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Puerto Rico, Geopolítica y Soberanía | ENG/SPA
🌆 COMBATE Evening Roundup | August 22, 2026
• Syrian Kurds integrate into state apparatus — Syrian Democratic Forces commander Mazloum Abdi announced the completion of integrating Kurdish civil and military institutions into the Syrian state, effectively ending Kurdish autonomy in the northeast following an agreement with Damascus.
• Damascus sets condition for restoring Iran ties — Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said normalization with Tehran could be discussed in the future only if Iran "recognizes and admits what it has done to Syria and the Syrian people," though he denied receiving a formal Pakistani mediation proposal.
• Iraqi PM steps down as state consolidates weapons — Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi announced he will not seek a second term, adding that all Iraqi political forces have agreed to concentrate weapons exclusively in the hands of the state.
• Tehran weighs Hormuz exemption for Iraqi tankers — Iran is considering lifting restrictions on Iraqi oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after Iraq's parliament speaker requested a "special status" for Baghdad's exports through the waterway.
• UK prepares settlement trade ban against Israel — London is planning new sanctions over Israel's E1 settlement expansion in the West Bank, which may include a ban on trade with the settlements and personal sanctions against individuals disrupting Gaza aid.
• Chile defies US pressure over Chinese undersea cable — Santiago approved China Mobile's project to build a submarine cable connecting Valparaíso to Hong Kong. Chile had previously reversed the approval under pressure from Washington, which revoked visas for three involved Chilean officials.
• Nord Stream suspect arrested on Hollywood movie set — A suspect in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines was arrested on the set of a Hollywood action film about the attack, where he was reportedly working as a consultant.
• Poland to deploy long-range missiles on eastern border — Warsaw announced plans to station missiles with a range exceeding 1,000 kilometers along its eastern frontier, though the defense ministry noted a full multi-level air defense system will not be ready until 2035.
• US deports Mexicans to Guatemala — Washington has transferred over 2,200 Mexican nationals to Guatemala prior to their repatriation to Mexico. Mexico's Interior Minister objected to the third-country deportations, urging the US to use direct return mechanisms.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260822-0000Z-08-22
📡 @uphold_reality
🇺🇦 Swedish TV witnessing the biggest democracy in Europe in action
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⚡️Two Majors #Summary for the morning of August 21, 2026
▪️During the night, the Russian Armed Forces attacked Izmail, Sumy, and Zaporozhye. During the day, strikes continued against dry cargo ships involved in maritime transportation to enemy ports. Experts report that the damage is already more than 2% of GDP and predict further increases in grain prices due to mutual strikes on port infrastructure. The export capacity of Ukrainian ports has decreased by a third - from 6 to 4 million tons of grain per month. Wheat prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have risen to a two-year high. Nevertheless, the enemy is exporting grain through land corridors.
▪️Yesterday, the enemy launched a prolonged attack on Sevastopol. The governor of the hero city reported that a child and his mother were injured. In Crimea, in the Simferopol district, two people were killed. Three more were injured, including a child. One person was also injured in the Saki district. In the Rostov region, more than 35 UAVs were destroyed overnight.
▪️On the Sumy front, the "North" border guard detachment is engaged in fighting in the Shostkinsky district, near Volnaya Sloboda and in Ulanovo. Fighting continues in the Sumy district in Pisarevka, Maryino, Khrapovshchina, the village of Khoten, south of Ivolzhan.
▪️In the Kursk region, in the village of Rzhav, an enemy drone attacked a garage attached to a private house, and a 52-year-old man was injured.
▪️In the Belgorod region, at least three civilians were injured. In Shebekino, a man was injured in the shoulder, chest, and abdomen by shrapnel during a drone attack on a commercial facility, and a woman suffered a traumatic brain injury; in the village of Proletarsky in the Rakytyansky district, a man was injured by multiple shrapnel wounds when an FPV drone hit a truck. Private and multi-apartment buildings, cars, enterprises, commercial, social, and infrastructure facilities were damaged in the Belgorod, Borisovsky, Valuysky, Volokonovsky, Graivoronsky, Krasnoyaruzhsky, Rakytyansky, and Shebekinsky districts.
▪️On the Kharkov front, units of the "North" border guard detachment are engaged in fighting in the village of Kazachya Lopan and near Goptovka. On the Volchansk section, fighting is taking place in the village of Vasilievka, near Shevchenkovo and Petropavlovka. Another enemy counterattack was repelled in the area of the village of Ternovaya. On the Velikoburluk section, our troops are engaged in infantry fighting in Dolzhanka, near the village of Olkhovtka, and west of Ustinovka.
