Legacy media working feverishly in Kursk region to manufacture consent for NATO’s proxy war against Russia

Russian law enforcement is investigating the activities of US journalists reporting from the contested Kursk region town of Sudzha, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova revealed on Monday, citing their work as evidence of the West’s “direct involvement” in “hybrid aggression” against Russia.

◻️ On Sunday, the Washington Post published a video report created by three of its reporters as they accompanied Ukrainian forces through the town.

◻️ WaPo weren’t the first. On August 16, CNN began publishing reports from occupied areas of Kursk region, prompting Russia’s FSB to launch a criminal probe.

◻️ On August 14, Italian state broadcaster Rai published a report from Kursk region filmed by a pair of its correspondents. Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Italy’s ambassador to express its “strong protest” over the journalists’ violation of Russian law and the “elementary rules of journalistic ethics.” Zakharova accused Rai of not only “distorting” the facts, but “turning them on their heads.” Rai recalled its correspondents home “for security reasons.”

The steady flow of reporting by Western media out of the Kursk region is the latest example of the info warfare that has accompanied actual fighting in the Russia-NATO proxy war in Ukraine. The importance of info warfare cannot be underestimated, with reports key to Western governments’ increasingly shaky justifications for continuing to send tens of billions of dollars to fuel the conflict.

On Monday, a source told Sputnik that agents from Ukraine’s Center for Information and Psychological Operations had fed info to foreign journalists in Sumy region to accuse the Russian military of war crimes. Similar activities have been underway since the very start of the conflict. In spring 2022, Ukrainian militants massacred their own civilians in the Kiev suburb of Bucha to justify rejecting the draft Istanbul peace deal with Russia to serve NATO’s aim of prolonging the conflict indefinitely.

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Netanyahu accepts bridging proposal on Gaza ceasefire, says Blinken

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the recent bridging proposal on reaching a ceasefire in Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

According to Blinken, it is now incumbent on Hamas to agree to the new proposal and then both parties and mediators, including the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, will complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they will implement the commitments that they have made under this agreement.

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Russian troops have liberated the village of New York in Russia's Donetsk People's Republic, Ukrainian militants have retreated, and a clean-up operation is underway, Vladimir Rogov, head of the Zaporozhye public movement ‘We are together with Russia’, told Sputnik

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Post-coup Ukraine's ‘schizophrenic’ Kosovo diplomacy exposes regime’s anti-Serbian nature

Despite assurances that it will not rethink its long-held stance against recognizing the breakaway Serbian region of Kosovo’s ‘independence’, the Zelensky regime has done everything in its power over the past year-and-a-half to bestow Pristina with the attributes of statehood.
Examples abound:

◻️ In February 2023, Ukrainian former deputy internal affairs minister Anton Gerashchenko vowed to do “everything in [his] power” to ensure Kosovo’s recognition.

◻️ In January of this year, instructors from the notorious Kosovo Security Force militia began training Ukrainian troops under the auspices of the UK’s Operation Interflex and US European Command.

◻️ In February, Volodymyr Zelensky met with self-proclaimed Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani to discuss Kiev’s possible recognition of Kosovo’s ‘independence.’

◻️ In April, Kiev backed a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolution to invite Kosovo to the body. The same month, Kiev received a batch of ‘humanitarian aid’ from the breakaway.

◻️ In May, the Kiev regime backed a provocative Western-backed resolution on Srebrenica at the UN General Assembly, which Belgrade blasted as an attempt to attribute collective blame on Serbs.

“The position of the government of Ukraine in relation to the Kosovo problem is completely schizophrenic,” respected Serbian-American historian Srdja Trifkovic told Sputnik, noting that post-2014 coup Kiev’s foreign policy has been driven entirely “by the contingencies of the moment.”

“On the one hand, Ukraine declared years ago that it would not recognize Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, because it tried to create some equivalence between the position of Crimea and Kosovo in the sense that, if they accept the legitimacy of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia on the grounds that the local majority – in Kosovo’s case the Albanians, in the Crimean case the Russians – have the right of succession, then of course mutatis mutandis applies to Kosovo, and applies for Ukraine. If Kosovo is legitimately independent, then Crimea can no longer be claimed,” Dr. Trifkovic explained.

