7:27 pm: Ukraine – Kursk makes further terrain gains
According to its own reports, Ukraine has recorded further territorial gains as it advances into Russian Kursk Oblast. Ukrainian troops have advanced between one and three kilometers, Army Chief Oleksandr Chirskyj says in a video posted on Telegram by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“In general, the situation is under control and everything is going according to plan.” There is currently no statement from Russia.
7:26 pm: Ambassador – Russia not ready for talks
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, the German ambassador in Moscow, sees no chance of peace talks in the current Ukraine war. “At the moment the Russian side shows no willingness to negotiate, but insists on excessive preconditions,” Lambsdorff said in an interview with the “Bonner General-Anzeiger”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he is ready to talk to Ukraine only if, in his opinion, it completely withdraws from all areas Russia has already annexed, including areas it does not control militarily. There’s no seriousness behind it,” said Lambsdorff, who has been ambassador to Moscow for a year.
7:13 pm: Report – Evacuation is hampered due to collapse of Kursk bridge
A Russian media outlet reported that Ukraine destroyed a bridge in the Kursk region, hampering the evacuation of the region. The bridge over the Seim River was destroyed by Ukrainian units, state news agency Tass reported, citing local security officials.
There is currently no statement from the government in Kiev. After the Ukrainian advance in the Kursk region, Glushkov district was evacuated. 20,000 people live there.
6:14 pm: Head of recruitment centers near Kiev arrested
In Ukraine, the heads of two recruitment centers near Kiev were arrested for accepting bribes in exchange for the release of conscripts. Ukrainska Pravda reports that bundles of cash were found and confiscated during raids in offices and apartments in the suburbs of Bucha and Boryspil. Recruiting center managers and their associates collected a total of one million dollars for their services.
According to the investigations so far, the leaders provided fake medical reports whereby the youths were declared unfit for military service and excluded from registration. Initially, 20 people who sought exemption from military service in this way were identified.
5:50 pm: US government pledges more military aid to Ukraine
The US government has pledged more military aid to Ukraine. John Kirby, spokesman for the US Department of National Security, told CNN that an announcement will be made in the coming days. He did not give any details.
5:28 pm: Ukraine moves forward with ban on Ukrainian Orthodox Church
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOK), once affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, is apparently facing a ban in Ukraine. Ukraine’s parliament announced in a telegram on Friday that it will vote next week on a bill that would allow organizations affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church to be banned. The idea behind the law is “freedom of religion under the condition of no relationship with the occupier and the Russian Orthodox Church.” Western observers have warned Ukraine that banning the UOC outright would constitute a massive violation of religious freedom.
4:59 pm: Officials want Pokrovsk to be evacuated soon
Military officials in eastern Ukraine have called on residents of the city of Pokrovsk to evacuate quickly as Russian troops approach. The Pokrovsk administration said on the Telegram platform on Friday that the Russian players are making rapid progress. “With each passing day, there is less time to pack personal belongings and move to safer areas.” Members of the Pokrovsk administration met with residents and provided them with details of the evacuation.
4:12 pm: Attack on shopping center in Donetsk injures seven civilians
At least seven civilians were injured in a Ukrainian attack on a business center in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to Russian sources. Denis Bushilin, head of the region’s pro-Russian administration, told the Telegram online service on Friday that “the enemy launched a massive target attack” in the Petrovsky district on the outskirts of Donetsk. There may also be injuries.
2:06 pm: Moscow says it fired 12 ATACMS missiles at the Crimean bridge.
According to Russian reports, Ukraine again tried to destroy the bridge to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea annexed by Moscow. The Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow said Russian anti-aircraft defenses destroyed twelve ATACMS missiles approaching the bridge.
The Ministry of Defense in Moscow reiterated several avoided attacks by Ukrainian aircraft and naval drones over Crimea. According to officials, there was no damage. There was initially no information from the Ukrainian side about the attacks on the peninsula.
