Abandon all hope | The full interview where Evgeniy Prigozhin absolutely lambasted Shoigu and the MoD and the Kremlin bureaucracy just came out recently. You can watch it in Russian here. I saw a lot of people talking about it on Twitter and I couldn’t believe what I was reading so I decided to listen to the interview myself, and analyze it line by line to figure out just what was being said exactly. I will share the bullet-points with you here as I listen along.

■ Ukraine Out of Control (Martin Armstrong)

Russian warplanes are flying increasingly close to American fighter jets in the skies over Syria “like they're trying to dogfight,” the top U.S. Air Force general in the region said. | Since March 1, Russian pilots have acted in hostile ways that have U.S. military leaders concerned about the possibilities for miscalculation and escalation. ● The Russians have been “increasingly bellicose in how they're approaching us,” Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who leads Air Forces Central Command, said in an interview. “They're maneuvering aggressively against us when our protocols would say we're supposed to stay… several miles apart and just monitor each other.”

Demonstrations on May 1 will be the largest in France in 30-40 years, with people continuing to protest against the controversial pension reform, Laurent Berger, the general secretary of the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT), said on Sunday. | Earlier in the month, France's leading trade unions called for a general nationwide strike against the reform on May 1. "It will be the biggest May 1 as regards social issues in 30-40 years," Berger told the LCI broadcaster. ● As many as 1.5 million people can take to the streets across France on May 1 to protest against the government pension reform, according to CFDT. At the same time, the French Interior Ministry expects up to 650,000 people to take part in May Day demonstrations. Around 100,000-160,000 people usually participate in rallies in France on that day, French media reported. ● Around 12,000 law enforcement officers will be deployed across France, with 5,000 officers in the French capital alone, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said earlier in the day. ● On April 14, the French Constitutional Council approved the key article of the pension reform bill, which would gradually raise the age of retirement in France from 62 to 64 years by 2030. The reform sparked a strong backlash, prompting people to take to the streets across the country. As many as 12 nationwide demonstrations against the reform have taken place already, with several protests organized by unions attracting over 1 million supporters across France.

The locals tell me about massive landings on railroad infrastructure and fuel and ammunition depots, which Ukrainian militants have accumulated for the counteroffensive, head of the We are Together with Russia movement Vladimir Rogov said | Russian forces carried out strikes on railroad infrastructure and ammunition and fuel depots in Pavlograd, Dnepropetrovsk Region, which the Ukrainian military prepared for the counteroffensive, says Vladimir Rogov, head of the We are Together with Russia movement. ● Previously, the Ukrainian media reported explosions in the Dnepropetrovsk Region of Ukraine. The UNIAN news agency specified that explosions occurred in Pavlograd; an air raid alarm was declared in the region.

■ Pope Francis Hints at Vatican’s 'Secret Mission' in Ukraine (Sputnik News)
■ The Kiev dog continues to bark... (04/29/23)