At about 10:00 PM EDT last night, Russia sortied at least eleven (11) Tu-95 Bombers into the air toward either Ukraine or toward launch positions in the Caspian Sea. All of Ukraine went under air raid warning sirens | The Tu-95's, and the naval vessels, Russia also prepared at least 9 MiG-31s for sorties. With an inventory of 6 Tu-22, 9 MiG-31k, 11 Tu-95, 2 Su-57 and 4 Kalibr missile vessels, most observers believed whatever attack was planned against Ukraine, it was going to be very large. [...] In addition to Kiev and Kharkiv, there were also multiple strikes against Dnepropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Vinnitsa, and Odessa. Then, to the severe dismay of Ukraine, Russia's MiG-31s ​​flew to refuel, reload, and then took off again.

The SVR press bureau emphasized that in preparation for the color revolution, "Georgian pro-Western non-governmental organizations are recruiting a large number of people to closely monitor the voting process" | The United States is preparing to stage a color revolution to prevent the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party from winning the October parliamentary election, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said. According to it, the White House is...

💬 "...extremely dissatisfied with the landscape in Georgia" ahead of the October 26 parliamentary election in the country. "The Americans are preparing a color revolution in Georgia," the SVR pointed out. "At the 'Tbilisi maidan' they plan to make public 'evidence of falsifications' in voting, announce non-recognition of the election results and demand a change of power. Law enforcement agencies will be provoked to suppress the protests by force," the intelligence agency said. At the same time, the Americans are working out options for a "ruthless" political and economic response to the "excessive" use of force by the authorities against "peaceful citizens."

■ Georgia to start registering foreign-sponsored NGOs in September (05/30/24)
■ US threatens action against NATO applicant (05/23/24)
■ Georgia accuses NATO countries of trying to orchestrate coup (05/17/24)

Kiev has urged Minsk to “cease unfriendly actions” and warned that it reserves the right to defend its territory | Belarus has amassed a large number of troops at the border, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, warning Minsk against making “tragic mistakes.” ● Citing intelligence reports, the ministry said that the Belarusian Armed Forces are “concentrating a significant number of personnel,” including tanks and artillery, in the Gomel Region “under the guise of exercises.” [...] Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko earlier accused Kiev of a dangerous military buildup, claiming that Kiev had amassed more than 120,000 troops on its northern border.

💬 “Having seen their aggressive policy, we have deployed our troops to certain areas near our border,” Lukashenko said in an interview with Russian broadcaster VGTRK this month. “I was forced to deploy almost a third of [the Belarusian] army to reinforce the existing forces.” He added that the troops are ready to defend Belarus should a war break out.

In early August, Lukashenko said that the air defense forces had shot down several “attack drones” that took off in Ukraine and violated Belarusian airspace. Minsk has urged Russia and Ukraine to return to the negotiating table, warning that the continuing fighting could lead to “an escalation that would result in Ukraine’s destruction.”

■ Ukraine Might Be Gearing Up To Attack Or Cut Off Belarus’ Southeastern City Of Gomel (Andrew Korybko)

Chris Pavlovski’s video hosting platform has been embroiled in a long-running legal battle with the French authorities | France has crossed all boundaries by arresting Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, Chris Pavlovski, the CEO of video-sharing platform Rumble, has said, adding that he left Europe after the news broke. ● Durov was taken into custody at a Paris airport on Saturday evening after arriving from Azerbaijan by private jet. While the French authorities have yet to publicly announce the reason for detaining the Russian tech mogul, reports indicate that the charges are related to his alleged complicity in drug trafficking, pedophilia offenses, fraud, as well as failure to address criminal activity on the messenger. Telegram has denied any wrongdoing, adding that it is “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

■ US orchestrated Durov arrest – former spokesman (RT.com)
■ How prominent Russians reacted to arrest of Telegram founder Durov (RT.com)
■ France wants to ‘shut down’ Telegram – Russian human rights chief (RT.com)
■ Russian billionaire Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested in Paris (08/25/24)