Photo: Ed Ram, The Washington Post US Chargé d'Affaires in Russia Stephanie Holmes was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry in connection with the work of American reporters in the Kursk region, where fighting with the Ukrainian Armed Forces has been going on since August 6. The department lodged a protest, since it considers the journalists' actions to be provocative and propagandistic.

Germany, together with the G7 countries, will provide Ukraine with a loan of €50 billion. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced this on Twitter. "Germany is and remains the strongest supporter of Ukraine in Europe. And we continue our support: the €50 billion loan that we are launching with the G7. This will allow Ukraine to buy weapons en masse. It can build on this," he wrote.

Ilya Yashin has refused political asylum in Germany, Bloomberg reports . According to the agency, the opposition leader believes that the status of political refugee is unacceptable for him, since after receiving it he will not be able to go to Russia. Yashin said that he wants to apply for a residence permit in Germany on other grounds.

OPINION 20 August 2024 Yuriy Matsarsky In recent months, the topic of peace talks has increasingly been in the headlines, both in relation to the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza. But while Israel has seen street protests demanding a ceasefire, nothing of the sort is happening in Ukraine. Nearly half of all Israelis support the Biden plan for ending their conflict with Hamas terrorists.

OPINION Better to ask for forgiveness than for permission: Ukraine's unexpected Kursk operation caught both Russia and the U.S. off guard 20 August 2024 Colby Badhwar Independent analyst The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are continuing their offensive in Russia’s Kursk Region, reportedly destroying the third and final bridge over the Seym River and capturing enlistment offices, where they’ve burned files on Russians evading military service.

The Telegram channel BRIEF announced the dissolution of its editorial staff. This happened after the channel was added to the list of "foreign agents". At the same time, the channel's message states that the Telegram channels "Brief. Important" and "Brief. Podcasts" are shutting down. The main Brief channel, where the statement was published, is not mentioned.

The FSB has opened a criminal case for high treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code) against an employee of "one of the scientific organizations," whom the agency suspects of DDoS attacks on behalf of the Ukrainian special services. This was reported by Russian news agencies with reference to the special service's Public Relations Center.

Azerbaijan has officially applied to join BRICS , the republic's Foreign Ministry announced . The day before, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Moscow announced discussions with Russia on Baku's accession to the organization. On August 19, talks were held in Baku between the Presidents of the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan, Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev.

Confession 20 August 2024 The Insider has spoken to a Russian deserter from the front line in Ukraine. Like many who have found themselves in a similar position, the former Russian soldier says he was tricked into signing a contract with the country’s Defense Ministry and was sent into combat without proper training. He served six months and was seriously wounded before managing to escape.

Residents of the Kursk region submitted more than 1,500 applications about missing relatives to the Russian Red Cross (RKK) from August 11 to 19. As Vedomosti reports with reference to the organization's press service, approximately 100 people of this number were found. A representative of the LizaAlert search team said that since the beginning of August, the organization has received 779 applications to search for people missing in the Kursk region, and 111 people have been found.

In Kursk Oblast, 17 people were killed as a result of attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was reported by TASS, citing medical services. They added that of the more than 140 victims, 75 were hospitalized, including 4 children. On August 12, the acting governor of the region, Alexei Smirnov, reported to Vladimir Putin that as a result of the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack on Kursk Oblast, 12 people were killed and 121 were injured, including 10 children.

47 Russian regions have increased payments for concluding a contract with the Ministry of Defense. In less than eight months, the payment has increased by 3.6 times, as calculated by Vazhie Istorii. This happened after President Vladimir Putin raised the federal payment and recommended that regions also pay new contract soldiers at least 400 thousand rubles. Thus, each military man, on average, depending on the region, receives a one-time payment of 596 thousand rubles upon signing a contract.

Kyrgyzstan's Keremet Bank announced the suspension of money transfers via mobile applications of Sberbank, MTS Bank, T-Bank, as well as via the operator of the Russian national payment system NSPK. Transfers are unavailable in both directions for an indefinite period. It is reported that clients can still make transfers via the following international money transfer systems: Zolotaya Korona, Astrasend, Western Union, Unistream, Ria.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was released from a Russian prison colony in a prisoner exchange, has returned to work for the Free Russia Foundation. According to a press release from the organization, he will take the post of vice president. Kara-Murza already served as vice president of Svobodnaya Rossiya in 2019–2021. Previously, in 2018–2019, he was a member of the organization’s board.

The Verkhovna Rada has adopted a law banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of the Moscow Patriarchate on the territory of the country. This was reported by Ukrainian parliament member Yaroslav Zheleznyak on his Telegram channel. 267 deputies voted for the bill, with 226 required, while 34 deputies voted against or abstained. The draft law was prepared and submitted to the Rada in January by the government on the instructions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.