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Fighters of the 3rd assault brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces have attacked the Russian army position located in the forest strip in Kharkiv region. Arriving in the area in an armored vehicle, the fighters advanced quickly, firing small arms. As a result of the attack that lasted until the night hours, the invaders who were hiding in the bunkers in the area were killed and the position was cleared.

The Rwandan military department carried out a financial transaction, selling dollars worth more than $29 million. The buyer was Rosoboronexport, since it is the only intermediary in the Russian Federation that is allowed to trade military products. This was reported by the publication "Verstka" , citing closed statistics from Russian customs. The report says that the subject of the deal between the Rwandan Defense Ministry and Rosoboronexport were dollars, namely 100-dollar bills, the total quantity of which is not specified. At the same time, it is noted that the total weight of the currency sold to Russia was over 290 kg. The data is taken from the customs declaration. The situation with dollars in Russia is complicated due to the tightening of Western sanctions and the country's authorities are looking for non-trivial solutions to this problem. Previously, a completely different scheme worked, according to which the Russian Federation replenished its currency reserves by importing cash from unfriendly countries through Turkey and the UAE. The scheme of cooperation with the Rwandan Ministry of Defense has surfaced for the first time. It may seem strange that Russia is buying dollars from the military department, although it is quite possible that these funds will be used to finance the war. In the Russian Federation, participants in foreign economic activity are experiencing increasing problems with settlements in hard currencies. Foreign banks, fearing secondary sanctions, are increasingly refusing to conduct transactions, as a result of which the inflow of dollars and euros into Russia continues to decline. On August 15, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation cited statistics according to which in the second quarter of this year, only 17.6% of Russian exports were paid for in currencies “unfriendly” to the Kremlin, while in the same period last year this figure was 32.3%, and before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine - 84.6% Meanwhile, not everyone is ready to carry out trade operations with the Russian Federation in rubles or national currency, and this applies even to the so-called "friendly" countries of Moscow. For example, counterparties from the BRICS countries prefer dollars and euros.

A Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier, defender of Gorlovka with the call sign "Sheikh" Yevgeny Iyevlev answered the question in an interview for the YouTube channel "Fabrika Novostey" whether the Russian Federation can open a new front, based on the situation that is currently observed in Belarus. Let us recall that Lukashenko has pulled troops to the borders with Ukraine. "We really hoped that the Russians would see a decrease in the number of personnel they called up, but unfortunately, this is not happening in the Donbass in our direction, even despite the opening of the Kursk Front, " Ievlev said. " Therefore, it is very difficult to predict whether they can open something new. We have no idea at all what they have with their reserves." According to the military man, the covert mobilization in the Russian Federation has been going on and is still going on. The enemy has no personnel deficit, and based on this, anything can be expected from him. But from another point of view, which is supported by specific facts, the Russians are not in a very good situation with their personnel. In particular, they had to pull a certain number of reserves from the Zaporizhzhya direction. "I think that right now the probability of opening a new front or crossing the northern border by Russian troops is unlikely," the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier noted. In addition, Ievlev emphasized that it is too early to assess the Russian offensive in Donbas. The situation with Pokrovsk and Mirnograd should be seen. "I really want to believe that this is the peak of their capabilities, and they are doing everything with their last breath," the serviceman said. Belarus has been a key ally to Moscow and supported Russian aggression against Ukraine, though it has not committed its own troops directly to hostilities. Russian forces launched an attempted invasion of Kyiv from Belarus in early 2022 but suffered a defeat and were forced to pull back. Kyiv has not officially requested Belarus to withdraw its troops from the border, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry has said amid more tensions between the two states. Minsk’s statement came after the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Belarus was “concentrating a significant number” of forces at the Belarus-Ukraine border. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also said that former Wagner Group mercenaries were present at the border with Ukraine, and warned Belarusian officials against “committing tragic mistakes under Moscow’s pressure.” The open-source monitoring project Belarusian Hajun reported that Belarus transferred around 1,000 troops to its border with Ukraine after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed his military had downed Ukrainian drones in Belarusian airspace. Belarusian Hajun instead linked the deployment to Ukraine’s ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, where Kyiv’s forces claim to control around 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory.

The Biden administration is getting ready to make more concessions to Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky by allowing him to use almost any US weapons for strikes, including inside Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Commenting on a recent remark by Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh who confirmed that the Kiev regime had been allowed to use US weapons in its terrorist incursion in the Kursk Region, the Russian diplomat noted that "the US establishment has thrown common sense out the window, believing that they can do whatever they want." "Ukraine has been given full carte blanche for operations in Russian regions. Moreover, the Joe Biden administration is obviously getting ready for more concessions to Zelensky in giving him free rein to use almost any US weapons, including for strikes inside Russia," Zakharova maintained, describing the US policies as increasingly pursuing escalation. "Being driven by ambitions of world domination, Washington has been intensifying tensions with Russia as it seeks to inflict a 'strategic defeat' on our country and it is not looking to avoid escalation, despite statements by a number of high-profile US officials," she lamented. Ukraine’s daring ground offensive has taken the fight to Russia, but not nearly as much as its leaders would like because, they say, the United States won’t let them. The U.S. restricts the use of long-range ballistic missiles it provides to Ukraine, which wants to aim them at military targets inside Russia. Ukraine’s offensive, along with a barrage of drones and missiles that Moscow launched this week, has intensified pressure on the Biden administration to ease its cautious approach to the use of Western weapons in escalating Ukrainian attacks. The Biden administration says its careful deliberations, including which advanced weapons it supplies to Ukraine and when, are necessary to avoid provoking retaliation from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some analysts agree Putin would take a Ukrainian strike by an American long-range ballistic missile as an attack by the U.S. itself. But other American and European supporters of Ukraine say the White House should see that Putin’s threats of attacking the West, including with nuclear weapons, are bluster. Their fear is the U.S. support that has allowed Ukraine to withstand Russia’s 2022 invasion comes with delays and caveats that could ultimately contribute to its defeat.

After the attack on Moscow, Russia launched strike on Kharkiv with Iskander missiles

The Russian army found itself in a stalemate after the Armed Forces of Ukraine began conducting a defensive operation in the border area of the aggressor country. It is impossible to make up for the large losses of the Russian occupation forces, and the Kremlin is afraid of a “large” mobilization. Therefore, in the Kursk region they decided to plug the holes with conscripts, and now they are throwing wounded occupiers into the meat storms – essentially to slaughter. Obozrevatel media outlet says this. According to Russian analyst Anatoly Nesmiyan, Russia no longer has the resources to solve two problems simultaneously – advancing in Donbass and defending the Kursk region and other border regions. “There are two possible options – to stop the offensive and transfer forces to the Kursk region or to carry out a large-scale mobilization of everything that is left. In fact, it will most likely not be possible to carry out a mobilization of civilians – this will cause very serious social unrest, and it is not clear how the control system is capable of coping with this task,” he wrote on his Telegram channel. He emphasized that there are a large number of security forces in the Russian Federation, but the Kremlin will not use them in Kursk region or in other border regions. “They are needed precisely inside Russia, since the main enemy of the regime – the people – is not going anywhere. And if necessary, they will need to be brought into submission by someone. Therefore, the maneuver of the force resource is extremely limited. “Putin’s foot soldiers” from one North Caucasian republic cannot be used either, they have their own task: they are the personal reserve of the commander-in-chief in case of a repeat of Prigozhin’s mutiny – suddenly one of his comrades goes crazy. True, Prigozhin’s mutiny made it clear that there is no special hope for the “foot soldiers” in such a case, they can get stuck in a traffic jam and not arrive on time. But there are no others anyway,” the analyst explained. In his opinion, therefore, everything will remain as it is and the Kursk region will no longer be returned by force – the regime will only try to prevent even more from being seized. Obozrevatel says that thus, the Russian army found itself in a vicious circle: large losses in the combat zone in Ukraine, and now also in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, led to a severe shortage of personnel, and there is practically no one to replenish it. According to a Ukrainian Armed Forces officer who is taking part in the Kursk operation, this is why the Kremlin gave the go-ahead to plug the holes with conscripts. However, they will not change the situation. “Conscripts cannot and do not want to fight. They were not prepared for this, moreover, they were promised not to send them to war. Some obey orders and try something, but it is useless, and others surrender – and this is their only chance to save their lives,” the Ukrainian defender told.

