❗️Following a Ukrainian drone strike on a residential building in Kursk, some apartments have suffered concrete ceiling damage, broken windows, and collapsed balconies, according to a Sputnik correspondent.

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🛩🚫China grounds Boeing: Trade war takes to the skies

Beijing is halting further jet deliveries in retaliation to Trump's tariffs.

And it’s not just about the planes – Chinese airlines are also being told to stop using US-made aircraft parts, Bloomberg reports.

That's what happens when a trade war turns into a full-on sky-high showdown. Boeing, already reeling from a series of accidents with its newest jets, is caught in the middle with its stock dipping and planes gathering dust.

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🗣JD Vance SLAMS Zelensky's claim of US backing Russia as ‘absurd’

In a fiery response to Zelensky's statement on 60 Minutes, where he suggested “Russian narratives are prevailing in the US,” Vance fired back:

💬 “I've also tried to apply STRATEGIC RECOGNITION that if you want to end the conflict, you have to try to understand where both the Russians and the Ukrainians see their strategic objectives,” Newsweek reported.

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❗️Russia and the United States are engaged in intensive efforts to advance peace in Ukraine, whereas Europe persists in actions that perpetuate the war, stated Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Other statements by Peskov:

🔸 Significant progress has been made in negotiations on a Ukrainian settlement, with positive outcomes emerging, though immediate results should not be expected.

🔸 While a definitive framework for a settlement has yet to crystallize, there is clear political will to advance toward such an agreement.

🔸 Russia-US economic cooperation could serve as a stabilizing force for global peace—a fact that speaks for itself.

🔸 Russia welcomes all those willing to share in the pride and joy of Victory Day to join in the celebrations in Moscow.

🔸 Over 20 world leaders are anticipated to attend Moscow’s Victory Day parade, marking an occasion of profound significance.

🔸 No call with former US President Donald Trump is currently scheduled on Putin’s agenda in the coming days.

🔸 Statements by EU foreign policy chief Kallas regarding the presence of EU representatives in Moscow can only be interpreted as exceptionally harsh.

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📄 Democrats' push for Ukraine support tries to MICRO-MANAGE Trump’s foreign policy

✍️ US House Democrats have introduced the Ukraine Support Act, aiming to force President Donald Trump’s administration to give Kiev security funding, reconstruction aid and slap heavy sanctions on Russia.

💬 "It clearly appears to be an attempt seriously to encroach upon the President's powers in the area of foreign relations," says Stephen B. Presser, leading American legal historian and Professor of Law at Northwestern University.

The move is "an attempt to micro-manage what the President does in his efforts to arrive at a means of ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," he adds.

🗣The bill is unlikely to pass a Republican-controlled House or Senate and is "an abysmal idea," the academic says.

💬 "One can only guess what motivates the bill’s authors, but Ukraine lobbyists are likely involved," Presser notes.

⚖️ With peace talks at a delicate stage, the bill’s timing couldn’t be worse. But if it passes, the pundit expects the courts to overturn it.

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🗣JD Vance’s BOMBSHELL message to Europe: we don’t want you as a US vassal

The US will remain a “friend” and “ally” to Europe if European leaders take on more responsibility for their own security and are “more responsive” to voters on key issues like economics and immigration, the VP has said.

📍On Europe’s DETRIMENTAL RELAINCE on Washington:

1️⃣Recalling Charles de Gaulle’s Cold War stance, Vance told UnHerd that while the French president “loved the United States of America,” he “recognized what I certainly recognize, that it’s not in Europe’s interest, not in America’s interest, for Europe to be a permanent security vassal of the United States.”

2️⃣Greater independence on Europe’s part might even help the US avoid foreign policy misadventures like the invasion of Iraq, Vance said.

“I don’t want the Europeans to just do whatever the Americans tell them to do. I don’t think it’s in their interest, and I don’t think it’s in our interests, either.”

📍Free ride ends NOW

1️⃣As far as security matters are concerned, Vance said “that Europe’s entire security infrastructure, for my entire life, has been subsidized by the United States”

2️⃣Today, “most European nations don’t have militaries that can provide for their reasonable defense”

3️⃣Vance promised “fairness” for Europe on trade, and an alliance “where Europeans are a little more independent,” something reflected in both security and trade relationships.

