Translated from Ukrainian propaganda channel:

Ukrainian customs officers demanded $300 from a British man who wanted to donate a pickup truck to the Armed Forces of Ukraine

According to TV presenter Victoria Kiose, after that the volunteer turned around and basically drove back.

The bottom is broken.

Translated from Ukrainian propaganda channel
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Summary of the Special Military Operation for the morning of August 20, 2023

▪️Over the past day, the warring parties have been exchanging blows on rear areas. The Russian Armed Forces struck at the drama theater in Chernigov, where the candidate for the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Maria Berlinskaya (Reznikov, against the backdrop of constant scandals, had already announced his readiness to resign) organized a gathering of UAV developers, which was previously written on social networks.

▪️UAF attacked one of the planes at our air base in the Novgorod region with a drone attack. An enemy UAV was shot down in the Moscow region at night. In Kursk, 5 civilians were slightly injured by a drone explosion that detonated on the roof of the railway station. In the Belgorod region in the afternoon, an UAV of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was shot down by air defense systems. Daily shelling by the enemy of the DPR led to the injury of two civilians.

▪️The Russian army continues its offensive in the Kupyansk direction. Without introducing reserves into battle, they manage to advance in the Sinkovka area. Our heavy flamethrower systems and high-explosive aerial bombs are used against enemy concentrations.

▪️Heavy battles are going on in the Vremevsky direction, both sides are trying to make the most of the capabilities of artillery, they report "constant fire from all types of guns."

▪️In the Orekhovsky direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to gain a foothold in the northern part of the settlement. Rabotino, bringing up personnel in light armored vehicles. Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to survive in the houses and basements of buildings on which the Russian Armed Forces are firing. The use of FPV drones with charges against enemy infantry groups on the march or in forest plantations has become stable, which may indicate a certain level of saturation of troops in this sector of the front with these types of weapons. A similar level of equipment of troops throughout the front will increase the effectiveness of the destruction of the enemy

▪️From the Kherson direction, they reported on the battles on the islands in the floodplain of the river. Dnieper, inflicting artillery strikes on the enemy near the Antonovsky bridge.

Translated from Two majors
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Artemovsk (Bakhmut) direction, the loss of several armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in three minutes on the footage of the Artillery Disco

The enemy threw into battle several units of armored vehicles, our artillery met them with fire. As soon as the enemy approached the line near the road, 0:36 an accurate blow was already dealt to the first vehicle. At 01:15 the second "armor" failed, and the remaining Nazis decided to turn around (01:55).

But their maneuver failed, 02:23 flew into the third vehicle, after which 02:50 the defeat of the enemy column was completed.

⭐️Three minutes and the next assault of the Armed Forces of Ukraine failed, before it could start.

Translated from Two Majors
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China fast encroaching on Germany's share of EU markets - study

BERLIN, Aug 15 (Reuters) — Chinese manufacturers are increasingly giving German manufacturers a run for their money in their home European Union market, especially in the field of advanced industrial goods where Germany is a leader.

A study by the employers' economic think tank IW found that in some sectors China's share of EU imports had risen as much as or more in the two years to 2022 as they had in the preceding decade, prompting the think tank to warn that there was a risk of Germany's economic motor stalling.

After years of growth, Germany's economy entered recession in May as its champion exporters were battered by supply chain woes, inflation and rising energy costs after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, prompting much soul-searching on the industrial future of Europe's economic powerhouse.

"These findings give cause to worry given the challenges of the energy change and problems with Germany's competitiveness," said researcher Juergen Matthes.

Among the challenges the study listed was the role played by Chinese state subsidies in many sectors where Chinese companies were taking an increasing EU market share, and while high energy costs following the loss of Russian gas were weakening energy-intensive sectors like chemicals.

High energy costs were also a drag on automotive exports at a time when Chinese e-vehicle makers were starting to conquer the European market, Matthes added.

#TransFormatorBuzzes 💤 :
German engineering without Russian energy resources and raw materials is becoming a ridiculously expensive antique.
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The Russian Ministry of Defense signed a contract for the supply of 9M723-K5 missiles for the Iskander complex.

9M723-K5 is a type of rocket for the Iskander complex with a cluster warhead.

Translated from Svodki

#TransFormatorBuzzes 💤 :
Should have done long ago...
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"The fact that Denmark has now decided to donate 19 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine leads to an escalation of the conflict," Russian ambassador Vladimir Barbin said in a statement cited by the Ritzau news agency.

