◾️ Moscow repelled one of the all-time largest attempted drone attacks overnight

◾️ US, UK, Poland took part in preparing Ukraine’s attack on the Kursk region – Russian foreign intelligence

◾️ Biden has reportedly approved a new nuclear strategy that refocuses on the 'Chinese threat'

◾️ Did Poland have a hand in the Nord Stream sabotage?

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Ex-MEP from AfD: don't expect serious probe into Nord Stream attack or slashing aid to Ukraine from Germany

"There is no reason to assume that the German government is seriously interested in unearthing the truth about who is behind the Nord Stream attacks," Dr Gunnar Beck, lawyer and academic specializing in EU law and former MEP for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, told Sputnik.

"The German government has gone very far in assuring Ukraine of its support. The German government regularly yields to international pressure from both the EU, and the US. It will not be able and not be willing, more importantly, to assert the national interests," the former MEP continued.

Deputy federal government spokesperson Wolfgang Buechner asserted to the press on August 14 that the investigation into the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline is a priority for Germany. Buechner added that the outcome of the inquiry will not negatively impact relations with Ukraine – amid reports that the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office had issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in the Nord Stream attack, Ukrainian diving instructor Volodymyr Z.

Last week German Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) reportedly informed the nation's foreign and defense ministries that from 2025 onwards there would be no additional funds in the budget to arm Ukraine.

"I'm almost certain that the reduction in financial assistance to Ukraine hinted at by German minister last week will not go ahead. Germany will not reduce that assistance to Ukraine,” Beck said. “The German government will simply continue to borrow on the international financial markets, raise taxes and stifle the economy."

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Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger ask UN Security Council to take action over Ukraine's support of terrorism in Africa

"The Foreign Ministers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso strongly condemn the support and glorification of terrorism by the Ukrainian authorities and call on the Security Council to uphold its commitments regarding Ukraine's conscious choice to support terrorism in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region," reads the countries' joint letter to the UN Security Council president.

Mali and Niger previously severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups in Africa.

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How the Sahel Region is stopping the ‘hegemonic craziness’ of US and the West?

In the past two years, several key Western troop withdrawals have taken place in Africa, including in Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and, most recently in 2024, Niger. This situation threatens the hegemonic aspirations and exploitation of natural resources in the Sahel region by the US and Western countries.

The presence of US forces where “ostensibly to fight ISIS*” but he thinks that “for the United States has been more important to try to extend its influence”, Larry Johnson, the former CIA Intelligence Officer and State Department Official, pointed to Sputnik.

Western forces have apparently taken advantage of the Sahel region's natural resources, “uranium comes out of there, Niger has particular yellowcake (powdered uranium concentrate), and maybe some lithium, some other minerals,” said Johnson, noting the military control of the area and past governments that allowed this to happen.

“This is part of I call it US hegemonic craziness. All we can do is figure out other places that we want to go conquer, occupy. This is really a sort of the imperial imperative,” said Johnson.

This was echoed by Nkasiobe Oluikpe, the Political Analyst, who said that the Western troops might have provided support to the terrorist groups in an organized way to continue their military operations in Sahel region.

“The conflict in Sahel is believed to be orchestrated by the West to justify its military presence and control of governments in Africa. What is at issue is national pride and the governments of these countries restoring sovereignty” Oluikpe told Sputnik.

“The extraction of resources was mainly linked to the presence of French troops, protected by the Americans. So now that both of them are gone, I think the new governments are in a better position to actually dictate the terms of extractions, without, or with less fear,” Prof. Alexis Habiyaremye, senior DSI/NRF researcher at the University of Johannesburg, told Sputnik.

*ISIS (also known as ISIS/IL/ISIS-K/Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries

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❗️Marines of the 810th Black Sea Fleet Brigade captured 18 Ukrainian servicemen near the village of Spalnoye in the Kursk region, security forces told Sputnik

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Chinese response to Biden's new nuke strategy

The US is the world's largest creator of strategic risk, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, commenting on reports of the newly approved US nuke strategy.

