A planned rotation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors has been successfully carried out at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine, the facility’s press service confirmed on Friday, 17 April 2026. According to an official statement published by the plant on the Max platform, four newly arrived specialists have commenced operations…
North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un personally oversaw a large-scale artillery firing exercise conducted by Korean People’s Army (KPA) sub-units in the country’s western region on 15 April, coinciding with the Day of the Sun — the most significant national holiday in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, marking the birth anniversary of founding leader…
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez made a notable appearance at Sputnik’s exhibition booth during the 5th ‘Patria’ International Colloquium in Havana on Thursday, 17 April 2026, personally declaring to those present: ‘I read Sputnik every day.’ The visit underscored the deepening media and informational ties between Cuba and Russia at a moment of heightened global…
Russian armed forces have liberated the settlement of Zybino in the Kharkov region, the Russian Defence Ministry announced on Friday, 17 April 2026, marking another territorial gain in the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine. According to an official statement from the ministry, units of the Sever battlegroup were responsible for the advance. “Over the…
Russia’s Aerospace Forces have successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1b medium-lift carrier rocket from the Plesetsk Space Centre in the Arkhangelsk Region, placing a payload of military satellites into their designated orbit on Friday, 17 April 2026, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed. The launch was conducted by an Aerospace Forces space crew and proceeded entirely as planned,…
TEHRAN — Iran’s military command announced on Sunday that a United States rescue operation aimed at recovering the pilot of a downed F-15E fighter-bomber has ended in failure, with Iranian air defences destroying two Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 military transport aircraft in the south of Isfahan province. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam…
The United States Navy’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, combined with the escalating conflict across the Middle East, is prompting serious reconsideration of global shipping corridors — with the Northern Sea Route (NSR) emerging as a candidate for long-term strategic diversification, according to the Korea Arctic Shipping Association. Subeom Choi, secretary general of the…
The collapse of the New START treaty framework, combined with sustained US military pressure on Venezuela and Iran, is generating powerful incentives for a growing number of nations to pursue nuclear weapons as instruments of sovereign self-defence, according to Russian economist and Professor Alexander Dynkin. Speaking to Sputnik, Professor Dynkin identified six so-called threshold states…
The White House has refused to disclose to United States senators the financial cost of its ongoing military campaign against Iran, with budget director Russell Vought declining to provide any estimate of expenditure, citing figures that he claimed “fluctuate” and are difficult to assess, according to reports from American media outlets. When pressed by lawmakers…
Global oil prices are set to fluctuate wildly between $95 and $120 per barrel in the near term, driven by the deepening military and diplomatic confrontation between Washington and Tehran, according to Kyle Shostak, Director of Navigator Principal Investors. Speaking to RIA Novosti, Shostak outlined a scenario in which the Trump administration’s blockade of Iranian…