"By hiding behind a premise that Ukraine itself must determine the conditions for peace, Denmark seeks with its actions and words to leave Ukraine with no other choice but to continue the military confrontation with Russia," he said.

The Ukrainian military said the jet was vital to the success of its counteroffensive, which has proceeded slowly since its launch in early June, as it would prevent Russian fighter jets attacking advancing forces.

"Superiority in the air is key to success on the ground," air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat was quoted as saying by Ukrainian media.

Danish Defence Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Ukraine may only use the donated F-16s within its own territory.

"We donate weapons under the condition that they are used to drive the enemy out of the territory of Ukraine. And no further than that," Ellemann-Jensen said on Monday.

"Those are the conditions, whether it's tanks, fighter planes or something else," he said.

Denmark will deliver 19 jets in total. The Netherlands has 42 F-16s available in all but has yet to decide whether all of them will be donated.

#TransFormatorBuzzes : 💤
They are pretending, that Zelensky would stick to those "promises", how naïve.
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Without the influx of cluster munitions from the United States and other artillery from South Korea, Kyiv probably would be unable to sustain its counteroffensive long enough to retake significant territory

The Washington Post

The Biden administration, which is committing $91.5 million in demining assistance to Ukraine, views the problem similarly. “Regardless of whether Ukraine fires these munitions, these areas will require significant remediation post-conflict, and we will provide assistance to support future Ukrainian demining efforts,” said a senior U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military matter.

U.S. production of cluster bombs ended in 2016 amid outrage over Saudi Arabia’s use of U.S.-made CBU-105 munitions in multiple civilian areas in Yemen. The controversy spurred the Obama administration to place a hold on transfers of the munitions to the kingdom, a decision that cut into the industry’s profits and resulted in the last U.S. manufacturer of cluster bombs, Textron Systems, to halt production in August of that year, citing “regulatory challenges.”

The cluster munitions the Biden administration is sending to Ukraine are much older, and pose an even greater threat to civilians. The bomb is called the dual-purpose improved conventional munition, or DPICM, and production of it ended in the 1990s. The longer the munition stays in storage, the higher the “dud rate” — the share of bomblets that remain unexploded after a cluster bomb is fired. Biden’s decision to send the munitions — a choice he described as “difficult” — bypassed a U.S. law prohibiting the transfer of cluster munitions with a dud rate of more than 1 percent.

In welcoming the U.S. decision to send the munitions, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Kyiv will keep a “strict record of the use of these weapons and the local zones where they will be used.” But when asked about how the documentation process works, Stanislav suggested that there was none. A public affairs officer later contradicted him, saying that every time the M109 shoots a round, the crew writes down what type of munition was fired and in what direction.

The Biden administration says Ukraine provided the United States with assurances that it will closely track the use of the munitions. Since the delivery of the cluster bombs last month, a senior U.S. official said that Washington is satisfied with Kyiv’s follow-through, which includes “regular updates on the Ukrainian military’s DPICM expenditures and use, including location of use.”

Many details surrounding the U.S. supply of the cluster bombs, however, remain unknown to the public, prompting human rights groups to call for greater transparency. “We haven’t been told the quantity of cluster munitions being transferred and for how long this will be done,” said Mary Wareham, an arms specialist at Human Rights Watch. “We also don’t know the dud rates of these particular munitions.”

Evidence that Ukraine used its own supply of cluster munitions to liberate the city of Izyum in 2022, causing civilian casualties among Ukrainians, has also been cited by critics of Biden’s decision to transfer the weapon. (Ukraine denies using the munitions to recapture Izyum.)

#TransFormatorBuzzes : 💤
Well, that is a way how Ukrainians are fulfilling their promises even to the masters. Honestly, masters are well aware and do not expect anything else. See also about limiting the area of using weapons only by the Ukrainian territory.
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Times: British Foreign Office banned officials from calling Russia a hostile state

MOSCOW, August 21 — RIA Novosti. The British Foreign Office has banned officials from using the expression "hostile state" in relation to other countries, reports the British newspaper Times, citing sources.

The use of this phrase has effectively been banned in government documents and in normal internal messaging between civil servants, ministers and advisers via email and WhatsApp.

So, recently the British Foreign Office rejected one of the documents due to the use of this expression.

As an explanation, the Foreign Office stated that states themselves are not inherently hostile, but they do act hostilely.

