Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 02-08-2024

After days of rumors and speculation, President Zelensky said the two men had discussed new leadership in the armed forces and that "the time for such a renewal is now."

President Zelensky has announced the replacement of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny.

In a slightly vague post on social media, Zelensky said: "I met with General Valerii Zaluzhny. I thanked him for the two years of defending Ukraine.

Ukraine’s 21st Mechanized Infantry Brigade is the sole formation operating the vehicle, deploying it to months of combat in the eastern Bakhmut and north-eastern Kupyansk sectors.

Defense Ministry officials from Sweden and Ukraine have discussed delivery details and long-term maintenance for more powerful CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles to be operated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

The talks followed the signature of a letter of intent signed between Sweden and Denmark to continue deliveries of the popular weapons system to Ukraine, and develop a maintenance network.

The 40 plus strong missile attack on Ukraine on Wednesday probably saw the first appearance of the “Tsirkon” hypersonic missile that Putin has been “promising” to use for over a year.

Among the debris found following the Feb. 7 Russian missile attack on Ukraine, was what appears to be the remnants of a 3M22 Tsirkon (or Zircon) hypersonic missile which was one of Moscow’s “wonder weapons” first revealed in March 2018.  

The 3M22 was not included in the official breakdown of missiles shot down during Wednesday’s attack given by Ukrainian Air Force’s, which only mentioned Kh-555/101 and Kalibr cruise and Shahed drones. However, earlier in the morning, they had warned of the approach of a “high-velocity missile” towards Kyiv.

Tucker Carlson, Agents of Chaos, Spreads Russian Disinformation

Tucker Carlson will be interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a video posted on Twitter, the only site that will host Tucker Carlson’s garbage, he said, “Most Americans have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine or what his goals are now. … Americans have a right to know all they can about a war they’re implicated in, and we have the right to tell them about it.”

This is the interview we all knew we didn’t need: Vladimir Putin’s side of the story hosted by a liar who was fired from Fox for lying about the lie of a stolen election.

The country's economy must remain dynamic with less human capital. Companies have lost 10-20% of their workforce due to mobilization.

By 2024, Ukraine's GDP will be 25% lower than it was before the war. This spectacular figure is primarily due to the occupation of 15% of Ukraine by the Russians (industrial territories that are now economically devastated) and to the decline in the working population, which stood at 18 million before the conflict.

Since the start of the war, the Ministry of Defense has announced that 700,000 people have been mobilized in the army, 100,000 in the police and 90,000 in border protection. The next mobilizations could involve another 500,000 people.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

In Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, now in its fourth month, some 27,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and nearly two million people are displaced - NYT

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas's proposed ceasefire terms - saying "total victory" in Gaza is possible within months. He was speaking after Hamas laid out a series of demands in response to an Israel-backed ceasefire proposal. He said negotiations with the group were "not going anywhere" and described their terms as "bizarre". Talks between negotiators are continuing. "There is no other solution but a complete and final victory," Mr Netanyahu told a press conference on Wednesday. "If Hamas will survive in Gaza, it's only a question of time until the next massacre." - BBC

The servers responsible for the “friend or foe” identification system for Russian drones ceased functioning, resulting in its military losing access to its drones.

Ukrainian hackers working within Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR) have successfully breached Russian drone control programs. According to the report, the special operation targeted the software utilized by Russian forces to modify their DJI drones for combat purposes.

As a result, servers responsible for the “friend or foe” identification system ceased to function, resulting in the Russian military losing access to their drones.

Syrian recruits are being granted Russian citizenship and given Russian passports before being subsequently mobilized into assault units for Moscow’s “special military operation.”

Ukraine's Military Defense Intelligence (HUR) has reported on its Telegram channel that Russia is recruiting mercenaries from Syria to bolster its military resources for the war in Ukraine.

“The recruitment of Syrians for the war indicates a deterioration in the moral and psychological state of the Russian occupation forces due to large-scale losses and the need to replenish them for further meat assaults,” HUR reported.

Increase in borrowings.

The Ministry of Finance extended its offerings yesterday, adding USD-denominated bills. Budget proceeds amounted to UAH8.4bn (US$223m), more than in the previous two weeks.

The MoF replaced the 10-month paper that had almost UAH16bn (US$423m) outstanding, with new 13-month bills. New bills will have semi-annual coupon payments, and the closest will be next month, providing the budget with a huge premium of UAH0.2bn. Demand for new bills was 20% larger than the cap, so the MoF rejected one bid with a 17% rate and satisfied the rest within the cap at a 16.8% interest rate, the same as last week for 10-month securities.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March 2023 on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

Russia must end the forcible transfer of children from Ukraine and provide information about those already taken and ensure they are returned home, a UN committee said Thursday.

Ukraine says that 20,000 children have been forced to Russia since the war erupted in February 2022. President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the action “a genocide”. Russia denies the accusations.

