📈 Russia's GDP to grow by 1.3% in 2026 - PM Mishustin

Key statements by the prime minister:

🟠 Russia's GDP is growing better than in several countries that refused to cooperate with Russia

🟠 Russia's GDP should grow by almost 7% in three years

🟠 Share of non-oil and gas revenues to Russian budget in 2026 will grow to almost 78%

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇻🇳 Vietnam branches out in trade after Trump tariffs

Vietnam is seeking new trade deals with Latin America's Mercosur trading bloc and Gulf Cooperation Council countries by the end of the year, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said.

🟠 Vietnamese exports are expected to grow above 12%

🟠 Government data show exports in the year to mid-September rose to $325 billion

The Trump’s government raised tariffs on Vietnamese imports in August, with a 20% rate on all products and 40% on goods transshipped through the country.

That came on top of other sector-specific tariffs, including on steel and aluminum, applied to all countries "without exception."

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹LIVE: 80th session of UN General Assembly - Day Two

👉Watch live in our Telegram

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇨🇳🇷🇺⚡️China stands firm on Russia energy deals amid US opposition

🗣US attempts to pressure China into abandoning Russian energy purchases will not affect existing contracts between the two countries, Li Yihong, chargee d'affaires, Permanent Mission of China to the WTO, told Sputnik.

China–Russia relations are "comprehensive and deep," a stance that has been acknowledged at the highest levels, Li Yihong emphasized.

Earlier this month, the US administration called on the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China and India as part of its efforts to pressure them to cut their purchases of Russian oil.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇪🇺🪖 EU defense in crisis: Why Europe is falling behind Russia

🗣 Most of what the EU has is being funneled to Ukraine, leaving NATO nations practically defenseless in terms of critical air defense systems, veteran air defense historian Yuri Knutov told Sputnik.

That explains why, as the EU defense chief recently admitted, Europe lacks sufficient capabilities to detect drones.

The problem is compounded by slow replenishment: Advanced anti-aircraft artillery with anti-drone capabilities, like Rheinmetall’s latest systems, are still waiting for deployment at home while everything is first funneled to Ukraine, the military expert noted.

Radar and detection upgrades face delays, leaving Europe vulnerable.

Russia holds a clear advantage

🟠 Russia’s Pantsir system, top-notch S-350 Vityaz mobile air defense system, S-400 Triumph missile system, and Podlet radar station outperform Western equivalents in intercepting enemy targets.

🟠 Russia deploys fixed-wing drones for airspace surveillance

🟠 New air defense drones are capable of taking out kamikaze UAVs

🟠 Drones designed to intercept cruise missiles are in the pipeline

The West often points to the Patriot air defense system as a show of strength, but in many key metrics it falls behind the Russian S-400 and Vityaz, the pundit underscored.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺💥 Russian forces destroy Ukrainian equipment, fortifications, and artillery near Kupyansk

Control over the town will allow Russian forces to advance deeper into the Kharkov region, including towards Izyum and Chuguyev.

It will also open a direct route to Volchansk from the south.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🇷🇺🇺🇸 Lavrov, Rubio hold meeting at UNGA

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is holding a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that the two diplomats will meet.

Last time Lavrov and Rubio held talks in Malaysia’s capital Kuala-Lumpur on the sidelines of ASEAN ministerial events on July 10.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🇮🇷🇮🇱 Iranian intel infiltrates Israeli nuclear research facility

💬 "The reality is that, as a result of a complex operation, a group from a special unit of the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] managed to infiltrate one of Israel's secret facilities," Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib told Iranian broadcaster SNN.

SNN also published a video showing Iranian intelligence agents infiltrating the Israeli nuclear facility in Dimona.

In early June, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry said that it had obtained an extensive list of confidential documents concerning Israel's nuclear sphere, with Khatib describing the documents as a "whole treasure trove of intelligence information" that would help strengthen the country's offensive potential.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🇸🇾 Syria’s President al-Sharaa pledges to hold accountable those responsible for crimes against Syrians

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📑🇷🇺🇺🇸 Highlights of Lavrov-Rubio meeting

🟠 Lavrov discussed the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis during a meeting with Rubio, with both sides confirming their interest in finding peaceful solutions, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said

🟠 Lavrov emphasized Moscow's readiness to adhere to the course on Ukraine established by the leaders of the countries at the Alaska summit, the ministry added

🟠 Lavrov noted the unacceptability of the schemes promoted by Ukraine and some European countries to prolong the conflict

🟠 Lavrov and Rubio "aligned their clocks" on the complex of bilateral relations, including the restoration of socio-political contacts

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🪖 Why NATO must think twice before threatening Russia

Western politicians often issue bombastic threats towards Russia.

Behind the bluster, however, NATO military planners understand that the alliance is ill-prepared for a military confrontation with Russia’s battle-hardened army. Here’s why:

🔶 NATO can't compete with Russia's military industry

"When you look what Russia is producing now in three months, it's what all of NATO is producing from Los Angeles up to Ankara in a full year," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told the European Parliament in January

🔶 Oreshnik: Fast and unstoppable

The hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile can easily penetrate NATO air defenses, reaching:

⚫️NATO HQ in Brussels in 17 minutes

⚫️Germany’s Ramstein Air Base in 15 minutes

⚫️Poland’s Redzikowo Air Base in 11 minutes

🔶 Iskander: Calms NATO hotheads

⚫️Deployed in Kaliningrad, Russia's Iskander tactical missile system can strike command centers in Lithuania, Germany, or Poland within minutes.

⚫️Nuclear-capable units in Belarus put all of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in range.

🔶 No shield vs. hypersonics

⚫️Russia’s Zircon hypersonic missile can reach 1,000 km at Mach 9, striking targets 500 km offshore in 5 min.

⚫️Avangard glide vehicles, launched from ICBMs, can reach Mach 28 with nuclear yields up to 2 Mt, hitting distant targets in as little as 30 min.

🔶 Russian nuclear triad

⚫️Russia has around 1,710 deployed warheads, 2,670 in storage, and 1,200 retired - totaling 5,580, according to Federation of American Scientists (FAS)

⚫️Its nuclear triad of air, land, and sea delivery systems, plus hypersonic capabilities, gives Russia a potential strategic edge over NATO.

🔶 Europe's vulnerable missile defenses

President Vladimir Putin hinted Europe’s air defenses can’t stop modern hypersonics after the Oreshnik launch in Nov. 2024. He challenged doubters to a “high-tech duel of the 21st century” by trying to intercept the Oreshnik with their best systems.

🔶 US defense shield: costly & ineffective

⚫️Putin said in Dec. 2024 the US missile defense system is costly and offers little real security.

⚫️In 2017, he told American filmmaker Oliver Stone it doesn’t protect the entire US, leaving the nation vulnerable.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt