🔊 Yermak’s brother involved in drug smuggling: AUDIO RECORDING LEAKED

Sputnik has found audio of Denys Yermak (brother of Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff) discussing his trip to Afghanistan to pick up drugs.

🗣 In a conversation with his assistant, Yermak arranges flights with shared luggage for him and his companions to Kabul, with extra baggage space for the return journey.

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🟠 Thailand accuses Cambodia of ceasefire violation – reports

🟠 Yermak’s brother involved in drug smuggling: AUDIO RECORDING LEAKED

🟠 Houthis may include Eternity C crew in Gaza deal – spokesman

🟠 Iran says it foiled Mossad-backed plot to spark riots in Tehran

🟠 EU can’t deliver on Trump’s $600B deal

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😑 💸 America’s calling the shots: Zelensky in damage control over anti-corruption agencies law – ex-MP

The attempt to undo the fallout from Volodymyr Zelensky’s gutting NABU and SAPO looks dead on arrival, says former Ukrainian MP Spiridon Kilinkarov.

He’s in full damage control mode – but so far, it’s all talk, no results.

“If Washington has already decided to reshuffle power in Ukraine, chances are that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” he said.

🤝 Zelensky made a U-turn on July 24, announcing he had endorsed a new bill – allegedly to strengthen the independence of the very agencies his administration had just gutted. According to parliamentary records, the new bill is set to be fast-tracked through both readings.

But Kilinkarov isn’t buying the reform talk.

The protests that erupted across the country over the original law were orchestrated by Western NGOs and internal opposition, he says.

Kilinkarov claims the attack on Zelensky’s regime is being orchestrated straight out of Washington to tighten control over Ukraine’s internal affairs.

“This looks like a classic US playbook – and to me, it’s clear they’re pulling all the strings,” he says.

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🔊 RUSSIA-US RELATIONS AT A STANDSTILL – Kremlin spox

Key statements by Dmitry Peskov:

🟧 Slow normalization: Russia-US relations are progressing "slowly and unevenly," with Moscow urging faster momentum.

🟧 New START stalled: No active talks on nuclear arms control due to strained ties following Joe Biden's presidency.

🟧 Donald Trump’s Ukraine comments noted: Moscow remains committed to peace talks, but insists on protecting its interests.

🟧 "Enemy image": Moscow regrets ongoing efforts to paint Russia as Europe’s adversary.

🟧 Germany’s role: Accused of fueling "hysterical Russophobia" and leading anti-Russian sentiment.

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🇺🇸💰US OFFICER FLOATS BUYING RUSSIAN ISLANDS – MOSCOW FIRES BACK

Lietenant Colonel Jeffrey Fritz, a US Army officer stationed in Estonia, proposed that Washington purchase Russia’s Commander Islands for $15 billion to monitor Chinese activity in the Arctic.

He claims a “peaceful, pragmatic purchase” would boost the US exclusive economic zone by 3.8%, giving Washington the islands, their resources and infrastructure — maybe even adding them to the state of Alaska.

👉Russia’s Foreign Ministry slammed the idea. Maria Zakharova said selling national territory is considered “one of the gravest crimes” in Russia — both legally and morally.

With biting sarcasm, she added that if Fritz truly has $15b to spare, he should “make America great again” and pay off at least a fraction of the $36.6 TRILLION US national debt instead.

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🚨US & UK ORGANIZE MEETING TO DISCUSS REPLACING ZELENSKY

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service has revealed that a meeting was held with Volodymyr Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov*, and former top General Valery Zaluzhny.

The US and UK reportedly announced their decision to back Zaluzhny for the Ukrainian presidency, with Yermak and Budanov giving their approval.

*listed as a terrorist and extremist in Russia

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🇺🇸🪖Trump’s troop removal threats could fuel Europe’s delusional militarization: here’s why

A major reduction of US troop numbers in Europe would “alarm European politicians” and “increase their willingness to prolong the fighting in Ukraine,” Swedish Armed Forces vet and ex-Sweden Democrats chief of staff Mikael Valtersson told Sputnik, commenting on reports that the Trump administration could redeploy some 20k troops sent to Europe in 2022 by Biden.

