As the war enters its 867th day, here are the top developments.
Here is the situation on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
Struggle
- Russia claimed to have captured the village of Pivdenne in eastern Ukraine, south-east of Toretsk in the Donetsk region.
- The Ukrainian army's General Staff made no reference to Pivdenne in its evening report, but said Russian forces had tried to breach Ukrainian defences near Pokrovsk, a major Ukrainian transport hub about 70 kilometres west of Toretsk, 15 times in the past 24 hours. Three skirmishes were ongoing, it added.
- The Ukrainian military said it struck an oil depot in Russia's Kursk region as part of its assault on Russian oil storage and production facilities. The General Staff said the attack caused a fire. The acting governor of the Kursk region said on Telegram that air defenses had destroyed four Ukrainian missiles in two districts.
Politics and diplomacy
- At least seven Russian political prisoners convicted for their criticism of the war in Ukraine have been moved from prisons and penal colonies in recent days, prompting speculation about an imminent prisoner swap. Among those who have been moved, according to their lawyers, are opposition politician Ilya Yashin, artist Alexandra Skochilenko and human rights activist Oleg Orlov. Russia and the United States have said they are actively discussing an exchange for American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was convicted of espionage in a fast-track trial this month.
- A Russian military court has sentenced a man to 14 years in prison for treason on charges of plotting an attack after joining a banned pro-Ukrainian militia. Artem Sanzharaev was accused of joining Russia's Legion of Freedom, a pro-kyiv unit made up of Russian citizens that has claimed responsibility for armed raids in Russian border regions.
- Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crime, said it had charged eight minors with offences including attempted “terrorism” for trying to set trains on fire and sabotage railway infrastructure in the Urals region of Sverdlovsk. The committee said a “person in Ukraine” promised money to the group.
- Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said kyiv had invited Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to visit the country amid growing dialogue. Spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said work was ongoing toward a possible future meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Xi Jinping, who have spoken only once by phone since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Beijing says it is neutral in the war but has not condemned Moscow for its invasion and has deepened ties with Russia in the years since.
- US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told a Senate hearing that he expects to hear soon that India is engaging more with Ukraine, after being asked about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Moscow earlier this month.
