As the war enters its 888th day, here are the top developments.
Here is the situation on Thursday, August 1, 2024.
Struggle
- Ukraine’s air force said it repelled one of Russia’s largest long-range drone attacks of the war, shooting down all 89 drones launched at Kiev, the surrounding region and other areas. The attack primarily targeted the capital and its surrounding region, where officials said more than 40 drones were shot down. An airstrike alert remained in effect for most of the night. No civilian or critical infrastructure was directly hit, but debris damaged the roofs, windows and facades of 13 private residences in the region, officials said.
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The Ukrainian military said it had attacked a weapons and military equipment depot in the Kursk region of western Russia overnight and was assessing the damage. Russia, it said, activated its air defences to try to counter the attack, but explosions were seen at the target sites. The Russian defence ministry earlier said it had destroyed a drone and a Ukrainian Neptun guided missile over the Kursk region.
- Romania's Ministry of National Defense said it had found drone fragments at a third location near the border after last week's Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure. The debris was found near the village of Ceatalchioi, across the Danube River from Ukraine.
Politics and diplomacy
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with French media that kyiv does not want China to act as a mediator in the conflict with Russia, but expects Beijing to put more pressure on Moscow to end the war. China has a “boundless” relationship with Russia and did not attend the first peace summit on Ukraine held last month in Switzerland, but has recently stepped up diplomatic efforts and hosted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba last week. Zelenskyy also said Ukraine would like Russia to attend the next summit.
- A Russian court has ordered Laurent Vinatier, a French researcher arrested in Russia in June, to remain in custody pending trial on charges of illegally gathering information on military matters. Vinatier, an adviser to the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, was arrested in Moscow as tensions rose over comments by French President Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has doubled the initial payment for volunteers who go to fight in Ukraine. All Russians who sign a contract with the army will now receive an initial payment of 400,000 rubles ($4,651). The decree also recommends that regional authorities contribute at least the same amount from their budgets to this payment.
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Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets has demanded explanations from Russian authorities over the death in captivity of Oleksandr Ishchenko, one of 22 Ukrainian prisoners on trial for their links to the Azov Brigade. The unit, listed by Russia as a “terrorist” group, played a key role in defending the port of Mariupol for three months in 2022.
Weapons
- The first batch of long-awaited F-16 fighters, equipped with a 20mm cannon and capable of carrying bombs, rockets and missiles, has arrived in Ukraine. “F-16 in Ukraine. Another impossible thing that has become totally possible,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Denmark has pledged to donate 19 aircraft in total, while the Netherlands has promised to deliver 24 and Norway six.
