A MOSCOW magistrates court has fined US tech giant Google 3 million roubles ($31,800) for its failure to delete questionable information about the special military operation in Ukraine, as well as information banned in Russia, a TASS correspondent reported from the court on Thursday.
‘The court hereby rules to find Google guilty of committing an administrative violation under Part 2, Article 13.41 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences and impose a penalty in the form of an administrative fine in the amount of 3 million roubles,’ the judge said from the bench.
According to the case files, the company had been served with an official notification requiring it to delete videos from the YouTube portal that instructed viewers on ways of illegally entering guarded facilities, the presence in which could jeopardise a person’s life and health, as well as videos containing false information about the special military operation in Ukraine.
Earlier, the same court had repeatedly imposed fines on Google for administrative violations, including a 3 million rouble fine in May for hosting videos on YouTube that consisted of propaganda promoting non-traditional sexual relations, as well as the illegal practice of ‘roofing’ (climbing up tall structures to enter their roof premises), and defaming Russia’s armed forces.
Meanwhile, NATO will continue to support Ukraine and its policy in this regard remains unchanged, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a Thursday press conference in Norway.
This statement was made after Stoltenberg’s chief of staff at NATO, Stian Jenssen, said on August 15 that Ukraine may give up territory to Russia as part of a deal to end the conflict. Jenssen subsequently said that he regretted his comments.
‘His (Jenssen’s) message, and which is my main message, and which is NATO’s main message, is, firstly, that NATO’s policy is unchanged – we support Ukraine,’ Stoltenberg said in reply to a question about the Kiev regime’s possible territorial concessions and Ukraine’s potential NATO membership.
‘It is the Ukrainians, and only the Ukrainians, who can decide when there are conditions in place for negotiations, and who can decide at the negotiating table what is an acceptable solution,’ Stoltenberg added.
Commenting on the problems that Ukraine’s counteroffensive had encountered, the NATO chief said that the Ukrainians were steadily advancing but the situation remained uncertain.
Meanwhile Russian forces delivered a missile strike, destroying a Ukrainian military train with ammunition in the Dnepropetrovsk Region on Thursday, in the special military operation in Ukraine, Defence Ministry spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Thursday.
‘A missile strike at the unloading area destroyed a military train with ammunition at the Mezhevaya station in the Dnepropetrovsk Region,’ the spokesman said.
Russian forces improved their forward edge position in the Kupyansk area, eliminating roughly 125 enemy troops over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
He said: ‘In the Kupyansk direction, units of the western battlegroup improved their forward edge position in active operations supported by aircraft and artillery fire.
‘As many as 125 Ukrainian personnel, two armoured combat vehicles, two pickup trucks, a Tyulpan self-propelled mortar, a US-manufactured M777 artillery system and a US-made M109 Paladin artillery gun were destroyed in the past 24 hours.’
The general further reported that during the last 24-hour period, Russian forces repulsed six attacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 14th mechanised, 25th airborne and 95th air assault brigades in areas near the settlements of Olshana and Sinkovka in the Kharkov Region and Novosyolovskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic.
Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the Krasny Liman area, eliminating about 55 enemy troops over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
‘As many as 55 Ukrainian personnel, two armoured combat vehicles, three motor vehicles, an Akatsiya motorised artillery system and two D-30 howitzers were destroyed,’ the Defence Ministry spokesman said.
Russian forces also repulsed a Ukrainian army attack in that direction over the past 24 hours, the general reported.
Russian assault teams conducted successful offensive operations in the Donetsk area and improved their forward edge position over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
‘Assault teams of the Russian battlegroup conducted successful offensive operations (in the Donetsk direction) and improved their forward edge position,’ the spokesman said.
Russian forces repelled four Ukrainian army attacks in the Donetsk area, eliminating about 310 enemy troops over the past day, Konashenkov reported Thursday.
He said: ‘In the Donetsk direction, units of the battlegroup South in close interaction with aircraft and artillery repelled four Ukrainian army attacks in areas near the settlements of Zaliznyanskoye, Staromikhailovka and Krasnogorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
‘The enemy’s losses in that direction over the past 24 hours amounted to 310 Ukrainian personnel, a tank, three armoured combat vehicles, nine motor vehicles and a D-20 howitzer.’
Russian forces destroyed over 175 Ukrainian troops in the south Donetsk area over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
He said: ‘The enemy’s losses amounted to over 175 Ukrainian personnel, two tanks, three armoured combat vehicles, two motor vehicles, a D-20 howitzer and two Gvozdika motorised artillery systems.’
In the south Donetsk direction, units of Russia’s battlegroup East, aircraft and artillery inflicted damage by combined firepower on Ukrainian troops near the settlements of Priyutnoye in the Zaporozhye Region, Staromayorskoye and Rovnopol in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general specified.
Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the Zaporozhye area, eliminating roughly 195 enemy troops over the past day, Konashenkov reported Thursday.
He noted: ‘In the Zaporozhye direction, the enemy’s losses amounted to 195 Ukrainian personnel, four Stryker armoured personnel carriers, two infantry fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, a US-made M777 artillery system, a UK-manufactured FH70 gun, two Msta-B howitzers and a D-20 (howitzer).’
Units of the Russian battlegroup supported by aircraft, artillery and heavy flamethrowers repelled an enemy attack and inflicted damage by combined firepower on assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 46th air mobile brigade near the settlement of Rabotino in the Zaporozhye Region, the general reported.
Russian forces destroyed roughly 30 Ukrainian troops in the Kherson area over the past day, he reported, saying: ‘In the Kherson direction, Ukrainian troops lost as many as 30 personnel, three motor vehicles and a D-30 howitzer.’
Russian air defence forces intercepted a rocket of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and shot down 18 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
The Defence Ministry spokesman said: ‘Air defence capabilities intercepted a rocket of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system. In addition, they destroyed 18 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in areas near the settlements of Zhitlovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Soledar, Nikolayevka, Zarya and Orlinskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Mirnoye in the Zaporozhye Region and Olshana in the Kharkov Region.’
Russian forces destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control posts and an ammunition depot in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
‘Near the settlements of Lastochkino in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Ivanovskoye in the Zaporozhye Region, two control posts of Ukrainian army unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed. Near the settlement of Serebryanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a command/observation post of a unit from the Ukrainian army’s 67th mechanised brigade and an ammunition depot were eliminated,’ the spokesman said.
During the last 24-hour period, operational/tactical and army aircraft, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces struck Ukrainian manpower and military hardware in 138 areas, the general reported.
In all, the Russian armed forces have destroyed 459 Ukrainian warplanes, 246 combat helicopters, 5,805 unmanned aerial vehicles, 431 surface-to-air missile systems, 11,349 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,144 multiple rocket launchers, 5,918 field artillery guns and mortars and 12,289 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, Konashenkov reported.
