August 3, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine has moved here.

A satellite image shows black smoke still rising from the site of a purported Russian drone strike on port infrastructure in southwestern Ukraine, more than 24 hours after Ukrainian authorities reported the attack.

The image, taken Thursday morning by the company BlackSky, shows the smoke rising in a port area along the Danube River in the city of Izmail, near the border with Romania.

It appears four large tanks were hit.

Meanwhile, Russian officials said seven Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow.

Here are other headlines you should know:

On the ground: The United Nations warned about the impact of a "new wave of attacks" on civilians in Ukraine, including aid workers, in a statement Thursday. Ukrainian officials continue to cool expectations for the progress of the counteroffensive as fighting is still concentrated in two parts of the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said on Ukrainian television Wednesday that there were no deadlines for Ukraine's counteroffensive. A shopping center and hospital were damaged during shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Thursday, according to a Telegram post from the Kherson regional military administration.

Warnings from Poland and Lithuania: Wagner mercenaries who have moved from Russia to Belarus may try to destabilize NATO's eastern flank, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda warned Thursday. Morawiecki also warned of "further provocations and intrigues" that may arise from the other side of his country's eastern border with Belarus and Russia, amid growing tensions between Warsaw and Minsk.

Russia's economy: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a combination of military spending and domestic demand is driving the Russian economy, with employment in manufacturing stable at 10 million people — the same as in 2021. Two-thirds of the growth in industrial production was being provided by the defense, and consumer demand was responsible for the other one-third, he said during a meeting with industry leaders at the Kremlin on Thursday.

Dnipro dam recovery: Ukrainian officials have given details of a large pipeline being built to supply water to communities affected by the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam on the river Dnipro in June. According to Oleksandr Kubrakov, the minister in charge of infrastructure, the goal is to launch the project's first link by the end of the month.

Sanctions and fines: The European Council adopted new sanctions and further restrictive measures Thursday in response to Belarus' involvement in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission said in a statement. Also, Russia fined Apple for failing to delete war-related content in a podcast, state news agency TASS reported Thursday. 

Lethal cooperation: The US has concerns that North Korea is considering providing lethal aid to Russia, with American intel showing the Kremlin is looking to increase military cooperation between the two nations to help Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to John Kirby, the US National Security Council's strategic communications coordinator.

The US has concerns that North Korea is considering providing lethal aid to Russia, with American intel showing the Kremlin is looking to increase military cooperation between the two nations to help Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to John Kirby, the US National Security Council's strategic communications coordinator.

“Our information indicates that Russia is seeking to increase military cooperation with the (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) such as through DPRK’s sale of artillery munitions, again, to Russia,” Kirby said. 

The comments come after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently visited North Korea as part of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice. 

During Shoigu's visit last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gave him a tour of a defense exposition in Pyongyang, with images from North Korean media showing them walking past an array of weaponry, from Pyongyang’s nuclear-capable ballistic missiles to its newest drones.

At a state reception for Shoigu and the Russian delegation, in a reference to the war in Ukraine, North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam expressed Pyongyang’s full support “for the just struggle of the Russian army and people to defend the sovereignty and security of the country,” according to a report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned Thursday of "further provocations and intrigues" that may arise from the other side of his country's eastern border with Belarus and Russia, amid growing tensions between Warsaw and Minsk.

On July 29, Morawiecki said more than 100 Wagner mercenaries have moved towards a thin strip of land between Poland and Lithuania, known as the Suwalki gap or corridor, and that this was “a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory.”  Morawiecki also said Wagner mercenaries may try to pose as migrants in order to cross from Belarus into Poland.

On Thursday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko denied Poland's claims that about 100 of the fighters have moved closer to the Polish border and said Poland should "thank him" for "inviting these fighters to our place," because "otherwise, without us, they would have infiltrated there."

Belarus and Poland both summoned their respective ambassadors on Tuesday, after Poland alleged two Belarusian helicopters have violated its airspace. Poland announced it will increase the number of soldiers along its border with Belarus because of the alleged violation.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blasczak also warned of further provocations from Belarus and said the recent “hybrid attacks” are “coordinated in the Kremlin.” He claimed that the goal of these attacks is to destabilize Poland, and the country is increasing its forces on the border with Belarus to prevent that destabilization.

