Ukraine’s strikes against Wildberries ‘light up sky’ 1000km inside Russia | Latest war news today

I'm Francis Sternly, and this is Ukraine, the Latest.Today, we report on another weekend of intense military activity, from renewed strikes on Wildberry's warehouses, so severe that the company's CEO was compelled to issue a public statement, to assassination attempts, a bombing at a Moscow restaurant, and a brutal attack on Kiev once again that laid bare the city's vulnerability to ballistic missile strikes.We also examine the latest casualty figures claimed by President Zelensky, the evolving US position on Ukraine, and what the new adaptation of the Odyssey might be trying to say about how modern warfare is having a corrosive effect on contemporary society.It's Monday, the 3rd of August, four years and 160 days since the full -scale invasion began.Today, I'm joined by my co -host and Associate Editor of Defence here at The Telegraph, Dom Nicholls.Dom, we're going to do things a little bit differently today because there's just so much for us to cover.

We're going to have some interwoven discussion throughout, but where do you want to start?

Yeah, thanks, Francis.Hi, everybody.It was a an exceptionally busy weekend.So we're not going to do it chronologically, because that's just it doesn't really suit it that way.There were some bigger stories.So let's start with those.

There were a couple of assassination Attempts, I suppose I should say alleged ahead of those but So firstly in Ukraine the heartier Brigade commander Ihor Oblensky he survived What's thought to be an assassination?Attempt the the attacker said by Ukrainska Pravda citing law enforcement sources to be a 69 year old man was detained in Kharkiv Along with accomplices there now this man was allegedly recruited by Russian Special Services who that who themselves had posed as SBU officers and convinced the would -be assassin that Mr. Oblienski was a traitor.Now, Ukrainska Pravda says that the suspect approached the brigade commander from behind, but his gun malfunctioned.A Makarov pistol and ammunition were found on the individual when he was arrested.Now, the Khatia Brigade, you'll remember, there areI think, what's 114 brigades in the Ukrainian ORBAT at the moment.

But Hatia, Azov and 3rd Army Corps are kind of the big, very well marketed outfits.

Also the most popular in terms of recruitment.

Yes, they do their own their own recruiting.They have very swept up social media campaign and marketing programs and all the rest of it.Although hold that thought, we're going to be talking about recruitment in a moment.There's been some big changes there.So anyway, so so Mr. Oblienski, survived that assassination attempt, alleged assassination attempt.Not the first attempted killing, obviously, of important unit commanders.

You may remember back in March, March 13th, the SBU, Security Service of Ukraine, said that they'd detained a Ukrainian drone operator who'd been recruited by Moscow to assassinate Andrei Beletsky, who's the commander of 3rd Army Corps, one of the other units I've just mentioned.So on this, on this assassination attempt, alleged assassination attempt, President Zelensky said, we will definitely respond to this attempted strike against Ukraine and the Ukrainian commander.OK, so that was as we started the weekend.Very shortly after that, on Saturday in Moscow, five people were killed after a bomb detonated in a Moscow restaurant, an Italian restaurant.This comes from what was initially reported by Russian state media.It's been picked up elsewhere and verified by many other outlets.

At least 21 other people injured after this homemade explosive device detonated in or around Moscow's Balzarossi restaurant during a private function.Now, there's widespread speculation.I think it's beyond speculation, as we perfectly honest, but it's speculation that the event was a birthday celebration for Russian Aerospace Forces Commander Colonel General Alexander Chayko.Well, he was celebrating his 55th birthday and also his appointment in May of this year as the commander of the aerospace forces, so the whole air and space forces.Now, hisdaughter, we are told, Maria, was hospitalized, but her husband, Danny Peridry, we are told is one of the people killed.

Now, Russian state media citing security officials said that a woman carrying a device was stopped by a security guard as she tried to enter the restaurant before it had gone off.She was stopped.The device then went off, killing her, killing the security guard and killing another visitor to the restaurant immediately.And two people who were subsequently taken to hospital, subsequently died.That comes from Baza, a Russian source affiliated with Russian law enforcement.Now, General Chayko, just sort of his background, he commanded Russian forces.

