July 2023

2023-07-04 04:15:55

03.07.2023

Ukraine war in the live ticker +++ 07:02 ISW: Ukraine is advancing in at least four regions +++

Ukrainian forces pushed forward in at least four areas of the frontline yesterday Monday and made minor progress, writes the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The soldiers are said to have advanced southwest of Bachmut.

+++ 06:17 Russia reports the shooting down of two drones near Moscow +++
According to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, drones were once more shot down over the area of ​​the Russian capital Moscow in the morning. Russian air defense repelled “another attempted attack by Ukrainian drones,” Sobyanin wrote on his Telegram channel. There were no dead or injured. All missiles were destroyed. According to the rescue services, there were four drones. For safety reasons, air traffic was diverted from Vnukovo Airport, southwest of Moscow city center, to other airports. According to the Russian Aviation Authority, flight operations resumed at 8 a.m. Moscow time.

+++ 05:29 report: Kremlin wants more surveillance technology in Russia +++
According to a report in the New York Times, the Kremlin wants to expand the production of surveillance technology in Russia. Moscow is providing Russian law enforcement agencies, as well as the domestic intelligence agency FSB, with more tools to track cellphones or track activities in encrypted apps like Telegram, Whatsapp or Signal, it said.

+++ 01:17 Zelenskyj: German Iris-T systems very effective in protecting the airspace +++
After a phone call with Chancellor Scholz, Ukrainian President Selenskyj praised Germany’s help with air defense. “The brilliant Iris-T systems have proven to be very effective in protecting our airspace,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video message. In addition, Germany has also given Ukraine the very effective US-type Patriot air defense system. “Ukraine is very grateful for that,” Zelenskyy said. But much more help from the West is needed: “Unfortunately, our country does not have enough high-quality air defense systems to protect our entire area and destroy all enemy targets.”

+++ 23:55 Czech Foreign Minister: Russia a danger for Europe for decades +++
In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky also sees his country under threat. “Our threat is not imaginary. Russia will pose a threat to the European continent for decades to come,” he told the Tagesspiegel newspaper. He is glad that Germany’s new security strategy expresses this clearly. Because of similar problems, a danger for the Czech Republic also means a danger for Germany. “Our national economies are heavily dependent on one another. (…) We have created a common area economically. If we are in danger, then Germany is too,” the minister continued. With a view to the NATO summit on July 11 and 12 in Lithuania, Lipavsky does not see Ukraine ready to join either the defense alliance or the EU. “But it has to be. And it is in our interest to help Ukraine.”

+++ 23:03 Zelenskyj demands “rescue” from imprisoned Saakashvili +++
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is once more calling on the South Caucasus Republic of Georgia to rescue its former head of state, Mikhail Saakashvili, who is ill in prison. The 55-year-old, who is a Ukrainian citizen, should be handed over to Ukraine for the necessary treatment and care, Zelenskyy said in his daily video message. He appealed to the international community not to ignore the situation but to “save this man”. “No government in Europe has the right to execute people, life is a fundamental European value.” Zelenskyi had repeatedly claimed that Saakashvili was being “slowly killed” in Georgian custody. Despite an arrest warrant, the ex-president returned to Georgia in 2021 and was arrested. In pictures he looked emaciated recently.

+++ 22:14 China wants to work more closely with the Russian Navy +++
China is intensifying military contacts with its neighbors and above all with Russia. China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu met with the head of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, in Beijing, Chinese and Russian media report unanimously. Li told Yevmenov, according to the Chinese Defense Ministry, that he hopes the two countries’ navies should strengthen communications at all levels and regularly organize joint exercises and patrols. Just two days ago, the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced that two Russian warships had been observed near Taiwan and the Japanese island of Okinawa. The Russian Navy has repeatedly undertaken military activities near the Japanese sea area in the past month. Last week, China also announced closer military cooperation with neighboring Vietnam.

+++ 21:42 US ambassador in Moscow meets reporter Gershkovich in prison +++
US reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is in custody in Russia, is in “good health,” according to the US State Department. Gershkovich remains “strong” despite the circumstances, according to the US Ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, according to the ministry. She was able to visit the journalist who works for the US newspaper “Wall Street Journal” in prison. It was the first time since April 17 that US embassy officials were granted consular access. “All reasonable support” will continue to be given to Gershkovich, it said. The reporter was arrested in March in Yekaterinburg by the Russian secret service FSB. He is accused of collecting classified information regarding Russia’s military-industrial complex for US agencies. The Wall Street Journal denies that. Gershkovich pursued his work with official accreditation.

+++ 21:10 diplomats: Stoltenberg’s term of office will be extended on Tuesday +++
The term of office of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will be extended according to information from diplomats. Four diplomats say the NATO member countries should officially agree on this at a meeting on Tuesday. This means that the 64-year-old Stoltenberg should remain in his post for another year. The NATO countries have not yet been able to agree on a successor, which is why Stoltenberg is asked to continue. Stoltenberg’s term of office has already been extended once. He wanted to be head of the Norwegian central bank. In June, Stoltenberg said he had no intention of renewing his mandate as NATO Secretary General.

You can read all previous developments here.

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