Our live coverage of the 190th day of the Russian-Ukrainian war.You can find our latest coverage HERE.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will continue negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said on Thursday when he met the residents of the city in Essen.Earlier, I met the Russian president in Moscow, I spoke with him several times on the phone, and I will continue to do so, he said.Earlier on August 15, in an interview with Dagens Nyheter, Scholz said that Western countries consider it important to have direct contact with Putin about the situation in Ukraine, reports iz.ru.Some representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will remain at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Rafael Grossi, the head of the organization, announced on Thursday.Later, the company Enerhoatom, which operates nuclear power plants in Ukraine, clarified that five representatives of the IAEA will remain at the nuclear facility, Ukrainska Pravda reported.The news portal, referring to the British public service media company BBC, wrote that according to Grossi, the delegation he led managed to collect enough important information during the few hours of visit to the nuclear power plant.However, he did not disclose any details.Grossi said members of the IAEA mission will remain at the nuclear facility in Enerhodar until September 3, after which it will be decided whether the organization will have a permanent observer in the plant area.Grossi left the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in the afternoon.The Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Grossi as saying that some of his colleagues are staying (at the nuclear power plant) because there are quite a few more detailed issues that require more time and a calmer environment to discuss.I ask you to help my colleagues so that we can assess the whole situation more fully.My team will have the opportunity to talk (about the situation) with the residents of Enerhodar - added the Director General of the IAEA to the journalists.The unsuccessful counterattack attempt of the Ukrainian army may be a ploy to hide the direction of another upcoming attack from the Russians, experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said, analyzing recent events.Experts noted that Kyiv has long recognized the fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have the necessary number of mechanized forces to carry out a quick operation to destroy Russian defenses in the Kherson region or anywhere else.According to experts, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to hide the direction of another upcoming attack with the help of apparently unsuccessful counterattack attempts, reports lenta.ru.The Russian government will strive to make transportation between Kaliningrad and the rest of the country comfortable and economically sustainable - this was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday after a meeting with the governor of the Kaliningrad region, Anton Alyanov.The Russian president responded to the region's leader's request to move ferries and cargo ships from the Black Sea region and other areas to the Kaliningrad region.The reason for this is that the passenger and goods traffic between Kaliningrad and other Russian territories has increased and the currently available ferries and cargo ships are no longer sufficient to serve the increased needs, reports iz.ru.During the night, the Ukrainian army made another unsuccessful attack attempt in the direction of Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih, as well as Kharkiv, and suffered further significant losses, said Lt. Gen. Igor Konasenkov, the spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Defense, presenting Thursday's war report.According to the general, as a result of Russian air, missile and artillery strikes in the direction of Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih, 31 tanks, 22 infantry and 18 other armored fighting vehicles, 8 trucks equipped with large-caliber machine guns, and 17 special vehicle equipment were destroyed and more than 350 soldiers were destroyed. died.According to the spokesman, Russian fire strikes in the direction of Kharkiv, near Ruszki Tiski, thwarted the attack attempt of the 14th Ukrainian mechanized brigade.The loss exceeded fifty people.56 soldiers of the brigade tried to retreat in the direction of Kharkiv, but at Saltivka, according to Konasenkov, the Ukrainian "nationalist" unit Kraken opened fire on them, killing most of them.According to the report, the high-precision weapons of the Russian Air Force killed more than a hundred soldiers of the Ukrainian 93rd Mechanized Brigade and disabled 15 of its military equipment near the settlement of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk.Konasenkov said that near Artemivsk, soldiers of Ukraine's 72nd Mechanized Brigade refused orders to abandon their positions due to heavy losses, weak weaponry and lack of fire support.According to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a conflict situation is emerging between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian army.According to Lukashenko, nothing depends on President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine, while the army plays an increasingly important role.According to the Belarusian president, Ukrainian soldiers see that they are fighting and dying every day in vain.At any time, the Ukrainian soldiers can "hit the table" and force the Ukrainian