❗️Main statements from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's press conference on CSTO Ministerial Council results:

💬 The procedure of Armenia's withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was not discussed at the meeting of the foreign ministers, there were no statements on Yerevan's withdrawal.

💬 The CSTO considers it important to help the Afghan authorities in the fight against terrorism.

💬 Threats to Eurasian security come from different directions, the CSTO agrees on the need to create a security architecture in Eurasia.

💬 There are still politicians in the West who will understand that after each failed settlement of the conflict, Ukraine has lost territories.

💬 Statements about the necessity of inviting Russia to the settlement summit create misunderstandings about why Moscow was not invited to the meeting in Switzerland.

💬 NATO will hinder the processes of formation of the Eurasian security structure.

💬 The UN Security Council meeting on cooperation between the UN and the CSTO will be held in New York on July 19.

➖ Lavrov said that he had stopped following Ukraine's statements on the topic of the next "peace" conference.

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China imposed sanctions against American company Lockheed Martin over sale of weapons to Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced.

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The Slovak Ministry of Defense did not find a document that allows for the transfer of 13 MiG-29 and air defense fighters to Ukraine by former department leadership.

Recently, the current Minister of Defense of Slovakia called the actions of his predecessors treason and promised to submit an application to law enforcement agencies.

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Is the US secretly upgrading its nukes in Europe?

Washington is in the process of upgrading its nuclear arsenal deployed in five European countries by replacing older nuclear warheads with new generation-related ones, Alistair Burnett, head of media for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), told Sputnik.

"One can see it by the way the US Air Force aircraft designed for this type of transport are being tracked live on air. They [the Biden administration] don't talk about it publicly, but the upgrade of this [nuclear] arsenal is underway,” he says.

The statement comes after ICAN spokeswoman Alicia Sanders-Zakre earlier called to withdraw the US nuclear arsenal from Europe as soon as possible.

The practice of non-nuclear NATO members agreeing to deploy US nuclear weapons on their territory is dangerous and increases the risk of escalation, Sanders-Zakre said in an interview with Sputnik.

According to ICAN estimates, the US currently has about 150 nukes stationed at American air bases in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Turkiye.

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Russian Investigative Committee (IC) has evidence of Hitler regime's intent to exterminate all Soviet people, head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin said.

"We are not talking about individual settlements and regions: the Nazis aimed at the complete extermination of the population."

"The facts we are now learning about can only be called monstrous," the head of the Investigative Committee stressed.

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❗️Russia is ready only for comprehensive dialogue with US, which will include issues of Washington's participation in Ukrainian conflict, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

But he called the dialogue between Russia and the United States extremely urgent:

"Problems are accumulating, including in connection with global security," Peskov stressed.

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Other statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov from briefing:

💬 Speaking a day earlier about Russia's readiness to go all the way, Putin had in mind the special operation and achieving its goals.

💬 Putin's visits to North Korea and Vietnam were productive.

💬 The Russian-Vietnamese negotiations were substantive and concrete, and further work will be carried out at the expert level.

💬 Russia knows that there are forces in Moldova that are interested in developing relations not only with Europe, but also with Russia.

💬 The enlargement of the EU may negatively affect the prospects of the Union's existence.

💬 The US ban on the use of Kaspersky software is an example of unfair and unjust competition.

💬 The dogs that Kim Jong-un gave to Putin as a present have yet to be given nicknames, as they are not yet in Russia.

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📹Russia's Dnepr Battlegroup drones destroyed Ukraine's American-made M-777 howitzer and Giatsint artillery gun on right bank of Dnepr River.

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❗️ Cumulative losses of Ukrainian troops for the week amounted to up to 13,710 people — Russian Defense Ministry

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❗️Ukrainian losses in the area of responsibility of Russia’s Yug Battlegroup amounted to 4,290 soldiers, a Leopard tank and two MLRS launchers during the week — Russian MoD

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

▪️ Russia's Armed Forces carried out 14 group strikes, the infrastructure of Ukraine’s military airfields and mercenary deployment points were hit, 37 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered over the week;

▪️ Ukraine lost up to 3,330 military personnel, two tanks, 16 armored vehicles and 25 artillery pieces during the week as a result of the actions of the Zapad Battlegroup;

▪️ The Vostok Battlegroup hit concentrations of troops and equipment of the Ukrainian mechanized and motorized infantry brigades and two brigades of the teroprotection brigade during the week;

▪️ Russia's Dnepr Battlegroup defeated formations of Ukrainian infantry and mountain assault brigades, as well as two defense brigades. The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 610 military personnel due to the grouping’s actions;

▪️ The Tsentr Battlegroup repelled 31 enemy counterattacks during the week. Ukrainian losses amounted up to 2,530 soldiers;

▪️ Russian air defenses intercepted a Neptun-MD missile, 8 Hammer bombs, 55 HIMARS MLRS shells, and 397 drones during the week.

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🎥🎥 Putin сongratulates graduates of higher education institutions affiliated with military

Watch the livestream here or on Sputnik's website

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Red Alert: Russian troops march on New York

Moscow's troops are fighting to liberate the town of New York in the Donetsk People’s Republic, which is currently occupied by the Kiev regime forces.

What military significance does this settlement have and why does it have such an out-of-place name?

🔸 What makes New York and the nearby town of Dzerzhinsk so important is the fact that they shield the Konstantinovka-Adveyevka route used by the Kiev regime's forces to resupply their troops in the area, one of the Russian soldiers explained during an interview with Russian media.

🔸 Situated near the city of Gorlovka, New York has been turned into a veritable stronghold by the Ukrainian forces which, coupled with its strategic location, makes it a priority target for the Russian Army.

🔸 Also, New York is located on an elevation relative to Gorlovka, which allows Ukrainian forces to survey the city and coordinate artillery and HIMARS rocket strikes against it from the covered positions in Dzerzhinsk.

🔸 New York was founded by Mennonite settlers from Germany who were invited to the Russian Empire in 18th century by Empress Catherine the Great.

🔸 In 1951 the town was renamed Novgorodskoye amid worsening relations with the United States as the Cold War was in full swing (even though it wasn’t clear whether the town’s original name was a reference to the famous US city or the UK's York or any other York).

🔸 In 2021 the town was returned its original name as per the order from the powers that be (at the time) in Kiev.

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❗️Russia ready for broad discussion on creation of Eurasian security system with various associations, including NATO, Putin said

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❗️Russia's President Vladimir Putin announces plans for further development of the nuclear triad.

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❗️Russia will continue to improve Armed Forces, Putin said.

The President added that Russia will also work on modern high-tech models of military equipment.

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