❗️ The plan for a conference on Ukraine in Switzerland diverges from China's requirements and the world's expectations, so it is difficult for China to participate in such a meeting, the country's Foreign Ministry said.

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❗️ With the participation of NATO advisers, sabotage is being prepared and Western weapons are being used to harm Russian civilians, Russia’s Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said

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⚡️ Ukrainian forces in May lost more than 35,000 servicemen and over 2,700 weapons, according to data given by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov.

Among the destroyed Ukrainian equipment are 290 tanks and armored combat vehicles, including four Abrams and seven Leopards.

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⚡️ The Russian Armed Forces repelled a massive attack with 10 ATACMS missiles on the Crimean Bridge the day before yesterday, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said.

All the missiles were shot down, as a result of which hundreds of lives were saved, the minister emphasized.

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❗️ More key statements from Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov's speech at the CSTO Council of Defense Ministers meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan:

◾️ All attempts to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia are futile;

◾️ Russian forces liberated 28 settlements in May;

◾️ The Russian Army has taken control of 880 square kilometers of territory in 2024;

◾️ Ukrainian forces have retreated by 8-9 kilometers in important areas in the Kharkov region;

◾️ Western countries are prolonging the conflict by supplying Ukraine with weapons, transferring intelligence, and training the country’s forces;

◾️ Based on the experience of the special military operation, Russian troops are optimizing their combat work, developing optics, and sharpening their operational and combat training skills;

◾️ The goals of the special military operation will be achieved, and during the operation Russia is acting in proportion to the threats to its security.

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🗣 The UK has never limited the possibility of attacks on Russian territory using Storm Shadow missiles, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.

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❗️LIVE: Lavrov Chairs Russian MFA's Business Council Meeting on Bolstering Cooperation With BRICS

👉 Watch the livestream here or on Sputnik's website

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❗️ Germany and the rest of the West are in agreement that Ukraine can use Western weapons to repel attacks in the Kharkov region, the German government said

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🗣 The peace conference in Switzerland must be recognized by Russia and Ukraine, otherwise it will be difficult to play a significant role in restoring peace, China's Foreign Ministry said.

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❗️ With the mediation of the UAE, 75 Russian servicemen who were in mortal danger in captivity have been returned from Ukraine-controlled territory, and 75 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been handed over in their place, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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❗️ Attempts to strike Russian territory with US weapons are already being carried out, which speaks eloquently about US involvement in the conflict, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

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Russia holds on to world’s No.4 biggest economy spot based on purchasing power parity

The Russian Federation has consistently maintained its position as the world's fourth-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) since 2021, according to updated data from the World Bank and calculations by Sputnik.

Back in 2021, Russia accounted for 3.8% of the global GDP, surpassing Japan (3.7%) and Germany (3.4%). Russia's PPP GDP in 2021 reached 5.7 trillion dollars, while Japan and Germany had indicators of 5.6 trillion and 5.2 trillion dollars, respectively.

By the end of 2022, the World Bank announced that Russia had officially become the fifth-largest economy in the world, surpassing Germany. However, it is important to note that these calculations were originally based on 2017 data, and have since been updated to incorporate data from 2021.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously established the goal of positioning Russia as the fourth-largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). In line with this objective, the Cabinet of Ministers was tasked with developing and implementing measures to achieve this goal by March 31,2025.

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❗️ US officials expect that the first attacks on Russian territory using American weapons could begin within hours or days, the NYT reported, citing sources.

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Clooney's foundation targets prominent Russian journos across Europe

The George and Amal Clooney Foundation for Justice’s Docket Project plans to hunt down Russian journalists through secret arrest warrants.

Anna Neistat, director of legal affairs for the Docket Project said that the criminal codes of some European countries have an article on “war propaganda.”

The fund noted that it was preparing requests to launch cases in countries where such laws exist. If a warrant is then issued, journalists could be detained throughout Europe at the Europol level.

Neistat added that no requests have been sent yet. The names of the journalists they want to prosecute were not disclosed. The foundation says it is targeting “the most obvious Russian propagandists, the most visible of them.”

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Italy’s constitution prevents the use of Italian weapons supplied to Ukraine on Russian territory, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has said.

“We have a constitution that says very clearly in Article 11: ‘Italy rejects war.’ We cannot supply weapons to strike Russia on its territory,” the statement said.

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❗️WARNING! GRAPHIC CONTENT

In Mannheim's market square, a man with an eastern appearance attacked Michael Sturzenberger, a well-known German publicist and political activist. A police officer was also stabbed, and the attacker was shot dead.

Sturzenberger is a self-described critic of Islam. He opposes the construction of mosques in Germany and accuses German politicians of not taking seriously the perceived dangers posed by the religion, which is practiced by many refugees in the country.

UPD: The police press release changed the details, saying the attacker was just “hurt” and he's alive.

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Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik's parent media group, Rossiya Segodnya, commented on recent reports on the Clooney Foundation for Justice hunting Russian journalists:

"A week ago, I was told that Amal Clooney was working on my arrest. And here comes the confirmation.

Girls! You don’t understand anything about us propagandists. For these ‘other countries’ of yours, where you are going to arrest us, I personally wouldn’t give five kopecks. Moreover, in our homeland the cherries are now in full bloom."

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