China’s participation in peace talks in Saudi Arabia could signal a shift in Beijing’s stance, experts tell Reuters journalists. Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international relations scholar, tells the news agency China must engage in international peace efforts as Russia “will inevitably be defeated.” 40 countries took part in the international talks, held in Jeddah on August 5-6, to discuss Ukraine’s path to peace. Although China declined to attend a similar summit in Copenhagen in June, Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui represented Beijing at the Jeddah talks.
+++ 01:58 Ukrainian ex-parliamentarian falls on the Zaporizhia front +++
Serhiy Slabenko, a former member of the Ukrainian parliament, has been killed in combat on the Zaporizhia front. This is announced by the Ukrainian government. Slabenko sat in parliament between 2002 and 2006 and during his tenure was chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, Trial Procedures and Judicial Reform of the Legal Policy Committee.
+++ 00:39 Russia shells seven communities in Sumy Oblast +++
Russian forces shelled seven communities in the Sumy region, the region’s military administration said in a telegram. The attacks hit the municipalities of Krasnopillya, Bilopillya, Esman, Seredyna-Buda, Shalyhyne, Novoslobidske and Khotin, located on Ukraine’s northeastern border with Russia.
+++ 23:15 Ukraine: Six Russian ammunition depots destroyed +++
Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi reports that Ukrainian forces have destroyed six ammunition depots and other military equipment on the southern front line in recent days. Destroyed Russian military equipment includes three armored vehicles, two drones, ten artillery systems and military vehicle mortars.
+++ 22:18 governor issues warning of drone attack in Kharkiv +++
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synyehubov has on his Telegram channel issued a warning about a Russian drone attack. There is a risk that the enemy will use UVAs. “Attention, residents of the city of Kharkiv and region, stay in shelters!”
+++ 22:06 Kiev: Within seven days Moscow fired 178 drones and 65 rockets +++
Russian forces have fired 65 different missiles and 178 combat drones, including 87 Iranian-made Shahed drones, in the last week, according to the Ukrainian president. Zelenskyy noted that most missiles and drones were shot down by air defenses. The Ukrainian leader also said his armed forces this week demonstrated the ability to launch hypersonic Kinchal (Dagger)-type missiles. He added that the delivery of air defense systems and missiles from Western partners is crucial for Ukraine to protect its citizens protect against Russian attacks. “Ukraine can win this fight, and our air shield will later guarantee the security of all of Europe,” said Zelenskyy.
+++ 21:28 General Staff: Russian artillery destroyed on the southern front +++
In the last 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have destroyed Russian artillery systems on the southern front, reports the General Staff of the Armed Forces in its daily update. Accordingly, there were around 30 combat operations between Ukrainian defenders and Russian troops. The cities of Vodyane, Wuhledar, Blahodatne and Staromajorske in Donetsk Oblast came under Russian artillery fire. In Zaporizhia Oblast, the Russian army launched unsuccessful counterattacks near Robotyne. More than ten settlements came under Russian artillery fire, including Novodarivka in Luhansk Oblast, Malynivka in Kharkiv Oblast, as well as Hulyaipole, Vessele in Zaporizhia and Pyatychatky in Dnepropetrosk Oblast. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued to conduct offensive operations towards Melitopol and Berdyansk in Zaporizhia Oblast.
+++ 20:48 Selenskyj praises the German Iris-T air defense system – “remarkable results” +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is satisfied with the defense systems Patriot from the USA and Iris-T from Germany. These are powerful and highly effective systems, says Selenskyj in a video speech. “They have already achieved remarkable results.” Ukraine has repelled a large part of the Russian airstrikes in the past week. Among other things, 65 rockets and 178 drones were shot down. Iris-T is a medium-range anti-aircraft system. It consists of a radar, launchers and missiles.
+++ 20:23 air forces have flown more than 14,000 combat missions according to Selenskyj +++
On the Day of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated the Air Force of the country. The pilots have flown more than 14,000 combat missions since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, Zelenskyj wrote on Telegram. Shared pictures and videos show the President writing and signing “Glory to Ukraine” on a suspected French Scalp/EG cruise missile attached to a fighter jet at an unknown air force base. The designation of the missile type is printed on the cruise missile in the colors of the French flag, and an Eiffel Tower can also be seen next to it. Scalp/EG is the French name for the Storm Shadow cruise missile developed jointly with Great Britain.
+++ 19:40 Lukashenko opponents unite and plan “New Belarus” passes +++
Exiled opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko have met in Poland to show unity and plan a strategy, including issuing “New Belarus” passports. The self-proclaimed government-in-exile set up by Svetlana Tichanovskaya in August 2022 has opened more than 20 alternative embassies and information centers abroad. Tikhanovskaya said the opposition would seek international recognition for the alternative passports. Speaking in a Warsaw hotel to several hundred activists, including independent media and civic groups, she called on opposition forces abroad to unite and support the creation of a “New Belarus” movement. The 40-year-old is a former English teacher. She ran as a candidate in the 2020 presidential election in Belarus. It came in second place according to officially announced results, which analysts and their supporters called the result manipulated. She fled Belarus and settled in Lithuania.
+++ 19:11 Tens of thousands of Russians are said to have moved to Germany since the outbreak of war +++
Tens of thousands of Russians have apparently moved to Germany since the beginning of the Ukraine war. At the end of June, 301,511 Russian nationals were living in Germany, as reported by “Welt am Sonntag”, citing the Federal Ministry of the Interior. That’s 32,183 more than at the end of February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. According to the information, the figures come from the central register of foreigners. Foreigners who are not only temporarily in the country are stored there. The Foreign Office reports that the German consulates have issued “approximately 32,000 national visas” to Russian nationals since the beginning of the war. These serve “basically a longer stay and migration” and primarily affect skilled workers, family reunification or students. In addition, “more than 51,000” so-called Schengen visas have been issued to Russian nationals. This allows short-term stays of up to three months in the EU.
+++ 18:40 Peskov: Russia wants to control four annexed areas – no further conquests planned +++
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said the military operation in Ukraine would continue for the foreseeable future. According to TASS, Moscow does not want to conquer any more Ukrainian territories, he told the newspaper “New York Times“But Russia wants to control the areas that are enshrined in its constitution. These are the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, and the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Cherson since 2022. However, militarily these areas are only partially in Russian hands. Beyond that he made it clear for the presidential elections in Russia next year that there will only be one winner: “Our presidential elections are not really democracy, but costly bureaucracy. Mr. Putin will be re-elected next year with more than 90 percent of the vote,” he is quoted as saying.
Update 7:06 p.m .: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the “New York Times” misquoted him in a recent interview. He denied his statement about the election. Opposite of News Agency Tass he states: “No [das habe ich nicht gesagt], which was absolutely misinterpreted by the author of this article.” He continued: “The degree of consolidation of society around the President is absolutely unprecedented, and even now it can be said with confidence that if Putin is nominated, he will with a by a huge margin.” There is no doubt about that”. And further: “But elections are a democracy, the President himself spoke about that in his speech.”
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