Weekend Briefing

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Morning Headlines

Reuters: Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of starting a fire on the grounds of Europe's largest and now Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Sunday, with both sides reporting no sign of elevated radiation.

AFP: China on Monday urged all sides in the Ukraine war to de-escalate as Kyiv's forces pierced deep into Beijing ally Russia's Kursk border region.

The Kyiv Independent: USAID provided gas distribution network operators in the Kherson region with vehicles for emergency repairs, responding to frequent damage caused by ongoing Russian shelling.

Reuters: Russia on Monday evacuated parts of another region next to Ukraine after Kyiv sharply increased military activity near the border just days after its biggest incursion into sovereign Russian territory since the start of the 2022 war.

ISW: Ukraine's operation in Kursk Oblast has allowed Ukrainian forces to at least temporarily seize the battlefield initiative in one area of the frontline and contest Russia's theater-wide initiative.

11.08.2024

The Kyiv Independent: Russian forces have begun constructing defensive lines near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant as Ukrainian forces advance deeper into Kursk Oblast, the BBC reported on Aug. 11, citing photos analyzed by BBC Verify.

The Guardian: There is “clear” Russian involvement in the far-right riots and security services will be looking closely at the instigators, a former head of the MI6 Russia desk has said.

The Kyiv Independent: Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko's claim that several drones from Ukraine were shot down over Belarus on Aug. 9 is false, the monitoring group Belarusian Hajun said on Aug. 11.

The Insider: The Russian Defense Ministry’s videos claim “successful strikes” against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Region — but the footage is old and filmed elsewhere. One clip shared by the MoD was actually filmed in Ukraine’s Kreminna and Chasiv Yar, while another was a month old.

The Kyiv Independent: Delays in U.S. military aid have contributed to Ukraine's soaring budget deficit this year, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said in an Aug. 11 interview with the Financial Times.

The Moscow Times: Thousands of Ukrainian troops are taking part in an incursion aiming to destabilize Russia by showing the country's weaknesses, a top official from Ukraine has said as the assault entered its sixth day.

FT: Russia has failed to push back Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region despite sending in reinforcements as the incursion enters its sixth day, Ukrainian soldiers involved in its army’s operation told the Financial Times on Sunday. Speaking near the international border, the troops said they remained in Russian territory (archive).

Reuters: A 4-year-old boy and his 35-year-old father were killed in an overnight Russian air strike outside of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. Three other people, including a teenage boy, were wounded in the attack just east of the capital, which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said involved a North Korean-made missile.

10.08.2024

Reuters: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine had launched an incursion into Russian territory to "restore justice" and pressure Moscow's forces, in his first acknowledgement of Kyiv's surprise offensive into the western Kursk region.

Bloomberg: A second liquefied natural gas tanker has docked at an export terminal in northern Russia that’s subject to US sanctions, satellite images show (archive).

Reuters: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pledged on Saturday to "strengthen our Ukrainian spiritual independence", suggesting that the country's leadership was moving towards effectively banning the branch of the Orthodox Church that has links to Moscow.

The Kyiv Independent: The missile that struck Okhmatdyt, Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, on July 8 was manufactured in Russia only weeks, and possibly days, before the attack, the Conflict Armament Research investigative outlet reported.

Sky News: Russia says it has used a thermobaric bomb against Ukrainian forces as it announced a "counter-terrorism" operation to retaliate against Ukraine's shock incursion into Kursk.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian troops have apparently entered Russia's Belgorod Oblast during the ongoing incursion into Kursk oblast, Ukrainian media reported based on a video published on the morning of Aug. 10.

Reuters: More than 76,000 people have been evacuated from areas bordering Ukraine in Russia's Kursk region, the local emergency ministry was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying on Saturday, following Ukraine's incursion into the region this week.

The Kyiv Independent: A Magura naval drone operated by Ukraine's military intelligence agency destroyed a Russian KS-701 Tunets (Tuna) patrol boat and damaged three more Russian watercraft in occupied Crimea, HUR reported on Aug. 10.

Reuters: Ukraine's navy and military intelligence have attacked and damaged a former offshore gas platform used by Russian forces in the Black Sea, the navy spokesman said on Saturday.

09.08.2024

Reuters: Dozens of Russian military personnel are being trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, two European intelligence sources told Reuters, adding that they expected the imminent delivery of hundreds of the satellite-guided weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

The United States on Friday announced a new $125 million military aid package for Ukraine that would include Stinger missiles, artillery ammunition, and anti-armor systems.

Reuters: Video posted on Ukrainian media outlets on Friday showed Ukrainian soldiers in control of a gas measuring facility in the town of Sudzha inside Kursk region, where Russia says it has been battling a Ukrainian military incursion for four days.

Lithuania further renders continued military assistance to Ukraine with yet another robust package of aid underway. Tactical equipment, anti-drones, vehicles and logistic equipment, and some of the older equipment from the Lithuanian Armed Forces arsenal will get to Ukraine in August.

POLITICO: As Ukraine widens its attacks inside Russia, there is no sign that the country's sometimes reluctant Western allies are putting pressure on Kyiv to ease off.

The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian special forces killed about 30 Russian soldiers and destroyed six armored vehicles during a raid on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit on Aug. 9, Ukraine's military intelligence reported.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has commissioned Rheinmetall to deliver eight additional Forward Surgical Team stations for the country`s armed forces.

The Kyiv Independent: A column of Russian military vehicles and personnel was destroyed in Russia's Kursk Oblast, the location of an ongoing Ukrainian incursion, Suspilne and the independent Russian media outlet Agentstvo said on Aug. 9.

AP News: Russia’s state communications watchdog said Friday it has blocked access to the Signal messaging app, the latest move in the authorities’ efforts to tighten controls over information amid the fighting in Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent: Russia struck a supermarket in the town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast on Aug. 9, killing at least 14 people and injuring at least 43 others, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said.

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