Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

The Biden administration in security support for Ukraine on Wednesday.

The statement of the upcoming military help bundle, the 19 th such installation, comes as Ukraine commemorates 31 years of its self-reliance from the Soviet Union.

The bundle includes 6 extra National Advanced Surface- to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, along with munitions for those systems, 24 counter-artillery radars, 245,000 rounds of 155 mm weapons ammo, 65,000 rounds of 120 mm mortar ammo, laser-guided rocket systems, assistance devices for the Scan Eagle drone along with Puma drones.

New to this security bundle is the Vampire drone. It was not right away clear the number of the Pentagon would supply.

So far, the U.S. has actually dedicated more than $135 billion in security support to Ukraine because January 2021.

— Amanda Macias

United Nations Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo alerted that Ukrainians will require extra assistance as the severe winter techniques.

“As winter approaches the destruction caused by war, combined with the lack of access to electricity due to damaged infrastructure could become a matter of life or death,” DiCarlo stated throughout a conference of the U.N. Security Council

“The United Nations estimates that 1.7 million people are already in need of urgent assistance with heating, shelter repair and other winterization preparations as temperatures in parts of the country are expected to decline to minus 20 degrees Celsius,” she included.

DiCarlo stated U.N. companies were dealing with Ukraine to resolve their winterzation efforts.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended to the United Nations Security Council as his war-torn nation commemorates its 31 st Independence Day.

“There is no such war crime that the Russian occupiers have not yet committed on the territory of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy informed the global online forum.

“If Russia is not stopped now in Ukraine, if it’s not stopped by the victory of Ukraine then all these Russian murderers will probably end up in other countries,” he alerted.

Zelenskyy, who spoke by means of video teleconference, contacted the United Nations body to hold Russia liable for its unprovoked war in Ukraine.

— Amanda Macias

The British federal government commemorates Ukraine’s Independence Day by putting up a flower arch over the entryway to Number 10 Downing Street in London.

The sunflower, Ukraine’s nationwide flower, is seen with pops of blue flowers to additional represent the colors of the nationwide flag.

Seen under the flower arch is a 15- year-old tabby feline called Larry that resides in the Number 10 house.

— Amanda Macias

Numerous civilians are attempting to leave the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as worries grow over Russian strikes around the duration of Ukraine’s Independence Day,Aug 24, a consultant to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated.

There is “certainly some concern” that a Russian attack might strike tactical parts of Kyiv, especially federal government locations, governmental consultant Alex Rodnyansky stated.

And according to the head of Ukraine’s intelligence directorate, Andriy Yusov, Russian President Vladimir Putin is “really obsessed with dates and symbols, so it would be logical to be on the lookout and be prepared for independence day to be attacked.”

Celebrations have actually been canceled and big events prohibited for the majority of today as Kyiv stays on high alert.

— Natasha Turak

United Nations private investigators stated the war in Ukraine “could leave the country and region with a toxic legacy for generations to come,” according to initial tracking reports from the area.

The United Nations Environment Program, or UNEP, discovered countless possible occurrences of air, water and land contamination and the deterioration of environments, consisting of threats to surrounding nations.

“The mapping and initial screening of environmental hazards only serves to confirm that war is quite literally toxic,” composed UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen in the report.

“The first priority is for this senseless destruction to end now. The environment is about people: it’s about livelihoods, public health, clean air and water, and basic food systems. It’s about a safe future for Ukrainians and their neighbors, and further damage must not be done,” she included.

— Amanda Macias

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson checked out Kyiv to commemorate Ukraine’s Independence Day.

“What happens in Ukraine matters to us all. That is why I am in Kyiv today. That is why the UK will continue to stand with our Ukrainian friends,” Johnson composed on Twitter.

“I believe Ukraine can and will win this war,” he included.

Johnson, who was among the very first world leaders to check out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv following Russia’s intrusion, has actually rapidly turned into one of the most noticeable Western advocates of Ukraine.

