❗️Update: 32 people are confirmed to have survived the plane crash in Kazakhstan, and this is not the final figure, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan reported.

Prior to that, 29 survivors were known to have survived.

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❗️Russian troops liberated the settlement of Novy Trud in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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🎥🎥 Putin joins informal CIS summit

👉Watch the livestream here or follow the link to the Sputnik's website

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❗️Raw footage: Russian Secret Service agents thwart a Ukrainian terrorist plot targeting the vehicle of a senior official from a military sector enterprise linked to Russia’s Defense Ministry.

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Vladimir Putin arrives at an informal gathering of the heads of state from CIS member countries in St. Petersburg.

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🇷🇺🪖Key points from the Russian Ministry of Defense's daily briefing on the Special Military Operation:

◻️ The Russian Air Force has conducted a powerful strike using high-precision long-range weapons and drones targeting Ukrainian energy facilities that support the military-industrial complex.

◻️ The Russian Federation has successfully neutralized a deployment point for foreign mercenaries and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

◻️ Ukrainian forces have suffered losses of up to 400 militants in the combat zone of Battlegroup Zapad.

◻️ In Battlegroup Yug's zone, Ukrainian casualties have reached approximately 245 soldiers.

◻️ Operations by Russia’s Battlegroups Sever and Dnepr have resulted in the loss of around 130 Ukrainian troops.

◻️ Russian air defenses successfully intercepted five HIMARS shells and 119 Ukrainian drones.

◻️ In the zone of Battlegroup Vostok, Ukrainian forces have lost up to 170 troops.

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The first shots taken by rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan shortly after the plane crash in Aktau.

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Vladimir Putin's Statements at an informal gathering of the heads of state of CIS member countries in Russia's St. Petersburg:

◻️ Putin announced that parties will coordinate the work of aviation services on all issues related to the crash of an Azerbaijani Baku-Grozny flight in Aktau.

◻️ The combined GDP growth of CIS countries is projected to reach 4.7% by the end of the year, exceeding the global average, Putin said.

◻️ The share of use of national currencies in commercial settlements between CIS countries now exceeds 85%, the president stated.

◻️ CIS countries are strengthening cooperation in fighting crime, terrorism and drug trafficking, he said.

◻️ Putin stressed the importance of striving to preserve the historical truth of the outcome of the Great Patriotic War.

◻️ Putin personally invited CIS leaders to Moscow next year for celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory Day.

◻️ Russia hopes military units from CIS countries will be able to participate in the Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9, Putin said.

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A bird's-eye view of the plane crash site in Aktau, Kazakhstan.

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WATCH: the Russian Tsentr battlegroup liberated the settlement of Novy Trud in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and continues to strike the enemy, liberating other areas of the DPR.

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🪖Money for nothing, but guns not free: NATO military spending soars in 2024

The explosion of hostilities in Ukraine in 2022 has so far been a godsend to Western generals and military-industrial tycoons as NATO bosses rushed to ramp up their military spending.

▪️This year, 23 of the bloc's 32 members have met NATO's guideline of allocating 2% of their gross national product to defense. Some member states have exceeded this benchmark, with Poland leading the way by dedicating approximately 4.12% of its GDP—or $34.9 billion—to military endeavors.

▪️For comparison, the United States spent 3.38% of its GDP on defense in 2024, while the United Kingdom’s military spending this year was estimated at about 2.33% of its GDP.

▪️In terms of the total amount of money spent on defense, however, the US still reigns as NATO’s undisputed champion, having spent about $967.7 billion this year.

▪️Germany, the NATO country with the second-largest military outlays this year, spent only $97.6 billion, while the UK and France spent $82.1 billion and $64.2 billion, respectively.

Overall, NATO members this year have upped their defense spending, with their average expenditure in 2024 reaching 2.71% of GDP compared with 2.53% in 2023.

US President-elect Donald Trump, however, seeks to push these limits even further as he wants NATO countries to fork out as much as 5% of their GDP on defense, the Financial Times reported last week.

