‘JDN News’ presents the events of the past day, the 148th day of the Russia-Ukraine war – as it happened minute by minute.
01:36 The head of the CIA estimates that the number of Russian casualties in the war in Ukraine has so far reached 15,000 dead and possibly 45,000 wounded.
04:31 The United States is hoping for a global price cap on Russian oil to be introduced by December, said US Treasury Secretary Wally Edimo. “Our goal is to make sure we are in a position where there is a global price cap that helps bring down global energy prices and also allows Russian energy to flow to the market,” he said.
07:20 US Secretary of Defense Austin on a trip to Iran to support Russia: “Our advice to Iran is ‘do not do this’, we think it’s a really bad idea, we’ll leave it that way.”
08:42 – In the shadow of the war in Ukraine – a purchase deal between Israel and a European country, a member of NATO. IAI has signed a deal worth more than $ 200 million, under which it will supply strategic intelligence aircraft to that country. The war in Ukraine has dramatically increased the demand for Israeli intelligence.
09:33 “Russian forces are likely to close Ukraine’s second-largest power plant in Bohirska, 50 km (31 miles) northeast of Donetsk,” British military intelligence said. Britain’s defense in a regular bulletin.The ministry also added that Russia is apparently trying to break through Bohlirska, as part of its efforts to regain momentum on placing its southern advance towards the key cities of Kramtorsk and Slovansk.
10:17 Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zalansky has argued that the new sanctions the EU intends to impose on Russia are insufficient: “It is not enough and I say this to my partners, Russia must pay a much higher price for the war to force it to go my way in peace.”
11:14 “Two people were killed and 19 were injured in a Russian shelling of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv,” said Ola Sinhov, the region’s governor. Russia for its part denies that it is deliberately targeting civilians even though its attacks have destroyed towns and cities in Ukraine.
12:49 – Aspen Security Forum, United States: Deputy Attorney General reveals that US authorities have found in an yacht confiscated from Russian oligarchs an object that may be a Faberge egg. “We found some particularly interesting things,” said Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Monaco, “one of the most interesting is probably a rare Faberge egg.”
13:05 In light of the sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries over the war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “even the most severe sanctions will not cause Russia to change course.” In addition, Peskov dismissed rumors about the health of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that “his condition is normal and normal.”
14:18 Britain will send dozens of artillery rifles and more than 1,600 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to help strengthen its defense against Russia, said British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. The raise comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged another billion pounds last month in favor of military support for Ukraine.
16:11 Belarussian President Lukashenko in an interview with AFP: The war in Ukraine must end in order to prevent a deterioration into a nuclear war.
16:57 – The Minister of the Interior, Ayelet Shaked, updated her policy regarding the stay of Ukrainian citizens who are in Israel and announced that as of August 1, 22, no enforcement actions will be taken against Israelis who employ a Ukrainian citizen with a Ukrainian passport staying in Israel for more than 90 days.
18:16 – The Russian military may take some operational break in Ukraine in the coming weeks – said the head of the country’s secret intelligence service known as MI6. “I think they are going to run out of steam. Our assessment is that the Russians will have more and more difficulty supplying manpower over the next few weeks,” he said, “they will have to stop somehow, and that will give the Ukrainians opportunities to strike back.”
19:39 Russia has imposed personal sanctions on 39 representatives of the Australian security services.
20:07 CIA chief William Burns said “there is no intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health is deteriorating – he is even too healthy.” This, against the background of the many rumors in the media and social networks that Putin, who will celebrate his 70th birthday this year, suffers from health problems, perhaps even cancer. “There are a lot of rumors about President Putin’s health and as far as we know, he’s too healthy,” Burns told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. To the laughter of the audience, he added that this is not an official intelligence assessment. “
21:09 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by telephone about the state of the global oil market. The two stressed the need for further coordination and compliance with the commitments made by the member states of the OPEC.
22:45 The Office of the President of Turkey has announced: Ukraine and Russia will sign a grain agreement tomorrow in Istanbul with the participation of President Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
23:00 British MI-6 chief: In recent weeks, European countries have expelled some 400 Russian spies operating under the guise of diplomats – “this has harmed their ability to spy.”