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Ukraine Invasion
Defense Policy / Programs
Foreign Policy
News Reports

Ukraine Invasion

• Shelling, Drones Kill More Civilians As Kyiv Pleads For OK To Strike Deeper Into Russia RFE/RL 01 Aug 2024 -- Russian shelling and drone strikes have killed more Ukrainian civilians in several frontline regions, officials reported on August 1, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy again appealed to Kyiv's allies to allow his forces to use Western weapons systems to strike military targets deeper inside Russia.
• Ukrainian air defenses destroy 7 Russian drones VOA 01 Aug 2024 -- Ukraine said Thursday its air defenses shot down seven Russian aerial drones that targeted areas in central and eastern Ukraine.
• Ukraine experiences largest drone attack since beginning of conflict People's Daily 01 Aug 2024 -- Ukraine on early Wednesday experienced one of the largest drone attacks since its conflict with Russia started, the country's Air Force said in a statement.
• F-16 Delivery to Ukraine Means Escalation, Lack of Any Restraints - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sputnik 01 Aug 2024 -- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Thursday, commenting on the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, that escalation and the fact that there are no restraints left are a problem.
• 'The Only Answer is to Destroy Them': How Russia Plans to Handle Ukraine's Western-Supplied F-16s Sputnik 01 Aug 2024 -- Ukraine has finally received the first small batch of F-16 fighter jets promised by the West, with some of them allegedly already participating in air defense missions, if recent Western media reports are to be believed.
• F-16 Deliveries to Ukraine Insufficient to Shift Battlefield Dynamics - Kremlin Sputnik 01 Aug 2024 -- The delivery of F-16 jets to Kiev will not be able to significantly influence the dynamics of events at front as all the aircraft will be shot down and destroyed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
• Russia Willing to Cooperate on Ukraine Crisis Resolution, Seeks Solutions Considering Its Interests Sputnik 01 Aug 2024 -- Russia is ready to cooperate with all those who seek to facilitate the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, taking into account Russian interests and current realities, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Pacific Fleet coastal missile crews conduct tactical drills on Matua Island Russia MoD 01 Aug 2024 -- The Bastion coastal missile crews of Northeastern Group of Troops and Forces held a tactical training on Matua Island, the Kuril Islands.
• Russian troops undergo third stage of non-strategic nuclear drills Russia MoD 01 Aug 2024 -- In the course of the third phase of non-strategic nuclear forces drills, military personnel of missile formations of Southern and Central military districts and aviation units of the Russian Aerospace Forces were engaged in training on receiving special training ammunition, entering designated areas, and equip launch vehicles and aviation strike assets.
• Russian Navy completes large-scale exercises on combat employment of fleets and Caspian Flotilla Russia MoD 01 Aug 2024 -- The Navy units involved in the scheduled exercises in operative zones of the Northern, Pacific, Baltic fleets, and in the Caspian Flotilla area of responsibility are completing their missions. Soon, the ships participated in the drills will return to the base.
• Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov sends telegram to large formation deployed in special military operation zone Russia MoD 01 Aug 2024 -- The head of the Russian Defence Ministry congratulated the personnel of the Gorlovka 132th separate guard motor rifle brigade on liberation of Leninskoe of the Donetsk People's Republic.