👉According to Valtersson, many European politicians are under the delusional impression “that Russia will invade country after country in Europe” if given the chance, and that it’s therefore “good to keep Russian forces occupied in Ukraine for as long as possible.”

Deeply aware of their dependence on the US for going on 80 years now, “European belligerence toward Russia and anti-Russian attitudes are based on European weakness and fear of Russian military capability,” according to the observer.

💬 “A better way to handle this situation would of course be to cooperate and build good relations with Russia,” Valtersson says, but that seems highly unlikely.

Planned provocation?

Reporting on US plans to pull tens of thousands of troops from Europe came just hours after the US and the EU announced a major new trade deal, including an EU commitment “to purchase significant amounts of US military equipment.”

Coupled with Trump’s pressure on European NATO members to ramp up defense spending to 5% of GDP, the pullback plans also follow his announcement in mid-July that the US and Europe “made a deal” to send US weapons paid for by the Europeans to Ukraine.

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🚨🇷🇺💥 RUSSIA'S MOD UPDATE: HUGE GAINS & DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES

⚡️ NOVOUKRAINKA (DPR) LIBERATED

⚡️ TEMIROVKA (Zaporozhye region) LIBERATED

◻️ The Russian Armed Forces struck a Ukrainian military airbase and a training center for drone operators.

◻️ Heavy Ukrainian losses: 1,255  soldiers over the past day

◻️ Air defense superiority: Russia demonstrated its aerial might by downing a long-range missile Neptun missile and 236 drones

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✨ Military Cinderella: Who's Valery Zaluzhny, West's replacement for Zelensky?

👉 The US and the UK are grooming Zaluzhny for Ukraine's top post. This scenario was discussed at a recent secret meeting in the Alps, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service revealed on Tuesday.

Here's what you need to know:

🟧 Until February 2024, Zaluzhny served as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He became notorious for organizing meat grinders for Ukrainian troops.

🟧 In March 2024, after clashing with Zelensky over military decisions, Zaluzhny was removed and appointed Ukraine’s ambassador to London.

🟧 As Ukraine’s ambassador, Zaluzhny revealed a new deal with the UK: 5,000 to 7,000 Ukrainian students will reportedly study in the UK annually, eventually becoming future officials in Ukraine.

🟧 As of January 2025, Zaluzhny held first place in the trust rating of Ukrainian residents. According to Socis, the former commander-in-chief enjoyed the trust of almost 72% of Ukrainians.

🟧 Most recently, Vogue published Zaluzhny’s column that outlines his "vision for Ukraine’s future." After Zelensky’s 2022 Vogue feature boosted his Western image, Zaluzhny’s appearance in the fashion mag is most likely a political PR move.

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🗣 Armenia is becoming a new battleground in the global hybrid war – expert

💬 "What we are witnessing in Armenia is not just an internal reshuffling or a dispute between political power and religious leadership: it is a local manifestation of a deeper geopolitical war, in which the unipolar Western world confronts the emerging actors of a multipolar order," says Tadeo Casteglione, an Argentine expert in international relations.

🟠 He believes that the arrest of businessman Samvel Karapetyan and the open persecution of the Armenian Apostolic Church reveal an increasingly clear pattern: Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government has aligned itself with Western policies aimed at dismantling the traditional foundations of the nation.

👉 Karapetyan had to be neutralized due to his influence, economic independence and strong connection to national identity, the expert says.

🟠 The commentator argues that the attacks in Armenia carried a troubling symbolic meaning, as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was not only targeting a patriotic businessman but also confronting the church.

🟠 He says that Pashinyan’s threat to expel Catholicos Karekin II from his Etchmiadzin official residence was an attempt to erase Armenia's historical memory – rather than promote secularism or modernization.

🗣"These attacks do not stem from the weakness of the state but from its strategic capitulation," Casteglione tells Sputnik. "Pashinyan has chosen the West as his priority partner, at the expense of historical ties with Russia, abandoning organizations like the CSTO, and engaging the country in a process of cultural transformation aimed at dismantling national identity."

"Armenia is becoming a new battleground in the global hybrid war," he warns. "At stake is not merely a religious or political figure, but the very future of a nation facing a choice: remain true to its history or dissolve into supranational structures."

