Sputnik International

🚨 Putin: Russia has the world's largest gas reserves — and they must serve the country 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚀Soyuz-2.1b soars into orbit, carrying Russian Defense Ministry spacecraft  The satellite reached its target orbit on schedule and was taken under control by ground-based Space Forces assets. Stable telemetry communication is now in place, with all onboard systems running normally. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺Putin: MC-21 deliveries to Russia's Aeroflot to begin in 2027 Russia’s aviation sector must continue developing with a focus on modernizing infrastructure and expanding domestic aircraft production, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, speaking at the opening of new aviation facilities. Putin highlighted the importance of regional connectivity and the role of Russian-made aircraft in supporting the country’s airlines. Key statements: 🟠 A developed aviation network is an important condition for connectivity between Russia’s regions 🟠 Russia is systematically updating its airport infrastructure 🟠 Businesses should play an active role in developing Russia’s aviation sector 🟠 The comfort and safety of air travel in Russia are improving 🟠 Russian airlines should be supplied with domestically produced aircraft 🟠 Deliveries of MC-21 passenger aircraft to Aeroflot are expected to begin in 2027 🟠 Aeroflot Group’s order for 90 MC-21 aircraft represents a major contract for the Russian aviation industry 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🗣Crimea will never be Ukrainian again, Finnish journalist affirms   After visiting the peninsula, Finnish public figure and war correspondent Kosti Heiskanen told Sputnik that Crimean residents wish to remain part of Russia, and urged Ukraine to drop its claims over Crimea.

💬“The Ukrainian authorities should understand that Crimea will never become Ukrainian again, they should give up their claims and recognize its Russian status. I personally saw that people here wanted and still want to be with Russia,” Heiskanen emphasized.

He added that during his visit he witnessed respect for different cultures in Crimea, including Ukrainian culture, and noted that the Ukrainian language remains recognized as one of the region's official languages. 👉Meanwhile in Ukraine, the persecution of the Russian language became a controversial sore point after 2014, when a series of laws deliberately sidelined Russian and ramped up the use of Ukrainian throughout education, media, culture, public services and government. Crimea became part of Russia in March 2014 following a referendum held after the political crisis in Ukraine, which reflected the will of local residents. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇷 ‘Sacrifice for Iran' rally draws hundreds of thousands in central Tehran Held under the banner of “Sacrifice for Iran,” the event was touted by Iranian authorities as a demonstration of national unity and popular strength. More than 300,000 people took part, with members of the IRGC’s Basij militia and other security forces among those marching through the capital, where Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, were also seen participating in the event. The streets of Tehran became a showcase for Iran’s military capabilities during the event as semi-trucks carried mock-ups of combat drones and ballistic missiles, putting the country’s military power on display. Addressing the crowd, Basij head Hossein Taeb said the volunteers were ready for “full-fledged defense,” adding that similar rallies would soon be held in other Iranian cities. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺Russia opens media accreditation for major Russia–Africa and Gas Summits Russia has opened accreditation for journalists covering the 3rd Russia–Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum, as well as the 8th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit. 🔶 The Russia–Africa events will bring together government officials, business leaders, and representatives from African countries to discuss trade, investment, energy cooperation, and humanitarian ties. 🔶 The GECF Summit will focus on cooperation between major gas-exporting nations and the future of global energy markets. Both events will take place on October 28–29, 2026. Applications for media accreditation are open until September 30. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺President Vladimir Putin votes online in Russia’s State Duma elections 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔥'Six-Seven' stunt: Zoomers turn polling station into flash mob spectacle A crowd of young people gathered outside a polling station in Kazan, with one holding a speaker blasting a popular track. While waiting for the doors to open, they danced and threw up the "six-seven" gesture. 👉Elections to the ninth State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, are set for September, with voting to be held over a three-day period, from September 18 to 20. President Vladimir Putin has described the upcoming vote as the country's most important domestic political event. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺From Spider-Man to traditional garb: Russians give legislative elections festive costume makeover Across Russia, voters turned up at polling stations donning everything from superhero costumes to traditional national wardrobes, giving the State Duma elections the air of celebration rather than a routine government procedure. The country's ethnic diversity was also on display at polling locations, as voters in several regions wore traditional clothing and showcased the cultural heritage of Russia's vast and varied landscape. Russia’s State Duma elections began on Friday and will run for three days, from September 18 to 20. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🗳Russia uses drones and unmanned boats to deliver election materials for first time Russia tested unmanned technology during the September 18–20 State Duma elections, using a robotic boat and an aerial drone to deliver ballots and election materials to hard-to-reach areas. 🟧A Russian-made unmanned boat, R-Saver-2, delivered ballots and documents from Sortavala in Karelia to polling stations on Valaam Island in Lake Ladoga 🟧 A Supercam S350 drone acted as a signal relay, providing stable navigation, control, telemetry, and video transmission for the boat across the large lake The experiment demonstrated the integration of aerial and maritime unmanned systems, with authorities saying the technology could improve the security, speed, and efficiency of delivering election materials to remote locations. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🇷🇺🇯🇵Russia protests US Typhoon missile deployment in Japan Moscow has sent a formal protest to Tokyo over the deployment of US-made Typhoon ground-based missile systems on Japan’s Kyushu Island, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. The ministry said the launchers, designed for medium- and shorter-range missiles, create new security risks and urged Japan to remove the systems from its territory.