Russia has carried out offensive actions along the entire eastern front line Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Zelensky listed the cities of Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Marinka and Avdiivka — which dot the eastern front from north to south — as among the most contested frontline areas. He said fighting is also heavy on the southern front.

“But no matter what the enemy does, it is the Ukrainian forces that dominate,” he claimed. 

Ukrainian commander Maksym Zhorin said Thursday that “extremely difficult daily battles are taking place near Bakhmut," adding that experienced Russian units are being sent there to stop the Ukrainian advance.

Zhorin said that Russia still considers the battered eastern city of Bakhmut an important area that "can be used to launch an offensive."  

Iranian drones: Zelensky also said Russia has attacked Ukraine with a total of 1,961 Iranian-made drones since Moscow invaded his country in February 2022, adding that “a significant number of them have been shot down.”

In late July, US intelligence officials warned that Russia is building a drone-manufacturing facility in the country with Iran’s help that could have a significant impact on the war once completed.

A satellite image shows black smoke still rising from the site of a purported Russian drone strike on port infrastructure in southwestern Ukraine, more than 24 hours after Ukrainian authorities reported the attack.

The image, taken Thursday morning by the company BlackSky, shows the smoke rising in a port area along the Danube River in the city of Izmail, near the border with Romania. It appears four large tanks were hit.

Ukraine's defense ministry said Wednesday that overnight drone strikes were responsible for damage to the port. It's located near the larger port city of Odesa, which has been pummeled by Russian attacks after Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said recent strikes on the Odesa region's port infrastructure are an attack on “global food security” and has called on the international community to intervene.

The Danube port attack also earned strong condemnation from the Romanian president, given its proximity to his country's territory. Romania is part of NATO.

A shopping center and hospital were damaged during shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Thursday, according to a Telegram post from the Kherson regional military administration.

"The occupiers have been shelling the city center all day long. (...) A shopping center and a medical facility were hit," according to the post.

The United Nations warned about the impact of a "new wave of attacks" on civilians in Ukraine, including aid workers, in a statement Thursday. 

The statement included two examples from this week.

On Monday, four aid workers from the Ukrainian nongovernmental organization Misto Syly were wounded when they came under fire while clearing debris left by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, according to the UN.

Then on Thursday, rescue workers from the Ukrainian State Emergency Service were wounded due to "hostilities" when extinguishing a fire in a church that had just been hit in Kherson.

The UN emphasized that under international humanitarian law, “homes, hospitals, schools, places of worship and other critical civilian infrastructure as well as civilians, including aid workers, should be protected.” 

The European Council adopted new sanctions and further restrictive measures on Thursday in response to Belarus' involvement in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission said in a statement. 

"The new measures create a closer alignment of EU sanctions targeting Russia and Belarus and will help to ensure that Russian sanctions cannot be circumvented through Belarus," the council said.

The changes align the Belarus sanctions with those applied to Russia, according to the council.

"The EU stands united in its solidarity with Ukraine, and will continue to support Ukraine and its people together with its international partners, including through additional political, financial, military and humanitarian support for as long as necessary," according to the statement.

The individual sanctions include penitentiary officials, who the European Council says are “responsible for the torture and ill-treatment of detainees, including political prisoners, prominent propagandists,” as well as judicial branch members “involved in prosecuting and sentencing democratic opponents, members of civil society and journalists.”

The entities targeted are state-owned enterprises that, according to the European Council, have “taken measures against employees or dismissed them for participating in peaceful protests and strikes.”

Some background: Poland said it will deploy more troops at the border with Belarus after it accused Minsk of violating its airspace, raising tensions between the NATO member and key Kremlin ally.

The move comes amid increased activity near a thin strip of land between Poland and Lithuania, known as the Suwalki gap or corridor, which troops from the Russian mercenary group Wagner are moving toward in an apparent attempt to increase pressure on NATO and EU members.

CNN's Jessie Gretener contributed to this report.