[Korrespondent] 23:19 Putin said today that Stalin allegedly "donated" land to Poland, and Russia is ready to "remind" about it.
| Does Russia plan to take the land back? Sue for it in some international court? File a lien against it, should Poland ever choose to sell it? Open a second front in the war against Ukraine? I’m very confused. |
23:17 China calls on Ukraine and Russia to return to the negotiating table, said Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the UN Geng Shuang. At the same time, he stressed that Beijing stands for the territorial integrity of any state and respect for the principles of the UN Charter, but countries' concerns regarding security should also be taken into account.
23:15 Biden and Zelensky are discussing the possibility of supplying Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, but the final decision has not yet been made, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. He also said that Ukraine is consulting with the United States on when to deploy the main forces during the counteroffensive. And Washington, according to Sullivan, is ready to take risks when supplying new weapons to Ukraine. At the same time, the United States focuses on helping Ukraine and does not seek to change power in Russia.
22:57 Zelensky said at the Aspen Security Forum that the Crimean Bridge is a legitimate target for Ukraine, because the Russians transport weapons along it. According to him, this goal must be neutralized: "The goal is to return the entire Crimea, because it is our sovereign territory... The Kerch bridge is not some small logistical road. It is used to deliver ammunition and militarize Crimea. It is clear to us that this enemy facility, built outside the framework of international law, is our goal. And any goal that brings war, not peace, must be neutralized."
Zelensky also acknowledged that the Ukrainian counter-offensive is moving slower than expected, as the operation began later than originally planned: "Because we started a little later ... this gave Russia time to mine all our land and build several lines of defense." At the same time, the President added that Ukraine "is approaching the moment when response actions can gain momentum, because we are already passing through some places where there are mines and clearing these areas."
21:26 The Russians launched three airstrikes on New York in the Donetsk region, four are known to be wounded, the President's Office reported.
21:24 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with Erdogan: "We coordinated efforts to resume the work of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Unblocking the grain corridor is an absolute priority. We discussed the implementation of the Peace Formula. I asked President Erdogan to facilitate the return of Ukrainian prisoners, including Crimean Tatars."
21:20 US Senators Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal presented a draft resolution on Senate support for Ukraine's early entry into NATO.
21:16 After the end of the war, at least 4 million people will become veterans in Ukraine, predicts Minister for Veterans Affairs Yulia Laputina.
20:48 The Bulgarian Parliament voted for the transfer of about 100 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. It is assumed that the vehicles will be delivered not from the warehouses of the army, but from the stocks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The experts concluded that the transfer of equipment will not harm the Bulgarian Armed Forces.
20:42 Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko, former CEO of the 1+1 Media media holding, is resigning. The day before, a discussion broke out in Ukrainian society with renewed vigor about the appropriateness of significant expenditures on projects far from military needs. Separately got here Tkachenko. For more details, see Culture in War .
20:27 The South African government has officially applied to the ICC for a warrant for Putin's arrest. South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has previously petitioned the court to oblige the government to execute a warrant for the arrest of the Russian president. "Thanks to the District Attorney's ongoing political and legal pressure to ensure that our country's international obligations are upheld, on July 17, 2023, the government officially initiated the process of arresting Vladimir Putin if he sets foot on our soil," the party said in a statement.
19:49 The government has launched the mass production of ammunition for UAVs in Ukraine, said the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Mikhail Fedorov. According to him, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a fundamental resolution, which at the state level recognizes the procedure for the production, purchase and supply of ammunition for UAVs. According to the document, private companies will be able to legally produce ammunition for drones. The Decree defines the procedure for obtaining the status of a UAV ammunition manufacturer and establishes clear requirements for companies producing them.
19:40 The court sent the terrorist Girkin-Strelkov to a pre-trial detention center until September 18 on charges of extremism. Meanwhile, telegram channels report the arrest of the former "governor of the DPR", collaborator Pavel Gubarev, who staged a picket under the court building demanding the release of Girkin.
