In a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post, Zelensky said that “the most important sanctions are to close the borders — because the Russians are taking away someone else’s land.” He said Russians should “live in their own world until they change their philosophy.”<... >

Some critics have argued that banning all Russians would unfairly impact those who have left their country because they disagree with President Vladimir Putin’s government and his decision to attack Ukraine.

Zelensky said such distinctions don’t matter: “Whichever kind of Russian … make them go to Russia.”

“They’ll understand then,” he said. “They’ll say, ‘This [war] has nothing to do with us. The whole population can’t be held responsible, can it?’ It can. The population picked this government and they’re not fighting it, not arguing with it, not shouting at it.”

Well, there are several positive moments in that interview.
First, blaming the whole population of Russia (for whatever reasons) just by their nationality.
I think nobody would say, that official Kiev has nothing to do with the Nazism anymore. Official Kiev is a Nazis' government. It is not just "Nazis units with limited influence" to be modesty criticised. The president of Ukraine himself made a clear Nazi statement.

Second - you remember, how many times it was claimed that Russian elections are rigged, that Putin does not have the support of the majority of the Russian people? All those insinuations are wiped away now. Even Ukrainian president admits overwhelming support of the Russian government and president Putin by the absolute majority of the population.

And the third. No matter, what Russian people think about the reasons for the military operation, whether they believe it was avoidable, and whatever pacifistic motives they may have - now all of them will seek even stronger unity.

#TransFormator #TransFormatorBuzzes 💤💤

On the situation in Novofedorovka - head of the Republic of Crimea Aksyonov

As for the reasons of what have happened, one must rely on the official commentary of the Ministry of Defense, everything is clearly stated there.

Unfortunately, one person died. I express my most sincere condolences to family and friends. All necessary assistance will be provided.

The situation is localized and under control. I repeat once again: there is no general evacuation in the district. Only residents of houses located in the immediate vicinity of the military airfield will be resettled.

A surveillance is being carried out now, the amount of damage is being determined, but the main investigation will start tomorrow. We will not leave anyone without help, we will help everyone without exception. I keep the situation under control, I'm on the spot.

MOD of Ukraine states that it is not aware of the reasons of the explosions at the airfield in Saki, Crimea, and recommends to follow the fire safety measures.

I just want to remind, that in the similar way they were denying any involvement in the strikes on Russian territory before.
#TransFormator

Local residents report that aircraft are taking off from the still burning Saki airfield in Crimea.

Another video with two explosions on the territory of the Saki airfield in Novofedorvka, which occur simultaneously and at a distance from each other.

However, nobody of the residents report about any traces of missiles or any type of projectiles.

More shots of the explosion in Novofedorovka. At the beginning of the video, taxiing of the Il-76 is visible.

Attention. Translated from the Ukrainian channel.

We confirm the information of our colleagues that all top officials of the Office of the President/General Staff/SBU have left the administrative buildings.

It may be an indication that Ukrainian forces are one way or another responsible for the explosions at Saki airfield and are afraid of retaliation.
The intrigue here is that nobody locally has seen any traces of the incoming missiles and, as far as it was officially announced, there are no Ukrainian rockets capable of striking at such distance.
(Harpoon theoretically can, but it is anti-ship missile with subsonic speed).

Nevertheless some Ukrainian channels claim that it was Ukrainian strike (ATACMS?)

#TransFormator

Russia requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on August 11 because of the APU strikes on the Zaporozhye NPP.

The decision was confirmed by the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the organization Dmitry Polyansky.

Moscow would like to see IAEA Director General Grossi as a speaker.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have repeatedly hit the Zaporozhye NPP.

▪The last blow occurred on August 5, when the shelling caused an emergency shutdown of the station.

UN Secretary—General Guterres called such strikes "suicidal acts".

The number of victims due to explosions in Novofedorovka increased to 13, according to the Ministry of Health of the Crimea.

Translated from Rybar

Explosions in the Crimean Novofedorovka: what happened and what conclusions should be drawn

In the afternoon, a series of explosions thundered at the Saki airfield near the resort town of Novofedorovka. Judging by the video, after the first fire at the airbase, tanks with aviation kerosene and ammunition began to explode. The main source of ignition and subsequent detonations was located approximately in the area of ​​​​one of the aircraft parking areas.

What is the damage from the explosion?

🔹 Officially, the authorities announced the death of one (currently 13) and the injury of several more people. There were no mass hospitalizations in civilian and military medical institutions, so the figures announced, in general, do not raise questions. According to some information, it was even possible to avoid the loss of military personnel at the airfield.

🔹The number of damaged and destroyed equipment is more difficult to estimate: a video appeared on the network with at least one burned-out Su-24 bomber and bomb carts, which were mistaken for burnt-out aircraft wrecks.

🔹In total, at the time of the strike, there were ten Su-24M and Su-30SM, several helicopters and an Il-76 transport aircraft at the airfield. The latter, by the time of the explosion, was already on the runway at a distance from the epicenter and, with a high degree of probability, was not damaged.

🔹The urban infrastructure of Novofedorovka and civilian vehicles parked near the airfield also suffered from the shock wave and explosions.

Was it the strike of a Ukrainian rocket?

