🇷🇺🇿🇦 President of Russia Vladimir Putin congratulated Cyril Ramaphosa on his re-election as President of the South African Republic.

✉️ We highly appreciate your personal contribution to the development of strategic partnership relations between our countries and to constructive Russia-South Africa interaction within the UN, BRICS, G20 and other multilateral organisations.

I look forward to continuing our constructive dialogue and joint work on pressing items on the bilateral and international agenda and to welcoming you to the BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 22–24.

I wish you every success in your responsible office of the head of state, as well as good health and well-being.

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#RussiaSouthAfrica

🕌 President of Russia Vladimir Putin congratulated the Muslims of Russia on Eid al-Adha holiday.

💬 Eid al-Adha marks the end of the Muslim pilgrimage to the ancient religious holy places. It serves to unite people and promote the ideals of mercy, justice and mutual understanding in society, and highlights the profound and enduring spiritual values of Islam.

It is gratifying that the life of the Muslim Ummah in our country is enriched with good deeds and undertakings, and new initiatives in the area of culture, education, and enlightenment. Muslim organisations pay much attention to strengthening the institution of the family and advancing the patriotic education of the rising generations. They provide active assistance to participants and veterans of the special military operation, to their families and friends. Furthermore, they make a significant contribution to promoting unity of our people and fostering inter-ethnic and inter-faith dialogue in Russia.

🇷🇺 President of Russia Vladimir Putin congratulated everyone involved on #MedicalWorkerDay.

💬 Medical Worker Day in Russia is much more than just a professional holiday. It holds significance for every citizen of our country because medical workers are entrusted with the vital task of safeguarding people’s health.

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Today’s holiday is also celebrated by scientists from renowned medical schools, as well as those in fields such as biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. They all contribute significantly to developing advanced methods of treating diseases, new vaccines, and medications.

☝️ I want to highlight that the Russian healthcare system, with its traditions and values, holds significant authority worldwide and continues to evolve each year. Medical institutions in the regions are undergoing modernisation and construction, and advanced technologies and practices are being introduced.

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The importance of medicine cannot be overstated. We all came to deeply understand this during the coronavirus pandemic, witnessing Russian doctors courageously and selflessly fulfilling their medical duties. They fought for the lives of each patient, despite facing immense challenges like fatigue and risks to their own health. This period will be remembered in the history of domestic healthcare as a true testament to the dedication of thousands of doctors, nurses, laboratory assistants, and paramedical personnel in our hospitals and outpatient clinics.

👉 Today, during the special military operation, medical workers continue to demonstrate their best qualities: they save the wounded on the battlefield, provide treatment and care, perform complex surgeries, develop and apply new rehabilitation methods, and strive to uphold the morale of our heroes in every possible way.

I express my gratitude to all military doctors for their exceptional professionalism, courage, perseverance, and unwavering kind-heartedness.

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⚡️ Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the murder of Russian journalist and war correspondent Nikita Tsisagi

💬 On June 16, News.ru war correspondent Nikita Tsisagi was killed in the line of duty in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as a result of a targeted drone attack launched by the armed forces of the Kiev regime. Ukrainian terrorists deliberately sent a drone to swoop on the Russian journalist as he was doing a story in the vicinity of the Nikolsky Monastery off Ugledar.

Deployed in the DPR zone of hostilities since 2022, Nikita Tsisagi was covering Ukrainian artillery, missile and drone attacks on Donetsk, Belgorod, and Moscow. In June 2023, he was awarded the Redkollegia Prize for his story on Shebekino, entitled “Everything is Ablaze, and There is Nothing.”

We express our sincere condolences to Nikita Tsisagi’s family and friends. He died while performing his professional duty.

This is the second, stylistically similar, attack on a media representative within one week.

On June 13, Ukrainian terrorists launched a drone at a NTV filming crew, killing cameraman Valery Kozhin and gravely wounding war correspondent Alexey Ivliyev.

The cruel murder of Nikita Tsisagi is yet another grievous crime committed by the Bandera regime responsible for numerous civilian deaths. We are certain that the murderers will incur a well-deserved punishment.

❗️ We urge the related international organisations and agencies, primarily the Director General of UNESCO, whose direct duty is to respond to attacks on and killings of journalists, to denounce this cold-blooded crime immediately and in the most resolute manner.

#Announcement

State visits of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

#RussiaDPRK 🇷🇺🇰🇵


On June 18–19, Vladimir Putin will pay a friendly state visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the invitation of the Chairman of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un.

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#RussiaVietnam 🇷🇺🇻🇳

On June 19–20, Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) Nguyen Phu Trong.

While in Hanoi, Vladimir Putin will meet with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, President To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

The talks will focus on the current status of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Vietnam in the trade, economic, scientific, technological, and humanitarian spheres, as well as its development prospects. The leaders will also exchange opinions on topical issues on the international and regional agenda.

Following the talks, the sides will adopt a joint statement and sign a number of bilateral documents.

