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Russia Tells Rubio America Sending More Weapons to Europe, Attempts to ‘Inflict Strategic Defeat’ are ‘Unacceptable’

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Russia’s Foreign Minister had a brief meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the Philippines on Thursday morning, where Moscow said continued American arms sales to its European allies, who use them to arm Ukraine, are “unacceptable”.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is at the East Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila, the Philippines, on Thursday and overnight Eastern Time held a bilateral meeting on the side-lines with his Russian counterpart, the veteran diplomat Sergei Lavrov. One of the only senior Russian political figures whose long career pre-dates and has survived the Putin era, Lavrov has been Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004 and a Russian ambassador since the Soviet era.

Rubio said in a statement after the meeting ended that he’d discussed “the U.S.-Russia relationship and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war”, the typical boilerplate from the Department of State for such meetings. Russia had its own, namechecking the 2025 Trump-Alaska summit — as they always do — but added further detail, including claiming they had delivered a protest to Rubio on U.S. weapons exports.

While the United States has long ago ceased to donate weapons directly to Ukraine, citing the enormous cost to taxpayers, it sells large quantities to its European allies at full price, which are then free to donate them in turn to Ukraine themselves. Foreign Minister Lavrov “emphasized that pumping Ukraine with more weapons is unacceptable”, Russian state media expressed, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself further laboured the point in a statement in which it accused European states of trying to inflict a defeat on the Russian Federation:

When discussing Ukraine-related issues, Lavrov briefed his American counterpart on the real situation along the line of contact and stressed that further flooding the Kiev regime with weapons was unacceptable, along with the overall destructive policy pursued by European countries, which continue seeking to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia.

(Read more from “Russia Tells Rubio America Sending More Weapons to Europe, Attempts to ‘Inflict Strategic Defeat’ are ‘Unacceptable’” HERE)

Hawley Doesn’t Rule Out Russian Foul Play in Graham Death, Urges Full Toxicology Report, Autopsy

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Monday on FNC’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) insisted U.S. investigators should at least consider the possibility of Russian foul play in the death of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

“One of your colleagues in the Senate, Senator Cornyn, is not ruling out foul play,” host Jesse Watters said. “Lindsey had gotten back from Ukraine that same day. You know the Russians are notorious. Do you think that that’s a possibility?”

(Read more from “Hawley Doesn’t Rule Out Russian Foul Play in Graham Death, Urges Full Toxicology Report, Autopsy” HERE)

How Ukraine’s Drone War Could Drag World Into Nuclear War

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The use of nuclear weapons is becoming increasingly likely as the Russian and Ukrainian militaries continue to blindly scramble up the escalation ladder through deep strikes into Russia, with alleged involvement from a NATO member country, military analysts warned on Monday.

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia has accused Latvia of planning to launch drones from its territory in direct attacks against the Russian Federation. Russia could attack Latvia if these plans became a reality, which could trigger a chain of events leading to the use of nuclear weapons, analysts said during a meeting at the Quincy Institute broadcast by CSPAN on Monday.

“There are proponents of, I guess we can call it ‘escalate to de-escalate,’ people like prominent Russian academic Sergei Karaganov, who believe Russia must drastically up the airstrike campaign against Ukraine, seriously consider the employment of low-yield nuclear weapons as a means of ending the war, and strike Western targets inside NATO,” Quincy Institute research fellow Mark Episkopos said during the meeting on Monday.

The Russian Embassy in Washington, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington and NATO did not respond to a request for comment.

When the Daily Caller News Foundation asked the panel about the potential for nuclear weapons use in Europe, analysts on the panel laid out two scenarios where the Russians would employ tactical nuclear weapons.

