Russia Informs Turkey It Had "Nothing To Do" With Odessa Port Attack

"While the White House and European allies, along with the Ukrainian government, were
lock-step in condemning as outrageous a series of reported Russian airstrikes on the port of Odesa the morning after the grain export deal was signed in Istanbul, the Kremlin is apparently denying it was behind the attack:

Turkey's defense minister said on Saturday that Russian officials had told Ankara that Moscow had "nothing to do" with strikes on Ukraine's Odesa port." ZH

Key Odesa port hit after grain deal

"Russian missiles have hit infrastructure in Ukraine’s port of Odesa, a day after Moscow and Kyiv reached a deal over grain exports. Thirteen Russian missiles have hit Ukraine’s central Kirovohrad region, according to the local governor." AlJazeera

Russia And China Announce "New Global Reserve Currency"

"China and Russia are taking their shot at the U.S. dollar.  Russia has been cut off from the
SWIFT system, it is also pairing with China and the BRIC nations to develop “reliable alternative mechanisms for international payments” in order to “cut reliance on the Western financial system.” ZeroHedge

Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine block Google search engine

"Russian-backed separatists in a breakaway region of eastern Ukraine have blocked access to the search engine Google (GOOGL.O), their leader said on Friday, citing what he calls "disinformation"." Reuters

Feather Star from Jurassic Period Named after President Zelensky

"Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi, the first Jurassic comatulid (feather star) from the African continent, has been named in honor of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the sixth and current president of Ukraine.

Feather stars are members of the order Comatulida, the most diversified lineage of crinoids.

Also known as comatulids, they are also the only living crinoid group that is globally distributed in both shallow- and deep-water settings." SciNews

Russia closing in on power plant

"Russian forces appear to be closing in on Ukraine’s second-biggest power plant northeast of Donetsk, British intelligence has said." AlJazeera

Russia warns it could stop oil exports

"Russia will stop global oil exports if the West’s proposed price cap makes it unprofitable to continue production, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Russia’s Channel One on Thursday.

“If these prices which they are talking about are lower than the costs for oil production… naturally, Russia will not ensure the supply of this oil to the world markets, which means that we simply will not work at a negative profit,” he explained, as cited by TASS." RT

 

UK to sanction Russian oil and coal

"London has added oil and coal to its list of banned Russian imports, according to a notice to exporters published by the UK’s Foreign Trade Ministry on Thursday." RT

Hungary foreign minister in Moscow for gas supply talks

"Hungary’s foreign minister has arrived in Moscow where he wants to talk about ensuring gas supplies for his country and finding a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine." AlJazeera

Gas price in Europe drops as Russian pipeline resumes deliveries

"European natural gas prices fell by 6.5% in early trading on Thursday following the restart of gas deliveries via Russia’s Nord Stream 1 pipeline, after scheduled maintenance." RT

South American trade bloc snubs Zelensky

"South America’s Mercosur trade bloc has declined a request by Ukrainian President Vladimir
Zelensky to speak at its summit, host nation Paraguay said on Wednesday, according to the AFP news agency.

Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay failed to reach an agreement on whether to invite the Ukrainian leader, Deputy Foreign Minister, Raul Cano said, albeit refusing to name the countries that opposed the move." RT

Cuba blackouts bring misery amid sweltering heat

"Long and frequent blackouts coupled with sweltering summer heat are bringing misery to
many in Cuba, which has been suffering power outages for months amid rising oil prices and a deepening economic crisis. And things are unlikely to get better any time soon, with the government warning there is no short-term solution to the problem." France24

Ukrainian refugees sent to Russia

"Nearly 2 million Ukrainians refugees have been sent to Russia, according to both Ukrainian
and Russian officials. Ukraine portrays these journeys as forced transfers to enemy soil, which is considered a war crime. Russia calls them humanitarian evacuations of war victims who already speak Russian and are grateful for a new home.

An Associated Press investigation based on dozens of interviews has found that while the picture is more nuanced than the Ukrainian government suggests, many refugees are indeed forced to embark on a surreal trip into Russia, subjected along the way to human rights abuses, stripped of documents and left confused and lost about where they are." AP

Biden Tests Positive for Coronavirus - quadruple-vaxxed

"President Joe Biden tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday morning, the White House revealed, just hours after returning from a trip to Massachusetts.

The White House said Biden, age 79, is only experiencing “very mild symptoms” and is fully vaccinated and boosted with four shots of the coronavirus vaccine." Breitbart

 

Russia Plans 'Annexation Votes' For Captured Ukraine Territories By Mid-September

"President Vladimir Putin's plan for captured territories in Ukraine is to absorb them into the
Russian federation by staging referendums as early as September.

"Officials are preparing to organize votes in areas currently controlled by the Russian military and any others its troops are able to seize in coming weeks, three people said," the report indicates. The goal is to conduct referendums on joining Russia by Sept. 15, two of the people said, asking not to be identified because the issue is sensitive." ZeroHedge