Putin Ignores International Arrest Warrant, Visits Mongolia
Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending meetings in Mongolia today despite the country being a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued a warrant for his arrest; a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson said Mongolia’s failure to detain Putin was “a heavy blow to the International Criminal Court and the international criminal justice system”(FT)
Russia Bans Dozens More Americans
The foreign ministry added ninety-two Americans to its list of people banned from entering the country, including journalists, government officials, and businesspeople, citing “the Russophobic course pursued by the Biden administration” (AP)
The list includes the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal; a spokesperson for the newspaper called the “laughable” list of targets part of an “all-out assault on free press and truth,” and said they no longer have any reporters in the country (CNN)
Ukraine Briefs NATO on Status of War, Hints at Plan to End It
Ukraine is briefing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ambassadors today on the status of the war with Russia, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would present a plan this fall to end it to U.S. President Joe Biden and his two potential successors (Bloomberg; WaPo)
Kyiv has to be in a strong position in order for the war to end in dialogue, Zelenskyy said at a news conference yesterday; he added that Ukraine’s three-week-old push into the Russian region of Kursk was part of the plan to bring an end to the conflict, which also includes economic and diplomatic elements (Reuters)
A Kremlin spokesperson dismissed Zelenskyy’s comments about ending the war yesterday, saying Russia would continue fighting; Moscow has launched some of its largest air barrages of the war across Ukraine this week (Reuters)
Meanwhile, an overnight Ukrainian drone attack set fire to an oil depot in Russia’s southern Rostov region (Reuters)
Ukraine Reports Second Day of Russian Air Barrage
Russia launched more widespread air attacks across Ukraine today that killed at least five people, Ukrainian officials said; yesterday’s missile attack killed at least seven people, the biggest air attack since the start of the war (CNN)
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s prime minister said the country foresees a $15 billion shortfall in funding its budget for next year and aims to look for the resources from domestic sources, frozen Russian assets, or assistance from partners (Kyiv Independent)
Russia Launches Overnight Attacks on Ukrainian Energy and Civilian Targets
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks included more than one hundred missiles and one hundred drones; at least three people were killed and thirteen wounded in Ukraine, officials said (AP)
In Russia, officials reported Ukrainian drone strikes wounded four people (Al Jazeera)
India’s Modi Holds ‘Constructive’ Talks on War With Ukraine’s Zelenskyy
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed prospects for ending the war in Ukraine with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today, saying before the visit that India supports “dialogue and diplomacy” (Reuters)
The visit is the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since the countries established diplomatic relations in 1992; India’s foreign minister said the meeting was “very detailed, very open,” and “very constructive” (The Hindu). In preparation for another potential peace summit on the war this year, Zelenskyy has tried to strengthen relations with countries in the Global South (RFE/RFL)
India is a close economic partner of Russia; Modi visited Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. Zelenskyy called Modi’s embrace of Putin “a devastating blow to peace efforts” (AP)
Ukrainian Legislature Ratifies International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute
Ukraine’s foreign minister celebrated the step bringing the country closer to EU membership; the move would allow authorities to “more effectively punish” suspected Russian war criminals (Reuters)
Russia Repels One of Largest Air Attacks on Moscow Since Start of War
Russia shot down ten drones over the Moscow area today in one of the largest attacks on the city since the war in Ukraine began, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said; while Ukraine regularly targeted Moscow with drones last summer, such attacks have been less common this year as Kyiv focuses its efforts on military and energy installations near Russia’s border. (Bloomberg)
A total of forty-five drones were repelled across Russia overnight, the Russian defense ministry said; the attack was Ukraine’s latest assertion of force on Russian territory as Kyiv’s incursion into the Kursk region extends into its third week (Politico)