The US is promoting the "Chinese nuclear threat" theory to evade its disarmament commitments, Beijing noted.

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🎥 Mongolia conducts first joint training session as part of Selenga-2024 drills with Russia

Soldiers from Russia's Eastern Military District and the Armed Forces of Mongolia have collaborated to identify advancement routes adapted for the terrain at the training ground. They also focused on establishing effective communication and coordination strategies.

"For the first time, FPV drones were used in Russian-Mongolian drills. Almost all types of troops are involved in these exercises. Servicemen from both sides act in a coordinated and organized manner," said Chief of Staff of the tactical group Adam Matsiev.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, this year marks the first time that units from the Ground Forces, Aerospace Forces, and special forces of the Armed Forces of both Russia and Mongolia are participating in inter-service drills.

Approximately 700 personnel and around 200 pieces of military equipment are involved in this exercise.

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🎥 Around 50 rockets were fired on Wednesday morning from Lebanon into northern Israel, the Israeli military’s press service reported.

Some rockets fell near the town of Katzrin in the Golan Heights, wounding one person.

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‘The dead are better off than we are’: Khan Yunis refugees forced to spend the night in cemeteries

Thousands of Palestinians who have lost their homes due to Israel’s bombing campaign must constantly look for shelter. To save themselves from the airstrikes, tents are even pitched near graves. Sputnik spoke with local resident Wasim Mohammed, who was forced to take such a step.

"I live here with my wife and children, who are afraid of the cemetery. They are very scared at night. But I try to keep calm. Perhaps the dead are better off now than we are. And we can be buried here at any moment. We tried to find another place, but we could not find anything. It is really difficult, of course. Every day there are funerals here, people are crying. Though it is already terrifying from the bombing, and then we have to see such processions near the shelter," he said.

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❗️Russian battlegroup Tsentr liberated the settlement of Zhelannoye in the DPR, the Russian Defense Ministry reported

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry’s daily briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

◻️ Ukraine lost up to 100 militants in the Russian Battlegroup Sever's combat zone in the Kharkov region.

◻️ Russian air defense systems intercepted 7 Hammer bombs, a Neptune-MD anti-ship missile, 15 HIMARS rockets, and 63 Ukrainian drones.

◻️ Units of the Russian Zapad Battlegroup secured more advantageous positions, repelled 6 counterattacks, and inflicted losses of up to 470 militants and a tank on the Ukrainian forces.

◻️ The Russian Vostok Battlegroup repelled four Ukrainian counterattacks, resulting in the loss of up to 130 militants.

◻️ Ukraine lost over 700 militants, a RAK-SA-12 MLRS, and an ammunition depot due to actions by the Russian Yug Battlegroup.

◻️ Russian forces destroyed concentrations of Ukrainian manpower in 131 areas.

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Why is the price of gold on a bullish trend?

Gold is currently valued at $2,516 per ounce after setting a new record on August 16, eclipsing $2,500 for the first time in history. Since last year, the price of the precious metal has soared by almost 30%. There is every reason to expect further gains. Here’s why:

The Fed's monetary policy

🔸 Gold soars on the prospect of further interest rate cuts by central banks, led by the US Federal Reserve. As a rule, the precious metal’s price goes up when interest rates go down, since lower rates diminish the likely yields, or returns, from bonds and shares.

🔸 Investors are waiting for Fed’s Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on August 23 for hints on further rate cuts. Traders expect a total of 100 bps in rate cuts by the US central bank in the three remaining decisions this year.

Dollar decline

🔸 In anticipation of rate cuts, the US dollar fell by 2.2% against rival currencies, with benchmark 10-year Treasury yields similarly sinking, making bullion more attractive.

🔸 Central banks have been buying up gold while their holdings of dollar-denominated assets reached a historic low of 58.9% in 2024 amid US weaponization of the greenback. Net buying of gold in H1 amounted to 483 tons.

