Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 08-22-2024

Just 24 hours before filming a cooking video, he was a drone pilot in what he called the “hell of Toretsk” – defending the eastern city that Russia has been trying to capture for months.

Standing amid ruins in east Ukraine, Ruslan Mokrytskyi held a combat knife and concentrated on cutting onions without crying. As trivial as it seems on the front line, it is still not easy.

The mustachioed 32-year-old in military fatigues instructed his comrade to get the right shot of him with his phone.

Ukraine’s largest one-dollar store retailer secured a deal to buy a 100,000 square meter (1 million square feet) commercial property that belonged to Ukraine’s major investment bank Dragon Capital.

Avrora, Ukraine's largest retailer with branches of its one-dollar stores throughout Ukraine and Romania, has secured a deal to buy a warehouse with offices and adjoining land near the village of Stoyanka, 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from Kyiv. 

The deal was signed with one of Ukraine’s major investment companies, Dragon Capital who took on the premises from the previous owners after they were burned during Russia’s invasion of the Kyiv region in 2022. 

Russian troops seized Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest – in the first days of its full-scale military offensive and still holds it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused Kyiv of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power station, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from where Ukrainian forces are mounting a major cross-border offensive.

The Kremlin leader did not present any evidence for his claims or provide further details on the alleged attack.

Pfarrer, having been a former Squadron Leader of SEAL Team 6, explains why the failure of Russia's attempted attack is indicative of larger, systematic problems within the Russian military.

Officers and soldiers of the air defense forces have raised a petition requesting the establishment of a special day to honor the actions and personnel of the air defense forces.

Ukraine’s Air Defense Forces were created as a separate arm of Kyiv’s Armed Forces on Oct.1 1993 under a ministerial directive. Its full official title is the Department of Air Defense of the Ground Forces as part of the Main Directorate of the Ground Forces of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In 2008, Oct. 1 was established as the Day of the Air Defense Forces of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, in 2012, it was removed from the calendar by the Minister of Defense, since when repeated appeals to reinstate it have had no success.

Two Russian Air Force attack squadrons are deployed to an air base near the southern city of Kalach-Na-Donu. Fires were still burning and touching off detonations 12 hours after the strike.

A night-time wave of long-range Ukrainian strike drones pummeled a military airfield deep inside Russia, sparking hours of explosions and major fires burning well into Thursday morning.

An SBU source told Kyiv Post that agents from Ukraine’s national intelligence agency and operators from the army’s Special Operations command carried out the attack, which reached more than 400 km (249 miles) into Russian territory.

Modi will be the first Indian premier to visit Ukraine and the first in 45 years to visit Poland, Kyiv's loyal ally and a key transit point for foreign leaders heading to its war-torn neighbour.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said no conflict could be resolved on a battlefield as he spoke in Poland on the eve of his historic visit to war-torn Ukraine.

Modi will be the first Indian premier to make a Ukraine trip and is the first in 45 years to visit Poland, Kyiv's loyal ally that is a key transit for foreign leaders heading to its war-torn neighbour.

The incident marked the latest diplomatic spat between Minsk and Yerevan following earlier reports that Belarus had aided Baku’s offensive to retake Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh.

Protestors in Yerevan threw eggs, tomatoes and potatoes at the Belarusian Embassy on Wednesday morning in response to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s mocking comments about Armenia’s political leadership seeking to strengthen ties with the West.

“Who needs the Armenians besides us? No one needs them. Let them develop their economy and focus on what they have,” Lukashenko said in an interview with Russian state television earlier in the week.

A video posted on line includes a clip where two Russian women living in the Kursk region saying they were told that Polish mercenaries were fighting for Ukraine.

“They are Poles, Polish mercenaries - we were told by a soldier who told us to leave our village,” say two Russian women living in the Kursk region in a popular YouTube video posted by the OSW Center for Eastern Studies:

The move comes as Russian regions bordering Ukraine have declared emergency situations due to the incursion and heavy shelling, forcing the evacuation of thousands from border areas.

Concrete air-raid shelters are being installed in cities in Russia's Kursk region where Ukraine's offensive is now in its third week, the regional governor said Thursday.