▪️North of Krasny Liman, fighting is taking place near Redkodub. The enemy is building up forces, which diverts the resources and forces of our troops to contain its activity.
Photo Krasnolimansk Direction
▪️On the Konstantinovsk direction, our forces reported the liberation of the village of Nikolaypolye, west of Konstantinovka. In the DPR, three civilians were injured in a day due to attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces attack UAVs: in Donetsk, at the "Krinichnaya" railway station, a locomotive was attacked in the city of Makeevka, and on the road from Novoazovsk to Mariupol, a truck was attacked.
▪️In the Zaporozhye region, strikes continue against the R-280 "Novorossiya" highway.
▪️On the Kherson front, our forces are carrying out air strikes on critical infrastructure in Kherson.
Summary compiled by: ⚡️Two Majors
🌆 COMBATE Evening Roundup | August 21, 2026
• Iran fires anti-ship missiles at vessels defying Hormuz rules — Two large explosions were reported in the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian forces fired on ships violating passage regulations. Trump again claimed the US controls the strait, while Treasury Secretary Bessent said he could not explain the surge in oil prices.
• US wounded in Iran conflict pass 750 — Pentagon data shows 757 American service members have been wounded during the operation against Iran, according to a Sputnik analysis of the figures.
• USS George Washington steams toward Middle East — Satellite imagery confirms the carrier passed the Malacca Strait bound for CENTCOM with some 60 aircraft aboard, replacing the USS Abraham Lincoln. The deployment follows Washington's August 17 refusal to extend agreements with Tehran.
• Washington signals no new large-scale military action — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said sustained maximum economic pressure makes a repeat of major operations against Iran unlikely, as Western media report US ammunition stockpiles are stretched to their limit.
• Trump reportedly threatened to bomb Oman — The US president vowed to strike Oman if it tries to interfere in Washington's actions, while Middle Eastern states increasingly discuss removing American military bases from their territory, Sputnik reports.
• Iraq sets September 30 for US-led coalition exit — A senior PMU official called the date a historic sovereignty milestone. Visiting Baghdad, Iranian parliament speaker Qalibaf heard Iraq reaffirm its commitment to the two countries' security agreements.
• Israel-Turkey tensions rise over Syria strikes — Turkey's Defense Ministry said Israel's strike on a Syrian base near the Turkish border undermines Syria's stability, as Israeli tanks pushed into the southern Quneitra countryside.
• Four European powers reject Israeli E1 settlement plan — France, Germany, Italy and the UK declared the new West Bank settlement tenders unacceptable, and London summoned Israel's chargée d'affaires over the project east of Jerusalem.
• Romania downs sea drone near Black Sea gas platform — F-16 fighters destroyed an explosive maritime drone hundreds of meters from the Neptune Deep gas project; Bucharest blamed Russia for the incident.
• Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers flee German training camps — Of roughly 29,000 troops trained in Germany since 2022, several hundred have left the camps and applied for asylum, with some 80 cases recorded in Saxony-Anhalt alone.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260821-0000Z-08-21
📡 @uphold_reality
Chilean President Allende at the UN, 1972:
"We are facing forces that operate in the dark, without flags, with powerful weapons planted in every place where power sits."
"Global organizations that depend on no state, that answer to no parliament, to no institution representing the collective interest. In a word, the entire political structure of the world is being hollowed out."
"In the face of this danger, the developed peoples are no safer than we are."
Nine months later the air force bombed the presidential palace.
🔗 https://x.com/upholdreality/status/2090532373779628043
American trauma surgeons on stitching people back together while their government helps blow them apart
🔗 https://x.com/upholdreality/status/2090262441749836147
🇺🇸 Mike Caruso, co-author of Florida's HB 269 — the "antisemitism" bill signed by Ron DeSantis in Jerusalem in 2023 alongside Rep. Randy Fine — was arrested Tuesday morning on five felony child sex abuse charges.
The charges include kidnapping, lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, luring or enticing a child, and child abuse causing mental injury. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrest, made with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The victim, under age 12 and known to Caruso, told investigators the abuse occurred on multiple occasions, including during a Caribbean cruise in August 2025. Caruso, who served as Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts and previously as a state representative, was suspended from office immediately by Gov. Ron DeSantis following the arrest.
