Cephalotrocity

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/29962667

Russia has moved to classify key demographic statistics following a dramatic collapse in its birth rate, which has plunged to levels not seen since the late 18th or early 19th century, according to a leading Russian demographer.

For decades, Russia has been experiencing a plunging birth rate and population decline, which appears to have worsened amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine—with high casualty rates and men fleeing the country to avoid being conscripted to fight.

Projections estimate that Russia's population will fall to about 132 million in the next two decades. The United Nations has predicted that in a worst-case scenario, by the start of the next century, Russia's population could almost halve to 83 million.

Gross domestic product (GDP) only grew by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2025 – a notable decline from 4.5% growth in the previous quarter and 5.4% in the same period last year, the Moscow Times reported, citing Rosstat data.

The latest data from Rosstat came in below expectations: the Russian Economic Development Ministry estimated GDP growth at 1.7% and Bloomberg analysts predicted 1.8% growth.

The drone targeted a shuttle bus that was transporting civilians near the city of Bilopillia at 6:17 a.m. local time, the Sumy Regional Military Administration reported on Telegram.

Sumy Oblast is a northeastern region that borders Russia's Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk oblasts.

Ukraine lost an F-16 fighter jet on Friday morning after an incident on board, though the pilot ejected safely, the Ukrainian air force said in a statement.

"According to preliminary data... an unusual situation arose on board. The pilot moved the aircraft away from the settlement and successfully ejected," it said on the Telegram messenger.

A U.S. congressional official on May 9 announced that Washington had given the green light for Germany to transfer the weapons to Kyiv, the NYT reported. The shipment includes 125 long-range artillery rockets and 100 Patriot air defense missiles.

The European Union has pledged to supply over 1.35 million rounds in 2025 and plans to allocate nearly 1.9 billion euro ($2.1 billion) from Russian frozen assets in military support for Ukraine, Ukrainian officials announced on May 9.

The sanctions list includes 58 individuals and 74 companies, with 67 Russian enterprises related to military technology. The decree comes into force on May 9, the day of its publication.

Cross-posted from "Clips from the Victory Day Parade in Moscow." by @LaFinlandia@sopuli.xyz in !ukraine@sopuli.xyz

Mirror

Cross-posted from "An exciting new Switch emulator launches tomorrow — Here's how to get it" by @cm0002@lemmy.world in !android@lemdro.id

Cross-posted from "Xi Jinping supports Putin’s position on war against Ukraine" by @MicroWave@lemmy.world in !world@lemmy.world

In a joint statement following talks, Xi Jinping and Putin stated that the war in Ukraine could only be resolved by removing its "root causes".

Such formulation clearly echoes key Russian propaganda messages used by the Kremlin to justify the launch of the full-scale war, including the threat of NATO expansion, discrimination against Russian-speaking people and the suppression of the Russian language, culture and media in Ukraine.

The agency says all registered political parties have been informed that 822 special ballots cast by electors in 74 electoral districts across the country were left with the returning officer in the riding of Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam.

Elections Canada says the ballots should have been returned to its headquarters by April 28 at 6 p.m. to allow them to be counted.

Elections Canada says an initial analysis shows that the outcomes in those 74 districts were not affected by the mislaid ballots.

Cross-posted from "Russia behind dozens of disinformation campaigns targeting Ukraine and allies, France says" by @randomname@scribe.disroot.org in !europe@feddit.org

French authorities said Wednesday they had tracked nearly 80 disinformation campaigns led by Russian operators between August 2023 and early March 2025, mainly targeting Ukraine and its allies, including France.

The estimate by the French agency countering foreign online attacks, Viginum, said the campaign was "particularly... effective in distributing anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western narratives to Western audiences".

The so-called "Storm-1516" campaign uses artificial intelligence to create realistic profiles, pays amateur operators, and poses a "significant threat to the digital public debate, both in France and across all European countries," the agency said.

"The European public debate is being pounded by disinformation campaigns conducted by Russian entities and relayed especially by the American far-right," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in a statement to AFP, adding that Russian entities had targeted the French legislative elections of 2024.

...

The Viginum report highlighted the role of American far-right influencers or pro-Russian influencers like Adrien Bocquet, a "former French soldier exiled in Russia", who amplify the dissemination of false information.

Some of the false information -- such as the alleged purchase by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of a former Nazi building in Germany or a luxury hotel in Courchevel -- have been verified by AFP's digital investigative team in articles available on AFP Factuel's website (factuel.afp.com).

...

The disinformation-fighting organisation NewsGuard previously attributed to Storm-1516 a video supposedly showing a Chadian migrant confessing to raping a 12-year-old girl in France. Another, AI-generated video accused Brigitte Macron, the wife of President Emmanuel Macron, of sexual assault.