Well, he's obviously very, very senior in the Russian military structure.He commanded Russian forces that have been held responsible for widespread violence against Ukrainian civilians in Kiev Oblast in 2022, including in Bucha.He's also had many, many tours in Syria.So, I mean, no attribution or no claim by Ukraine or anyone else for this second alleged assassination.However, it was a very, very busy weekend and clearly we've seen similar strikes such as this in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia since the start of the full -scale invasion.of

renewing demands that President Zelensky reinstate former Defence Minister Mikhailo Fedorov.It is, as I said, the 16th day of protests since his dismissal.Organisers are saying that there's no sign of letting up.They're going to continue for as long as it takes, although President Zelensky hasn't given any ground either.suggestion he's going to reverse his decision.interview to Ukrainian Pravda last week in which he suggested that his push for greater transparency, particularly when it comes to defence procurement, was one of the reasons he was he was pushed out.

He basically upset too many people in too many positions of power that had too much influence over either Zelensky directly or the the way of Ukrainian governance such that it was seen that Fedorov had to go.You agree with that?And this was seen as a tussle between the kind of old guard, the old Soviet mentality and a lot of the old ways, corruption, and the new guard of young, Western -oriented tech -savvy individuals.And that is still, that's still very much going on, that sort of tussle.But at the moment, President Zelensky has shown no sign of backing down and reinstating Mikhail Fedorov.

I think just on this, it's worth pondering for a moment.We know how sensitive President Zelensky is to the idea of political rivals, Zelensky, of course, being the most notorious example, part of the reason it was believed that he was removed from his post as commander -in -chief all those years ago, and in a sense, exiled to London.as ambassador was because of him being perceived as rallying certain political entities to his cause within the Parliament and beyond and it would be ironic wouldn't it that the Fedorov decision which wasn't actually really a political decision as much it seemed to be a military one and the tensions within the military fraternity actually in a sense has made a martyr of Fedorov and a rival to President Zelensky and I imagine that this will be very much on his mind at the moment.moment, although it does seem at the same time that there isn't the same degree of pressure there was, say, a week or so ago.Whether that will change for Zelensky, I don't know.Just since we're on this subject, Dom, I mean, obviously you were away for a couple of weeks or so.

You were following it over the course of that time.We haven't actually had your sort of reflections on the removal of Serski and the situation with Mr Fedorov and the new commander.Do you have any thoughts on that?I'm sure it'll be something that will be woven out of the discussion over the next few weeks.But just on this, you know, it's an interesting one, isn't it?

It is. I mean, and I have no greater insight.I point people to Jay Beglin's views on this and her much better explanation.of this real tension in Ukrainian society and in the governance structures between the ways of the old and the ways of the future, if you like.So do go and have a listen.Yeah, it was two Wednesdays ago, I think.Was it?

Yeah.That's good knowledge.

Well done.

Basically, we don't rehearse any of this.Where you pulled that from, I do not know.But yeah, so listen to Jade for the framework.But I think it does speak of this tension.And I just think it's very notable that you say not a lot happened in the last in the last week But but it was only a week ago that Zelensky was in the White House with Donald Trump Asking for a favor.He was asking Donald Trump to lean on Elon Musk to To give Ukraine the Starlink permissions to be able to operate deeper inside Ukraine

Who had the link to Elon Musk?Who seemed to get on well?Who was one of the tech bros in Ukraine that managed to get Elon Musk to turn Starlink off for the Russians earlier this year?It was Mihailo Fedorov.They could speak tech.They talk in ones and zeros.

He's the guy you want to have.And yet, Zelensky last week, not capping hands at all, but asking Trump for a favor.I mean, the one guy who wouldn't have to do that and could probably pick the phone up to Elon Musk straight away, was Mikhail Fedorov.