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🌅 COMBATE Morning Roundup | August 19, 2026
• Iran warns Gulf states against facilitating US forces — Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi warned Persian Gulf nations that any assistance to the US military will be considered participation in aggression. He noted that the presence of US refueling planes at regional bases does not go unnoticed.
• Iran considers targeting US assets in Europe — Tehran has evaluated expanding its target bank to include US military assets in southeastern Europe, such as Bulgaria and Cyprus, as well as subsea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz, in the event of US escalation.
• US sanctions ICC president and senior lawyer — Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye in response to the court's actions against Israeli officials.
• UPDATE: US envoy warns Israel-Turkey clash narrowly avoided — US envoy Tom Barrack stated that an Israeli airstrike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria brought Turkey and Israel one step away from direct military confrontation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concurrently warned Damascus that Turkish military presence in Syria violates security understandings.
• Iran denies direct negotiations with US over Hormuz — A source close to the Iranian negotiating team rejected White House claims of canceled direct negotiations, stating that talks were only held with Oman regarding sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
• Russia and Ukraine exchange 206 prisoners of war — Moscow and Kiev completed a prisoner swap involving 103 soldiers from each side. The exchange was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates.
• Germany arrests second Nord Stream suspect in Croatia — The German Federal Prosecutor's Office announced the arrest of a Ukrainian professional diver in Croatia suspected of participating in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
• Cameroon gold mine collapse leaves 107 dead — A landslide at an artisanal gold mine in Zamboye, near the border with the Central African Republic, killed at least 107 people, with rescue operations ongoing to locate further victims.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260819-1200Z-08-19
📡 @uphold_reality
🇱🇧一 Hezbollah:
Video | Scenes of the Islamic Resistance targeting gatherings of "israeli" enemy army soldiers and vehicles at the southern outskirts of the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyya with a swarm of attack drones during the recent days prior to the ceasefire.
@SimurghRes
Fidel Castro, fifty years ago, describing today.
🔗 https://x.com/upholdreality/status/2089825773544784297
Pentagon is coming to terms with Iran's regional dominance
🔗 https://x.com/upholdreality/status/2089773795758244246
⚡️Two Majors #Summary for the morning of August 18, 2026
▪️The night was marked by a massive attack by the enemy on Moscow. According to enemy footage, the targets were logistics and energy infrastructure facilities, and all air defense systems were actively engaged. There are casualties and damage in the Moscow region.
▪️The Russian Armed Forces conducted pinpoint strikes overnight on the enemy's capital region, Zaporozhye, and facilities in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
▪️In the Bryansk region, a local resident was killed yesterday in the village of Ponurovka, Starodub district, as a result of a strike by an enemy drone.
▪️In the Sumy region, the "North" group of forces captured a pair of enemy soldiers during offensive operations in Ulanovo. Fighting continues in Pisarevka, Maryino, Khrapovshchina, and the village of Khoten'. Near Mogrytsa, another counterattack by two assault groups of the 68th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was repelled.
▪️In the Kursk region, a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone detonated yesterday evening, damaging the windows of apartments in a residential building and vehicles.
▪️The Belgorod region is under intense shelling and attacks. In Shebekino, a bus driver was injured. Civilians were injured in Belgorod, the villages of Zozuli, Proletarsky, Novosadovy, Proletarskoye, Nechayevka, Malinovka, Dubovoye, Tavrovo, and on roads in the region. One person was killed in Shebekino. Yesterday morning, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the village of Koloskovo in the Valuyevsky district with rockets. Six civilians were killed, and four were injured, including a child.
▪️On the Kharkov front, the "North" group of forces continues fighting in the village of Kazachya Lopan and near Goptovka. On the Volchansk section, fighting is taking place in the village of Vasilievka, near Shevchenkovo and Petropavlovka. On the Velikoburluk section, our forces continue fighting near the village of Olkhovata, near Dolzhanka, and west of Ustinovka.
▪️On the Druzhkovka front, the Russian Armed Forces continue offensive operations. There is mutual penetration of the forward positions of assault groups on both sides.
▪️In the DPR, it has been announced that Andreyevka has been liberated, although the enemy denies this. The village is located 15 km from the previously known line of defense deep within enemy territory. In the DPR, one person was killed and ten civilians were injured on roads and in settlements in the region as a result of enemy strikes.
▪️In the eastern part of the Zaporozhye region, the "East" group of forces liberated Novosoloshino.
▪️On the Kherson front, strikes are being carried out by both sides across the Dnipro River.
