The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the decision of Germany to expel Russian diplomats

Berlin decided to massively expel Russian diplomats from the country. This was announced on Saturday, April 22, by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry noted that such actions are aimed at destroying Russian-German relations, including diplomatic dimensions. In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the decision of Berlin.

It is noted that Moscow will give Germany a mirror response to the expulsion of Russian diplomats.

“As a reaction to the hostile actions of Berlin, the Russian side decided to mirror the expulsion of German diplomats from Russia,” the ministry said in a statement.

In addition, the Russian Federation will limit the maximum number of employees of the German diplomatic missions in the country. It is noted that on April 5, German Ambassador to Russia Geza Andreas von Geyr was notified of this during a conversation at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry also noted the violation of the promise of Germany not to tell the media about the next expulsion of Russian diplomats from the country. It is specified that Germany has repeatedly promised not to advertise these actions, however, it has informed the mass sources of information, “the organizations it uses“ controlled leaks ”and disinformation“ stuffing.

On March 27, German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Sasse denied media reports that 30 Russian diplomats would allegedly be expelled from the country.

On March 25, the Focus edition reported that Berlin intends to expel more than 30 Russian diplomats due to suspicions of allegedly recruiting for the purpose of further espionage.

In January, the former Polish ambassador to Russia, Katarzyna Pelchynska-Nalencz, said that in an ideal situation, the countries of the European Union and the United States should “expel” all Russian ambassadors from the territory of their states.

In the same month, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu also urged EU countries to consider expelling even more Russian diplomats.

Last year, Russia faced the mass expulsion of its diplomats from European countries amid a special operation to protect the Donbass.

In turn, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the Kremlin has a negative attitude towards the expulsion of Russian diplomats by the EU countries. According to him, this is a short-sighted step that will complicate communication between countries and will inevitably lead to reciprocal steps.

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BRICS is rising and the unipolar order isn't ready. Photo credit: Brazilian digital artist, loopsieart on Twitter and IG.

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Ukraine needs 10 times more military aid to end the war this year

"We are tanksful to our allies for their military help. But: this is not enough. We urge our partners to cross all "artificial red lines" and allocate 1% of GDP for arms supplies to Ukraine," Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk wrote on Twitter.

Translated from Ukrainian propaganda channel

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Russian billionaires see wealth rise to over half a trillion dollars, Forbes Russia reports

— Russian super rich see fortunes increasing
— Billionaires add $152 billion over past year
— Forbes says Russia has 110 billionaires, up 22

MOSCOW, April 22 (Reuters) — Russia's richest people added $152 billion to their wealth over the past year, buoyed by high prices for natural resources and rebounding from the huge loss of fortunes they experienced just after the Ukraine war began, Forbes Russia said.

Russia has 110 official billionaires in the list, up 22 from last year, according to Forbes' Russian edition, which said their total wealth increased to $505 billion from $353 billion when the 2022 list was announced.

The list would have been longer had not five billionaires — DST Global founder Yuri Milner, Revolut founder Nikolay Storonsky, Freedom Finance founder Timur Turlov, and JetBrains co-founders Sergei Dmitriev and Valentin Kipyatkov — renounced their Russian citizenship, Forbes said.

"Last year's rating results were also influenced by apocalyptic predictions about the Russian economy," Forbes said, adding that the total wealth of Russia's billionaires was $606 billion in 2021, before the war began.

After President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, the West imposed what it casts as the most severe sanctions in modern history on Russia's economy — and some of its richest people — in an attempt to punish Putin for the war.

Putin said the West was trying to destroy Russia and has repeatedly touted the failure of Western sanctions to destroy the Russian economy, or even stop Western luxury goods — let alone basic parts — from ending up in Russia.
...
The price of Urals oil, the lifeblood of the Russian economy, averaged $76.09 per barrel in 2022, up from $69 in 2021. Fertiliser prices were also high last year.

