⚛️ Following his visit to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the risk of incidents persists as long as active hostilities continue. He also acknowledged some progress regarding the facility and emphasized that the situation is stabilizing.

During his visit, Grossi inspected the pumping station and fuel storage and assured that the agency would thoroughly analyze the findings from his trip. He further noted the importance of personally evaluating the circumstances after the August fire in the cooling tower.

Grossi also visited cooling tower No. 1, which was attacked by Ukrainian drones on August 11, the Ministry of Defense said.

The analysis conducted by the Russian side showed that the UAVs were equipped with an incendiary substance, which caused the fire.

The head of the IAEA and the agency's specialists confirmed that it's unlikely to find the source of the fire at the base of the cooling tower, the ministry said.

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❗️On the afternoon of September 4, Russian troops thwarted an attempt by Ukraine to carry out a terrorist attack using unmanned boats.

The crews of helicopters of the Black Sea Fleet's naval aviation destroyed four unmanned boats heading towards the Crimean Peninsula.

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Journalists from Australia's ABC broadcaster illegally visit Russia's Kursk region

Journalists from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) have illegally visited Russia's Kursk Region and published a report about the trip on Wednesday.

The journalists, accompanied by the Ukrainian military, crossed the Russian border without authorization and visited the town of Sudzha and nearby villages, the ABC's report said. They admitted that their trip had come with risks, not just from being in a combat zone, but also because they were unlikely to ever be able to set foot in Russia as individuals.

The authors of the report and photos taken on Russian territory are ABC correspondents Kathryn Diss and Fletcher Yeung.

This is not the first time that foreign journalists have accessed Russian territory illegally.

Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that each case of illegal entry by Western journalists into the Kursk Region would be reviewed individually, and this applied to journalists from all countries.

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📱 Telegram has shown robustness extending far beyond itself - expert

The rollercoaster that the Telegram-linked cryptocurrency TON has been on since Pavel Durov’s arrest reflects how “robust” the platform itself is, Christopher Douglas Emms, head of the Brokerage Division, LM Investments, told Sputnik.

The pundit noted that Telegram is a “transparent and secure system,” and “people aren't spying on it,” with its CEO “willing to go to prison for that fact,” Emms noted. A week after Durov's detention, TON rebounded, zooming back to $4.61.

Telegram’s cryptocurrency wallet function will expand, and “the sky's the limit” for TON, he added.

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'Eastern Economic Forum is clear evidence that Russia is attractive to all those who share traditional values'

Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin explains why Russia is becoming a kind of safe haven for those who do not share the so-called "liberal rules-based order".

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Zelensky's gov't reshuffle reflects West's covert power tussle over Ukraine

Ukraine’s cabinet reshuffle reflects the behind-the-scenes tussle between London and Washington for influence over the failed regime, Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries and the Other Ukraine movement expert, told Sputnik.

One can speculate that newly appointed figures will be more pro-American than pro-British, he said, adding that either way they are eager to do the West’s bidding.

‘The British wing insists more on a more aggressive stance and continuation of military actions; America might prefer to freeze the conflict and move on to a carve-up [of Ukraine] while maintaining a threat to Russia, Dudchak said.

However, the ‘reset’ throes of the Kiev regime and its expired leader Volodymyr Zelensky mean nothing to Russia and ‘all those who understand that the problem lies with the Nazi regime supported and financed by the West.’

What they are likely going to do is ‘simply find more efficient ones, those who talk less and perform their duties at a sprightlier pace,’ Dudchak speculated.

The pundit likened the ongoing reshuffle to a "pre-sale process" for Ukraine, speculating that its remaining assets need to be legally ‘prepared’ for the transfer of ownership.

"Basically, the country is in a de facto default, which they have not yet declared, and are waiting for the moment when they can probably declare it. And perhaps they will install cheaper managers," Dudchak said.

Regarding who might take the place of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who also resigned, Dudchak suggested they would dig up someone "drab and unpretentious."

“There is no point in showing off your talents and trying to become a personality among all these ghouls [in Kiev],” the researcher concluded.

