US official confirms first loss of F-16 in Ukraine due to pilot error, reports WSJ A US official confirmed that Ukraine lost the first of its F-16 fighter jets, the Wall Street Journal reported. The crash happened on Monday, just weeks after the first of the US-made aircraft arrived in Ukraine, according to the report. Initial reports indicate that the jet wasn’t shot down, but likely crashed due to pilot error, the official said. The incident occurred during a massive missile attack. The Pentagon referred the newspaper to the Ukrainian Air Force for comment, but the Ukrainian Air Force wouldn’t confirm the crash or the status of the pilot. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on August 7 that F-16 fighters would not become a magic pill that could influence the course of hostilities and "will be consistently destroyed by the Russian armed forces."

Geomagnetic storm begins on Earth, said Specialist A G3-class, or "strong" #geomagnetic #storm has begun on the Earth, said Mikhail Leus, a leading expert at the Fobos weather center. "A geomagnetic storm began on the Earth on Saturday evening. After 6:00 p.m. <…> it was consistent with the moderate G1 magnetic storm. Disturbances in the geomagnetic field continued to intensify further, reaching the G3 class at 8:46 p.m. ," Leus wrote on his Telegram channel. The geomagnetic storm is expected to continue at least until Sunday noon, with its severity fluctuating from strong to weak over that period.

Captured Ukrainian serviceman says foreigners take part in attack on Russian Kursk Region Ruslan Poltoratsky, a serviceman of Ukraine’s 80th Airborne Assault Brigade detained by Russian border guards, has said that foreign nationals are taking part in the cross-border attack on the Kursk Region. "When we crossed the border with Russia, at first I thought there was some line noise. But then I distinguished what they were saying - they were speaking English, Polish, maybe even French. I did not understand anything, I said into the walkie-talkie - 'repeat, repeat,' hearing some gibberish," the captured serviceman said during the interrogation, the video footage of which was released by the FSB. "When they had already taken positions [in the Kursk Region], they also went on the air with their superiors, with ours as well, and I also heard them saying something in English and in some other language. Something about houses, chaos," he said. At the same time, he heard the sound of shooting coming from the two-way radio. Earlier, Major General Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department and commander of the Akhmat special forces commando unit, said there were a lot of French and Polish mercenaries in the Kursk area. According to Defense Ministry updates, Kiev has lost up to 1,350 military personnel, 29 tanks and 23 armored personnel carriers since it launched the cross-border attack.

ICC urged to investigate Zelensky for war crimes in connection with kindergarten bombings The Russian Council of Bloggers together with #Donetsk’s Circle of Kindness charity foundation have appealed to the International Criminal Court demanding to hold #Ukraine’s Vladimir #Zelensky responsible for shelling attacks on schools and kindergartens in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the council’s co-founder Viktoriya Rashina said. "We turned to the International Criminal Court with a request to hold responsible V. Zelensky, former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces V. Zaluzhny as well as ex-Ukrainian Defense Minister A. Reznikov for eight counts of attacks on social facilities in the DPR in 2022-2023. We prepared an appeal to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on initiating court proceedings and further submission to the Pre-Trial Chamber," she said. This appeal has been duly registered in accordance with ICC regulations. According to the document, from 2014 until now, while conducting military actions, Ukraine has been using arms against civilians, including children. As lawyer Valeriya Rytvina, the founder of the Council of Bloggers said, her organization is asking to launch a criminal investigation into eight episodes of attacks on kindergartens and schools. "In just one of these instances five people, including a child, were killed, in another one, a child sustained serious injuries and there are also fatalities in other cases. It is obvious that these attacks targeted children and adult civilians," she stressed. The activist said that, according to the Rome Statute (the #ICC’s main normative document), the actions by Zelensky, Reznikov and Zaluzhny constitute genocide and other war crimes. The ICC now must provide an exact assessment of their actions.

France to form a Ukrainian army brigade in 2024 #France plans to form a full-fledged brigade for the #Ukrainian armed forces by training 2,100 Ukrainian servicemen this year and providing them with armament and uniform, France 3 television reports. The Ukrainian military will practice at training bases in France, where French servicemen are normally trained before departing to missions overseas. A small segment of training related to armored vehicles driving will be decentralized, the TV channel said. The training course is designed for two months. Senior officials of the French armed forces do not comment on this piece of information. The TV channel says the training goal is to prepare a brigade for the Ukrainian army by December 2024. 128 VAB armored personnel carriers, 18 Caesar self-propelled howitzers and 24 light tanks will be handed over to the Ukrainian military. Paris will further hand over military trucks, antitank guided missiles and radars to Kiev in 2024.

