Russia collects evidence for lawsuits on arbitrariness of Latvia against Russians — Russian Foreign Ministry

There have been reports in the media that the Latvian authorities have complicated the procedure for extending residence permits to Russian citizens, which now requires confirmation of knowledge of the Latvian language, as well as completion of a questionnaire on their attitude towards the special military operation and Crimea.

"We will continue to collect evidence, based on written statements from compatriots who have suffered from the arbitrariness of the Latvian authorities, for the preparation of individual and collective lawsuits in local and international courts," said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

"Riga should understand that they will have to answer for all barbaric actions against the Russian-speaking population," she concluded.

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Colombia submits bill to prevent mercenary recruitment - Colombian Foreign Ministry

"Currently, there is no such ban, so Colombians are signing very dangerous contracts with recruiting networks and ending up in the armies of other countries," Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said.

In early June, the Russian Defense Ministry showed an interrogation video of a captured Colombian mercenary, Angel Cardenas Montilla, who had fought on the side of Ukrainian forces. He said that Ukrainian curators had tricked him into going to the contact line, despite promising that he would be guarding the rear facility.

According to him, he came to Ukraine following an announcement on the Tik-Tok social network, where mercenaries were invited to participate in hostilities against Russia.  

Montilla noted that foreigners like him came to Ukraine "as if in a dream", without a clear understanding of where they were going after being deceived by the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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West feigns ignorance of Ukraine's attack on Russian territory 

Ukraine prepared an attack on Russia’s Kursk region "secretly and without feedback," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

"Ukraine was preparing its military operation in the Kursk region very secretly and without feedback," Scholz told reporters, following a meeting with Moldova President Maia Sandu.

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Aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln arrives in Mideast as US builds up military presence in region

The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln with fighter jets on board has arrived in the Middle East, the Central Command of the US Armed Forces (CENTCOM) has announced.

“USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), equipped with F-35C and F/A-18 Block III fighters, has entered the US Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility. The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3, is accompanied by Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9,” CENTCOM posted on X.

The US is gradually expanding its military presence in the Middle East under the pretext of possible escalation in the region. Earlier in August, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered “adjustments” to the US' “military posture” in the Mideast. Additional weaponry, including the USS Georgia nuclear submarine, was subsequently deployed.

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🔸German Scholz says Ukraine prepared an attack on Russia’s Kursk region ‘secretly’ in a span of Western lies about its non-involvement

🔸Aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln arrives in Mideast as US builds up military presence in region

🔸Protests near Democrat convention won’t move Harris to stop arming Israel – expert

🔸The Iranian Armed Forces General Staff has partially refuted reports about the causes of President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter crash

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📹Chinese State Council Premier Li Qiang's visit to Russia ended with a solemn farewell ceremony.

The Russian orchestra performed the famous Russian song "Katyusha."

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❗️The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained three agents of the Ukrainian military intelligence (two Russian citizens and one Moldovan) in Russia's Crimea and Sevastopol.

The detainees had planned for explosions on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula; among their targets was a pumping station supplying Kerch with water. They also collected information about the Russian military.

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Degradation of free speech and rollback from democracy - Russian Foreign Ministry on US gov's intention to raid Americans who cooperate with Russian media

The US Department of Justice has initiated a criminal investigation into those who have worked with Russia’s state television networks, fearing the spread of pro-Russian information ahead of US presidential elections in November, the New York Times reports. 

Recently, the FBI has already raided the homes of political analysts, Scott Ritter and Dimitri K. Simes, for their connections with the Russian state media. 

"More searches are expected soon," the newspaper writes, citing US officials, adding that "criminal charges are also possible."

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wondered on her Telegram account what Reporters Without Borders, UNESCO and OSCE think about such a move by the US against freedom of speech. 

"I am sure this shameful fact will be recorded in the State Department's report on the degradation of the situation regarding human rights and freedom of speech in the United States. We are waiting for an angry rebuke to the American authorities for the rollback from democracy done by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre," she wrote.

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New Russian residency law helps Westerners escape posthuman globalist madness – US-born journalist

"The law provides Westerners with what they've sought for a long time - the opportunity to move to Russia," Timothy Kirby, an American-born journalist and radio host, told Sputnik. Earlier, Western foreigners couldn’t immigrate to Russia without a legal basis, but now “the door has finally started to open,” he added.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on August 19 providing foreigners who share Russia's spiritual and moral values, and who seek to escape the West's destructive neoliberal ideals, with a temporary residence permit in Russia.

Kirby emigrated from the US to Russia in 2006 and calls himself "an advocate for life in Russia" who opposes a "satanic new wave" of ideas which are "very popular among the Western elite, but absolutely disgusting to the rest of humanity."

He provides Westerners who are already interested in Russia with the realities of moving to the country, including the difficulties, the benefits, and "what life is actually like here." "I want people to have a clear and honest opinion about it," he pointed out.

"Russians have chosen to remain human to keep society going, to reject globalism, and to reject some sort of post-human, post-modern bizarre future," Kirby said. "In a lot of ways, Russia is the country that is leading the fight against some of the absolute madness coming from the West… And God bless Russia for it."

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❗️The Russian Federal Security Service has opened criminal cases against American journalist, Nick Peyton Walsh, as well as Ukrainian correspondents, Olesya Borovik and Diana Butsko.

The foreign reporters illegally crossed the border and filmed in the Sudzha area. They face up to five years in prison.

A similar case was opened over the weekend against two Italian journalists.

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📹🇷🇺The Russian tricolor was solemnly raised in Lugansk on the national flag day, which is celebrated today.

The head of the Lugansk People's Republic attended the ceremony.

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Unprecedented double railway halt to hurt Canada's economy

Canada's two major railways have been brought to a halt after Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) began lockouts of nearly 9,000 workers on August 22, having failed to reach an agreement with a major labor union.

The unprecedented rail stoppage could negatively affect the Canadian economy and cross-border trade with the US. The CN and CPKC carry a combined $740,000 of goods every day, per the Railway Association of Canada.

Thirty-two thousand commuters in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, will also be affected by the impasse, the Canadian press says.

The union claims the railway companies are seeking to boost efficiency and cut costs at the expense of employees who "would be forced to stay awake even longer, increasing the risk of derailments and other accidents." In response, CPKC argues that the union makes "unrealistic demands that would fundamentally impair the railway’s ability to serve our customers."

CPKC has reportedly urged the government to step in and impose binding arbitration on the matter, while CN has taken a more cautious stance, calling for resuming contract talks which began last September. 

Canadian Federal Labor Minister Steve MacKinnon had earlier rejected the railway companies' call to interfere. The New Democratic Party, which backs the liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the House of Commons, warned, "For too long, we have seen Liberals and Conservatives interfere in these types of labor disputes to the advantage of the employer."

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❗️Russian troops liberated the settlement of Mezhevoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed.

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❗️The Russian Vostok Battlegroup struck four brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with the enemy losing up to 130 militants.

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

▪️Air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29;

▪️In the Russian Yug Battlegroup's combat zone in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Ukrainian forces lost up to 765 militants, along with a Grad MLRS combat vehicle and seven field ammunition depots;

▪️Units of the Russian Zapad Battlegroup improved their tactical positions, with the Ukrainian forces losing up to 440 militants;

▪️Air defense systems intercepted three Hammer bombs, 11 HIMARS missiles, and 91 Ukrainian drones;

▪️The Russian Tsentr Battlegroup inflicted losses of up to 640 militants on the Ukrainian forces;

▪️The Ukrainian forces lost up to 80 militants in the Russian Sever Battlegroup's combat zone in the Kharkov region.

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