Western hysteria has failed to cancel Russian culture

Despite strong resistance, Russian culture remains one of the most important elements of European cultural life, Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova told Sputnik at the opening ceremony of the Russian Seasons international cultural project in Brazil.

"Everyone was talking about how we don't need Tchaikovsky anymore... And at the same time we saw how the great musical theaters of the world continued to stage Russian composers," she said.

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❗️The Russian Armed Forces hit a Ukrainian brigade's warehouse, from which unloading of Western military supplies was underway, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

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

◻️ Units of the Russian battlegroup Sever repelled two Ukrainian counterattacks; Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 130 militants.

◻️ Units of the Russian battlegroup Zapad occupied more advantageous positions and repelled four counterattacks; Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 455 militants.

◻️ The Russian battlegroup Yug improved their position on the front line; Kiev's losses amounted to up to 66 militants and a field ammunition depot.

◻️ Ukraine lost up to 80 militants in the responsibility zone of the Russian battlegroup Dnepr.

◻️ The Russian battlegroup Tsentr improved their tactical position, repelled four UAF counterattacks, and the enemy lost up to 355 militants.

◻️ Fighters from the Russian battlegroup Vostok occupied more advantageous positions and inflicted defeat on the UAF in the Zaporizhzhia region and in the Donetsk People's Republic.

◻️ The Russian Armed Forces destroyed a radar station and two S-300 SAM launching installations, as well as a strike UAV production workshop in Ukraine.

◻️ UAF losses in battles with units of the Russian Battlegroup Vostok amounted to up to 155 militants.

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National treasure trove: Putin has arrived in Russia’s largest region of Yakutia

President Vladimir Putin arrived in Yakutsk, capital of Russia’s Sakha Republic (Yakutia) before setting off on a state visit to North Korea. Putin will inspect the Far East's cluster supporting creative industries, such as IT, media, digital content and artificial intelligence.

Here’s what to know about Russia’s Yakutia:

◾️ Part of the Far Eastern Federal District, Yakutia is bigger in size than Argentina. Its total continental and island territory spans 3.1 million sq. km, making up almost 1/5 of Russia.

◾️ The distance from Yakutsk to Moscow is 8,468 km.

◾️ Over 40% of the republic, located in the northeastern part of the Eurasian continent, is within the Arctic Circle, lying completely in the permafrost zone and spanning three time zones.

◾️ Yakutia is a leader in Russia in industrial production growth. In January-February 2024, it registered a growth spurt of 12.9%. The industrial production index in 2023 was 100.8%.

◾️ Since 2018, the Republic has consistently shown record growth in key economic indicators. Over five years, growth of the republic’s GRP amounted to 28%, with industrial production increasing by 1.4 times.

◾️ Gross regional product growth traditionally comes from industry (63.2%), of which 59.5% is mining. Its volumes for 2023 were: tin – 567 tons, silver – 163 tons and iron ore – 450 thousand tons.

◾️ 1,823 deposits of 58 types of mineral raw materials have been officially registered in the region.

◾️ Yakutia’s share of national mineral resource potential is: diamonds – 82%, gold – 17%, uranium – 61%, antimony – 82%, iron ores – 5%, coal – 5%, tin – 28% and mercury – 8%. There are also significant reserves of rare earth elements, silver, lead, zinc and tungsten.

◾️ Yakutia produces 95% of Russia's diamonds, and accounts for 25% of the world's diamond production.

◾️ Yakutia accounts for 47% of proven coal reserves, 35% of natural gas and oil in Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

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😡Ukrainians melt down over Adele's Russian dress

British singer Adele performed at a concert in Las Vegas on Sunday wearing a dress from the Russian fashion house of Valentin Yudashkin.

Following this, the singer faced a torrent of criticism on social media from users unhappy with her choice of attire of Russian origin.

Over the weekend, representatives from Yudashkin's house told Sputnik that the suggestion to stylize Adele's look came from the singer's team. The dress took about two months to make.

