Ukraine has urged the UN and Red Cross to investigate a widely shared image that showed a Ukrainian prisoner of war allegedly killed and dismembered by Russian forces.
Dmytro Lubinets, the country’s leading human rights official, said the picture is “probably of a Ukrainian prisoner”, whose head and limbs were cut off by suspected Russian soldiers.
Prosecutor general Andriy Kostin accused Russia of consistently repeating “crimes of the Nazis”.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said it sunk a submarine in Russian-controlled Sevastopol, attacked a southern Russian airfield and hit oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities in Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions.
“A Russian submarine went to the bottom of the Black Sea,” the defence ministry said in a post on X, naming the vessel as the B-237 Rostov-on-Don attack submarine. The vessel was worth $300m (£233m), it added.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had used over 600 guided aerial bombs to attack Ukraine in the past week.
In Russia, local officials reported that tanks at a fuel storage depot in the Kamensky district of Rostov region caught fire as a result of a drone attack.
Key Points
- Breaking: Ukraine says it struck Russia’s Morozovsk airfield
- Kyiv targets occupied Crimea with ‘massive’ strike
- Who is Evan Gershkovich? The reporter falsely jailed by Russia
ICYMI: Russia-Ukraine war update 2 August
Saturday 3 August 2024 16:00
Jabed Ahmed
- Russian assaults are raising pressure on the strategic eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, Ukraine says, as waves of guided bombs and infantry lead to some of Moscow’s largest territorial gains since the spring.
- Russian forces are using warplanes and artillery fire to support waves of infantry assaults in the area near Pokrovsk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s National Guard said in televised remarks.
- Russia’s defence minister said its forces had captured five settlements in the Donetsk region in the past week.
- Ukraine said it had received the bodies of 250 killed soldiers in one of the largest exchanges of remains since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Freed prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza: I told the Russians ‘I’ll be back sooner than you think’
Saturday 3 August 2024 15:00
Jabed Ahmed
Russia suffers 1,170 casualties in the past 24 hours
Saturday 3 August 2024 14:00
Jabed Ahmed
Russia has suffered 1,170 killed and wounded combat casualties in the past day, bringing the total since the beginning of the invasion to an an estimated 581,760, according to the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
Ukrainian forces have also destroyed 8,406 Russian tanks, 16,238 armored fighting vehicles and 363 warplanes since the invasion, news agency Ukrinform reports.
Latest Intelligence update from UK ministry of Defence
Saturday 3 August 2024 13:30
Jabed Ahmed
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 3 August 2024.
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) August 3, 2024
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/PwPJnsVZdN#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/52owshfk8k
Frontline update: 123 combat engagements in past day
Saturday 3 August 2024 12:00
Jabed Ahmed
More than 120 combat engagements were recorded on the front lines in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"According to an update, yesterday the enemy launched one missile strike against the positions of Ukrainian units and populated areas using three missiles, as well as 80 airstrikes, dropping 114 guided aerial bombs. In addition, the enemy launched 4,693 shelling attacks, 93 of them from multiple launch rocket systems," a situation update read.
On 2 August, Ukrainian forces launched 15 strikes on areas with Russian troops, a military equipment area, and a UAV control post.
They also hit two air defense systems and a Russian ammunition depot, according to the frontline update by the armed forces of Ukraine.
Fire at fuel depot in Russia's Rostov region after drone attack extinguished
Saturday 3 August 2024 11:17
Jabed Ahmed
A fire at a fuel storage depot in the Kamensky district of Russia’s Rostov region, caused by a Ukrainian drone attack, has been extinguished and no one was injured in the attack, the head of the district administration has said.
According to the regional governor, 55 Ukrainian drones attacked the region overnight.
A state of emergency has been introduced in the Morozovsky district, also in Rostov, where schools, kindergartens and residential buildings and production facilities were damaged, he added.
Ukraine-launched drones also attacked an oil storage depot in Russia’s Belgorod region, the regional governor said earlier on Saturday, adding that the fire was quickly extinguished and no one was injured.
Ukraine‘s military said on Saturday it had attacked Russia’s Morozovsk airfield and a number of oil depots and fuel storage facilities in three Russian regions overnight.
Russia used over 600 guided aerial bombs to attack Ukraine in past week, Zelenskiy says
Saturday 3 August 2024 11:00
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Russia has used more than 600 guided aerial bombs to attack his country in the past week.
“Russian combat aviation must be destroyed wherever it is, by all effective means. It is also quite fair to strike at Russian airfields. And we need this joint solution with our partners - a security solution,” Zelenskiy said in a social media post.
