📹 Russian tankmen of 1st Slavyansk Brigade in combat action

While advancing in the direction of Avdeevka, the crew hit the positions of Ukrainian militants using a trophy T-64BV tank.

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🇺🇸 US could go with smaller defense budget if it abandons failed hegemony policy

Former US Army HQ Staff Officer David T. Pyne suggests that a peaceful foreign policy accommodating potential adversaries would be the best approach for the US. He argues that Washington should prioritize national security within a tighter budget, focusing on strategic and nuclear defense rather than offensive conventional power projection abroad. Pyne also suggests a mutual security agreement with Russia, including withdrawing troops from Eastern Europe, to restore a non-interventionist foreign policy.

Pyne dismisses concerns about US defense spending in relation to the debt ceiling deal. He disagrees with tying spending to the Ukraine conflict, stating that it is not in the US' national security interest to provide aid for a Ukrainian victory against Russia. According to Pyne, cutting off US aid to Ukraine would prompt a ceasefire, and he highlights Russia's willingness to negotiate a mutually favorable security agreement with the US.

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West must provide Ukraine with tangible, credible security guarantees - Macron

The western countries should provide Ukraine with "tangible and reliable" security guarantees, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday.

"We are massively arming Ukraine, but we do not include it in any strategic dialogue. We must provide Ukraine with tangible and reliable security guarantees," Macron said at a session of the Globsec 2023 Bratislava Forum.

Earlier, the French Foreign Ministry said that France was ready to conclude agreements with Ukraine on providing it with security guarantees together with NATO partners. Paris will continue discussions together with its partners on the best form of support for Ukraine in all sectors of the economy in the long term, the ministry added.

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🇪🇷 🇷🇺 There is "historical obligation" to create just world order and Russia "will play its part in this mission of all mankind," Eritrean President Afwerki says

Afwerki emphasized that nations across the globe should advocate for the allocation of the necessary resources for the transition to a new, civilized international order based on mutual respect, cooperation, and prosperity.

🗣 "I am convinced that the Russian Federation will play its part in this mission of all mankind on the path to solidarity and cooperation among free peoples," Afwerki said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

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🗣️”Certainly, Australia is a US vassal. It has not had an independent sovereign foreign policy since they overthrew Gough Whitlam in 1974 and more recently when they put Julia Gillard in and kicked out Kevin Rudd. And so clearly they are being vassalized to the max”: KJ Noh, writer, teacher, and activist, on Australian dependence on the US

🎧Listen to more of Noh’s analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour

Beijing reveals whose ‘provocative actions’ led Chinese jet to buzz US spy plane

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning has accused the United States of escalating tensions in the South China Sea through its "provocative and dangerous" military reconnaissance activities. Mao stated that the frequent surveillance missions conducted by US ships and planes seriously harm China's sovereignty and security. She emphasized that China will take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security.

Mao's remarks came after a recent incident where a Chinese J-15 jet intercepted and flew alongside a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea. The Chinese jet allegedly created wake turbulence, forcing the US aircraft to fly through it. The comments highlight the ongoing tensions between the two countries in the disputed region.

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📹 Russian snipers in combat operations in Maryinka, DPR, one of the main hotspots of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

How do you avoid falling easy prey to the enemy when you’re a sniper?

Watch this video to find out.

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🇷🇺 Rosatom offers 🇮🇳 India small-sized nuclear power plant (SNPP) project

🔋Russia’s nuclear energy corporation plans to submit a preliminary design for such a plant by the end of this year, the company said.

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What to expect at SPIEF 2023 – St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

A unique event in the world of economics and business, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will be held from June 14 to 17, 2023.

A vast amount of themes will be taken up by the ever-expanding number of participants attending SPIEF, ranging from how the pivot to a multipolar word presents new formats of international cooperation, to de-dollarization, the future of money, and the global race for supremacy in artificial intelligence (AI).

What is SPIEF and what events will be at SPIEF 2023?

🗣️”It is necessary for the West's overall narrative of this conflict to depict the Kiev regime as the victim here rather than this whole thing being a result of the West-backed putsch that seized power in Kiev in 2014, waging a war on its own people in the east of the country, a war of subjugation for nine years, which Russia finally entered, and the moves by NATO to attempt to bring Ukraine into NATO either legally or de-facto making it a NATO military outpost on Russia's borders”: International relations and security analyst Mark Sleboda comments on the US narrative that Ukraine is a ‘victim’ in the conflict

🎧Listen to more of Sleboda’s analysis in our podcast The Final Countdown

❗️ The US Department of Defense announces 39th package of military assistance to Ukraine

The DoD said that it contains artillery, equipment against armored vehicles, ammunition, and other items worth up to $300 million.

The military aid package includes:

▪️ Additional ammunition for Patriot air defense systems and AIM-7 missiles;

▪️ Avenger air defense systems, as well as Stinger systems;

▪️ Additional ammunition for HIMARS MLRS;

▪️ 155mm and 105mm artillery shells, 105mm tank shells;

▪️ Precision aviation munitions, as well as Zuni missiles;

▪️ AT-4 anti-tank systems and mine clearance equipment;

▪️ More than 30 million cartridges for small arms;

▪️ Spare parts, generators, and other field equipment.

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🗣️”Europe is becoming an economic vassalage of the United States. Look at it, the US drove Russia out of Europe, particularly in the energy, and is supplying Europe with high-cost liquid natural gas and oil. The US has stepped into the vacuum, charging the Europeans more”: Economist, radio show host, and author Jack Rasmus on how Washington interferes in European trade policy to further its geopolitical goals

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

✊ In terms of its economic weight and demography, BRICS has emerged as the most influential global organization outside the UN framework.

🇿🇦 South Africa, the current chair of the BRICS grouping, has said that at least 19 countries have expressed an interest to join the BRICS grouping, a testament to its growing global heft.

Ahead of the summit in Cape Town on 1-2 June, Sputnik takes a look at the evolution of BRICS, its growing role in global affairs and its surging popularity among the middle and low-income nations.

TAP TO READ

🔺Unrest in South China Sea: US claims Chinese fighter jet conducted an “unprofessional intercept” of a US spy plane
🔺Debt Ceiling Deal: Why snubbing progressives poses risk to Biden’s team
🔺Venezuela’s President Maduro visits Brazil in blow to the US

The Critical Hour will cover these and more stories! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|12am CET via the website or app

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📹 Ka-52 Alligator helicopters deliver missile strike against enemy near Krasny Liman

Reconnaissance attack helicopters have carried out missions to destroy manpower and clusters of light armored vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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Russia temporarily bans export of bullets, casings

The Russian government said on Wednesday that export of bullets and casings are banned until December 31, 2023.

According to the government's decree, the ban does not cover export of bullets and casings that are necessary for the Russian military.

"The measure <...> does not apply to goods: <...> exported from the territory of the Russian Federation to support the activities of units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations and bodies <...> located in foreign states," the document says.

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Ukrainian shelling of Zaporozhye NPP creates risk of 'nuclear bomb scenario'

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has proposed a five-point plan to help ensure safety and security at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant.

Renowned nuclear expert Chris Busby says Grossi’s concerns about the plant’s safety are fully justified, but that much more needs to be done.

Read the expert analysis on Sputnik’s website