[Korrespondent] 22:59 One of the most scandalous stories of the NATO summit held in Vilnius is the words of the British Minister of Defense regarding "support for Ukraine" and Zelensky's sharp reaction to them. The conflict, if it ever existed, seems to have been completely resolved. More details in the material More thanks .
22:15 Zaluzhny said in an interview with The Washington Post that only Ukraine will decide how to kill the enemy: "In order to save my people, why should I ask someone for permission what to do on enemy territory? For some reason, I have to think, that I can't do anything there. Why? Because Putin will use nuclear weapons? Children who die don't care... This is our problem, and it's up to us to decide how to kill this enemy. If our partners are afraid to use weapons, we will kill from his".
Also, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine promised to return the Crimea, even if the Western allies are against it: "As soon as I have the funds, I will do something. I don't care - no one will stop me."
20:57 The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue the counteroffensive in the south of Ukraine. Over the past week, only in the Melitopol direction, Ukrainian troops advanced another 1.7 km. And Western partners are already openly saying that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are close to "great success." More details in the material Progress of the counteroffensive .
20:18 Zelensky, in an evening video message, announced the preparation of new decisions of the National Security and Defense Council on sanctions, as well as the reform of military education: "All the experience of our soldiers, all the acquired competencies of Ukrainians and Ukrainian women in the war, our new defense experience common with partners - all this needs to be integrated in the renewed Ukrainian military education. It is clear that this branch at the state level deserves a significant update. And it is very important that those who are now practically defending our state and are already training the defenders and defenders of our state are involved in the discussion about such renewal."
The President also said that today he took part in a conversation in the United States - at a conference with the participation of the heads of the largest and most promising global companies, philanthropists: "Investments, jobs in Ukraine, support for our state and people ... Now the Ukrainians have revealed the huge potential of our country. All of it aimed at our defense. But when we end the war, the Ukrainian potential must be invested in Ukrainian development."
19:30 The command of the Russian military units in the occupied territory of Ukraine from the beginning of July began to force the mobilized to sign contracts with the RF Armed Forces. If they refuse, the commanders blackmail them and threaten to keep them on the front lines without rotation. And those who agree are promised a weekend for 1-2 days. Thus, the military leadership of the Russian Federation is trying to create positive statistics for the Kremlin on the rate of recruitment for contract military service, said Anna Malyar.
19:08 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that Putin will personally come to the BRICS summit, but Peskov claims that the visit has not yet been agreed. In turn, South African Vice President Paul Mashatile said that Moscow was asked to send Lavrov to the summit instead of Putin, but the request was rejected. "We understand that we are bound by the Rome Statute, but we cannot invite someone and then you will arrest him. We would be happy if he did not come," Mashatile said.
18:22 The NATO communiqué on Ukraine's membership prospects contains extremely cautious language as key allies try to reduce risks, Kuleba said: "They absolutely agree that Ukraine will 'arrive at its destination' and be a member of NATO. But they have fear, that if you go too fast, you can get into an accident. And they want to avoid this, they want to get to this point safely. "
The head of the Foreign Ministry also rejected the suggestion that they want to leave Ukraine's membership in NATO as a subject of bargaining with Russia: "This version has the right to exist from the point of view of logic, but again: even what I heard from Biden - everyone heard, we just heard more in detail behind closed doors - and publicly, Biden made it clear that now no one should have any doubts that Ukraine will be a member of NATO. When the US president makes such a statement, it is obvious that he is making a certain political commitment."
17:39 Peskov said that "there were no statements from the Russian side regarding the extension of the grain deal."
17:17 The United States is buying decommissioned MIM-23 Hawk air defense systems sold to Taiwan to transfer them to Ukraine, China Times reports, citing sources. We are talking about Phase III MIM-23 Hawk, withdrawn from service in June.
16:35 Erdogan said that he and Putin "are of the same opinion" on the extension of the grain agreement. He stressed that he hopes for an extension of the agreement after July 17.
16:33 Denmark handed over to Ukraine six demining drones that can search for mines both on land and in water, Reznikov said.
16:14 Bulgaria will give Ukraine 100 Soviet-style infantry fighting vehicles from the arsenal of its police, reports Еuractiv. The country for the first time announced the transfer of heavy equipment to Ukraine. According to the publication, military aid to Ukraine was sent from Bulgaria earlier, but this was not advertised. In exchange for the sent equipment, Sofia expects to receive a more modern replacement from the United States.
