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Crisis in Belarus

Valery Tsepkalo announces plans to set fund to support civil society in Belarus

Earlier, he told reporters that a criminal case on bribery was framed up against him

MINSK, August 20. /TASS/. Former contender for the presidency of Belarus Valery Tsepkalo announced plans to create a fund to support the protesters at Belarusian enterprises. He discussed such plans at a meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz in Warsaw.

"At the meeting we discussed creating a Polish-American fund for financial and legal support of civil society in Belarus, in particular those who were injured during protests or are on strike at enterprises," Tsepkalo announced via his Telegram-channel. He also said that he was going to meet Speaker of the Polish Senate Tomasz Grodzki later on Thursday.

Earlier Tsepkalo told reporters that a criminal case on bribery was framed up against him. Belarus’ Interior Ministry initiated a pre-investigation check on the subject of illegal activities by Tsepkalo at the request of a Belarusian citizen of Turkish origin.

Belarus held a presidential election on August 9. According to the final results provided by the Belarusian Central Election Commission on August 14, incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko got 80.1% of the vote. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was considered his main opponent, came in second with 10.12%.

After exit poll results were announced in the evening of August 9, protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other regions of the country, leading to clashes between protesters and the law enforcement. The protests continued over the following days. As a result, several thousand people were detained, dozens of police officers and protesters were injured.

Middle East conflict

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Vladimir Rogov also noted that the liberation of Zelenovka and Novy Komar hastens the process of liberating major logistics hubs

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Russia to raise issue of Ukrainian strikes on Rylsk at UNSC meeting on Friday — diplomat

Acting Kursk Region Governor Alexander Khinshtein said earlier that the town of Rylsk, located some 120 kilometers west of Kursk, had come under Ukrainian fire

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German police confirm death of four people in Magdeburg Christmas market attack

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Kiev’s Western patrons complicit in recent attack on senior Russian general — UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya recalled that Igor Kirillov had repeatedly presented evidence of the military activity of US laboratories in Ukraine

Ukraine to halt Russian gas transit on January 1, 2025 — Ukrainian PM

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NATO prepares for war with Russia, Moscow takes these risks into account — senior diplomat

According to Alexander Grushko, NATO's general course poses a danger both to Russia and to the entire architecture of global and regional security

Slovak PM to visit Moscow for talks with Putin, Serbian president says

"Robert Fico will travel to visit Putin as a European countries leader," Aleksandar Vucic said

Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s Rylsk damages 12 buildings — governor

Three of them are not subject to restoration, Alexander Khinshtein said

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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also stressed that the recent developments had shown that the US policy of establishing a system of increasingly layered missile defenses was wrong

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The ministry clarified that Ukraine launched a missile strike against the Kamensky Integrated Plant in the Rostov Region using six US-made ATACMS missiles and four Storm Shadow cruise missiles

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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also emphasized that Moscow is outraged by the hypocritical silence of the West and its media on the terrorist attacks in Russia

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Hungary will now be in a relatively safe position for several months, the prime minister said

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"It is very important to talk about these statements by the president in the context of the question he was asked," Dmitry Peskov pointed out

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The number of those injured in the missile attack was revised up to 12 from 10

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Project 885M nuclear-powered submarines carry Oniks and Kalibr-PL cruise missiles as their basic strike weapons

Response to Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Rylsk to come shortly — Russia’s UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya warned as he denounced the attack as yet another unambiguous step by the Kiev regime toward escalation

Zelensky actually flips the bird to Trump by insulting Putin, Medvedev says

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Putin suggests Zelensky may flee abroad, says Russia would take him in

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Ukrainian lawmaker slams Zelensky for trying to bribe Slovak PM

The lawmaker believes that the bribe money wasn’t meant to come from Russia’s frozen funds but Zelensky "could have brought it in a suitcase"

Nine-months pregnant woman injured in Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Rylsk

According to the latest data, a total of nine people sought medical assistance after the attack

Turkish president calls on West to stop Israel in Syria before it’s too late

"All international mechanisms need to be effectively employed in order to prevent Israel from exploiting the situation in Syria," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said

Russia to retaliate against Ukrainian strikes, just as Putin said — Kremlin

"Russia’s position is well known, it was voiced by Putin back in St. Petersburg," Dmitry Peskov stressed

Yemen’s Houthis announce hypersonic missile strike at military facility near Tel Aviv

Israel’s Ynet media outlet reports that at least 30 people suffered injuries after a missile fired from Yemen fell in central Israel

