‘It Feels Like Being in Kindergarten’ – Ukraine at War Update for July 23

US Vice President Kamala Harris is gaining steam toward her Democratic Party’s nomination for president, now that Joe Biden has dropped his re-election bid. Her campaign reported on Monday that it has raised $81 million from donors over 24 hours, in addition to the $96 million war chest belonging to the Biden-Harris campaign she likely will inherit.

[A major Democratic political action committee (PAC), Future Forward, reported contributions of $150 million on Monday over that same period.]

Harris also secured the endorsements of the major Democratic players across the country, including a lineup of high-profile state governors, some of whom many had suspected of challenging her for the nomination.

On Monday, former Speaker of the House and Democratic luminary Nancy Pelosi of California endorsed Harris, as did Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Pennsylvania Gov. Joe Shapiro, all of whom had been seen as contenders for the nomination, and remain potential VP selections.

They were joined by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a vocal leader within the party but never suspected of entering the race, as well as a handful of other prominent governors and senators.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both Democrats of New York, were widely expected to announce their endorsements of Harris on Monday, but instead in a joint statement said only that she is “off to a great start” and are preparing to meet with her “shortly.”

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Russia Claims Capture of Two More East Ukraine Villages

Russia has accelerated its advance across eastern Ukraine in recent months, looking to secure as much territory as possible before US President-elect Donald Trump comes to power in January.

While it is still premature to coronate Harris as the Democratic nominee, several states’ delegates to the Democratic National Convention (to be held in Chicago in August) have already voiced their support, and any serious challenge from within the party is looking unlikely. For example, one figure that had surfaced as a potential rival in the past, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, has endorsed Harris as well.

At a fundraiser for Harris over the weekend, the cabinet member and fellow 2020 candidate described the vice president as “the right person to take up the torch, defeat Donald Trump, and succeed Joe Biden as President.”

If Harris wins the nomination, she would become the first African-American woman and Asian-American woman to top the ticket in a US presidential election. She is the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, who were political activists in the San Francisco Bay area. Harris earned her law degree from the University of California and eventually became California’s attorney general before her election as US senator in 2016.

Budapest continues to hold up EU aid to Kyiv

As it did with the last round of EU funding for Ukraine, Hungary refused to unlock the next tranche of the European Peace Facility (EPF) destined for Kyiv, a spokesman for the government in Budapest told Reuters on Monday.

“Hungary does not agree with the fact that the European Union, along with other existing tools, uses the European Peace Facility solely [about] Ukraine as this does not allow sufficient funds to be channeled to promote the EU’s interests in other areas,” its government office said in an email response to Reuters.

So far, according to calculations from Ukrainska Pravda, Budapest has blocked approximately €6 billion of funding for Ukraine’s military aid from the EPF.

“Most member states insisted on the need to lift the blockage on this payment pending for months, for a year,” said the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell. “And at the same time, they stressed the importance regarding the decision to implement a new Ukrainian assistance fund which has been blocked by one member state for more than one year.”

The EPF was created in 2021 to help prevent nearby conflicts, build peace, and strengthen international security. The spokesperson’s office in Budapest added that some of the money could be used in the Balkans or North Africa instead.

Hungary, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU at the moment, has become a thorn in the side of the 27-member bloc. Most recently, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been ruffling feathers in Brussels by making unsanctioned trips to Moscow and Beijing to discuss peace proposals without any input from the Union he purports to represent.

This behavior “has to have some consequences,” Borrell said after the unauthorized “peace missions.”

“We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal” to Hungary, he said.

That signal came on Monday as the EU officially changed the venue of a foreign affairs summit from Budapest to Brussels.

Feeling the sting of that slap in the face, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó shot back on Facebook, “I don't want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but it feels like being in kindergarten.”

Ever since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine started in 2022, Hungary has refused to provide any military equipment to its neighbor to the east. The EU has made concessions to Budapest that none of Hungary’s share of contributions will go directly to military aid there., but tensions run deeper: Hungary has been in a dispute with the EU for more than a year over recovery funds for Budapest that it refuses to release until Orban’s government takes on rampant corruption.

Czechia joins drone coalition for Ukraine

The Latvian Defense Ministry announced on Monday that Czechia has officially joined the international coalition of countries supplying drones for Ukraine’s defense, led by Latvia and the United Kingdom. This brings the number of member countries to 16.

“The Czech Republic joined the drone coalition for Ukraine led by Latvia and the United Kingdom after its delegation signed a memorandum of understanding during NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington, D.C, on Thursday, 11 July,” the report said.

The Latvian minister also announced that 500 drones were being prepared for shipment immediately.

Other member states include Australia, Denmark, France, Estonia, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, Germany and Sweden.

In June, the coalition announced a new common funding pool of €45 million ($48.8 million) to provide first-person-view (FPV) drones to Kyiv quickly, setting a goal of sending 1 million of them.

“Every member state of the coalition can make a significant contribution to Ukraine’s efforts and also support the development of their national industry at the same time,” Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds said.