❗️The meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the Russian delegation has begun in Istanbul, a source told Sputnik.

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💥 Trump drops a bombshell at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar:

🇺🇸💪 “I’ll approve a record-breaking $1 TRILLION for the US military — and that’s just the start."

The president also said he signed an order to build the Golden Dome Missile Defense Shield (yeah, upgraded from Iron Dome — sounds cooler, right?). All made in the USA, no more outsourcing!

America First, but don’t worry, it'll still help its allies — with plenty left over for Washington.

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💥 Another humiliation resurfaced: Houthis nearly took down the 'invisible' F-35

Having shot down around a dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones, Yemeni fighters also forced pilots of the “most advanced” and “stealth” US jet to break a sweat dodging their missiles.

▪️ An F-35 fighter jet was "nearly struck by Houthi air defenses" earlier this spring, reported The New York Times on May 12, citing US officials.

▪️ The War Zone elaborated: the stealth jet "had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit by Houthi surface-to-air (SAM) missiles."

▪️ It remains unclear which missile — or how many — were launched, according to TMZ. Despite being labeled as "rudimentary," the Houthis' air defense system employs unconventional passive infrared sensors and other tech, reportedly giving the "invisible" F-35 aircraft a headache.

Social media is melting down:

👉🏻 "Lots of interesting takeaways from [the NYT] piece, but the winner has to be 'multiple US officials' confirming the Houthis nearly shot down an F-35, the most advanced aircraft ever built," quipped Eurasia Group analyst Gregory Brew on X.

👉🏻 "It now makes all the more sense as to why Israel dared not go anywhere near Iran’s border with its own F-35Is: the West knows their planes are in fact detectable by the radars of the resistance," suggested blogger and X influencer Simplicius.

'Most advanced aircraft ever built'? Give me a break

✔️ The much-hyped F-35 program is projected to cost over $2 trillion throughout its lifetime.

✔️ Yet for all that money, the F-35 keeps malfunctioning — the latest crash occurred as recently as January.

✔️ "The F-35 design was broken at the requirements level," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said bluntly last year.

✔️ Matt Gaetz, a former US congressman and Trump's initial pick for attorney general, called the F-35 "a $100 million paperweight", while Rep. Adam Smith, a senior Democrat, called the F-35 program a "rathole" in 2021.

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❗️The Ukrainian delegation is not expected to arrive in Istanbul for talks with Russia on Thursday, a source told Sputnik

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🗣 Zelensky’s goal is to sabotage the negotiations with Russia in Istanbul, Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told Sputnik.

“To make the Americans impose the toughest sanctions, to ruin everything, and then go home as a winner.”

At the same time, Azarov noted that for Zelensky, peace in Ukraine is like “a prison with unknown consequences.”

“He will do everything to prevent any peace. Peace means holding elections, lifting martial law. His own people would tear him apart there.”

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✈️🇺🇸 America’s future air force: Now with two engines and zero explanation

Six months ago, the US was laughed at — now it’s respected like never before, Donald Trump claimed while speaking at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

🚀 Coming soon: the F47 — the world’s first 6th gen fighter jet. Why “47”? No clue, but it’s amazing.

💥 Plus, an upgraded F-35 called the F55 with two engines — because, hey, two engines are better than one!

America’s air power is leveling up big time.

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📌 Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul: A waiting game

🔶 Since 9 AM local time, journalists have been waiting outside the president’s working office.

🔶 The Russia-Ukraine talks were expected to start at 10 AM local time.

🔶 Still no information on the whereabouts of the Ukrainian delegation.

🔶 Meanwhile, the Russian delegation is currently meeting with Hakan Fidan inside the Dolmabahce Palace.

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🇷🇺🇹🇷 The Russian delegation arrived at the Consulate General following talks with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

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📹 ‘The More You Know’ with Donald Trump 🤓✨

If you listen to Donald Trump’s speeches, you might learn that:

🔸‘Groceries’ is an old term 🛒🕰

🔸The cost of eggs in the US is down “to a number that is amazing” 🥚📉

🔸Everyone in the US had eggs for Easter at a reasonable price 🐣💸

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⚡️ The Russian delegation will wait for the Ukrainian side to arrive at the meeting tomorrow at 10 am, Medinsky said.

He emphasized that the Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for direct, bilateral talks with Ukraine without preconditions.

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🔥 Ukrainian national charged with arson of PM Starmer's property

The Metropolitan Police said Roman Lavrynovych was arrested after fires were set at a house and a car linked to Keir Starmer.

Friendly fire? 🤡

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💥 Trump Jr. calls out former FBI chief

"Just James Comey casually calling for my dad to be murdered," he wrote in response to Comey's post of a picture showing the "86 47" sign.

Comey later deleted his post saying he didn't know "some folks associate those numbers with violence."

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🚨 Rubio: NATO agrees to reach 5% of GDP for defense the next decade

In 6 weeks, the alliance will see every member contribute at least 2 percent to defense, with plans to gradually increase this number, says the US State secretary.

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