⚡️Two Majors
🌆 COMBATE Evening Roundup | August 18, 2026
• Trump threatens to bomb Oman over Strait of Hormuz talks — US President Donald Trump threatened to launch military strikes against the Sultanate of Oman if it interferes with Washington's objectives regarding the strategic waterway. Trump also stated the US is unwilling to extend its memorandum of understanding with Tehran, citing a lack of Iranian concessions.
• IRGC denies secret backchannel with Washington — Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rejected claims by the US President that the two nations are holding backchannel negotiations. An IRGC spokesperson dismissed the assertions as fabrications driven by US desperation, adding that the Iranian Foreign Ministry is also not negotiating with Washington due to repeated US violations of previous agreements.
• Iraq plans $15 billion pipeline to bypass Strait of Hormuz — Baghdad is advancing a project to construct a new oil pipeline linking Iraq to the Mediterranean Sea via Syria. The initiative, estimated to cost $15 billion and take four years to complete, aims to reduce Iraqi dependence on the highly contested Strait of Hormuz for its energy exports.
• Israeli ministers call for daily executions and permanent ruin in Gaza — Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir advocated for the killing of "30 to 40" people in Gaza every night. Concurrently, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that the Gaza Strip "must remain a ruin forever" and should never be rebuilt, serving as a permanent warning to neighboring populations.
• US Navy destroyer suffers total power failure in South China Sea — The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, lost all power during operations in the South China Sea following a generator failure. The warship was left adrift for four days without air conditioning, potable water, or functioning toilets in extreme heat before being towed to the Philippines.
• Moscow warns UK over drone strikes deep inside Russian territory — The Russian Embassy in London stated that the use of British-supplied drones by Ukrainian forces to strike deep inside Russia marks a new phase of escalation. Moscow warned that the UK is acting as a co-perpetrator in the attacks, making British drone manufacturing facilities legitimate military targets.
• US to seize Venezuelan gold frozen in British banks — Venezuelan gold reserves that were blocked in the United Kingdom are slated to be released, but the assets will be transferred directly to the United States Treasury rather than returned to Caracas. Venezuela will only be granted access to the funds under specific US authorizations.
• Massive power outage strikes four Central Asian nations — A major failure at Kyrgyzstan's Toktogul hydroelectric power station triggered a cascading blackout across the region. The disruption left key areas of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan without electricity.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260818-0000Z-08-18
📡 @uphold_reality
🌅 COMBATE Morning Roundup | August 17, 2026
• Iran restructures military toward offensive doctrine — Tehran is reorganizing its armed forces to adopt a more aggressive posture, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps preparing to take future operations beyond its borders. Officials stated the shift aims to permanently deter Western attacks following recent conflicts.
• US officials discussed nuclear strike on Iran — Former US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that White House officials held strategic meetings to evaluate the direct use of nuclear weapons against Iran. The disclosure coincides with stalled negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz.
• Tehran prepares contingency plans against Gulf states — According to Arab intelligence officials cited by the Wall Street Journal, Iran has developed plans to sabotage undersea internet cables in the Persian Gulf and potentially launch ground operations against Kuwait if regional fighting resumes.
• Strait of Hormuz commercial traffic collapses — Ship tracking data from Kpler indicates a sharp slowdown in the strategic waterway, with only five commercial vessels crossing on Saturday and zero on Sunday. The drop follows the expiration of the Islamabad understanding and stalled talks between Iran and Oman.
• Yemeni forces strike Saudi military vessel — Ansarallah targeted a Saudi military ship carrying troops and equipment off the coast of Mocha with ballistic missiles. The Yemeni armed forces stated the direct hit caused the vessel to catch fire and sank several accompanying military boats.
• Moscow warns of Western false flag in Latin America — The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service stated that Western intelligence agencies are transferring captured Russian-made weapons from Ukraine to drug cartels in Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela to falsely accuse Moscow of arming organized crime.
• China inaugurates Arctic shipping route to Europe — Beijing opened a new maritime transit lane through the Arctic Ocean departing from the Ningbo-Zhoushan port. The weekly service is designed to halve transit times compared to the Suez Canal route.
