Russia-Ukraine War and Geopolitical Tensions Dominate News

New Ukrainian tactics for extreme overload of Russian air defenses fail — soldier The unit's fighters have personally seen that the Moscow-made Yolka interceptor drone is capable of countering Ukrainian UAVs in various situations

Moscow to protect Transnistrian Russians, respond to use of its assets to fund Kiev — MFA Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that Kiev’s nervous reaction to the issue of Russian citizenship for Transnistrian residents was inappropriate

FACTBOX: What is known about development of Ladoga aircraft Information about the suspension of the TVRS-44 Ladoga turboprop aircraft project is incorrect, as no such decisions have been made at the current stage of development, Ural Works of Civil Aviation reported

Nuclear triad to continue to guarantee sovereignty of Russia, Belarus — Putin The Russian president mentioned the growing tensions in the world and the emergence of new threats and risks

West to sacrifice Baltic states, Finland, Poland, Romania after Ukraine — diplomat According to Rodion Miroshnik, the approach to warfare on the part of the Western countries is deeply cynical

European Commission recognizes Russia's economic resilience — expert According to Vladimir Yeremkin, the EC forecast exaggerates the positive impetus from instability in the Middle East and does not fully account for the scale of monetary tightness imposed by the Bank of Russia itself

Network of labs modernized under Pentagon’s program operates in Ukraine — expert Igor Nikulin added that, judging by documents, "a conclusion can be drawn that local specialists gathered, studied and artificially boosted tuberculosis pathogens with high resistance to antibiotics"

Russian troops deliver nuclear warheads to missile brigade in Belarus during major drills The personnel of the missile brigade of the Republic of Belarus are practicing combat training assignments of receiving special munitions for Iskander-M theater missile systems, loading launch tubes with them and stealthily advancing to the designated area to prepare for launches

Russia condemns US pressure on Cuba aimed at government change — MFA "It seems that everything possible is being done to signal the possibility of an armed intervention in Cuba," the Russian Foreign Ministry said

Budapest links relations reset with Kiev to resolution of Hungarian minority issue Hungary’s Prime Minister Peter Magyar said that improving the situation with the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia was regarded as an essential condition for the launch of negotiations on Ukraine’s EU accession

US brought diplomatic property talks with Russia into stalemate — diplomat Sergey Ryabkov stressed that Americans have brought to a dead end negotiations not only on this subject, but on other related matters as well

Baltic states to be punished for assisting Ukraine in attacking Russia — MP Speaking about Lithuanian threats against Kaliningrad, Leonid Slutsky noted that by making such statements the "hotheads" in the Baltics "are drawing fire not only upon themselves, but also on Europe as a whole"

Trump says not trying to intimidate Cuba by sending aircraft carrier to Caribbean Sea On March 5, the US president announced Washington's intention to develop a further course of action regarding Cuba after the conclusion of military operations against Iran

Russian drone detectors upgraded to detect Ukraine’s Martian UAVs — developer The developer noted that these AI-powered drones had been spotted on the line of contact at the beginning of the year, and now the Ukrainian armed forces had increased their use

Bank of Russia’s gold reserves in ounces fall to their lowest level since February 2022 In February 2022, the monetary gold reserves of the Bank of Russia also amounted to 73.9 million troy ounces

IN BRIEF: Kremlin spokesman speaks on Putin-Xi talks over tea, US pressure on Cuba Dmitry Peskov said that the US blockade of Cuba was having catastrophic consequences for the island’s people

Palestine withdraws its diplomat’s candidacy for post of UNGA Vice President The spokeswoman for the office of the 80th session’s president, La Neice Collins, noted that the UN General Assembly’s presidential office has received a nomination for this post from Lebanon

Nine districts of Kherson Region completely out of power after Ukrainian drone attack Governor Vladimir Saldo said that utility workers are doing their best to restore power supply as quickly as possible

Reaction to Putin’s China visit, clear message to world, failure to isolate Russia According to former CIA analyst Larry Johnson, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are signaling to the West that they are establishing a new world order free from its dominance

Brent crude oil price drops below $103 per barrel for first time since May 8 By 8:56 p.m. Moscow time, Brent was down 2.53%, trading at $102.36 per barrel

