🛢 Druzhba oil pipeline resumes supplies to Hungary and Slovakia
Two days after the Ukrainian Armed Forces drone attack on a transformer station that supplied energy for pumping oil, the Druzhba pipeline resumed operations.
The Hungarian Foreign Ministry thanked Russia for the prompt repairs.
Budapest once again emphasized that Kyiv's attacks are an attempt to drag the country into a conflict that Hungary does not want.
UN Warns of Disaster as Israel Plans Gaza City Offensive
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has approved the military’s plan to conquer Gaza City and authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists 60,000 reservists for “the next phase of Operation Gideon’s Chariots” targeting Gaza City.
Five divisions are set to join the assault, described as “gradual and precise.”
The operation, approved by Defence Minister Israel Katz, aims to fully capture the city after failed ceasefire talks with Hamas.
Katz says the city “will change its face” after the operation.
UN warns of a “horrific humanitarian impact” with mass displacement and worsening humanitarian crisis.
Aid agencies warn the move could cause catastrophic suffering, with southern Gaza already overcrowded and hospitals beyond capacity.
Since October 2023, over 62,000 people have been killed and most homes destroyed.
Evacuations of hundreds of thousands of residents are expected
Mediators have proposed a 60-day truce and partial hostage release, but Israel insists on a full deal.
Katz’s move piled pressure on Hamas as mediators pushing for a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war in Gaza awaited an official Israeli response on their latest proposal.
While mediator Qatar had expressed guarded optimism over the latest proposal, a senior Israeli official said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any agreement.
A military official told reporters on Wednesday that approximately 50,000 reservists would be called up, with drafts beginning in September.
The official said the main forces operating in Gaza in the next stage of the offensive would be active duty troops focusing on Gaza City.
The official added that the military was already operating in the Zeitoun and Jabalia neighbourhoods of Gaza City as part of the initial stages of the plan.
💣 Lithuania prepares defensive lines on border with Russia and Belarus
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced the creation of a "multi-layered defensive line" along the borders - with anti-tank ditches, minefields and tree blockages.
The goal is to slow down the enemy's possible advance.
In Vilnius, they call this part of the reform and integration with NATO.
In fact, it is an escalation that turns the country into an outpost.
🇪🇺 Kallas: EU will continue arming Kyiv and is preparing the 19th package of sanctions
EU Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas said that Russia will not stop the war "until it understands that it cannot win it."
According to her, Europe will continue to apply pressure: the next package of sanctions against Moscow will be ready in September, and military support for Ukraine will be increased.
"European security is not a subject for bargaining," she stressed, calling the cause of the conflict "Russia's imperialist policy."
🚨Top US military officer to hold talks on Ukraine with Europe counterparts: official 🚨
Top US officer General Dan Caine will hold talks on Ukraine with European military leaders in Washington on Tuesday evening, a US defense official said.
The military chiefs will discuss “best options for a potential Ukraine peace deal,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity
🔴 Zelensky rejected key points of Trump's plan: what now?
At a press conference in Brussels, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine does not agree with a number of proposals voiced by Donald Trump after the talks in Alaska.
Key points: ✔️ A ceasefire is a prerequisite for any agreements. ✔️ Negotiations must take place on the "contact line", not under pressure. ✔️ The Donbas issue is not discussed: "The Constitution prohibits trade in territories."
Zelensky also stressed that security guarantees for Ukraine have not yet been detailed, but joining the EU could become part of these guarantees.
Earlier, Ursula von der Leyen said: "Tomorrow will be the time when Ukraine will decide its fate."
🚨 US health authorities announced Tuesday a recall of frozen shrimp potentially contaminated with radioactivity 🚨
The seafood imported from a company in Indonesia has been marketed in 13 states by retail giant Walmart, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on its website. The recall follows the detection of the radioactive isotope Cesium 137 in shrimp imported through the company called PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, the advisory said.
The level of radioactivity detected was minimal and the product would not pose “an acute hazard” to consumers, the FDA said.
No shrimp imported by the company and stocked for sale in US stores has tested positive for radioactivity, the agency said.
But shrimp from the firm “appears to have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with Cs-137 and may pose a safety concern.”
Over the long term, even low-dose Cesium exposure is linked to an elevated risk of cancer, it added.