• US considers sanctions against Brazilian judge — Washington is reviewing potential sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The move threatens to deepen the diplomatic crisis between the US and the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of Brazil's elections.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260817-1200Z-08-17
📡 @uphold_reality
🇮🇷❌🇮🇱— Iranian authorities have declared execution of a Mossad spy
@SimurghRes
Yemen is raining death on Saudi mercenaries
🔗 https://x.com/upholdreality/status/2090900435330887846
🌅 COMBATE Morning Roundup | August 21, 2026
• China rejects US demand to join "toughest ever" Iran sanctions — Beijing said it opposes unilateral sanctions with no basis in international law, refusing Treasury Secretary Bessent's call to isolate Tehran. Bessent warned Iran's trade partners their remaining ties will "hasten a nation's economic oblivion," while VP Vance admitted Washington has no timeline for the campaign.
• US AWACS declares emergency near Hormuz, second in a month — A Boeing E-3B Sentry activated the 7700 emergency code while flying near the strait and diverted west — the second distress signal from a US surveillance aircraft near the Gulf within a month.
• USS Abraham Lincoln heads home after nine months — The carrier is returning to San Diego after a deployment marked by reports of suicide attempts and dire crew conditions, with the USS George Washington taking over its mission.
• US relinks Hezbollah to Iran's Quds Force, sanctions financiers — OFAC blacklisted ten people accused of channeling hundreds of millions of dollars to the Lebanese movement; Hezbollah called the move a US attempt to besiege the resistance.
• Trump: dead leaders make an Iran deal harder — Trump said negotiations are complicated because many Iranian leadership figures have been killed and "no one knows" who runs Iran, while branding key Gulf partners "semi-neutral" states.
• Pezeshkian urges ending the war from strength — Iran's president said it is better to end the war now while the whole world acknowledges Iran's victory, insisting not a single clause of the deal signals surrender.
• US to block Abbas from UN General Assembly again — Washington intends to deny visas to the Palestinian president for a second straight year; Abbas asked Turkey's president to mediate with the US administration.
• Tusk urges Germany to drop Nord Stream prosecutions — The Polish PM said Berlin should not pursue suspects in the pipeline blasts, a stance the Kremlin said left it stunned, calling the explosions sabotage against Europe.
• Russia downs 325 Ukrainian drones overnight — Air defenses intercepted the drones over several regions as the FSB arrested eight people over a foiled plot to attack a Moscow defense plant with 15 FPV drones.
• US clears $4.5 billion Qatar tanker aircraft sale — Washington approved KC-46A refueling planes for Doha as Israel received its second KC-46, part of a six-jet order replacing tankers used in strikes on Iran.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260821-1200Z-08-21
📡 @uphold_reality
🇺🇸❌🇮🇷一 US President Trump announces what he calls the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country,” declaring unprecedented economic warfare and isolation against Iran.
Trump says any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports or government entities to provide Iran with an economic lifeline will face “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” specifically targeting oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries and front companies.
“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY,” Trump declared, calling on U.S. allies to completely isolate Iran and vowing: “IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.”
@SimurghRes
Obama would've given him a bailout, a bonus and a blowjob
🔗 https://x.com/upholdreality/status/2090587933434646650
🇮🇷🇮🇶— The Iranian Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, MB Ghalibaf, on his visit to Iraq:
“The relationship between the Iranian and Iraqi peoples is a historical, unbreakable bond. Our neighborly ties were built on the foundation of brotherhood during the harshest of days, resistance against foreign interventions, and a shared belief in the common destiny of both countries; this past, rich with lessons, will serve as a guiding light for the future.
During this visit, we will take practical and significant steps to consolidate the self and mutual security of both nations, and to achieve prosperity for both peoples.”
🌆 COMBATE Evening Roundup | August 20, 2026
• US establishes covert Hormuz shipping corridor — Washington has quietly created a shipping route along the Omani coast allowing 15 to 20 tankers to enter and leave the Persian Gulf nightly. The operation is currently moving nearly 10 million barrels of oil per day, roughly half of pre-war volumes.
• Azerbaijan sues CNN over Israeli military base report — Baku initiated legal action against the US network over a broadcast claiming Israel operates drone and commando units from a secret base in southern Azerbaijan to conduct missions against Iran.
• NATO warns Iran over European target threats — The military alliance stated it is prepared to respond to any threat and defend all member states following reports that Tehran evaluated striking US military assets in southeastern Europe.
• Ukraine appoints new Defense Minister amid corruption crisis — The Ukrainian parliament approved Yevgeny Khmara as Defense Minister after former minister Mykhaïlo Fedorov demanded early elections and denounced government corruption. Concurrently, President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his deputy chief of staff, Iryna Mudra, following anti-corruption raids on her home.
