A few hours after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the U.S. presidential election, the Kyiv Independent sat down with Ambassador Kurt Volker, who served as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations in 2017-2019, and as U.S. ambassador to NATO in 2008-2009.
A series of explosions were reported overnight on August 2 in Russian-occupied Crimea, with local residents citing drone activity and air defense operations, according to multiple Telegram channels and eyewitness accounts.
A series of drone attacks targeted industrial facilities in Russia's Ryazan, Penza, and Samara oblasts overnight on Aug. 2, according to local media and regional officials.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Aug. 1 that Moscow has begun production of its latest hypersonic missile, named "Oreshnik," and confirmed plans to deploy the weapon to Belarus later this year.
Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, said that as of the morning of Aug. 1, the Russian attack had killed 31 people. At around 10:40 a.m. local time, rescuers recovered three more bodies.
The reported mechanism will allow Kyiv to prioritize weaponry needs under its Priority Ukraine Requirements List, Reuters reported, with arms being delivered in tranches of roughly $500 million. Spearheaded by alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte, NATO allies would then coordinate among themselves as to who would pay for weapons on the list.
The victims include a 5-month-old baby, along with a 9-year-old and 10-year-old boy, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. Five of the victims have been hospitalized.
The waves reportedly hit the Rybachiy naval base, which houses the bulk of the nuclear submarines in Russia's Pacific Fleet, according to images taken by the Umbra Space satellite the morning after the tsunami.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed on August 1 the creation of three working groups for new online peace talks with Ukraine — but insisted the format would remain behind closed doors.
"Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions," U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The U.S. president added that Ukraine has suffered an estimated 8,000 military deaths since January, not including missing personnel.
At least four oil tankers carrying Russian crude are idling off India's western coast as Indian refiners reconsider purchases under sanction pressure from the United States and the European Union.
