Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 07-09-2024

Cynical Russian response at UN Security Council Meeting called by Ukraine to address Monday's deadly missile attacks by Moscow on Ukrainian cities

Russia came under fire at the UN Security Council on Tuesday for conducting "systemic attacks" on Ukraine's medical facilities after a wave of deadly strikes across the country.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said 38 people across Ukraine were killed – including four children – and 190 wounded in the wave of nearly 40 missiles that targeted several towns and cities on Monday, damaging a children's hospital.

A Foreign Flying Legion may be Ukraine’s best chance – much like WWI’s French Lafayette Escadrille or WWII’s Flying Tigers in China, private US citizens could bring a significant impact to the war.

As Ukraine prepares to receive F-16s, a glaring pilot shortfall exists. The Ukrainian Air Force will soon gain roughly 60 aircraft and only has 15-20 pilots. For clarity, 60 aircraft would traditionally demand 90-120 pilots to maximize fleet effectiveness. For Ukraine to bring forward the full potential of these aircraft, they’ll need pilots… and they will need them quickly. Given the US denied Zelensky’s request to prioritize Ukraine pilots in the US F-16 schoolhouse for foreign pilots, the question remains, where will Ukraine quickly get more pilots?

One option, a Foreign Flying Legion (FFL), is perhaps the best and last chance for Ukraine. Much like WWI’s French Lafayette Escadrille or WWII’s Flying Tigers in China against Japan, private US citizens have been and can be rapidly sourced to bring a significant impact into a war. The idea of a Ukrainian FFL isn’t new. Military analysts, journalists, and I surfaced the idea long ago; however, the US administration was not receptive to the idea. Disappointingly, information suggests Washington has even taken active measures to scuttle an FFL effort that Ukraine has tried to foster.

Despite continuing Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities killing dozens of civilians, astonishishinly the Biden administration says it still forbids Ukraine to hit military targets deeper inside Russia.

Russia’s attack on the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv will not lead to the US lifting its restrictions on the Ukrainian military using American weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during a briefing on Monday, July 8.

On the other hand, it will also not stop the US from providing Ukraine with weapons to help it defend itself.

Ukraine has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council to condemn Monday's deadly missile strikes.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Ukraine on Tuesday after a deadly Russian strike on a Kyiv children's hospital, a spokesman for the world body said.

The session scheduled for 10:00 am (1400 GMT) follows a request from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, UN spokesman Farhan Aziz Haq told AFP.

President Zelensky also said the number of wounded has risen to 190 people, some still trapped under rubble and at least 98 victims hospitalized.

As a result of Russia's massive missile attack on Ukraine on Monday, July 8, over 40 people, including four children, are known to have died, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Telegram.

According to him, 190 people were wounded in the strikes. Currently, there are 64 people in Kyiv hospitals, 28 in Kryvyi Rih, and six in Dnipro.

The Okhmatdyt Hospital is a children's specialist facility where families from across the country bring children for the treatment of serious medical conditions, such as cancer and kidney disease.

The United Nations on Tuesday said there was a "high likelihood" that the children's hospital in Kyiv suffered "a direct hit" from a Russian missile.

Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, called Monday's strike "one of the most egregious attacks that we've seen since the onset of the full-scale invasion" in February 2022.

The wide-reaching attacks came a day after a salvo of Kremlin-launched cruise missiles hit, among other things, a children’s hospital in Kyiv, where at least 31 were killed and 117 injured.

Explosives-toting Ukrainian drones in an ambitious wave of overnight and dawn raids targeted oil refineries and power grid infrastructure targets across five of Russia’s western regions, setting a fuel processing plant and transformer stations ablaze in two of them, Tuesday news reports said.

The most damaging attacks appeared to have struck deep inside Russia’s Volgograd region, more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) distant from Ukraine-controlled territory, near the city Kalach-Na-Donu, where Ukrainian strike drones slammed into a fuel processing and storage plant, sparking massive fires.

In the first deal for Ukraine’s banking sector after the invasion, the Dutch invested €4.5 million in capital to purchase shares of a Ukrainian Swiss and Iceland-owned bank operating in Ukraine.

The Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) brought new capital to Ukraine’s Bank Lviv, investing almost €5 million in the institution after the fund’s investor applied to the central bank and received approval to purchase Bank Lviv shares, the bank’s press release said.

DGGF is managed by the consortium of Triple Jump and PwC, on behalf of the Netherlands Government. The decision to invest was previously announced at the Berlin Recovery Conference.

