Key statements by the Iranian Foreign Ministry amid Israeli strike:

💬US political and military support for Israel's criminal actions is the main factor for instability in the Middle East.

💬Iran believes it has a 'right and obligation' to defend itself against 'aggressive actions' on the basis of the UN Charter.

💬Iran uses every opportunity to protect its security and vital interests. 

💬Iran calls on the international community to take urgent collective action and stop Israel's attempts to spark a war in the Middle East.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Russian troops liberated the settlement of Alexandropol in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Ukrainian forces lost more than 740 militants in the area of responsibility of the Russian Yug Battlegroup

🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to 545 servicemen in the area of responsibility of the Russian Tsentr combat group;

▪️The Russian Zapad Battlegroup destroyed over 510 Ukrainian militants;

▪️Ukrainian troops lost up to 80 soldiers in the area of responsibility of the Russian Dnepr combat group;

▪️Russian forces hit the infrastructure of military airfields, and the storage sites for attack drones of the Ukrainian armed forces;

▪️Russian air defense systems shot down two guided Hammer bombs and four HIMARS rockets.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 Auschwitz survivor Jerry Warstki, 94, condemns Kamala Harris for supporting claims that former US President Donald Trump is a "fascist" like Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler

“For her to accuse President Trump of being like Hitler is the worst thing I ever heard in my 75 years living in the United States. She owes my parents and everybody else who was murdered by Hitler an apology for repeating this lie,” he says.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russian Foreign Ministry's key statements on Israeli airstrikes against Iran:

⚫️Escalation between Israel and Iran creates real threats to stability and security in the region

⚫️Russia calls on all parties involved to exercise restraint and stop violence, is ready to work with everyone to reduce the level of confrontation

⚫️It's necessary to stop provoking Iran to retaliate and leave the spiral of uncontrolled escalation

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russian snipers roll out new STM-308 precision rifle

The new sniper rifle, which could replace the Dragunov model, has been developed and sent to the battlefield. What are the characteristics of the STM-308 rifle?

🔸The STM-308 features an in-line arrangement, in which the main mechanisms of the weapon are located on one line;

🔸"In the Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD), the piston line is higher than that of the barrel, which causes a bending moment during shooting. In the STM-308, the return mechanism and the bolt group are on the same level," a spokesperson for the Soyuz-TM manufacturing company told Russian media;

🔸He added that the new rifle is lighter than the 4.3-kg SVD and makes it possible to see the results of shooting immediately thanks to weaker blowback than the SVD’s;

🔸The STM-308 is chambered for 7.62 x 51 mm cartridges, allowing a marksman to confidently hit targets at a distance of up to one kilometer (0.62 miles);

🔸The new rifle is fitted with an adjustable buttstock and a Picatinny rail that allows for the installation of various sights, bipods or an additional handle. The rifle also supports the installation of alternative muzzle devices;

🔸The STM-308’s shooting accuracy is less than one angular minute, which means that at a distance of 100 meters the rifle’s bullet hits a circle with a diameter of 29 mm, a fact that has already been appreciated by Russian sharpshooters on the front line.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

West failed to isolate Russia — British politician 

"Russia is clearly not isolated. The continuing hostility to Russia by the Western cabal is self-defeating," leader of the British Heritage Party, David Kurten, wrote on his X page, commenting on the video clip of statements by various heads of Western countries about the isolation of Russia against the background of the BRICS summit in Kazan.

Russia hosted the 16th BRICS summit from October 22-24 with representatives from 36 countries, including 24 top officials in attendance, adopting the XVI BRICS Summit Kazan Declaration.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Germany and France protest EU plan to bypass Hungary's veto on Ukraine aid

A number of EU countries, including France and Germany, have expressed concern and objected to the idea of the European External Action Service to bypass Hungary's veto on providing aid to Ukraine, the Bloomberg News agency reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

“[S]ome member states, including France and Germany, have voiced concerns over setting a precedent that could imperil the future of the European Peace Facility as a foreign policy tool, according to people familiar with the matter. Currently, the EPF relies on mandatory contributions based on each member state’s economic weight and requires unanimity for disbursement,” the agency said.

Earlier, EU diplomatic chief, Josep Borrell, said that Hungary continues to block the allocation of 6.6 billion euros from the EPF, as compensation to EU states for supplying arms and ammunition to Ukraine. A European source told reporters that the EU foreign policy service had submitted a proposal to the member states for the EU to contribute to the EPF on a voluntary basis, thereby bypassing Hungary's veto.

The sources told the agency that it is not yet known how much support the EU foreign policy proposal may receive, but the decision requires the support of all 27 members.

Russia believes that arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the settlement, directly involve NATO countries in the conflict, and amount to“playing with fire.”Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any shipments that contain arms for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇬🇪 Several dozen provocateurs are moving around different areas of Georgian Tbilisi and causing fights at polling stations

There are about 30 provocateurs, Mamuka Mdinaradze, executive secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, claimed on local television.

Their route may be known to opposition media. They are the first to arrive at the scene of fights and show them on air, he said.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇵🇱🚜 Farmers from Poland who asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for help in bringing order to the country were accused of "propaganda and justification of aggression"

During the protests against the dominance of Ukrainian agricultural products, they rode out on a tractor with a banner reading: "Putin bring order to Ukraine, the European Union and our rulers", as well as with the flag of the USSR.

Now they face a sentence of up to five years in prison.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt