💥Zelensky BETS ALL on holding capital to cling to power

Volodymyr Zelensky’s political survival strategy means he could abandon southern fronts just to keep his grip on Kiev, British political analyst Alexander Mercouris speculates.

If Zelensky loses Ukraine’s capital, this would put him on the brink, leaving him “ultimately depending solely on the continued support of the West which can no longer be taken for granted," he says.

➡️Zelensky’s mandate expired back on May 20, 2024, but elections were scrapped under the cover of martial law and full mobilization.

US President Donald Trump branded Zelensky a "dictator without elections" and claimed his approval rating had plummeted to just 4%.

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🇷🇺🌍RUSSIA-AFRICA VALDAI CONFERENCE KICKS OFF IN PRETORIA

The 3rd Russia-Africa Valdai Conference is set to begin today, focusing on "Realpolitik in a Divided World: Rethinking Ties Between Russia and South Africa." Experts and political figures from across Africa and Russia will join to discuss critical global issues.

📍 Who’s attending?

🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
🇷🇺 Russia
🇿🇦 South Africa
🇹🇿 Tanzania

🎯 Key conference goals

🟠 Strengthening Russian-African expert networks
🟠 Facilitating confidential dialogues on global challenges
🟠 Developing actionable foreign policy recommendations

The one-day event will feature an opening session and four thematic panels, covering topics such as:

🟠 The strategic role of the G20 and BRICS in a changing world order
🟠 Humanitarian cooperation & historical memory in Russia’s relations with Africa
🟠 Bilateral relations between Russia and South Africa
🟠 Trump and the future of world order

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🎥🎥 WATCH: Russian FM Lavrov speaks at the Territory of Meanings Forum

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🇹🇭⚡️🇰🇭THAILAND & CAMBODIA BEGIN CEASEFIRE TALKS WITH MALAYSIAN MEDIATION

A closed meeting between the leaders of the three countries began at 3:15 p.m. local time (07:15 GMT) at Seri Perdana, the official residence of Malaysia’s prime minister in Kuala Lumpur, The Star newspaper reported

US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard Kagan and Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing are also present at the meeting as observers.

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🚨LAVROV: US-EU ENERGY DEAL WILL KILL EUROPEAN INDUSTRY

By buying $750B worth of overpriced US energy resources, the EU is crippling itself — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warns:

👉American fuels cost far more than Russian

👉European industry will bleed dry

👉Investments will flow to the US

👉Agriculture will not be spared

Figures like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen openly boast about following that path, Lavrov notes.

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🚨THAILAND & CAMBODIA AGREE TO CEASEFIRE WITHIN 24 HOURS

Malaysia’s PM announced the breakthrough after hosting high-stakes talks in Kuala Lumpur.

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🇭🇺💸❌Hungary’s Orban slams EU budget built on LOGIC OF WAR

This budget is about a European Union that is at war with Russia, fighting Russia on Ukrainian territory, and craves pulling off a “change of power” in Russia, Hungary’s prime minister says.

“20% of these funds is for Ukraine, and what remains is to be funneled into preparations for war," he argues.
Hungary, however, has no interest in a war budget, Viktor Orban stressed.

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🚨 Wake up or be wiped out: French minister slams US-EU trade deal

👉 The trade agreement negotiated between the US and European Union is unbalanced and unsustainable, warns Benjamin Haddad, minister delegate for European affairs at the French Foreign Ministry.

The US has opted for “economic coercion and complete disregard for WTO rules,” he claims on X, adding:
“We must quickly draw the necessary conclusions or risk being wiped out.”