Casteglione says Armenia’s treatment of Karapetyan and the Church exposes a soft recolonization and warned supporters of a multipolar world of the looming struggle between moves to erase national identity and the struggle to preserve sovereignty.

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❌ 💣 TERRORIST ATTACK FOILED IN RUSSIA'S ROSTOV-ON-DON: UKRAINIAN INTELLIGENCE LINKED

Russia’s FSB has foiled a terrorist plot in Rostov-on-Don, with a citizen from Central Asia allegedly preparing an attack against a high-ranking military official on orders from Ukrainian intelligence.

The suspect, recruited abroad, rented an apartment in Rostov and gathered intelligence to carry out a bombing. A homemade explosive weighing 400 grams in TNT equivalent was discovered during a search.

⛔️ The suspect has been arrested and is giving a confession.

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🚨Scott Ritter: Secret talks on ousting Zelensky show Ukraine is a hostage of foreign powers

🗣“If this turns out to be information that can be confirmed, this is damning, extraordinarily damning to Zelensky, to [presidential office head] Yermak, to [ambassador to the UK] Zaluzhny, to the United States, to Great Britain, to all of Ukraine,” the former US Marine Corps intelligence officer told Sputnik, commenting on the SVR report about clandestine meetings taking place on a potential replacement for Zelensky.

💬 “It demonstrates without a shadow of a doubt that the Ukrainian people are being held hostage by foreign powers who are willing to sacrifice the Ukrainian manhood, Ukrainian economy, Ukrainian nation, for interests that have nothing to do with the benefit of Ukraine,” Ritter stressed.

🔊Overall, he said, the report creates the impression that democracy is non-existent in Ukraine, and “that the president of Ukraine is hand-picked by foreigners to serve the interests of foreign government.” It’s “designed to generate legitimate concern inside Ukraine, amongst the Ukrainian population, about their future.”

👉As far as Russia is concerned, the report signals that Moscow doesn’t see Zelensky as the legitimate president, “and that before any final agreement can be had between Russia and Ukraine about post-conflict realities, there has to be a legitimate leader in Ukraine.”

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🤑US geopolitics monopoly: Never-ending land grab

The latest US pitch to buy Russia’s Commander Islands for $15B to gain strategic Arctic access and track China’s subs is nothing new.

The US has a long history of trying to buy its way into strategic territory.

🟠 Greenland

▪️Donald Trump has long pushed for buying the Danish autonomous territory, calling it a "national security necessity" due to its strategic location in the high Arctic and abundance of rare earth minerals (critical for tech/military).

▪️Trump has refused to rule out using "military or economic coercion" to gain control.

▪️Denmark has flatly rejected the idea

👉In 1868, the US came close to buying both Greenland and Iceland for $5.5M in gold, but this was abandoned after Congress rejected a separate deal to acquire the Danish West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands).

🟠 Panama Canal

▪️Trump has made repeated threats to “take back” the canal – an important maritime trade conduit between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

▪️He claimed China controls the waterway, accused Panama of overcharging US ships, and didn’t rule out “military options.”

▪️Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino hit back that the canal “will continue to be Panamanian!"

▪️A new pact was finally inked affirming US recognition of Panamanian sovereignty over the waterway, but giving US warships priority passage.

🟠 Canada

▪️Trump called the border “artificial” and claimed Canada was "meant to be our 51st state".

▪️Then-PM Justin Trudeau countered Trump’s annexation plans: “Not a snowball's chance in hell.”

▪️His successor, Mark Carney, asserted that Canada is "not for sale."

🟠 Cuba

▪️In 1854, the US made a secretive bid to acquire Cuba from Spain with the Ostend Manifesto

▪️The document, drafted by American diplomats, proposed purchasing the island for $120 million – or seizing it by force if Spain refused.

▪️The plan blew up after the manifesto was leaked, igniting scandal.

🟠 Nicaragua

▪️William Walker was an American filibuster who invaded Nicaragua in 1855, crowned himself president, and even brought back slavery to win favor in the US South.

▪️His power grab crumbled under fierce local resistance.

