Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 08-13-2024

The soldier said that after Ukrainian victory he plans to stay in Ukraine.

The Russian army is advancing in the Donetsk region, heading toward the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.

While the Ukrainian army is making rapid progress in Russia’s Kursk region, the Russian army has made significant gains at the Pokrovsk front in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and the situation is becoming “dire” an individual from a special forces battalion told Kyiv Post.

The city of Pokrovsk, the capital of the district of the same name, is a transport hub, lying on a main road that’s an important supply route to other Ukrainian outposts in the region.

Ukraine’s railway operator said the prolonged repair on the Polish side would require passengers to transfer at the Dorohusk station in Poland for certain international routes.

Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s state-owned railway enterprise, announced on Monday that certain trains to and from Warsaw and Chelm require transfers at the Dorohusk station in Poland due to prolonged repairs on the Polish side, which are expected to conclude on Sept. 30.

The original repair was announced on June 1 and was expected to last until Aug. 31.

Widespread protests broke out after Maduro was declared reelected by the CNE electoral council seen as loyal to his regime.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro called Monday, Aug. 12 for the state to use an “iron fist” after deadly protests in response to his July reelection, which has been dismissed at home and abroad as a sham.

As the official protest death toll rose to 25, Maduro urged “severe justice” for violence he blames on the opposition, which insists its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia had won the July 28 vote by a landslide.

Eurobond restructuring begins.

The Ministry of Finance placed a new three-year instrument last Tuesday, which increased activity in both the primary and the secondary bond market.Last week, the MoF redeemed UAH20bn of the debut bond that the NBU allowed banks to use to cover a part of the required reserves – a so-called "reserve" bond. Therefore, banks aimed to replace this paper in their portfolios last week.The MoF offered a new three-year paper last Tuesday instead of a 3.5-year note sold in previous weeks. Today, this bond was added by the NBU to the list of “reserve” papers. The supply cap for the three-year paper was set at UAH10bn and overall, UAH18bn of UAH bonds with different maturities were offered at the primary auction. Banks reinvested UAH10bn into new bonds, but the MoF had to raise the cut-off interest rate by 30bp to 16.5%, compared with bonds with a similar maturity sold in June. See details in the auction review.In the secondary bond market, 10% of the trading amount was in new notes, and 35% of all deals were with "reserve" bonds. The total volume of trades doubled to UAH10.5bn.

ICU view: Last week, the interests of the Ministry of Finance and banks aligned. The Ministry needed to refinance at least part of the redemption, while banks were interested in new bonds that can be used to meet a part of the reserve requirements. Some banks also preferred to reinvest funds in older "reserve" securities in the secondary market.

A recap of what’s happened so far.

Ukraine’s army launched a surprise offensive into Russia last Tuesday, capturing over two dozen villages in the biggest cross-border assault on the country since World War II.

The attack comes almost two and a half years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and after months of deadlocked warfare on the front lines.

The UK denied Ukraine use of Storm Shadow weapons in Kursk operation despite Zelensky’s request, while claiming to “support Ukraine’s clear right of self-defense in accordance with international law.”

The UK refused Ukraine’s request to use Storm Shadow missiles for strikes in the Kursk region despite President Volodymyr Zelensky’s appeals, The Telegraph reports from an anonymous source in the British Prime Minister‘s office.

As Russian forces launch counterattacks on the Kursk front, Zelensky has again asked Western allies for permission to use long-range missiles against targets deep within Russia.

Unhappy with the response of Russian forces in repelling the Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk region, President Putin has dispatched Alexander Dyumin to coordinate military actions there.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put the 52-year-old Secretary of Russia’s State Council, Aleksey Dyumin, in charge of the military operation in the Kursk region on Monday, Aug. 12 according to the Moscow Times, citing the Russian milblogger “Management Z Kursk.”

Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, gave a briefing over video link to a televised meeting with the heads of law enforcement on Wednesday, Aug. 7, during which he put a positive spin on the situation in Kursk that was largely contradicted by most other battlefield reports.

A Russian navy presentation that predated Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine supposedly marked targets worldwide should a major war break out, including those in Moscow’s allies China and Iran.

The Russian military was instructed to target a number of cities worldwide, including those in its allies China and Iran, with nuclear-capable missiles should a major war break out, according to secret files reportedly seen by the Financial Times (FT).

