Geolocated footage published on August 22 indicates that Ukrainian forces recently advanced further in southern Russkaya Konopelka (east of Sudzha). A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces also advanced north of Martynovka (northeast of Sudzha) along the Sudzha-Sukhodolovka R-200 highway. Russian sources claimed that there are conflicting reports about fighting east of Sudzha near Samoryadovo and Kozyrevka, but that Ukrainian mobile groups may be operating in the area.

Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh stated on August 22 that the US is gaining "a better understanding" of Ukraine's goals in Kursk Oblast and noted that Ukraine wants to create a buffer zone in Kursk Oblast. Singh stated that the US is still working to determine how the buffer zone fits into Ukraine's strategic objectives and that the US continues to provide materiel to support Ukraine's battlefield needs. Singh clarified that current US restrictions on Ukraine's ability to use US-provided weapons to strike military targets in Russian border areas allows Ukrainian forces to engage in counterfire while defending against Russian attacks across the international border, including in Kursk Oblast.

• Under President Daniel Ortega’s government, more than 5,000 civil society organizations have been forced to shut down and eliminate tax exemptions for Catholic and Evangelical churches.

Mexico City, Aug.23.– Nicaragua has shuttered an additional 151 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the local affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, as part of an ongoing crackdown by President Daniel Ortega’s government.

The decision, announced by the Interior Ministry on Aug. 20, follows the revocation of the legal status of over 1,500 NGOs earlier this year. Most of the organizations affected in this latest round of closures are religious groups.