Ship with Syrian-Egyptian crew sends distress call in Kerch Strait

According to international law, the ship can be seized if wages are not paid

Massacre staged by retreating Ukrainian troops in Selidovo — report

According to Maxim Grigoryev, videos of interviews with witnesses and preliminary forensic examination of the bodies indicate that most of the victims are elderly women

Scholz could travel to Moscow to boost his party’s approval rating — report

Germany is scheduled to hold a parliamentary election on February 23, 2025

Several HIMARS rockets downed over Kursk Region as Ukraine continues attacks

Acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein added that he was currently in Moscow for a State Council meeting but planned to travel to Rylsk as soon as possible

Series of explosions rock central Kiev — eyewitnesses

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Russian forces create bridgehead near Kupyansk-Uzlovoy in Kharkov Region — expert

Ukrainian forces have been shifting significant reserves to this settlement, including fresh recruits with little to no training, to retain Kupyansk

Putin calls issue of Vladimir Lenin’s burial extremely sensitive

"These are certainly not the questions to be addressed during a Q&A session or press conference," the head of state said, commenting on several remarks by a reporter

Russia achieves key objective in Syria — Putin

According to head of state, the groups that fought against Syrian government forces have gone through major internal changes

Ukraine's refusal to transit Russian gas will hit EU economies hard — French expert

According to Jacques Sapir, the decision not to extend transit contracts was no surprise given the political landscape

Russian troops break through Ukrainian defenses near Oskol Reservoir in Kharkov Region

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Possible arrival of new Russian envoy before Trump’s inauguration depends on US — diplomat

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Hungarian PM highlights need to lift sanctions on Russia once Ukraine conflict is resolved

Viktor Obran added, however, that only a couple of EU countries shared Hungary’s position

Russia-US dialogue on Ukraine can be conducted on different platforms — senior diplomat

Everything depends on its content and the approach of the team of US President-elect Donald Trump are important, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said

Kherson Region governor says Ukraine tries to make people leave Kherson City

According to Vladimir Saldo, Ukrainian authorities are stopping the provision of humanitarian aid to people

Ukraine loses over 300 troops, two Bradley vehicles in Kursk Region in past day

Eight motor vehicles and two electronic warfare stations were also destroyed? the ministy added

Scholz says he intends to continue to speak directly with Putin in future

The German Chancellor claimed he intended to "make clear" to the Russian leader the need for his contribution to ending the conflict and withdrawing troops

US defense companies capitalize the most on Ukraine conflict — Russia’s UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya referred to data from the SIPRI which put last year’s revenues from sales of arms by the world’s top 100 largest businesses in the industry at $632 billion

‘Arkhangelsk, ’ ‘Knyaz Pozharsky’ nuclear submarines to join Russian Navy soon — commander

Admiral Alexander Moiseyev noted that the construction of nuclear submarines is Sevmash’s main purpose, which is performs successfully

US Congress passes stopgap funding bill to avert government shutdown

As many as 85 senators backed the bill, while 11 voted against it

FACTBOX: Ukraine shells Kursk Region's Rylsk

All emergency response services are working at the site of the strike

Putin meets with Federation Council Speaker Matviyenko in Kremlin

The upper chamber of the parliament wrapped up its autumn session

Russia manages situation in Ukraine, while West in big trouble — US political scientist

According to John Mearsheimer, Russia has become much stronger over the past two to three years because it has managed to become "a truly sovereign country"

Russian forces control more than half of Chasov Yar in DPR — expert

Andrey Marochko noted that Russian forces had "slightly advanced" in the northern and southern parts of Chasov Yar

Ship with sailors from Syria, Egypt sends distress signal in Kerch Strait

According to the trade union, there are 16 people on board: one Egyptian citizen and 15 Syrians

Ukraine files charges in absentia against Russian army deputy general staff chief

The SBU brings charges against Russian political, military, cultural and public figures in absentia on a regular basis

Musk believes Germany’s Scholz should step down after car drives into crowd in Magdeburg

Meanwhile, Scholz will visit Magdeburg to assess the situation later on Saturday

West should consider Putin's words on Oreshnik missile duel — diplomat

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that the rhetoric about "inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia" is firmly rooted in the mentality of the NATO regimes not at all as hypothetical assumptions

Russian diplomats doing their best to release Gaza hostages — ambassador

Anatoly Viktorov expressed his wholehearted support to the family of Yelena Trufanova whose son Alexander is still being held hostage in the Palestinian enclave