Australians would prefer Assange released with all charges lifted - lawmaker

Australians would rather prefer if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was let free with all the charges lifted, a lawmaker for Australia's city of Port Hedland, Adrian McRae, told Sputnik.

"For the 1st time in many years, Australia is almost united as a people as we welcome home Julian. Of course, we'd prefer he was let free without charge, however, his sacrifice this last 14 years has been more than most of us could shoulder," McRae said.

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💬 Russia is ready to follow the path of restoration of diplomatic relations with Georgia and supports such initiatives of Tbilisi, Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said

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❗️ Hungary has blocked an EU common statement condemning Russia's retaliatory measures against the Western media

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Assange's father: supporters of his cause are victorious

Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange have won and will be rewarded for their support, Assange's father John Shipton told Sputnik on Wednesday following the journalist's release.

"We have prevailed together, us supporters [of Assange's freedom]. To the supporters goes the victors wreath and all the accolades of achievement. This I believe and swear," Shipton said.

Assange was released from London's Belmarsh high-security prison on Tuesday after agreeing to a plea-bargain deal with the US Department of Justice. He arrived in his native Australia on Wednesday.

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What the West wages war for: Ukraine’s minerals

Ukraine is rich in mineral resources, with diverse deposits of fossil fuels, metals and industrial minerals. The country is a major producer of iron ore, coal, natural gas and oil, among others.

“They’re sitting on 10 to $12 trillion of critical minerals in Ukraine... If we help Ukraine now, they can become the best business partner we ever dreamed of, that $10 to $12 trillion of critical mineral assets could be used by Ukraine and the West,” US Senator Lindsey Graham said in June.

Graham is treating Ukraine as a future colony of the US with his comments on the ownership of the country's natural resources, Vladimir Dzhabarov, official of the Russian Federation Council, commented on that.

"The fate of the colonies is always the same: the Americans will scoop up all the natural resources of Ukraine in exchange for 'the great honor of being a friend of the United States'," he warned.

Take a look at Sputnik's infographics to see Ukraine's mineral resources that the West cotes so much.

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Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo accused Macron of "spoiling the celebration" of the Olympics by calling a snap election.

"Why spoil this beautiful moment and hold elections on short notice without consulting anyone?" she said.

But the two events do not clash: The French parliamentary elections will be held in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, while the Olympic games will take place from July 26 to August 11.

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Putin has arrived at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, where "Holy Trinity" icon by 15th-century Russian artist Andrei Rublev was installed over the weekend

Earlier, Patriarch Kirill arrived at the Lavra.

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📹 Dozens of Palestinians rush to a humanitarian aid truck in the Gaza Strip amid a severe shortage of clean water and food

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Ever wanted to ask a cosmonaut what life in space is like? Now you have the opportunity

RT and Roscosmos have launched a series of programs where ordinary people will be able to ask questions to Russian cosmonauts live from the International Space Station (ISS).

The project is international and includes five BRICS member-countries: Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa. Residents will be able to communicate with the ISS crew — a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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Over 80 countries confirm participation in the Russian Legal Forum

More than 80 countries and territories have confirmed their participation in the St Petersburg International Legal Forum, the Roscongress Foundation reported on Wednesday.

"Currently, more than 4,000 people from 81 countries and territories have confirmed their participation in the forum," said Anton Kobyakov, advisor to the Russian president and executive secretary of the forum's organizing committee.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the participants, organizers and guests of the forum, noting that BRICS is striving to develop effective legal regulation, Russia is ready to deepen cooperation in this area and with other countries, the corresponding telegram was published on the Kremlin website.

The St Petersburg International Legal Forum (SPILF) is an annual international conference of jurists established in 2011 on the initiative of the Ministry of Justice and supported by the Russian president.

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❗️Putin holds phone conversation with acting Iranian president Mohammad Mokhber - Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has wished people of Iran successful presidential election, expressed confidence that friendly relations will develop.

Putin and Mokhber call bilateral energy cooperation, implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects successful.

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Ukraine's energy system decimated by Zelensky regime corruption, Russian surgical strikes

Ukraine’s own corruption only assists Russia’s military in decimating the energy facilities powering the Kiev regime’s defense industry, Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute for CIS, told Sputnik.

No amount of Western-delivered weapons systems can stop Russia from raining down successful surgical strikes upon Kiev’s facilities, in part, because defense construction funds were siphoned off, he speculated.

“While Ukraine is writing off colossal amounts of money, the Americans and their partners are only too happy to tout all the financial aid being injected into Kiev… It is clear that Ukraine is used as a pretext to accrue lucrative orders for their own military-industrial complex, generate job creation, etc.,” said the Other Ukraine movement expert.

Besides the misuse of funds, one has to admit its difficult to fend off Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile, he noted, adding: “While the US military-industrial complex struggles to reach its full capacity, they dip into their own stocks, or exhaust reserves of their partners. Much as they [the US] would like, they cannot deliver more than they are currently doing.”

We can already talk about an “accumulated impact effect on the energy system [of Ukraine]," said the expert.

Dudchak added that Russia’s successful strikes are taking a dramatic toll on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex amid NATO’s ongoing proxy war.

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Sizing up G20 members’ public debt: Who’s ahead and who can’t keep afloat

Russia has managed to reduce the volume of public debt in dollars by 12%, to $285 billion showing the best result among the G20 countries, according to Sputnik's calculations based on data from the national finance ministries.

Only three countries reduced their liabilities in dollar terms: in addition to Russia, Argentina reduced its national debt by 7% to $371 billion, and Japan by 4% to $9.1 trillion.

In terms of public debt, South Africa has the smallest amount with only $195 billion, followed by Turkiye with $260 billion, Saudi Arabia with $284 billion, and Russia with $285 billion.

Take a look at Sputnik's infographics showing the biggest debtors in the G20.

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