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OSCE PA: The Vancouver Declaration adopted by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on July 4 says that Wagner Group's actions on behalf of the Russian government "can rightly be characterized as terroristic in nature and intent." The declaration emphasizes Putin publicly admitting that Wagner was fully financed by the state.

RFE/RL: Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas says it's important to agree on "practical steps" on how Ukraine gets into NATO once the conflict with Russia is over.

RFE/RL: Zelenskiy’s visit to Sofia is expected to coincide with the Bulgarian parliament's adoption of a declaration in support of Ukraine's NATO membership.

POLITICO: Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday to further boost NATO’s eastern flank by sending over German troops to his country “soon” and “permanently.”

FT: The Russian army has lost half of its combat effectiveness in Ukraine, including as many as 2,500 tanks, and the main push of Kyiv’s counter-offensive is still to come, the head of Britain’s armed forces has said. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin rejected suggestions that Ukraine’s counter-offensive was proceeding slowly, arguing that the pushback against Russia was “never a singular act”, and that Kyiv’s military strategy to “starve, stretch and strike” was gradually breaking down Russian defensive lines.

BBC News: The maker of Dove soap and Cornetto ice cream has defended its decision to keep operating in Russia more than a year after the country invaded Ukraine. Unilever said that exiting was "not straightforward" as its operations would be taken over by the Russian state if it abandoned them.

Bloomberg: Russia is preparing to send more Chechen fighters and convicts to Ukraine to fill holes left by Wagner mercenaries that were pulled from the battlefield, European intelligence officials believe.

Reuters: Pope Francis' peace envoy for Ukraine, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, said on Tuesday he is working on a "mechanism" that could ensure the return of children who according to Kyiv have been abducted to Russia.

Reuters: Ukrainian officials said at least 38 people, including 12 children, were wounded in a Russian missile strike on Tuesday which an officer said targeted a military funeral in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

The Insider: The UK government has restricted the use of £2.35 billion ($2.98 billion) from the Chelsea FC sale by Roman Abramovich to Ukraine only, according to head of the foundation responsible for distributing the funds from the deal.

Reuters: Italy has frozen Russian oligarchs' assets valued at around 2 billion euros following the invasion of Ukraine last year, the country's central bank said on Tuesday. Italy seized assets -- including bank accounts, luxury villas, yachts and cars -- as part of the European Union's sanctions against the Kremlin and its backers.

The Moscow Times: Manufacturing facilities based in one of Russia’s special economic zones have been assembling Iranian drones used to attack Ukraine, independent media outlets reported in a joint investigation. As part of a three-stage franchise agreement, specialists at the Alabuga special economic zone in the republic of Tatarstan assemble prefabricated drone parts delivered from Iran which are labeled as "Belarusian boats," according to internal planning documents.

POLITICO: Major international corporations that stayed in Russia after the invasion in Ukraine — including Philip Morris and Danone — made hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue in the country last year, a new report has found.

Newsweek: Ukraine's air force has appeared to confirm that a U.S-made Patriot missile system was behind the downing of five Russian aircraft in one day in May 2023.

Reuters: Russia's finance ministry has proposed expenditure cuts to its 2024 budget, the Vedomosti daily reported on Tuesday, citing two sources close to the government, a step that would free up funds to spend on areas such as the military and national security.

Reuters: Lithuania's president urged NATO leaders to be bolder in addressing Ukraine's push for membership at a summit in his country next week, saying this would boost Kyiv's battlefield performance while Moscow would see any caution as weakness.

Reuters: Chinese smartphones dominated the Russian market in the first half of 2023, exceeding 70% of all sales, leading consumer electronics retailer M.Video-Eldorado said, up from about 55% last year. Smartphones from Chinese retailers like Xiaomi and Realme have become top sellers in Russia after Samsung and Apple curbed sales in the country over the war in Ukraine.

The Moscow Times: A prominent Russian journalist and lawyer were hospitalized after being badly beaten on a visit to Russia’s republic of Chechnya, the rights groups Memorial and the Crew Against Torture said early Tuesday.

WSJ: Moscow’s propaganda targeting Russian speakers has carved a rift through families, pitching people across generations and backgrounds against one another.

worth mentioning

EU continues energy dealings with Russia despite sanctions

Austria to Traders: Don’t Bank on Russian Gas Transiting Ukraine

Belarus opposition leader says anonymous message alleges that her husband died in prison

Russia's Medvedev: 185,000 new contract soldiers have joined armed forces this year

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