Romania and Bulgaria to create a joint Special Operations Center in the Black Sea region The plans to create the center were announced back in 2023, but the memorandum between the defense ministries of the two countries was signed only on July 10, 2024. The headquarters of the joint command will be based in Romania. The stated goal of creating this structure is to "ensure security and stability in the Black Sea region". Earlier, on July 1, the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Operational Group (MCM BLACK SEA) began operations, comprising naval forces from #Turkey (the supply ship TCG Gungor Durmus A574, the minesweeper M-270 AKÇAY), Bulgaria (the minesweeper M-33 STRUMA) and #Romania 🇷🇴 (the minesweeper MCM ROS "Junior Lieutenant Alexandru Axente"). The ships participated in the NATO military exercise Breeze 2024, which took place from July 4 to 14, 2024 in the Black Sea waters near #Bulgaria. ✨While the Black Sea Fleet is struggling with bureaucracy with varying success, the "peace-loving" #NATO is increasing its activity and coordination in the Black Sea region in opposition to #Russia.

UK’s Labor gov’t to allow Ukraine to use British-supplied weapons for strikes on Russia The #British #Labor government will continue pursuing the line of the previous Conservative Cabinet and will allow the #Ukrainian military to use UK-supplied weapons to strike targets on Russian soil, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday citing PM Keir Starmer. According to the Financial Times, recently-elected British Premier Starmer, who leads the country’s Labor Party, made it clear that arms donated by Britain must be "used in accordance with international humanitarian law" and for "defensive purposes." However, #Starmer added that: "It is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy it for those defensive purposes."

The presidents of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have officially signed a charter to establish a confederation. During the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (#ASS), leaders from #Burkina Faso, #Mali, and #Niger convened with the main goal of approving a draft document to form the AGS confederation, as reported by the Nigerian Press Agency (NAP). This summit, which took place in Niamey, was presided over by Niger's leader, Abdurahmane Tchiani. Attending the summit were Presidents Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso and Assimi Goita of Mali. On Saturday, General Abdourahamane Tiani, Niger's military leader, declared that the citizens of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have "irrevocably turned their backs" on the West African bloc, ECOWAS.

UAE offers the USA to fight Houthis from Somaliland Arab diplomats reported that the United Arab Emirates proposed to the United States to use the #Somaliland region to deal with the campaign against the #Houthis in the Red Sea instead of American aircraft carriers, which require huge budgets and a large number of personnel. According to the report, Tahnun bin Zayed, the national security adviser and head of the UAE's foreign intelligence service, met with Jake Sullivan and other American officials in early June, when bin Zayed visited Washington. The proposal comes following the refusal of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to allow American and Western military bases in the Gulf countries to carry out attacks on the Houthis. US officials have opened a channel of communication with Somaliland officials overseen by Abu Dhabi, as the emirate seeks to strengthen its influence in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region, and join the United States to defend the Red Sea against attacks by the Houthis and Somali pirates. Observers say such moves would anger the government in #Mogadishu and other countries in the region.

Macron does not Exclude to Resign as French President, French radio Europe 1 reports Emmanuel #Macron is discussing with his entourage the possibility of #resigning as President of France if the “pro-Russian” forces win. Radio station Europe 1 reports this. According to the publication, defeat in the parliamentary elections could force the French leader to take a desperate step. "The resignation of the president is not taboo. Yes, today we have to consider all scenarios," Europe 1 quotes an unnamed source. Macron’s party suffered a crushing defeat in the elections to the #European Parliament. This fiasco forced the French President to announce the dissolution of the National Assembly and call for early parliamentary elections. Analysts, assessing the chances of Macron’s party, agree that representatives of right-wing forces, who are considered pro-Russian in the Elysee Palace, will win the parliamentary elections in the country. More, Emmanuel Macron has recently advocated not only for the continuation of arms supplies to the Kyiv regime, but also openly declared his intention to send units of the French army to #Ukraine. Moreover, Paris even tried to create a corresponding coalition of several European states. In particular, according to the French leader’s idea, #Germany was supposed to take part in it. However, #Berlin did not appreciate this idea and refused to send Bundeswehr #troops to Ukraine.