He was a man who was seen as symbolic of what Ukraine had become in terms of this modernizing tech force that could teach the world new tricks.And by removing him, it does seem that a key card, as it were, to use Zelensky's own term, has been taken away from the table.

Yeah.But you asked me, sorry to go back a little bit, you asked me my thoughts.So Fedorov was seen as a reformer.He came in and as well as bringing in the whole tech revolution and digitization, Yeah, he was putting in place a number of different defense reforms.Well, there is an effort still to continue those because Oleksandr Sersky, the former commander of Ukraine's armed forces, he was also because it was so, so controversial, the decision to get rid of Fedorov, Sersky had to go as well.So he went and then Mikhail Drapachy was brought in.

So he's the new commander in chief.So he's only been in post, what, 10 days now.He's already come in with quite a number of ideas and reforms.He's straight off the bat, he's ordered a halt to direct recruitment into the military.assault regiments.So back to Ukraine's Kupravda, again, they're citing sources in four assault regiments that saying that Ukraine's military has suspended personnel transfers and newly newly mobilized recruits going direct to some assault regiments, as we were saying earlier on, who, who have their own marketing campaigns and so on and so forth.

Now, a lot of thisThis order took effect in July the 26th.It prevents assault units from receiving personnel from territorial recruitment centres, from reserve battalions and transfers from other units.There is a slight carve -out.There's an exception for service members returning from unauthorised absence.You may remember there was that kind of AWOL amnesty.

So that's a slight acceptance.A lot of this comes from scrutiny that's been put on a number of units such as the 225th and the 425th Skelia Regiments.They are, well firstly they were said to have enjoyed direct patronage of former Commander -in -Chief Alexander Serski, they were given greater autonomy in their operations, they seem to be prioritised or certainly given better provision of kits compared to other ground force units, and Wrapped up in all this, there are a number of investigations into alleged torture, abuse and killings involving several assault regiments and the 155th Brigade.Now I should say, we were making the point earlier on about direct recruitment into Hatia, 3rd Assault Corps and Azov, That was I was using that as an example.They are not wrapped up in any of these.They've not been cited in any of these investigations.

So just to just to make the point there.But this is one of the first big moves of General Tripathi as the commander in chief.This is a part of his reform to try and to try and wrestle the the institutional culture of the Ukrainian military away from the old soviet model the very much top -down Long -handled screwdrivers used to say say in the army the command culture whereby they decide at the top and then you just follow the orders You don't react to what's in you're seeing in front of you and adjust the plan as necessary given your immediate Situation.It's also felt that that old style of of fighting the old soviet style of fighting would hold ground at all costs I mean, Oleksandr Tsiolkovsky was critical.for this, for holding ground, where many, many people losing their lives and being injured, when actually it would have been better to have ceded the territory.Hence his nickname, The Butcher, among soldiers.

Yes, exactly.He was also seen to have a number of favourites, as in units, to give kit to, and all the rest of it.So General Trapatti's come in and he's trying to change that culture.Now, you know, Culture is a what's the old saying culture eat strategy for breakfast?I mean, you know, it takes a lot of effort to change to change a culture, but he's he's taken on the He's going in a lot of the same directions as Mikhailo Fedorov.Obviously, we're talking different different Departments areas.

Yeah, this is the head of the Armed Forces Fedorov was the defense minister, but they were going in the same in the same direction and On that though, I think, so Drupadhi is keen to prioritise the preservation of life and he's not said as much, but it's clear that he views ceding territory where you have to as more preferable to holding the line at all costs.He's very keen on letting autonomous systems do the fighting, so drones do the fighting rather than human beings.So I think what we should expect in the next few weeks is to see utterly minimal gains that the Russians are making, and we barely talk about it now because it's just a waste of time of our audience.I think we should expect to see more ground taken by Russia in the next few weeks because Drupada is going to prioritise the preservation of life and allow autonomous systems to do the fighting.The flip side to that is, of course, that they are at the same time increasing the casualty rate on Russia.So whilst they might be ceding ground, they're doing so in order to save life and still deliver a lot of violence to the Russians.

