❗️Russian Tsentr battlegroup liberated Shumy settlement in the Donetsk People's Republic - Russian Defense Ministry

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❗️Russian forces destroyed two launchers of the S-300PS anti-aircraft missile system of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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

▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 270 soldiers in the area of responsibility of the Sever Battlegroup;

▪️Russia's Zapad Battlegroup destroyed two ammunition depots and defeated the formations of seven brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Territorial Defense forces and the National Guard. Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 500 soldiers;

▪️Russia's Dnepr Battlegroup eliminated up to 100 Ukrainian troops in a day;

▪️Units of the Yug Battlegroup destroyed five field ammunition depots. Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 430 soldiers;

▪️The Vostok Battlegroup took more advantageous positions. Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 135 soldiers.

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🪖NATO vs Russia: a helmet crash-test

Rostec State Corporation – Russia’s state arms manufacturer – has conducted a crash-test of five armored helmets, including three used by NATO troops, a Russian-made protective helmet and another made by an unknown maker.

Let's see which helmet turned out to be the most reliable.

The helmets were tested for compliance with the Br-1 and Br-2 protection standards.

During the tests, Russian-made Stechkin and Serdyukov 9mm automatic pistols fired shots at a distance of five meters from the helmets, which were placed in various positions at a shooting ground.

🔹The helmet by the unknown producer, as well as a NATO-standard trophy helmet, a US-made PASGT DELTA helmet, and the Philippines-made NATO-standard AB-ACH FC helmet – were all penetrated by the bullets fired from both the Stechkin and the Serdyukov.

🇷🇺Meanwhile, the Russian-made Bars-L helmet withstood the impact of all the bullets, which only left a slight dent on the helmet’s surface.

Designed by the Research Institute of Steel (part of Rostec’s Kalashnikov concern), the Bars-L is made of titanium and composite materials, featuring increased protective characteristics. In particular, the helmet is capable of absorbing an assault rifle bullet fired from a certain distance.

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❗️P️oliceman wounded with a crossbow near the Israeli Embassy in Serbia

The perpetrator was neutralized by return fire, Serbian Interior Ministry said.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry described the incident as an attempted terrorist attack and closed the diplomatic mission.

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Five people were killed, including two children, after a Ukrainian drone attack in the Kursk region — governor

"Tonight a Ukrainian copter attacked a residential house in the village of Gorodishche in the Rylsky district. To great grief, five people were killed as a result of the drop, including two small children. Another two family members in serious condition were taken to the Rylsk district hospital where they are being treated," Alexei Smirnov, the Kursk region's acting governor, wrote on his Telegram channel.

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Is it harder to prepare for debates against Biden or to prepare Biden for debates?

Yesterday, we saw Jill Biden praising her husband's (AKA ice cream lover's) debate performance.

Now let's look at 'unbiased' US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas who also applauded his boss.

Biden's biggest fans, we guess.

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🦮 Watch how US netizens' furry friends reacted to Biden's debate

This dog appears to know more than meets the eye

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Not by gold alone: Why lithium is so valuable and who controls most of this precious metal

Lithium, a soft alkali metal mined in various corners of the globe, has become all the rage in the business and industrial circles.

Lithium is used in the production of batteries for electronics and high-tech products such as laptops, cell phones and electric vehicles.

The obsession of Western countries with the climate agenda and net-zero emissions, along with the booming electric vehicles market, further boosts the demand for lithium.

Lithium is extracted either from saltwater accumulations known as brines or from hard rock compounds called spodumene and lepidolite.

Last year’s estimates suggest that the largest reserves of lithium in the world, about 9.3 million metric tons, are controlled by Chile.

The second place is held by Australia (about 6.2 million metric tons) who is also regarded as the world leader in lithium mine production. The third spot is held by Argentina (3.6 million metric tons).

In terms of lithium resources, however, the undisputed leader is believed to be Bolivia who sits on some 21 million metric tons of the precious metal.

For comparison, while the runner-up Argentina has 20 million metric tons of lithium resources, the United States’ (third place) lithium resources are estimated at about 12 million metric tons.

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💬 "The United States of America is just a big lie," famous Egyptian actress says

It is very important to cover the Palestinian issue impartially, Dalia Al Beheri🇪🇬 told Sputnik Africa at the 24th Arab Radio and Television Festival in Tunis.

