❗️Viktor Orban said he held talks with Putin at a time when Europe needs peace.

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❗️Viktor Orban: After trips to Kiev and Moscow, I realized that the positions of the parties are far from each other.

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📹 If Ukraine ends martial law, it will have to hold presidential elections, Putin noted.

The chances of the current Ukrainian authorities winning are close to zero, according to the Russian president.

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❗️Key statements from Putin and Orban after talks in Moscow

🇷🇺 Putin:

▪️Ukraine does not allow the idea of a ceasefire because it would remove the pretext for extending martial law.

▪️If Ukraine ends martial law, it will have to hold presidential elections. The chances of the current Ukrainian authorities winning are close to zero.

▪️There should not be a truce or a pause for the additional armament of the Kiev regime; Moscow stands for a complete and final end to the conflict.

▪️Russia insists on the complete withdrawal of all Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk People's Republic, Lugansk People's Republic, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

▪️It is important that even in the current difficult geopolitical situation, Moscow and Budapest continue their dialogue.

🇭🇺 Orban:

▪️The positions of Russia and Ukraine are very far from each other, much needs to be done to bring the end of the conflict closer.

▪️He said that he discussed with Putin the achievement of peace in Ukraine and the shortest path to this.

▪️The conflict in Ukraine has begun to have an impact on the European economy and its competitiveness.

▪️I heard what Putin thinks about the existing peace initiatives, the ceasefire and negotiations, the vision of Europe after the war.

▪️He promised to continue his efforts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.

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The United States postpones military exercises with Georgia indefinitely due to a comprehensive review of bilateral relations, the Pentagon said.

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The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, was gifted a flag captured from Ukraine's 128th Mountain Assault Brigade in the special military operation.

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🇭🇺 Viktor Orban: After trips to Kiev and Moscow, I realized that the positions of the parties are far from each other.

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‘No technological problems here’: Russia ready to match US in intermediate-range missile race

The United States’ efforts to develop and deploy missile systems previously banned under the INF Treaty virtually left Russia no choice but to respond in kind, argues Dmitry Stefanovich, research fellow at the Moscow-based Institute of World Economy and International Relations with the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).

Russia’s hand was forced in this matter, Stefanovich says, noting that a veritable small- and intermediate-range missile race is now taking place in the world, and Russia and the United States are not the only participants.

“We have been watching the US’ actions all this time. Perhaps it was due to self-restraint or perhaps there were, shall we say, more important matters at the time,” he said, adding that the demonstration and deployment of new Russian missile systems may soon follow.

According to Stefanovich, new Russian land-based missile systems may include the ground-launched versions of Kalibr cruise missile and Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, as well as (possibly) new Iskander ballistic missiles with a longer range.

He also recalls that Russia has been working on Rubezh, a “light intercontinental ballistic missile” that could possibly be turned into a short- or intermediate-range missile.

“There are no technological problems here,” Stefanovich remarks.

Unlike the air- and sea-based missile systems, ground-based missile launchers are cheaper to maintain to deploy and harder to detect as they are being moved around Russia’s vast territory.

As for the regions where they could be deployed, Stefanovich suggests that it may be either the Far East – closer to where similar US missile systems showed up recently – or the Leningrad Military District that was created in response to NATO’s encroachment on Russia’s western borders.

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A group of influential businessmen and donors to the US Democratic Party sent a letter to Biden asking him to withdraw his candidacy in the upcoming elections, the Washington Post writes.

“We respectfully urge you to withdraw from being a candidate for reelection for the sake of our democracy and the future of our nation,” the document reads.

At the time of sending the letter to the White House, it had been signed by 168 people, including civil society leaders, influential businessmen and politicians.

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🔥 Russian Airborne Troops eliminate Ukrainian hardware and troops using drones on right bank of Dnepr River.

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