Ukrainian security officials arrested a woman in their investigation into an alleged plot to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The country’s Security Service, which did not name the detainee, said the woman was suspected of aiding Russian intelligence services.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
The deadly Russian strike on Pokrovsk’s city center damaged 12 high-rise buildings, offices, shops and a hotel, Kyrylenko said Tuesday on Telegram. Two children, seven rescue workers and 31 police officers were among those hurt. Photos posted on Telegram showed severely damaged buildings with blown-out windows, obliterated rooftops and glowing flames.
At least five others were killed in recent attacks on Ukraine, the country’s officials said, including three in the Kharkiv region, one person in Kherson, and another in the southern city of Nikopol. Several private homes and farm buildings were damaged in Nikopol, Ukraine’s operational armed forces said; photos showed building debris scattered on the ground and spilling into a kitchen.
The detainee allegedly linked to a foiled plot to attack Zelensky tried to give Russian forces information about the president’s visit to Mykolaiv last week, Ukraine’s Security Service said, describing the suspect as “a former saleswoman in a military store on the territory of one of the military units” in the town of Ochakiv. She was taken into custody on Aug. 1, a Ukrainian government official told The Washington Post.
Britain’s Foreign Ministry announced a slew of new sanctions on non-Russian companies Tuesday, with the aim of targeting the global supply chains that support Russia’s military effort in Ukraine. In a statement, officials identified companies from Turkey, Iran and the United Arab Emirates as supporting shipments of arms and sensitive electronics to Russia.
Ukrainian forces made an overnight attempt to cross the Dnieper River by boat, the Russian-appointed head of the occupied Kherson region, Volodymyr Saldo, said Tuesday. In a Telegram message, he said Russian forces thwarted the landing attempts and remained in control of the bank — which according to British officials marks the limits of Russian-controlled territory in the Kherson region. The Washington Post could not immediately verify Saldo’s claim.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is bolstering the combat capabilities of Russia’s National Guard, according to British defense officials. In an update Tuesday, officials said Putin has permitted Rosgvardia’s 200,000-strong front-line force to carry heavy weapons. “The Kremlin is doubling down on resourcing Rosgvardia as one of the key organizations to ensure regime security,” the intelligence update said, noting that the move followed June’s failed mutiny by Wagner Group mercenaries.
Twenty-two Ukrainian prisoners of war were brought home from captivity, Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said Monday on Telegram. Some were wounded, and all of the men will go through rehabilitation, he said. The oldest was 54 and the youngest was 23.
Poland’s Defense Ministry agreed to deploy an additional 1,000 troops to guard the country’s border with Belarus, Polish media reported Tuesday. According to the Polish Press Agency, the decision followed a request from Poland’s border guard and will raise the total number to around 3,000. Tensions between Warsaw and the Russian ally have risen considerably in recent months, after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko offered safe harbor to Wagner fighters and joked they were itching to invade Poland.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing will maintain an “independent and impartial” stance on the war, but will continue to closely cooperate with Moscow on international affairs, according to a statement released by China’s Foreign Ministry. In a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Wang said that ties between the nations have strengthened since President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow in March.
Kyiv officials struck a positive tone after the Ukrainian-backed peace talks in Jeddah, which were attended over the weekend by representatives from 40 nations. Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, commended the Chinese delegation Tuesday for its active participation in the talks — after the Chinese skipped a run-up meeting in Copenhagen. A clear majority of the delegations supported Ukraine’s central demand for Russia to withdraw completely from its territory, Yermak said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he discussed ways to expand grain exports with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call Monday, in an effort to compensate for hardships caused by Russia’s pullout from the Black Sea Grain Initiative last month. Kuleba also said he stressed the need for U.S.-manufactured Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to improve Ukraine’s longer-range battle capabilities.
Romania has been working to boost the transport of Ukrainian grain throughout its territory, including by increasing capacity in ports and border crossing points, Foreign Minister Luminita-Teodora Odobescu told Politico in a recent interview.
Elite, well-connected Russians are sidestepping sanctions and sparking protests: Dozens of Russians connected to Putin or the Russian military are still welcome in European Union countries, despite wartime sanctions meant to isolate Russia. That privilege is drawing criticism from politicians and antiwar activists, Francesca Ebel writes.
Yelena Isinbayeva, an Olympic gold medal-winning Russian pole vaulter with close ties to Putin, is living quietly in a luxurious residence worth millions in Spain’s Canary Islands. A daughter and son-in-law of Boris Obnosov, head of the Russian-owned company Tactical Missiles Corp., continue to live in Prague, where the family owns numerous properties and luxury vehicles.
Some Russians have argued that individual citizens, even the wealthiest, should not be punished for Putin’s decision to go to war. Others insist that all of those whose wealth and success can be traced back to the Kremlin should be held responsible.
Serhiy Morgunov, Lyric Li and Isabelle Khurshudyan contributed to this report.