The FT noted that the 29 secret files, shown to FT by unnamed Western sources and dated between 2008 and 2014, included a presentation that contained maps of targets for the Russian navy “made for presentational purposes rather than operational use.” 

In a one-sided conversation, Trump ranted about a “zombie apocalypse” of immigration, called President Biden “stupid,” and considered a new missile defense system like Israel’s.

Donald Trump ran through his checklist of conspiracy theories Monday in a rambling conversation with his uber-wealthy supporter Elon Musk that was initially derailed by what the tech titan said was a technical glitch.

In a very one-sided conversation on X, Trump vented about a "zombie apocalypse" of immigration, repeatedly blasted President Joe Biden as "stupid", and mused on developing a new missile defense system based on the one that defends Israel.

Discipline seems to be breaking down among some of Moscow’s forces that are still reeling after Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region a week ago.

Ukraine’s unexpected cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk region that began on Aug. 6 caught Moscow’s force on the back foot with its speed. As many of Putin’s raw troops withdrew in disarray, if not in panic, many of them still had time to plunder the homes of the 120,000 or so villagers who evacuated ahead of the advance.

In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) a group of Russian soldiers are seen cursing as they search through a home somewhere in the Kursk region. The family’s possessions scattered on the floor bear witness to the fact that it has already been ransacked, allegedly by a unit from “The Ministry of Defense.”

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

Nearly the entire civilian population of the Krasnoyaruzh district of Russia's Belgorod region has been evacuated, the region's governor reported, as Ukrainian forces continued to make headway in the neighboring Kursk region. Ukrainian leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and military commander Oleksandr Syrskiy, have spoken openly for the first time about their forces' shock incursion into Russia's Kursk region, with Zelenskiy saying that Moscow must be "forced to make peace." A fire at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has been "completely extinguished," a Moscow-installed official said on August 12. Ukrainian naval and and military intelligence forces have attacked and damaged a former offshore gas platform used by Russian forces in the Black Sea, the navy's spokesman said on August 10. - RFE/RL

Ukraine’s top military commander says his forces now control 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of Russia’s neighboring Kursk region, the first time a Ukrainian military official has publicly commented on the gains of the lightning incursion that has embarrassed the Kremlin. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi made the statement in a video posted Monday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel. In the video, he briefed the president on the front-line situation. “The troops are fulfilling their tasks. Fighting continues actually along the entire front line. The situation is under our control,” Syrskyi said. Russian forces are still scrambling to respond to the surprise Ukrainian attack after almost a week of fierce fighting. - AP

Unlike last year's troops, who struggled with complex Russian defenses during a major counteroffensive, the forces attacking the Kremlin's border area advanced swiftly and effortlessly.

As Ukrainian tanks and infantry poured over the Russian border in the Kursk region on Aug. 6 in a shock turn of the war, soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Assault Brigade initially encountered no resistance, according to a soldier from the brigade who spoke to the Financial Times.

A soldier known only as Volodymyr told how his brigade was among the first to enter the Kursk region. They had been relocated from Kharkiv, where they had been holding off assaults by massed Russian forces.

The plight of independent journalists in Russia keeps getting worse. Apart from high-profile assassinations and arrests, there are obstacle to press freedom at every step.

Russia’s months-long jailing of journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva – released on August 1 as part of a prisoner exchange – was one of the most blatant illustrations of Russia’s muzzling of the press in the wake of its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has precipitated what a representative of the now-shuttered Russian Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union (JMWU) – speaking anonymously due to security concerns – calls the “biggest press freedom crisis in Russia’s recent history.”

Advocates estimate that hundreds of Russian journalists have fled into exile, where some continue to face transnational repression such as arrest warrants and jail terms in absentia. Those who remain are under heavy scrutiny as independent reporting hangs on by a thread.

Ukraine won 12 medals at the Paris Olympics, reaching the 21st position in the overall medal count – not the country’s best ever showing, but athletes are paying a bigger price for success amid war.

“Ukraine, I am coming home with gold!” Yaroslava Mahuichikh exclaimed after receiving gold for the women’s high jump in athletics.

It wasn’t obvious at first glance: both Yaroslava and her competitor Nicola Olyslagers of Australia jumped at the height of two meters. But judges provided Mahuichikh with the gold since she jumped on the first attempt while Olyslagers took three attempts to make it happen.