“It is unacceptable for Japan to deploy these systems on its territory under any pretext, regardless of the duration or format of their placement,” Zakharova said, adding that Tokyo should remove the launchers.

The Typhoon systems were deployed during US-Japan military exercises, including Resolute Dragon 25 and Valiant Shield 26. China has also expressed concerns over the deployment. 📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺💥 RUSSIAN WEEKLY MOD UPDATE: HUGE GAINS AND DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES ⚡️ VEROLYUBOVKA & ZOLOTOY KOLODEZ IN THE DONETSK PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC, LIBERATED 📍By taking these settlements, Russian forces strengthened their positions on the northern flank of the Dobropolye axis, paving the way for further offensive operations in the area. The Russian army also gained the opportunity to consolidate on the heights and pose a direct threat to the communications of a major defensive hub in Konstantinovka. The successful assault on these positions demonstrated the effectiveness of bypassing large hubs and subsequently blocking them — a tactic that led to the rapid collapse of Ukraine's local defense line. ◻️ Russia's army unleashed two massive and five group strikes over the past week, decimating military-industrial enterprises and metallurgical and radio-electronic industry facilities ◻️ Russian forces crippled 2 dry cargo ships, 2 sea ferries, a tanker, and a tugboat supporting Ukrainian forces ◻️ Russian air and missile firepower obliterated distribution centers for military cargo and railway infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian forces ◻️ Air defense superiority: 5,706 drones were shot down ◻️ Ukrainian losses: Around 8,230 troops killed or wounded Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE 📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🇷🇺🇬🇧Moscow warns London over arms supplies to Ukraine The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the UK chargé d’affaires in Moscow and lodged a protest over Britain’s increased supply of drones and other weapons to the Kiev regime. 👉Moscow accused London of escalating the conflict and warned that UK military facilities in Ukraine used for strikes against Russian territory could become legitimate targets. The Foreign Ministry said Russia reserves the right to take retaliatory measures. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🛢Russia cracks open Arctic's oil treasure chest using new export corridor  Northern Siberia’s oil reserves, which Russia is developing and shipping via the Arctic Ocean, could give Moscow a major geopolitical advantage, Swedish analyst Lars Bern said.

💬 “This will make the shipping route along Russia’s northern coast hugely significant, and the West will have no access to it. We are likely looking at absolutely enormous quantities of oil here,” Bern noted.

