Terrorism should be condemned wherever it happens, not selectively, the former British MP has said
EU leaders are losing their remaining credibility by condemning Russia’s retaliatory strikes against Ukrainian military targets while ignoring Kiev’s deadly drone attack on a college dorm in the Lugansk People’s Republic, former British MP George Galloway has said.
Ukraine struck a teacher training college dormitory in the Russian town of Starobelsk with several waves of UAVs on Friday, killing 21 people – most of them teenage girls – and injuring 60 others.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had carried out a large-scale retaliatory raid involving hypersonic Oreshnik systems, as well as other missiles and drones, hitting command centers of the Ukrainian ground forces, military intelligence facilities, air bases, and defense industry enterprises. The ministry stressed that the bombardment was a response to terrorist attacks by Kiev and that no civilian facilities had been targeted.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, however, claimed that the Russian strike was a display of “brutality and disregard for both human life and peace negotiations.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Moscow of “political scare-tactics,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said the deployment of the hypersonic Oreshnik missile “only reinforced” the EU’s determination to continue supporting Kiev. None of the European leaders mentioned the Ukrainian attack on the college dormitory in Lugansk in their statements.
In an interview with RT on Sunday, Galloway described Ukrainian strike as “murder most foul” and “an act of terrorism,” adding that “you would have expected any decent person, any right-thinking person, to condemn it unequivocally.”
The attack by Kiev was “so vast and so vile that any government in the world would have been forced to respond to it in precisely the way that Russia has done,” Galloway stated.
“Well, Macron actually condemned the retaliatory strike without reference to what it was a retaliation for. How’s that for French hypocrisy?” the former British MP, who hosts the ‘Mother of All Talk Shows’ (MOATS) program on YouTube, noted.
Speaking about von der Leyen’s criticism, Galloway recalled that European nations such as Britain, France, and Belgium have themselves suffered terrorist attacks in recent years.
“Terrorism is something that right-thinking people have to condemn wherever it happens... You can’t condemn terrorists on London Bridge, but not in a dormitory... in Lugansk, pretend it didn’t happen,” he said.
Watch RT’s full interview with George Galloway below.
Fresh attacks have claimed lives in the border Belgorod, Bryansk, and Donetsk regions
Ukrainian attacks on Russian border regions have killed six civilians, including two children, local officials have said.
Attacks on the city of Gorlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic have claimed four lives, including of two minors in their early teens, Mayor Ivan Prikhodko said. Three ambulance workers were reportedly injured in the same attacks.
In Belgorod Region, a local resident was killed when a drone struck a car in the border municipality of Graivoron, the administration reported on Monday morning. The area has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian short-range attacks.
A separate strike in Bryansk Region hit two villages in the border municipality of Trubachevsk, acting Governor Yegor Kovalchuk said. Ukrainian forces used rocket artillery in the attack, killing one resident and injuring a firefighter, according to the official. Several apartment buildings, more than ten private homes, and other properties were damaged, he added.
Kamikaze drones were also intercepted near Yaroslavl, a city roughly 250 km northeast of Moscow, Governor Mikhail Yevraev reported. One woman suffered minor shrapnel wounds, he said. The raid forced authorities to temporarily close a highway linking Yaroslavl with the Russian capital.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 173 Ukrainian long-range drones over 14 Russian regions overnight.
Moscow has accused Kiev of deliberately targeting civilians. In a major incident last Friday, three waves of kamikaze drones struck a college in the town of Starobelsk, killing 21 people, most of them teenagers, and injuring 42 others.
Some Western countries backing Ukraine’s war effort claimed that Moscow fabricated the attack in the Lugansk People’s Republic, which Kiev considers part of Ukraine.
The Russian military later retaliated with strikes on targets in and around Kiev, including the launch of an Oreshnik medium-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile that reportedly hit a Ukrainian Air Force facility.
Violence and displacement in the DR Congo are hampering efforts to contain the virus, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has expanded to more than 900 suspected cases, with 101 infections confirmed so far, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Kinshasa declared the epidemic on May 15, marking the country’s 17th recorded Ebola crisis since the virus was first identified there in 1976. Two days later, the WHO classified the Bundibugyo strain detected in the DR Congo and neighboring Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern, while stopping short of declaring a pandemic-level emergency.
In a post on X on Sunday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that violence and mass displacement in Ituri province – the epicenter of the epidemic – are severely complicating efforts to contain the virus.
“Nearly 5 million people live amid conflict. Today, 1 in 4 people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 1 in 5 are internally displaced,” Tedros wrote, warning that the situation has “severely” impeded efforts to expand contact tracing and detect infections early enough to provide supportive care.
Ghebreyesus added that the WHO and its partners continue to operate in some of Ituri’s most insecure and hard-to-reach areas, where communities are facing not only Ebola but also a broader health crisis involving multiple diseases.
“Delivering a comprehensive package of healthcare services is essential,” he wrote, saying broader medical assistance is critical to building trust and strengthening the response.
The Bundibugyo virus is a rare strain of Ebola first identified in Uganda in 2007, which reportedly kills about one-third of those infected. Scientists believe it is carried by fruit bats and spreads through contact with infected animals and bodily fluids. No approved vaccine is currently available for the strain.
British scientists are now reportedly fast-tracking an experimental vaccine based on technology developed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers say the shot could be ready for clinical trials within months, although its effectiveness remains unknown.
