Putin signed a law to toughen criminal liability for sabotage and terrorism

📍 Sabotage is now punishable by up to 20 years in prison (previously it was 15). The punishment for international terrorism is increased to 12 years from 10;

📍 Responsibility for committing acts that threaten to kill people and are aimed at destabilizing the situation in the country is increased to 20 years (previously it was 15 years);

📍 The minimum threshold of punishment is increased from 5 years to 7 years for facilitation of terrorist activities.

🎙 FM Sergey Lavrov’s news conference following his visit to the US within the framework of Russia’s presidency of the UN Security Council

Key topics:

🔹 On non-issuance of visas to Russian journalists
🔹 Situation in Sudan
🔹 Realization of Black Sea Initiative
🔹 US Presidential Election
🔹 Expansion of NATO to the East
🔹 On detained US citizens in Russia
🔹 On Russia's President visit to Türkiye
🔹 Situation in Ukraine
🔹 Middle East settlement process
🔹 On supplies to Kiev regime depleted uranium shells for Challenger 2 tanks
🔹 On sanctions against Russia imposed by collective West
🔹 Situation in Afghanistan
🔹 On Iran nuclear deal

💬 Sergey Lavrov: Our wish is that no security threats come from the territory of Ukraine. These threats have accumulated there for years, especially after the state coup in February 2014. Another wish of ours is that people who consider themselves Russian speakers, members of the Russian culture and faith, which they have always practiced through the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, will not be subjected to discrimination, persecution and threats of extermination.

• We have long come to the conclusion that we can only rely on ourselves and those who honour their agreements. We will never again rely on those who lie, who constantly deceive others and who try to gain illegitimate unilateral advantage.

• The sanctions against Russia are indeed something that nobody has ever seen or been able to imagine. But for us it is a resolved issue. We have all the capacities to be independent from this sort of behaviour by our Western colleagues who have proven their complete inability to negotiate.

• There are those in the EU who do want to allow Ukraine to join on an expedited basis. That will just show that it has nothing to do with meeting the criteria but that it’s just a geopolitical game of laying paws on as much territory as possible which will belong to no one.

📚 Read in full

Press review: Putin, Erdogan mark Akkuyu NPP milestone and US footprint sours Seoul’s ties
Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, April 28th

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's video address to the participants and organisers of the World Online Conference on Multipolarity (Moscow, April 29, 2023)

Key talking points:

🌐 Today, the movement towards global multipolarity is a fact, a geopolitical reality.

☝️ We see new global centres, primarily in Eurasia, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, grow and achieve impressive success in various fields relying on their independence, state sovereignty and cultural and civilisational identity.

• We are witnessing the continued transformation of the structure of international relations. A striking example of multipolar diplomacy is the work of multilateral associations of a new type such as the SCO and BRICS.

❗️ It makes perfect sense that Washington and its satellites’ efforts to reverse the course of history and make the international community live according to the “rules-based order” they invented are failing. I will mention only one of them, the Westerners’ policy to isolate Russia.

• In today's multipolar world, in the face of cross-border challenges and threats, the only reasonable alternative to confrontation (those who initiate confrontations will lose, too) is to combine the efforts of key global centres on the principles of the UN Charter, including respect for the sovereign equality of states ensured in practice. Everyone needs to recognise the irreversibility of the emergence of a more equitable polycentric international system.

🇷🇺 Russia remains at the forefront of international efforts to strengthen the multipolar, legal and democratic principles of interstate communication. <...> We will certainly continue to closely coordinate our steps with our numerous friends, allies and countries that share our views, including our partners in the #CSTO, the #EAEU, the #CIS, #BRICS, the #SCO and other regional associations of the developing world.

#UNCharterIsOurRules

Kazan prepares for International Games of Future: 300-Day countdown ceremony in Moscow

The Games of Future is a high-tech international tournament that will be held in Kazan, Russia from February 23 to March 2, 2024.

The competition will involve 2,000 athletes from over 100 countries competing in 16 hybrid disciplines that combine traditional sports, esports, and mixed reality technologies.

During the opening ceremony held simultaneously in Moscow and Kazan, a virtual assistant named Marusya, created by Russian technology company VK, was one of the hosts. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a video message emphasizing the games' significance for Russia and the world, and a countdown clock was launched for the 300-day countdown to the games.

Visitors at the event could access augmented reality through a QR code on the clock and view pictographs of the disciplines presented in the games. The countdown ceremony was held in Moscow.

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Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh praised as “excellent” his meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu on Friday, as New Delhi hosted defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. (https://t.me/rusembbd/8233?single)
The two ministers “discussed wide-ranging issues of bilateral defense cooperation,” including the ways in which the Russian defense industry could help New Delhi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Indian Defense Ministry said in a statement  after the meeting.
Singh and Shoigu also “expressed satisfaction over the continued trust and mutual respect between the two countries,” and acknowledged “the unique, long-lasting and time-tested relationship between India and Russia,” the Indian ministry noted.
https://www.rt.com/india/575510-russia-military-excellent-relations/

Dmitry Medvedev responded to Zelensky's aspirations regarding the planned counteroffensive and the "return" of Crimea.
The answer to the "hysterical manifesto of the Kiev regime," according to Medvedev, can only be this:
_ Mass destruction of personnel and military equipment used by the Nazi regime during the counteroffensive, with the maximum military defeat inflicted on the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
_ The complete defeat of the enemy and the final overthrow of the Nazi regime in Kiev with its complete demilitarization throughout the entire territory of the former Ukraine.
_ Carrying out acts of retaliation against key figures of the Nazi regime, regardless of their location and without limitations.