Ukraine’s Defense Forces have shifted their focus from attacking refineries to targeting oil depots. This change, marked by regular fires at Russian oil depots in August, has raised questions about the strategic benefits of such a decision, according to Espresso TV. Oleksandr Kovalenko, a Ukrainian military and political observer with the Information Resistance group, has delved into the issue. One notable example is the fire in Proletarsk, Rostov Region, which burned for 10 days. But why move away from refineries after seemingly successful attacks? Let’s explore the reasoning. Since late 2023, Ukrainian forces have consistently targeted Russian oil refineries, leading to temporary shutdowns and repairs. However, these refineries eventually resumed operations, which isn’t surprising. A refinery operates like a small city, and disabling it for an extended period requires more than just a drone with 30 kg of explosives. While a drone can halt operations temporarily, it cannot cause long-term paralysis. In contrast, oil depots present a different and more vulnerable target. Ukraine now has ‘kamikaze’ drones with a range of up to 2,500 km, putting numerous Russian oil depots at risk. These depots, numbering in the hundreds and varying in size, operate a substantial number of storage tanks—over 2,550 before the strikes began. The key point is that Russia has a limited number of tanks, and rebuilding or replacing them takes much longer than repairing a refinery after a similar attack. Moreover, these strikes on oil depots are more impactful, as the number of tanks decreases with each hit, and the effect is more severe than refinery attacks. The immediate visual impact of an oil depot attack—tanks engulfed in flames and black smoke visible for kilometers—is striking. For Ukrainians, it’s a cause for satisfaction, while for Russians, it’s a source of shock, confusion, and realization of the authorities’ powerlessness. This is just one aspect; there are others worth noting. Firstly, the effectiveness of oil depot attacks lies in their efficiency. Secondly, the impact on the frontline is significant. Thirdly, there’s the issue of oil production. The critical point here is that if oil production stops at these mostly depleted fields, restoring them would be nearly impossible. Russia’s oil fields are in a dire situation—produce to the last drop or face collapse. Even when oil prices fell below $30 per barrel, Russian fields continued production at a loss, storing the excess in anticipation of better times. The destruction of these storage tanks, which are limited in number, could lead Russia to an oil crisis. The country might find itself with no storage facilities and no choice but to dump the oil back into the fields.

Military expert, retired colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Roman Svitan did not rule out that the Ukrainian Defense Forces have already entered the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation and may enter the Bryansk region, Channel 24 reports. It is recalled that Russia is transferring part of its troops to Kursk region from the southern direction of the occupied territories of Ukraine. According to Svitan, it is quite possible that soon it will be possible to see the movement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the direction of Polohy and Vasilyevka. "It is likely that preparations for future counterattacks are already underway. Fighting is already continuing in the Kursk region, there is an approach to the Belgorod region, and an approach to the Bryansk region is possible," he said. The expert believes that the expansion of the bridgehead on Russian territory will allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to significantly improve the situation in the Kharkiv region: "The best option is to expand this bridgehead, enter Belgorod territory and cut off Russian wedges in the Kharkov region." Recently, Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group attempted to enter the Klimovsky district of Russia's Bryansk Oblast, Governor Alexander Bogomaz claimed. Bryansk Oblast lies west of embattled Kursk Oblast, north of Ukraine's Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, and east of the Belarusian border. According to Bogomaz, Russian forces "prevented" the attack on the region and "inflicted a military defeat" on Ukrainian soldiers. Ukraine often launches tens of drones targeting Russia’s western region of Bryansk. Kyiv has often said its strikes inside Russia territory are meant to undermine Moscow’s war effort and are in response to Russia’s relentless air attacks on Ukraine’s energy, military and transport infrastructure. Recall, Ukrainian forces launched the Kursk attack on August 6, taking Moscow by surprise. Fighting is under way between Kyiv and Moscow forces in the region. The Ukrainian attack came after weeks of military setbacks in the eastern Donetsk region. One of the reasons is “to seize the initiative”, Sean Bell, a retired fighter pilot and military analyst, said, explaining that there is a very long border between the two countries and “it’s evident that they can break through”. Secondly, Ukraine’s move demonstrates that Russia does not control this war alone; “Ukraine is clearly taking the reins here,” Bell said.

