The hope for ending Russian aggression against Ukraine, according to the government's plenipotentiary for the reconstruction of Ukraine, Tomáš Kopečný, is that Russia will lose the revenues from oil and gas exports that it uses to finance the war. Kopečný stated this today on the Czech Television program Václav Moravec's Questions. Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyjnis stated in this regard that it is necessary to prevent the circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions through third countries, which is the ambition of the upcoming new EU sanctions package.
21:17 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is preparing for the war in Ukraine to last a long time. He said this today in a summer interview with the public broadcaster ZDF. According to him, wars usually end with military defeat or economic exhaustion of one of the sides. However, he said that this does not look like a scenario in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
"Inside, I am preparing myself for the fact that this war could last a long time," the chancellor said, adding that Germany and its partners are trying to end the war as soon as possible. But according to Merz, the conflict that Russia unleashed in February 2022 with its invasion of Ukraine must not end with Kiev's capitulation."The day after tomorrow, it would be another country's turn, and the day after tomorrow it would be our turn," he warned.
According to the German Chancellor, wars usually end in military defeat for one side or the other, or in economic and military exhaustion."But at the moment I don't see that on either side," he said.
19:25 The Russian army has lost more than 290,000 soldiers on the front in Ukraine since the beginning of this year. These are killed and wounded, Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday. The news website Ukrainska Pravda reports this.
Russia suffered its greatest losses in the Donetsk region, especially on the front near the city of Pokrovsk. It is against Pokrovsk that the main Russian attacks are directed, but Moscow has not achieved any of its strategic goals.
"We have analyzed in detail the situation on the Zaporozhye Front and the enemy's intentions. Also the situation in the border areas of Sumy and Kharkiv regions. We will continue our active operations exactly as necessary to defend Ukraine. Forces and means are ready. New deep strikes are also planned," Zelenskyy said.
18:01 Prime Minister Robert Fico will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China next week. When asked about a possible meeting between the two leaders, Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov said, according to AFP, that it was planned.
16:08 Pope Leo XIV on Sunday repeatedly called for an end to the war in Ukraine. He also condemned the recent attack on an American Catholic school, which claimed the lives of two children. TASR reports on this based on reports by the DPA and AP agencies.
"I strongly reiterate my urgent call for an immediate ceasefire and a serious commitment to dialogue," the Holy Father said during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square.
"Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine continues to bring death and destruction," the head of the Catholic Church noted. Leo was responding to the latest Russian bombings of several Ukrainian cities, including Kiev, which have claimed numerous victims. According to him, now is the time to lay down our weapons and embark on the path of peace negotiations.
The pope, originally from the United States, also commented on the recent shooting at a Catholic school in the American city of Minneapolis, in which two children died.
"We pray for the victims of the tragic shooting that occurred during Mass at a school in the U.S. state of Minnesota," he said."Let us ask God to stop the pandemic of guns, big and small, that is infecting our world," he emphasized during the prayer.
15:57 According to the government plenipotentiary for the reconstruction of Ukraine, Tomáš Kopečný, the hope for ending Russian aggression against Ukraine is that Russia will lose revenues from oil and gas exports, which it uses to finance the war. Kopečný stated this today on the Czech Television show Questions of Václav Moravec. In this context, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyjnis stated that it is necessary to prevent the circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions through third countries, which is the ambition of the upcoming new EU sanctions package.
The sanctions so far are working, but the question is their enforcement, said Kopečný. According to him, they have so far caused only superficial injuries to the Russian economy."There is definitely no blockage of the arteries, veins, let alone the aorta of the Russian economy," said the plenipotentiary. He sees the greatest hope in the adoption of more drastic sanctions by the US, given that US President Donald Trump is not satisfied with the attitude of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Perebyjnis described the sanctions so far as effective, and said that the Russian economy is in a bad state."But they have not yet dealt a decisive blow to the Russian economy," the Ukrainian diplomat agreed with the Czech plenipotentiary. According to Perebyjnis, Russia must feel the trade embargo and political isolation. The deputy praised the Czech effort to restrict the free movement of Russian diplomats in Europe within the framework of the planned new sanctions.
15:30 US President Donald Trump is considering deploying troops from private American companies as one of the options for security guarantees in Ukraine, which would serve as a deterrent against another Russian invasion after a ceasefire is concluded.
13:56 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today accused European powers of obstructing US President Donald Trump's efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine. He also said that Russia would continue its war against Ukraine until Kiev showed real signs that it was ready for peace. The Russian military invaded the neighboring country in February 2022 on the orders of Kremlin President Vladimir Putin.