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🔊 Russia awaits Ukraine’s response as Turkiye brokers peace talks – Kremlin

📍 Key updates from Kremlin spox Dmitry Peskov:

🟧 Istanbul talks – Russia proposes working groups, awaits Kiev’s reply

🟧 Erdogan’s role – no Putin-Erdogan meeting yet, but "can be arranged within hours if necessary"

🟧 Turkiye’s mediation – Moscow praises Ankara’s efforts in facilitating negotiations

🟧 Putin-Trump meeting – no plans yet, but if the US president decides to visit China while Putin is there, a meeting cannot be ruled out

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🚨THROWBACK: "Trump will bring order, and soon they’ll be sitting at their master’s feet, gently wagging their tails"

That’s how Vladimir Putin described, back in February, the way European leaders would behave under Trump.

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🗣 Ukraine is just a tool for the West’s strategic war against Russia — Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Ukraine conflict is not a unique crisis but a key part of the West’s long-term plan to strategically defeat Russia.

He argued that the West has been preparing the scenario for years—and is no longer hiding it.

Here are his key remarks from the ‘Territory of Meanings’ forum:

🔶 European leaders genuinely want to defeat Russia—this is confirmed daily

🔶 Unlike during the Cold War, there is no mutual respect left—Europe is in a state of hysteria

🔶 For the first time in history, Russia faces the West without allies—it must rely solely on itself

🔶 The next decade will be turbulent due to new global threats, including NATO's expansion into Japan and the deepening US presence in the Asia-Pacific

🔶 Trump is a pragmatist who does not want war—he’s open to dialogue, unlike the previous US administration

🔶 The US-EU trade deal will lead to Europe’s deindustrialization

🔶 Russia remains open to dialogue with all countries — including those of Europe

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIA'S MOD UPDATE: HUGE GAINS & DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES

⚡️ BOYKOVKA & BELGIYKA (DPR) LIBERATED

◻️ Russia’s Armed Forces struck deployment areas of Ukrainian forces and foreign mercenaries in 139 districts

◻️ During a nighttime operation, Russian forces conducted a coordinated strike, which included the use of Kinzhal missiles, on a Ukrainian military airfield and an ammunition depot.

◻️ Heavy Ukrainian losses: 1,340 soldiers over the past day

◻️ Air defense superiority: Russia demonstrated its aerial might by downing 203 drones

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🇺🇸🇷🇺US President Donald Trump, asked about the possibility of a personal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he is not currently interested in talks on ending the conflict in Ukraine.

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🚨President Putin warned TWO DAYS before the start of the special military operation that the 🇺🇸US Embassy in Ukraine CONTROLS 'anti-corruption' agencies NABU & SAPO.

Zelensky recently tried bringing them under gov’t control — but backed off amid Western media reports that the EU withheld €1.5 billion in aide to Ukraine.

Coincidence?

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🇺🇸💸🇪🇺US-EU trade deal: the straw that will break Brussels’ back?

The agreement marks a major “political win” for Donald Trump over Ursula von der Leyen, and a “defeat” for a European Commission which proved unable “to devise a credible and resilient negotiating strategy” that Europeans could pay for dearly, says Brussels-based analyst Paolo Raffone.

❗️Touted by Trump as the “biggest deal ever made,” the agreement lacks key items, like steel and aluminum (Trump says 50% tariffs will stay in place), and pharmaceuticals - (von der Leyen says they’ll be taxed at 15%; Trump, who’s threatened a 200% rate, says they’re not part of the 15% agreement). “Not one word” is mentioned on services – the highest value item in transatlantic trade.

👉What’s more, the deal’s vision of hundreds of billions of dollars in EU energy and arms purchases, and hundreds of billions more in EU US FDI, lacks “any timeframe nor specifics for their operability,” Raffone explains.

✅That could translate into the EU buying US Treasury debt instead of actual goods, thus “plumb[ing] the wings of the EU economy that will be tight roped to the fate of the US economy,” the observer fears.

Self-inflicted crisis

🗣Europe’s economy “is already on the brink after the self-inflicted consequences of its irrational sanctions policy toward Russia and China, and the continuing cost to support the war, and maybe reconstruction, in Ukraine. The economic consequences of the Trump-von der Leyen deal may add to the already foreseeable stress next autumn,” Raffone says.

