Large-scale strikes on defense industry facilities in Ukraine – what we know so far:

▪️An air raid alarm was announced in Ukraine after 6 am Moscow time.

▪️Ukrainian media has reported explosions in a number of regions: Kiev, Kharkov, Sumy, Poltava, Vinnitsa, Kirovograd, Dnepropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lvov, and Odessa.

▪️Power outages began in Kiev after a series of explosions. In total, about a dozen explosions were heard in the city, according to the local pro-Russian resistance.

▪️An energy facility was hit in Odessa, Sergei Lebedev, coordinator of the pro-Russian Nikolayev underground, told Sputnik.

▪️In the town of Stryi in the Lvov region, a major detonation occurred after a strike, and the power went out.

▪️In Ivano-Frankovsk, a strike was carried out on a warehouse with military equipment, with the explosion occurring in an area where Ukrainian forces had also hid two F-16s, the pro-Russian underground told Sputnik.

▪️In Volyn, a strike was carried out on a Ukrainian military location.

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The strike was carried out on the Ukrainian units location in Poltava, the pro-Russian underground told Sputnik

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Polish military aviation has been scrambled to "ensure airspace security," the command of the country’s armed forces said.

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🎥 Ukrainian TV propaganda marathon turned off by Russian large-scale strikes on defense industry facilities

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Ukrainian authorities report repeated explosions in Volyn region, air raid alert continues

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🎥 Stabbing, arrests, and twerking with police officers - carnival in the UK

Three people were stabbed, including a young woman, and 90 were arrested during yesterday's “Family Day” at the Notting Hill Carnival in the UK.

The traditional Caribbean carnival has begun in Notting Hill. On the first day of the event, 15 police officers were assaulted amid ugly scenes, although none of those assaulted sustained serious injuries.

A scandal erupted due to a carnival video featuring a participant twerking in front of a police officer, who did not react at all.

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Key takeaways from Russian President Vladimir Putin's at a meeting on economic issues via videoconference:

◾️ The Russian economy continues to grow at a good pace, as it did last year;

◾️ Russia's GDP has grown by 4.6% in the first half of the year;

◾️ Budget revenues in the first 7 months of the year have approached 20 trillion roubles ($217.6 billion), two-thirds of which are non-oil and gas revenues;

◾️ Inflationary dynamics in Russia are not slowing down despite the central bank's rate hike;

◾️ Unemployment in Russia remains at a record low of 2.4% as in June.

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❗️This morning, the Russian armed forces launched a massive strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities that power its military-industrial complex. All designated targets were hit, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

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❗️Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied reports that Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region disrupted ceasefire talks on energy infrastructure

◻️ Before the attack on the Kursk region, there were no negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

◻️ The issue of negotiations with Ukraine has currently lost its relevance.

◻️ Such hostile actions cannot go unanswered, there will be a response, but we are not talking about a single decision.

Other key statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at his briefing:

◾️Vladimir Putin and Pavel Durov did not meet during the Russian president's recent visit to Baku. At the same time, the Kremlin does not consider it right to comment on the Telegram CEO’s arrest right now, as it is still not known what he is accused of.

◾️ Putin prioritizes receiving information about the special military operation's progress from those who are conducting it on the battlefield.

◾️Putin has no plans to contact IAEA head Rafael Grossi.

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Nude World Order: a club you've never heard of where Washington’s naked power plays are exposed

The Finnish Embassy in Washington DC decided to 'sell' the Finnish sauna experience to government officials.

The embassy has set up a sauna and turned it into a kind of private club. Only select US officials are invited to take a steam bath and discuss important topics at the same time. They are greeted in the baths with Finnish Marimekko bathrobes and Lumene cosmetics, and 'full nudity is encouraged'.

“If you want to understand how Putin’s power centers work, if you can’t talk to the Russians, which often you can’t, the next stop is the Finns,” said Robbie Gramer, a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. Finland’s border with Russia is over 800 miles long.

Gramer said the set-up was a win-win: “I never thought I would say this, but networking in the nude is just better.” That way, the Finns say, you can understand the Russians and their way of thinking, which is very useful these days.

But, guys, you got it wrong: sauna and banya are different things!

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❗️The French Foreign Ministry told Sputnik it would not comment on the detention of Pavel Durov so as not to compromise the independence of the judicial system.

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Germany does not share the Czech president's view that the Nord Stream gas pipelines were a legitimate target and considers the sabotage bombing a crime, the German government said.

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❗️Ukraine lost over 400 troops and 27 armored vehicles during its aggression against Russia's Kursk region in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russian troops repelled attacks towards Kremianoye, Malaya Loknya and Nechayev. Attempts to attack in the areas of Komarovka, Spalnoye, Korenevo, Pogrebki and Olgovka were thwarted.

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📹 Russian military steamroller in action

The assault units of the Russian Vostok Battlegroup advanced towards Konstantinovka in the DPR

The task of the assault troops is to block the supply routes for the large garrison of the Ukrainian armed forces in Ugledar, which pass through the town.

Combat pairs on motorcycles break through the grey zone towards the Ukrainian positions. At the edge of the forest belt, troops dismount and rush into the trenches.

Meanwhile, an armoured group on heavy vehicles begins to move forward, firing at the enemy from tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

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❗️Russian MoD statement on the ongoing operation to counter Ukraine's aggression in the Kursk region

◻️ Units of the Russian battlegroup "Sever", supported by army aviation and artillery, repelled enemy attacks near the settlements of Kremyanoye, Malaya Loknya and Nechaev. They also thwarted enemy attempts to attack the settlements of Komarovka, Spalnoye, Korenevo, Pogrebki and Olgovka.

◻️ As a result, up to 30 Ukrainian militants were killed or injured. A tank, three armoured vehicles, and one motor vehicle were destroyed.

◻️ Reconnaissance and search operations continue to identify and eliminate enemy sabotage groups that have tried to infiltrate deep into Russian territory through forests.

◻️ Air strikes, artillery fire, and troop actions defeated concentrations of Ukrainian militants and their equipment near the following settlements: Apanasovka, Borki, Vishnevka, Viktorovka, Desyatyy Octyabr, Kruglenkoye, Loknya, Mikhaylovka, Novaya Sorochina, Plekhovo, Snagost and Yuzhny.

◻️ Tactical air strikes in the Sumy region hit concentrations of Ukrainian militants and military equipment near the settlements of Belopolye, Bunyakino, Boyaro-Lezhichi, Baranovka, Druzhba, Zapselye, Katerinovka, Malushino, Pervomayskoye, Orlovka, Pustogorod, Svessa, Sumy, Khoten and Chervonoye.

◻️ During the day, the Ukrainian forces suffered losses of more than 400 militants and 27 armored vehicles, including a tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, three armored personnel carriers, 21 other armored combat vehicles, five artillery pieces, two mortars, eleven vehicles and one US-made counter-battery radar system.

◻️ In total, during the battles in the Kursk area, the enemy suffered losses of more than 6,200 troops, 73 tanks, 33 infantry fighting vehicles, 61 armored personnel carriers, 404 armored vehicles, 188 other vehicles, 42 artillery units, five anti-aircraft missile systems, 11 multiple rocket launch systems — including three HIMARS and one M270 MLRS system — nine electronic warfare units, two counter-battery radar systems, an air defense radar unit and five engineering equipment units, including two engineer barrier vehicles and one UR-77 mine clearing unit.

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❗️The International Atomic Energy Agency mission led by Rafael Grossi will visit the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant on Tuesday, the agency's director general said in a statement.

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