway and Malaysia, and temporarily halted in multiple European countries, South Africa, Canada and Indonesia.

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🇷🇺🇰🇵 Rare archive footage: Vladimir Putin's state visit to North Korea in 2000

Tomorrow the Russian president visits the DPRK for the second time. Here's how the first visit happened: The Korean Central News Agency wrote at the time that “the goodwill envoy of the Russian people” was greeted by hundreds of thousands of Pyongyang residents. Watch how Kim Jong Il, leader of the country in those years and father of the current leader Kim Jong-un, met the Russian president 24 years ago.

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Rheinmetall wants to produce tank-hybrid vehicles Leopard and Skyranger air defense systems at a factory in Ukraine.

A representative of the German conglomerate told Bild am Sonntag that they have many Leopard 1 tanks, on the chassis of which Skyranger turrets with 35mm guns can be installed.

Currently, the factory in western Ukraine is mainly engaged in repairing Leopard 1 tanks and Marder IFVs damaged during combat. However, soon they will also repair Leopard 2 tanks and tanks from other countries transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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Freudian slip — Stoltenberg slipped up twice and referred to the Ukrainian Air Force as "NATO Air Forces," and also mentioned that NATO pilots would be flying F-16s in Ukraine.

In both instances, the Alliance Secretary-General quickly corrected himself.

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🇮🇱 Israel banned from leading global defense expo in France

Israel has been prohibited from participating in the Eurosatory 2024 defense and security trade show hosted by France from June 17 to 21. No Israeli company or representative of Israel’s defense establishment will be able to set foot inside the exhibition site, in line with a new court ruling based on the French Defense Ministry decision.

The exclusion drew harsh criticism from the Israeli side. Benny Gantz, a member of the recently disbanded Israeli war cabinet, took to X to warn French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal that the ban “ultimately rewards terror.”

The Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) decried the decision not to welcome “companies from a democratic allied country” as hypocrisy.

"This is a disgrace. It’s like 'No Jews and dogs allowed.'… What’s next? Will they want us to come to the Paris Olympics in disguise so they don’t know there are competitors from Israel?" a source in the Israeli arms industry was cited by Ynet News as saying.

Charles Beaudoin, president of Coges Events, the company organizing Eurosatory, deplored the new court ruling as going “beyond the government’s decision taken two weeks ago.” In a letter dated Saturday, Beaudoin stressed that Coges is “using the quickest possible legal procedures to appeal these decisions,” but for the time being the court’s decision will remain in force.

Eurosatory had planned to host 74 Israeli firms among the 2,000 exhibitors. 10 of them were reportedly there to exhibit weapons. On May 31, the French Armed Forces ministry stated that “the conditions are no longer right to host Israeli companies at the Paris show, given that the French president is calling for the cessation of IDF operations in Rafah.”

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◻️ New details about Putin's upcoming trips to North Korea and Vietnam

◻️ How many nuclear arms can NATO put on standby to threaten Russia and China?

◻️ ‘Disappointing’ results of Zelensky’s peace conference mirror ‘Russia’s continuing international economic power and influence’ - Western media

◻️ Pentagon’s smear campaign against China’s COVID vaccine echoes anti-vax attack on Russia

◻️ Why Clooney Foundation for Justice is globalist policy vehicle disguised as charity?

◻️ Israel banned from leading global defense expo in France

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🥴Ursula von der Leyen's epic cringe moments

From being left without a chair to being ignored by the Ugandan foreign minister: the most awkward moments for one of Europe's chief Russophobes.

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Why did major Global South countries refuse to sign the Swiss communiqué on Ukraine?

A number of BRICS nations and other countries of the Global South, including India, Brazil, South Africa, the UAE, Armenia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Thailand, refused to sign the Swiss summit's communiqué on Ukraine. Sputnik has found out why:

🇿🇦 South Africa: "The unfortunate part with the [Swiss] peace negotiations, or the peace plan, is that the Russians are not part of this peace plan. Now, how can you have this peace plan that does not involve one of the warring parties?" Professor Fulufhelo Netswera of Durban University of Technology in South Africa told Sputnik.

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: "The Kingdom’s significant economic ties with Russia… may have influenced its decision to avoid jeopardizing these relationships," Ahmed Al Ibrahim, a Riyadh-based political analyst, explained. "Saudi Arabia might prefer to focus on regional stability and its strategic interests rather than getting entangled in a European conflict."

🇧🇷 Brazil: "Brazil participated in the meeting as an observer. As Russia was not invited, for Brazilian… President Lula, there was no point in joining that meeting. That's why Brazil didn't sign the final communiqué," Dr. Vinicius Vieira, a scholar of international relations at the University of Sao Paulo, told Sputnik.

