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River of blood in Kursk: Ukrainian invasion force decimated - Over 2,000 dead - "There will be no mercy" Moscow declares (vid)
Russians: "American generals planned the operation of the Ukrainians"
The cordon tightens around the Ukrainian invasion force as the Russian Army's Air Force, artillery and drones destroy more than 220 armored vehicles with Kiev's casualties now exceeding 2,000 men.
The situation begins to stabilize gradually with Russian forces attempting to cut off and encircle the Ukrainian invasion force.
Watch video of the destruction of the Ukrainian phalanx
The upper hand, slowly and steadily, appears to be being gained by Russian forces in the areas invaded last week by Ukrainian and Western well-trained commandos.
" There is no stable front line in the Kursk region: the enemy is trying to gain territory in some areas, but the Ukrainian troops have been successfully blocked ," an official close to the governor of the Russian Kursk province announced.
And he added:
"The situation remains difficult but controlled and manageable. Individual groups of enemy troops are destroyed and fighting continues in several areas."
Ukraine has lost up to 420 soldiers and 55 armored vehicles in the past 24 hours in the Kursk region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Russian Ministry of Defense added that Ukraine's total losses in that area amounted to 2,030 soldiers, 35 tanks, more than 220 other armored vehicles and four air defense systems.
Earlier today the Commander of the special forces of the "Akhmat" unit, Apty Alaudinov, announced that most of the first echelon of Ukrainian troops and resources that entered the Kursk province of Russia last week have been destroyed and the situation has been brought under control.
The Russian military confirmed that it had thwarted "infiltration attempts by ... mobile armored units" of the enemy near the communities of Tolpino, Zhuravli and Obchichi Kolodez, which are located 30 kilometers from Ukraine.
According to this source, these advances have been stopped, in the last 24 hours, by air force, drone and artillery strikes and the deployment of reservists of the "North" group, which has been deployed in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.
In addition, the Russian military reported striking Ukrainian troops with missiles and artillery near the communities of Sunja, Korenevo, Staragia Sorochitsa and Borky, as well as preventing an infiltration into the Belovsky district further east.
Watch video of the battles
"The operation was planned by American Generals"
At the same time, Russian local officials and analysts directly denounce the USA for the involvement they - according to them - had in the invasion of the Ukrainian forces.
"It is an operation planned and prepared by American Generals. The number of foreign commandos participating in the operation is large."
Moreover, as the Ukrainian prisoners of war themselves now openly admit, British, Polish and French mercenaries are participating in the invasion of Russian Kursk.
Watch video of the battles
Chechen commander: Battle of Kursk will lead Ukraine to collapse
The fight in Russia's Kursk region is a "decisive battle" that will ultimately lead to the collapse of Kiev, claimed Major General Apty Alaudinov, the commander of the Akhmat Special Forces from the Russian Republic of Chechnya.
In a video posted on his Telegram channel on Saturday, Alaudinov, who was appointed deputy head of the Main Military Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces in April 2024, said it was "inconceivable" that Russia could be defeated in the field of battle.
The comments were made in connection with Ukraine's incursion into the border region of Kursk, the biggest attack on Russian soil since the conflict between the neighboring states broke out in February 2022.
"I see no reason to doubt, to believe that we could lose even this battle," he said, appealing for more people to join the army.
“I urge you all to make a decision in this decisive battle. Because after this battle, Ukraine will fall, as will NATO, Europe, the USA and all those who support Ukraine", he noted and added that Americans, Poles, English and French have been perceived to be fighting for Kiev.
“You have no place… on our land, and we will do anything to keep you out. Russia is more united than ever. We are a force that no one can stop" , he underlined
In the latest development, a missile strike destroyed a Ukrainian command and control center in Russia's Kursk region, the defense ministry in Moscow claimed!
Specifically, in a statement, the ministry said that an Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile system struck command posts of the 22nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine, near the border between the two states.