— Amanda Macias

The White House released a declaration from President Joe Biden congratulating Ukraine on its 31 st anniversary of self-reliance, in which he declared his administration’s assistance for the nation in its war versus Russia.

“Over the past six months, Ukrainians have inspired the world with their extraordinary courage and dedication to freedom. They have stood resolute and strong in the face of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine. And today is not only a celebration of the past, but a resounding affirmation that Ukraine proudly remains – and will remain – a sovereign and independent nation,” Biden’s declaration checked out.

It highlighted the most recent U.S. security support bundle for Ukraine amounting to approximately $2.98 billion, its biggest yet. In the previous 6 months because the war started, Ukraine has actually lost countless civilian and combatant lives, seen swathes of cities and facilities ruined, and had its population diminished by a minimum of 10 million as individuals leave to other nations.

“I know this independence day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks,” Biden’s declaration continued.

It included that the U.S. “looks forward to continuing to celebrate Ukraine as a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous state for decades to come.”

— Natasha Turak

The previous Russian mayor of Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, was apprehended and charged with discrediting the nation’s military, in the most recent example of the Kremlin’s severe laws versus dissent.

Yevgeny Roizman, 59, was Yekaterinburg’s mayor from 2013 to 2018 and had actually currently been fined previously this year under Russia’s law that prohibits any activity “discrediting” the military or dispersing “fake information” about its operations.

The law entered into location quickly after Russia released its war versus Ukraine, which it calls a “special military operation.” Russian authorities are popular to identify criticism as comparable to spreading out phony details.

According to Reuters, the previous mayor stated he had actually been apprehended “basically for one phrase, ‘the invasion of Ukraine’.”

Roizman might dish out to 5 years in jail if founded guilty. A couple of comparable arrests of regional authorities and reporters have actually been made in previous months.

— Natasha Turak

U.S. President Joe Biden revealed a brand-new almost $3 billion military help bundle for Ukraine, the biggest yet because Russia released its complete intrusion of Ukraine onFeb 24.

“The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty,” a White House declaration from the president stated.

“I am proud to announce our biggest tranche of security assistance to date: approximately $2.98 billion of weapons and equipment to be provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative,” the declaration stated. “This will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and radars to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term.”

The U.S. is without a doubt the biggest provider of military and financial assistance to Ukraine as it battles to protect itself from Russian forces, and has actually dedicated more than $105 billion to the nation in the last 6 months.

The U.K. might choose to strengthen visa conditions for Russians getting in the nation, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace informed BBC Radio, though he questioned the knowledge of a straight-out restriction on Russian residents, which has actually been required by some European leaders.

“I certainly think we can toughen up the conditions of our visas. I am not sure whether an outright ban is the right way,” Wallace stated.

“I think that’s a matter for the home secretary to look at. But I don’t like … watching oligarchs’ wives or indeed Russian senior officials’ wives enjoying themselves in Greece or the south of France, or on superyachts around the world while their army is committing war crimes in Ukraine,” he included.

Estonia, Finland and the Czech Republic have actually all required an EU-wide restriction on the entry of Russian travelers from the Schengen totally free motion location. The relocation would work as additional penalty for Russia’s intrusion of Ukraine, advocates of the restriction state.

U.S. President Joe Biden has actually likewise signified he is not in favor of a straight-out restriction on Russian tourists.

— Natasha Turak

“The end is not in sight,” stated previous U.S. ambassador to Georgia and Kazakhstan, William Courtney, who included that the result of the war is hard to anticipate. Ukraine marked the 6th month because Russia attacked the nation.

Courtney, who is now an accessory senior fellow at Rand Corporation, included that while Russia is most likely to “undertake some kind of attack” on Ukraine’s Independence Day, Russia is not in a position to change the result of the war.

“It doesn’t appear that Russia is in a position to make an advance … this is not something that will affect the outcome of the fighting,” he stated.

Russia’s continued attack can continue “as long as the Kremlin retains support,” the senior fellow stated, however warned that the non reusable earnings of families in Russia have actually substantially dropped because its very first intrusion of Ukraine in 2014, and are “going down further.”

