August 10, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

The founder and former CEO of Russia’s largest internet company, Arkady Volozh, criticized President Vladimir Putin's "barbaric" invasion of Ukraine, becoming one of the most prominent Russian businessmen to express criticism of what Russia still calls euphemistically its "special military operation." 

“I've been asked a lot of questions over the past year, and especially a lot of them came up this week. I would like to clarify my position," Volozh said in a statement released to the media. 

"I am totally against Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine, where I, like many, have friends and relatives. I am horrified by the fact that every day bombs fly into the homes of Ukrainians," said Volozh, describing himself "as a "Kazakhstan-born, Israeli tech entrepreneur, computer scientist, investor, and philanthropist."

In June 2022, Volozh quit as CEO of Yandex, which also operates Russia's most popular search engine, after he was sanctioned by the European Union over Russia's actions in Ukraine. 

"Volozh is a leading businessperson involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine," the EU said. "Yandex is also responsible for promoting State media and narratives in its search results, and de-ranking and removing content critical of the Kremlin, such as content related to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine."

In his statement, Volozh said after moving to Israel in 2014, he has been working on developing Yandex's international projects. "But in February 2022, the world changed, and I realized that my story with Yandex was over."

"After the outbreak of the war, I focused on supporting talented Russian engineers who decided to leave the country and start a new life. It turned out to be a difficult task that required a lot of effort, attention and caution," he said. 

Read more about Volozh's comments here.

President Joe Biden is asking Congress for more than $24 billion for Ukraine and other international needs as he works to sustain support for the war amid signs of softening support among Americans.

The request — which includes more than $13 billion in security assistance and $7.3 billion for economic and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine — sets up a potential battle with Republicans in Congress, some of whom voice skepticism about providing Ukraine any more money.

As a counteroffensive wears on and prospects of the war concluding soon appear slim, the funding will act as evidence of whether US support for Ukraine can be sustained. 

The new funding request, which will be unveiled later Thursday, will be paired with a $12 billion request for new funding for disaster relief, potentially sweetening the package for skeptical Republicans who have voiced concern about approving more Ukraine aid.

It also includes $3.3 billion meant to fund infrastructure in countries affected by the Russian invasion, an attempt at preventing coercive Chinese lending from taking hold in those nations. And it includes $4 billion in funding for border security.

In total, the supplemental request adds up to roughly $40 billion.

How long US support for Ukraine can continue has been a pressing and open question among the global coalition that’s rallied behind the country since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Biden has promised support will last “as long as it takes,” but an increasingly skeptical Republican Party has cast doubt on US commitment to the battle.

Firefighters have extinguished the blaze at a hotel in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko. The fire broke out at the Reikartz hotel Thursday after it was hit by Russian missiles.

Klymenko said crews are rescuing people who remained in the building while the fire was raging.

"Together with the police, the rescuers are inspecting the premises and helping people get out of the damaged building. We continue to work and rescue," Klymenko added.

At least one person was killed and at least nine others have been wounded in Thursday's strikes, according to Anatolii Kurtev, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia City Council.

It's the second consecutive day that Russia has launched a deadly attack on the key Ukrainian city.

Russia continued its deadly strikes on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday, causing new casualties and hitting civilian infrastructure, according to authorities.

At least one person has been killed and at least nine have been injured, Anatolii Kurtev, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia City Council, said on Telegram. 

A fire broke out at a building after it was hit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post. 

Missiles hit the Reikartz hotel in Zaporizhzhia, according to the local military press office. 

The hotel was hit with two missiles around 7:20 p.m. local time (12:20 p.m. ET) on Thursday, according to Yurii Malashko, head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration. One of the injured is in "severe condition," he said.

"The damage is quite significant," Malashko said, adding emergency teams are searching the building and checking all rooms.

"This facility is in the populated area. According to the information, there were people inside. Luckily, after the air raid some went to the shelters," he said. 

On Wednesday, two people were killed and seven were injured in an attack on the city, officials said. 

The Ukrainian navy has announced temporary corridors for civilian shipping in the Black Sea following the suspension of the Grain Initiative.

Russia withdrew from the arrangement last month.

The Ukrainian navy issued an order declaring "temporary corridors for merchant ships sailing to/from Ukrainian ports."

"At the same time, it is reported that the military threat and mine danger from the Russian Federation remains along all routes," it said.

Currently, merchant ships are not traveling to and from the Ukrainian port of Odesa or neighboring harbors, crippling the export of grain from those ports. The last ship with grain on board left Odesa on July 16. 

It's unclear that the Ukrainian order will have much impact on the willingness of merchant shipping to travel much beyond the Danube ports in the western Black Sea.