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🤡 Most cringeworthy moments of Ukraine’s outgoing FM Kuleba

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has announced his resignation amid an anticipated government reshuffle. The top diplomat can take credit for a batch of outright failures, such as the so-called peace summit in Switzerland, and a trail of scandalous and cringeworthy remarks.

Let’s recall a few from his time in office:

◻️ “Give us the damn Patriots!” - When President Biden’s $60 billion aid package for Ukraine stalled in Congress, Kuleba did not mince words, erupting into his trademark rudeness often associated with Ukrainian officials.

◻️ “I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine, and try to liberate one square centimeter themselves!” - This outburst directed at critics of Ukraine’s failed summer 2023 counteroffensive occurred during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Spain last year.

◻️ “You will still give us the Taurus missiles; it’s only a matter of time. So why waste it?” - Germany’s reluctance to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine in 2023 left Kuleba seething with frustration.

◻️ “I am tired of countering all these meaningless arguments. It’s all just blah blah blah.” - Another outburst from Kuleba in response to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s comments about Ukraine’s loss of sovereignty.

◻️ “Crimea is not the nearest operational target. But if you ask me who is blowing up something in Crimea or Belgorod, then in private communication, I will tell you that, yes, it’s us.” - Russian prankster duo Vovan and Lexus, posing as ex-US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, duped Kuleba into spilling the beans on Ukraine’s complicity in terrorist attacks on Russian soil during a private Zoom conversation.

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🤡 US Navy commander relieved of duty after embarrassing rifle scope photo flop

The commander of a US Navy destroyer that is helping protect the San Diego-based USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the Middle East has been relieved of his duties some four months after being seen in a photo firing a rifle with the scope mounted backwards.

The Navy said Yaste was relieved of his duties “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer,” which is currently deployed in the Gulf of Oman.

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US slaps sanctions on Rossiya Segodnya media group, including RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik and Ruptly

The sanctions target 10 individuals and two organizations for "hostile interference in the presidential elections," the US Treasury Department revealed. These include the Rossiya Segodnya media group, RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik, and Ruptly. These measures also target the editor-in-chief of Rossiya Segodnya and RT, Margarita Simonyan, and several top managers at RT.

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Wow, they "woke" up

That's how Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, commented on the sanctions against her and a number of RT top managers.

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Russian work on updated nuclear doctrine caused by NATO’s brazen aggression – expert

💬 “The United States and NATO are becoming increasingly aggressive toward Russia, and we need to make clarifications to some fundamental documents,” veteran military analyst Viktor Litovkin told Sputnik, remarking on Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s comments Wednesday that Western powers’ refusal to engage in dialogue, targeting of Moscow’s security interests and the incitement of the conflict in Ukraine have been taken into account by Russia in work on an updated nuclear doctrine.

“The war in Ukraine is not a war between Ukraine and Russia. It is a war between the West and Russia using the territory of Ukraine, and the lives of Ukrainian servicemen. It is an attempt to weaken Russia, to bring Russia to ruin and to deprive Russia of its competitive advantage in the international arena,” Litovkin explained. Russia “is not going to seek hegemony, as the US is doing, but we are also not going to lose our independence, sovereignty and right to independent action,” Litovkin added.

Russia’s current nuclear doctrine consists of four key points divided among two documents, according to Litovkin – one being Russia’s general Military Doctrine, and the other a June 2020 presidential decree ‘On the Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence’.

The former provides for the use of nuclear weapons in two cases:

◾️ if Russia or its allies are attacked using nuclear weapons,

◾️ if Russia is attacked using conventional means so severe the very existence of the state is threatened.

The latter allows Russia to fire its nuclear weapons

◻️ if it becomes aware that a ballistic missile has been launched toward it, or

◻️ if a strike is launched at government and military command and control centers.

Litovkin believes the goal of the updated doctrine will be “to combine these two documents into one,” and “clarify the role of nuclear weapons in ensuring Russia’s security and ensuring deterrence against a possible aggressor.”

