A monument to Kiev-born Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov has been dismantled in the Ukrainian capital as Kiev continues to remove, rename, and erase cultural sites and memorials associated with its common Russian and Soviet history.

The statue, located near the Bulgakov Museum in one of Kiev’s best-known historic districts, had become a target of Ukraine’s broader campaign to remove symbols deemed connected to “Russian imperial culture.” The Kiev City Council voted in December to remove 15 such objects from public spaces, including monuments to Bulgakov, poet Anna Akhmatova, and composer Mikhail Glinka.

“A historic moment! Bulgakov is already gone,” Ukrainian journalist Ekaterina Nekrecha said in a video posted on Facebook on Thursday, showing the monument being taken away by workers.

Bulgakov, born in Kiev in 1891, wrote primarily in Russian and became one of the 20th century’s most influential authors. He is best known for The Master and Margarita and The White Guard.

The dismantling has reignited debate over how Ukraine should treat cultural figures whose identities cut across Russian and Ukrainian history. Critics of the campaign argue that erasing writers such as Bulgakov risks flattening Ukraine’s complex past and whitewashing uncomfortable chapters of its own history.

The removal comes as Ukraine continues to rename streets, dismantle Soviet-era symbols, and cancel historical figures under its “decommunization” laws. The process, launched after 2014 and accelerated after 2022, has expanded from Soviet political monuments to writers, composers, and other cultural figures linked to Russia.

A German court has ruled that calling Chancellor Friedrich Merz a “lying Fritz” should be criminally prosecuted because of “particular public interest,” slapping the offender with a fine amounting to an average monthly salary, or more than €2,000 ($2,322).

The case is just one of dozens of similar investigations launched by German police over critical comments posted on Facebook last year, the public prosecutor’s office in the southwestern city of Heilbronn confirmed to Die Welt.

The prosecution dates back to October 25, when a local police department issued a drone no-fly zone warning ahead of Merz’s visit to the area. What followed was a string of angry statements calling Merz anything from a liar to a “lying clown,” a “loose talker,” and a “lackey,” according to reports.

People who called Merz “Pinocchio” and a “lying clown” can rest assured that no law enforcement officials will be knocking on their doors any time soon, according to Tagesspiegel.

However, in the case of “lying Fritz,” the court decided in March that the words were “likely to incite further negative prejudices or aggression among like-minded individuals.”

When asked about the cases at this week’s press conference, a government spokesman said he would not comment on the issue “out of respect for the judiciary,” adding that Merz himself had not filed any charges. When pressed further, the official said these were “normal legal procedures” that “must be protected.”

The development has further fueled concerns about free speech in Germany. German regulators are reportedly planning to force social media platforms to boost government-approved media outlets in their algorithms, according to media reports citing leaked government documents. Even the EU stated in April that the German government had misused hate-speech laws to restrict freedom of expression.

For the first time in at least 50 years more people have moved out of the United States then moved in. Is politics and Donald Trump mostly to blame or is some other dynamic at play?

Last year, the US witnessed something that hasn’t occurred since before the Second World War – more people have left the country than moved in. And the bulk of the departures are not merely illegal migrants being politely shown the exit. Despite the high cost and emotional toll of digging up roots and leaving the country, an increasing number of homegrown Americans – for a wide variety of reasons – are making such a radical decision.

An estimated four to nine million Americans live abroad, with recent data showing a surge in voluntary emigration and an estimated 180,000+ US citizens relocating overseas in 2025 – a trend that is continuing to rise. For the first time in decades, the US experienced net negative migration. This recent wave of outward migration is driven by a mix of economic pressures, the rise of remote work, and shifting social and political climates. Some of the popular destinations include: Mexico, Spain, Germany and Thailand.

According to an interview with Expatsi co-founder Jen Barnett by CNBC Make It, “[A] majority of Americans, 89%, said they want to leave the US for political reasons. Others point to an opportunity for adventure and growth (73%), as well as a chance to save money (57%). Roughly two-thirds of respondents hope to move within two years, they have an average monthly budget of $3,856 to work with, and hopeful movers are split among 44% individuals, 39% couples and 17% families with kids.”

Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi: The former talk show host and her wife relocated to a farmhouse in the Cotswolds, England, stating on Deadline that Trump’s re-election cemented their permanent move out of the country.

Rosie O’Donnell: A longtime critic of Trump, O’Donnell relocated her family to Ireland, citing the need to prioritize her children’s safety and her own mental health.

Sophie Turner: The Game of Thrones actress returned to West London from Miami, citing rising gun violence and the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “America is a s-show,” she told Deadline, without delving into specifics about president Donald Trump.

James Cameron: The Avatar director, who has long been based in New Zealand, actively pursued New Zealand citizenship, citing political shifts that have “hollowed out” the US.

Meanwhile, many Americans have opted not only to live abroad, but to surrender their American citizenship altogether. The State Department cut the renunciation fee significantly from $2,350 to $450, prompting thousands of expatriates to queue at US consulates globally to finalize their exit plans.

I spoke with Mark Riley, an American from North Carolina who recently moved to Moscow together with his four children and wife, for his reasons in making the big jump abroad.

“I am a graphic designer and I can do my job practically anywhere,” Riley told me over drinks in the heart of Moscow. “One day I was watching a television program about the rise of transgender lifestyles in the United States and that’s when the idea first popped into my head. I asked my wife why we were staying in a country that no longer shares our political and religious views. Six months later my family and I were boarding a one-way airplane to Russia.”

When I asked him if he ever regrets his decision Riley laughed and said yes, but “only in the wintertime.”

In the end, what has Americans on the run is not just the current president and his politics – that’s basically just a bad news cycle at this point. They are fleeing a deeper sense of national exhaustion – rising costs, social fragmentation, cultural alienation, and yes, all the political hysteria. All of these combine into a feeling that the country no longer offers either stability or a shared moral center.

For some, the move abroad is an economic decision; for others, it is ideological or spiritual. But taken together, this outward flow is a clear message: millions of Americans are no longer asking how to fix their country, but how to escape it. That may be the clearest sign yet that the American crisis has moved beyond politics – it has grown to be civilizational.

Russian President Vladimir Putin fielded questions from the heads of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday. The agencies included Chinese, Belarusian, German, French, Spanish, and Iranian state news outlets, as well as representatives of Reuters and the Associated Press.

The mammoth Q&A session lasted just over two hours and touched on a variety of subjects, including Russian domestic and foreign policy, the Ukraine conflict, and potential routes to rapprochement with Europe.

Here are the main topics discussed.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has blamed Berlin’s failure to secure a seat at the UN Security Council on his country’s superior moral positions. If only there were a German word for that…

Having won every round it has entered since the mid-twentieth century, this time around, Germany could only manage to secure 104 votes, while Portugal won 134 and Austria – a non-NATO member – took 131. Despite Berlin’s long-held insistence that it deserves a permanent seat on the UNSC, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was forced to listen as the results were read out by none other than Annalena Baerbock.

Schadenfreude: the feeling of joy in an opponent’s misfortune

As president of the UN assembly, the notoriously gaffe-prone former German foreign minister Baerbock’s smile cracked into a grimace as she read the result of the secret ballot. 

While the room roundly applauded Austria, Portugal, and the other successful countries, the pushback began. Free Democratic Party MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann described the result as a repudiation of Baerbock’s nagging “politics of the raised index finger,” while human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber gloated over how neither Baerbock nor Wadephul could could “save Germany from this well-deserved humiliation.” 

In a rare moment of justice at the UN General Assembly today, Germany lost its bid for a UN Security Council seat. Germany’s scandalous support for genocide in Palestine and aggression against Iran, and its repression of human rights defenders inside Germany, were all on display…

— Craig Mokhiber (@CraigMokhiber) June 3, 2026

“[German Chancellor Friedrich] Merz wanted to bring our country ‘back onto the international stage’ at the start of his chancellorship, but now Germany is left without a seat on the UN Security Council,” Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Alice Weidel wrote on X, adding that Merz has led Germany from “one embarrassment to the next.” 

The governments of Christian Democrat Friedrich Merz and Social Democrat Olaf Scholz (the latter of whom Baerbock served under) shared identical foreign policies. Both professed slavish devotion to the American-led “rules-based international order” when it came to Ukraine, and a moral relativism when it came to Israel’s wars in the Middle East. 

Baerbock declared the EU to be “fighting a war against Russia” in 2023, called Xi Jinping a “dictator,” and scolded the Chinese president for “taking the side of the aggressor” by refusing to join the West’s proxy war in Ukraine. The following year, she referred to Israeli strikes on Palestinian schools as “self-defense,” and argued that civilian sites lose their protection when “ terrorists” operate in their vicinity. 

#BREAKING: #Germany “won’t shy away” from helping #Israel attack civilians, German FM Annalena #Baerbock says. Baerbock says protected places of refuge can lose their protection status due to Hamas hiding in between citizens. #News #GermanyNews #IsraelHamasWar #annalenabaerbock pic.twitter.com/UD0WlorbDA

— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔞𝔦𝔩𝔶 𝔇𝔦𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔱 (@DailyD1ss1dent) October 15, 2024

“When it comes to Russia, international law counts, but when it comes to the USA and Israel, it doesn’t,” left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht told the Berliner Zeitung. “This double standard was voted out by the international community yesterday.”

The German dictionary has another take to offer.

Schuldverschiebung: blame shifting

Having overseen Germany’s lowest diplomatic moment in 70 years, Wadephul told reporters that he “did not personally blame himself” for the loss. Russia, he insisted, saw Germany’s “rock-solid support for Ukraine” and “campaigned against us.” He rejected any idea of a double standard on Israel, claiming that “Germany must always assume a special responsibility for Israel with regard to the Middle East conflict.” 

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on why Germany lost UN seat:

There's our rock-solid support for Ukraine. It is no secret that Russia does not want such a voice at the table — and campaigned against us.

It also may have cost us votes that Germany must always assume a… pic.twitter.com/80oFDEbA77

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 3, 2026

There is no evidence that Russia orchestrated a backroom campaign against Germany’s candidacy. Instead, analysts in Germany and abroad have pointed to Berlin’s support for Israel as the key factor behind its loss. “Let’s be clear: Germany’s support for Ukraine had nothing to do with it. Portugal and Austria – who beat Germany – are no less supportive of Ukraine,” Trita Parsi, of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft wrote on X. “It has everything to do with Germany’s support for Israel’s genocide and the manner in which the German government has been willing to undermine international law and the UN Charter on behalf of Israel.” 

Germany, Wadephul argued, essentially fell victim to its own superior moral obligations, which require the country to take seemingly contradictory – but ultimately correct – positions on world affairs. 

There does not seem to be a compound German word for this mindset, so we plugged the above sentence into a generator and marveled at the Teutonic masterpiece it spat out: 

Moralüberlegenheitsopfermentalität is the impulse that drives the foreign policy of Baerbock and Wadephul, and the domestic policies that have dragged Europe’s former economic powerhouse into recession and de-industrialization.

Germany’s iron-clad support for Israel may have alienated many at the UN, but according to Wadephul, the sacrifice was worth it because Germany lived up to “our historical responsibility” to atone for the Holocaust. And, while Germany’s ongoing rearmament and aid to Ukraine may be pushing the country’s budget deficit far above the 3% limit set in place by the EU, the economic pain is worth it to, in the words of Merz, “protect our free democratic order.” 

At home, Germany’s decision to cut itself off from Russian energy was economically ruinous, but justified by the country’s leaders as morally correct. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to throw open Germany’s borders to a million Middle-Eastern migrants in 2015 may have facilitated a rise in crime, social unrest, and unemployment, but Germany was declared a “moral superpower” by liberal journalists and Merkel was crowned Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.

Endpunkt

Germany may attempt to deflect blame and portray its contradictory positions as moral duties, but to the rest of the world, its preaching smacks of hypocrisy. The UN vote was a repudiation of Berlin’s double standards, but also an acknowledgement of its declining influence on the global stage. 

The West’s ultraliberal model has reached a “civilizational dead end” and is increasingly restricting the rights of its own citizens, journalists, and political movements, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

Speaking at a panel on Europe’s future on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Zakharova argued that a system which once promoted “freedom, democracy, and human rights” is now facing an ideological crisis as it struggles to uphold those principles at home.

”We are witnessing the civilizational dead end of an ultraliberal model that only yesterday claimed to literally teach and reprogram the entire world,” she said. “Today, this model cannot even guarantee the declared rights of its own citizens.”

According to Zakharova, political parties, journalists, and public organizations in Western Europe increasingly face pressure if they challenge the dominant narrative. “Either you keep quiet, or you go to jail,” she said.

Most Western nations imposed sweeping restrictions on RT and other Russian media outlets following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. RT content was subsequently removed or limited on major digital platforms, including YouTube, where the network had amassed around 30 million subscribers before the restrictions were introduced.

Concerns over censorship and restrictions on public debate have helped fuel support for conservative movements across much of the West. Parties such as Germany’s AfD, France’s National Rally, Italy’s Brothers of Italy, and the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom have gained ground by criticizing political elites, mainstream media, and policies on issues including immigration and national sovereignty.

Russia's PSB bank plays a significant role in the new regions of the country, and the organization has been actively developing infrastructure in these territories since June 2022, PSB Deputy Chairman Mikhail Dorofeev said in an interview with RT on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“We now have 456 offices... Our clients include almost 3 million individuals and more than 110,000 legal entities. Over this period, we have built a Russian banking system there,” Dorofeev said.

The bank is now present in 147 localities across all four new regions, including dangerous areas.

“In such dangerous areas as Kakhovka and Novaya Kakhovka, offices are open,” he said.

Speaking about the bank’s international operations, Dorofeev mentioned the work of the A7 platform, which provides services for international cross-border transfers. According to the PSB deputy chairman, this is an example of successful public-private partnership.

“The main currencies in our payments are the yuan, the dirham, and the ruble. By the end of 2025, the turnover of the Russian ruble and the currencies of friendly states exceeded 85%,” he added.

At the same time, Africa is a strategic direction for PSB: over the next two years, the bank plans to open offices in 20 countries on the continent.

Responding to a question about the use of artificial intelligence in PSB’s operations, Dorofeev emphasized that in banking, AI is viewed as a tool, not a replacement for people.

In its current understanding, artificial intelligence is above all the processing of large volumes of data, though it is also used for routine operations such as preparing simple documents and working in call centers.

The situation in Lebanon has pushed Iran out of the negotiating process with the US and has once again shown that Middle Eastern diplomacy today depends less on formal negotiations than on what is happening on the ground.

Tehran has suspended its indirect exchange of messages with Washington through intermediaries against the backdrop of Israel’s expanding operation against Lebanon and Hezbollah. This decision was a reaction to a broader crisis in which the Lebanese front has become intertwined with US-Iranian negotiations, Israel’s security calculations, Lebanon’s domestic politics, Hezbollah’s position, Tehran’s regional strategy, and the Trump administration’s attempt to impose at least a temporary formula for de-escalation.

The offensive

At first glance, the crisis appears to follow the familiar pattern of Israeli-Lebanese confrontation. Israel says it is acting to protect the country’s northern areas, from which residents were evacuated after Hezbollah attacks. Hezbollah presents its actions as resistance to Israeli strikes and links the Lebanese front to the broader struggle against Israel. The Lebanese state calls for an end to the attacks and for respect for its sovereignty, yet it lacks the power either to control Hezbollah’s decisions or to stop the Israeli military. The US is trying to keep negotiations alive because a wider regional war would threaten its interests, energy markets, and the positions of its allies. Iran, meanwhile, sees the developments in Lebanon not as a local episode, but as a blow to the entire architecture of its regional influence.

As long as the war remained limited to exchanges of fire along the border, it could still be presented as a controlled conflict. Yet the expansion of Israel’s ground operation, its advance deeper into southern Lebanon, its strikes on areas linked to Hezbollah, and its attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs have changed the politics around the conflict. Rather than simply responding to threats, as Israel claims to be, it is trying to forcefully alter the security landscape of the region.

Israel’s advance in the area of Beaufort Castle has been especially symbolic. For military planners, it is an important height and a point of control. For the Lebanese, however, it is a place associated with the memory of earlier wars and resistance against Israeli presence. The seizure or occupation of such an area would be a signal that Israel’s goal is deep intervention in southern Lebanon. This is why France requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. For Paris, which has historical ties to Lebanon and a strong interest in preserving Lebanese statehood, Israel’s advance represents a threat not only to security, but also to the very principle of Lebanese sovereignty.

Israel’s traditional partners in Europe have criticized particular Israeli actions before, but they have usually tried to maintain a balance between recognizing Israel’s right to security and calling for restraint. However, Israel’s actions on the ground have not helped maintain that balance. After the war in Gaza, European public opinion had already become far more critical of Israel. With the new operation in Lebanon, the risk of a long-term occupation of the south, and the collapse of talks with Iran, even Israel’s customary allies begin to distance themselves. They may not be taking the side of Iran or Hezbollah, but they are increasingly unwilling to offer unconditional political cover for the policies of the Israeli cabinet.

Israel’s strength has always rested not only on its military capabilities and its alliance with the US, but also on its ability to remain part of the Western political system. If France, Germany, the UK, and other European partners increasingly come to see Israel’s actions as a source of further escalation, international support will begin to shrink. This does not mean an immediate rupture in relations, but it does mean a gradual erosion of political patience. We may see colder official statements, followed by pressure at the United Nations, and eventually debates will emerge over arms supplies, trade agreements, legal accountability, and recognition of new political realities on the Palestinian and Lebanese tracks.

Why is Israel doing this?

Why does Israel need this escalation? Military necessity is only part of the answer. Israel’s leadership wants to bring residents of the north back home, restore deterrence after Hezbollah’s attacks, and show Israeli society that the state is capable of defending its borders. Since October 7, 2023, security has become a test of public trust in the state itself. For Netanyahu and his cabinet, the northern front has become a measure of whether the government can restore control in places where citizens have felt abandoned.

There is, however, a second layer. Israel views Hezbollah not merely as a key component of Iran’s military system on Israel’s borders. Striking Hezbollah means striking Iran. Israel wants to dismantle the infrastructure that allows Tehran to maintain pressure on Israel through Lebanon. The operation against Hezbollah is therefore directed simultaneously at Beirut, Tehran, and Washington. Israel is making clear that it does not intend to wait for the outcome of US-Iranian negotiations if those talks might preserve a situation in which Hezbollah retains an armed presence in southern Lebanon.

A third layer has to do with Israeli domestic politics. Netanyahu’s government depends on right-wing and religious-nationalist forces for which security means territorial control rather than compromise. In this political environment, temporary security zones can easily turn into demands for long-term military presence. In Gaza, this has manifested itself in discussions about displacement, military administration, and the possible return of settlements. In relation to Lebanon, this means to control the south of the country, push Hezbollah back toward the Litani River, and create a reality in which Israel itself defines the perimeter of its security.

This is where one must speak carefully about the idea of ‘Greater Israel.’ It is not the official doctrine of the Israeli state toward Lebanon, yet it does exist within the worldview of certain radical right-wing and settler circles. These groups see neighboring territories as part of a broader historical and biblical map. Even when this ideology does not translate into an explicit decision to annex southern Lebanon, it still creates a political atmosphere in which the occupation of other people’s territory can be justified as a historical right as well as a strategic necessity.

The danger lies in the fact that temporary military solutions in the Middle East often become long-term facts on the ground. Military action, initially aimed at eliminating a threat, morphs into observation posts, supply routes, exclusion zones, and special access regimes. Then the argument is made that withdrawal is impossible because the enemy will return, and you end up with an occupation, even if it is not formally called one. Lebanon has already lived through such a scenario. Israel’s earlier presence in the south was also justified by the security needs of the northern Israeli communities, yet for the Lebanese it became a symbol of occupation and one of the factors that strengthened Hezbollah.

The Hezbollah paradox and the Lebanese state

Israel wants to weaken Hezbollah, but it may end up giving it a new political resource. Inside Lebanon, attitudes toward Hezbollah are far from uniform. Part of society believes that the movement, because of its ties to Iran, drags the country into war without the consent of all Lebanese. For many Christians, Sunnis, and segments of the secular public, Hezbollah is a state within a state, one that limits Lebanese sovereignty and subordinates the country to Tehran’s external strategy. Yet when Israel attacks, criticizing Hezbollah becomes politically more difficult – because it is defending the country against external aggression.

The Lebanese state is in the weakest position of all. It cannot disarm Hezbollah, because doing so would risk an internal confrontation – but neither can it stop Israel without Hezbollah’s military strength. It depends on international assistance, but international mechanisms cannot quickly change the situation on the ground. As a result, Lebanon once again becomes the arena for other actors’ strategies. Israel is trying to solve the problem of its northern security, Iran is defending its regional network of allies, the US is trying to preserve the negotiations, Europe fears a new destabilization on the Mediterranean, and Lebanese civilians pay the price.

For Hezbollah, the current crisis is also a test. On the one hand, it is suffering military and infrastructural losses, but on the other, the Israeli offensive itself helps its political narrative. Before this escalation, internal Lebanese voices had been asking why the country should remain hostage to Iran’s strategy, Hezbollah can now legitimately ask “Would you rather Israel dictate its terms?”

For Iran, Hezbollah is one of the most important elements of its deterrence system against Israel. If Israel can destroy Hezbollah’s positions in Lebanon without paying a serious price, Iran’s entire regional strategy is put under pressure. Tehran’s withdrawal from the negotiating process with Washington was an attempt to restore leverage as much as it was a gesture of solidarity towards an ally. Iran will not discuss de-escalation with Washington while Israel expands its operation on the Lebanese front.

This is especially important because the Trump administration has been trying to negotiate on several fronts at once, seeking to maintain a channel with Iran, secure an extension of the ceasefire, reduce risks in the Strait of Hormuz, and at the same time support a process of settlement between Israel and Lebanon. American officials described contacts on the Lebanese track as productive and positive. Netanyahu, for his part, spoke of the need for negotiations that would address Hezbollah’s disarmament and the establishment of peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon. On paper, this looked like an opportunity to tie together Israel’s security, Lebanon’s stabilization, and dialogue with Iran.

In reality, while the US was trying to persuade the parties of the need for a deal, Israel intensified its offensive, and Tehran saw this as proof that Washington was either unable or unwilling to restrain its ally. As a result, the talks that were supposed to reduce tensions became hostage to military action.

The US now finds itself in a contradictory position. It wants to support its key ally Israel, but also prevent a wider war that would threaten American bases and trade routes, and avoid a dangerous direct war with Iran. It also wants to stabilize Lebanon because another war there could destroy what remains of state governance and trigger a regional explosion. Yet these objectives do not fit together well if Israel continues to act as though the diplomatic process does not constrain it.

Netanyahu’s gambit

Has Israel once again undermined an attempt at negotiations between Iran and the US? Formally, it can argue that its actions are driven solely by security considerations. Formally, Tehran can say that it is suspending exchanges with Washington because of violations and mistrust. Formally, the US can insist that negotiations remain possible. But the political sequence of events is clear enough.

At the same time, Israeli policy itself has become hostage to domestic dynamics. Netanyahu, under pressure from right-wing allies and amid distrust from a significant part of society, feels the constant need to demonstrate strength. Any halt to the operation in Lebanon without a visible result would be seen as weakness, and any pressure from the US could be used as evidence that only a hardline cabinet can protect the country from external diktat.

The long term

Israel’s decision to turn up the heat and jettison diplomacy comes at a strategic cost. It can win battles against Hezbollah, destroy its command centers and infrastructure, and push it away from the border. But if the end result is another occupation, it not solve any of Israel’s problems in the long term. On the contrary, it could again turn Hezbollah into a symbol of resistance, weaken the Lebanese critics of the movement, and return the region to a cycle it has already experienced. All the while Israel’s European partners will continue to lose patience and see ever more reasons to restrain Israel. The main conclusion is that Israel may achieve a tactical advantage in Lebanon while losing the strategic environment around it.

The bigger question arising from Israel’s actions in Lebanon is whether diplomacy can survive in a region where every military operation immediately becomes part of a larger bargain. The situation in Lebanon has already pushed Iran out of the negotiating process with the US. It may now determine whether Washington retains any room for mediation, whether Trump can impose even a temporary deal on the parties, whether Lebanon can avoid another collapse, and whether Israel will turn yet another security operation into a new cycle of occupation, resistance, and international isolation.

The EU may expand its existing Red Sea naval mission to the Strait of Hormuz, taking the lead role in mine-clearing operations in the strategic shipping route, according to media reports citing an internal document.

The bloc’s ‘Operation Aspides,’ launched in February 2024, patrols the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and northwest Indian Ocean, escorting commercial vessels and helping to protect shipping from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants.

The proposal would see Aspides assume the “primary role” in mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz, complementing efforts by an ad hoc French-British coalition, according to a document circulated by the EU’s diplomatic service under foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Any expansion of the mission would require unanimous backing from all 27 member states.

The Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast – a key route for global oil and LNG supplies – has been central to Middle East tensions since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. Maritime traffic through the waterway has been heavily disrupted, with Washington and Tehran accusing each other of violating a fragile ceasefire reached in April.

Trump has for weeks slammed his European NATO allies for not joining the war and hinted that the US could leave the military bloc as a result. The UK and France later announced that they would launch a “multi-national mission to protect freedom of navigation as soon as conditions allow.”

The US and Iran exchanged missile strikes again this week after threatening to undermine the ceasefire. Negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program and the status of Hormuz remain stalled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has wrapped up a wide-ranging Q&A with the heads of major global news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, taking more than 20 questions on the Ukraine conflict and new weapons systems, as well as strategic partnerships, the Middle East, and relations with the West. Here are the key points from what Putin said.

– Control of Donbass and a deal on Ukraine “do not contradict each other.” Moscow is “without doubt” ready for a peaceful settlement based on the compromise discussed with US President Donald Trump in Anchorage, if Kiev also agrees.

– Russia did not use the Oreshnik system “in the full sense” in strikes on Ukrainian territory. “We tested similar systems at training grounds, but not the Oreshnik. This was not combat use.” 

– The Russian Army now controls all of the Lugansk People’s Republic, more than 85% of the Donetsk People’s Republic and almost 80% of Zaporozhye Region.

– Answering a question about a possible new presidential term, Putin said the Constitution allows him to run again in 2030, but it is “far too early” to discuss it and he is “not even thinking about that right now.” 

– Russia has not made any sudden “pivot” to Asia; its close ties with China have been built up over many years, as Moscow and Beijing are “natural allies and partners,” as well as neighbors.

– On potential talks with Kiev, Putin said Russia would sign any future document with a “legitimate representative” of Ukraine, calling this “not a whim.” He added that there is “no need” to halt hostilities to hold negotiations.

– The European Union could play “a positive role,” not by sending more weapons but by trying to persuade the Ukrainian authorities to accept the compromises discussed in Anchorage.

Western nations have not come to grips with the demise of old notions of global hegemony, a spokesperson for India’s ruling party has told RT India.

“The era of global hegemony, dominance is over,” Jaiveer Shergill said, adding, “That ship has sailed. I think the West needs to be woken up from a deep slumber.”

Appearing on the latest episode of the ‘India, Russia and the World’ weekly podcast, Shergill did not hold back in his criticism of the collective West. “The West has a single power dominance hangover,” he said.

“India is not in the business of giving sermons of governance to the world. And neither India is in the business of receiving certification, especially from the West,” said Shergill, who also practices law in India’s Supreme Court.

The US and EU have slapped sanctions on Russian oil. In August last year, the United States imposed 50% reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports, half of which was punishment for New Delhi’s oil purchases from Moscow. The levies were scaled down to 18% after a trade deal with the US was agreed upon in February.

Shergill slammed the double standards of the West. “The same people who were questioning [the] import of Russian oil were indirectly sourcing the same oil from India into their countries.”

India’s sole objective is to reduce dependence on any one energy source, he said, adding that New Delhi is now importing oil from 40 different sources.

India-US ties, he said, should be viewed through the lens of defense partnerships, technology exchange, geography, and human resources.

He underscored New Delhi’s sovereign choice of global alliances, saying, “If India is part of Quad, India is equally a partner in BRICS.”

US traditionalists are suing and lobbying with the support of the Donald Trump administration to resurrect memorials which were removed during the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Dozens of monuments to European and American historical figures were taken down after the nationwide protests and riots which followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, in what WSJ dubbed the “statue wars.”

Ohio’s capital Columbus, named after the famed Italian explorer, took down a 22-foot-high statue of him from City Hall in 2020. At the time, the city’s Democrat Mayor Andrew Ginther called it a representation of the country’s “ugly past.”

“The silent majority is becoming vocal,” WSJ cited the lawsuit’s organizer Jack Conte as saying. “You reach a point where this stuff is shoved down your throat, and you can only take so much of it.”

The Trump administration has supported the effort. Just over two months after taking office in 2025, the US president signed an executive order to reinstate monuments removed since 2020, if they were taken down as part of what he called an effort to “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history.”

Ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4, the Interior Department returned a statue of Delaware Founding Father Caesar Rodney to Washington’s Freedom Plaza. The monument was removed in 2020 amid criticism that Rodney, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was also a slaveholder.

A total of 261 US historical monuments were removed, vandalized or toppled during the BLM protests, according to World Heritage USA data. More than half were related to Confederate figures.

The family of a young Palestinian man who was shot dead by Israeli forces near the concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, has told RT that his determination to find work drove him to his death.

Imad Ishtayeh’s death was confirmed by the Palestinian Health Ministry on Sunday.

His father told RT that he had been trying to cross into Israel in search of work amid deepening economic hardship in the Palestinian territory.

Israeli police have said that Imad was attempting to enter Israel illegally by crossing the barrier.

”My son went out looking for a livelihood,” Haroun Ishtayeh said. “He had opened a chicken slaughterhouse business here, but people could not afford to buy chicken, they could barely afford to buy water […] And he closed down his business here.”

“I told him, my son, the situation is dangerous; he told me, father, if I am destined to die, I will die here or I will die there,” he added.

RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij reports.

A family from Israel was told, “sorry, there are no Jews allowed in our hotel” when attempting to book a room in a town in southern Germany. The incendiary rejection triggered uproar, with the hotel offering an apology and citing a wave of fake reservations.

The message sent by Hotel Zum Hirschen, Bavaria, was shared by Talya Lador, Israel’s Consul General in southern Germany, who wondered on X on Tuesday, “Are we back in the 1930s?” The diplomat was referring to the infamous Nazi party’s policies that had stripped Jews of civil rights and property before later resorting to genocide.

The family also filed a complaint with Booking.com, which removed the property from its platform, and lodged a formal petition with the Bavarian Justice Ministry’s commissioner for combating antisemitism, according to several media reports.

Sind wir wieder in den 1930er Jahren? Ein Hotel hat einem Israeli folgendes geantwortet: „sorry, there are no Jews allowed in our hotel“.
Ich bin froh darüber, dass @bookingcom dieses Hotel von seiner Homepage verbannt hat. pic.twitter.com/3hiBEK1dse

— Talya Lador (@TalyaLador) June 2, 2026

Hotel Zum Hirschen – an establishment with more than 100 years of history – issued an apology, writing on its front page that it “would like to make it unequivocally clear that we condemn all forms of discrimination,” stressing that “the claim that certain groups are not welcome here is incorrect and does not reflect the facts.”

According to several media reports, local prosecutors are investigating the case on suspicion of incitement to hatred. Germany’s criminal code bans incitement against people based on their religious or ethnic background and carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. It is not yet clear whether the matter will go to trial.

Antisemitic incidents have been on the rise in Europe and elsewhere in recent years amid Israel’s war in Gaza. While Berlin has remained highly supportive of Israel, a 2025 YouGov poll indicated that 62% of German voters believe that Israeli actions in the Palestinian enclave constituted genocide.

Germany’s stance on Israel and the Middle East contributed to a diplomatic setback this week when Berlin failed to win a rotating seat on the UN Security Council in a secret ballot.

A minister from India’s southern Andhra Pradesh state has cited “speed of doing business” as a unique factor in his pitch for increased investment from Russia. 

Andhra’s IT and human resources minister, Nara Lokesh, told the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday that large industrial projects are being executed at a rapid pace. 

“What we are most proud of is not policy on paper, it is our prowess, it is our execution, it is our record of delivery on ground,” Lokesh, who is an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said. 

“We are known for moving with speed when an investor makes a commitment. That speed matters. We call it speed of doing business,” he said, declaring that he is “available to the investors of Russia.” 

Lokesh said Andhra, which is a $215 billion economy, is aspiring to become a $2.4 trillion economy by 2047. 

In April, Google held the groundbreaking ceremony for a $15 billion artificial intelligence hub in Andhra Pradesh. 

The project includes India’s first gigawatt-scale AI hub comprising three data center campuses. It will enable Google to deploy advanced AI capabilities and scale digital services across the South Asian nation. 

‘In a Value-Driven World, Trust Matters: Russia & India Ready to Build the Future Together’ - Minister for HR Development of Andhra Pradesh, @naralokesh at SPIEF

📹 Roscongress pic.twitter.com/gWrlUUfwvN

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 4, 2026

On Thursday, Lokesh held talks with Anton Zakharov, head of international commercial projects at Element Group, a leading Russian producer of semiconductor components; and Julia Suhoroslova, CEO of Nanotronica, on business opportunities in Andhra. 
 
He pointed to Russian aluminum giant Rusal’s intention to increase its stake in Pioneer Aluminium Industries, which operates a 1.5-million-ton alumina refinery in his state, as an example of the favorable investment climate there.  

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has slammed Israel over the “unjust arrest” of two players from its women’s national team and called on the sport’s governing body, FIFA, to intervene.

Israeli authorities on Wednesday extended the detention of Rand Halawani, 20, who was arrested a day earlier on suspicion of “throwing objects” at people in Jerusalem.

Another national team player, Natalie Abu Diyeh, 21, a student at Birzeit University, was detained along with three other young Palestinian women in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday. The four are suspected of “promoting terrorist activities and additional terrorist-related activities,” Israeli police said.

The PFA issued a statement demanding the release of Halawani and Abu Diyeh, whom it described as “young international players who have proudly represented Palestine at both youth and senior levels.”

“Their arrest is not an isolated incident, it is part of a well-documented pattern of systematic targeting of Palestinian athletes, which continues without accountability,” the statement read.

The Palestinian Football Association said that it “calls on FIFA… and the wider international sporting community to move beyond statements and take concrete action” against Israel.

FIFA banned the Russian national football team and clubs from international events following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Moscow described the move as illegal.

However, FIFA has refrained from applying similar restrictions against Israel, despite repeated calls by the Palestinian Authority and some legal experts to do so over the aggressive military campaign launched by West Jerusalem in the Gaza Strip in response to a deadly incursion by Palestinian armed group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Conservative US commentator Candace Owens would back journalist Tucker Carlson if he ran for US president, but would only run herself if voters accepted her as “dictator.”

Speaking exclusively to RT’s Rick Sanchez at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Owens was asked about speculation in the US that she could one day run for the White House.

“I always tell my listeners I’d never run for president. I’d only run for dictator,” Owens said. “I’m not dealing with Congress, I’m not dealing with lobbying, I’m not dealing with Lindsey Graham calling for another war.”

She joked that if voters wanted her, they would have to accept the terms that she will be “dictator of the United States,” adding that she has no short-term interest in political office because of the “inauthenticity” of Washington.

The former Daily Wire host said she would instead be willing to campaign for someone like Tucker Carlson if he chose to run. She added that she would be ready to travel the country on Carlson’s behalf, comparing the idea to her previous political partnership with Charlie Kirk.

Owens initially rose to prominence in the late 2010s by urging black voters to stop supporting the Democrats. She later became one of the most prominent voices in conservative media before splitting with the Daily Wire following a public dispute over Israel’s war in Gaza.

Catch the full interview with Owens when it airs exclusively on RT later today.

US journalist Christopher Helali has asked President Vladimir Putin for Russian citizenship and says he expects to receive it within months.

Helali, an investigative reporter and international secretary of the American Communist Party, told reporters at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday that he had sent Putin a four-page letter making his case for citizenship.

“Yes, I expressed my wish to receive Russian citizenship,” Helali said, adding that the letter described his “desire to become a citizen of the Russian Federation.” He cited his work in Donbas, support for Russian-American friendship and interest in the country’s history, culture, language, and traditions.

Helali said he hoped to receive a positive reply “in the next few months,” stressing “I greatly appreciate everything Russia has done for me.”

The request comes after Helali joined a group of more than 50 foreign journalists who visited the town of Starobelsk in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic where 21 people, mostly teenage girls, were killed and dozens more injured in a multi-wave Ukrainian drone attack on a college dorm on May 22.

In March, Helali signed a contract to serve in Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Russia has opened its doors to foreigners who share its traditional values. In 2024, Putin signed a decree granting such individuals the right to apply for temporary residence.

Italian opera director Giancarlo Del Monaco, known for staging Verdi’s Rigoletto at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, received Russian citizenship under a December 2024 decree.

Others include Italian activist Ennio Bordato and Sofia Lyskun, a former Ukrainian diving champion, who renounced her Ukrainian citizenship to become a Russian citizen.

South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA) says it has successfully processed the repatriation of 933 Mozambican nationals through the port of Lebombo on Wednesday.

BMA spokesperson Mmemme Mogotsi said 349 of those processed originated from the Lindela Holding Facility and were transported by the Department of Home Affairs through its deportation programme, while the remaining 584 travelled from Mossel Bay through arrangements facilitated by the Mozambican High Commission.

Mogotsi said the operation was coordinated through an integrated approach involving BMA Immigration Services, Port Health Services, Law Enforcement and Border Guard functions, working in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Social Development, the South African Police Service and Mozambican authorities.

“All travellers underwent the required immigration processing, including identity verification, biometric checks and immigration status assessments, in accordance with South African immigration legislation and border management procedures,” she said.

Mogotsi said 38 minors formed part of the group and were processed with the assistance of the Department of Social Development to ensure compliance with all applicable child protection and cross-border movement requirements.

“As part of the BMA’s mandate, all persons were screened and processed in accordance with health, security and immigration protocols before being permitted to proceed through the Port of Entry,” she said.

Mogotsi said 926 individuals successfully departed South Africa for Mozambique at the conclusion of the operation. However, seven individuals were not permitted to depart following immigration processing and verification.

“These cases included individuals who did not meet the prescribed requirements for cross-border movement, individuals whose nationality or immigration status required further verification, and cases involving minors where the required supporting documentation was not available,” she said.

“The management of cross-border movement must be conducted in a manner that is lawful, orderly and consistent with South Africa’s immigration framework”.

He said the BMA remains committed to facilitating legitimate travel while ensuring compliance with immigration legislation and safeguarding the integrity of our ports of entry.

‘‘We will continue to work closely with our regional counterparts to promote safe, orderly and regular migration, while protecting the security interests of South Africa and the region,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the Government of Malawi said it was preparing a voluntary repatriation programme for Malawian nationals affected by recent attacks and demonstrations targeting African migrants in parts of South Africa.

“The Government will soon commence a voluntary repatriation exercise for Malawian nationals that have requested Government support for their return home,” the ministry said, stressing that the programme would be voluntary and only available to citizens who had requested assistance.

First published by IOL

Russia is making steady progress in developing its domestic rare earths industry, even though Moscow does not consider reliance on Chinese supplies to be a critical weakness, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov has said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026 (SPIEF).

Unlike many other minerals, rare earth elements are usually not found in large concentrations and require a costly, multi-stage process to extract and refine. China currently dominates the global market and has developed extensive value-added supply chains, making it a key supplier for numerous high-tech industries. Beijing’s leverage in the sector played an important role in the trade war with Washington, launched by US President Donald Trump.

Speaking during a panel discussion on Thursday, Manturov said the recovery of Russia’s rare earth minerals industry after the collapse of the USSR, which had disrupted old supply chains, was impacted by competition from China.

Russia already possesses an almost complete set of skills and technologies needed to produce heavier rare earth elements independently, and aims to achieve the same capability for lighter elements by 2028, Manturov said.

The panel also included several senior Russian officials and industrial executives, as well as ministers responsible for mining and industrial policy from Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Sierra Leone.

SPIEF is a major annual business forum, sometimes referred to as “the Russian Davos.” This year’s event is taking place from June 3 to June 6 and focuses on industrial development and international cooperation, particularly among Global South nations.

A ceasefire in the Middle East does not always mean that shooting stops entirely, US President Donald Trump has said, after reporters pressed him on the latest military exchanges involving Iran.

US forces this week reportedly targeted a tanker destined for Iran’s Kharg Island, triggering an Iranian missile and drone barrage targeting US bases in Kuwait. One projectile devastated the Gulf state’s international airport terminal. Additionally, over the weekend, the US carried out what it described as “self-defense” airstrikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island.

Speaking at a White House press conference on Wednesday, Trump downplayed the latest Iranian attacks, arguing that Tehran was simply responding to previous US military action. He maintained that the armistice between the US and Iran remains in force.

“It’s a different part of the world,” Trump said. “I’d say in that part of the world, ceasefire is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”

US President Trump, speaking about Iran, commented on the different meanings of the term "ceasefire" depending on the region of the world:

"In this part of the world, a ceasefire means that you're shooting more moderately..." pic.twitter.com/EWGvRFIV23

— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterPress) June 4, 2026

Before an initial truce was announced on April 7, more than 3,400 people had been reported killed in Iran by American and Israeli strikes. The US said 13 military service members died, with more than 300 others injured in the line of duty. Military personnel and civilians were also killed in Arab states hosting US bases, which Tehran targeted during the conflict.

Lebanon and “ceasefire”

Lebanon’s Health Ministry has said that Israeli attacks on the country have killed at least 3,516 civilians since March 2, and over 1,100 since April 7. Israel has also injured over 10,000 others while ordering the expulsion of the Muslim population from southern Lebanon.

Hostilities were meant to be halted under a separate ceasefire, which the US, Israel, and the government in Beirut reaffirmed this week, demanding that Hezbollah stop attacks on Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon and withdraw its forces.

Hezbollah, however, the active combatant against Israel, was neither party to the talks nor answers to Lebanon’s national government and cites multiple previous truce violations by Israel.

“It is clear that Israel will not stop, that this is a one-sided ceasefire,” Beirut-based reporter Mohammed Shamsedeen told RT. “If it was a two-sided ceasefire this war would be over right now.”

While the reality across the Middle East is stretching the definition of “truce” and “ceasefire” – where hundreds are being killed and warring parties are not even at the table – Trump’s quip, like all gallows humor, carries in it a grain of truth.

A geopolitical storm of global proportions is swirling around tiny Armenia. At stake are its relationships with Russia, Europe, and the United States, not to mention its immediate neighbors: Iran, Azerbaijan, and Türkiye.

At the center of attention today are the recently signed memorandums between Armenia and the United States. These are far from routine documents. After all, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally traveled to Armenia for the signing ceremony – a level of involvement that would be highly unusual for agreements of secondary importance.

The depth and complexity of both historical and contemporary developments across the South Caucasus, Central Asia, the Persian Gulf, and the Eastern Mediterranean – regions where the European Union, Israel, and Türkiye wield significant influence – are beginning to come into focus like long-forgotten photographs finally emerging in a darkroom. 

Suddenly, attention is returning to a network of strategically important mining and transportation enclaves scattered across this vast macro-region. One of the most critical among them is Armenia’s Syunik Province, home to substantial deposits of valuable minerals ranging from molybdenum and uranium to gold.

None of this is new. Everyone has known it for decades.

Syunik has been known for these resources since Soviet times. The region is dotted with mines, open-pit operations, mineral deposits, and processing facilities. Historically, these assets were connected to the wider Soviet transportation network by a railway running along the Iranian border, which follow the Aras River. This is precisely why the Zangezur Corridor has become so strategically significant.

Located nearby is the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine, which has been in operation since 1952, as well as the Agarak Copper-Molybdenum Combine further north. Both remain fully operational and have continued to expand in the post-Soviet era, with copper-molybdenum ore production doubling between 2003 and 2011.

From the standpoint of geopolitics and strategic logistics, the 43 kilometers of railway track that were dismantled decades ago and are now being rebuilt represent a pathway to roughly seven percent of global molybdenum reserves. Molybdenum is indispensable for missile production, nuclear energy, and semiconductor manufacturing. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why Washington is devoting so much attention to a short stretch of rail line that was removed more than 35 years ago. For perspective, the section in question is shorter than Moscow’s Arbatsko–Pokrovskaya (dark blue) metro line.

The risk of losing influence over this mining enclave has become sufficiently apparent that US President Trump has moved to secure a stake in the broader spectrum of industrial output generated by the region. Hence the emergence of the so-called “Trump Route for Peace and Prosperity.” After all, in today’s increasingly turbulent world, what do peace and prosperity mean without access to uranium and molybdenum?

One phrase appears repeatedly throughout the US-Armenia memorandum: “export controls.” Whenever export controls are discussed alongside semiconductors, the conversation inevitably turns toward dual-use technologies and strategically sensitive materials.

For years, tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan served as a destabilizing factor that complicated the development of a broader US security strategy in the region. Now, however, Armenia and Azerbaijan increasingly find themselves having to view the situation along the Iranian border through a shared lens. They are, in effect, in the same boat – bound by a common framework of agreements involving the United States.

So where do Armenia’s European ambitions fit into all of this?

Ironically, the primary criterion that could support Armenia’s eventual integration into the European Union is much the same as the factor that once underpinned its participation in the Eurasian Economic Union: geography.

Consider a series of seemingly disconnected developments that, taken together, point toward a much broader strategic picture:

• The TRIPP corridor agreement involving Azeri President Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan, and US President Trump was reportedly reached well before the American strikes on Iran.
• The importance of copper-molybdenum and uranium deposits for the defense industry has long been understood, making these assets increasingly valuable bargaining chips in geopolitical negotiations. Moreover, it remains unclear whether all surveyed deposits and associated mineral resources are publicly known.
• Among the various US strikes against Iranian territory were attacks targeting areas near the Caspian Sea.
• Armenia is actively discussing the construction of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), a technology currently mastered by only a handful of countries, including the United States, France, and Russia. At the same time, Armenia’s relationship with Russia continues to deteriorate.
• The Zangezur Corridor will inevitably connect to transportation networks extending into Türkiye, and Armenia has already planned a parallel highway running alongside the railway.
• Europe is eager to capitalize on the South Caucasus both as a transit route and as a source of critical raw materials. While the region may not represent a major consumer market for European goods, it could become an important destination for European industrial and technological equipment.

Viewed through the lens of a potential Washington-Tehran understanding, these factors suggest that Iran fully recognizes the strategic importance of Armenia’s uranium and molybdenum resources to both the United States and the European Union, as well as the importance of securing the broader mining assets that support Western defense industry capabilities.

If that assessment is correct, there may be grounds for optimism regarding the eventual de-escalation of conflict in the Persian Gulf region. Should hostilities continue, it becomes difficult to imagine the establishment of a major US military-economic foothold in Syunik and the surrounding territories – let alone the emergence of one of Washington’s key centers of influence across Eurasia.

That is, assuming a negotiated outcome remains possible.

The stakes could hardly be higher.

This article was first published by Russia in Global Affairs, translated and edited by the RT team

Russia has achieved economic sovereignty, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has announced at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The minister warned of risks to the country’s finances “amid global lawlessness.”

Financial sovereignty and autonomy over economic policy has been secured, he said, adding that Russia operates without external sources of investment and relies only on itself.

“For several years, Russia has been living in conditions of global lawlessness, so it is important to pay close attention to the country’s finances, as this will reduce the negative impact of such shocks,” Siluanov told a SPIEF panel on Thursday.

The minister vowed that Moscow will soon fully repay its external debt, adding that real incomes in Russia have increased by more than 24% over the past three years.

The 29th SPIEF 2026, often referred to as the ‘Russian Davos’, is taking place from June 3 to 6, welcoming around 20,000 businesspeople, politicians, and public figures from more than 100 nations.

Apart from Siluanov, the panel ‘Regions in the Face of Global Challenges: How to Maintain Financial Stability and Stimulate Development’ was attended by top speakers including Russian Construction and Housing Minister Irek Fayzullin, Accounts Chamber auditor Natalia Trunova, and the head of Moscow’s Complex of Urban Development Policy and Construction, Vladimir Efimov.

The opening day of the forum featured the official ceremony of SPIEF 2026, where key speakers included Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Daniyar Amangeldiev, and Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to address the gathering on Friday.

Ukrainian tax authorities have uncovered a suspected large-scale fraud scheme in which more than 2,000 shell companies funneled around $4.7 billion abroad through fictitious foreign trade operations.

Meanwhile, Western nations continue to provide Ukraine with billions in aid financed by ordinary taxpayers, which Moscow says is then embezzled and shared with Kiev’s patrons through various corruption schemes.

Ukraine – often referred to as the “breadbasket of Europe” – has also for years struggled to tackle “black grain” export schemes, with many shipments until recently flowing to the EU under a preferential regime.

In a statement on Tuesday, the State Tax Service of Ukraine announced that it had uncovered a network of more than 2,300 shell companies that had withdrawn over 198 billion hryvnia (around $4.7 billion) from the country between 2024 and the first quarter of 2026.

Lesia Karnaukh, the acting head of the Tax Service, noted that hundreds of companies had been re-registered under the same individuals, adding that in some cases the scheme reached stunning proportions. “We identified seven individuals, each of whom is simultaneously the manager or founder of more than 500 companies. In total, more than 7,000 business entities are under their control,” she said.

The tax service said it had prepared analytical conclusions for 557 business entities, indicating violations and signs of money laundering, with the materials transferred to the Prosecutor General’s Office for further investigation.

While the tax service did not disclose specifically what categories of goods were involved in the scheme, Ukraine is known as a farming giant, with agricultural exports reaching $24.5 billion in 2024, accounting for almost 60% of total exports.

While being moved, the products are sometimes resold several times to make the shipment look legally sound. In some cases, the grain is listed as agricultural waste, leading to a much lower taxation value. The illicit profits often never make it back to Ukraine, residing in foreign banks.

Ukraine has for years struggled with inadequate financial oversight and chronic corruption, which only exacerbated after the escalation of Kiev’s conflict with Moscow in 2022.

Last year, Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities uncovered a $100 million kickback scheme at the state nuclear company Energoatom, with several of Ukraine’s top officials involved in the controversy, including former Energy Minister German Galushchenko, who was arrested in February as he tried to flee the country.

Moscow has long accused Ukraine and the EU of being linked by “unified corruption chains,” claiming that a significant portion of the Western aid to Kiev – financed by taxpayers – gets embezzled and kicked back to Ukraine’s supporters.

US conservative commentator Candace Owens says she has been stunned after visiting Moscow for the first time and has laughed off mainstream media “fiction” about her visit to Russia.

Speaking to RT’s Rick Sanchez in an upcoming interview on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Owens said she was struck by how “clean, safe, beautiful, and historic” Moscow is, adding that the city has defied the assumptions Americans are encouraged to hold.

Owens described the hostility toward Russia in the US as a “Cold War hangover,” saying Americans are simply told that Russia is “a no-no, and a no-go.”

The former Daily Wire host also said the reaction to her trip in the US had been “laughable,” pointing to a stream of media claims and online rumors about her motives, funding, and alleged links to foreign actors.

Owens initially rose to prominence in the late 2010s by using her platform to urge black voters to stop supporting the Democrats. She joined Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire in 2020, where her self-titled podcast reached millions of viewers. However, she was fired four years later following a public dispute with Shapiro over Israel’s war in Gaza.

Owens later broke with US President Donald Trump over his support for Israel. Following the launch of her own show on YouTube, the popular podcaster drew criticism for controversial statements, including suggestions that Israel could have been involved in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, filed a defamation lawsuit against Owens after she suggested that France’s first lady was born a man.

On June 3-6, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is paying a state visit to Russia and taking part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

In recent years, Tanzania has been a growing priority for Russia, which is unsurprising: it is a politically stable country with access to the Indian Ocean, a rapidly growing economy, and significant resource potential. Moreover, Russia has a long history of contacts with this part of East Africa, which began long before the current rapprochement.

A Zanzibar native’s journey through the Russian Empire

One of the first official documents establishing contacts between Russia and the territories of modern-day Tanzania was the 1896 agreement on trade relations between the Russian Empire and the Sultanate of Zanzibar – the center of the Swahili civilization and Indian Ocean trade networks. The document defined privileges in trade and the possibility of appointing consuls.

However, the Russian Empire’s interest in Zanzibar became apparent even earlier: in 1892, after the Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs discussed the Russian Empire’s participation in the work of the International Bureau in Zanzibar and the possibility of establishing a permanent diplomatic agency there.

In Selim’s notes, Moscow is depicted as a major trade center, with goods from Syria, Persia, and Bukhara. He was interested in markets, merchants, prices, carpets, karakul fur, skins, silver, tea, roads, hunting, climate, and Muslim communities. He was amazed by the white nights in St. Petersburg, the Volga River, the Siberian banya (steam sauna), the sudden changes in weather, and the presence of Muslims in the distant land of the ‘wazungu’ (Swahili for ‘whites’).

In Samara, Barnaul, and other places, he recorded the locals’ reactions to seeing a black man for the first time. “In Altai, the peasants greeted my bwana (Swahili for ‘master’) who rode in front, but not in the same way as me; they greeted me as if I were the sultan himself... I am black, they had never seen anyone like me, so they thought I was the master.”

Relations with the USSR: Socialism, education, and geology

The political history of relations began in the era of decolonization. In December 1961, Tanganyika gained independence, and diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were established almost immediately. Events unfolded even more dynamically in Zanzibar. In January 1964, a Marxist revolution took place there, leading to the fall of the sultanate and the establishment of the People’s Republic of Zanzibar.

Revolutionary Zanzibar quickly came to the attention of Moscow. Contacts existed even before the revolution. Soviet publications, including those in Swahili language, were distributed in the archipelago, and young Zanzibaris were sent to the USSR to study – among them was the future prime minister of Zanzibar, Abdullah Kassim Hanga. After the revolution, a group of Soviet military specialists and translators were sent to train Zanzibari troops at the Chukwani camp.

The country’s first president was Julius Nyerere (previously president of Tanganyika) – one of the most prominent African leaders of the decolonization era, an intellectual, publicist, and the author of the concept of ‘Ujamaa’ (Swahili for ‘brotherhood, unity’). In 1967, this policy was enshrined in the Arusha Declaration that outlined the principles of African Socialism and Self-Reliance.

Nyerere’s socialism was deeply rooted in the notions of communality characteristic of many African societies. Moscow viewed Nyerere’s ideas with caution. In the 1960s, the Soviet Union saw ‘Ujamaa’ as an independent African model of socialism that was markedly different from the Marxist-Leninist ideas familiar to Moscow and partly consonant with the Chinese socialist experience.

Under Nyerere, Tanzania pursued an independent foreign policy and was not perceived by the USSR as a direct ally. On several occasions, the positions of Dar es Salaam and Moscow diverged considerably: for example, Nyerere supported Biafra in the Nigerian conflict and condemned the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. However, the differences did not lead to a rupture of relations. On the contrary, Nyerere’s proactive foreign policy, aimed at supporting anti-colonial movements throughout Africa resonated with Moscow.

By the early 1970s, Dar es Salaam became one of the largest centers of African liberation movements, with representatives of Mozambique’s FRELIMO, Namibia’s SWAPO, South Africa’s ANC, and other organizations operating there. Tanzania’s stance in the struggle against colonialism and racist regimes was met with respect in Moscow. It became an important partner of the USSR in East and Southern Africa.

In the following decades, the two countries developed ties in the fields of education, technology, medicine, geology, and military cooperation. Education became one of the most notable areas of cooperation. By the time the USSR collapsed, at least 1,599 Tanzanian citizens had graduated from Soviet universities and technical institutes. Some of the graduates went on to become well-known political figures and renowned specialists in the social and humanitarian fields.

Esther Daniel Mwaikambo, Tanzania’s first female doctor, received her medical degree from the Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship (RUDN) University in Moscow. She later became one of Tanzania’s leading pediatricians, a professor, and the organizer of several major medical initiatives.

Another important initiative was the training of technical personnel. In 1969, the USSR and Tanzania signed an agreement to send Soviet teachers to Tanzanian schools and colleges. Soviet specialists worked in the secondary education system, helping equip educational institutions and train local personnel. In 1986, with Soviet assistance, Mbeya Technical College, which still operates today, was opened in the city of Mbeya in the south of the country.

In 1969, Tanzania signed an agreement with the Soviet association Technoexport to conduct large-scale geological exploration. Soviet specialists mapped territories in the central and western parts of the country, as well as prospected for gold and non-ferrous metals in the Lupa and Mpanda districts.

The 1975 World Bank Mining Sector Review called this contract the largest project of its kind undertaken by Tanzania at that time. Technoexport’s estimate for the Lupa region was 33,988 kg of ore gold, approximately 1.1 million ounces.

Modern-day ties: From wheat to uranium

After the collapse of the USSR, bilateral relations saw a significant decline. However, the human and professional ties built over the previous decades did not disappear. Specialists educated at Soviet universities continued to work in Tanzania, and contacts between graduates remained. Russia has also maintained the long-standing tradition of teaching the Swahili language. The Russian Center for Science and Culture (Russian House) has operated in Tanzania since 1990.

In the late 2010s, Russia’s general engagement in Africa grew, and Tanzania – a large and politically stable country with a rapidly growing population, access to the Indian Ocean, reserves of gas, gold, coal, and uranium, and the potential to develop transport corridors deep into the continent – was seen as a natural partner.

Trade flowing through the Dar es Salaam, Tanga, and Mtwara ports that link the coast with Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other countries in the region makes Tanzania an important part of East Africa’s economic connectivity and explains interest in it as a potential logistics hub for the re-export of Russian goods.

Political contacts have also intensified. Tanzania participated in both Russia-Africa summits (in 2019 and 2023). Russian and Tanzanian representatives hold regular talks on energy, agriculture, geology, healthcare, and personnel training.

In February 2026, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo visited Moscow and held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, conveying a message from Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan to the Russian leadership. In May 2026, the third meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation was held in Arusha. Direct flights between Moscow and Zanzibar will be launched this year.

Trade structure also remains narrow: grain and fertilizers constitute the bulk of Russian exports. In 2024, Russian wheat exports to Tanzania reached $252 million, accounting for approximately 67% of Tanzania’s imports in this category, while fertilizer exports totaled $37 million, or approximately 10% of Tanzania’s total fertilizer imports. However, there are also long-term economic projects, primarily in the field of mineral extraction.

The largest Russian project in modern Tanzania is the Mkuju River uranium project in the Ruvuma region. It is being carried out by Mantra Tanzania, a subsidiary of Uranium One Group and its parent shareholder, the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

The project has a long history: a mining license was obtained back in 2013, and in July 2025, Rosatom announced the launch of a pilot uranium ore processing facility which is expected to reach full capacity by 2029. In Tanzania, it is considered one of the most promising mining projects. It is developing in a fairly competitive environment: Tanzania traditionally works with a wide range of external partners – from China and Western countries to regional and international financial institutions.

Such is the foundation of Tanzania’s approach to external relations: encouraging cooperation without sacrificing independence. This approach, expressed in a desire to develop relations with various external partners while maintaining room for individual choice, was established under Julius Nyerere and has been maintained throughout the country’s relations with the USSR, China, Western countries, and nations in the region.

Nyerere himself formulated this approach in a clear way: “No nation has the right to make decisions for another nation; no people for another people.” This concept remains important for Russia-Tanzania relations to this day. Historical memory, the Soviet educational legacy, and political sympathy create favorable conditions for cooperation, but do not replace its practical aspects.

There is a “special opportunity” for doing business between India and Russia, New Delhi’s ambassador to Moscow said at the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026).

Invoking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make-in-India initiative, Vinay Kumar suggested that the model can be a bellwether for expanding business ties between New Delhi and Moscow.

“There is a new and very special opportunity between our two countries, that is, making in Russia for India,” Kumar said.

He cited sectors including mineral resources, critical materials, and fertilizers as areas where these new opportunities could be explored and “in which Indian and Russian companies can set up joint ventures in Russia.”

Such an approach would facilitate “a captive export market for India,” he added.

Kumar also said natural resources, manpower and mobility should be tapped as the countries work toward achieving the $100 billion trade target set by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Modi at their New Delhi summit in December.

The envoy pointed out that over the last couple of years, the number of Indian workers in Russia has risen to 100,000.

He said companies need to develop new manufacturing sites and create new supply chains, which would enable them to meet “the demand scale, demand in India and also in third countries.”

The envoy also cited India’s transformation in the digital landscape, including the unified payment interface (UPI), which processes over 18 billion transactions monthly, making it one of the largest real-time payment systems on the planet.

The economic cooperation program initiated by Putin and Modi is a “shared commitment, a roadmap that spans energy, transport, technology, science, and people-to-people ties,” Kumar said.

Conservative US commentator and podcaster Candace Owens has posed for photos next to a face sculpture depicting an angry French President Emmanuel Macron at RT’s stand at the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

The 3-D likeness which attracted Owens’s attention is part of an exhibit called ‘12 Angry Viewers of RT.’ It features the heads of the most prominent Western politicians and public figures to have criticized the broadcaster or attempted to cancel it over the years, including former US President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the current leaders of Germany and the UK, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, tech entrepreneurs Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, and others.

Last July, Macron and his wife, Brigitte, filed a defamation lawsuit against Owens after her repeated suggestions that France’s first lady was born a man. The blogger, who has 6 million subscribers on YouTube, also claimed later that Macron had ordered her assassination.

During her interview with RT’s Rick Sanchez on Thursday, Owens doubled down on her accusations, saying that she was “1,010%” convinced that Brigitte Macron is transgender, especially after the Macrons took her to court.

“I don’t know who was advising them - a sitting president of a foreign country suing a podcaster in another country. This shows that there is something very true about the claims that are being made, not the opposite,” she argued.

Owens arrived at SPIEF to participate in a panel on family values, titled “A Big Family, a Big Reach: New Demographics and Narratives for Media Leaders,” which was held earlier in the day.

She made the trip to Russia with her husband and four kids, describing it as “a family vacation.”

I don't know if standing next to a death mask of Macron inside the RT studio at SPIEF was on Candace Owens' bucket list, but we made it happen anyway.

One day... pic.twitter.com/8pkGJQ2yQG

— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) June 4, 2026

Before traveling to St. Petersburg, Owens toured Moscow, noting “it is genuinely shocking how clean, beautiful and orderly this city is. It is so far removed from media depictions.”

The BBC has been forced to issue an apology after one of its presenters sparked an uproar by misquoting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as calling for “white cold rage” in response to the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak.

Nowak was stabbed to death in Southampton in December by Vickrum Singh Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man. When police arrived at the scene, Digwa falsely claimed that he had been the victim of a racist attack.

Bodycam footage from the incident showed that officers believed Digwa’s account, treated the dying student as the suspect, dragged him across gravel and handcuffed him as he repeatedly told officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe. Nowak later lost consciousness and drowned in his own blood.

Digwa was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years.

Farage responded to the footage by saying the case showed Britain was living in a “two-tier culture,” where “a false accusation of racism counted higher at that moment than someone that was dying.”

The Reform UK leader urged the British public to respond to the case with “pure, cold rage.”

However, during Tuesday’s edition of Newsnight, BBC presenter Matt Chorley repeatedly claimed Farage had called for “white cold rage,” using the phrase a total of three times during the broadcast.

In a legal letter cited by British media, Reform UK argued that the misquote was “seriously defamatory” and completely changed the meaning of Farage’s remarks, suggesting he was “invoking race as a basis for public anger” rather than condemning racially skewed treatment by authorities.

Chorley apologized directly to Farage on X on Wednesday, claiming he had “misremembered” the quote.

The misquote comes amid growing anger over government and media attempts to frame outrage over Nowak’s treatment as far-right agitation rather than as criticism of police and government failures.

Critics have accused British authorities of repeatedly dismissing anger over immigration, crime, and two-tier policing as extremism, while using those labels to justify arrests, prosecutions and prison sentences for protesters and online commentators.

A planned Ebola treatment center in Kenya should be available to all patients in need rather than exclusively serving US citizens, Nigerian professor of virology Oyewale Tomori has told RT. 

Addressing reports that Americans infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) could be treated in Kenya, the chairman of the West Africa National Academy of Sciences said he had no concerns about the facility’s ability to safely contain the virus. However, he argued that access to treatment should also extend to Kenyans and others in the region. 

“If that center is open, it should be open to everybody, not just Americans,” Tomori said. “If any Kenyan gets any infection, it should be treated in that place.” 

Tomori suggested that treating Ebola patients in Kenya rather than the US could be justified by shorter transportation times, allowing patients to receive care more quickly. 

The comments come amid protests over the proposed US Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base near the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki. Despite a Kenyan High Court order halting the project, Reuters reported, citing an anonymous US official, that around 20 flights carrying medical equipment and specialist personnel landed at the base between May 23 and May 31.

The European Parliament is set to replace Google with a Franco-German-backed search engine as the default tool on in-house computers, Politico reported Tuesday citing an internal memo.

The rollout of Qwant, previously owned by German media giant Axel Springer, comes as the European Union reportedly seeks to reduce its dependence on US tech.

Amazon, Microsoft and Google account for more than two-thirds of the global cloud computing market, while American companies are dominating the so-called AI race.

Google is being replaced with “privacy-focused European search engine” Qwant, launched by a French developer in 2013, starting June 4, the document seen by Politico reads. 

Affecting some 720 lawmakers and thousands of administrative staff, the switch is reportedly being conducted “in line with the Parliament’s commitment to digital sovereignty and the protection of users’ personal data.”

The search-engine switch comes as the European Commission unveiled a tech sovereignty package on Wednesday aimed at reducing reliance on foreign technology providers and strengthening European alternatives.

While dependence on American digital infrastructure remains a legitimate global concern, critics argue that Brussels’ response increasingly resembles digital protectionism. Supporters describe it as technological sovereignty, while opponents warn it could fragment the global internet, weaken competition by favoring local providers, and create a digital ecosystem governed by Brussels’ own standards for content moderation, AI governance, and disinformation.

Broader efforts to develop EU alternatives to major US social media platforms include Eurosky and W. Eurosky, a Netherlands-based initiative designed as a European alternative to platforms such as X and Meta, was officially launched earlier this year. 

W, a Europe-focused social network that reportedly emphasizes verified identities and compliance with EU data protection rules, was developed by Swedish company W Social and unveiled in early 2026. Following a limited beta launch in February, the platform is expected to roll out to the public in the Netherlands and across the EU by the end of the year.

Earlier this year, France announced plans to replace US videoconferencing platforms such as Teams and Zoom with the homegrown Visio app by 2027. Meanwhile, the European Payments Initiative is urging EU authorities to reduce the bloc’s reliance on Visa and Mastercard.

The death toll from an attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist militant group that originated in Uganda, has risen to 21 in the town of Mbau, located in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). 

The increase in casualties follows the discovery of additional bodies on the outskirts of the town in the aftermath of the assault, a local news agency reported on Thursday. 

Mbau came under a deadly attack overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday. According to preliminary accounts collected by local outlet Actualite from survivors, ADF fighters operated in three separate groups during the raid. 

The militants reportedly targeted the neighborhoods of Matete, Kithoho, and Mamuli, where they also set fire to homes and motorcycles. 

According to the publication, ADF militants have killed more than 40 people in attacks across the town of Mbau and the wider territory of Beni over the past three days. Several civilians were also abducted during the assaults and remain in captivity. 

The latest violence comes as the DR Congo continues to face a worsening security crisis. The M23 rebel group remains in control of parts of the country, contributing to ongoing armed clashes and deepening humanitarian challenges. 

German film director Wim Wenders has withdrawn his 1975 film ‘Wrong Move’ from circulation and issued an “unreserved” apology to actress Nastassja Kinski over a scene showing her topless at age 13.

The road movie marked the film debut of the daughter of actor Klaus Kinski. It also stars Rudiger Vogler as an aspiring writer wandering through Germany. His encounters include an apparently mute teen acrobat played by Kinski.

In a brief scene, Vogler, then over 30, visits the 13-year-old in her bedroom, where she is lying on a bed in only her panties. He strips to his underwear and lies on top of her, slapping her before stroking her face.

“As the only person responsible at the time for ‘Wrong Move’ who is still here, I recognize that Nastassja Kinski should have been better protected back then,” said Wenders, who is one of Germany’s most influential postwar filmmakers and later also worked with Kinski as the star of his acclaimed films ‘Paris, Texas’ (1984) and ‘Faraway, So Close!’ (1993).

“For that, I apologize to you, Nastassja, unreservedly, no ifs or buts,” he added.

The film will remain unavailable, Wenders said, until a mutually agreeable solution is found.

“Although I didn’t know much at the age of 13, I could already tell that it wasn’t right,” she told the outlet, adding: “That was my first film, he was my first director and he didn’t protect me.”

Wenders first responded publicly to Kinski’s demands in 2024, saying that he understood her “current perceptions and feelings” and adding that he would not film the scene that way today.

Kinski has previously campaigned successfully against a TV film by Das Boot director Wolfgang Petersen, in which she was shown naked at age 15. Her lawyer told Spiegel that they had reached an agreement with broadcaster NDR over the film’s distribution.

The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution aimed at making it impossible for US President Donald Trump to take further military action against Iran without the approval of Congress.

The Trump administration did not consult with lawmakers when it launched ‘Operation Epic Fury’ and attacked Iran together with Israel in late February. Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president is required to withdraw American forces from a war after two months if it has not been approved by Congress. The 60-day deadline passed on May 1, but US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth argued that the announcement of a ceasefire with Tehran in early April had reset the clock.

House Democrats, who have made several attempts to pass a resolution to limit Trump’s war powers since the start of the conflict, succeeded in doing so on Wednesday. However, it still requires backing from the Senate, which remains under Republican control.

New York Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks, who introduced the resolution, said that he was thrilled “that we’ve had the opportunity to have some members from the Republican side stand up.” 

The House will remain “a check and a balance when the administration doesn’t follow the Constitution,” he stressed.

Barrett explained that he voted together with the Democrats because the American people are “tired of this war… they’re tired of $5 gallon gas and $6 gallon diesel, and fertilizer we can’t afford to put on our fields.” 

Before the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson warned his colleagues against passing the resolution, arguing that it could have a “very negative” impact on the talks with Iran.

“It weakens us, our position, and our leverage in negotiation on the peace in that situation. ‘Operation Epic Fury’ is concluded,” Johnson told CNN.

More than 40 patients have now been selected for Russia’s personalized cancer vaccine program, with the first treatments already producing a strong immune response, Russian Federal Medical-Biological Agency head and former Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova told RT’s Rick Sanchez on Wednesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026, Skvortsova said the treatment uses artificial intelligence as a key weapon against cancer.

The vaccine is custom-made for each patient in a process that takes around 42 days. Scientists take material from the person’s tumor and blood, sequence the RNA, and use AI-driven predictive algorithms to compare the patient’s genome with that of the tumor in order to identify unique mutations. Once those targets are found, the vaccine introduces peptides that teach the immune system to recognize the same markers on malignant cells and selectively kill them, while leaving healthy tissue intact.

“We use the immune system to kill malignant tumor cells,” Skvortsova said. “It’s one of the most powerful weapons.”

Skvortsova stressed that AI does not work alone. Even after the most advanced artificial intelligence completes its analysis, bioinformaticians and geneticists manually validate the results. This is followed by another week of quality and accuracy testing.

The first two colorectal cancer patients began treatment around two months ago and have already received five injections. According to Skvortsova, the vaccine appears safe and well tolerated so far, and the concentration of G immunoglobulins in their tumors rose by 50 to 100 times. Doctors have also observed a decrease in lymph node size after the fourth injection, she said.

However, Skvortsova cautioned that it is too early to claim clinical effectiveness. The first major checkpoint will come after three months, when MRI scans will measure changes in lymph nodes and other metastatic sites.

At least four people have been killed and ten others wounded in Ukrainian drone attacks on Crimea, local governor Sergey Aksyonov has said.

One person was killed and three others were wounded during a drone attack on a suburban train traveling from Azovskoye to Kerch, Aksyonov wrote in a post on Telegram on Thursday morning.

The strikes damaged several “nonresidential facilities” in the city of Simferopol, killing at least three people and injuring seven others, the governor added.

The Crimean port city of Sevastopol, home to the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was also attacked overnight, according to its governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev.

At least 20 incoming Ukrainian drones were shot down by air defenses, and there were two incidents of drone debris falling in residential areas. No injuries were reported.

The Russian Defense Ministry has reported that 272 drones were intercepted and destroyed over several regions of the country on Thursday morning. Apart from Crimea and the waters of the Azov and Black seas, the UAVs were downed over Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod, Orel, Rostov, Ryazan, and Tambov regions.

Russia was hit by another major Ukrainian drone attack overnight, with 272 UAVs shot down across the country, according to the Defense Ministry. The interceptions took place over Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kursk, Novgorod, Orel, Rostov, Ryazan and Tambov Regions as well as over Crimea and the Sea of Azov, the ministry said.

Moscow previously warned that it would carry out “systematic and consistent strikes” on Ukraine’s military infrastructure, such as drone production facilities, command posts, and “decision-making centers,” in response to Kiev’s terrorist attacks, including one in the Lugansk People’s Republic on May 22. 

On that occasion, Ukrainian forces struck a college dormitory in the town of Starobelsk in several waves of drone attacks late at night while students were asleep, killing 21 people, mostly teenage girls, and injuring dozens of others.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the Ukrainian leadership had opened “a new chapter in its crime spree” with the attack on Starobelsk, adding that those responsible would face “well-deserved and inevitable punishment.”

A woman has sued Airbnb and an Atlanta-area host after allegedly being denied a rental booking when the host learned she was black, The Independent has reported.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Georgia last week, the outlet said on Wednesday. Plaintiff Sharona Stewart alleges that Airbnb host George Yu Shihfang and unnamed property managers discriminated against her during the booking process and that the service had failed to act after she reported the incident.

According to the complaint, Stewart exchanged what were described as “cordial” messages with Shihfang after requesting to rent the six-bedroom property. The lawsuit says that after the host asked “racially based questions” and determined Stewart was a black woman, he stopped responding to her inquiries and the reservation request was ultimately rejected.

Stewart later reviewed the listing and found language describing the area as a “peaceful white neighborhood” under the property’s neighborhood highlights section. According to the lawsuit, she reported the wording and the rejected booking to Airbnb but the company closed her complaint and allowed the advertisement to remain on the platform.

Stewart's complaint argues that Airbnb had failed to stop discriminatory conduct on its platform and allowed minority applicants to face unequal treatment.

Questions about racial discrimination on Airbnb have surfaced repeatedly over the past decade. A 2015 Harvard Business School study found that guests with African-American-sounding names were nearly 10% more likely to have booking requests rejected than otherwise identical guests, findings that contributed to calls for stronger safeguards.

The US is mulling the deployment of its nuclear weapons to more NATO states in Europe, the Financial Times has reported, citing sources familiar with the discussions. Russia has already said that any NATO nuclear moves toward its borders would not go unanswered.

The potential move comes as Washington seeks to reassure allies unsettled by plans to reduce US troop numbers and critical weapons systems in Europe and redirect some resources to Asia and other regions, the FT said on Tuesday.

The US is broadly scaling back its military presence in Europe, where more than 80,000 US troops were stationed in 2025 under a system of combined territorial defense and deterrence dating back to the end of World War II.

The FT paper described the talks as “highly confidential” and said they may not lead to any changes in existing nuclear-sharing arrangements. Currently six NATO countries host US nuclear weapons and dual-capable aircraft (DCA) certified to deliver them – Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Türkiye, and the UK.

Several NATO members on the bloc’s eastern flank, including Poland and some Baltic states, have expressed interest in hosting US nuclear weapons and DCA, people familiar with the matter told the FT.

Moscow has repeatedly voiced concern over NATO’s buildup in Europe, condemning the region’s militarization and the bloc’s intensified military activity near its western borders.

Russia argues that Western governments are using “ostentatious Russophobia” to justify turning the EU into a military bloc and to divert attention away from domestic issues.

The Kremlin has stated that it has no intention of attacking any NATO nation, but has warned that it would aim its nuclear arsenal at countries hosting weapons directed at Russia.

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a renewed ceasefire that requires the militant group Hezbollah to stop firing and withdraw from southern Lebanon, according to a joint statement released after US-mediated talks at the State Department on Wednesday.

The talks followed weeks of Israeli strikes and ground operations in Lebanon, as well as Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel. Washington has said previous ceasefire efforts were undermined by Hezbollah attacks carried out without the approval of the Lebanese government.

“The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of Hizbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hizbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector,” the joint statement read.

“The two sides agreed with the guidance of the United States to swiftly advance the creation of pilot zones in which the Lebanese Armed Forces will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors.”

Lebanon previously demanded that Israel withdraw from its territory as part of any lasting arrangement, while Israel has insisted that Hezbollah must be removed from the border area before it ends its operations.

Israel sent troops across the border after Hezbollah supported Iran in the face of the US-Israeli attack in February, and renewed its ground push in recent weeks, including the capture of Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat al-Chakif.

The 900-year-old Crusader fortress, located on a strategic hilltop, was previously used by Israel as a base during its two-decade occupation of the region, which ended in 2000. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the move a “dramatic shift” and said he had ordered the military “to expand its ground maneuver in Lebanon.”

US President Donald Trump called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during a heated phone conversation after the Israeli leader threatened to bomb Beirut again, Axios reported.

Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has released a video it says shows the moment an alleged Iranian drone hit a terminal at Kuwait International Airport on June 3.

The agency described the incident as a “brutal Iranian drone attack,” saying it caused loss of life, serious injuries, and extensive material damage.

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry previously said at least one person had been killed when a projectile struck Terminal 1 at the airport and other “vital facilities,” including diplomatic missions. Several other people were injured, the ministry added, without giving a number.

اللحظات الأولى للاعتداء الإيراني الغاشم من قبل المسيرات الذي تعرض له مبنى الركاب T1 في مطار الكويت الدولي بتاريخ 3 يونيو 2026 وتسبب بخسائر بالأرواح وإصابات بشرية بليغة وأضرار مادية جسيمة

The first moments following the brutal Iranian drone attack on Terminal 1 (T1) at Kuwait… pic.twitter.com/eTzQoVXB4K

— الطيران المدني (@Kuwait_DGCA) June 3, 2026

Tehran has denied deliberately targeting the passenger terminal. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed earlier that the damage was likely caused by a US Patriot missile launched to defend an American base in Kuwait from Iranian strikes.

The incident followed an exchange of US and Iranian strikes. The IRGC said it had launched attacks on US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, including the US Fifth Fleet headquarters, after American strikes on Qeshm Island.

The US Department of War claimed that Iranian missiles fired at Kuwait failed to hit their targets, saying two projectiles fell short or broke apart en route. Kuwait said its air defenses were responding to missile and drone attacks during the incident.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed reports that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during a heated phone conversation over Israel’s military operations in Lebanon.

Axios reported earlier this week that Trump had angrily urged Netanyahu to cancel planned strikes on Beirut, warning that further escalation could jeopardize ongoing US-Iran negotiations and a fragile regional ceasefire.

Speaking on the New York Post’s ‘Pod Force One’ podcast on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged using the language attributed to him.

“I did,” Trump said when asked whether he had called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy.” 

“I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon. At some point I said, ‘We gotta stop this. We gotta stop it.’” Trump added that he still had a “very good relationship” with the Israeli leader.

The US president also dismissed claims that Netanyahu had pushed him into the conflict with Iran, saying anyone making such accusations was “the enemy.”

Lebanese health authorities said on Wednesday that more than 3,500 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since early March. The escalation has drawn criticism from Tehran, which insists that the US-Iran ceasefire framework also covers Lebanon.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on Tuesday that continued Israeli operations could derail diplomacy.

“If the Israeli aggression against Lebanon continues, we will not only halt the path of negotiations, but we will also be in direct confrontation with the enemy,” he wrote on X.

The tensions come as the eight-week-old ceasefire between Iran and the US faces renewed strain. US Central Command said it carried out “self-defense strikes” on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Wednesday, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted US-linked assets in the Gulf in retaliation for recent American attacks. Kuwait International Airport was reportedly struck during the exchange.

Germany has failed to win a temporary seat on the UN Security Council for the first time in modern history, losing a General Assembly vote to Austria and Portugal. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the outcome “a real disappointment” and blamed Russia for the loss.

“There is our firm support for Ukraine; the fact that Russia does not want such a voice at ​the Security Council,” he told reporters after the news broke.

Portugal won 134 votes and Austria 131 in the contest for two seats allocated to the Western Europe and Others group, while Germany received only 104 votes in a secret ballot on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe and Trinidad and Tobago were elected unopposed to seats reserved for Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, respectively.

Kyrgyzstan secured the Asia-Pacific seat after defeating the Philippines. The five incoming elected members will replace Pakistan, Somalia, Greece, Denmark, and Panama for a two-year term beginning on January 1, 2027.

The vote was presided over by former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is serving as president of the UN General Assembly.

Austria Wins UN Security Council Seat for 2027–28, Defeating Germany. Watch how Austria celebrates #austria #unitednations #un #securitycouncil pic.twitter.com/qsr9im2YVq

— Markus Iser (@maecx) June 3, 2026

Germany’s failed bid marked a break from its previous Security Council campaigns, which were traditionally preceded by years of coordination within the Western group. In earlier races for the 1977–1978, 1987–1988, 1995–1996, 2003–2004, 2011–2012, and 2019–2020 terms, Berlin either ran unopposed or entered as a clear favorite, and chose to stay on the sidelines when facing serious competitors.

Germany has also long sought a permanent seat on the Security Council, arguing that the body must be expanded to better reflect today’s political and economic realities, while also promoting itself as a major UN donor and supporter of multilateralism.

Wadephul said last year that the council should include additional permanent and non-permanent seats, especially for underrepresented regions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

African leaders have called for at least two permanent seats for the continent, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described Africa’s exclusion from permanent membership as “indefensible.”

India has also pushed for permanent membership, saying it is “eminently suited” for the role and citing its population, economy, democratic system, and UN peacekeeping record. New Delhi is also using its Voice of Global South initiative to cast itself as a representative of developing nations in debates over global governance.

The Security Council has 15 members: five permanent veto-holders – Russia, China, the US, the UK, and France – and ten elected members, half of which are replaced each year for staggered two-year terms.

Clashes have broken out in the UK city of Southampton after hundreds of people gathered to protest the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak and his treatment at the hands of police in his final minutes.

The rally on Tuesday followed the release of police bodycam footage from last year showing officers handcuffing Nowak, who had been stabbed. Police ignored Nowak’s pleas for help after his murderer, Vickrum Singh Digwa, falsely accused the student of carrying out a racist attack.

The footage revived debate over claims of unequal police treatment of different ethnic groups, known as “two-tier policing,” and sparked nationwide outrage.

The protesters initially gathered outside the city center police station on Tuesday before moving closer to the home of Nowak’s killer, Digwa.

Protests in Southhampton continue with police now protecting the home of Vickrum Digwa's family following the release of the horrific bodycam footage of Henry Nowak. pic.twitter.com/sHTGpXRvHZ

— Pacific Wire (@ChynoNews) June 2, 2026

Rally participants chanted Nowak’s name and “I can’t breathe” – the words he had repeated while being arrested. Activist Tommy Robinson joined the protest, telling the crowd that the case was “about race.”

Violence broke out, with videos on social media showing the crowd pelting riot police with various objects. Chairs, cans, flares, bricks, bins, and an e-scooter were reportedly thrown at officers, forcing them to retreat from some areas.

🇬🇧 Ingleses partem para cima da polícia que protegeu um muçulmano assassino.

As cenas da morte do estudante inglês Henry Nowak, esfaqueado por um muçulmano, enfureceram a população de Southhampton. pic.twitter.com/OJbY1KEucK

— Rafael Fontana (@RafaelFontana) June 3, 2026

Police responded by pushing back, including by hitting the protesters with riot shields. Eleven officers as well as a police dog were injured in the clashes, according to reports. Two people were arrested over the incidents, with police indicating that the number of arrests will increase as they review footage from the scene.

Riot erupts in Southampton between police and protesters as Henry Nowak protest turns ugly. Full video on YT. #henrynowak #Southampton pic.twitter.com/ItfF9XNBIm

— Urban Pictures (@Urban_Pictures) June 3, 2026

Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the violence at the protest as “disgraceful and completely unacceptable.” He also criticized Reform UK leader Nigel Farage for what he called an “unforgivable” response to Nowak’s murder. Farage had earlier called on the British public to respond to the incident with “pure, cold rage” and called it a proof of “two-tier culture” in the UK. 

The damage to Kuwait International Airport’s Terminal 1 was likely caused by a US Patriot missile launched to defend a regional American military base from an Iranian attack, Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed.

However, footage later released by Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation appears to dispute this claim.

The incident took place during a US-Iranian missile exchange on Wednesday, triggered by an American attack on a tanker en route to Kharg Island and what CENTCOM called “self-defense strikes” on Qeshm Island.

“Our investigation and research into the Kuwaiti passenger terminal attack shows that the IRGC’s air force did not fire at this target, and the destruction of the Kuwaiti airport passenger terminal was caused by an error in the American Patriot systems, which landed on this terminal after failing to intercept Iranian missiles,” an IRGC spokesman announced on Wednesday.

A video obtained by RT purports to show the aftermath of the strike. A short clip appears to show the inside of a terminal building filled with smoke and dust. Pieces of debris can be seen lying on the floor with several fires visible, including on the roof.

The Foreign Ministry did not comment on the extent of the damage inflicted on the airport. It condemned what it called Iran’s “aggressive attacks” and blamed it for “increased escalation” and “heightened tension” in the Middle East. It also warned that Kuwait “reserves its full and inherent right” to respond.

The escalation comes almost 100 days into the conflict and nearly two months after the US and Iran reached a fragile ceasefire after over a month of active hostilities. Tehran halted negotiations with Washington earlier this week over the ongoing Israeli offensive in Lebanon.

Iran also restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy chokepoint, after the US-Israeli attack in February, while Washington began a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Burned villages. Families slaughtered in their homes. Women, children, and the elderly hacked to death with axes and pitchforks. Thousands of Jews beaten, tortured, and murdered during pogroms that accompanied the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. These are some of the atrocities associated with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and its military wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – movements whose legacy remains one of the most divisive issues in Eastern Europe more than eighty years after World War II.

For decades, supporters of the OUN-UPA have portrayed its members as freedom fighters who resisted both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in pursuit of Ukrainian independence. Opponents, however, point to a different record: collaboration with the Third Reich, participation in anti-Jewish violence, and the mass killing of Polish civilians during the Volhynia massacres of 1943-1944, which Poland today officially recognizes as genocide.

Below, we’ll talk about the origins of modern Ukrainian nationalism, the motives behind the mass killings of Poles and Jews by underground nationalist forces, and the reasons why OUN-UIA leaders collaborated with Nazi Germany.

The ideology behind Ukrainian ‘heroes’

Ukrainian integral nationalism, which became the foundation of OUN-UIA ideology, owes much to the writings of Dmitry Dontsov. In the mid-1920s, he articulated a doctrine of Ukrainian nationalism that was heavily influenced by the fascist ideology of the time. 

In his 1926 work ‘Nationalism’, he proclaimed the principle of Social Darwinism in relations between nations: he stated that various peoples exist in a state of perpetual and merciless conflict, and the strong ones “expand” at the expense of the weak. He dismissed morality as a constraint, arguing that “the end justifies the means” – i.e., any form of violence could be justified in the name of national success, including the physical extermination of anyone not belonging to one’s “own” nation.

According to this doctrine, the Ukrainian nation was seen as an absolute value, superior to the lives of the individuals who inhabit the country. Dontsov’s ideal was a totalitarian movement where individual interests were entirely subordinate to the greatness of the nation. He envisioned the future Ukrainian state as monoethnic and imperial, encompassing all “ethnographic Ukrainian lands” and purged of outsiders, including Russians (seen as Ukraine’s eternal strategic and mystical enemies), Jews, and Poles.

Such a state would be governed by an order, a special “ruling caste” – an elite composed of the “best people” who would manifest maximum ruthlessness for the sake of the national idea. Dontsov explicitly stated that members of this elite “know neither mercy nor humanity... they are driven solely by a burning desire to maintain the integrity of the nation,” not tolerating anything foreign and dealing with enemies in a decisive manner.

He envisioned a strong national leadership capable of implementing the Ukrainian liberation policy in order to address urgent challenges. From this perspective, Dontsov believed that the leaders of fascist, totalitarian, and anti-communist states – most notably Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler – could serve as role models for Ukrainians.

Dontsov extolled fanaticism and amorality, asserting that the driving forces of nationalism should be will, strength, expansion, and violence, along with racism, fanaticism, mercilessness, and hatred.

It’s no surprise that such an ideology inherently permitted and justified political terror. Dontsov established close ties with the Ukrainian Military Organization and urged his comrades to abandon discussions with opponents and resort to radical actions for the sake of the nation.

“You will attain a Ukrainian state or perish in the struggle for it,”

proclaims the precept from Dontsov’s ‘Decalogue of the Ukrainian Nationalist’. In this manifesto, a “true patriot” is instructed to avenge fallen comrades and harbor hatred for the enemies of his nation.

In essence, Dontsov proclaimed violence a virtue. By the early 1920s, many of his followers, including members of the Ukrainian Military Organization, resorted to individual acts of terror against those they deemed agents of “anti-Ukrainian policies.”

The rise of the OUN

The Ukrainian Military Organization was a clandestine military group founded in 1920 by Colonel Evgeny Konovalets who spent over 10 years in exile and hoped to one day return and seize power in Ukraine.

The organization’s mission was to fight against Polish and Soviet authorities for Ukraine’s independence, employing tactics of terror and inciting a “revolutionary explosion among the Ukrainian people.”

In 1921, Stepan Fedak attempted to assassinate Polish Prime Minister Jozef Pilsudski by shooting the “dictator” of the Polish Republic. The operation failed (Pilsudski emerged unscathed) but it underscored the radicals’ willingness to take extreme measures.

Over the following years, Ukrainian nationalists continued their underground activities, including political assassinations and sabotage. In 1926, in Lviv, 19-year-old Roman Shukhevich, who would later lead the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, shot and killed Polish school supervisor Jan Sobinski. He was accused of persecuting Ukrainian students, and thus the nationalists believed he deserved death. Each year the number of victims of such violence grew by the dozens.

The organization founded by Konovalets was the largest and most radical of its time, but it wasn’t the only one. In 1929, the First Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists took place in Vienna, where various factions – including the Ukrainian Military Organization – came together to form a new entity: the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Led by Konovalets, the movement’s ideology was rooted in the principles set forth by Dontsov, elevating the cult of strength, blood, and national superiority to an absolute value.

During the 1930s, the OUN engaged in underground activities, particularly in Galicia. It was also during this period that Stepan Bandera emerged as a prominent figure among the nationalists. Young, ruthless, and determined, he quickly established himself as one of the recognized leaders of the OUN, gaining notoriety through violent acts against high-ranking Soviet and Polish officials.

In 1933, Bandera organized the high-profile assassination of Soviet diplomat Andrey Mailov, who worked at the Soviet consulate in Lviv. The assassin, Nikolay Lemik, shot the diplomat inside the consulate building. 

However, the OUN considered its real “triumph” the assassination of Polish Interior Minister Bronislaw Pieracki in June 1934. Pieracki was the mastermind behind a campaign known as “pacification” which aimed to suppress the Ukrainian nationalist movement in Galicia. Bandera personally selected Grigory Matseiko to carry out the assassination. Matseiko fatally wounded Pieracki right on the street in Warsaw.

A Polish court sentenced Stepan Bandera to death for organizing the murder,  but the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. During his trial, Bandera showed no remorse, and stated: “We know how to value our lives and those of others, but our idea is worth making millions of sacrifices for.”

Bandera’s imprisonment did not last long – he was released in 1939 after Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and quickly rejoined the nationalist movement.

By the late 1930s, after Konovalets was assassinated by Soviet intelligence agent Pavel Sudoplatov, the OUN splintered into factions of “moderates” and “radicals.” This division became apparent by 1940, as the organization split into the Melnik faction (led by Andrey Melnik) and the Bandera faction (led by Stepan Bandera).

Despite their differences, both factions remained committed to the ideas of integral nationalism and sought allies to combat their common enemies in Ukraine. Soon, they found such an ally in Nazi Germany.

Terror against Jews

Ukrainian nationalists placed their main hope in Adolf Hitler, with whom Konovalets met several times in the 1930s. They believed that with the support of the Nazis, they could finally build an independent state. As Dmitry Dontsov wrote at the time, “For us, the most important aspect of Hitlerism is its commitment to a decisive struggle against Marxism.”

The connections between the nationalists and the Nazis were so significant that in 1939, just a few weeks before WWII broke out, Andrey Melnik personally met with Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the chief of the Abwehr. As a result of these negotiations, the OUN received specific directives from the German command on gathering intelligence about the USSR and conducting subversive activities in Poland.

However, the collaboration with the Nazis did not distract the Ukrainian nationalists from what they considered more pressing tasks: eliminating ethnically foreign elements.

In a May 1941 directive, the OUN explicitly stated that Russians, Poles, and Jews were enemies of the Ukrainian nation and must be annihilated. 

In the early days of Nazi Germany’s war with the USSR in June 1941, nationalists called on people to take up arms and “destroy the enemy,” declaring:

“Muscovites, Hungarians, Jews – these are your enemies. Eliminate them!”

And words soon turned to actions. 

After German forces captured Lviv on June 30, 1941, Ukrainian nationalists unleashed a brutal pogrom against the city’s Jewish population. OUN militants, operating as part of the so-called Ukrainian People’s Militia and the Nachtigall Battalion, organized raids on Jewish residents. People were publicly beaten, tortured, and many were murdered right in the streets or executed after being tortured. Over the course of a few days, thousands of Jews were brutally killed. Similar atrocities occurred throughout the region; the occupying authorities encouraged anti-Semitic violence, which local nationalists eagerly participated in.

The OUN viewed Jews as “supporters of the Moscow-Bolshevik regime” and welcomed their extermination. Many members of the OUN later served in auxiliary police forces for the Nazis, actively participating in the Holocaust by herding Jewish people into ghettos and camps, escorting death marches to Babi Yar in Kiev, and personally executing prisoners.

Although later the UIA declared a fight against Germany, by early 1943 almost all Jews in Volynia and Galicia had been killed, with the active help of Ukrainian nationalists. Few managed to escape, and only a handful of people survived the war within the ranks of the UIA – these were mostly doctors or specialists who were tolerated for practical reasons.

Hunting for Poles

However, the primary targets of the ethnic cleansing efforts of the OUN-UIA were the Poles of Galicia and Volynia, whom the nationalists regarded as historical enemies and “occupiers” of Ukrainian lands that needed to be expelled or eliminated. Plans for these atrocities were devised long before the Volynian massacre: as early as 1938, the OUN’s internal doctrine outlined a project for an uprising aimed at “sweeping away every last Polish element” from Western Ukrainian territory.

This document cynically stated that

“Polish colonists are the hostile force against which the struggle must be ruthless, brutal, and zoological... Those Poles who resist will be destroyed in this fight, while the others must be forced to flee beyond the Vistula [river].”

The OUN demanded that no Poles remain on Ukrainian territory, seeking complete “national purity.” Moreover, the doctrine explicitly stated that “no methods should be considered too harsh... Poles, Russians, and Jews must be exterminated.”

These sinister plans began to be implemented in the spring of 1943 when the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (the military wing of the OUN) carried out the massive slaughter of the Polish population in Volynia.

The Volynian massacre of 1943 became one of the bloodiest crimes of WWII in Eastern Europe. UIA units and armed nationalist peasants attacked hundreds of Polish villages with the intent of physically annihilating all Poles living on “Ukrainian” land. Terror reached its peak in July 1943 during ‘Bloody Sunday’ on July 11, when dozens of settlements were simultaneously attacked by militants.

The methods of execution were unbelievably cruel. People were killed indiscriminately: women, the elderly, children, and infants; many were not just shot but hacked with axes, stabbed with pitchforks, or bludgeoned to death. The homes of Poles were burned to the ground, their property looted; entire villages vanished in flames and were reduced to charred ruins.

Historians estimate that 60,000-100,000 Poles were barbarically killed by the OUN-UIA in Volynia and the surrounding areas. Polish partisan groups later responded with retaliatory terror against Ukrainian villages; however, the initiative for the large-scale extermination of civilians belonged squarely to the Ukrainian nationalists. 

The modern Polish Sejm and historians classify the Volynian massacre as an act of genocide. Numerous accounts indicate that the slaughter was premeditated by the leadership of the OUN, which sought to realize Dontsov’s vision of a “monoethnic” state at any cost.

As a result of the actions of the OUN and UIA, Poles in Volynia and Eastern Galicia were virtually annihilated. Waves of refugees fled their homes to escape the violence. The ethnic landscape of the region was radically reshaped through mass terror tactics. Repression was not limited to Poles and Jews: UIA militants also targeted Ukrainians who refused to support them or were suspected of “disloyalty,” labeling them as traitors.

Nazi collaborators

The activities of Ukrainian nationalists extended beyond the extermination of Jews and Poles. Under the command of Roman Shukhevich, the head of the OUN military branch, two diversionary Abwehr battalions were formed – the Nachtigall Battalion and the Roland Battalion. These Ukrainian units became part of the Wehrmacht and, in June 1941, crossed the Soviet border dressed in German uniforms and under German command, invading the territory of the Ukrainian SSR alongside the Nazis.

Subsequently, the Germans formed the Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 from the Nachtigall and Roland battalions. It was dispatched to Belarus to combat partisans. This battalion was also commanded by Roman Shukhevich, who would later become the supreme commander of the UIA.

In 1942, the soldiers under his command participated in punitive expeditions aimed at “pacifying” Belarusian villages suspected of aiding partisans (in other words, burning down entire settlements along with their inhabitants).

Throughout this period, the OUN hoped to reap political benefits from its alliance with the Nazis.

On June 30, 1941, immediately after capturing Lviv, Bandera’s followers, led by Yaroslav Stetsko, proclaimed the establishment of the Ukrainian State and formed a pro-German “government.” In its declaration of statehood, the OUN openly expressed the intention to collaborate with Nazi Germany, which “under the leadership of its Führer Adolf Hitler is creating a new order in Europe and assisting the Ukrainian people in liberating themselves from Moscow’s occupation.”

However, these expectations were soon dashed. Adolf Hitler had no intention of granting independence to Ukrainians or creating the proposed ethnocratic Ukrainian state stretching from the Carpathians to the Volga. By July 1941, the German authorities had arrested Stepan Bandera, Yaroslav Stetsko, and several other OUN leaders for overstepping their authority.

Despite this, at the grassroots level, the OUN continued to serve the Third Reich. Hundreds of Ukrainian nationalists worked for the Nazi authorities, police forces, and auxiliary SS units. The Ukrainian police, which included OUN members, participated in guarding ghettos and conducting mass executions of Jews, as well as carrying out punitive operations against partisans and the civilian population.

Even after this shift, however, the UIA continued to unofficially collaborate with the German command – documents show instances of local ceasefires and agreements between the insurgents and the Wehrmacht during 1943-1944. Apparently, the common enemy – Soviet power – brought them closer together than any ideological differences.

***

None of this helped save the Bandera and Melnik movements, however. After defeating Nazi Germany, the USSR turned its attention to the Ukrainian nationalists, effectively blockading western Ukrainian regions. State security agents cleared area after area. By 1950, most of the rebel leaders had been either killed or captured (Roman Shukhevich was killed in 1950, and Vasily Kuk, the last leader of the Ukrainian nationalist underground, was arrested in 1954). All centers of resistance had been suppressed by 1956.

The few OUN figures who survived ended up in exile in the West. Stepan Bandera settled in Munich under the protection of Western intelligence services after the war; however, he was assassinated in 1959 by Soviet agent Bogdan Stashinsky using cyanide gas. Other prominent OUN members – Yaroslav Stetsko, Nikolai Lebed, and Stepan Lenkavsky – settled in Europe and North America, continuing their ideological work by publishing journals and books and lobbying for the “Ukrainian cause” during the Cold War between the USSR and the USA. Within the émigré community, the OUN and UIA gradually became symbols of anti-Soviet resistance, while their dark past was hushed up.

The murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak has sparked national outrage in the UK after police bodycam footage submitted to court showed officers arresting and handcuffing him as he lay dying, while his killer remained uncuffed after falsely claiming to be the victim of a racist attack.

The case has triggered protests, renewed accusations of two-tier policing, and an investigation into how British authorities handled the incident.

Who was Henry Nowak?

Nowak was an 18-year-old University of Southampton student from Chafford Hundred, east of London in Essex. He was walking back to his student accommodation on December 3, 2025, when he was attacked in Belmont Road.

Who killed Henry Nowak?

Vickrum Singh Digwa is a 23-year-old Sikh from Southampton who had no previous convictions before the murder. He lived with his family on St. Denys Road in Southampton and had been helping his brother with Deliveroo deliveries on the night of the attack.

Prosecutors, however, have described him as a man with a “weapons obsession.” A British court heard that he had trained with weapons since the age of 12, slept in a bedroom surrounded by weapons, and had frequently searched for weapons on his phone.

Police reportedly also found a cache of more than 20 weapons at Digwa’s family home, including flick knives, knuckledusters, swords, a machete, an extendable baton, an axe, and an air rifle.

The murder

On December 3, 2025, while en route to his accommodation in Southampton, Nowak encountered Digwa in Belmont Road.

Shortly before the attack, Nowak recorded Digwa openly wearing a large blade hitched on his belt. In the video, Nowak can be heard saying: “You’re a bad man, say you’re a bad man,” to which Digwa replies: “I am a bad man.” The video cut off after that.

Digwa then stabbed Nowak five times, including wounds to the backs of his legs and a fatal wound to the heart. Police later found Nowak’s phone hidden in Digwa’s pocket.

The police response

Police were called to the scene by Digwa’s brother Gurpreet, who told officers that they had “just been attacked racially by some white person.” This was a lie.

When officers arrived, Digwa told police that Nowak had racially abused him, punched him, grabbed his hair, and torn off his turban. Police believed Digwa’s account and treated Nowak as the suspect.

Bodycam footage showed officers handcuffing Nowak, who was lying on the ground and repeatedly telling them he had been stabbed and could not breathe. One officer responded: “Don’t think you have, mate.”

Nowak was dragged across gravel, placed under arrest for assault, and left in handcuffs as he lost consciousness and drowned in his own blood.

Digwa, who still had the murder weapon on him, was not handcuffed.

The trial

Digwa was arrested after officers eventually realized Nowak had been stabbed, and was later charged with murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He denied murder and claimed he had acted in self-defense.

His defense argued that Digwa was attacked first and feared that Nowak could use his blade against him. Digwa also claimed he had not realized he had inflicted the fatal chest wound.
Prosecutors rejected that account, describing the racism allegation as a “wicked lie” and claiming that Digwa attacked Nowak without provocation, filmed him while he was wounded, and did not immediately call police or an ambulance. The court also heard that Nowak’s phone, found hidden in Digwa’s pocket, contained no evidence of racial abuse.

Has Digwa been sentenced for the murder of Nowak?

The jury convicted Digwa on May 28 and on Monday, he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years.

Digwa’s mother, Kiran Kaur, was also found guilty of assisting an offender after hiding the murder weapon and will be sentenced on July 17.

Less than a day after Digwa was sentenced, he appeared again at Southampton Magistrates’ Court alongside his father Moga Singh, 52, and brother Gurpreet, 27, on separate weapons charges linked to the cache found at the family home.

The religious weapon argument

Digwa attempted to justify carrying a blade by citing his Sikh faith. Practising Sikhs are legally allowed to carry a small ceremonial knife known as a kirpan.

🇬🇧 This is the knife that Vickrum Digwa used to kill Henry Nowak

He said he carried it as part of his Sikh faith

Sikhs in the UK are allowed to carry knives called Kirpans, but for regular Brits, if they carry a knife the same size, they face a prison sentence

Baptized Sikhs… https://t.co/a80RqLpo6T pic.twitter.com/WJ7956fy51

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 2, 2026

The court heard, however, that Digwa was carrying both a small traditional kirpan concealed under his clothing and a much larger 21 cm knife worn openly on his belt, with which he stabbed Nowak five times.

Judge William Mousley KC rejected Digwa’s attempt to link the killing weapon to Sikh religious practice, telling him that he had brought shame upon his family, his community and his religion.

‘Inhumane and degrading’

The case has prompted outrage and condemnation across Britain, with much of the anger focused not only on the killing itself but on the way police treated Nowak after accepting Digwa’s false racism allegation.

Nowak’s father, Mark, said his son “did not die with dignity” and described the police treatment as “inhumane and degrading.”

“Henry told officers that he could not breathe nine times. He told them that he had been stabbed four times,” he said. He contrasted this with Digwa’s treatment, saying the killer was believed, initially left uncuffed, and later taken inside the family home, where police “even took him to the kitchen so he could choose his food.”

How have UK politicians reacted to Nowak’s death?

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called on the British public to respond with “pure, cold rage.” In a statement on Tuesday, Farage described the case as “proof, if ever there was any, that we’re living in a two-tier culture in this country where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the footage “awful,” said there had been “multiple failures,” and urged the government to treat the case as seriously as it had treated the killing of George Floyd in the US.

The fear of being called racist was greater than dealing with Henry Nowak’s murder.

We should respond to this with pure cold rage.

Britain’s historic way of life is being thrown away. pic.twitter.com/4N6vL76q1F

— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) June 2, 2026

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the bodycam footage was “really harrowing” and that there were “serious questions for police,” including how accusations of racism shaped their decision-making. However, he rejected claims that Britain has a problem with “two-tier policing.”

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also warned MPs against politicizing the case, insisting it was about murder, not about Sikhism or race.

Public outrage and protests

Public anger escalated after Digwa’s sentencing and the release of the police bodycam footage. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Southampton, outside the city’s police station and later near the Digwa family home chanting Nowak’s name and “I can’t breathe.”

Riot erupts in Southampton between police and protesters as Henry Nowak protest turns ugly. Full video on YT. #henrynowak #Southampton pic.twitter.com/ItfF9XNBIm

— Urban Pictures (@Urban_Pictures) June 3, 2026

Activist Tommy Robinson addressed the crowd outside the police station, telling demonstrators the case was “about race.” Violence erupted. Chairs, cans, flares, bricks, bins and an e-scooter were reportedly thrown at riot police, forcing officers to retreat in some areas. Eleven officers and a police dog were injured, according to reports.

Two people have been arrested so far while police said they are reviewing footage and could make additional arrests.

The Nowak case has renewed the broader debate over “two-tier policing” and whether the British authorities hesitate to act against minority suspects, even in cases of serious violence, while responding harshly to public anger over immigration and crime.

Some examples include the 2023 Nottingham murders, when a paranoid schizophrenic migrant killed three people after mental health workers released him out of fear of being perceived as racist, and the 2024 Southport murders, where police appeared to grant leniency and refused to disclose the identity of a Rwandan teenager who killed three young girls and injured ten others at a dance class.

The protests that erupted in response have been met with rapid arrests and prison sentences while the British government has faced accusations of cracking down on free speech and arresting citizens for any form of criticism of immigration, crime, and policing failures.

How is the British establishment reacting to public anger over Nowak’s death?

In parliament, Starmer commended Nowak’s family for showing “extraordinary dignity” after his life was “stolen in appalling circumstances.” He said there were “serious questions to answer,” but condemned the Southampton clashes as “disgraceful and completely unacceptable.”

“This is a time for serious work, not rage,” the prime minister said.

Policing minister Sarah Jones has also appealed for calm.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council is reviewing its anti-racism commitments after MPs raised concerns that the guidance could encourage officers to treat people differently based on ethnicity.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is reviewing bodycam footage and trial material and is expected to report within three months.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has apologized for how Nowak was treated. One of the four officers involved has resigned, while the other three continue to serve and are being treated as witnesses.

The Attorney General’s Office is also considering requests to review Digwa’s sentence under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.

Large Russian companies are increasingly turning to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for software, technology products, and industrial components – a trend officials and business leaders say could help raise the sector’s relatively modest share of the national economy.

The strengthening of the SME sector’s role was discussed on Wednesday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026 (SPIEF), where government officials, entrepreneurs, and business associations examined ways to accelerate growth amid high borrowing costs and tax changes.

Maria Glukhova, executive vice president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), said demand from corporate giants is creating new opportunities for smaller firms.

“Software procurement from SMEs has increased for a third of the surveyed companies,” Glukhova said, citing an RSPP survey of large Russian businesses.

Glukhova attributed the trend to the greater flexibility of smaller companies.

“Large companies are not always as agile as small and medium-sized businesses,” she said, noting that SMEs are often better able to adapt products and services to customer needs.

Officials view stronger ties between large corporations and smaller suppliers as an important mechanism for expanding the SME sector’s economic footprint. Russia has around seven million SMEs and individual entrepreneurs employing roughly 19 million people, or nearly one-third of the workforce, Deputy Economic Development Minister Tatyana Ilyushnikova told the panel.

Despite their significant role in employment, SMEs account for only about a fifth of Russia’s GDP, according to Economic Development Ministry estimates. By comparison, small and medium-sized businesses generate roughly 43.5% of US GDP.

Participants at the forum argued that increasing procurement from SMEs, particularly in high-tech sectors, could help narrow the gap between the sector’s share of employment and its contribution to economic output.

This year’s SPIEF, being held from June 3 to June 6, is focused on economic growth, industrial development, technological sovereignty, and international cooperation, including with BRICS and Global South countries.

Indian pharma major Hetero Labs has agreed with the city of Moscow to build a new plant and expand pharmaceutical collaboration in a special economic zone in the Russian capital. 

A memorandum of cooperation was signed by Anatoly Garbuzov, minister of the Moscow government, and Murali Krishna Reddy, director of Emerging Markets at Hetero Labs Limited, on the sidelines of the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026). 

“We believe that such a synergy between the city and foreign partners will help create the most promising, the most high-tech pharmaceutical drugs,” Garbuzov told RT. 

He added that Moscow is one of the largest centers of pharmaceuticals and medical instrumentation in the country and that more than 300 industry enterprises operate in the capital.

🇮🇳🇷🇺 A Dose Of Investment! One Of India's Largest Pharma Firms Signs Deal For Moscow Production

At SPIEF, Moscow authorities signed a memorandum of intent with Hetero Labs on the implementation of a new industrial investment project.

Under the agreement, the company will… pic.twitter.com/ax5bMakhe2

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 3, 2026

Garbuzov, who is also the head of investment and industrial policy in Moscow, said the pharma industry in Russia’s capital is looking for international expertise. “India is really the world leader in the production of various pharmaceuticals.”  

Sanjay Nayak, CEO of Makiz Pharma, a wholly owned unit of Hetero Labs, said his firm would set up a factory for producing oncological and other products.  

The Moscow government has provided the land for the facility and offered incentives such as tax rebates and assured buy-back of some pharma products, he said. 

Hetero Labs produces active pharmaceutical substances and ready-made dosage forms for the treatment of HIV, hepatitis, cancer, and tuberculosis. Makiz already has a manufacturing facility in Moscow. 

The Technopolis Moscow SEZ has 14 companies, ten of which have already started production of drugs for the treatment of oncological, autoimmune, cardiological, and other diseases.  

Garbuzov also said the city is open to investment from the Indian electric car industry, and that a delegation of 18 Russian companies had visited India to explore market opportunities.

Hungary has lifted its veto on Ukraine beginning formal accession talks with the EU, following days of hints from Prime Minister Peter Magyar and strategic leaks from Brussels, whose reporters announced the news with much fanfare on Wednesday.

Will Magyar compromise on Hungarian rights?

In the hours following the announcement Magyar claimed that a "comprehensive agreement on the linguistic, educational, cultural and political rights of the 100,000-strong Hungarian minority,” has been reached with Kiev, but no confirmation has come from the Ukrainian capital.

Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday, Magyar said that he was “very optimistic” that a deal could be done to guarantee the rights of Ukraine’s Hungarian minority, in exchange for his government lifting the veto. 

Hungary's PM Péter Magyar on Ukraine:

I can repeat here in Berlin: I am ready to meet President Zelensky early next week. If we truly succeed in agreeing on these fundamental human rights...

Using your mother tongue in a kindergarten, a school, in administration — that is not… pic.twitter.com/m6mn5YrmUA

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 2, 2026

“The negotiations are progressing encouragingly,” he said, adding “I am ready to meet with Ukraine’s president at the beginning of next week, if we manage to agree on these fundamental human rights.”

Within an hour of Magyar’s statement, Politico published an article claiming that Budapest had privately “signaled it will drop its long-standing opposition to Ukraine’s bid for EU membership,” citing four unnamed diplomats.

How did Politico try to influence EU members on Ukraine? 

Politico, the Axel Springer-owned Brussels insider, reported that Magyar’s government had “privately signaled openness to lifting its veto following a meeting on Monday between Ukrainian and Hungarian experts.” The Ukrainian side, the outlet claimed, provided verbal assurances that they would resolve most of Hungary’s concerns – including the Hungarian minority’s right to use their native language in schools – and formal accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova will be opened at an EU leaders’ summit on June 15.

Why was Politico’s article important?

That this story first appeared on Politico was likely no coincidence. Politico’s neoliberal, Atlantacist worldview is literally written into the constitution of its owner, Axel Springer, and its journalists’ proximity to power in Brussels has made it the outlet of choice for all kinds of strategic communications from within the EU machine – from telegraphed policy moves like Tuesday’s report, to outsourced smear campaigns.

Further hit pieces – all of them citing EU diplomats and officials – followed, claiming that “Europe is failing Ukraine,” de Wever “fears retaliation from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” and “Europe still doesn’t want to pay to save Ukraine.”

Magyar’s predecessor, Viktor Orban, derided Politico as “the Brusselian elite’s official publication” after it named him 2025’s “disruptor of the year.”

How are Hungarians treated in Ukraine?

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, around 156,000 ethnic Hungarians found themselves trapped within Ukraine’s borders, after Kiev refused to recognize a successful self-rule referendum in the region of Transcarpathia. Relations between Budapest and Kiev rapidly declined from 2017 onwards, when Ukraine passed a series of laws mandating the sole use of the Ukrainian language in schools and local government.

Tensions were further inflamed after 2022, when the Ukrainian military targeted Transcarpathians in what the Hungarian Foreign Ministry called a “brutal” military draft.

[4] Soldiers raided a coffee shop in the district of Beregsász (Berehove). Beregszász is the closest city to the Hungarian border just 5km away. The city is demographically 48% Hungarian. pic.twitter.com/FlICxr1Oie

— Based Hungary 🇭🇺 (@HungaryBased) January 22, 2023

Ukraine’s language laws have been criticized by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission for failing to safeguard minorities’ linguistic rights, and condemned by human rights organizations. 

Why lift the veto now?

Orban maintained that Ukraine joining the EU would drag the bloc into open war with Russia, undercut Hungary’s agricultural sector, and effectively give a free pass to the corruption and criminality of the Ukrainian government. However, the Transcarpathia issue was the brightest of red lines for Orban, with the then-prime minister declaring in 2023 that Hungary “will not support Ukraine in any issue in international life until the previous laws that guaranteed the rights of Transcarpathian Hungarians are returned.”

More than 2 million Hungarians have made their will clear: NO to Ukraine’s EU accession! ❌ Their voice cannot be ignored, we cannot consent to decisions that go against their will. Ukraine’s EU membership would mean the ruin of the European Union, we must not and will not allow… pic.twitter.com/AOUdxUu3iO

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) June 27, 2025

Anita Orban, Magyar’s foreign minister (and no relation of Viktor), has maintained this policy, telling an interviewer last month that “until the situation of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine is resolved, we cannot make progress in any other area.”

Hungary’s concerns are laid out in an 11-point plan. Anita Orban has refused to say whether her government would compromise on these demands, but Politico noted that Ukraine would address “most” – but not all – of the points, and added that this would be done without “passing new legislation in Ukraine.”

All of this suggests that the Ukraine's language laws have not been repealed or replaced, but that Magyar has been forced to abandon some of the document’s points, which have not been made public.

It is unclear, but likely, that Magyar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressed Ukrainian membership of the EU when they met to discuss frozen funding for Hungary last week. 

Could anyone else block Ukrainian attempts to join the EU?

With Viktor Orban out of office, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is now considered the EU’s most Ukraine-skeptic head of state. However, while Fico maintains cordial relations with Russia and opposes all military aid to Ukraine, Zelensky claimed that the Slovak prime minister would support Ukraine’s EU membership bid after the two met in Armenia last month.

Has Zelensky’s veneration of Nazi collaborators harmed Ukraine’s EU bid?

Polish President Karol Nawrocki said last week that Ukraine “is not ready to be part of the European family,” after Zelensky granted the title ‘Heroes of the UPA’ to a Ukrainian commando unit. The UPA, or Ukrainian Insurgent Army, was the armed wing of Stepan Bandera’s Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), and collaborated with Nazi forces to murder around 100,000 Polish civilians in what is now western Ukraine between 1943 and 1945.

🚨🇵🇱 HUGE! Polish President Karol Nawrocki REJECTS Ukraine Joining the European Union:

"There is NO place in the European family for bandits and murderers who killed women and children. Such bandits cannot be glorified." pic.twitter.com/VerNXtjpPA

— Based Hungary 🇭🇺 (@HungaryBased) June 1, 2026

However, Nawrocki added that supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia remains Poland’s “strategic goal.” 

Even if Nawrocki wanted to block Ukrainian accession, the decision would not be his to make. Poland’s government is run by Nawrocki’s pro-Brussels rivals, and Nawrocki would be unable to veto any accession treaty without finding a majority of MPs or senators to support him.

What comes next for Ukraine?

Euronews’ report suggests a win for von der Leyen and her expansionist plans for the EU, and barring the emergence of some last-minute obstacle, formal talks will likely be confirmed on June 15. However, with the accession process in motion, all of the old issues between Kiev and its European counterparts will return to the forefront: corruption, agricultural market disruption, and the prospect of a permanent welfare recipient joining the European bloc.

These long-term issues could be far more challenging for Zelensky and his officials to solve than the Transcarpathia impasse ever was.

The European Union is pressuring Armenia to expel the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) from the country as a prerequisite to EU integration, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has alleged.

In a statement on Wednesday, the SVR said that EU officials had made severing religious ties with Moscow a condition for closer ties with the West, a policy it said is being pursued by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The landlocked nation maintains close economic ties with Russia and hosts one of Moscow’s few military bases abroad. It is set to elect a new parliament on Sunday. Critics of Pashinyan have warned that he is steering Armenia down a path similar to Ukraine’s after the 2014 Western-backed coup. One of Kiev’s hallmark policies has been a crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which authorities accuse of promoting Russian interests.

Armenia’s religious landscape differs from Ukraine’s. The country’s dominant religious institution is the Armenian Apostolic Church, an ancient denomination that broke with mainstream Christianity in the 5th century, centuries before the Great Schism between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

In its report, the SVR referenced a May statement by two Armenia-based NGOs that accused an ROC priest of influencing the upcoming election through his sermons, including those delivered at a church on the Russian military base in Gyumri. The agency said the allegations are part of a campaign orchestrated by Brussels and that EU operatives “are currently fabricating compromising evidence” to smear other Russian clergy.

Pashinyan’s government was rocked by mass protests in 2024 and 2025, as critics, including senior figures in the Armenian Apostolic Church, accused him of betraying national interests in his handling of the conflict settlement with neighboring Azerbaijan. The prime minister, in turn, accused his opponents of plotting a coup and launched prosecutions against the alleged organizers, including several members of the clergy.

India has expressed an interest in buying up to 200 Russian regional aircraft, the head of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has said.

Airline companies in the country have expressed an interest in the Il-114-300 and SJ-100 planes, Vadim Badekha, the head of the UAC, told TASS in an interview ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026).

Russia showcased the SJ-100 Superjet and the Il 114 300 turboprop plane at the Wings India 2026 airshow in Hyderabad earlier this year.

“We are talking about 100-200 aircraft,” Badekha said. He added that the first Superjet could be made in the South Asian country in 3 years.

The twin-engine Superjet can seat up to 100 passengers, while the Il-114-300 can carry 68. Both planes fall under the category of regional aircraft; they can be used to connect small towns to major airline hubs. For India, they are ideal for connecting its rapidly growing tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

India was the third-largest global air passenger market in 2025, with 160 airports operating scheduled flights, compared to 74 in 2014. New Delhi has allowed 100% foreign direct investment in most sectors of civil aviation.

India's regional aircraft market is also growing rapidly, with the demand for such aircraft projected at 300-400 over the next two decades. Currently the market is serviced by planes made by the Franco-Italian company ATR, Canada’s Bombardier and Brazil’s Embraer.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised ties with Tanzania as developing “intensively,” as he welcomed his counterpart from the African nation, Samia Suluhu Hassan, for talks in Moscow on Wednesday. 

Putin noted that this year marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, adding that bilateral trade increased by 25% last year and stressing that economic cooperation should continue to expand. 

According to the Russian leader, opportunities for growth exist across a range of sectors, including energy, geological exploration, transport, logistics, healthcare and education.

“[Bilateral relations] have always developed at a good level and intensively,” Putin said. He noted that the Tanzanian president had chosen Russia for her first state visit abroad after taking office in November. 

She also expressed gratitude for Russia’s role in Africa’s liberation movements and stressed Moscow had made an important contribution to Tanzania’s development over the decades.

“We [Tanzania] have been working with Russia to date and with the much development we are talking in my country, Russia has got a great contribution on it,” the Tanzanian leader said.

A Czech regional court has ordered a transgender neo-Nazi fugitive convicted of multiple offenses to be deported back to Germany, according to Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Marla-Svenja Liebich, formerly known as Sven Liebich, had previously sparked an uproar over prison placement in Germany after undergoing a legal gender change. 

Liebich was sentenced to 18 months in prison on multiple counts in 2023, including incitement to hatred, insult, trespass, and defamation. The former member of the banned far-right group Blood and Honor appealed the sentence but lost.

In 2024, just weeks after Germany’s new Self-Determination Act came into force, Liebich legally changed gender and became officially recognized as a woman. Following the change, Liebich petitioned to serve the sentence in a women’s prison – a move that was approved by a court.

The ruling triggered a public debate, with some critics alleging tactical misuse of the law and warning of potential loopholes. German Interior Minister Aleksander Dobrindt has slammed the case as evidence of the law’s potential for abuse.

Liebich failed to report to prison in August 2025 after fleeing the country. Earlier this year, the 56-year-old was apprehended by Czech police in the western town of Krasna, near the German border, and put in pre-trial custody.

Commenting on the extradition ruling, a spokesperson for the regional court in the western Czech city of Plzen told AFP that Liebich has three days to appeal, otherwise the extradition order will become final and the German authorities are expected to take custody within ten days.

Liebich reportedly opposed extradition during an initial hearing in Plzen on May 18, arguing that it could result in placement in a men’s prison.

Liebich’s gender transition was widely regarded by commentators and critics as an attempt to mock the Self-Determination Act, introduced under the previous government. In 2022, he disrupted an LGBTQ Pride parade in the eastern German city of Halle, where activists said participants were called “parasites on society.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has urged the participants of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to begin every conversation with Western journalists with the word “Starobelsk.” 

Starobelsk is a town in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic where 21 people, mostly teenage girls, were killed and dozens more injured in a multi-wave Ukrainian drone attack on a college dorm on May 22.

Western politicians turned a blind eye to the atrocity, while the BBC and CNN rejected an invitation by the Russian authorities to visit the site of the attack.

During her Wednesday appearance at a panel on SPIEF, entitled ‘Your Words are Like Bullets: How Information has Transformed into the Most Powerful Weapon of the Modern Era,’ Zakharova expressed outrage over BBC Russia correspondent Steve Rosenberg coming to the forum in St. Peterburg, but not to Starobelsk.

The Western media’s refusal to report on the deadly Ukrainian drone attack on the college dorm was “absolute cynicism,” the spokeswoman insisted.  

By constantly reminding them about Starobelsk, SPIEF’s guests will make Rosenberg and his colleagues understand that their position is “abnormal,” she said.

It is because of this stance by the BBC “that their population doesn’t understand what’s happening. And yet, like an obedient, zombified herd, they continue to contribute to the funding of the Kiev regime,” Zakharova stressed.

“We’ll tell [about it] today. I don’t understand why they say that the BBC is silent,” he replied.

According to Zakharova, Western leaders are well-aware what happened in Starobelsk, but they decline to talk about it in an attempt to make the public “accept the killing of people based on national, ethnic, cultural and linguistic grounds as a new ethic.” 

The only way to resist this push is to “preserve journalism as a field that deals with the media space based on objectivity, legality and morality,” she insisted.

Russia has renamed the BMPT Terminator, a specialized armored vehicle built to support tank operations, as ‘Spiridon’ in an effort to move away from its association with the Hollywood film franchise.

The infantry fighting vehicle features tank-grade protection and a broad range of heavy weapons. It was developed to survive in urban combat, where main battle tanks can lose the advantage offered by their long-range firepower, while standard infantry fighting vehicles may lack sufficient armor.

The imminent rebranding move was highlighted on Tuesday by Omsktransmash, a heavy machinery plant which subcontracts for Russia’s main armored vehicle manufacturer, Uralvagonzavod. A campaign to select a new name for the system was launched in late 2025, inviting more than 2,000 proposals.

“Today, society and the army agree that we should move away from foreign names. Our armor has its own Russian character. And our history has more heroes than Western movies,” a plant spokesman said. Uralvagonzavod later confirmed the name had been changed.

Spiridon is a traditional Russian male name of Greek origin, now mostly preserved among Orthodox clergy. Spiridon of Tremithus was a pre-schism Christian saint who is honored in both Eastern and Western traditions. Spiridon of Pechersk was a 12th-century Russian saint buried at the Kiev Pechersk Monastery, where he lived as a monk.

Omsktransmash said Spiridon emerged as the preferred option because of its spiritual associations and because it is derived from a Greek word for box – echoing Russian military slang for armored vehicles.

A tradition of military humor

The Peresvet laser system, for instance, was named after a warrior monk who fought in the Battle of Kulikovo, a key event in the re-emergence of the Russian state after centuries of fragmentation under Mongol domination.

Among the more tongue-in-cheek traditions is the habit of naming heavy artillery systems after flowers – the more destructive the weapon, the softer the floral reference.

The TOS-1 incendiary rocket system is nicknamed Buratino, after the Soviet adaptation of the fairy tale ‘Pinocchio.’ The Soviet version also centers on a magical wooden doll, but lacks the religious undertones of the original story.

Other examples include an autocannon nicknamed “little ballerina,” an anti-tank missile called “baby-girl,” and an artillery control system known as “zoo.”

Russia’s Northern Fleet has released footage of its Arkhangelsk nuclear submarine performing a successful missile test in the Barents Sea in the Arctic.

The vessel fired an Oniks cruise missile from an underwater position, hitting a target imitating a surface ship some 200 km away, the fleet said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Arkhangelsk is the third entry in Russia’s Project 885M Yasen-M, representing a modification of fourth-generation submarines with a reduced acoustic field that makes them increasingly hard to detect and track by sonar.

Besides the Oniks missiles, Yasen-M vessels are also armed with Kalibr cruise missiles and Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.

The Arkhangelsk has been in service with the Northern Fleet since December 2024.

Il sottomarino a propulsione nucleare Arkhangelsk ha effettuato un lancio missilistico nel Mare di Barents, secondo quanto riportato dalla Flotta del Nord.

Il sottomarino ha colpito un bersaglio navale con un missile da crociera Onyx a una distanza di 200 km.

Fonte TASS pic.twitter.com/3pd0qXGUI0

— michelino riformato (@michelinorifor1) June 3, 2026

During his tour of the submarine last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the crew that it was “the most modern, the best-equipped, capable of performing a wide variety of tasks.” The Arkhangelsk and other Yasen-M vessels “can do everything,” Putin stressed, referring to their ability to strike targets underwater, on the surface, and on land.

In recent days, Israel has intensified its military campaign in Lebanon, taking the operation to a whole new level. This isn’t just another exchange of strikes in the south of the country, but a demonstrative expansion of Israel’s ground presence beyond the previous boundaries of the conflict. Israeli forces crossed the Litani River and captured Beaufort Castle, a symbolically and strategically significant fortress perched on a high cliff in southern Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the operation was carried out at the direction of the political and military leadership, while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) explained its objective as the elimination of Hezbollah infrastructure and fighters in the Beaufort area. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the capture of Beaufort as a “dramatic stage and a dramatic change” in Israel’s policy in Lebanon. The goal is to deepen and expand control over areas previously under Hezbollah’s influence. Essentially, this means that Israel is no longer limiting itself to targeted strikes and border deterrence. It is now attempting to create a new military-political reality in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah’s former zone of influence is to be transformed into an area of either ​​direct or indirect Israeli control.

The significance of these actions extends beyond the Lebanese front, however. In recent weeks, Netanyahu has essentially been playing the same game: trying to undermine any kind of agreement between Iran and the United States. The negotiation track was already extremely fragile, vague, and fraught with mutual distrust. But for Israel, even the slightest chance of a compromise between Washington and Tehran is unacceptable. If Trump finally relinquishes the idea of a direct military escalation (such a scenario is unlikely but still possible) and attempts to broker at least a temporary deal with Iran, Israel risks finding itself without the previous level of American involvement, but with the lingering threat of an ‘axis of resistance’ that has every chance of resurfacing in the near future.

Iran’s reaction was almost immediate. Tehran announced its withdrawal from negotiations with the US, citing Israel’s actions in Lebanon. Iran’s logic is understandable: the Lebanese front was seen as part of a broader ceasefire, and Tehran perceives the Israeli operation as a violation of the regional balance of agreements. For Iran, this is a convenient argument to demonstrate that Washington is either incapable of controlling Israel’s actions or is deliberately allowing them while talking about de-escalation.

In other words, Netanyahu achieved the intended effect: US-Iran negotiations have come under additional pressure. Israel formally explains the operation as necessary to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and ensure the security of Israel’s northern regions. But politically, it appears to be an attempt to disrupt any – even temporary –  stabilization of the situation between Washington and Tehran. For Netanyahu, a ceasefire is dangerous because it would draw attention back to the responsibilities of his government, the internal crisis, and the cost of a protracted war. The continuation of the conflict, however, gives a legitimate reason to declare a state of emergency, issue mobilization orders, and focus on security. 

In this situation, the US has proposed a new ceasefire initiative to Israel and Lebanon. The American plan appears quite pragmatic: in the first stage, Hezbollah must cease all attacks on Israeli territory, and Israel, in turn, would refrain from escalating the conflict in Beirut. In other words, Washington is not so much trying to resolve the Lebanese crisis definitively as to urgently stop its escalation before it derails the broader plan, which primarily involves negotiations with Iran.

Trump himself later confirmed that he talked with Netanyahu but did not reveal what they discussed, limiting himself to a general statement about his hope for a quick agreement. However, this is precisely where the main political paradox emerges: Trump had already declared peace, had already tried to portray the situation as a move toward de-escalation, and had already talked about a ceasefire. But in practice, this did not deter Israel. West Jerusalem continued to act as it saw fit, while Washington once again found itself publicly calling for restraint but unwilling to actually constrain the Israeli leadership.

It is no coincidence that the far-right, extremely radical Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said, “This is the time to tell our friend, President Trump, ‘no’.” Ben-Gvir essentially articulated what Netanyahu is doing in practice: Israel is ready to accept US support, US diplomatic cover, and US security guarantees, but is not prepared to automatically submit to American demands if that means stopping the war. Ben-Gvir is simply stating what the radical wing of Israeli politics has long demanded of Netanyahu: not to agree to a ceasefire, not to give in to US pressure, and not to allow Trump to turn the Lebanese front into part of his deal with Iran.

Therein lies the weakness of the American position. Trump may get angry, shout, and exert pressure on Netanyahu, demanding not to attack Beirut, but Netanyahu operates on a different basis: that no matter what Israel does, the US will still be forced to support it. For the Israeli prime minister, this is not just a show of diplomatic confidence; it is the foundation of his entire current strategy. He understands that Washington cannot afford an open break with Israel, especially in the face of a confrontation with Iran and pressure from the pro-Israel lobby within the US political system.

The main point is that Netanyahu is not interested in ending the war. A ceasefire deprives him of his main political resource: state of emergency mobilization. As long as the war continues, he can talk about security, the survival of the state, and the fight against Hezbollah and Iran. As soon as a real ceasefire is established, questions of his personal responsibility, the internal crisis, Israel’s international isolation, and the price the country is paying for the protracted military campaign will return to the forefront.

Therefore, the current escalation in Lebanon is no surprise to anyone. The Lebanese front is increasingly turning into a mechanism for exerting pressure on Iran, the US, and the entire architecture of possible regional de-escalation; and if anyone believes that lasting peace can be achieved, I’d say they are either too optimistic or too naive.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s visit to Russia this week elevates relations between the two countries to a new level, reflecting the rapid growth in bilateral cooperation in recent years, Andrey Maslov, head of the Center for African Studies at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, has said.

Speaking to RT, Maslov noted that Tanzania has maintained an independent political course for decades, resisting outside interference and preserving key elements of its socialist legacy after the 1990s.

“Tanzania successfully combines rapid economic growth with political resilience and stability,” he said.

Strong economic performance is supported by growth in tourism, agriculture, mining, and transport, the expert noted, adding that “tourism alone generates nearly $4 billion annually” and other sectors “continue to steadily expand.” 

Maslov pointed to tourism as one of the main areas in bilateral relations. Around 17,000 Russian tourists visited Tanzania last year, he said, adding that flows are expected to multiply when direct Air Tanzania flights are launched between Moscow and Zanzibar from July 2. 

Speaking about the Mantra uranium project in southern Tanzania, which is being developed by the subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Maslov noted that the Tanzanian authorities and President Samia Suluhu Hassan personally “have secured all the necessary conditions for its implementation, paving the way for the birth of a new uranium mining industry in the country.” 

Maslov also highlighted expanding cooperation in standardization, certification, and pharmaceutical production.

At the same time, he warned that rising import costs remain a key challenge for Tanzania amid the ongoing crisis in the Persian Gulf, which has pushed up fuel and fertilizer prices. 

“Fortunately, Tanzania remains largely independent of food imports. At the same time, the nation ranks among the continent’s leaders in digitalization and financial sector development,” he added.

Samia’s trip marks the first visit by a Tanzanian leader to Moscow in more than half a century. The previous high-level visit took place in October 1969, when Julius Nyerere, the first president of the African state, traveled to the Soviet Union.

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez will hold discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, with energy security topping the agenda amid the war in Iran. 

Rodriguez, who will be in India on Wednesday on her first visit to New Delhi after taking over as acting president, is expected to hold discussions on the "full spectrum of India-Venezuela relations," the Indian Foreign Ministry said. Interestingly, her visit to India was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New Delhi last week. 

Rubio had made an open push for the sale of both US and Venezuelan oil to India, saying Washington wanted "a bigger part" of India’s energy import portfolio and also pointed to “opportunities with Venezuelan oil.”  

India, which imports about 85% of the crude, has been looking to diversify its sources of oil following the supply disruptions in the Middle East.  

Rodriguez became Venezuela’s acting president following the capture and removal of President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in January. The Trump administration then took control of Venezuela’s oil sales, with the funds going into US-supervised accounts. “When you add Venezuela and the United States together, we have 55% of the oil in the world,” Trump said at the time.  

Ironically, India was once a major buyer of the heavy, sulfur-rich Venezuelan crude before US sanctions severely restricted trade in 2019. 

After the Ukraine conflict began, Russia became India’s single largest oil supplier. Imports amounted to around 40% of New Delhi’s crude basket, helped by discounted Urals that improved refinery margins and tempered the import bill. 

But the US imposed 25% punitive tariffs on India for the Russian oil purchases as it sought to wean New Delhi away from Moscow. But as supply constricted in the global markets, Washington has issued sanctions waivers for Russian oil purchases.

The US is preparing to drastically scale back visa services across Africa, reducing the number of diplomatic missions authorized to process applications from nearly 50 to just 20, the Associated Press reported on Monday, citing the State Department.

According to the report, US diplomats and consular officials were informed last week that visa operations would be consolidated into a limited number of regional hubs as part of a broader restructuring of consular services on the continent.

While non-hub embassies and consulates will remain open, they will reportedly focus on services for US citizens, emergency consular assistance, diplomatic visas, and select cases deemed to be in the national interest.

Responding to the planned overhaul, the State Department told AP it regularly reviews overseas operations to ensure resources are aligned with US priorities and national interests. 

The move is part of the Trump administration’s wider effort to tighten immigration controls. Citizens of 11 African countries already face a complete suspension of both immigrant and non-immigrant visas, effectively barring general entry into the US.

In March, Somali immigrants and advocacy groups sued the Trump administration over its decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in January that conditions in the country had improved sufficiently to terminate the designation, which had been in place since 1991 due to the conflict involving the Al-Shabaab militant group. TPS allows eligible foreign nationals to temporarily live and work in the US if they are unable to return safely to their home countries.

A former Polish ambassador to Ukraine has returned a state honor awarded him in Kiev, citing Vladimir Zelensky’s veneration of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators whose units were responsible for the mass extermination and ethnic cleansing of tens of thousands of Poles during WWII. 

Bartosz Cichocki returned the state award after Ukraine held a state reburial of Andrey Melnik, who co-founded the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in 1929 with Stepan Bandera.

Melnik’s OUN-M and Bandera’s OUN-B were directly responsible for the mass murder of over 100,000 Poles during the Volhynia and Eastern Galicia Massacres that took place between 1943 and 1945.

Zelensky also recently named a commando unit after the “Heroes of UPA,” a reference to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the OUN’s military wing.

In comments to the Polish Press Agency on Monday, the retired diplomat said he had handed the decoration back to the Ukrainian Embassy. He said he nevertheless supports Ukrainians fighting against Russia, as well as those opposing “historical lies and corruption.”

How has Poland reacted to Ukraine venerating nazi collaborators?

Although the glorification of UPA and Ukrainian Nazi collaborators has been part of Kiev’s policy for years, the latest gestures have triggered an unusually strong backlash in Poland.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki has called for Zelensky to be stripped of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest state honor, and warned that a country venerating “bandits and murderers” is not ready to join “the European family.” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Zelensky’s decision had pushed a longstanding historical grievance to “a rather alarming level.”

Cichocki also received the UPA-inspired "Cross of Merit" in 2022 from then-Ukrainian Army commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny, frequently described in the media as a possible successor to Zelensky.

Dziękuję @CinC_AFU gen. Waleremu Załużnemu za wysokie wyróżnienie - tym zaszczytniejsze, że wręczone na marginesie wizyty Szefa @SztabGenWP gen. Rajmunda Andrzejczaka w Kijowie 🇺🇦. pic.twitter.com/Yo3Zp7wYVP

— Bartosz Cichocki (@B_Cichocki) December 21, 2022

By contrast, the Ukrainian Order of Merit was established in 1996 and does not carry the same historical baggage.

Moscow’s concern that the West tolerates ‘Nazis’ in Ukraine

Following the state reburial of Melnik, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Zelensky had once again demonstrated the “true essence” of the “regime” he leads. Moscow has long argued that Kiev’s brand of Ukrainian nationalism is rooted in Nazi ideology and fuels discriminatory policies against ethnic Russians.

“The official, state-level glorification of Nazi criminals and collaborators is taking place in the center of Europe,” Peskov said. “I don’t know if anyone in the European capitals likes this, but we don’t like it at all.”

Christopher Nolan is probably the last director in Hollywood who can still sell a movie on his name alone without having to make a new entry into a wrung-out franchise, a superhero flick, or a nostalgia reboot set to a slow piano version of a song you used to like. Just “a Christopher Nolan film” still gets a lot of butts into seats.

Which is why many are confused, and understandably outraged, that he’s apparently gone the woke DEI casting route with his upcoming adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. 

For years, Nolan has apparently had a blank check to film whatever he wants, with whoever he wants, without studio execs breathing down his neck. In the public’s eye, Nolan is not Disney scraping the bottom of the remake barrel, or Netflix with its addictive habit of turning historical figures into focus-grouped avatars of “modern audiences.” 

Fresh off Oppenheimer, a three-hour biopic about nuclear physicists that managed to sweep the Oscars and the box office, nobody expected Nolan to engage in the same desperate corporate pandering that has been ruining Hollywood for well over a decade.

And yet here we are, watching The Odyssey become the latest culture-war bonfire because Hollywood cannot retell a classic story without making it look like a DEI compliance exercise.

The mythological epic, supposedly Nolan’s most ambitious production yet, is set for release on July 17, 2026, featuring a massive ensemble cast including Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, and others.

While most of the casting has not raised too many eyebrows, with even Zendaya playing Athena barely getting more than a tired scoff, the confirmed choice for Helen of Troy has set the internet ablaze.

Helen, the Greek beauty icon whose face famously launched “a thousand ships,” will be played by Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o.

“White-armed Helen”

Homer (author of the Iliad and the Odyssey) explicitly described Helen of Troy as “white-armed” (Greek: leukōlenos).

It's literally in the book.

Christopher Nolan’s film edition is racist against white women. pic.twitter.com/EZaOaMCUuT

— Dr Taylor Marshall™️ (@TaylorRMarshall) May 13, 2026

As usual, the issue isn’t her acting chops. She already has an Oscar. The problem is that her casting makes no sense inside an ancient Greek epic. Helen is not some random side character. She is a mythic icon of beauty, desire and status in an ancient Mediterranean world.

Nolan has defended Nyong’o as his first and only choice for Helen, praising her “strength” and “poise” while Nyong’o herself has shrugged off the backlash insisting that “you can’t perform beauty” and using the excuse that the story is mythological and isn’t grounded in reality.

But audiences aren’t buying it. Nobody thinks Homer wrote a documentary. The Odyssey has gods, monsters, witches, and a cyclops. But “mythological” does not mean “anything goes.” Fantasy and myth still need coherence, and audiences still need to believe in the world on screen.  

However, escapism is something Hollywood appears to be actively fighting against. 

Chris Nolan desecrated the Odyssey so that he would be eligible for an Academy Award …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 15, 2026

The rumored, but not yet confirmed, casting of a scrawny post-transition Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page) as Achilles, the greatest warrior in Greek mythology, has poured even more gasoline on the fire, with memes writing themselves, especially since most audiences still associate the character with a young Brad Pitt in peak physical form in Troy. 

Rapper Travis Scott, reportedly cast as a bard, has further irritated audiences. While Nolan has defended the choice by comparing Greek oral poetry to rap, it’s likely to end up as nothing more than a celebrity gimmick to “speak to younger audiences.”

There is also good reason to believe that the film is not actually based on the original Homer poem, but on Emily Wilson’s feminist translation of The Odyssey, which Nolan has already referenced in several interviews. While not confirmed, the possibility has only further reinforced suspicions that this adaptation is being filtered through a modern ideological lens where white cisgender men are bad and everything else is good by definition.

While the access media desperately defends the casting, it also has ironically been ignoring the obvious question: where are the Greeks? In a film based on Homer’s Greek epic, filmed partly in Greece, and built around Greek mythology, actual Greeks or Greek-Americans appear nowhere near the center of the story.

Greek critics have already pointed this out, arguing that Hollywood treats the country and its culture as nothing more than an aesthetic backdrop.

Greeks Call Out Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey: ‘We Did Not Vanish’https://t.co/lF5dYpyfZP pic.twitter.com/u0Sx7pbIOI

— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) May 26, 2026

As usual, anyone questioning the casting is accused of being racist, transphobic, fragile or part of some troll army, employing the same playbook that has been used ad nauseam over the past decade, from The Rings of Power and The Little Mermaid to Snow White, Star Wars and other once-beloved franchises dragged into irrelevance by the modern messaging machine.

But the trick has long been worn out and never worked to begin with. For regular audiences, it only confirms that Hollywood would rather insult the fanbase than admit diversity casting doesn’t actually make a good film.

All the Odyssey discourse is just going to be this meme over and over again, innit? https://t.co/TH1Q2GjINy pic.twitter.com/NyDhxMGbzP

— Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry (@pegobry_en) January 27, 2026

The Odyssey already carries the stink of the Hollywood tropes audiences have been rejecting for years, and a large number of people have already opted out of seeing Nolan’s upcoming feature over the casting and direction. 

However, despite the backlash, the Odyssey will still probably perform well. Nolan still has a reputation and a loyal fanbase, but the question is whether either survives once the movie finally hits theaters.

And if it succeeds, what lesson will Hollywood learn? Probably the wrong one: that audiences can be forced to accept ideological pandering, and that the backlash can be dismissed, mocked and outlasted.

Which means studios will probably double down yet again, turning even more classic stories into lazy modern political pamphlets while blaming the audience for their failures.

Ukrainian drone attacks on St. Petersburg have left several people wounded, local governor Aleksandr Beglov has said. The wave of strikes coincided with the opening day of Russia’s largest international investment forum, which will host thousands of guests from around the world over the coming days. 

UAVs targeted infrastructure in the Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts as well in the port of Kronstadt, Beglov wrote in a post on Telegram on Wednesday morning.

Response teams have been deployed to the facilities damaged by the attacks, he added.

The 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026), often referred to as the ‘Russian Davos’, is taking place from June 3 to 6 and will be attended by around 20,000 businesspeople, politicians, and public figures from more than 100 nations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to address the gathering on Friday.

In total, 345 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down across Russia overnight as the country came under another large-scale attack, the Defense Ministry reported.

The interceptions took place over Moscow, Leningrad, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Novgorod, Orel, Pskov, Rostov, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, and Krasnodar regions, as well as over Crimea and the Sea of Azov, the ministry said.

Ukrainian UAVs have targeted Leningrad Region, particularly its energy facilities, on numerous occasions in recent months, with the explosive-laden drones often reaching northwestern Russia via Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland. Some of them have crashed inside the NATO countries.

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu warned previously that if it turns out that the Baltic States and Finland “deliberately provide their airspace” to Ukrainian UAVs, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

The International Fencing Federation (FIE) has lifted all Ukraine conflict-related restrictions imposed in 2022 on Russian and Belarusian athletes, allowing them to compete under their national flags and anthems.

Numerous Olympic federations barred athletes from the two countries across dozens of sports in 2022. However, a number of international sporting bodies have since permitted some to compete individually under a neutral flag, while a few organizations dropped the bans altogether.

In a statement on Tuesday, the FIE announced that the decision will take effect starting with the 2026 Senior World Championships in Hong Kong, scheduled for July 22 to July 30.

“The decision reflects the FIE’s commitment to the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter, including non-discrimination, equal treatment, and the universality of sport,” the federation said.

Russian and Belarusian fencers were previously allowed to return to individual international events under a neutral flag in March 2023, with restrictions similarly relaxed for team events in late 2025.

Others to lift their bans include the international federations for judo, taekwondo, and aquatic sports, as well as the governing bureau of United World Wrestling.

Russian officials have repeatedly accused Western nations of politicizing sport and pressuring federations to exclude their athletes, as well as of applying double standards with respect to other countries involved in armed conflicts.

At least eight people have been killed and 11 others wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike on a passenger bus in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), local governor Denis Pushilin has said.

The bus was traveling between Moscow and the Crimean city of Simferopol and was attacked in the town of Enakievo in the western part of the DPR, Pushilin wrote in a post on Telegram on Wednesday morning. The initial death toll stood at seven, but it was revised later in the day when emergency services inspected the burned-out vehicle.

“The Ukrainian fascists have committed another act of unprecedented, inhumane aggression,” the governor said.

Pushilin expressed condolences to the relatives and friends of those killed in the attack and wished a speedy recovery to the injured, who, he said, are being provided with all necessary medical assistance.

Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, asserted that the attack was “not a tragic accident” but rather a “vile, deliberate, and inhumane crime” against non-combatants.

“There are no military objectives that could justify the bloodshed of civilians. There are no arguments that can absolve those who issue and execute such criminal orders from responsibility,” she stressed.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has announced that a terrorism case has been opened over the attack on the bus.

Russia was hit by another major Ukrainian drone attack overnight, with 345 UAVs shot down across the country, according to the Defense Ministry. The interceptions took place over Moscow, Leningrad, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Novgorod, Orel, Pskov, Rostov, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, and Krasnodar regions, as well as over Crimea and the Sea of Azov, the ministry said.

Several people were hurt and infrastructure damaged in Ukrainian drone attacks on St. Petersburg on the opening day of the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), local governor Alexander Beglov said.

At least 59 UAVs were shot down by air defenses above Leningrad Region, according to governor Aleksandr Drozdenko. Leningrad Region surrounds St. Petersburg, which has the status of a federal city.

SPIEF 2026, which is often referred to as ‘Russian Davos’ due to being the main global economic event hosted by the country, is taking place between June 3 and 6. This year’s forum will be attended by some 20,000 businesspeople, politicians, and public figures from more than 100 nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to address the gathering on Friday.

Moscow previously warned that it would carry out “systematic and consistent strikes” on Ukraine’s military infrastructure, including drone production facilities, command posts, and “decision-making centers,” in response to Kiev’s terrorist attacks, including the one in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on May 22.

Ukrainian forces struck a college dormitory in the town of Starobelsk in several waves of drone attacks late at night while students were asleep, killing 21 people, mostly teenage girls, and injuring 70 others.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the Ukrainian leadership had opened “a new chapter in its crime spree” with the attack on Starobelsk, adding that those responsible would face “well-deserved and inevitable punishment.”

The Pentagon has barred journalists from entering its press office after redesignating it a classified space, the latest in a series of restrictions on reporters’ access to the department. 

First reported by the Washington Post late on Monday, the move was confirmed by Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez, who said journalists would no longer be permitted to enter the office because speechwriters working for Secretary of War Pete Hegseth routinely handle classified information there. Access to senior public affairs officials would remain available by appointment.

“This is the most transparent War Department in history,” Valdez wrote on X, adding “No amount of spin from the Fake News media will change that.” 

This is the most transparent War Department in history. No amount of spin from the Fake News media will change that.

The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War… https://t.co/tlWb1XIeOk

— Acting Press Sec Joel Valdez (@JoelValdezDOW) June 1, 2026

The restriction affects an office that for decades served as a central point of contact between journalists and Pentagon officials. Reporters were previously able to visit the area to seek comment from public affairs staff, attend informal briefings, and interact with officials without escorts.

The latest move comes amid a widening confrontation between the Pentagon and the US media under Hegseth, a former Fox News host appointed by President Donald Trump. More than a year into his tenure, the department has imposed a series of restrictions on reporters, including escort requirements inside the building and limits on access to previously open areas. 

The restrictions triggered multiple lawsuits. In March, a federal judge struck down key parts of the policy after a lawsuit filed by the NYT. The Pentagon appealed the ruling and subsequently introduced an interim requirement that journalists be escorted while inside the building. The newspaper filed a second lawsuit in May, arguing that the policy amounts to an unconstitutional attempt to restrict independent reporting on military affairs. The litigation remains ongoing.

Hegseth has repeatedly accused major media outlets of spreading “fake news” and described the reporting on the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran as an “endless stream of garbage,” comparing the Pentagon media pool to the biblical Pharisees.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said it targeted US military assets in the Persian Gulf region in retaliation for American attacks. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces intercepted multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones and carried out “self-defense strikes” on Qeshm Island.

The incident began after a US warplane fired a Hellfire missile at an Iranian-linked tanker near the Strait of Hormuz late on Tuesday, damaging its engine room. Washington said the Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie was heading toward Kharg Island in breach of its unilaterally imposed blockade.

In response, the IRGC said it targeted an alleged US-affiliated vessel named Panaya with naval missiles.

US forces then apparently proceeded with a strike on an IRGC telecom tower, in what CENTCOM later called “self-defense strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island.”

Iranian ballistic missiles fly overhead, a car crashes, and surface-to-air missile interceptors launch in a crazy video of tonight’s attack by Iran against Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. pic.twitter.com/JAoVrytEDo

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 2, 2026

The IRGC then escalated with ballistic missile strikes on a “US air and helicopter base in a regional country,” as well as “the Fifth Fleet’s command center” in Bahrain.

The moment of the fall of American air defense missiles after failing to intercept in Kuwait. https://t.co/ngnGeZY1FC pic.twitter.com/t4TKKgOd3a

— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) June 2, 2026

The US Department of War claimed that all Iranian missiles failed to hit their targets.

Two projectiles fired at Kuwait allegedly fell short or broke apart en route, while three missiles launched at Bahrain were intercepted by US and Bahraini air defense forces.

The Kuwaiti army confirmed that it was responding to missile and drone attacks, while Bahrain’s Interior Ministry urged the public to “remain calm.”

Several videos circulating online purportedly showed air defense activity overnight, with several interceptors seemingly veering off course and hitting the ground.

Two hours later, the US military claimed it had successfully intercepted an “additional wave of Iranian drones” and “ensured no American personnel or assets were harmed.”

Iran restricted traffic through the key energy chokepoint after the US-Israeli attack in February, while Washington enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

The IRGC warned that any violation of ceasefire would bring a “harsh price” for the US military. CENTCOM meanwhile said its forces “remain vigilant and ready to defend against unwarranted Iranian aggression during the ongoing ceasefire.”

A man has barricaded himself inside a JPMorgan Chase bank in Bakersfield, California, with an unknown number of people inside, police have said.

The ongoing hostage situation is taking place at the Chase Bank building near Chester Avenue and 17th Street. Officers responded to the downtown branch after a bomb threat was reported at around 1 PM local time on Tuesday.

Around a dozen police cars, a tactical vehicle, and emergency responders swarmed the scene as several nearby city buildings were placed on lockdown, including City Hall North, City Hall South, the Development Services Building, and Bakersfield Police Headquarters.

Five hours into the standoff, negotiators managed to secure the safe release of two hostages, while the remaining hostages were reported to be “in good health,” according to police. Authorities have not publicly identified the suspect or said how many people remain inside.

BREAKING: The hostage situation remains ongoing at a Chase Bank in Bakersfield, California, where FBI negotiators are in contact with a suspect believed to be holding people inside and possibly armed with explosives. pic.twitter.com/8u9rpwHHlF

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 3, 2026

“What I can guarantee to the community right now is that every single resource is at this this site’s disposal – SWAT team, bomb squad, K9 team, gang unit, drone team. Every single asset we have to bring this to the safest conclusion is out here right now, not just ‘cause that’s what the community needs, but that’s what you guys deserve,” said Sergeant Eric Celedon of the Bakersfield Police Department.

CHASE BANK

🚨Breaking - Police negotiate in hostage situation at Chase Bank amid bomb threat in downtown

🚨Bakersfield Police Address Bomb Treat at Downtown Bank

June 2, 2026

Evacuations are underway and streets are closed in downtown Bakersfield due to a hostage situation… pic.twitter.com/aV9cUX1DRj

— Sid (@Trending_Sid) June 2, 2026

JPMorgan Chase spokesman Peter Kelley said the bank was working with law enforcement, adding: “Our focus is on the safety of everyone involved.”

DETAILS TO FOLLOW

The remains of missing Los Alamos National Laboratory employee Melissa Casias have been found in Carson National Forest, New Mexico State Police have said. A handgun was located alongside the remains, but the exact cause and manner of death have yet to be determined.

A hiker discovered human remains in the McGaffey Ridge area and notified authorities on May 28. The Office of the Medical Investigator has since positively identified the remains as those of Casias.

Casias worked as an administrative assistant at the key US nuclear research facility. She was reported missing on June 26, 2025, after she failed to arrive at work and did not return home after visiting her daughter, while her purse, identification, and cell phones were found left behind.

Another LANL employee, Anthony Chavez, 78, went missing in May 2025 and has not yet been found. Steven Garcia, 48, a government contractor at the Kansas City National Security Campus, which produces more than 80% of non-nuclear components for US nuclear weapons, similarly vanished from his Albuquerque home in August 2025, leaving behind his phone, wallet, and keys and taking only a handgun.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory materials official Monica Reza was reported missing in 2023, while two other JPL workers, Frank Maiwald and Michael Hicks, have died since 2023, with no cause of death made public and no foul play alleged. Retired Air Force Major General William McCasland went missing this February.

The House Oversight Committee requested briefings from the Department of Energy, the Department of War, the FBI, and NASA about scientists and other personnel connected to US nuclear secrets or rocket technology.

US President Donald Trump called the matter “pretty serious stuff,” but the authorities have so far not established any confirmed link among the cases.

For the first time in a long while, Belarus has again found itself at the center of the Ukraine conflict. For more than a month, Vladimir Zelensky has been warning Ukrainians about a supposed threat from the north. Minsk, he claims, is preparing to enter the war and he’s even threatened Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko with either a pre-emptive strike or a kidnapping in the style of Nicolas Maduro.

The rhetoric has now reached the point where Zelensky has ordered preparations for the circular defense of cities in Ukraine’s northern regions, including Kiev itself. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has called Lukashenko for the first time since 2022, apparently to persuade him not to enter the conflict.

The problem is that nothing visible is happening on the Belarusian side of the border. There’s no mobilization and no unusual concentration of Belarusian forces and no redeployment of Russian units. The only recent event that could be stretched into a military signal was last week’s Russian-Belarusian nuclear exercise. But even that took place in the Osipovichi district, in the center of Belarus, and was more about strategic deterrence than any ground operation against Ukraine.

The more obvious question is why Lukashenko would want to join the military operation at all. Such a move would be wholly out of character for him and would run against the geopolitical role he has tried to carve out for Belarus.

Lukashenko has always sought to preserve room for maneuver and he kept doing so after 2020, when he became de facto persona non grata in the West, and even after the conflict escalated in 2022. In the Ukrainian crisis, Belarus has remained largely a passive observer and that arrangement has suited Moscow. For Russia, he’s a valuable diplomatic asset, not a military one.

Could the reverse be true? Perhaps Zelensky is preparing to strike Belarus first, overthrow Lukashenko and open a second front against Russia. His pointed invitation to the fugitive opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya gives this theory a certain surface logic, but the military reality makes it deeply implausible.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ last major offensive operation was the incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region. To mount it, Kiev gathered around 30,000 troops, weakening its positions in Donbass and losing large areas there as a result. Even then, the operation failed to produce a decisive strategic outcome. A serious attack on Belarus would require far more resources. Since then, Ukraine’s army has weakened further and its present ceiling is local counter-attacks in Donbass, so it’s in no position to open a major new front.

Nor would it make strategic sense. Any escalation with Belarus would risk creating another 1,000-kilometer front stretching across Ukraine’s northern flank, with direct threats to Kiev. However odious the Kiev regime may be, it can’t fail to understand this.

The timing is telling. Zelensky began to raise the alarm just as relations between Minsk and Washington showed signs of thawing. In March, the US eased sanctions on Belarus and Washington spoke of reopening its embassy. There was even talk of a possible Lukashenko visit to America and a meeting with Donald Trump.

For Kiev, this is dangerous because Zelensky may fear that the eloquent Belarusian leader could charm Trump and persuade him to increase pressure on Ukraine to bring the conflict to an end. Lukashenko might also secure further sanctions relief, potentially turning Belarus into a hub for the transit of American goods to Russia.

From Kiev’s point of view, that scenario must be prevented. Hence the effort to present Minsk as an imminent threat, because if Belarus can be cast once again as Russia’s military accomplice rather than as a possible diplomatic channel, any US-Belarusian rapprochement becomes far harder to sustain.

In such conditions, inflating a new military threat is politically useful as it allows Zelensky to tell Ukrainians that the gravest crisis is still ahead, and that he remains the horse that cannot be changed midstream.

But the old ‘Russian card’ is wearing thin in the fifth year of hostilities. Ukrainians are tired, mobilized society is fraying, and endless emergency politics no longer works as it once did. So now Kiev is reaching for the ‘Belarus card’.

Will it work? Probably not. At most, it may buy Zelensky a little time, a little fear, and a little more room to maneuver, but as a strategy, it’s thin gruel. Or to put it more appropriately, it is worthy only of a carrot, and a dry one at that.

This article was first published by the online newspaper Gazeta.ru and was translated and edited by the RT team

Moscow has added five British nationals to its blacklist over London’s hostile actions, spread of disinformation, and the concentrated effort “to pump up the Kiev regime with weaponry,” the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

The ministry announced the move on Tuesday, urging London “to renounce aggressive anti-Russian steps, as well as its support for the [Vladimir] Zelensky regime.” The UK’s effort to prolong the Ukraine conflict no matter what leads only to “further civilian casualties” and ultimately the “destruction of Ukrainian statehood,” it said. 

The latest addition to Russia’s no-entry list includes journalists and experts involved in “disseminating slanderous fabrications and false information.” It also features two heads of “British security companies” that recruit personnel to prop up the Kiev regime under the guise of “implementing pseudo-humanitarian projects in Ukraine,” the ministry stated.

The sanctioned individuals are Catherine Belton and Richard Holmes, journalists with the Washington Post and The i Paper, respectively. The list also includes Alexander Browder, a self-styled corruption and money-laundering expert, described by the ministry as the author of a misleading report for the Henry Jackson Society think tank.

Russian diplomats said work on the blacklist, as well as other retaliatory measures, is bound to continue unless London abandons its hostile stance. 

“We warn that any efforts by British political elites to further fuel Russophobia, deliberately damage our country’s international reputation, and accelerate the anti-Russian sanctions will inevitably be met with a decisive response,” the ministry stated. 

London has emerged as a key backer of Kiev in the Ukraine conflict, actively seeking to derail attempts to resolve it through diplomacy and focusing on inflicting a defeat on Russia instead. The UK has been leading various initiatives to supply Ukrainian forces with increasingly sophisticated weaponry, and to rally additional foreign monetary and military support.

A Colombian mercenary captured by Russian forces after being wounded in combat has spoken with his family for the first time since his detention, describing his decision to fight for Ukraine as the worst mistake of his life.

William Andres Gallego Orozco’s relatives in Colombia learned he was alive after seeing an interview he gave to RT last month. Following the broadcast, family members reached out and contact was established, leading to an emotional video call.

RT correspondent Donald Courter looks back at Gallego Orozco’s capture, his previous interview about the realities faced by foreign fighters in Ukraine, and the reunion with his family after they learned of his whereabouts through RT’s reporting.

Gallego Orozco’s case reflects a broader trend of Colombian nationals joining Ukraine’s military. The South American country has become one of Kiev’s largest sources of foreign recruits as it seeks to offset manpower shortages on the battlefield. According to a February investigation by Ukrainian outlet NV, between 1,000 and 2,000 Colombians were serving with Ukrainian forces at the time, while up to 7,000 are believed to have passed through the country’s ranks since 2022.

The trend has drawn criticism from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has argued that his country’s citizens are “dying for nothing” in a foreign conflict. Petro has repeatedly stressed that mercenary activity is illegal under Colombian law and accused recruiters of exploiting vulnerable people. Last October, he voiced concern over the treatment of Colombian fighters in Ukraine and urged those being used as “cannon fodder” to return home immediately.

Watch the video call between William Andres Gallego Orozco and his family in full below.

The militant group Hezbollah has released a video showing its kamikaze drones attacking Israeli soldiers in the immediate vicinity of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon.

The 900-year-old medieval fortress was seized by the Israeli military over the weekend, with West Jerusalem hailing it as a major achievement and vowing to push deeper into the country. The castle, a key vantage point in the area, housed an Israeli military base for two decades during the occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000.

The group released footage of its FPV drones operating in the area on Monday, a day after Israel captured the castle. According to media reports, there was no Hezbollah presence at the fortress, and no military equipment or weaponry was found at the site by the IDF.

The video features two FPV drones, one of which hits a building where Israeli servicemen were sheltering, while another UAV hits an IDF Humvee, parked tightly alongside two other soft military vehicles.

The latest round of hostilities between the IDF and Hezbollah, prompted by the US-Israeli attack on Iran, has been marked by a sharp increase in the latter’s use of FPV drones.

The FPV drone threat has apparently become a major challenge for the Israeli military, with only rudimentary measures against UAVs implemented thus far. Some armored vehicles used in the invasion have been spotted featuring sub-par anti-drone nettings and cages, while stationary nets have been observed in certain locations occupied by Israeli forces supposed to protect parked vehicles.  

On Tuesday, Israeli media reported, citing sources, that the IDF command had decided to scale down heavy vehicle presence in southern Lebanon and investigate nighttime FPV drone attacks.

In May, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan cemented Armenia’s geopolitical pivot away from Russia and toward the EU. At the beginning of the month, Yerevan hosted the 8th summit of the European Political Community. This was the first time that the event was held in a member state of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

While the event itself may seem vague in terms of concrete outcomes, one thing is clear: it allowed EU countries to show political support for certain governments, while those governments demonstrated their loyalty to the bloc.

Just a few days after the summit, Pashinyan directly stated that “Armenia is not an ally of Russia on the issue of Ukraine.” It was already apparent to Russia that Armenia was not neutral on this matter and that it politically backed the Kiev regime. However, highlighting this point was necessary to reaffirm it’s allegiance to Brussels.

The recent European Political Community summit could have been another routine event organized by Brussels to dangle the carrot of ‘European prospects’ before nations aspiring to join the EU. However, it became more than that, turning into a platform for voicing sensitive threats to Russia. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky used the occasion to threaten a strike against Moscow ahead of its Victory Day parade, while French President Emmanuel Macron rhetorically questioned why there is still a Russian military base in Armenia.

Pashinyan must have realized that such statements would irritate Moscow, and could have made an effort to mitigate the fallout with the country that, at least rhetorically, he continues to call a ‘partner’. Nonetheless, he chose to ignore the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council held on May 29 in Astana, sending Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan in his place. Combined with other actions taken by Armenia’s leadership, this sends a strong political signal – not just to Russia, but to the entire EAEU, which, by the way, provides significant economic benefits to Yerevan.

It would be incorrect to say that relations between Moscow and Yerevan have only recently begun to deteriorate. Pashinyan’s pivot toward the EU has been evident for some time, particularly following October 2022, when the Armenian prime minister signed the Prague Statement, recognizing the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991. 

This tied the borders of the two countries to the state boundaries established at the time of the USSR’s collapse, giving Azerbaijan sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. In doing so, he fulfilled the wishes of European politicians who were eager to resolve the conflict. Pashinyan seemed to expect assistance from Europeans in defending Armenians in Karabakh, yet all he received were calls for a quick peace that demanded painful concessions from Armenians.

This step had additional consequences. Armenia has never legally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as its territory, but by signing the Prague Statement, Pashinyan questioned the mandate of Russian peacekeepers who had been in the region since 2020 and ensured adherence to the ceasefire between the parties. Consequently, the issue of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh officially became an internal matter for Azerbaijan, which Baku acted upon by dissolving the unrecognized state.

In 2025, the Armenian parliament passed a law to initiate the process of joining the EU. Later, while in Washington, Pashinyan agreed to establish the so-called Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (T.R.I.P.P.), a transport corridor that would link Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhchivan via Armenian territory and would be under US oversight. Essentially, Pashinyan handed over control of this future route to external powers, further compromising Armenia’s sovereignty.

Throughout each stage of this rapprochement, Moscow repeatedly warned Yerevan that integrating into EU structures and markets contradicted Armenia’s participation in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

On May 21, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that Yerevan had no intention of leaving the EAEU. Pashinyan echoed this sentiment on May 28, stating that Armenia was not preparing to exit the union. Overall, it’s understandable why Armenian politicians are cautious about leaving the group.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently elaborated on the advantages of the EAEU for Armenia. First and foremost, it gains access to a protected market encompassing the entire group of nations, which includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan — this is a massive market encompassing a population of up to 186 million. Armenia enjoys duty-free trade with these countries, along with shared technical regulations and phytosanitary standards. The logistics established during the Soviet era have been further refined in the context of these nations’ independent development.

Additionally, Russia supplies natural gas to Armenia at a highly subsidized rate — around $150 per 1,000 cubic meters, compared to the European market price of €600. 

Putin also pointed out that Armenia has received significant investments totaling $4.9 billion, with 86% originating from Russia. In contrast, the EU has invested only a few hundred million euros over the past three years while trying to pull Yerevan into its sphere of influence. The EU has stated its intention to invest €2.5 billion in Armenia’s economy, which is considerably less than what Yerevan has already gained from its engagement with the EAEU.

The Armenian GDP could shrink 14% if Armenia loses access to the benefits of the EAEU.

Seemingly hoping to gain some advantage from the current situation, Pashinyan emphasized the need to make a concrete offer instead of resorting to threats. However, this was clearly a rhetorical move; the Armenian leader cannot fail to understand the preferences his country would lose in if it departs the EAEU, and that this, in itself, is Russia’s ‘offer’: benefits which are already in effect, unlike vague promises made by the EU. 

Another pressing issue is the status of Armenian citizens in Russia. Should relations between Yerevan and the EAEU sour, they would face the same requirements as other CIS nationals – such as needing work permits, navigating more complex procedures for obtaining legal status, and experiencing delayed access to compulsory health insurance. This is especially concerning given that remittances from labor migrants constitute a significant part of the income for thousands of households in Armenia.

In Ukraine’s footsteps but with a Moldovan twist

The situation in Armenia strikingly mirrors the developments in Ukraine, where the EU also forced a painful choice upon the government. The Armenian authorities have long followed a similar script, labeling the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as a threat to the country’s sovereignty, branding Russia as a party engaged in “hybrid warfare” against Armenia, and asserting that “Armenia is no longer a brother to Russia.”

On June 7, Armenia will hold parliamentary elections, and it seems unlikely that anyone can challenge Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party. The opposition remains fragmented, and surveys by Europe Elects show a surge in support for the ruling party – from 24% to 65% in just eight days. Yet back in April, Civil Contract’s ratings hadn’t even surpassed 25%.