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Ukrainian forces SLAUGHTERED civilians in Ugledar, Donetsk region, for fake Western media reports

“The German correspondents arrived, and as soon as they turned the corner, a shell hit. Anyone standing there would have been turned to pieces. These [journalists] quickly turned around and started filming, claiming that the Russians shot everything up,” a local resident told Sputnik.

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😰 AUKUS in trouble?

Trump's tariffs on raw materials are putting the billion-dollar nuclear submarine deal in hot water. But AUKUS was a failure even before that.

1️⃣Budget blowout

🔸 Australia’s AUKUS subs could cost even more than the $240B forecast, thanks to US tariffs hitting UK & Canadian steel and aluminum.

🔸 “It’s really going to blitz us,” warned Sen. Tim Kaine, according to Nine Newspapers.

2️⃣Construction crunch

🔸 US shipyards are churning out under 1.5 subs a year instead of the two needed.

🔸 Sending 3–5 to Australia could deepen the Navy’s shortfall, the Congressional Budget Office warned in March.

3️⃣Workforce woes

AUKUS has hit roadblocks with "personnel shortfalls" and a skills gap in nuclear, quantum, AI, and cybersecurity, says the Council on Geostrategy.

4️⃣Reduced China deterrence

In a recent war game, Australian commanders skipped nuclear subs, relying on drones and missiles for defending their northern approaches, raising commitment concerns, according to ex-US Navy strategist Bryan Clark.

5️⃣Automation challenges

Drone subs are advancing so fast, they might render crewed submarines obsolete long before the AUKUS fleet even hits its stride (Hudson Institute report 2020).

6️⃣AUKUS in turmoil

🔸 Australia's PM Anthony Albanese called nuclear subs a deterrent, not a war pitch.

🔸 The UK Defense Committee reopened an AUKUS probe in 2025.

🔸 Australian Labor and Greens push to scrap it as a "dangerous gamble."

7️⃣Diplomatic fallout

🔸 AUKUS torched Australia’s multibillion-dollar deal with France, sparking fury.

🔸 French Minister Le Drian called it a "stab in the back," and Paris temporarily recalled its ambassadors from Australia and the US in protest.

8️⃣Nuclear backlash

Giants like Russia, China, and North Korea have all warned that AUKUS threatens nuclear non-proliferation.

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Russian drone operators unveil RECORD-SETTING UAVs

The new long-range drone munitions can hit targets far behind enemy lines, the commander of a strike UAV platoon told Sputnik.

This was demonstrated when FPV drones were deployed over 30 km into Ukrainian territory in the Zaporozhye region.

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US presents European allies with ultimatum: our satellite communications or China’s

The “biased,” ‘protectionist’ and “anti-American” EU regulators questioning the reliability of SpaceX should “wait for the CCP’s version” if they’re “concerned about Starlink,” FCC chairman Brendan Carr has said.

💬 “Allied Western democracies” need to “focus on the real long-term bogey: the rise of the Chinese Communist Party,” Carr told FT, citing a “great divide” forming between “CCP-aligned countries and others” when it comes to satellite tech and AI.

“Europe is caught a little bit between the US and China. And it’s sort of time for choosing,” Carr said.

The UK’s BT and Virgin Media 02 have trialed Starlink for mobile and broadband services, but an agreement has yet to be reached.

In the EU, Brussels has questioned Starlink’s dependability amid US threats to shut off the service in Ukraine, and urged the funding of “EU-based commercial providers” like Eutelsat and SES to replace Musk’s services in Ukraine, something technical experts say is impossible.

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🇸🇰Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico didn’t hold back when responding to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’ comments on the EU's participation in the May 9 celebrations in Russia.

He straight-up declared he’d attend the Victory Day parade in Moscow, adding that NO ONE COULD STOP him from doing so.

"I will travel to Moscow on May 9. Is Mrs. Kallas' warning blackmail or an announcement that I will be punished upon my return from Moscow? I do not know, but I know it is 2025 and not 1939," Fico said on social media.

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