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◻️ Eastern Economic Forum’s Day Two. Selection of exclusive interviews:

👉 American political commentator Jackson Hinkle on US’ ‘frightening’ clampdown against alternative media

👉 On-the-ground reality in Russia’s new regions greatly differs from what Americans hear in mainstream legacy media, Hinkle says

👉 Christopher Douglas Emms, head of the Brokerage Division, LM Investments, on new BRICS blockchain payment system

◻️ What’s Zelensky’s surprise government reshuffle all about?

◻️ ‘I’d recommend all critics to shut up’: most cringeworthy moments of Ukraine’s outgoing FM Kuleba

◻️ Why has Russia been working to update its nuclear doctrine?

◻️ Check out how BoJo got pranked again!

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Pokrovsk pincer: Why Russia’s advance on strategic city could doom Ukraine’s Donbass defenses

Fierce battles are underway between the Russian and Ukrainian armies for the approaches to Pokrovsk (formerly Krasnoarmeysk), a key city in the Ukrainian-occupied Donbass about 60 km northwest of Donetsk.

Russian troops have approached the city’s outskirts, testing Ukrainian defensive lines. The Ukrainian General Staff said Wednesday that the Pokrovsk area was one of the “hottest” along the entire front.

◻️ Situated near the administrative border of Dnepropetrovsk region, Pokrovsk and its environs are a strategic transport hub and economic center in Ukrainian-occupied Donbass. Defense observers say Russia’s liberation of the city would cut supply lines of Ukrainian forces in Chasov Yar, and give Russian troops a chance to flank the enemy in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.

◻️ That’s because Pokrovsk is a key railway and highway junction, situated at the intersection of rail lines leading to Pavlograd and Dnepr (formerly Dnepropetrovsk). The M30 (E50) Pokrovsk-Karlovka-Donetsk highway passes through the city, as do three other major roads.

◻️ Roughly 15 km southwest of Pokrovsk is Krasnoarmeyskaya-Zapadnaya Mine №1, one of the only coking coal mines left in Ukraine’s possession, with its estimated reserves of over 200 million tons of coal crucial to Ukraine’s waning metallurgy sector. Economists say losing the mine could strike a crushing blow to Ukraine’s economy and energy sector.

◻️ Western media and officials have sounded the alarm about the dire situation in Pokrovsk. Forbes warned that “hundreds of Ukrainian troops” from four separate brigades could be encircled if local defenses crack, and said that “a Ukrainian retreat may already be underway.”

◻️ Former German MoD chief of staff Nico Lange told Newsweek that “what we see in Pokrovsk is the result of the very late and insufficient mobilization effort that was delayed politically in Ukraine.” “Not having mobilized enough, defense around Pokrovsk is now a big problem,” with “many units” unable to hold the line or having to retreat “because they are just staffed by 10 or 20 or 30 percent,” Lange said.

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❗️Free speech for me but not thee?

“While election interference must never be tolerated by any country, weaponizing the implication of it to silence dissenting voices undermines the very principles of free speech,” Mario Nawfal, investor and host of the largest show on X, told Sputnik, commenting on the sanctions against the Rossiya Segodnya media group, RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik, and Ruptly.

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Kiev regime’s military actions in Kursk border zone yield dire consequences for Ukraine

The actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk border area have had disastrous consequences for Kiev. Instead of succeeding in breaking through towards the town of Kurchatov, Ukrainian troops have been grappling with a serious crisis in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that fighting in the Kursk region persists. Ukrainian forces are attempting to advance on several settlements, including Borki, Maryevka, Kamyshevka, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Olgovka, Korenevo, and Martynovka, but these assaults are being effectively repelled.

"The situation is catastrophic, the Russian army is advancing faster than in the summer of 2022, and the Ukrainian military is preparing to defend the Dnieper," this is how German journalist Julian Roepcke, who recently praised the successes of the Ukrainian armed forces, assessed Ukraine's predicament.

The shift in mood stems from the challenging circumstances facing Kiev on multiple fronts simultaneously. Currently, the majority of attention is directed toward Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk). The Russian Defense Ministry reports that Russian troops have advanced to a convenient, strategic defensive line consisting of four settlements: Mirnograd (Dmitrov), Grodovka, Novogrodovka, and Selidovo. These areas, interconnected by an extensive road network and surrounded by piles of rubble and high-rise buildings, have the potential to provide a robust defense for the district center for the foreseeable future.

Reports from the Ukrainian side indicate that Russian troops successfully captured Novogrodovka within just a few days last week. Verkhovna Rada MP Maryana Bezuglaya stated that while fortifications existed in the area, there were no units available to defend them.

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The US lacks the resources to develop its own space force to the extent needed, the second vice chief of space operations revealed

“We are definitely sacrificing some because there’s not enough resources to go around,” he said. “We know we can’t buy everything we need, so we are ruthlessly prioritizing all the kit that we’re buying to make sure that it’s the biggest bang for the buck, if you will, during times of crisis or conflict,” Gen. Michael Guetlein said Wednesday at the annual Defense News Conference in Arlington, Virginia.

The US risks devastating consequences for everything Americans hold dear in the absence of increased investment in space force development, the military commander added.

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UN refuses to comment on sanctions against Russian media, citing bilateral relations

The United Nations has no comment on the latest sanctions against Rossiya Segodnya media group, including RIA Novosti, RT, Sputnik and Ruptly, considering it a matter of bilateral relations, UN Spokesman Farhan Haq told Sputnik.

“We don’t comment on bilateral relations as a rule. These are not UN sanctions,” Haq said.

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🌠 An asteroid, discovered on Wednesday, entered Earth's atmosphere and was observed over the Philippines

"The small asteroid 2024 RW1... entered the atmosphere at a speed of 20.8 kilometers per second over the islands," reported the International Meteor Organization.

Videos of the asteroid have gone viral on social media.

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Fourteen out of 18 paragraphs in Gaza ceasefire deal finalized – senior US official

The Gaza ceasefire deal which is being negotiated at the moment has a total of 18 paragraphs and the parties have already finalized 14 of them, a senior Biden administration official said.

“The [ceasefire] deal has 18 total paragraphs, 14 of those paragraphs are finished,” the official said during a press briefing. “Basically, 90% of this deal has been agreed, and it's been agreed on terms that even Hamas had in their own proposal.”

According to the official, the issues of Israel’s presence in the Philadelphi corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt as well as the exchange of prisoners remain in dispute.

At the same time, the official claimed that Hamas threatened to execute more Israeli hostages it holds in the Gaza Strip.

"Hamas is threatening to execute more hostages," the official said.

On Monday, Netanyahu said that Israel needed to maintain a military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor on the Egypt–Gaza border. In his opinion, reaching military aims as well as the release of hostages are possible only under this condition.

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Palestinian movement Hamas said that it does not need new proposals for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but it does need pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to implement provisions of the agreement that were agreed upon.

"We do not need new proposals. What we need now is to put pressure on Netanyahu and his government and force them to implement what was agreed upon," Hamas said in a statement.

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United States’ targeting of Russian media highlights hypocrisy of the global hegemon – former CIA analyst Larry Johnson

Former CIA analyst and State Department counterterrorism expert Larry Johnson spoke with Sputnik to criticize the United States’ persecution of journalists and political analysts associated with Russian media.

“The latest stunt pulled by the Biden Department of Justice to declare all of these sanctions on Russia for alleged interference in the US political system is a level of hypocrisy that is staggering in its magnitude and in its foulness,” said the analyst. “Let's be clear about one thing: the one country in the world that has been involved with more interference in the internal political affairs of every other country is the United States.”

The US frequently funds pro-Western media and activism in foreign countries it targets for regime change to pave the way for a pro-US government to come to power.

“This year [the US has] allocated almost $4 billion to interfere or meddle in the political affairs of other countries,” he continued. “$315 million of that goes to the National Endowment for Democracy. $300 million is specifically what they call counter-Russian influence. And another $2.9 billion is for ‘democracy’ programs. And these have been used basically to run propaganda, to pay people, to organize ‘democracy’ programs in places like Georgia.”

The US has interfered in countries such as Georgia, Brazil, Indonesia and Ukraine, paving the way for the latter country’s extremist anti-Russia government through its support for the Euromaidan coup d'etat in 2014.

“It's the United States that's meddling,” Johnson emphasized.

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