Andrei Melnichenko, who made a fortune in fertilisers, was listed as Russia's richest man by Forbes with an estimated worth of $25.2 billion, more than double what he was estimated to be worth last year. Melnichenko could not be reached for immediate comment on the Forbes ranking.

Vladimir Potanin, president and biggest shareholder of Nornickel (GMKN.MM), the world's largest producer of palladium and refined nickel, was ranked as second richest in Russia with a fortune of $23.7 billion. Potanin could not immediately be reached for comment on the Forbes ranking.

Vladimir Lisin, who controls steelmaker NLMK (NLMK.MM) and was ranked last year as Russia's richest man, was placed third in the Forbes Russia list with a fortune of $22.1 billion. Lisin could not be immediately reached for comment on the Forbes ranking.

Many Russian billionaires cast Western sanctions as a clumsy, and even racist, tool.

Building fortunes as the Soviet Union crumbled, a small group of tycoons known as the oligarchs persuaded the Kremlin under late President Boris Yeltsin to give them control over some of the biggest oil and metals companies in the world.

The privatisation deals often propelled the tycoons into the league of the world’s super rich, earning them the enduring dislike of millions of impoverished Russians.

But under Putin, some of the original oligarchs, such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Boris Berezovsky, were stripped of their assets, which eventually ended up under the sway of state companies often run by former spies.

New Russian names in the Forbes list include billionaires who made their money in snacks, supermarkets, chemicals, building and pharmaceuticals, indicating that Russian domestic demand has remained strong despite the sanctions.

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💢 Former Soviet countries (like Ukraine) have no effective status in international law — neither their borders nor their existence have real status, says Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye.

Lu Shaye also said on French television that Crimea was "originally Russian".

The Chinese ambassador, answering the host's question about whom Crimea belongs to said that “Crimea was originally part of Russia. It was Hruschyov who offered Crimea to Ukraine, but during the time of the Soviet Union”.

He also added that the former Soviet countries "have no effective status in international law" because "there is no international agreement that would materialize their status as sovereign countries".

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Jesse Ventura:

"Please explain to me the difference between Putin's invasion of Ukraine and our invasion of Iraq...why was ours considered OK and Russia's not?"

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🪵🪓

US Army 🇺🇸
vs
Lukashenko 🇧🇾

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Trench battle of Ukrainian soldiers with "Wagner" fighters near Bakhmut/Artemovsk.

From Ukrainian propaganda channel

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"Nazis, fascists and other trash and forces of destruction are trying to rewrite our history, deny our contribution in the Victory, justify their crimes of the past and present time and through the conflict in Ukraine they are trying to drag us into the third world war," — Lukashenko.

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Armed Forces of Belarus began to put in order the starting positions for "Topol"

MINSK, April 23 — RIA Novosti. Belarusian servicemen are putting in order the launch positions of the "Topol" missile system, the press service of the Belarusian Defence Ministry said.

“Belarusian servicemen have begun seasonal work on the improvement of facilities where units of the strategic missile forces were previously based. Previously, combat starting positions were used to deploy the "Topol" mobile ground-based missile system,” the ministry said.
The Ministry of Defence explained that the personnel of the Armed Forces are landscaping the territories after the winter period, and are taking measures to maintain the infrastructure in good condition.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow and Minsk had agreed to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The head of state stressed that Russia would not violate international obligations and would do the same as the United States has been doing for decades by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Europe.

At the end of March, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced that he ordered the restoration of sites for the "Topol" complex in the republic. According to him, if necessary, Russia and Belarus will agree on the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons in the country.
"Topol" is a ground-based strategic missile system in which self-propelled launchers with missiles can move on low-grade roads or off-road, and its use is carried out from specially prepared starting positions.

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Deripaska told what will happen to the dollar in 5 years

The dollar will cease to be the dominant currency in the world in five years, as Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska commented on the publication of Bloomberg with the words of former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Sammers.

