⚡️ Moscow does not accept Kiev's thesis about "self-defense"; Ukraine is already openly talking about an attack deep in the territory of Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov says

Desperate times call for desperate measures?

😓 To save electricity and gas, the prime minister of the German region of Baden-Württemberg Kretschmann has proposed that Germans clean themselves with a damp cloth instead of a shower and heat only one room at home.

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❗️ The Russian MoD’s latest statements on the Ukraine crisis:

▪️ The Russian Aerospace Forces have hit temporary deployment point of the Azov nationalist paramilitaries in the DPR using high-precision weapons.

▪️ High-precision weapons used by the Russian Aerospace Forces have hit the temporary deployment point of an Azov* nationalist formation near Nikolaevka and an Aidar formation near Soledar in the Donetsk People's Republic. The attacks have resulted in the death of more than 50 nationalists, as well as 12 units of military equipment.

▪️ A high-precision strike in Zaporozhye Region has hit a weapons and military equipment depot of the 65th Mechanized Brigade. The attacks have resulted in the destruction of more than 15 units of military equipment.

▪️ Operational-tactical and army aviation, missile troops and artillery strikes continue against military facilities in Ukraine.

▪️ Russian air defense units have shot down 13 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past 24 hours.

▪️ Some 267 Ukrainian airplanes and 148 helicopters, 1,770 unmanned aerial vehicles, 366 anti-aircraft missile systems, 4,347 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 807 multiple launch rocket systems, 3,315 field artillery and mortars, as well as 4,958 special military vehicles have been destroyed during the operation.

* terrorist organization banned in Russia

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📹 A former militant of 'Kraken', one of Ukraine's nationalist battalions, speaks about how he was abandoned after being wounded.

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😱 📹 New footage of the Finnish prime minister having fun at an allegedly drunk party has surfaced online, a day after the first such video was released.

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📹 A so-called “flash mob” of looters were caught on camera ransacking a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles earlier this week — making off with handfuls of snacks, cigarettes and other goods, authorities said.

😳 Footage released by Los Angeles police depicts dozens of people, many of them not bothering to hide their faces, grabbing up various goods as they swarmed the chain store Monday shortly after midnight in the Harbor Gateway section of the city.

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▪️ The wait continues for the transportation of the stranded Nord Stream turbine to Russia, prompting Germany's Siemens Energy to propose creating a playlist on the Spotify streaming platform in a witty Friday tweet.

▪️ The famous turbine has not reached its destination yet, the company's post says, adding that "it is standing lonely at our site in Mulheim."

🗯 "Let’s do the poor thing a favor and create a Spotify playlist." the company said, asking what tracks should be included in the list.

🥴 Is Siemens playing on the nerves of Europeans who find themselves in a predicament in the light of anti-Russian sanctions?

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⚡️ Defense ministries of Russia, Kazakhstan preparing joint drills within CSTO format - President Putin

⚡️ JCPOA revival deal stipulates lifting sanctions on 17 banks, 150 organizations - Al Jazeera

⚡️ Deal on Iranian nuclear dossier stipulates fine for US if it abandons agreement again - reports

📹 Watch a 7news report on how Australia sent Ukraine 300 kamikaze drones.

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🎥 🇷🇺🇰🇿 WATCH Russia's President Putin greeting his Kazakh counterpart Tokayev who arrived in Sochi, Russia, on Friday.

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⚡️🇷🇺🇫🇷 Putin and Macron spoke on the phone for the first time in a while.

Russia's president drew Macron's attention to the remaining obstacles to Russian exports, which do not contribute to global food security.

😂 Gazprom sarcastically replied to Siemens over its suggestion to create a Spotify playlist.

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👎 Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov has told reporters that all the attempts by Washington to “strangle” and “cripple” the Russian economy by means of sanctions “evidently” failed.

▪️ When asked to comment on recent State Department publications aimed at “debunking myths” of the resilience of the Russian economy to the Western sanctions, Antonov said that the US administration seems to be “wishing to convince itself and its allies of the effectiveness of their favorite geopolitical weapon.”

▪️ He added that Washington is “ready to resort to any biased and agenda-driven assessments” and that “obsession with restrictions does not allow Washington to understand that the chosen strategy has failed.”

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🇨🇳 China’s maritime safety authority in Guangdong province said Friday that a fresh military exercise will be held on August 23 between Macao and Hong Kong, off the southern coast.

🗯 "Maritime traffic in the designated areas will be prohibited during the exercise," the administration said.

▪️ The war games will be held at the mouth of the Zhu Jiang river and near Wailingding Island from 7 a.m. (GMT 23:00 on August 22) to 2 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

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