And it's worth noting just on that.that July, as we've just left, July's casualty figures of killed, wounded, taken prisoner, missing, topped 40 ,000.First time this year, 40 ,000.And that's been a steady uptick all through this year.So they're getting towards that magical figure of 50 ,000.Mikhail Fedorov said that that is, once you get to 50 ,000 a month Russian casualties, it's going to break the Russian model as it stands.

that might mean we have that conversation again about Russian mobilisation.But I mean, 40 ,000 is a hugely staggering number.I think that's what General Trapatti is going to be trying to model the military on now.Give ground where you have to, give ground early, rather than waste lives defending ground that in all likelihood you're going to give up anyway, but continue to kill the enemy.

But just on that, to play devil's advocate regarding the consensus around General Serskiy at the moment, you could argue that in the context of last year, it was the military and political priority to stop there being Russian advances, that things were so precarious in the political arena, particularly with Washington, that any movement, Russian gains that might be more protracted or be seen as part of some kind of push or campaign would have been very politically damaging for the Ukrainian cause.And so I think that's just worth throwing into the discussion about Sierski's legacy, that yes, he may well have had the reputation the butcher.Yes, he was certainly holding settlements for too long from the perception of many people.But perhaps the orders from Kiev were that that was the political priority.But maybe now that political priority has changed, to your point.

Yeah, no, that's a very fair comment.Okay, we can take a break.We've barely started.

Yeah, I know.So do you want to take over on the military developments that there have been?

Yeah, so let's look at Ukrainian attacks on Russian positions over the weekend.There's been a lot of them.There have been attackson Russian positions in occupied Crimea, where Ukrainian drones hit Russia's 475th Separate Electronic Warfare Center.That was just outside Sevastopol.NASA's FIRMS site shows or detected a major fire there.

And also local residents reported hearing loud explosions coming from that site.What else?On Saturday, one of the three oil refineries in Ufa was hit.The oil refinery And the nearby Engels Air Base in Saratov was hit overnight Saturday to Sunday.That's 600 kilometers away from Ukraine.

It's the second time in the course of a week that that's been hit now.

And then on Sunday, there were more Wildberries distribution warehouses that uploaded their contents to the cloud.And hat tip to Baristrada Cycling for that one.They left a message in our YouTube comments.And we do read every comment.So hat tip to Baristrada Cycling.Uploaded their contents to the cloud.

I like that one.Also, these are two Wildberries Nova Semyakino, in Russia's Samara region, about 1 ,000 km northeast of Ukraine, and Khrishtovo, that's in Vladimir region, 100 km just east of Moscow.But yeah, these are the wildberry sites, and there's extraordinary photos of these things.And the clouds that's coming out of them, the thick black smoke that's coming out of them.Yeah, so more, and I think that's now, I think that's 16 of the wildberries.So wild bears that they had, we think they've got a couple of hundred sites across the country, but these big warehouses, I mean, is in the low.

the low double figures, double digit territory, we think under 2030 -ish.And that's 16 of them.

Yeah.Yeah.Well, just on this theme, this is a very significant operation, so much so that the CEO, Tatiana Kim, founder of Wild Breeze, the wealthiest woman in Russia, I think I'm right in saying, has delivered a video address responding to the attacks.It is in line with the Kremlin's standard talking point.She said, for nearly two weeks now, our company's warehouse have been under terrorist attacks.Why are warehouses of all places?

