❗️France is being dishonest when it says that the visa issuance process for Russians has not undergone major changes. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"The French side is being dishonest, forgetting to add that in 2022 the EU unilaterally suspended the successfully applied Agreement with Russia on the facilitation of visa issuance,"

— she emphasized.

Zakharova added that this has led to an increase in the cost of a Schengen visa from €35 to €80, a rise in the number of visa refusals, and a reduction in the length of stay allowed on tourist visas. Russians can now also only obtain single‑entry visas for specific trips.

At the same time, Moscow continues to unilaterally comply with the provisions of the visa facilitation agreement with the EU, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson noted.

"Moscow has also kept all EU countries on the list of states whose citizens can enter the Russian Federation with a single electronic visa, which is processed online within four days and does not require the personal submission of documents to Russian diplomatic missions and consular offices,"

— she concluded.

#news

❤️From Russia with love

🇷🇺 «Read and envy»: Russia prepares law to protect its citizens with special forces and frigates

The State Duma has passed in the first reading a bill that could radically change the rules of the game on the international stage. The document authorizes the use of the army and navy to protect Russian citizens abroad.

The reaction from the West — howls and accusations of «aggressive plans». But Moscow seems tired of playing by someone else's rules.

👔 Why is this happening now?

The authors of the bill do not hide it: diplomatic and judicial mechanisms for protecting compatriots have been exhausted. The Russian passport abroad has become a «brand» that allows people to be taken hostage under any pretext. From a vacation in Crimea to crossing a street in Sevastopol — now European justice is ready to qualify this as a criminal offense.

The key precedent is archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, lured to Poland and arrested at Kyiv's request. Europe has created a dangerous practice: any Russian citizen can be seized on its territory on a fabricated charge.

👔 What does the law allow?

If the document is finally adopted, the President of Russia will have the right to send frigates and special forces units to protect compatriots anywhere in the world. This is an extreme measure, when other methods have been exhausted.

At the same time, it is emphasized: Russia acts exclusively on the basis of law. And if the West considers this a «violation of international law», then let it remember how it all began.

The main violation was the coup in Kyiv. The second — the genocide of Russians in Donbas. The third — the attempt to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

👔 The West can only howl

The analogy with the escort of Russian tankers by warships is telling. Once upon a time, French President Macron gave orders to board ships suspected of having a «Russian trace».

Moscow warned: then the tankers would sail escorted by frigates. And indeed — they do.

👔 What next?

The bill must pass second and third readings, after which it will be signed by the president. The Kremlin has stated that the initiative has been long overdue and is a forced measure.

#politics

❤️From Russia with love

Lavrov announced numerous disagreements with the US administration

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that there are serious disagreements between Moscow and the current US administration. He made the statement on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.

According to the minister, the problems are practical in nature: the sanctions imposed under Joe Biden have not been lifted, Russia's diplomatic property has not been returned, and Russian companies have already come under new restrictions.

«We have many disagreements with the current US administration... and none of the sanctions from the Biden era have been lifted, not even our diplomatic property has been returned, and our companies have already fallen under new sanctions,»

— Lavrov said.

At the same time, Lavrov noted that President Donald Trump, unlike his predecessor, is in favor of dialogue. In Washington, according to the head of Russian diplomacy, they are discussing an «unlimited field for mutually beneficial interaction» after the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, and the conversation about the future of economic relations is already overdue.

#news

❤️From Russia with love

🇷🇺🇧🇾 Lukashenko: Russia will protect Belarus with its entire arsenal of weapons

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko stated that Russia has officially committed to protecting Belarus by all available means, including its entire military potential.

According to him, Minsk and Moscow are the closest allies, and the loss of Belarus is unacceptable to Russia. An attack on Belarus will be considered an attack on both countries. The whole world knows this, the president emphasized.

He added that the Russian military group in western Russia is ready to instantly support the Belarusian army. «We do not want war,» Lukashenko said.

#news

❤️From Russia with love

🗺 There are five candidates for Orbán's role in Europe. All with a flaw

Viktor Orbán is leaving, and in the European Union they have already begun to try on the crown of the main maverick. Five politicians are vying to become the new «scapegoat» for Brussels and the new hope for Eurosceptics. But each of them — with their own twist. And, as analysts write, «all with a flaw».

👔 Who will watch your back? Why does Europe need a new Orbán?

