19:45
End of life.
Thank you for watching this live dedicated to the war in Ukraine. And see you tomorrow !
18:15
Pentagon notes “complete lack of progress” by Russian forces in Ukraine
Russian forces are demonstrating a “complete lack of progress on the battlefield” in Ukraine, a senior Pentagon official said Friday, noting in particular the use of American HIMARS missiles by Ukrainian forces.
“We have not seen any territory retaken by Ukrainian forces,” the official admitted, who asked not to be identified. “But we see a significant weakening of Russian positions in several places.”
18:14
The Pentagon announces a new $775 million tranche of military aid to Ukraine
These include, in particular, additional missiles for the American HIMARS precision artillery systems.
It also envisages deploying mobile weapon systems and additional shells compatible with the weapons supplied by the UK, a senior US Defense Department official has told the press.
17:55
For Putin, “the time for negotiations does not seem to have come yet”
The exchange between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron lasted 1h15. The Elysée has announced that the two heads of state want to talk again about the sensitive issue of Zaporijjia in the coming days.
17:30
Paris rejects Putin’s allegations and denounces “instrumentalization”.
17:26
Putin has accepted that the IAEA mission “goes through Ukraine,” proclaims the Elysee
17:09
The first bomb shelter at a bus stop was installed in Kharkiv
These heavy reinforced concrete bunkers can hold up to 50 people in an airstrike and will be built at 25 locations in Kharkiv, according to Suspilne media.
16:13
Putin complains to Macron about “obstacles” to exporting Russian agricultural products
During this call, the Russian head of state emphasized “the obstacles that exist in front of Russian exports, which does not help to solve the problems related to world food security,” according to the Kremlin.
16:10
Putin and Macron for IAEA inspection of Zaporizhia ‘as soon as possible’
“The hour is serious,” the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) launched before the United Nations Security Council a week ago, demanding access to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which Moscow and Kyiv accuse others of bombing.
Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron Odd ANDERSEN and STEPHANE MAHE / various sources / AFP
16:04
Danger of a “major disaster” at the Zaporijia power plant, Vladimir Putin warns.
This danger “could lead to radioactive contamination of vast areas,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
15:49
Underground server room used by Russian hackers discovered in Kyiv
More than 100 servers were discovered at the facility rented to hackers in Ukraine and abroad. The servers have been used for cyberattacks, including against government websites.
15:22
The Russian military repair base in the Luhansk region was destroyed
According to the governor of the Luhansk region Serhiy Haidai, around 100 military equipment and 50 people were in the base in the village of Lotykove when an alleged attack by Ukrainian forces took place.
14:20
Guterres urges Moscow not to disconnect the Zaporizhia power plant from the Ukrainian grid
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Russia on Friday not to cut off the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which it controls, from the Ukrainian grid, as Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of dangerous bombings from there.
“Of course, the electricity from Zaporizhia is Ukrainian electricity…this principle must be fully respected,” Guterres said during a visit to the port of Odessa after Ukrainian plant operator Energoatom said it feared Russia would cut Zaporizhia.
14:12
Death toll in Russian attack on Kharkiv rises to 21
According to our colleagues from the Kyiv Independent, the Kharkiv regional emergency service reported that rescuers found the bodies of two other people under the ruble of a dormitory destroyed in the attacks.
13:54
Guterres expected in Odessa
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected at the port of Odessa this Friday afternoon, a day after his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Russian President, during which he notably pledged to do everything possible to step up the recent liberalization of Ukrainian grain exports.
1:30 p.m
Does Russia want to influence the Italian elections?
Several Italian media outlets denounced “Russian interference” weeks before parliamentary elections, the day after the departure of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who called on Europeans to “punish” their governments for their pro-Ukrainian positions. Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi has given Kyiv unreserved support since the start of the Russian invasion.
Portal/Lukas Barth/Pool/File Photo
But that position could change if the more Russophile right-wing coalition comes to power.
13:07
Russian secret service already defeated?
Jeremy Fleming, director of British intelligence, believes that Russia has already “lost the war” at the level of intelligence and espionage. If Moscow relied on disinformation, as in other conflicts, this strategy failed for the time being, and the secret services have always succeeded in intercepting this false information, he assures, as The Guardian reports.
11:49
In Moscow, Stars Coffee replaces the American Starbucks
Stars Coffee, a Russian chain that replaced American coffee giant Starbucks in Russia after it left because of the Ukraine conflict, opened its first restaurant in Moscow on Friday with the slogan “Bucks left, the stars stays”.
Unlike ‘Russian McDonald’s’, which launched with great fanfare in June, Stars Coffee didn’t run a huge promotional campaign for the opening of its first restaurant on Novy Arbat Street in the center of the Russian capital.
All of the chain’s restaurants are scheduled to open in Russia by the end of September, according to the owners.
According to the same source, about 80% of the roughly 2,000 employees who worked for Starbucks have agreed to stay with the new chain.
11:31
Trying to spy on the Ukrainian parliament?
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Russian special services have recruited a former employee of the security department of the Verkhovna Rada Kyiv independent. The alleged agent wanted to install a listening device in the parliament’s lobby to collect information on international delegations visiting the Ukrainian parliament. The suspect is accused of high treason, the SBU said.
10:53
The number of Russian attacks on Kharkiv rises to 19 dead Kyiv independent
Kharkiv region police chief Volodymyr Tymoshko said rescuers were looking for people under the rubble of a dormitory destroyed in the attacks. Police believe two other people are under the rubble.
10:45
NATO Secretary General attends Crimean Platform summits
According to a NATO press release, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will attend the second summit on August 23. The Crimean Platform is a cooperation platform for the liberation of Crimea.
10:11
Putin and Xi attend G20 summit
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will attend a G20 summit in November, the leader of Indonesia – who currently chairs the Forum of Great World Economists – said in an interview published on Friday. The two leaders’ attendance at the summit would coincide with that of US President Joe Biden, while Washington’s ties with Moscow and Beijing are at their lowest due to the war in Ukraine and tensions over Taiwan.
10:08
At least 362 children killed and 716 injured since the beginning of the war
At least 362 children have been killed and 716 injured since February 24, according to the Attorney General’s Office. The numbers should be higher because they don’t include casualties in Russian-occupied territories and near the frontline, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said. The highest number of child victims was recorded in Donetsk Oblast, where 376 children were injured or killed.
09:14
Here are Friday’s estimates of Russian combat casualties, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
09:05
“No Russian territorial gain”
A new report by the Institute for the Study of War, a nonprofit research organization in the United States, found that “on August 18, for the first time since July 6, 2022, there were no claimed or assessed Russian territorial gains in Ukraine. “The report suggests that Russian propaganda has intensified as tensions around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant continue to mount, as the head of Russia’s radiological, chemical and biological defense forces, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, claimed in an August 18 briefing, that “Ukrainian armed forces are preparing a provocation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and that the provocation should coincide with the visit of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Ukraine.