Russian law permits early voting in “hard-to-reach areas,” a category that includes the annexed Ukrainian territorie,s according to Russian media.

Early voting is set to occur in the occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson during the upcoming Russian presidential elections, according to reports from Kommersant.

The duration of the early voting period will be decided by the Kremlin-appointed authorities, but is expected to begin a week before the main three-day elections, mirroring the procedure used in September 2023.

The decision by the Kremlin-appointed commission further consolidates President Vladimir Putin’s anticipated reelection for another six-year term in the upcoming March 15-17 vote.

The Russian Central Election Commission has denied pro-peace politician Boris Nadezhdin the opportunity to run in the upcoming presidential election, as announced by the candidate on social media, further enabling Russia’s dictator to run essentially unopposed.

The commission’s decision further consolidates President Vladimir Putin’s anticipated reelection for another six-year term in the upcoming March 15-17 vote.

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council secretary announced the creation of the new position in response to rapid global technological developments.

At the opening of the Kyiv International Cyber Resilience Forum 2024, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, suggested that the post of cyber diplomat will soon be created in Ukraine, a Kyiv Post correspondent reports.

“Now there is a big movement in the world - every country is starting to understand today, and many countries already have cyber diplomats. In our country, I think, such a post will certainly appear soon - a cyber diplomat, because this is a significant direction of the struggle for light in this world,” said Danilov. The Secretary of the National Security Council noted that Ukraine has “survived, which must be protected now” and thanked all those who provide this protection. In addition, Oleksiy Danilov called on the forum participants to cooperate. He noted that each country is starting to build mutually beneficial partnerships and spread digital solutions internationally.

Putin told Xi that ties between China and Russia were at “an unprecedentedly high level”, a Kremlin readout said.

China’s President Xi Jinping on Thursday told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that both countries should oppose interference by “external forces”, Chinese state media reported, as the two leaders spoke on the phone to mark Lunar New Year.

Beijing and Moscow are staunch allies and have strengthened their relationship even as many countries have turned their backs on Russia over its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

One of the captured Russians, who was apparently one of those released from Russian prison to serve in Putin’s “special military operation”, said he wanted to be freed not to fight.

Units of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) conducted a complex special operation codenamed “Hoverla,”to seize a stronghold held by Russian troops at a dominant position, according to the report on Telegram.

The SSO post included footage of the operation:

Loyalty to the US Constitution should come before allegiance to a president abusing his power for personal gain.

February 7 marked the four-year anniversary of my removal from the National Security Council and the White House by Donald Trump.

When faced with the choice between blind loyalty to a President and the oath I swore to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, I chose the latter. It wasn’t a difficult decision to make, but it cost me my military career, my livelihood, and everything I had worked so hard to achieve in my professional career.

Scholz’s visit to key ally the United States comes as a $60 billion aid package for Kyiv pushed by Biden has become held up in the Senate amid Republican chaos.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Thursday urged the European Union and United States to step up efforts to supply aid to war-torn Ukraine, ahead of a visit to Washington for talks with President Joe Biden.

“We must find a way to all do more together,” Scholz said in Berlin, adding that what had been promised by Europe and the United States to Kyiv in its fight against Moscow was “still not enough”.

A Ukrainian official said Moscow’s assaults were now only being carried out by unsupported infantry in what they described as groups of “suicide bombers.”

Russian forces attempting to dislodge a Ukrainian bridgehead on the Dnipro River have been banned from using armored vehicles and are now attacking on foot as “suicide bombers,” Ukraine’s military has said.

Speaking to the United News telethon on Thursday, South Operational Command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said the ban was due simply to how much materiel Moscow’s forces have been losing in the now months-long battle.

Serhiy Kolyada on the status of Putin's canon fodder on the Ukrainian front.

Russian forces are mainly employing artillery, airstrikes, and infantry in the assault, because Russian tanks and armoured vehicles can not pass on the soft ground.

Russia is once again escalating its months-long effort to capture Avdiivka and is now storming the frontlines “in all directions” using “very large forces, its mayor has said.

Talking to state media, Vitaly Barabash said: “There is not a single part of our city that is more or less calm.

The question before the nine justices is whether Trump is ineligible to appear on the Republican presidential primary ballot in the state of Colorado because he engaged in the Jan. 6 Capitol assault.

The US Supreme Court reluctantly takes center stage in the 2024 White House race on Thursday as it decides whether Donald Trump should be barred from running again for president.

The nation's highest court is to hear arguments in the most consequential election law case since it halted the Florida vote recount in 2000 with Republican George W. Bush narrowly leading Democrat Al Gore.

In his bid to become president again, Donald Trump is hoping to play fast and loose with US laws, finding loopholes to do what he does best – serve himself.

It is no secret that Donald Trump is strongman Vladimir Putin’s greatest admirer, praising the Russian dictator even when he invades neighboring countries as an indicted war criminal. The tool at the disposal of despots Trump envies most, for keeping countries like North Korea and Russia in line, is their total impunity of action.