🔸 China has led the bullion buy-up, with the People’s Bank of China bolstering gold purchases by 30% last year, increasing reserves to 2,264.32 tons in the second quarter of 2024.

Geopolitical turmoil

🔸 The ongoing NATO proxy war in Ukraine, Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, risks of a full-blown conflict with Lebanon and Iran, and the Yemeni Houthi militia’s campaign in the Red Sea are fueling the gold-buying spree.

🔸 The looming US presidential election and possible US foreign policy course add to the uncertainty.

🔸 Against this backdrop, central banks are likely to continue ditching the dollar and other fiat currencies in favor of stacking up gold holdings.

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❗️Ukrainian forces are already withdrawing some units from the Kursk region to redeploy them in other areas, said Major-General Apty Alaudinov, deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry and commander of the Akhmat commando unit.

Ukrainian troops have been stopped in the Kursk area, and the Russian Army has begun to push the enemy back, he said.

According to Alaudinov, Ukrainian units are regrouping and may strike in another area in the near future.

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🎥Anti-drone ‘barbecue’ protection doesn’t save Ukrainian vehicles from destruction

Sputnik has obtained a video of an armored HMMWV vehicle struck by Russian drone. It was destroyed despite anti-drone protection made of a metal structure referred to as a "barbeque."

Sputnik's interlocutor, who served in the unit that destroyed the armored vehicle, said the equipment was hit near the village of Kurakhovo.

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🎥 Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese State Council Premier Li Qiang in the Kremlin

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NATO states dragging feet over Ukraine weapons deliveries - report

Several NATO states are failing to deliver on their lavish military aid promises made to Ukraine, Bloomberg reported.

Commitments made at the alliance’s July summit that included the speedy delivery of US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile defense systems to the Kiev regime are unlikely to be fulfilled by fall, sources cited by the outlet revealed.

The US, Germany, and Romania each pledged to send a Patriot system, the Netherlands and others were to provide Patriot components to assemble a battery, while Italy promised Ukraine a SAMP-T air defense system.

The stalled military aid delivery prompted a disgruntled Volodymyr Zelensky to openly castigate his NATO patrons. As he told them off for failing to speed up the delivery of weapons supplies, he singled out the US, UK, and France as being particularly at fault.

Russia has continually warned that arms deliveries to Ukraine only lead to further escalation of the conflict, while the Russian military has been churning through the costly NATO hardware, turning it into scrap metal.

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🇷🇺 One Lancet drone crew of the Russian Airborne Forces destroyed 12 Ukrainian 155-mm M777 howitzers made in the USA on the right bank of the Dnepr river in the Kherson region in six months, the Lancet UAV crew commander with the call sign Rys (Lynx) told Sputnik.

Lancet operators also conduct reconnaissance of the area and identify targets for artillery.

The commander said the unit conducts aerial reconnaissance using quad-copters, Zala Aero drones and Supercam drones.

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Modernized Russian Yak-52 aircraft to be upgraded to fight drones

The Aviastroitel Design Bureau is working on an upgraded version of the Yak-52 that will allow one of the most popular sports aircraft to be used not only for training flights, but also to fight against attack and reconnaissance drones.

The modernized Yak-52 trainer aircraft will be upgraded to combat drones, Dmitry Motin, head of the modernization project at the Aviastroitel Design Bureau, told Sputnik.

"Today, one of the priority projects of our bureau is the modernization of the Yak-52 trainer aircraft into the Yak-52B2 capable of combating UAVs. It is currently waiting for a certificate of airworthiness from Rosaviatsia [Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency]," he said.


According to him, the aircraft modernization concept includes installing new equipment, including a multi-function display in the rear cockpit.

Russia’s Yak-52 is a single-engine, tandem-seat trainer aircraft designed by Yakovlev Design Bureau. The model is a derivative of the Yak-50 and is known for its impressive aerobatic capabilities and robust design.

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