Putin is sitting on the podium of the parade next to the presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan - his closest allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

To the right of Lukashenko sits his son, Nikolai.

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At the parade in Moscow, soldiers from North Korea, who fought in the Kursk region, are marching in a separate column.

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You will be able to find the following East Calling exclusives with these hashtags:

#TheWiners

-for all of the content related to "The Winers" featuring Ryan

#VneshVrag

-for Mikhail Borkunov's posts (also his colleagues' works)

#EastCallingTranslations

-for Russian videos which Jelena translates herself.

#MaratBattlefieldSummaries

-for the reports from Marat Khairullin

#EastCallingInterviews

-for our exclusive interviews with our special and often recurring guests.

#MomentofZin

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We may add more later!

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Maria Zakharova responded to Merz, who promised Fico a "conversation" about his trip to Moscow for Victory Day instead of Europe Day:

"There would have been no Europe Day without the victory of the Soviet people. There would have been just one continuous concentration camp with gas chambers," - said Zakharova to RIA Novosti.

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🔥 Over the past 24 hours, the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out 676 shellings of our troops' positions using artillery, multiple rocket launchers, mortars, and tanks, the Defense Ministry reported.

🔴There were 6,331 drone strikes. Ukrainian forces launched eight attacks on Russian units' positions.

🔴The Armed Forces of Ukraine also attacked civilian targets in Crimea, Belgorod, Kaluga, Kursk, Rostov regions, and Krasnodar Krai with drones.

🔴In total, in the area of the Special Military Operation, 16,071 ceasefire violations were recorded.

🔴Under these circumstances, the Russian Armed Forces responded symmetrically to ceasefire violations. They carried out retaliatory strikes against fire positions of multiple rocket launchers, artillery, and mortars. They also hit command posts and drone launch sites.

🔴The Russian Armed Forces continue to strictly observe the ceasefire and remain on the previously occupied positions.

Source: Zvezda
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"Now they will start calling and asking what was said, what was said". Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico expects significant interest from EU member states in his meeting with Putin.

Source: TASS
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The US Air Force's F-35A Lightning II fighter jet sent a distress signal and disappeared from radar while approaching the Arabian Peninsula, according to data from the Flightradar24 service.

Source: RIA Novosti
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The head of the Estonian Defense Ministry called on Ukraine to "keep its UAVs away" from the country's territory.

He noted that Ukraine should control UAVs using drone self-destruction technology. Earlier, there were reports of crashed Ukrainian UAVs in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. These incidents continue unabated.

Source: TASS
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The situation with Iran has led to problems with global supplies of sulfuric acid, causing a sharp rise in its price, according to the Wall Street Journal. Sulfuric acid is used for creating fertilizers, leaching copper and other metals.

"The war in the Persian Gulf and new Chinese export restrictions have led to a sharp rise in sulfuric acid prices and raised concerns about the availability of a chemical that the world relies on for food production, metals, paper, computer chips, and clean water," the newspaper said.

The Wall Street Journal adds, citing Sára Marlowe, a fertilizer pricing expert at Argus, that Chile and Indonesia are likely to be the most affected by China's restrictions on sulfuric acid supplies.

Source: RIA Novosti

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The territory of the "Alabuga" economic zone, where "Gerani" is produced, has expanded by approximately 340 hectares over the year. This was reported by "Radio Liberty," citing a comparison of satellite images from May 2025 and May 2026.

The publication writes that construction of new hangars is ongoing in the northern part of the zone, and new residential and production premises have appeared in the central part over the year. Also, in April 2026, active construction work began on a plot of more than 450 hectares south of "Alabuga". A new road to the complex is also being built there.

Additionally, air defense systems are being strengthened around "Alabuga." Journalists have discovered at least 19 towers on the territory of the complex to counter air attacks, and near the zone, OSINT analysts have noticed a tower for the "Pantsir" air defense system.

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Via ОБОРОНКА:

Uralvagonzavod announced the delivery of armored vehicles to the troops timed to May 9. T-72B3M, T-90M "Proryv," and T-80BVM tanks were sent to the front.

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