US diplomats ‘living in Wonderland’ – Moscow

Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
©Sputnik/Ramil Sitdikov

US calls for Russia to hold talks on ending the Ukraine conflict seem detached from reality and ignore Moscow’s previous attempts to reach a settlement, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on Monday that Moscow’s alleged plans “to erase Ukraine from the map… failed.” He added that he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken note of Western support for Ukraine, “gets the message, and demonstrates a willingness to genuinely negotiate consistent with the basic principles… of the international community and the UN Charter: sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence.”

Responding to Blinken’s remarks later that day, Zakharova said American politicians seem to live in a “mirror world.”

She recalled that in 2014 and 2015, Russia “showed respect for international law” by promoting the now-defunct Minsk agreements, which sought to end the bloodshed in the region by giving the two Donbass republics special status within the Ukrainian state.

Moscow has claimed that Kiev and Western countries never intended to implement the deal in the first place. Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko, ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and ex-French President Francois Hollande have admitted that the primary purpose of the agreements was to help Kiev buy time to build a stronger military force.

Zakharova also noted that Moscow was ready to engage in peace talks in 2022. At the time, negotiations in Istanbul, Türkiye initially made headway, but later collapsed after what Russia claims was interference by then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who allegedly advised Kiev to keep fighting. Johnson has denied the accusation.

The spokeswoman stated that Blinken himself had proposed settling the conflict “based not on international law,” but on the ‘peace formula’ proposed by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, which demands that Russia withdraw all troops from the territory Kiev claims as its own and includes several other clauses that Moscow has rejected as unacceptable.

“Everything has gone haywire in the White House,” Zakharova said.

Moscow maintains that it is open to talks with Ukraine. However, Zelensky signed a decree in autumn 2022 barring negotiations with the current leadership in Moscow. The move came after four former Ukrainian regions voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.

Zakharova should not respond to blinken's ravings, most dignified countries know, the US, UK and the western alliance will maintain their evil mission with all their cunning, spreading slander with false information spread by western media, such as BBC, WP, INSIDERS, BLOOMBERG, etc.

Watch Russian FPV Drones Hammer Ukrainian Positions

The Russian Armed Forces use kamikaze drones, also known as suicide drones or loitering munitions, in their modern warfare arsenal. These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are designed to locate and destroy high-value targets, such as enemy armored vehicles, infrastructure, and troop concentrations.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing Russian servicemen from Battlegroup Tsentr operating FPV drones, destroying Ukrainian positions in the Donetsk People's Republic.

One video shows the work of drone operators in the Semyonovka area, while another shows the work of drone operators in the vicinity of Spornoye.

Footage from the cameras installed directly on the drones shows how they approach the positions of Ukrainian troops. It also shows drones hitting their targets, as recorded by UAVs nearby.

Photos: Russia Presents First US-Made M1 Abrams Tank Destroyed in Special Op Zone

In September 2023, the US confirmed that Abrams tanks had begun arriving in Ukraine. In total, the Biden administration promised to give Kiev 31 Abrams tanks.

Recently, servicemen from Russia's Battlegroup Tsentr evacuated the first US-made M1 Abrams tankfrom the front line in the Avdeyevka area in Donbass.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, on May 1 an exhibition of captured equipment will be opened in front of the Victory Museum on Poklonnaya Hill, featuring, among others, Marder and Bradley IFVs as well as Leopard tanks for a whole month.

The Abrams is armed with a 105 mm M68A1 rifled gun or a 120 mm M256 (Rheinmetall Rh-120) smoothbore gun. Its weight is 54-66.8 tons, depending on modification and configuration.

Take a look at this captured US-made Abrams tank evacuated from the front line in Sputnik's gallery:

©Photo : Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

An M1 Abrams tank destroyed in the special military operation zone

©Photo : Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

On March 6, the commander of a Russian military unit told Sputnik that the Russian forces had destroyed a US-made Abrams for the first time in the Avdeyevka area during a tank battle.

©Photo : Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Attacks by the Russian Armed Forces have resulted in the loss of five of Ukraine’s 31 Abrams tanks.

©Photo : Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The tank was destroyed on the Avdeyevka area.

©Photo : Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

30 pieces of Ukraine’s Western-provided military equipment captured by Russian forces will be on display in Moscow as of May 1.

Watch US-Made M88A1 ARV Arrive at Exhibition of Captured Western Military Hardware in Moscow

The US M88A1 Hercules is a heavy recovery vehicle designed to support main battle tanks like the M1 Abrams. It is specifically engineered to recover, repair, and redeploy damaged or disabled tanks on the battlefield.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing a US-made M88A1 armored recovery vehicle (ARV) arriving at an exhibition of captured NATO weapons taken from the conflict zone.

