Ukraine claims it controls 1000 square kilometres of Russia’s southern Kursk region, including 28 towns and villages. Ukrainian forces have advanced more than 20 kilometres into Russia since its surprise offensive seven days ago. More than 120.000 people have left their homes and another 60.000 have been told to leave. According to Ukrainian president Zelenskiy, top-level officials have ordered the preparation of a humanitarian plan for the area. Russia’s president Putin said that Ukraine will get a worthy response for its incursion into Russian territory and has vowed that Russian forces will kick the enemy out.
Around 2.3 billion in dollar and euro notes have been shipped to Russia despite the sanctions. The United States and the EU banned the export of their banknotes to Russia in March 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But Russia has been able to circumvent the sanctions that should block cash imports. Customs data which were obtained from a commercial supplier has shown that cash was transported to Russia from countries including the UAE and Turkey, who have not imposed restrictions on the trade with Russia. For more than half of the money, the country of origin was not stated. Russia labelled the dollar and euro as toxic when the sanctions were imposed in 2022.
The United States has sent a guided missile submarine and an aircraft carrier to the middle east as tensions in the region grow. Despite increasing fears of a wider regional conflict, and an international push for a deal to halt fighting in Gaza, Israel keeps up the strikes on Gaza, pressing on with operations near the southern city of Khan Younis. New evacuation orders have led to many families and displaced individuals streaming out of threatened areas. A new round of peace talks by Egypt and Qatar are planned for Thursday, although Hamas has reacted sceptically to it, saying that it has not seen any sign of movement from the Israeli side.
Greek authorities have tripled the number of firefighters to hundreds to contain a massive wildfire near Athens. Around 670 firefighters have been deployed, supported by 30 water-dropping planes and 180 vehicles. Thousands of residents on the outskirts of Athens have fled their homes. A spokesperson for the Greek fire department called the situation dangerous and added that the intensity of the blaze would still increase. France has provided a helicopter for up to twelve persons to help with evacuations, the Czech Republic is sending 75 firefighters and 25 vehicles, and more help is expected from Spain, Italy, Turkey and Canada. Greece has also requested that the EU activates its Civil Protection Mechanism to help fight the fire.
