10:07 Governor reports 5 dead and 15 injured due to Russian firing in the Donezk region.
At the Russian shelling of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, five civilians were killed and 15 more were injured on Saturday, according to Regional Governor Vadym Filashkin via Telegram. The Russians reportedly killed five residents of the Donetsk region. Three of them were in Iwaniwka, one in Kostiantyniwka, and one in Toretsk. Furthermore, 15 people in the region were injured during the day, writes Filashkin. According to the Ukrainian news agency "Ukrinform", since the beginning of the Russian assault war in February 2022, 2110 civilians have been killed and 5515 injured in the Donetsk region. These numbers do not include the victims in Mariupol and Volnovakha, it is stated.
09:46 IfW President: German fiscal policy is "Security Risk for Europe" The President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), Moritz Schularick, is urging the German government to significantly increase spending for security and defense - and criticizes the coalition's budget compromise at the same time. "The German government is currently making an irrational fiscal policy for what the country needs," says Schularick in an interview with t-online. "Much more than that: The fiscal policy is and remains a security risk for Europe." A future special fund for the Bundeswehr must "significantly larger than the current one with its size of 100 billion Euros," the economist continues. "Just to close the budget gap in the next ten years, we are probably talking about a volume of 250 to 300 billion Euros."
And even then it is clear: "Even with all these additional expenditures, Germany would still be spending proportionally less for the military than countries like Poland, Norway or the USA, which have not reduced their investments to the same extent in the past two decades." In total, Germany would need expenditures of around 3 to 3.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product to deter Putin's Russia with "Strength and Resolve," says Schularick.
09:15 Expert sees Donetsk as "lost cause" for Ukraine The Ukrainian forces are currently under particularly heavy Russian attack in the region of Donetsk. Military expert Ralf Thiele sees no chance for Ukraine to hold the region of Donetsk in the future. The Russians are "piece by piece" on the offensive and the Ukrainians are on the retreat. The region is a "lost cause" for Ukraine, says Thiele on ntv. "That's naturally sad when you have to say that," says the military expert. Donetsk is on the negotiation table or on the "real table." That means, either there will be talks about "a ceasefire on equal terms or a surrender ceasefire," explains Thiele. These are the alternatives he sees. But in both cases, the region "is ultimately lost," says Thiele.
08:52 Ukraine reports 1180 Russian casualties in the past 24 hoursRussia allegedly lost approximately 574,690 soldiers in Ukraine between February 24, 2022, and July 27, 2024. Among them were 1180 fatalities or injuries reported by the Ukrainian General Staff in their daily update on Facebook. Additionally, Russian losses included: 8344 tanks, 16095 armored combat vehicles, 15936 artillery systems, 1127 multiple rocket launchers, 906 air defense systems, and 2405 missile systems. The Russian army reportedly lost 363 combat aircraft, 326 helicopters, 12766 tactical unmanned aerial systems, 28 warships/cutters, 1 submarine, 21572 vehicles and tank trucks, and 2671 pieces of special equipment since the beginning of their offensive war.
08:16 Thiele on the situation at the front: Ukrainians are "de facto on a gradual retreat"According to Ralf Thiele, the situation in the contested areas in the east of the country is not good for Ukraine. The military is attempting to prevent a Russian breakthrough, but at the cost of a retreat. Thiele fears that Ukraine will inevitably lose the region of Donetsk.
08:00 Kursk reports fire in a fuel depot under controlA Ukrainian drone attack reportedly set a fuel depot in the Kursk region on fire, according to local Russian authorities. The fire was quickly brought under control, writes the regional governor Alexei Smirnov on Telegram. There were no injuries reported.
07:44 TASS: Russians destroy a howitzer and Ukrainian ammunition depot in the Cherson regionRussian paratrooper drones destroyed a howitzer M-777 and a Ukrainian ammunition depot for field artillery at the eastern bank of the Dnieper River in the Cherson region, according to the state Russian news agency TASS, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. After the drone attack, the shrapnel reportedly penetrated the front line along the riverbank. Simultaneously, a reconnaissance drone identified as targets a 155-mm howitzer M-777 and a field artillery ammunition depot. A direct hit reportedly destroyed the ammunition depot and disabled the howitzer.
07:11 Ukrainian Minister: Olympic participation is "our victory"Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Bidyovka views the Ukrainian team's Olympic participation as a powerful symbol and an opportunity to draw international attention to the situation in the country following the Russian offensive war on Ukraine. "It is a symbolic act and a sign that Ukraine is a strong country with resilient people," Bidyovka said at the opening of the Ukrainian house in Paris. It is crucial that Russia is represented by a small team of 15 neutral athletes in Paris. Russia as a nation was excluded from the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee due to the aggression. "There is no Russian flag here. There is only the Ukrainian flag. That is our victory," Bidyovka said.
