Ukraine Pushes Into Russia, Presidential Campaign Update, Olympics Near End

0:02It's been busy, busy, busy on the track, in the ring, on the hardwood, on the mats, all sorts of places where competitors face off. A crescendo of competition as the Olympic Games head into tomorrow's closing ceremony. I'm Scott Simon. I'm Aisha Roscoe, and this is Up First from NPR News. 10 ,000 athletes, two weeks of victory, near victory, and drama. We'll have the latest from Paris. And we have the latest from the campaign trail. Kamala Harris met crowds in Arizona. Donald Trump rallied last night in Montana. And the battle lines in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Our shifting will tell you where.

0:43So stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.

0:52This message comes from NPR sponsor, Walmart. Did you know that Walmart is one of Fortune's 100 best companies to work for in 2025? It's no surprise. Walmart is investing$1 billion in training and development to help associates build lasting careers with or without a degree. In fact, 75 % of Walmart management started in hourly rolls. With benefits like health care, paid parental leave, and tuition support, Walmart isn't just a place to work, it's a place to grow. Learn more at walmart.com slash spark. First up today, Ukraine, or rather Russia. Ukrainian forces shocked Moscow this week by doing something they hadn't done before, launching a substantial invasion into Russia itself.

1:43Ukraine's cross-border incursion into western Russia is now on its fifth day. Russian forces appear to be struggling to mount an effective counterattack. NPR's Greg Meirey is in Kiev. Greg, thanks for being with us. Hi, Scott. How did Ukraine manage this, sending a large ground force straight across the Russian border in the middle of a war? Yeah, Ukraine clearly identified a vulnerable spot on Russia's western border. Russia clearly wasn't paying attention, and Ukraine sent these ground troops rumbling across its northeastern border in armored vehicles, nothing hidden here, into western Russia on Tuesday morning.

2:20The Ukrainian forces are at least six miles or so inside Russia's Kursk region, and we're getting all sorts of reports that small units may have penetrated much deeper. The Ukrainians are operating in or have taken control of numerous villages in at least one town. Videos on social media show a burned-out column of Russian military vehicles, dozens of Russian soldiers surrendering, large numbers of Russian civilians fleeing by car. Now, neither Russia nor Ukraine is saying much, so we're trying to put this together like a jigsaw puzzle where we only have a small number of the pieces. Just a week ago, we were talking about the Russian offensive in Ukraine.

3:04How's Russia responding now that it's on the defensive? Well, in a word, struggling. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been holding meetings with top national security officials at the Kremlin. Some of this has been televised in an attempt to reassure Russians. And the military officials are telling Putin that troop reinforcements are on the way, that they're defeating the Ukrainians and they'll regain control of the border very soon. Putin is clearly unhappy in some of this video, and these reports appear to be way too rosy. Russian military bloggers are saying the fighting is not going well for Russia.

3:41They describe the Russian response as chaotic, the panicked civilians are fleeing, and the Ukrainians seem to just keep attacking. Do we know what Ukraine's goal is with this high-risk operation? You know, Scott, we don't. What we have right now is just a lot of speculation. Now, in remarks, in his nightly address, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said, quote, Russia brought war to our land and should feel what it's done. So there's definitely this psychological component of what's going on the offensive, raising morale in Ukraine, which has indeed happened, and putting Russia on the defensive, which has also happened.

4:24Now, we only have hints of the possible military strategy here. I spoke with one of Zelensky's top advisors this week. His name is Mihailo Podolak. He said Russia has been attacking from these border areas without fear of retaliation on Russian territory, and that needs to change. Here he is speaking through an interpreter. We have to push them back in some areas if we want to make those areas safe for us. And we are creating this buffer zone. So I would just add, Scott, that it could be extremely difficult to hold on to Russian territory if the Russians make a big push to get it back, which they seem to be doing.

5:02And Greg, how's the fighting inside Ukraine going? Yeah, Ukraine is still on the defensive at home, and it's struggling to halt or at least limit a Russian offensive in the eastern Donbass region. The Russian forces have seized a number of villages in recent weeks, making it one of their more successful ground operations in well over a year. The Russians just send wave after wave of troops towards Ukrainian lines, and they've been suffering massive losses with these attacks, but they have advanced. And Scott, we're just at this rare moment in the war where both the Russians and Ukrainians are on the offensive at the same time, though obviously in different places.

