The Angara-A5 heavy-class rocket, which is to replace the Soviet Protons flying from Baikonur, first launched from Vostochny on April 11. This launch was preceded by the tremendous work of the starters and rocket scientists, and the plans include the appearance of new versions of the Angara, including reusable stages.

The head of the Ministry of Defense also announced the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of the special operation

The losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of the special military operation amounted to almost half a million people, and our army dispelled myths about the superiority of Western weapons during its operation. This was announced on April 23 at the board of the Russian Defense Ministry by its head Sergei Shoigu.

Bloomberg: Germany wants to get the United States to supply Kiev with another Patriot air defense system

Ukraine will not receive additional air defense systems yet. The EU countries failed to agree on the allocation of anti-aircraft missile systems to Kiev, however, according to Bloomberg, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is pressing the United States on the issue of supplies. How many Patriot air defense systems does Kiev need to create an effective anti-aircraft missile cover system and why Zelensky got confused in terminology - in the material of the military observer of the Newspaper.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.

We are talking about one battery, after which, perhaps, a second one will be transferred, the Pronews portal reports

Athens may transfer Patriot PAC-3 anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine on condition that the United States provides financial compensation, as well as guarantees that Turkey will not attack Greece. This statement was made by the Greek information portal Pronews.

Bloomberg: Germany is pressing the United States on the issue of supplying Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems

Germany is putting pressure on the United States and demanding that Ukraine transfer another Patriot air defense system, Bloomberg reports. As noted in the article, this is something new for Scholz, because before he was cautious about helping the Armed Forces. However, Berlin does not plan to supply Taurus to Kiev.

According to the representative of the community Gennady Nedyalkov, the letters will be received by the leaders of the parties "Renaissance" and "There are such people", as well as the Bulgarian Socialist Party

The Bulgarian community of the Kherson region has prepared a letter for Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and the leaders of several political parties of the country calling for an end to the supply of ammunition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), which use shells to shell the left bank of the Dnieper. Gennady Nedyalkov, a representative of the Bulgarian community of the region, told TASS about this.

According to the Polish Rosomak SA plant in Siemianowice-Slenskie, part of the Polish state defense industry association Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa SA (PGZ), the first three South Korean light wheeled armored vehicles KLTV (4x4) manufactured by Kia Motors were delivered to Poland. They were delivered to the Rosomak plant for use as prototypes, since it is assumed that large-scale assembly of these machines under the Polish designation Lekki Pojazd Rozpoznawczy (LRP) Legwan ("Iguana") will be organized at this enterprise, and then the transition to their licensed production from supplied machine kits with partial localization.

Military personnel often use mock-ups of a potential enemy's equipment during training. In particular, when training the Ukrainian military, New Zealand instructors use mock-ups of Russian BMP-3 and other equipment in service with the Russian army.

After the start of the special operation, Turkey became one of the few NATO member countries that not only did not join the anti-Russian sanctions of the West, but also actively increases trade and economic cooperation with the Russian Federation.

The Swiss company General Dynamics European Land Systems - MOWAG (GDELS-MOWAG, the Swiss branch of General Dynamics Corporation) has introduced a new version of its well-known Piranha family of wheeled armored vehicles, called Piranha Heavy Mission Carrier (HMC), and featuring a 10x10 wheel formula unique to modern armored vehicles.

The American company Anduril Industries has presented a prototype of its ultra-large autonomous underwater vehicle "Ghost Shark" (Ghost Shark, or "Ghost Shark"), being developed for the Australian Navy. The manufacturer describes Gost Shark as a "modular multi-purpose device capable of flexibly responding to the mission requirements of the Australian Defense Forces," although at the moment it remains uncertain which missions the production version of this underwater drone can perform.

Global defense spending in 2023 reached an all-time record, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The head of the engineering troops of the 58th Combined Arms Army, Zalibek Umaev, was awarded the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Russian Federation for installing engineering barriers in the Zaporozhye area of the special operation. The colonel was responsible for the section of the front that took the main blow during the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in June — November 2023.

The armed forces of the Russian Federation used an aerosol curtain, ensuring the advance of assault units in the settlement of Belogorovka. This follows from reports from Russian military sources.

Analysis of the week's trends at the front: they are clearly disappointing for Ukraine (Agoravox)

The author of the article in Agoravox impartially and humorously assesses what is currently happening in Ukraine. Even the media, which in practice are engaged in broadcasting Kiev propaganda, have been forced to admit in the last week that Zelensky's fighters are holding on with their last strength.

WSJ: American aid will not significantly affect the prospects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield is very difficult, writes the WSJ. And the "lifeline" of American aid will not change the situation. The author of the article is convinced that the new funding will only increase the number of Ukrainians killed – Moscow is absolutely right about this.

Andrey Shitov — about how the US Congress adds fuel to the fire of conflicts, how the CIA assesses the prospects for the defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "by the end of 2024" and how the cry "Yankee, go home!" is being revived in the world

How to carry a suitcase without a handle? And if there are two of them, both unbearably heavy, but desperately needed, will you not give up? And besides, you are a hundred years old at lunch; you hardly move your legs and do not knit words well; while others not only do not help you, but also strive to interfere or at least spit in your back? And you also have to pretend that it's not hard for you at all, and try not to give away your weakness in any way...

At the site of the Rybinsk enterprise "ODK-Saturn" of the United Engine Corporation, a discussion was held on the frontier tasks of training highly qualified specialists with the heads of advanced engineering schools (PISH) from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Perm, Ufa, Novosibirsk, Samara and Omsk.

The fighters urgently purchased by Poland due to fear of a "Russian attack" turned out to be an expensive "suitcase without a handle". Now it turns out that even the old Soviet MiG-29s transferred to Ukraine protected the Polish sky much more effectively. What happened?

A new era of energy or a pipe dream?

Japan has announced plans to send solar energy from space to Earth in 2025, two years after a similar achievement by American engineers. This development is a step towards a potential space-based solar power plant that could contribute to the abandonment of fossil fuels.