🇷🇺💎🇸🇦Saudi Arabia opens vault: Russian gold & diamond firms first in line

Leading Russian gold, diamond, and titanium mining companies are eagerly awaiting entry into Saudi Arabia’s market, Saudi Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef said in an interview with Sputnik.

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👍Trump’s peace plan: Putin in, Zelensky out?

Western officials are still under the assumption that Donald Trump views Vladimir Putin as his key partner for peace talks, with Volodymyr Zelensky seen as the main obstacle, according to UK media. But despite the shift in tone, no major action is being taken yet.

Zelensky is doing his best to meet with US officials to plead for more weapons and funding, while much of the administration remains deeply skeptical about supporting Kiev, the media suggests. Some argue the US should focus on Asia rather than Europe, while others hold a non-interventionist stance.

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIA'S MoD UPDATE: DEVASTATING STRIKES & MASSIVE UKRAINIAN LOSSES

🔸 Strategic annihilation: Russian forces wiped out territorial recruitment centers, temporary deployment points of Ukrainian formations, and foreign mercenary bases across 133 districts

🔸 Heavy Ukrainian losses: Over 1,280 troops eliminated in the special military operation zone in past 24 hours

🔸 Air dominance: 189 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones shot down by Russian air defenses

🔸 Precision strikes: Group attack destroyed Ukrainian defense industry facilities in Lvov, Kharkov, and Lutsk, plus military airfield infrastructure

🔸 Mission accomplished: All designated targets successfully hit

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💥 RUSSIA'S NEW STRATEGY AGAINST UKRAINIAN DRAFT

Russian forces target Ukrainian military recruitment centers in Russian-speaking regions, stepping up pressure against the ongoing forced conscription.

Senator Konstantin Basyuk revealed the new tactics to disrupt the process, making it harder for Ukraine to force men into the military.

Ukrainian recruitment centers in Kherson, Kremenchug and Poltava have already been hit by explosions.

As civilians are taken off the streets and sent to the front lines against their will, the destruction of recruitment offices is seen as a winning move.

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🇷🇺🤝🇰🇵PUTIN SENDS MESSAGE TO KIM JONG-UN

Vladimir Putin has sent a message to DPRK Chairman Kim Jong-un, expressing hope for continued direct contact in the near future.

The message was delivered by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

🔶 Russia remains committed to all agreements made with North Korea.

🔶 Lavrov confirmed that during a meeting with the North Korean leader.

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🇷🇺🇸🇦 Why are Russian companies investing in Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabian Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Ibrahim Alkhorayef explains the key drivers in an exclusive interview with Sputnik.

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🚨Azerbaijan’s claims against Sputnik baseless

Dmitry Kiselev, head of Rossiya Segodnya media group – Sputnik's parent company – has dismissed the Azerbaijan Press Council’s allegations against Sputnik Azerbaijan as "empty and unfounded."

The council accused Russia of using media as a "tool of foreign policy influence," claiming there was no suppression of media freedom in Azerbaijan.
The statement came in response to a letter from the Russian Union of Journalists.

"The accusations from the Azerbaijan Press Council are as hollow as a drum," Kiselev said, adding that they authority "cannot provide a single example to support their claim that Sputnik Azerbaijan engaged in subversive activities in the country."

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🚨Ukraine wages war against civilians and children

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has strongly condemned the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strike on the Belgorod Arena, where classes were being held at the time of the attack.

"The Kiev regime is waging war against civilians, children, as well as conscience, history, the Russian language, culture and monuments," Zakharova told Sputnik.

👉"It’s as if Kiev has decided to combine the worst practices — from barbarism to Nazism, from terrorism to savagery."

Earlier on Saturday, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone struck the Belgorod Arena where classes were in session.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze, with no casualties immediately reported.

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Germany’s financing of long-range missiles for Ukraine brings Europe closer to war – BSW leader

Financing long-range missiles for Ukraine is a dangerous escalation, bringing Europe closer to a large-scale war, Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the Alliance of Sahra Wagenknecht – Reason and Justice party, said.

“The announcements are extremely dangerous. The fact that Ukraine can now attack Russia's interior with weapons financed from Germany is a new escalation stage that brings us even closer to a hot war with Russia. What dangerous madness! The next step toward a major European war,” Wagenknecht wrote on X.

Earlier, Major General Christian Freuding, who heads the special Ukraine task force at Germany's Defense Ministry and coordinates military aid to Kiev, announced that the first long-range missiles financed by Germany would be delivered by the end of July.

