Ursula von der Leyen showed “a very bad performance” as head of the European Commission, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told RIA Novosti. He believes that there is no reason to re-elect her:

"I mean, you know, any kind of election should be based on achievement and should be based on performance. If you look at the shape of Europe before von der Leyen took over and afterwards, you see that's a very clear decline. Europe is much less competitive than before, Europe is much less united than before, and Europe is much less peaceful than before. So no one can give us any reason why we should support von der Leyen. So she made a very bad performance as the president of the European Commission, no reason to reelect her," he said.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Von der Leyen vows to keep on supporting Ukraine militarily

Ursula von der Leyen promises in her election program until 2029 to continue military support for Ukraine "as long as it takes" as well as continue “defending democracy” and “protecting our planet”.

Additionally, she has outlined plans to establish the role of a European defense commissioner, launch a project to develop a European air defense shield, and turn the EU into a defense union by 2029.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️In response to the deployment of long-range US missiles in Germany, Russia may deploy similar nuclear-equipped systems, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov noted.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russia develops state-of-the-art mobile counter-drone system

Specialists from Roselektronika Holding, a part of Rostec, have developed a new mobile defense complex for protecting military and other vehicles against drone attacks. The product, known as "Leshyy," has already been delivered to customers, according to the press release on the state corporation's website.

"The suppressor, which is a part of the complex "Leshy", is placed on the roof of the vehicle and creates an interference, forming a protective dome over the vehicle. This guarantees the suppression of control channels for drones, including FPV drones. The system’s working radius is at least 250 meters. The equipment functions effectively on the move, but can also be used stationary," Rostec said.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🎥WATCH: footage showing the destruction of an M109 “Paladin” self-propelled artillery mount near Kherson

During reconnaissance activities, Russian forces spotted a camouflaged firing position of a US weapon, which was attacking the positions of Russian units.

As a result of a strike from the Lancet loitering ammunition, the enemy self-propelled gun was destroyed. Repeated detonation was observed using objective monitoring means.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Allies betray Biden: Pelosi urges leader to drop out of presidential race

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged US President Joe Biden to drop his bid for re-election, the Politico website reported, quoting sources.

Pelosi reportedly spoke with Biden last week, warning him that complaints from Congress Democrats about his apparent political weakness will only grow louder, according to Politico. The former speaker also asked Biden to hurry up and take the decision to step down.

According to one of Pelosi's allies, she could potentially go public with her demands for Biden to withdraw his candidacy. While she does not want to call on Biden to drop out, Pelosi will do everything she can to make that happen, the source said.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

There is no doubt that the assassination attempt on Putin, which was mentioned by the director of Ukrainian intelligence Budanov, was planned with the participation of the Anglo-Saxon masters of Kiev, said the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russian diplomat claims use of chemical weapons by Ukrainian forces

Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Ryabkov, announced that Ukrainian armed forces have used chemical weapons against the Russian military.

Moscow is transmitting this data to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

“We need to distinguish the issue of the use of toxic substances, which is undoubtedly recorded by us in the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces, and the relevant information is transmitted through specialized channels to The Hague and New York,” said Sergey Ryabkov in an interview with the Russian media.

Ryabkov stated that Russia will continue to demand a clear response from its opponents regarding concerns about the use of biological weapons in Ukraine. He mentioned that Russian forces have gathered a "supermassive" amount of material, demonstrating the extent of cooperation between Washington and Kiev in this area.

“This is absolutely unacceptable and condemned not only in Russia but also in broad circles of the international community. Russia has yet to receive answers to a series of questions raised on relevant platforms,” said the Deputy Foreign Minister.

Ryabkov emphasized that Moscow is doing everything possible to put an end to such activities and to strengthen the regime of the Biological Weapons Convention.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt