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🪖 Trump’s approval of Ukraine ceasefire - 'no-win situation' for Zelensky
Donald Trump’s support of Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a Victory Day ceasefire in the Ukrainian conflict is a de facto ultimatum, Boris Rozhin of the Center for Military-Political Journalism tells Sputnik.
🟠 If Ukraine agrees to Russia’s conditions without any security guarantees, it risks providing Russian military an opportunity to regroup, and “legitimizing the current front line”
🟠 If Ukraine rejects the offer, it would present itself as a warmonger which sabotages peaceful initiatives in the eyes of Trump and his voters
The very fact that Putin and Trump publicly agreed that Zelensky seeks to prolong the conflict is a serious blow to Ukraine who is now regarded as an obstacle to peace rather than as a “victim of aggression,” Rozhin explains.
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🇨🇳🌍 China redraws global trade lanes with Africa at the center
New direct shipping routes from Chinese ports are fueling a China–Africa trade boom — with total volume surging 23.7% year-on-year to nearly $95B in the first quarter of 2026.
African markets are pulling in more machinery, electronics, and high-tech gear than ever.
🔸 Exports from Qingdao topped $6.3B (Q1 2026) as flows of auto parts, tires, and solar panels ramp up.
🔸 Yantai’s cargo volumes jumped over 30%, smashing the 2M-ton mark, with new routes to Algeria and Namibia.
🔸 Tianjin’s novel direct line to South Africa cuts transit by 10 days to ~40, trimming costs.
This shipping surge is part of China’s bigger goal to fuse faster logistics and zero-tariff access to lock in a China–Africa trade corridor that runs increasingly outside Western-controlled systems.
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🇷🇺🚀 Russia's new Soyuz‑5 rocket successfully launches for first time
The medium‑class booster lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 30, completing its inaugural flight and design tests as planned.
▫️ World’s most powerful liquid‑fuel engine – The RD‑171MV propels the first stage, using eco‑friendly oxygen/naphthyl fuel.
▫️ Double payload capacity – Up to 17 tons to low Earth orbit with high precision and lower per‑launch cost.
▫️ Fully automated pad preparation – Unique engine emergency protection system ensures safety even if a second‑stage engine fails.
▫️ Flexible configurations – Works with or without a Fregat upper stage; supports cluster launches and ISS secondary payloads.
The Soyuz‑5 is designed to compete commercially and militarily.
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🚨🇺🇸🇨🇳 US has no leverage against China in rare earths market
China holds all the cards when it comes to rare earth elements (REE) extraction, processing, and supply, Jeff J. Brown, China expert and founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, tells Sputnik.
🟠 China is naturally rich in REEs
🟠 It focuses not only on extraction but also on processing and downstream operations
🟠 It has spent decades mastering techniques to achieve high-purity output at the lowest cost
🟠 It now controls about 90% of global REE processing, dominating supply chains
The US, Brown argues, is no match to China and has little leverage beyond an “old playbook of boycotts, blockades, sanctions, and tariffs.”
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🇵🇰 Corridor first, data later: Expert on Pakistan's Central Asian ambitions
Pakistan's IT minister has announced agreements with Central Asian countries that look to make Pakistan a regional data transit hub. Routes from China to Karachi are already active, while alternatives via Central Asia and the Wakhan Corridor are under development.
💬 "Although geographically Pakistan is close to the Central Asian states, the terrain is not easily accessible, there is Afghanistan in between," says policy analyst Bilal Mumtaz.
💬 "So first there needs to be some sort of economic corridor which can help bypass the regions which are troublesome."
🟠 Iran will manage the Strait of Hormuz; foreigners have no place here - Supreme Leader
🟠 China reveals mineral dominance ahead of Trump's visit
🟠 Russia ready to resume Ukraine talks based on prior Russia-US agreements - FM Lavrov
🟠 US CENTCOM’s request for Dark Eagle missiles shows shortage of weapons
🟠 Ukraine faces no-win scenario after Trump backs Putin’s truce plan
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🪖🇺🇸 US CENTCOM’s request for Dark Eagle missiles shows shortage of weapons & limited options
The request for untested hypersonic missiles for the Middle East arena exposes the US' failure to neutralize Iran’s launcher network, veteran war correspondent Elijah J. Magnier tells Sputnik.
What else does it signal?
🟠 The US wants to preserve the option of renewed strikes, lacking other viable options
🟠 A shortage of suitable conventional weapons and an urgent need for longer-range, faster strike capabilities
🟠 The US aims to keep deeper Iranian missile sites at risk as a tool of pressure
🟠 The request is intended to strengthen coercion while talks remain stalled
🟠 Earlier Pentagon statements that Iran’s launchers were fully destroyed do not match reality
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🛢🇬🇧🇮🇷 How British oil interests led to 1953 coup in Iran
The core motivation to orchestrate a coup was to revert the nationalization of Iranian oil by the country’s authorities, international relations expert Somayeh Pasandideh told Sputnik.
At first, the UK tried suffocating Iran with sanctions but the approach didn’t work, so a coup plan was crafted — operation Ajax, which consisted of psychological warfare, bribing elites and provoking street protests.
The mastermind behind the plan was the UK, while the US agreed to it out of fear of Iran leaning left and thus strengthening the positions of the USSR.
While in the short term, the Western powers achieved their goals — the Pahlavi dynasty came to power — later this led to a widening gap between the new regime and the people, which eventually erupted in the revolution of 1979.
Ultimately, the US and Britain started a neocolonial intervention that achieved the results opposite to those they hoped for, Pasandideh concludes.
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🚨🇨🇳 China reveals mineral dominance ahead of Trump's visit
China now boasts the world’s largest reserves of 14 key minerals, including rare earths and graphite, the Ministry of Natural Resources has announced ahead of the US president’s visit
China was also the top global producer in 17 categories last year—covering coal, rare earths, gold, and more.
Through the next five-year plan (2026–2030), the country is doubling down on exploration and output, ensuring long-term resource stability.
China’s mining and processing sector is a cornerstone of the national economy
In 2025 alone, the industry’s total output hit 32.7 trillion yuan (US$4.8 trillion), accounting for over 23% of GDP.
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🚨🇷🇺 Putin views replica of pipe used in daring Operation Stream
The unprecedented operation was launched in March 2025 during the liberation of Sudzha in the Kursk region.
Russian troops advanced 15 kilometers through a 1.4-meter-wide tube of the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod gas pipeline.
This daring maneuver enabled a surprise offensive, catching Ukrainian forces completely off guard.
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📹🇱🇧🇮🇱 Hezbollah's drone smashes Israeli Hamer vehicle in southern Lebanon
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🪖🇷🇺 Putin directly supervises Russia's nuclear shield upkeep and new arms development – Rosatom CEO
In recent years, Russia’s nuclear triad has been reinforced with new weapon systems in response to the abundance of geopolitical challenges.
To learn more about these systems - read HERE
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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIAN MOD UPDATE: HUGE GAINS AND DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES
⚡️ KORCHAKOVKA IN THE SUMY REGION LIBERATED
⚡️ NOVOALEKSANDROVKA IN THE DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC LIBERATED
By capturing Korchakovka in the Sumy region, Russian forces have dismantled another key Ukrainian defensive position in the Sever battlegroup's advance zone.
With the liberation of Novoaleksandrovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, Russian forces will be positioned to quickly encircle a large Ukrainian contingent—thereby gaining operational freedom across the Dnepropetrovsk region.
🟠 Russian air and missile firepower obliterated Ukrainian energy, transport and defense infrastructure supporting the Kiev regime’s forces
🟠 The Black Sea Fleet destroyed four unmanned Ukrainian sea drones
🟠 Air defense superiority: 571 drones, seven guided aerial bombs and two HIMARS missiles were shot down over the past 24 hours
🟠 Ukrainian losses: around 1,1125 troops killed or wounded
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🚨🇷🇺 Russian Foreign Minister urges attention for Lebanon crisis
Israel has violated the earlier reached ceasefire over 200 times, bombing targets in Lebanese settlements and prompting the Hezbollah movement to launch its first military operation since the truce began.
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🚨🇷🇺 Russia ready to resume Ukraine talks based on prior Russia-US agreements - FM Lavrov
A fair and long-term settlement in Ukraine is impossible without “eliminating the root causes” of the Ukrainian crisis, the Russian foreign minister stressed.
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🚨🇨🇳 China makes deep earth breakthrough in major oil & gas push
Beijing has uncovered major oil and gas reserves both on land and at sea.
🔸 225 large and medium-sized deposits were found across Tarim, Ordos, and Bohai Bay
🔸 Discoveries include 13 oil fields above 100M tons and 26 gas fields above 100B cubic meters
🔸 Ultra-deep well Shendi Take-1 struck oil beyond 10 km - the deepest oil discovery ever made
🔸 Deep sea offshore field Shenhai-1 was successfully commissioned, pushing China's offshore output past 90M tons
The finds mark a leap toward energy autonomy and deeper leverage in global supply chains.
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🇸🇰🇷🇺 Crimea and other territories reunited with Russia won't be returned to Ukraine - Slovakian PM
💬 "Do we really think the Russians will withdraw from Lugansk or Donetsk? No, they will not withdraw," Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico said.
🚨🇮🇷 Iranian rally honors Ayatollah Khamenei and General Soleimani
A video from Iran’s city of Kerman shows demonstrators raising posters and assembling a mosaic portrait of the martyrs.