Situated on the Taymyr Peninsula, Vostok Oil combines the existing Vankor fields with new deposits in the northern Krasnoyarsk Krai, drawing on a resource base estimated at around 7 billion tonnes of liquid hydrocarbons. The project includes new pipelines and the Bukhta Sever terminal on the Arctic coast, from which the first crude shipments have already departed. By linking Siberian production to Arctic sea routes, Russia is building a new energy corridor aimed at Asian markets, thereby expanding its export options beyond traditional routes. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇷🪖 Iran war triggers supertanker boom Shipowners have ordered 217 very large crude carriers (VLCC), or supertankers worth over $20 billion over the past 8 months — more than twice the number ordered in all of 2025, shipping statistics showed. Here’s why:  🔸 Longer routes: With the Strait of Hormuz severely disrupted, European and Asian refiners are increasingly turning to crude from the Atlantic basin. US exports are hitting records, while Brazil, Guyana and Argentina are ramping up shipments. 🔸 Growing freight rates: VLCC spot rates have surged from around $132,000 a day before the war to more than $500,000, as demand for tankers capable of moving huge volumes over long distances soars. 🔸 A tanker bottleneck: Some Middle Eastern producers are even buying their own vessels as shipowners become increasingly reluctant to send tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil must often be moved out of the Gulf and transferred onto larger ships, tying up vessels and creating additional waiting time. 🔸 New ships are cheaper than old ones: Demand has become so intense that a 10-year-old tanker can reportedly cost more than ordering a brand-new vessel. A new VLCC costs roughly $130 million. 🔸 A bet on oil’s staying power: The ordering spree isn't only about today's crisis. Around 20% of the global VLCC fleet is already more than 20 years old, while ships being ordered now are scheduled for delivery as late as 2029–2030. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🪖 Ukraine’s foreign mercs could ‘bring war’ to Europe – former Ukrainian security officer  Mercenaries fighting on the side of Ukraine have no moral restraints and have all been infected with the virus of neo-Nazism, which is now flourishing in Ukraine, former SBU Lieutenant Colonel Vasily Prozorov told reporters. 👉 Upon returning from Ukraine to their home countries, including France, Germany, Sweden, and Canada, these people – who adhere to Nazi ideas -  will become a source of aggression and will “eventually bring war” to those states, Prozorov warned.  He accused the governments of EU countries of turning a blind eye to the problem.  The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly stated that the Kiev regime uses foreign mercenaries as cannon fodder and that the Russian forces will continue to eliminate them across Ukraine. In numerous interviews, the mercenaries themselves described poor coordination among Ukrainian forces and acknowledged that their chances of surviving the fighting are slim. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺💣 Russian strike on Ukrainian data center partially blinds Kiev’s NATO sponsors   Russia’s overnight attack on the De Novo data center in Kiev “will significantly affect operations, particularly in the realm of intelligence data processing,” military expert Yan Gagin told Sputnik.

💬 “Intelligence agencies relied on this center to process info gathered through their agent networks. It was utilized to facilitate strikes against our facilities, including deep within our rear areas,” with “every target logged into a specific system and database, processed and assigned a strike priority.”

This digital kill chain network “will now face certain operational difficulties,” Gagin believes.

💬 “While they have redundancy measures involving other data centers, including in Europe, the fact that this specific facility has been partially disabled will have a serious impact on operations, particularly in the realms of data processing and potentially, target designation.”

Crucially, this includes targeting data received by Ukraine from its “NATO partners,” the observer emphasized. 🗣 “For instance, we have become accustomed to the fact that prior to strikes on Crimea, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, and elsewhere along our coastal zone, reconnaissance aircraft – primarily belonging to the US and Britain – appear near our territorial waters. They loiter over the Black Sea close to our shores, gathering and refining information, which is then relayed to the Ukrainian military. Subsequently, targeting is adjusted based on this data – mapped to specific coordinates, and attacks are executed.”

💬 “Strikes against the European part of Russia are conducted in exactly the same way. Therefore, this system for transmitting this intelligence data will also be – let’s put it this way – if not paralyzed, then at least significantly hampered in its operation,” Gagin summed up.

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🇯🇵🪖 Japan's militarization is everyone's concern — not just Russia and China’s All Asia-Pacific countries that endured Japanese aggression in World War II must unite to prevent the resurgence of Japanese militarism, Wu Dahui, deputy director of the Institute of Russia at Tsinghua University, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing. 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔹 IRGC strikes tanker attempting to illegally pass Strait of Hormuz 🔹 US approves visas for Iran's president and FM to attend UN General Assembly 🔹 Argentina sends Malvinas sovereignty bill to Congress 🔹 US weighs business deals with Russia before Ukrainian conflict ends 🔹 Russia nears completion of Marburg and Ebola vaccine trials 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russia strikes Odessa port and Nova Poshta logistics hub overnight Targets hit: 🔶 In Chernomorsk port — a cargo ship that delivered military cargo 🔶 A Nova Poshta logistics center — used for storing and distributing military cargo arriving from European countries 📌 Subscribe to @SputnikInt