Ukrainian truckers protest against mobilization law

Dozens of trucks blocked a key highway connecting capital Kiev and the port of Odessa on Saturday.

“We need to staff the reserves,” Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in an interview with AFP on Friday, explaining measures taken to bolster the country’s ranks. “A large number” of Kiev’s brigades “are empty,” which doesn’t allow for the “normal rotation” of troops, he complained.

Dozens of trucks blocked a key highway connecting Ukraine’s capital Kiev and the port city of Odessa, the outlet reported on Friday.

According to a video posted on Telegram by one of the participants of the protests, the drivers came from all over Ukraine, representing Kiev, Odessa, Nikolaev, Vinnitsa, Cherkassy, Ivano-Frankovsk, Chernigov and other cities.

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Russia ‘done’ with Western Europe ‘for at least a generation’

An “acute phase of the military-political confrontation with the West is in full swing,” Moscow’s foreign minister has said.

Top Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly described Moscow’s ongoing military conflict with Kiev as a proxy war waged by NATO against Russia. Evidence of this, the Kremlin says, is the material aid, the training, and the intelligence that the US and many European countries have been providing to defend Ukraine.

Speaking on Saturday, Lavrov cited an article by Russian political scientist Dmitry Trenin, who has written that “Europe as a partner is not relevant for us for at least one generation.” The minister said that he “can’t help but agree” and that Moscow is “feeling this in practice almost daily.” The senior Russian diplomat also claimed, without elaborating, that “many facts speak in favor of such a prognosis.”

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The Iranian President's helicopter has not been found near the village of Uzi for three hours.

— 40 rescue teams were sent to search for Ibrahim Raisi.

— Whether the president is alive is unknown. The first reports that he was fine were removed from all Iranian news sites.

— US officials suggested that Raisi was killed. The United States media stated that the incident was reported to Biden.

— If the head of Iran is dead, his place will be taken by Vice President Mohammad Mahbar.

— Iranian TV channels show how thousands of people pray for Raisi in all the mosques of the country.

— A post appeared on the official account of the head of the Islamic Republic asking him to continue to pray for the president.

— The Iranian Red Crescent has arrived at the Mi-171 crash site.

— It began to rain in the area of the search operation, and the fog began to dissipate.

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UK says it doesn’t want ‘direct conflict with Russia’

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has said this is the reason why Western nations do not shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Shapps had said Britain has no problem with its weapons being used by Ukraine to strike the peninsula, which joined Russia in 2014 following a referendum. Most countries, however, do not recognize this territory as Russian. Earlier this month, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also gave the green light to UK-made weapons being deployed to conduct attacks deep inside Russia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry responded by summoning the British ambassador and warning that Moscow reserves the right to retaliate against “any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and beyond.”

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Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have died in a helicopter crash in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.

The helicopter carrying President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation crashed on Sunday in the Dizmar forest, nestled between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province.

It was transporting Raeisi, Amir-Abdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati, Friday Prayers leader of the city of Tabriz Seyyed Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem and a member of the president’s bodyguard team Mahdi Mousavi. The helicopter’s pilot, co-pilot and crew were also among others on board the chopper.

President Raeisi and his accompanying delegation were returning from a ceremony to inaugurate a dam on the Aras River with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

Following the announcement of the martyrdom of Raeisi and his team, the cabinet held an emergency session headed by Vice President Mohammad Mokhber.

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President Bashar al-Assad offered his condolences to Ayatollah Imam Ali Khamenei, Leader of Iranian Islamic Revolution, and to friendly Iranian government and people on demise of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and their companions.
In a message, President Al-Assad affirmed Syria's solidarity with Iran and with families of late deceased and his comrades, expressing regret and condolences for this painful incident and great loss resulted from it.
"President Raisi’s dedication to his career and performance of his responsibilities brought him to East Azerbaijan Province to inaugurate a project for his country, making him a martyr for sake of duty," President al-Assad said.
The President added “We worked with late President to ensure that strategic relations between Syria and Iran remains prosperous, and we will always remember his visit to Syria as an important milestone in this path, and all visions that he presented to enrich relations”

The British court will make a final decision today on the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States.

@Slavyangrad

Moscow expects implementation of agreements with Tehran — senior Russian diplomat

Sergey Ryabkov emphasized that Russia and Iran would continue to develop their relationship gradually, including in terms of the tasks of "strengthening security."

"Of course, we deeply condole with the government and people of Iran over this terrible tragedy as we reaffirm our commitment to close, in-depth cooperation on both bilateral and international issues," Ryabkov said. "And we also hew to the position that all agreements reached earlier will be implemented," he added, taking a TASS reporter’s question about whether cooperation with Russia would be affected following the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The senior Russian diplomat emphasized that Moscow and Tehran would continue to develop their relationship gradually, including in terms of the tasks of "strengthening security."

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Weather Conditions Blamed for Helicopter Crash. Zelenskys Term Expires. Another French Colony Erupts.

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End of Zelensky’s term to have no effect on Russia’s operation

The powers of the current Ukrainian president under the current Constitution expire on May 21.

"No, the special operation continues," Peskov said when asked whether the expiration of Zelensky's term of office might influence the special operation.

The powers of the current Ukrainian president under the current Constitution expire on May 21. There is no legitimate way of extending them. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the issue of the Zelensky presidency’s legitimacy after May 20 should be resolved in Ukraine by its political and legal systems.

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Lavrov welcomes Xi Jinping's proposal for Ukraine conference

The ministers discussed the results of Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to China.

"Sergey Lavrov expressed his gratitude to the Chinese partners for a balanced position on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, welcomed the proposal of Chinese President Xi Jinping to organize a peace conference on the condition of equal participation of Russia and Ukraine, taking into account the legitimate security interests of Moscow and current realities," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministers discussed the results of Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to China. "The Chinese side expressed its gratitude for the choice of the People's Republic of China for the first state visit of the Russian head of state after taking office," the statement said.

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Kiev insists on unattainable demands for settlement

According to Peter Kuznick, Professor of History and Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, Zelensky’s approval rating has dropped to approximately 60%, because "the Ukrainians are tired of war."

He finds it "perfectly understandable why Ukraine would not hold an election" during the special military operation.

"Zelensky can defend this decision under the Ukrainian constitution's ban of elections while martial law is in effect as well as the logistical nightmare that such an election would represent. In the US some right-wing Republicans have been taking Ukraine to task for this decision, but they are in the minority. Zelensky had announced this last year when his approval ratings were still high," the expert said.

Manpower and ammunition shortages persist. The war is being lost. Still Zelensky holds fast to completely unrealistic and unattainable demands," Kuznick underscored.

t.me/ForeignAgentIntel