It is now the responsibility of the Olympic team to "unite the international community in support of Ukraine and to speak to the people who normally do not listen to politicians." The participation is a "strong signal that Ukraine not only survives but also has the will to win."
06:58 Russia reports shooting down seven Ukrainian dronesThe Russian air defense shoots down seven Ukrainian drones according to their own statements. Five were destroyed over the Belgorod region and two over the Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry reports via Telegram.
06:36 Governor: Oil depot in Kursk on fire after drone attackIn the night, there are explosions in the Kursk region in Russia due to a drone attack. In an oil depot and several areas, fires have broken out, Kursk region governor Alexei Smirnov reports via Telegram and the channel Baza. The air defense forces are "on alert," the Russian official writes and urges the region's residents to "vigilance." In the region, at least two fires have broken out, one in the Medvenka district and one in the Kursk district, it is reported. A fire is said to have been caused in the village of Polyova's oil depot, reports the channel Shot on Telegram. Anonymous witnesses report "multiple strong explosions" near the oil depot at night. Previously, they heard the distinctive sound of a drone flying over the area. After the explosions, witnesses report seeing heavy smoke in the sky. In addition, there was an explosion in the city of Sudzha, a house in the Medva district was on fire, it is reported.
05:41 Linnemann questions welfare payments to Ukrainian refugeesCDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann questions the welfare payments to Ukrainian women and men in an interview with Funke newspapers. "We need to discuss why more than 50 percent of the Ukrainians work in many European countries, but only 25 percent in Germany," he says. "There are clearly no incentives for quick employment." The Ukrainians also defended the freedom of the Germans. "But if there is a performance, it is linked to a counter-performance. That includes taking a job."
04:49 Ukraine: Over 75 percent of wounded soldiers return to dutyIn Ukraine, the proportion of soldiers who return to duty after rehabilitation, according to the deputy defense minister Natalia Kalmykova, is reported to be very high. "We have a very high percentage of high-quality rehabilitation programs and returnees to the service. This is also confirmed by our Western partners," she says via Interfax. Kalmykova speaks of over 75 percent of the wounded.
03:13 ISW: Ukrainian forces retake positions near ToretskAccording to the Institute for War Studies (ISW), Ukrainian forces have reportedly retaken lost positions near Toretsk, north of Donetsk. This is shown in geolocated images. The Russian side is said to have continued its offensive operations in the area.
01:08 Ukraine reports several dead after Russian shelling - including a childAccording to Ukrainian authorities, at least five civilians were killed in Russian attacks in various regions of Ukraine yesterday. In the region of Kherson, there were three deaths. In the northeastern border region of Sumy, a 14-year-old boy was killed and 12 others were injured in a rocket attack on the small town of Hlukhiv. In the region of Kharkiv, a man was killed by Russian shelling in a residential building.
23:46 Russia reports taking control of another village in UkraineRussia has reportedly taken control of another village in eastern Ukraine. The settlement Losuwatske in the Donezk region is said to have been "liberated," according to the Russian Defense Ministry in its daily report. The settlement is located about 25 kilometers east of the city Pokrowsk, in the area where the Russian army has advanced relatively quickly in recent months. Ukraine confirms the takeover.
22:23 Blinken threatens China with "measures" over continued support for Russian defense industryUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China that the US would take "measures" if Beijing continued to support Russia's defense industry. According to the Ukrainian newspaper "Kyiv Independent," Blinken made this statement during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Laos. This came shortly after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held talks with Wang during his first visit to China since the outbreak of the war. "The minister reiterated his serious concern over China's support for Russia's defense industrial base and made it clear that the United States would continue to take appropriate measures if China did not act against this threat to European security," Miller said.
You can read about previous developments here.**
- In response to the ongoing Ukrainian-Conflict with Russia, Moritz Schularick from the IfW urges Germany to increase its military spending, calling the current fiscal policy a "security risk for Europe."
- Ralf Thiele, a military expert, sees the Donetsk region as a "lost cause" for Ukraine due to the heavy Russian attack and the retreat of Ukrainian forces.
- According to Ukrainian authorities, 1180 Russian casualties were reported in the past 24 hours, including 574,690 soldiers since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
- Volodymyr Zelensky's government has been regularly urging NATO to provide more military aid and support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
- Russia has been accused of engaging in Cyberwarfare against Ukraine, with several cases reported of attacks on critical infrastructure and information systems.