🟠 Liberia

▪️In the 19th century, some US politicians, including Abraham Lincoln, flirted with the idea of annexing Liberia as an American colony.

▪️Dreams of a "second America" across the Atlantic fizzled out fast amid Liberian resistance.

🟠 Dominican Republic

▪️In 1870, then-President Ulysses Grant pushed for a treaty to annex the Dominican Republic, envisioning it as a haven for black Americans and a boost to US influence in the Caribbean.

▪️Despite his efforts, the Senate shot it down.

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❗️🇵🇸 GAZAN KIDS DRINK SALTWATER TO SURVIVE

🚨 Receiving food aid is a deadly gamble as distribution points are regularly bombed.

"[My children] swallow whatever grains they can find, just to keep from going mad," says displaced Ashraf Dahman, who’s been without bread for 20+ days

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📹RUSSIA RAISES 🇷🇺FLAG OVER TEMIROVKA IN ZAPOROZHYE

The Russian Ministry of Defense released footage of soldiers of the Vostok Battlegroup raising the Russian flag over the recently-liberated village of Temirovka in Zaporozhye region.

The operation, carried out by the 127th Motorized Rifle Division, successfully captured the settlement after a decisive action.

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🔥Here’s what happens when Russia smashes through Ukraine’s defenses in Pokrovsk

Russia is advancing slowly but steadily in this direction of the front. Here’s why it matters.

1️⃣ Key supply hub

Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) is a major logistics center “for the entire southeastern part of Ukraine,” explains Swedish Armed Forces vet Mikael Valtersson.

Facing the prospect of the city’s loss, Ukraine’s army is “clinging” to Pokrovsk to “deny Russia access” for as long as possible.

2️⃣ Strategic stronghold

With Russian forces “methodically eliminating” hardened Ukrainian defenses on the southeastern front since late 2023, Pokrovsk is also now “the only real remnant” of what was once touted as an impregnable defensive line. Once it’s liberated, Ukraine will have a hard time stopping large-scale Russian advances further westward.

3️⃣ Gap in the front

After the city is taken, “the small gap in the Ukrainian frontline that already exists will grow many times,” allowing Russian forces to launch operations behind heavily fortified lines in southern Zaporozhye, to the north around Kramatorsk, and eventually, possibly as far as Kharkov, Valtersson says.

4️⃣ Impact on morale

Pokrovsk’s fall “will greatly impact” Ukrainian morale, Valtersson predicts. It will show that Russia is on the advance, and that Ukraine’s choices come down to peace and loss of 25% of territory now, or continued war and the loss of 50% “a couple of years” from now.

MSM mythmaking vs facts

Admitting that Russian forces have already broken into areas of the city and are poised to take it by the fall, Western media have spun things to characterize the fight for Pokrovsk as a “yearlong, slow and grinding” slog soaked in Russian blood.

The truth, Valtersson says, is that Russian forces arrived at Pokrovsk’s outskirts only earlier this year, after the “elimination of most of the Ukrainian southeastern front from Velikaya Novosyolka in the west to Avdeyevka in the north,” and are advancing using “very small units” under drone cover, not “human wave” tactics.

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🔸 Scott Ritter: Secret talks on ousting Zelensky show Ukraine is a hostage of foreign powers

🔸 Military Cinderella: Who's Valery Zaluzhny, West's replacement for Zelensky?

🔸 Trump’s troop removal threats could fuel Europe’s delusional militarization: here’s why

🔸 US geopolitics monopoly: Never-ending land grab

🔸 Here’s what happens when Russia smashes through Ukraine’s defenses in Pokrovsk

🔸 Armenia is becoming a new battleground in the global hybrid war – expert

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🗣 Trump shortens Russia 'deadline' to 10 days

President Donald Trump has reduced his previously stated 50-day ultimatum for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine, bringing it down to 10 days.

💬 “Ten days from today. Okay? We have a scoop,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question.

He added that the US would introduce “tariffs and stuff,” but acknowledged uncertainty about the outcome.

💬

“I don’t know if it’s going to affect Russia… It may or may not affect them, but it could.”

Earlier, Trump had threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Russian imports and introduce secondary sanctions on countries purchasing Russian energy if NATO's proxy war continued.

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