“EU leaders don't understand the intentions of the current Georgian authorities,” the EU ambassador to Georgia said.

The European Union has suspended Georgia’s accession to the bloc, EU Ambassador to Georgia Pavel Gerchinsky stated Tuesday, July 9.

“EU leaders don't understand the intentions of the current Georgian authorities,” Gerchinsky said.

Ukraine has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council to condemn Monday's deadly missile strikes.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday slammed a visit to Russia by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that coincided with a deadly Russian strike on a Kyiv children's hospital.

"It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day," Zelensky wrote in a message on social media.

Washington praised Poland’s role and contribution to NATO and said the loan would help modernize the Polish military and bolster NATO’s eastern flank.

The US Department of State announced a second $2 billion Foreign Military Financing (FMF) direct loan agreement with Poland on Monday to help modernize the Polish military.

The loan would help Warsaw purchase an unspecified number of F-35 aircraft, Patriot missile systems, and Abrams main battle tanks.

Sunday’s surprising election result prompted an international sigh of relief, but Emmanuel Macron’s gamble has weakened him and Europe

It was a good week for Europe. It was a bad week for Europe. Good because Britain now has a strong, stable centrist government keen to reset relations with the EU, and voters in France rallied to keep the hard-right National Rally (RN) out of power. Bad because France looks set for a period of weak, unstable, divided government that will hamper the whole EU. This in a crucial year for our continent, with Vladimir Putin still pummelling Ukraine and Donald Trump again likely to become president of the US, unless Joe Biden steps aside as he should.

Let’s start with the good news, before getting depressed again. Britain has a responsible, pragmatic government of the centre-left, elected for up to five years. It’s led by a former human rights lawyer determined to defend the rule of law at home and internationally; embraces a judicious mix of market economy, state intervention and social justice; strongly supports Ukraine and is committed to pursuing good relations with other European countries. In fact, it’s a much better match to the values proclaimed in article 2 of the Treaty on European Union than the government of the EU member state Hungary, whose anti-liberal nationalist leader, Viktor Orbán, has been sitting down with Putin in Moscow to see how they can compel Ukraine to capitulate in the name of “peace”.

After renewed Russian missile strikes on Ukraine, the ambassador referenced Kyiv’s request for more Patriot missile systems in April and said a “very positive response” from NATO would arrive soon.

US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said NATO has “a very positive response” to Ukraine’s appeal for more air defenses, a decision expected to be announced in the 3-day NATO summit slated to start Tuesday, July 9.

“There will be fresh news on air defense. The Ukrainians asked NATO for seven Patriot systems in April. And we have a very positive response on that, which will come in the next few days,” Smith said on Monday, July 8, during a Foreign Policy online discussion, as reported by Voice of America.

With the domestic sands shifting among all of Ukraine’s partners in the Russo-Ukrainian war, a new geopolitical configuration is preparing itself for the likelihood of a new Trump era.

Recent elections in France and the UK, mark a pivotal shift in Ukraine-Europe relations, ushering in a new era in the dynamic between Europe and Russia.

As NATO countries gather in Washington, their stance toward Ukraine will be a good indication of where the West will be positioned vis-à-vis the powers trying to undermine it.

Entrepreneurs in Ukraine can now manage their licenses online and complain in cases of license law violations, pay for administrative services and report on occupational health in the workplace.

Ukraine’s government launched the ePermit system that allows businesses to get five pilot services regarding permits, licenses and reports about occupational safety, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation reported.

The Unified State Electronic System of Permit Documents launched the ePermit system as it is planned in the Ukraine 2023 Report for the EU Accession.

The Polish military also views the free eight-hour training sessions as an opportunity to spark interest among potential recruits.

At a Polish military base southwest of Warsaw, 200 Poles are firing guns, throwing imitation grenades and learning about military tactics as war rages in neighbouring Ukraine and tensions rise on the border with Moscow ally Belarus.

The session on a summer weekend is one of 20 programmes for civilians run by the Polish army.

Intriguingly, the agreement refers to “cooperation in shooting down and countering air attacks” from Russia heading towards Poland. Will this help protect the skies over western Ukraine?

Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky signed a security agreement on cooperation in Warsaw on Monday.

The Ukrainian leader arrived in the Polish capital in the morning, just hours after Russian missiles struck multiple cities across Ukraine, killing dozens and damaging a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

As NATO leaders meet in Washington, the existential issues of US leadership and defeating Putin in Europe are not on the formal agenda.

