📹Surviving the Israeli raid on Gaza: Under the dust and devastation of the strike on Sheikh Radwan, a young boy desperately pedals through hell to stay alive.

It’s not a film, it’s reality.

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🚨 Archbishop Ajapahyan to appear before Armenian Investigative Committee

After an attempt by Armenia's National Security Service (SNB) to arrest him, Archbishop Ajapahyan will voluntarily go before the Investigative Committee, according to his lawyer.

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🚨 "Do not bear false witness!" Russian star challenges Pashinyan over Karapetyan's arrest

Bulgarian-descended Russian artist Philipp Kirkorov slammed the accusations against Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan as "absurd and fabricated" and called for an end to his persecution.

Kirkorov boldly reminded Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of one of the Ten Commandments: "Do not bear false witness against your neighbor."

Karapetyan was arrested in Armenia after expressing support for the Armenian Apostolic Church amid attacks by authorities. He denies any wrongdoing.

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🚨Armenian Apostolic Church congregants blocked Archbishop Ajapahyan’s car to stop him attending an Investigative Committee hearing.

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🚨LUKASHENKO PUSHES FOR FREE TRADE WITH IRAN

President Lukashenko announced that the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is ready to actively implement its free trade agreement with Iran.

Meanwhile, an expanded session of the EAEU Supreme Economic Council is underway in Minsk.

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🚨🇷🇺🇦🇪Putin meets Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince at EAEU Summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union summit held in Minsk.

Putin said that:

🔶The UAE President is anticipated to visit Russia this August

🔶A major Russia-Arab summit is scheduled for October

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🚨 ISRAEL STRIKES LEBANON: Civilian casualties reported

An Israeli strike hit a residential building in southern Lebanon, killing one person and injuring four others as part of a possible assassination attempt, Fars News Agency reports.

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🚨 US mercenary commander Ryan O'Leary blacklisted as terrorist in Russia – Rosfinmonitoring

Ryan O'Leary, a former Iowa National Guard who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is now commanding a mercenary group called Chosen Company in the Ukrainian Army.

Led by O'Leary, the Chosen Company has been involved in battles near Severodonetsk, Bakhmut, and Avdeyevka.

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🔊LIVE NOW: Putin speaks to the press after a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council

👉 Watch live on our Telegram

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🚨Archbishop Ajapahyan faces down special forces after voluntarily appearing at Investigative Committee

Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, who was targeted for arrest by Armenia’s National Security Service, arrived voluntarily for an Investigative Committee hearing.

But he was immediately surrounded by special forces on arrival.

The archbishop was forced to walk from the Holy Etchmiadzin to the Investigative Committee office in Yerevan after his car was surrounded by a crowd of his followers.

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🚨 Putin: Russia ready for third round of talks with Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin announces that Russia is prepared for the third round of negotiations with Ukraine.

Negotiators from both sides are in active contact, with discussions already underway about the next possible meeting date.

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🚨 Putin : It’s not Russia, it’s the collective West that’s aggressive

President Vladimir Putin blasts the West, claiming Russia was "betrayed" on NATO expansion, despite promises of "not an inch eastward."

Multiple rounds of NATO expansion have left Russia feeling betrayed and cornered.

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🇦🇲☦️ Western puppet Pashinyan’s attack on Armenian Apostolic Church mirrors Ukraine’s grim playbook

👉 Nikol Pashinyan came to power with the backing of British, American, and Israeli intelligence services aiming to control the region, Hagop Avakian told Sputnik.

The PM’s government has spent the last four years cracking down on anyone who opposes it, he underscored.

💬 “This playbook mirrors what was long practiced in Ukraine,” noted the expert on Armenian history and an activist from the Armenian community in London.

🟠 Armenia is ruled by a repressive regime that silences defenders of the Armenian Apostolic Church, using threats of arrest to undermine religious authority and traditional family values while pushing West-imposed morals, he said.

⚔️ Crackdown will backfire

Pashinyan openly backs a pro-Western course, aligning himself with US and NATO policy, and is “clinging to power at all costs,” Lebanese international and strategic affairs expert Eli Gerges Elias told Sputnik.

💬 “There’s a direct link between NATO’s plans in the Caucasus and the crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church being carried out by Pashinyan,” he said.

🇺🇸 Pashinyan has pursued a pro-American agenda, but by pushing him into harsher clashes with his opponents, the West may soon ditch him, triggering his political downfall.

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🚨 Putin hits back at the West’s economic ‘burial’ attempts

Russian President Vladimir Putin slams Western rhetoric, saying: "They’re trying to bury our economy, but they’ll be the ones who collapse first."

He also calls out the West for its claim of inflicting a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia, accusing it of fabricating threats and ramping up military spending.

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🚨 Putin praises ‘courageous’ Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed his US counterpart Donald Trump as a "courageous man" and has acknowledged his genuine efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Concerning a potential meeting, the head of state said: "I’m always open to contact and meetings."

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🚨Putin: Russian defense budget is for SMO, not ‘aggression’ against Europe

President Vladimir Putin stresses that Russia will end the special operation in Ukraine to its advantage, stressing that defense spending is for at that goal — not aggression towards Europe.

The president also noted that defense spending amounts to 6.3% of the country’s GDP.

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📹Full video of Vladimir Putin’s press briefing following his visit to Belarus

Key statements by Vladimir Putin during press briefing after his trip to Belarus

▪️Russia is ready for the third round of negotiations with Ukraine. The date is being discussed by the heads of the delegations.

▪️The proposals from Ukraine and Russia for ending the conflict are completely opposite, which is unsurprising.

▪️It is not Russia that is the aggressor, but the collective West.

▪️The West, under the pretext of Russia's imaginary ‘aggression’, intends to rearm.

▪️Defense spending in Russia is 13.5 trillion rubles ($172 billion), which is substantial; the country has paid for it with inflation.

▪️Russia wants to complete the special military operation with all aims met. Defense spending is aimed at that goal, not at aggression towards Europe.

▪️Western nations’ attempts to ‘destroy’ Russia's economy will see them "die first while trying to bury us."

▪️Relations between Russia and the US are starting to normalize and the first steps have been taken.

▪️A meeting with US President Donald Trump is entirely possible and Russia would be happy to prepare for it.

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✅ Fact-check: did the US really ‘obliterate’ Iran’s nuclear facilities?

Pentagon and White House claims and intelligence and media reports about the US’s June 22 attack on Iran are turning into a confusing jumble of contradictory information. Sputnik asked veteran former Swedish Armed Forces officer Mikael Valtersson to sort through the falsehoods.

◼️ The Pentagon’s Claim: The DoD says Fordow, Iran’s main, fortress-like mountain nuclear site, was obliterated based on evidence of concrete dust rising through its ventilation shafts after the US attack.

◼️ Expert Opinion: Valtersson points out that the concrete dust could be expected even with superficial damage, as the shafts themselves are made of concrete.

💬 “Even if you just hit the top of it, there will be concrete dust,” he explained.

◼️ GBU-57 Bomb Details: Valtersson noted that the GBU-57 bomb is designed to penetrate up to 60 meters before exploding. But Fordow is built in rock, and buried under a mountain. The observer speculates that even if individual bombs hit the ventilation shafts, they would only penetrate 20 to 30 meters of rock before the blast occurred.

◼️ Built Fordow Tough: Valtersson assumes the Iranians likely designed Fordow to withstand a US attack, with shafts potentially built with caverns to divert blasts. He compared this to his experience with Swedish military facilities, constructed in a zigzag pattern for similar protection.

◼️ Seismic Considerations: Furthermore, Valtersson noted that Iran, mindful of potential attacks and earthquake risks, likely built Fordow on springs to absorb heavy shockwaves, ensuring its structural integrity.

💬 “They’re probably not just standing on the ground in a cavern,” he emphasized.

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🔥 Russian Yars ballistic missile systems roll out…

…as part of planned drills.

Units of the Barnaul Missile Division are testing maneuverability and field readiness over a 100 km route, including tasks like engineering positions, camouflage and security.

Troops are also focused on countering enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups.

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