The Ukrainian military said earlier on Saturday that it had attacked Russia’s Morozovsk airfield overnight, hitting an ammunition depot which stored guided aerial bombs among other equipment.
How Ukraine’s new F-16 fighter jets will help the fight against Russia
Saturday 3 August 2024 10:30
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Ukraine has received its first batch of F-16 fighter jets nearly a year after President Zelensky pleaded for them to help counter Russia’s invasion.
Six jets, which will be fitted with modern US weaponry, were delivered to Ukraine from the Netherlands, with more to follow shortly from Denmark.
The two countries, as well as Belgium and Norway, have promised to provide Kyiv with more than 60 of the American-made planes over the next few months.
“They will be able to affect some of the dynamics of the war,” Federico Borsari, an analyst at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said.
Alexander Butler reports.
Ukraine adds another Turkish corvette
Saturday 3 August 2024 09:45
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Ukraine has taken delivery of a second Turkish-built navy corvette, officials said, although they did not say specifically how the warships might be used in the war against Russia.
Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, attended the launching ceremony of the Ada-class corvette during a visit to Turkey, the Ukrainian presidency announced on its website.
The corvette Ukraine already had is currently undergoing sea trials. Turkish Ada-class ships are typically able to strike planes, other ships and submarines.
More here.
Russian airstrike damage ‘critical infrastructure’ in Ukraine
Saturday 3 August 2024 09:15
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A Russian drone attack overnight damaged “critical infrastructure” in the central Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia, a local official said.
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 24 out of 29 Shahed-type drones launched by Russia in the overnight attack over nine regions.
Russian forces also launched two S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles and two Kh-31 missiles, the air force said.
Earlier this week, Ukraine said it repelled one of Russia’s largest long-range drone attacks since February 2022, shooting down all 89 drones which included a ‘significant’ number of decoys trying to deplete Ukraine’s air defences.
Breaking: Ukraine says it struck Russia’s Morozovsk airfield
Saturday 3 August 2024 08:43
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Ukraine says it has struck Russia’s Morozovsk military airfield and fuel tanks at the Atlas plant in an overnight drone attack.
The Morozovsk airfield houses Su-34 Fullback fighter bombers, which played a crucial role in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Ukraine said the attack on the airfield hit an ammunition depot where Russian forces stored guided aerial bombs among other equipment.
The Atlas plant stores petroleum products and supplies for Russian army. It sustained damages, according to Ukrainian media reports.
Kyiv also targeted oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities in Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions caused fires at two oil tanks.
Putin’s troops advance on key city
Saturday 3 August 2024 08:15
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Russian forces are advancing gradually towards the key strategic city of Pokrovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk, as Ukraine struggles with soldier shortages as delays in military aid from the West hold up the equipping of fresh brigades.
Pokrovsk, which serves as a key supply route for other Ukrainian outposts, has become the main focus of fighting in the last few weeks. Military analysts fear that Ukrainian equipment is insufficient to hold off the advance – although they expect the Russian offensive to slow down as it reaches more built-up areas.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed in the last few days it had taken control of Prohres and Yevhenivka - two villages to the east of Pokrovsk - with efforts now focussed on making a breakthrough closer to Pokrovsk.
Alex Croft has more.
Marc Fogel’s family left ‘heartbroken and outraged’ as jailed US teacher is left out of Russia prisoner swap
Saturday 3 August 2024 08:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The release of several Americans and other westerners from Russian detention has been hailed as the biggest and most significant prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War.
But one family has been left “heartbroken and outraged” after their loved one was left out of the historic deal.
American teacher Marc Fogel, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been held in a Russian prison for the last three years after he was arrested in August 2021 for possession of 17 grams of medical cannabis.
Kara-Murza thought he was being ‘led out to be executed’
Saturday 3 August 2024 07:30
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was freed by Russia in the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War, said he was unaware of the developments and thought he was being led to his death.
The British-Russian citizen told Sky News he knew nothing about a prisoner swap while being taken from his prison cell in Siberia to be transferred to Moscow.
“The night I was taken from my cell in Siberia, as I now know to be taken in preparation for this, I was almost certain I was being led out to be executed,” he said.
Kara-Murza was arrested in April 2022 for speaking out against the war in Ukraine, charged a year later then kept in solitary confinement, in a Siberian penal colony more than 9,000km from his family in the US state of Virginia, for a year until his eventual exchange.
Russia releases US journalist and other Americans and dissidents in massive 24-person prisoner swap
Saturday 3 August 2024 07:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free, officials said.
