💸How much do mercenaries make in Ukraine?

The Russian military has reported a major uptick in Ukraine’s recruitment of foreign mercenaries. Estimates on just how much these ‘soldiers of fortune’ get paid vary wildly, from less than $1,000 a month to $2,000 per day.

👉Sputnik did a little digging and spoke to a pair of veteran military experts to try to get to the bottom of things

🇺🇸📉 American wage-earners living hand-to-mouth under 'evil' Democrats

Americans are now struggling to make ends meet more than at any time in decades, figures show. Former Marine, libertarian economist, and professor Mark Frost said the Biden administration was either incompetent or malignant in its management of the economy.

A new survey has found that half of US citizens are living hand-to-mouth, unable to save money, and spending their last paycheck before the next comes in. Economist Mark Frost told Sputnik that the statistic did not surprise him, as US President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act was in fact "the Inflation Increase Act."

👉Follow the link for more details

📹Crime and punishment: a Ukrainian anti-tank gun crew attempts to fire on Russian positions, but a short time later, they turned to dust in the wind

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🌍 🇷🇺 From Algeria to E. Guinea: African Students Share Experiences of Studying in Russia on Knowledge Day

On September 1, Russia celebrates Knowledge Day, a special day that marks the beginning of the school year. It is observed every year in Russia and many other former Soviet republics.

Knowledge Day is also a day to honor teachers and educators, and to motivate students to pursue their academic goals.

But how do African students, who come from different cultures and backgrounds, experience this Russian tradition and what are their stories of studying in the country? To find out, Sputnik Africa spoke to four African students who are studying in Russia.

👉🏼 Read the full story!

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🇺🇸🏒🇷🇺 A US-born hockey player granted citizenship by Putin: 'I want to be Russia's best defenseman'

Brennan Menell, 26, an American-born professional ice hockey defenseman playing under contract with HC Dynamo Moscow, recently received Russian citizenship and shared his impressions and vision of the future with Sputnik.

👉 Follow the link to learn more

❗️Russian air defense systems on duty took down a Ukrainian aircraft-type UAV over the Belgorod region, the Russian Defense Ministry said

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🇺🇸☢️🇷🇺 CIA Vet: US aiding Ukraine's drone attack on Russian nuclear power plants

A Ukrainian drone attacked the town of Kurchatov, home to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, on September 1. Kiev is using the Pentagon's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems to conduct the strikes, former CIA analyst Larry Johnson told Sputnik.

👉Follow the link to find out how Western intelligence services are involved in nuclear provocations on Russian territory

❗️ Russian air defenses down two targets over Belgorod region's Korochansky and Yakovlevsky districts - governor

🇷🇺 Russia to allocate $20.7 billion in the coming years for the development of new regions - Putin

The money is to be spent in accordance with the government's program for the socioeconomic development of Russia's new regions, adopted on April 27. The first stage, according to the president, is to bring the four new regions up to all-Russian levels in terms of social issues, including medical care, education and infrastructure development.

The government's program is already being implemented. For example, the Russian government's Territorial Development Fund will repair more than 3,600 infrastructure facilities in Russia's new regions, according to the fund's statement released on Wednesday.

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❗️ Biden administration reportedly plans to announce the delivery of depleted uranium projectiles to Ukraine next week, according to American media

🇺🇸 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed to disclose the Jeffrey Epstein client list if elected, emphasizing the importance of transparency and addressing conspiracy theories.

“I think what we have a lot in this country are a lot of conspiracy realists. And so, I’m one of them just because everything you sort of suspect oftentimes becomes true,” Ramaswamy noted in response to a question from a voter who urged that she is “tired of being called a conspiracy theorist.”

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🇮🇷🇮🇱 Iranian officials have disclosed a significant alleged Israeli intelligence plot to sabotage Iran's defense sector.

The scheme involved installing faulty, foreign-made connector components with explosives on domestic defense equipment, such as missiles and drones. The plan, discovered around nine years ago, aimed to disrupt production lines, harm defense industry workers, or disable weapons during emergencies. Iran detected and rectified the flawed connectors before they could be utilized in defense production.

Deputy Defense Minister Reza Talaei-Nik revealed that Iranian intelligence had gathered basic information about these connector components in 2015, and Deputy Defense Minister Mehdi Farahi described the agents involved as a "very professional network" that sought to infiltrate Iran's defense sector.

👉 Check out the full article

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❗️ Kiev's attempt to attack the Crimean bridge with a crewless boat was thwarted, the vessel was destroyed in the Black Sea, the Russian Ministry of Defense said

It is reported that traffic on the bridge is temporarily closed

❗️ North Korea has fired several cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea, South Korean media has reported

🇧🇾🇵🇱 The Belarusian border service stated on Friday that a Polish military helicopter violated the state border.

"On September 1, Belarusian border guards recorded a violation of the Belarusian airspace by Poland in the Berastavitsa district of the Grodno Region. A Polish Mi-24 military helicopter crossed the state border at an extremely low altitude, entered a total of 1200 meters [3,900 feet] into the territory of Belarus and then turned back," the Belarusian border service said on Telegram.

In addition, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry stated that it had summoned the Polish charge d'affaires following the state border violation incident by a Polish helicopter.

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🇯🇵 The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (Fukushima-1), has detected tritium (T, or 3H - a radioactive substance) in the seawater on the northeastern shoreline of the port in proximity to the facility. This signals the initial detection of tritium since the release of treated, low-grade radioactive water commenced.

On August 24, 2023, Japan began releasing water from the damaged Fukushima-1 facility into the Pacific Ocean, following approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Previously, the water's primary function was to cool down damaged reactors. Subsequently, it underwent treatment in the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), jointly developed by EnergySolutions and Toshiba.

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❗️ Kiev made new attempt to strike Crimean bridge with drone boat, second Ukrainian naval drone destroyed, the Russian Ministry of Defense said

❗️ A third Ukrainian unmanned boat, sent by Kiev to attack the Crimean bridge, was destroyed in the Black Sea, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed

📊 As many as 72.4% of South Koreans oppose Japan's discharge of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP), versus just 20.4% who support it, the Japanese news agency reported on Friday, citing results of a survey conducted by the Research View pollster.

The survey requested by South Korean civic groups Asian Citizen's Center for Environment and Health and the Korean Federation for Environmental Movements, showed that in terms of sex, 74.1% of women and 70.7% of men consider the discharge dangerous.

Meanwhile, in terms of age, the highest (80.9%) opposition rate is recorded among people in their 40s.

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🇷🇺 The Russian Armed Forces are implementing new 9m333 anti-aircraft guided missiles in the special operation zone, a source told Sputnik, noting that the munition does not respond heat traps

🇺🇸 There is an ongoing debate among defense officials about the future of the US military presence in Eastern Europe, with some arguing that maintaining the 4,300 troops would be useless considering their presence has not deterred Russia. However, others deem their presence necessary to show support for NATO countries, media reported, citing three defense officials.

Uniformed defense officials have recommended Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin maintain the force and rotate the troops, whereas policy officials reportedly advised against the recommendation.

US media further indicated that a third option has been proposed to the Defense Department, which calls for the partial rotation of the 4,300 troops to reinforce NATO’s Eastern Flank, the report added.

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