“Some 5-7 years ago, the dominance of the dollar in world settlements and financial transactions seemed absolutely unshakable. But now, after this dominance, this superiority has been used as a weapon of retaliation against all dissenters without any legal assessments — the same sanctions against companies that employ tens, hundreds of thousands of people — this domination is starting to come to an end very quickly.
The figures for the reduction in settlements in dollars are so impressive that they even had to pull up old Summers so that he could confidently, gruntingly, say, without any arguments: “Well, no. Dominance will be eternal.” Somehow, to be honest, I can't believe it.
Already in 5 years the world will be more balanced, calculations will be diversified, crypto-digital currencies will be compatible.
Yes, at the beginning it will be hard, but then the world will discover a new quality. But it will already be a world without a hegemon.
The only pity is that our enslaving financial system will drag us down for a long time, hanging like a heavy weight of expensive loans in the Russian economy,” he wrote in his Telegram channel.

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The profit of the leading airlines reached a record 88 billion rubles

The net profit of S7 Airlines grew 2.3 times and reached 34.4 billion rubles, and the profit of Ural Airlines increased 2.5 times to 13.5 billion rubles, which was a record for both companies in at least six years . The profit of Pobeda increased by 4.4 times, reaching the maximum level of 15 billion rubles in the history of the carrier.

After the imposition of sanctions against the Russian Federation, Aeroflot and its subsidiary Rossiya stopped disclosing financial statements, the newspaper recalls. In 2021, they recorded a net loss of 45.6 billion and 382 million rubles of net income, respectively.

According to experts interviewed by RBC, airlines' profits grew due to government subsidies and cost optimization. State support in 2022 amounted to a record 172.3 billion rubles, with 100 billion rubles. were allocated to support domestic flights. The funds were distributed among 32 airlines, half of which was received by the Aeroflot group.

Thanks to subsidies, it was possible to prevent the rise in ticket prices, while maintaining the availability of air transportation for the population. And the seat occupancy rate rose to 84% (+2.5 p.p.). Deferred lease payments, the end of costly aircraft maintenance abroad, and the use of stocks of spare parts instead of buying new ones also played a role.

Earlier, the Ministry of Transport requested government subsidies for domestic airlines for transportation in the summer season, Vedomosti wrote. For the winter season (November 2022 — March 2023), airlines were allocated RUB 25.3 billion, which made it possible to transport 27.4 million passengers within the country. The agency fears that due to the lack of subsidies to carriers, prices for flights in the summer schedule will increase.

In Q1 2023, Russian airlines increased passenger traffic by 4.5% to 20.7 million compared to the same period in 2022, and as of April 16, airlines carried 24 million passengers, 709,000 more than planned. The forecast for passenger traffic for the whole of 2023 is 101 million passengers, Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev said at the end of March.

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Special Forces of the 6th Army of the Western Military District sends another "digger" into low Earth orbit.

Translated from RazvedDozor
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George Orwell, English novelist 
 
'Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind,’ wrote George Orwell, English novelist, essayist, and critic. His real name was Eric Arthur Blair, but his first book, 'Down and Out in Paris and London,' appeared in 1933 as the work of George Orwell (the surname he derived from the River Orwell in East Anglia, England).

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Pevkur: it will take another month before the start of the Ukrainian offensive

According to Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur, the biggest obstacle to the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive remains rainy weather, and it will take at least a month before active hostilities begin.

Pevkur said this in an interview with ERR after the meeting of the Ukrainian Support Group at the Ramstein military base in Germany.

"If you listen to the opinions [voiced at the base] Ramstein, then it may be another month before we can talk about a real counteroffensive. If the weather changes, it may happen earlier. If not, then it will take a month, maybe two," Pevkur said.

According to him, the obstacle at the moment is not the absence, for example, of Abrams tanks, but the weather conditions in Ukraine.

