Day 181 of the Invasion of Ukraine: The US Do Not Say whether They Know Who Killed Dugina

US State Department spokesman Ned Price

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

MEPs want sanctions for 6 thousand Russians from the Navalny list. Two Bulgarians among them

48 MEPs want next week the Foreign Affairs Council, in addition to discussing a general ban on issuing visas, to impose sanctions on all 6,000 thousand Russians from the "Navalny List". This was announced on Twitter by the Belgian Guy Verhofstadt, who is also the head of the ALDE group in the European Parliament. Among the signatories of the request to the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell are the Bulgarian MEPs Radan Kanev (DB/EPP) and Andrey Kovachev (GERB/EPP).

“We must break the regime's backbone: Putin's propagandists and war planners, financiers and middlemen... everyone”, writes Verhofstadt.

The "Navalny List" was released in April 2022 by associates of the Russian opposition leader "a collection of individuals" who the Anti-Corruption Foundation considers to be "corrupt officials and warmongers". The names on the list are divided into several categories, including "propagandists," "senior federal officials," "celebrities and bloggers," and "military personnel and pro-Russian occupation administrations."

"At the very least, it is necessary to expand the current list of Russian citizens who are banned from entering the European Union and whose assets are frozen, so that the list includes 6,000 people identified by the Navalny Foundation as corrupt, which has long been a postulate of the Russian democratic opposition," the MEPs claimed in their letter to Borrell.

According to the 48 members of the European Parliament, the entry ban and asset freeze should continue until the end of Russian aggression. According to them, the Foreign Affairs Council should take up this initiative at its next meeting.

In recent weeks, comments have continued following the initiative of the Baltic states and Finland, who want a ban on the entry of Russians into Europe. The initiative is also supported by Poland and Denmark, among others, and Estonia, without waiting for the decision of the EU institutions, itself imposed a ban on citizens of the Russian Federation.

Finnish authorities point out that after the lifting of the COVID restrictions, when the Finnish-Russian border was opened, many Russians treat this country as a "transit point" for travel to other European Union countries, for example for tourism. "It's not fair that at the same time when Russia is waging an aggressive, brutal war in Europe, Russians can live a normal life, travel around Europe, be tourists. It's not fair," stressed Prime Minister Sanna Marin, quoted by public television Yle. There are also EU countries that are against the visa ban for Russians. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be against such a decision and, as he himself claims, refugees must be remembered. Greece and Cyprus, where many Russian tourists vacation every year, are also against the new sanctions.

Ned Price did not say whether the US knew who was behind Dugina's murder

The US State Department condemns deliberate attacks on civilians around the world. Department spokesman Ned Price said this in connection with the assassination attempt on the daughter of ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue Aleksandr Dugin.

He declined to answer a question about whether the United States knew who was behind the killing, but added that the Russians would no doubt draw their own conclusions.

Russia's Federal Security Service blamed Ukrainian secret services for Dugina's murder.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied that Kyiv had any connection with the attack.

Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu made a very succinct comment on what happened, saying that Tallinn views the Russian side's statement as a provocation towards Ukraine.

According to Moscow, the suspect in the murder, Ukrainian Natalia Vovk, fled to the Baltic state.

And the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council and former president Dmitry Medvedev said that those responsible for the murder will be found and punished. He sent a condolence telegram to Dugina's family, in which he described what happened as a monstrous crime.

Putin posthumously awarded Darya Dugina with the Order of Courage

Russian President Vladimir Putin has posthumously awarded the Order of Courage to Darya Dugina, the Kremlin announced on its website.

According to the text of the decree, Dugina was awarded as a correspondent for "courage and dedication shown in the performance of professional duty".

Yesterday, Putin expressed his condolences over Dugina's death and called her "a bright, talented person with a true Russian heart - kind, loving, sympathetic and open".

The daughter of the so-called “Brain of Putin” Aleksandr Dugin - Darya, died after a car explosion near Moscow on the evening of August 20. The father was also supposed to travel in the jeep, but at the last moment he left in another car.

