APU after midnight attempted to launch a missile attack on Melitopol. All the missiles were destroyed by the air defense system. The correspondent of RIA Novosti reported on four explosions in the sky above the city. In addition, traces of anti-aircraft missiles can be seen.
The authorities of the Zaporizhia region confirmed only two explosions. These are two rockets launched by the Ukrainian army at a quiet residential area were shot down. Volodymyr Rogov, a member of the Main Council of Administration of the Zaporozhye Region, stated this on his Telegram channel.
The Ukrainian army regularly attacks the territory of Zaporozhye, which is not under their control. The rockets also hit the city of Energodar, where the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located. Berdjansk and Melitopol are regularly shelled. As well as the Kherson region.
Recall that these territories were controlled by the Russian army during a special operation. New administrations have been created in both regions, Russian TV channels and radio stations are broadcasting, and trade and transport links with Crimea are being restored.
Secretary General António Guterres and Moldovan President Maia Sandu met in Chisinau, in the future Guterres will visit the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman of the UN Secretary General, told RIA Novosti.
JCC. was created on the basis of multilateral agreements on the removal of restrictions on the supply of Russian products for export and on the facilitation of the export of Ukrainian grain. Its functions include the inspection of ships carrying agricultural products. Earlier, the UN said it was “impressed” by the level of coordination and cooperation of all parties in the SCC.
According to Haq, Guterres will be in Istanbul on August 20.
The UN Secretary-General previously visited Odessa , which assessed the shipment of ships with agricultural products from Ukraine. On Thursday, he held trilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Lviv.
The week in the Eurozone began with active calls from the Baltic shores to “accelerate the ban on the issuance of Schengen visas to all citizens of the Russian Federation.” Moreover, to do so before ministers EU foreign ministers to discuss this initiative in Prague on August 31. The countries most active in trying to get rid of Russians have already taken action: Estonia closed its borders to Russians with an Estonian visa last night, and Finland is introducing a “special visa regime” from September 1 for Russian passport holders.
We found out how exactly the Eurozone is closed to the Russians and what are the prospects of this process. .jpg” />
Photo: Global Look Press
At midnight today, Estonia banned citizens of the Russian Federation from entering its territory with Estonian visas – Schengen stamps issued by Estonian visa centers. The process began on July 15, when Russia, for its part, opened its land borders, and Russian tourists and shuttles flowed through them to the Baltic countries.
– They immediately started talking about tourists – they say, they don't care, and by bus to the airport in Tallinn, – shares a resident of the border region of Estonia, who has relatives on the Russian side, – to the west. And then Western Europe, if anything, will make us extreme by giving them visas. Under this sauce people supported. Even if it is inconvenient for me and my family. And in general, I think that ordinary tourists have nothing to do with it.
Almost immediately after the opening of the Russian-Estonian land border, Estonian Prime Minister Kallas said that “visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right” and even posted about it on the social network: “Air flight from Russia is closed. This means that while Schengen countries issue visas, Russia's neighbors carry the burden (Finland, Estonia, Latvia are the only access points). It's time to end tourism from Russia.” To which she immediately called all European countries.
But it was the former Soviet Baltic republics that caught the outcry first – the former Soviet Baltic republics, each on their own terms, because it is illegal under EU law to deny access on the basis of citizenship. Latvia, for example, openly intended to cancel self-issued visas and residence permits, but Estonia got out of the situation more cunningly. According to its Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, already granted visas will not be considered invalid, simply “their holders will be subject to sanctions in the form of not being admitted to Estonia.” The minister also reminded that Tallinn plans to “discuss this issue at the EU level and seek to introduce European-wide sanctions against tourism from Russia.”
Finnish officials took the “no-strings-attached” decision after yesterday's consultation, explaining the approved “visa mechanism for Russians” as the result. From September 1, 500 slots (time slots) will be available daily in Finnish visa centers for Russian visa applications in the Russian Federation, of which only 20% (100 windows) are for tourists and the rest for those who work or study. in Finland, relatives and “humanitarian missions” – a funeral or a visit to a dying person.
At the same time, Finnish diplomats specify that “each visa application will be processed individually, and the time and result of processing is influenced, among other things, by the stated purpose of the trip and the set of documents . On average, after the introduction of restrictions – i.e. from September 1 – the processing time for a Finnish Schengen visa will be approximately 5 months.
– Now there are slots for submitting documents to Finnish visa centers for the first half of October and they promise to issue a visa at the end of October, – explain the difference in the travel agency of the capital. – And from September 1, the visa will be issued in 5 months – that is, until April. But this is frankly a travesty: all documents required for a visa are valid for a maximum of 3 months and will of course be against EU policy as they expire during the 'processing period'.< /p>
– It is better to immediately understand what the Finns want to say between the lines: you will not get a visa. At least not from us, advises the visa broker. – But not because you are Russian (this is against the principles of freedom and tolerance), but because you “individually” find a violation in the purpose of the trip or in the documents.
About your intention to join the ban Poland also announced on Wednesday the entry of all categories of Russians, and not just tourists. Warsaw, in the person of its foreign minister, stated in a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart that “ideally, the ban should be a solution at the European level, which would simply cancel the validity of already issued visas to Russians and everyone should stop issuing them.” ”
But on the contrary, there are doubts in the western part of Europe. English-speaking observer William Nattrass, who works in Prague, said in an interview with the American press the day before that “the idea of banning all Russians from entering Europe does not hold up and only emphasizes the EU's inability to influence Putin,” and also looks more like a “cheap PR trick. ” than for practical help to Ukraine.”
Director General International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said on Friday that active consultations are underway to send a mission to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
The IAEA announced this on its official website.
