🐸📹 First use of Lyagushka (lit. Frog) robot in combat conditions

Russian troops used the robot to destroy a Ukrainian machine-gun crew near Avdeyevka.

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🔸 US forced Sputnik contributor Scott Ritter off plane headed to Russia: what’s known so far

🔸 Scott Ritter’s removal from his flight to Russia is 'an unconscionable act' by US government that contradicts Constitution

🔸 The Houthis for the first time launched a self-developed ballistic missile called “Palestine” towards the southern Israeli city of Eilat

🔸 NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg admitted that Russia has built up its defense industry more rapidly than the West

🔸 South Korea partially exits its military agreement with North Korea. What comes next?

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Burkan: ballistic rocket that can pierce through Israel’s Iron Dome

Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters are using the Burkan rockets against the Israeli army in a recent spike of clashes.

Let’s delve into the Burkan’s characteristics to find out why it's capable of penetrating Israel’s air defenses:

▪️The Burkan (lit. "Volcano") is a mobile ballistic rocket with a range of up to 10 km;

▪️The upgraded versions – the Burkan-2 and the Burkan-3- have much longer ranges standing at 1,000 km and 1,200 km, respectively;

▪️The missile is notable for its heavy warhead, which can carry from 100 kg to 500 kg of explosives;

▪️The rocket, which can be fired from ground launchers or trucks, causes destruction within a radius of 150 meters from the impact point;

▪️These rockets carry more than a ton of explosive material and are capable of penetrating bomb shelters;

▪️The first use of the Burkan rockets by Hezbollah in the Gaza war dates back to November 2023, amid reports that the Lebanese movement has “thousands” of the Burkans;

▪️The relatively short range of the Burkan makes it difficult for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system to use kinetic interception for destroying the rocket;

▪️The Alma research and education center, a think tank based in Israel, called the Burkan “a cheap weapon with great effectiveness”, claiming that each rocket costs between $300 and $400.

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Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini suggested that Macron should go to Ukraine himself to take part in the fighting.

Salvini has recently criticized the leaders of NATO and EU countries for their intention to increase military support for Kiev and lift restrictions on strikes against Russia with Western weapons.

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😉Can't catch them? Run them over - Ukrainian Military Commissars' Advice

In Ukraine, employees of territorial recruitment and social support centers (TCC) on a minibus deliberately knocked down a cyclist who was trying to avoid mobilization.

"A citizen took off on a bicycle. Military commissars, unable to control their emotions, tried to chase the fugitive. When they caught up with him, they tried to block his way," the military recruitment office explained the actions of the TCC employees.

After the accident, the cyclist managed to get up and escape on his own feet.

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⚡️Turkiye would like to become a member of BRICS, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

The Turkish foreign minister expects to visit Russia next week and take part in the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Council, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

"Of course, we would like to become a BRICS member. We'll see how things go this year," he said at an event at the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) in Beijing, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.

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🇷🇺🇹🇷Russia welcomes Turkiye's interest in BRICS, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

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❗️Any instructors who train the Ukrainian military have no immunity, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Earlier, the media reported that the French military are already in Ukraine, engaged in the maintenance of military equipment and training of Ukrainian soldiers.

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🇬🇪The ruling party of Georgia has submitted 19 bills to parliament regulating the prohibition of LGBT* propaganda and gender reassignment.

In addition to the main bill "On Family Values and Protection of Minors", amendments will be made to the Civil and Labor Codes, legislation on education and so on, said Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili.

Three-quarters of the votes in parliament are needed to pass the amendments, and the opposition has not yet said whether this package of laws will become a new reason for protests.

*LGBT movement is banned in Russia

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❗️If the former American intelligence officer Scott Ritter has no restrictions on traveling abroad, then the disruption of his trip to the St.Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is a manifestation of a frenzied campaign against US-Russia ties, Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, said.

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Posters calling on French military to surrender appear next to the French Embassy in Russia's Moscow

"French, do not repeat the mistakes of your ancestors, their fate is known," the posters warn.

They depict the commander of the SS Charlemagne division, Edgar Puaud, who was killed by the Soviet troops in 1945.

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The American RQ-4B Global Hawk reconnaissance drone, which took off from Sicily, Italy, circles over the neutral waters of the Black Sea near Russia's Crimea.

At a certain moment, the drone disappeared from flight radar, but then reappeared. Now more than 5.5 thousand people are following it on this site.

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The United States conducted a test launch of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, the US military announced.

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❗️The Russian Armed Forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 attack aircraft, according to its Ministry of Defense

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Zelensky goes all-in while Biden fears nuclear escalation - reports

“American and Ukrainian priorities are diverging," the NYT has reported, citing sources within Biden’s administration.

The Kiev regime has nothing to lose and it is ready to escalate the situation, while the White House indeed fears nuclear conflict with Russia and still prefers to tread lightly.

That is why Biden’s decision to authorize the use of US weapons supplied to Ukraine against targets deep in Russian territory should be considered an exemption, made under pressure, according to the source, claiming that Washington allowed their weaponry to be used for "counter-fire purposes" only. The US still prohibits strikes deep into Russian territory with long-range missiles like ATACMS.

While Volodymyr Zelensky dismisses these “nuclear fears”, Biden is afraid of Russia’s “ultimate weapon”, his advisors admit in private conversations.

Earlier, the United States shifted its stance and allowed Kiev to use American weapons on Russian territories around the Kharkov region, while still banning LRMs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that NATO countries must understand “what they are playing with” by allowing Ukraine to use their weapons for strikes deep into Russia.

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