The military push into Kursk aims to persuade Russia “to enter a fair negotiation process,” a Ukrainian presidential advisor said last week (Politico)
On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kyiv, where he said he plans to discuss the peaceful resolution of the war (Reuters)
Belarus Reinforces Military Position Near Ukrainian Border by Sending Soldiers and Anti-aircraft Missiles
Ukraine did not immediately confirm the deployment (AP)
Ukraine Blows Up Bridges to Create ‘Buffer Zone’ Near Russia’s Kursk Region
Ukraine detonated the bridges to strengthen its position in the area as part of its cross-border incursion; an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is “not interested in occupying Russian territories,” but that the move is a tactic to convince Russia to agree on beginning a fair negotiation process (FT)
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has vowed an “appropriate response,” but has so far struggled to push out Ukraine’s forces (WaPo)
Ukraine Says It Set Up Military Office in Russia’s Kursk Region
Kyiv has established a command center in Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine’s top commander said yesterday, with ambitions to hold the territory as Russia scrambles to reinforce its border defenses in the broader area (Reuters;Reuters)
Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk began earlier this month and amounts to the largest foreign territorial advance inside Russia since World War II (AP)
More than 130,000 residents have fled or evacuated the area, Russian officials said (NYT)
While Ukraine’s attack put Moscow on the back foot inside Kursk, Russian troops have separately been making their own advances on a front line hundreds of miles to the east, the Wall Street Journal reported; Russian troops are pushing toward the Ukrainian logistical hub of Pokrovsk, where Ukrainian officials told residents yesterday to evacuate (WSJ)
Ukraine Says It Targeted Four Russian Airfields in Drone Attack
Russia’s defense ministry said yesterday that Kyiv fired 117 drones at its territory; the attack came as Ukraine was nine days into a cross-border push into Russia’s Kursk region (FT)
The human rights commissioner of Ukraine’s legislature said Russia had contacted Ukraine regarding a prisoner exchange after Ukraine took Russian soldiers captive; Ukraine’s military intelligence confirmed to the Financial Times it was working on an exchange (FT)
Moscow Orders Troops to Respond to Ukrainian Incursion
Russia said it ordered troops to respond to a Ukrainian advance that has pushed into Russian territory, the biggest foreign incursion into the country since World War II (NYT)
Ukraine has captured hundreds of Russian fighters in the offensive, according to videos verified by the Financial Times(FT)
Ukraine Advances Nearly Twenty Miles Inside Russia, Moscow Says
Ukrainian forces’ push into Russia marks their deepest cross-border offensive in the country since the 2022 start of the war (BBC)
Russian officials ordered evacuations today in a second region as Ukraine’s offensive progressed; some seventy-six thousand people have evacuated border areas in Russia (Reuters)
Ukrainian Cross-Border Offensive Prompts Evacuations in Russia’s Kursk
Ukrainian and Russian forces are in their third day of clashing after a Ukrainian unit made a rare incursion and broke through the border into the Russian region of Kursk, prompting an emergency declaration and thousands of residents to evacuate (Reuters)
Some analysts say Ukraine’s offensive could be aimed at drawing troops away from other fronts of the war (Al Jazeera)
The surprise attack posed a fresh challenge to Moscow; Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged Ukraine’s attack yesterday, calling it a provocation (NPR)
The Kremlin’s defense ministry claimed to be “destroying armed formations” as they crossed into Russia, but media were not immediately able to verify that statement; Washington had no prior knowledge of Kyiv’s offensive, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said yesterday, adding that it was Russia who invaded Ukraine in this war (CNBC)
In Ukraine’s first acknowledgment of the Kursk incursion, a senior aide to President Zelenskyy said “the root cause of any escalation” was due to Russia’s aggression in invading Ukraine, but did not directly address the attack (Guardian)
In recent months, the country’s forces have been losing ground in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk; Ukrainian officials, potentially bracing for Russian retaliation from this week’s attack, have ordered their own evacuation from the northeastern Sumy region (WaPo)
Washington Warns Turkey to End Military-Linked Exports to Russia