"As a result, the commanding staff of the... brigade, 15 people in total, was exterminated," the statement said, adding that "there will be no mercy."
Kursk operation is the last hope of Ukraine – Ukrainian POW
Watch HERE
The head (of the operation) said that all the men would be shot in the legs and thrown into the basements of their houses and if they had weapons on them then they would be killed on the spot.
As they explained to me, the purpose of the operation was to invade Kursk and then Belgorod with the aim of capturing more Russian territory.
So later, during the peace negotiations, we could trade our lands for yours.
This invasion (including the Russian provinces) was Ukraine's last hope. When we crossed the border into Russia I heard many people talking on the radio.
They spoke English, Polish and even French. When we took our positions, I immediately heard gunshots and people screaming
PUTIN SEEKING TO FIND OUT 'HOW AND WHY HE WAS DECEIVED' OVER KURSK.
The appointment of former Kremlin agent Aleksey Dyumin to oversee defense in the Kursk region indicates Vladimir Putin is seeking to root out officers responsible for failing to stop Ukraine's incursion, a think tank has said. The Russian President wants to know "how and why he was deceived" over Kyiv's tactics and intentions, according to the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The ISW said that several military bloggers had "speculated" Dyumin will "determine the fate of several high-ranking Russian officials and commanders."
RUSSIA WITHDRAWS SOME FORCES FROM UKRAINE IN RESPONSE TO KURSK INVASION.
The officials said the U.S. is still seeking to determine the significance of Russia’s move and didn’t say how many troops the U.S. assesses Russia is shifting. But the new U.S. assessment bolsters claims by Ukrainian officials who said last week’s surprise invasion of Kursk province had drawn Russian forces away from Ukraine, where Moscow’s advantage in manpower and equipment is allowing them to grind forward in several places.
Ukraine, meanwhile, sent tanks and other armored vehicles to reinforce troops that have stunned the Kremlin by seizing a chunk of Russian territory.
https://t.me/seemorerocks/72208
TROOPS ARE PUSHING DEEPER INTO RUSSIA, SAYS ZELENSKY.
Ukraine’s army is continuing to advance into Russia, President Zelensky said on Wednesday as fighting raged across the Kursk region.
General Oleksandr Syrsky, head of the Ukrainian army, said on Tuesday night that Kyiv’s forces had captured more than 40 square kilometres (15 square miles) of territory within the previous 24 hours, taking 100 Russian troops captive.
https://tru.news/UkrainianTroopsPpushingDeeperIntoRussia
KYIV BOMBARDS RUSSIAN AIR BASE 400 MILES FROM THE BORDER.
Ukraine has launched a long-range attack against three Russian air bases, including one 400 miles from the border, in Kyiv’s largest drone strike since the beginning of the war.
On Wednesday morning, the Russian defense ministry claimed it had downed 117 drones launched at military targets across the country.
Moscow did not comment on the strikes, but local social media channels reported the sound of explosions near the three airfields.
https://tru.news/KyivBombardsRussianAirBase
Zelensky Pushes 'Buffer Zone' In Conquered Areas Of Kursk With Martial Law
Ukrainian officials have touted that part of the success of its troop incursion into Russia's southern Kursk region is that Moscow has been forced to divert some of its soldiers from front line fighting in the Donbass to Russia's southern border oblasts.
"(The Russians) are now trying to stop our advance; they have pulled in reserves, which has benefited our defense forces in other areas, because it has become easier to work there," a Ukrainian military commander identified as Dymtro Kholod told CNN Wednesday.
But there are conflicting claims and counterclaims, with the Russian defense ministry (MoD) announcing it the latest statement that its forces continue to "repel an attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to invade the territory of the Russian Federation" - now just after a week after the cross-border offensive began.
The ministry further explained that its ground troops, supported by air and drone strikes, had successfully prevented Ukrainian troops from making further advances "deep into Russian territory." It mentioned that it defended the small settlements of Skrylevka and Levshinka, which lie about 20km from the border. "The attempts by enemy mobile units using armored equipment to break through deeper into Russian territory have been repelled," the MoD said.
President Zelensky, however, has continued to maintain that his troops are "moving further" into Russia, which also involved major overnight drone attacks targeting four Russian airfields in the "largest attack" of its kind since the war began.
"In the Kursk region, we are moving further. From one to two kilometers (0.6-1.2 miles) in different areas since the beginning of the day," Zelensky announced on social media. He claimed that "more than 100 Russian servicemen" have been captured in recent days of fighting and that this will "speed up the return home of our boys and girls."
Amid a lot of ongoing speculation over Zelensky's ultimate aim and motives for this cross-border operation which started on Aug.6, the Ukrainian leader unveiled on Wednesday that Ukraine is seeking to establish a "buffer zone" inside Russia to prevent attacks on Ukrainian citizens.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has outlined on Telegram "The creation of a buffer zone in the Kursk region is a step to protect our border communities from daily enemy attacks." He said that Sumy along has seen 20,000 Ukrainians evacuated through the course of the war.
Ukraine releases more footage of captured Russian soldiers in Kursk region. pic.twitter.com/gaynBt5GSF
— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 11, 2024
Surprisingly, Klymenko suggested the indefinite occupation of Kursk territory that Ukraine has captured over the past week. He asserted that Russian citizens in Kursk "were abandoned by Russia without the most necessary things" and that the Ukrainian military is looking to supply "the needs of the locals for drinking water, food, medicines and hygiene kits so that we can organize humanitarian aid as soon as possible…"
Similarly, Ukrainian Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk spoke the same day about establishing a "security zone" in areas which have been taken:
"There are Russian civilians within this zone. They are protected by international humanitarian law, which Ukraine fully complies with," she said, so the Ukrainian military would "conduct humanitarian operations to support civilians within the mentioned zone" as well as open corridors for civilians to evacuate, either into Ukraine or within Russia.
One of the ironies in all of this is that previously in the war President Putin himself spoke about establishing a 'buffer zone' on the other side of the Ukraine border, to prevent southern Russian settlements from coming under attack.
It seems Ukraine's offensive is coming at a very high cost, per Russian sources:
The Ukrainian armed forces lose up to 270 soldiers and 16 armored vehicles, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Wednesday.
"In the past day, the losses of the armed forces of Ukraine amounted to 270 military personnel and 16 armored vehicles, including two tanks, an armored personnel carrier Stryker, 13 armored combat vehicles, as well as 10 vehicles and a 122-mm D-30 howitzer," the ministry said, adding that Russian troops repelled six Ukrainian attacks around five settlements in the region.
Ukrainian troops lost up to 2,300 servicemen and 37 tanks during their offensive in the Kursk Region, the ministry added.
A high-risk, ultra provocative PR-driven decision of Zelensky...
As I said, Kursk attack is PR-driven decision of Zelensky: "Zelenskyy: The Kursk disaster was a symbolic beginning of Putin's rule, and now it's end for him. "We see how Russia really moves [under Putin’s rule]: 24 years ago, there was the Kursk disaster – the symbolic beginning… pic.twitter.com/fsxHLwRjBG
— Ivan Katchanovski (@I_Katchanovski) August 12, 2024
But now, adding insult to injury, Zelensky is even reportedly talking about the imposition of martial law in Kursk areas under control of the Ukrainian army. He said later in the day Wednesday that there's still a "good pace" of advance into Russia.
Nord Stream sabotage: Germany issues arrest warrant
– DW – 08/14/2024
"A Ukrainian national, whose last known address was in Poland, is being sought by German authorities for the 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. He is believed to have acted with two accomplices.
German authorities have issued an arrest warrant over the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines nearly two years ago, according to German news outlets ARD, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit.
In an investigation published Wednesday, the outlets reported that the suspect is a Ukrainian diving instructor, named only as Volodymyr Z. for privacy reasons.