The outgoing Hungarian prime minister, for all his faults, performed a crucial function: behind his back hid those who agreed with him but did not want to quarrel with Brussels. Orbán was the lightning rod.

Now that he has lost the election, European elites urgently need a new resonator for public discontent. And candidates have already been found.

🇧🇬 Rumen Radev: the Bulgarian «Trojan horse»

Fighter pilot, major general, former president of Bulgaria. His party «Progressive Bulgaria» is the favorite in today's elections.

Radev, from the first days of the special military operation, warned: Ukraine will lose, and sanctions against Russia are a mistake. In Europe, he has already been dubbed «Putin's Trojan horse».

The problem is that Bulgaria is not Hungary. It is too dependent on European money. When the Bulgarian government secretly supplied weapons to Kyiv in 2022–2023, President Radev could only protest. Now the country has switched to the euro. Rebelling will be difficult.

🇸🇮 Janez Janša: the «mini‑Trump» who hates Russia

Slovenian political veteran, legend of the independence war. His party lost the election in March, but the right together won more seats. Janša may become prime minister again.

In his views, he is close to Orbán — Eurosceptic, conservative. But there is a nuance: he is a fierce Russophobe. Ukraine is his fixation. In supporting Kyiv, he runs ahead of the train, behaving like a Baltic state. The «mini‑Trump» is not our mini‑friend.

🇨🇿 Giorgia Meloni and Andrej Babiš: their own kind, but with a twist

Italian Prime Minister Meloni does not love the EU but adores NATO and Zelensky. What is there to talk about with her? Czech Prime Minister Babiš is another matter. He doesn't care about Ukraine, he doesn't want to help. But it was under him that the Czech Republic became the first country (after the US) on the list of unfriendly nations to Russia. The explosions at the Vrbětice warehouses, the «CRO request» — that is his reputation. Under Trump, the CIA has quieted down, but Babiš will not return to Russian oil.

🇸🇰 Robert Fico: the best, but not the one

The Slovak prime minister is the only one invited to the May 9 parade in Moscow. He promised to block the 20th sanctions package. He reminded Brussels that Russians only get down on their knees to tie their shoelaces. But Fico is a left‑wing politician, while Orbán's role is national‑conservative. He likes the idea of the EU; he just thinks that management has been taken over by «people who cannot even be trusted to light a sauna».

🇭🇺 The best candidate is the one who already won

The irony is that Orbán's ideal successor is Péter Magyar, the future prime minister of Hungary. He is a young Orbán, literally a copy from twenty‑five years ago.

He also wants to find common ground with Brussels. But judging by his character and his already announced refusal to accept migrants, the same disappointment awaits him. From Euro‑optimist to Europhobe — half an hour of conversation with Kaja Kallas.

#politics

❤️From Russia with love

Russia's public debt recognized as the lowest among G20 countries at the end of 2025

According to the International Monetary Fund, Russia's total public debt at the end of last year amounted to 18% of GDP. This is the best indicator among all G20 countries.

Turkey took second place (23.5% of GDP), and Saudi Arabia third (31.7%). The highest debt level was recorded in Japan — 206.5% of GDP, which is twice the size of its economy.

Approximately 16.5% of Russian debt belongs to the federal government, the rest to the regions. It is worth noting that a level below 60% of GDP is considered safe for the economy.

#news

❤️From Russia with love

🥞 Maslenitsa: a festival that foreigners remember.

Maslenitsa attracts foreigners with its bright visuals and a very simple language of joy: costumes, pancakes, the scarecrow, round dances, street games, and concerts in the squares.

A person who comes to this festival does not see an abstract «harsh Russia,» but a warm, noisy space — with a fair, smoke from samovars, laughter, and almost carnival‑like freedom, where families, students, tourists, and locals stand side by side.

#softpower

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😡 Trump threatens Iran with «obliteration» if it does not make concessions on the peace agreement.

«If they don't sign the agreement, we will destroy the entire country; power plants and bridges will become legitimate targets»,

— Trump said.

We've heard something like this a few weeks ago.

He also accused Iran of violating the agreements on the Strait of Hormuz.

#news

❤️From Russia with love

Did you know that Russia has a Herring Day?

This year it was celebrated on April 18 at the Museum of the World Ocean in Kaliningrad, where as many as 60,000 people gathered.