The celebration of the 33rd Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, which took place against the backdrop of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive in the Kursk region, caused a very painful reaction in Moscow. Kremlin propaganda began to talk about the disappointment of Russians and demanded to fight "for real". Russian "political scientist" Sergei Mikheev made a hysterical statement about this on the air of the talk show "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov". " And when we see another Independence Day, and they stand quietly in the square, and we fight in the Kursk region, this raises questions and leads to a loss of trust! This leads to a loss of trust! If the people see such things and do not understand, demobilization occurs, internal demotivation occurs... With the means by which the war is now being waged, we will not achieve these goals... We will not achieve them ," the propagandist complained. The Russian opposition resource "Sower of the Wind" commented on the hysteria of the Kremlin propaganda. " The Z-correspondents on Russian state television continue to stamp their feet in impotence and demand "to fight for real". But what is happening now is for real. The armchair patriots, accustomed to tales about the "Armata" and combat robots, cannot believe that the world's second army is not capable of more. But everything it could, it has already shown and used. What Solovyov calls "demoralization" is in fact simply a stage of acceptance ," the channel wrote. Aside from a few headlines, though, Ukraine’s bold strategic gamble has gone largely unnoticed. That’s a shame because Kyiv’s initiative—and Moscow’s response to it—has made clear that persistent Western fears of Russian brinkmanship are overblown. Up until now, both U.S. and European policies have been defined by caution and fear of Russian risk-taking. While President Biden has pledged to back Kyiv’s fight for “as long as it takes,” in practice, his administration has been slow to provide Ukraine with the weaponry it needs to win the fight decisively. And even when it has, that aid has been accompanied by onerous restrictions that have had the effect of limiting Ukraine’s fighting potential. European nations, meanwhile, have taken their cues from Washington and settled in for a long campaign of incremental assistance to Ukraine. The result has been a situation that—at least until recently—had settled into a strategic stalemate and positional warfare. That’s the equation Ukraine’s push into Russia is attempting to alter. In the process, however, it has also laid bare the hollowness of Moscow’s threats of strategic escalation in response to battlefield setbacks. President Vladimir Putin has not ramped up the conflict in conventional terms. Nor has he used nuclear weapons against Russia’s western neighbor, as Russian officials have threatened in the past. Indeed, even with Ukrainian troops now entrenched in Russian territory, the Kremlin hasn’t made any maneuvers that could threaten to escalate the conflict further.

Putin's army does not have enough bags for the bodies of its soldiers: either there are too many of them, or the Russian Defense Ministry has decided not to spend money on this attribute for transporting home the bodies of its soldiers who died in Ukraine. As reported by the Telegram channel "Chelyabinsk of the Future" , the widow of the deceased occupier, Chelyabinsk volunteer Anna Deryabina, announced a collection for the purchase of bags. "As scary as it is to write about this, we need bags for the bodies of soldiers to transport the dead guys. We need a lot. The cost of one is 200 rubles . The reality, unfortunately, is that the guys buy them at their own expense ," she wrote. A day later, Deryabina reported the closure of the collection. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the irretrievable losses of the Russian army in Ukraine exceeded 612 thousand people. As reported the command of the Russian army continues to throw people to the slaughter, trying to capture the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at any cost. The Russian army's offensive is resulting in heavy losses and a repeat of the experience of World War II in its worst manifestation, since the command of the Russian Armed Forces does not value the lives of soldiers and is ready to throw them to the slaughter en masse. At the same time, the Russian command does not learn from its mistakes and does not even try to do so; according to Russian military personnel, the rank and file of the commanders are only interested in awards and bonuses. Unsurprisingly, the Russian General Staff overwhelmingly focuses its recruitment efforts on several impoverished non–ethnic Russian regions, on the racist rationale that the nationalities concerned presumably value high salaries more than life. A number of protests in such places as Dagestan and Buryatia suggest that some natives are aware of being singled out for death, but the numbers of protestors appear to be small. Most Russians presumably serve in the armed forces because they believe they have to. If you’re called up and fail to report, a whole slew of painful sanctions awaits you. Unwilling to place themselves under the immediate risk of definitely being jailed, they choose the more distant risk of possibly being killed. Perhaps the gods will smile on them. Perhaps the war will end. There’s another less reassuring explanation for the Russian willingness to take a beating: they may be used to being terrorized by their leaders and consider blind obedience to unjust oppression to be perfectly normal. Supporters of this view generally point to Russian history, much of which reads like a never-ending story of elite crime and popular punishment.

