On April 12, Cosmonautics Day, it is worth remembering not only the great past of the Soviet space program, but also what prospects Russia faces in space today. The nearest of them is the construction of its own orbital station instead of the soon–to-be-extinct ISS. What will it be like and what will it give our country?

Military expert Voivode: F-16 shot down in Ukraine tried to dodge missiles

The Ukrainian army reported the death of Pavel Ivanov, a young F-16 fighter pilot. Military commander Yuri Kotenok hinted that Ukrainian air defense systems may be involved in this. Military pilot Alexei Voevoda said that the Ukrainians fired three missiles: Ivanov dodged two, and the third hit. Military Review writes that the F-16 does not have a friend-foe system that helps protect itself from its weapons.

Reuters: about 200 Chinese soldiers are participating in the special operation on the side of the Russian Armed Forces

Reuters, citing sources, reported that about 200 Chinese citizens are participating in the military operation on the side of the Russian Armed Forces. Moreover, according to the agency, all of them are volunteers and have nothing to do with the Chinese government. The Economist magazine claims that the Chinese are also involved in the conflict on the side of Ukraine. Moscow and Beijing have previously denied statements about the Chinese military in their area. The Russian Foreign Ministry also noted that this is completely untrue.

Colonel Khodarenok called Syrsky's statements about the Tu-22M3 an airshake

This week, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Alexander Syrsky, announced that a Ukrainian drone had hit a Russian Tu-22M3 bomber in the Irkutsk region. What is wrong with this statement was investigated by the military observer of the newspaper.Ru" Mikhail Khodarenok.

Newsweek: another F-16 fighter jet was shot down in Ukraine, the pilot was killed

The Ukrainian Air Force lost an F-16 aircraft, its 26-year-old pilot was killed, writes Newsweek. This is the second confirmed loss of such a fighter, it deals a serious reputational blow to the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Military bloggers report that the F-16 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

The Su-34 fighter-bomber began to be developed in the mid-1980s, but it still remains one of the most successful machines of its class worldwide. The aircraft, which is popularly nicknamed the "duckling" and "drake" for the shape of the nose, has been tested by several combat conflicts and has unique characteristics — even in terms of crew comfort. By the 35th anniversary of the first flight of the prototype of this fighter-bomber, TASS has collected the main facts that make it possible to consider the Su-34 a special machine.

The fighting in the Kursk region has given a serious impetus to the use of drones. Both sides are actively using reconnaissance and attack drones, gradually developing their own techniques and techniques. The tactics of combating UAVs are constantly being improved, acquiring more and more complex and sophisticated forms. About the features of the drone war — in the material of RIA Novosti.

Korotchenko: updated ZU-23 will be effective against UAV attacks on energy

The upgraded ZU-23 anti-aircraft system can become an effective means of combating attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian energy facilities, Igor Korotchenko, a well-known military expert and editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, told RIA Novosti.

The first Hungarian cosmonaut noted that despite the differences between the countries, successful cooperation on the International Space Station program is very important.

Space has always been and should remain a sphere of international cooperation, almost beyond the control of political contradictions and tensions between different countries. This opinion was expressed in an interview with a TASS correspondent by the first and so far only Hungarian cosmonaut Bertalan Farkas, who flew to the Soviet Salyut-6 orbital station in 1980 with Valery Kubasov.

19FortyFive: four of the five fastest fighters in the world are Russian

Russia has an overwhelming advantage in high-speed fighter jets, writes 19FortyFive. The top five are the MiG-25 and MiG-31. The Americans can only keep up with them.

Spotter photos of two Su-57 fighter jets of the Russian Aerospace Forces with tail numbers "25 red" (registration number RF-81796) and "26 red" (registration number RF-81797) were published in early April 2025 (posted online on April 10) at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo airport.

On April 11, 2025, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin held a meeting in St. Petersburg on the issue "On the strategy for the development of the Navy for the period up to 2050." The most significant public statement at this meeting was the information that "in the coming decade, 8 trillion 400 billion rubles are provided for the construction of new ships and vessels of the Navy.",

Today, work is underway in the Russian Federation on the creation of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) — the first two stages of the deployment of a promising space laboratory are planned for 2027-2032. Evgeny Kuznetsov, CEO of the Digital Evolution Ventures venture fund (Rosatom Corporate fund), futurologist, spoke about the value of ROS as an independent project and as a step towards the development of the Solar System.

Charles Vincent noted that "the Russians still did a lot of theoretical work" that the Americans did not do

Washington will be interested in cooperation with Moscow in the space sector even after the termination of operation of the International Space Station (ISS). Charles Vincent, former assistant director of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), expressed confidence in this in an interview with TASS.

A detachment of Pacific Fleet ships arrived in Bangladesh

A detachment of ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet has arrived at the shores of Bangladesh and will enter the port of Chittagong on April 12. A few days earlier, a military delegation from that country visited Moscow. Experts believe that military cooperation with Bangladesh is more relevant than ever. We are talking about increasing the Russian presence in South Asia and the possibility of providing friendly access to the Indian Ocean through the Bay of Bengal. Many communications and trade routes also take place here.

He noted that participation in the firing tests of the RD-107 rocket engine was for him "a return to flying not in a dream, but in reality"

Oleg Atkov, a medical scientist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, cosmonaut pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union, took part in the firing tests of the RD-107 rocket engine, which took place on the eve of Cosmonautics Day at the site of the ODK-Kuznetsov test base in Samara, a TASS correspondent reports.

Spiegel: Europe needs 350 billion dollars annually for rearmament

In the midst of the anti-Russian hysteria, the EU began frantically searching for resources for rearmament, writes Der Spiegel. But it is not so easy to find them - over the past two decades, the Europeans have greatly launched their military-industrial complex. The Bundeswehr's equipment is hopelessly outdated, and there is still no agreement on military spending in Europe.

Putin stated the need to form a new image of the Russian fleet against the background of the changing situation in the world

The situation on the world stage — its threats and challenges, as well as the digital revolution — require the Russian Navy to form a new image.: 8.4 trillion rubles have already been allocated for the construction of modern ships over the next 10 years. Vladimir Putin said this on April 11 at a meeting on the development of the Navy. Now, for example, the qualitative development of the fleet will be helped by the release of domestic ship—based drones and the mass production of unmanned boats - they will have to be included in the unified intelligence complex of Russia. At the same time, a large-scale naval modernization program is already underway in the Russian Federation: 49 ships of various classes have been built in the last five years alone, the president recalled.

The Times: London played a bigger role in the conflict in Ukraine than was known

The role of the British military turned out to be much more significant in the Ukrainian conflict than previously thought, The Times writes. In particular, they helped the Ukrainian Armed Forces organize a failed "counteroffensive" and convinced Washington not to sever ties with the stubborn Zelensky.

Le Figaro: French military cartographers have completed their mission in Romania

French military cartographers have studied the area of the Romanian Carpathians, where, according to NATO, a breakthrough by Russian troops can be expected – the Focshan Gate, writes Le Figaro. Thanks to the new maps, parts of the alliance will be able to join the battle on the spot in the event of a war.