It is alleged he attacked the pipelines in tandem with at least two others, who are also believed to be Ukrainian citizens.
The suspect was believed to last be living in Poland, but Polish authorities said they could not act on the warrant because he had left the country."
https://www.dw.com/en/nord-stream-explosions-germany-issues-arrest-warrant/a-69933920
Gas Price Surge in Europe: What Drives It and Who Could Profit From It?
Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region and the attack on the Sudzha gas transit station through which Russian gas is exported to Europe is the “most immediate” reason for the recent upsurge of natural gas prices in the EU, international oil economist and global energy expert Dr. Mamdouh G. Salameh tells Sputnik.
“Nobody knows what the Ukrainian forces will do with the transit point. Will they let the flow of gas to the EU continue or will they stop it? It is this uncertainty that is behind the gas price rises,” he explains.
The growing demand in China and the Asia-Pacific for liquefied natural gas (LNG) also helps drive up the prices as “Asia is now competing very vigorously with the EU for LNG supplies,” Dr. Salameh notes.
“A final reason is delays in LNG shipments from Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 project because of tightened US sanctions,” Dr. Salameh adds.
According to him, the ensuing situation might benefit any natural gas and LNG producer who can meet the demand, including Russia “if the Ukraine forces don’t destroy the strategic gas transit point or don’t stop the flow of Russian gas and also Novatek if it can ship some LNG very soon.”
Kiev's Kursk Gas Hub Gambit Brainchild of 'Same People' Who Blew Up Nord Stream - Slovak Politician
10 August, 11:19 GMT
Regarding the consequences of this price surge, Dr. Salameh suggests that it will help accelerate the “worsening EU’s economic situation.”
“One reason is because it has to compete with Asia for the available LNG in the Spot Market. This will plunge its economy into recession,” he elaborates.
Meanwhile, the expert notes, Russia and Novatek “could benefit from increasing sales of Russian gas to Europe via Turk Stream and LNG from Novatek.”
Expert view: Could Kursk be another Chernobyl?
The 1986 explosion at the Soviet nuclear plant shocked the world. Here, an an industry insider explains if something similar is likely to happen now
Valentin Gibalov, an independent nuclear expert, in conversation with Kommersant correspondents Elena Chernenko and Polina Smertina
In recent days, the situation around the Kursk nuclear power plant (NPP) has become more complicated. Last Thursday, debris and fragments of downed missiles were found on its complex, including in the radioactive waste processing area. On Friday, a substation was knocked out, leaving the town of Kurchatov, the nearest to the plant, without electricity. Russia’s state atomic energy concern Rosatom warned on Saturday that “at the moment there is still a real danger of strikes and provocations by the Ukrainian army at the nuclear power plant.”
Russian daily Kommersant spoke to Valentin Gibalov, an independent nuclear expert who specializes in dosimetry equipment, about various scenarios for the plants.
— How does the security situation at Kursk NPP differ from that at Zaporozhye NPP (held by Russia on former Ukrainian land)? Each is close to the conflict zone, but what are their special features? What is the difference between the high-power channel-type reactors (RBMK) at Kursk and the water-water energetic reactors (VVER) at Zaporozhye?
— Yes, for the second time in history we risk seeing a large NPP in a war zone. Kursk has four units with RBMK-1000 reactors, with two more units with VVER-TOI reactors under construction. The main difference between RBMK and VVER-1000 is the absence of a containment vessel in the former– a thick, reinforced-concrete shell designed to keep steam inside the reactor chamber in the event of a depressurization event. RBMKs have no such structure. This increases the vulnerability of a NPP with this type of reactor to accidental or non-accidental strikes by shells, missiles, bombs and the like, which can lead to a radiation accident with the release of radioactive substances. However, it should be borne in mind that even an ‘unprotected’ RBMK is a massive and large-scale industrial structure, i.e. the heaviest types of weapons would have to be used to damage a nuclear plant with a radiation accident. Moreover, unlike the Zaporozhye NPP, the Kursk NPP is likely to be covered by a powerful air defense system, which makes this scenario generally unlikely.
