[Korrespondent] 21:55 Zelensky announced an important week in an evening video message: "For the first time we will celebrate the Day of Ukrainian Statehood on July 28. During such a brutal war, in its sixth month. After eight years of war in the Donbas... This week there will be important visits from our partners, there will be important negotiations, and most importantly, there will be further advancement of Ukrainian positions, at the front, in diplomacy and in the economy."
21:16 Scholz admitted that Germany's previous policy towards the Russian Federation was erroneous: "We, the new German government, decided in advance to get rid of energy dependence on Russia as quickly as possible. Back in December last year, that is, in two months before the start of the war, we worked out the issue of energy supply for our country under the most unfavorable scenario of events. When Putin started his war in February, we were already capable of action."
According to the chancellor, Germany will not deviate from the path of completely abandoning Russian oil and gas. Already, gas consumption has been reduced from 50% to 30%, and by December 2022, the country will completely abandon Russian oil. Berlin also revised its attitude towards defense: the Bundeswehr has already been urgently allocated 100 billion euros. Germany will actively and directly use its troops to reinforce NATO's eastern flank.
20:32 Violators of the curfew are taken "on a pencil" - military commissars will first of all look at them if necessary, call them up to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, First Deputy Interior Minister Yevgeny Yenin said in an interview with Telegraph. According to him, a significant part of Ukrainians voluntarily went to the front on their own initiative, although they could have avoided this, since they were not in the first line of mobilization. And it is unfair that others allow themselves to party and relax on the beaches.
"We are actively helping the recruitment centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to replenish the reserve. Therefore, we have established very close cooperation in many areas. We take curfew violators on a pencil. This does not mean that they will be drafted into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine tomorrow. But when the question arises about In this case, it is precisely this category of people that the military commissars will look at in the first place," Yenin explained.
19:29 The Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled the attacks of the Russians in the Luhansk region - the invaders still cannot take Belogorovka and Verkhnekamenskoye. In the Bakhmut area, Russian troops are rebuffed, fighting continues. In the Kherson region, the enemy suffered losses in two directions and chaotically retreated, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the evening report .
19:14 In the occupied city of Bryanka, Luhansk region, several hundred Russian contract soldiers are kept in basements who refused to continue fighting with Ukraine, writes The Insider with reference to their relatives. They are kept in terrible conditions and beaten, forcing them to return to the front. The military command of the Russian Federation declares that it has nothing to do with the detention. Relatives are told that contract soldiers are being held by "Luhansk military", although, according to relatives, the Wagner PMC is guarding the refuseniks.
19:01 The turning point at the front in the Kherson region has already arrived, adviser to the head of the Kherson OVA Serhiy Khlan believes: "We can say that by September the Kherson region will definitely be liberated, and all the plans of the occupiers will fail." He added that the strikes on the Antonovsky and Darevsky bridges, as well as on warehouses, command posts, are the results of preparatory work, and now the question is more powerful and accurate artillery strikes on the front line and cleaning up the Russians in their positions.
18:32 Lavrov said that Russia would "help the Ukrainian people" get rid of the absolutely "anti-people and anti-historical regime": "We pity Ukrainian history, which is crumbling before our eyes, and we pity those who succumbed to the state propaganda of the Kiev regime." Lavrov stressed that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples "will continue to live together."
17:48 Rocket and artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed an enemy battery of the S-300 air defense system in the Zelenotropinsky district of the Kherson region, the Pivden operational command reported. Several transport infrastructure facilities in the temporarily occupied territory were taken under fire control, which significantly limits the maneuverability and logistics of the occupying troops.
16:59 In Poland, they raised money for Bayraktar for Ukraine. As part of the Buy Bayraktar campaign for Ukraine , more than 200,000 people collected PLN 22.7 million, that is, about $4.7 million. The fundraiser will continue for another four days, and the excess will also be sent to Ukraine.
15:56 Ukraine could export 60 million tons of grain over the next 8-9 months if the ports are not blocked, but Russia's strike on Odessa showed that it would not be so easy, Zelensky's economic adviser Oleg Ustenko said in an interview with Reuters. According to him, Ukraine can earn $10 billion by selling 20 million tons of grain in silos and 40 million tons of new crop.
