Donald Trump will grant a major interview to tech tycoon Elon Musk.

It will take place at 8 pm Eastern American time (3 am Moscow Time).

A few hours before the interview, Trump published his first post for the year on social network X along with a video you can see above.

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Five fighter jets projecting power and protecting Russia’s skies

Since the Russian Air Force Day, a professional holiday dedicated to pilots and servicemen, is celebrated today it is worth noting that the Russia's Air Force fighter fleet is constantly being modernized.

Here are some of its newest models, which have already proved themselves in the Russia’s special operation:

🔶 Sukhoi Su-30SM2: An upgrade of the Sukhoi Su-30 – the multirole fighter backbone of Russian military aviation. The SM2, the first batch of which was delivered to the Air Force last week, features improved avionics, improved target detection and identification range, and enhanced AL-41F1S engines borrowed from the Su-35 with superior performance and range characteristics, lower maintenance costs and increased longevity.

🔶 Sukhoi Su-35S: The Su-35 has been dubbed the apex of the Sukhoi Su-27 family of fighters, with 4++ generation characteristics including supermaneuverability, advanced radar and avionics, and onboard weaponry. Over 150 Su-35S jets have been delivered to the military to date, with the latest batch received in April.

🔶 Sukhoi Su-34M: Introduced in 2022, the Su-34M is the modernized version of the Su-34 fighter-bomber. The new model includes sweeping improvements to avionics, radar and communications, improved electronic warfare capabilities, and extended targeting range.

🔶 Mikoyan MiG-31BM: The newest variant of the veteran MiG-31, with improved avionics, upgraded multimode phased array radar, and modernized navigation and communication systems. The Air Force got its newest batch of upgraded MiG-31BMs in July.

🔶 Sukhoi Su-57: The newest addition to Russia’s fighter fleet, the Su-57 is a stealth fighter with the designation of the nation’s first 5th-gen aircraft. The jet’s low visibility and avionics and automation features separate it from its 4+ and 4++ generation cousins. Future Su-57s may be equipped with new, purpose built AL-51F1 engines, enabling the Su-57 to fly in supercruise mode at speeds over 2,270 km/h without activating afterburners – whose heightened high heat signature may give away the aircraft’s location.

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⚡️ Scott Ritter weighs in on the FBI's reasons for searching his home and the aftermath

⚡️ What is known about Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk?

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⚡️ SuperCam S350М and SuperCam SX350 - Russian drone forces know-how

⚡️ What is known about Ukraine’s attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant?

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US Senator Lindsey Graham enjoys seeing Zelensky kill Russian civilians, praises Ukrainian terrorist attack on the Kursk region

“When I think about Kursk [incursion] – bold, brilliant, beautiful. Keep it up,” the anti-Russia Senator claimed.

Earlier today, the Kursk region's acting governor reported that 12 people were killed as a result of the Ukrainian attack and 121 people were wounded, 10 of them being children.

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Lindsey Graham encourages citizens from NATO countries to become mercenaries in Ukraine

“We're looking for pilots who are willing to fight for freedom as the Ukrainians train their own pilots. So my message is, we need to be all in,” the warmongering Senator claimed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said the arrival of F-16s to Ukraine will not affect the course of the special operation on the battlefield.

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Meet Gortenziya, one of Russia’s first mass-produced FPV-drones

The Gortenziya (lit. Hortensia) drones have been deployed on the front lines almost since the start of the special operation, with over 8,000 units shipped so far, Technical Director of Gortenziya Design Bureau Alexander Medvedev told Sputnik at the Russian ARMY-2024 forum.

“The vehicles can be delivered with different type of communication, both non-standard frequencies on video and on control, also with communication on control that cannot be detected and jammed, the so-called broadband communication system,” he pointed out.

Medvedev underscored that each device undergoes several testing stages and a mandatory test flight. Today, the Bureau produces about 120 vehicles a day, or roughly 3,000 units a month.

“We have a combat team that travels along the battle contact line to provide additional training for each of our vehicles, to talk about the nuances of our drop systems and transponders,” he added.

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US deployment of powerful armada to Middle East can’t hide host of weak spots

It’s been said that the world reserve currency status of the dollar is propped up by America’s aircraft carriers (i.e. the ability to project power around the world). When Pentagon's chief Lloyd Austin ordered a guided-missile sub and a carrier strike group to steam for the Middle East, US' allies took notice.