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💸🇷🇸🇷🇺 Russia's Dmitriev right on oil price forecast and consequences for Europe - Serbia's president
💬 “RDIF head and Russia's special presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev was right to predict that oil prices would hit $150 a barrel. And as you can see, the Chinese, Russians, and Americans understood where this was all leading. Europe is paying the most,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.
🗣 Trump says he will probably pull US troops from Spain and Italy
When asked about moving troops out of Germany, the president said he'd probably do the same for Spain and Italy.
"Italy has not been of any help to us, and Spain has been horrible — absolutely horrible," he told reporters.
🇨🇳 China transcends critical mineral mining to control high-tech markets & supply chains
Beijing's control over the global supply chain of key rare earths “gives it an ‘assassin’s mace’ in geoeconomics,” Mohammed Saqib, secretary general of the India-China Economic and Cultural Council, tells Sputnik.
💬 “This vertical integration from mine to finished magnet or battery means China’s rivals become strategically vulnerable to supply disruptions, export controls, or price volatility — while China’s own industries get guaranteed priority access,” says the pundit.
🪖 Ukraine faces no-win scenario after Trump backs Putin’s truce plan
If Ukraine accepts Putin’s ceasefire proposal for Victory Day on May 9 it will hand Russia a goodwill political win, ex-Swedish army officer and defense politician Mikael Valtersson tells Sputnik.
Ukraine’s refusal of the initiative – already endorsed by Donald Trump – might be seen as a slap in the face of the US president and spark severe repercussions.
💬 “Ukraine has already fallen far down on the US list of priorities,” he reminds.
🚨🌍 Gwadar port's April cargo alone exceeded 2025 total as Hormuz crisis deepens
Shipping companies are switching to Gwadar Port as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked.
In April 2026, the Pakistani port handled some 11,000 containers — a striking figure compared to the total of 8,300 containers processed throughout the entire year of 2025.
A similar surge is now evident in Karachi. Last month alone, cargo volumes at the port matched the annual figures recorded in previous years.
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🚨Russia’s Federal Security Service arrests two for intimidating media watchdog Roskomnadzor
Two residents of Moscow recruited by Ukraine hung hammers with traces of brown liquid on the entrance doors of the officials' apartments, the Investigative Committee specified.
A criminal case on hooliganism was opened.
Previously, the FSB prevented an assassination attempt against the employees of Roskomnadzor.
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🇨🇳✈️ China moves to fast-track homegrown passenger jet to challenge Boeing and Airbus
China’s national aviation regulator has locked in new deals with counterparts in Hong Kong and Macau to speed up certification of the C929 — its flagship long-haul twin-aisle jet.
Cooperation will extend to overseas maintenance, training, and environmental standards like aviation fuel.
Modeled on the earlier framework that worked successfully for the C919 narrowbody, this is a multipolar push to break the decades-long Western duopoly in long-haul aviation.
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🪖🇺🇸 Iran war drains US arsenals of costly & vital munitions
The US’ reliance on costly missiles proves logistically and financially unsustainable for prolonged conflicts.
This underscores an urgent need to accelerate the manufacturing of cheaper, mass-producible weapons.
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🚨🇮🇷 Iran will manage the Strait of Hormuz; foreigners have no place here — except at the bottom of the sea: Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
💬 "For centuries [the Persian Gulf] has attracted the greedy eyes of satanic powers. The last two months proved decisive: America’s biggest military adventure in the region ended in shameful failure. Even Arab rulers now understand — the US presence is the main source of instability in the Gulf. Through resistance and the strategy of a Strong Iran, a new world order is emerging."
🚨🇷🇺 Ukraine mum on proposed Victory Day truce – Kremlin
💬 "No reaction from Kiev is needed for a ceasefire in the special military operation zone — it is Putin's decision, and it will be implemented," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
🚨🇵🇰 Pakistan Navy commissions first Hangor-class submarine
The ceremony in Sanya, China, was attended by Pakistan's President, Asif Ali Zardari, and the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Naveed Ashraf.
President Zardari termed the commissioning of the Hangor a historic milestone in the Pakistan Navy's modernization and defense posture.
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🚨🇺🇸 US Army eyes Dark Eagle hypersonic missile for potential use against Iran - report
Seeking to hit Iranian ballistic missile launchers hidden deep inside the country—beyond the 480‑km range of its Precision Strike Missile—the US Army intends to unleash the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile, according to a US media report.
The move, if approved, would mark America’s first-ever deployment of hypersonic weapons— far later than similar systems deployed by Russia and China.
The Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), known as the "Dark Eagle" missile, has been in development since 2017.
Despite a budget exceeding $700M, the LRHW has failed at least five tests since 2021.
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