• US and South Korea abruptly shorten joint military drills — Seoul and Washington ended the "Ulchi Freedom Shield" exercises six days ahead of schedule. The reduction follows requests from US President Donald Trump, who called the drills costly and hostile toward Pyongyang.
• US and Canada avert major trade war — Washington suspended a planned 50% tariff on $20.2 billion of Canadian exports until August 22. The temporary truce follows negotiations between US President Donald Trump and Canadian officials regarding the Keystone XL pipeline.
• Pakistan summons US envoy over Kashmir remarks — Islamabad issued a strong formal protest to the US chargé d'affaires after the American ambassador to India publicly referred to the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region as "part of India."
• US loans Reaper drones to Colombia — Washington is lending three multi-role Reaper drones to the Colombian government to assist in combating drug trafficking operations.
• Lebanon extradites Syrian general to Damascus — Lebanese authorities handed over Major General Adel Issa, a former Syrian military commander, to the Syrian government. The transfer marks the first such extradition since the fall of the Assad government.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260820-0000Z-08-20
📡 @uphold_reality
The kingdom that can buy anything on Earth cannot buy passage past Yemen.
🔗 https://x.com/upholdreality/status/2090052738394800128
📹August 1945. The Second World War in Europe is over, but the fighting continues in the Far East. The Red Army has crushed Japanese forces in Manchuria, while Soviet troops simultaneously launch offensives on southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
On August 18, the Soviet Union began an amphibious landing on the island of Shumshu. The Japanese had turned it into a heavily fortified stronghold, yet in a swift and determined assault, Soviet forces secured a foothold on the shore. This engagement would become the final battle of the entire war. Over six days of fierce combat, 8,800 Soviet soldiers took 23,000 Japanese troops and officers prisoner. Military historians regard the Red Army’s achievement in 1945 as extraordinary – defying accepted principles of offensive warfare, with few comparable victories in military history.
Eighty years later, the Shumshu battlefield remains largely untouched. Wrecked Japanese tanks and concrete pillboxes still stand. Today, search teams and specialists from Russia’s Emergency Ministry are working to turn the site into an open-air memorial.
The details of the Kuril operation were declassified only in recent years, allowing descendants to learn the fates of relatives who fought there. Among them is the granddaughter of Senior Lieutenant Nikolay Skopintsev, who was severely wounded during the Shumshu landing. She discovered where her grandfather was buried and donated his photograph for the memorial to the fallen.
As a result of the Kuril landing operation, the Soviet Union regained Russia’s historic territories – the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The nation’s borders grew by 1,100 kilometers, and today these far-flung frontiers are guarded by Russian border forces. The crews of the patrol ships Taimyr and Yuzhno-Kurilsk serve in the Pacific, while mobile border units in vehicles and quad bikes patrol even the most remote stretches of Kamchatka’s coastline.
Watch the film ‘Kuril Islands: The War's Final Battle’ by Vyacheslav Guz, Vladimir Lipatov, and Igor Belogurov.
FOLLOW 🥰 News&Docfilms Channel
🌆 COMBATE Evening Roundup | August 19, 2026
• UAE halts Iran trade over ballistic missile claims — Abu Dhabi suspended all commercial and financial transactions with Tehran after claiming Iranian forces fired two ballistic missiles at the UAE. Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations as baseless and counter to regional security efforts.
• Israel strikes Syrian airbase to block Turkish deployment — Israeli forces bombed the Abu al-Duhur military airport in Syria, explicitly confirming the strike targeted a facility where Turkish forces were preparing to establish a presence. Turkey and Qatar strongly condemned the attack, while Turkish fighter jets began patrolling the Syrian border.
• Trump shifts Iran strategy to economic strangulation — US President Donald Trump ordered envoys to halt negotiations with Tehran, pivoting to a long-term strategy of sustained economic and military pressure. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concurrently stated that Tehran will reject any temporary ceasefires and demands a permanent end to hostilities.
• Pentagon weighs reducing Persian Gulf military footprint — The US Department of Defense is assessing whether to shift its forces westward toward Jordan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia rather than rebuilding damaged Gulf facilities. The review follows recent Iranian strikes that exposed vulnerabilities at major American bases in the region.
• Ukraine launches massive drone swarm at Moscow — Russian authorities reported intercepting over 600 Ukrainian drones targeting the capital and its suburbs overnight. The attack, which injured at least three people, marks the second major aerial assault on Russian territory in recent days.