The entire harvest is 60 million tons, of which 20 million are for domestic consumption. "But taking into account what Russia is doing in the Black Sea, and yesterday's shelling of the port of Odessa, it shows that this will definitely not work," Ustenko said.
15:09 Lavrov said that the Russian Federation "has no prejudice" against resuming negotiations with Ukraine on a wider range of issues, "but the choice is up to Kiev."
14:57 Poland wants to create the largest ground forces in the European Union, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said in an interview with Sieci: "Among European NATO countries, we will have the strongest ground forces. We are on the front line, we have a border with Russia and in the north, and in fact, militarily, on the part of Belarus."
14:48 Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov urged city residents in connection with the increased shelling of civilian infrastructure to avoid morning trips by land transport: "Use the subway more often - today it is the safest way to travel."
14:07 The United States is seriously considering declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said in an interview with Radio Liberty: "We are using all available means, including many of those that would be applied to a state sponsor. But we are also We are seriously considering such an announcement and we will continue to hold Russia accountable."
13:35 There are more than 50 thousand women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, of which 38 thousand are directly female military personnel, plus civilians working there. About 5,000 are on the front lines, said Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar. According to her, there are tankers, gunners and even a deep-sea military diving instructor among them. Malyar stressed that Ukraine has one of the highest numbers of women in the armed forces among NATO countries.
13:22 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that "aircraft were hit by a high-precision weapon strike" at the Kanatov military airfield in the Kirovograd region. And in Nikolaev, "high-precision weapons" allegedly struck "military warehouses on the territory of a diesel locomotive repair plant."
13:14 The Administration of the Sea Ports of Ukraine announced the start of the formation of grain caravans in three Ukrainian ports: "In connection with the signing of the Initiative for the export of grain and related food products by sea on July 22, 2022, the ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny are being prepared for the resumption of work. .. Entry and exit of vessels to the indicated seaports will be carried out by forming a caravan, which will be accompanied by a leading vessel."
12:39 The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation stated that in the seaport of Odessa, on the territory of a ship repair plant, "a Ukrainian warship that was in the dock was destroyed by sea-based high-precision long-range missiles." Also, allegedly, "a warehouse of Harpoon anti-ship missiles supplied by the United States was destroyed, and the production facilities of an enterprise for the repair of Ukrainian warships were disabled."
11:21 Residents of the Kherson region report that the Russians launched a missile attack on the Adzhigol lighthouse, writes an adviser to the head of the Kherson OVA Sergey Khlan. According to him, three rockets were launched into the lighthouse.
11:10 Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the Russian attack on the port of Odessa. Zakharova said that "Kalibr missiles destroyed the military infrastructure of the Odessa port, sending a Ukrainian military boat to the address beloved by the Kyiv regime with a high-precision strike."
10:56 The "authorities" of the occupied Kherson region said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine again fired on the area of ​​the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, there is damage to the bridge, the power plant itself was not damaged. According to the invaders, the shelling was carried out from HIMARS.
10:41 Explosions were heard in Melitopol and near the city at night, smoke was visible at the Melitopol airfield, which the invaders are unsuccessfully trying to restore after the attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the mayor of the city Ivan Fedorov said. Explosions were also heard in an easterly direction from the city - near the village of Konstantinovka. The railway infrastructure in the Melitopol region, which was used by the occupiers to transport military equipment and personnel in the directions of Vasilyevka and Tokmak, was damaged - this will significantly complicate the logistics of the enemy.
10:33 Over the Khmelnitsky region, air defense shot down three Caliber cruise missiles fired from the Black Sea, Zakhid air command reports.
10:28 In the morning Russians again fired at Nikolaev: according to preliminary information, there is a hit in a warehouse, data on victims are specified, the head of OVA Vitaly Kim reported.
As a result of the shelling of residential areas in the Ship district of Nikolaev on Saturday evening, five people were injured, including a teenager. Four cruise missiles of the Caliber type were fired at the city. An educational institution was completely destroyed, private and multi-storey buildings, outbuildings, cars, and a garage were damaged.
In the area the Nikolaev area was fired, in the village of Shevchenkovo ​​two people were lost. In the Bashtansky district, six hits were recorded on the house of culture in the village of Shirokoye.