The move comes as Russian regions bordering Ukraine have declared emergency situations due to the incursion and heavy shelling, forcing the evacuation of thousands from border areas.

Russian cyber security experts’ attempts to fix the situation on Wednesday evening, only resulted in the simultaneous shutdown of nine Russian TV channels.

Sources from within the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) told Kyiv Post that its cyber specialists had successfully launched an attack against Russian TV servers, which caused regular programming on several TV channels to be replaced by videos giving details of the war in Ukraine.

“HUR ‘hacked’ Russian television and exposed the reality of the war [to its people],” the source said.

Mongolia, planned as a transit country for Russia’s Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline to northeastern China, did not include the project in its development plans through to 2028.

The planned pipeline intended to transport gas from Russia to northeastern China known as Power of Siberia-2 has likely fallen through.

As the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Monday, Aug 19, Mongolia, whose territory the pipeline would transit through, did not include the project in its national development plans through 2028.

Over two years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s troops caught the Kremlin off-guard on August 6 by launching a large-scale assault inside Russian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he went on Thursday to border areas in Sumy region, just across the frontier from Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops are staging an unprecedented offensive.

Over two years into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv's troops caught the Kremlin off-guard on August 6 by launching a large-scale assault inside Russian territory, where they captured dozens of settlements.

The media in Russia is a torrent of propaganda springing from grotesquely bizarre lies. Yet it manages to unwittingly influence Westerners. Julia Davis intends to expose Moscow’s efforts.

Russia Media Monitor, headed by Julia Davis, tracks the Kremlin’s mouthpieces to gain insight as to what the Kremlin is thinking and what might come next. Davis explained to Kyiv Post how Moscow’s propagandists are justifying part of their country falling under Ukrainian occupation – and what might come next.

Julia, could you explain what exactly the Russian Media Monitor is?

Russia's FSB security service said it launched criminal cases against journalists who reported from Ukrainian-held parts of Russia's Kursk region for "illegally" crossing the border.

Russia's FSB security service said Thursday it launched criminal cases against journalists, including a CNN correspondent, who reported from Ukrainian-held parts of Russia's Kursk region for "illegally" crossing the border. 

The FSB said it had opened cases over the illegal crossing of the state border -- punishable by up to five years in prison -- against a CNN journalist and two Ukrainian journalists. 

With an eye on the presidential election in November, Europe's press attempts to assess the chances of Harris and the Democrats.

This Thursday evening, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago will close with a speech by presidential candidate Kamala Harris. In the run-up to the event, Harris had presented the key points of her economic policy. With an eye on the presidential election in November, Europe's press attempts to assess the chances of Harris and the Democrats.

Torch passed on successfully

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

Key mediator Egypt expressed skepticism Wednesday about the proposal meant to bridge gaps in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas as more details emerged a day before negotiations were expected to resume in Cairo. The challenges around the so-called bridging proposal appeared to undermine the optimism for an imminent agreement that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken carried into his latest Mideast visit this week. Diplomatic efforts have redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, and stressed the urgency of reaching a cease-fire and hostage release deal, the White House said. Officials in Egypt, in its unique role as both a mediator and affected party since it borders Gaza, told The Associated Press that Hamas won’t agree to the bridging proposal for a number of reasons — ones in addition to the long-held wariness over whether a deal would truly remove Israeli forces from Gaza and end the war. - AP

Ahead of a visit to Ukraine, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for an early return to peace and stability and said he will “share perspectives” on a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Modi will travel to Kyiv on Friday after visiting Poland. He will hold talks with Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy weeks after a visit by the Indian prime minister to its longstanding partner Moscow drew sharp criticism from the Ukrainian leader. Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July on a day when Russian missiles struck multiple targets including a children’s hospital in Kyiv killing many civilians. The Indian leader had called the death of children heart-wrenching, but images of Modi hugging Putin were embarrassing, according to analysts. - VOA

Borrell's comments came two days after Zelensky reiterated his plea for partner countries to let it use long-range weapons deep inside Russia -- to halt Moscow's advance in eastern Ukraine.