“We’ve had warnings throughout this war. If we provide HIMARS [missiles], the Russians will retaliate in some dangerous way, ATACMS [missiles], F-16s, etcetera, etcetera, and in each case, the Russians have not retaliated against the West directly, and so the impression is created that the Russians will never retaliate against the West directly. It’s just too dangerous for them to do so,” director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute George Beebe said during the panel. “The danger we’re facing is, there’s only one way we’ll know for sure. And that is, after the Russians retaliate directly.” (Read more from “How Ukraine’s Drone War Could Drag World Into Nuclear War” HERE)

Most Russian Recruits Have Life Expectancy of just 20 Minutes on Ukraine Front Lines, Chilling Report Claims

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New Russian recruits have a life expectancy of just 20 to 35 minutes in combat in Ukraine — showing how quickly Vladimir Putin’s troops are falling victim to drone warfare, according to chilling reports from Moscow.

Once a soldier is signed up to fight, he can expect to live for just 10 days to three weeks — from arrival at the training ground to death in combat, according to historian Peter Frankopan in an op-ed for Foreign Policy, citing Russian military bloggers.

As the bloody conflict in Ukraine approaches the four and a half year mark, Russian military brass are desperately seeking new soldiers for Putin’s meat grinder.

In late 2025, Russian officials claimed they had recruited more than 420,000 new soldiers for year-long military contracts, but even state media admits those numbers are down some 30% this year.

According to military bloggers, Russia still recruits roughly 800 to 1,000 new voluntary contract soldiers per day, with many of them rushed through just a handful of days of combat training. (Read more from “Most Russian Recruits Have Life Expectancy of just 20 Minutes on Ukraine Front Lines, Chilling Report Claims” HERE)

Uh-oh, the International Space Station is Leaking Again

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NASA confirmed Thursday that the Russian segment of the International Space Station has begun leaking atmosphere into space again. It’s an old problem that NASA recently hoped was resolved.

For more than half a decade, engineers from Roscosmos and NASA have been tracking the leak rate from a small Russian module attached to the space station that leads to a docking port. The source of these leaks, microscopic structural cracks, have been difficult to find and address.

In January, NASA said that after multiple inspections and sealant applications, the pressure inside this segment, known as the PrK module, had reached a “stable configuration.” The PrK module is essentially a transfer tunnel attached to the Zvezda Service Module on the Russian segment of the space station.

This announcement by NASA was greeted by a sigh of relief in the space community, as atmospheric leaks on a pressure vessel like the International Space Station are never a good thing.

Unfortunately, the leak returned three weeks ago. After a couple of sources reported this to Ars, NASA confirmed the issue on Thursday. On May 1, after Russian cosmonauts unloaded cargo from the Progress 95 cargo spacecraft, Roscosmos noted a “slow pressure drop” in the PrK module.

“Teams performed data analysis, which indicated a loss of about one pound per day,” NASA spokesperson Josh Finch told Ars. “Roscosmos allowed the pressure in the transfer tunnel to gradually decrease while monitoring the rate. The area now is being maintained at a lower pressure, with small repressurizations as needed. There are no impacts to station operations, and NASA and Roscosmos are coordinating on next steps.” (Read more from “Uh-oh, the International Space Station is Leaking Again” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Russian Drone Hits Apartment Building In NATO Member Country

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Romania said a Russian drone crashed into an apartment building near its border with Ukraine on Friday, injuring civilians.

Romanian officials said the drone hit a residential building in Galati, a southeastern city near the Ukrainian border, according to a Romanian Ministry of National Defence press release. The drone appears to have veered off course and struck Romania during a series of attacks on Ukraine, Reuters reported.

“Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a post on X. “They [Russia] continue to target civilians and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. And last night showed yet again that the implications of their illegal war of aggression don’t stop at the border.”

The drone hit the building during an overnight Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine, according to Romania’s Defense Ministry. The strike injured two civilians, including a woman and a child, while roughly 70 residents were evacuated, Reuters reported, citing local authorities.