The ideologue of the "Russian world" for the first time commented on the incident and pointed out that his daughter was killed by the enemies of Russia.

UNICEF: Nearly 1,000 children killed or injured in the war in Ukraine

Nearly 1,000 children have been killed or injured in the war in Ukraine, UNICEF said on the eve of the sixth month since the beginning of the Russian invasion of the country. This means that an average of 5 children per day were victims of violence, the United Nations Children's Fund estimates, underscoring the need to restore peace.

Almost every child in Ukraine has been exposed to deeply disturbing events, including family separation, trafficking, exploitation. According to UNICEF, the start of the school year in a week will show the true number of children Ukraine has lost. The organization estimates that one in 10 Ukrainian schools have been damaged or destroyed. Many families will not send their children back to the classrooms because they feel they’re not safe.

The Moscow Exchange prohibits the use of dollars as collateral

The Moscow stock exchange bans from next Monday the use of dollars as collateral in transactions, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the exchange.

The measure is in line with Russia's efforts to reduce dependence on the currencies of countries that have imposed sanctions on it.

A message posted on the exchange's website said, without giving details, that the new policy would take effect on August 29.

Earlier this month, the exchange, which is the country's largest, said it would limit the use of dollars as collateral to 25 percent from the previous 50 percent.

Russian authorities are trying to limit both individual and corporate assets in currencies labeled as "hostile" and are urging their owners to find alternatives.

The US and its allies have so far imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia, including against the country's biggest banks and against President Vladimir Putin since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February.

US intelligence: Russia plans strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure

The US has intelligence that Russia plans to strike Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the near future.

This was announced today by an American representative quoted by Reuters.

"We have information that Russia is stepping up its efforts to strike Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days. Given Russia's past actions in Ukraine, we are concerned about the continued threat that Russian strikes pose to civilians and civilian infrastructure." said the clerk.

He noted that his statement was based on US intelligence data.

Zelensky announced a new initiative aimed at strengthening Ukraine's ties with Eastern Europe

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a new initiative aimed at strengthening Ukraine's ties with Eastern European and Baltic states.

The goal of the announced "Kyiv Initiative" is the protection of common interests, especially in the field of security, President Volodymyr Zelensky pointed out.

"Ukraine's European neighbors are already participating in its work. These are Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, the Baltic countries. The work is at the level of external political advisers to the heads of state. This is a very promising line of our work in the Euro-Atlantic direction."

Safety concerns for Ukraine’s national holiday

Zelensky announced that he held a meeting with the defense and security representatives, during which security measures were discussed on the occasion of tomorrow's national holiday.

Earlier, Ukrainian military intelligence urged people to be especially vigilant during Independence Day because of the increased risk of missile strikes and provocations by Russia.

Volodymyr Zelensky also said that since the start of hostilities, the Russian side has launched nearly 3,500 missiles on the territory of Ukraine. He emphasized that at the same time Moscow is cynically convening the UN Security Council to discuss the situation with the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Three Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russia during the siege of the Azovstal metallurgical complex in Mariupol have accused Russian forces of using torture and psychological pressure to confess to crimes against civilians. At a press conference in Kyiv, the soldiers explained that they had been exchanged for Russian prisoners of war.

The United States has intelligence that Russia is planning new attacks in the coming days against civilian infrastructure and government buildings in Ukraine, a US official said, quoted by Reuters.

At the same time, Washington rejected Ukraine's request to impose a complete ban on issuing visas to Russians, which would also lead to the denial of asylum to Russian dissidents and people with threatened rights.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded an end to the "rattling of nuclear weapons".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is at a "moment of maximum danger" and urged nuclear-weapon states "not to be the first to use it." Guterres insisted that the dialogue and common sense that led to the agreement on the export of grain and fertilizers from Ukraine and Russia should also be applied to the "critical situation" with the Zaporizhzhia NPP in Ukraine.

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