Kushner meets with Hamas leader, warehouses are burning in Russia – daily digest

Kushner meets Hamas leader, warehouses burn in Russia – daily digest

**US-Korea drills to be cut short**

On August 16, Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to "significantly reduce" the 10-day joint military exercises with South Korea. The US president explained this decision by the high cost of the exercises and Seoul's refusal to participate in actions against Iran.

A few hours before the start of the exercises, Trump posted on his Truth Social network, expressing his "not happy" that the US had agreed to participate in the exercises. He also noted that he has a "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Given that I have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, I am unhappy that the United States has already agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea," Trump wrote.

For information, the joint military exercises "Ulchi Freedom Shield" with the participation of about 18 thousand South Korean military personnel were planned to be held from August 17 to 27. The exercises are expected to include countering drones, disrupting GPS signals and cyberattacks. The South Korean side reported that the exercises began on August 17 as planned, but refused to comment on Trump's statements.

**Kushner meets with Hamas leader**

US President Donald Trump's special representative and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with representatives of the Hamas leadership in Egypt as part of the implementation of the peace plan for the Gaza Strip.

According to Axios, the negotiations between Kushner and Hamas representatives lasted about 90 minutes. Sources assessed the conversation as "very productive." The main issue was focused on Hamas's implementation of its commitments to disarm. Kushner said it was important for Hamas leaders to make these commitments. He told Hamas leaders that if they wanted Israel to implement the measures outlined in the agreement, they would have to take concrete steps toward disarmament.

According to Axios, the talks were attended by the director general of the "Peace Council" Nickolay Mladenov, former British prime minister and council member Tony Blair, as well as senior advisers to the council Are Lightstone and Liran Tankman.

The head of the movement's political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya, was present on the Hamas side. The meeting was also attended by the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Directorate, Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi, and an unnamed senior Turkish official.

The talks noted that the concept of disarmament is not limited to the transfer of weapons. According to Axios, Hamas is also expected to hand over control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian technocratic government and guarantee that it will not play any role in the future governance of the sector.

**Tragedy in Zimbabwe**

At least 84 people have died after a ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. Police said the search for the missing is ongoing. The vessel was sailing from Kariba to the fishing village of Chalala. 77 people have been rescued.

Local rescue services and police units are working in an emergency mode in the area where the disaster occurred. Officials are continuing to recover the bodies of the deceased and identify them. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the ship's capsize. According to initial reports, strong winds and waves caused the tragedy.

**Warehouses on fire in Russia**

Ukrainian drones attacked 16 Russian regions and Crimea on the night of August 16. Five people were killed in the attack in the Rostov region.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that the Kamensky plant in the city of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Rostov region, was hit - an enterprise of the Russian defense-industrial complex that produces the Uragan, Smerch and Tornado-S rocket launchers, as well as a number of other missile systems and solid fuel for aircraft.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that from the evening of August 15 to the morning of August 16, 600 drones were launched in the direction of the Moscow region.

The drone strike in Podolsk caused a fire at the Wildberries warehouse in the Koledino industrial park. This is at least the second time that the complex has been attacked. The previous attack took place on July 20.

Ukrainian monitoring channels have released videos showing the extent of the fire at the warehouse and thick smoke rising. According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the country's armed forces have taken out seven of Wildberries' 10 largest logistics centers, with the warehouse in Koledino being the largest in terms of area.

Russia also attacked Kiev, as well as the Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions, with drones and missiles overnight.

The book market near the Pochaina metro station in Kiev was hit. Several rows of shopping pavilions were set on fire in the attack. Other shops selling textiles, jewelry, clothing and shoes were also damaged. The Suspіlne TV channel reported that the entrance to the metro station was also damaged.

The book market has existed here for about 30 years. Initially, the market was called Petrovka, after the metro station of the same name, but it was later renamed as part of decommunization.