16:11 The Russians have moved marine units to the occupied city of Oleshki, Kherson region, to hinder the advance of Ukrainian troops, the Ministry of Defense reported. Also, the enemy is trying to prevent the landing of Ukrainian troops on the left bank of the Dnieper.
15:52 The Ministry of Defense of Belarus reported that classes with units of territorial troops are being held near Osipovichi, mercenaries of PMC Wagner acted as instructors in a number of military disciplines.
15:47 According to Estonian intelligence chief Margo Grosberg, the actions of Ukrainian troops during the counteroffensive and signs of complications for the Russian army may indicate that Ukraine can count on great success at the front in the near future.
15:40 The military administration of the Sumy region decided to strengthen security measures by organizing patrols. Patrolling will be carried out by the military personnel of the National Guard. Soon they will begin daily patrolling the streets of settlements and will carry out the protection of certain objects in cooperation with law enforcement agencies and other military formations of the region, the IVA said.
15:32 Ten countries have already joined the joint declaration on guarantees to Ukraine, agreed by the leaders of the G7: Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Belgium and Portugal, Yermak said.
14:44 Bulgaria has joined the joint purchase of ammunition for Ukraine within the framework of the project of the European Defense Agency, in which 24 EU member states and Norway are already participating, the country's government announced.
14:10 The Ukrainian "Mossad" already exists, Budanov said in an interview with Reuters: "If you are asking about the Mossad, which is known for eliminating the enemies of its state, then we have done it and will continue to do it."
13:42 The Ukrainian military in the Melitopol direction over the past week advanced 1.7 km to the south and southeast, said Nikolay Urshalovich, deputy director of the planning department for the use of the Main Directorate of the National Guard. He also noted that the National Guard is preparing a bridgehead for expanding the offensive in the Avdiivka direction.
13:31 Russia, as part of the rotation, withdrew almost all of its military personnel from Belarus, where they were training, said Andrei Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Service. At the same time, he did not rule out that the next units could soon be brought into the territory of the Republic of Belarus. Demchenko also noted that the State Border Guard Service has not yet observed an organized transfer of Russian mercenaries from private military companies to Belarus.
12:53 Ukraine returned the bodies of another 62 fallen defenders, the Ministry of Reintegration reported.
12:48 Zelensky announced that he had held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander. Among other things, the president noted an increase in the volume of repairs and domestic production of weapons, "including a good result on UAVs." In addition to the situation at the front, the participants discussed the protection of nuclear power plants and the northern border. According to Zelensky, "taking into account the intelligence data and the measures taken, there is no threat of an invasion from Belarus."
11:59 Rada changed the dates of public holidays in Ukraine: December 25 - Christmas (instead of January 7); July 15 - Day of Ukrainian Statehood (instead of July 28); October 1 - Day of Defenders and Defenders of Ukraine (instead of October 14).
11:56 The Russian Orthodox Church may be preparing a new transfer of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia to Hungary, said Andrei Yusov, spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. According to him, this information is being checked, there is no list of names of prisoners for transfer yet. Budapest is looking for Ukrainians of Hungarian origin among the prisoners of war in Russia and in the occupied territories.
Yusov also noted that there is still no connection with some of the Ukrainian servicemen transferred to Hungary. And five of the military men who were returned spoke about pressure from the Russian special services.
11:41 In Berdyansk, at least two places are known where Russians are holding prisoners, said the head of the city military administration, Viktoria Galitsina: "As far as we know, the Russians use colony 77 for this, and also keep them in cells near the Berdyansk police department. This is from such as we know." According to her, the occupiers "put local residents in the basement" for their pro-Ukrainian position in social networks, they carry out "preventive work" with them.
11:35 Ukrainian intelligence has sources in Putin's entourage, Budanov told Reuters: "We have our own sources. In the nearest offices, so to speak. Therefore, we usually know what is happening." Budanov also said that Ukraine drew conclusions after 2014: "Then we completely lost the information war. And we started this war in a completely different way. And now the Russians are losing the information battle."
11:04 The Russian emergency services said that the drone fell in Kurchatov, a few kilometers from the Kursk nuclear power plant, and a residential building was damaged.