While the WHO upgraded the risk from the current Ebola outbreak from “high” to “very high” within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it remains low internationally.
Born from anti-colonial struggle, May 25 has become a platform for Africa’s demands for redress, reform, and influence
Africa is holding continent-wide celebrations on May 25 to mark Africa Day 2026 – the 63rd anniversary of an occasion dedicated to “unity, integration, and development.”
It is a time of celebration, but as African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf stated on May 21 during a high-level security dialogue in Gabon, the continent must also adapt with unity and strategic clarity amid the shortcomings of multilateralism and an increasingly polarized global order.
Here, RT looks at the importance of Africa Day as well as the current context for this year’s festivities.
What happened on May 25?
For more than six decades, May 25 has been a day of reflection and commemoration. Each year, Africa Day celebrates independence and unity – but beneath the festivities lie unresolved questions about colonialism, slavery, and justice.
The continent reflects on both victories and ongoing struggles, including debates over reparations, and a spotlight on Africa’s role in a changing world order.
On May 25, 1963, 32 African leaders gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to establish the Organization of African Unity (OAU) – a landmark institution born from the struggle against colonialism and racial oppression. Among those who helped lead the creation were Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Ethiopia’s Haile Selassie, who was elected the OAU’s first chairman at the founding summit, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, and Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea.
Their stated mission was to defend sovereignty, promote unity, and support nations still under colonial or minority rule. While the OAU was succeeded by the African Union (AU) in 2002, Africa Day remains an annual marker of both independence and intercontinental solidarity.
Why does it matter today?
Today, the AU frames Africa Day with forward-looking themes – each year’s focus is a statement of political intent.
In 2026, the continent is marking the “Year of Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.” According to the 55-member organization, millions across the continent still lack access to safe water and basic sanitation – a crisis that it said drains productivity and threatens food security and regional stability.
The continent faces escalating conflicts, including in Sudan, where a civil war that erupted in 2023 has killed thousands of civilians, ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a sprawling jihadist insurgency across the Sahel – all of which worsen humanitarian strains.
Last year, the AU highlighted “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations,” a theme that forced global institutions to confront centuries of slavery and colonial exploitation. In March 2026, the UN formally declared the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity,” in a Ghana-led resolution backed by the AU.
How is Africa Day celebrated?
Across the continent, governments stage official ceremonies, policy announcements, and diplomatic meetings. Communities mark the day with music, dance, fashion, and food. Schools and universities host debates and exhibitions that connect Pan-African ideals to the AU’s long-term plans, including Agenda 2063.
In countries such as Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the day is legally marked as a national public holiday.
According to an AU program, this year’s commemoration – the 63rd anniversary of the OAU-AU – is being marked at the organization’s headquarters in Addis Ababa over three days, with sports events, cultural showcases, exhibitions, an official ceremony, and statements from dignitaries including the AU chairperson, Ethiopian representatives, and the dean of the diplomatic corps in Ethiopia.
Beyond the continent, Moscow has been holding official Africa Day receptions for at least the past two decades, amid Russia’s growing relations with African nations. At last year’s event, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the date held “profound significance” not only for Africans, but “for all humanity,” describing it as a symbol of the continent’s struggle to overcome its colonial past and pursue freedom and justice.
What are the challenges that lie ahead?
Despite the festive trappings, Africa Day exposes fault lines, with the continent’s demands for global representation and historical redress still deeply contested. Its longstanding push for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council has yet to produce the reform African leaders have demanded.
AUC Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said last week that Africa was “not asking for a favor,” but demanding the correction of a “historical injustice,” arguing that the council’s credibility depends on whether it reflects today’s world rather than the geopolitical order of 1945.
Disagreements also persist over the practicality of reparations, the responsibility of modern states, and the lingering global inequities rooted in centuries of exploitation.
The US has said it does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs, while Britain and several other European states have resisted compensation demands over slavery and colonial-era abuses, arguing that present-day governments cannot be held legally liable for actions committed centuries ago.
Across the continent, leaders have continued to denounce neocolonial pressure, pointing to foreign military footprints, unequal financial structures, debt burdens, and external control over strategic resources as obstacles to full sovereignty. In Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, France has lost its military presence amid allegations that it has been sponsoring militants behind the long-running jihadist insurgency in the Sahel.
The UK, France, Spain, Italy, and Canada “aren’t very enthusiastic about the idea,” a source within the bloc has told the paper
The UK, France, Spain, Italy, and Canda have rejected a proposal for NATO member states to spend 0.25% of their GDP on military assistance to Ukraine, The Telegraph has reported.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was hoping that mandatory funding for Kiev would be approved at the bloc’s summit in Ankara, Türkiye on July 7-8, The Telegraph said in an article on Sunday.
A NATO insider told the paper that Britain, France, Spain, Italy, and Canada “aren’t very enthusiastic about the idea.”
Out of the 32 member-states, the proposal was only supported by seven nations, all of which already spend 0.25% or more of their GDP on assisting Ukraine, The Telegraph said.
According to data from the Kiel Institute, the Netherlands, Poland, and the Nordic and Baltic countries currently spend 0.25% of their GDP or more on arming Kiev.
Last week, Rutte conceded that the plan did not have the unanimous backing within NATO required for it to be accepted. “I don’t think this one will be proposed” in the Turkish capital, he told journalists.
