🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIA'S MОD UPDATE: CRUSHING GAINS & MASSIVE UKRAINIAN LOSSES

⚡️SHCHERBINOVKA AND ISKRA (DPR) LIBERATED

The liberation of Shcherbinovka is strategically significant: the town controls the Donetsk-Kharkov railway line. Iskra served as a heavily fortified Ukrainian stronghold and a gateway to Dnepropetrovsk region.

◻️ The Russian Armed Forces struck UAV storage sites and ammunition depots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

◻️ Heavy Ukrainian losses: Over 1,315 troops, four aerial bombs and 268 drones shot down

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📹MAJOR VICTORY IN DONBASS: The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video showing the liberation of Shcherbinovka in the Donetsk People's Republic.

🔥 Over 265 Ukrainian soldiers were eliminated, along with three artillery pieces including a US-made M777 howitzer.

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🤝 Dmitry Kiselev invited to international conference on Turkic origins

🔶 Dmitry Kiselev, director general of the Rossiya Segodnya international media group, Sputnik's parent company, has been invited to participate in the 2nd International Scientific and Practical Conference on ‘Altai – The Cradle of the Turks: The History of the Birth of Turkic Civilization’.

📑 The conference is hosted by the Interdepartmental Commission for Historical Education under the President of Russia, the Government of the Republic of Altai, the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Military-Historical Society, the Russian Society "Znanie" and the Russian Historical Society.

🔸 The event will bring together government officials, leading historians, Turkologists, Altai scholars, archaeologists and linguists from Russia and abroad.

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✍️ Ukraine accepts ONLY 2 POWs from list of 1,000 it previously rejected - Medinsky

💬 "Perhaps they're afraid they were 'over-persuaded' in Russian captivity," Vladimir Medinsky, head of Russia's negotiation team in Istanbul, added ironically.

👉 Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russia had returned 84 of its servicemen from Ukrainian-controlled territory, exchanging them for the same number of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

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🎤🇷🇺Russian pop star Shaman to perform in Pyongyang on Korea’s Liberation Day🇰🇵

Russian singer Yaroslav Dronov, known as Shaman, is ready to take the stage in Pyongyang on August 15 for a special performance celebrating Korean Liberation Day.

The day marks the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.

The singer shared the news on Channel One, expressing his excitement ahead of the event.

Along with his band and crew, Shaman will tour the capital before rehearsals, joining a Russian delegation led by Deputy Minister of Culture Andrey Malyshev.

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🚨🇷🇺🇺🇸 Putin and Trump to outline key points after Alaska Summit

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that while the summit will define the scope of agreements between Putin and Trump, there will be no formal document signed.

Peskov cautioned against predicting outcomes too soon.

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🚨Alaska Summit could reset US-Russia relations

The Putin-Trump meeting has the potential to "reset" Russia-US relations, if the meeting goes well, Special Presidential Representative Kirill Dmitriev believes.

He stressed the importance of dialogue, calling the summit a positive step for the world — especially after the lack of talks under the previous government of Joe Biden.

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🚨Putin praises Trump’s unique approach to Ukraine conflict - Kremlin

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov praised Donald Trump’s unprecedented approach to resolving the Ukraine conflict, noting that Vladimir Putin values the US president’s sincere desire to tackle the crisis through political and diplomatic means.

Both leaders see a mutual will for dialogue, he added.

Despite the short preparation time, all necessary conditions were met for the Putin-Trump summit, Peskov said. Productive talks were held during US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s visit to Russia, paving the way for the meeting.

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🔥 Russia cripples Ukraine’s Sapsan missile development

🗣 The Russian FSB intelligence service says Russia has disrupted production of Ukraine's Sapsan ballistic missile system.

🟠 Joint efforts by the FSB and Russian armed forces thwarted Ukrainian plans to build the missiles for deep strikes into Russian territory. A series of a missile strikes on Ukrainian defense industry sites halted production.

✅ Check out Sputnik’s infographics showing potential targets of the Sapsan missile system.

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🔥Expectations mount for strategic cooperation and talks at Russia-US summit in Alaska

👉The summit could lead to progress in bilateral Russian-American relations, Tatyana Parkhalina, president of the Russian Association for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation said, adding that it might include agreements on economic cooperation, thawing of diplomatic ties, and potentially restoration of direct flights between the two nations.

👉The possibility of establishing negotiation and consultation mechanisms at various levels to implement any agreements made at the summit was highlighted by Wan Qingsong, deputy director of the Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at East China Normal University. He believes this could pave the way for Donald Trump to visit Russia in the future.

👉Trump has long been interested in Arctic exploration and energy cooperation with Russia, particularly regarding LNG development in Alaska, Professor Choi Sun-ho from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies said. For Trump, an Alaska-Russia LNG project could serve as a strategic tool in tariff negotiations and a way to strengthen relations with Moscow, he added.

