🇫🇷 French authorities are concerned with a possible increase in the migration influx into France following the arrival of a large number of refugees to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a French broadcaster reported on Saturday, citing the police.

The situation is particularly tense in the commune of Menton in the Alpes-Maritimes Department on France’s border with Italy, according to the report. Every day French police reportedly detain from 200 to 300 migrants trying to enter France in this area.

Since January, 32,000 arrests have been made, which is 20% more than in the same period last year, regional police chief Emmanuelle Joubert was cited as saying. She also said that the number of cases where minor migrants were not accompanied by adults had doubled.

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Exquisite marksmanship:

📹 Russia’s Tornado-G MLRS crew in combat action

A Tornado-G MLRS unit inflict fire damage on the Ukrainian deployment site and defensive lines. The successful target engagement was confirmed by Russian reconnaissance and UAV operators.

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📹 Russian soldiers of the ‘Osman’ special forces hit an American MRAP International MaxxPro armored vehicle in the area of the village of Verbovoye in Zaporozhye region

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A Russian reconnaissance team has destroyed a German-supplied Leopard tank of the Ukrainian military with a crew comprised of Bunderswehr soldiers in the Zaporozhye direction, the team lead with the moniker Legend told Sputnik.

"When we curbed another offensive and ATGM-ed [destroyed with an anti-tank guided missile] the Leopard, we moved out to the burned vahicle hoping to seize the 'tongue.' Then we saw that the crew's driver-mechanic was severely injured and the others were dead. Once he awoke, the mechanic started yelling 'nicht schießen' ["do not shoot" in German]," the head of the reconnaissance team said.

"The mechanic repeatedly stated that he was not a mercenary but a Bundeswehr serviceman, and that he and the rest of the crew were members of the same unit of the German army," the Russian fighter said, adding that while receiving medical aid, the German soldier named his brigade and its dislocation site.

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📹 Russia’s military medics provide medical assistance to servicemen and injured civilians in the special military operation zone

Every day, military doctors and medical staff offer all the necessary medical care to servicemen and wounded civilians in field military hospitals and medical centers.

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📹 Russia’s Msta-B 152mm towed howitzer artillery crews continue to destroy Ukrainian manpower and armored vehicles

The artillerymen's main tasks are to prevent the enemy from breaking through, to disrupt the rotation of its units at their positions, and to destroy tanks, armored vehicles and firing points of the Ukrainian fighters.

It is also important for artillery units to conduct counter-battery warfare, including the destruction of Western-made artillery systems.

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US presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis opposed Ukraine's accession to NATO

“All that would do was add more obligations to us, so if you’re adding more obligations, then what are benefits that we’re getting in return?”, DeSantis said.

DeSantis also reiterated that he does not believe the US should give a “blank cheque” to Ukraine, unless it is using leverage to bring the conflict to a conclusion.

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🇻🇪🇺🇸 The US government intends to "militarize" the territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana over the region of Essequibo by establishing its military base in this oil-rich area, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said

🗣 "We condemn the intention of the US government to militarize the situation [in Essequibo]. The Southern Command is trying to create a military base in the disputed territory in order to create the spearhead of its aggression against Venezuela and seize our energy resources," Gil said at the UN General Assembly.

The minister added that the Venezuelan parliament approved a referendum to protect the sovereign territory from US aggression.

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Kiev lost "a lot of equipment" near the villages of Rabotino and Verbovoe in Zaporozhye direction, a US news outlet reported, quoting an anonymous Ukrainian militant

Among the losses, there are German Marders and American Strykers, the armored vehicles that proved not good enough against "saturation of antitank mines" and Russian forces that were described by anonymous media source as "colossal".

Ukrainian long-announced counteroffensive attempt started in early June and was largely considered unsuccessful even by most hawkish Western politicians due to enormous death rate with no substantial achievements. Several months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the Ukrainian counteroffensive attempt had failed. According to the latest information, Kiev lost over 71,000 troops and is reportedly in dire need for new manpower.

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A new modification of Russia’s Lancet kamikaze drone is capable of hitting targets at a considerable distance, posing a threat to Ukraine’s air bases, a US military news outlet has reported

Ukrainian forces must consider the placement of any new fighters [including the due-to-be-delivered fourth-generation F-16 jets] in light of Moscow’s growing UAV capabilities, the news outlet noted.

An informed source earlier told Sputnik that the Russian company ZALA AERO recently unveiled a range of revolutionary upgrades for the Lancet's hardware and software systems. According to the source, new design-related solutions were also used during the development of the Lancet’s upgraded version.

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🤦 What a shame…

The year 2023: in the Canadian parliament, a 98-year-old ex-SS soldier who fought on the side of Hitler during the Second World War is greeted with standing ovation apparently for his Nazi past

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Russian forces repel 5 Ukrainian attacks in Krasny Lyman, the Russian MoD says

▪️In Krasny Lyman, the Center Group of Forces successfully repelled five assaults by Ukrainian armed forces, causing Kiev to suffer losses of up to 20 personnel. Russian air defenses intercepted a Ukrainian drone near Kreminna in the Lugansk People's Republic.

▪️The Russian group's bomber aircraft also carried out four strikes on Ukrainian command and observation posts near Serebryanka in the Donetsk People's Republic.

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🤔 The fact that there is not any news on the combat work of US-supplied Patriot air defense system in Ukraine shows that it was severely damaged by Russian missile and in certainly not present on the battlefield, ex-CIA analyst and expert on national security Larry Johnson said

In May 2023, Russian Ministry of Defense reported that US-made Patriot air defense system was hit by top-tier hypersonic missile.

According to Larry Johnson, after this failure the US has been sending “the second, third level stuff” to Ukraine. He suggested that some Pentagon “bureaucrats” have finally realized that unlimited support of Kiev with best weaponry will only “weaken US military strength” and “anger the Russians”. That’s why, says ex-CIA analyst, Ukraine will receive outdated Abrams tanks and bookers are already starting to take bets how long they will last on the battlefield.

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The ban on imports of Ukraine’s agricultural products slapped by Slovakia, Hungary and Poland could cost Kiev up to $230 million a month, statistical data from these three countries show

Ukraine may suffer the most significant losses - 112 million per month - due to the Polish embargo pertaining to imports of Ukrainian wheat, corn, wheat flour, rapeseed, sunflower seeds, as well as some types of seed cake, according to the statistics.

Last week, the European Commission lifted its ban on Ukrainian grain imports, in a move that prompted Slovakia, Hungary and Poland to unilaterally extend their own embargo, citing farmers’ concerns.

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✊🇮🇱 Over 110,000 protesters participated in at the 38th anti-government rally in Tel Aviv, opposing the judicial reform promoted by the Netanyahu-led government.

On July 24, Israeli lawmakers passed a draft law in parliament that would prevent judges from overturning government decisions based on "reasonableness".

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🇺🇸 Tropical Storm Ophelia made a landfall on the United States' east coast, causing flooding across several state

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Washington won’t be able to remove China from the critical minerals supply chain

China’s important role in the processing of raw minerals means that Beijing will remain a key US partner, not least because those minerals are crucial components for the batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), according to US Under Secretary for Economic Growth and Environment Jose Fernandez.

Earlier this year, Beijing banned the export of rare earth metals such as gallium and germanium, which are used in the manufacturing of advanced microchips and solar batteries. The move came in response to Washington’s efforts to cut Beijing out of the high-tech economic race.

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