According to the newspaper, London wants to improve diplomatic relations with China in this way, but the decision also applies to other states. In particular, we are talking about Russia, North Korea and Iran.

In addition, according to the newspaper, officials edited documents prepared by previous governments and replaced the phrase "hostile states" with "hostile actors" and replaced the words "hostile state activities" with the concept of "state threats." According to the source, this will avoid legal ambiguity.

The innovation was criticized by officials, one of them said that the decision caused great bewilderment in the government.

In early June, Bloomberg reported that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was secretly trying to restore relations with China. So, some time ago, he sent the Minister of Commerce to Hong Kong, who during the trip called for resolving differences with Beijing behind closed doors.

#TransFormatorBuzzes : 💤
The words does not matter already — the real actions — does.
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Sweden has no plans to transfer Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine
21.08.2023 - 17:00

Sweden has no plans to transfer Gripen (Griffin) fighters to Ukraine yet. This was stated by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

He says Stockholm is trying to strike a "balance between what we can deliver and what we need ourselves."

“We are not in that situation. We will do everything to support them with aviation, but so far there are no new obligations to provide Swedish aircraft to Ukraine. Sweden is a geographically large country, we have to defend ourselves, and we are not yet in NATO,” Kristersson said.

Although he says that the Swedes are ready to do everything to support Ukraine with aviation and is sympathetic to Zelensky's requests.

“Now we are part of the so-called F-16 coalition, where we cooperate with 14 countries to ensure the aviation capabilities of Ukraine,” Kristersson said.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the pilots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being trained on Gripen fighters in Sweden. However, there was no information about the possible deliveries of these aircraft to Ukraine.

Translated from RusVesna
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The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine accused the media of shelling the 82nd brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
21.08.2023 - 16:40

Due to media publications about the introduction of the 82nd brigade into battle on the Zaporozhye front, five air strikes were carried out on it in a day.

This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine Anna Malyar.

She added that the unauthorized dissemination of such information is criminalized with up to eight years in prison.

Note that the transfer of the 82nd brigade to the offensive site of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the south was first reported by the American Forbes and the German newspaper Bild.

According to them, these were the forces of the strategic reserve of Ukraine, which were previously supposed to be used in the Zaporozhye direction after breaking through the enemy’s first line of defence to develop the offensive. But, as Western publications write, as a result they were thrown to break through the first line.

Translated from RusVesna
#TransFormatorBuzzes : 💤
The negative side of publicity 😉, now the Western journalists are to blame. They are even being threatened with 8 years in Ukrainian prison. Do not worry, guys, Russians will come and liberate you before the end of the prison term.
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The so-called "information war", it is also "mental" or "cognitive" war — this is about the ability during a long time in a civilizational conflict, firstly, to have ones own system of values, then to builds a picture of the world out of it, and eventually to be able to build a system of its reproduction in society from generation to generation.

This is what the Chechen proverb is about: “defeat is when your son is being brought up by your enemy.” Understanding this mechanics is the key both to reconstructing the model of our defeat in the Cold War and to a long-term, decades-long strategy of state building in Russia in the 21st century.

Translated from Oleg Tzarov
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A totally chill Russian army ad.

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#SputnikInfographic📊 The Russian Federation was included in the list of countries that in 2022 were able to increase their wealth, according to a report by the Swiss bank UBS

According to the document, Russia's financial wealth has grown by $600 billion during 2022. UBS experts noted that household income in Russia grew rapidly between 2000 and 2020 (13%).

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August 22, the Day of the National Flag of the Russian Federation

Did Peter I's father Alexey Mikhailovich know what fate awaits the white-blue-red flag with a double-headed eagle, raised by him on the first Russian warship "Eagle"?

Did Peter I know this, who signed a decree in January 1705, according to which "all kinds of merchant ships" should raise a white-blue-red flag?

In the colors of our flag, white means peace, purity, perfection; blue is the color of faith and fidelity, constancy; red symbolizes energy, strength, blood shed for the Fatherland.

The whole world today knows under what flag family values and faith are honored in the world, ancestors are honored, the weak are protected and keep their word. And this is the flag of Russia. Happy holidays, dear ones.

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Artemovsk (Bakhmut) direction
#FPV war footage from the enemy side
The shots with the APU officers are reminiscent of the movie "Mad Max", where people under potent substances happily went to a senseless death.

Translated from Two Majors
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Krasnogorsk, Moscow region

Fragments of an enemy UAV fell into the yard.

Translated from Two Majors
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