19:36 Russia is preparing an alternative grain supply plan to oust Ukraine from the world market, writes the Financial Times. According to the sources of the publication, Putin proposed an alternative initiative, according to which Qatar will pay Moscow for the delivery of Russian grain to Turkey, which will then distribute the harvest to "needy countries." However, neither Qatar nor Türkiye agreed to such a proposal.
19:29 In the Primorsky district of Mariupol, in the Cheryomushki area, partisans set fire to an operational warehouse with the occupiers' ammunition, the adviser to the mayor of the city, Petr Andryushchenko, reports with reference to the Mariupol resistance.
19:25 Israeli intelligence agencies have appealed to Russian intelligence officers with a demand to stop the campaign to disinform the Israeli society, Ynet reports. In particular, a lot of messages in Hebrew with pro-Russian propaganda appeared on social networks. Usually such publications contain calls to stop supporting Ukraine, but recently there have also been provocative reports of internal divisions in Israel.
| To be fair, the entire Black Bloc movement dates back to Stalin’s Red Shirt proxy force that brawled with the original Nazi Brown Shirts back in the 1930s. So the old KGB man may yet feel a sentimental attachment, despite his desire to trigger the sentimental love of their birthplace among former Soviet Jews in Israel today. |
19:17 Zelensky said in an evening video message that at today's meeting of the Headquarters, the issues of protecting cities and communities, as well as ports from Russian strikes were discussed in detail: "If someone in Russia hopes that they can make the Black Sea a space for arbitrariness and terrorism, then they will not succeed. We know how to defend ourselves, we see in the world a willingness to work together and further - and more actively - to ensure peace in this region." The president also plans to discuss the situation in the Black Sea region and food security with Erdogan tonight.
18:50 Russia considers the port infrastructure of Ukraine as "a place of deployment and replenishment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with Western weapons," said Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN. According to him, over the year, Ukraine, under the guise of the Black Sea initiative, allegedly accumulated "significant military-industrial, fuel capacities in ports."
18:16 Almost a third of the territory of Ukraine is contaminated with unexploded ordnance, landmines and cluster munitions, UN Deputy Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo said at a meeting of the Security Council.
| Call out the mine-hunting rats! |
17:15 The US logistical assistance inspection testified the absence of claims from the American side to Ukraine's accounting of weapons and military equipment, Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Gavrilov said: "Artillery, ammunition, complex air defense systems, armored vehicles - everything was taken into account in Ukraine. Last year, an automated system for accounting and passing all weapons and military equipment through logistics was introduced. With the help of partners, the LOGFAS and Karavay programs were introduced, QR code to accompany military equipment to the military unit, and, if necessary, to come there and see what is there."
16:57 Zelensky wants to create a Silicon Valley in Crimea, Mikhail Fedorov, head of the Ministry of Digital Development, said: "The president has an idea in Crimea to build a project similar to the Valley - with a super-technological university, companies operating there year-round, etc."
| If you’re gonna dream, dream big. |
16:43 The Russians fired artillery at the village of Druzhba of the Toretsk community of the Donetsk region - one of the shells hit the yard, two children of ten and 16 years old were killed, another person was injured, said the head of the OVA Pavel Kirilenko.
16:19 Dmitry Petrovsky, a former Yaroslavl deputy and militant of PMC Wagner, wrote a statement against Girkin. The reason is a personal insult to Putin. Details about the arrest of Strelkov-Girkin - in the material Humiliated Putin .
15:55 The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal of the Ministry for Strategic Industries, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Digital Development to implement a pilot project for the production, purchase and supply of ammunition for unmanned systems and combat units of unmanned systems within two years, Taras Melnichuk, permanent representative of the government in the Verkhovna Rada, said.
15:16 Yermak announced "unpleasant sanctions surprises for the Russian Federation."
15:02 Shmygal urged the leaders of local and central authorities to postpone "all expenses that are not in time today." "This is a matter of common sense and understanding of priorities. We have repeatedly spoken about the need to attract extra-budgetary partner funding. Today, the entire civilized world supports us, this allows us to implement reforms and projects without budget funding," the prime minister emphasized.