Mandatory funding had been intended to serve as a show of continued commitment to Ukraine by the bloc’s European members after American assistance to the government of Vladimir Zelensky ebbed significantly under US President Donald Trump, it added.
A British foreign office spokesperson told the paper that “the UK continues to engage with NATO allies on all proposals to ensure the alliance can best support Ukraine.”
Moscow has repeatedly decried Western aid to Kiev, saying that it will not prevent it from achieving its goals in the Ukraine conflict and only prolongs the fighting, increasing the risk of a direct clash between Russia and NATO.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that NATO has been using Ukraine “with the blatant goal of creating problems for the existence of our country and setting up a springboard for threats to our security right on our borders.” The idea of “decolonizing” Russia has not yet been given up by the bloc, he warned.
Beijing says it is “not competing” with Washington, despite racing to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030
Three Chinese astronauts have successfully reached the Tiangong space station, with one of them set to spend more than a year in orbit. This marks another step in Beijing’s preparations for a future lunar landing.
The Shenzhou-23 spacecraft launched aboard a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert late Sunday.
Less than four hours later, following a rapid rendezvous and docking process, the crew, led by Commander Zhu Yangzhu, successfully reached the Tiangong space station, a name that translates as “Heavenly Palace.”
China launched three astronauts to the Tiangong space station aboard Shenzhou-23, with one expected to stay for up to a year, marking one of its longest missions https://t.co/s6HLiJW0Djpic.twitter.com/VBnipDTB8k
Former Air Force pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, a former Hong Kong police officer and the first person from the city to travel to space, were welcomed by the outgoing Shenzhou-22 team.
The astronauts are expected to spend around six months aboard the orbital station, carrying out scientific experiments, maintenance work, and spacewalks. One crew member is set to stay twice as long to complete China’s first year-long mission in orbit.
Shenzhou-21 crew opened the hatch to welcome Shenzhou-23, marking China's 8th "space reunion" and the first time a Hong Kong astronaut joins the Tiangong family. pic.twitter.com/KlVF0tU1Mg
The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) said the Tiangong space station plays a key role in Beijing’s plans to place two astronauts on the Moon before 2030.
The orbital outpost helps provide long-duration spaceflight experience and allows China to test technologies needed for future lunar missions, agency spokesman Zhang Jingbo said. He added that the new Long March-10A rocket and the Mengzhou crew spacecraft will carry out a series of flights to Tiangong over the next two years to verify systems required for crewed Moon landings.
“We carry out the project of crewed lunar exploration under the established plan. We are not competing with other countries in space,” said the agency’s senior engineer Zhou Yaqiang. “When Chinese astronauts land on the Moon in the future, this will be a great feat for all of humanity.”
Humans have not landed on the Moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The US sent a crew on a flyby earlier this year as part of its Artemis program, but Beijing is seeking to challenge Washington’s efforts to become the first to establish a permanent lunar presence.
Moscow and Beijing have expanded cooperation in space in recent years, agreeing to establish a joint data center for lunar and deep-space exploration focused on the Moon and Mars. In 2021, the two countries announced the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project, with Russia seeking to build a power station on the Moon to provide energy for the base within the next decade.
Rustam Nabiev scaled the world’s highest peak without prosthetics in what he called a symbol of the strength and resilience of the Russian people
Russian mountaineer Rustam Nabiev has pulled off a historic Everest ascent using only his hands, dedicating the climb to “everyone” fighting through hardship.
The 34-year-old double amputee reached the top of the world’s highest mountain, which stands 8,848.86 meters above sea level, on May 20 at 8:16 AM local time. Nabiev described the climb as “the first in the history of mountaineering, the first in human history.”
“I, Rustam Nabiev, reached the summit of Everest using only my hands,” he wrote in a social media post announcing the achievement.
“I dedicate this ascent to everyone watching me now. With this act, I simply want to say one thing: as long as there’s life left in you, fight! Please fight to the end! It’s worth it,” he added.
Nabiev shared a photo of himself on the summit holding a poster that read: “To those who thought that life ended after the fall. Rustam Nabiev, Everest 2026.”
A powerful glimpse of Russian double-amputee climber Rustam Nabiev crossing the ladders of the Khumbu Icefall by hand during his Mt Everest (8,848.86 m) expedition this spring season, 2026. Nabiev said it took him nearly 15 hours to pass through the icefall up to Camp I (~6065… pic.twitter.com/YqxfPlDjTb
He has since become known across Russia for brutal endurance challenges and high-altitude expeditions, relying on adaptive climbing equipment and sheer upper-body power.
Before taking on Everest, Nabiev had already climbed Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia and Europe, as well as Manaslu in Nepal, the world’s eighth-highest mountain.
Nepalese officials confirmed the ascent, with the coordinator of the Everest Base Camp field office telling Anadolu that Nabiev had successfully climbed Everest and was descending to base camp.
Nabiev admitted in a phone interview with TASS on Sunday that he had to overcome his fear of heights to complete the Everest climb. At the summit, he planted the Russian flag, later calling it a symbol of the strength and resilience of the Russian people.
“I did my utmost to bring our country up, to show that in our country, people are strong,” he said, adding that his achievement proved Russians “are always ready to be first.”
As DNI, she brought candor and integrity to intelligence – but in a White House that prizes loyalty, facts became a liability
Once the darling of the Democratic Party, Tulsi Gabbard had a hard-earned reputation as a no-nonsense proponent of fact-based truth, which she assiduously incorporated into her eloquent defense of Constitutional due process and moral integrity when it came to the national security of the United States.