This has largely been a result of intense pressure on opponents. Samvel Karapetyan, who attempted to defend the Armenian Church from state attacks, remains imprisoned. Other opposition leaders, including Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, and Gagik Tsarukyan, are also under pressure. We observed similar ‘European values’ during last year’s elections in Moldova.

Pashinyan appears increasingly unconcerned about his public image. During a meeting with voters, he told one woman to be grateful for not having had her head cracked open; he also expelled critics from rallies and referred to the Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh as “runaway degenerates”. And all of this occurs as part of an electoral campaign meant to attract new supporters and unify the populace. Perhaps this is the ‘European perspective’ Pashinyan envisions for his citizens. 

The upcoming elections will show whether this resonates with voters. However, we may again remember the example of Moldova, where President Maia Sandu lost domestically but secured votes from the diaspora that allowed her to claim victory. 

Western countries have been quick to point the finger at Moscow over a recent drone incident in Romania while demonstrating little interest in a comprehensive investigation into it, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia has said.
Multiple similar aerial incursions in the past, which were hastily assigned to Russia at first, eventually proved to be of Ukrainian origin, he noted.

Last Friday, an explosives-laden UAV crashed into an apartment block in the Romanian city of Galati near the Ukrainian border, injuring two people. Bucharest promptly claimed the drone originated from Russia and attempted to trigger NATO's article 4.

Speaking on Monday at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the Russian envoy suggested that Romania’s haste in convening it had been dictated by the West’s desire to create “yet another anti-Russian information wave.”
Nebenzia pointed to several inconsistencies in Bucharest’s version of events, noting that the Russian Geran 2 kamikaze drone, which, according to the Romanian authorities, hit the residential building, typically carries a payload of around 50 kilograms. A blast consistent with this amount of explosives would have inflicted far greater damage on the building than what was documented by the Romanian media.

The Russian representative also said that officials had initially alleged that the incident was a targeted attack, only for Romanian President Nicusor Dan to state a few hours later that the UAV had strayed from its intended route because of Ukrainian air defenses.

Alternative versions, including a potential provocation by Kiev, are not even being considered, the Russian diplomat stated, despite multiple Ukrainian UAVs having crashed in Latvia, Lithuania and Finland in recent months.

Nebenzia recounted a tragic incident in November 2022, which saw a missile kill two people in Poland. The West initially blamed Russia, only to acknowledge later that it was a Ukrainian S-300 air defense missile.

Moscow is ready to engage in an “objective and depoliticized” investigation with any relevant materials shared with Russia, Nebenzia said, echoing earlier remarks by President Vladimir Putin.

A Taiwanese institute has unveiled a new model of armed “robot dog” designed for coastal patrols, reconnaissance, and high-risk military missions. The machines were presented during an event in Taipei on Tuesday.

National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) demonstrated three weaponized quadruped robots walking, crouching, and navigating uneven terrain. The machines are said to be based on the Vision 60 platform developed by US firm Ghost Robotics.

The models include reconnaissance, combat, and LiDAR-equipped variants, and can be used for patrols, perimeter security, and target tracking in all-weather conditions. The robots weigh around 52kg and have a top speed of 2.5 meters per second.

Jen Kuo-Kuang, the deputy director of NCSIST’s Missile and Rocket Research Division, said the institute has already had preliminary contact with the Taiwanese military, which he said sees an urgent need for the robots in coastal surveillance, maritime patrols, and base perimeter security. 

Taipei has recently approved a special defense budget allocation of about $280 million for US arms purchases amid perennial tension with Beijing.

China considers Taiwan part of its sovereign territory – a position shared by the vast majority of countries, including Russia. Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly warned that while Beijing seeks peaceful reunification with Taiwan, it would not rule out the use of force to reclaim the island if provoked.

Chinese authorities have repeatedly condemned Taipei’s ties with Washington and continued US arms sales and military cooperation with the self-governing island, describing it as interference in China’s internal affairs.

US President Donald Trump recently described arms deliveries to Taiwan as “a very good negotiating chip” with China, while also saying he supports maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

India has slammed the European Union (EU) for a joint statement it issued with Pakistan that mentioned Jammu and Kashmir, a deeply sensitive issue for New Delhi. 

The document issued by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas and Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Monday equated Jammu and Kashmir with the Ukraine conflict. It expressed support for the “peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy, in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.” 

Kallas was in Islamabad for the eighth round of strategic dialogue between the country and the EU. 

On Tuesday, the Indian Foreign Ministry said New Delhi categorically rejected “unwarranted references” to its internal affairs. 

“The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India. Those who have no locus standi in such matters should refrain from making any comments on them,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. 

VIDEO | Delhi: Responding to a media query regarding the EU-Pakistan joint statement referring to Jammu and Kashmir, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) says, "Regarding the reference to Jammu and Kashmir, we would like to state that we categorically reject such… pic.twitter.com/QLHZumaVPP

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 2, 2026

India has repeatedly emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and vehemently opposed any third-party involvement or mediation in its dispute with Pakistan. 

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought three major wars over Kashmir, and India struck Pakistan last year following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam. 

In January, India raised its concerns to Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski about his visit to Pakistan in October last year. Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said New Delhi expects its partners to not help “fuel terrorism” in its neighborhood. 

Sikorski’s visit irked New Delhi as it came a few months after the India-Pakistan conflict in May 2025. Citing the EU’s sanctions on India’s trade and oil imports from Russia, Jaishankar said that “selective targeting of India is unfair and unjustified.” 

India and the EU finalized a trade deal in New Delhi in January, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen describing it as “the mother of all deals.”

The annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will be held over June 3-6. In its nearly three decades of existence, this event has borne witness to fundamental global shifts – and it has shifted along with the world.

Founded with the aim of facilitating foreign investment in Russia, it became known as Russia’s Davos in the 2000s, when Western executives descended upon St. Petersburg in their private jets in the hopes of securing lucrative business deals. In recent years, SPIEF has a very different feel but it has remained one of Russia’s most important economic forums and is now a key platform for discussing the transformations taking place in the global economy.

This year’s event, as usual, will draw many in the upper echelons of Russia’s business and political elite, as well as foreign business and government representatives from across the globe. Famously dubbed by Alexander Pushkin a “window to Europe,” St. Petersburg is becoming a window to a new multipolar world.

History

SPIEF dates its origin back to 1997, when Russia was struggling through a chaotic and difficult transition to a market economy. Initially, the main goal of SPIEF was to attract foreign investment and project an image of being ready to do business in the post-Soviet world. Just over a year after the first SPIEF was held, Russia would default and plunge into a severe economic crisis.

However, the forum persevered, and as Russia’s economy expanded during the 2000s, Western banks, energy firms, consultancies, and industrial companies started showing up to SPIEF in droves. The event became one of the key stops on the global business calendar.

Russia’s current role in the vanguard of multipolarity has led many to assume that SPIEF has always been centered on Eurasia, BRICS, and the Global South. It wasn’t. Somebody striding through the forum halls around 2010-2013, for example, would have encountered major Wall Street banks and major European energy companies – and possibly European heads of state. Attendees in years past have included, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, EU Jean-Claude Juncker, ex-IMF chief Christine Lagarde, Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein, and Exxon’s Rex Tillerson. This was a time when Russia was trying to position itself as a central player inside the existing global economic order.

There was traditionally a strong energy angle to SPIEF. Top Western oil and gas executives were a common sight in the midnight sun of St. Petersburg in June. Bankers and businessmen would mingle on the sidelines of the event, sometimes with serious propositions at stake.

Throughout the late 2000s and 2010s, SPIEF became a venue for announcing major energy and infrastructure agreements involving Russia, European states, China, and others. Even when deals were negotiated elsewhere, they were often unveiled at SPIEF because the event provided maximum visibility and prestige.

Over the years, the presidential address became one of the forum’s defining features. Analysts routinely scrutinize these speeches for policy signals.

The Western media has tended to mock the post-2022 SPIEF as passé and insular, with one former attendee telling The Guardian that an invitation to it is “totally toxic.” The lack of Western dignitaries is seen as a step down in prestige. Often left unremarked upon in these accounts is the collapse in popularity and trust in the West itself of the same Western elite that now shuns the forum.

Last year’s event, meanwhile, saw 24,200 participants and media representatives from 144 countries and territories, while over a thousand agreements were signed. The largest delegations came from Indonesia and China.

In the spotlight this year: AI

AI has become a significant area of focus for the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin has established a presidential commission devoted to the development of AI technologies to streamline state policy.

A senior executive at Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank and an innovation leader, recently told RT that “Russia has fertile soil for AI-linked business development.” The bank also released Russia’s first comprehensive guide on integrating artificial intelligence into the production cycle of digital companies.

Not surprisingly, AI is a prominent theme at this year’s SPIEF. In fact, 14 of the roundtable sessions scheduled explicitly mention AI in the title – and that’s only a surface analysis. AI will invariably come up in numerous other talks throughout the three-day event as well.

What is noteworthy is the extent to which the AI discussion has shifted in just a couple of years. For comparison, SPIEF in 2023, which came just months after ChatGPT burst into public consciousness, reflected much of the techno-optimism of the time. The official press release on Sberbank’s AI Journey at SPIEF 2023 displays a focus mostly on AI capability and how its capabilities can be best harnessed. The questions being asked were the same ones many countries were being asked at the time. Implicit was the notion that Russia catching up in an exciting new field.

A session entitled “The Struggle for Economic and Cognitive Influence in the AI Era” promises to address not so much AI as a technology, but, according to the program, “who controls the flow of information and the logic by which it is constructed in this new system” and “whose narratives are reproduced and scaled.”

In other words, this is a shift from asking what AI will deliver to asking what kind of environment AI is producing and who will control it. For Russia, as for a number of other countries, the concept of AI sovereignty has become a central concern. Russia is treating AI very much within the context of a larger state and even civilizational narrative.

What else is on the agenda

The overall theme for this year´s forum is: “Pragmatic Dialogue – The Path to a Stable Future.” A major point of focus is governance in a multipolar world. Whereas Davos might assume the current West-led globalization as the baseline and inquire how it could be better managed, SPIEF is looking to help build a new model of global development. Accordingly, much of the forum will not merely address the question of boosting economic growth, but will grapple with the institutional and technological foundations of a changing world order.

Several thematic blocks have been chosen: A Platform for Global Growth: Shaping a New Development Model, “Putting the People First: A New Development Paradigm”, “Raising the Quality of the Environment for Living and Growth”, “The Technologies Shaping the Future.”

This reflects something of a shift in how sovereignty is being understood. Traditionally associated with territory and borders, sovereignty is increasingly being discussed in the context of scaffolding: supply chains, payment systems, data infrastructure, artificial intelligence, media ecosystems, and technological standards. Many of the forum’s discussions begin from the assumption that countries will seek greater control over critical systems rather than rely exclusively on globally integrated networks.

Return of the West?

After the Ukraine conflict began in 2022, top-level Western representation largely disappeared, although the Western presence didn’t dry up entirely. Now, however, the winds seem to be shifting again.

This comes as numerous Western companies have begun to demonstrate an interest in returning to the Russian market. Several Western oil majors met with Russian industry representatives during an energy conference in Abu Dhabi last November, according to The Economist. Several American firms that had left Russia, including Apple and McDonald’s, have recently registered new Russian trademarks.

In an interview with Russia’s Channel 1 late last year, Putin said: “We have letters from American companies, letters they have sent us where they ask us not to forget about them. These are our former partners who left Russia not on their own will.”

The bottom line

The forum has always been able to change with the times, meeting a panoply of profound challenges throughout its 30-year history. This year, perhaps uniquely, the greatest challenge will not be geopolitical. While old dialogues are rekindled, the rooms of business leaders and politicians will certainly be examining how best to deploy AI, perhaps in a manner that will incubate the tech from the political and economic crisis management that the humans at St. Petersburg have always practiced. 

“I believe Europe should approach China not with fear and suspicion but with confidence and a serious, open-eyed willingness to cooperate,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić wrote in an opinion piece for the South China Morning Post, published on the first day of his late-May state visit to Beijing – a visit he described it as the most important trip of his political career.

At a time when many Western countries frame relations with Beijing through the lens of strategic rivalry, Belgrade has chosen a different path – one based on pragmatic engagement and mutual benefit.

During the visit, which took place from May 24 to 28, Chinese President Xi Jinping awarded Vučić the Order of Friendship, the highest honor China bestows on foreign nationals. The two countries adopted two joint political statements, while 23 intergovernmental agreements and 10 additional documents involving ministries, agencies, and companies were signed. The agreements reveal a focus shifting from infrastructure financing and heavy industry toward technological integration, industrial modernization, and long-term strategic cooperation.

With almost €1 billion in newly announced investments, Serbia and China are laying the foundations for a partnership increasingly centered on innovation rather than simply construction.

Serbia 2030 and the search for a new development model

For Belgrade, the visit was fundamentally about accelerating economic development and implementing Serbia 2030, a step-by-step national modernization strategy Vučić had unveiled in March. Over the past decade, China has played a central role in Serbia’s economic transformation through investments in transport infrastructure, energy, mining, and manufacturing.

Projects such as the acquisition and revitalization of the Smederevo steel plant and the Bor mining complex demonstrated how Chinese capital could rescue strategically important sectors while preserving jobs and industrial capacity. Investments in highways, railways, bridges and energy facilities will further strengthen Serbia’s economic foundations.

Vučić has repeatedly argued that Serbia must move beyond an economic model based primarily on low-cost labor and foreign direct investment. Instead, the country aims to develop domestic technological capabilities, higher-value production, and greater economic resilience. China is uniquely positioned to support that transition.

Unlike many Western financing mechanisms, which are often slower and accompanied by extensive political and regulatory conditionality, Chinese investment offers speed, flexibility, and a willingness to engage in large-scale strategic projects – just what a country pursuing rapid modernization needs.

The visit therefore marked not merely a continuation of existing cooperation but a qualitative shift toward sectors expected to define global competitiveness in the coming decades: artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, robotics, green energy, digital infrastructure, and high technology.

Building Europe’s next technology hub

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the new partnership is Serbia’s ambition to become a regional center for advanced technology and innovation.

One of the most high-profile projects currently under discussion involves cooperation with Chinese technology firms in the field of humanoid robotics. Earlier this year, Vučić revealed negotiations with the Chinese company AGIBOT regarding what could become Europe’s first service-robot manufacturing facility. The proposed investment would reportedly include not only a robotics factory but also data centers supporting artificial intelligence development and machine-learning training.

Such a project would align closely with Serbia’s broader ambition to establish itself as a hub for AI and supercomputing in Southeast Europe.

The government plans to double national data-center capacity to one gigawatt by 2035, expand state-operated digital infrastructure, and develop a Serbian-language artificial intelligence model. Chinese expertise, financing, and technology transfer could significantly accelerate these objectives.

At the same time, Serbia’s geographic position offers advantages for Chinese investors. Through its network of trade agreements, preferential access to European markets, relatively competitive production costs, and willingness to engage pragmatically with international partners, Serbia is emerging as a potential gateway through which Chinese capital, technology, and manufacturing can reach broader European markets.

Trade, energy, and the new industrial partnership

Economic ties between the two countries continue to deepen. The Serbia-China Free Trade Agreement, which entered into force in 2024, has become a crucial institutional mechanism for expanding bilateral commerce. By lowering tariffs and facilitating market access, it has encouraged greater economic exchange and opened opportunities for Serbian exports.

Nevertheless, Belgrade is aware that trade growth alone is insufficient. Serbia continues to run a significant trade deficit with China, reflecting a broader challenge facing many developing and middle-income economies. Serbian policymakers increasingly recognize the need to move beyond exporting raw materials and importing finished manufactured products.

That is one reason Chinese foreign direct investment, although still highly important, has become more selective. Following years of rapid expansion, Chinese investment flows into Serbia declined in 2025 – not because their partnership has weakened, but because Belgrade is now prioritizing investments in technology-intensive sectors instead of concentrating primarily on mining and heavy industry.

Energy represents another area where Chinese cooperation could prove decisive.

Chinese nuclear companies have already expressed an interest in the Serbian market, particularly regarding small modular reactors, a technology increasingly viewed worldwide as a practical path toward reliable low-carbon electricity generation. Discussions involving the China National Nuclear Corporation have reportedly explored possible future cooperation in this field.

If realized, such projects would represent one of the most significant technological leaps in modern Serbian history.

Defense partnership

Security and defense cooperation also featured prominently in the broader context of the visit. Serbia’s policy of military neutrality requires the diversification of partnerships and procurement sources, making China an increasingly important defense partner.

In recent years, Serbia became the first European country to operate several major Chinese defense systems, including HQ-22 medium-range air-defense missiles, HQ-17 short-range air-defense systems, and CH-92A and CH-95 unmanned aerial vehicles. Additional interest reportedly exists in the long-range HQ-9B surface-to-air missile system.

Defense cooperation extends beyond procurement. Serbian and Chinese engineers have already cooperated on the development of Serbia’s own Pegaz drone, demonstrating the potential for joint technological development rather than simple buyer-seller relationships. As Belgrade seeks to digitalize its armed forces and security institutions, opportunities for cooperation in artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, cybersecurity, surveillance technologies, and data analytics are likely to expand.

Critics often portray cooperation between China and smaller European states as a source of geopolitical tension.

For Belgrade, however, engagement with Beijing is not about replacing partnerships with Europe or other international actors. Serbian officials consistently emphasize that Chinese projects complement rather than substitute for cooperation with Western partners.

Serbia needs infrastructure, technology, energy security, industrial upgrading, and strategic investment. China possesses the capital, expertise, manufacturing capacity, and long-term planning horizon to help deliver them.

The results of Vučić’s May visit indicate that both sides recognize this convergence of interests.

The “ironclad friendship” frequently invoked by Chinese and Serbian leaders is often dismissed abroad as diplomatic rhetoric. Increasingly, however, it reflects a tangible reality. From artificial intelligence laboratories and robotics factories to satellites, nuclear energy, and advanced defense technologies, the partnership is moving into areas that will define economic and strategic power in the twenty-first century.

For Serbia, the objective is rapid modernization, economic resilience, and long-term stability. China sees Serbia as a trusted European partner, willing to pursue cooperation which is grounded in mutual respect and shared development.

In a world increasingly shaped by fragmentation and geopolitical suspicion, that may be the most important message emerging from Belgrade and Beijing: nations do not have to choose between sovereignty and cooperation. Mutual interests and tangible results can turn strategic partnerships into powerful instruments of modernization and long-term stability.

Armenian citizens will suffer significant economic damages should incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan implement his strategy of breaking trade with Russia in favor of integration with the EU, Russian Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has said.

Armenians will go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament. The vote is widely viewed as a referendum on the country’s geopolitical alignment, as Pashinyan claims the land-locked post-Soviet republic can benefit greatly from closer ties with the West. 

Volodin on Tuesday accused Pashinyan of misleading voters by downplaying the negative consequences of his proposal, reacting to the prime minister’s promise to compensate farmers from the state budget for any produce that spoils if they lose privileged access to the Russian market.

Armenia is one of five members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – alongside Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan – an economic organization that operates a single market and harmonizes regulations to facilitate trade, investment and other forms of economic cooperation. Yerevan has been previously warned that membership in the EAEU is incompatible with its EU aspirations.

“Apparently, Pashinyan has made a personal pledge to see Armenia join the EU… while trying to put the costs on the EAEU and Russia,” Volodin wrote. “Obviously, he does not care about the fate of the Armenian people and statehood. He cares about staying in power.”

“The price will be steep,” the official warned.

Volodin compared Armenia’s current trajectory to that of Ukraine, arguing that Kiev’s expectations of greater access to EU markets had failed to materialize and that the country’s agricultural exports had instead faced tariff quotas and other restrictions. He warned that Armenia could face similar risks.

Armenia remains heavily reliant on the Russian market. According to UN data, Russia accounted for nearly 24% of Armenian exports in 2024, making it the country’s second-largest export destination after the UAE. Statistics show that Armenia’s overall exports shrank by nearly 35% year on year in 2025, driven by a decline in Russia-related re-exports and reduced export opportunities amid instability in the Middle East.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Pashinyan reportedly said the referendum on EU membership could only be held if his country formally applies to join the bloc or comes close to obtaining candidate status. Until then, “there will be no referendum,” he said, as quoted by Armenpress. The prime minister described the benefits of EAEU membership as “obvious,” but claimed that the regional organization should create new opportunities for Armenia.

India today operates within one of the most demanding geopolitical environments of the post-Cold War era. Two simultaneous and interconnected pressures are reshaping its foreign policy calculus: the accelerating economic and technological rivalry between the United States and China, and the cascading humanitarian and economic consequences of conflicts across the Middle East.

Rather than being paralyzed by these pressures, India has responded with a doctrine of principled multi-alignment, engaging deeply with multiple power centers while preserving its sovereign decision-making. Understanding how and why India has done this strategic balancing requires each pressure to be examined in turn.

India as a preferred alternative 

The structural decoupling of Western supply chains from China has placed India in an unusually advantageous position. The ‘China Plus One’ strategy, the drive by multinational firms to diversify manufacturing away from China, has directed significant investment toward India. Apple’s decision to shift substantial iPhone production to Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, Micron’s semiconductor fabrication plant in Gujarat, and GE’s agreement for jet engine co-production are just some of the concrete expressions of this shift.

The India-US initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), launched in 2023, formalized cooperation across semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and space, a qualitative upgrade in bilateral technology ties.

India has actively shaped this opportunity through its Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which offers structured financial incentives across sectors including electronics, pharmaceuticals, and solar energy deliberately targeting the supply chain gaps left by de-risking from China.

The China relationship: Complexity without capitulation

Despite the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes which killed Indian soldiers and severely damaged bilateral trust, China has remained India’s largest source of goods imports. Bilateral trade has exceeded $100 billion annually, reflecting a structural interdependence in electronics, industrial machinery, and pharmaceutical precursors that cannot be unwound rapidly. India has responded not by accepting this vulnerability but by investing heavily in domestic manufacturing to substitute Chinese imports over time, with PLI schemes being the primary instrument.

Strategic autonomy in practice

India’s participation in the Quad alongside the United States, Japan, and Australia represents a meaningful strategic signal, yet India has been consistent that the Quad is not a military alliance and that it will not subordinate its defense decisions to any external partner. This posture is not evasion; it reflects a considered judgement that India’s security interests are served by flexible engagement rather than rigid treaty obligations.

India’s continued purchase of discounted Russian oil during the Ukraine conflict drew criticism from Washington and Brussels. However, India has maintained that energy security is a sovereign concern, particularly for a developing economy managing high import bills, and that India’s diplomatic channel with Moscow provides a useful avenue for advocating restraint, a role that rigidly aligned nations cannot play.

This same logic governs India’s simultaneous membership of BRICS, the SCO, the Quad, and the G20. Far from being contradictory, this positioning gives India access and influence across competing blocs – a diplomatic asset of growing strategic value.

Technology sovereignty and the digital divide

India’s exclusion of Huawei and ZTE from its 5G rollout was a consequential choice, effectively aligning India with the Western technology ecosystem at a moment when the world is bifurcating into rival digital architectures. India made this decision based on its own security assessment rather than external pressure, a distinction that matters for its credibility as an autonomous actor.

As AI governance frameworks emerge with the EU, the US, and China each advancing rival standard-setting architectures, India’s democratic credentials, large technology workforce, and proven digital public infrastructure (UPI, Aadhaar, DigiLocker, collectively studied globally as the ‘India Stack’) position it as a credible participant in shaping international norms rather than merely adopting them.

Humanitarian stakes and diplomatic balance

The Israel-Gaza war, which erupted in October 2023, placed India in a position of genuine difficulty. India initially expressed solidarity with Israel’s right to self-defense, reflecting substantive defense, counterterrorism, and agricultural ties built over decades. As civilian casualties mounted, India shifted to calling for a ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access, and abstained on several UN resolutions rather than explicitly condemning Israeli military operations.

This calibration was driven by real constraints: India’s Gulf Arab partners Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar – on whom India depends for energy and diaspora welfare – demanded a stronger humanitarian stance. Over 9 million Indian workers in GCC countries remit approximately $50 billion annually – India’s single largest remittance source. Alienating Gulf partners was not a diplomatic abstraction; it carried direct consequences for millions of Indian families.

The Red Sea disruption and naval assertiveness

The Houthi campaign against Red Sea shipping from late 2023 onward directly struck Indian economic interests. India is a major maritime trading nation, and rerouting shipments around the Cape of Good Hope added weeks to transit times and significantly increased freight costs; a damaging blow at a moment when India is positioning itself as a global manufacturing export hub.

India’s response was notable: the Indian Navy deployed warships in the Arabian Sea to escort merchant vessels, marking a shift toward proactive protection of sea lanes. This was not merely a tactical decision but a strategic signal; India is prepared to bear the costs of securing its maritime lifelines unilaterally, whenever necessary.

The Iran-Chabahar tension and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor 

Iran presents India with a particularly layered challenge. The Chabahar port project in southeastern Iran is central to India’s overland connectivity strategy toward Afghanistan and Central Asia, a route that bypasses Pakistan entirely.

One of the most consequential developments in this period is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), unveiled at India’s G20 presidency summit in New Delhi in September 2023. Backed by the US, EU, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and India, IMEC proposes rail and shipping links connecting South Asia, the Gulf, and Europe, an explicit alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The ongoing Middle East conflict has complicated IMEC’s near-term prospects, particularly given the critical role Saudi Arabia plays in the corridor. Nonetheless, the project represents India’s most ambitious connectivity vision and demonstrates its capacity to anchor major multilateral infrastructure frameworks.

The costs and rewards of strategic autonomy

India’s foreign policy response to these multiple geo-political and geo-economic pressures has been neither passive nor purely reactive. It has pursued technology partnerships with the West while managing economic interdependence with China; it has built naval capacity to protect Red Sea interests while balancing Arab and Israeli relationships; it has led the Global South through the G20 while maintaining ties with Russia.

Each of these choices carries costs such as strained relations with Western partners on Russia, trade vulnerability with China, and complexity in the Middle East. But collectively they reflect a strategy of building maximum leverage and minimum dependency, befitting a nation whose weight in global affairs is only set to grow. Strategic autonomy and multi-alignment are the doctrines of this new India.

The author will be speaking at the Valdai Club session, ’Shared Future, Universal Good: How to Manage Competition for Resources and Spaces’, at SPIEF 2026 on June 4, 2026.

A video showing Russians reacting without hostility to being addressed in Ukrainian on the street has gone viral on social media.

In the clip, filmed last week in the Ural city of Ekaterinburg, blogger Andrey Gorlivsky asks passersby in Ukrainian for directions to the musuem to legendary Russian actor, poet, songwriter and performer, Vladimir Vysotsky.

None of the those approached appeared surprised or offended by the use of Ukrainian, instead responding in Russian, and readily offering help.

The blogger also asked several Ekaterinburg residents how they were able to understand Ukrainian. One man said he has a Ukrainian friend, while another noted that the two languages share many similarities.

Viewers online have contrasted the footage with numerous videos from Ukraine showing disputes over the use of Russian. Despite Kiev’s ongoing efforts to reduce the language’s role in public life, it remains widely spoken across the country and is the primary language for millions.

The effort intensified after the escalation of the conflict in February 2022. Moscow has repeatedly cited the protection of Russian speakers and the restoration of their language rights among its key conditions for a peace settlement.

In December, the Ukrainian parliament stripped Russian of protections granted under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Earlier this year, Kiev also moved to establish a legal basis for a broad ban on Russian literature, paving the way for the removal of such books from circulation.

EU lawmakers and state representatives have agreed in principle on new rules aimed at speeding up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers amid growing pressure across the bloc to curb illegal migration.

The agreement reached on Monday would allow EU countries to transfer rejected asylum seekers to third countries if they cannot be returned to their countries of origin. The regulation also introduces stricter rules for dealing with illegal migrants, especially those considered a security risk.

These include the possibility of home searches, welfare cuts, document confiscation, and extended detention periods which would be extended from six months to two and a half years. Entry bans would also be increased from five to ten years in most cases, with lifetime bans possible.

“For years, Europe sent the worst possible message: even if you had no right to stay, chances were high that nothing would happen. That era is ending. If you have no right to stay in Europe, you will have to leave,” French MEP Francois-Xavier Bellamy, who represented the European People’s Party in the negotiations, told Politico.

The deal still requires formal approval by EU governments and the European Parliament before it can enter into force.

The proposal was initially made by the European Commission last year in response to growing discontent with a decade-long influx of illegal migrants, which has remained one of Europe’s most divisive political issues since 2015 when roughly a million people entered the EU.

