Russian President Vladimir Putin's statements following talks with his Mongolian counterpart:

◻️ Russia and Mongolia will actively develop cooperation in traditional industries and establish joint work in the high-tech sphere.

◻️ The talks in Mongolia were held in a constructive and meaningful manner and allowed the leaders to outline further prospects for partnership.

◻️ Russia appreciates that Mongolia is pursuing a policy of cooperation with Moscow: that was confirmed in the talks.

◻️ Strengthening friendly relations with Mongolia remains one of Russia's priorities.

◻️ Russia and Mongolia actively cooperate and develop partnerships.

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Ukraine’s recruited ex-cons go on looting rampage in the Kursk region. Check out more updates on the situation in Russia’s border area:

◻️ The Kiev regime sent a company entirely comprised of former convicts as part of its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. However, while trying to dodge clashes with Russian servicemen, the ex-cons of the Shkval Battalion engaged in looting rampages on Russian soil

◻️ Russian troops destroyed more than 10 units of enemy equipment in just the last 24 hours, including a Stryker combat vehicle, RAK-12 multiple launch rocket system, Tunguska anti-aircraft gun, and two UAV control points in the Kursk region, Akhmat special forces commander Major-General Apti Alaudinov said

◻️ A captured Ukrainian serviceman said troops were blindsided by the Kiev regime and not told they would be attacking Russia’s Kursk region. In order avoid mass desertion, psychologists worked with them before the attack, dismissing any questions whether they would be required to cross into Russian border areas

◻️ Ukraine’s plan to use the Kursk ploy to force Russia to withdraw some forces from Donbass failed, Norwegian publication ABC Nyheter cited Western experts as saying. As a result, Kiev’s units on the eastern front are faced with empty arsenals and depleted personnel

◻️ Washington's idea to pit Europe against Russia using the Ukraine crisis will not work, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov underscored. He noted that there can be only one fate in store for US-delivered weapons used in Ukraine’s attacks on hospitals and civilians, including in Russia's Kursk region – complete destruction

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What benefits has Egypt obtained by joining BRICS?

“For Egypt, joining BRICS was the main goal itself,” Chairman of the Eurasia and BRICS Forum, Mohamed Salah, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

He also emphasized that by joining the BRICS Development Bank, Egypt will be able to obtain development projects and state loans.

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Construction kickbacks, ‘corruption pyramid’: Why was Ukraine’s electricity tsar really fired?  

Volodymyr Kudrytsky, the head of Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s state-owned electricity transmission system operator, has been sacked. Neither Zelensky’s office nor the energy ministry have commented on the dismissal. However, Ukrainian media, lawmakers and Kiev’s foreign donors have expressed an array of emotions regarding the decision.

◻️ In a fiery letter to Prime Minister Shmygal, Ukraine’s foreign donors, including the EU, the EBRD and the International Finance Corporation expressed “deep concern” over Kudrytsky’s sacking, warning that “such an event could jeopardize our collective ability to support Ukrenergo and other priority measures of Ukraine’s vital energy security.” 

◻️ Officially, Kudrytsky was dismissed “on grounds of failing to safeguard energy facilities amid intensified Russian attacks,” with an informed source telling Ukrainian media he was “accused of improperly implementing previous decisions of the headquarters of the supreme commander-in-chief and poor protection of Ukrenergo facilities.”

◻️ Kudrytsky is under investigation for alleged money laundering, graft, and abuse of power, and faces 5-8 years in prison and the confiscation of property if convicted.

◻️ Government e-procurement records service ProZorro shows that under Kudrytsky’s watch, Ukrenergo approved 63 tender-free contracts in late 2023 worth $1.6 mln each for the installation of protective structures on transformers, with completion of construction pushed back from February to April to June 2024, and none of the projects finished as of September 1.

◻️ But Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak suggests the charges against Kudrytsky are trumped up, and that Ukrenergo has been the only entity actually trying to build protective structures and to stock up on repair equipment in a timely manner.