There will be “consequences” if Turkey continues to evade export controls on military-linked technologies to Russia, a U.S. commerce secretary official said; Washington is concerned that Ankara has created a loophole for Moscow to access Western-made electronics (FT)
Meanwhile, Niger followed its neighbor Mali in severing diplomatic ties with Ukraine; the break came after comments from a Ukrainian official that Mali perceived as acknowledging support for Malian rebels that attacked Malian and Russian paramilitary Wagner Group soldiers last week (FT)
Ukraine’s foreign ministry denied any role in the rebel attack (WaPo)
F-16 Planes Have Arrived in Ukraine, Zelenskyy Confirms
The fighter jets mark “a new chapter” for Ukraine’s air force capabilities and are already flying in Ukrainian skies, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday; Washington committed to approving the transfer of the planes last August (CNN)
Meanwhile, Mali cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, saying Kyiv was involved in a rebel group’s attacks on Malian and Russian soldiers last month; Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it “resolutely rejects” the accusations and that no evidence was provided to support them (WaPo)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Begins Trip to Africa
Dmytro Kuleba is seeking support for Ukraine’s stance on how its war with Russia should end, his office said; Ukraine’s foreign ministry also said Kuleba would discuss the supply of Ukrainian grain to African countries and African companies’ potential role in Ukraine’s reconstruction (Reuters)
He began a trip to Malawi, Mauritius, and Zambia today and will be on the road through Thursday (Ukraine Foreign Ministry)
Official: Ukraine Seeks to Hold Next Peace Summit in Global South
Ukraine seeks to hold a second peace summit, likely in the Middle East, to demonstrate the “world’s unity” around the issue, said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; a previous summit was held in Switzerland in June (Bloomberg)
Russia Unleashes Nearly Ninety Drones Across Ukraine in Overnight Attack
Ukraine’s air defense forces said that more than thirty of the drones were shot down in one of the largest waves of strikes since Russia’s 2022 invasion, and a Kyiv city official said none of the drones hit their targets (FT).
Pentagon: $2 Billion More in Aid Can Be Sent to Ukraine After Accounting Error
The U.S. government overestimated the amount of military aid it has sent to Ukraine by $2 billion, a Government Accountability Office report said; the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act does not clearly define certain terms for calculating the value of aid, the report [PDF] said (Kyiv Independent;GAO)
EU Member Countries Discuss Extending Sanctions on Russian Central Bank Assets
The sanctions renewal would allow the European Union to use Russian Central Bank profits to underpin a loan for Ukraine, according to documents seen by Reuters; while EU regulations call for such sanctions to be renewed every six months, officials floated the possibility of an “open-ended” extension of the sanctions regime (Reuters)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Visits China
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is the most senior Ukrainian official to travel to China following Russia’s February 2022 invasion; Beijing has positioned itself as a peace broker, though it has a close relationship with Moscow (Reuters)
After more than three hours of talks with his Chinese counterpart, Kuleba said that Ukraine would be open to negotiating with Russia if Moscow was ready to do so “in good faith,” but that Kyiv does not currently see evidence of that (RFE/RFL)
Ukraine Reaches Preliminary Deal to Restructure $20 Billion in National Debt
The deal will reduce Ukraine’s previously scheduled bond payments by some 90 percent in the next three years; Kyiv had been granted a two-year moratorium on its debt repayments following Russia’s invasion in 2022, but that was due to expire in August (FT)
The new deal was reached with a creditor committee that represents around 25 percent of Ukraine’s bonds; at least two-thirds of bondholders will need to approve the agreement in order to finalize the debt restructuring deal (Bloomberg)
Zelenskyy, European Leaders Talk Regional Security at UK Summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy is a guest at the event, which occurs amid European concerns of a potential change in U.S. defense posture toward the region if former President Donald Trump is reelected; North American Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is also attending the summit today for the first time (VOA)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced ahead of a Brussels vote on her own reelection today that she plans to create a “true European Defense Union” with new projects on air and cyber defense over the next five years (Reuters)