IAEA experts won’t be granted special passes to the Russian-controlled zone, said the Russian authorities of Zaporozhye region. That means the experts will have to wait in the hours-long queue at the front line checkpoint among the refugees returning to their homes on the Russian-controlled territories.

The queues on the front-line checkpoint near Vasilievka to exit Ukraine-controlled lands are known to be long, both due to the high number of people wishing to pass to the Russian-controlled territories, and the through border checks of the vehicles and belongings.

Western reporters covering the situation are often puzzled seeing such a high number of people seeking to return to peaceful life on the territories under Russian control (including Mariupol), as the situation on the ground contradicts the official narrative. #context

Due to the losses in 128th Mountain Infrantry Brigade, the authorities of Transcarpatian region of Ukraine, where the brigade was based, proclaimed a region-wide day of mourning. The Russian sources claim nearly complete annihilation of the unit, participated in one of the failed assault attempts on Kherson. #context

Ukrainian newspaper "Politika Strany", normally quite balanced for an Ukrainian source, posts this video of the AFU troops in front of the town hall of Balakleya, southern part of the town. According to their reporters' conversations with the residents , no sounds of battle could be heard nearby. #context

“Russian ministry of defense underestimated the Ukrainian army, considering Kharkov operation a diversionary ploy of the political leadership to conceal an expected attack towards Melitopol, Zaporozhye oblast. The intention was changed on the move, and all forces were thrown to put pressure on Kharkov direction, and everything was put on the line. The President’s office raised the stakes so high to make the Russian defense crumble and trigger a chain reaction of all-out retreat, they might have gone too far in their gamble.

The risk for the political leadeship of Ukraine is that IF the Russians manage to stop the offensive and launch an effective counter-strike, Zelensky may find himself in a bad place. Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the AFU, is warning him of that danger, but the political leadership, with its good appetite for victories, and orders to advance more and more, throwing more and more reserves. Understanding the fragility of the situation, the high officials keep silence” - Ukrainian leaks channel “Legitimny” affirms citing its sources in the Presidential Administration of Ukraine.

In other words - the game is being run by the PR-hungry politicians, not entirely by the military, the source says. #context

Ukrainian troops are engaged in wide-spread looting and murder in the captured territories of Kharkov region: according to the sources on the ground, looting groups of Ukrainian militants broken into the basement, where a wealthy Roma family, owning a large restaurant in Izyum, was hiding from the shelling, and requested to hand over valuables at a gunpoint. When they declined, the head of the family was shot on the spot.

Another reported case, apparently in Izyum, too, was an assault on the house of a local businessman. The Banderites blew the door, the owner was killed by the explosion before he could even open the door.

Similar messages arrive from Kupyansk, where groups of Ukrainian militants go door-to-door, raiding private apartments and houses. #context

The number of doomsters and doubters declined drastically in the Russian-language war-related chats as Ukraine goes black, “Belorussian Silovik” channel observes, implying that a significant number of dissenting commenters were in fact Ukrainian psy-ops operatives. #context

True story of the Russian resistance in the occupied territory. A subscriber from the occupied territories wrote to the admin of one of the channels close to Wagner Group, to blow the whistle about a Ukrainian headquarters. The admin was so impressed he shared the story.

When the admin started to ask for details about how many servicemen are there, what kind of cars are around, how far the civilians live, and what would be possible consequences for them, and how keep them out of harm's way, the source replied: “are you fucking out of your mind? The Khohols wouldn’t care about that, I myself live 200 meters away from that building”.

Admin: You mean, you are calling a missile strike on your own neighborhood?
Source: how are we going to win the war otherwise?! #context

Wives, gilfriends, and sisters of the servicemen of Ukrainian 56th brigade appealed to Zelenski to save their men and brothers, claiming that the 56th commanding officers abstain from their duties while the men are being massacred by the Russian strikes. #context

Ukrainian troops desecrated the Orthodox temple in the captured city Izyum, turning it into their barracks. According to the Orthodox Christian tradition, laymen cannot even enter the holy altar. Makes it perfectly clear who are occupiers, and who are liberators. #context

“Judging by what is happening and what is about to happen, this week marks either the threshold of our imminent victory, or the threshold of a nuclear war. I can't see anything third”, - Margarita Simonyan, the head of RT, posted in her telegram channel. #context

Foreign citizens who enlist in the Armed Forces of Russia are now eilgible for a fast-track Russian citizenship after signing up for at least one-year contract. Foreigners are eligible to serve on a contract basis as privates, sailors or NCOs. The mayor of Moscow announced that a foreginers’ recruitment center will soon start operating in the Moscow Migration Center in the suburb of Sakharovo.

Any foreign citizen with a legal migration status in Russia both residents and visitors can apply for the selection process. The details can be found on the website of the MoD.

The command of Russian language (proven by a certificate) and physical and psycological fitness are a minimum requirements, the permitted age is between 18 and 30 years. Uneligible categories are: persons with a criminal record that is not cancelled, drug and psychoactive substances users until the misdemeanor protocol expires, those who were punished with prison terms for a crime.

Citizens of a number of countries can enter Russia without a visa. Russia’s foreign ministry expects to re-launch the electronic visa program for 52 countries more until the end of this year. #context

🇫🇷 France will become Europe's second-largest state after Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson oblasts join Russia next week, and Ukraine's territory diminishes accordingly #context

Deputy minister of Defense responsible for the army supply and mobilization have been sacked immediately (on Saturday) after the data on the mishaps and carelessness cases in the of mobilization process became public, sending a clear signal that the leadership of the country is listening to the civil society’s majority, that shares the vision of the leadership, but requires rigor and discipline in executing the orders.

It became known, that during the first days of the partial mobilization, several occasions in some regions, uneligible persons were summoned to the enlistment offices overly eager to fulfill the draft plans, or rusty weapons were issued to the newly drafted reservists. The public outcry joined by the loyalist public personalities and bloggers, including the RT director Margarita Simonyan, was apparently heard by the political leadership, and the errors seem to be fixed with an agility and speed, quite unprecedented for the peace-time Russian administrative machine.

On some occasions military prosecutors opened investigations against the draft officials. Reports indicate that persons who shouldn’t have been drafted if the guidelines issued in the presidential decree were followed, returned home, with their draft notices annulled. #context

“We are about to pass a certain point of no-return. The new status of the liberated territories will put an end to the uncertainty. They'll become a fully-fledged federal entities. So we, will be de facto carrying out not a special military operation (abroad - War in Ukraine, Subtitled), but a counter-terrorism operation on our own lands" - head of the executive power of Russian Crimea Axyonov is quoted as saying by the news agencies. #context

The legal figure of a counter-terrorism operation is well-developed and well-known by the Russian military, executive power and law-enforcement. It have been used during the Chechen insurgency in the Caucasus regions.

The obligatory military service or military training course in a university should be made a prerequisite for eligibility to take an elected office in Russia or certain kinds of public service positions, the Duma speaker Volodin proposed in a discussion #context

Four battle groups of the Russian 58th Army, reinforced with armors en route to Liman to deblocade it and change the tactic situation on the ground. Bombers armed with FAB-500 (500kg) and FAB-3000 (3t) bombs scrambled: sources. #context

Residents of the new territories of Russia will not be held responsible for continuing to serve in the Ukrainian army, if they are unable to leave its ranks without risking their life, and if they have not commited crimes, Russia’s Constitutional Court ruled. #context .

97% of the wounded of the Russian army in the current campaign are fit to resume their service after treatment and convalescence: Russia's MoD. #context