Courtney kept in mind that inflation in Russia is much greater than wage development, which “there’s a potential for public unrest.”

When inquired about the possibility a decreasing Western union versus Russia, Courtney stated that there is “no sign of Ukraine fatigue yet.”

“There is a strong feeling in Europe that what Russia is doing is a direct attack on not only European security, but European values,” he stated. “This war was Russia-Ukraine, but it’s now become a proxy war between Russia and the West, so we are seeing Europe stand quite tall.”

— Lee Ying Shan

Ukraine marks the 6th month of Russia’s intrusion, and experts are anticipating the dispute to be a long, grinding “war of attrition” without any end in sight.

Russia at first anticipated a fast triumph in Ukraine, however hopes of promptly toppling Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pro-Western federal government dissipated.

Geopolitical expert and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, Sam Ramani, stated there has actually been something of a turnaround in Russia’s fortunes because the start of the intrusion.

“In the first month of the war, the stronghold for Russia was really southern Ukraine. They took over Kherson very quickly and two thirds of Zaporizhzhia. They had Snake Island. The whole of the Black Sea coast was almost under their control,” he stated, including that “now they’re vulnerable in the south.”

Russian soldiers in current months took out of Snake Island and inhabited locations, such as Crimea andKherson Additionally, Russian forces are seeing increasing varieties of Ukrainian strikes in what might be the start of Kyiv’s counteroffensive to recover lost area in the south.

The shipping of grain exports from Ukrainian ports has actually likewise had the ability to resume under a U.N.-Turkey brokered offer in between Moscow and Kyiv, bringing an end to a months-long Russian blockade.

In spite of these gains by Ukraine, lots of experts have actually been left asking where and when Ukraine will introduce a counteroffensive in the south like they revealed.

Max Hess, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a U.S.-based think tank, informed CNBC that the outlook for the next 6 months is most likely to look like a quagmire, both physically on the ground and on a geopolitical level, with neither side able to make advances and no motivation for a go back to cease-fire settlements after talks stopped working previously this year.

— Lee Ying Shan, Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine marks its 31 st anniversary of self-reliance today,Aug 24, precisely 6 months after the start of Russia’s full-fledged military intrusion.

The nation restored its self-reliance following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, stating itself neutral and developing a restricted collaboration with the ex-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States and later on signing up with NATO’s Partnership for Peace in 1994.

The nation is presently on high alert as intelligence companies in both Ukraine and the United States expect heightened Russian attacks on Ukrainian facilities, and the capital Kyiv has actually prohibited big events for the majority of today.

Kyiv’s primary boulevard is lined with recorded Russian tanks and other military hardware, representing the defiance and durability of the nation, which Moscow and lots of other federal governments had actually anticipated to be up to attacking forces within days.

— Natasha Turak

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov required extra weapons and tighter sanctions on Russia as the Kremlin’s war approaches its 6th month, a mournful turning point that accompanies Ukraine’s Independence Day.

“Sanctions should be tightened and loopholes closed. Russian citizens should face a Schengen Zone tourist visa ban, with only humanitarian cases permitted to enter the EU,” Reznikov composed for the Atlantic Council.

Reznikov likewise contacted Western federal governments to assistance Ukraine with more weapons and humanitarian help.

“The current war is not just about Ukraine. It is a struggle to determine who gets to set the rules the whole world will live by,” he composed.

“It is also a wake-up call for the many Europeans still in denial over the threat facing the continent from a hostile Russia,” he included.

— Amanda Macias

Russia’s war in Ukraine has actually left about 17.7 million individuals in major requirement of humanitarian help, according to United Nations quotes.

The U.N. likewise alerted that the crisis will impact more individuals as the severe winter techniques.

The United Nations approximates that humanitarian companies have actually scaled up operations in order to reach 11.7 million individuals because Russia’s war in Ukraine started 6 months back.

— Amanda Macias