🔸Immediately after the explosion, there were suggestions that it was caused by a missile strike. On the one hand, the United States really spoke in favor of transferring long-range missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which make it possible to reach objects in the Crimea.

🔸However, the words of eyewitnesses speak against this version: none of the huge number of vacationers and residents of Novofedorovka observed the arrival of rockets. Numerous videos from the scene of the incident also do not show anything resembling an incoming munition.

What could it be then?

There are no shots of the beginning of the fire and the first explosion in open sources, which makes it impossible to unambiguously determine the exact cause of the explosion. If we discard the missile attack, then two versions remain:

🔻Sabotage: a copter with a small bomb attacked the parking lot. He could set fire to the tanker, which led to the detonation of fuel and ammunition. One of the videos shows two simultaneous explosions, in which they saw the operation of pre-laid charges. However, by that time there was already a fire at the airfield, and the synchronous detonation could be caused by secondary factors from the dispersion of fragments.

🔻Negligence: an equally likely version is non-compliance with safety regulations when performing work. Similar cases have already occurred in Syria, when the carelessness of local military personnel led to the loss of aircraft. Therefore, this option should not be ruled out either.

What follows from this?

▪️At the moment, the specific cause of the explosions is not the most important issue. Yes, with a high degree of probability it was not a missile strike, but who said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine would not try to attack airfields in Crimea? Given the expansion of the range of American supplies, it is precisely these facilities that may indeed become the target of missile strikes in the near future.

▪️The key point is different: it's time to stop considering air bases and other similar facilities as a deep rear, absolutely protected from any enemy. It is necessary not only to take air defense seriously, but also to the issues of protecting a sensitive facility in accordance with the realities of wartime.

▪️Otherwise, the enemy will have an increasing desire to take advantage of known gaps. It doesn't matter how exactly: strike with long-range missiles, send a subotage group with a mortar, or drop a charge on planes standing in a row without any gabions.

And for the aircraft lost in this case, you will have to answer.

@rybar

Translated from Rybar
Illusion of deception: what Ukrainian propaganda is made of

For a long time, many Russian analysts have been talking about Ukrainian propaganda that works perfectly. For clarity, we decided to collect the main mechanisms of the work of local media.

▪️Inflating real successes and hushing up defeats and mistakes. Against the backdrop of the failures of the RF Armed Forces in the first days of the operation, Ukrainian media workers were able to create an image of disorderly force from the Russian army in the eyes of the local audience. Now any mistake of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation plays into the hands of the Ukrainian media, which immediately begin to comment on this event as much as possible.

As a result, a considerable part of Ukrainians today are confident in the possibility of the victory of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, although they themselves are not rushing to the front line. This is facilitated by the statements of the Ukrainian leadership, which speak of the inevitability of Ukraine's victory over Russia.

▪️In the absence of real successes, the Ukrainian side replicates information about virtual victories. For example, most recently, Ukrainian media reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine “liberated” 53 villages in the Kherson region. Naturally, they tactfully kept silent about the names and locations of settlements. At the same time, a similar phrase “Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated seven more villages of the Kherson region” is placed in the headline.

▪️In Ukraine, a purge of the opposition media took place. The media holdings of Viktor Medvedchuk and Renat Akhmetov disappeared, and Zelensky managed to rein in the main competitor in the person of Petro Poroshenko. Literally at the beginning of August, the Ukrainian authorities closed the entrance to the country to TV presenter Savik Shuster, who periodically went into opposition.

Now there are only a small number of speakers who are able to criticize the Zelensky regime. There are no pro-Russian speakers or opinion leaders in the country at all.

▪️ In Ukraine, Russians are being actively dehumanized: this is happening not only in relation to military personnel and politicians, but to the entire population of the country without exception. The inhabitants of Russia are at the highest level coming up with appropriate nicknames, of which "orcs" is the most harmless.

Any tragedy that happened in Russia is ridiculed. As a result, not only the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but ordinary Ukrainians consider Russians to be “subhuman”, whom they are allowed to kill with impunity. And such a policy is encouraged by the country's leadership.

▪️Creating the illusion of a powerful partisan movement in the liberated territories. Ukrainian media regularly publish photographs of red-hot “Ukrainian partisans”. Some of these photos may have been taken in the Pechersky district of Kyiv, but such reports create a sense of mass support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Russian-controlled areas.

Such messages also partly provoke pro-Ukrainian residents of the liberated territories to commit terrorist attacks and sabotage.

▪️Ukrainian media presents Ukraine as a country striving for the future, and is opposed by conservative, backward Russia. Despite the hard situation in the Ukrainian economy even before the conflict, in contrast, this allows them to create an image of a “bright European future” that the country is striving for.

▪️Social activism. At the beginning of the operation, Ukrainians massively supported the Armed Forces of Ukraine and were making collections for drones, ammunition and cars. However, now the wave of popular support is subsiding due to the lack of real achievements, the routinization of hostilities and the decline in incomes of the population.

Nevertheless, the Ukrainian media continue to circulate pictures about mass support for the Ukrainian army. A vivid example of such activism is the campaign to raise money for Bayraktar drones , which was organized by TV presenter Sergei Prytula.