Europe is in the midst of the largest war on the continent since NATO was founded in 1949. Putin is attacking Ukraine with conventional forces and engaging in hybrid attacks against NATO itself.

The allies know that if Russia is not defeated in Ukraine, it is highly likely that Europe will soon face a larger war involving their countries. It is, therefore, beyond doubt that defeating Putin’s regime is a vital interest for Europe and the United States. And yet despite the billions of dollars of military and financial aid provided to Ukraine, the West still has no plan to achieve Ukrainian victory.

Modi, visiting Moscow for the first time since Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine in February 2022, will seek to nurture New Delhi's long-standing relationship with Moscow.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, a day after the Indian leader arrived in Moscow amid global outcry over Russian strikes in Ukraine.

Modi, visiting Moscow for the first time since Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine in February 2022, will seek to nurture New Delhi's long-standing relationship with Moscow.

In the letter, Orban said that he was not speaking for the entire EU during his visits but claimed his aim was to understand the Ukrainian and Russian positions.

After visiting Kyiv and Moscow this month, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban sent a confidential letter to European Council President Charles Michel and EU leaders.

The letter, dated July 5, and sent from Azerbaijan, was obtained by the investigative project "System" and confirmed by two additional EU officials.

With Ukraine unlikely to receive the invitation to join NATO that it is seeking, new air defenses are the most concrete assistance it is likely to get at the summit.

Ukraine is desperate for more air defenses, and this week's NATO summit in Washington offers President Volodymyr Zelensky an opportunity to push Kyiv's supporters for additional batteries to protect against Russian strikes.

Zelensky will attend the summit, which marks the 75th anniversary of the trans-Atlantic alliance and which will bring together leaders of countries that have provided Kyiv with tens of billions of dollars in military aid to help it counter Russia's invasion.

Okhmatdyt is the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, annually treating more than 20,000 children from all over the country.

On the morning of July 8, a Russian missile struck Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv. So far, more than 20 people have been injured, 7 of them children. 2 adults, including an Okhmatdyt doctor, were killed. Rescuers, together with Kyiv residents, continue to clear the rubble.

Okhmatdyt is the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, annually treating more than 20,000 children from all over the country.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• A Russian Kh-101 cruise missile hit the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in central Kyiv during a wider series of missile strikes targeting critical Ukrainian infrastructure throughout the day on July 8.
• Russian officials and information space actors are attempting to deflect responsibility for the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital strike by making false claims about the missiles involved and the state of the hospital — all contrary to available evidence.
• The July 8 Russian missile strikes likely employed a new and noteworthy tactic to maximize the damage from such strike series.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and People's Republic of China (PRC) President Xi Jinping continued to posture themselves as potential mediators to an end to the war in Ukraine during a July 8 meeting in Beijing, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's rejection of serious negotiations or any third-party mediation.
• Russian Vice Admiral Sergei Lipilin replaced Vice Admiral Vladimir Vorobyov as Russian Baltic Fleet Commander.
• Ukrainian forces recently regained lost positions in Chasiv Yar, and Russian forces recently advanced near Donetsk City and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
• Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called on July 8 for Russia to increase its domestic production of drones fivefold by 2030.

Sunday’s French election has brought no clarity to the country’s politics. Likewise, it is not clear if the triumph of the leftist alliance over the far-right party makes a difference for Ukraine.

New Popular Front (NFP), France’s hastily formed leftist alliance, has come out on top after Sunday’s election, triumphing over President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Ensemble coalition and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN).

The snap election, initiated by Macron following his party’s defeat in the EU elections, ultimately saw the NFP taking 182 seats in France’s National Assembly, followed by Ensemble’s 168 seats and RN’s 143 seats, upending the RN’s first-round victory on June 30 in a surprising turn of events.

Ukraine’s most successful companies announced they will help rebuild the destroyed Okhmadyt Children’s Hospital, and are now providing food, water and transportation for patients and staff.

Hours after Russia’s missile strike on Kyiv Children’s Okhmadyt hospital, Ukraine’s biggest companies provided wounded patients with water and food, sent equipment and vehicles, and allocated money to restore the hospital. 

An hour and a half after an announcement wounded patients received food and water, and trucks with the necessary items from Ukraine’s leading food retailers arrived, according to an official Telegram post by Ukrainian lawmaker Danylo Hetmantsev.