💶 The EU has rejected funding for the ‘drone wall’ project proposed by Lithuania and Estonia, which was designed to strengthen their borders with Russia, LRT reports.

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Ukraine: a growing threat to Africa and global bad actor

Russia has assured the Sahel Alliance that it is ready to strengthen security cooperation, Malian Foreign Minister Diop told Sputnik.

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Rosoboronexport: Pioneering NEW DEFENSE VENTURES with Global South

The Russian state arms exporter told Sputnik it is in talks with partners across Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East and the CIS on more than 100 cutting-edge defense projects.

Rosoboronexport’s technological cooperation with Global South nations on products for all types of armed forces boasts a potential of over $30 billion.

Projects focus on:

🟠Small arms and ammunition

🟠Advanced air defense systems

🟠Multi-purpose helicopters, including the Ka-226T

🟠Su-57E fighter jets and aircraft engines

🟠State-of-the-art air-to-air missiles

🟠UAVs like the Orlan-10E, Orlan-30 and Orion-E and next-generation loitering munitions such as the Kub series. Electronic warfare technology to down enemy drones

Rosoboronexport hosted talks with a number of delegations at the recent International Latin American Exhibition of Aviation and Defense Systems LAAD 2025, hosted by Brazil from April 1 to 4.

Discussions focused on the joint production of Russian defense products, with a stress on manufacturing in partner countries.

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How to treat Russophobia?

Head of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has a magic pill on that score …Or even six.

1️⃣ORESHNIK

This “Powerful Multicomponent Tranquilizer” is a cutting-edge, nuclear-capable intermediate-range hypersonic missile with a blistering Mach 12 speed.

It can reach key NATO targets in Europe in record time.

2️⃣SARMAT

The “Nuclear Neuroleptic” is a silo-launched, liquid-fueled ICBM that can toss nuclear or conventional warheads over 18,000 km, with both ballistic and maneuvering flight paths said to evade any current missile defense system.

3️⃣YARS

With a range of 12,000 km and three or four independently targeted warheads of 200kt yield, it delivers multiple hits in a single launch.

Road-mobile or silo-based, it's the core of Russia’s strategic forces.

4️⃣KALIBR

The “Strong Sedative” is armed with a 400 to 500 kg warhead, boasting a 2,500 km range and maximum speed up of up to Mach 3. It flies low, hugging terrain to dodge enemy radars.

5️⃣ONIKS

A ramjet-powered anti-ship cruise missile with 200 to 300 kg semi-armor piercing HE or thermonuclear warhead, it boasts up to 800 km range and Mach 2.9 max speed. Its predecessor, the P-700 Granit, was a Soviet-era missile with limited AI capability.

6️⃣ISKANDER

The mobile missile system delivers deadly strikes on enemy targets at more than 500 km.

Iskander-M packs high-precision ballistic missiles, while its sibling the Iskander-K launches cruise missiles that hug the terrain.

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⚡️ Trump THREATENS China with ADDITIONAL tariffs of 50% starting April 9.

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Alex Ovechkin: A PROUD RUSSIAN in Washington

New NHL goal record breaker is the MOST BASED Russian you can imagine.

Let us explain why:

▪️After the historic match, Ovechkin thanked the Russians who supported him."I'm sure they're celebrating in Russia now because the Russian man is the number one goal scorer in the world," he said.

▪️Alex Ovechkin, who has played 20 years in the NHL, does not have US citizenship - ONLY Russian. He holds a US green card.

▪️After his NHL career ends, Ovi plans to return to Russia with his family. "Because we miss home, our family, our friends," he said.

▪️The 'Russian Machine' has known President Putin for years. A well-known hockey fan, Putin trusted Ovi during multiple election campaigns, and Ovi also founded the "Putin Team" movement and brand."

▪️Ovechkin's sons attend a Russian school in Washington, speak Russian at home, and are generally growing up within the framework of Russian culture.

▪️Ovi has won international tournaments multiple times as part of the Russian national hockey team and was even the team captain. He always wears the Russian uniform and carries the flag with pride.

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The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) marks the 11th anniversary of its declaration of independence today.

Eleven years ago, amid the political turmoil in Ukraine following the Euromaidan coup in Kiev, the people of Donetsk, opposing the new authorities, declared the Donetsk People's Republic – a pivotal moment in their history.

