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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❗️The Russian Ministry of Defense has given details of the massive attack on facilities in Ukraine

◻️ The targets of the strike included electrical substations in the following regions: Kiev, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnitsky, Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Nikolaev, Kirovograd and Odessa.

◻️ Gas compressor stations in the Lvov, Ivano-Frankovsk and Kharkov regions, which are essential for the operation of Ukraine's gas transportation system, have also been damaged.

◻️ In addition, stores of aircraft weapons transferred by Western countries to Ukraine at airfields in the Kiev and Dnepropetrovsk regions have been attacked.

◻️ All designated targets have been hit. The resulting power cuts have disrupted railway transport of weapons and ammunition to the front line.

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Graveyard for NATO armor: list of Western weapons systems destroyed during Kiev’s Kursk gambit

Along with crack troops and foreign mercs, Kiev’s surprise attack on the Kursk region has involved an array of NATO equipment. Here are some of the much-touted NATO systems destroyed:

◾️ Challenger 2: Britain’s battle-shy MBT lost its status as the only modern tank never to have been destroyed by enemy fire when London started sending them to Ukraine last year. A Russian loitering munition destroyed a Challenger 2 in the Kursk region in mid-August.

◾️ Abrams: Russia’s first Abrams kill in the Kursk region was reported last week. At least 20 of the 31 Abrams supplied to Kiev have now been lost.

◾️ HIMARS rocket artillery: At least three of these shoot-and-scoot rocket artillery systems have been destroyed in the Kursk assault.

◾️ Stryker: About a dozen of these Canadian APC-IFV hybrids have been destroyed by Russian air power, Lancet drones, and Black Sea Fleet Naval Infantry in the Kursk region, with two more captured.

◾️ Marder: At least three of these German “Schutzenpanzers” have been knocked out by Russian forces in the Kursk region.

◾️ Bradley: Eight of these American IFVs were destroyed in the course of 24 hours on August 12 during a breakthrough attempt. Five or more were knocked out in fighting elsewhere.

◾️ Kirpi: Last week, Russian FPV drone footage showed a drone’s attack on a Turkish-made Kirpi MRAP operating somewhere in the Kursk area.

◾️ Humvee: These ubiquitous US-made vehicles have been spotted in MoD and media reports on destroyed enemy equipment, with knocked-out vehicles seen in an array of modifications, from machinegun turret-equipped variants to support vehicles.

◾️ M113 APC: At least one M113 has been hit by Russia’s deadly new EW-resistant Knyaz Vandal of Novgorod wired FPV drone.

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Ukraine's attack on Russia's Kursk region: hostile actions cannot go unanswered – Kremlin

◻️ Before Ukraine’s attack on Russia’s Kursk region there were no negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

◻️ Such hostile actions as Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk region cannot remain unanswered and there will be a response – and not just a single act – Peskov told reporters.

◻️ Losses of Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region over the past 24 hours amounted to more than 400 people and 27 armored vehicles, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

◻️ IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said he will visit the Kursk nuclear power plant on Tuesday. The IAEA intends to independently assess the situation at the plant, he said.

◻️ Ukrainian military leaders complain that Kiev's attack on the Kursk region has led to loss of ground on other key fronts, The Times newspaper quoted Ukrainian military officials as saying.

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🎥 Chemical plant in Germany on fire following explosion

The accident happened on the grounds of a plant owned by the German chemical giant Linde, which produces hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and other special gases.

Emergency services urged residents of Leuna and Bad Dürrenberg to keep windows and doors closed.

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Macron says arrest of Telegram's Durov 'in no way a political decision'

Durov's arrest is part of ongoing probe, 'up to judges to decide' — Macron

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Durov charged with refusing to cooperate on cyber and financial crimes on Telegram — reports quoting police

French police said that the Durov case is still under investigation – media

French police say Durov is still in custody. An investigation is underway – reports

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Rumble CEO says Emmanuel Macron lies about commitment to freedom of speech

"When you say you are committed to freedom of expression, you are lying. We have a letter from France that proves this, without a doubt,” Chris Pavlovski wrote on his X account in reply to the French president’s attempt to justify Durov's arrest.

“We had to shutdown Rumble in France because you have NO commitment to freedom of expression."

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European Commission refuses to comment on Telegram founder's arrest

"This is a national investigation, we do not intend to comment on it, it should be referred to the French authorities," the European Commission's press service said.

The Paris prosecutor's office promised to make a statement on Durov's case today, August 26.

Durov, founder and CEO of the leading messaging app Telegram, was arrested on arrival in Paris on 24 August. He is accused of involvement in crimes related to terrorism, fraud and drug trafficking for his alleged refusal to moderate content on the messenger.

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AOC Logic? Children in Gaza must die, so that Trans kids in Alabama may live

“When I process the suffering of Gazans, I think about the women bleeding out in ER rooms in red states...I think about trans kids…” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a US Congresswoman and prominent Democrat said.

“…The conclusion I’ve come to is having more people suffer to put on top of the already suffering that’s going on in Gaza…that’s not something that I think I’m comfortable with”

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Durov has been charged with 12 crimes - the Paris prosecutor's office told Sputnik

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Telegram CEO, Pavel Durov may remain in police custody in France until August 28 - the Paris prosecutor's office told Sputnik, adding that the case against Pavel Durov in France was opened on July 8, 2024

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