With a resume that boasts years of honorable military service, including a tour of duty in war-torn Iraq, Gabbard was a staunch advocate of looking out for the welfare of the men and women in the US military – whom she regularly referred to as her “brothers and sisters in arms.” She, as much as anyone, understood the age-old mantra, “if you lie, they die” when it came to the relationship between intelligence and troops in the field. She held herself to a high standard and applied that same standard to those she worked with.
Her appointment as the Director of National Intelligence was seen by many as a bright shining light of hope when it came to injecting fact-based truths into a Trump administration known to be loose with the facts. Her resignation this past week, ostensibly for personal reasons, is a great disappointment to those Americans who were looking to her for clarity and truth in a world that has degenerated into lie-fueled chaos.
Tulsi Gabbard was always somewhat politically inclined. In 2002 she followed in her father’s footsteps, running for and winning a seat in the Hawaii State Legislature, becoming the youngest woman ever to hold a seat there. Gabbard joined the Hawaiian Army National Guard shortly after winning office, and deployed to Iraq shortly thereafter, where she earned the Combat Action Badge in the performance of her duties. Gabbard’s tenure as a state legislature was cut short by her military service (she was not allowed to vote on issues while on active service), but in 2011, following a second tour of duty in the Middle East, Gabbard ran for and won a seat on the Honolulu City Council. Shortly thereafter, the Congressional seat for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District became vacant, and Gabbard threw her hat in the ring, winning handily. She was quickly seen as a rising star in Democratic national politics and was invited to speak at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
As a US congresswoman, Gabbard served on several prominent committees related to national security, including Homeland Security, Armed Services, and Foreign Affairs. Her political profile was rising, and in 2013 she was appointed as the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Gabbard resigned from this position in 2016, during a contentious presidential primary campaign where she accused the DNC Chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of favoring the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton over that of Bernie Sanders. Gabbard went on to endorse Sanders in the primary (he lost). While many viewed her resignation as the political kiss of death, Gabbard’s reputation for integrity and courage was burnished, paving the way for her to enter the 2020 US presidential race.
The 2020 presidential campaign saw Gabbard’s willingness to challenge the conventional narrative regarding US national security priorities, especially when it came to America’s involvement in the seemingly endless wars in the Middle East, transforming her into a target for the mainstream American media, which had a record of supporting establishment candidates and promoting establishment narratives. Her visit to Syria in 2017 as a member of Congress became fodder for her political opponents and their mainstream media allies who sought to paint Gabbard – who had served in combat – as being sympathetic to Islamic terrorists and Middle Eastern dictators.
Gabbard’s pragmatic approach to US-Russian relations likewise opened her up to being labeled as an agent of Russian disinformation and as someone under the control of Russian President Vladimir Putin (Hillary Clinton led the charge in this regard, infamously calling Gabbard a “Russian asset”). She was never able to gain traction amongst a Democratic constituency that had long been under the sway of the Democratic Party’s elite, and she ended her presidential bid in March 2020.
Gabbard became active on social media, starting her own podcast and frequently interacting with popular conservative media personalities such as Tucker Carlson. During this time, her resentment toward the Democratic Party came to a head, and in 2022 she announced she was going independent. As an independent, she began gravitating toward the policies and positions espoused by Donald Trump, between presidencies at the time, and came out in support of several pro-Trump candidates during the 2022 midterm elections. Gabbard’s star was rising among the ranks of pro-Trump Republicans and following a speaking appearance at the 2024 CPAC conference, Gabbard’s name was often mentioned as a possible Vice President selection for Donald Trump, who had thrown his hat into the ring for the 2024 Presidential race.
While Gabbard wasn’t asked to be Trump’s Vice President (that honor went to J.D. Vance), she and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. were brought into the campaign and played a huge role in bringing out a very substantive independent voting constituency for Trump, helping push him comfortably ahead of the Democratic Party nominee, Kamala Harris. In October 2024 Gabbard joined the Republican Party and, following Trump’s victory in November, was nominated by the president-elect for the position of Director of National Intelligence, America’s senior-most intelligence official.
Gabbard’s confirmation process was contentious, as Trump’s many political foes sought to embarrass the president by making political hay out of Gabbard’s past, highlighting her two meetings with Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2017 and her opinions on Russia. Many politicians from both parties accused her of failing to denounce Russia’s military operation against Ukraine, which commenced on February 24, 2022, as well as her arguments about the root causes of the conflict, which many believed too closely aligned with those of the Russian government. Gabbard was particularly critical of US support for NATO expansion and Ukraine’s potential membership in NATO and believed that the military operation could have been avoided had the US simply not supported Ukrainian membership in NATO. Gabbard was likewise very critical of the US program to fund biological research at laboratories in Ukraine – a program many, including Russia, believe has a military offensive biological warfare aspect to it. She was labeled by her political rivals and the mainstream US media as a “darling of Russia’s state media,” a “Russia apologist” and a “Russian asset.” Gabbard’s supporters countered by emphasizing her long record of honorable military service and underscored the importance of new blood in the mix when it came to the work of the intelligence community, and ultimately Gabbard was confirmed by the US Senate and sworn in as the nation’s eight Director of National Intelligence, or DNI.