To commemorate the day, DPR Head Denis Pushilin led an excursion for the children of Donbass defenders, offering them an opportunity to learn about the events of April 2014.

The tour included stops at key locations like Government House square, where discussions focused on the significant events of April 6-7, 2014.

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💸📉Tariffs and debt bubble signal potential slide toward GREAT DEPRESSION

“We are at the top of a huge, great debt and credit bubble. And that's very, very similar to the situation in the late 1920s,” independent economist Alasdair Macleod told Sputnik, commenting on the parallels between the modern world and global finances a century ago.

“In 1930, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was signed into law by President Hoover. It was the combination of the credit bubble bursting, plus the effect of the tariffs, which imposed a minimum tariff of 20% on all US imports that led to the collapse of the stock market and the Depression,” Macleod warned.

In some ways, the situation today is “even worse,” according to the observer, “because the bubble is far bigger than we saw in 1929. And not only that, but Trump’s tariffs are far worse than Smoot-Hawley because it’s on top of earlier tariffs.”

Who will blink first?

“Every rally, however sharp (and bear market rallies tend to be very aggressive) gets met with another wave of selling, telling us that the leverage community and indeed others, the more long-term players, are still looking to exit positions,” ADM Investor Services chief economist Marc Ostwald said.

The situation is characterized by hopes that one of three power players: big banks, the Fed or the administration will intervene to return stability, Ostwald told Sputnik, with an infusion of mobilized bank capital, an emergency rate cut by the Fed, or a decision to relent by Trump needed to arrest the volatility.

The problem, Ostwald says, is there are no signs by Trump of readiness to back down, while the Fed is “not sure where the greatest threat lies…inflation or that businesses basically shut up shops, stop hiring people, start laying people off, stop making orders or something else?”

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🏒Ovechkin vs. Gretzky: A puck-powered career comparison

Check out our infographic to see how their careers unfolded – as Ovechkin becomes the NHL’s all-time top scorer, breaking Wayne Gretzky's record! 🥅

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💸Why Trump’s tariffs could kick DEDOLLARIZATION into high gear

“We can expect TURMOIL TO CONTINUE even while the markets get used to that turmoil and it becomes the NEW NORMAL,” veteran financial analyst Paul Goncharoff says, commenting on the chaos in the markets in the wake of President Trump’s crushing new tariff salvo.

“We will still have inflation, recession will visit us all, hard assets will replace soft money, dedollarization may in fact quicken, and the heightened military tension we see around us will not fully disappear until some understanding between the China and America contingents are reached,” the Goncharoff LCC director says.

“There are two players at the high table – China and the United States. The surrounding noisy gaggle of countries are important yet in fact secondary players. We are watching the geopolitical and economic world as we knew it being re-routed in very short order – in days and not decades,” Goncharoff explains.

As for the tariffs, Goncharoff believes Trump’s denoscription of them as “medicine” is probably the most apt. Whether it actually helps the “disease” is “still an open question,” the observer sums up.


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🐰 Sweden hatches plan: No eggs for the US this Easter

With egg consumption doubling in Sweden over Easter, the US is left scrambling—literally, Swedis egg industry association Svenska Ägg told the media.

Egg prices soared in the US following a bird flu outbreak and cull, making them the most expensive in the G20 this March. Last year, Australia held the top spot for pricey eggs.

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Trump hosts Netanyahu in Washington

The Israeli prime minister becomes the FIRST foreign leader to meet the US president since his inauguration.

The visit comes amid changes in US trade policy. Netanyahu is reportedly planning to discuss tariffs during the trip.

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🇷🇺✈️ Untold story of Western military and aerospace systems with a Russian twist

UK media were enraged to learn of plans to replace the RAF Red Arrows’ British-built Hawk T1 jets with the M-346, an advanced trainer developed by Russia’s Yakovlev and Italy’s Aermacchi in the 90s out of the Yak-130.

Ex-RAF instructor Tim Davies told The Sun replacing the Hawk with a plane based on a Russian design would border on ‘treason.’ He would likely be horrified to learn that a whole array of Western weapons and aerospace products were created jointly with Russia, or on the basis of Soviet and Russian designs:

🔶Mistral: A Russian-French collab taking a French amphibious assault ship and adapting it to integrate Russian weaponry, comms, and C&C systems, and to carry Ka-52 assault helicopters. The deal was scrapped by Paris in 2015, but the two Mistrals originally meant for Russia were sold to Egypt, complete with complements of Ka-52s.

