Ukraine getting ‘closer and closer’ to becoming Nato member, says secretary general
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Russia has launched massive naval drills involving the majority of its fleet and personnel after it was forced to pull back resources from the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
The exercises are set to involve more than 300 vessels from four different fleets and flotillas, as well as around 20,000 navy personnel, Russian state news agency Tass reported.
It comes after repeated Ukrainian strikes forced Russia to withdraw its Black Sea Fleet warships from bases in occupied Crimea and all of its vessels out of the Sea of Azov, a body of water connected to the Black Sea, in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontline in Kharkiv on Monday to pay tribute to Kyiv’s special forces, which have been engaged in bitter fighting with Putin’s forces in the region since May.
And Germany has hit out at Vladimir Putin for warning of a brewing Cold War-style missile crisis in Europe, saying it would “not be intimidated” by Putin’s threat to station long-range missiles in striking distance of the West.
Key PointsShow latest update 1722320506Poland and Hungry engage in diplomatic spat over Russia’s Ukraine war
A diplomatic spat has erupted between Poland and Hungary as the leaders of the two countries criticised each other over Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Hungary’s populist prime minister Viktor Orban, who is widely considered to have the warmest relations with the Kremlin among all EU leaders, has faced criticism from Poland, Germany, France and other European nations.
The spat erupted when Mr Orban lashed out at Poland over the weekend.
“The Poles are pursuing the most sanctimonious and the most hypocritical policy in the whole of Europe,” he said.
“They are lecturing us morally, criticising us for our economic relations with Russia, and at the same time they are doing business with the Russians and buying oil indirectly, and running the Polish economy with it.”
(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
It triggered a denial and angry response from Polish deputy foreign minister Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski, who said on Sunday: “We do not do business with Russia, unlike Prime Minister Orban, who is on the margins of international society – both in the European Union and Nato.”
Poland was once dependent on Russian energy sources, but has been working for years to wean itself off Russian oil and gas.
The country has said it might still have some Russian oil in reserves from past deliveries, but that it no longer imports oil from Russia.
Shweta Sharma30 July 2024 07:21
1722319491Massive fire at oil depot in Russia’s Kursk region put out after two days
The acting governor of Kursk region in Russia has said that the fire caused by Ukrainian drones on Sunday has finally been put out, two days after the attack caused a blaze spanning 200 square metres.
Three tanks at the oil storage depot caught fire on Sunday after the aerial attack by Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine said the oil depot was being used to meet the needs of the Russian military, and contains 11 tanks with a total volume of 7,000 cubic metres, adding the attack prompted “powerful explosions and a fire … probably involving containers with oil products”.
This grab from a handout footage published on the official Telegram account of the governor of the Kursk region Roman Starovoit on February 15, 2024, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at an oil depot in the Kursk region (TELEGRAM / @gubernator_46/AFP vi)
Shweta Sharma30 July 2024 07:04
1722319200Ukraine aid package valued at up to $200 million, White House says
The United States announced a new security assistance package for Ukraine on Monday that is valued at up to $200 million and includes air defenses and anti-tank weapons, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
Alexander Butler30 July 2024 07:00
1722318331Only six Ukrainian pilots trained to fly F-16 fighter jets
Only six Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly the F-16 fighter jets set to be delivered to Kyiv next month by America, according to a report.
The F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has been asking from its allies for months could not be immediately used on the frontlines as Russia is improving its air defences, the Washington Post reported, citing Ukrainian and Western officials.
The Nato member countries were involved in the programme to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s.
However, the programme was hit by delays, an official told the newspaper.
Ukraine is set to receive one squadron of F-16s — about 20 jets — this year, officials said.
More than 80 jets have been promised by Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. But most of those won’t arrive in Ukraine for years.
Only six pilots are expected to finish training on F-16s “because the programme has limited spots and has been marred by delays”, it said.
Shweta Sharma30 July 2024 06:45
1722316934Italy’s Meloni says China’s support of Russian war efforts is source of ‘great friction’ during visit
Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who is in Beijing to relaunch ties with China, has said Xi Jinping’s economic support of Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine is a source of “great friction”.
