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U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 65th Field Artillery Brigade fire a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during a joint live-fire exercise with the Kuwait Land Forces, Jan. 8, 2019, near Camp Buehring, Kuwait.<\/p>\n
Courtesy: U.S. Department of Defense<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, have destroyed more than 30 Russian military facilities, a Ukrainian Ministry of Defense spokesman said. <\/p>\n
To date, the U.S. has committed 12 HIMARS to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The HIMARS, manufactured by defense giant\u00a0Lockheed Martin<\/a>, are designed to shoot a variety of missiles from a mobile 5-ton truck. The official said that U.S. troops will keep training Ukrainian forces on how to use the platform at a location outside the country.<\/p>\n \u2014 Amanda Macias<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Russian President Vladimir Putin passes symbolic FIFA World Cup Baton to Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (not pictured) during the ceremony at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, July,15,2018. Qatar is hosting FIFA World Cup in 2022.<\/p>\n Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Russia remains barred from Europe’s leading soccer competitions including the Champions League after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected appeals by the national soccer federation and four clubs.<\/p>\n CAS upheld decisions by UEFA and FIFA which excluded Russian national teams and clubs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n Russia was already excluded from men’s World Cup qualifying and the women’s European Championship. Its clubs won’t feature in competitions like the Champions League in 2022-23.<\/p>\n “The panel finds it unfortunate that the current military operations in Ukraine, for which Russian football teams, clubs, and players have themselves no responsibility, had, by reason of the decisions of FIFA and UEFA, such an adverse effect on them and Russian football generally, but those effects were, in the panel’s view, offset by the need for the secure and orderly conduct of football events for the rest of the world,” CAS ruled.<\/p>\n \u2014 Associated Press<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n An avenue in Mariupol on April 12, 2022. The besieged Ukrainian city could now be facing a deadly cholera outbreak, NBC News cited local officials.<\/p>\n Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The U.N.’s Economic and Social Council will meet to discuss the destruction of cultural heritage sites during Russia’s assault on Ukraine. <\/p>\n More than 150 cultural sites in Ukraine have been partially or totally destroyed as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a tally compiled by UNESCO.<\/p>\n United Nations experts identified 152 cultural sites, including 70 religious buildings, 30 historical buildings, 18 cultural centers, 15 monuments, 12 museums and seven libraries.<\/p>\n The majority of the damaged cultural sites are located in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv.<\/p>\n “These repeated attacks on Ukrainian cultural sites must stop. Cultural heritage, in all its forms, should not be targeted under any circumstances,” Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u2014 Amanda Macias<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The European economy is not seen entering a recession this year, according to the European Commission, but some economists have a different opinion.<\/p>\n Europa Press News | Europa Press | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Department of the Treasury issued a fact sheet<\/a> a to further clarify that U.S. sanctions do not target agricultural commodities, fertilizer and equipment from Russia.<\/p>\n The U.S. aims to counter Russian claims that its sanctions have contributed to rising global food prices. <\/p>\n Treasury reiterated that U.S. sanctions on Russia in response to its war against Ukraine do not affect agricultural or medical trade.<\/p>\n “The United States strongly supports efforts by the United Nations to bring both Ukrainian and Russian grain to world markets and to reduce the impact of Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine on global food supplies and prices,” Treasury wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n \u2014 Amanda Macias<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The NATO alliance said that allied jets and surveillance aircraft intercepted Russian aircraft over Norway and the Arctic Circle.<\/p>\n “It’s not only fighter jets that intercept and identify #Russian<\/a> activity @NATO<\/a>‘s Eye in the North, @Luftforsvaret<\/a> P3-C Orion & DA-20 Jet Falcon intercepted SU-33 Flanker D & MiG-29K Fulcrum flying close to Allied air space in the High North,” the alliance wrote in a tweet.<\/p>\n Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, the alliance has elevated its aircraft policing measures over NATO member airspace.<\/p>\n \u2014 Amanda Macias<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Farmers harvest a wheat field near Melitopol in Ukraine amid Russia’s onsluaght.<\/p>\n Olga Maltseva | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Russia’s proposals on how to resume Ukrainian grain exports were “largely supported” by negotiators at talks this week in Istanbul and an agreement is close, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday.<\/p>\n The ministry said that work on what it calls the “Black Sea Initiative” will be finalised soon.<\/p>\n \u2014 Reuters<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies are meeting in Bali, Indonesia, as concerns over commodity price inflation and food supply shortages triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine dominate the agenda.<\/p>\n Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati urged leaders to tome together and collaborate on solutions, warning that the future could be “catastrophic” for poorer countries being hit with surging energy and food prices.<\/p>\n “We are acutely aware that the cost of our failure to work together is more than we can afford,” Indrawati said, asking attendees to put aside politics to tackle common problems. “The humanitarian consequences for the world, and especially for many low income countries would be catastrophic.