◻️ Members of Zelensky’s inner circle have sought “to get rid of [Kudrytsky] for a long time,” the lawmaker wrote in a social media post. “The real reason is the animal desire to sit on all financial flows, including 100 bln hryvnia [about $2.4 bln] annually, and €1.5 billion in credit lines. The National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Public Utilities has been captured, and with the addition of Ukrenergo, the construction of the corruption pyramid can be considered complete,” Zheleznyak wrote.

◻️ Lawmaker Andriy Zhupanin warned that Kudrytsky’s sacking won’t be a “solution to problems,” but just their start.

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Allies Against Japanese Aggression: How the USSR & Mongolia Defeated Tokyo Before WW2

During Vladimir Putin's visit to Mongolia, the Russian president engaged in discussions with his Mongolian counterpart before participating in the 85th anniversary celebrations commemorating the joint victory of Soviet and Mongolian forces at the Khalkh River.

Historical Background: The Protocol of Mutual Assistance, signed in 1936 between the USSR and Mongolia, laid the groundwork for military cooperation. By 1937, units of the Red Army's 57th Special Corps were stationed in Mongolia.

Timeline: Spring to Fall 1939

Location: Near Japanese-occupied Manchuria (Northeast China) and the Mongolian People's Republic.

Historical Significance: Some historians argue that the Battle of Khalkhin Gol was pivotal in convincing the Japanese emperor to abandon initial agreements with Hitler regarding an eastern advance into the Soviet Union, ultimately leading Japan to strike Pearl Harbor instead.

The events of 1939 preceded the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), a significant chapter within World War II. The memories of these war-related events are deeply revered by Russia and its diverse population.

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Fear of legal retribution may have pushed UK to scale back arms sales to Israel – expert

💬 “I suspect that behind the Starmer government’s decision there was the fear of possible juridical actions against the government for its so far blatant inaction in [the face] of Israeli violation[s]. A possible class action by many NGOs for not implementing British laws might have pushed the British government to act, unfortunately very late,” Dr. Marco Carnelos, a veteran Italian diplomat and former prime ministerial advisor on Middle East affairs, told Sputnik, commenting on London’s surprise move to suspend 30 of 350 licenses to Israel on the grounds that they could be used to violate international humanitarian law.

“The level of violence reached by Israeli forces operating in Gaza and the evident violation of the laws regulating the armed conflicts could not be ignored any longer by the UK, especially under a Labour government,” Carnelos suggested.

With that said, the veteran diplomat does not expect the move to have much of an impact on the power of the Israel lobby, neither in Prime Minister Starmer’s Labour Party nor in Whitehall.

“[The] pro-Palestinian lobby in UK has been very active but its capacity to influence the British political establishment pales in comparison to the Pro-Israel lobby. This is an initial modest success. I do not believe this decision will strain the UK-Israel relations. The Labour Party under Keir Starmer’s leadership remains very pro-Israel no matter how many crimes Israel might have committed in Gaza,” Dr. Carnelos emphasized.

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Russian forces hit a target near the Poltava air base, coordinator of the Nikolayev underground Sergey Lebedev told Sputnik.

"Someone serious was caught in the aviation facility area. There is a cordon now, ambulances are flying," he said, adding that the explosion did not cause a secondary detonation but was still very powerful.

Russian Council for the Integration of New Regions Vladimir Rogov said the Poltava Military Communications Institute was hit. He said the site was used for training Ukrainian troops in radar and electronic warfare.

"It was these personnel who were hit by the missile strike,” Rogov said. “This happened at the time of construction, in which over half a thousand troops initially took part. The enemy's losses are in the hundreds."

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Telegram apologizes to South Korea for ‘deepfake’ porn of girls on chat group

South Korea's media regulator has said encrypted messaging app Telegram complied with a request to remove ‘deepfake’ pornographic images from its platform – and has apologized for failing to stop the crime sooner.

Last month a South Korean TV channel exposed a chat group where male university students shared doctored porno pics with the faces of female classmates matted on – which is a crime in the Republic of Korea.