And then she goes on to talk about the damage and says that And this is to James Killner's point that he was emphasizing this when we spoke to him on last Wednesday.She claimed that Wildberries entrepreneurs in Russia and partner countries, including China and Kazakhstan, had suffered losses amounting to billions.This is not just about what's going to affect Russians and the Russian economy.This is going to have consequences much more widely, which will be negative for Moscow as well.She said that Wildberries, however, would not be on hook for those losses.Sellers who lost income due to the strikes should instead wait for the Russian government, she said, to provide assistance.

in the form of a comprehensive package of support measures to those affected.Shulsha mentioned the increased discounts and deferred payment options Wildberries had offered to impacted sellers in the wake of the strikes.We will do everything we can to help businesses cope with the situation.I thank everyone for their support.Together we are stronger because Wildberries is you.I think there'll be quite a few people saying, I hope not.

Crikey.But for more on this, I should just say, do listen to James Killen's analysis of the wild breeze on last Wednesday's episode.I thought his comments on this were so insightful and quite often lost, particularly the relationship the wild breeze has with Vladimir Putin and with the Russian state and the Russian state banking sector.This is really, really important.This is not just an operation about targeting a huge e -commerce giant that is involved in lots of ordinary Russian lies and very disruptive for that, and indeed the selling of drone parts to soldiers, this is also very much attached to the Kremlin itself and will have very big consequences for the whole ecosystem.So do listen to that for about 10 or 15 minute discussion on Wild Breeze last week.

I thought her comments there about how they're not going to be left on the hook were really interesting because as James has said, if you, as Ukraine attacks the oil refineries, well, that's denting Russia's-raising potential.It means they're not going to get as much money or they have to come up with other cunning ways to get around sanctions, what have you.But if the Russian taxpayer, the Russian state, has to shell out now for wildberries, well, that's a direct and immediate cost to Russia.the to the economy.That's money that's not going to be spent on military materials.

They've got to compensate the billions of rubles.Yeah.

Yeah.So should we pick up then with the air war?

Just one last one.Ukrainian attacks on Russia.So Russia's Krasnodar region, think Novorossiysk, Black Sea, Black Sea Fleet, just down the coast from Novorossiysk you get Gelendzhik.Well, so Ukrainian drones were attacking something nearby.I've seen various suggestions.There were a drone by an air defence missile or small arms fire, because it would have disintegrated and would have crashed.

We think this was impacted by electronic warfare, because the thing still flies under controlled flight, but just not where it wants to go, lands on a public beach.And we are told that three people were killed on that beach.There was very dramatic footage of the drone landing on the beach.We have footage of that.We won't show the moment of impact.But yeah, alleged three people killed there.

So those are Ukrainian strikes on Russia over the weekend.Now let's look at Russian strikes on Ukraine.So back to Friday, overnight Friday to Saturday, another large, large strike, particularly on Kiev.Nine people killed in Kiev, 30 injured as a result of an attack with 35 missiles and 185 drones.That's the second such large strike in two days.Now air defence, the reason I raise it, air defence shot down only two missiles, 154 drones, but only two missiles.

of the missiles were brought down.And that attack had four Zircon missiles, 27 Iskander -M or S -400 missiles, two KH -31, two KH -59 or 69 variant, and 185 drones, as I say.30 missiles and 23 drones got through air defence.So that speaks to this paucity of air defence interceptors that Ukraine currently has.The issue at the moment, one could argue.Yeah.

Skol and Lithuania's embassy were amongst the locations hit there.Ukraine's foreign minister, he said it had been a hell of a night in Kiev.He said, failing to achieve its goals on the battlefield, Russia is intensifying its air attacks and terror against civilians.He said Ukraine urgently needs additional air and missile defence systems and interceptors.He said, the speed of decisions and deliveries is critical.Every decision that strengthens the defense of Ukrainian skies saves human lives, while every delay leads to deaths and war crimes.

It's the battle for the skies that will define the trajectory of this war.The stronger the air shield over Ukraine, the closer peace becomes.It is all about that air defense at the moment.