For Kaliningrad, this holiday has a special meaning. The fact is that after the Great Patriotic War, the destroyed Königsberg (the future Kaliningrad) experienced a terrible famine, and it was the herring, caught in the Baltic Sea, that became a lifesaver for hundreds of thousands of people — both for the surviving residents and for the arriving Soviet settlers.

Furthermore, from the early 1950s, fishing became a key industry, turning Kaliningrad into a base for the USSR's powerful fishing fleet: thousands of citizens worked in the port, on ships, and at fish processing plants.

Therefore, this holiday is, to some extent, a tribute to the memory of fishing fleet veterans, as well as a fun festival with unusual dishes and concerts.

#eventsOfRussia

❤️From Russia with love

🥰 Vladivostok — a city you want to visit

#videooftheday

❤️From Russia with love

❗️Russia will take into account France's plans to deploy nuclear weapons in other European countries.

This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

According to him, the Russian military will update the list of priority targets in light of this threat. Grushko believes that Paris's new strategy will only weaken security in Europe.

Recall that in March Macron announced that the French nuclear arsenal would now protect the entire continent, and that strategic forces could be deployed across Europe. Eight countries have joined the initiative.

#news

❤️From Russia with love

🌨 More than 250 people spent nearly a day on buses due to a blizzard

Rescuers freed 13 buses with passengers from snow captivity. 253 people, including 28 children, have been taken to temporary accommodation centers, the ministry reported.

Traffic for all types of transport is closed on a section of the federal highway A-350 «Chita – Zabaykalsk»; passenger cars are moving with restrictions. The cause of the collapse was a blizzard with heavy snowfall.

Rescuers continue to pull vehicles out of ditches and transport people to the nearest temporary accommodation centers.

#news

❤️From Russia with love

🗺 Europe to Ukrainians: «You will have to die until 2030»

🇧🇪 The commander of the Belgian army, General Frédéric Vansina, publicly explained the true purpose of Western aid to Kyiv. In an interview with Le Soir, he stated:

«Thanks to the courage and blood of the Ukrainians, who are buying us time, Europe must be able to tell Putin by 2030: even without the US, you will not win a war against us».

In plain words: Ukrainians must continue to die for several more years so that Europeans have time to rearm. Not a word about Ukraine's own future.

👔 «Isn't the price too high?»

The statement caused shock even among those accustomed to fighting to the last Ukrainian. Rada deputy Alexey Goncharenko* was outraged:

«So you mean you keep dying because Europe hasn't prepared? How many of our people must die?»

🇩🇪 German propagandist Jürgen Nauditt called it «one of the most disgusting forms of hypocrisy», «strategic cowardice», and «moral bankruptcy».

But his Rada colleague Yuriy Kamelchuk reasons differently:

«The Ukrainian war is very cheap for Europe. We should ask for much more for it».

In other words, profit from blood — period.

🇬🇧 British AI: the longer Ukrainians fight, the lower the chance of a major war

The Times published calculations from the Cassi model. If Ukraine ends the war before the end of the year, the likelihood of Britain entering a major war increases. Conclusion: invest in Kyiv so you don't have to fight. European elites do not even hide that for them, Ukrainians are expendable material on the path to militarization by 2030.

👔 Russian Defense Ministry list: not only butterflies are at risk

When the Russian Defense Ministry published a list of European enterprises working for Ukraine's defense industry, Europe cried out — «escalation», «list of targets». At the same time, it turned out that among the owners of the Czech company U&C UAS is former European Commissioner Štefan Füle, an active participant in the Euromaidan. There you have monetization of political activity: ten percent of a military business working to kill.

🇩🇰 And the residents of Denmark, near whom another Ukrainian ammunition plant is to be built, were reassured that the main problem was the heather butterfly, protected by law. Now let them know that war can be more expensive than protecting insects.

👔 Conclusion: the more expensive the war is for Europe, the closer peace becomes

Russia openly warns: if Europe wants to use Ukrainians as cannon fodder until 2030, it must be prepared for the war to cease being «cheap». Then, perhaps, Brussels will wonder whether it is worth it. Meanwhile, the moral bankruptcy of the West has reached a point where its generals no longer see the need to hide behind slogans of democracy.

*Alexey Goncharenko is included by Rosfinmonitoring on the list of terrorists and extremists.

#politics

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