• Russian forces strike Ukrainian arms shipment in Black Sea — The Russian Defense Ministry announced it successfully targeted a dry cargo ship transporting military equipment and weapons destined for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
• South Korea seeks full operational military control by 2030 — Seoul announced plans to regain wartime operational control of its armed forces from the United States by 2030. The decision follows US President Donald Trump's move to reduce joint military exercises between the two nations.
• Cargo ship destroyed off Yemeni coast — The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported that a commercial vessel suffered "total structural destruction" after being struck by multiple unknown projectiles 65 kilometers southeast of Mokha, Yemen.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260819-0000Z-08-19
📡 @uphold_reality
🇺🇦 The remains of Konovalets, the founder of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), that were brought from Rotterdam, were reburied at the National Military Memorial Cemetery.
The event was attended by Zelensky, other government officials, and military personnel, including the Commander-in-Chief Drapaty, and the commanders of the "Azov" battalion Prokopenko, and the 3rd Assault Brigade Biletsky.
🔴 @DDGeopolitics | Socials | Donate | Advertising
🌅 COMBATE Morning Roundup | August 18, 2026
• Iran sets strict conditions for reopening Strait of Hormuz — Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated the strategic waterway will remain closed until the US lifts its blockade, unfreezes Iranian assets, removes the oil embargo, and halts all military operations.
• Commercial cargo ship struck exiting Strait of Hormuz — The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported an unknown projectile hit a cargo vessel's engine room as it exited the strait, injuring one crew member. Tanker freight rates for the route have reportedly surged to a record $510,000 per day.
• US air defense stockpiles severely depleted — According to The Sunday Times, the Pentagon's inventory of PAC-3 interceptor missiles for Patriot systems has dropped to fewer than 800 units, and half of its Tomahawk cruise missile stockpiles have been expended during recent conflicts.
• Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah issues demands to Baghdad — The resistance group outlined three conditions for placing its weapons under state control: a full withdrawal of US military forces, the expulsion of Turkish troops from northern Iraq, and the dissolution of Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
• Yemeni forces strike Saudi Aramco refinery — Ansarallah launched a drone attack targeting the Aramco oil refinery in the southwestern Saudi city of Jizan. Initial reports indicate multiple suicide drones struck the facility, causing massive explosions.
• UPDATE: Qatar rejects Iranian claims regarding missing pilots — The Qatari Foreign Ministry denied holding Iranian pilots as prisoners, stating that two Iranian aircraft entered Qatari airspace to strike Doha and were shot down after ignoring warnings. Qatar claims the remains of one pilot were found in March and returned to Iran.
• Russia repels massive Ukrainian drone swarm — The Russian Defense Ministry reported its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 791 Ukrainian drones targeting residential areas and logistics sites across Russia over a 24-hour period, marking one of the largest attacks of the year.
• Pentagon scrutinizes university ties with adversaries — The US Department of Defense has demanded that 30 universities report on their academic cooperation with Russia, China, and Iran. The Pentagon cited a "zero tolerance" policy for partnerships that threaten national security.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260818-1200Z-08-18
📡 @uphold_reality
🇮🇷❌🇺🇸一 According to the WSJ, sourcing Iranian officials, Tehran is drawing up plans for additional escalatory strikes against Gulf states if hostilities restart. Under consideration are attacks on undersea internet cables in the Persian Gulf, efforts to stir unrest among Shia populations in Gulf countries, and potentially even ground incursions targeting Kuwait.
The report also cites a series of recent public remarks from Iranian officials suggesting that Tehran regards its most recent conflict with the United States not as an endpoint, but as a prelude to a larger, more decisive showdown still to come.
The same WSJ report, drawing on intercepted communications reviewed by Arab intelligence services, states that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dispatched commanders to work with Ansarallah (the Houthis) ahead of their confrontation with Saudi Arabia. These commanders reportedly oversaw the positioning of missiles and drones at launch sites near the Red Sea.
The report says that the IRGC have provided Ansarullah with targeting guidance and assistance in shielding their officials from Saudi assassination attempts.
@SimurghRes
🇺🇦 A few episodes of today's "European Values" enforcers from Kiev and Odessa.
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⚡️Two Majors #Summary as of the morning of August 17, 2026
▪️Over the past 24 hours, the Russian Armed Forces have struck port infrastructure and naval vessels in the Odessa region. Targets were hit in Vilkovo, Belgorod-Dnistrovskyi, and the port of Odessa. Warehouses, boat moorings, and ships were hit, and one cargo ship was struck in the Black Sea. Explosions were heard at night in Odessa, Pavlograd, Sumy, Slaviansk, and Zaporozhye.