According to him, the government allocated UAH 672 billion for defense needs in six months of 2023, and all taxes of citizens and businesses during this time amounted to UAH 600 billion. “That is, every hryvnia and every penny that the citizens of Ukraine pay to the budget, we immediately send to the salaries of the military, equipment, weapons, drones, ammunition and other support for our army,” Shmyhal said.
14:38 Egypt is dissatisfied with Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Initiative and intends to continue importing Ukrainian wheat through alternative routes, Minister of Supplies Ali al-Museilehi said in a Bloomberg commentary. He also urged Moscow to reconsider its position.
14:10 Zelensky announced that he had held a regular meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, at which he instructed Zaluzhny, Navy Commander Alexei Neizhpapa and Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov to prepare a set of actions to continue the operation of the grain corridor, and the Foreign Ministry to work out similar diplomatic steps.
13:47 The wife of terrorist Igor Girkin (Strelkov) announced his detention by Russian security forces. He is charged under the article "extremism".
13:39 The Russians launched a missile attack on the Chernihiv region - the building of the house of culture was damaged, the body of one person was found under the rubble, the analysis of the rubble continues, the head of the IVA Vyacheslav Chaus said.
13:24 Putin said that the unleashing of "aggression against Belarus" by Ukraine would mean aggression against Russia, "all means will be used for protection."
13:20 Erdogan said that Russia "in favor of the active work of the grain corridor" and the West "should take measures to restart it." The Turkish President also noted that Moscow has "certain expectations from the grain deal," which he is going to discuss with Putin in the near future.
13:01 The Russians fired seven missiles at the Odessa region - an infrastructure facility in the Belgorod-Dniester region was hit, said Natalya Gumenyuk, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces. So far, there is no information about the victims.
12:29 In Russia, from the spring of 2024, the upper limit of the draft age will be raised from 27 to 30 years. The lower limit will remain unchanged - 18 years, although it was previously planned to raise it to 21 years. Andrey Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Committee on Defense, said that it was decided to leave the lower limit of the draft age at 18, "because a lot of guys want to go to serve at the age of 18."
11:46 Germany handed over the first ten Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine. Also, the new package of military assistance from Germany included 20 MG3 machine guns for tanks and armored vehicles, 1035 shells of 155 mm caliber and smoke ammunition of the same caliber, a bridge system and 12 trailers, ten radars, 16,000 Zetros trucks and 100. In total, Ukraine expects more than 100 Leopard 1 tanks from the German side.
11:17 The Ministry of Defense reported that since February 22, 2022, it has adopted 28 models of UAVs of various types of Ukrainian production. Among them, in particular, nine models of kamikaze drones, of which three are aircraft types, as well as six models of FPV drones. The total number of UAVs delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the procurement of the Ministry of Defense totals "thousands of units," the department assures.
The Ministry of Defense also assured that the supply of Ukrainian-made UAVs for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "is constantly growing exponentially", contracts have been signed with a number of Ukrainian companies for the mass production of ten models of drones of various types, names and volumes are not disclosed for security reasons.
10:38 At night, the Russians fired at the private sector in Konstantinovka, Donetsk region: two people were killed, about 20 households, the road surface and the gas pipeline were damaged, the Office of the Prosecutor General said.
10:31 China supplies Russia with "significant military capabilities," Macron's foreign policy adviser Emmanuel Bonn said. The French authorities have clarified that they are talking about dual-use technologies and non-lethal assistance, such as helmets and body armor.
10:29 CIA director William Burns hopes that the Ukrainian offensive will be helped, among other things, by "disorder among the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation." He cited intelligence evidence that there are "some significant structural weaknesses lurking behind significant defenses" built by the Russian army. In particular, these are "low morale", "bad command" and "disorder among the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation."
10:26 The European Union cannot yet agree on the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine due to Germany's position and legal concerns, said Jeffrey van Leeuwen, adviser to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands on foreign affairs and security.