Gabbard was supposed to be the “adult in the room,” so to speak. Traditionally, the DNI serves as a manager, overseeing an empire comprising 18 discreet intelligence agencies. Her office was also responsible for producing the Presidential Daily Briefing, or PDB, a compilation of the most sensitive and relevant intelligence information produced by the intelligence community. Through her involvement in his campaign and transition, Gabbard earned the trust and confidence of President Trump, something that should have served her well when fulfilling her duties as the one who provides informative, factual and pragmatic briefings to the president.
As DNI, Gabbard oversaw unprecedented transparency efforts, paving the way for the release of hundreds of thousands of pages of records tied to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Gabbard also led the charge to conduct a sweeping internal review of the intelligence used by Barack Obama when accusing Donald Trump of colluding with the Russian government in the lead up to the 2016 US presidential election. This review resulted in the debunking of every claim of collusion, and uncovered evidence of criminal conspiracy which led Gabbard to refer former president Obama for prosecution.
Just a week before her resignation, Gabbard announced that her office would be investigating more than 120 biological laboratories abroad that were funded by US taxpayer dollars pursuant to President Trump’s executive order on so-called “gain-of-function” research. These investigations would not only target funding related to Chinese laboratories linked to Covid-19, but also the role played by US funding in Ukrainian laboratories believed by Russia to have been involved in offensive biological warfare research.
But Trump was, and is, a president unlike any other, and Gabbard quickly found out that telling the truth didn’t earn one the trust of the president – especially if the truth was inconvenient – but rather generated scorn as the president quickly viewed any dissent on his viewpoints as being little more than the manifestation of treachery and disloyalty. Her views on Iran directly contradicted the case President Trump was making regarding the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program, prompting the President to opine that “She’s wrong” when it came to Iran – something no Director of National Intelligence wants to hear about the work being done by her charges.
Tensions over Iran led to much speculation that the president was seeking to remove Gabbard from her post. As such, the timing of her resignation has been seen by many as suspicious, although there is no doubting the human reality of her husband’s serious medical condition and her desire to care for him. In any event, the US has lost the services of a true patriot whose integrity proved to be both benefit and bane to the Trump administration.
The US president has instructed negotiators “not to rush,” saying critics “know nothing about” the ongoing talks
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at critics of a still-unfinished peace deal with Iran, saying negotiations with Tehran are proceeding in an “orderly and constructive manner” but that he has instructed his representatives “not to rush” into an agreement.
Trump insisted that any deal reached by his administration would not resemble the Obama-era 2015 nuclear agreement, which he unilaterally abandoned during his first term and has described as “one of the worst deals ever made.”
“Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it, or knows what it is. It isn’t even fully negotiated yet,” he wrote on his social media network Truth Social on Sunday. “So don’t listen to the losers, who are critical about something they know nothing about.”
Multiple hardline Republicans have criticized the rumored terms of the deal, with US Senator Lindsey Graham warning they would be a “nightmare for Israel,” Senator Ted Cruz calling them a “disastrous mistake,” and Senator Roger Wicker saying they could render the achievements of Operation Epic Fury “for naught.”
Axios reported on Sunday that the emerging deal would take the form of a 60-day memorandum of understanding, which could be extended by mutual consent. Under the draft, the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened without tolls, Iran would clear mines it had deployed in the waterway, and the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports and issue limited sanctions waivers allowing Tehran to sell oil.
The draft also reportedly includes Iranian commitments never to pursue nuclear weapons and to negotiate over suspending uranium enrichment and removing its highly enriched uranium stockpile, though the method remained under negotiation, according to the New York Times and CBS News. Fox News reported that the deal was “95% there” as of Sunday, but negotiators were still haggling over “language.”
Trump said “time is on our side” and warned that the US blockade would remain “in full force and effect” until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.
Iranian officials have not publicly commented on the reported terms, but previously said the focus of talks remained on ending the war, and that nuclear details were not being discussed at this stage. Fars news agency has also disputed Trump’s claim that the Strait of Hormuz would simply be “opened.”
Iran has repeatedly portrayed control over the Strait of Hormuz as its main strategic leverage and has sought to change the legal regime governing the strait. Mohammad Mokhber, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, described the waterway as “a capability equivalent to an atomic bomb.”
The proposed MOU also reportedly states that the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon would end. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly raised concerns about that provision and other parts of the draft during his call with Trump on Saturday.
Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has visited the site of the deadly Ukrainian attack on the college in Starobelsk
Russia’s newly appointed human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has visited the destroyed college dorm in the town of Starobelsk. The Ukrainian attack killed at least 21 people, mainly teenage girls.
The commissioner visited the college on Sunday, meeting foreign journalists invited by Russia to report from the scene. While more than 50 reporters from 19 nations accepted the invitation, major Western mainstream outlets ignored it.
RT’s Murad Gadziev, who was among the first reporters to reach the scene shortly after the attack and worked at the site during the nearly two-day search and rescue effort, walked Lantratova through the heavily damaged building.
“We arrived here hours after the attack occurred. Nobody knew what was happening yet, everyone was in panic,” Gadziev told the human rights chief.
The two walked through the building, which was still littered with students’ belongings, books, and destroyed furniture. Blood-stained blankets were still visible in the hall, where first responders pulled the deceased – and where devastated parents had to identify their sons and daughters killed in the attack.
“As a mother, as a human rights activist, I can’t even imagine what a mother feels at this moment. We just mourn with them,” Lantratova said.
