Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 08-18-2024

Kyiv Post is one of the first news organizations to enter Sudzha, in the Kursk region of Russia, which is now under Ukrainian control.

Some Thoughts of the Day from Kyiv Post’s Chief Editor

Let me briefly comment on some things that have happened during the last few days – the good, the bad, and the not-so-pleasant.

So here goes, re: Kursk, Putin, Lukashenko and Belarus. And I’ll leave Kamala Harris’s impressive progress in challenging Donald Trump, the continuing bloody deadlock in the Middle East conflict, and the struggle for democracy in Venezuela for others.

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

The commander of Ukraine’s air force says a second bridge in Russia’s Kursk region has been struck as Kyiv tries to weaken Russia’s combat operations in the area. “Minus one more bridge.” Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk wrote on Telegram on August 18. “The air force continues to deprive the enemy of logistical capabilities with precise air strikes, which significantly affect the course of hostilities.” Earlier, Russian military bloggers had posted an image of a damaged bridge over the Seym river near Zvanne village in Kursk. Moscow has not yet commented on the strike on bridge. - RFE/RL

More than 3,000 people have been evacuated over the last 24 hours from areas in Russia's western Kursk region affected by the ongoing incursion of the Ukrainian army. The Russian Emergency Ministry said on Saturday that more than 10,000 local residents were staying at temporary accommodation centres in other parts of the country. The incursion, which Russian authorities say has led to the evacuation of more than 120,000 civilians, came as a shock to many people living in the Kursk oblast which borders Ukraine. “No one expected that this kind of conflict was even possible in the Kursk region," said Yan Furtsev, a member of the local opposition party, Yabloko. - Euronews

Ukraine’s use of maneuver combined with operational surprise in the Kursk region shows how to make greater territorial gains in a much shorter period with fewer fighters and less equipment.

The operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kursk region illustrates how Ukrainians can use maneuver warfare to compensate for Russia’s superiority in manpower and equipment.

This is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrinform reports.

Poland is increasing its troop numbers, modernizing its equipment, and enhancing its overall military readiness.

Europe needs to boost its defense strategy, especially as the future of American support in NATO becomes less certain.

Poland is taking confident steps to lead by example, committing 4 percent of its GDP to defense. This isn't just a financial figure; it's a declaration of intent. Poland’s recent moves, including a $12 billion deal to acquire 96 Apache attack helicopters from the US, along with investments in Abrams tanks, Patriot missiles, and F-35 jets, demonstrate a serious commitment to fortifying its military capabilities.

Ukraine says struck second key bridge in Russia's Kursk region while Russia claims to have taken another Ukrainian village in the Donbas.

Ukraine said Sunday it had struck a second key bridge in the Kursk region, seeking to disrupt Moscow's supply routes as Kyiv's unprecedented incursion on Russian soil stretched through its second week.

Russia meanwhile ramped up pressure in east Ukraine, claiming to capture another village just a few kilometers from the Ukrainian-held logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

What Ukraine needs to do to recover and rebuild.

Ukraine has stunned the world with its resilience to Russian aggression over the last ten years, especially since the all-out invasion of February 2022.

Provided the West stands firmly behind Ukraine, it looks highly unlikely that Vladimir Putin will be able to conquer Ukraine militarily. That would mean Ukrainian statehood is here to stay and, while still fighting a brutal war, its government needs to think about the long-term perspective of the country that has suffered so much.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has certified the use of the multi-purpose mine-resistant vehicle, said to one of the world’s safest, for its armed forces.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced on its website on Friday, Aug. 16, that it had codified and approved the Buffalo mine protected armored engineering vehicle for delivery to its armed forces.

The Buffalo is considered to be one of the safest and best protected military vehicles in the world, manufactured by the US company Force Protection, Inc, a division of General Dynamics.

Ukrainians hit oil storage facility in Russia's southern Rostov region.

Ukrainian drones attacked an oil storage facility in Russia's southern Rostov region early Sunday morning, sparking a large fuel fire, the local governor said.

Videos published on social media showed thick black smoke and bursts of flames coming from the site of the blaze, which the governor said was in the town of Proletarsk.

After a decade of effort, there’s still work left to implement reforms outlined by EU recommendations – but the progress of Ukraine’s initiatives can’t be denied.

On June 25, the Ukrainians celebrated a historic moment by holding accession negotiations with the European Union. During the session in Kyiv, the EU stated that it “remains firmly committed to taking the enlargement process forward.” The pace of negotiations between the EU and Ukraine would determine progress on integration efforts. This would be decided by the speed at which Ukraine implements anti-corruption reforms.

Over the past decade, Ukraine’s initiative to improve its government has not gone unnoticed. When initial discussions between Ukraine and the EU began in the autumn of 2013, Ukraine faced several corruption issues. According to Transparency International, Ukraine ranked 144 out of 174 places on its Corruption Perception Index.