The main purpose of the ARV is to evacuate damaged tanks from the battlefield – but it appeared to fail at evacuating itself from the front line, since the vehicle was captured by Russian forces near Avdeyevka. The exhibition of captured weapons is being organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow, and will open its doors tomorrow, May 1.

Russian Air Defenses Shot Down Six US-Made ATACMS Missiles

The Russian military shot down six Ukrainian operational-tactical US-made long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles over the previous 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

©Wikipedia/Public Domain

"Air defense means shot down ten Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, six US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles and two French Hammer guided aerial bombs during the day," the Defense Ministry said in a summary.

Earlier, a Pentagon spokesperson told Sputnik that US President Joe Biden quietly directed his national security team to provide the ATACMS to Ukraine as part of the security assistance package announced in March, and that these munitions arrived in April.

The United States kept the ATACMS delivery secret at the time in order to maintain Ukraine's operational security, the spokesman said

Moscow has consistently warned against Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, stressing that they only prolong the conflict and cause more Ukrainian casualties.

The flow of military support to Kiev is becoming increasingly unpopular among Western citizens, but politicians continue to scare them into acquiescence with claims that Russia intends to invade NATO member states.

Russian Forces Liberate Village of Semyonovka in Donetsk People's Republic

©Sputnik/Alexey Maishev/Go to the mediabank

Russian troops have liberated the village of Semyonovka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Ministry of Defense announced.

"Units of the Tsentr Battlegroup, as a result of active operations, liberated the settlement of Semyonovka in the Donetsk People's Republic," the ministry said.

The liberation of Semyonovka allows Russian troops to encircle the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) around the village of Berdychi. Along the Tonenkoye-Orlovka-Semyonovka-Berdychi line, Ukrainian forces attempted to establish a unified defensive line after the liberation of Avdeyevka to gain time to build stronger fortifications in the western DPR.

The Tsentr battlegroup also defeated the formations of the 68th infantry, 23rd, 115th mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the 109th Territorial Defense Brigade, and mercenaries of the "Foreign Legion" in the areas of the villages of Novoaleksandrovka, Arkhangelskoye, Tarasovka and Zavetnoye.

In one day, Russian troops repelled ten counterattacks by assault groups of the 24th, 100th mechanized, 142nd infantry, 98th assault and 68th jäger brigades, and the 78th separate airborne assault regiment in the areas of the villages of Leninskoye, Novhorodskoye, Ocheretino, Semyonovka, Novobakhmutovka, Netailovo, Novokalynovoye and Berdychi.

The Ukrainian armed forces suffered up to 395 military casualties near the settlements of Krasnohorovka and Kostyantynivka in the DPR in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The Yug battlegroup of the Russian armed forces improved their positions along the front line, the ministry said.

"Enemy losses amounted to up to 395 military personnel, three tanks, four armored combat vehicles, two cars, a US-made M198 howitzer, a D-30 gun, as well as a Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station," the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Vostok Battlegroup repelled two counterattacks by Ukrainian forces in the DPR, while Kiev lost up to 125 soldiers, the statement read.

Swiss Daily Speculates Russia Will Liberate Donbass ‘By October,’ Forcing Ukraine to Negotiate

As Russian forces advance steadily in the military op zone, Ukraine has been racking up battlefront failures. Facing a drastic shortage of military personnel, with growing numbers of fighting-age men dying in combat, deserting, or dodging the draft, top commander Oleksandr Syrsky recently acknowledged the “difficult” situation facing Kiev’s forces.

©Sputnik/Konstantin Mihalchevskiy

Swiss German-language daily Blick has speculated that Russia will liberate Donbass by October.

There is a prevailing tenor that “Ukraine will lose the war, the conflict will freeze and we will have to negotiate,” the newspaper cited an assault brigade officer hunkered down near Chasov Yar as saying.

Despite the weapons and ammunition package worth $61 billion promised by the US to Ukraine, senior officers shared pessimistic forecasts with the outlet. According to them, Kiev’s looming rout by Russia’s military can be explained by several reasons.

The Pentagon is poised to supply $1 billion in new military materiel to the Kiev regime. The package includes air defense ammo, artillery rounds, armored vehicles, and other military equipment.

Firstly, Ukraine’s military faces an acute shortage of manpower. Ukrainian brigades fighting on the nearly 1,500-kilometer-long combat line of NATO's proxy conflict are operating at 30-40% personnel strength in many places, as per the report.

