Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 03-07-2024

Zelensky redeploys Zaluzhny to London: what’s behind this strange move?

So, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has finally decided to fill the long-vacant vacancy in London by appointing Ukraine’s ex-Army Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi to this post. This is his prerogative.

At first glance, I'm happy that this inexplicably long delay in filling this important post has been addressed. That a replacement for the previous very capable ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, dismissed in July 2023 at the whim of the president, has been identified.

Slovak opposition leader Michal Simecka said on X that Fico had "turned Slovakia into a black hole on the map of Europe."

The Czech government said Wednesday it would not hold joint meetings with the Slovak cabinet in the coming months as their views on aid to Ukraine diverged.

Both EU and NATO members, which formed a single country until 1993 and whose cabinets have met regularly since 2012, provided Ukraine with substantial humanitarian and military aid following the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Sweden joins NATO after over 200 years of non-alignment, NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said.

Sweden on Thursday became the 32nd member of NATO in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, ending two centuries of official non-alignment and capping two years of torturous diplomacy.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was visiting Washington, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to ceremonially receive the ratification documents after the hard-fought battle to secure the green lights needed from all NATO members.

Ukrainian intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said foreigners and Ukrainian fighters join the Legion to defend Ukraine, Europe, and democracy.

The HUR International Legion, which is made up of volunteers from more than 50 countries, celebrated its second anniversary on Thursday, March 7.

The International Legion gathers foreigners who’ve come to Ukraine’s aid in the wake of Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion, which started Feb. 24, 2022.

America’s best robot spy plane just spent nearly twelve hours over the east Black Sea sometimes swinging within 100 km of the Russian mainland. It flew away unharmed.

The skies over the Black Sea and east Romania were buzzing with NATO aircraft on Wednesday with at least a half dozen spy planes and maybe a pair of fighter jets in the air at one time, and one of them – a US Global Hawk robot plane – pushing hundreds of kilometers eastwards to a close proximity with the Russian mainland.

The spike in activity was first recorded by the civilian air traffic watch platform flightradar24. Military aircraft monitoring enthusiasts widely confirmed the data and matched findings by Kyiv Post researchers checking posted flight routes.

The Russian radar station, estimated at around 10-15 million dollars, was obliterated along with its crew.

Ukrainian forces have successfully destroyed the Russian Zoopark-1 surveillance and fire control radar complex, a highly prized asset frequently boasted about by the Russian military, as reported by the Special Operations Forces (SSO).

"Another enemy radar 'Zoopark-1' destroyed," the caption read in the video released by the SSO via Telegram.

Kyiv is seeking $9.5 billion for its top-priority recovery goals and is determined to make its recovery attractive to investors.

About $9.5 billion of outside funding is needed for Ukraine’s top-priority recovery goals in 2024, Ukraine’s Deputy Finance Minister Olga Zykova told a round table in Paris dedicated to restoring what’s been damaged by Russia’s invasion.

Kyiv’s highest priority industries are defense, energy, construction, agriculture, natural resources, digital technologies and the IT sector, the Finance Ministry wrote on its site March 6.

Seven Indian citizens recorded a video message claiming that they were being forced to participate in the war with Ukraine on the side of Russia.

Seven Indian citizens have released a video message saying they were coerced into joining the war in Ukraine on the side of Russia, with the video posted on the X social network by NDTV journalist Uma Sudhir.

The success of Ukraine’s sea drones on the Black Sea have put them on Russia’s list of priority targets. Moscow dismissed as coincidence the fact that Zelensky was less than 500 meters away.

On Wednesday Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in Odesa. While on a tour of the city, which has repeatedly come under missile and Shahed drone attacks, a Russian missile struck near their motorcade.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) showcased its new Sea Baby unmanned surface vessel (USV), or drone, named Avdiivka to international press on Tuesday. Publicizing the new USV, produced thanks to large-scale volunterr fundraising, was from Russia’s perspective like a red rag to a bull.

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

Deadly explosions rocked Odesa as President Volodymyr Zelensky was meeting Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Ukraine's navy says five people were killed. The BBC has been told no-one from either delegation was hurt. Mr Mitsotakis said the pair heard the sound of sirens and explosions. Russia said it targeted a maritime drone facility in a commercial port area of the city during an attack on Wednesday. Five people were reportedly killed, bringing the total number of dead in Odesa since the weekend to 17, including five children.