The Ukrainian navy said the routes it had announced "will primarily be used to allow civilian vessels that have been in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhnyi since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022 to leave."

Ukrainian officials have ordered that the Kupyansk area be evacuated amid intense Russian shelling of the area. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed earlier that its forces have captured Ukrainian positions around Kupyansk in Kharkiv region – a city Ukraine had managed to liberate in September last year, but on which Russian forces are again now advancing.

Meanwhile, Poland has claimed that it will greatly bolster the number of its troops stationed on its eastern border.

Here are the latest developments:

Ukrainian officials say that substantial Russian reinforcements have turned the northern front in the eastern Kharkiv region into the "epicenter" of hostilities, but that Ukrainian defenses are holding.

Ruslan Muzychuk, the National Guard spokesman, told Ukrainian television Thursday that "the Kupyansk direction remains the epicenter of hostilities, where the enemy is concentrating its main efforts."

Muzychuk said the Russians had brought in airborne assault units "and they have been reinforced by tank units, which, with the support of aviation and artillery, are attempting to assault the positions of Ukrainian defenders."

The Russian offensive was designed to draw more Ukrainian units into the area, Muzychuk said, but he did not rule out an attempt to capture the city of Kupyansk itself.

Russia trying to "seize the initiative": Another National Guard official, Mykola Urshalovych, said that Ukrainian units had managed to hold the dominant heights around Vilshana and Novoselivske, two villages east of Kupyansk where the Russians claim to have made some advances.

Serhii Cherevatyi, Deputy Commander of the Eastern Military Group, said that the "Kupyansk direction remains one of those where the enemy is trying to seize the initiative."

Cherevatyi said defenses "have been strengthened, and strike capabilities have been enhanced. So the situation is difficult but under control."

He added that in a single day, the Russians had used artillery 559 times in addition to air raids.

The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said that on Thursday morning the city of Kupyansk had been shelled again, setting off a fire but causing no casualties.

Following the announcement of a mandatory evacuation for civilians in Kupyansk, Andriy Kanashevych, the acting Head of Kupyansk district military administration, said that "Russian terrorists are becoming even more cynical and completely indifferent to human life. As a result, almost every day we have dead and wounded among the civilian population."

Reports from both sides indicate that heavy combat is continuing in the south of Ukraine, with artillery, missile forces and combat planes all engaged -- but little territory has changed hands.

Pro-Russian officials in occupied Zaporizhzhia say the Russian air force has carried out "massive" strikes against Ukrainian front line positions.

Rogov said guided bombs (FAB-250M62) had been fired at Ukrainian manpower and ammunition supplies near Orikhiv and Huliapole, both towns in Ukraine's rear echelon in the south.

A prominent Russian military blogger, WarGonzo, said that the Ukrainians continued offensive operations near Verbove in an effort to break through Russian lines. 

He said Russian forces had hit Ukrainian troops at various points on or immediately behind the front lines, around Lobkove, Platykhatky and Novodanlivka.

Yevgeniy Balitskyi, the Russian-appointed acting head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration said that the situation at the line of contact "remains tense. We see the enemy has very heavy losses."

Balitsky said the Ukrainians had shelled occupied settlements more than 50 times over the past 24 hours. He said a Ukrainian missile attack Wednesday on the town of Trudove, well behind Russian front lines, had killed five people at a factory and injured seven more.

The Ukrainian mayor of the southern city of Melitpol, Ivan Fedorov, say that Russian reinforcements are being brought through the city from Crimea, while damaged equipment is being withdrawn by rail.

An unofficial Telegram channel, RIA Melitopol, claimed that "Since yesterday, the transfer of military equipment through Melitopol has intensified. The enemy is pulling cannons, tanks and armored personnel carriers to the Zaporizhzhia direction from the Crimea."

Local authorities around the Ukrainian city of Kupyansk in Kharkiv region have issued a mandatory evacuation order for the city and surrounding areas due to intense Russian shelling of the area.

Kupyansk was one of several cities and towns liberated last September in a lightning Ukrainian offensive, but in recent weeks Russia has stepped up its efforts to capture the city for a second time.

The order says that the mandatory evacuation has been announced for the residents of the city, as well as of Zaoskilya, which lies on the east bank of the Oskil River.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have intensified attempts to break through Ukrainian front lines east of the Oskil river and have increased the frequency of air strikes and artillery barrages against settlements on both sides of the river.

The order says that "taking into account the constant shelling...and the security situation in the territory of Kupyan district," mandatory evacuation is also required of a number of settlements to the north and east of the city where some civilians are still living.