Russia

• Pres. Lukashenko told reporters that Yevgeny Prigozhin has left Belarus and is back in Russia - specifically in St. Petersberg.
• Lukashenko didn't elaborate on the reasons Prigozhin left exile for a place where he probably has a target on his back, but there doesn't seem to be any acrimony between Lukashenko and Prigozhin: Lukashenko said he still hopes Prigozhin will keep some Wagner fighters in Belarus to train the regular army.

Ukraine

• A Russian missile strike on Lviv in western Ukraine killed at least four people and caused significant damage to the city's civilian infrastructure. Many displaced Ukrainians fled to Lviv and the city has been mostly unscathed so far in the war; strikes like this are unusual.
• The Economist wrote that Ukrainian drones are "essentially disposable:" the average drone lasts just six flights and Ukraine is losing 10,000 drones per month.

China

• China announced it will restrict exports of some products containing gallium and germanium metals. As with many scarce minerals, China controls a substantial slice of global supply: 60% of world germanium production and 80% of world gallium production.
• Separately, Hong Kong's pro-Beijing legislature approved another blow to the island's democracy: now only 88 of its 470 seats will be directly elected, with the remaining 382 chosen by Beijing loyalists.

Iran

• The U.S. Navy said its boats intervened to block two Iranian attempts to seize oil tankers yesterday. According to Central Command, Iran has "harassed, attacked, or seized" almost 20 foreign-flagged commercial ships since 2021.

West Bank

• Israel said its current round of raids against Palestinian militants in Jenin is over, but this certainly isn't a de-escalation and both sides expect more rounds of raids.

Other News

• Colombia's army and its largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army, agreed to a ceasefire that starts August 3. Both sides then agreed to avoid attacks until the formal start date.