10:12 The head of the Nikopol RVA, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, is offering local residents a $100 reward for detaining suspicious individuals who "work for the occupiers." In order to get money, local residents are offered to conduct a civil detention of a suspicious person, call the police and hand over the detainee to her. Also, law enforcement officers need to transfer information about such persons (or write to Yevtushenko on Facebook).
09:46 The head of the Khmelnytsky OVA, Serhiy Gamaly, said that air defense had worked in the region.
09:31 British intelligence reports that in the Donbass, Russian offensive operations are still focused on the Bakhmut direction, but progress in them is minimal.
As for Lavrov's statement that the territorial goals of the "special operation" will be expanded due to the supply of longer-range weapons to Ukraine, according to London, there was no expansion, since further occupation was the original goal of the invasion. Now the occupying "authorities" are publicly discussing the holding of "referendums", and Lavrov, apparently, made a statement to pave the way for them to be held outside the "LDNR", analysts say.
09:12 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of July 24. The enemy suffered the greatest losses in the Kramatorsk direction.
- personnel - about 39,520 (+280) people liquidated,
- tanks - 1722 (+14),
- armored combat vehicles - 3942 (+13),
- artillery systems - 869 (+5),
- MLRS - 255 (+2),
- air defense systems - 113 (+0),
- aircraft - 221 (+0),
- helicopters - 188 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 714 (+0),
- cruise missiles - 170 (+3),
- ships/boats - 15 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 2823 (+3),
- special equipment - 73 (+1).
08:26 In the Lugansk region during the day on July 23, the occupiers launched four missile and one air strike, said the head of the OVA Serhiy Gaidai. He also said that near Lisichansk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed the OMON from Sakhalin, and the barracks with the military were destroyed in Kadievka. At least 12 enemy special forces were destroyed, many were wounded. The Ukrainian Defense Forces inflict losses on the enemy in all directions where active hostilities are taking place.
08:19 In the controlled territory of Donetsk region as a result of Russian shelling over the past day, two people were killed - in Avdeevka and Toretsk. Two more people were injured, according to the OVA.
07:31 The Russians are trying to attack Bakhmut and seize the territory of the Uglegorsk thermal power plant, but they are not successful, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports in the morning summary. Rocket-artillery and aviation subunits in certain directions continue to hit enemy strongholds, concentration places and warehouses.
07:16 "Ministry of Internal Affairs" under the occupation authorities in Melitopol was headed by specialists from the Russian Federation, said a representative of the "administration" Vladimir Rogov. According to him, they "were sent for both the police and the traffic police."
Rogov also said that the permanent deployment of the Russian army in the Zaporozhye region "would become a guarantor of the region's security against attempts of external aggression."
06:43 Finnish customs sold 46.5 million euro worth of bitcoins confiscated during investigations of crimes related to drugs and doping. Customs representatives said that the proceeds from the sale of cryptocurrency will be transferred to Ukraine - this has already been approved in the country's parliament, writes Decrypt.
04:44 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are likely to be preparing or launched a counteroffensive in the Kherson region as of July 23, but information on the course and pace of the counteroffensive in the public domain will be limited and will lag behind events. Experts note that the territory between the front line and Kherson is rural, there are small settlements that can pass under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the Russians without reports about it.
04:29 Blinken on Russia's attack on Odessa seaport: "The United States strongly condemns today's Russian attack on the port of Odessa. It undermines efforts to bring food to the hungry and credibility of Russia's commitments to yesterday's agreement allowing Ukrainian exports."
04:17 More than five powerful explosions have thundered in Nikolaev, the mayor Alexander Senkevich reported.
02:53 For every Russian strike, Britain will respond with increased assistance to Ukraine, Liz Truss said during the Second International Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen: "We will provide assistance so that Ukraine becomes more powerful, more successful after this war, because it will rise as a symbol democracy."
00:41 Four Western generals will help the Ukrainian territorial defense. The World Congress of Ukrainians presented four retired generals who formed the Strategic Advisory Council, which is designed to help in the framework of the Unite With Ukraine project. The Council set a goal to provide 100,000 Troopers with first-priority means of protection. The Unite With Ukraine platform raises funds around the world to purchase equipment.