“The current mobilization will not save us. Those enlisted and training now will not be with us until October at the earliest. By then we will have lost all of Donetsk,” another Ukrainian officer admitted to the publication.

Ukraine has lost almost half a million soldiers since the beginning of the special military operation in 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier in April. More than 71,000 soldiers and over 11,000 units of various weapons of the Kiev regime have been wiped out since the start of the year, according to Shoigu. Per the defense minister, Russian servicemen have "dispelled the myth about the superiority of Western weapons."

In addition to a new mobilization law coming into force in Ukraine from mid-May, Poland and Lithuania have announced that they will extradite conscript-aged Ukrainian men to the country for military service. But this will not be enough, another of the neo-Nazi regime’s fighters acknowledged.

A shortage of ammunition on the front has left Ukrainian troops with little means to counter advances by the Russian military. “We can hold back the Russians... but not defeat them,” another Ukrainian officer said.

Furthermore, the appointment of Oleksandr Syrsky, who is known by the gruesome nickname "The Butcher," as head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in February has reportedly bred “tensions” on the front. Officers have complained that brigades have been sent on missions with virtually no ammunition and far too few men

Three brigades seemingly scared of Russia's advancing forces that refused to comply with the Ukrainian command's orders were reportedly disbanded. Near Avdeyevka, chaos and lack of equipment led fighters from the 115th Brigade to abandon their position, the report revealed.

Adding to the “Ukraine fatigue” in the West, there is now a new problem for Zelensky and his clique – battle weariness on the Ukrainian eastern front. And the US $61 billion will not be enough to stamp it out, the outlet summed up.

The Ukrainian military is currently in dire straits despite all the billions' worth of Western aid funneled to Kiev. Not only are the armed forces suffering a shortage of personnel, but combat fatigue is fueling a breakdown in discipline. Multiple reports in recent weeks have revealed that Ukrainian troops have been refusing to take orders from the country’s new commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrsky. As for recruitment, draft dodging in the country has soared to new heights of ingenuity. Syrsky begrudgingly acknowledged earlier in April that his forces were backing down amid the “difficult” situation at the front.

Watch Russian Forces Evacuate First US-Made M1 Abrams Tank From Front Line

In September 2023, the US confirmed that Abrams tanks had begun to arrive in Ukraine. In total, the Biden administration promised to give Kiev 31 Abrams tanks.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing servicemen from Russia's Battlegroup Tsentr evacuating the first US-made M1 Abrams tank from the front line in the Avdeyevka area in Donbass.

In March, it was reported that servicemen of Battlegroup Tsentr had destroyed another Abrams tank in the Avdeyevka section of the front line. Now, fighters from Battlegroup Tsentr have successfully evacuated the tank from the front.

Soon it will be displayed at an exhibition on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. It will probably be of better use as a trophy exhibit than fighting on the battlefield, serving as reminder for everyone of Russia's military might and prowess.

Nearly 300 arrested at universities across US as Gaza demonstrations continue

Students gather for a Pro-Palestinian protest at the Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona [Liliana Salgado/Reuters]

Universities across the country turned to forced removal of pro-Palestinian protests and encampments this weekend as more and more students mounted organized opposition to Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza. On Saturday, more than 275 people were taken into custody on campuses from Arizona to Massachusetts.

Police were out in full force on college campuses on Saturday, some using chemical irritants and Tasers to disperse the students, as more universities witnessed protests against the continued bombing of the Gaza Strip and seeking an end to US military assistance for Israel

In Boston, police detained about 100 people while clearing a protest camp at Northeastern University, with social media posts showing security forces in riot gear and officers loading tents onto the back of a truck.

In a statement on X, Northeastern said the area on campus where the protests were held was now “fully secured” and “all campus operations have returned to normal”.

The school said its move came after “what began as a student demonstration two days ago was infiltrated by professional organisers with no affiliation to Northeastern”. It added that detained individuals who produced a valid school ID were released and will face disciplinary proceedings, not legal action.

pic.twitter.com/KLnXgbuymI

— Northeastern U. (@Northeastern) April 27, 2024

Northeastern claimed that “Kill the Jews” was heared at the protests, using the chants to justify the crackdown on demonstrators by security forces.

However, members of the pro-Palestinian protest movement at the university pushed back on those claims, and video posted from the site appears to show people holding Israeli flags using the slur, in an apparent attempt to antagonise pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

BREAKING: Working Mass can confirm that the antisemitic chants were shouted not by encampment organizers, but by pro-Israel counter-supporters. We are waiting on a response from Northeastern about their decision to arrest their own students in light of this new information. pic.twitter.com/Kuq6ryxqly

— Working Mass (@DSAWorkingMass) April 27, 2024

In Bloomington in the Midwest, the Indiana University Police Department arrested 23 people as they cleared a campus protest camp, the Indiana Daily Student newspaper reported.

