🇺🇸🇷🇺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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😅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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Trump-von der Leyen trade pact: US gets all the perks, Europe picks up the bill

Broadly speaking, decoding the US-EU trade agreement announced by Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen requires seeing “the general context of US-EU relations,” including Europe’s submission, “politically and economically, to the United States,” MEP Fernand Kartheiser has told Sputnik.

The Luxembourgish politician’s proof? European countries’ “non-existent or very bad” relations with Russia, and “extremely difficult” ones with China, which “hinders European states from finding a counterweight to the US” in the strategic sense.

The consequences?

👉 The US military-industrial complex wins big from the 5% of GDP defense burden on European NATO allies.

👉 Europeans are made to “take over the cost of the Ukraine war in spite of the fact that this conflict was originally a US project to weaken Russia through NATO enlargement.”

👉 Europe is forced to “buy their energy from the US at a very high price instead of from Russia at a competitive price.”

🗣The economic impact of the new trade pact in particular is “very difficult” for Europe, Kartheiser says, lamenting that the bloc’s ‘green’ policies, “high energy prices and more and more trade barriers” already “make it nearly impossible for Europe to stay competitive” globally. The pact with the US will only “increase and accelerate the phenomenon of deindustrialization,” leaving the bloc “poorer.”

❗️Energy is a particularly sore point, in the politician’s view.

🗣“Mrs. von der Leyen does not talk about the cost of such a change from Russian to US energy providers. Also, we had never as Europeans problems with energy security while buying energy from Russia. The sanctions were a European initiative, not a Russian one. It is also not clear if the US can provide the Europeans with the necessary quantities of energy,” Kartheiser sums up.

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🚨Zelensky on the ropes: NABU and SAPO law backfires

Volodymyr Zelensky has U-turned his anti-corruption agencies law, but will it save his presidency?

It looks like his credibility is running out.

🟧Western dominance

Zelensky caving and vowing to restore independence to the two "Western-created agencies" reveals just "how much Ukraine is dominated by the West," Daniel Kovalik, former University of Pittsburgh law professor, tells Sputnik.

"It's not an independent actor. It really is a proxy of the West and what they say goes," he says.

"Both NABU and SAPO are elements of external control over Ukraine, or tools of colonization," echoes Bogdan Bezpalko, head of "Ukrainians of Russia."

🟧 Western blackmail

After a new law stripped NABU and SAPO of independence, the West reacted sharply.

On July 25, the EU signaled it may freeze $1.7b in aid to Ukraine over corruption concerns.

🟧Public is weary of corruption

Youth-led protests immediately erupted against Zelensky's NABU-SAPO law across Ukraine on July 22.

But they weren’t strong enough, says Bezpalko, hinting it could get much worse for the Kiev regime.

He argues the Kiev regime had some room to maneuver but chose instead to obey. Why?

🟧 Zelensky is cornered

Zelensky quickly vowed to grant NABU and SAPO independence on July 24, while the Rada said it would review the bill July 31. That hasty response shows Zelensky was trying to mend the damage.

But insiders say NABU defendants have already testified against him, as the US allegedly approved a power shake-up.

Ukrainian activists plan fresh rallies on July 30 and 31.

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🟠 US-EU trade deal: the straw that will break Brussels’ back?

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

🟠 THAILAND & CAMBODIA AGREE TO CEASEFIRE WITHIN 24 HOURS

🟠 Zelensky on the ropes: NABU and SAPO law backfires

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

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

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🇷🇺🤝🇰🇵Lavrov hails North Korea’s role in battle against Ukrainian Neo-Nazis

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised North Korea’s contribution to the liberation of the Kursk region, speaking at the 11th All-Russian Youth Educational Forum ‘Territory of Meanings’.

"We have a great many partners, like-minded allies," Lavrov said. "Our closest ally in the West is, of course, the Republic of Belarus; in the East — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, with whom we share decades of brotherly combat ties."

"We helped our Korean neighbors gain independence, and they helped us liberate the Kursk region from Ukrainian neo-Nazis," he stressed.

The participation of North Korean troops in the liberation of the Kursk region is direct proof of what he called the “invincible brotherhood” between Russia and the DPRK.

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🇺🇸💣US nuclear weapons return to UK — and Washington wants Russia to know – reports

For the first time since 2008, the United States has likely redeployed nuclear weapons to the United Kingdom — in full public view, Bloomberg reports.

A C-17 military aircraft flew from a nuclear base in New Mexico to RAF Lakenheath with its transponder on, making the flight publicly visible. Analysts say the move was a clear signal to Moscow of renewed US nuclear commitment in Europe.

The likely cargo was B61-12 tactical nuclear bombs, deployable by the UK’s recently ordered F-35A jets. NATO’s nuclear posture is shifting, and Washington isn’t hiding it.

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🇪🇺😢EU can’t deliver on Trump’s $600B deal

Just hours after Donald Trump proudly announced $600 billion of EU investment into the US economy, the bloc's officials quietly admitted they can’t promise that, a US newspaper reports.

The money was never coming from EU institutions — only from private companies, over which the EU has zero control.

◻️ EU officials now say the deal is “aspirational” and based on vague talks with business associations

◻️ Experts are skeptical: there’s no binding mechanism, no guarantee and no central authority to enforce it

◻️ The newspaper reports the EU “recognized it lacks the authority” to keep its promise

Trump’s trade deal also includes:

◾️ 15% flat tariffs on EU-US trade

◾️ A $750b commitment from Brussels to buy US fossil fuels

◾️ Massive US arms purchases by EU members

◾️ EU to open its markets to US goods tariff-free

But behind the big numbers are just shaky promises, investor doubts and growing fears of a global trade crisis.

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🚨 IDF to pause operations in populated Gaza areas – PM office

The office of Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that the Israeli army will suspend military activity in populated areas of Gaza daily from 10 AM to 8 PM.

Additionally, safe corridors for UN aid convoys will be open from 6 AM to 11 PM to facilitate humanitarian access.

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🇷🇺🤝🇳🇪 Russia and Niger sign nuclear cooperation memorandum – Russian Energy Ministry

Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and Niger’s Ministry of Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and related high technologies, the Russian Energy Ministry announced following Minister Sergey Tsivilyov’s official visit to Niger.

Tsivilyov stated that Russia’s goal is to create a comprehensive system for the development of peaceful nuclear energy in Niger, including power generation, nuclear medicine, and joint training of specialists.

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🥴Anti-Musk protestors set up inflatable Nazi-saluting balloons outside his new Hollywood eatery

The expensive-looking, highly customized wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube men, set up outside Musk’s popup retro-futurism-themed Tesla Diner, mimic the infamous salute by an overexcited Musk at Trump’s January 20 inauguration.

The Hollywood protest is at least the second time tube men have been used in an anti-Musk event – with another, more budget-friendly version seen outside a Tesla dealership in London in March.

Besides protestors, the new diner had Musk and Tesla fans out in force, with 100 person+ long lines on foot and cars lined up around the block spotted at the venue, which features Optimus server robots, $13.50 burgers ($20+ with trimmings) and $4 fries.

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🇹🇭⚔️🇰🇭 Thailand accuses Cambodia of ceasefire violation – reports

Cambodian forces allegedly launched attacks at multiple locations just after the ceasefire deadline, according to a statement by the Thai army on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Major General Winthai Suvaree stated that Thai troops retaliated proportionately in self-defense following the violations.

The flare-up comes less than a day after the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia met in Malaysia and agreed to end their deadliest conflict in over a decade — a clash that had already displaced more than 300,000 people after five days of fighting.

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