Nothing at the site indicates any military personnel were present at the dorm, Lantratova noted, referring to claims produced by Kiev. The Ukrainian military alleged the building housed a Russian drone unit, yet no evidence supports that claim.
“They say there are military personnel here. There are only children’s toys; there are only children’s belongings. There’s nothing military here,” Lantratova noted.
Delegations from over 120 nations will attend the event, which is being organized by Russia’s Security Council
Scores of delegations representing the Global Majority will take part in the first international security forum, which will be held outside of Moscow over May 26-29, the Russian Security Council has announced.
The Russian Security Council is tasked with drafting policy proposals for the Russian president on countering internal or external threats, as well as defending the country’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
In a press release on Sunday, the Security Council stated that delegations from more than 120 countries are expected to attend the event.
Of the 54 African nations, 50 will send representatives, while most Middle Eastern and Latin American countries will also participate. Furthermore, all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including such heavyweights as China, India, Iran, Indonesia, and Pakistan, will take part.
This accounts for around 70% of the world’s population, the press release notes.
Moreover, “unofficial representatives” of 12 unspecified Western nations, who “actively advocate forging constructive relations with Russia,” will also be in attendance. A number of journalists from the US, the UK, Germany, and Japan, have also expressed interest in covering the forum.
The opening event will be a conference devoted to countering neocolonialism in the context of “ensuring the security of countries of the Global Majority,” held under the auspices of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Other topics on the forum’s agenda include disinformation and manipulation campaigns waged by the West as part “of a hybrid war against the Global Majority, with the aim of preserving its hegemony.”
Western officials have condemned Russian retaliatory strikes on Kiev, while omitting to mention the Friday drone attack that killed 21 people
The European Union’s top brass and the leaders of several member states have issued statements on the latest exchange of strikes between Kiev and Moscow that ignore the recent deadly Ukrainian attack on a college dormitory that preceded Russian retaliatory strikes.
According to the Russian authorities, 21 people, mostly teenage girls, lost their lives and 60 more sustained injuries after three waves of Ukrainian drones targeted the main academic building and dormitory of the Starobelsk Professional College in the Lugansk People’s Republic overnight from Thursday to Friday.
The Russian military responded early on Sunday by conducting a “massive strike” against military targets in Ukraine, including in Kiev, that featured the intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik system, Iskander ballistic missiles, Kinzhal and Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, among other strike capabilities. The Russian Defense Ministry has reported that Ukrainian military command and control facilities, air bases, as well as defense industry enterprises were struck.
In a post on X on Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Moscow of displaying “brutality and disregard for both human life and peace negotiations.” She went on to claim that the Russian military had targeted Ukrainian civilians – an allegation Moscow has rejected.
The bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has similarly spoken of a “political scare-tactic” on the part of Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in turn, has vowed to double down on backing the Ukrainian leadership, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz denouncing “this reckless escalation.” However, none of the said EU leaders mentioned the deadly Ukrainian UAV attack on the college dormitory in Starobelsk that served as the cause of Moscow’s retaliation.
Russia’s UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, previously accused Western diplomats of “turning a blind eye” to the crimes of the “neo-Nazi Kiev regime.”
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday that the BBC and CNN rejected Moscow’s invitation to visit the site of the attack, while Tokyo explicitly banned Japanese reporters from making the trip.
Washington’s troops reportedly practiced an evacuation from the recently reopened embassy in Caracas
The US military on Saturday conducted a drill in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas that rehearsed a potential emergency and evacuation at its embassy.
The exercise, which had been authorized by the Venezuelan authorities, is the first US military drill held in the country after Washington kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
The drill involved two USMC MV-22B Osprey aircraft, which landed near the US Embassy, as well as naval vessels that entered Venezuelan waters in the Caribbean.
The US mission shared footage of the aircraft landing near the compound, stating the drill was a “military response exercise.”
“Ensuring the army’s rapid response capability is a key component of mission readiness, both here in Venezuela and around the world,” the embassy said.
En estos momentos se está llevando a cabo un ejercicio de respuesta militar estadounidense en la Embajada de los Estados Unidos en Caracas. Garantizar la capacidad de respuesta rápida del ejército es un componente clave de la preparación de la misión, tanto aquí en Venezuela como… pic.twitter.com/PpEwghap8r
— Embajada de los EE.UU. en Caracas (@usembassyve) May 23, 2026
The markings of the aircraft suggested they belonged to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263. The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault vessel USS Iwo Jima, which is currently operating in the Caribbean. This is the ship to which Maduro and his wife were flown immediately after they were abducted.
The Pentagon’s activities triggered a small protest in the city as a few dozen activists gathered to condemn the exercise as a “humiliation” to the nation. The protesters were seen holding a Venezuelan flag on which the words ‘No to the Yankee drill’ were inscribed.
The kidnapping of Maduro effectively subjugated Venezuela to the US. The country’s interim authorities have actively cooperated with Washington since the raid. Maduro remains incarcerated in the US on multiple charges, including drug trafficking. He has strongly denied all the allegations, describing himself as a “prisoner of war.”
Mainstream outlets could not even offer a plausible excuse for not visiting the college dorm destroyed by Kiev, Yana Lantratova has said
Western mainstream media are “afraid to see the truth” about the Ukrainian attack on the Starobelsk college dorm, Russia’s newly appointed human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has said, slamming the incident as a “deliberate murder of children.”