🗣 "Children are being burned alive, being burned while they are sleeping at night. What is this? Beheaded children. We have seen things we wouldn't have believed to see in a horror movie. [...] It's all about talking about human rights and talking about all these big words and they are doing nothing. It's just a fake world," she lamented.

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📹 Watch a Russian Mi-28NM helicopter strike Ukrainian units

Vostok group of forces pilots struck with unguided aircraft missiles at the enemy's camouflaged equipment and manpower, after which they performed an anti-missile maneuver, released heat traps and returned to their location.

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Heavy rains in China prompt highest alert level

The prolonged downpours are not going to stop in a number of regions in the southern part of China, forecasts say.

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered that citizens be provided with all possible assistance in the fight against the elements.

Video from social media

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Hundreds of gallons of fire-fighting foam have been released at the Vermont US National Guard base in South Burlington after the fire suppression system malfunctioned

Seems like the guys wanted to throw up a party!

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West dangles NATO membership in front of Ukraine like carrot before donkey

Volodymyr Zelensky’s desperate efforts to drive Ukraine into NATO’s embrace may be all for naught, argues Daniel R. DePetris, a fellow at US-based think tank Defense Priorities.

Even as NATO leaders like US President Joe Biden and the bloc’s outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg keep claiming that the decision about Ukraine’s NATO membership has de facto been made, the bloc does not really want Kiev to actually join, DePetris writes in his op-ed in Newsweek.

NATO may be quite happy to supply Ukraine with weapons to inflict damage upon Russia, but becoming involved in a direct conflict “with a nuclear-armed Russia on behalf of Ukraine is not in the cards,” he notes.

“Ukraine has been waiting on NATO membership for a long time. It will continue to wait, likely in perpetuity, regardless of the sweet-nothings Western leaders whisper in Zelensky's ear,” DePetris believes.

Ukraine’s relinquishing plans to join NATO remains one of the key elements of all peace proposals presented by Russia since the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict in February 2022. Despite this, the powers that be in Kiev keep hoping to worm their way into the bloc despite the fact that it may severely destabilize the security situation in the region.

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❗️Russian Iskander-M missile struck the unloading site of a railroad train with armament and military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Zaporozhye region - Russian Defense Ministry

An echelon of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel were destroyed, as well as M-113 armoured personnel carriers and Buk M1 complexes, the ministry reported.

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Can homegrown ‘Iron Dome’ really protect Europe’s skies?

The results of Europe’s efforts to build its own multi-layered air defense system, the so-called European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) which is sometimes referred to as Iron Dome (a reference to the Israeli air defense system), may not turn out to be as good as advertised, says Swedish Armed Forces veteran and former politician Mikael Valtersson.

The problem, according to him, is that not all of the European countries signed on to this enterprise, which means ESSI “doesn't cover the entirety of Europe,” and it will be no easy task to provide protection to all members.

“For example, Finland is part of it, and Turkiye is part of it. But Turkiye is very separate from the rest of Europe. So who will decide what to defend?” Valtersson inquires.

According to him, ESSI will mostly amount to each of its members purchasing surface-to-air missiles together, with the whole scheme being much less effective than the Israeli Iron Dome, “especially when it comes to hypersonic missiles.”

“Europe is such a large continent, and there will be so many holes in the defense system. So it will be nearly impossible to stop hypersonic missiles,” Valtersson warns.

The fact that the European Union, which is not a military alliance, wants to pay "part of the project” also perplexed Valtersson.

“That's been a discussion within the EU to strengthen, not defense cooperation so much, but the defense acquirement when you buy the new weapon systems,” he remarks. “So, I believe that's the reasons why the European Union are interested in this. They want as many countries as possible to have the same kind of missile systems because it's cheaper and easier to integrate.”

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Time magazine: Democrats struggle to find a replacement for Biden in November election

The Democratic Party has no viable replacement for Biden in the upcoming November election, writes Time magazine.

The publication believes that even if Biden voluntarily withdraws from the race, the party might find itself "in an even more difficult position" due to the rush to nominate an alternative candidate.

Moreover, there simply is no worthy replacement: Vice President Kamala Harris is rejected by poll participants, and "rising stars" like House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer appear to be attractive options but are unlikely to conduct a full campaign and win over voters in the remaining time before November, the magazine argues.

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