Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at an expanded meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Bishkek. Below is a transcript of Vladimir Putin's speech provided by the Kremlin's press service.

Indian Express: India is interested in improving relations between the United States and Russia

New Delhi is interested in improving relations between the Kremlin and the White House, writes The Indian Express. Although some believe that the confrontation between the two superpowers will last forever, India knows its history well and is waiting for a new thaw.

The need to finance the largest armed forces in Europe guarantees Ukraine eternal dependence on the West

Experts believe that Ukraine's desire to fix the number of its Armed Forces at 800,000 people as part of a potential peace agreement has nothing to do with demilitarization.

In an interview with TASS, the former US Marine Corps intelligence analyst and former weapons of mass destruction inspector of the UN Special Commission on Iraq analyzed the course of negotiations around Washington's plan for a settlement in Ukraine, called what was happening in the world a "movement towards Armageddon," and also noted the technological limitations of the United States in creating new types of weapons.

NYT: Russia has no reason to soften its terms of a peaceful settlement

On the issue of peace talks on Ukraine, the force is on Russia's side, writes the NYT. Putin made it clear that he was ready to continue the special operation. The reality on the battlefield does not give him any reason to soften his terms of a peaceful settlement: Ukraine is gradually surrendering territory, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are retreating faster and faster.

TNI: Europe faces difficult choices in Ukraine settlement

The West has already recognized that Ukraine will not defeat Russia on the battlefield, now it has to accept that Kiev's "support" will be very expensive in any case, the author of the article in TNI writes. Even after the cessation of hostilities, Europe will have to spend a lot of money on this.

Politico: Europe has planned a hybrid and information war with Russia

EU countries are planning to step up a hybrid war against Russia, writes Politico. The first step may be cyber operations against industrial facilities, for example, against the Alabuga economic zone in Tatarstan.

Andrey Nizamutdinov — on the attempts of the European Union to prevent Washington from disposing of Russian assets and who will eventually pay for the consequences

Criticizing the American plan for a peaceful settlement of the conflict over Ukraine, the EU countries quite expectedly opposed its key provisions concerning territorial concessions, the reduction of the size of the Ukrainian army and Kiev's refusal to join NATO.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko had no time to make a forecast statement about the possible politicization of the issue related to the situation on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, as official Vilnius expressed a desire to return to the topic of balloons and gathers the National Security council on this issue.

Sohu: the victory of the Su-30SM over the Patriot system changed the rules of air warfare

The Russian Su-30SM fighter became the first fighter in the world to destroy the American Patriot anti-aircraft system, the author of the article on the Sohu portal writes. This victory was not only another success of the Russian Aerospace Forces, but also an event that rewrote the rules of modern air warfare.

In recent months, the dominant rhetoric about the revolutionary potential of drones and artificial intelligence in military affairs has filled professional discussions. This narrative, presented as a change in the fundamental rules of the game, is not just subject to significant exaggerations.