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The Fastest Investigation
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Vostok Joint Exercises
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The Second Anniversary of the Poisoning of Aleksey Navalny
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The US Announces a New $775m Ukraine Military Aid Package
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- Russian Propaganda in Ukraine
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Gas Transportation System Will Stop Completely in Winter
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Provocation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP
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The Fastest Investigation |
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On Saturday, August 20, the daughter of far-right Russian nationalist Alexander Dugin, considered to be the mastermind of the Kremlin narrative put forth by President Vladimir Putin, was killed in a car explosion in Moscow. Her father is currently suspected to have been the target, and Russian authorities launched an investigation that lasted only two days, raising many suspicions about its worthiness. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which conducted the blitz investigation despite being unable to solve 15-year-old cases, claims to have concluded that the bomb was planted in the car by a Ukrainian intelligence agent, belonging, according to the Kremlin, to a neo-Nazi group. The situation fits the Kremlin's speculated intention to frame Kyiv as the culprit as quickly as possible to justify dramatic retaliation against the country by escalating the invasion.
External investigations have not yet identified the culprit and “theories range from Ukrainian involvement to an underground anti-Putin movement in Russia, to a false-flag attack orchestrated by Russia to increase anti-Ukraine sentiment.”
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China, India, Belarus, Mongolia, and Tajikistan plan to join Russia in joint military exercises in Vladivostok from August 30 to September 5, claiming “practical and friendly” cooperation to be consolidated through training. The Chinese defense ministry also claims that the decision is “unrelated to the current international and regional situation” while considering them necessary to “counter US hegemony”, by committing to defend regional and global security from the potential threat from the Pacific Ocean. In addition, Russia wants the event to be a show of strength and capability, demonstrating that it is able to engage on multiple fronts in multiple directions to defend national security.
India's participation is also controversial, as the country continues to try to represent a middle ground between the Kremlin and the United States regarding the war in Ukraine by abstaining from UN resolutions against Russia. In addition, India is heavily dependent on Russian oil, as well as Russian arms imports, which, if confirmed, would increase India's nuclear capability with a long-range supersonic bomber, the Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack/White Swan, although it is not yet clear whether the Kremlin can afford to sell them because of the few in stock.
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The Second Anniversary of the Poisoning of Aleksey Navalny |
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On the second anniversary of the poisoning attack on the Russian prominent opposition leader Aleksey Navalny, the United States once again hailed his determination and condemned Russia’s style of coping with opposition figures and independent media. According to the US State Department spokesman Ned Price, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the repressions of people who are critics of Vladimir Putin are inseparable from each other. In particular, Putin’s repressions at home intend to curb the dissemination of the information regarding the atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine as well as how needless the sacrifice of the Russian military is in the Ukraine war. As Ned Price stated, the US condemned the usage of chemical weapons by Russia for political purposes and called on Russia to dismantle fully its chemical arsenal. Moreover, the US State Department called for the immediate release of Aleksey Navalny. Navalny was sentenced to 11-year prison on charges of parole violations, fraud, and contempt of court charges when he returned to Russia after his recovery from the nerve-agent poisoning.
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The US Announces a new $775m Ukraine Military Aid Package |
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The Biden administration announced a new $775m military aid package for Ukraine. As Secretary of State, Antony Blinken stated, the new aid package encompasses “additional arms, munitions, and equipment”. It is the nineteenth drawdown since 2021 and it reached approximately $10,6 billion under the Biden administration. In particular, the new military aid package includes additional ammunition for HIMARS, 16 105 mm Howitzers and 36, 000 105mm artillery rounds, 15 Scan Eagle Unmanned Aerial Systems, 40 Maxx Pro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles with mine rollers, additional High-speed Anti-radiation missiles, 50 Armored High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV), 1,500 Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles, 1, 000 Javelin anti-armor missiles, 2, 000 anti-armor rounds, mine clearing equipment, demolition munitions, tactical secure communications system, night vision devises, thermal imagery systems, and laser rangefinders. As Antony Blinken said, the weaponry in the aid package is carefully calibrated so as to help Ukraine advance on the battlefield and bolster its position at the negotiating table. In response, Moscow warned Washington that such moves are “pouring oil on the flames”.
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Gas Transportation System Will Stop Completely in Winter |
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One of the key tasks of the Kremlin propaganda is to sow panic and chaos among the population of Ukraine. Russian media has begun to spread narratives regarding preparations for the heating season in Ukraine and the poor state of the country’s readiness for winter.
In particular, the following theses are spread to create pessimistic moods: “deterioration of the energy network can leave the country without electricity in winter, and due to the lack of full maintenance, the gas transportation system will stop completely in winter”; “entire regions are being prepared for evacuation due to the lack of heating due to the negligence of the authorities, and no money is put into the budget for heating”.
Indeed, this year will be one of the most challenging heating seasons due to the war. The vital issue of this year’s heating season is possible attacks by the Russians on Ukraine’s heat-generating facilities and, accordingly, the availability of coolants.
According to the Government, Ukraine is 60% ready for the heating season. The state of readiness of residential buildings for the heating season is 56%, networks – 57%, and heating facilities – 58%. Thus, thorough preparation for the heating season is part of the effective defense of the state.
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Provocation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP |
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Russian propaganda continues to deny any involvement of the occupying army in the damage to Ukrainian nuclear facilities. In this context, on August 18, the pro-Kremlin media, citing the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were allegedly “preparing a provocation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.” The Russian media called “the fact that Ukraine has carried out exercises related to the disaster response a confirmation of the provocation.”
The Ukrainian authorities categorically reject the unsubstantiated Russian “accusations” of “preparing a provocation” at the ZNPP. On August 23, 2022, Russia still controls the Ukrainian strategic facility, putting Ukraine, several EU countries, and its territories at risk.
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This newsletter is supported by the European Cultural Foundation
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Elita Khmelidze
Eleonora Sobrero
Dmytro Filonenko
Marcin Jerzewski
in collaboration with experts from Information Defense Hub
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