Ukraine remains the most mined country in the world. Nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory, approximately 174,000 square kilometers, had been mined since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
"I am grateful for the support and the readiness at the highest level to promote diplomacy," President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the phone conservation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We share the same view on the need for a ceasefire."
The convictions mark a significant development in Britain's efforts to counter Russian intelligence operations amid heightened tensions stemming from Moscow's war against Ukraine and repeated Kremlin threats toward Kyiv's allies.
According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
Polish soldiers are seen during a high-intensity training session at the Nowa Deba training ground on May 06, 2023 in Nowa Deba, Poland. Anakonda-23 is the highlight of the Polish Army's training calendar this year. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The size of the Polish military is being nearly doubled in response to the threat posed by Russia and Belarus, Polish deputy prime minister Jarosław Kaczynski said during a visit to the town of Koden near the Belarusian border on July 27.
Existing units are being replenished and three new divisions are being created, for a total of six, with a seventh being a possibility. Polish military presence on Belarusian border is being strengthened as well.
Recently, thousands of Wagner troops and heavy equipment have poured into Belarus from Russia, after the pseudo-PMC's abortive mutiny against the Kremlin.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that he brokered a deal between the Kremlin and Wagner, for the mercenaries to be allowed to peacefully leave Russia in exchange for standing down.
Earlier, Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported that Wagner was recruiting in Belarus, with the readiness to participate in fighting in Poland and Lithuania as one of the conditions of enlistment.
Officially, Belarus and Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin have said that the mercenaries are there to train Belarusian troops.
Ukraine has said that its border with Belarus is secure and is being monitored.
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Elsa Court
