[Korrespondent] 23:12 Zelensky, together with the commanders of Azov in Lviv, spoke to reporters. "We continue the fight and we will definitely have our say in the fight," Denis Prokopenko told Radis.
22:50 Zelensky announced the appointment of a new head of the National Guard of Ukraine - Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Pivnenko.
22:37 Zelensky in Lviv took part in a prayer service on the occasion of 500 days of a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation.
20:53 The Legion of Freedom of Russia is preparing another raid on the territory of the Russian Federation, its commander with the call sign Caesar said: “There will be another surprise within the next month or so. This will be our third operation. After it there will be a fourth, and a fifth. ambitious plans. We want to liberate all of our territory."
19:58 Peskov said that the return of the commanders of Azov from Turkey to Ukraine is a "violation of the terms of the agreements" on the part of both the Turkish side and Kiev. He recalled that under the terms of the agreements they had to stay in Turkey until the end of the war. Peskov also said that no one informed Russia about the transfer of the defenders of Mariupol from Turkey to Ukraine.
18:16 The head of the Spanish Ministry of Defense, Margarita Robles, said she was against the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine. At the same time, she added that she respects the decision of a sovereign country. In turn, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed that he "does not encourage" the use of cluster munitions, and recalled that Britain had signed a convention to ban them.
17:39 Reznikov said that the task of protecting the sky of Kiev from Russian missiles is practically solved - now the military is working on protecting Lviv, Kharkov, Dnipro, Zaporozhye and Odessa from missile attacks.
17:04 The defenders of Mariupol, the command of the Azov Regiment and the 36th Marine Brigade are returning to Ukraine from Turkey: Denis Prokopenko, Svyatoslav Palamar, Sergei Volynsky, Oleg Khomenko, Denis Shlega. They flew out of Turkey with Zelensky.
14:38 As a result of the shelling of the Liman of the Donetsk region, the death toll increased to eight, 13 people were injured , the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.
14:29 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation from Turkey with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, fixed the dates for the start of the training mission for Ukrainian pilots on the F-16, coordinated positions on the eve of the NATO summit.
14:11 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation from Turkey with Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa: “We coordinated positions on the eve of the NATO Vilnius summit. He emphasized the importance of the Alliance’s decisive position on the future membership of Ukraine. peace formulas: about food and energy security, as well as about ecocide".
The president's office said that during the conversation, the parties adopted a common declaration of support for Ukraine's membership in NATO. Thus, Portugal became the 23rd country to join such a declaration.
13:30 UNESCO declared a violation of the International Convention on World Heritage as a result of the Russian strike on Lviv: "This attack is the first since the start of the war on February 24, 2022 on the territory protected by the World Heritage Convention and is a violation of this Convention, as well as the Hague Convention 1954 of the Year on the Protection of Cultural Property in Time of Armed Conflict. The organization clarified that as a result of a missile attack, a historic building located in the buffer zone of the Ensemble of the historical center of Lviv was damaged.
12:49 Zelensky said that during his visit to Istanbul, he took part in a memorial service for the victims of the war in Ukraine in St. George's Cathedral. The President also met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to discuss the implementation of the Peace Formula and the return to Ukraine of children illegally deported by Russia.
11:53 PMC Wagner was sent on vacation until the beginning of August, and now the withdrawal of mercenaries to Belarus is being prepared, Anton Elizarov (Lotos), one of the PMC commanders, said in an interview with Russian military commissars. "We have to prepare the bases, training grounds, coordinate with local self-government bodies and administrations, organize interaction with the law enforcement agencies of Belarus and arrange logistics," he said.
11:25 In the morning, the enemy fired from the MLRS Liman of the Donetsk region: at least six people were killed, five were injured , said the head of the OVA Pavel Kirilenko.
10:58 The Russians continue to mine the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and objects on the territory of the station. Mines and explosives are now being delivered to the ZNPP territory, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. Mine-explosive barriers are installed in the technical rooms and machine rooms, which consist of remotely controlled and unguided directional anti-personnel mines. Mainly used are directional mines of the Soviet type: MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, MON-200.
09:52 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, five people were injured, in Zaporozhye - two, in Kherson, Kharkiv and Dnepropetrovsk - one each, according to the OVA.
09:45 The invaders are planning to take away the housing of Energodar residents in order to encourage the Russians to work at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reports. On Thursday, July 6, Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Head of Putin's Administration, arrived at ZNPP. The official purpose of the visit is to get acquainted with the state of affairs at the station and check the general safety. Unofficially - he had to demonstrate the absence of panic, and also try to solve problems with staffing the station.
After the invasion began, most of the station's qualified personnel either left the occupied territories or refused to sign agreements with Rosatom. An attempt to attract Russian employees also did not give the expected result. Kiriyenko and Gauleiter of the Zaporozhye region Yevgeny Balitsky held a meeting on additional incentives for potential workers from Russia. To do this, it is planned to provide Russians with housing seized from Ukrainians who left Energodar. They expect that up to 4,500 Russians will be resettled in this way. However, there are few people who want to go to the Zaporizhzhya NPP, the GUR notes.
