Ukrainian soldiers from the tank battalion of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo are seen with a T-72 tank on positions near Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Olast on June 26, 2023. (Photo: Wojciech Grzedzinski/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Ukraine's offensive operations near Bakhmut may force Russia to make a difficult decision on whether to pull defending forces from other regions of Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest analysis.
Russia has already deployed reinforcements to the Bakhmut area, where Ukrainians reported making headway in clawing back captured territory.
ISW cited Russian sources, which reported Ukrainian counteroffensives along four sections of the front.
Ukraine's counteroffensive, which began in early June, has so far been going slow, with Ukraine saying that the bulk of its forces hasn't yet been committed.
Russia lacks the troops to defend the entire 800-kilometer front line with equal vigor, experts told the Kyiv Independent in May.
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"The stolen data includes confidential questionnaires of the company's employees, and most importantly, full technical documentation on the production of drones, which was handed over to the relevant specialists of the Ukrainian Defense Forces," a source in Ukraine's military intelligence told the Kyiv Independent.
Following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing on July 15, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared that mutual trust between the two countries had "deepened" and called on both sides to "strengthen mutual support on multilateral forums."
The chief executive of Euroclear told the FT that the EU's proposal would amount to "expropriation" — forced seizure — because if Russia demands the assets back in the future, they would not be available.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called upon the EU to take action against Ukraine's conscription practices in an interview with Origo published on July 15, amid an ongoing dispute with Kyiv over the death of a Ukrainian conscript of Hungarian ethnicity.
"This statement from the U.S. president is quite serious. Some of what he said appears to be addressed personally to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
According to the SBU, Russian "special services" recruited the 27-year-old Lviv resident who was trying to obtain "easy money" through Telegram channels.
The facility reportedly manufactures batteries for missile guidance and glider modules, including for the Iskander system and cruise missiles, which Russia has been increasingly using to target Ukrainian cities.
"In the years to come, and by 2030, the main threat to France and Europeans is the risk of open warfare against the heart of Europe," France's new National Strategic Review reads.
"On one hand, it is very positive that President Trump is taking on a strong stance on Russia... On the other hand, 50 days is a very long time if we see that they are killing innocent civilians," EU Special Envoy Kaja Kallas said.
Asami Terajima