Nikki Haley ended her long-shot challenge to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump on Wednesday, ensuring the former president will be the party's candidate in a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in November's election. Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, bowed out a day after Super Tuesday, opens new tab, when Trump beat her soundly in 14 of 15 Republican nominating contests. “The time has now come to suspend my campaign," Haley told supporters during a speech in Charleston. "I have no regrets." She said it was likely Trump - who repeatedly belittled her candidacy - would be the Republican nominee but did not endorse him. "It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him," she said. "And I hope he does that." Drawing on her foreign policy experience at the U.N., Haley said it was important to continue U.S. global leadership. Throughout her campaign, Haley said the United States must help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression, a position at odds with Trump - Reuters

The suspect allegedly belonged to the Kalinouski Regiment, a Belarusian volunteer unit of the Ukrainian army, the FSB said in a statement.

Russia's FSB security services said Thursday they had shot dead a Belarusian dissident who planned to blow up an office building on behalf of Ukraine.

Since launching its assault on Ukraine two years ago, Russia says it has been targeted by hundreds of sabotage attacks, many on civilian infrastructure.

David Cameron proposed using these assets as collateral for a loan or bond for Ukraine, expecting Russia to eventually compensate Ukraine for damages.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said London is contemplating lending Russian central bank assets held in the UK to Ukraine, which it could recuperate from Russian reparations paid to Kyiv following the war's end.

"There is an opportunity to use something like a syndicated loan or a bond that effectively uses the frozen Russian assets as a surety to give that money to the Ukrainians, knowing that we will recoup it when reparations are paid by Russia," Lord Cameron told the House of Lords on Tuesday, March 5.

What are people thinking and discussing two years into Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine? This question spawns a host of others at a critical time in Ukraine’s fight for survival.

As Chief Editor of Kyiv Post, who commutes regularly between my home in Barcelona, Spain, where I direct our work remotely, and my office in Kyiv, I am able to note the changes in mood and atmosphere in the Ukrainian capital.

So here is what I’m seeing and hearing in early March, just after the second anniversary of Russia’s launching its full-scale genocidal war against Ukraine.

Western taxpayers are bearing the burden of Russia’s war on Ukraine rather than Moscow, which is prosecuting it.

Interesting as we head towards possible talks around private sector debt relief for Ukraine, buzzwords like “burden sharing” come to mind. And absolutely in all these debt restructuring situations, it is important that the private sector does not get better terms than the public sector, and no sense of the private sector guys being bailed out by the taxpayer.

The Paris Club led with the debt service suspension agreed for Ukraine in August 2022. For the private sector, this was initially for 24 months, but the Paris Club of official creditors extended this to the end of the current IMF EFF to the end of 2027. The IMF has asked the government to engage in talks with the private sector early this year, prior to the end of the 24-month service suspension, in the hope of securing the bulk of the $14.8 billion financing contribution from debt relief to Ukraine assumed in the total $122 billion package for Ukraine, agreed as part of the IMF EFF.

This potential allocation could cover crucial weaponry, supplies, and equipment, addressing Ukraine's most dire needs amidst an artillery shortage.

As the broader aid package for Ukraine remains gridlocked in Congress, sources familiar with the matter reveal to the Bloomberg news outlet that the Biden administration is contemplating accessing approximately $200 million from US Army funding to offer immediate assistance to Ukraine.

This potential allocation could cover crucial weaponry, supplies, and equipment, addressing Ukraine's urgent need amidst an artillery shortage exacerbated by recent territorial gains by Russian forces.

Beijing's top diplomat met the press Thursday on the sidelines of China's largest annual political gathering, which opened in the capital earlier this week.

China's foreign minister gave a rare press conference to foreign media on Thursday, outlining Beijing's positions on major global issues as it holds annual political meetings known as the Two Sessions.

Here is a breakdown of Wang Yi's key points:

December 2022 to January 2023 – Putin’s attempts to plunge Ukraine into darkness and break the morale of its people doesn’t work – but it’s a close-run thing.

Please find the previous parts of the digest below:

February to March 2022

The International Tennis Federation will allow them to compete as “neutral” athletes if they meet the selection and eligibility requirements outlined in the organization’s Regulations.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced on its official website that players from Russia and Belarus can participate in the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris as neutrals, providing they meet the conditions of neutrality set by the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees.