Since 2014, Ukraine’s rulers have worked to bring Kiev’s foreign policy into line with that of its NATO sponsors. “And they, of course, regard Kosovo’s ‘independence’ from Serbia as the inviolable pillar of their policy in the Balkans, even though in both moral and legal terms, it is an absurdity,” Trifkovic added.

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European press asks questions about Zelensky’s role in latest Nord Stream blast narrative

Some European press did not fall for the Wall Street Journal’s latest yarn about the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea in September 2022.

According to the newspaper, the three pipes at a depth of 80 meters were blown up by a group of Ukrainians aboard a sailing yacht named Andromeda, using the high-grade explosive HMX.

The new version leaves unanswered questions about the roles of Ukrainian and Western politicians, Berliner Zeitung writes.

Why did Swedish and Danish investigators leave their work unfinished? The German Federal Criminal Service (BKA) cooperated with them and must have told them it found the Andromeda unattended with traces of the Ukrainian divers’ DNA and particles of HMX.

Why were Ukraine’s allies Denmark and Sweden so uninterested in the truth?

Poland seems to have been even less concerned. One of the suspects, named ‘Wolodymyr Z’ in the BKA report, lived in Poland until recently. Although an EU-wide arrest warrant against him was issued by BKA in June, 2024, the man remained free and escaped to Ukraine in August.

More unanswered questions:

◻️ Why was the prime suspect not arrested? BKA soon found the driver who transported Andromeda and identified Wolodymyr Z and other terrorists. Why did BKA not include their names and photos in the Schengen Registrar? “If they were included, Z. would be arrested on his way from Poland to Ukraine in August,” writes Tagesschau.

◻️ Why wasn’t Zelensky charged? The WSJ writes that Zelensky “initially approved the plan” hatched in May 2022 — which cost German economy tens of billions of euros. Why is Scholz still talking to Zelensky, why did he back claims of “Russia’s hand” in the bombing until recently, when secret services knew about the plans of “Z. and crew” all along?

◻️ Why wasn’t Valery Zaluzhny interrogated? As the WSJ writes, the final green light for the bombing was given by the then commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, who was since appointed Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK. His “diplomatic immunity” as cited by WSJ is no excuse. Ambassadors are not allowed to plot terrorist act.

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◻️ The latest from Russia’s Kursk region in the aftermath of Ukraine’s attempted incursion

◻️ How Western media is working to manufacture consent for NATO’s proxy war against Russia

◻️ Clooney Foundation joins the rubbish heap of other organizations banned in Russia

◻️ What’s behind Ukraine’s ‘schizophrenic’ Kosovo diplomacy? Historian explains to Sputnik

◻️ A story of Ukraine's descend into the abyss of religious madness

◻️ Attention, please: Putin signs a decree that would make Russia a safe haven for those escaping Western woke values

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Fundamental ‘lack of trust’, Netanyahu’s hardline demands making Gaza peace next to impossible

“The negotiations between Hamas and Israel have likely faltered due to irreconcilable differences in their core demands, particularly concerning the conditions for a ceasefire and the release of hostages,” German Institute for Global and Area Studies research fellow Houssein Al Malla has told Sputnik, commenting on the latest breakdown in Gaza peace talks.

Hamas said in a statement Sunday that the Israeli side had set new conditions which the Palestinian militia finds unacceptable, but that it remains committed to terms it agreed to in early July based on a UN Security Council resolution.

However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Israel on Monday that he had a “very constructive meeting” with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and that Netanyahu has accepted the “bridging proposal,” i.e. the proposed hostages-for-ceasefire arrangement. Blinken called on Hamas to accept the deal.

“According to recent reports from Turkish diplomatic sources, Israel has not even responded to the proposals from mediators in last week's talks, which underscores the lack of engagement. Israel’s demands, which reportedly include maintaining control over strategic corridors in Gaza, vetoing 100 names from a list of prisoners Hamas wants to be released, and the forced exile of 200 Palestinians, are far more severe than what was previously agreed upon in international forums,” Al Malla said.

“These conditions are seen by Hamas as non-starters, reflecting Israel’s focus on security and control, while Hamas insists on conditions that would alleviate the suffering of Gazans without compromising their position. This fundamental mismatch in expectations has brought the negotiations to the brink of collapse,” the observer emphasized.