Foreign Policy

• Meeting with Russian citizens returning to the Motherland following a prisoner swap President of Russia 01 Aug 2024 -- Vladimir Putin arrived at Vnukovo Airport and welcomed Russian citizens who were detained abroad and were able to return to the Motherland today following a prisoner swap.
• The President signed executive orders on pardons President of Russia 01 Aug 2024 -- Vladimir Putin signed executive orders pardoning Paul Nicholas Whelan, Kevin Lik, Evan Gershkovich, Demuri Voronin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsu Kurmasheva, Lilia Chanysheva, Vadim Ostanin, Ksenia Fadeyeva, Alexandra Skochilenko, Ilya Yashin, Andrei Pivovarov, and Oleg Orlov.
• Kurmasheva, Gershkovich, Whelan, Kara-Murza Included In Historic U.S.-Russia Prisoner Swap RFE/RL 01 Aug 2024 -- Russia, the United States, and several other countries have carried out the largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War, freeing 16 people -- including RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan -- from Russian and Belarusian prisons, while eight Russians were returned home.
• Who Are The 24 Prisoners Who Were Swapped In U.S.-Russia Deal? RFE/RL 01 Aug 2024 -- A veteran human rights activist. A married couple who worked for years in deep-cover aliases. Two American journalists. The son of a Russian lawmaker.
• Russia Fully Satisfied With Prisoner Swap - Source Sputnik 01 Aug 2024 -- Russia is fully satisfied with the prisoner exchange, a credible source in one of the competent Russian agencies told Sputnik on Thursday.
• Eight Russians Detained and Held in Several NATO Countries Brought Back to Fatherland - FSB Sputnik 01 Aug 2024 -- The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that eight Russian citizens, who were detained and imprisoned in several NATO countries, have been returned to Russia. The exchange took place at Ankara airport (Turkiye) on August 1, 2024, and also included the repatriation of minor children.
• Remarks by President Biden and Vice President Harris Upon Return of Americans Detained in Russia | Joint Base Andrews, MD The White House 01 Aug 2024
• Remarks by Vice President Harris on Freeing Americans Detained in Russia The White House 01 Aug 2024
• Readout of Vice President Harris's Call with Yulia Navalnaya The White House 01 Aug 2024
• Background Press Call on Today's Multilateral Prisoner Exchange The White House 01 Aug 2024
• Remarks by President Biden on Freeing Americans Detained in Russia The White House 01 Aug 2024
• Statement by President Joe Biden on Securing the Release of Americans Detained in Russia The White House 01 Aug 2024
• Release of Wrongfully Detained Americans and Russian Political Prisoners US Dept. of State 01 Aug 2024 -- Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva are now on their way back to the United States from Russia.
• Historic prisoner swap sees American journalists, ex-Marine freed from Russia VOA 01 Aug 2024 -- The U.S. on Thursday confirmed a historic prisoner swap with Russia that included the release of American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza.
• White House Confirms That Navalny Was Part Of Prisoner Exchange Talks RFE/RL 01 Aug 2024 -- White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan said on August 1 that the United States had been working on a prisoner exchange to include Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny prior to his death.
• Belarus/Russia: Statement by the High Representative on the release of number of political prisoners European External Action Service (EEAS) 01 Aug 2024 -- The European Union is relieved by the release and transfer to freedom outside Russia and Belarus of a number of political prisoners, including EU citizens, facilitated with the help of Türkiye.
• No: 155, 1 August 2024, Regarding the Prisoner Exchange Operation in Ankara Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs 01 Aug 2024
• Release of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Paul Whelan: Foreign Secretary's statement UK FCDO 01 Aug 2024 -- Foreign Secretary David Lammy responds to the release of British nationals from prison in Russia.
• US-Russia prisoner swap 'an unprecedented diplomatic act', rights experts says UN News 01 Aug 2024 -- A UN independent human rights expert has welcomed the landmark prisoner swap on Thursday between the United States and Russia, which involved several other countries.
• The Prisoner Swap: What's In It For Putin? RFE/RL 01 Aug 2024 -- Several Americans and other Westerners have been freed, along with a number of Russian citizens who had been jailed in their own country, in a major prisoner swap involving multiple nations. Why did President Vladimir Putin's government release them, and why now?
• Press release on the outcomes of Russia's UN Security Council Presidency in July 2024 Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 01 Aug 2024
• Claiming there is a China-Russia contest over relations with North Korea is unsubstantiated, ill-motivated: FM Global Times 01 Aug 2024 -- Despite the transformation in the international and regional landscape, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have never changed the importance they attach and their commitment to the traditional friendship and cooperative relationship between China and North Korea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday.
• Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's telephone conversation with Acting Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Bagheri Kani Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 01 Aug 2024
• Iran, Russia discuss circumstances around Haniyeh's assassination IRNA 01 Aug 2024 -- Iran's Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have exchanged views on the circumstances around the assassination of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
• Lavrov says Haniyeh assassination unacceptable in talks with Iran FM Press TV 01 Aug 2024 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has denounced as unacceptable the assassination of the head of the political bureau of the Hamas resistance movement Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, warning of its extremely dangerous consequences.
• Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Mali Abdoulaye Diop, Moscow Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 01 Aug 2024

News Reports

• Wagner's Mali fiasco exposes discord among Russian military bloggers VOA 01 Aug 2024 -- Heated debates among Russian military bloggers over the deaths of possibly dozens of Wagner Group mercenaries in Mali are highlighting discord and desolation within that community, says a researcher into Russian military propaganda.
• Brussels Frustrated With Hungary Over Russian Visa Decision That Could Let In Spies RFE/RL 01 Aug 2024 -- Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Hungary has stubbornly refused to join EU efforts to punish and isolate Moscow.
• Moldova Expels Russian Diplomat Amid Spying Investigation RFE/RL 01 Aug 2024 -- Moldova's Foreign Ministry has declared an employee of the Russian Embassy to Chisinau persona non grata and gave him 48 hours to leave the country. The move comes hours after authorities in Chisinau detained two Moldovan officials following a raid by security forces on parliament premises linked to a spying investigation.
• Russia, China leading wave of 'unprecedented' intelligence threats to US VOA 01 Aug 2024 -- The United States is facing a series of unprecedented threats from foreign intelligence agencies, some of which are increasingly cooperating with each other to gain an advantage, according to a newly approved strategy to blunt the impact of espionage.