She is on her first trip to China since taking office and met premier Li Qiang on Sunday to sign a three-year plan to strengthen economic co-operation.
China Italy (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
She said China was an “important interlocutor” in managing global tensions while Mr Xi hailed the “long-established friendly” ties with Italy.
Her comments come as China has been accused of supplying dual-use munitions to Russia that can end up being used in the Ukraine war amid its strong ties with Moscow. Russia and China have both denied the claims.
Shweta Sharma30 July 2024 06:22
1722316724Ukraine military intelligence claims it was party to deadly Wagner ambush in Mali
Ukrainian military intelligence agency has claimed it played a role in the deadly ambush in west African nation Mali in which fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group were killed.
Wagner on Monday said it suffered heavy losses during the attack in Mali last week, according to a post shared on a Telegram channel.
Wagner members and the Malian armed forces engaged in intense battles over a five-day period against a coalition of Tuareg separatist forces and jihadi groups, it said.
The separatist forces used heavy weapons, drones, and suicide bombers. Numerous Wagner fighters, including a commander named Sergei Shevchenko, were killed in the clashes, according to the channel.
On Monday, Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, said: “The rebels received necessary information, and not just information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals.”
He did not confirm if Ukrainian military personnel fought in the attack and said the agency “won’t discuss the details at the moment, but there will be more to come”.
Shweta Sharma30 July 2024 06:18
1722313324Russian forces begin offensive in Zaporizhzhia Oblast from two fronts
Ukrainian forces said Russian troops have begun attacks in the direction of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast after a “long pause” and from two different fronts.
Dmytro Lykhovyi, spokesperson for the Tavria group of Ukrainian forces, told national TV that the assault began from the village of Reshetylivske in the direction of Huliaipole.
“Some reports said that it could be a major offensive with the formation of an offensive group, but according to our intelligence, it is a continuation of the tactics of small assault actions, because the total numbers of the Russian group in Zaporizhzhia Oblast have not changed in terms of the number of troops,” he said.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said Russian forces are making attempts to dislodge Ukrainian troops from positions in the Orikhiv and Huliaipole directions.
Shweta Sharma30 July 2024 05:22
1722312000Debunked: Russia’s fake news campaign targeting the OlympicsDebunked: Russia’s fake news campaign targeting the Olympics
Alexander Butler30 July 2024 05:00
1722311786US to send another $1.7bn in military aid to Ukraine
The US will send another $1.7bn in military aid to Ukraine that will include anti-tank missiles and long-term contracts.
The latest tranche of aid will include an array of munitions for air defence systems, artillery, mortars and anti-tank and anti-ship missiles.
The package includes $1.5bn in funding for long-term contracts through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, and $200m in immediate military aid taken from Pentagon stockpiles.
It comes a bit more than two weeks after the Nato summit in Washington, where allies focused a significant amount of time on shoring up support for Ukraine as it fends off Russian forces.
However, the US defence department did not elaborate on which specific systems were being sent to Ukraine immediately, and which ones would be funded through contracts.
Shweta Sharma30 July 2024 04:56
1722311179Russia using unwitting Americans to spread disinformation about US elections, intelligence officials say
American intelligence officials have accused Russia of using unwitting Americans and commercial public relations firms in Russia to spread disinformation about the US elections.
Officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told reporters that Russia continues to pose the greatest threat when it comes to election disinformation while there are indications that Iran is expanding its efforts and China is proceeding cautiously.
“The American public should know that content that they read online — especially on social media — could be foreign propaganda, even if it appears to be coming from fellow Americans or originating in the United States,” an official told reporters on condition of anonymity due to the rules set by the office of the director.
They said that the groups linked to the Kremlin are hiring marketing and communication firms within Russia to outsource some of the work of creating digital propaganda while also covering their tracks.
Two such firms were the subject of new US sanctions announced in March. Authorities say the two Russian companies created fake websites and social media profiles to spread Kremlin disinformation.
“Foreign influence actors are getting better at hiding their hand, and getting Americans to do it,” said the official, who spoke alongside officials from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
Shweta Sharma30 July 2024 04:46
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