Though it remains to be seen whether Trump’s demands will be met by other members of the bloc, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last month appeared to agree with him, arguing that 2% defense spending is apparently not enough.

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⚡️Authorities in Finland, Latvia, and Estonia acknowledge that European NATO members are not prepared to confront Russia without US involvement and are reaching the limits of their capacity to provide military aid to Ukraine, according to The Independent.

“We are not ready. That’s absolutely clear,” says Latvia president Edgars Rinkevics. “We can’t keep simply hoping for a situation where the US remains much involved in Europe.”

“We have to ramp up our defence capabilities,” Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal adds.

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In the United States, the national media debate about the ageing leadership in Washington has been reignited.

That was after 81-year-old Congresswoman Kay Granger was reportedly placed in a nursing home for patients with dementia.

Following the incident, X owner Elon Musk called for the introduction of cognitive ability tests for elected officials.

US media recently reported that outgoing President Joe Biden's White House staff had to take special measures to help him do his job throughout his four years in office, with some feeling he was no longer fully aware of current events.

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💥 WATCH: Reconnaissance troops of the Russian Sever Battlegroup destroyed an armored fighting vehicle of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Sumy region with a Lancet loitering munition.

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⚡️A terrorist attack was carried out against the Russian vessel 'Ursa Major', which sank in the Mediterranean Sea, reported the company that owns the bulk carrier.

Three explosions occurred on the starboard side of the Ursa Major, which sank her, Oboronlogistika told Sputnik.

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🧊 Greenland’s mineral riches unearthed: Why Trump is eyeing North America’s biggest island

Donald Trump has long coveted control over Greenland, the world’s largest island and an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.

Could Greenland's underlying mineral wealth be the motive behind this interest? Let’s dig deeper.

◾️ Rare earth elements (REEs):

Greenland boasts large deposits of REEs, such as yttrium, scandium, neodymium, and dysprosium, which are essential for producing mobile phones, electric vehicles, high-performance magnets, wind turbines, batteries, various consumer electronics, nuclear reactors, and military applications.

◾️ Rare earth oxides (REOs):

This huge territory is estimated to have the second-largest reserves of rare earth oxides (42 Mt), which are used in the production of television and computer screens, lasers, high-powered batteries, and X-ray intensifiers.

◾️ Precious metals & minerals:

🔸Significant deposits have been identified at the Nalunaq gold and Maamorilik silver mines;

🔸 There is considerable potential for copper exploration within the South Greenland Copper Belt;

🔸 Substantial uranium deposits are available (mining and exploration of uranium were banned in 2021);

🔸 There is a high likelihood of undiscovered titanium-vanadium deposits in the region;

🔸 Promising prospects exist for mining critical raw materials such as lead, molybdenum, titanium, and zinc, which are increasingly important for various industries and technological applications;

🔸 The Amitsoq Graphite Project is estimated to contain approximately 8.28 million tons of high-grade graphite, crucial for producing battery-grade materials for electric vehicles (EVs).

◾️ Oil & gas:

There are substantial offshore oil and gas resources that remain untapped.

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Explosion-like sound was heard before AZAL plane crash in Kazakhstan - survivor’s relative

Passengers reported hearing a loud sound resembling an explosion before an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) passenger plane crashed near Aktau airport in western Kazakhstan, a relative of one of the survivors told Sputnik.

"Employees of Azerbaijan Airlines assisted me in establishing contact with my surviving relative, who is currently in the hospital. Doctors say his life is not in danger. I managed to speak with him for about 20–30 seconds, during which he clearly stated that a loud sound, like an explosion, was heard before the plane crashed," the relative said.

An AZAL Embraer 190, en route from Baku to Grozny, Russia, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, with 69 people on board earlier today. The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan stated that a total of 32 people had survived the crash, though this number is not yet final. Preliminary data from AZAL suggests that the crash occurred after the plane collided with a flock of birds.

AZAL pilots made efforts to prevent the crash, and the captain attempted to land the plane in a field near Aktau, according to a source within the aviation industry.

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⚡️The death toll in the airline crash near Aktau, Kazakhstan, has risen to 38, Kazakh media reported.

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