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The good news for Ukraine supporters just keeps coming. I will view your link about the fuel fires after writing this comment.

I just spent 40 minutes viewing the link below (total run time 1 hour 14 minutes). Forty minutes because Constantine, the narrator moved to answering comments from viewers at this point. His English was good, so no written info. He said his program was called “Patron” but I don’t know the actual spelling. The topic was estimates of the cost to the people of Kursk and Russia caused by the Ukraine invasion and occupation of Kursk. He also included estimates for costs in Bolgorod.

He estimates the total Russian loss of population caused by this “war” is around 3,000,000 people, mostly the educated and professional population. He described his experiences fleeing to Tashkent, where 40,000 Russians in a city of 5 million resulted in desperate searches for a roof to live under and major inflation. He estimates the total exodus from Kursk and Bolgorod to be about 1/4 million (Kursk with 1 million population). This will cause substantial problems in Russia for inflation of food and real estate. Costs to buy housing beyond the war zone are around $40,000 while people desperate to sell homes in Kursk are getting $15,000.

He points out both Oblasts have the famous rich, black soil which makes for major harvests of wheat, sunflowers, and corn. There are also large numbers of pigs, and cows (milk). There will be no harvests, and what happens to the animals? Significant food inflation to be expected in Russia, on top of the housing cost increases. He also mentions iron, and nuclear power as other economic loses or threatened loses. The loss in harvests he estimates as around 1 million metric tons, and since I was not taking notes, I don’t remember his estimated costs. I hope I have correctly remembered the other figures I quoted, but enjoy the link if you relish details. Constantine describes his search for specific information on his estimates of quantities, costs and loses to the people and businesses.

This video is the best effort I have seen to quantify the cost to Russia of this Ukrainian conquest. Even if Ukraine were to hurry back home rather soon, the overall cost would be great, but far greater if they stay a while. He points out that perhaps the greatest loss to Putin and Co. will be the information that 1/4 million unhappy refugees will be able to spread throughout the Russian countryside. No longer will the smooth, optimistic lies that “all is well in Russia” be the only source of information for the Russian people. Now I return to the link below to see what comments the listeners have over the remaining 34 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0aZ_kp6AKw

Despite the inevitable 101% success of Russian Air Defense (in Russian reports), the oil depot in Proletarsk continues to burn and explode.

From some website on the Internet, called EurAsia Daily (Подробнее: https://eadaily.com/en/news/2024/08/21/oil-depot-in-proletarsk-became-inflamed-on-the-fourth-day-another-tank-exploded ):

"The fourth day the fire continues at the oil depot in Proletarsk, Rostov region, which was attacked by drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to reports from the field, another tank exploded on Wednesday (August 21). The tank farm itself has been dug in, but it is not yet possible to extinguish the fire inside it"...

..."According to (the telegram channel Don Mash), more than 600 rescuers are working on the spot — they are trying to prevent the fire from spreading further.

On Sunday night and in the morning, the tank farm was attacked by drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense reported that the drones were shot down. Debris fell on the tank farm. This turned out to be enough to start a fire, which is still being extinguished."

Innocent.

LA Times today (21 Aug):

"Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 69 drones and three missiles at Ukraine overnight, describing it as Russia's biggest drone attack so far in August. Ukraine said its air defenses shot them down and no casualties or destruction were reported."

(Meanwhile, Ukraine has launched multiple 100+ drone waves into Russia this month. Ukraine launched more drones than Russia in July, and that gap seems likely to expand widely in coming months)

"Moscow came under one of the largest attacks by Ukrainian drones since the start of fighting in 2022, Russian authorities reported Wednesday, saying they destroyed all of those headed toward the capital."

"This was one of the biggest attempts of all time to attack Moscow using drones,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his Telegram channel."

"Ukrainian drone strikes have brought the fight far from the front line into the heart of Russia, targeting the Russian capital and second city St. Petersburg, and an airport in Western Russia, according to Russian officials.

Since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has stepped up aerial assaults on Russian soil, targeting refineries and oil terminals."

BDA from Kyiv Independent:

“Ukraine’s attack on the Savasleyka airbase in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Oblast on Aug. 16 destroyed three Russian planes and damaged around five others, a military intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent on Aug. 21.

Russian warplanes based at the Savasleyka airfield include MiG-31K aircraft, a carrier of Kinzhal ballistic missiles that Russia uses to attack Ukraine.

According to the source, the kamikaze drones operated by Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) destroyed a Russian MiG-31K/I and two Il-76 aircraft and damaged about five aircraft, possibly including one more MiG-31K/I.

The previous strike on the Savasleyka airbase, carried out by HUR on Aug. 13, hit a Russian fuel and lubricants warehouse and damaged a MiG-31K/I plane, the source told the Kyiv Independent.

Explosions were also reported at the Borisoglebsk and Baltimore airbases in Voronezh Oblast overnight on Aug. 14.”