▪️In the Sumy region, in the Shostkinsky district, the "North" group of forces is engaged in fighting in Ulanovo and the area around Volna Sloboda. In the Sumy district, our troops are engaged in infantry fighting in Pisarevka, Maryino, Khrapovshchyna, the village of Khoten, south of Ivolzhansky. The enemy, consisting of units from the 47th and 68th separate motorized rifle brigades, launched two unsuccessful counterattacks on our troops' positions near the village of Sadki.
▪️In the Belgorod region, a man was injured in an FPV drone strike on a truck. On the Rakitnoe-Proletarsky highway, a drone attacked a car, and a man was injured. In Shebekino, a woman was injured. A drone strike hit a bus belonging to an enterprise in the Rakityansky district, injuring 10 people. In the village of Rakitnoe, the driver of another truck was injured. Three people were injured in Proletarsky. On the Rakitnoe-Belgorod highway near Dmitrievka, a drone attacked a car, injuring two people. In the village of Rzhevka in the Shebekinsky district, a man was killed as a result of a drone attack on a car.
▪️On the Kharkov front, assault units of the 11th Army Corps of the "North" group of forces pushed back the 58th motorized infantry brigade and the 475th separate helicopter assault unit from the village of Kudiivka.
▪️In the LNR, a driver of a "Gazelle" was killed in drone strikes, and several people were injured. Infrastructure in 16 municipalities was damaged, and efforts are underway to eliminate the consequences.
▪️In the DNR, the village of Pershomarivka has been liberated. Yesterday, one person was killed in the republic, and ten more civilians, including a child, were injured in attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces strike UAVs.
▪️In the eastern part of the Zaporozhye region, soldiers of the "East" group of forces destroyed the enemy two days ago and took control of strongholds west of the line Alexandrovka-Kommunarovka. The village of Rybalskoe has been liberated.
▪️From the Zaporozhye region, it was reported that between the villages of Lunacharskoye and Shevchenko, a civilian car was attacked by a UAV, and a man was injured. In the city of Dneprorudny in the Vasilyevsky district, a car was attacked, injuring three people - a woman and her two children. Meanwhile, the 42nd Guards Motorized Rifle Division showed footage of fighting in Orekhov, confirming the presence of our forward assault groups in the settlement.
This summary was compiled by: ⚡️Two Majors
🌆 COMBATE Evening Roundup | August 17, 2026
• Iran places $30,000 bounty on US troops — Army Commander Gen. Amir Hatami announced a $30,000 reward for any Iranian who kills or captures an American soldier, with the bounty doubled for women. Hatami declared US forces permanently expelled from the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.
• Tehran declares absolute victory over US and Israel — Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated Iran won the conflict both militarily and politically. Ghalibaf claimed Washington and Tel Aviv failed to achieve any of their nine declared objectives.
• Three ships struck in Strait of Hormuz — The Joint Maritime Information Centre reported three vessels were hit while transiting the strategic waterway over the past 72 hours. Two ships were struck in Omani territorial waters, though all continued their journeys without reported damage.
• Hamas accepts second phase of Trump Gaza plan — A Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya met with Jared Kushner and mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey in Cairo. The Palestinian group subsequently announced its readiness to implement the roadmap for the second phase of the US peace plan.
• Trump scales back South Korea military drills — US President Donald Trump ordered a reduction in joint military exercises with Seoul. Trump stated the decision followed the South Korean president's refusal to join US efforts against Iran, calling the drills costly and inappropriate.
• USS George Washington to replace USS Abraham Lincoln — The US Navy is deploying the Japan-based aircraft carrier to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln. The deployment will temporarily leave the western Pacific region without a US aircraft carrier.
• Russia strikes Western arms shipment in Black Sea — Russian forces targeted a cargo ship transporting Western military supplies to Ukraine near the port of Odesa. The Russian Defense Ministry stated the strike coincided with attacks on Ukrainian drone production facilities.
• Erdogan blames Israel for regional war — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel the "principal instigator" of the war against Iran, accusing Tel Aviv of continuously pushing for conflict. Separately, Trump welcomed the new Mecca Mutual Defense Pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan.
📖 Full report: https://telegra.ph/COMBATE-Digest---combate-20260817-0000Z-08-17
📡 @uphold_reality