Oorlog in Oekraïne én in Rusland #1008 Moskva or bust!

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Hungary law could make Ukrainian refugees homeless
A new law has come into force in Hungary which threatens to push thousands of Ukrainian refugees on to the streets or back to Ukraine.

The regulation restricts state support for Ukrainians to those who come from parts of Ukraine directly affected by the fighting caused by Russia's invasion.

Thirteen regions in Ukraine are on the list, which will be updated monthly by the Hungarian government.

It is not known how many of the 31,000 Ukrainians taking shelter in Hungary will be affected by the new law.

Human rights groups say the most vulnerable are those from the Roma ethnic minority from the westernmost Transcarpathian region, who are still living in shelters which will now close.

Their situation is complicated by the fact that many are dual Ukrainian-Hungarian citizens, who have been refused help elsewhere in the European Union on the grounds they are Hungarian citizens.

The UN refugee agency said the law change will mean an estimated 2,000-3,000 refugees will "lose access to subsidised accommodation".

"Many face significant barriers in securing alternative housing due to lack of financial means but also reluctance of owners to rent," the UNHCR said.

"For many, the change will result in job losses and impact school enrolment, jeopardizing the positive integration achievements obtained so far."

Under the new law, only Ukrainians whose last official address in Ukraine was in an area "directly affected by military operations" remain eligible for state support, which includes free housing and a basic monthly sum.

Government decree 134 changes legislation dating back to 2022 and the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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Russian general weakened border defenses before Ukraine's Kursk incursion, WSJ reports

^{Colonel General Alexander Lapin Alexander Lapin was in the town of Uqayribat in Syria's eastern Hama countryside on Sept. 15, 2017, when he was a Lieutenant-General. (Maria Antonova / AFP)}

A Russian general dismantled a council charged with overseeing security in Russia's Kursk Oblast in the spring, weakening border defenses before Ukraine's unprecedented incursion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 21.

Citing an official in the Russian security services, the outlet said Colonel General Alexander Lapin claimed the Kremlin's military could effectively defend the border on its own.

As a result, he dissolved an interagency council consisting of military officers and local and regional security officials which would have been tasked with helping Moscow form a coherent response to an incursion by Ukraine.

The report stresses that Russia would likely still have struggled to respond to the events which have since unfolded in Kursk Oblast, but it added to the confusion and disorganization on show as Moscow has tried to oust Ukraine's army from Russian soil.

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Russia bans George Clooney’s foundation
Russia has officially declared the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), founded by Hollywood actor George Clooney and his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, as "undesirable," effectively banning the organisation from operating within its borders.

The decision, announced on Monday by the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, marks yet another instance of the Kremlin cracking down on foreign entities deemed critical of the government.

The CFJ, established in 2016, is dedicated to investigating human rights abuses and war crimes globally. Currently, the foundation is focused on examining war crimes occurring in Ukraine.

The foundation's efforts have drawn the ire of Russian authorities, who accuse it of "discrediting Russia on a Hollywood scale." In a statement posted on Telegram, the Prosecutor General's Office claimed that the CFJ "actively supports pseudo-patriots who have left the country, members of banned extremist associations, and terrorist organisations."

This rhetoric aligns with Russia's broader strategy of branding foreign organisations that challenge or criticise the Kremlin's policies as threats to national security.

“Under the guise of humanitarian ideas, the ‘fighters for justice’ from Madison Avenue promote initiatives for the criminal prosecution of Russia's top leadership, and publicly disseminate negative pseudo-expert assessments of Russian legislation on foreign agents and NGOs,” the statement said.

Since 2015, Russia has designated numerous foreign charities, think tanks, and civil society organisations as "undesirable." This legislation specifically targets entities perceived as antagonistic to President Vladimir Putin's regime. Organisations marked as "undesirable" are prohibited from operating within Russia, and Russian banks and companies are barred from engaging with them, effectively isolating these groups from the Russian public.

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South Africa halted ammunition shipment to Poland over concerns goods could reach Ukrainian army
Rheinmetall did not fulfill the contract with Poland for the supply of 155-mm artillery ammunition because of a subcontractor from the Republic of South Africa

Poland ordered about 50,000 ammunition from the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, but their supply was blocked by the government of the South African Republic, Rzeczpospolita writes.

"The supply of ammunition to Poland was blocked – more or less directly – by the South African government due to fears that it could be sent to Ukraine. However, South Africa is closer to Russia, with which, among other things, it is a member of the BRICS alliance," the newspaper explained.

Poland signed a contract with Rheinmetall for 155-mm artillery shells a few months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is now August 2024, but Poland has received none, Rzeczpospolita notes.

The Armament Policy Department, a division of the Polish Ministry of Defense, told the outlet that the contract was terminated on July 20, 2023 due to problems related to its implementation by a subcontractor.

Rheinmetall did not respond to the newspaper's questions.

However, it turned out that ammunition for Poland was to be produced by the South African company Rheinmetall Denel Munition. And this is exactly the "problematic" subcontractor that the representatives of the ministry are referring to.

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Russian Media Claims "Invisible" Ukrainian Soldiers as Explanation for Kursk Advances
Russian media suggests Ukrainian forces are using "invisible" uniforms supplied by the West as part of a supposed international conspiracy.
Russian propaganda is spinning an unusual theory to explain the recent Ukrainian advances in the Kursk Oblast.

