WORLD BRIEFING: August 12, 2024
Moscow ordered more evacuations on August 12 in regions bordering Ukraine as its forces battled to contain an unprecedented incursion onto Russian territory by the Ukrainian military. The governor of the southwestern Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram that the authorities were relocating residentsof the Krasnoyaruzh district to "safer places" on August 12 due to "activity" in the area by Ukrainian forces. The evacuation comes as Ukrainian troops have advanced some 30 kilometers inside Russia in what has become the most significant incursion since the war began in February 2022. In Moscow, Russia's Defense Ministry said that its air defenses had intercepted 11 drones that Ukraine launched overnight targeting the western Kursk region. Air defenses also destroyed five Ukrainian-launched drones over the Belgorod region and two over the Voronezh region, the ministry said on August 12. The ministry did not say how many drones in total Ukraine launched. Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6, the largest cross-border operation by Kyiv since Moscow launched its full-scale offensive more than two years ago. Ukrainian forces claim they have captured a number of settlements in the Kursk region, as clips emerged purportedly showing troops seizing administrative buildings in Sverdlikovo and Poroz, while intense fighting has been reported in Sudzha, a town of about 5,000 people. - RFE/RL
In the village of Guevo, Ukrainian soldiers filmed themselves removing the Russian flag from an administrative building. Moscow has rushed in reserve troops, aviation, tanks, artillery, and drones in a bid to repel the incursion, which caught the Russian authorities off-guard. Despite these efforts, however, Russia acknowledged on August 11 that Ukraine had been able to penetrate into its territory by up to 30 kilometers in some areas, RFE/RL reported
Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other after a fire broke out at the giant Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Sunday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had started a fire at the plant, which has been occupied by Moscow's forces for more than two years. Zaporizhzhia's Kremlin-installed governor said Ukrainian shelling caused the blaze. The UN's nuclear watchdog said it saw "strong dark smoke" coming from the facility - but said there was "no impact reported" for nuclear safety. The development comes as Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside Russia, in the deepest and most significant incursion since Moscow began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Oleksandr Syrskyi is the mastermind of Ukraine’s offensive in Kursk. He is the number one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, he collaborated with NATO and distinguished himself in the war in Donbas. The 57-year-old has been in the Ukrainian army since 1990 and had been commander of ground forces since 2019. Before the war in Donbas in 2014, he led the 72nd Mechanised Brigade and was promoted to Major-General, a position that involved direct negotiations with NATO. - Il Messaggero
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and is telling the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area, the Defense Department said Sunday. The moves come as the U.S. and other allies push for Israel and Hamas to achieve a cease-fire agreementthat could help calm soaring tensions in the region following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut. Officials have been on the lookout for retaliatory strikes by both Iran and Hezbollah for the killings, and the U.S. has been beefing up its presence in the region. Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant earlier in the day, and reiterated America’s commitment “to take every possible step to defend Israel and noted the strengthening of U.S. military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions.” - AP
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted approximately 30 "projectiles" that were identified as crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel early Monday morning local time, the IDF said in a statement. No injuries were reported from the attacks, the IDF said. - ABC
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has escaped the punishing heat of Rome for the cooler vacation spots in Puglia. She’s vacationing in roughly the same location as the G7 leaders’ summit in June, Il Messaggero reports. Meloni reportedly had dinner with Aldo Melpignano, a pioneer of tourism in the area. The newspaper reports that her ex-partner, Andrea Giambruno, a 43-year-old television journalist was also present along with their seven-year-old daughter
Paris Olympics
Paris passed the Olympic torch to Los Angeles in a cryptic and sometimes chaotic closing ceremony in the Stade de France Sunday night, with hundreds of athletes unexpectedly mobbing the stage during a performance by French indie rock band Phoenix. American action star Tom Cruise rappelled in from the top of the stadium to set the flag off on its journey to Los Angeles, making it clear that the 2028 Games will be leaning heavily into Hollywood glamour.
The US and China won the same amount of golds but the US scooped more medals overall, finishing first for the fourth consecutive Olympics. Competitions at the 2024 Paris Olympics ended with the women's basketball final, with a 67-66 US win over France. The US finished top of the table for the fourth consecutive Olympics. The neck-and-neck race between China and the US remained tight until the last competition on the calendar. The women's basketball victory sent the US to the top, followed by China in second and Japan in third — the exact outcome of the 2020 Tokyo Games. In Paris, the US and China won the same amount of gold medals, 40. However, the US nabbed more silver medals than China (44 versus 27), as well as more medals overall (126 versus 91) - Euronews
Underdog Ukraine, with the smallest-ever team fielded to the Olympics ended up in the 22nd spot, just ahead of Romania. It took home three gold, five silver and four bronze.
