Friday, July 26
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers prepare a 2C3 tank at their fighting position in Donetsk Oblast on July 25, 2024. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Kherson Oblast fortifications are 97% complete, Shmyhal says. “Building fortifications is a priority for every front-line oblast’s leader. This year, the government allocated Hr 2 billion (around $50 million) to Kherson Oblast for this task,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
Kyiv uncovers suspected Russian agent network planning sabotage in Ukraine, Europe. The perpetrators intended to target shopping centers, gas stations, pharmacies, and markets in Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic countries on the instruction of Russian intelligence services, according to the SBU.
Ukraine seeks to exchange pro-Russian collaborators for civilian hostages under new initiative. “We are talking about people who do not consider Ukraine, European democratic values, or our state constitution theirs, but consider the aggressor state, Russia, their country. And they want to get there,” Ukraine’s military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said.
Cyberattack on Russian banks, telecoms continues into third day, source says. Russian media reported on July 24 that several top banks, including Raiffeisen, Gazprombank, VTB, and Alfabank, were experiencing outages. Social networks, payment systems on public transport, and some airlines were also reportedly impacted.
Nearly third of Ukrainian families have enough money only for food, survey shows. Around 32% of Ukrainian families have enough income only to buy food, according to a survey published by the ZN.ua media outlet on July 25.
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US, Canada intercept Chinese, Russian aircraft near Alaska in first such case. Russian and Chinese bombers were intercepted in international space by US F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, as well as Canadian CF-18 fighter jets. Support aircraft were also involved in the operation, according to CNN.
Romania confirms Russian drone debris landed on its territory. “More heinous attacks have been perpetrated by Russia against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. Debris has been found on Romanian territory,” Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu wrote on X.
Russia forms 12 organizations to militarize children in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The Russian proxies conduct propaganda activities among children and youth in the cities of Melitopol and Berdiansk, the head of the local National Police, Artem Kysko, said.
Head of Russian military company, linked to disgraced ex-deputy minister, arrested on corruption charges. Kommersant reported there may be additional charges in the future, as both the company and Andrei Belkov himself were previously supervised by former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who is currently also under investigation on corruption-related charges.
Ukraine’s defense industry seeing impact of foreign investment, Zelensky says. Foreign funding in Ukraine’s defense industry is showing a noticeable impact on the domestic production of weaponry and equipment, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on July 25.
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Land on fire: Russia’s offensive in Donetsk Oblast brings destruction to new towns (Photos)
Since February, Russian forces have steadily advanced across multiple sectors of the front in Donetsk Oblast. They have occupied villages previously liberated by Ukraine, wiped out entire towns, and introduced new threats to the region’s overall defense.
Photo: George Ivanchenko / The Kyiv Independent
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Ukraine war latest: Russia will be soon forced to scale down attacks, Ukrainian commander says
Russia will be unable to maintain the scale of its attacks in multiple sectors for a long time because its “capabilities are not unlimited,” General Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of Ukraine’s National Guard, said in an interview with Ukrinform published on July 25.
Photo: Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images
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Ukraine optimistic as Biden seeks to cement legacy
With U.S. President Joe Biden officially out of the running for re-election, Ukrainian soldiers, experts, and advocates have fresh hope that the 81-year-old with decades of diplomacy experience will increase support for the country during his final months in office.
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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Czech FM: Ammunition initiative is vital but needs more donors, money
The Czech ammunition initiative secured financing for half a million shells for Ukraine and can gather more if it finds additional donors or finances, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said in an interview with the Kyiv Independent on July 23.
Photo: Omar Havana/Getty Images
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Human cost of war
Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 4, injure 30 over past day. Ukrainian air defenses downed 25 of the 38 Russian Shahed-type drones over Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, and Cherkasy oblasts, while three other drones were lost after crossing the border into Romania, Ukraine’s Air Force reported.
General Staff: Russia has lost 571,350 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 1,230 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
International response
G7 to finalize plan by October on $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by Russian assets revenue. The Group of Seven (G7) will likely finalize a framework agreement for a $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets revenue by October, EU Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on July 25.
Spain to provide additional Hawk air defense battery to Ukraine. Spain will provide Ukraine with another Hawk air defense system in September, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said during a video call with her Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, on July 24.
Ukraine to receive 14 Leopard 2 tanks pledged by Netherlands, Denmark this summer. Fourteen Leopard 2A4 tanks previously purchased and pledged to Ukraine by the Netherlands and Denmark will be delivered this summer, the Dutch Defense Ministry announced on July 25.
Poland supplying Ukraine with 45th military aid package, official says. “The 45th package is now in the process of being implemented, which includes, among other things, a significant amount of ammunition for Ukraine,” former Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Zvarych said on July 25.
Pentagon finds accounting errors worth $2 billion in aid for Ukraine. Due to the errors, the Defense Department can send a further $2 billion in weapons to Ukraine to cover the amount already approved by U.S. President Joe Biden.
Peace talks impossible without Russia, China at table, Czech President says. Peace negotiations on the war in Ukraine will be impossible without the participation of Russia and China, Czech President Petr Pavel told CTK in an interview published on July 25.
Hong Kong shell companies facilitate Russian sanctions evasion, NYT reports. These companies are owned by oligarchs with ties to the Russian defense industry, and they have funneled millions of chips and sensors to sanctioned defense tech firms in Russia.
Putin holds talks with Assad in Moscow. According to the readout, Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad said he was “happy to see” Russian President Vladimir Putin again and emphasized that “relations between our nations have been based on trust, which is evidence of our nations’ maturity.”
In other news
Suspect in murder of ex-MP Farion detained in Dnipro, Zelensky says. The detained suspect is an 18-year-old man, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The investigation is ongoing.
Russia to slow YouTube speeds after Google refuses to comply with censorship. Russia will deliberately slow YouTube loading speeds by up to 70% by the end of next week, in response to Google’s refusal to comply with the demands of the Russian authorities, Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said on July 25.
Russian attack helicopter crashes in western Russia, crew killed. Preliminary evidence indicates that the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction. The helicopter’s crew was killed, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
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