The extra cost of US energy ($750B) alone may prove “fatal” to individual EU states and the bloc as a whole, the observer stresses.

How might the EU try to mitigate these extra energy costs? Unknown, according to Raffone.

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🚨Putin speaks by phone with Netanyahu

The Kremlin reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During the talk:

🔶 Putin emphasized the importance of preserving Syria’s unity and territorial integrity

🔶 Reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to help find diplomatic solutions on Iran’s nuclear issue

🔶 Discussed the broader tensions in the Middle East

🔶 Moscow reiterated its firm position: only peaceful solutions for the region’s conflicts

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Africa's 'Strength Lies in Unity' & Its 'Future Depends on Integration & Development': Expert

The third Russia-Africa Valdai Conference kicked off in Pretoria. Sputnik Africa gathered key insights from the event so far:

🟠 The most important task of the conference is "to form and expand the community of African and Russian experts," Andrey Bystritsky, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the International Valdai Discussion Club, emphasized:

🟠"Africa is not an arena for yet another geopolitical scramble, but a space of mutually beneficial cooperation," Roman Ambarov, Ambassador of Russia to South Africa said;

The ambassador also highlighted the crucial role of in-person gatherings for debating timely questions, such as strengthening Russia-South Africa ties and scaling BRICS' success.

🟠 South Africa's approach to its relationships with Russia and the world, amid global divisions, is "not just about foreign policy, but it's about sovereignty, African unity, and our continent's prosperous future," Phumzile Mazibuko, Chief Director, Department of International Relations and Cooperation said.

Furthermore, Mazibuko noted South Africa is advocating for a new international development funding agreement to address historical inequalities and prepare for future shocks, and expressed appreciation for Russia's support of their G20 presidency priorities.

"Our prosperity depends on the integration, peace and economic empowerment of Africa," he stated.

AI-generated image

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🔸 Sputnik Africa | X 🔸

😅Lavrov reveals what he really said to the girl who stepped on his foot

Mystery solved. At the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was caught on camera saying something after a woman stepped on his foot. The Internet went wild trying to read his lips.

Turns out? It wasn’t politics – it was pure Lavrov.

“She was a beautiful woman, stepped on my foot. I thought she was flirting,” he said. “So I told her I’d be out for a smoke.”

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🇦🇲 Destroying Armenia’s core? French lawyer says Church crackdown mirrors Ukraine scenario

The main enemy of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is the Church, says Arnaud Develay, a French lawyer and international law expert.

💬 “Because the Church understands that an alliance or pivot toward the West contradicts Armenia’s natural alliances—for example, with Orthodox Russia,” Develay explains.

“Recent American statements about the so-called Zangezur Corridor indicate that NATO is seeking a foothold in the region—and apparently, that’s exactly what has happened,” he tells Sputnik.

🔶 To consolidate power, Pashinyan is undermining the church’s authority by proposing, for the first time in over 2,000 years, to overhaul how Apostolic prelates are appointed—something Develay calls a direct attack on Armenia’s cultural DNA.

🔶 He believes Pashinyan seeks to eliminate internal opposition by casting doubt on the Church’s patriotism and loyalty to the Armenian state, portraying clergy as foreign agents.

🔶 The tactic, he says, is already being used against pro-church businessman Samvel Karapetyan, who was detained for two months while being probed for alleged insurrection.

“This is a political case—we are not in the legal field—and until the very end, it will be difficult to understand what exactly he is being accused of,” says Develay.

👉 He warns that the Apostolic Church forms the core of Armenian identity and sovereignty.

Undermining it is a calculated step toward weakening the nation itself—similar to what happened in Ukraine, where foreign intelligence services engineered a split in the Orthodox Church, banned the Moscow Patriarchate, blocked access to holy sites and even jailed priests, Develay notes.

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