‘De-Nazifying an Underground Enemy’ – Ukraine at War Update for Aug. 21

A Pentagon spokesperson on Tuesday said that the US Department of Defense (DoD) can confirm that Moscow is sending reinforcements to the Kursk region to defend against Ukraine’s two-week-old incursion into the Russian region.

At a regular DoD briefing, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder declined to answer whether these reinforcements were arriving from the fronts in Eastern Ukraine or from Russia. Still, he noted that the Kremlin has “really struggled” with the surprise attack from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

“Generally speaking, though, Russia has really struggled to respond and you continue to see some Ukrainian advances,” Ryder said.

Last week, CNN quoted anonymous military sources “familiar with Western intelligence” as saying that the Kremlin is not currently moving better-trained troops from Ukrainian fronts to defend against the incursion in Kursk. The US military and administration have avoided public comment on the specifics of Kyiv’s recent cross-border incursion, noting that the Russian redeployment seems to have involved “thousands” of troops without further details.

National Security spokesperson John Kirby told a White House briefing on Aug. 15, “It is apparent to us that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and the Russian military are diverting some resources, some units, towards the Kursk Oblast to ostensibly counter what the Ukrainians are doing,” but that it “doesn’t mean that Mr Putin has given up military operations in the northeast part of Ukraine or even down towards the south, towards places like Zaporizhzhia. There’s still active fighting along that front,” Kirby said.

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Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Pentagon said that the 24th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, known colloquially as Ramstein, will take place on Sept. 6 at the USAF air base of the same name in Germany.

The last Ramstein group conference, comprising defense officials from more than 50 countries, was on June 13, focusing primarily on providing Kyiv with better air defenses.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will host the meeting.

Moscow summons US Deputy Ambassador to answer charges of American journalists' illegal entry and alleged mercenaries in Kursk

On Tuesday, Moscow said it had summoned the US Deputy Chief of Mission to Russia, Stephanie Holmes, to answer questions about journalists who had “illegally” entered the Kursk region to report on the incursion, and accused other Americans of fighting as mercenaries in the region.

The Russian Ministry said it would prosecute the journalists who entered Russia in vehicles driven by the Ukrainian forces but did not specify which media outlets were represented. Dozens of American journalists, from outlets ranging from CNN to wire services to the Kyiv Post, have had correspondents there reporting on the counter-invasion.

The Foreign Ministry leveled identical charges at Italian journalists from state broadcaster RAI.

In the ministry’s statement on Tuesday, Moscow also laid out accusations that US citizens were fighting in Kursk, claiming that there was “evidence of the participation of American PMCs (private military companies) on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during their invasion of the territory of the Russian Federation,” without elaborating on the supposed evidence.

Budapest again ruffles feathers in Brussels, brushing off requests to explain why it is easing entry restrictions for Russians

The deadline for Hungary to explain to the European Union its decision this summer to fast-track visa applicants from Russia and Belarus came and went on Monday, and EU representatives are not pleased.

Earlier this month, the EU’s Home Affairs Commissioner, Ylva Johansson asked the Hungarian government to explain the recent easing in immigration restrictions that make it easier for Russians and Belarusians to enter the country to work, allowing them to stay for two years with the possibility of a three-year renewal.

Johansson warned Budapest on Tuesday that “such schemes need to be carefully balanced not to put at risk the integrity of our common area without internal border controls and to duly consider potential security implications.”

Countries in the 29-member Schengen zone, of which Hungary is one, expressed their concern that Russian nationals intent on carrying out Kremlin-sponsored covert activities (such as espionage and sabotage) could easily enter, and operate around, their customs-free union without oversight.

For more than a year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been a thorn in the side of Brussels, as the right-wing, Kremlin-friendly leader regularly holds out on funding Ukraine’s defense. Several EU representatives have gone so far as to wonder if Hungary even belongs in the 27-member bloc.

Earlier this month, the EU home affairs chief called Russia a “security threat” to Europe, adding that, “We need more, not less vigilance. Giving potential Russian spies and saboteurs easy EU access would undermine the security of us all.”

AFU brings the HAMMER down on a Russian command and control bunker in Kursk

Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk reported on Tuesday that a Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) fighter aircraft struck a Russian command and control bunker in the Kursk region using a HAMMER guided bomb.

The Air Force commander posted the video of the strike on social media, saying that the fighter “de-Nazifies an underground enemy control point with an AASM Hammer guided air bomb.”

The French-made Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) bomb is an air-to-surface stand-off weapon that was recently spotlighted in late June when a viral video claimed to show the HAMMER in action against a Russian target near the Nekhoteevka border crossing in the Belgorod region.