09:41 Reznikov named five key principles that Ukraine will adhere to when using American cluster munitions:
1. Ukraine will use these munitions only for the de-occupation of its internationally recognized territories. These ammunition will not be used on the officially recognized territory of the Russian Federation.
2. The Armed Forces of Ukraine will not use cluster munitions in urban areas and cities in order to avoid risks to the civilian population. Cluster munitions will be used only in places where the Russian military gathers to break through enemy defense lines with minimal risk to the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.
3. Ukraine will keep a strict record of the use of these weapons and local areas where they will be used.
4. After de-occupation, these territories will be priority for demining purposes. This will remove the risks associated with unexploded elements of cluster munitions.
5. Ukraine will report to its partners on the use of these munitions and on their effectiveness.
09:29 At night, the Russians attacked with Shahed-136/131 strike drones from the southeast direction (Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Territory). Five UAVs were destroyed, another part could not be intercepted, the Air Force command said. Drones hit industrial and infrastructure facilities in the Dnepropetrovsk and Kirovograd regions. First, no casualties.
09:13 Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar named the main events in the 500 days of a large-scale war:
- 497 days ago, Ukraine destroyed the expectations of "Kyiv in three days" and the myth of the "second army of the world."
- 462 days ago we liberated the Kiev region and northern Ukraine, the Russian media for the first time spoke of their retreat as a "goodwill gesture."
- 451 days since we sent the cruiser Moscow to the bottom.
- 380 days ago - received the first Himars from the allies.
- 373 days since the Snake Island was liberated.
- 305 days ago, they launched a counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region - an unprecedentedly fast offensive with a cascading collapse of the Russian defenses, which amazed the whole world.
- 273 days since they struck the first blow on the Crimean bridge to break the logistics of the Russians.
- Kherson was returned 239 days ago.
- 113 days ago, they obtained a warrant for the arrest of Putin in The Hague.
- 80 days since we received powerful air defense systems from our partners - the Patriot system.
- 65 days since the first Russian "supersonic" Kinzhal missile was shot down.
- Right at this moment, Ukrainian soldiers in heavy fighting are liberating the occupied lands in the east and south.
- Very soon, we will start training pilots on the F-16.
- Ahead is victory.
09:07 Governor of the Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov said that the authorities are suspending the return of residents to Shebekino from temporary accommodation centers due to new shelling allegedly from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
08:42 Zelensky said that today, on the 500th day of a full-scale war, he visited Serpent Island: "I am grateful to everyone who fought here against the invaders. We honored the memory of the heroes who gave their lives in this battle - one of the most important during the full-scale war" .
08:30 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of July 8.
- personnel - about 233,440 (+630) people liquidated,
- tanks - 4074 (+4),
- armored combat vehicles - 7953 (+9),
- artillery systems - 4346 (+16),
- MLRS - 661 (+3),
- air defense systems - 410 (+2),
- aircraft - 315 (+0),
- helicopters - 309 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 3666 (+14),
- cruise missiles - 1271 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 6914 (+16),
- special equipment - 619 (+7).
08:17 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. Over the past day, there have been 36 combat clashes, the General Staff said in the morning summary .
07:42 At night, the Russians hit Krivoy Rog with drones, hit an agricultural enterprise, one person was injured, said the head of the OVA, Sergei Lysak.
04:15 The United States can provide Ukraine with security guarantees similar to Israel, which do not involve joining NATO, Biden said. He clarified that this is a ten-year commitment that the United States is taking on: "It provides for the provision of military and financial assistance packages, as well as the possibility of joint production."
At the same time, Biden believes that the issue of Ukraine's accession to NATO can only be considered after the end of the war: "Ukraine is not ready for NATO membership now, in the midst of the war. There is no unanimity among the members of the Alliance about admitting Ukraine to NATO now." At the same time, he stressed that the United States and NATO allies will continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons necessary to end the war with Russia.
As for the supply of cluster shells to Ukraine, according to Biden, this decision was not an easy one, but the need for them in the Ukrainian army is obvious. According to him, the Ukrainian military is running out of ammunition: "I discussed this with our allies. We are in a situation where Ukraine is being brutally attacked - this is one reason. The second is that the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition for 155-mm howitzers. This is a war related to ammunition ".
Biden suggested that cluster munitions would help the Armed Forces of Ukraine break through the fortifications of the Russian army. He added that the shipment of cluster munitions to Ukraine would continue during a "transitional period" until the US ramps up production of 155mm rounds.
00:47 Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Zelensky that Ukraine deserves NATO membership. "No one will lose in the creation of a just world ... From the annexation, contrary to international law, to this day, we declare our support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. One of the important reasons why we look with confidence at the future of Ukraine is the fact that the Crimean Tatars are stubbornly fighting for the freedom of their country," Erdogan said.
The Turkish President also said that his country would help Ukraine "get back on its feet": "Our construction companies, which are leaders in this market in Ukraine, will help our Ukrainian friends in restoring the country."
Erdogan said that he expects an official visit from Putin in August. Among the main topics that Erdogan plans to discuss with the head of the Kremlin are the grain agreement and the exchange of prisoners between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
00:35 The Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Industry and Technology of Turkey in the field of strategic industries.