The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Oil depot in Russia struck
Saturday 3 August 2024 06:55
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Drones struck an oil depot in Russia’s Belogorod Oblast overnight, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The attack caused an explosion at the facility in the region’s Gubkinsky district, located near the Ukraine border.
A tank was also set alight by the explosion, the governor said, adding there have been no reports of casualties.
Turkey launches anti-submarine warship for Ukraine
Saturday 3 August 2024 06:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Turkey has launched a newly built anti-submarine warship that is due to be delivered to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, attended the launch event of the Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said: “Corvettes Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi and [previously launched] Hetman Ivan Mazepa, which were built in Turkey due to Russian aggression, are equipped with cutting-edge weapons and will become a significant addition to our fleet.
“Ukraine has already broken the dominance of the Russian fleet at sea, destroying dozens of ships. We are actively expanding the capabilities of the Ukrainian navy in the Black and Azov seas.”
It remains uncertain when either warship will reach Ukraine, as the Montreux Convention generally restricts warring parties’ warships from entering or exiting the Black Sea through the Bosphorus, which is controlled by Turkey.
Russia launched more drone attacks than Russia in July
Saturday 3 August 2024 05:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine launched more long-range drone attacks than Russia in July for the first time since the war began.
According to figures published by the Ukrainian army, Russia launched 426 Shahed-type drones into Ukraine and Kyiv hit back with over 520 drones.
It comes as Russia has faced destructive attacks on its oil refineries and other targets in recent months appearing less effective in shooting down the Ukrainian weapons.
The Ukrainian drone attacks were considerably more than 200 attacks in each of the previous two months.
ICYMI: Ukraine says it struck Russia’s Morozovsk airfield
Saturday 3 August 2024 10:13
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine says it has struck Russia’s Morozovsk military airfield and fuel tanks at the Atlas plant in an overnight drone attack on Saturday.
The Morozovsk airfield houses Su-34 Fullback fighter bombers, which played a crucial role in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Ukraine said the attack on the airfield hit an ammunition depot where Russian forces stored guided aerial bombs among other equipment.
The Atlas plant stores petroleum products and supplies for Russian army. It sustained damages, according to Ukrainian media reports.
Kyiv also targeted oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities in Belgorod, Kursk and Rostov regions caused fires at two oil tanks.
Drone fragments hit areas of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, governor says
Saturday 3 August 2024 04:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Fragments from at least four drones downed by Russian air defences struck areas of the port of Sevastopol early on Friday in Russian-occupied Crimea, the Russia-appointed governor said.
Mikhail Razvozhaev, writing on Telegram, said no injuries were recorded. He said fragments of intercepted drones had landed on a street, on a lawn, on a roof and in a courtyard.
Ukrainian forces have claimed considerable success in their regular attacks on Crimea as part of what they see as a long-range drive to recapture the peninsula.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 following unrest which forced a Russia-friendly president from office in Kyiv. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin proclaimed Crimea part of Russia “forever”.
Ukraine‘s military has said its strikes have forced Russia‘s navy to reposition or withdraw vessels from parts of Crimea.
Inside the secret talks behind the biggest US-Russia prisoner swap since end of Cold War
Saturday 3 August 2024 03:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The first photo released after Russian authorities on Thursday freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva shows the three aboard a US government jet, doing something they likely hadn’t done much of in a while: smiling.
Who is Vladimir Kara-Murza? The Putin critic involved in US-Russia prisoner swap
Saturday 3 August 2024 02:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza is one of the faces of the anti-Kremlin resistance. Following the death of Alexei Navalny in February, he became the best-known Putin critic imprisoned in Russia.
The 42-year-old University of Cambridge graduate was arrested in April 2022 hours after CNN broadcast an interview in which he said Russia was being run by a “regime of murderers”.
A year later, he was sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian penal colony in the Omsk region, where he was consigned to a punishment cell only three metres long and one and a half metres wide, nearly 6,000 miles from his wife and children living in the US. His fate was decried by governments across the West.
Putin’s troops advance on key city as Ukraine’s forces seek to push them back
Saturday 3 August 2024 01:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian forces are advancing gradually towards the key strategic city of Pokrovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk, as Ukraine struggles with soldier shortages as delays in military aid from the West hold up the equipping of fresh brigades.
Pokrovsk, which serves as a key supply route for other Ukrainian outposts, has become the main focus of fighting in the last few weeks. Military analysts fear that Ukrainian equipment is insufficient to hold off the advance – although they expect the Russian offensive to slow down as it reaches more built-up areas.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed in the last few days it had taken control of Prohres and Yevhenivka - two villages to the east of Pokrovsk - with efforts now focussed on making a breakthrough closer to Pokrovsk.