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference, ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, July 14, 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n Made Nagi | Reuters<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The G-20 countries include western countries as well as India, Russia and China. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov is expected to attend remotely via video link.<\/p>\n U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argued ahead of the gathering that Russian officials should not be included due to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n “Russia’s actions are not the actions of a government that upholds international norms and laws. Representatives of the Putin regime have no place at this forum,” Yellen said during a press conference on Thursday.<\/p>\n “I’ve made clear to there cannot be business as usual with respect to Russia’s participation at these meetings.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Natasha Turak<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, holds a bar, on the day of a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia, July, 15, 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n Evgenia Novozhenina | Reuters<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The next court hearing for detained American basketball player Brittney Griner has been moved to July 26 upon a request from her legal team. It was originally scheduled for this week. <\/p>\n The Olympic gold medalist has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17, accused by Russian authorities of having cannabis oil in her luggage and smuggling the narcotic material.<\/p>\n On July 8, Griner pled guilty to the drug charges that could have her sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. While she admitted to having vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage, she said that there was no criminal intent behind it. <\/p>\n Griner’s lawyers say the substances were prescribed to her for a chronic injury. U.S. officials have argued for months that the athlete is being wrongfully detained.\u00a0 <\/p>\n \u2014 Natasha Turak<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A 45-year old British man by the name of Paul Urey has died in detention in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in Russian-occupied Ukraine, according to the Presidium Network, a U.K. humanitarian aid group. Urey’s family has been contacted by the Foreign Office, the group said.<\/p>\n DPR officials in charge of Urey’s detention said he died on July 10 from pre-existing health conditions and “stress.” Urey’s mother had previously said he was at high risk because he had diabetes and required insulin.<\/p>\n Urey was captured in April by Russian-backed separatists, who accused him of working as a mercenary. He was caught while trying to enter an area controlled by Russian forces through a checkpoint in Ukraine’s southeast, outside of the city of Zaporizhzhia.<\/p>\n Presidium says he was there trying to carry out a humanitarian mission to rescue a family trapped by the war. He was detained along with another man, Dylan Healy, whose status is not clear.<\/p>\n \u2014 Natasha Turak<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n An excavation team carries a body of Ukrainian civilian murdered by Russian army in a forest near Bucha, Ukraine – June 13, 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dominika Zarzycka | Nurphoto | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Recent satellite imagery reveals a clear increase in mass burial sites in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, according to an investigation by the non-governmental organization Centre for Information Resilience (CIR).<\/p>\n “The report identifies graves in areas that have been under extreme bombardment from Russian firing positions,” the U.K.-based group wrote in its report. “Analysing the available details of six grave sites, this research specifically explores the following areas: Chernihiv, Kherson, Bucha, Mariupol’s Starokrymske Cemetery, Vynohradne and Manhush.”<\/p>\n The CIR uses open-source research to uncover human rights abuses and disinformation campaigns in countries around the world. The report detailing the mass graves is a part of its Eyes on Russia (EoR) project, an open-source investigation “to map, document and verify significant incidents during the conflict in Ukraine,” according to its website.<\/p>\n “This report shows a significant expansion, possibly doubling, of the Mariupol cemetery since \u2014 Natasha Turak<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n More than 2.5 million people have been evacuated from Ukraine to Russia, Britain’s Ministry of Defense wrote in its latest intelligence update, with many of those evacuees suspected to have been forcibly deported.<\/p>\n “Russia continues to face accusations that it is forcibly deporting Ukrainians; in many cases Ukrainians have reportedly been mistreated in filtration camps set up by Russia,” the ministry wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In recent years, Moscow has given Russian passports to tens of thousands of people in eastern Ukraine. While some people have willingly gone to Russia, there is witness evidence of forced removals of Ukrainians, including children, who have described brutal conditions in Russia’s “filtration camps.”<\/p>\nSports court upholds soccer bans on Russian teams<\/h2>\n
UN council to discuss the destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage sites<\/h2>\n
U.S. sanctions on Russia do not target agricultural trade, Treasury says<\/h2>\n
NATO jets intercept Russian aircraft flying close to alliance air space<\/h2>\n
Russia says document nearly ready on resuming Ukraine grain exports<\/h2>\n
G-20 leaders meet as Ukraine war dominates concerns <\/h2>\n
Basketball player Brittney Griner’s court hearing postponed<\/h2>\n
British man dies in detention in Russian-backed separatist territory <\/h2>\n
Investigation notes sharp increase in mass grave sites in Russian-occupied Ukraine<\/h2>\n
previously reported on by some news media,” the report said. “The research adds to the growing body of evidence documenting Russia’s targeting of civilians as part of its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.”<\/p>\nMore than 2.5 million people have been evacuated from Ukraine to Russia: UK <\/h2>\n