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Morning Headlines
AP News: The death toll from a Russian missile attack in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv climbed to four, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported Thursday. Another nine were injured. Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said around 60 apartments and 50 cars in the area of strike were damaged.
Reuters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told CNN he wanted a counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces to have started sooner than it did in June and that he had urged Western allies to quicken the supply of weapons for that mission, according to excerpts via a translator released on Wednesday.
AP News: Pence, who has called for robust aid to the Ukrainian military, said the United States' commitment to keeping Russia in check signals its willingness to also hold China's military ambitions in check in Asia.
Reuters: China hosted two Russian warships that had earlier sailed past Taiwan and Japan, and the vessels are expected to hold a joint drill with the Chinese navy during their visit, demonstrating the enduring military cooperation between the two countries.
AP News: Russian fighter jets flew dangerously close to several U.S. drone aircraft over Syria on Wednesday, setting off flares and forcing the MQ-9 Reapers to take evasive maneuvers, the Air Force said.
ISW: Russia likely continues setting informational conditions for a possible false flag attack against the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant but remains unlikely to cause a radiological incident at this time.
UK Ministry of Defence: Military formations drawn from across Russia are currently bearing the brunt of Ukraine’s counter offensive.
More News
Reuters: Russia said on Wednesday its forces had struck three Ukrainian army groups near Bakhmut, but Kyiv said its forces, despite limited control in the long-contested city, had the Russians all but pinned down. Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Maliar, also reported fierce fighting further north around the town of Lyman, recaptured by Ukrainian forces late last year.
CNN: Russia continues to focus "its main efforts" on the areas of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka in eastern Ukraine, with more than 30 combat engagements taking place there within the last day, according to Ukraine's General Staff.
Critical Threats (CTP): The Wagner Group will continue operating in Africa following the group’s armed rebellion and is very unlikely to decrease its activity on the African continent.
In an interview with POLITICO today, NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg said few Wagner forces have ended up in Belarus so far — with the group's mercenaries remaining active in Africa and away from the frontline in Ukraine.
The Insider: A joint investigation by the Dossier Center, CNN, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, and Norddeutscher Rundfunk has uncovered that the armored train used by Vladimir Putin will cost Russia’s government budget a minimum of 6.8 billion roubles ($75 million).
Reuters: A man who detonated an explosive device at a court in the Ukrainian capital died on Wednesday after barricading himself inside part of the building, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, citing "preliminary information."
Newsweek Exclusive: The CIA's blind spot about the Ukraine war. What are Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin thinking? The Agency doesn't know, a Newsweek investigation reveals.
Novaya-Europe: Russian authorities are going to force companies, even those operating at a loss, to pay an instalment on ‘superprofits’ to the state budget.
Bloomberg: The Russian ruble crashes through what a top government official recently called Russia’s “comfort” zone after a mutiny that briefly threatened Putin’s power compounded months of capital outflows.
Reuters: Putin's former election spokesman has been appointed to run the state news agency TASS, according to a government order published on Wednesday. The Kremlin has tightened its control over the media since the start of the Ukraine war, forcing the closure of leading independent news outlets and designating many journalists and publications as "foreign agents".
Bloomberg: Russia’s oil and gas revenue shrank by over a quarter last month amid lower crude prices and capped gas flows to Europe.
POLITICO: Ukraine is using every legal method at its disposal to try and force Russia to pay for the energy assets it took control of after seizing Crimea in 2014. Kyiv's lawyers hope it will open the door to Moscow also paying compensation for the 2022 invasion.
CBC: More than three weeks since the long-awaited summer offensive began, Ukraine has only retaken a handful of villages along the southern frontlines, as confirmed by geolocated photos and videos. The bulk of them are south of the village of Velyka Novosilka, which CBC visited alongside Ukraine's 68th Brigade.
Reuters: In a basement in downtown Kyiv late last month, away from prying eyes, hundreds of engineers and innovators met senior military officials to brainstorm ways to better neutralise the cheap Russian suicide drones that still devastate Ukrainian cities.
FT: Xi Jinping personally warned Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, indicating Beijing harbours concerns about Russia’s war even as it offers tacit backing to Moscow, according to western and Chinese officials.
The Moscow Times: At least one person was injured in attacks on two Russian regions bordering Ukraine, regional authorities said early Wednesday. The governors of southwestern Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions both issued statements about Ukrainian attacks on two residential areas, located some 400 kilometers apart from each other.
POLITICO: Bulgaria’s new PM Nikolai Denkov says it is high time to end the pattern of law enforcement authorities and security services turning a blind eye to possible Russian influence in the country. But he admits, there is no telling how far Moscow’s reach goes.
OCCRP: Ukraine is investigating hundreds of firms, many created since Russia’s full-scale invasion scrambled the grain market, for allegedly failing to properly document their trading in Ukrainian grain or to pay taxes on it.
worth mentioning
DoD looks to block Chinese and Russian influence on US academia
Ukraine's top steelmaker sees steady production, no need for debt restructure
Belarus jails son of Lukashenko rival for 8 years
Bulgarian defense minister regrets Zelenskyy visit leak
Ukraine plane: Iran facing legal action over downing of Flight PS752
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