The latest claim suggests that Ukrainian soldiers have received special uniforms from Western allies that render them invisible, both day and night, as part of an alleged international conspiracy.

According to reports from the Military Portal, this theory is being pushed as a way to rationalize Ukraine's success in the region.

But this explanation is far from credible, as the large amount of equipment that Ukrainian forces have moved into Kursk Oblast would be difficult to conceal, even if the soldiers themselves were invisible.

The Reality of Ukrainian Forces in Kursk
Retired military intelligence officer Lt. Col. Maciej Korowaj wrote on X:

"At night, sounds travel for many kilometers, which is why the sound of Ukrainian engines on the night before the operation from August 5 to 6, 2024 was clearly audible in the Sumy district."

Even if the Ukrainians had used special camouflage for their soldiers and equipment, the presence of Ukrainian forces near and across the Russian border would be hard to miss.

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Ukrainian air defence forces shoot down 50 Russian drones and one missile
Air defence forces shot down 50 enemy UAVs and one Russian missile on the night of 21 August and this morning.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk in a message on Telegram.

According to him, on the night of 21 August 2024, the Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine with two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles from the Voronezh region, an Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missile from the airspace of the Kursk region, and 69 Shahed-type attack UAVs (launch areas: Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Yeysk, Kursk).

A total of 72 air targets were detected and tracked by the Air Force's radio-technical units.

The enemy's air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units of the Air Force and mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defence Forces.

As a result of the air combat, 51 air targets were shot down: one Kh-59/Kh-69 guided missile and 50 Shahed-131/136 attack UAVs in Khmelnytsky, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kherson, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

Another 16 enemy UAVs were lost in the area - presumably, they fell under the influence of electronic countermeasures. The information is being clarified.

In addition, an enemy attack drone was spotted crossing the state border with the Republic of Belarus in Chernihiv region, and another Russian UAV returned to its ‘homeland’ in Belgorod region, Oleshchuk added.

As of 11:15 a.m., one hostile UAV was in the airspace in Cherkasy region. Combat operations are ongoing.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, an enemy Shahed was shot down by air defence forces over Kirovohrad region during an air alert.

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Op woensdag 21 augustus 2024 19:20 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg2jxjd7r7o
[..]
Apart. Ik dacht dat Orban zo gebrand was op de bescherming van de Hongaarse minderheid in Oekraïne. Maar dat is blijkbaar alleen het geval als deze in Oekraïne wonen en onder de verantwoordelijkheid van de Oekraïense regering vallen. Wanneer deze zich in Hongarije bevinden dan zijn zij opeens niet zo belangrijk meer.

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Now, people whose families were born in areas historically part of Hungary can apply for Hungarian citizenship. It doesn’t matter where they live now: the main condition is that they speak Hungarian.

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Russian Troops Suffer Heavy Losses in Pokrovsk Sector, Say Partisans
Russia’s 15th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade faces significant losses, with equipment failure and loss of interoperative coordination leading to chaos and more casualties in Donetsk, reports Atesh.

Russian troops are experiencing significant losses in the Pokrovsk sector of the Donetsk region, according to a report from the Atesh partisan movement via Telegram.

“An agent from Russia’s 15th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade reported that a large force has been allocated for the assaults,” the message read.

The report highlighted that Russia’s rush to seize Pokrovsk is causing severe problems. The 15th Brigade is enduring heavy casualties; large-scale deployments of personnel and equipment are being undermined by equipment failures, leading to a breakdown in coordination, chaos, and increased casualties.

“Mothers and wives of servicemen are writing letters to the President of Russia, pleading for help, but they are only being advised to contact other authorities,” the report said.

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Op woensdag 21 augustus 2024 18:14 schreef ludovico het volgende:

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Waarom moet een onschuldige Rus eeuwige haat verdienen zegmaar? Vanwege Vlad the Evil?

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Op woensdag 21 augustus 2024 19:43 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://biz.liga.net/en/a(...)reach-ukrainian-army
[..]

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Op woensdag 21 augustus 2024 19:43 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://biz.liga.net/en/a(...)reach-ukrainian-army
[..]

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Op woensdag 21 augustus 2024 19:57 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

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Die hebben gewoon residentie in Hongarije en kunnen zo een Hongaars paspoort krijgen.
[..]
https://www.opendemocracy(...)ut-over-zakarpattya/

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Russia postpones elections in seven border districts amid ongoing Ukrainian offensive
Russia’s Central Election Commission has decided to postpone local elections in seven districts in the southwestern Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops began an offensive over two weeks ago, the commission announced on Telegram on Wednesday.

The commission did not specify for how long the elections would be postponed, but noted that votes will not be held in the districts of Belovsky, Bolshesoldatsky, Glushkovsky, Korenevsky, Sudzhansky, Khomutovsky and in the city of Lgov until the security of voters could be “fully guaranteed”.

The September elections for the governor of the region will go ahead as planned, said Tatyana Malakhova, the chair of the regional election commission, with early voting due to take place between 28 August and 5 September, and in-person voting taking place between 6 and 8 September.

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Satellite Photos Confirm Damage to Third Seim River Bridge in Kursk Oblast

^{Collage from Google Maps and photo x.com/MT_Anderson}

The third bridge over the Seim River in Kursk region was damaged as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

The relevant satellite images were published by the well-known analyst MT Anderson on his page on X (formerly Twitter).

The bridge is located near the village of Karyzh, Glushkovsky district, Kursk oblast of the Russian Federation.

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