Russian air defenses are repelling a massive drone attack in Tver region

"In Toropets, the Tver Region, the process of extinguishing a fire is underway at the site of the drone debris fall, air defense forces continue to repel a massive drone attack in the skies above the city," the Tver government said on Telegram.

In addition, it was decided to partially evacuate the population from areas where the air defense is working and firefighting is underway.

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EU increases Russian pipeline gas purchases to the highest level since February

The European Union increased the purchases of Russian pipeline gas in July by 1,5 times compared to the previous year - to the value of 665,4 million euros. This was the highest since February, when imports totalled just over a billion euros.

◻️ The main customer was Italy, which increased its purchases by 5 times to 214 million euros. The Hungary and Slovakia also increased imports by 21 percent to 164,2 and 115,8 million euros respectively.

◻️ In contrast, Greece, reduced its purchases in July by 6 percent to 162,1 million euros. Bulgaria by 9.5 percent, to 6.7 million, and the Czech Republic by half, to 2.6 million. Austria traditionally does not publish data on gas purchases.

◻️ Overall, the EU bought 3,95 billion euros worth of pipeline gas from Russia in the seven months, which is 24 percent less than in the same period last year. At the same time, the association also reduced purchases from other suppliers - by 45 percent to 17.3 billion euros. As a result, Russia's share of European pipeline gas imports increased to almost 19 percent from 14% a year earlier.

Russia has repeatedly stated that the West has made a serious mistake by refusing to buy hydrocarbons from Russia, and will fall into a new, stronger dependence due to higher prices. Those who have refused supplies are still buying more expensive oil and gas through intermediaries and will continue to buy Russian oil and gas.

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⚡️ Hezbollah pledges retaliation for the pager attack

Hezbollah will respond to Israel for massacre, committed against Lebanese people, the movement said in a statement on Telegram.

This comes after at least 11 people were killed and more than 4,000 were injured as a result of the mass pager explosion across Lebanon on Tuesday.

Hezbollah also said it "will continue, as in all the past days, its blessed operations to support Gaza".

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Experts weigh in on possible accomplices behind Lebanon's deadly pager attack

The US could be behind the deadly pager attack in Lebanon, in which at least eleven people were killed and 4,000 more wounded, military expert Ali Hamie told Sputnik.

He also pointed the finger at Israel and a company that manufactured the pagers, which were detonated, suggesting that without coordination between Tel Aviv and a pager manufacturer, the attack would not have occurred. Israel has not yet commented on the attack.

“The operation was carried out simultaneously [across Lebanon], which means that the perpetrator collaborated with the pager manufacturer, who handed over the codes or decoding systems for the pagers to the Israeli side,” Hamie said. 

The attack shows “we are at severe electronic warfare,” he pointed out, not ruling out that the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah “may conduct a counter-cyber operation in the coming hours or days.”

Hamie was echoed by Lebanese lawmaker, Kasem Hashem, who is a member of the Development and Liberation bloc. The latter also blamed Israel for the attack in an interview with Sputnik.

This is part of the expansion of Israeli aggression against Lebanon, with cyber warfare remaining one of the most dangerous types of tactics used by Israel, possibly an accomplice in the attack, according to Hashem. 

“No doubt, Hezbollah will respond to the attack, especially given the fact that it targeted the whole of Lebanon and was not limited to a certain area,” Hashem concluded.

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Russian army defeats US PMC detachment in the Kursk region

💬 Russian forces have defeated a number of Ukrainian brigades, a unit of the Ukrainian Special Operations Command (SOC), and a detachment of the US private military company (PMC) Forward near Sudzha in Russia's Kursk region, destroying several hundred pieces of equipment, a commander of one of the Akhmat special forces detachments with the call sign 'Aid', told Sputnik.

"The private military company Forward (the American private military company Forward Observation Group) came in - it's not some foreign legion of Georgians or Poles who got lost on a curve, it is specifically trained professional military," Aid said.

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💬 Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on mass detonation of pagers in Lebanon: this requires investigation and international attention to the matter.

At least 11 people were killed and more than 4,000 were injured as a result of the mass pager explosion across Lebanon on Tuesday.

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Moscow hosts BRICS Urban Future Forum

🔸 The 2024 Cloud City BRICS International Innovation Forum kicks off in Moscow on September 18 in a two-day event that brings together more than 5,000 participants from over 30 countries. 

🔸 The event, also known as the BRICS Urban Future Forum, is attended by managers, entrepreneurs, urbanists, as well as members of the scientific community and public organizations from former Soviet republics, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

They will participate in the discussion "with political and business decision-makers to help identify growth areas and create synergies among BRICS cities, organizations and companies", according to the forum’s website.

🔸 This year’s forum is being held under the “Harmonious Development: The Future of BRICS Megacities” slogan. One of the goals is to promote leadership practices of Moscow city management to foreign markets.

Sputnik is the forum’s general information partner.

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◻️ Hezbollah vows retaliation against Israel for wave of deadly pager blasts

◻️ Who could be the accomplices behind the deadly pager attack that rocked Lebanon?

◻️ Russian commander reveals fate of private US military company daring to set foot on Russian soil

◻️ What’s known about the connections linking the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* jihadists to the Kiev regime

◻️ EU imports of Russian pipeline gas soar to highs not seen since February

*Terrorist organizations banned in Russia

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Are the Houthis now hooked up to Starlink?

Elon Musk has released a map showcasing the coverage that Starlink is already offering across the Arabian Peninsula - available in Yemen now.

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❗️The city of Energodar, located near the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, faced a mass drone attack. However, the drones failed to reach the nuclear station's facility. the plant's communications director told Sputnik.

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Taiwanese company distances itself from pagers used in Lebanon blasts

The wave of pager detonations in parts of Lebanon had nothing to do with Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, but were produced and developed by a European company, Gold Apollo CEO Hsu Chin-Kuang said on Wednesday.

“The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it. We are a responsible company. This is very embarrassing,” the Gold Apollo CEO said.

On Tuesday, a wave of pager blasts rocked various parts of Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry said that the explosions had killed 12 people, including 2 children and left more than 4,000 injured.

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💬 Further comments from Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, on the mass detonation of pagers in Lebanon:

🔸 Russia condemns the mass detonation of pagers in Lebanon, viewing it as an act of hybrid warfare.

🔸 Moscow warns that these blasts could have serious negative repercussions, especially given the heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel.

🔸 Russia urges restraint in response to the situation in Lebanon and the accusations against Israel regarding the pager explosions.

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❗️The Ukrainian military has nearly exhausted its entire arsenal of drones and artillery in relentless attacks on Energodar, according to the city’s mayor.

Given the situation, Energodar’s local authorities are taking all necessary precautions and measures to safeguard the population, including the employees of the Nuclear Power Plant, from these attacks.

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⚡️ NATO tools up Estonia's military for a potential armed conflict between the alliance and Moscow

"Today our long-range strike assets are fully integrated into NATO's plans, and NATO tells us that we must address specific targets within [Russian territory], thereby enabling them to come to Estonia and progress to the next steps," Estonia’s Chief of Staff of the Joint Headquarters, Major General Vahur Karus said in an interview with Estonian national broadcaster ERR.

Karus noted that Estonia could definitely count on the immediate participation of the Western bloc’s units stationed on its soil in a potential conflict with Russia.

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⚡️Russia’s Armed Forces struck facilities providing support for the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, including airfield infrastructure, drone production workshops, and concentrations of personnel and military equipment across 138 locations, the Defense Ministry revealed.

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❗️Key statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov:

🔸Commenting on the developments in Lebanon, Peskov said that this leads to an escalation of tension and the region is in an explosive state.

🔸He also informed that Russia's President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting on the development of the Russian Armed Forces in in the context of the special military operation. Putin will also address the participants of the plenary session of the Eurasian Women's Forum, and possibly will have an international telephone conversation.

🔸The Kremlin categorically disagrees with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in his assessment of the Collective Security Treaty Organization: "The organization does not pose any threat to Armenia's sovereignty," Peskov explained.

🔸Russia continues and will continue contacts with Armenia, it is a close partner, Kremlin spokesman added.

🔸Regarding Norway's statement about radioactive cesium at the border with Russia, Peskov said that there were no notifications from the Russian services.

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❗️Live: Eurasian Women's Forum opens in Russia with focus on trust and cooperation

👉Watch the livestream here or on Sputnik's website

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