🇷🇺🇫🇮 The border between NATO and Russia will almost be doubled following Finland's accession to the bloc

Moscow has vowed to increase its military potential in the western and north-western directions in response to the accession.

Finland and Sweden applied to become NATO members in May 2022, abandoning decades of neutrality.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️ In the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 30 Ukrainian troops, two armored fighting vehicles, one motor vehicle, and one D-20 howitzer;

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 225 troops, three armored fighting vehicles, one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, and one D-30 howitzer in the Krasny Liman direction;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, the Russian Army destroyed more than 65 Ukrainian troops, four armored fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and one D-30 howitzer during the day.

▪️Ukrainian losses in these directions during the day amounted to 70 servicemen, two armored fighting vehicles, and one D-20 howitzer in the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Russian troops neutralized up to 10 Ukrainian servicemen, two motor vehicles, and two D-30 howitzers;

▪️The Russian Army destroyed four AFU artillery ordnance depots in the Kharkov region, Donetsk People's Republic, and Kherson region;

▪️Three HIMARS and three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down in the DPR and in Kherson region.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

EXCLUSIVE: How Can India, Russia Achieve Technological Sovereignty?

💭 On the sidelines of the Russia-India Business Forum in Delhi, Sputnik reached out to Valentin Makarov, president of St. Petersburg-based RUSSOFT, who spoke about the impact of Western sanctions on the Russian IT sector, the new technological order, and the possibility of India and Russia attaining tech sovereignty.

💡"We have seven billion people on one side and one billion on the other side, both dependent on the dollar-based financial system. If we are able to create these agreements for the implementation of technologies, we will win — but if not, then one billion people will say that "we are better, so forget about your independence, accept our technologies and enjoy colonialism," Makarov told Sputnik.

Tap to read full interview

🇫🇮 Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Tuesday handed over the document on the country's accession to NATO, making it the 31 member of the alliance.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇺🇬🌍 Africa should "provide the lead" to save the world from homosexuality, Ugandan President urges

🗣 "Africa should provide the lead to save the world from this degeneration and decadence, which is really very dangerous for humanity. If people of opposing sexes stop appreciating one another then how will the human race be propagated?" Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan President said.

▪️Museveni complimented Ugandan parliamentarians for passing a law against homosexuality and vowed "never to allow the promotion and publicization of homosexuality in Uganda," stressing that "it will never be tolerated".

▪️His comments came after a two-day inter-parliamentary conference hosted at the State House in the central Ugandan city of Entebbe on "Family Values and Sovereignty" which was attended by members of parliament and delegates from 22 African countries

Subscribe to @sputnik_africa

❗ Court arrests Daria Trepova, accused in the case of the terrorist attack in St. Petersburg

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

International affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda joined us to discuss the formalization of Finland’s membership in NATO

🎧Listen to more of Sleboda’s analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

Elijah Magnier, veteran war correspondent, joined us to discuss the general public’s discontent with the EU governments

🎧Listen to more of Magnier’s analysis in our podcast Fault Lines

⚡️Trump leaves New York residence en route to Manhattan Criminal Court, a Sputnik correspondent reports from the scene.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📽WATCH: Trump arrived to Manhattan Criminal Court, a Sputnik correspondent reports from the scene.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡Trump under arrest ahead of his arraignment hearings in NYC court

🛍 Zara will be rebranded as Maag in Russia, along with two other popular brands, Pull&Bear (renamed DUB) and Bershka (renamed Ecru), according to an announcement by the Daher Group. The new outlets are set to open in April of this year, after being delayed due to earthquakes in Turkiye.

The company is currently in the process of recruiting 4,500 personnel across 240 stores throughout Russia, with some former employees also being invited to return to the company.

The stores will feature clothing produced at factories in China and Turkiye, and the company's employees have stated that there are no plans to increase prices.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗Former US President Donald Trump has entered a Manhattan courtroom to be arraigned on charges linked to alleged hush money payments to pornography actress Stormy Daniels, to which he is expected to plead not guilty.

An Alabama school has installed a bulletproof shelter in the classroom to protect students and teachers from gun attacks. The idea was devised by Kevin Thomas, owner of the company KT Security Solutions.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts. He leaves Manhattan court after arraignment without addressing media.