1Mln Russians Flee to EU Since the Start of Ukraine War, Border Agency Says

Nearly 1 million Russian citizens have fled to the European Union in the six months since their country invaded Ukraine, the EU’s border agency Frontex said Thursday. A total of 998,085 Russian passport holders have entered the EU from the day of the invasion on Feb. 24 to Aug. 22, a Frontex spokesperson told Germany’s DPA news agency. Meanwhile, some 7.7 million Ukrainian citizens have fled to the EU and 4.7 million returned to their homeland since the Russian invasion, Frontex said on Aug. 12. The EU’s border agency recorded fewer entries among Russian citizens in the week of Aug. 16-22 from the previous week as the bloc’s 27 members debate a proposed visa ban for Russian tourists. Finland, the Czech Republic and Estonia last week called for an EU-wide visa ban for Russian tourists. Latvia, Lithuania and Poland stoped issuing new tourist visas to Russians since the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Estonia barred entry to Russians with existing visas, while Finland vowed to cut the number of processed Russian tourist visa applications by 90% starting Sept. 1. In a compromise with members that oppose such broad measures, the Czech government is expected to propose higher costs and processing times for Russians’ and Belarusians’ short-term entry visas at an EU meeting Wednesday. The European Commission last week emphasized the need for humanitarian access into the EU for dissident Russians, saying visa applications should be assessed individually and not under a blanket rule.

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Behind the scenes of a visit to the southern border: Top border official

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National Border Patrol Council Vice President Art Del Cueto showed how border visits are usually a "dog and pony show" Thursday on "Your World."

US SOUTHERN BORDER SAW NEARLY 200,000 MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS IN JULY AS BORDER CRISIS ROLLS ON ART DEL CUETO: A lot of times what you see during these visits is it's a dog and pony show. And you have - the leadership will take them down there. They'll show them around. They'll say, "This is what we're doing. This is … the facilities that we have." But it's very rarely a one-on-one conversation with the actual boots on the ground where they can speak freely and say, "Hey, this is the problem." … Usually it's just a dog and pony show for the leadership down there. Probably showed them around, gave them some good gadgets. They took a couple good pictures in front of some of the equipment. And they said, "Well, he came down" and that's it. It's over.  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW:

This article was written by Fox News staff.

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Russian Munitions Depot Ablaze Near Ukraine Border

Two Russian villages were evacuated on Thursday after a fire broke out at an ammunition depot near the border with Ukraine, local authorities said. 

The blaze comes days after explosions at a military base and munitions depot in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow, which Russia called an act of "sabotage" by Kyiv. 

"An ammunition depot caught fire near the village of Timonovo," less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Ukrainian border in Belgorod province, the region's governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement. 

No casualties were reported, but residents of Timonovo and the nearby village of Soloti were "moved to a safe distance," he said, adding that authorities were investigating the cause of the fire. 

A video posted on social media showed a huge fireball billowing a thick column of black smoke. 

Another video showed several explosions in quick succession in the distance. 

Thursday's fire comes amid a slew of blasts at Russian military installations near Ukraine. 

Earlier this month, a bomb exploded near the Saki military airfield in Crimea, killing one person and injuring several others. 

A few days later, explosions ripped through an ammunition depot in Crimea. 

In the second case, Moscow unusually admitted there had been an act of "sabotage."

Since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in late February, Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out strikes on its soil, particularly in the Belgorod region. 

Last month, missiles slammed into the provincial capital Belgorod, killing four people, according to local authorities. 

Earlier this month, Gladkov accused Ukraine of carrying out an attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod with two helicopters. 

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/russian-munitions-depot-ablaze-near-ukraine-border/?feed_id=12694&_unique_id=62fe9a50413ed

Putin Recognizes Border Guards as War Veterans

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Thursday recognizing border guards who repel cross-border attacks from Ukraine as war veterans. 

The legislation confers war veteran status to active and retired members of the security forces who “repel an armed invasion and provocations on the border and in territories adjacent to war areas in Ukraine since Feb. 24” — the date when Putin invaded Ukraine. 

The same status is granted to those who had been injured during their service. 

The law takes effect Thursday, Aug. 4.

Veteran status gives the holder tax and transport privileges and state assistance with accommodation and health care. War veterans also receive monthly payments from the government.

A number of attacks, some of which damaged infrastructure and claimed civilian lives, have been reported in Russia's border regions in the five months of hostilities — though Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied being behind them. 

Putin recognized civilians — including doctors, technical specialists, construction workers and journalists — who have worked with Russian troops in occupied areas of Ukraine as war veterans. 