🔶Mil Mi-17: Sturdy and reliable utility helicopters that NATO fell in love in with after its invasion of Afghanistan. NATO forces and allies adapted the choppers to include Western avionics, GPS, radar, thermal imaging, targeting pods and secure comms, armor kits, and even weapons like M134 miniguns and FN Herstal 7.62mm door guns.

🔶RD-180 rocket engines: Derived from the Soviet Energia heavy lift launch vehicle, these efficient, ultra-reliable Russian engines were created in the 2000s for use by the US Atlas III and V launch vehicles. Fast forward to 2025, and while new purchases of RD-180s has been stopped, the US still has a stock of them for the launch of critical national security-related equipment into orbit.

🔶F-35B jets: The STOVL variant of the US military’s troubled F-35 was developed from the Yak-141, a Soviet carrier-based fighter design with thrust-vectoring engine, vertical lift fan and vectorable exhaust nozzle tech. Lockheed Martin bought Yak-141 blueprints in the 1990s, adopting them for use in the new plane.

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From Game of Thrones to reality: Dire wolves, extinct 12,000 years ago, 'resurrected'

Colossal Biosciences, a US biotech startup, has resurrected the prehistoric dire wolf made famous in Game of Thrones.

Extinct for over 12,000 years, the massive predators are back.

To bring them back, Colossal took DNA samples from a 72,000-year-old skull in Idaho and a 13,000-year-old tooth in Ohio.

After editing gray wolf cells with 20 genetic changes for size, muscles and white fur, they implanted them into dog egg cells, using large hound mixes as surrogates.

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📊How much did European 'independence' from Russian energy really cost?

According to our estimates, the European Union has paid around €1.3 trillion ($1.42 trillion) for its illusory 'freedom'.

For more details, check out Sputnik’s infographic

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🔸 Tariffs and debt bubble signal potential slide toward GREAT DEPRESSION

🔸 Why Trump’s tariffs could kick DEDOLLARIZATION into high gear

🔸 Untold story of Western military and aerospace systems with a Russian twist

🔸 G4S mercs guarding Zelensky: Private army or branch of SAS and MI6 securing West’s interests in Ukraine?

🔸 Rosoboronexport: Pioneering NEW DEFENSE VENTURES with Global South

🔸 Alex Ovechkin: A PROUD RUSSIAN in Washington

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Want 100 tons of live Siamese crocodiles? 🐊

A Shenzhen court is auctioning off crocs confiscated from a debt-ridden company. Starting bid: 4 million yuan ($550,000). But you’ll need a license and have to pick them up yourself! 🏷

The crocodiles were owned by a company once led by a businessman nicknamed the “Crocodile God” – yes, really. They were seized after the company failed to meet its financial obligations, and now they’re up for liquidation through the Alibaba Judicial Auction website.

If you're interested, you'll need a license for breeding aquatic animals and specialized vehicles for transporting the massive reptilian gang.

Oh, and don’t forget the 300K yuan ($41,000) deposit! 😅

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❗️ Trump: US and Iran have direct talks

"On Saturday, we have a very big meeting, and we'll see what can happen. I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious," the US president told reporters during joint press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu.

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🇵🇸 Trump: Gaza should be a 'safe field'

"Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world... [Israel] gave it away for good intention, and it didn't work out that way... It's a dangerous death trap, Gaza," Trump added.

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☢️ US-Iran talks: What is known so far?

Donald Trump announced direct negotiations with the Iranian side at "almost the highest level" this Saturday.

🔶 NYT journalist Farnaz Fassihi reported that the meeting will take place in Oman and will be indirect, citing Iranian officials.

🔶 Tehran has previously ruled out direct talks with Washington under threats and pressure, but has left the door open for indirect negotiations.

🔶 Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia, China and Iran will hold talks on Iran's nuclear program in Moscow tomorrow.

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'Almost 70 countries approached us' — Bessent

US Treasury Secretary said the review of Trump's tariffs will take up to two months, with some countries like Japan being given priority.

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