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Military operation in Ukraine

Commanders taken by surprise as Putin visits headquarters in person — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov explained that the head of state visited the headquarters in person "so that officers would not be taken away from commanding troops by travelling to Moscow"

MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. The military command was not informed until the last minute that Russian President Vladimir Putin would personally show up to meetings of the Dnepr and East battlegroups in the zone of the special military operation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Tuesday.

According to him, Putin’s visit to the Kherson Region and the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) was not planned ahead of time. "The commanders were called to a video conference meeting, and they were not aware that Putin would appear in person until the last moment," the Kremlin official said.

Peskov explained that the head of state visited the headquarters in person "so that officers would not be taken away from commanding troops by travelling to Moscow." "After the meeting, they returned at once to their immediate work on the ground," Putin’s press secretary added.

On Monday, Putin visited the headquarters of the Dnepr battlegroup on the Kherson front and the headquarters of the National Guard East battlegroup in the LPR. During his visit, the head of state heard reports from military commanders on the situation on the Kherson, Zaporozhye and Lugansk fronts.

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Vladimir Putin Military operation in Ukraine

Military operation in Ukraine

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The Russian president noted that the US agency had achieved its goal of changing the government but failed to see what it would evolve into

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The Russain leader "stressed that he knew Ebrahim Raisi well and thought highly of him as a reliable partner who made an invaluable personal contribution to expansion of friendly relations between Russia and Iran"

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Iran to hold extraordinary presidential election on June 28 — Election Headquarters

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Russia says its paratroopers seized Ukrainian strongpoint near Andreyevka

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Russian forces reach Gulyapole’s suburbs in Zaporozhye Region

Russian force have advanced to about 1.5 kilometers and are now in Gulaypole’s suburb

Dollar unchanged, euro up to 98.64 rubles on Moscow Exchange

The yuan rose by 0.2 kopecks, trading at 12.505 rubles

Macron must know that Kiev uses French weapons to commit war crimes — diplomat

According to Miroshnik, the Russian foreign ministry calls for bringing Ukraine’s leadership to responsibility "for violating the norms and principles of humanitarian law"

Kiev insists on unattainable demands for settlement — expert

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"

Lavrov to attend meeting of SCO foreign ministers

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Separatist movements in Taiwan doomed to failure — Chinese Foreign Ministry

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DPR’s head calls for eliminating Western combat vehicles supplied to Ukraine

Denis Pushilin noted that the exhibition presents only a small part of what has been destroyed by Russian troops

Finland may open its border with Russia after relevant law is passed — PM

The prime minister cited intelligence data indicating that the situation on the border is unchanged

Two powerful explosions rocks Kharkov

An air raid alert has been in effect in the Kharkov Region for almost eight hours

Sending NATO instructors to Ukraine without Russia’s consent dangerous — expert

As Mark Episkopos notes, sending NATO instructors to Ukraine "without a larger strategy for ending" the fighting would be "a recipe for disaster" and would "bring NATO and Russia within a hair’s breadth of open conflict"

Russia ready to help Iran investigate Raisi’s helicopter crash, Shoigu assures

On May 19, a helicopter carrying the Iranian president crashed in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province

Russia, Brazil actively cooperating within BRICS, G20 — Russian diplomat

Deputy Director of Russian Foreign Ministry’s Latin America department Dmitry Belov stressed that Brazil is Russia’s strategic partner in Latin America

Raisi's death won’t affect development of relations between Russia and Iran — expert

According to Boris Dolgov, relations between Iran and Russia are developing steadily in terms of cooperation

Helicopter carrying Iranian president crashes due to technical failure — news agency

On May 19, a helicopter carrying the Iranian president crashed in Iran's Eastern Azerbaijan Province

Third of Ukrainian troops surrender near Lisichansk, LPR’s envoy to Russia says

According to Rodion Miroshnik, the operation to liberate the LPR would be brought to an end as soon as the operation in Lisichansk was finished

UNSC fails to adopt Russia’s draft resolution on preventing arms race in outer space

Seven out of 15 UN Security Council members, including Russia and China, voted in favor of the resolution, while seven voted against and Switzerland abstained

Russian army engineers remotely destroy over 70 Ukrainian boats in Kherson area

It is reported that the Ukrainian military uses the Ptakhi Madyara group of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) operators who try to remove discovered mines from rivers

Russia urges US to abandon destructive policy course on CTBT — Zakharova

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, "the experiment does not contradict Russia’s understanding of a ‘subcritical’ test and therefore does not violate the provisions of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty or the US moratorium on nuclear tests"

Russia’s UN envoy calls on world community to put pressure on US, Israel

According to Vasily Nebenzya, the chances of moving the conflict into a diplomatic domain "look elusive"

ICC prosecutor requests arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders — statement

The prosecutor also requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant

Russia keeping tabs on US nuclear activity in Nevada, senior diplomat says

According to Sergey Ryabkov, Moscow has been registering "all public signals coming from the US administration regarding this"

Raisi's death positions Khamenei's son as likely successor — Politico

Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at Washington’s Foundation for Defense of Democracies noted that the deceased president was exactly the kind of person Khamenei wants running the country

Protests in Iran after president's death possible, but system will endure — expert

Vladimir Sazhin noted that the struggle for the leverage of power in the country following Raisi's death could begin in the camp of conservatives, whom the late president represented

Ukraine peace brokers should take note Zelensky’s legitimacy expired — Russia’s UN envoy

"It runs counter to common sense to discuss any issues, let alone sign any documents with leaders who have lost their legitimacy," Vasily Nebenzya said

Russia calls for investigation of all deaths of humanitarian workers in Gaza — envoy to UN

"Over the past two weeks, the Israel Defense Forces has been blocking the entry of 3,000 trucks with humanitarian aid for enclave residents through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom checkpoints," Vasily Nebenzya stressd

Zelensky may be target of assassination a la Hitler in 1944 — Medvedev

"However, it will change nothing either for the Ukrainians or for us," Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council stressed

Haiti airport reopens for commercial flights after 2 1/2 months hiatus

Accordint to Diario Libre, Haitian airline Sunrise Airways has resumed all domestic flights and some of the international flights on May 20

West alarmed over plummeting support for Zelensky — Russian intelligence

The press bureau drew attention to the fact that history has shown time and again that attempts to retain power using lies and intimidation do not work

FACTBOX: Iran confirms death of President Raisi in helicopter crash

All passengers and crew of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi were killed in the crash, according to Iranian Red Crescent Society head Pir Hossein Kolivand

China appreciates Putin's position on Taiwan — Foreign Ministry

As Wang Yi clarified, Putin reaffirmed his commitment to the "One China" principle in a speech after his election victory

West to push for Ukraine deal on their terms, Russia won't bend — Medvedev

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia, unlike the Ukrainian side, had never rejected any negotiations

Starlink’s failure helps Russian army take Kiev forces by surprise in Kharkov Region — WP

In addition, Ukrainian forces were facing ammunition shortages due to a stalled US aid package

Putin tells his Q&A session viewers he is not alien

The president assured he had proof and witnesses

Russian stock indices in the red as trading on Moscow Exchange closes

The dollar-to-ruble rate went down by 0.22% to 90.75 rubles, the euro-to-ruble rate fell by 0.11% to 98.63 rubles