On Thursday, July 24, here is how things are going.
Fighting
- Power was cut to 220 000 people in Sumy, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the supply had been restored for the majority of those affected after a Russian drone strike on an energy facility in the country’s northern region.
- 33 Ukrainian drones were reportedly destroyed by Russian air defense systems in six regions overnight, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Ceasefire
- More than 1, 000 Russian prisoners of war have now been returned as a result of talks with Moscow in Turkiye, Zelenskyy reported. How many Russian soldiers were exchanged for the Ukrainian prisoners?
- At a brief peace summit in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine discussed possible prisoner swaps, but their positions on possible meeting points and ceasefire terms are still far apart. After the 40-minute discussions, Ukraine’s chief delegate, Rustem Umerov, said, “We have made progress on the humanitarian track, but there is no progress making a cessation of hostilities.”
- According to Umerov, Ukraine had suggested Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet before the end of August.
- Vladimir Medinsky, the country’s top envoy, claimed that Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange more prisoners of war, including more than 3, 000 bodies of dead soldiers.
military assistance
- To improve Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and provide armored combat vehicles, the US Department of State approved $ 32 million in proposed weapons sales. The potential sales include $ 172 million for surface-to-air missile systems and $ 150 million for the supply, maintenance, and overhaul of US armored vehicles in Ukraine.
- Donald Trump, the president of the US, praised a recent agreement between NATO and the US that would allow European allies to purchase weapons and deliver them to Ukraine. In Washington, DC, Trump stated that “they will pay the United States of America 100% of the cost of all military equipment,” and that a large portion of it will go to Ukraine.
- According to three European security officials and documents reviewed by the Reuters news agency, Chinese-made engines are being secretly shipped via front companies to a Russian state-owned drone manufacturer labeled as “industrial refrigeration units” to avoid Western sanctions.
- Zelenskyy and the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Saar spoke about strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses on Wednesday in Kyiv.
Politics
- Zelenskyy has resisted the repeal of a law that limits the independence of anticorruption agencies following the country’s first wartime street protests, which lasted for two days in cities across the country.
- Zelenskyy promised to introduce a new bill in his evening address to the electorate to protect the integrity of the anticorruption agencies.
regional changes
- Russian Defense Ministry cited the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that Russian Tu-95MS nuclear-capable strategic bombers flew regularly over international waters in the Bering Sea on Wednesday.
- More than 150 ships and 15, 000 military personnel from Russia’s defense ministry were also conducting significant navy drills in the Baltic and Caspian Seas, along with more than 150 in the Pacific and Arctic oceans.
- The so-called “July Storm” exercise, which will take place from July 23 through July 27, will evaluate the Russian fleet’s readiness for unconventional operations, the use of long-range weapons, and other cutting-edge technologies, such as unmanned systems.
Source: Aljazeera
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