🎥🎥 Russian FM Sergey Lavrov's press conference on the sidelines of the G20 Summit

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Are Israel and Hezbollah really close to a ceasefire?

Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a US proposal for a ceasefire with Israel with some comments on the content, Assistant Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Ali Hasan Khalil has told media. He noted that these steps could be considered "the most serious effort to stop the hostilities."

What is known about the discussed ceasefire?

◾️White House envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut. He has already discussed the offer with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and is currently meeting with Lebanese PM Najib Mikati.

◾️In turn, Mikati confirmed on local TV on Monday that Lebanon's response to a ceasefire proposal was positive, but didn't reveal any details.

◾️It is also expected that after visiting Lebanon, Hochstein will visit Israel regarding the same deal. This information was confirmed by Israeli media governmental sources. But there was no official comment from the Israeli side.

◾️Assistant Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Ali Hasan Khalil highlighted that Beirut's position would be in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701. It was the terms for ending Israel-Lebanon hostilities in 2006.

◾️Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, mutual attacks between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah have intensified. Last night, five people were injured after Hezbollah shelled Tel Aviv suburbs. The IDF, in turn, continues to attempt an offensive in the border zone and carry out heavy bombing in several Lebanese cities, including Beirut.

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❗️The use of ATACMS in the Russian Bryansk region is a signal that the United States wants escalation — Russian FM

I hope that the West is carefully studying the updated nuclear doctrine of Russia, Sergey Lavrov said.

He also added that he could not confirm information that the US has allowed Kiev to launch strikes deep into Russia.

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Nuclear doctrine changes signal Russia’s willingness to take on ‘global power obligations’ - expert

The latest changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine were likely made for two main reasons, Mikael Valtersson, former Swedish military officer and ex-chief of staff with the Sweden Democrats, tells Sputnik.

“One is to make it even clearer that even attacks from Ukraine with conventional weapons with the active support of Western powers will be seen as a combined attack on Russia,” he says. “This will give Russia the opportunity to claim Casus belli [an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war], and legitimate defensive military action according to international law and the UN Charter.”

This move, Valtersson argues, is essentially an attempt by Russia to “strengthen deterrence towards the West and reduce the risk of Western escalation in Ukraine.”

“The second and very interesting aspect is the inclusion of allies in the nuclear deterrence,” he continues. “This must be seen in the light of the recent ratification of the new defense cooperation agreement with the DPRK (North Korea) that includes a paragraph akin to the NATO article 5. This stipulates mutual military aid to defend each other in case of aggression from other countries.”

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❗️US will not respond to changes in Russia's nuclear doctrine, Bloomberg writes, citing the White House

The US does not see the need to change the readiness of its nuclear forces in response to changes in Russia's nuclear doctrine.

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🇷🇺📢 Key statements by Russian FM Sergey Lavrov from his G20 press conference:

▪️The West tried to 'Ukrainize' the G20 agenda, but other members insisted that other conflicts be included in the final declaration

▪️Those countries reluctantly agreed to discuss the points of the G20 final declaration on the Middle East

▪️They also tried to insert a point on Gaza after the point on Ukraine in the declaration

▪️Moscow will react accordingly to the US allowing Kiev to strike deep into the Russian Federation

▪️Russia agrees with the paragraph on Ukraine in the G20's final declaration, which calls for an honest and reasonable conversation about peace on realistic terms

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ATACMS-killers: Russia's S-400 and Pantsir air defenses

The Ukrainian Armed Forces fired six ATACMS ballistic missiles at a military facility in Russia's Bryansk region last night. Five missiles were intercepted and one was damaged by Russia's S-400 and Pantsir missile defense systems.

What's known about them?

🔺The S-400 Triumf (Triumph)

S-400 Triumf is a medium-to-long range anti-aircraft and missile defense system.

It is designed to intercept modern means of air attack and boasts a range of up to 600 km target detection.

It is capable of intercepting targets flying at a maximum speed of Mach 14 (4,800 m/s) and maximum altitude of 30 km.

S-400 can simultaneously engage up to 36 targets.

🔺The Pantsir

Pantsir is a missile defense system that can fire both medium-range anti-missile missiles and 30 mm caliber twin anti-aircraft guns, creating a continuous target engagement zone up to 20 km in range and up to 15 km in altitude.

The systems’ twelve onboard two-stage solid fuel missiles accelerate to up to 1,300 meters per second to engage targets flying up to 1,000 meters/second.

Pantsir also boasts a short reaction time of 4-6 seconds due to automatic tracking of up to 40 targets by a target acquisition radar.

It can fire on the move and at short halts and simultaneously attack four targets within a sector of ± 45 deg in elevation.

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Russian air defenses’ reputation as ‘ATACMS killers’ may stoke soaring demand

Success in Russia's efforts to intercept US-made ATACMS missiles, including the latest attempt by Ukraine and its NATO handlers to attack the Bryansk region, may lead to an increase in demand for its air defense systems in the world, says Russian military expert and air defense forces historian Yuri Knutov.

He points out that many countries in the world lack systems such as S-300V4, S-350 Vityaz, S-400, Buk-M3 or Pantsir, “the systems that can successfully counter ATACMS missiles specifically.”

“We have proven that Russia possesses the best air defense in the world, which is why, in my opinion, the interest in our air defenses grows so much,” he explains.

Though the demand for Russian air defense systems in the world is hindered by Western sanctions, Knutov also predicts that, if the Ukrainian conflict were to wind down, “the demand for our air defense systems would increase manifold.”

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