One police officer was shot dead and two others injured after a shooting in Dallas, Texas on Thursday evening, local police said. The incident took place at around 10:10 p.m. local time in the area of East Ledbetter Drive and South Marsalis Avenue in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, police said in a statement early Friday. The suspect fled the scene but was shot and killed by Dallas police officers who pursued him to the 1000 block of Stemmons Freeway down I-35E in Lewisvill, the statement reads. One of the injured police officers passed away in the hospital from the injuries sustained in the shooting. Two other police officers were also transported to local hospitals and are currently in critical and stable conditions. Officials did not give any possible motive for the shooting and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Mysterious new Ukrainian drone missile "Palyanytsya" is targeting the Russian Air Force. As Russia ramps up its drone and long-range missile attacks, Ukraine is responding in kind, Forbes reports. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the first combat use of a new Ukrainian long-range weapon called “Palyanitsya”, which he called a "missile drone." Zelensky said the new weapons would protect Ukraine by hitting Russian aircraft on the ground before they could take off to launch missiles. It’s an approach called “killing the archer, not the arrow.” It has been widely promoted in Ukraine and has had some success. Satellite images show that a drone strike on August 22 on the Marynivka air base destroyed or damaged several bombers. “Palyanitsya” is a Ukrainian dish, a type of bread traditionally baked over a fire rather than in an oven. It symbolizes Ukrainian identity in the same way that apple pie symbolizes America. It is also difficult for non-natives to pronounce correctly, and was used as a test to identify Russian saboteurs in the early stages of the war. In the name, the developers emphasized that this is a 100% Ukrainian weapon of local production, which, unlike the ATACMS, Storm Shadow and other missiles supplied by allies, can hit targets inside Russia without restrictions and requests for permission. A video accompanying Zelensky's statement showed that “Palyanitsya” could reach more than 20 Russian air bases, meaning at least 600 km. That's shorter than some of Ukraine's existing long-range drones, some of which can strike at more than 1,600 km. Ukraine has a thriving defense sector of small companies that produce a surprising variety of attack drones, but “Palyanitsya” seems to be built for a specific niche. This has sparked various discussions about what constitutes a missile. Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin told the Kyiv Post that the new weapon is "both a drone and a missile." The problem is that there are no clear definitions. Many of Ukraine’s long-range strikes have focused on oil and gas storage facilities and refineries. When attacking this type of target, a drone flying at 1,600 km/h is as effective as a ballistic missile approaching at Mach 5: the target is stationary and cannot escape. Aircraft bases are different in that, despite some static features such as fuel and ammunition storage, the aircraft themselves can be quickly redeployed when needed.

“Palyanitsya” is a Ukrainian dish, a type of bread traditionally baked over a fire rather than in an oven. It symbolizes Ukrainian identity in the same way that apple pie symbolizes America. It is also difficult for non-natives to pronounce correctly, and was used as a test to identify Russian saboteurs in the early stages of the war. In the name, the developers emphasized that this is a 100% Ukrainian weapon of local production, which, unlike the ATACMS, Storm Shadow and other missiles supplied by allies, can hit targets inside Russia without restrictions and requests for permission. A video accompanying Zelensky's statement showed that “Palyanitsya” could reach more than 20 Russian air bases, meaning at least 600 km. That's shorter than some of Ukraine's existing long-range drones, some of which can strike at more than 1,600 km. Ukraine has a thriving defense sector of small companies that produce a surprising variety of attack drones, but “Palyanitsya” seems to be built for a specific niche. This has sparked various discussions about what constitutes a missile. Ukraine's Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin told the Kyiv Post that the new weapon is "both a drone and a missile." The problem is that there are no clear definitions. Many of Ukraine’s long-range strikes have focused on oil and gas storage facilities and refineries. When attacking this type of target, a drone flying at 1,600 km/h is as effective as a ballistic missile approaching at Mach 5: the target is stationary and cannot escape. Aircraft bases are different in that, despite some static features such as fuel and ammunition storage, the aircraft themselves can be quickly redeployed when needed.