According to Peskov, representatives of European countries are"throwing sticks under the feet" of Trump's efforts for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine."Europeans are supporting and probably encouraging the Kiev regime in its absolutely absurd continuation of an uncompromising struggle," Putin's spokesman said.
Peskov said that Russia is grateful to Trump for his efforts and that the so-called special military operation, as Moscow calls the invasion of Ukraine, will continue because there are no visible reciprocal steps leading to peace on the Ukrainian side.
11:20 A Russian drone attack damaged four power plants near the city of Odessa in southern Ukraine on Sunday night. As a result, more than 29,000 customers were without electricity by morning, according to the governor of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, and the Ukrainian private energy company DTEK, TASR writes, according to Reuters.
The port city of Chornomorsk, located near Odessa, was the hardest hit, with residential buildings and administrative buildings also damaged, Kiper said on the Telegram platform."Critical infrastructure is functioning thanks to generators," he said. He added that one person was injured in the attack.
Russia also attacked the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine with drones on Sunday morning. It also damaged energy infrastructure there, leaving 30,000 households without power, including part of the city of Nizhyn, said the governor of the region, Viacheslav Chaus.
Ukraine reported that Russia attacked its territory with a total of 142 drones on Sunday night, with its air defenses managing to shoot down 126 of them. However, the drones hit ten locations.
7:38 Russia launched a large-scale attack on energy infrastructure in the Odessa region on Sunday night, leaving more than 29,000 customers without electricity, Ukrinform reports. Russia, in turn, is reporting the destruction of 21 Ukrainian drones over four Russian regions, according to TASS.
"The city of Chernomorsk and its surroundings were the most affected," wrote the head of the Odessa regional administration, Oleh Kiper, in a telegram, according to which private houses and administrative buildings were also damaged and fires broke out in several places. So far, there is information about one injured person.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that 11 Ukrainian drones were destroyed by air defense systems over the Volgograd region, eight over the Rostov region, and the rest over the Belgorod and Bryansk regions. It did not mention any injuries or damage.
6:40 The Ukrainian army has surrounded the occupying Russian forces near the town of Dobropillya in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. This was stated on Saturday by the military spokesman of the Ukrainian army, Viktor Trehubov, to the Radio NV radio station.
"At least for now, the Russian troops advancing on Dobropillya - these 'crab claws' - have been cut off and surrounded," Trehubov said.
Dobropillya is located in the Pokrovsky district, currently the most vulnerable sector of the front line. According to the Ukrainian military, Russia has more than 110,000 troops in the region.
Earlier this month, there were reports that Russian troops had advanced towards the Dobropillya-Kramatorsk highway, taking positions in nearby settlements and allegedly breaking through Ukrainian defenses. However, Ukrainian forces say they managed to liberate several local villages, including the village of Novomychaylivka, in heavy fighting last week. Such information cannot be directly and independently verified.
6:30 EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has asked EU member states to submit proposals for new sanctions against Russia next week. She reiterated that Russia must not recover its assets frozen in Europe until it pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine.
"All EU member states support diplomatic efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine. But it is clear that Russia does not want peace and is preparing for another war," Kallas said after the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, the so-called Gymnich, in Copenhagen.
According to her, the ministers discussed in particular how to increase pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table and start discussing peace."Sanctions are working," she added, adding that the upcoming nineteenth package of sanctions could include further restrictions on Moscow in the energy or financial areas.
According to Czech Foreign Minister Ján Lipavský, it was said at the meeting that there was no point in waiting for the United States to prepare the 19th sanctions package, but rather that it should be prepared, worked on, and then political consensus should be sought."It was said that there are many areas where we can patch up some holes again, for example in the area of cryptocurrencies or the banking system," Lipavský told reporters after the meeting.
Sanctions could once again apply to the Russian shadow fleet, which Moscow uses to circumvent existing sanctions, especially on oil exports. The Czech Republic is once again pushing for restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats in the Schengen area."Member countries must apply for a visa for every diplomat to Russia, while someone from Russia needs to come to our embassy, so they can completely legitimately and legally use the visas they have in, for example, Austria or Germany. And the Czech Republic and other member countries are then at a disadvantage in negotiations with the Russian Federation," said Lipavský.
The ministers also discussed frozen Russian assets, where, according to Lipavský, the debate was slightly more heated, as some countries, such as Belgium or France, are against confiscating the funds and using them to support Kiev."I find it strange that we are collecting money from our taxpayers for creating a safe European environment where the aggressor can store money, and we cannot use that money to defend ourselves against him," Lipavský added.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said before the talks that confiscating Russian assets would cause systemic financial instability and undermine confidence in the euro, and at the same time, according to him, it must be used in negotiations with Moscow.
