The Russian budget deficit in the January-April period almost doubled compared to the same period last year, reaching almost 6 trillion rubles, which was already well above the annual plan - all this against the backdrop of a decline in production of more than 10% in key sectors of the civil industry. The authorities admit this, but are not going to change course: the rate remains high and, together with increased taxes, puts pressure on business.

Russian military intelligence has proposed that Iran supply thousands of combat drones and train operators for possible attacks on American forces in the Persian Gulf. This is reported by The Economist with reference to a secret GRU document received from a “reliable source”.

They began to build another ring of air defense positions around Moscow, primarily the Pantsir air defense system , Radio Liberty found out with the help of OSINT enthusiasts. The conclusion was made on the basis of satellite images of the Moscow region and neighboring areas. Researchers noticed the first tower of the new ring in mid-February. Currently, the number of air defense systems surrounding Moscow has exceeded 100 units.

Russian President Vladimir Putin actually confirmed the shortage of military equipment in the army, commenting on the lack of full passage of armored vehicles at the Victory Parade on May 9. “About the parade. You know, we decided that this year is not an anniversary year, but nevertheless it is Victory Day. We decided that we would definitely hold festive events, but without demonstrating military equipment.

Global oil reserves are declining at the fastest pace on record amid war with Iran and a near-total halt in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg reports this with reference to estimates of the largest banks and analytical companies. Analysts warn that the world economy is rapidly losing the main “safety buffer” of the oil market. In the two months since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed, the world has already lost more than a billion barrels of supply.

The photographs show a road under construction leading from M-12 to Alabuga. In addition, during the year, new residential and industrial premises were built in the central part of the SEZ, and the construction of new hangars continues in the northern part. In Alabuga, the production of Russian attack drones “Geranium”, developed on the basis of the Iranian “ Shahed ”, has been established.

What the summit of the European Political Community (EPC) and the first EU-Armenia summit are, what the scale and significance of these events are, only experts in Armenia knew a few days ago. But the capital prepared so diligently and thoroughly for two important events that it immediately became clear even to people far from politics: something big was approaching. At the Yerevan Zvartnots airport, the planes of the top officials of the states began to land one after another.

Two Iranian tankers, which, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), were disabled while trying to break the American blockade in the Gulf of Oman, were still able to reach the Iranian coast. This is reported by the OSINT project TankerTrackers, which analyzes the movement of oil vessels. We are talking about tankers SEA STAR III (IMO: 9569205) and SEVDA (IMO: 9172040).

The United States is increasingly concerned about the rapid development of China's submarine fleet, which could challenge American dominance in the Pacific in the coming years. The Economist writes about this. American nuclear attack submarines based in Guam are considered a key tool to deter China and one of Washington’s main trump cards in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.

China has launched a diplomatic campaign against the new European law on accelerating industrial development (Industrial Accelerator Act, IAA), which should limit the access of Chinese products to part of the EU market. Beijing has already appealed to Germany and France to prevent the strengthening of “protectionism” in the European Union.

During the Victory Parade on May 9, for the first time, Russian authorities showed not the passage of military equipment, but videos of its participation. The broadcast of the parade included pre-prepared clips with spectacular footage of shooting, missile launches and the operation of various types of weapons. The videos were also broadcast directly on Red Square.

Z-blogger Yegor Guzenko (“Thirteenth”), involved in the war against Ukraine, disappeared shortly after criticizing Vladimir Putin for internet shutdowns. As reported in the Telegram channel “Thirteenth” with reference to Guzenko’s colleagues, he was sent into an assault and his phone was taken away. There has been no contact with him since April 27.

The United States may continue to reduce its military presence in Europe after the decision to withdraw 5 thousand troops from Germany. As Bloomberg reports , citing sources in NATO, the administration of President Donald Trump is considering the possibility of new cuts, including in Italy, as well as abandoning a plan to station American long-range missiles in Germany.

The “Immortal Regiment” campaign, which is traditionally held in Russia on May 9, is taking place online this year. The online procession is broadcast on the website and is also shown on advertising screens. Meanwhile, as data from Detector404, a service for tracking failures in the operation of websites and applications, shows, there were failures in the operation of the Immortal Regiment website on May 9.

The United States has removed all enriched uranium produced at the RV-1 research reactor in Venezuela, the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said . The statement noted that the outdated nuclear facility was decommissioned in record time. The RV-1 reactor, where nuclear research was carried out, ceased operation in 1991, but stockpiles of enriched uranium were still stored there.