“The Abrams tanks are not decisive in the spring offensive. The Leopard coalition [of countries that provided tanks to Ukraine] was strong, and quite a lot of equipment has already been transferred to Ukraine, and quite a lot of it is on the way there. The biggest obstacle to the counteroffensive, which is probably the weather is rather rainy, and this makes it difficult for heavy equipment to move. Ukrainians are more likely to wait for the weather to improve in order to start a larger-scale liberation of the territories," Pevkur said.

He added that the meeting in Germany also discussed the issues of education of Ukrainians in Western countries.

"We also focused on how the training of the nine brigades that formed the Allies was; on what kind of equipment the nine brigades that partly arrived in Ukraine and partly arrive. The Western Allies taught Ukraine at a fairly high level how to conduct a counteroffensive. Information and coordination under the American leadership were quite impressive. And we looked at what needs might arise when the Ukrainian counterattack begins, "said the head of the Estonian military department.

According to Pevkur, in addition to air defence, the Ukrainians are in great need of ammunition. There are also specific needs, including heavy trucks and trailers. The issue of providing Ukraine with Western-style fighters is also being considered.

"The allies have a very accurate idea of what the Ukrainians need," Pevkur said.

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Saldo denied reports of a Ukrainian foothold on the left bank of the Dnieper

SIMFEROPOL, April 23 — RIA Novosti. The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have any bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper, said the acting governor of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“I officially declare that as of April 23, there are no enemy bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper near Aleshki, as well as in any other places on the left bank of the Kherson region or on the Kinburn Spit. Our military is in full control of the territory,” he stressed. He.
According to Saldo, there may be cases of enemy sabotage groups landing, which manage to take a selfie on the left bank before being covered by artillery or thrown into the water by Russian fighters.

The politician noted that false reports about the footholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the left bank are spreading Ukrainian resources, trying to misinform and demoralize the population of the liberated territories.

“Unfortunately, due to the desire for sensationalism or lack of experience, some of our information platforms are caught on this bait. I urge all media workers and bloggers to trust only official sources, double-check information before publishing this kind of “sensation,” said Saldo.

Kherson region became part of Russia following a referendum. The Ukrainian side does not recognize its legitimacy and continues to shell the region. Under the control of Russia is 75% of the territory of the Kherson region, and the right bank of the Dnieper, including Kherson, is held by Ukraine.

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Interception of a conversation between Ukrainian Armed Forces militants who decided to shoot a wounded soldier of Wagner PMC
04/23/2023 at 12:55 pm

- Cerberus, we smoked him out of the fag hole. What to do with it?
- Is he alive?
- Yes, alive, 300th. (300 — code word for wounded)
- Shoot him nah.
- We do not take prisoners, finish him.
- I told the boys so, look back, our boys also wanted to live.
- Don't stand any ceremony with anyone, shoot them all...

Translated from RVvoenkor

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No more taking prisoners in Bakhmut, — head of Wagner PMC

E. Prigozhin's comments about the audio interception of the conversation of the UAF militants, where they decide to shoot the wounded soldier of the PMC "Wagner" and not take anyone prisoner:

"Of course, I have heard this audio interception long before it got into the media. I can say one thing, that this audio intercept about Ukrainians shooting our wounded prisoners has a very serious humanitarian significance. And we will never violate international laws of humanism. And the law of humanism begins from the moment you take a person prisoner. Take him prisoner, start taking care of him, treat him, do not injure him and return him home after some time, by exchange or just if you like it. We have returned POW sometimes just like that. Therefore, we will not violate the rules of humanism. And we will simply destroy everyone on the battlefield. Therefore, this law will be called the law of the 300th. We still do not know the name of our wounded guy, who has been shot by the Ukrainian scoundrels. And we will kill all those who are on the battlefield. We will not take a single prisoner anymore."

Translated from RVvoenkor
Also, a voice message from E. Prigozhin, as an evidence.
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