Zelensky on May 12 removed Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the top command and control body for all branches of Ukraine's defense apparatus.
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.
Russian military vehicles taking part in nuclear drills. Screenshot of a video published on July 31, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry/Telegram)
Russia began the third stage of the drills designed to test its Armed Forces' readiness to launch non-strategic nuclear weaponry, the Russian Defense Ministry said on July 31.
The first stage of exercises began in May as what Russian President Vladimir Putin presented as a response to alleged and unspecified "provocative statements" by the West.
The third phase of the drills involves units of the Central and Southern military districts. The latter district includes forces deployed in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
"As part of this phase of the drills, missile formations' personnel from the Southern and Central military districts will carry out combat training tasks, including acquiring special training ammunition for the Iskander-M tactical missile systems," the Defense Ministry's statement read.
Soldiers taking part in the exercises will practice "equipping launch vehicles and covertly advancing to positions to prepare for electronic launches."
The previous two stages included units of the Southern and Leningrad military districts, Aerospace Forces, and Navy units, the ministry said.
The Kremlin has repeatedly made nuclear threats against Ukraine and the West since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The threats have failed to materialize, and Russia continues to wage its all-out war without its nuclear arsenal.
Russia's ally Belarus took part in the second stage of the drills in June. Minsk does not have its own nuclear weaponry but instead hosts part of Russia's tactical arsenal.
Olena Goncharova
