Friday, August 2

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Former prisoner held by Russia US journalist Evan Gershkovich is welcomed by US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on August 1, 2024. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Gershkovich, Whelan, Kara-Murza released in major prisoner swap between Russia, West. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan are being released by Russia in a multi-country prisoner exchange, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 1, citing undisclosed sources.

No link between US-Russia prisoner swap and war in Ukraine, Sullivan says. “We see those operating on the separate tracks. One is really about the practical issue of producing this exchange. The other is a much more complex question where the Ukrainians will be in the lead and the United States will consult closely with all of our allies to support them when they are prepared to step forward and engage in that kind of diplomacy,” U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

White House: US wanted Navalny to be part of prisoner exchange. “We had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexei Navalny. Unfortunately, he died,” Sullivan said.

Ukraine received 6 F-16s from Netherlands, The Times reports. The first batch of F-16 fighter jets Ukraine received encompassed six planes provided by the Netherlands, The Times reported on July 31, citing an undisclosed source.

Ukraine, World Bank sign agreement for US grant of $3.9 billion. “This is the first tranche of direct budget support from the United States in 2024. The planned amount of financial assistance from the United States for the current year is $7.8 billion,” the statement read.

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Zelensky: Cabinet reshuffle being prepared. “Personnel decisions are being prepared at the Cabinet level,” Zelensky said without elaborating.

Pokrovsk became Russia’s main target after Kharkiv push failed, Zelensky says. After Russia’s Kharkiv Oblast offensive failed, Moscow began concentrating its efforts in the east, “throwing everything they have” in the Pokrovsk direction, President Volodymyr Zelensky told French media on July 30.

Head of Russia’s military supplier company detained as corruption cases mount. Since April, several high-ranking military officials have been arrested on charges ranging from bribery to abuse of power after Russian Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was ordered to be dismissed from his position.

Syrskyi: Russia suffers big losses but has ‘minor gains’ on eastern front. “During active hostilities, the tactical positions of the troops can change several times during the day. As of now, there have been no significant changes,” Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug. 1.

Defense Ministry to purchase Ukrainian-made unmanned ground vehicles. “(Ground-based kamikaze drones) are an important component of our defense strategy, as they can effectively perform tasks to defeat the enemy,” Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov said.

Read our exclusives

Who was released from Russian prisons in historic swap?

Russia and several Western countries are holding a historic prisoner exchange on Aug. 1, the largest such move in almost 15 years. It is also the most significant prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Photo: The Kyiv Independent

Killers, spies and smugglers – the Russians released in historic prisoner swap

Kremlin’s assassin, Vadim Krasikov, has been imprisoned in Germany since 2021 after being given a life sentence for murdering Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.

Photo: Screenshot

Ukraine war latest: Pokrovsk is Russia’s main target after Kharkiv push failed, Zelensky says

After Russia’s Kharkiv Oblast offensive failed, Moscow began concentrating its efforts in the east, “throwing everything they have” in the Pokrovsk direction, President Volodymyr Zelensky told French media on July 30.

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 4, injure 27 over past day, hit railroad station. Russia targeted a total of 10 Ukrainian oblasts over the past day – Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk. Casualties were reported in the latter seven regions.

Russian shelling kills mother, daughter in Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. A 40-year-old woman and her 72-year-old mother were killed during a Russian artillery attack against Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Aug. 1, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

Russian oppositionist Ponomarev reportedly injured in drone attack near Kyiv. Ilya Ponomarev suffered multiple shrapnel wounds, but his life was not in danger, Obozrevatel wrote.

War reporter Francis Farrell answers questions about Russia’s invasion

International response

Russian soldiers depart Yerevan airport, ending 32-year presence. The process of their withdrawal was completed with a formal ceremony, during which Edgar Hunanian, the newly appointed head of Armenia’s border guard, thanked the Russian detachment for their service.

Romania discovers more drone debris after Russia’s earlier attacks on Ukraine. Russia attacked Ukraine overnight on July 25 with 38 Shahed-type drones, targeting the port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast. Three drones were lost after crossing the border with Romania.

Georgia’s foreign agent law comes into effect. Failure to register as a foreign agent by Sept. 1, when the official monitoring period begins, could result in fines of 25,000 Georgian lari ($9,200).

EU sees no threat to Hungary, Slovakia due to Ukraine’s Lukoil sanctions so far. The sanctions imposed by Ukraine against Lukoil do not affect the current transit of oil through the Druzhba pipeline, as Lukoil is not the official owner of this oil, according to the European Commission.

Ukraine at Olympics

Zelensky calls admission of neutral athletes from Russia, Belarus to Olympics ‘semi-sanctions.’ “If we impose sanctions, let’s impose them. If these are semi-sanctions, it is better not to play with populism,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Shooter Kulish takes silver, wins Ukraine’s second medal at Paris Olympics. Serhiy Kulish scored 461.3 points, which is 2.3 points less than earned by the winner of the competition, Yukun Liu from China.

In other news

Widespread YouTube outages recorded in Russia. The news comes days after a Russian lawmaker warned that the government would deliberately slow down YouTube loading speeds in response to Google’s refusal to comply with Russian authorities’ demands.

Fugitive Ukrainian ex-MP becomes potential pick for Russian Senate, media reports. Derkach is one of three candidates that Astrakhan Oblast Governor Igor Babushkin plans to propose to the Federation Council if he wins the regional elections, which are scheduled for Sept. 6-8.

Russia exaggerating numbers of contract soldiers, investigation claims. The Russian Defense Ministry announced in December that there were 640,000 soldiers serving under contract.

Minister asks for ‘additional checks’ after company won tender to rebuild Kyiv children’s hospital at inflated price. Health Minister Viktor Liashko requested on Aug. 1 that law enforcement conduct additional inspections of the tender for the reconstruction of the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, that was won by a company offering its services at a reportedly inflated price.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dmytro Basmat, Rachel Amran, Oleg Sukhov, Martin Fornusek, Kateryna Hodunova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Chris York, Lili Bivings, and Kateryna Denisova.

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