The Paris Olympics received rave reviews from Western media upon closing Sunday. Meanwhile, Russian media, excluded due to its war in Ukraine, criticized France's success.

The Paris Olympics won mostly rave reviews from western media after they closed on Sunday, while media in Russia, whose team were excluded because of its war in Ukraine, sniffed at France's success.

Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke wondered whether Tinseltown was up to the task of rivalling Paris when it hosts the next Summer Olympics in 2028.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has boosted Poland’s exports and investment in its eastern neighbor.

Poland’s trade balance with Ukraine surged to a record €7.1 billion in 2023 on the back of supplies of military goods and fuel, Monday’s edition of TVP World’s Business Arena program reports.

In 2019, Poland’s exports to Ukraine stood at €5.6 billion, growing to €6.3 billion by 2021.

Speaking at the latest meeting on the Kursk situation Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine’s intention was to strengthen its future negotiating position.

With no notice of irony, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) counter invasion objective was meant to strengthen Kyiv’s position in any future negotiations – talks he said would make no sense with a government that attacks civilians.

The Russian state news agency TASS reported Putin’s opening statement at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council on Monday, Aug. 12 to discuss the situation on the Russian border and the incursion into the Kursk region. He said that what he termed as Ukraine’s armed provocation was aimed to bolster Kyiv’s position for future talks. He then went on to say that talks with a government that attacks civilians make no sense – overlooking the strategy he has employed for the last two and a half years.

The video appeared on social media, showing Ukrainian armored vehicles moving through the eastern outskirts of the city of Sudzha, suggesting that Ukrainian forces may have taken control of the town.

As of Tuesday morning, Aug. 13, hostilities in Russia’s Kursk region have spread over approximately 1,050 square kilometers, according to reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense, pro-military Telegram channels, and NASA satellite data.

Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky stated that Ukrainian troops are not only engaged in combat but also administering control over the captured territory.

The United States has been in touch with European allies on reports that Iran is "planning to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

The United States warned Iran on Monday against sending ballistic missiles to Russia, saying it would invoke a "severe" US response and would counter efforts by Tehran to improve relations.

The United States has been in touch with European allies on reports that Iran is "planning to deliver hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

Ukraine’s largest offline retailer Knyharnya Ye sees it as a sign Ukrainians do not want to give up connections with Ukrainian culture abroad.

Thirty-five percent of the top 20 best-selling novels Ukrainian refugees purchased were written by Ukrainian authors, one of Ukraine’s largest book retailers Knyharnya Ye concluded in their data for the first two quarters of 2024.

The leader in the top 10 is Ukrainian author Illarion Pavliuk with his novel “I See You Are Interested in Darkness.”

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to portray himself as an effective and knowledgeable manager of the situation along the Ukrainian-Russian border and to shift responsibility for ongoing challenges in responding to the Ukrainian incursion in the area to other Russian military and government officials.
• The Kremlin's decision to publish footage showing Putin chastising senior Russian officials is likely a warning to other Russian officials to refrain from commenting about the Ukrainian incursion into Russia.
• Putin delegated overlapping tasks to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), Federal Security Service (FSB), and Rosgvardia in the Ukrainian-Russian border area — further highlighting how the Russian force grouping in Kursk Oblast is struggling to establish the joint command and control (C2) structures necessary to coordinate operations.
• Putin offered several assessments about Ukrainian operations in Kursk Oblast, including one that undermined a long-standing Kremlin information operation falsely portraying Ukraine as unwilling to engage in legitimate, good-faith negotiations and putting the onus for peace negotiations on Ukraine.
• Ukrainian forces appear to be advancing further within Kursk Oblast despite recent milblogger claims that Russian forces were stabilizing the frontline in Kursk Oblast.
• Regional Russian officials appear to be offering notably frank assessments of the ongoing Ukrainian incursion.
• Senior Ukrainian officials provided updates about the ongoing Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast and warned that Russian forces may stage war crimes in Kursk Oblast in order to discredit Ukraine and Western support for Ukraine.
• Ukrainian forces reportedly conducted a drone strike against a Russian airbase in Moscow Oblast on the night of August 11 to 12.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Vovchansk, Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) emphasized Russia's international defense ties at the Army-2024 International Military-Technical Forum in Moscow, likely in an effort to expand international military-technical cooperation and posture strong defense relations with Russia-friendly states.