Trump is now asking for the best America can offer, for now: immunity from criminal prosecution – for sending mobs to attack the US Capitol, emptying the public coffers into his own pocket, stealing national defense secrets, and using intimidation tactics against the media and even the Georgia Secretary of State if they do not do the dear leader’s bidding.

Whether contemplating roads full of human remains, child psychology in bomb shelters, or the psychic capacity of a murder of crows, Ukraine has no shortage of material for horror.

As I was driving along the Zhytomyr highway recently, I passed two supermarkets that were destroyed and looted by the Russian army during the offensive against Kyiv in the spring of 2022. They are now both restored and working.

The Zhytomyr highway – the main road from Kyiv to the west of Ukraine – was repaired in the fall and is now easy to drive along. Unfortunately, that cannot be said for secondary roads in the region. Some are almost impassable in anything other than a jeep or a tank.

Tucker Carlson announced, on his Instagram account on Wednesday, that the sit-down interview would be broadcast at 6 pm Eastern (2300 GMT) on his website.

Ukrainians interviewed by Kyiv Post have reacted with outrage over the revelation that Tucker Carlson, former Fox News anchor, has interviewed Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“Does Tucker Carlson understand that the message of the devil… legitimizes hell on earth?” Maksym, a 28-year-old driver from Kryvyi Rih said.

A key player in efforts to ensure Kyiv's financial and economic stability following Russia's invasion, Kyrylo Shevchenko stepped down as head of the bank in October 2022 and sought asylum in Austria.

Austrian anti-corruption prosecutors said Wednesday they were investigating Ukraine's former central bank chief for alleged breach of trust and money laundering, after he sought asylum claiming "political persecution".

A key player in efforts to ensure Ukraine's financial and economic stability following Russia's invasion of the country, Kyrylo Shevchenko stepped down as head of the bank in October 2022 and sought asylum in Austria.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian forces conducted the second largest combined drone and missile strike of 2024 on the morning of February 7. The February 7 strike package is emblematic of the constant air domain offense-defense innovation-adaptation race in which Russia and Ukraine are engaged. 
  
  
• Russia targeted Kyiv City during the February 7 strike for the third time thus far in 2024, notably coinciding with EU High Commissioner Josep Borrell’s visit to Kyiv. 
  
  
• Deputy Chairperson of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev continued his nuclear saber-rattling rhetoric likely aimed in part at deterring Western aid to Ukraine.
  
  
• The Russian Federation Council approved a bill on February 7 that allows the Russian government to confiscate property from individuals convicted of spreading “fake” information about the Russian military, likely as part of ongoing censorship efforts to limit criticisms of Russia’s war effort ahead of the March 2024 Russian presidential election.
  
  
• Yandex NV — the Dutch holding company of Russian internet technology company Yandex — announced that it will sell all of its Russian assets for 475 billion rubles (about $5.2 billion) to a purchasing consortium consisting of five Russian companies.
  
  
• Russian forces made confirmed gains west of Horlivka and in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area amid continued positional engagements along the entire frontline.
  
  
• The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) stated on February 7 that Russia is mobilizing citizens from Syria who come to Russia under the guise of security guard jobs at oil refineries.
  
  
• Russian occupation authorities continue to militarize Ukrainian children and youth in occupied Ukraine.
  
  

  

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The Ukrainian National Police reported that two of the five missiles fired by Russia at Kharkiv in Wednesday’s attack were of North Korean origin.

At least two missiles the Kremlin fired at Ukraine in a morning attack were made in North Korean arms factories, likely from recent trades made by Russia’s President Putin with fellow dictator Kim Jong Un.

According to Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the Investigative Department of the National Police Department in the Kharkiv region, Russian armed forces launched an attack on Kharkiv with two North Korean-made missiles on Wednesday morning.

Celebrity right-winger cozying to Putin with interview infuriates White House as House Republicans kill Ukraine aid deal; Russians gain in Donetsk; EU boosts artillery shell promises to Ukraine.

Overview:

• White House is irate about right-wing personality’s Thursday interview with Putin
• Zelensky thanks top EU diplomat for ammo and other support during his visit to Kyiv
• US House punts on aid package to Ukraine, Senate to try again Thursday
• Russians make more advances in the Donetsk region
• Both sides trade gains along the left bank of the Dnipro River

The Kremlin has received many Putin interview requests but decided to grant one to a Trump ally

Republicans blocked the $118 billion aid package Wednesday after coming under pressure from Donald Trump

Democrats in the US Senate are due to make a fresh attempt Thursday to restore funding to Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion, after a first vote on a multi-billion-dollar aid package failed amid Republican chaos.

Democratic President Joe Biden had been pushing for $60 billion for Kyiv as part of a sweeping foreign aid and immigration bill that included stringent border security measures conservatives had been demanding for months.