10:17 The Russian army seeks to find weaknesses in the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Chernihiv and Sumy directions - sabotage and reconnaissance groups are trying to penetrate the border areas, but all attempts were unsuccessful, said Sergey Naev, commander of the Pivnich Joint Strategic Forces Group. He assured that in the event of an attempt to cross any section of the state border, the enemy would not be successful, and if the threat level increased, the General Staff provided for the reinforcement of troops.
09:44 Ukraine asks the European Commission to subsidize the transportation of Ukrainian agricultural products through distant European ports, said Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky.
09:20 The CIA sees no signs of Russia preparing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine "in the coming days and weeks," director of the agency William Burns said.
09:07 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were killed (in Konstantinovka), two more were injured. In the Kharkiv region, one person was killed as a result of shelling from a tank in the village of Kazachya Lopan, and three more people were injured in the region, according to the IVA.
09:03 The Russians attacked the infrastructure facility of the Pologovsky district of the Zaporozhye region. Four workers were killed, two more were injured, said Yury Malashko, head of the OVA.
08:59 Ukrainian troops were successfully advancing in three directions of the southern front: Novodanilovka - Verbove, Novodanilovka - Robotino, Novodarovka - Priyutnoye, spokesman of the General Staff Andrei Kovalev said. At the same time, the Defense Forces continue their offensive north and south of Bakhmut. On the directions of Orekhovo-Vasilyevka - Paraskoveevka, Kleshcheevka - Andreevka, heavy battles are going on without changing the positions.
08:50 Russians fired Kalibr rockets at an agricultural enterprise in the Odessa region at night - they hit grain terminals, destroyed agricultural equipment, said Natalya Gumenyuk, speaker of OK Pivden. Oleg Kiper, head of the Odessa OVA, specified that 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley were destroyed as a result of the strike, two people were injured.
08:38 At a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, Hungary opposed the EU's attempt to create a long-term fund of up to 20 billion euros to support the Ukrainian army, writes Politico. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Budapest would object to the plan until Ukraine removed the Hungarian bank OTP from its list of "war sponsors."
08:19 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of July 21:
- personnel - about 240,690 (+680) people liquidated,
- tanks - 4133 (+4),
- armored fighting vehicles - 8080 (+15),
- artillery systems - 4610 (+18),
- MLRS - 692 (+0),
- air defense systems - 440 (+7),
- aircraft - 315 (+0),
- helicopters - 310 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 3933 (+15),
- cruise missiles - 1298 (+5),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 7145 (+11),
- special equipment - 686 (+1).
07:25 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions - 32 military clashes have occurred over the past day, the General Staff said in the morning summary . At the same time, the Defense Forces continue the offensive operation in the Melitopol and Berdyansk directions, and consolidate on the achieved lines.
04:16 Criminal organizations in Ukraine at the beginning of a full-scale war managed to steal some weapons and equipment provided by the United States and allies, but later they were returned, CNN reports, citing a report by the Pentagon Inspector General. So, at the end of June 2022, an organized criminal group led by an unnamed Russian official joined a volunteer battalion on forged documents and stole weapons - a grenade launcher and a machine gun, as well as more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Ukrainian intelligence uncovered the conspiracy.
Also in June last year, Ukrainian intelligence agencies uncovered a conspiracy of merchants who were trying to sell weapons and ammunition stolen from the front line in southern Ukraine. In addition, a conspiracy of Ukrainian criminals posing as humanitarian workers who stole bulletproof vests worth $17,000 was exposed. And in August 2022, the Ukrainian special services exposed a group of fighters from a volunteer battalion who stole 60 rifles and nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
03:52 The United States may transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine before the end of this year, said White House strategic communications coordinator John Kirby: "F-16s will arrive in Ukraine, most likely before the end of the year. But we do not believe that only F-16s will be able to change the situation." According to him, now Ukraine also needs more artillery shells.
02:11 Wagner PMC mercenaries arriving in Belarus are being reintegrated into the Russian army, US Department of Defense Deputy Spokesperson Sabrina Singh said: "Given what we see in Belarus, we see reports that Wagner PMC forces continue to move into this region and continue, I think, to consolidate there ... We certainly see how Wagner forces are reintegrated into the Russian army."