📰 Director of the Foreign Ministry Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control Vladimir Yermakov’s interview with TASS News Agency (April 25, 2023)

Read in full

🔸 Foreign Ministry of Russia is part of the effort to strengthen our national security and strategic stability as a whole

🔸 In the current circumstances, it is impossible to hold any meaningful talks with the United States or the West as a whole. Therefore, we have to give priority attention to containing the destructive aspirations of the West.

🔸 The revamped Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation highlights the need for taking political and diplomatic efforts to create conditions for rooting out the remaining elements of Western domination.

🔸 To ensure lasting stability, we will need to seriously overhaul the shaky architecture of international security. This implies above all the stabilisation of relations among the nuclear states that are permanent members of the UN Security Council

🔸 Russia will continue to use predominantly peaceful means, such as diplomacy and talks, to settle interstate disputes and conflicts.

🔸 However, if non-military methods fail to reach the desired effect and an aggression against us is unavoidable, we reserve the right to use any available method to protect our national security.

🔸 The United States should immediately take specific steps to deescalate tensions and fully give up its hostile course of undermining Russia’s security.

🎥 Russia's MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s remarks at the Global Conference on Multipolarity (Moscow, April 29, 2023)

(ENG subtitles)

Read in full

Key talking points:

• The new Russian Foreign Policy Concept has described, for the first time, and in a systematic way, the principles of a fairer, multipolar world arrangement and has set forth the goal of facilitating its creation. I believe other states will eventually fix similar provisions in their own conceptual strategic documents.

• We live in a world where the media and communications have started playing not just a key role but sometimes a decisive role.

• A uniform centre for information control that some Western elites are striving for does not and cannot exist. In today’s conditions, only polyphonic and compromise voices can be heard.

• Multilateralism based on the genuine sovereignty of nations and the diversity of civilisations will not only facilitate the settlement of political conflicts, the creation of a fair order for all and every participant in international communication, and a resistance to attempts to establish diktat and hegemony.

#UNCharterIsOurRules

Ukrainian sources published a video where they killed a civilian with artillery despite him seeing the drone and affirming he is unarmed and a civilian

This girl, Masha, was born during the war (2015) and died during the war waged by the Kiev regime.

Two days ago, as a result of shelling by Ukrainian terrorists, the first-grader of School 57 in Donetsk was burned alive on a bus along with her grandmother, who worked at the same school as a janitor.

@ukraine_watch

Congratulations on the International Workers' Day!

During the early hours of May 1, 1945, soldiers of the Soviet Red Army scored a symbolic victory against the Nazi German forces in Berlin, planting the Victory Banner on top of the Reichstag building.

The banner was planted during the final stages of the battle for the German capital, with the Nazi troops surrendering shortly afterward. It also came not long after the infamous Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler committed suicide to escape retribution at the hands of the Soviets.

Read the full story of how the Victory Banner was hoisted at the Reichstag

And tomorrow, in 1945, colourised.

Once upon a time, the East & West were allies. (Or were they?)

⚡️ Pursuant to the decision of the President of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has evacuated personnel of the Russian diplomatic mission, offices of the Russian Ministry of Defence and their family members, citizens of the Russian Federation, CIS countries, and a number of friendly foreign states who have applied for assistance in their return home from the Republic of Sudan.

◽️ Military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces were employed for the evacuation.

◽️ Four Il-76 aircraft have delivered more than 200 people and accompanying persons and cargo from the Republic of Sudan to the Russian Federation.

🔹 @mod_russia_en

Researchers warn of fake news apocalypse ahead, fueled by AI

Nearly 50 AI-powered websites have been identified by researchers from NewsGuard as posting inaccurate or fake information disguised as news outlets.

These content farms generate low-quality texts to attract advertising revenues, with some companies paying them to mention their name and enhance their search ranking. While the majority of such sites do not generate profits, they still provide a source of passive income for their owners through programmatic ads.

Experts have raised concerns about the use of AI models that make up facts to produce news-like websites, with one prominent journalist calling it "fraud masquerading as journalism."

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Russia Ramps Up Fertilizer Supply To Asia & Africa

Russian fertilizer company PhosAgro reported this week a significant exports increase to emerging markets in Asia and Africa, in the face of external restrictions.

PhosAgro said its exports of agrochemical products to India saw a five-fold increase in 2022, amounting to 2.7 million tons, while supplies to other Asian countries more than doubled, to 400,000 tons.

According to the company, PhosAgro is Russia’s largest exporter of fertilizers to Africa, with shipments to the continent having increased by a quarter last year to 500,000 tons.

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