— What other scenarios are possible if the plant is bombed? For example, if the reactor is not hit but the machine room or transformers are?
Kursk attack: A military red line has been crossed, so what now?
— It should be noted that a nuclear power plant is a huge industrial facility and everything that is dangerous from a radiation point of view (reactor, spent-fuel pools, solid radioactive waste and liquid radioactive waste storage facilities) occupies a small part of its surface area, less than 5%. In the case of accidental strikes with munitions, it is unlikely that the damage will even lead to a shutdown of the plant, although, if the situation is prolonged, it is likely that, to reduce risk, a decision will be taken to shut down the units with reactor cooling. A hit on the turbine hall or the transformers would, of course, result in a man-made accident, possibly severe, but it would not end up in a release of radiation because the NPP is generally designed with staged protection of the reactor against overheating and loss of containment, which makes it possible to survive damage to other systems, even those that are important to the ongoing life of the plant.
— So, a repeat of the 1986 Chernobyl accident is impossible? I’m saying that because the reactors there were the same.
— Yes, this is impossible. The root cause of the accident at Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was design flaws in the RBMK-1000, which led to the rapid release of nuclear energy equivalent to hundreds of tonnes of TNT. These design flaws were corrected in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The reactors were extensively upgraded. Now it is impossible to reproduce the same explosion on the existing RBMKs by any external or internal impact. Even if we assume a rather unlikely scenario of a large-scale military attack leading to the opening of the reactor – the scale of the radiation accident will be much smaller than in the case of the Chernobyl accident.
— In July, it was reported that fresh fuel had been delivered to the first power unit of Kursk NPP-2 and that preparations were underway for ‘cold and hot running-in of the reactor.’ Are there any risks?
— This is probably the least dangerous issue in the Kursk NPP attack scenarios. The fresh fuel has negligible radioactivity, is completely chemically inert and is located in a protected fresh fuel assembly. The NPP-2 Unit 1 reactor, which is under construction, has no loaded radioactive or fissile material at the moment, the unit is being commissioned, i.e. it is not yet an operating nuclear power plant.
— How critical is the reduction of personnel at the Kursk NPP-2 construction site? After all, this is the largest nuclear construction site in Russia at the moment.
— Well, from the point of view of the broader problems we are discussing, it is not critical at all. The worst-case scenario is that the first unit, currently scheduled for 2025, will be delayed for some time. At best, even that will not happen.
Ex-Pentagon Analyst: Ukraine Couldn't Launch Kursk Terror Attack Without US Support
The US State Department and Pentagon claim the Kiev regime's terror attack on Kursk caught them by surprise. Former Pentagon analyst and retired US Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski shares her skepticism over Washington's narrative with Sputnik.
The US military and State Department have denied involvement in Ukraine's terrorist attack on Kursk, claiming that they were unaware of the plans.
Nonetheless, the American corporate press is sending mixed signals: while CNN is citing multiple US officials as saying that the Ukrainian border incursion caught them by surprise, Bloomberg reports that US President Joe Biden's administration and the EU "have given their blessing" to the Kiev regime as its cross-border incursion unfolds.
"All Ukrainian military activities, especially long-planned ones, utilize US surveillance, intelligence, and reconnaissance assistance. The Kursk invasion qualifies here," retired US Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a former analyst for the US Department of Defense, told Sputnik. "The weapons systems themselves included US and NATO systems and some of those are operated by US and NATO personnel."
The Kiev regime carried out a terrorist attack in the Kursk region with the support of the West, Alexander Bortnikov, director of Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and chairman of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAC) stated on August 13.
The plan of the attack on the Kursk region was developed by the American top brass, according to Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat Special Forces, on Tuesday. He particularly referred to a large number of foreign mercenaries participating in Ukraine's aggression.