“Neutral athletes will need to meet the selection and eligibility requirements as set out in the applicable ITF Regulations.

Ukrainian intelligence forces say they have targeted Kremlin-appointed officials in the occupied territories since Russia’s full-scale invasion began over two years ago.

Ukrainian military intelligence claimed responsibility for targeting the Kremlin-installed official who was arranging Russian presidential elections in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region, on Wednesday.

On Telegram, Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) wrote that on Wednesday, March 6, “in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk, a collaborator, Svitlana Samoilenko, who organized Putin’s pseudo-elections in the occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia region, was liquidated.”

New first-person video from a Russian crew member’s GoPro body camera shows Ukraine’s swarming sea drone attack that sank the 4,000-ton amphibious assault ship Cesar Kunikov on Feb. 14.

New GoPro video from a Russian crew member shows a swarm of Ukrainian robotic naval drones attacking one of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s heaviest warships, the Cesar Kunikov, as posted on Telegram.

An unspecified number of these unmanned surface vessels (USVs) sank the 4,000-ton amphibious assault ship in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14.

Usually, the annual address to Congress is a ceremonial affair, but in 2024, the stakes are enormous as Biden seeks to overcome growing doubts about his age, the US economy and war in Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden faces one of the most critical moments of his political career Thursday with a State of the Union speech aimed at convincing skeptical voters the 81-year-old is fit to beat Donald Trump in November's election.

Most years the annual address to Congress is a largely ceremonial affair, but in 2024 the stakes are enormous as Democrat Biden seeks to overcome growing doubts about his age, the US economy and wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Finland and Sweden launched a joint bid after Russia in 2022 invaded Ukraine, which had unsuccessfully sought to join NATO -- which considers an attack on one member an attack on all.

After two centuries of non-alignment and two years of torturous diplomacy, Sweden on Thursday becomes the 32nd member of NATO, a major step for a country once careful not to anger Russia.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was visiting Washington where Secretary of State Antony Blinken will ceremonially receive the ratification documents after the hard-fought battle to secure the green lights needed from all NATO members.

: Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland, along with Sweden, abandoned their long-held neutral stance and became the Alliance’s 31st and 32nd members.

European countries need to increase their defense budgets and the capacity of their defense industries beyond 2 percent of their GDP, Timo Kivinen said in his last speech as commander of the Finnish Defense Forces on Monday, March 4.

At the opening of the National Defense Course – Finland’s National Defense University’s program that brings together Finnish leaders on defense issues – General Kivinen called for greater investment in defense in light of the tense geopolitical context in Europe, particularly Finland.

Unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones, have changed the face of the battlefield in Ukraine, and the Pentagon intends to take their use to the next level – with AI.

The US Air Force has been discussing its Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program since the early 2000s. CCAs use artificial intelligence (AI) to operate in collaborative teams with the next generation of manned combat aircraft.

The success of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as force multipliers in Ukraine has put new impetus behind the program, which seeks to supplement its fighter and bomber fleets with cheaper AI-guided unmanned aircraft.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavlyuk stated on March 6 that Ukraine will try to seize the initiative and conduct unspecified counteroffensive actions in 2024.
• Russian forces conducted a relatively larger series of drone and missile strikes targeting Ukraine on the night of March 5 to 6 and on March 6, including strikes on Odesa City during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
• Kremlin officials continue to invoke nuclear threats as part of ongoing Russian information operations aimed at weakening Western support for Ukraine and deterring Western aid to Ukraine.
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the security of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and nuclear non-proliferation issues on March 6 in Sochi, Russia.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the governor of pro-Russian Moldovan autonomous region Gagauzia, Yevgenia Gutsul, on March 6 and emphasized Russia’s support for Gagauzia.
• Moldova suspended the Cold War-era Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty on March 6.
• The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reportedly conducted a drone strike on a mining and processing plant in Kursk Oblast on March 6.
• Armenia appears to be taking limited measures to reduce its bilateral security cooperation with Russia outside of its reduced participation in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Kupyansk and Donetsk City and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
• The Russian legal system continues efforts to use the Russian criminal justice system to augment Russia’s recruitment base.