On the eve of the summit Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined Moscow's peace proposal and urged Ukraine to pull out from new Russian regions that joined the country via popular referenda and renounce Kiev's NATO membership bid in order to implement a ceasefire.

🇮🇳 India: “The importance of President Putin's proposals lies in the fact that globally it will be known that Russia alone is [seeking] peace," whereas "the US-led collective West is preparing for an escalation in the proxy war against Russia," Dr. Anuradha Chenoy, a retired professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Sputnik.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote an article "Russia and the DPRK: Traditions of Friendship and Cooperation Through the Years" ahead of his state visit to the North Korea for the main North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun. Here are the key points:

◾️ Vladimir Putin believes "joint efforts" will take 🇷🇺 🇰🇵 Russia-North Korea "bilateral interaction to a higher level, which will facilitate mutually beneficial and equal cooperation" between the two countries;

"The relations of friendship and neighbourliness between Russia and the DPRK, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and trust, go back more than seven decades and are rich in glorious historical traditions";

◾️ The Russian Federation and the DPRK plan to promote academic mobility between Russian and Korean higher education institutions, mutual tourist trips as well as cultural, educational, youth and sports exchanges – "everything that makes communication between countries and nations people-centred, everything that enhances confidence and mutual understanding";

The Russian Federation will "support the DPRK and the heroic Korean people in their struggle against the treacherous, dangerous and aggressive enemy, in their fight for independence, identity";

◾️ Russia "highly appreciate the DPRK’s unwavering support for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, their solidarity with us on key international matters and willingness to defend our common priorities and views";

◾️ The DPRK is "achieving tremendous results and genuine breakthroughs in strengthening their country in terms of defence, technology, science and industry" with "force, dignity and courage";

◾️ The bilateral declarations signed with Kim Jong Il in 2000 "defined the main priorities and areas of our constructive multidimensional partnership for years to come";

Russia and the North Korea "will develop alternative trade and mutual settlements mechanisms not controlled by the West, jointly oppose illegitimate unilateral restrictions";

◾️ The US is "keeps setting new, increasingly harsh and obviously unacceptable requirements", while North Korean "leadership and its head Comrade Kim Jong Un have repeatedly expressed their intention to resolve all the existing differences by peaceful means";

◾️ No matter how hard Western tried, "all their attempts to contain or isolate Russia have failed".

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Candidates for the EU’s top jobs: not a single hope for peace

The heads of the EU member states plan to approve Ursula von der Leyen for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission during a private dinner in Belgium capital on Monday.

“Nobody is discussing any other outcome,” a senior EU diplomat was quoted as saying by the FT.

A second UVDL term means the EU’s anti-Russia policies will continue, despite the recent strong showing by opposition parties at the European Parliament elections. Other key positions, such as head of the EU Council and EU top diplomat that will also be discussed at the informal meeting, are likely to follow the general line hostile to Russia and focusing on Ukraine’s support.

Who are the candidates to lead the European Council?

🇩🇰 Danish premier Mette Frederiksen, who is reportedly one of the main candidates to replace Charles Michel, was ahead to approve donating F-16 jet fighters to Ukraine. In May, she publicly backed allowing the Kiev regime to strike inside Russia with Danish weapons.

🇵🇹 Portugal's prime minister António Costa hit the headlines last November amid the corruption scandal over the Montalegre lithium mine. Although a probe didn’t result in charges against him, Costa had to resign tarnishing his political reputation. Besides, he reiterated his “full support” to Ukraine during the summit in Brussels last February.

Who could be the EUs next top diplomat?

🇪🇪 Estonian premier Kaja Kallas looks the most likely candidate to replace Josep Borrell. She was declared persona non grata by the Russian foreign ministry for discrimination against her country’s Russian-speaking population. Experts say Kallas is a favored nominee for the West as Estonia sits on Russia’s border.

🇧🇪 Belgian ex-premier Alexander De Croo, also rumored to be on the candidates list. He was among those who signed a security pact with Kiev in May, which promised full-blown military support to Zelensky’s regime.

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Spanish Defense Minister is strongly against sending troops to Ukraine

Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles strongly opposed sending troops to Ukraine, even for training purposes, as this could lead to an escalation of the conflict, Spanish news agency EFE reported.

The minister said that she respects the position of some European countries, such as France, on sending troops to Ukraine, the report said. However, Robles reportedly insisted that allied countries must be very careful to prevent an escalation of the conflict.

In late May, Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez signed a bilateral security agreement in Madrid. The agreement includes, among other things, humanitarian aid and demining. Spain will also allocate a record military aid package to Ukraine worth about 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) in 2024.

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