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UK media personality Katie Hopkins says she enjoys watching the "Ukraine narrative" losing popularity

"We're now watching the collapse of the Ukraine narrative in real time, and it's a glorious thing to watch, particularly through popular culture. Rod Stewart in Germany tried putting up a massive Ukraine flag and images of the powder-sniffing Zelensky, at which point the German crowd erupted into boos and hisses and it was fun to see. In the football, Romania just thrashed Ukraine and the crowd went wild. Listening to the Romanian anthem was a terrific thing, and perhaps we can see a little less now of Ukraine being forced put into everything," she said.

She said Western leaders would rather see a nuclear Armageddon than listen to Vladimir Putin's proposals on Ukraine.

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Proposals to deepen diplomatic ties with Russia have disappeared from the website of Marine Le Pen's National Rally party ahead of the French parliamentary elections, Politico has noted.

Sections on the need to stop joint projects with Germany and on withdrawal from NATO’s integrated command were also removed.

Politico believes the moves are related to the desire to soften the controversial points of the program before the elections and strengthen its credibility.

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Terrorists have used Ukraine as a transit point for entering Western countries, the head of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, has said.

According to him, the matter concerns the Islamic State-Khorasan Province group*, whose supporters crossed into the West together with a wave of Ukrainian refugees.

The head of the German Interior Ministry said that about 27,000 followers of radical Islamism were currently in Germany.

*banned in Russia for terrorism.

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Where would you rather live – North Korea or USA?

Despite decades of intense Western sanctions, North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang is cleaner and safer than practically any major American city.

Don’t believe us? See for yourself.

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Hezbollah publishes drone reconnaissance footage over Israeli critical infrastructure including port of Haifa, military installations, and water reservoirs.

This comes amid growing tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border and speculation that the Netanyahu government could decide to send troops into southern Lebanon.

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Russia’s new strategic partnership with North Korea to 'symbolize new level of ties'

Russia’s readiness to ink a strategic partnership deal with North Korea is “a symbolic” step, Artyom Lukin, Professor of international politics at the Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, told Sputnik.

“I can suggest that most likely this will be a symbolic document, underscoring that Russia and the DPRK are friends representing a ‘united front against the West,’” he said.

◻️ Putin accepted a proposal from the Russian Foreign Ministry to sign the strategic partnership agreement with North Korea ahead of his official visit to the DPRK.

◻️ It will “allow the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during negotiations on the signing of the said treaty, to make changes to its draft that are not of a fundamental nature," according to the relevant decree.

◻️ Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov noted that the document, “will outline the prospects for further cooperation and will be signed, taking into account what has happened between the countries in recent years in the field of international politics, in the economic sphere, and in the field of relations, including taking into account security issues.”

◻️ The new document’s provisions follow all the norms of international law and are not directed against any third country, the Kremlin underscored.

◻️ The new treaty will replace agreements previously signed by Russia and North Korea, such as the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance (1961), the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighborliness, and Cooperation signed in 2000, and the Moscow and Pyongyang Declarations of 2000 and 2001.

The new pact will include more “anti-Western rhetoric,” Artyom Lukin noted, pointing to the collective West’s “hegemony,” while emphasizing that Russia and the DPRK “stand for a multipolar world and oppose neocolonialism.”

“I think this is a symbol that our relations with the DPRK are rising to a new level. We confirm that we do not want to participate in the regime of sanctions pressure on the DPRK,” he concluded.

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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov emphasized the need to clarify certain parameters related to the situations described in Russia's nuclear doctrine.

He noted that no specific timeframe can currently be set for completing the analysis of the nuclear doctrine situation.

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🇷🇺❄️ The frosts in Yakutia, Russia are so severe that even Putin was afraid to touch his ears

"I thought my ears would break," the president said during his working visit to Yakutia

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🇬🇪🙅 Fines for LGBT* propaganda are being introduced in Georgia: from $200 to $2000, with the largest fines reserved for violators who are educators.

Repeat offenders will face criminal liability.

* Extremist organization banned in Russia

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