Yeah, absolutely.And I should just say that we've spoken to sources on the ground last week and over the weekend, people just underscoring that just because we talk about this all the time and it's a regular occurrence, We shouldn't underscore the mental impact that this has.Night in, night out, being woken up several times a night, four months.This has an extremely corrosive effect.Now, it's not the same as saying that people are, their spirit is broken, their willpower is broken, that this is changing the political campus or anything like that, but we shouldn't downplay beyond of course the number of people who are being killed night after night, but just the impact that this has on people's ability to function and society's ability to keep morale high.

figures yesterday so overnight Saturday to Sunday six people killed across Ukraine 65 injured the highest number of casualties in Zaporizhia or blast where Russia hit civilian infrastructure with eight glide bombs killing one person and injuring 31 others there 14 of 181 drones got through there were no missiles in that attack so you know worth noting obviously but uh the point we make is about air defense but yesterday no no missiles overnight Saturday to Sunday OK, now slightly old one here.So on Friday in Ukraine, there was an explosion just before midday in the Khmelnitsky region.There was a training.It's a training ground for a military unit for Ukrainian special forces.People said to be injured there.And a statement later, Ukrainian SOF said three Ukrainian special operations forces service members were injured.

And I was later updated to four.They said there was no contact with five others following an ammunition detonation.They said ammunition continued detonating until 7pm and the cause and circumstances remain unclear.Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations have opened criminal proceedings into possible violations of weapon handling safety regulations there.

Well we told you it was quite an extraordinary weekend and Friday of activity so let's turn next to a theatre that's been very much our focus, the Maritime Domain.

Yeah, so just off the coast of Mykolaiv Oblast, a tugboat was damaged during a Russian combined missile and drone attack on the port of Mykolaiv just after midnight Saturday to Sunday.That's the second such vessel to be hit in the area over the weekend.Now, the Russian MED said the tugboat had been converted by the Ukrainian military to operate drones.The Mykolaiv Regional State Administration stated later on Sunday that the attack had damaged two civilian vessels and subsequent to that, the Russian MAD said the strikes on the port of Mikulayev had resulted in further damage to two dry cargo vessels.So a bit of confusion here.Anyway, video footage of the attack showed the vessel was targeted by Geron IV type drones.

Russia has increasingly been using Geran -4 and a new jet -powered loitering munition called a Banderol against Ukraine's Black Sea ports and other logistic infrastructure in recent weeks.pieces of equipment that we're talking about very quickly.The Banderolles, it's basically a low cost cruise missile.The warhead is three times heavier than a Shahed.So that's that kind of that kind of zone.The Garand 4, the Garand family of drones.

So you had Shahed that was that were built by Iran.Russia, built the same ones, built to the blueprints, called them GERAN.So GERAN -4 is the latest iteration of that.They are deployed to outrun Ukrainian drone interceptors.They also have, we think they have AI targeting, so they'll be able to go for moving targets where the Banderol will not.Now, still in the maritime domain, Ukraine, President Zelensky says, has sunk another sanctioned Russian ship.

He said they hit the Russian flag container ship Yanina in the Black Sea over the weekend using domestically produced middle strike weapons.He said this vessel had a capacity over 100 ,000 metric tons was part of Russia's war -sustaining infrastructure, the Shadow Fleet.Okay, one last one from the maritime domain.The EU naval mission has boarded a Russian Shadow Fleet tanker off the coast of Italy.What is the EU naval mission, you might ask?Well, so this is on Saturday, the Italian Navy led the EU's Operation Irini mission.

They boarded the sanctioned Russian Shadow Fleet tanker, Toa Poia.in the Mediterranean.It was intercepted in international waters near Pantelleria, that's between Sicily and Tunisia.It was flying a Cameroonian flag.The vessel was boarded after the captain refused to cooperate and provide documentation.Supported by Greek and Polish forces, the mission took two hours.

So Operation IRENE, the European Union's mission, launched intoto enforce the Libya arms embargo, but has since widened out and now targets Russian shadow fleet activity.

So that brings us up to date with all of the military updates from over the weekend, of which there were a lot.This is one other story we're going to touch on, Dom, before we end this section.