But what’s increasingly difficult NOT to notice is the declining power of the US Navy in recent years. A number of factors play into it, including:

🔸 Falling production and astronomical rises in equipment costs: A recent CBO analysis found US shipbuilding to be in a “terrible state,” with the downturn attributed to a shortage of skilled labor, erratic swings in Pentagon priorities, and cost overruns.

Speaking of costs, the Navy suffers the same problem as other branches. The newest carrier, the Ford, cost over $13 billion, not counting its F-35 strike fighters - the most expensive weapons project in human history ($2+ trillion and counting).

🔸 Recruitment crisis: The Navy is suffering from a long-term dearth in recruitment, missing enlistment goals by over 7,400 sailors in 2023. The causes are legion, from health issues facing young people, to new generations’ rejection of the idea of service as a patriotic duty thanks to decades of US aggression abroad, to DEI and identity politics and mandatory Covid jabs, which thousands of servicemen have quit over in the past three years.

🔸 Skyrocketing bureaucracy: There are more generals and admirals in the US today, in peacetime, when 2.86 million are under arms, than during World War II, when over 17 million Americans were in uniform and the country was fighting a global two front war.

Senior officers draw outsized salaries and pensions compared to grunts, a fact not lost on ordinary soldiers, sailors and airmen, and poisoning morale.

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What are the possible consequences of Germany's potential withdrawal from the Schengen Agreement?

Several major German parties have spoken out in favor of blanket identity checks on the borders between EU states, if such a decision is taken it could lead to a revamping of the entire Schengen zone.

While Pro-EU outlets expressed concern about the suggestion of the CDU/CSU bloc (Christian Democratic Union of Germany with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, which is considered the strongest opposition force in Germany) and liberals from the Free Democratic Party (FDP) to reintroduce checks inside the Schengen zone, its critics inside the CDU cited their reasons:

🌏 Previous measures, when Germany reintroduced identity checks on the border with Austria (since 2015) or with Poland, Czech Republic and Switzerland (since September 2023) yielded positive results with a 72% fall in the number of illegal migrants coming to Germany via Eastern Europe.

🌏 Internal checks at borders within the EU would help alleviate European citizens' concerns about illegal migration. To this effect, the parties proposing the bill could try to improve their plight by winning votes from parties that also oppose the issue, such as the AfG.

At the same time, the German Green party vowed concerns saying this move, if it succeeds, would deal a blow not only to the dream of “borderless Europe,” but also to the EU itself. In their interviews, the Green politicians and Social Democrats noted the following:

🌏 The resumption of border controls will greatly affect the "just-in-time" production system, where components could be ordered and delivered between different EU member states without border crossing formalities.

🌏 Many economists say that without Schengen there will be no free movement of people, workforce and investments inside the EU. Moreover, without this freedom the common currency of the Eurozone (the euro) makes little sense.

Nevertheless, in the last year and a half, already 11 Schengen countries have done away with it at their borders partially or completely and Germany's decision could make this process a landslide.

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The experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cannot yet determine the cause of the fire at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant's cooling tower and will continue to analyze the information, the IAEA reported.

"The team has not been able to draw definitive conclusions on the basis of the findings and observations so far. The IAEA will continue its overall analysis after additional review and access to the water nozzle distribution level and the cold-water basin," the organization said in a statement.

Earlier, Russian state corporation Rosatom said that the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant cooling tower had been seriously damaged as a result of two direct strikes by the Ukrainian forces' drones. The fire that broke out was extinguished by the Russian Emergencies Ministry, and the threat of collapse of the structure will be assessed by specialists when the situation allows to do it, Rosatom said. The nuclear power plant cooling tower burnt out from the inside after the UAV strikes, the restoration time will be clear after assessing its condition, the plant's spokesperson said.

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Elon Musk began his interview with former US president Donald Trump about 45 minutes late.

The conversation started with a discussion about the assassination attempt against the Republican candidate last month.

"I knew immediately that it was a bullet. I knew immediately that it was at the ear... For those people that don't believe in God, I think we all have to start thinking about that," Trump emphasized, appearing to court religious voters.

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