How Ukraine’s new F-16 fighter jets will help the fight against Putin’s forces and Russia’s drone attacks
Saturday 3 August 2024 00:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine has received its first batch of F-16 fighter jets nearly a year after President Zelensky pleaded for them to help counter Russia’s invasion.
Six jets, which will be fitted with modern US weaponry, were delivered to Ukraine from the Netherlands, with more to follow shortly from Denmark.
The two countries, as well as Belgium and Norway, have promised to provide Kyiv with more than 60 of the American-made planes over the next few months.
What are the huge naval drills Russia is carrying out?
Friday 2 August 2024 23:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russia has commenced major naval exercises involving most of its fleet, which is widely considered to be the third most powerful in the world after the United States and China.
The exercises – which involve Russian forces spread across thousands of miles – come a day after annual navy day celebrations were held in Russia, with president Vladimir Putin addressing a parade in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg.
Moldova expels Russian diplomat after detaining two officials suspected of treason and conspiracy
Friday 2 August 2024 22:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday it has expelled a Russian diplomat after two Moldovan officials were detained on suspicion of treason and conspiracy against the European Union candidate country.
One of the Moldovan officials is suspected of treason for allegedly collecting and providing information to an embassy employee that could be used against Moldova’s interests, the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases said, and the other is accused of plotting against the country for personal gain.
One of the suspects works in Parliament and the other for the border police. Both were detained earlier this week for 72 hours and were allegedly collaborating with a foreign embassy in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau. The authorities did not state which country’s embassy was involved.
The largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War is a victory for journalism – and justice
Friday 2 August 2024 21:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War did not seem likely even a few days ago, at least to the outside world. The willingness of the Biden White House and Putin’s Kremlin to engage in such a trade could not easily have been foreseen from the condition of the two powers’ relations.
Russia releases US journalist and other Americans and dissidents in massive 24-person prisoner swap
Friday 2 August 2024 20:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free, officials said.
The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Who is Evan Gershkovich? The reporter falsely jailed by Russia at centre of US-Moscow prisoner exchange
Friday 2 August 2024 19:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Appearing in court, Evan Gershkovich would often crack a smile or laugh for the cameras from inside the glass-walled cage he was being held in. On another occasion, he made a heart shape with his hands and put it to his chest.
A message to family, friends and the wider world that the trumped-up espionage charges for which he was handed a 16-year sentence would not break him.
F-16 fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine – but what impact can they actually have?
Friday 2 August 2024 18:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The American-made F-16 is an iconic fighter jet that’s been the front-line combat plane of choice for the NATO alliance and numerous air forces across the world for 50 years.
Western countries have pledged F-16s to Kyiv, and some have arrived in Ukraine, officials in Washington confirmed. The fighter jets are expected to start flying sorties in Ukrainian skies soon and will be a much-needed boost to the country’s current fleet of Soviet-era jets to counter Russia’s invasion.
United States President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead in August 2023 for used F-16s to be deployed to Ukraine, though the U.S. won’t be providing any of its own planes. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 of them over coming months in what could be a slow trickle of deliveries.
From Gaza to Kyiv, the Palestinian doctor forced to live between two wars
Friday 2 August 2024 17:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
In war-torn Ukraine, he is Alya Shabaanovich Gali, a popular doctor with a line of patients waiting to see him. To his family thousands of kilometers away in the Gaza Strip, he is Alaa Shabaan Abu Ghali, the one who left.
For the past 30 years, these identities rarely had cause to merge: Gali moved away amid instability in Gaza, settled into his new home in Kyiv, adopted a different name to better suit the local tongue, and married a Ukranian woman. Through calls, he kept up with his mother and siblings in Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah. But mostly, their lives played out in parallel.
In February 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threw Gali’s life into chaos, with air raids and missile attacks. Nearly 20 months later, the war between Israel and Hamas turned his hometown into a hellscape, uprooting his family.
As conflicts far and wide shake the planet, can the Olympics unite the world?
Friday 2 August 2024 16:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
More than 100 conflicts fester around the world. The Middle East teeters on the brink of a regional war. In Ukraine, Russia advances slowly but steadily in the east, reducing towns to rubble.
The “Olympic Truce,” clearly, is not being heeded.
In the run-up to every Olympics over the past 30 years, the United Nations passes a resolution upholding the Olympic Truce, which in theory halts hostilities in the name of granting athletes safe passage and promoting world peace.