president to sit down to negotiate and end the bloodshed;which, according to Lukashenko, will happen soon - reports iz.ru.Finland further tightened its practice of issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens on Thursday, and Helsinki offered Ukraine another 8.3 million euros worth of defense equipment.From September 1, the Finnish authorities will offer Russians who wish to apply for a tourist visa only 100 interview times per day, instead of the previous 1,000.According to the information of the Finnish government, on the other hand, an average of 400 interview opportunities are held per day for Russian citizens who wish to travel to the country for purposes that coincide with Finnish interests, referring to journalists, oppositionists and political activists who wish to leave Russia.Meanwhile, the Finnish Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday: it will donate another 8.3 million euros (3.3 billion HUF) worth of military equipment to Ukraine.With this, the total value of the defense support offered by Helsinki to Kyiv has increased to 92.3 million euros (37 billion forints) since the start of the Russian military occupation of Ukraine on February 24, a spokesman for the Finnish Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "ridiculous" and bad for Russian citizens that the EU had abolished the simplified visa system for Russian tourists.In a conference call with reporters, Peskov said Russia was studying options to respond after EU foreign ministers agreed to scrap a deal that allowed Russians to apply for visas to the Schengen zone under a simplified procedure.This is bad for Russians because it will take longer and harder to get a visa.This is another ridiculous decision in a continuous series of absurdities," Peskov said today.Peskov hinted that Russia may retaliate, and that Moscow will respond in a way that best suits its interests.In the event that Kyiv makes new attempts to disrupt the work of IAEA experts at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, all responsibility will fall on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.The fighting in the southern part of Ukraine does not threaten the operation of the Black Sea Corridor, which ensures the transportation of Ukrainian grain, the head of the press center of the Southern Ukraine Operations Command stated on Thursday.Natalija Humenyuk reported via video link that the fighting that has been escalating in the southern region of the country in recent days does not hinder the operation of sea salt.The sea river salt designed for grain transport works in accordance with previous agreements," said the press spokesperson.French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his policy of continuing dialogue with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, saying Turkey should not be the only power negotiating with Moscow and that preparations for talks and peace should be made now.Who wants Turkey to be the only world power that continues to negotiate with Russia?" the president said at a meeting of French ambassadors at the Elysée Palace.We must not succumb to any form of false morality that would make us powerless," he addedAccording to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the fighting has so far damaged or destroyed 2,405 educational institutions.According to Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar, since February 24, 270 educational institutions have been completely destroyed in Ukraine.The delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has finally arrived at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, announced the Ukrainian state energy company Energoatom.Footage of reportedly the @iaeaorg mission entering the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.via https://t.co/imkoyKlpdr pic.twitter.com/NmN3w33J5gA delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency has already passed through the so-called "grey zone" in the Zaporizhia region and entered Russian-controlled territory.According to The Kyiv Independent, Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said in a televised address that the Russian teachers were promised "free housing" and "high salaries" because the Ukrainian teachers did not cooperate with the Russians.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Moldova that endangering the security of Russian troops stationed in the breakaway Transnistria region risks a military confrontation with Moscow.Transnistria is an internationally recognized part of Moldova, but has been under the control of separatist authorities since 1992, when the collapse of the Soviet Union sparked conflict.Russia has an estimated 1,500 troops in Transnistria, which it describes as a "peacekeeping" force.On Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged an immediate halt to military activity near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and warned of "catastrophic consequences".It's time to finally stop playing with fire and take real steps to protect Zaporizhzhia and other facilities," ICRC Director General Robert Mardini told reporters.Finland has reduced the number of visas issued to Russian citizens to a tenth of the usual amount.The decision came into effect a day after EU foreign ministers agreed to make it more difficult for Russians to issue visas.Russia is considering buying up to $70 billion worth of yuan and other "friendly" currencies this year to slow the ruble's rise, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.