The Chechen warlord brandished the shiny new Tesla Cybertruck equipped with a 12.7mm heavy machine gun that he claims was personally presented to him by Elon Musk.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and close ally of President Vladimir Putin posted a video on YouTube and Telegram on Saturday, Aug. 17, of him posing with a Tesla Cybertruck on which was mounted a Russian 12.7mm heavy machine gun which he has pledged to send to the front line in Ukraine.

Kadyrov, with yet another of his excessive publicity stunts is seen driving the vehicle around his palace grounds, standing on the load platform holding the machine gun draped in belted ammunition.

Russian occupying management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant claimed a Ukraine drone dropped an explosive charge on a road used by staff, according to Kremlin news agency TASS.

Safety at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is deteriorating following a drone strike that hit a perimeter access road on Saturday according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The Russian management of the ZNPP claimed a Ukraine drone dropped an explosive charge on a road used by the staff, the TASS news agency reported earlier.

Kyiv, Sumy and Poltava regions were targeted by 16 aerial threats launched from Russia’s Kursk and Voronezh regions; none reached their targets. Per preliminary reports, there were no casualties.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down eight Russian Shahed attack drones and five missiles overnight and in the early morning of Aug. 18.

Ukrainian Air Force Commander, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk announced this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

Ukraine’s Health Minister said the head of the children’s hospital was suspended pending investigations by the National Police of Ukraine, other law enforcement agencies, and a ministry commission.

Health Minister of Ukraine Viktor Liashko has announced the suspension of Director General of the Ohmatdyt National Specialized Children’s Hospital Volodymyr Zhovnir from office.

“Zhovnir has been suspended from office until the end of inspections carried out by the National Police of Ukraine, other law enforcement agencies, and the Health Ministry’s commission,” he said on the Telegram channel on Saturday.

Tehran has reportedly signed a new agreement with Moscow that would provide a supply of Iranian ballistic missiles to augment their previous aid in licensing kamikaze drone production to the Kremlin.

Iran has signed a new agreement with Russia that provides for the supply of Iranian ballistic missiles for the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Since the beginning of the war, Russia has been actively importing various types of weapons from all its ‘allied’ states. North Korea, with which Russia has signed a mutual defenseagreement, has already been supplying Russia with ballistic missiles for the war in Ukraine, and now Iran may initiate the delivery of such missiles.

From the scale of Ukraine’s domestic reform to the marvel of its technological and prowess in combating a gargantuan aggressor, Ukraine’s innovations provide a template for democratization.

An underappreciated aspect of Kyiv’s contribution to global progress is the growing number of new and partly revolutionary Ukrainian cognitive, institutional, and technological advances which can be applied elsewhere.

Before the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2022, Kyiv initiated some domestic reforms of potential relevance for the modernization of other transition countries. After the victory of the Euromaidan uprising (or Revolution of Dignity) in February 2014, Ukraine started to fundamentally restructure its state-society relations. This included the creation of several new anti-sleaze institutions, namely a specialized anti-corruption court and procuracy as well as a corruption prevention agency and investigation bureau.

Hats off to President Zelensky and his staff for this brilliant but risky strategic shift with the Kursk offensive. Now, it must be executed with great care and precision lest it be “reckless.”

War is never pretty. It wallows in blood, gore, and pitiful lamentation. Perhaps that is why the most common appeal globally in all cultures, times, and religions has been for “peace.” And that is why Even the most cynical and power-craving “warlords” – such as Putin – have justified and initiated wars for some ostensibly noble purpose.

Humans are wired to see themselves as working toward some common “good” and dying for what they see as some higher purpose. Putin had convinced his nation that Ukrainians are enslaved by NATO-supported “Nazis”; their “Ukrainian” state occupies land that has historically belonged to “fraternal” Orthodox people, and his “special military operation” will liberate their wayward brethren to enjoy the benefits of the “Russian world.” Furthermore, Patriarch Kirill, Putin’s “spiritual” standard-bearer, guarantees that those who die in this “holy war” have nothing to fear because St. Peter will hold the gate to heaven wide open for them.

Ukraine’s bold Kursk incursion not only demonstrated that the Kremlin’s threats are often bluffs but also allowed Ukraine to seize the narrative and respond to Russia in a language it understands.

For years, Russia has employed an escalating language of force, creating faits accomplis, waging hybrid warfare against Poland, the Baltic states, and other countries on NATO’s eastern flank, and regularly engaging in nuclear blackmail. In contrast, much of the Western political class has acted in the opposite manner, opting for de-escalation. But is this approach effective?

The fear of the “red lines” drawn by the Kremlin seems unwarranted at this point. Many of these lines have been crossed, most recently in a spectacular manner with Ukrainian forces entering Russian territory in the Kursk region.

Zelensky says the AFU is strengthening its positions and expanding stabilized territory in the Kursk region a day after Ukraine destroyed a key bridge, disrupting Kremlin troop movements and resupply.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday his forces were strengthening their positions in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv has been mounting a major ground offensive for more than 11 days.

His comments came a day after Moscow accused Ukraine of destroying a key bridge over a river in the border region, as Kyiv seeks to disrupt supply routes and the movement of Moscow’s troops in the area.