It’s supposed to last from seven days before the Olympic Games begin until seven days after the Paralympic Games end. Not even two weeks into it, the news of missile strikes, annexations and heightened tensions is omnipresent.
Croatia offers route for oil but conditions unclear, Slovak minister says
Friday 2 August 2024 15:15
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Slovakia has received a letter from the Croatian government offering to secure a route for additional oil supplies through Croatia amid reduced flows through Ukraine, but it is not clear how this would work, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said in a statement on Friday.
“For what price? What capacity? No one knows that today,” Blanar said,” reiterating Slovakia wanted the European Commission to act toward Ukraine to fully reinstate flows from Russia, while it was also searching for another solution in case the Commission does not act.
Putin’s troops advance on key city as Ukraine’s forces seek to push them back
Friday 2 August 2024 14:51
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Russian forces are advancing gradually towards the key strategic city of Pokrovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk, as Ukraine struggles with soldier shortages as delays in military aid from the West hold up the equipping of fresh brigades.
Pokrovsk, which serves as a key supply route for other Ukrainian outposts, has become the main focus of fighting in the last few weeks. Military analysts fear that Ukrainian equipment is insufficient to hold off the advance – although they expect the Russian offensive to slow down as it reaches more built-up areas.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed in the last few days it had taken control of Prohres and Yevhenivka - two villages to the east of Pokrovsk - with efforts now focussed on making a breakthrough closer to Pokrovsk.
Inside the secret talks behind the biggest US-Russia prisoner swap since end of Cold War
Friday 2 August 2024 14:28
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The first photo released after Russian authorities on Thursday freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva shows the three aboard a US government jet, doing something they likely hadn’t done much of in a while: smiling.
Evan Gershkovich and fellow freed Americans welcomed back to US by Biden and Harris after Russia prisoner swap
Friday 2 August 2024 14:12
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed the Americans freed from Russia as they touched down safely on US soil late on Thursday, following what marks the highest profile prisoner swap with the West since the end of the Cold War.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, security executive Paul Whelan and radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 11.37pm on a chartered plane from Ankara, in Turkey, bringing to an end months and years of negotiations to bring them home.
In emotional scenes on the tarmac, Biden was the first to greet each of the three as they stepped off the plane, followed by Harris, before the newly-freed Americans were reunited with their families.
Ukraine adds another Turkish corvette to its navy for the war with Russia
Friday 2 August 2024 13:55
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukraine has taken delivery of a second Turkish-built navy corvette, officials said Friday, although they did not say specifically how the warships might be used in the war against Russia.
Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, attended the launching ceremony of the Ada-class corvette during a visit to Turkey, the Ukrainian presidency announced on its website.
The corvette Ukraine already had is currently undergoing sea trials.
Russia launches its biggest drone barrage against Ukraine in 7 months. No injuries are reported
Friday 2 August 2024 13:20
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Ukrainian forces shot down all 89 Shahed drones launched by Russia in a nighttime attack on the country, Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday, in what was one of the largest drone barrages this year.
No damage or injuries were immediately reported in the bombardment, which mostly targeted the region of Kyiv, the capital.
Russia used the same number of Shahed drones in a Jan. 1 attack, an air force statement said.
Moldova expels Russian diplomat after detaining two officials suspected of treason and conspiracy
Friday 2 August 2024 13:00
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday it has expelled a Russian diplomat after two Moldovan officials were detained on suspicion of treason and conspiracy against the European Union candidate country.
One of the Moldovan officials is suspected of treason for allegedly collecting and providing information to an embassy employee that could be used against Moldova’s interests, the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases said, and the other is accused of plotting against the country for personal gain.
One of the suspects works in Parliament and the other for the border police. Both were detained earlier this week for 72 hours and were allegedly collaborating with a foreign embassy in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau. The authorities did not state which country’s embassy was involved.
As a historic prisoner exchange unfolds, a look back at other famous East-West swaps
Friday 2 August 2024 12:40
Maryam Zakir-Hussain
After years of isolation behind the bars and high walls of U.S. penitentiaries and Russian penal colonies, the prisoners will find themselves suddenly free, an emotional moment culminating from long, back-channel negotiations between Washington and Moscow.
Sometimes, they see those who are part of the swap as they pass each other on an airport tarmac or, as in the Cold War, the Glienicke Bridge connecting West Berlin to Potsdam. In decades of prisoner exchanges, those released have included spies, journalists, drug and arms dealers, and even a well-known athlete.
Thursday’s historic exchange was an especially complex affair involving months of talks among several countries before planes flew the large number of prisoners to freedom.
