Ukrainian forces kill Russian soldiers who tortured civilians in Bucha

"Ukrainian Armed Forces have eliminated Russian soldiers with the 64th Separate Guards
Motor Rifle Brigade who tortured civilians in the town of Bucha, Kyiv region." UkraineToday

Egypt Brokers Truce in Israel-Gaza Border Violence

"Egypt helped broker a cease-fire to end the fighting in Gaza between Israel and the
Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad." VOA

70% of Western weapons sent to Ukraine don’t reach troops – CBS

"CBS News report suggested that only around 30% of the weapons sent by the West
actually make it to the front lines. The report adds to ongoing rumors of waste, corruption, and black market profiteering. “All of this stuff goes across the border, and then something happens, kind of like 30% of it reaches its final destination,” Jonas Ohman, the founder of a Lithuania-based organization supplying the Ukrainian military, told the American network. Ohman said that getting the weapons to the troops involves navigating a complex network of “power lords, oligarchs [and] political players.”

A US intelligence source told CNN in April that Washington has “almost zero” idea what happens to these arms, describing the shipments as dropping “into a big black hole” once they enter Ukraine. Canadian sources said last month that they have “no idea” where their weapons deliveries actually end up." RT

Russia May Be Getting Its Crude Out To The World Through An Obscure Egyptian Port

"Russia is pulling an "end around" of its own with how it is getting oil to the rest of the world, despite the sanctions that were put in place as a result of the country's conflict in Ukraine. 

Russia has found the loophole at Egypt’s El Hamra oil terminal, where the country had delivered about 700,000 barrels of oil on July 24. A vessel then came by and collected from the port, which may have included some or all of the barrels. Once the first tanker left, a second arrived, the report said. When the second tanker left on July 28, its cargo tanks were "almost full" and it is moored at the Ras Shukheir oil terminal on Egypt’s Red Sea coast. Tankers carrying Russian crude oil have previously conducted ship to ship transfers "Spanish north African city of Ceuta and, more recently, in the mid-Atlantic." ZeroHedge

Assassination

"A pro-Russian official was gravely wounded in Ukraine's Kherson region, Agence France-
Presse reports. An anonymous official in Russia-occupied Kherson said the assassination attempt targeted Vitaly Gur, deputy chief of the Kakhovka district, located about 80 km east of Kherson city.------The so-called “deputy head of administration” of Nova Kakhovka, collaborator Vitaly Gura , died in intensive care. Gauleiter died after being shot at with a Makarov pistol." VOA/UkraineToday

Turkey fumes over Israeli airstrikes

"Turkey has condemned Israeli military operations in Gaza, urging for de-escalation amid an exchange of IDF airstrikes and rocket fire from Palestinian militants. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it “strongly” condemned the Israeli airstrikes." RT

 

Armenia Leader Questions Work of Russian Peacekeepers After Flareup

"Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday questioned the role of Russian
peacekeepers in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh after a new flare-up left three soldiers dead.

Pashinyan's rare criticism of  Moscow came after tensions escalated on Wednesday in the disputed mountainous region, which is mainly populated by ethnic Armenians.

The former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars -- in the 1990s and in 2020 -- over Nagorno-Karabakh.

In the aftermath of the latest war, Armenia ceded swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.

Russia deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers to oversee the fragile truce but tensions persist despite the ceasefire agreement." VOA

New explosions in Energodar: there is a threat of an uncontrollable nuclear catastrophe – mayor’s office

"Russian invaders continue to shell the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Yana Dabizha,
manager of the Energodar City Council, warned on the air of a nationwide telethon of a serious threat of an uncontrollable nuclear catastrophe." UkraineToday

Ukraine ‘corrodes’ Russian forces in southern counteroffensive

"Ukraine started its counteroffensive in Kherson province by cutting off Russian supply lines to its forward positions." AlJazeera

Russian Forces Begin Assault on Two Eastern Ukraine Cities

"Both cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka have been considered key targets of Russia's ongoing
offensive across Ukraine's east, with analysts saying Moscow needs to take Bakhmut if it is to advance on the regional hubs of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk." VOA

Chinese aircraft and warships rehearsed an attack on Taiwan

"Chinese aircraft and warships rehearsed an attack on Taiwan, island officials said, in
retaliation for a visit there by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that also saw Beijing halt talks on security and other issues with the United States. Taiwan's defense ministry said multiple Chinese ships and planes conducted missions in the Taiwan Strait, with some crossing the median line, an unofficial buffer separating the two sides, in what the Taiwan military described as a simulation attack on the island." VOA

U.S. Prepares To Send $1 Billion In Latest Ukraine Weapons Package

"The Biden administration is reportedly about to send $1 billion more in US taxpayer funded
aid to Ukraine......The aid will include munitions for long-range weapons and armored transport vehicles, according to three anonymous sources, who added that the package had not yet been signed by President Biden, and could change in value and content before it’s a done deal. As it currently stands, the assistance includes munitions for HIMARS, NASAMS surface-to-air-missile system ammunition, and up to 50 M113 armored medical transports." SummitNews

Taiwan official leading missile production found dead in hotel

"Ou Yang Li-hsing, deputy head of the military-owned National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, was found dead in a hotel room in southern Taiwan. It said authorities were looking into the cause of death." ArabNews