🔥 Arms of Victory: Il-2 ‘Flying Tank’

Sputnik continues to detail the armaments used by the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War – the deadliest armed conflict in human history.

A combination of powerful armament and heavy armor led Soviet pilots to dub the plane a “Flying Tank”, while Germans nicknamed it the “Concrete Plane” and “Black Death” due to its ability to absorb heavy damage on ground-attack missions.

Armed with cannon and machineguns, unguided rockets and bombs, the plane rained terror down on enemy tanks, infantry and other ground targets, and featured a second seat for a gunner, who would operate a rear-facing machinegun against enemy fighters. Besides ground attack, it could fly escort and interdiction missions.

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🎥🎥 PUTIN-XI PRESSER FOLLOWING RUSSIA-CHINA NEGOTIATIONS

👉 Watch live in our Telegram

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❗️Putin and Xi Jinping issued a joint statement on global strategic stability

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📹 Footage from the signing ceremony of documents between Russia and China, taking place after the negotiations between Putin and Xi Jinping.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Putin stated that the negotiations between Russia and China took place in a warm, friendly atmosphere and were both meaningful and productive.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳Relations between Russia and China are self-sufficient and independent of the current global political and economic trends, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a joint press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow.

Other key statements:

🔻Putin promised that he and Xi Jinping would personally oversee all major aspects of the Russian-Chinese partnership.

🔻Putin outlined plans to significantly increase bilateral trade between Russia and China by 2030.

🔻Nearly all foreign trade operations between Russia and China are conducted in rubles and yuan.

🔻The two nations have built a resilient mutual trade system that is protected from the influence of third countries.

🔻Russia and China are successfully developing cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

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🗣 So, the first country the US has a trade agreement with is... the UK

No details yet, just a lot of “Liberation Day” talk. Let’s see how that plays out.

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🇨🇺🇻🇪 The presidents of Venezuela and Cuba laid flowers at the monument to Simón Bolívar in Moscow, honoring his legacy as the liberator of several South American countries and a symbol of resistance against colonialism.

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📹 What If Hitler Had Won? Alternative History of the world

Picture this: Soviet forces fail to halt the Nazi onslaught. What could have unfolded next?

Sputnik rolls out an in-depth project exploring what sort of "alternative future" would have been if the Third Reich had won, with journalists crafting a nightmarish vision grounded in archival documents, while the accompanying video brings this scenario to life through cutting-edge artificial intelligence.

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🇺🇸💻 Trump admin plans major overhaul of AI chip export rules

The White House is set to tear up Biden’s "AI Diffusion Rule" and introduce new guidelines that divide countries into three levels for AI chip exports.

✅ Allies & Taiwan get unlimited supply

⚖️ 120 countries get limited access

❌ China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea? No chips.

Sources say the change is happening soon, with the Commerce Department working on tighter controls, especially for countries that funnel chips to China.

The Biden-era rules? “Too bureaucratic and could hinder US innovation,” claims the Trump team.

What does this mean for global tech? Big shifts coming.

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📹 Walter Adams: True story of a WWII hero

An immigrant from Austria who enlisted in the US Army in 1943 to take part in the D-Day landing and the liberation of several Nazi death camps – this is the tale of Walter Adams, one of the heroes who helped win World War II, told by his relative.

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🗺 Google updates maps: Now shows both 'Arabian Gulf' and 'Persian Gulf' for same location

▪️Search either term → identical map pin appears

▪️Follows reports: Trump may endorse "Arabian Gulf" during upcoming Saudi visit (per unnamed US officials)

▪️Longstanding dispute: Arab states vs. Iran over naming

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🚨⚠️ ONE OF BIGGEST COVER UPS IN US HISTORY’: Trump team plans to release Biden’s blocked interview

Trump allies are preparing to release the audio of Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur — the same interview where Hur described Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Following the interview, Biden made it clear he was unwilling to reveal the details of his sit-down with his interviewer, who investigated the 46th US president’s handling of classified documents.

Biden’s team is reportedly bracing for the fallout.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Putin and Xi hold a one-on-one meeting in the format of a tea party, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

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🚀Russia and China slam US 'Golden Dome' missile defense as 'deeply destabilizing'

According to a joint statement published on the Kremlin's website, the project aims to create a global, multi-layered missile defense system with no limits, supposedly to protect against all missile threats — even from "equal and comparable" adversaries.

But in fact it is giving new momentum to the development of pre-launch missile interception systems.

The joint statement emphasizes rejecting the old notion that strategic offensive and defensive weapons are inseparable — a cornerstone for global stability.

In other words? The arms race just got an upgrade.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 Russia and China urge nuclear-armed states to abandon "Cold War" mentality and focus on dialogue and mutual respect to solve issues

In a joint statement following their talks in Moscow, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping emphasized several key issues surrounding global security and diplomatic relations:

🔸Nuclear conflict risk: Russia and China noted the growing risk of nuclear conflict amid worsening relations between nuclear states.

🔸Restoring international law: Both countries called for measures to restore the authority of the OPCW and ensure it operates in a depoliticized manner.

🔸Space weaponization: Russia and China are committed to preventing the deployment of weapons in space, calling for a global agreement on the issue.

🔸NATO in the Asia-Pacific: They condemned the US and its allies' attempts to expand NATO's presence in the Asia-Pacific, calling it a negative influence on global stability.

🔸Counteracting Washington’s policy: Russia and China plan to intensify cooperation to counter Washington's “dual containment” approach toward both nations.

🔸Opposition to Western hegemony: The two countries criticized the West’s hegemonic attempts to create quasi-legal pressure mechanisms against independent nations.

🔸Asset seizure: Russia and China condemned the seizure of foreign state assets and affirmed their right to take retaliatory measures.

🔸CIS and regional stability: Russia and China view the CIS as a crucial factor in maintaining stability and fostering cooperation in Eurasia.

🔸Economic corridor cooperation: The countries aim to strengthen the Russia-Mongolia-China economic corridor, which they highly regard for its future potential.

🔸Investment and energy collaboration: Russia and China are committed to boosting cooperation in investment, energy, and improving trade structures.

🔸Syria and national dialogue: Both nations remain committed to the comprehensive settlement of the Syrian conflict based on national dialogue and respect for sovereignty.

🔸Iran nuclear program: Russia and China urged parties to avoid escalation over Iran's nuclear program and rejected unsubstantiated military actions.

🔸Security in the Persian Gulf: They will work actively to enhance security in the Persian Gulf region.

🔸Opposition to Neo-Nazism and historical revisionism: Russia and China continue to stand firm against neo-Nazism and attempts to falsify history, particularly regarding World War II.

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❌ Another UK mercenary BITES THE DUST in Ukraine conflict zone 

Chris Garrett was killed in an “incident” near the town of Izyum, The Telegraph reports. 

The Russian Investigative Committee earlier stressed that at least 694 British mercenaries fight on the side of Ukraine in the Russian special operation zone. 

The committee didn’t reveal how many of them are dead, but unofficial estimates put the death toll at 156.

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