Despite Brussels and countries like Germany and Sweden initially embracing an open-door approach toward would-be asylum seekers, a number of EU states, including Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Greece, have since moved to tighten asylum rules and have been pushing for return hubs to be established outside the bloc.

Rights groups and left-wing lawmakers have criticized the new EU rules, warning that they could expand detention, increase raids and expose rejected asylum seekers to unsafe conditions outside EU territory.

EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, on the other hand, has welcomed the deal, saying the bloc will have “more control over who can come to the EU, who can stay and who needs to leave.”

US President Donald Trump has tapped housing finance chief Bill Pulte to serve as acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in the wake of Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation.

Trump announced Pulte’s appointment in a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, describing Pulte as someone with “deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America.”

As acting DNI, Pulte will coordinate the work of the US federal government’s 18 intelligence agencies, and will be responsible for producing Trump’s daily intelligence briefing. Pulte, however, has no national security experience, having sat on the board of his family’s residential construction firm before being appointed by Trump to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair mortgage groups Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last year.

Pulte will continue to work in these roles while serving as acting DNI, Trump stated.

Gabbard, a vocal opponent of war with Iran, handed in her resignation amid speculation that she had been sidelined by Trump and his closest officials – among them Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth – while plans were drawn up to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January and attack Iran in February.

Less than two weeks before her resignation, Gabbard told the New York Post that she was investigating more than 120 US-funded biological laboratories worldwide, including more than 40 in Ukraine. Gabbard said that her probe would focus on whether these biolabs were conducting “dangerous gain-of-function research” to turn naturally occurring viruses into potential bioweapons – as the Russian military has claimed since 2022.

Little is known about Pulte’s views on the Russia/Ukraine conflict, or on the US’ war on Iran. He is considered a Trump loyalist, however, having led mortgage fraud investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Representative Eric Swalwell and Senator Adam Schiff, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, all Democrats whom Trump has accused of unfairly targeting him with legal proceedings.

Pulte also referred Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to the Department of Justice over alleged mortgage fraud last year, as Trump clashed with the Fed’s then-chairman, Jerome Powell, over his refusal to introduce steep interest rate cuts.

Protectionism is pushing the EU toward economic decline, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has told Bloomberg, arguing that barriers to investment between Europe, China and the US are hurting growth.

Vucic made the remarks on Tuesday shortly after returning from Beijing, where he secured more than $1 billion in Chinese investment pledges for his country.

Protectionism is “killing, in the end, Europe,” and there are “too many obstacles” complicating investment flows, the Serbian president said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Vucic also warned that Europe has become complacent in the face of growing global competition. “We all live nicely. We don’t see what’s happening around us,” he said, adding that productivity would be “the toughest and the biggest issue” facing the continent.

Vucic’s remarks come amid trade rows between the EU and both China and the US, including disputes with Beijing over electric vehicle tariffs and subsidies, and with the US over tariffs, market access and industrial policy.

Under Vucic, Serbia has become one of China’s closest partners in Europe. Chinese President Xi Jinping has described bilateral ties as an “ironclad friendship,” while a free trade agreement between the two countries entered into force in 2024. The partnership has helped strengthen Serbia’s economy, one of Europe’s faster-growing in recent years, according to the IMF and World Bank.

Belgrade has also maintained ties with Russia, rejecting EU pressure to impose sanctions on Moscow and support Ukraine. Roughly 80% of Serbia’s natural gas imports come from Russia.

Unlike Serbia, the EU has sought to phase out Russian fossil fuel imports and replace them with alternative suppliers following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, which contributed to an overall economic downturn.

Brussels has criticized Vucic’s close ties with both Beijing and Moscow, urging Serbia to make a “strategic choice” of direction.

Vucic has insisted, however, that joining the EU remains Belgrade’s long-term objective.

Americans are spending more on everything from groceries to gasoline because they are “optimistic” about the future, not because they are struggling with the rising cost of living, US President Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser has claimed – a view many economists dispute.

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Kevin Hassett was asked why credit-card delinquencies have climbed to their highest level in 15 years as households increasingly rely on debt to make ends meet. Rather than pointing to financial strain, the director of the White House National Economic Council argued that Americans are “spending more on gas” and “on everything else, not just groceries but restaurants” – “a sign that you would see when people are optimistic about the future.”

Hassett said people usually spend less money when they are worried about “making rent” or their “job security.” Rising spending, according to him, reflects confidence rather than mounting pressure from the cost of living.

Do Trump adviser’s claims on US economy add up?

In reality, the numbers tell a less cheerful story. Economists who spoke to RT said the rise in spending appears to reflect higher prices and mounting pressure on household budgets rather than growing confidence about the future.

“Americans are paying more not because they are optimistic about the future, but because essential goods and services have become more expensive,” Nikolay Novik, deputy director of the Center for International Trade Studies at HSE University, told RT on Tuesday.

WATCH: Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett defends the Trump administration's economic record, says "core inflation isn't taking off, real incomes are soaring." pic.twitter.com/VM60rV8vuE

— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) May 31, 2026

“One of the signs of a crisis, or a pre-crisis environment, is when prices for basic goods rise faster than incomes,” Novik said. As real disposable incomes fall, “consumer sentiment deteriorates” and spending shifts toward necessities, he added.

“That is exactly what is happening in the United States,” Novik said, arguing that households are being forced to devote an ever-larger share of their budgets to mandatory expenses while cutting back on travel, education, major purchases, and savings.

Gas prices surged after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. JPMorgan data shows prices at the pump jumped 17.8% year-on-year in March. Spending at gas stations rose 12.8%, but Americans were paying more, not buying more. According to the bank, spending excluding fuel was growing more slowly than overall consumer spending for the first time since 2022.

Worse to come?

Grocery bills could be next. Americans are already paying more in supermarkets as tariffs, adverse weather, and a shrinking cattle herd push food prices higher. The latest US Department of Agriculture forecast projects grocery prices will climb 3.2% this year, signaling little relief for consumers already grappling with higher fuel costs.

“Inflation accelerated to 3.8% year-on-year in April, including higher energy prices, while low-cost imported goods are becoming harder to find because of tariff threats and supply-chain disruptions,” Bondarenko told RT. Expectations of faster inflation are also pushing consumers to buy now because “it may be more expensive later,” she added.

‘Stagnation rather than growth’

Looking at the bigger picture, the data points to stagnation rather than a boom.

The University of Michigan’s closely watched consumer sentiment index has fallen to levels rarely seen outside recessions. The gauge stood at 44.8 in May, down 10% from the previous month and more than 14% lower than a year earlier.

Real consumer spending growth slowed to 1.4% in the first quarter, its weakest pace in four years, while retail sales fell 0.2% in January, the sharpest decline in four years, according to US Commerce Department.

In such conditions, Novik concluded, Americans are spending more just to stand still.

A graft scheme has been exposed at Energoatom, a Ukrainian energy giant previously linked with an alleged extortion ring run by businessman Timur Mindich, a close associate of Vladimir Zelensky. The alleged crimes were exposed by the same Western-backed anti-corruption agencies.

Mindich, dubbed “Zelensky’s wallet” by the media, fled the country last November shortly before the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) charged him and his associates with running a $100 million extortion scheme at Energoatom. Investigators alleged that contractors were forced by corrupt company management to pay kickbacks from their state contracts.

The newly alleged scheme revealed on Wednesday reportedly involved the theft of at least $3.8 million in public funds during the construction of critical infrastructure for the Tashlyk Pumped-Storage Power Plant in Nikolaev Region. The facility was originally conceived as a Soviet-era project and approved in 1981, but was later scaled back following the collapse of the USSR. Two of its turbines were commissioned in the mid-2000s, while a third was launched only in late 2021.

The anti-corruption agencies said that the de facto owner of several construction companies involved in the project and a former senior manager at Energoatom’s engineering branch had been charged with large-scale embezzlement.

Wartime money cow

Energoatom operates three Soviet-built nuclear power plants, as well as the Tashlyk facility and the Aleksandrovka hydroelectric power station – which complement the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant helping cover peak power grid loads.

While Ukraine and Russia have struck each other’s energy infrastructure during the conflict, nuclear and hydropower sites have largely been spared, as damage to such facilities could trigger major environmental disasters. With Ukraine’s overall generating capacity reduced, Energoatom remains a major source of revenue.

A big graft club in Kiev

The scandal sent shockwaves through the Ukrainian government, as Mindich’s alleged ring involved several senior officials, including a former energy minister, his former deputy who later replaced him in a cabinet reshuffle, and former Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Chernyshov.

Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, was forced to resign over suspected links to Mindich and has since been charged in a separate alleged money-laundering case connected to the financing of a luxury property development outside Kiev, reportedly owned by Yermak, Mindich, Chernyshov, and Zelensky.

The fugitive businessman’s other interests reportedly focused on the arms giant Fire Point. Leaked surveillance records suggest Minidich secretly ran the company, profiting from his influence on then-Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who still retains a senior security position in the government.

British police have released bodycam footage showing officers ignoring the dying pleas of an 18-year-old stabbing victim, after his attacker falsely claimed that he had been the victim of a racist attack.

Released on Monday, the footage shows officers handcuffing student Henry Nowak as he lay dying after being stabbed multiple times by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa in Southampton last year.

Nowak told the officers five times that he had been stabbed, to which one officer replied “I don’t think you have, mate.” Nowak was handcuffed and dragged across gravel, as Digwa remained uncuffed, telling officers that Nowak had torn off his turban in a racially-motivated attack.

The officers ignored Nowak’s pleas to call an ambulance and informed him that he was under arrest for assault, as he lost consciousness and drowned in his own blood.

Digwa was found guilty of murder last week and sentenced on Monday to 21 years in prison. The court heard that he attacked Nowak with no provocation, with prosecutors calling his claim of racism “a wicked lie.” Digwa’s mother was also found guilty of assisting an offender by hiding the knife that Digwa used to kill Nowak.

Speaking after the sentence was handed down, Nowak’s father told reporters that his son “did not die with dignity. He did not die with the care he deserved. He lost consciousness before anyone believed him.”

“The way he was treated was inhumane and degrading,” he continued. “His murderer, however, was afforded decency. He was believed. He was not handcuffed when arrested… police even took him to the kitchen so he could choose his food. The contrast is unbearable.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called on the British people to respond with “pure, cold rage.” In a statement on Tuesday, Farage described the case as “proof, if ever there was any, that we’re living in a two-tier culture in this country where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities.”

We are living in two-tier Britain where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than those of ethnic minorities. pic.twitter.com/e7EpE1kQrm

— Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) June 2, 2026

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office described the case as “shocking and harrowing,” but insisted that “there’s no such thing as two-tier policing.”

The government’s Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is currently investigating the actions of the officers.

South Africa’s new vehicle market maintained its upward momentum in May, recording its strongest monthly sales performance since 2013, the country’s automotive industry association has said.

According to the Automotive Business Council, aggregate new vehicle sales increased by 12.8% year-on-year to 51,071 units. The result extended the market’s run of consecutive monthly growth and kept year-to-date sales firmly in positive territory.

Passenger car sales rose 16.3% to 36,871 units. Dealer sales accounted for 90.1% of total volumes, while the vehicle rental industry contributed 5.3%, indicating demand across multiple sales channels.

Despite the positive sales momentum, Sithole warned that affordability pressures are likely to remain a key consideration for households and businesses.

The South African Reserve Bank increased the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.00% at its May meeting, pushing the prime lending rate to 10.50%.

Sithole said higher monthly repayments could affect affordability, particularly for first-time buyers and smaller business operators, and encouraged consumers to fully understand the impact of interest rate changes before entering into finance agreements.

Fuel costs are also expected to place additional pressure on consumers. Petrol prices are set to increase from 4 June, driven by movements in global oil prices and the partial reversal of temporary fuel levy relief introduced in April.

While higher financing costs and fuel prices may weigh on demand, the vehicle market has shown resilience through a challenging economic period. Improved household and business confidence, ongoing vehicle replacement cycles and fleet renewal activity continue to support sales across segments.

First published by IOL

India and the US have begun another round of talks aimed at finalizing a trade deal, amid New Delhi’s concerns about tariff actions that could arise from an unfair-practices probe in Washington.

After months of negotiations, New Delhi and Washington are in the final stages of concluding a tranche of a trade agreement, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

A US delegation led by Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch is in New Delhi for discussions that will continue until June 4.

New Delhi’s reservations to the deal would be about “opening up agriculture without any constraints, without any limits,” Ajay Dua, a former commerce and industries secretary in India, told RT India. He also cited the issue of digital data protection, that is data gathered by foreign companies about India should be stored locally, which Western companies are resisting.

India is expected to seek shielding from Washington’s investigations of countries under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a law that grants the US broad authority to probe trade practices and impose retaliatory measures.

There is a sense of urgency to get the talks over the line as tariffs under Section 301 are expected to come into effect on July 24 – in place of the reciprocal tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump last year, The Indian Express reported.

Deal Breakers For Delhi: India Seeks Shield & Access In US Trade Talks

Negotiators are expected to push for preferential access to the US market and protection from potential penalties linked to Washington's Section 301 investigations during bilateral trade talks, according to… pic.twitter.com/f0KMdsKmme

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) June 2, 2026

Underscoring India’s concerns, the US on Tuesday slapped a 25% tariff on Brazil over trade practices it decided were unfair under Section 301. New Delhi is seeking to avoid the same playbook being used against it after a trade deal is signed.

Early last year, Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a goal to more than double bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. They outlined plans to negotiate the first tranche of a multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement by the fall of 2025.

However, Trump’s tariffs were deemed illegal by the US Supreme Court in February this year, effectively scuppering the agreement.

Amid the talks over an India-US trade deal, reports say New Delhi may review the broad contours of its trade pact with the UK. India is reportedly looking at reducing the tariff concessions on Scotch whisky and some other items over steel quotas and duties in the UK, the Times of India reported.

A plant owned by Fire Point, a Ukrainian defense company widely linked to a high-level corruption scheme involving Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle, has been struck during a Russian raid, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

In a rare occurrence, the ministry provided a detailed list of Ukrainian defense industry enterprises that had been attacked as part of the latest wave of airstrikes on the country earlier on Tuesday.

A Fire Point facility, which produced parts for long-range attack UAVs and missiles, was hit in Dnepropetrovsk Region, it said in a statement.

Originally established as a film scouting agency linked to associates of Vladimir Zelensky, Fire Point was later exposed in leaked conversations involving members of the Ukrainian leader’s inner circle as a vehicle for siphoning off lucrative arms contracts.

Leaked recordings published by Ukrainian media since April suggested that businessman Timur Mindich – who is wanted in Ukraine over an alleged $100 million corruption scheme in the energy sector – effectively controlled Fire Point throughout 2025.

The tapes also indicated that Mindich enjoyed preferential treatment from then-Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who now serves as secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that ten enterprises manufacturing weapons, inducing UAVs, have been attacked in Kiev. Three recruitment centers have also been hit in the Ukrainian capital, it added.

In the city of Zaporozhye, the Omelchenko machinery plant and the Motor Sich aircraft engine plant were targeted, the statement read.

The raid also targeted six military airfields in Cherkasy, Rovno, Zhytomir, Kirovograd, Khmelnytsky and Kiev Regions, it added.

According to the ministry, the large-scale missile and drone strike against military-related targets in Ukraine was carried out in response to Kiev’s terrorist attacks on civilians, including the one in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on May 22.

Ukrainian forces struck a college dormitory in the town of Starobelsk in several waves of drone attacks late at night while students were asleep, killing 21 people, mostly teenage girls, and injuring dozens of others.

Israel has a clear interest in prolonging US hostilities with Iran and has been successfully sabotaging efforts to reach a peace agreement, Tehran-based Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi has told RT.

The political analyst was commenting on the latest escalation of Israeli military operations against Lebanon, including strikes on Beirut, which have triggered a new surge in tensions between Washington and Tehran and could bring negotiations to a permanent halt.

Tehran has said that continued Israeli violence effectively voids the fragile ceasefire with the US, which was announced in early April. US President Donald Trump later pushed Israel to declare a similar halt to hostilities in Lebanon.

According to Axios, Trump lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their most recent call for undermining his attempt to find an off-ramp from the conflict.

“Netanyahu is the boss. And not Netanyahu as an individual, but Netanyahu and the Zionists who support him, whether in Washington or in the Israeli regime,” Marandi said, describing how Tehran views the power balance between Iran’s two adversaries.

“Every time the negotiations seem to be getting somewhere, we see the Israeli regime and the Zionist lobby in the United States pushing back and forcing Trump to change his position and to flip-flop,” he added.

In addition to the escalation in Lebanon, the US-Iranian truce was also undermined by sporadic military operations by both sides, most of them related to American attempts to lift the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials have threatened to expand the disruption of traffic to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another strategic waterway that could be threatened by Houthi forces in Yemen.

Watch the entire interview.

Ukraine launched explosive-laden drones towards Finland, triggering an alert that affected 1.8 million people, Helsingin Sanomat reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The incident took place on May 15 and set off a major security alert in the southern Finnish region of Uusimaa, which includes the country’s capital, Helsinki. The warning halted air traffic at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and triggered a lockdown order by the authorities.

Finnish officials did not initially disclose details of the alert, stating only that the drones could be approaching from Russia, creating the impression that the threat was linked to Moscow.

According to HS, however, the emergency measures were prompted by a warning from Ukraine, which said it had accidentally sent drones carrying explosives toward Finland.

The Finnish Defense Forces later said no violation of Finnish airspace had been detected. HS reported that it remains unclear why the drones never entered the country, noting that Russian air defenses may have shot them down en route.

The report has prompted criticism from Finnish lawmakers. Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee said they were not told that the warning came from Ukraine, which was essential information that should have been shared immediately.

Last month, Estonia shot down an alleged Ukrainian drone over its territory for the first time, while Latvia saw Ukrainian drones hit oil storage facilities near the Russian border, which ultimately led to the collapse of Prime Minister Evika Silina’s government.

Moscow has repeatedly accused NATO countries of quietly allowing Ukraine to use their airspace for attacks on targets in northwestern Russia, particularly energy infrastructure in Leningrad Region. Russian officials have also warned that Kiev could stage provocations involving drones to draw NATO deeper into the conflict.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo previously said he had told Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky that Helsinki considers Ukrainian aircraft entering its airspace “unacceptable.” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has likewise urged Kiev to keep its drones away from Estonian territory and to “control their activities better.”

Hundreds of Kenyans gathered in the streets of the town of Nanyuki on Monday to protest a proposed US Ebola quarantine facility at Laikipia Air Base. 

Video shows groups of young protesters marching toward the entrance of the air base while chanting anti-Ebola slogans. Demonstrators also blocked roads and set tires on fire. According to the BBC, two people were shot dead during the unrest. 

The demonstrations took place just days after Kenya’s High Court ordered a halt to the US-supported plan. The facility was intended to accommodate American citizens who may have been exposed to the virus, as part of an effort by the Trump administration to keep the disease out of the US. 

Washington’s announcement in parallel of a new Ebola aid plan, made as the outbreak continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), prompted a legal challenge from the Katiba Institute. According to the US Department of State, the US wants to allocate $13.5 million to strengthen Kenya’s readiness to respond to a potential outbreak. 

On Sunday, Kenyan Health Minister Aden Duale said that the planned quarantine facility was intended to serve “everyone” and would not have been reserved solely for US citizens. 

Meanwhile, healthcare experts in the US, including former officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), urged the US Congress on Monday to overturn the initiative. In a letter to lawmakers, the experts warned that the project presents “significant clinical, ethical, operational and legal challenges.” They said that establishing temporary quarantine and treatment facilities abroad while response efforts are already strained could set a “dangerous precedent.” 

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) reported that a total of 1,077 suspected cases and 246 probable deaths had been recorded since May 15, when DR Congo declared its 17th Ebola outbreak. The epidemic has been attributed to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or targeted treatments available. 

The UK must prepare for the possibility of “taking the human out of the loop” using highly automated weapons systems, according to Al Carns, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for the armed forces.

Current British policy on automated weapons states that “there must be context-appropriate human involvement in weapons which identify, select and attack targets.” Carns, however, has argued that the rules may need to be loosened, claiming that countries hostile to Britain would not hesitate to deploy weapons capable of killing without human authorization.

“I always say there must be a human in the loop. But you must have the ability to take the human out of the loop when required, because our adversaries won’t care about having a human in the loop,” the MP and former commando told the Financial Times last week on the sidelines of a military drone event in Riga, Latvia.

The newspaper pointed to the US and Ukraine as examples of states already using AI for battlefield target acquisition, adding that Russia is believed to be doing the same.

Ukraine’s military, which uses Palantir technology for intelligence analysis, recently carried out a deliberate drone raid on a pedagogical college in Starobelsk, Russia, killing 21 people. Kiev denied involvement in the attack and claimed Moscow had somehow fabricated the incident.

In February, the British Ministry of Defense announced a legal review of rules governing uncrewed and autonomous weapons, saying the framework “must be updated to be fit for the current era of threat.”

Russia’s stated position on automated weapons and AI systems more broadly is that humans must remain responsible for final decisions.

“AI can advise, and the advice can even be better than anything a human can come up with on their own,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said last year. “But… the responsibility for the final decision must always fall on a particular person.”

Nepalese Prime Minister Balen Shah reignited a long-running border dispute between his country and its large southern neighbor India, adding fuel to the fire by saying the United Kingdom and China have to be at the talks.

Shah, who was elected last year following the massive ‘Gen Z’ protests against corruption that swept the country, said on Sunday, “Not only has India encroached on Nepal’s land, but Nepal has also encroached on India’s land in multiple places.”

He said that the disputes over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kala Pani would be resolved through diplomatic dialogue.

While he sounded reconciliatory in calling for talks, he added that Kathmandu has spoken with not only India and China – whose Tibet region borders the disputed zone – about the issue but also with the UK government.

“Our view is that the UK should also take an interest, as the issue dates back to the period when the British left the region,” Shah said. Britain ruled India for nearly 200 years, until its independence in 1947, and is still bitterly remembered for its brutality and exploitation, particularly the partitioning of the territories under the Raj into India and Pakistan.

He said Shah’s statement should be seen as more positive than negative as it shows a shift in Nepal’s approach to the issue.

India had said earlier last month that it remains open to constructive interaction with Nepal on all issues in the bilateral relationship, including on resolving agreed-upon outstanding boundary issues through dialogue and diplomacy.

Meanwhile, media reports said that Rabi Lamichhane, the president of Shah’s Rashtriya Swatantra Party, will make a five-day official visit to India starting Monday at the invitation of its ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Russian wheat exports to Kenya have climbed 10% year-on-year this season, the Russian agriculture export agency Agroexport reported on Monday.

According to the agency, shipments reached around 1.4 million tons by late May, already surpassing the roughly 1.3 million tons delivered during the entire previous season. The current figure is second only to the record 1.7 million tons shipped in the 2023/24 season.

“Kenya remains one of the key markets for Russian wheat suppliers in Africa,” accounting for about 7% of the country’s grain exports to the continent, the agency reported.

The figures come amid broader growth in Russia’s agricultural trade with Africa. Last week, Agroexport adviser Alexander Yakuba said Russian agricultural exports to African countries have increased by 22% over the past five years, exceeding $5 billion in 2025.

Russian wheat exports to Egypt rose 19% this year, while supplies to Sudan jumped 78%. Shipments to Cameroon reached 137,000 tons worth $32 million in 2025, up 3.2 times year-on-year, while exports in the first four months of 2026 totaled 93,000 tons valued at more than $20.5 million, according to the agency.

Separately, analysts at railway operator Rusagrotrans have told Interfax that the leading importers of Russian wheat are the MENA countries, “where it is difficult to compete with Russia due to its logistical proximity to these markets.”

Russian forces have carried out a large-scale missile and drone strike against military-related targets in Ukraine in response to terrorist attacks by Kiev, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

The overnight raid focused on defense industry facilities in the capital, Kiev, parts of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions still under Ukraine’s control, as well as in Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Khmelnitsky, and Sumy regions, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Fuel and transport infrastructure facilities used by Ukrainian forces and military airfields were also hit, it added.

Land- and sea-based precision weapons, including hypersonic missiles and drones, were deployed during the attack, the ministry said.

Multiple videos have been posted on social media, purporting to show explosions in various parts of Ukraine. Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko confirmed partial blackouts in several districts of the capital during the raid.

Moscow previously warned it would carry out “systematic and consistent strikes” on Ukraine’s military infrastructure, including drone production facilities, command posts, and “decision-making centers,” in response to a terrorist attack in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic on May 22.

Ukrainian forces struck a college dormitory in the town of Starobelsk in several waves of drone attacks late at night while students were asleep, killing 21 people, mostly teenage girls, and injuring 70 others.

Speaking to RT, American journalist John Varoli has defended Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian targets as “legitimate” and fully “allowed by international law,” arguing that Moscow has “a right to dismantle any infrastructure that supports terrorism.” Varoli said “Russian punishment against the Kiev regime is going to continue” and “is going to intensify,” accusing Western nations of backing “a terrorist regime” in Ukraine.

Western intelligence agencies hacked the phones of Russian officials and other people with access to sensitive information, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said.

Devices belonging to Russian diplomats, politicians, high-ranking officers and journalists were allegedly compromised, allowing foreign spies to record everything around them and collect vast amounts of data, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

The FSB said that its operatives uncovered “one of the largest operations involving the installation of malicious software on mobile devices.” The scheme had attempted to gather data through covert access to content and messaging, wiretapping of phone conversations, acoustic and video surveillance of the gadget’s surroundings, and through the collection of geolocation and contact data, it added.

“It appears that Western intelligence agencies assumed it would be easier and cheaper to mass hack cell phones than to recruit costly informants among holders of state secrets,” the agency noted.

The sheer volume of information gathered by Western spy agencies would have been impossible for humans to process just a few years ago, but AI is now being used to analyze it within minutes, it stressed.

According to the FSB, the investigation began in 2023 after experts at Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab detected unusual network activity on employees’ Apple devices.

A representative of Kaspersky Lab explained that those targeted by foreign intelligence had received an undetectable message via the standard Apple messaging app, which launched a spy program that quickly gained “complete control” of the phone.

Among other things, the malicious software could “start an audio recording for the next three hours, and it didn’t matter whether the phone had no connection or internet access. As soon as the phone regained connection, that audio recording would be sent to the attacker’s server,” he explained.

The US has been developing its cyber-espionage infrastructure for decades, particularly since the adoption of the Patriot Act in 2001. Introduced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the legislation gave American intelligence agencies broad powers to demand information from IT companies in the name of national security.

Britain’s use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers has come under renewed criticism after migrants housed at a historic four-star property were filmed relaxing in massage chairs.

The footage circulating online was reportedly filmed at the luxury Ramada Hotel in Solihull, near Birmingham – a 16th-century former coaching inn currently used under the British Home Office’s asylum housing scheme.

The 145-room hotel also includes a gym and en-suite rooms, according to the Daily Mail, which cited a source as saying the massage chairs had not been operational since the migrants moved into the building. The grounds include what is believed to be England’s oldest crown bowling green.

The footage drew criticism on social media, with one X user writing: “All on the taxpayer... We are paying for the comfort of people who simply don’t deserve it.” Another questioned government spending priorities, citing the growing number of Britons relying on food banks.

@dpaudits The oldest bowling green in the uk abandoned #immigration #solihull #ramada ♬ original sound - dpaudits

The debate comes amid growing concern over the cost of Britain’s asylum accommodation program. An October 2025 parliamentary report said the projected cost of housing asylum seekers has more than tripled to £15.3 billion ($21 billion), while accusing the Home Office of failing to recover tens of millions of pounds in excess profits from private contractors.

4-star hotel where illegal migrants sit back in expensive massage chairs.

Grade II listed Ramada Hotel in Solihull houses male 'guests' reclining in the chairs, which are worth thousands of pounds each.

Photos on the hotel’s website also show a well-stocked gym and rooms… pic.twitter.com/ScdscoBw1U

— Sedd (@SeddSezz) June 1, 2026

The UK is reportedly expected to spend around £2.1 billion on asylum accommodation and support this financial year, with hotel housing alone estimated to cost taxpayers roughly £5.5 million per day.

Numerous protests have been held across Britain in recent years over asylum hotels, including demonstrations at the Ramada. Immigration ranked among the public’s top concerns in 2025, with one in five Britons naming it as the country’s most pressing issue in a Gallup survey. Government figures show that more than 200,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats since 2018.