The EU's top diplomat said Wednesday that Ukraine's Kursk counteroffensive had dealt a "severe blow" to Vladimir Putin's war narrative, while calling for a lifting of restrictions on Kyiv using Western-supplied weapons inside Russia.

Josep Borrell's comments came two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his plea for partner countries to let it use long-range weapons deep inside Russia -- in order to halt Moscow's advance in eastern Ukraine.

Two and a half years into the war, Ukraine has mounted the unprecedented cross-border assault since August 6, catching Russia off guard and even surprising its close allies.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday said Ukraine prepared its surprise counteroffensive into Russia's Kursk region "very secretly and without any feedback."

Two and a half years into the war, Ukraine has mounted the unprecedented cross-border assault since August 6, catching Russia off guard and even surprising its close allies.

In addition to the severing of logistics routes across the Seim River, the video highlights the destruction of a cluster of Russian vehicles, field ammunition, and a 152mm D-20 gun.

The Special Operations Forces (SSO) have released a video reportedly showing SSO operators destroying Russian engineering equipment in the Kursk region, including strikes on bridges and pontoon crossings using the American High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

“Where are the Russian pontoons ‘disappearing [to]’ in the Kursk Region? Special Operations Forces operators, together with units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, are effectively destroying them,” read the caption accompanying the video.

Ukrainian border guards used attack drones to eliminate four Russian soldiers and injure two more, one of whom who later reportedly committed suicide.

The Ukrainian Pomsta [Revenge] brigade destroyed multiple Russian artillery systems, and multiple dugouts using attack drones, according to a report on Telegram by Ukraine’s State Border Service (DPSU)

“Using strike drones, the Pomsta brigade’s border guards destroyed a dozen enemy dugouts, eliminating four occupiers and wounding two others. One of the injured reportedly committed suicide after receiving injuries,” the report said.

An independent news site says Russia’s administration has instructed its propagandists to prepare the population for the fact that resolution of the Kursk “situation” may take some time.

The independent news site Meduza, citing sources close to the Kremlin, reports that  Russian state propaganda outlets have been instructed to play down the significance of Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region. At the same time, they should prepare their audience for the fact that, although the area occupied by Kyiv will eventually and inevitably be recovered, this could take time – measured in weeks or even months.

According to its inside sources Moscow’s propagandists should present the “temporary” occupation as a “new normal” and to avoid portraying the situation as shocking or dangerous.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• The Kremlin appears to have launched an intricate messaging campaign aimed at justifying to its domestic audience why Russia is prioritizing maintaining the initiative in eastern Ukraine over immediately expelling Ukrainian forces from Kursk Oblast.
• Putin notably appears to be demanding that Russia defeat Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk Oblast without sacrificing the stability of his regime, deprioritizing the offensive in eastern Ukraine, or firing his incompetent but loyal lieutenants. The results of such a strategy are too early to forecast.
• Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations throughout the Kursk Oblast salient on August 21 and have made additional marginal advances.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Republic of Chechnya for the first time in 13 years on August 20, likely in an effort to shift domestic focus away from the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast and posture normalcy and stability.
• Recent US intelligence assessments highlight Ukraine's efforts to develop alternative and asymmetric capabilities in the face of Russian manpower and materiel advantages, as well as Ukraine's continued dependence on Western security assistance.
• Ukraine continues efforts to attrit Russia's air defense and aviation capabilities.
• Russian authorities may have attempted to block Telegram and other non-Russian internet communications services on August 21.
• The Russian government is reportedly supporting a bill that would allow Russian authorities to draw up administrative protocols against Russian citizens who violate Russian law while living abroad.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin and People's Republic of China (PRC) Premier Li Qiang discussed deepening bilateral economic and trade relations in Moscow on August 21.
• Russian forces recently advanced southeast of Pokrovsk, southwest of Donetsk City, and northeast of Robotyne.
• Russian occupation authorities continue to create Cossack organizations in occupied Ukraine, likely to build out Russia's military reserves and law enforcement bodies in occupied Ukraine.