On the opposite side of the country, the Arizona State University Police Department arrested 69 people for trespassing after the group set up an “unauthorised encampment” on campus.

Arizona state officials said a protest group, “most of whom were not ASU students, faculty or staff”, set up a camp on Friday and ignored repeated orders to disperse.

Pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on trespassing charges at the University of Southern California

Meanwhile, at Washington University in St Louis, at least 80 people were arrested, including US presidential candidate Jill Stein and her campaign manager.

Across the US, university leaders have tried, and largely failed, to quell the demonstrations, which often saw the police intervening violently, with videos emerging from different states showing hundreds of students – and even faculty members – being forcefully arrested.

The protesters have demanded amnesty for students and faculty members disciplined or fired for protesting. About a week ago at Columbia University in New York, more than 100 pro-Palestinian activists were arrested.

What started at the Columbia campus has turned into a nationwide showdown between students and administrators over pro-Palestine protests and the restrictions on free speech.

In the past 10 days, hundreds of students have been arrested, suspended, put on probation and, in rare cases, expelled from colleges, including Yale University, the University of Southern California, Vanderbilt University and the University of Minnesota.

A few universities had to cancel graduation ceremonies, while others have seen their buildings occupied by the protesters.

Students taking ‘big risks’

Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Princeton University in New Jersey, said “the price of protests can be high” for the students occupying college campuses.

“Students are taking some big risks at these protests. If they violate university rules, they can be expelled. And here at Princeton, tuition is over $50,000 a year,” he said. “For many of them, it’s an education they have been looking forward to all their lives.”

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Momodou Taal was among four students whom Cornell University in New York state “temporarily suspended” on Saturday for setting up an encampment on its campus.

He told Al Jazeera the protesting students received threats and were subjected to doxing, which refers to the posting of the personal information of an individual on the internet without their consent. He said such students received no protection from their school.

“We no longer have faith in the administration to be a place safe for Muslim students, for Arab students, for Palestinian students and by and large those students of colour and pro-Palestinian students,” Taal said.

Maysam Elghazali, an organiser of the protests at Emory University in Atlanta, said the demonstrating students had three demands.

“Number one, that Emory disclose all of its financial investments. Number two, that they divest from all Israeli companies, and number three, that they provide continued amnesty and protection to all the students who were unjustly arrested,” she told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, college protests against the “genocide” of the Palestinians in Gaza have also spread to schools in Canada, Europe and Australia.

Canada’s first campus protest camp for Gaza came up at McGill University in Montreal on Saturday.

Broadcaster CBC reported protesters were demanding McGill and Concordia universities “divest from funds implicated in the Zionist state as well as [cut] ties with Zionist academic institutions”.

Russia warns US, NATO against harming its security — diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
©Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

Russia warns the United States and NATO against taking any actions that undermine its security, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We are sending clear and unequivocal signals to the United States and NATO warning them about potentially catastrophic consequences of their policy toward jeopardizing Russia’s security," she said.

"Regrettably, the level of nuclear risks have risen dramatically as a result of the West’s destructive policy, which is fraught with a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers," she said, adding that Russia never stops efforts to ensure nuclear deterrence.

"Apart from that, Russia regularly reviews its doctrines to assess their relevance to the current threats," Zakharova noted. "Thus, the reliability and effectiveness of nuclear deterrence in Russia are ensured at a proper level and should not be doubted."

US, France to Send Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carriers to Souda Base in Greece - Reports

The United States and France are expected to deploy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers at the Souda naval base located on the Greek island of Crete in the next few days, Greek media reported on Friday.

The first to dock will be the US aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is expected to arrive in Souda on April 28 and remain there until May 2. At the same time, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will dock at the naval base on May 2 and will stay until May 7, Greek newspaper Rizospastis, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Greece, reported.

The party's branch in the Greek city of Chania, where the base is located, is reportedly calling on people to gather for a picket on April 29 in a municipal market square.

Souda is home to the largest US naval base in the Mediterranean Sea.

Majority of Global South States Understand Threats Posed by NATO - Lavrov

The majority of the Global South states are aware of the potential threats posed by NATO, as the organization continues to build up its infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.

"Structures are already being created there [in the Asia-Pacific region] that reproduce the NATO psychology, NATO mentality. There are talks of NATO infrastructure penetrating there," Lavron told a joint press conference after a meeting with Bolivian Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa Lunda in Moscow, in response to a question from a Sputnik correspondent.

