Germany pledges IRIS-T air defenses, tanks, shells in new aid package for Ukraine

The package will include five-ton cargo trucks, spare parts, and the refurbishment and overhaul of air defense fire units.

Ukraine has brought home a group of soldiers released from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 23, marking yet another in a recent series of exchanges with Moscow.

During the talks, Ukraine proposed holding a summit between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of August, according to National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation.

Belarusian Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Muraveika said Minsk originally chose to move the joint Russian-Belarusian drills away from the western frontier to ease tensions, but that decision may now be reconsidered.

"We see what people expect from state institutions — ensured justice and the effective functioning of each institution," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The attack followed the publication of a critical editorial and in-depth coverage of the government's push to expand the prosecutor general's control over key anti-corruption agencies.

Member of Zelensky’s Servant of the People faction, Anastasia Radina, discusses signing of controversial bill impacting Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions.

"The President of the European Commission (Ursula von der Leyen) was in contact with President Zelensky about these latest developments," European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said.

A Dutch court overturned seizure orders on Russian energy giant Gazprom's local assets, which had been imposed following lawsuits filed by two Ukrainian companies, Reuters reports on July 22, citing a published ruling on the court's website.