1:20 pm: Volunteer forces call on Russian soldiers to surrender
The Russian Volunteer Force, fighting on the side of Ukraine, has called on Russian soldiers to surrender. “Your political instructors sitting in your warm back room strongly advise not to become prisoners of war, but rather to blow yourself up with your own grenades,” wrote fighters from the “Freedom of Russia” brigade in Telegram. But it is better to live than to die for orders from a superior.
Anyone who wants to fight for a “normal future for Russia” can switch sides and join the Legion. “We are ready to communicate with anyone willing to take up arms against the Kremlin,” the militants wrote.
12.36pm: Russia – Serhiivka village in Donetsk taken
According to the government in Moscow, Russian troops have captured the village of Serhiyivka in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. This was reported by the Russian state news agency TASS, citing the Ministry of Defense. Such information about the fight cannot be independently verified.
12.12 pm: Kiev announces that Kursk settlement is necessary for peace talks.
According to the government in Kiev, the deployment of Ukrainian troops in the Russian Kursk region is necessary to force Russia to enter peace talks. “We must inflict significant tactical defeats on Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Mykhailo Podoliak, writes on the Telegram messaging service. “In the Kursk region, we can clearly see how military means are being used in a targeted manner to force the Russian Federation to enter into a fair negotiation process.” On August 6, Ukrainian troops unexpectedly crossed the border and advanced on the city of Kursk.
11 am: Moscow declares the Union of Representatives an undesirable organization
A Berlin-based association of Russian regional and local politicians condemning the war against Ukraine has been declared an undesirable organization in Russia. Representatives of the “Representatives of Peaceful Russia” organization will participate in events in Germany “with an anti-Russian orientation,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said, according to Russian agencies. “They are spreading disinformation about the actions of Russian government officials and their support for terrorist organizations.”
The non-governmental organization “Representatives of Peaceful Russia” was established in October 2023. The first congress was held in Berlin. According to its own information, the association has 74 independent regional and municipal representatives, many of whom are now in exile.
10:42 am: RIA reports that the Ukrainian division in Kursk has been destroyed
According to a report by the RIA news agency, Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian espionage and sabotage unit near the Russian border in the Kursk region. RIA reported, citing unspecified security sources, that she had NATO weapons.
10:00 am: FDP security expert calls for more equipment for Ukraine
In light of recent developments in Russia’s war of aggression, Markus Faber, head of the Security Council in the Bundestag, has called for more arms to Ukraine. “The success of Ukraine should be a reason to talk about the supply of Panther 2 and Fuchs,” writes the FDP politician on Platform X. “So far we can do our Leopard2 5% and our Fuchs more,” claims Faber. The developments at Kursk, Faber writes, “are a defeat for the Kremlin. He is overwhelmed militarily,” and asserts: “With Ukraine’s military support, we can now lay the foundations for lasting peace in Europe.”
9.40am: Volky talks about going to Ukraine
Cologne Cardinal Rainer Maria Volki said he was “deeply shocked” after holding talks with survivors of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. He told the Cologne church web portal domradio.de that he saw people crouching in front of the graves of their fallen sons or husbands to look after them. It’s an “incredible feeling”. The archbishop had previously visited the towns of Irbin, Bucha and Hostomel, where hundreds of bodies were found after Russian troops withdrew.
Considering the fighting that has been going on for more than two years, the cardinal insisted: “Under no circumstances should we hate this war, forget it, get used to it. Speak up.” People in Ukraine need more sympathy, understanding, support and support.
8:20 am: Ukraine reports successful defense against Russian drones
The Ukrainian Air Force says it intercepted five drones launched by the Russian Armed Forces at targets in Ukraine on Friday night. These include three Iranian Shahed-type drones, while two other drone types have also been identified. Russia also deployed three Iskander-M ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a telegram. The governors of Kyiv and Kirovohrad regions reported no damage or casualties after the attack. In some of their attacks, the Russian armed forces use cheap drones, which are also used for reconnaissance and deception maneuvers of Ukrainian air defense positions.
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