What are the key conditions for success in the armed confrontation with the West?

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov listed four of them during the opening ceremony of the Army 2024 international military-technical forum:

▪️ Providing troops with the most modern weapons, primarily high-precision arms.

▪️ Using new tactical methods of combat operations (including drones and robots).

▪️ Creating an effective management system using an advanced technological framework, including AI.

▪️ Improving military training, particularly for command personnel.

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Russia regards Ukraine's attack on the cooling tower of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant as a targeted attack on the safety of the plant, said the head of Rosatom Alexey Likhachev.

He called on the IAEA to clearly assess what happened.

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Russia's Rostec to present portable mini-radars for the detection of unmanned boats at the Army 2024 forum

Portable mini-radars will be able to detect unmanned boats and provide early warning of an attack, the state corporation's first deputy general director, Vladimir Artyakov, told Sputnik in an interview on the sidelines of the opening of the Army-2024 international military-technical forum in Kubinka, Moscow region.

"These locators are relatively light, when fully equipped, they weigh about 25 kilograms. It is mobile and convenient for transportation," Artyakov added.

The Army 2024 Forum is opening in the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center and will be held from August 12 to 14, 2024, with the total area of expositions amounting to more than 340,000 square meters.

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LIVE NOW | Opening ceremony of Army-2024 International Military-Technical Forum

👉 Watch live in our Telegram or on Sputnik's website

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❗️ Russia urges international community to take urgent measures against Ukraine after attack on Zaporozhye nuclear power plant – Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova

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FBI raids against Sputnik contributor Scott Ritter are part and parcel of US gov’t’s larger project of intimidation

“[FBI] talk a lot about my relationship with Sputnik… The US government is clearly unhappy with my message, unhappy with the impact that I'm having, and nervous that they can't control me,” Scott Ritter, UN weapons inspector, told Sputnik.

Recently, FBI conducted a raid on Ritter’s New York home over allegations he had violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

“I think that this raid, this search warrant, this ongoing investigation is part and parcel of a larger project of intimidation that unfortunately will continue, I believe, for the near future,” he said.

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🇷🇺 Russia’s unparalleled know-how has proven its effectiveness on the battlefield – Putin

Unparalleled Russian know-how in the field of armaments has already proved its effectiveness on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a video message welcoming participants to the Army-2024 forum.

In his message, Putin stressed that the forum features a large-scale presentation of advanced – and in many respects unique – achievements of the Russian defense industry.

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Scott Ritter: ‘I'm very proud of working as a Sputnik contributor, am determined to continue’

The FBI and US Department of Justice are bothered by the impact people like him are having “on informing an audience not only inside the United States, but around the world about the malfeasance of American foreign policy,” Scott Ritter told Sputnik.

But despite the US' latest effort to target Ritter, he is looking forward to continuing to operate as a contributor to Sputnik.

“I'm very proud of this relationship, and I look forward to continuing to do this for the foreseeable future,” Ritter stated.

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Ukraine lost another Abrams tank on the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup's combat zone and Russian air defenses shot down six HIMARS rockets and 40 Ukrainian drones – Russian Defense Ministry

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

▪️Units of the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup repelled two counterattacks by Ukraine, resulting in over 390 militants lost.

▪️Units of the Russian Vostok Battlegroup advanced to more favorable positions, with Ukraine losing up to 100 militants.

▪️The Russian Sever Battlegroup struck two Ukrainian brigades in the Volchansk and Liptsy areas, resulting in losses of up to 60 militants and an ammunition depot.

▪️Units of the Russian Yug Battlegroup repelled two counterattacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, causing the enemy to lose over 570 militants.

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The South Korean Army began testing a robotic dog

The automatized dog has many functions, from reconnaissance and manipulating objects to even suppressing the enemy with gunfire.

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❗️The Russian Defense Ministry must drive the enemy out of the territory of the Kursk region, Vladimir Putin stated during a special meeting on the situation in the region.

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⚡️ Ukraine will continue attempts to destabilize Russia's border regions, including the Bryansk region – Putin

Other important statements by the Russian president at the special meeting on the situation in the Kursk region:

⚡️ The situation in the region shows why the Kiev regime has refused Moscow's peace proposals and mediators.

⚡️ Ukraine is trying to improve its future negotiating position with its actions in the Kursk region.

⚡️ There is nothing to discuss with Kiev, which is attacking civilians and nuclear power facilities.

⚡️ The West is at war with Russia by the hands of Ukrainians.

⚡️ The action in the Kursk region pursues the military goal of stopping the offensive of Russian troops along the line of contact.

⚡️ The pace of the offensive of the Russian forces along the entire line of contact after the events in Kursk region has not only not decreased, but actually increased 1.5 times.

⚡️ The Russian president also demanded the armed forces provide reliable coverage of the border with Ukraine after the enemy is driven out of Russian territory.

⚡️ Putin added that the FSB and National Guard should ensure the counter-terrorism operation regime in the Russian border regions.

⚡️ The relative calm in Russia's Bryansk region today does not guarantee that such a situation will be maintained. It is necessary to prepare for different scenarios, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed.

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⚡️ The situation in the Kursk region is difficult, with 28 settlements under enemy control, the deputy governor said at a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Regional authorities do not know the fate of about 2,000 people in the 28 settlements under the enemy's control, the official stressed.

As of today, 121,000 residents have left the border region.

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❗️Ukrainian Army hits Russian power company workers with chemical weapons in Kursk Region

When a Rosseti power company brigade went to restore the power supply in the Belovo district of the Kursk region, Ukrainian troops shelled them with chemical weapon ammunition, said Kursk region acting governor Alexei Smirnov.

The workers were not seriously injured, according to Smirnov.

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