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📹Israeli airstrike hits building near Islamic University in Gaza

A video of the attack was posted online.

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☢️IRAN WARNS OF SERIOUS RISKS TO NUCLEAR SITES AFTER 12-DAY WAR

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has raised the alarm over the serious risks posed by radioactive material dispersion and unexploded munitions near Iran’s nuclear facilities after the recent Israel-Iran conflict.

🟠 Araghchi highlighted the dangers of military attacks on nuclear sites, stressing the ongoing risk of radiation leaks and unexploded ordnance.

🟠 Iranian cooperation with the IAEA has been severely impacted, with Tehran now rethinking how it engages with United Nations inspectors.

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🤑AMERICA'S "DUTCH DISEASE": DEBT AS A NEW RESOURCE

The US has discovered a new “natural resource” — debt. Since 2000, it’s been exporting this economic "commodity" to the world, turning national debt into a global asset, says The Financial Times.

🔶 Similar to the Dutch disease, America's debt export has reshaped the economy, benefiting from global demand for dollar-denominated assets.

🔶 While the US continues to borrow, this “privilege” is starting to feel like a burden, with the dollar losing 8% of its value in the past six months.

🔶 The "voracity effect" explains how powerful groups use this debt windfall, enriching the elite while ignoring productive investments.

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🇮🇷 Iran has not stopped cooperation with IAEA, remains committed to NPT — foreign minister

🔸 Tehran has not ended its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but the form of this cooperation will change, says Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

🔸 In response to recent events, Iran's nuclear collaboration will now be governed by the Supreme National Security Council. Despite tensions, Iran remains committed to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and insists its nuclear program is peaceful.

🔸 Araghchi emphasized that all future cooperation will be adjusted to the current "on-the-ground" reality, reflecting Iran's stance following the open phase of the Iran-Israel conflict.

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🇦🇲☦️🤔Pashinyan targets businessman and church: Political vendetta ahead of 2026 elections?

The accusations against Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan are politically motivated, Tigran Kocharyan, chief editor of the Alpha News media project, tells Sputnik.

"They began after Samvel Karapetyan expressed support for the Armenian Apostolic Church, stating that if politicians failed to protect it, he would do so in his own way. This angered Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan," Kocharyan says.

🗣He argues the prosecution is purely political, noting that Karapetyan dared to defend the Armenian Apostolic Church, with which Pashinyan has a strained relationship, and that the PM views Karapetyan as a potential rival in the 2026 elections.

That may be why the Armenian parliament recently passed a law allowing the nationalization of the electrical grid – owned by Karapetyan.

"Pashinyan seeks to take this asset from him, as he believes that by doing so, Karapetyan would lose influence over the employees of the electric grids — several thousand workers — thus cutting off his support base," Kocharyan suggests.

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the only institution that truly unites the nation, he says.

👉"Pashinyan's tensions with the Church escalated after the Catholicos attended an event in Switzerland discussing the return of Artsakh residents and prisoners held in Baku," Kocharyan says, referring to the 2023 war with Azerbaijan.

"This triggered a new phase of conflict with the Church. Many say that Pashinyan has crossed all limits of decency and diplomacy in his interactions with the Church's hierarchy, using language that is unacceptable to many," he adds.

👉"Considering Pashinyan and his circle are not the most devout followers of the Church — and his personal statements about not being officially married or being unwed in the Church — many people question his sincerity in his stance against the Church, especially when he criticizes it for alleged moral failings," Kocharyan argues.

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📹INTERNAL CHAOS IN UKRAINE'S ELITE FORCES

🫥Increasing desertions are shaking the ranks of Ukraine's once-elite Da Vinci Wolves battalion, reveals captured soldier Limar Osmanov.

The unit, once celebrated for its prowess, now faces a morale crisis.

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🚨EU prepares countermeasures against US tariffs

As the US goes ahead with a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from August 1, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signals readiness to retaliate.

The EU aims to protect its key supply chains and mitigate damage to businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.

US President Donald Trump sent letters to Mexico and the EU announcing that they will be subject to a 30% tariff on exports to the United States.

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📹Saudi Arabia eyes Russia's participation in Future Minerals Forum

Saudi Minister Bandar Alkhorayef tells Sputnik that preparations are underway for a potential Russian role in next year’s flagship mining industry event.

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