📄 Article by Vladimir Putin in "Rodong Sinmun" newspaper, Russia and the DPRK: Traditions of Friendship and Cooperation Through the Years

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💬 On the eve of my state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, I would like to address the Korean and foreign audience of the "Rodong Sinmun" newspaper to share my thoughts on the prospects for partnership between our states and on their role in the modern world.

🇷🇺🇰🇵 The relations of friendship and neighbourliness between Russia and the DPRK, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and trust, go back more than seven decades and are rich in glorious historical traditions. Our peoples cherish the memory of their difficult joint struggle against Japanese militarism and honour the heroes who fell in it. In August 1945, Soviet soldiers, fighting shoulder to shoulder with Korean patriots, defeated the Kwantung Army, liberated the Korean peninsula from colonisers, and opened the way for the Korean people to develop independently. <...>

The Soviet Union was the first among the world’s states to recognise the young Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and establish diplomatic relations with it. As early as on March 17, 1949, when the founder of the DPRK Comrade Kim Il Sung paid his first visit to Moscow, the USSR and the DPRK signed the Agreement on Economic and Cultural Cooperation, establishing a legal framework for further strengthening of their bilateral interaction. Our country helped the Korean friends to build their national economy, create a healthcare system, develop science and education, and train professional administrative and technical staff.

In 1950–1953, during the difficult years of the Fatherland Liberation War, the Soviet Union also extended a helping hand to the people of the DPRK and supported them in their struggle for independence. Later on, the Soviet Union provided significant assistance in restoring and strengthening the national economy of the young Korean state and in building a peaceful life.

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Today, as before, Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are actively advancing their multifaceted partnership.

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I am convinced that our joint efforts will take our bilateral interaction to a higher level, which will facilitate mutually beneficial and equal cooperation between Russia and the DPRK, strengthen our sovereignty, promote trade and economic ties, people-to-people contacts and, ultimately, improve the well-being of the citizens of both states.

I would like to extend wishes of good health to Comrade Kim Jong Un and those of peace and great success on the path of development – to the friendly people of the DPRK.

📄 Excerpts from an article by President Vladimir Putin in Rodong Sinmun newspaper, Russia and the DPRK: Traditions of Friendship and Cooperation Through the Years

✍️ We highly appreciate the DPRK’s unwavering support for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, their solidarity with us on key international matters and willingness to defend our common priorities and views within the United Nations.

🇷🇺🇰🇵 Pyongyang has always been our committed and like-minded supporter, ready to confront the ambition of the collective West to prevent the emergence of a multipolar world order based on justice, mutual respect for sovereignty and consideration of each other’s interests.

The United States is going out of its way to impose on the world what it calls the “rules-based order”, which is essentially nothing more than a global neo-colonial dictatorship relying on double standards. Nations that disagree with such an approach and pursue an independent policy face increasing external pressure. The US leadership views such a natural and legitimate aspiration for self-reliance and independence as a threat to its global dominance.

The United States and its satellites openly declare that their objective is to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia. They are doing everything they can to protract and further exacerbate the conflict in Ukraine, which they have themselves provoked by supporting and organising the 2014 armed coup in Kiev and the subsequent war in Donbass. What is more, over the years they have repeatedly rejected all our attempts to resolve the situation peacefully. Russia has always been and will remain open to equal dialogue on all issues, including the most difficult ones. I reiterated this at my recent meeting with Russian diplomats in Moscow.

Our adversaries, meanwhile, continue to supply the neo‑Nazi Kiev regime with money, weapons and intelligence information, allow – and, effectively, encourage – the use of modern Western weapons and equipment to deliver strikes on the Russian territory, aiming at obviously civilian targets in most cases. They are threatening to send their troops to Ukraine. Furthermore, they are trying to wear out Russia’s economy with more new sanctions and fuel socio-political tension inside the country.

No matter how hard they tried, all their attempts to contain or isolate Russia have failed. We continue to steadily build up our economic capability, develop our industry, technologies, infrastructure, science, education and culture.

We are pleased to note that our Korean friends – despite the years-long economic pressure, provocations, blackmailing and military threats on the part of the United States – are still effectively defending their interests. We see the force, dignity and courage with which the people of the DPRK fight for their freedom, sovereignty and national traditions, achieving tremendous results and genuine breakthroughs in strengthening their country in terms of defence, technology, science and industry. At the same time, the country’s leadership and its head Comrade Kim Jong Un have repeatedly expressed their intention to resolve all the existing differences by peaceful means. But Washington, refusing to implement previous agreements, keeps setting new, increasingly harsh and obviously unacceptable requirements.

Russia has incessantly supported and will support the DPRK and the heroic Korean people in their struggle against the treacherous, dangerous and aggressive enemy, in their fight for independence, identity and the right to freely choose their development path.

We are also ready to closely work together to bring more democracy and stability to international relations. To do this, we will develop alternative trade and mutual settlements mechanisms not controlled by the West, jointly oppose illegitimate unilateral restrictions, and shape the architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia.