Hungarian PM Victor Orban's statements after meeting with Zelensky in Kiev:

◾️ Orban said he asked Zelensky to consider any opportunity for a ceasefire before peace talks and thinks it could speed up negotiations;

◾️ Hungary is ready to help with the modernization of Ukraine's economy;

◾️ The issue of peace in Ukraine will be the main one during the next 6 months of the Hungarian EU Presidency.

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Russia unveils disposable drone fitted with warhead to intercept enemy UAV

The Vogan-9SP disposable drone, designed to intercept enemy drones by detonating its own warhead, was developed in Russia.

The UAV was presented to the public at the "Technologies of UAV detection and countermeasures" conference held in St. Petersburg on July 1 and 2.

According to developers, the quadrcopter-type drone’s specifications include:
▪️ designed to intercept enemy "kamikaze" drones;
▪️ can reach speeds up to 200 km/h;
▪️ works in conjunction with a radar station and a laser system to detect targets;
▪️ homes in on the target using its automatic guidance systems;
▪️ detonates the warhead located in the nose upon reaching the target;
▪️ positioned in a 45-degree angled launch tube, it takes off from a guide rail;
▪️ before destroying an enemy drone, the Vogan-9SP must receive a command from the operator, who makes a decision based on the image from its camera.

The system is already being tested, and an improved drone is being developed able to reach speeds of over 250 km/h.

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🎥 WATCH: Attack drone operators from the 123rd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Yug battlegroup destroy the positions and manpower of Ukrainian 10th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade near Seversk.

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I can, you can't: Baerbock's plane breaks her own party's night flight ban

In Frankfurt, flights are banned after 11 pm — a policy of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. But that did not prevent party member and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock taking a flight to Luxembourg on a military plane at 11:56 pm, after the Germany-Switzerland football match, according to Bild.

Is "climate change" canceled?

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❗️Ukraine’s Kraken* neo-Nazis flee Chasov Yar before regular units arrive

The Nazi Ukrainian battalion Kraken* fled from their positions in Chasov Yar before regular units had arrived, a Ukrainian prisoner of war named Valentin Gridnev told Sputnik.

The prisoner revealed that Kraken* militants, who were deployed on the second line in Chasov Yar, were supposed to cover regular units.

"They promised that we would be protected by Kraken*, but when we arrived, our superiors already knew that there was no one there, they left us high and dry. Yeah, we were pulling up, when the last of their vehicles left, so we were on our own," he divulged.

*Kraken battalion is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia.

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Le Pen accuses Macron of plotting ‘administrative coup’

French President Emmanuel Macron, coping with his party’s failure in the elections, is plotting an “administrative coup,” said the leader of the 'National Rally' party, Marine Le Pen, on radio 'France Inter'.

"There are rumors that the President is going to consider the possibility of replacing the Director General of the National Police, that is, four days before the run-off election. Although he was supposed to remain in office until the end of the Olympic Games. The same fate awaits the National Gendarmerie Director," the politician said.

She claims that the purpose for this rush in appointments is to prevent 'National Rally' leader Jordan Bardella from being able to govern the country "the way he wants" if the RN wins a majority of votes in the second round of the parliamentary elections, and he gets the post of prime minister.

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Who is Ukrainian MP Bezuglaya, nemesis of Ukrainian generals?

People's deputy of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada Maryana Bezuglaya has made a complaint to the State Bureau of Investigations accusing Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky and his predecessor General Valery Zaluzhny of "obstructing the activities of a Ukrainian member of parliament," which constitutes an offense under Article 351 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
She also called the country's military leadership a "swamp incapable of change."

