The 163rd day of the war in Ukraine opens, with loud explosions that were heard in the city of Mykolaiv , in the southern part of the country, around 6:58 this morning (5:58 in Italy).
And while Zelensky tries to establish contacts with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping to end the war and the Italian Senate has given the go ahead for the accession to NATO of Finland and Sweden, during the night also the approval of the US one. This would be the first enlargement of the Atlantic Pact to new states since the 1990s.
The Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed the departure this morning of three other ships loaded with cereals from Ukrainian ports, as reported by Tass. These are the ships Navistar, Rojen and Polarnet.
Navistar and Rojen depart from the port of Odessa , while Polarnet depart from the nearby port of Chornomorsk.
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The day by the hour:
"Moscow tries to block the supply of arms to Ukraine"
Russia is trying to prevent the supply of arms to Ukraine with attacks or disinformation techniques, but the authorities in Kiev will not allow it. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter: "Russia knows that its aggression will be a great failure with continued arms supplies to Ukraine. Russia's number one task is to stop them by means of missile attacks against logistics or misinformation about alleged misuse of weapons in Ukraine. We will not allow any of these efforts to be successful, "he concluded.
The decision follows the extramarital affair case that ended up in the crosshairs of the secret services. Colette Kress receives an interim position. The stock market is shaking.
The Secretary of War is targeted by the Democrats for the conflict in Iran without Congressional approval. The motion is rejected.
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Kiev, 13 ships waiting to leave our ports
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said 13 cargo ships are waiting to leave the country's ports. The Kyiv Independent reports it. The minister added that with the help of international guarantors, Ukraine plans to export 3 million tons of agricultural products per month from the ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenniy.
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Kiev, explosions near nuclear reactor power supply
Energoatom, the Ukrainian state operator of the country's nuclear power plants, said 3 explosions were recorded at the Zapo rizhzhia plant site, near one of the nuclear reactor's power blocks. "There are risks of hydrogen leakage and radioactive spraying. The danger of fire is high", it was reported, "the Russians severely damaged the nitrogen-oxygen station and the combined auxiliary building." According to Espreso TV, it was reported that before the bombing "Rosatom representatives left the station in a hurry".
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Kiev, no radioactive leaks in Zaporizhzhia
Ukraine says Russian bombing hit a power line at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, but no radioactive leaks were detected. Energoatom, the Ukrainian nuclear company, said a high-voltage power line at the plant was hit by Russian bombings today, but that the plant is still functioning. The Guardian reports it. The plant is located in the territory controlled by Russia.
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Russian bombs on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant area
Explosions near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Energodar. City residents write on social media that Russian occupiers are bombing the territory of the nuclear power plant. Unian reports it. According to the citizens of Energodar, the Russians are bombing the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with artillery and rockets. Ukrainian employees of the nuclear power plant have been locked up on the premises and are not released. Workers brought in by the Russians are evacuated in accelerated mode.
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Hours of bombing on the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, dead and wounded
Bombing this afternoon on the southern city of Mykolaiv: there are dead and 10 injured, including a boy: this was announced by the head of the regional state administration of Vitaliy Kim, quoted by Espreso TV. The head of the Regional Council Hanna Zamazeyeva wrote on Telegram that after this morning "this afternoon the Russians bombed Balabanivka and the Korabelny district again, it is known that there are victims and wounded". "The affected area is very large. Private houses and buildings have been hit. There are fires, significant destruction," added the mayor of Mykolaiv Oleksandr Sienkovych.
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Ukraine: EU evaluates alternatives to release 8 billion in aid
The EU Commission is working on "various options" to unlock the remaining 8 billion of the macro-financial assistance package for Ukraine agreed by EU leaders. This was indicated by the spokesman of the EU executive Eric Mamer. So far Kiev has received the first one billion euro tranche. The other 8 billion are stalled by Germany's opposition to the required guarantee system.
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Kiev: "Almost 800 civilians evacuated from Donetsk in 24 hours"
Nearly 800 civilians have been evacuated from four cities in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, the region's state emergency service reported on Facebook, Ukrinform reported. At least 725 people, including 85 children, were evacuated from Pokrovsk. Another 17 people were evacuated from the Bakhmut and Kramatorsk districts and 33 - including 11 children - from the city of Toretsk.
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Long curfew in Mykolaiv from tonight
A curfew will take place tonight at 11pm local time (10pm in Italy) in the city of Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine, which will last until next Monday morning: the head of the regional military administration, Vitaly Kim, announced today. according to UNIAN.
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Ankara, ship bound for Ukraine to load cereals
The Fulmar S ship bound for Ukraine to load cereals for export left Istanbul in the morning. This was announced by the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. "This ship, which is the first to go to Ukraine, left Istanbul this morning. After receiving the cargo in Ukraine, the ship will depart. For now, our activities continue as planned and without interruption, as stated in the agreements. "said Akar, as reported by Trt.
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Kiev, 41,650 Russian soldiers killed since the beginning of the war
About 41,650 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion began, according to the Kiev army. In its update on Moscow's losses so far, the Ukrainian army indicates that 223 fighters, 191 helicopters and 742 drones have also been shot down. Ukrinform reports it. In addition, the Kiev forces claim to have destroyed 1,792 Russian tanks, 950 artillery systems, 4,032 armored troop transport vehicles, 15 ships and 182 cruise missiles.
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Moscow will use an Iranian satellite to spy on Ukraine
The Iranian remote sensing satellite that the Russian space agency Roscosmos will launch on August 9, as announced Wednesday, will first be used by Moscow to spy on Ukrainian targets, the Washington Post (WP) reports, citing Western security officials. Roscosmos announced on August 3 that it plans to launch the Qaem Earth satellite into orbit from the Baikonur cosmodrome "on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran". The new satellite, dubbed "Khayyam", will greatly improve Tehran's ability to spy on military targets in the Middle East, writes the WP. At the same time, according to the US newspaper, Moscow intends to use it to assist in its invasion of Ukraine.