The police have launched a probe into the Telegram company for suspected involvement in facilitating the acts.

Telegram’s East Asia representative emailed the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) to confirm that the company had removed 25 items of sexual exploitation material from the app as its had requested, the commission said.

Telegram also apologized for poor communication on the issue and gave an exclusive email address for media watchdogs to get in touch, it said.

The KCSC said it had asked Telegram to set up a hotline with authorities to help combat illicit content on the platform.

"We wish to strengthen cooperation with Telegram by securing a hotline, starting with an exclusive email address, to resolve the circulation of deepfake sexual exploitation materials and ultimately eradicate digital sex crime content," a KCSC official said.

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Eastern Economic Forum signals Russian ‘strategy of orienting toward the Orient’

The economic development of the Russian Far East “is of immense interest to China, for several reasons,” University of International Business and Economics professor John Gong told Sputnik, commenting on the Eastern Economic Forum, which kicked off in the Russian city of Vladivostok on Tuesday.

“First of all, as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia has adopted a strategy of orienting to the orient, essentially against the backdrop of massive sanctions against Russia imposed by the Western countries. What it means is that there are lot of investments being made to improve the infrastructure in the Far East to accommodate more trade, more economic interactions with countries in Asia, particularly with China,” Dr. Gong explained.

“Against that backdrop, this conference speaks volumes about how the Russian economy is totally transforming, in my opinion, and further highlighting the importance of this economic forum,” the academic added.

Pointing to Russia’s new Asia-focused infrastructure initiatives, from the Northern Sea Route to new energy pipelines heading east, Gong said he expects these multi-billion dollar mega-projects to “contribute immensely to the bilateral economic relationship between China and Russia.”

What’s more, Dr. Gong said, Russia is responding to the continued shift to Asia of the “global economic epicenter,” including China and Southeast Asian nations. “I think we are rapidly entering a multipolar world, and the world is no longer monopolized by the richest club in the world – I’m referring to the G7 club,” Gong summed up.

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Ukrainian losses: "there are twice as many graves as I saw a year ago"

💬 "There seem to be twice as many graves of killed soldiers as I saw exactly a year ago," said a Polish journalist, who provided the Washington Post newspaper with a video of endless rows of graves in the Ukrainian military cemetery in Kharkov, extending beyond the horizon.

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How does the US use sanctions to try to bring countries to heel?

The US has seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's executive jet in the Dominican Republic, claiming it was bought in violation of Washington’s unilateral sanctions.

Weaponized penalties are a tried and tested US tool to force countries to do their bidding. Here are some other examples:

Magnitsky Act

US Congress adopted the Magnitsky Act in 2012 following the death of Russian auditor Sergei Magnitsky – arrested on charges of tax evasion – in a Moscow prison in 2009. The Act barred Russian officials accused of involvement in Magnitsky's death from entering the US or using its banking system. It was later expanded to punish targeted individuals anywhere in the world with visa and financial sanctions.

Navalny-linked sanctions

The US imposed penalties on Russian individuals over their alleged ties to the death of Alexey Navalny in February 2024. Navalny died while serving a 19-year sentence at a Russian penal colony for fraud and “extremist activities.” The US blamed Navalny’s death on Russia despite an investigation determining he had died of natural causes.

Georgia's foreign agents’ law

Georgia's attempt to shield itself from foreign meddling through NGOs funded from abroad elicited an immediate sanctions response from Washington. After Georgia adopted the foreign agents registry law – which harks after similar legislation in Western countries the US imposed visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian government figures said it would rethink relations with the country.

Venezuelan elections

Washington dipped into its toolbox of sanctions when trying to push through regime change in Venezuela. After President Nicolas Maduro won elections in 2018, the US backed opposition Popular Will party leader and National Assembly speaker Juan Guaido’s claim that he was the country’s legitimate leader. Guaido invoked a clause in the constitution that the speaker takes over if the president is incapacitated or abandons the country – although Maduro had not. When that failed with Washington imposing harsh economic sanctions on Venezuela.

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