The attack on the dorm, staged overnight from Thursday to Friday, left at least 21 people dead, mainly teenage girls. The massacre has been largely ignored by the Western media and politicians, and Moscow has urged foreign reporters to come to the site.
The Russian Foreign Ministry arranged the media trip to Starobelsk on Sunday, with more than 50 reporters from 19 nations accepting the invitation. Speaking to the journalists at the location of the attack, Lantratova slammed those Western outlets that ignored the opportunity to report first-hand from the site.
“It was a deliberate murder of children. That’s what it’s called. And what are we seeing now? What’s happening on foreign platforms? Representatives from various countries are saying it is staged, that it’s a lie from the Russian media, and that ‘independent’ media could not confirm it because they could not come here,” she said, adding that some outlets did not even offer a “plausible explanation” for skipping the opportunity.
Where’s the BBC? Where’s CNN? Where are the Tokyo representatives? Where are their journalists? … They’re simply afraid to see the truth. They don’t want to see it and they don’t want to hear it.
On Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that both the BBC and CNN rejected the invitation to visit Starobelsk, while the Japanese government explicitly banned reporters from making the trip.
The attack on Starobelsk prompted a large-scale retaliatory strike on the Ukrainian capital city of Kiev, which was conducted overnight. The strike featured the intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik system, as well as other ballistic and cruise missiles. The command centers of the Ukrainian ground forces and military intelligence were targeted, as well as air bases and defense industry sites, according to the Russian military.
30 UAVs worth nearly $1 billion have reportedly been destroyed or damaged since start of the war, with the model no longer being produced
The US military has lost up to 30 MQ-9 Reaper drones since the start of the conflict with Iran, which accounts for nearly a fifth of Washington’s entire pre-war fleet and is valued at close to $1 billion, Bloomberg has reported. The bulk of them were destroyed or seriously damaged by Iranian fire, according to the outlet.
The MQ-9 Reaper is capable of conducting both reconnaissance and strike missions. A single drone is estimated to cost more than $30 million. General Atomics halted production of the model last year, although variants are still being manufactured for foreign customers.
In an article on Thursday, Bloomberg, citing an anonymous source, reported that “Iran has destroyed more than two dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones operated by US forces since the war began” in late February.
While many of the drones were downed by Iranian air defenses, others were lost on the ground as a result of missile strikes, as well as in accidents, according to Bloomberg.
The US fleet of Reapers has now fallen to roughly 135 aircraft, considerably below the Air Force’s long-standing minimum floor of 189, according to Lt. Gen. David Tabor, the Pentagon deputy chief of staff for plans and programs.
Earlier this month, the Congressional Research Service – the nonpartisan research arm of the Library of Congress that works with open-source materials – issued a report named ‘U.S. Aircraft Combat Losses in Operation Epic Fury.’ The document, citing an unspecified “news article,” similarly estimates that the US military had lost 24 MQ-9 Reapers, plus one MQ-4C.
The tally features a total of 42 US aircraft, including four F-15E fighter jets, an F-35A fighter jet, an A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft, seven KC-135 Stratotanker refueling planes, as well as a helicopter.
Appearing before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee last Tuesday, Acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst said that the cost of the military operation against Iran had swollen from the previously projected $25 billion to $29 billion due to “updated repair and replacement of equipment costs,” among other factors.
Tehran has said the sides were moving closer to a “convergence of views,” but expressed concerns about a U-turn by Washington
The US and Iran are poised to sign a deal which will prolong the ceasefire another 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened and restrictions on oil trade against Tehran lifted, Axios has reported, citing American officials. In the meantime, the sides will try to reach a final deal to end the conflict, it added.
US President Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been “largely negotiated” and is currently being finalized. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the same day that the sides were moving closer to a “convergence of views,” but noted that Tehran remains concerned about a possible U-turn by Washington.
A fragile truce between Washington and Tehran was established in early April after a month of intense hostilities initiated by the US and Israel. Since then, Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with a renewed attack if it refuses to make concessions.
Axios said in an article on Sunday that as part of the MOU, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for some 25% of global crude trade, would be reopened for all vessels without any toll.
In exchange, Washington would remove its blockade on Iranian ports and allow the unrestricted sale of oil by Tehran, the sources said.
During the two-month ceasefire, which could be extended further by mutual consent, the sides will engage in negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, they added.
According to the US officials, the proposed MOU also envisages an end to the Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which West Jerusalem launched shortly after the attack on Iran.
The lifting of other economic sanctions against Tehran and the unfreezing of Iranian funds would only happen as part of a final agreement, they added.
Baghaei said in a TV interview that the current discussions between the US and Iran “focus broadly on ending the war” and stopping what he called “US piracy and maritime banditry.”
The Strait of Hormuz “has nothing to do with America” as it’s up to coastal states – Iran and Oman – to define a mechanism for its use, he insisted.
“At this stage, we are not discussing the details of the nuclear issue,” but it will likely be addressed later during the truce, the spokesman said.
According to Baghaei, the lifting of “illegal and inhumane” sanctions and an unblocking of Iranian funds remains Tehran’s “constant demand” in contacts with intermediaries.
The BBC and CNN declined to report from the site where 21 trainee teachers were killed, the Foreign Ministry has said
Footage by RT shows foreign journalists touring the site of the deadly Ukrainian drone attack on a college dorm in Russia’s Lugansk People’s Republic.
