‘But Three Years Later, Ukraine Is Still Free!’ – Ukraine at War Update for Aug. 20

At the kick-off to the four-day Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday night, US President Joe Biden passed the party’s torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, as an electrified crowd awaited the coronation of the nation’s first black woman as any party’s presidential nominee.

As the final speaker on opening night, Biden received resounding ovations for his 50-plus years of service to the country and gratitude for stepping away from the campaign trail due to his age. In what sounded like a State of the Union address, he listed the accomplishments of his and Harris’ administration, particularly the expansion of NATO to include Sweden and Finland and standing up to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

“Putin thought he’d take Kyiv in three days,” Biden bellowed to the crowd. “But three years later, Ukraine is still free!”

The roster of speakers on the convention’s first night was largely an A-list of the party’s leading women, including Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, First Lady Jill Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who until this week was the only woman to earn the party’s nomination for the top of the ticket.

Most of the remarks at Monday night’s event, carrying the theme “For the People,” centered around the struggles of the middle and working classes in America. A fiery speech from Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, who was serving omelets at a New York restaurant before she was elected to Congress, was one of many to focus on Harris’ middle-class background and childhood with a single working mother.

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With estimates that the number of North Korean troops now supporting Russian efforts has grown to 12,000, the US and its allies have condemned the deployment.

Clinton focused her remarks on women breaking the glass ceiling in politics, but aside from her quick zinger that “Kamala won’t be sending any love letters to dictators,” neither the former Secretary of State nor any of the speakers other than Biden offered many remarks about the war in Ukraine or foreign policy in general.

As crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters breached the security gates outside the United Center, only Ocasio-Cortez offered a brief mention of the war in Gaza. Later, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas made a quick reference to Harris’ support for aid to Kyiv, while pastor and Georgia senator Raphael Warnock remembered the children of Ukraine.

There is no specific night of the convention dedicated to foreign policy, although the next three days will bring to the stage such party icons as former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Chuck Schumer of New York.

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota is expected to accept his party’s nomination to be vice president on Wednesday, while Harris will have the honor on Thursday evening.

President tells ambassadors to push for international support for long-range-weapons use

At a meeting of Ukraine’s diplomats on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) now control nearly 100 settlements in Russia’s Kursk region and called on his embassy chiefs around the world to build more support for Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles in Russia.

At a symposium called “Wartime Diplomacy: Resilience, Weapons, Victory,” Zelensky said: “As of today, our forces control over 1,250 square kilometers of the enemy’s territory and 92 settlements. The strengthening of our positions, the stabilization of designated areas, and the replenishment of the exchange fund for Ukraine are ongoing.”

“We have already captured the largest number of Russian prisoners in a single operation, and this is a significant result, this is one of our goals, and our actions continue,” he said.

At the gathering in Dnipro, the President forwarded the message that if the West had not imposed restrictions on the use of weapons on Russian territory, “we would not need to physically enter Kursk Oblast to protect our Ukrainian citizens in the border communities and eliminate Russia’s potential for aggression... Russian military bases, Russian military airfields, Russian logistics, and other military facilities, whose existence allows Putin to evade the peace efforts, are legitimate targets for our Defense Forces.”

Zelensky said this was “a key defense decision that... primarily concerns the work of our diplomats, you, and other Ukrainian representatives in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and in those countries that can either make the decision themselves or influence partners to resolve the issue of long-range capabilities.”