Russia sees no reason to theorize about less intense dialogue with US — senior diplomat Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also adeed that "nothing is impossible, but success here will require both parties to demonstrate political will and a realistic approach"

Pakistani officials to visit Tehran soon to help broker settlement — top US diplomat The US president’s preference is to do a good deal, Marco Rubio emphasized

Russia not out to force Kiev into talks — diplomat While the Europeans and the Americans "are not very much concerned about Ukraine’s future," the Ukrainian population should care about their country’s destiny, Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large for the crimes of the Kiev regime Rodion Miroshnik stated

Eurozone public debt to exceed 90% of GDP in 2026, reach euro crisis level in 2027 The European Commission attributed these figures to rising energy prices caused by the war around Iran, but made no mention of any connection between these numbers and military financing for Ukraine

Russian forces readied for missile launches during nuclear drills — top brass Overall, the drills involve over 64,000 military personnel and more than 7,800 pieces of armament, including over 200 missile launchers, more than 140 aircraft, 73 surface ships and 13 submarines

Ukraine has to make painful concessions to achieve peace — media The news outlet noted that the imbalance in resources between Russia and Ukraine has always meant that Kiev would never be able to succeed

World to face crisis like in 2008 if Strait of Hormuz remains closed — Bloomberg Acccording to the analysis by Rapidan Energy Group, if the Strait reopens in July, an average oil demand reduction of 2.6 million barrels a day and the spot-market price for benchmark Brent crude peaking near $130 a barrel over the summer could be expected

Zelensky ready to 'burn down Ukraine' for his survival as politician — Russian senator Alexander Voloshin highlighted that the Zelensky team had destroyed a whole generation of Ukrainians with his decisions

US arrests sister of Cuban conglomerate GAESA’s head Marco Rubio claimed that Adys Lastres Morera "was managing real estate assets and living in Florida, while also aiding" the Cuban government until the US administration terminated her permanent resident status

EU, NATO will never admit Ukraine — Russian expert The countries in these alliances understand they will have to feed and rebuild Ukraine, which they don’t want to do, Georgy Muradov said

FACTBOX: Aftermath of Ukrainian drone attack on Russian regions, casualties in Syzran Two people died and several others were injured in a drone attack on the city of Syzran in Russia’s southeastern Samara Region

Senior Russian diplomat explains what Russia means by 'spirit of Anchorage' It's about the atmosphere of trust that emerged between the presidents of Russia and the US, which, in the context of last year’s Alaska summit, allowed to shape the basic contours of the Ukrainian peace process, Sergey Ryabkov said

Putin announces ballistic, cruise missile launches as part of military drills The Russian leader said that Moscow and Minsk will work through a wide range of tasks, primarily the actions of officials regarding command and coordination in the use of nuclear weapons

EU leaders urge Zelensky to investigate Yermak’s case for EU membership — Zeit According to the newspaper, immediately after the corruption scandal came into the spotlight in November, heads of several European countries urged Vladimir Zelensky to fully investigate the matter and take appropriate measures if necessary

US approves possible sale of equipment for HAWK SAMs to Ukraine worth $108.1 mln According to the US Department of State, the Kiev government requested to buy spare parts, maintenance and service support, as well as repair and return support

West's current aggression stems from decline in influence, fear of competition — Lavrov Sergey Lavrov also noted that "the financial and economic system led by the West after World War II can no longer function in a way that guarantees continued benefit for Western countries"

No fuel shortages on Russian market, country prepared for demand growth — Energy Ministry According to the ministry, particular attention is being paid to meeting the needs of the agricultural sector during the sowing campaign period

US companies looking forward to return to Russian market — senior diplomat Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov that the United States continues to conduct the policy of sanctions on Russian partners by prohibiting them from buying Russian fuel and preventing cooperation in other areas

US lost almost 20% of its MQ-9 Reaper drones during operation against Iran — Bloomberg The agency estimates the overall damage at $1 billion

Rubio’s new lies aimed at provoking aggression against Cuba — foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla emphasized that "Cuba is not, nor has it ever been, a threat to the national security of the United States"

Enemy drone attacks on college building in Starobelsk in LPR leave 35 wounded — official According to LPR head Leonid Pasechnik, there were 86 children aged between 14 and 18 in the building at the time of the attack