Earlier in the week, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced talks between the top Russian and diplomats, saying they were to discuss various aspects of Russian-Bolivian cooperation, including the prospectsof Bolivia joining BRICS. The diplomats are also expected to touch upon a wide range of topical issues on the international and regional agenda.

As an example, Lavrov recalled the recent announcement of the NATO-Japan cooperation agreement.

"It seems to me that the overwhelming majority of countries in the world's majority regions, the Global South, understand the dangers this entails, realize that they will be siphoned off funds in the interests of NATO and will use them," the top Russian diplomat said.

The minister said it was much better to take care of one's "household chores" and provide normal education for one's citizens, instead of "playing this geopolitical game, which NATO sees as a zero-sum game."

In April, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a joint statement following talks at the White House that they were looking forward to continuing to work on enhancing the partnership between NATO and Tokyo, and the cooperation between the alliance and the Indo-Pacific Four, which includes Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

Russia Supports Bolivia's Aspirations to Join BRICS

Russia supports Bolivia's aspirations to become a member of BRICS and is interested in having as many countries as possible enter the nine-nation bloc of developing economies, Lavrov underlined.

"Russia supports these aspirations of Bolivia, as this year's BRICS chair, and is interested in ensuring that as many countries as possible that want to get closer to BRICS become either BRICS members or establish stable, permanent partnerships, receive a definite positive response," he told the press conference.

Russia took over the rotating chairmanship of BRICS in January. The club of developing economies grew by four members this year and now comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Russia will hold the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan from October 22-24.

In September 2023, Bolivian President Luis Arce told Sputnik that his country welcomed the accession of new countries to BRICS and hoped to join the bloc as soon as possible.

Top Bolivian Diplomat to Meet With Rosatom, Economy Ministry Officials in Moscow

Bolivian Foreign Minister is expected to hold several meetings with representatives of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Russian Economy Ministry, Sergey Lavrov mentioned.

"The minister will also meet with representatives of our other agencies, including Rosatom and the economy ministry," he noted.

Lavrov expressed confidence that these meetings would actively advance bilateral cooperation and hoped that the parties would have "every reason" to report on this to the heads of state.

26 pilot whales die after mass stranding in Australia

(John Farrell/The Washington Post)

At least 26 long-finned pilot whales have died, but several others were rescued, after 160 of them were stranded over a large area in Western Australia.

Dozens of whales were stuck in shallow water on Thursday morning spread across about 500 metres (0.31 miles) at Toby Inlet in Geographe Bay near Dunsborough. The region is less than 250km (155 miles) south of state capital Perth.

Footage from the area showed wildlife preservation teams and local authorities joined by many volunteers to help them get back to deeper waters.

Pia Courtis, a spokesperson for the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, said samples would be taken from the deceased whales before removing them from the shores.

More than 100 whales were moved offshore, but Courtis said they may return.

“We’ve got vessels out on the water and we’ve also got a spotter plane up in the air that’s doing searches over every couple of hours to see where they are,” she said.

“So far so good, they haven’t made it back to shore.”

The department said that once fully beached, whales usually had to be euthanised as that would be “the most humane outcome”.

There are a further 20 whales in a pod about 1.5km offshore. Another pod of about 110 animals are together closer offshore. https://t.co/H26PrW3f2o

— Shark Safety WA (@SharkSafetyWA) April 25, 2024

Mass strandings of pilot whales are not uncommon in Australia and New Zealand. But after decades of such events, scientists do not fully understand why they occur. Some researchers think pods go off track after feeding too close to shore.

Pilot whales – which can grow to more than 6 metres (20 feet) long – are highly sociable, so they may follow podmates who stray into danger.

Some stranding incidents have been linked to underwater noise pollution caused by humans, which could affect the animals’ sensitive hearing.

Wildlife experts have said the whales’ unusual behaviour could also indicate stress or illness within a pod. Pilot whales often maintain close relationships with their pods throughout their lives.

About 500 pilot whales died when they beached on New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands in 2022.

The latest mass stranding event in Western Australia occurred at Cheynes Beach in Albany in July 2023, where at least 90 of the mammals died.

The largest beaching of whales in Western Australia took place in Dunsborough in 1996 and involved 320 long-finned pilot whales. All but 20 of the animals were rescued and escorted back into deeper waters.

Authorities have asked people not to attempt to rescue the whales without direction from experts as they may cause further injury to the animals, hinder coordinated rescue efforts, or hurt themselves.