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📹Sputnik has great outreach in Pakistan – Ambassador to Russia

🗣"Pakistani audiences are very aware," Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Muhammad Khalid Jamali says in an exclusive interview.

"When you restrict some media channels, it makes people curious to switch to the restricted one. I see great potential for Sputnik in Pakistan."

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💥What we know about Ukraine’s Sapsan missile, crippled by Russia strikes

Russia’s crushing blow followed Ukrainian hints at deployment of a ballistic missile capable of reaching the Russian capital, military expert Yuri Knutov told Sputnik.

🟠Sapsan’s potential

▪️A ballistic missile system deployed from a mobile launcher capable of carrying two missiles at once

▪️480kg warhead, reportedly twice as powerful as the US ATACMS

▪️High-explosive penetrating warheads able to destroy bunkers and depots or cluster munitions that could cause major civilian casualties

▪️Clocking in at Mach 5.1 and touted as a rival to Russia’s Iskander-M, though Knutov says it’s still far from matching it

🟠Cash drain turned threat

▪️Ukraine developed the Sapsan to replace aging Soviet-era Tochka-U and depleted ATACMS stocks

▪️Ranges: 300 km for the Grom export version and 500 km for the domestic Sapsan

▪️Progress stalled until NATO’s proxy war kicked it into gear

👉The missiles were reportedly tested in 2023 in strikes on Russia’s Crimea, but were intercepted, suggested the air defense specialist.

🟠Key Western support

Involvement of experts, most likely from European arms giant Matra BAE Dynamics Aérospatiale (MBDA) helped speed up production.

Ukraine’s own Yuzhmash manufacturer playing a key role.

“Guidance systems for Germany’s Taurus, Britain’s Storm Shadow and France’s SCALP missiles are largely similar—and were developed by the same European consortium,” says Knutov.

Russia’s crushing blows on Yuzhmash last year likely prompted Ukraine to relocate production to the regions that Russia’s Armed Forces targeted to thwart Sapsan production.

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🔥 Bye-Bye HIMARS!

📹 WATCH: A Russian Iskander-M missile system strikes and eliminates a US-supplied HIMARS launcher in the Sumy region

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❗️🔥 Vyacheslav Volodin meets Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang

🔸 The chairman of Russia's State Duma met with Kim Jong-un, Chairman of State Affairs of North Korea, in the capital Pyongyang.

🔹 Volodin conveyed Putin's greetings on the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

👉 He also expressed gratitude for North Korea's support in Russia’s fight against neo-Nazi forces in the Kursk region.

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📹Arbaeen culminates in Karbala: The world’s largest Shiite Muslim pilgrimage reaches its climax

The video showcases the mausoleum of Imam Hussein, where pilgrims gather for processions, rituals and chants in his memory.

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🔸 Expectations mount for strategic cooperation and talks at Russia-US summit in Alaska

🔸 Russia cripples Ukraine’s Sapsan missile development

🔸 What we know about Ukraine’s Sapsan missile, crippled by Russia strikes

🔸 'Pakistan aims to reconnect with Eurasia, reviving the ancient Silk Route'

🔸 RUSSIA BRINGS BACK 84 SOLDIERS FROM UKRAINIAN-HELD TERRITORY

🔸 Russian pop star Shaman to perform in Pyongyang on Korea’s Liberation Day

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👉 Beijing debuts humanoid robot world games with athletic showdown

🔊 The world’s first Humanoid Robot Games will take place at the "Ice Ribbon" National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on August 15-17. Robots from the US, Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and the UAE will compete, with 280 teams in total.

🔶Over 500 humanoid robots from leading manufacturers will compete across 26 disciplines. The competition will feature traditional sports, including 100-meter and 1,500-meter races, 4x100-meter relay, 100-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, gymnastics, and 3x3 and 5x5 football matches.

✅ The games will focus on evaluating the athletic abilities, coordination, and teamwork of humanoid robots.

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📹 Trump expects 2nd meeting to be with Putin, Zelensky

"The more important meeting will be the second meeting... We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelensky, myself... we'll see if they can get along," US president told journalists.

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🇷🇺✈️🇺🇸A stone's throw away: Russian Delegation arrives in Alaska as summit nears

Part of the Russian delegation has landed in Anchorage, Alaska, on an IL-96 airliner for the upcoming Putin-Trump meeting on August 15.

But did you know? Russia and the US are practically neighbors!

👉 At their closest point, Russia and the USA are just 3.8km (about 2 miles) apart across the Bering Strait!

👉 The islands of Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (USA) stare at each other across the icy waters

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😱📹Severe flooding in Mexico City: Delivery driver carried off by strong currents

A delivery driver was swept away by powerful water currents after severe rains struck the Valley of Mexico, causing floods in the Ecatepec municipality. Video shows the devastating impact of the flooding.

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