Yes.Casualty figures.We So rarely get a glimpse into this from the Ukrainian side.It's worth mentioning.President Zelensky has said that about 50 ,000 Ukrainian service members have been killed and 400 ,000 wounded since the start of the full -scale invasion.This comes from the Kyiv Post.

Now, he said he's reluctant to disclose detailed casualty figures because they, he says, are going to aid Russia's military assessment.At the same time, he says that Russia has suffered about 1 .6 million casualties, including 700 ,000 killed.Now that figure that he gave for Ukrainian casualties there.It does slightly differ from what he gave a few months ago when he said about 55 ,000 Ukrainian soldiers.Which we talked about at the time.Yeah, it's just that we so rarely see these figures and we're often asked why do we cite Russian casualty figures and not Ukrainian?

And it's basically because we can get accurate, we deem to be accurate figures on Russian casualties, but we don't believe the figures that Russia gave.puts out, basically.And when I speak to Western officials here, they are looking at Russia.So they are able to verify some of the figures that the general staff come out with from Ukraine, so they can say with some confidence that the figures, when Ukraine claims Russian casualty figures, Western officials say they are accurate.their assets are not looking at Ukraine.They've got other things to do.

So that's why we are very, very rarely are able to offer any comment whatsoever about Ukrainian casualty figures.

Yeah.And that was one of the questions that came from a listener that we ran in the Thursday episode Q &A that we did.And just a comment on this as asaid then there was back in February a Report that was an official Ukrainian report that had over 90 ,000 individuals considered missing under special circumstances and that included military personnel civilians and children now again That figure is almost certainly also vastly inaccurate I would say as like this 50 ,000 figure but nonetheless if you start to add an official recognition that 50 ,000 been killed plus maybe another 50 ,000 or more missing you start perhaps seeing the numbers quite considerably climb But we just don't have an accurate figure on this do we and for comparison the United States in Vietnam lost just over 58 ,000 killed yeah Well, we'll just take a moment to exhale, Dom, a military extraordinary weekend in terms of activity, as we're saying.Let me just pick up on a few diplomatic stories and I will try and whiz through these.So as mentioned on Friday's episode, there is some confusion as to whether the White House, as has actually given the blueprints to the Ukrainians to produce Patriots, warm noises still.

Trump won't be pinned down on it.Later that day, after our broadcast, Zelensky said he had a productive phone call with J .D.Vance about Ukraine's air defence needs.3D printing of drones, just as a reminder of where exactly that is in Germany.Now, NATO and US officials say support for Ukraine will continue uninterrupted despite this leadership shift.

But according to Politico, some Ukrainian officials are concerned that NATO bureaucracy will be much slower than the American -led mission.But others are perhaps more optimistic because it's moving things away from an unreliable ally, to use their term.Sticking in Shortly afterwards, the Washington Post then published an expose into an alleged guru who had been guiding Tulsi Gabbard throughout her political career, including dozens of memos that appeared to document directives and advice for Gabbard from her time in Congress 2011 to 2017.So quite a complicated picture involving her, really.But what's relevant on this now is that in June, Trump named her replacement as Bill Polte, a businessman.with close ties to the president who previously had no experience in national intelligence.

Apartments are being gutted in theory to save money, but really as part of a more they would say, sinister exercise in control and one that is, of course, very difficult to repair in the longer term.We hear from sources in that world that even at the highest levels, the sword of Damocles is ever present, but it's underappreciated because thanks to the nature of their work, it's less publicly visible.And so there is less written about it.But this is a very serious issue.And if you do wish to write to us anonymously, you know our email.It's always in the show notes.

And of course, we would treat that with utmost security.Now, speaking of national security, just briefly turned to Kiev.and several newly appointed or acting ministers, including Active Defence Minister Kamara and Foreign Minister Sibiya.The decree also removes the former officials who held those roles.of Ukraine.Ukraine blames Russia for deliberately attacking the prison to conceal the mistreatment of POWs with thousands more remaining detained.

