🇷🇺🪖Key statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    

▪️Russia's Battlegroup Yug has struck six Ukrainian brigades in the Donetsk People's Republic.

▪️Russian aviation shot down eight JDAM bombs, two HIMARS missile and 236 drones.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 360 troops in the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 200 soldiers in the Russian Vostok Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 230 troops in the Russian Zapad Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukrainian lost up to 35 servicemen and a tank in the Belgorod region.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 85 soldiers in the area of responsibility of Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr.

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🤡Gearing up for showdown? Norway tests military limits in Arctic

Under the cover of "defense readiness," the West is steadily turning the Arctic into its next military playground. Norwegian soldiers are now enduring -37°C in 100-day survival missions - testing gear, tech, and their own bodies for future conflict in freezing conditions☃️

Struggling with frozen skis, glitchy GPS, and battling hypothermia and frostbite, the prep for new battlegrounds comes as the West cranks the 'Russia threat' narrative into overdrive🐻

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⚡️RUSSIAN KURSK REGION LIBERATED FROM UKRAINIAN FORCES

Putin has received the relevant report from General Valery Gerasimov.

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⚡️ Russian forces CRUSH Ukrainian neo-Nazis, fully liberating Kursk region, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, reported to President Putin.

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⚡️LAST TOWN FREED IN KURSK

Ukrainian forces retreat as the last town in Kursk, Gornal, is liberated.

More statements by General Valery Gerasimov:

🟠Kiev's plans to disrupt the Donbass offensive have failed

🟠Kiev's attempt to establish a bridgehead in the Kursk region has collapsed

🟠Ukrainian forces lost over 76,000 soldiers killed or wounded and 412 tanks in the Kursk region

🟠In the liberated areas of the Kursk region, operations are underway to identify Ukrainian soldiers attempting to hide.

🟠19 settlements in the Kursk region have been fully checked and cleared of mines.

🟠The creation of a security zone in the Sumy region continues, with 4 settlements liberated and more than 90 square kilometers under control.

🟠The remnants of Ukrainian forces, after the liberation of Gornal in the Kursk region, have been pushed beyond the state border.

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⚡️PUTIN: UKRAINE'S ADVENTURE IN KURSK REGION HAS COMPLETELY FAILED

🔸 Putin congratulated the entire personnel, all fighters, and commanders on the full liberation of the Kursk region.

🔸 The complete defeat of the enemy in the Kursk border area creates conditions for further successful actions of the Russian Armed Forces on other crucial frontlines, Putin emphasized.

🔸 The liberation of the Kursk region brings closer the defeat of the neo-Nazi regime, stated Putin.

🔸 Putin noted the effective actions of the Russian Armed Forces units in the Kursk region, including the 76th Airborne Division, the 116th Division, the "Akhmat" regiment, and the marines.

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❗️RUSSIA THANKS NORTH KOREA FOR HELPING TO DEFEAT UKRAINE IN KURSK REGION

The North Korean military, acting shoulder to shoulder with Russian forces in the Kursk region, demonstrated resilience and heroism, Gerasimov stated.

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🇷🇺 🤝 🇰🇵 'We will never forget our friends' - Russian Foreign Ministry on North Korean assistance in the liberation of the Kursk region

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❗️📹 WATCH PUTIN’S STATEMENT ON HISTORIC LIBERATION OF KURSK REGION

Praising the troops and commanders involved in the operation, the Russian president emphasized that the reckless undertaking by the Ukraine's regime had “FAILED COMPLETELY,” and that enemy forces suffered “HUGE LOSSES,” including among their best trained, Western-equipped troops.

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❓Sanctions relief in sight? Syria plays nice with US demands

Syria claims it has met most conditions laid out by the US, although some require "mutual understanding," according to a copy of a letter cited by Reuters.

It pledges to:

◻️ not tolerate any threats to US or Western interests in Syria, with "appropriate legal measures" set in place

◻️ "monitor the activities of Palestinian factions," while banning any armed factions outside state control

◻️ not allow Syria to “become a source of threat to any party, including Israel"

◻️ set up a liaison office at the foreign ministry to find missing US journalist Austin Tice

◻️ work to tackle chemical weapons stockpiles with closer ties with a global arms watchdog

On other US demands:

🔸 removing foreign fighters from any official roles "requires a broader consultative session"

🔸 US request for coordination on counterterrorism, including strikes on terror targets, “requires mutual understandings."

In its letter, Syria voiced hope its "guarantees" would lead to detailed talks on reopening embassies and lifting sanctions.

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🔥 Arms of Victory: KV-1 heavy tank

Sputnik showcases the heavy weapons employed by the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War to defeat Hitler’s Third Reich.

Dubbed the "Ghost" by the enemy, the KV-1 was a formidable force on the battlefield. German anti-tank guns were unable to pierce its thick armor.

For a time, German tank crews were left defenseless against the KV-1, a surprising and powerful weapon that eventually paved the way for even more fearsome tanks like the KV-2 and IS-2.

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🇮🇳🇵🇰 India vs Pakistan: military power in numbers

Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated after the so-called ‘Resistance Front’, which India believes is linked to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba Salafi jihadist group, claimed responsibility for the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people.

Amid rising tensions, India holds a MAJOR advantage over Pakistan in key areas: troop numbers, fighter aircraft, naval ships, aircraft carriers, submarines and tanks. With a strong reserve force backing its active strength, India also benefits from significant strategic depth.

📊 Check out the full comparison in #Sputnikinfographic

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❗️The number of casualties from the explosion at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas has risen to 516, Iranian media report.

At least 4 people were killed in an explosion at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, according to the head of the Iranian rescue service.

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✅Ukrainian peace plan hints at CONCESSIONS – report

A counterproposal drafted by Ukraine in response to the plan previously outlined by the Trump administration DOES NOT mention Ukraine fully regaining all the territory that is under control of the Russian forces, the NYT reported, citing the text of the plan it had obtained.

🚫Neither does the draft peace proposal insist on Ukraine joining NATO, the report added.

🪖In return, Ukraine wants no restrictions on the size of its military, as well as “a European security contingent” backed by the US to be deployed on Ukrainian territory to guarantee security, according to the report.

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❗️Vladimir Putin, holding talks with Witkoff, confirmed Russia's readiness to negotiate with Ukraine without preconditions - Kremlin

Ukraine has previously stated that it will not engage in peace talks unless a ceasefire first takes effect.

"We are ready for dialogue in any format, with anyone <...> anytime. But only after a real signal that Russia is ready to end the war. Such a signal is a complete and unconditional ceasefire," Zelensky said at a press conference.

However, Zelensky has yet to remove a presidential decree issued in 2022 prohibiting peace talks with Russia.

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