The role of Belarus in the war in Ukraine is still not clear, writes Frankfurter Rundschau. The country, which is ruled by a dictator, has conducted joint nuclear exercises with Russia, as well as provided shelter to the mercenaries of Wagner group, the publication reminds. Fears that Minsk will actively interfere in the fighting in Ukraine have not yet been confirmed, but the situation could change, Deutsche Welle reported. The newspaper of Berliner Morgenpost quotes in its article the words of Polish analyst Konrad Muzyka, director of the political consulting firm of Rochan Consulting. Muzyka reminds that Minsk held similar exercises in September 2023, but this time the change of territory is alarming - the troops were redeployed to Homel region, which served as a springboard for the Russian Federation during the attack in 2022. The analyst believes that a direct attack of Belarus on Ukraine is unlikely at the moment - it would require forces, which Belarus does not have, to seize the border areas, some of which are heavily mined by Ukraine. A real attack by Belarus is not to be feared, Muzyka believes, but he voices an option, which is feared in Ukraine: Belarusian troops could make small strikes and possibly occupy a small part of the Ukrainian territory. This would mean that Kyiv would have to redeploy troops from other fronts, which would weaken the AFU. ‘The probability of such a scenario is low, but it cannot be completely ruled out,’ the Berliner Morgenpost quoted the analyst as saying. Belarus has deployed aircraft and air defense troops to its border with Ukraine, a after President Alexander Lukashenko announced he would station almost a third of the country’s military along the frontier. The Belarusian military also deployed anti-aircraft missiles and soldiers from the country’s radio-technical corps, Maj. Gen. Andrey Lukyanovich, commander of the Belarusian Air Defense Forces, said on national television, describing the move as a significant increase. Belarus’ authoritarian leader, Lukashenko, on Sunday announced that he’d ordered almost a third of the army to the border with Ukraine. Although he did not specify troop numbers, Belarus’ army numbers about 60,000. Lukashenko said the decision was in response to additional Ukrainian troops being deployed along the border, but that could not be independently verified. Ukraine has not confirmed the Belarusian deployment to the 1,084-kilometer common border. Russia has used Belarus — which depends on Russian loans and cheap energy — as a staging ground for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, moving its troops through Belarusian territory to attack Ukraine from the north. Russia also moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus in 2023.

The Kremlin has once again resorted to nuclear blackmail. According to the Ukrainian army general and former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Nikolai Malomuzh, the reason is the panic that has arisen among the Russian leadership due to the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region. "Putin is scared. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have entered the territory of the Russian Federation, and the operation in the Kursk region may continue and expand. The same applies to the temporarily occupied territories. Ukraine may launch strategic strikes where the enemy does not expect it at all. In particular, in the south in the direction of Crimea. And this may already become a sign of the fall of the regime," he explained on the air of the Espreso TV channel . Malomuzh noted that Moscow is simply observing the events in the Kursk region. Now the enemy has no choice but to resume nuclear rhetoric. “In this way, they seem to be trying to act preemptively, fearing a Ukrainian offensive in certain areas of the front,” he added. According to the general, Russia has been warned that the use of nuclear weapons is not acceptable. And if Moscow does prepare for strikes with tactical nuclear weapons, this "will lead to a confrontation against the entire world." "Now everyone is waiting for our partners' decision on the use of their weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation. This will be another "red line" through which the Kremlin resorts to nuclear blackmail. Lavrov's statements about the alleged change in the concept of the defense of the Russian Federation, in particular, on the use of nuclear weapons, are connected with this. However, if the Russian Federation prepares for strikes with tactical nuclear weapons, this will lead to a confrontation against the entire world. Western countries, China, India and other countries have warned the Russian Federation about the use of nuclear weapons," Nikolai Malomuzh stated. As is known, this is not the first time Moscow has brandished nuclear weapons in the context of the war against Ukraine. The other day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, commenting on the issue of permission to strike the Russian Federation with Storm Shadow missiles, said that the aggressor country has a doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons, "which is currently being clarified." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the statement. According to him, the Russians regularly try to intimidate the international community, and threats regarding nuclear weapons are part of this "intimidation program."

Hundreds of Russian military installations remain within range of the US ATACMS long-range missiles. Ukraine could hit them if the US allows the missiles to be used on Russian territory. While Russian forces have moved aircraft out of range of Western-supplied Storm Shadow and ATACMS missiles, a significant number of Russian military installations remain within range of Western weapons, the Institute for the Study of War reports. The restrictions on strikes allow Russian troops to use safe havens deep in Russia to support military operations against Ukraine. Numerous Western media reports indicate that the US government is blocking Britain from granting Ukraine permission to use Storm Shadow missiles to strike military targets in Russia. The Institute's experts have created an interactive map of military installations near the border to illustrate how partners are limiting Ukraine's ability to strike enemy critical military infrastructure. The redeployment of Russian aircraft from 16 Russian air bases in the ATACMS area does not diminish the importance of allowing Ukraine to use ATACMS against hundreds of other Russian military installations. Although Russian forces have moved aircraft beyond the range of Western-supplied Storm Shadow and ATACMS missiles, a significant number of Russian military installations remain within range of Western weapons.