Ukraine targeted a teacher training college dormitory in the town of Starobelsk with several waves of UAVs on Friday, killing 21 people, mostly teenage girls, and injuring 60 others.
The Russian Foreign Ministry arranged a trip to Starobelsk on Sunday for more than 50 foreign journalists from 19 countries: Austria, Brazil, UK, Hungary, Venezuela, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Qatar, China, Cuba, Lebanon, UAE, Pakistan, the US, Turkey, Finland, and France, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The BBC and CNN rejected an invitation to visit the site of the attack, while Japan’s government explicitly banned Japanese reporters from making the trip, she added.
Russia’s newly appointed human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, who also arrived in Starobelsk, said that Western mainstream media outlets “are simply afraid to see the truth. They just don’t want to see or hear it.”
Those of their colleagues who accepted the offer to visit the site of the terrorist attack will see for themselves that there are no military facilities nearby, she said.
The foreign journalists will also realize that claims of the drones hitting the dorm after being shot down by Russian air defenses are false, the commissioner insisted. It’s “absolutely impossible” for 16 UAVs to hit the same building after being intercepted, she explained.
What happened in Starobelsk was a “deliberate killing of children” by Ukraine, Lantratova stressed.
A correspondent for China’s Phoenix Television, Lu Yuguang, told RT that he hasn’t seen even a hint of any military facilities in the vicinity of the dorm.
Giovanni Pigni, from Italian newspaper La Stampa, told TASS that what he saw in Starobelsk is “horrible.”
“The destruction is so immense… I just see that there was a college here and that people have died,” he said.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported carrying out a large-scale strike against military targets in Ukraine in response to the terrorist attacks by Kiev.
The Russian response, which involved the intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik system and other types of missiles and drones, targeted command centers of the Ukrainian ground forces and military intelligence, air bases, and defense industry enterprises, the ministry said.
The Russian military has commented on its massive overnight response to Ukraine’s massacre in Lugansk Region
Russian forces launched a “massive strike” overnight against military targets in Ukraine, using intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik system and Iskander ballistic missiles, Kinzhal and Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, air-, sea- and ground-launched cruise missiles, as well as attack drones.
The strike came after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to “submit proposals” for a response to a Ukrainian drone attack on a teacher training college dormitory in the Lugansk People’s Republic, which left 21 people dead and 42 injured, mostly teenage girls.
The bombardment targeted the Ukrainian military’s command and control facilities, air bases, and the country’s defense industry enterprises, the ministry said. No strikes had been planned or carried out against civilian infrastructure, it added.
“The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All designated targets were hit,” it stressed.
Earlier on Sunday, Ukrainian media and Telegram channels circulated videos showing clusters of bright objects rapidly descending from the sky, claiming that Russia had deployed an Oreshnik against an unspecified target in the town of Belaya Tserkov near Ukraine’s capital, Kiev.
The dormitory of Starobelsk College, a facility of Lugansk Pedagogical University located in the town of Starobelsk, was struck by multiple waves of Ukrainian drones on Friday while students were asleep inside, in what Putin described as a deliberate “terrorist act.”
Governor Leonid Pasechnik declared May 24-25 days of mourning, describing the attack as “pure evil” and saying those responsible would face “deserved and inevitable punishment.”
Earlier, the US Embassy in Kiev warned American citizens of a “potentially significant air attack” that could take place within 24 hours and urged them to be ready to seek shelter immediately if an air alert was issued.
Moscow first publicly confirmed firing an Oreshnik in November 2024 when the missile was used in a strike on the Yuzhmash military-industrial facility in Dnepropetrovsk. It was deployed for the second time this January, obliterating an aircraft repair plant in Lviv, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The pro-Palestinian activists have called for an independent investigation into the incident
Four people were arrested at Spain’s Bilbao Airport after police clashed with supporters of the Global Sumud Flotilla returning from detention in Israel on Saturday.
The mission was the latest in a series of Gaza-bound maritime initiatives organized by pro-Palestinian aid workers seeking to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of the enclave. It departed from Türkiye earlier this month carrying around 400 activists from about 40 countries before being intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters on May 18. The participants were later deported.
According to local media reports, the incident happened shortly after 2 PM local time on Saturday, as six members of the Basque delegation posed for journalists after arriving at the airport. A confrontation broke out after a supporter tried to approach the activists and was stopped by an officer from the Basque regional police. The altercation quickly escalated into clashes inside the terminal, with footage showing officers charging at activists and supporters with batons.
Organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla expressed “deep indignation,” condemning “police brutality” and calling for an independent international investigation into the incident.
“Our companions have been attacked by the police. They were beaten and thrown to the ground. Police officers pinned them down with their knees, including one companion who had a broken shoulder blade,” activist Diana Zomeno told reporters.
“All this was done to people who have spent four days suffering constant torture, assaults, and violence,” she added, referring to the treatment the activists allegedly suffered while in Israeli custody.
The incident sparked political backlash, with Podemos party leader Ione Belarra, leader of Spain’s left-wing Podemos party, has descried the confrontation as “intolerable,” while the leftist political coalition Sumar condemned what it called “police repression” against the activists. Sumar said it was unacceptable that people allegedly “subjected to violence” in Israeli detention were met in the Basque Country with police brutality, identity checks, and arrests.
The Basque Security Department defended the police response, claiming that some people gathered at the airport obstructed the normal flow of passengers and provoked the clash.
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