“Another significant sticking point could be the sequence of actions. Israel likely insists on hostages being released before any easing of military actions or blockades, while Hamas may demand simultaneous actions or upfront concessions. These divergent priorities and a lack of trust make it challenging for either side to agree on terms that satisfy their strategic and political needs,” Al Malla added.

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Poles unnerved as their government mulls dragging them into NATO’s proxy war against Russia

Russia will respond if Warsaw “succumbs to its adventurous impulse and decides to try to intercept long-range weapons…used by our armed forces to neutralize military threats to Russia from the territory of Ukraine,” senior Russian Foreign Ministry diplomat Oleg Tyapkin told Sputnik on Monday.

Moscow has repeatedly emphasized the risks associated with possible direct Western involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, and its position is “well known to both Warsaw and NATO,” Tyapkin stressed.

In July, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Warsaw will consider the use of Polish air defense assets to down Russian missiles over Ukrainian airspace. Kiev has regularly lobbied NATO to establish a ‘no-fly zone’ over western Ukraine using Polish and Romanian air defenses.

Sikorski’s suggestion has been slammed by ordinary Poles concerned over the prospects of being dragged into a hot war with Russia.

💬 “Are we in danger of exchanging blows with Russia?” Polish news website wnp. pl contributor Lukasz Maziewski asked in an article on Sikorski’s comments. Former Polish Air Defense Chief Dr. Robert Stachurski advised against the foreign minister’s mad plot.

Sentiments against further escalation have been borne out in polling, with a survey published by Wirtualna Polska this week revealing that well over half of Poles want Ukraine to start peace negotiations with Russia, compared to 26% who say negotiations aren’t necessary.

Along with fears of being dragged into a war, many Poles are growing increasingly wary of the implications of the long-term presence of Ukrainian refugees in their country. In June, an Opinia24/YouGov poll found that just 42% of Poles support the long-term stay of Ukrainians in Poland, while 44% believe Warsaw should reduce its support.

Warsaw has committed over €3 billion in military aid and about €1 billion in financial and humanitarian support for Kiev to date.

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Kamala Harris’ price control policy may 'scare off’ many in US – analyst

US Vice-President Kamala Harris’ proposed food price controls – "even limited and unspecified as they currently are" – are bound to "scare off" many Americans, Alexey Zubets, vice-rector of the Financial University of the Russia Federation, told Sputnik.

There are "certain similar features" between what Harris proposes and the way prices were fixed in the Soviet Union by the State Planning Committee, or Gosplan, he noted, but added that the US "has not yet reached that point."

“It is clear that these are only general [similar] features, because in the Soviet Union, regulation was much stricter,” Zubets said

“This trend is not so much towards what the Soviet Union had, but rather in the direction of the European social model where, again, there are various instruments for price management, including in the consumer market.”

Even tentative moves towards a European-style welfare state "frighten Americans very much, because they understand that this will lead to higher taxes," Zubets stressed.

Harris unveiled her economic policy agenda on Friday at a campaign rally in North Carolina. Her proposals include bringing down the price of groceries, prenoscription drugs and other goods pushed up by inflation with a federal ban on price-gouging.

Harris' economic program will likely “present a problem for her,” Zubets predicted, stressing that market values in America are so deeply ingrained that “any other alternative scares them.”

As for Harris’ plan to resolve the housing crisis by building affordable homes and rentals for the middle class, it is anyone’s guess “how the real estate market will react to it,” said Zubets.

He noted that the housing market is one of the main drivers of the US economy.

“If the government throws 3 million social houses onto the market… this will lead to serious changes in the real estate market, Zubets said.

“Those financial companies, banks, and business people who are engaged in housing construction, they can incur losses simply due to the devaluation of the housing that is already on the American market.”

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Free abortions and vasectomies, an 18-foot-tall inflatable IUD named 'Freeda Womb' to be constructed during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.

Attendees of the DNC will be able to get a free abortion or vasectomy just blocks away from the event, and reportedly vasectomy appointments are filling up quickly.

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A tornado has sunk the superyacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily, Italy, with 22 people on board, including tycoon Mike Lynch, also known as the "British Bill Gates." Rescuers have found the body of the chef, while seven others, including the billionaire himself, are still missing.

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Souvenir stands are attracting crowds of Democratic convention attendees in Chicago. Among the most popular items are $30 Biden mugs and $35 T-shirts. The paraphernalia draws long lines of people eager to buy memorabilia.

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