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.
UK Defense Ministry's intelligence report on the war in Ukraine published on July 29. (Twitter)
Fighting has increased in intensity over the last 48 hours, especially in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and the south of Donetsk Oblast, according to the UK Ministry of Defense report on July 29.
In the south, fighting is currently focused near the village of Robotyne, located near Orikhiv, in the area of responsibility for Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army, the report said.
Ukrainian forces also defeated elements of Russian airborne forces’ 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment to capture the village of Staromaiorske, in Donetsk Oblast, eight kilometers east from Robotyne.
Other Russian airborne forces' units continue offensive operations in the Serebriansk Forest west of Kreminna, in the north, but have reportedly achieved little ground.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian forces have liberated Staromaiorske village in Donetsk Oblast, according to the footage of Ukraine’s 35th Marine Brigade and Territorial Defense Forces, published by President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 27.
Staromaiorske, which sits on the Mokri Yaly River, is located near the administrative border with Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a few kilometers south of the town of Velyka Novosilka. Two days ago, Ukrainian forces reported winning over the positions close to Staromaiorske.
Staromaiorske lies in the Berdiansk direction, one of the three sectors where Ukrainian forces are conducting its summer counteroffensive.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Nathan M. Greenfield
