Ukraine President Assassination Plot Foiled

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Morning everyone!

Kick check: Trying to get your hands on a pair of Nike Air Jordans?

The WSJ reports that organized criminal rings are attempting to steal the sneakers at almost every check point on their journey from the factory to your front door.

Watch your step 😉 And have a good one!

Mosheh, Jill, & Courtney

🗞 ZELENSKY DODGES LATEST ASSASSINATION PLOT

This month marks 18 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. As the war rages on, both sides are increasing their attacks deep inside the other nation—often with deadly consequences for civilians—and neither is getting any closer to victory.

THE LATEST: ZELENSKY ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Ukraine said Monday an alleged informant for Russia has been detained in connection with a plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukraine’s security service says it caught the woman “red-handed” as she “was trying to pass intelligence to the invaders.”

Here are the key details of the plot that Ukrainian authorities have revealed: 

• The informant was tasked with tracking Zelensky’s movements and sharing them with Russia, like the time and locations of the cities he planned on visiting.

• The suspected plot was supposed to unfold during Zelensky’s visit to Mykolaiv last month, where a planned airstrike was going to kill the president. But when Zelensky’s security agents were alerted to suspicious activity, they implemented additional safety measures that ultimately foiled the plot.

• The informant, who was not named, is a woman from southern Ukraine.

• She is a former saleswoman at a military shop.

• Some of her conversations with her Russian handlers are translated here.

ANOTHER ONE
Since the start of the war, President Zelensky has been the subject of several assassination attempts, all of which have been thwarted. One of the most chilling examples was on February 24, 2022 — just two days after the war began — when Russian troops stormed his presidential compound in Kyiv with the goal of either killing or capturing President Zelensky and his family. Zelensky ultimately ignored orders to evacuate, responding with the powerful line: “I need ammo, not a ride.”

STATUS UPDATE: THE COUNTEROFFENSIVE
Months into its long-awaited counteroffensive, Ukraine has little to show for it. Despite escalated attacks inside Russia, the lackluster counteroffensive has taken back less than 100 square miles of territory since it began earlier this summer — not nearly enough to turn the tide of the war.

Russia currently occupies about 62,000 square miles of the Ukraine—equivalent in size to the state of Michigan. While the Russian objective to take over the country has failed, the Ukrainians don’t have the forces to expel Putin’s forces. But Ukrainian troops insist it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and are confident they will prevail. All they ask for: weaponry and patience.

New York Times’ reporters spent two weeks with them to get their take on how the counteroffensive is going. For many of the troops, this was their first time in battle, and it was a brutal introduction. Their ranks took heavy casualties in the first days of the counteroffensive. But Ukraine says it had no choice.

THE POLITICS
The political stakes of the counteroffensive couldn’t be higher:

• With no major advances on either side of the war, some U.S. officials are growing frustrated at the slow pace of Ukraine’s military push.

• Ukraine fears unrealistic expectations set by the West could lead to fatigue, and play to Russia’s advantage if NATO allies eventually tire of providing military aid to Kyiv — and force Ukraine to agree to concede portions of their country to Putin in order to end the war.

• Americans’ interest in the war also appears to be dwindling as the war rages on:

  • In February of 2022, at the start of the war, 62% of Americans said the U.S. should do more to support Ukraine. Last month, nearly 18 months into the war, 48% of Americans still felt that way.

U.S. AID TO UKRAINE
Since the start of the war, the U.S. has directed $75+ billion in overall assistance to Ukraine. That includes humanitarian aid, financial aid, and military support.

• Although it’s equipped with Western weaponry like tanks, long-range missiles, and artillery ammunition, Ukraine says it is still significantly lacking in its air defense capabilities, including planes and drones.

  • Limited to ground operations, Ukraine says its forces become an easy target for Russian mines, barriers, and trenches.

• U.S. officials say the inadequate air defense makes victory for Ukraine basically impossible. “We wouldn’t do it (this way). We’ve never done it and yet we’re asking them to do it,” William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, told NBC News.

• The Biden administration has agreed to provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but it could be months before the jets are deployed in battle.

From weaponry and gear to humanitarian aid, here is a good break down of exactly where all of the U.S. money to Ukraine has been allocated.

ONE THING TO WATCH: WHERE IS THE WAGNER GROUP?
Potentially escalating things in Poland — a risky scenario the West is watching given Poland’s NATO membership. Last week the Polish PM said the Wagner Group was making moves along their border with Belarus.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨 NATION

📌 Historic glacial flooding in Alaska triggers evacuations (AXIOS)

📌 An under-the-radar election in Ohio is quietly emerging as one of the most high-stakes stress tests for American democracy (FIVE THIRTY EIGHT)

📌 Medical probe into whether police inaction contributed to any deaths in Uvalde shooting is at a standstill (KSAT)

📌 City workers plan to “shut down” Los Angeles for 24 hours starting today (LA MAGAZINE)

📌 Former Minneapolis officer sentenced to nearly 5 years for role in George Floyd's killing (USA TODAY)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Gold star families of U.S. service members lost in the Kabul airport bombing give their first-ever testimony on the Afghanistan withdrawal (FOX11)

• Watch the full testimony here (FOX BUSINESS)

📌 Several thousand people — their faces covered to conceal their identities — march through Haiti’s capital demanding protection from violent gangs as killings and kidnappings soar (AP)

📌 Bear escapes from crate in plane’s cargo hold at Dubai airport (GUARDIAN)

💵 BUSINESS & TECH

📌 Tesla CFO steps down ahead of Cybertruck launch (WSJ)

📌 Elon Musk says he may need surgery before proposed ‘cage match’ with Mark Zuckerberg (AP)

📌 COVID vaccine makers stocks crash to multi-year lows as sales slide (FORBES)

📌 It’s iced coffee season all year now. At Starbucks, cold drinks made up 75% of U.S. beverage sales last quarter… just five years ago they made up less than half (CNN BUSINESS)

🎥 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Beyoncé pays DC Metro $100,000 to stay open an extra hour amid Renaissance tour weather delays (E! NEWS)

📌 Summer camp: sun, swimming, and… therapy? As America grapples with a mental-health crisis, summer camps are looking more closely at the children in their care. (NYTIMES)

📌 The woman who had an epical meltdown over a “not real” passenger on her flight has been identified (NYPOST)

@knuckelslawncare

#drunkonaplane

🗓 ON THIS DAY: AUGUST 8

• 1945: The United States, The Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France designed the London Agreement, which authorized the Nuremberg trials, in which former Nazi leaders were indicted and tried as war criminals by the International Military Tribunal.

• 1969: The iconic cover for the Beatles album ‘Abbey Road’ was photographed by Iain Macmillan outside of EMI Recording Studios in London

• 1974: Faced with the near-certain prospect of impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, U.S. President Richard Nixon announced his resignation and was succeeded by Gerald Ford the following day.

• 1981: Happy birthday to a tennis legend: Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, regarded as one of the sport's greatest players, was born 42 years ago.