The president signed a law conferring veteran status to all Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine in March.

Russia deems its invasion to be a "special military operation" and has not formally declared war.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/putin-recognizes-border-guards-as-war-veterans/?feed_id=6413&_unique_id=62eb84002fe39

Russian Schools to Close in Ukraine Border Regions – Governor

Russian schools near the border with Ukraine will not reopen for the new academic year amid the threat of cross-border attacks, the head of Russia’s Belgorod region said Wednesday.

At least four Russian border regions including Belgorod had canceled school and grounded flights in the days after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. A number of attacks, some of which damaged infrastructure and claimed civilian lives, have been reported there in the five months of hostilities — but Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied being behind them. 

“For the time being, we will limit the work of schools and kindergartens located in the five-kilometer border zone. They will be closed,” Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced.

Local authorities will designate which schools the children will attend when the academic year starts on Sept. 1, he added in a Telegram post. 

Gladkov identified five Belgorod region towns and villages located nearest to Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv where schools will not reopen.

Kharkiv resisted Russia’s attempt to capture the city in the first two months of the war but has faced near-daily Russian shelling over the past month. 

Four other Belgorod region settlements further from Kharkiv will resume studies on Sept. 1, Governor Gladkov said. 

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/russian-schools-to-close-in-ukraine-border-regions-governor/?feed_id=5958&_unique_id=62ea3af6f3ffb

Evacuation of Israeli military bases on the Gaza border for fear of resistance response + video

According to IRNA's report on Wednesday, Sheikh Bassam Al-Saadi is one of the prominent leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement, who was arrested on Monday night in the attack of the Zionist army on the Jenin camp in the West Bank of the Jordan River. A Palestinian citizen was also martyred in this attack.

It was following this attack that the Quds groups declared alertness among their forces throughout Palestine and called their forces and Mujahidin.

In their statement, these groups warned the Zionist regime that Sheikh Bassam al-Saadi's life was in danger.

These groups also threatened the Zionist regime, if it does not stop its aggression, it is ready for any powerful response.

It was following this threat by Quds forces that the Zionist newspaper "Yediot Aharanut" reported yesterday that the Zionist regime blocked the roads and axes near the borders of the Gaza Strip, fearing a reaction to the arrest of Sheikh "Bassam Al-Saadi".

The media of the Zionist regime also said yesterday that the security and military institutions of this regime are worried about attacking the Zionist targets near the Gaza Strip with the use of "Cornet" missiles.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/evacuation-of-israeli-military-bases-on-the-gaza-border-for-fear-of-resistance-response-video/?feed_id=5923&_unique_id=62ea125025fd2

Russia Accuses ‘Radical’ Kosovo of Displacing Serbs in Border Row

Russia has accused “radical” Kosovo of attempting to displace Serbs from north of the Balkan country with new border rules that have renewed tensions.

Kosovo police closed two border crossings with Serbia on Sunday after it took on gunfire and ethnic Serbs blocked roads at two border crossings. Ethnic Serbs, who make up a majority of the population there, protested Pristina’s requirements for them to obtain temporary documents and license plates while visiting Kosovo — a move that Pristina defends as reciprocal to Belgrade’s.

Kosovo agreed to delay the implementation of the plan for one month until Sept. 1 after the protests and talks with EU and U.S. ambassadors.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Kosovo of taking “another step toward the expulsion of the Serbian population from Kosovo [and] the ouster of Kosovo Serbian institutions that protect the rights of Serbian residents from the arbitrary rule of Pristina radicals.”

“Kosovar leaders know that Serbs will not be indifferent to a direct attack on their freedoms, and they are deliberately aggravating it in order to launch a violent scenario,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement late Sunday.

Zakharova said the Serbia-Kosovo tensions served as “further evidence of the failure of the EU mediation mission.”

EU-led talks launched in 2011 have so far failed to normalize ties between Belgrade and Pristina.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier Sunday that “Serbia will win” if Serbs are attacked, noting that “the atmosphere has been brought to a boil.”

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused Vucic of igniting “unrest” and called for the removal of barricades on Monday.

More than 100 countries except Serbia and Russia recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a decade after NATO-led bombing ended a war between the neighbors.

Bound by culture and the Orthodox Church, the Balkan state lies within Russia’s former sphere of influence in ex-communist Europe, although the EU is by far the biggest foreign investor.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/russia-accuses-radical-kosovo-of-displacing-serbs-in-border-row/?feed_id=4985&_unique_id=62e76b210b88d