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Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was released from police custody in France on Wednesday, fours days after his arrest in Paris airport. Durov, 39, has been transferred to court for questioning before a possible indictment. The Paris prosecutor’s office said he would now face “initial questioning and possible indictment” at a court in the French capital. “An investigating judge has ended Pavel Durov’s police custody and will have him brought to court for a first appearance and a possible indictment,” a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office said. He was detained at Bourget Airport near Paris on Saturday while returning from a trip in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku over allegations that the messaging app is being used for illegal activities. He faced charges related to a number of crimes, including allegations that Telegram app was complicit in aiding fraudsters, drug traffickers.

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has said that the US officials pressured Facebook to censor certain content related to Covid-19 during the pandemic. “In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,” Zuckerberg wrote in a letter to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee. He added that he regrets some of the decisions taken in relation to the US government’s requests. “I think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today,” he said, without elaborating. Zuckerberg’s letter was posted on the Committee’s Facebook page and on its X social media account on Monday. Responding to Zuckerberg’s comment, the White House stated that “when confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety.” “Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present,” the statement further reads. It should be noted that in the 2020 US presidential election campaign, President Joe Biden accused Facebook of “killing people” by allowing disinformation about COVID vaccines to be posted on its platform.

An Israeli air strike hit a pickup truck travelling in northeast Lebanon late yesterday, two security sources told Reuters, with one of the sources saying it carried military equipment. The two sources said the strike hit a pickup near Chaat, a remote area of Lebanon near the Syrian border, but that the driver survived. One of the sources said it was likely the military equipment being transported was a damaged rocket launcher on the way to be repaired. "The Israeli air force targeted two Hezbollah lorries" some 10 kilometres from Baalbek, a stronghold of the Iran-backed militant group in eastern Lebanon, the Lebanese security source told AFP on condition of anonymity. "One of the vehicles was hit and a series of explosions were heard in the area." One person was wounded in the strike, the health ministry said. Local Syrian official Abdo Al-Taqi told a Syrian radio station that a car was targeted on the road between the Syrian capital Damascus and Lebanon’s capital Beirut, and four people were killed. A source close to Hezbollah confirmed the hit and said "the munitions which were inside the lorry caught fire".

A drone attack has been launched on Kotelnish city in Russia’s Kirov region, Russian Telegram channels reported. Ukrainian drones are said to have attacked a warehouse where oil products are stored on the territory of the "Zenit" plant. After the drone strike, an explosion occurred and a fire broke out in one of the reservoirs. According to reports, there have been no casualties during the incident. It should be noted that Kotelnysh city of Kirov region is located 1500 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. This is the first drone attack in the Kirov region since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The United States and Great Britain provided Ukraine with satellite images and intelligence about the Kursk region after the Ukrainian Armed Forces began their offensive in the region, The New York Times reported, citing American officials. As two sources explained to the publication, this information helped Ukrainian troops track the movement of Russian reinforcements that could attack the Ukrainian Armed Forces or cut off their possible retreat to Ukraine. Some sources note that as Ukraine expands its control over western Russia, the risk of overloading the Ukrainian Armed Forces' logistics chains and air defense systems increases. The transfer of additional forces to the Kursk region weakens Kyiv's position along the front lines in eastern Ukraine, especially in the Donbas, where the Russian military is actively trying to advance. Washington is not sure that Ukraine will hold the captured territories in the long term. This is evidenced by the lack of trenches, minefields and defensive barriers that could protect the Ukrainian Armed Forces from counterattacks, New York Times sources say. A Pentagon representative, in turn, noted that the lack of defensive fortifications does not mean that they will abandon the holding of these territories - Kyiv may be planning to strengthen its positions further on Russian territory in order to expand the buffer zone. Officials stress that the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region was carefully planned, but its success exceeded expectations. Ukraine took advantage of Moscow's slow reaction and is now acting more flexibly, the sources said.