What is known about Bezuglaya?
▪️ She was born in Kiev in 1988. Having graduated from the Ukrainian Military Medical Academy she completed the US State Department International Leadership Program.
▪️ Bezuglaya was a member of Zelensky's ruling party, Servant of the People, until she left in February 2024. She still holds the position of deputy chairman of the Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.
▪️ She gained prominence in November 2023 after heavily criticizing then Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny over Ukraine's failed counteroffensive.
▪️ She hit the headlines again in December 2023 when she commented on new mobilization rules and called for Ukrainian women to be drafted.
▪️ In February, Bezuglaya slammed the ruling party over its inability to change and address corruption issues.
▪️ In May, she accused the Ukrainian top brass of "destroying [Ukraine's] chances for change and victory." She attacked Syrsky for "hiding the truth" and called Commander of the Ground Forces Oleksandr Pavliuk "a minion with a tendency to have nervous breakdowns."
▪️ She lambasted commander of Joint Forces Yury Sodol for the failed defensive of the Kharkov region. On June 24, Sodol was replaced with Andriy Gnatov.
▪️ In a separate statement in May, Bezuglaya accused Defense Minister Rustem Umerov of "incompetence", adding that the military leadership sends untrained people to the front leading to massive manpower losses.

Political commentators say Bezuglaya is a "puppet" of Andriy Yermak, who runs Volodymyr Zelensky's presidential office, and is used to shift the blame for military defeats on the top brass.

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Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov on the program of Putin’s trip to the SCO summit in Kazakhstan's Astana (July 3-4):

▪️Putin will meet with Turkiye's president Erdogan to discuss the prospects for further joint work.

▪️The Kremlin expects Putin and Erdogan to discuss the Russian leader’s planned visit to Turkiye.

▪️A meeting is also planned with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

▪️The president will hold negotiations with the leaders of Mongolia, Azerbaijan and Pakistan, and the vice president of Iran.

▪️A separate meeting with Belarusian Presidnet Alexander Lukashenko is not planned, but they will find time to talk.

▪️SCO leaders will adopt a declaration following the summit and sign a document on commitment to the principles of good neighborliness and unity.

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Who is still conducting nuclear tests? Part 1 (👉 Part 2)

Fifty years ago, on July 3, the Soviet Union and the US signed the Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Weapon Tests. The subsequent Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996 never came into force. Eight of the 44 countries that had nuclear potential and technology at the time - Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, China, North Korea, Pakistan, and the US - either did not sign it or failed to ratify it. Russia renounced the treaty in 2023 — but said this does not mean that it intends to conduct nuclear tests.

Since the first US nuclear test on July 16, 1945, more than 2,000 blasts have been conducted by at least eight nations, according to the Arms Control Association.

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Who is still conducting nuclear tests? Part 2 (👉 Part 1)

▪️ The US leads in number of tests (1032). Like the USSR (715), France (210), UK (45) and China (45), it carried out most tests before the NPT in 1968.
▪️ India and Pakistan conducted tests in 1998 but then adopted unilateral moratoriums.
▪️ The Russian Federation has never tested nuclear weapons. The USSR conducted its last underground nuclear explosion in 1990 at the Novaya Zemlya test site.
▪️ The UK’s last test of a reported 11-kiloton Trident nuclear warhead in Nevada, codenamed ‘Julin Bristol,’ was conducted in 1991.
▪️ The last US nuclear test ‘Shot Divider’ took place in 1992 in Nevada.
▪️ France conducted its last blast at the Moruroa and Fangataufa Atoll test site in the South Pacific in 1996.
▪️ China conducted its last nuclear test in 1996.
▪️ The DPRK broke its test moratorium in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 and 2017. On September 3 2017, it tested a hydrogen bomb with a yield of over 100 kilotons of TNT.

Underground explosions make up about 75% of all tests. The UN has warned that some countries may still conduct nuclear tests in secret. The US suspended underground tests in 1992 but began ‘subcritical’ tests five years later. An experiment at the Nevada site on October 18, 2023, used chemical high explosives. Another ‘subcritical’ experiment was held on May 14, 2024. The US claims those tests do not produce a self-sustaining chain reaction, and comply with the zero-yield standard of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

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❗️ Ukraine rejected Hungarian PM Victor Orban’s proposal for a ceasefire, Volodymyr Zelensky's presidential office says.

◾️ Orban said he would prepare a report for the EU Council on negotiations with Zelensky, at which he proposed a ceasefire so that the EU could take the necessary decisions.

