US Defense Secretary: Bakhmut more of 'symbolic' than 'strategic' value

Russia launched another mass missile and drone attack overnight on July 9, targeting Ukrainian cities, including in the country's far-west regions located hundreds of kilometers from the front line.

"We have, of course, the resumption of shipments to Ukraine. The president has been vocal about this," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a press briefing on July 8.

Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers rejected a nominee to lead the economic crimes agency, drawing swift criticism from lawmakers and businesses over alleged interference in the selection process.

Ukraine endured the largest aerial attack since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, with at least five civilians killed and 39 injured across multiple regions over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said on July 9.

Sources told CNN that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who currently lacks a chief of staff or senior advisers, believed the move aligned with President Donald Trump's "America First" priorities.

"With Putin I said, 'If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the sh*t out of Moscow. I’m telling you I have no choice,'" Donald Trump told a group of donors in 2024, according to CNN.

The number includes 1,050 casualties that Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

The European Union is considering establishing a fund for Ukraine worth 100 billion euros ($117 billion) in the next seven-year EU budget, Bloomberg reported on July 8, citing sources familiar with the proposal.

If approved, it would mark the first time Trump has sent a major military aid package to Kyiv that wasn't previously greenlighted by Joe Biden.

The European Union's 15th, 16th, and 17th packages of sanctions against Russia are now "fully effective in Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 8.

The financial hole in Ukraine's budget is linked to reduced U.S. support and the lack of prospects for a swift ceasefire with Russia that Europe had hoped for, the Financial Times reported.

"She is extremely effective and charismatic, but surely every diplomat has a rotation cycle," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said of Ambassador Oksana Markarova.

The 5.7-kilometer deviated well was drilled and commissioned six weeks ahead of schedule as Ukraine works to boost domestic production amid Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, including gas storage facilities in western Ukraine.

In a statement, the ICC named Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Afghanistan's top judge Abdul Hakim Haqqani as suspects in a campaign of systematic oppression targeting women, girls, and others who do not conform to the group's rigid gender ideology.

According to officials familiar with the matter, the Pentagon's munitions tracker showed Patriot interceptor stocks had dipped below acceptable levels. That prompted concerns that sending more to Ukraine could put U.S. defense readiness at risk.