5:41And Piers Grig-Mirey in Kiev, thanks so much for being with us. Sure thing, Scott.

5:51Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have been barnstorming the country this week, rallying with supporters in key swing states. The Harris-Walls ticket is only three weeks old, and the candidates are moving at breakneck speed as Democrats prepare for the party's convention later this month. And Pierre Whitehouse correspondent Deepa Shiveram has been traveling with Harris. She joins us now from Phoenix. Deepa, thanks for being with us. Thanks for having me. Busy few days. Campaigns trying to introduce the ticket in all those swing states. What kind of reception?

6:25I mean, so far, Harris and Walls have been greeted with this huge jolt of energy. I mean, in Phoenix last night, there were almost 20 ,000 people in the arena. In Detroit, 15 ,000 people came to a rally at an airport hangar. And, you know, Harris was already starting to gather large crowds in places like Atlanta and Milwaukee before she announced Governor Walls as her running mate. But since he joined the ticket just on Tuesday, it's brought on this extra wave of intrigue from people, many of whom hadn't heard of Walls before, but are learning about his record as a former teacher and coach and elected leader, of course, in Minnesota.

7:04And so far, how has he fared into that kind of increased scrutiny? I mean, right, big change for Governor Walls in just one week, right? He comes across as a very enthusiastic partner to Harris. You know, he's been talking about bringing joy into the campaign, reminding crowds that there are only about three months left until Election Day. And he keeps saying, you know, quote, we can sleep when we're dead. And, you know, keep in mind, this is a pretty critical time for the campaign because polling shows that most Americans don't really know anything about Walls. And there's sort of this race from Democrats on one side and Republicans on the other to define him as quickly as they can.

7:42Republicans are trying to attack him on his military record. Meanwhile, Democrats are highlighting his background growing up in Nebraska and in rural America. And, you know, it's a stark contrast from Harris, who grew up from, you know, Oakland, California. But something Harris has emphasized this week is that despite their differences, they do have a lot in common. Seemingly worlds apart, but the same people raised us. Good people. Hardworking people. people who had pride in their hard work. And that was her speaking to union workers in Detroit on Thursday. And, you know, that's kind of been the similar message.

8:19She's been taking other stops, too. Interesting you point out all the interest in trying to get a handle on Governor Walz, because a lot of voters also would like to know more about Kamala Harris and what her policies will be if they will differ much from President Biden's. Yeah, I mean, that has been a really big question this week. They had to get through this VP process, but I think you will see more of a focus on defined policy ideas coming down the pipeline. Here in Arizona, of course, one thing she was really speaking about last night was immigration, the border. She said she wanted a border and a, quote, earned pathway to citizenship.

8:55This, of course, is an issue that at this point Trump fares better than her on among voters. Speaking of Donald Trump, he and his running mate J.D. Vance have held a few events this week. How did those go? Well, you know, Vance has been really hitting walls. He's also a veteran, of course, on his military record and experience, like I mentioned earlier. Trump, for his part, held a really lengthy press conference on Thursday, and he's been really focused on crowd size. And Piers Deepa-Shiveram, thanks so much for being with us. Have a good time on the trail. Thank you.

9:33And finally, today on the podcast, the Olympics. Paris was filled with medal events Friday, eight in track and field alone. The French played in the men's soccer final and the Algerian boxer at the center of a gender controversy box for gold. The U.S. and China are very close in the race to see who can claim the most gold medals. and today brings a couple of big games and opportunities to go ahead in the medal count. NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan is there in Paris and joins us. Becky, thanks for being with us. Good morning, Scott. Let's begin with track and field. Americans ran two big relay races, the 4x100 meters, both men's and women's.

10:13Substantially different outcomes, weren't they? Yes, no doubt. Let me start with the bad one first, which was the men. The U.S. had hoped to have the sprinter Noah Lyles competing. He just won the 100-meter dash about a week ago, but he had to bow out of the relay final because he tested positive for COVID. So the rest of the team was talented, but they just couldn't put it together yesterday. They, like, really badly bobbled a handoff of the baton, and so not only did they not meddle, but then the salt in the wound were eventually disqualified over this messed-up handoff. The handoffs really have been a problem for the U.S.

