War in Ukraine: Russia repels saboteurs, investigation against a CNN journalist, Zelensky at the border… the latest on the situation

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Thursday, August 22, 2024, discover the latest news about this conflict.

Russia repels Ukrainian saboteurs

Russian armed forces and border guards prevented a Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage group from entering Russia's Bryansk region on Wednesday, August 21, the region's governor said. Alexander Bogomaz said the attempted incursion occurred in the Klimovsky district, which borders Ukraine's Chernihiv region. The Bryansk region in western Russia is located north of the Kursk region, where Kyiv launched an incursion earlier this month.

CNN journalist under investigation

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Thursday, August 22, the opening of a criminal investigation into a journalist working for the American television channel CNN who allegedly crossed the border illegally to report in the Kursk region. The investigation targets the British Nick Paton Walsh, said the FSB, which has also opened similar proceedings against two Ukrainian journalists, the agency said.

CNN, which broadcast a report on August 16 from Sudja, a Russian border town currently under the control of Kyiv, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FSB added that Moscow would soon issue an international arrest warrant in connection with these cases. Anyone found guilty of illegally crossing the border faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Zelensky visits the border

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Thursday, August 22, the capture of another Russian village, during a trip to a border area from where Ukrainian troops launched their incursion into Russia two weeks earlier, while Moscow said its troops had seized a village in eastern Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky said he met his commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, during his visit to the Sumy region. Official footage shows them shaking hands, without specifying when the video was filmed. In a statement, the Ukrainian president reported a decrease in shelling and civilian casualties in Sumy since the start of the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian officials said Kyiv controlled more than 90 locations.

Kyiv also announced a drone strike on an air base in southern Russia, the latest Ukrainian counterattack as Russian forces continue to slowly advance into eastern Ukraine , two and a half years after the Russian invasion on Ukrainian soil.

Fire in Russian port after attack

A fire broke out in the Russian port of Kavkaz, in the Krasnodar region, after a Ukrainian attack on a ferry carrying fuel tanks this Thursday, August 22 , announced the regional authorities. The ferry, which was carrying around thirty fuel tanks according to the head of the Temryuk district, Fyodor Babenkov, suffered significant damage leading to the ship's sinking.

Kyiv has not commented on the incident. A team was dispatched to extinguish the fire, involving around a hundred people. Several Russian media outlets shared images showing flames and black smoke coming from the ship. Reuters was unable to authenticate these images. The port of Kavkaz, one of Russia's most important on the Black Sea, welcomes ships supplying the Crimean peninsula with fuel