Ukrainian drones have also fallen off target, landing or flying over or crashing in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the BBC reported. (Read more from “Russian Drone Hits Apartment Building In NATO Member Country” HERE)

Mystery of Sunken Russian ‘Ghost Ship’ Grows after Explosions Reported while Carrying Alleged Nuclear Reactors to North Korea

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The mystery of how a Russian cargo ship sank deepened after it was revealed that the vessel suffered multiple explosions while allegedly carrying two nuclear reactors believed to be bound for North Korea, according to a new report.

The prevailing theory suggests that the West might have been involved in the incident that saw the Ursa Major sink 60 miles off the coast of Spain on Dec. 23, 2024, CNN reported.

The ship, also known as the Sparta 3, appeared to have been hit by a rare type of torpedo that breached the ship’s hull and forced it to sink to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, according to Spanish investigators.

The investigation suggested that the only thing that could have breached the ship was the Barracuda supercavitating torpedo, a powerful weapon of which only the US, a few NATO countries, Russia and Iran are believed to be in possession.

In the aftermath of the incident, the ship’s Russian captain allegedly told Spanish investigators that Ursa Major was hauling “components for two nuclear reactors similar to those used in submarines,” with the sailor unsure if the reactors were loaded with atomic fuel, CNN reported. (Read more from “Mystery of Sunken Russian ‘Ghost Ship’ Grows after Explosions Reported while Carrying Alleged Nuclear Reactors to North Korea” HERE)

Trump Announces New Ceasefire In Russia-Ukraine War

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President Donald Trump announced that there will be a three-day ceasefire and prisoner swap in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump announced the ceasefire and prisoner swap on Friday in a Truth Social post, declaring it on May 9, 10 and 11 in recognition of Victory Day, a Russian state holiday. The holiday is also celebrated by Ukraine on May 8 and is known as “Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II.”

“I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump announced in the Truth Social post. “The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II. This Ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country.”

“This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by [Russian] President Vladimir Putin and [Ukrainian] President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” he added. “Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War.” (Read more from “Trump Announces New Ceasefire In Russia-Ukraine War” HERE)

Mass Cattle Cull in Russia Feared to be From Bioweapons Research Plant ‘Leak’

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Tens of thousands of cattle have been culled in Russia, with fears that the animals were infected by a leak from a bioweapons research plant.

Thousands of animals have been killed amid furious protests from farmers in Siberia, with authorities giving differing accounts as to the reason why.

Some have cited an outbreak of ‘pasteurellosis’, which can normally be treated with antibiotics.

Disease control specialists have told farmers there was also an outbreak of ‘incurable rabies’, without citing evidence.

Farmers haven’t been shown the order from the Kremlin’s agriculture ministry, and are now claiming the organization is trying to conceal the true cause. (Read more from “Mass Cattle Cull in Russia Feared to be From Bioweapons Research Plant ‘Leak’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Russian Hackers Targeting US Officials and Journalists on Signal — Have Accessed ‘Thousands’ of Accounts, FBI Warns

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Russian hackers are targeting US officials and other “high intelligence value” individuals on the encrypted messaging app Signal and “thousands” of accounts have already been compromised, FBI Director Kash Patel warned Friday.

“The [FBI] has identified cyber actors associated with Russian Intelligence Services targeting users of commercial messaging applications, including Signal,” Patel wrote on X.

“The campaign targets individuals of high intelligence value, including current and former U.S. government officials, military personnel, political figures, and journalists,” the FBI director explained. “Globally, this effort has resulted in unauthorized access to thousands of individual accounts.”

The Russian actors are able to view messages and contact lists, send messages as the victim and conduct phishing attacks from the victim’s account after gaining access, Patel warned.

A public service announcement detailing the threat noted that “actors specifically target Signal accounts but can apply similar methods against other” commercial messaging apps. (Read more from “Russian Hackers Targeting US Officials and Journalists on Signal — Have Accessed ‘Thousands’ of Accounts, FBI Warns” HERE)