10:44over the years in the relays, and the American women also struggled a little bit last night with it. But the good news there was the track star Sha 'Carri Richardson. And she was the anchor, the dramatic last runner in the race. The U.S. was in fourth place when she got the baton and she booked it. And in fact, had this amazing sort of meme worthy moment where she pulled ahead into first place, looked over at the runners who were now behind her in this like gotcha triumphant way, secured the gold medal for the U.S. and also her first Olympic gold. And historic gold medal in U.S. women's weightlifting, right?

11:16Absolutely. Yeah. So this is a great story here. Olivia Reeves is a 21-year-old college student at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. She was a favorite in the light heavyweight division, and she came in and she crushed it. She set a new Olympic record in the lift that's called the Snatch, and then she came just shy of another record in the other lift called the Clean and Jerk. And as you say, it's the first gold medal for the U.S. in women's weightlifting since before Olivia Reeves was even alive. Women's weightlifting amazingly was only added to the Olympics back in the year 2000. And that was the last time the U.S.

11:48won one of the golds. And Iman Khalif, the Algerian boxer, she won a gold last night after being at the center of a controversy over who ought to be allowed to participate in women's sports. You were there. What was it like? Yeah, it was really something. So just to give some context, the controversy around her comes from claims by the International Boxing Association that she, along with another female boxer here at the Olympics, had failed two gender eligibility tests over the past couple of years. But there have just been a lot of questions about those tests. The IBA hasn't released proof or really details about them.

12:21Additionally, for context, the IBA has deep ties to Russia, and there have long been concerns about corruption in the organization, so much so that the Olympics cut ties with the IBA last year before all of this. And so over the past couple of weeks, Olympic officials had defended Kalief. They say she's eligible. They say that her participation has nothing to do with inclusion or anything like that. So anyway, last night she was up against the Chinese boxer Yang Liu in the gold medal match, and Khalif won in a unanimous decision. Afterwards, she said defiantly, I'm a woman like any other woman.

12:50I was born a woman. I lived as a woman. I've competed as a woman. There's no doubt about it. Becky, two big U.S. medal opportunities for gold medals today come in team sports, women's soccer and men's basketball. They're playing France, okay? They are. I'm going to be a little divided about this, so give us a preview. Okay, well, the U.S., these are two big, huge team opportunities, and today they need a little bit of a lift because the women's water polo team, which has been one of the most dominant teams at the Olympics these last couple decades, lost in the bronze medal match this morning, so they're going to go home empty-handed.

13:26So in women's soccer, This is a redemption for the U.S. women's team after they got bounced early out of the FIFA Women's World Cup last year. They are playing Brazil today. It would be the first gold medal in women's soccer since 2012. And then for Team USA men's basketball, as you say, a huge game tonight against the hosts. France, the crowd is going to be absolutely electric. The U.S. team came very close to losing a couple nights ago against Serbia. They were down almost the whole game into the last couple minutes. when finally these NBA MVPs, Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, each did their thing to seize that victory back.

13:59And I was there, Scott, and I got to say, it was one of the best basketball games I've ever seen in my life, and I am going to be there tonight, and I can't wait. One of, one of, my gosh, NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan in Paris. Thanks so much, Becky. You are welcome, Scott.

14:18And that's up first for Saturday, August 10th. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon. Fernando Naro, Martin Patience, and Gabe O 'Connor produced today's podcast. Andrew Craig directed. Our editors were Ed McNulty, Nick Spicer, Dana Farrington, and Russell Lewis. Nisha Hines is our technical director with engineering support from Arthur Laurent, Andy Huther, and Ted Meebane. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Oliver is our executive producer. And Jim Kane is our deputy managing editor. And tomorrow on the podcast, sex testing in elite sports. What happens when an athlete runs afoul of shifting standards?

14:57Listen to that right here in this podcast feed and listen to a whole lot more on your local NPR station. Find it by going to stations.npr.org. Do it today. Yeah, right now. Why are you still here?

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