"I don't believe Western government officials, like the Secretary of Defense [Lloyd] Austin, Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken, or the members of the National Security Council were surprised," Kwiatkowski said.
The pundit suggested that the logic of the incursion fits into the US establishment's apparent plan "to get Ukraine over with by raising a last bit of billions for the country, making sure the last shipment of arms and cash is sent, and trying to move out of a stasis in Ukraine before the election."
She also emphasized "the sophistication and secrecy" surrounding the Kursk attack. One might wonder whether the masterminds behind the incursion were National Security adviser Jake Sullivan and Blinken or it was the "last gasp" of the collapsing Ukrainian war cabinet and "Ukro-nationalists," according to Kwiatkowski.
Strategy & Tactics of Ukraine's Incursion Into Russia’s Kursk 'Developed With NATO' - Expert
"While bold, it was destined to be repelled, and it risked and made vulnerable the rest of the Ukraine military, and the remainder of Ukraine," the pundit stressed.
Kwiatkowski alleged that Washington's denial stems from the apparent mess in the Biden administration and uncertainty surrounding the Kiev regime's fate.
"It is unlikely that decisions are being made regarding foreign policy in the White House, leaving Blinken and Sullivan and Austin to work it out, none of whom are elected, nor are they particularly intelligent. Their 'cautious' approach might mean they thought it might succeed, when clearly it could not, or they could be cautious because they have no idea what will happen next in Ukraine in terms of [Volodymyr] Zelensky and the simmering power struggle in Kiev. Caution also serves well in vis a vis increasing confusion and stasis in Washington, as no one seems to know for sure which player is deciding US foreign policy for the next five months," she concluded.
Ukraine has defaulted – Fitch
The country’s credit rating has been cut over failure to make a coupon payment on a 2026 Eurobond
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Ukraine’s credit rating to ‘restricted default’ on Tuesday, citing the expiry of a ten-day grace period for the coupon payment on the country’s $750 million 2026 Eurobond, which was due on August 1.
The US-based credit-rating agency said it has lowered the rating on the 2026 Eurobond to ‘D from ‘C’ and affirmed the other foreign-currency bonds at ‘C.’
The downgrade comes after Kiev passed a law permitting the suspension of foreign debt payments until October 1. On July 18, the Ukrainian parliament approved legislation that allows the government to temporarily suspend payments on state and state-guaranteed external commercial debt until a restructuring agreement with external commercial debt creditors is completed.
“This marks an event of default under Fitch’s criteria with respect to the sovereign’s IDR [Issuer Default Rating] as well as the individual issue rating of the affected security,” Fitch stated.
Rival US ratings agency S&P Global also cut Ukraine’s rating to ‘selective’ default on August 2.
Ukraine has been negotiating with creditors a restructuring of its nearly $20 billion in international debt. A preliminary deal with a committee of its main bondholders was achieved on July 22, two weeks before the grace period for coupon payment expired.
READ MORE: Ukraine’s finance minister warns of ‘more difficult’ 2025
Kiev secured a preliminary deal to suspend debt repayments back in 2022 after the escalation of its conflict with Russia. The two-year payment moratorium on payments expired on August 1.
Fitch had earlier projected Ukraine’s state deficit to remain high, at 17.1% of the country’s GDP this year, noting that defense spending amounted to 31.3% of its annual economic output in 2023. The agency expects government debt to surge to 92.5% of GDP in 2024.
According to the Ukrainian Finance Ministry, the country’s public debt surged by more than $1 billion in June, with its total volume now exceeding $152 billion.
The International Monetary Fund in June revised downwards Ukraine’s gross domestic product forecast for this year to 2.5% from its April estimate of 3.2%, citing worsening sentiment among consumers and businesses over the course of the conflict with Russia.
War in Inevitable - Alastair Crooke, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen
BATTLE OF KURSK 2.0 - MOATS with George Galloway
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