📹Russian delegation leaves venue after second round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul

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🚨 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the recently concluded Russia-Ukraine delegation meeting in Istanbul excellent.

Turkiye plans to push for a leaders' summit after Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, says Erdogan.

He’s also hoping to host Putin, Trump, and Zelensky together on Turkish soil.

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🗣Russia-Ukraine talks, round 2: Kiev's 'memorandum' is ULTIMATUM dressed as diplomacy

💬 “Their memorandum, which looks like an absolutely unacceptable ultimatum to Russia” essentially demands surrender and retreat. In these circumstances, “any results on fundamental issues of war and peace in the near future look very, very illusory,” SVR Lt. Gen. (ret) Leonid Reshetnikov told Sputnik, commenting on the outcome of Monday’s Istanbul peace negotiations.

Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russia’s strategic deterrent on the eve of the talks further signal that the Kiev regime, backed by the Europeans and “to a certain extent by the US, is set on continuing the war,” Reshetnikov said.

Focus on what’s realistic

At the same time, while “it is impossible to resolve fundamental issues with the Kiev regime for now, we can resolve issues that affect the fate of people, our soldiers and civilians, children,” the observer emphasized.

💬 “In order to avoid completely losing the thread of the negotiation process, we are proposing very specific things that are very necessary. Because the fate of each person, no matter if he or she is alive, seriously ill, or dead, must be resolved. This was the point of this second round,” Reshetnikov said, referring to the agreement on an exchange of bodies and the new large-scale prisoner exchange that were agreed.

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🚨Before the Russia-Ukraine delegation talks, the delegations' heads - Medinsky and Umerov - held a bilateral meeting lasting 2.5 hours, a source told Sputnik.

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🚨Trump’s Ukraine hot potato: US fears Russia-China alliance more than Zelensky's defeat

Retired SVR Lt. Gen. Leonid Reshetnikov decodes US double game amid Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul.

🗣“For Trump, the main goal is to avoid completely ruining relations with Russia, because Trump is very afraid of the powerful rapprochement between Russia and China, the establishment of allied relations,” the observer told Sputnik.

Trump’s main concern is confronting China, not saving Kiev, hence he’s trapped between pressing Russia for concessions and trying to avoid a breakdown that would cement Moscow’s place alongside China, according to Reshetnikov.

🗣“Trump wants to get rid of this Ukrainian case – this suitcase without a handle. But on the other hand, he cannot simply give up, realizing that a Russian advantage will again lead to a situation he wants to avoid – strengthening Russia’s position as a partner and ally of China.”

The difficulties go even deeper, Reshetnikov says, since the US can no longer commit 100% to supporting Ukraine even if it wants to, given economic problems at home, and Washington’s increasingly rocky relations with the Europeans.

👉Caught between a rock and a hard place, “the Americans will maneuver like this for some time, but won’t abandon Ukraine completely,” the observer says.

Russia can expect further US pressure, and so can Zelensky, who is increasingly coming to depend more on the UK, France and Germany for support anyway.

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🦸‍♂️Heroic train driver saved hundreds in Bryansk tragedy

Train driver Pavel Mishin sacrificed himself to save hundreds of passengers when a bridge collapsed on June 1 in Russia's Bryansk Region.

Spotting the sabotage, he slammed the emergency brakes and ordered his assistant to safety, slowing the train before the crash.

Seven died and nearly 100 were injured, but Mishin’s quick actions prevented a far worse disaster.

Russian Railways honors his courage and will support his family, including special benefits and education aid for his children.

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🔥Russian tanks take a beating — and keep rolling

💬 "Russian tanks show better combat resilience than Western models used by Ukraine," reports Rostec, Russia’s state corporation for defense technology.

Even after multiple anti-tank hits, they stay battle-ready.

The upgraded T-80BVM boasts an enhanced 125mm gun, a more powerful turbine engine and multi-layered armor with drone defense “mangals.”

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🪖 Ukraine risks Trump’s wrath if it snubs Russia’s humanitarian ceasefire idea

Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of research at the Russian Council on Foreign & Defense Policy, breaks down the key takeaways from Monday’s Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, including one Russian proposal he finds particularly clever.

💬 “Trump wants a ceasefire, everyone is talking about a ceasefire, so Russia is proposing a humanitarian ceasefire. Not the [30 day] kind that Ukraine and Europe insist on, which would be used by Ukraine’s military to regroup, and pump the armed forces up with weapons, but a humanitarian ceasefire,” Suslov told Sputnik.

“It’s impossible to fundamentally improve one’s positions on the battlefield in two days. But the humanitarian effect would be immense,” according to the observer. Specifically:

🔸 Ukraine’s military would get the opportunity to recover its dead.

🔸 Russian troops wouldn’t have to encounter decomposing corpses and face threats of infections and epidemics.

If Ukraine refuses, it will risk angering Trump, Suslov pointed out.

Best possible outcome

Monday’s humanitarian issue-focused negotiations were basically “the best possible results possible in the current conditions, when the positions of the two sides fundamentally diverge,” and especially so given Ukrainian attempts to sabotage the talks.

With Ukraine insisting on a 30-day ceasefire, rejecting demilitarization or a freeze in mobilization, and rejecting any restrictions on military cooperation with NATO, the humanitarian track was the only one where agreements could be reached, proving that Russia is interested in the diplomatic track, Suslov said.

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🚨 TARIFF WAR brewing again? China accuses US of breaching trade truce

🇨🇳 China’s Ministry of Commerce slammed the US on Monday for provoking fresh trade frictions and violating hard-won consensus from the Geneva economic talks — all while accusing China of doing the same.

🔸 China says it followed through: scrapping tariffs, honoring agreements, and acting in “good faith.”

🔸 Meanwhile, the US tightened microchip export controls, cut China's access to key tech tools like EDA software and even cancelled visas for Chinese students.

Beijing calls it a clear breach of the January 17 presidential call and the Geneva consensus, accusing Washington of double standards and destabilizing ties.

If the US continues to harm China's interests, China will take measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, MOFCOM warned.

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🔸 What Russia and Ukraine agreed on in Istanbul during round 2 of talks

🔸 Russia-Ukraine talks, round 2: Kiev's 'memorandum' is ULTIMATUM dressed as diplomacy

🔸 Key points from the Russian memorandum on Ukrainian settlement

🔸 Trump’s Ukraine hot potato: US fears Russia-China alliance more than Zelensky's defeat

🔸 UK SHIFTS TO WAR FOOTING: Starmer announces Britain moving to 'WAR-FIGHTING READINESS'

🔸 Poland’s new Prez Nawrocki: Not your typical pro-Ukraine hero

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