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❗️ Belarusian and Russian air defense and air forces have been put on alert due to heightened activity of Ukrainian troops, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

Polonez and Iskander missile systems have been brought to firing positions.

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⚔️ How strong is the Axis of Resistance?

“Iran, and all members of the "Axis of Resistance", will support the Lebanese Shia movement, Hezbollah, in the event of a conflict with Israel.”

This assertion was made by Kamal Kharrazi, Adviser to the Supreme Leader of Iran, to Financial Times on July 2.

So, what’s behind the group’s military strength?

🇱🇧 Lebanon: Hezbollah

▪️ 100,000-strong military force, according to its leadership.
▪️ 150,000-200,000 projectiles, including ballistic, anti-air, anti-tank, and anti-ship missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Among them, 40,000 short-range missiles, 80,000 medium-range missiles, and 30,000 long-range missiles, according to estimates.
▪️ Tanks, armored personnel carriers (APC), and infantry fighting vehicles (IFV).

🇾🇪 Yemen: Ansar Allah, or Houthis

▪️ Recruited over 200,000 fighters since the beginning of the Gaza war, per its spokesperson in Feb.
▪️ Surface-to-surface cruise and ballistic missiles, artillery rockets, and UAVs.
▪️ Claims of domestically developed "Hatem-2" hypersonic missiles.

🇵🇸 Gaza Strip: Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ)

▪️ Prior to the Gaza war, Hamas had an estimated 40,000-strong force.
▪️ PIJ reportedly has 1,000 members.
▪️ 30,000-50,000 missiles, mortar shells, and UAVs at the beginning of conflict with Israel.

🇮🇶 Iraq: Kataib Hezbollah, the Badr Organisation, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq

▪️ Core of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) or Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary network comprising 230,000 fighters.
▪️ Iraqi Shia militias reportedly armed with artillery, unguided rockets, light and heavy mortars, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, Iranian-made Zelzal (150-250 km), Fateh-110 (200-300 km), and Zolfaghar (700 km) missiles.
▪️ Mastery of drone warfare during war against ISIS*.

*ISIS (also known as ISIS/IL/ISIS-K/Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries

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📹 The Kalashnikov rifle doesn't care how much you take it apart: it will still shoot

Russian military correspondents did an experiment and found out which parts the Kalashnikov rifle does not need to fire. It turned out that the weapon works even when almost completely “undressed”.

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🇷🇺📈 Russia defied sanctions to join high-income rank

The World Bank’s recognition of Russia as a high-income country is "not surprising, but a reality”, Dr. Georgy Ostapkovich, Director of the Center for Market Research at the Higher School of Economics, told Sputnik.

Russia is seeing income growth of around 4-5%, with earnings growing in double digits, Ostapkovich said, stressing that the driving force is economic growth.

"Incomes only grow when the economy grows. If the economy grows, then profits grow. If profits grow, then the entrepreneur is keen on hiring people and raising wages," he added.

Russia’s economy grew by 3.6% in 2023, with real incomes and nominal wages up by 4.5% and 13% respectively. Industrial performance, particularly in manufacturing, is propelling this growth not seen in 20 to 30 years. Notably, mechanical engineering in the military industry is expanding at 25-30%, according to Ostapkovich.

Andrey Kolganov, Doctor of Economics and Head of the Laboratory of Socio-Economic Systems at Moscow State University, acknowledged that despite the challenges posed by the growth stimuli, Western sanctions failed to inflict significant harm on the Russian economy.

"The Russian economy has shown great potential in adapting to these difficulties. Moreover, these difficulties stimulated the development of domestic production, which in turn led to high rates of economic growth," he added.

Kolganov noted that economic growth rates were higher in 2023, compared to 2022 - and even higher in 2024. These increases promoted Russia from the classification of middle-income countries, to the rank of high-income countries. Although Russia has not caught up with the richest countries, the achievement is nonetheless remarkable, especially in the face of unprecedented sanctions.

Gross national income per capita in Russia is now $14,250, according to a document released by the World Bank that classifies countries that cross the $13,485 threshold as “high income.”

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