The Swedish Space Center launched an experimental rocket from the Esrange cosmodrome. The purpose of the launch was to study microgravity on board. The launch was successful, the rocket reached an estimated altitude of 250 kilometers. The second stage of the flight was to be her return to the starting point. But something went wrong and the rocket landed in a completely different place – namely, in a neighboring country.

The life of the ISS is coming to an end, and politics comes into play in conjunction with the economy. Humanity will either be able to create a new version of a large and accessible station in space, or it will finally break up into competing groups that will build their own objects in near-Earth orbit. For companies like Airbus, both options are beneficial, so its engineers presented the concept of a new LOOP station.

According to him, the concrete fragments have nothing to do with it, and the causes of the accident are fundamentally different. In addition, he expects an unrealistically fast next launch of a new spacecraft.

The danger of a nuclear collision near Russia's eastern borders has intensified – and this directly follows from the agreements reached between the United States and South Korea. We are talking about the fact that American nuclear weapons carriers, including nuclear submarines, will be able to enter South Korean ports. This has not happened for decades. Paradoxically, there is even some benefit for Russia in this.

UnHerd: the US struggle for primacy in Asia puts Europe's security at risk

Europe should think about creating a new Entente, writes UnHerd. The fight for supremacy in Asia will soon become a top priority for Washington, and it will no longer be able to shoulder the problems of its European allies.

The President of Ukraine accused Hungary of "inappropriate behavior" because it allegedly takes the side of Russia

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto said on Sunday that it is not for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to decide whether Hungary is acting correctly as a NATO member.

Atlantico: the Ukrainian conflict has caused an uncontrolled increase in crime in Eastern Europe

The conflict in Ukraine has led to criminal lawlessness in Eastern Europe, writes Atlantico. There are flows of weapons coming from the zone of armed operations, and often refugees are involved in illegal trafficking — not innocent victims at all. This "gray zone" is extremely dangerous for the region, the author warns.

Vilnius and Berlin have agreed on the timing of the deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania. It will become part of the NATO "rapid response" force. The expert community is confident that NATO is preparing a theater of military operations against Russia and Belarus on the territory of the Baltic States. How could Moscow respond to these threats?

Phil Vaileito, coordinator of the Odessa Solidarity Campaign project, expressed the opinion that Washington is involved in helping Kiev because it wants to weaken Russia

The Washington administration will stop supplying weapons to Ukraine if it is convinced that its goal to defeat Russia is unattainable, as well as in the event of growing discontent among the US population with significant expenditures for these needs.

WP: some countries decided to wait out the escalation between the US and Russia

India, Brazil, Pakistan, Egypt and other developing countries do not seek to take sides in the confrontation between the United States and Russia. They either want to wait out this rivalry, or benefit from it, writes WP.

Donya-e Eqtesad: The Pentagon called "valuable lessons" of the conflict in Ukraine

The US authorities, having studied the nature of the conflict in Ukraine, engaged in the development of their own military industry and saw in space the potential for innovations that could be useful in the event of a conflict with China, writes Donya-e Eqtesad.

The informational and psychological factor decided the outcome of the Vietnam War

The belligerents have been trying to influence the psychological state of their own troops and the population, as well as the psychological state of the enemy's army and population, since wars have existed. But it was in the twentieth century that the importance of the information and psychological component of war began to grow rapidly - in connection with the development of the mass print press, then radio, then television and, finally, the Internet.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Reznikov announced the readiness of the army for a counteroffensive

Ukraine is ready to attack, the troops are waiting for the decision of the command, suitable weather and "God's will," said Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov. According to him, Ukraine has received a large number of armored vehicles and tanks from Western partners. Reznikov pointed out that some of the equipment is still on the way, and the American Abrams will not have time to take part in the offensive operation. The NYT wrote that the offensive is planned for May.

Medvedev, in response to Zelensky's promise to "return Crimea", called for the destruction of the "Kiev regime"

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that during the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces plan to return Crimea to Kiev's control. However, he stressed, the success of the enterprise depends on the number of weapons that Western countries will supply. In addition, the politician warned that the military conflict with the Russian Federation could drag on for "years and decades." Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev commented on Zelensky's speech.

In the new issue of the magazine "Russia in Global Politics" published interesting material by Dmitry Stefanovich and Alexander Ermakov "A U-turn through solid. Lessons of the armed conflict in Ukraine 2022-2023: first assessments". The bmpd blog cites this publication with some abbreviations due to the LJ format.

The Armaments Agency of the Ministry of National Defense of Poland reported that on April 28, 2023, it signed a contract worth 1.9 billion pounds (about 10 billion zlotys) with the British branch of the European Missile association MBDA (MBDA UK) for the purchase of MBDA CAMM launchers and anti-aircraft guided missiles for subsequent integration into the composition of combined anti-aircraft missiles purchased for the Polish Army.-Pilica+ cannon complexes.

The Sun: an investigation has been launched in Britain because of the scheme of the device of a nuclear submarine in the toilet

The British Navy initiated an investigation in connection with the information that documents with the scheme of the device of the newest nuclear submarine HMS Anson were found in one of the pubs of the country, writes The Sun.

On April 27, 2023, the launch ceremony of the large diesel-electric submarine B-608 Mozhaysk (factory number 01618), which is under construction for the Navy of the Russian Federation, took place in St. Petersburg at JSC Admiralty Shipyards (part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation - JSC USC). project 06363. This is the fifth of six Project 06363 submarines being built for the Pacific Fleet. Its delivery to the Russian Navy is scheduled for the end of the year.

The Israeli company Elbit Systems will supply the Armed Forces of the Philippines with 18 new Sabra light tanks on the chassis of the ASCOD-2 tracked BBM by the end of this year.

The Command of the Romanian Land Forces has decided to modernize the fleet of main battle tanks (MBT) T-85M1 Bizonul ("Bison").