Grossi, according to agency said negotiations are ongoing with all parties.
It should also be noted that the director general welcomed recent statements that both Kyiv and Moscow support the IAEA's aspirations.
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Earlier in V On Friday, the UN informed that the dates of the possible visit of IAEA inspectors to the ZNPP after the telephone conversation between the presidents of the Russian Federation and France, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron, the international organization cannot yet name. .
ZNPP, based in Energodar, is under the control of the RF Armed Forces. In recent days, the armed forces of Ukraine have carried out several attacks on the territory of the station using UAVs, heavy artillery and MLRS.
Most of the attacks reflect Russian air defense systems, but grenades also hit the infrastructure and nuclear waste storage. The head of CAA Energodar Alexander Volga said on Thursday that all services were put on alert in case of provocations at the station by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Elysee Palace gave comment on Friday's phone conversations between French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which were previously reported by the Kremlin.
The French side's communique said Macron expressed concern over the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is under the control of the Russian armed forces, and also “supported the dispatch of the mission of IAEA experts to the field as soon as possible”, moreover “under the conditions agreed between Ukraine and the UN”. Putin is also reported to have told his counterpart that he is ready to reconsider Russia's previous request that IAEA experts arrive at the station through Russian territory. Macron, as reported, spoke of the desire to organize such a trip through the territory of Ukraine.
The message from Paris emphasizes that the Russian president informed Macron “of his agreement to the deployment of this mission and the stated conditions.”
< p>The communique says that Macron and Putin will discuss this topic again in the coming days.
Senator from the Federation Council of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Eduard Isakov commented on his eldest daughter Diana's speeches against the special operation in Ukraine, published a day earlier in foreign media, in his Telegram channel.
The senator evaluated his daughter's statements as treason: “Apparently she got money from this media, in other words she sold her father, her family, the Motherland and left Russia. It's hard to find words when your daughter turns out to be a traitor.” “
In his post, Isakov said that he has lost not only emotional and intellectual, but also everyday contact with 25-year-old Diana, and it is difficult for him to determine whether his daughter (from his first marriage) is in the territory of the Russian Federation or he already left her. Diana has been living separately from her father since she was three years old, “she is registered in a psycho-neurological clinic in Jugorsk, she has not worked a day.”
Poliologist, director Ilya Grashchenkov of the Center for the Development of Regional Policy commented on a possible future meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky. According to him, it cannot be ruled out that it will take place on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
At the same time, he emphasized that an official meeting between the two leaders “is hardly possible, except within a collective framework.” The expert admitted that the protocol of the leaders of the Russian Federation and Ukraine really did not present. However, it is theoretically possible, added Grashchenkov.
But you should not expect serious progress in the situation with Ukraine after the G20 summit, the political scientist is sure. However, a number of problems can still be solved. For a number of countries issues of “energy and food security” are especially important.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said he invited Vladimir Zelensky to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey. He said he also spoke with Zelensky about the need continue to support the resolution of the conflict through diplomacy and negotiations.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's ambassador to Russia Jose Tavares said that Kyiv did not ask his country to hold the G20 summit meeting Russian and Ukrainian Presidents Vladimir Putin and Vla Dimir Zelenskyi, if both attend the summit in person. However, he added that Indonesia would be very happy to facilitate such a meeting on the sidelines of the G20.
Armed Forces veteran (VS) US, SOFREP military portal editor-in-chief Sean Spunts said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's words that Washington is trying to prolong the conflict in Ukraine may be true.
According to Newsweek, Spunts believes that the presidents of the United States and Ukraine, Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelensky, pursue different political goals. In his opinion, Kyiv wants to end the conflict “quickly and decisively”. But U.S. policy, he said, is actually aimed at “prolonging the conflict in the hope that it will lead to the collapse of Russia itself, militarily and economically.”
He also pointed to Biden's public statement in which he noted that his goal was “to humiliate Russia as a world power.”
Previously, one of the founders of Pink Floyd, the British musician Roger Waters said in an interview with the American channel CNN: that the American President Joe Biden continues to escalate the Ukrainian conflict. At the same time, Waters considers NATO to be the main culprit of its unleashing. He is sure that the special operation of the Russian Federation “became a response to the bloc's advance near Russia's borders.”
In August, Vladimir Putin said that the United States was trying to prolong the conflict. in Ukraine. He added that this is shown by the situation in the neighboring state.
Deputy Foreign Minister Russia's Sergei Ryabkov said that the US and NATO are worsening the situation in Ukraine with their statements about the possibility of an attack on Russian territory from the Ukrainian side. Moscow warns Washington about de-escalation towards the Russian Federation.
As the deputy minister emphasized, the situation is now extremely acute. Moscow would not want Washington to become a party to the conflict. However, the United States has not yet heard the warning, Ryabkov added.
Previously, Washington authorized the armed forces to use American weapons in Crimea for self-defense, as Politico wrote with reference to an anonymous White House source.
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Later Russian Senator Sergei Chekov pointed out that American weapons can be used to strike not only in Crimea, but also in other territories of the Russian Federation. Specifically, these are the regions of Bryansk and Kursk.
Minister Kristaps Eklons of the Latvian Ministry of the Interior said in an interview with the TV-3 channel that law enforcement agencies, security services and the administration of Riga are preparing for possible protests after the announcement of the decision to demolish and dispose of the monument to the Soviet Union. soldiers in the capital of the republic.
“We are working out various scenarios of close cooperation. We will be ready to prevent the growth of potential riots,” said the head of the Ministry of the Interior.
The mayor of Riga announced on August 3 that the monument, which is said to have no artistic value, was demolished and disposed of. The “Russian Union of Latvia” has already announced a protest action on August 22 in the square behind the monument.