And just lastly, and I am, I must confess, revealing my inner nerd here, but an interesting story about statues.Now, Kiev has begun a phased removal of protective structures from monuments across the city, according to the Kiev Independent, citing city officials.Now, as we can attest, the monuments in Kiev and many other cities are often completely covered by sandbags, wooden frames, all sorts of protective measures that were put in as soon as the full -scale invasion began to protect them mainly from blast waves and shrapnel damage.But this decision to begin removing them is basically because of the shift to ballistic missiles.There's some speculation it might have something to do with actually there's an increased chance of damage to the statues with these protective equipment on.Others are saying that it has something to do with the fact that actually there's just nothing that can be done.

would be able to be protected by five because of the just the devastation these missiles cause that you know there's actually no point in them being covered up because the damage would be so extensive they would be effectively destroyed and there's also a claim that it has something to do with the statues themselves by being covered for so long are actually getting moisture damage and therefore they need to be allowed to breathe they are in a sense a living embodiment of something and that concealing them for this length of time does more damage to them than the Russians might.So an interesting story and one that I thought might be just worth us reporting because it is, as you say, whenever you go to Ukraine, it's one of the most striking things that you see.the squares, you see where there should be these huge monuments, and they are covered.But it seems, at least in the capital, for not much longer.But Dom, we've come to final thoughts.A long day.

Crikey.But where do you want to leave everyone?

I haven't got any final thoughts.

I've been too busy doing all this.Fair enough, fair enough.Well, I've got one, which I hope doesn't feel too crass or feel too off -kilter from the discussions of some of the horrific events we've been talking about today.But I think it is worthy of discussion.So, of course, the big film of the moment, I think they've just broken the record weekend of the most, since box office records began, is, of course, The Odyssey.I watched it on Saturday.

I know we often joke on the podcast that I'm obsessed with Napoleon the period I'm actually most fascinated in was long -suffering listeners will know is the ancient world my My flat at home.I've just got about ten shelves dedicated to it.So yeah, I must confess this is this is the real deal, but the The film really goes into, I think, the moral questions around war generally, and it's very applicable for today.And I would be very interested in your perspective, if you're one of those hundreds of thousands of people who have seen the film, and you've not seen it yet, Dom.Not yet.

No plot spoilers, please.

No plot spoilers.Well, I mean, the poem is about 2 ,000 years old, so I feel like...

I'll go round to it.I've heard 2 ,000 years.

Not a spoiler, but one of the themes of the film is a broader meditation on this idea of Zeus's law being broken and the sacking of Troy, the breaking of the principles of what should be acceptable moral behavior.massive consequences for the entire of ancient Greek civilization.And it's very obvious, I think, that Mr. Nolan, the director, is trying to make the point that the breaking of international law, the breaking of the moral architecture of the world that we inhabit by the permission of allowing cities to be destroyed, like Troy in the film, is, to a certain extent, irrecoverable.And that it has major consequences on our own understanding of the world and on the moral, as I say, world in which we all live and our children will live in.there's actually this line in the film where it says to burn the walls of Troy was to burn the world entire and It's a very powerful message in a very powerful film.I felt personally not perfect, but one that that I found very affecting and I just underscore that really and leave you with that because It is I think noteworthy that we've just been talking today about I mean, I can't remember a day full of so many strikes and reporting of so many things.

And yet we're probably one of the few sources in the world that will be talking about this in this degree of detail.The world has adjusted to this horror.And I think that's one of the points that this film is trying to make very strongly, that once you break those kind of principles, once you break Zeus's law, It's very difficult to go back.But I'd be fascinated to hear your perspective if you've watched the film.And I highly recommend watching it if you haven't.So Dom, get to the cinema.

I will.

I will do that.

But let's leave it there, folks.Thanks very much for your time today.We'll be back same time, same place tomorrow.Thanks for your time, Dom.

Thanks, everyone.