10:47 Kuleba said that he was generally satisfied with the results of the NATO summit in Vilnius and now the invitation for Ukraine is "closer than it seems." The Minister noted that the Ukrainian delegation managed to overcome the psychological barrier at the summit and now it is clear that our country is really seen as a member of the Alliance.
10:32 Over the past 24 hours, the Defense Forces destroyed three Russian DRGs at the mouth of the Dnieper, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces Natalya Gumenyuk said: "They try to maneuver there from time to time, collecting information about the movement of the Defense Forces, trying to rotate their personnel. And over the past day "we found three such groups on three boats. Everything was effectively destroyed: 11 occupiers and three boats."
10:13 Biden authorized the Pentagon to send about 3,000 military personnel from the reserve to Europe against the backdrop of Russia's war in Ukraine, CNN reports. There are now more than 100,000 U.S. military personnel in Europe, a number that has increased since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Under the new order, the reservists will participate in Operation Atlantic Resolve, a rotational deployment that bolsters NATO's eastern flank. It is expected that the dispatch of reservists will take about six months. The additional troops are likely to work in the logistics and supply or medical fields.
09:36 The Russians use the deteriorating weather conditions for air attacks on the territory of Ukraine, Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat said. He clarified that the dark time of the day, as well as cloudiness, make it difficult for mobile fire teams to work. Also, the weather affects any objects in the sky, the operation of manned aircraft, etc.
At the same time, Ignat added that the weather does not greatly affect cruise missiles and shaheeds, because they fly along a given route: “Perhaps, if there is a strong side wind, freezing with temperature changes, this can affect the shaheeds, which are launched through the Sea of ​​Azov ... Now, as we see, the enemy uses them even in such weather, when there is both cloudiness and showers.
09:01 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed (in Pervomaisky), four more were injured. In the Kherson region, one person died, another was injured. In the Zaporozhye region, one person died and four were injured, according to the IVA.
08:49 Ukrainian troops continue their offensive north and south of Bakhmut, in the direction of Belaya Gora - Andreevka, they were successful, they are gaining a foothold on the achieved lines, Andriy Kovalev, the speaker of the General Staff, said. Also, the Defense Forces continue to restrain the advance of the Russians in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions.
08:42 The House of Representatives rejected several amendments to the US defense budget for 2024, which were dangerous for Ukraine, Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova said.
08:36 Governor of the Voronezh region Alexander Gusev said that three drones were shot down by air defense a few kilometers from Voronezh, there were no casualties or damage. Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit reported a drone crash at night in Kurchatov, no one was injured, "critical facilities were not damaged."
08:27 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of July 14:
- personnel - about 236,590 (+550) people liquidated,
- tanks - 4097 (+5),
- armored combat vehicles - 8008 (+9),
- artillery systems - 4449 (+24),
- MLRS - 680 (+2),
- air defense systems - 423 (+2),
- aircraft - 315 (+0),
- helicopters - 310 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 3783 (+31),
- cruise missiles - 1273 (+2),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 7019 (+24),
- special equipment - 662 (+10).
08:15 At night, air defense forces destroyed 16 out of 17 attack drones, the Air Force command reported. Russia attacked Ukraine with Shahed-136/131 strike drones from the southeast direction (Primorsko-Akhtarsk). Also at night, one reconnaissance UAV was shot down, another six drones of the operational-tactical level were hit by air defense over the past day.
07:58 The Russian army is concentrating its main efforts on the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions, there are heavy battles. During the day, there were about 30 clashes, the General Staff said in the morning report .
07:41 At night, the Dnipropetrovsk region was attacked by enemy drones, air defense forces shot down six attack drones, said the head of the OVA Serhiy Lysak. In Krivoy Rog, a UAV hit a utility company - one administrative building was destroyed on its territory, three more were damaged, and special equipment was also damaged. A transport company and two two-story residential buildings were damaged, one person was injured.
01:03 Putin said that PMC Wagner "does not exist, since there is no law on private military organizations in Russia." At the same time, he added that the status of private military companies in Russia is "difficult", it should be discussed in the government and the State Duma.
00:49 The European Investment Bank and the EU member states have created a new Ukraine Trust Fund with a capital of 400 million euros, the money from which will be used to restore Ukraine. Of the 27 EU countries, 16 have agreed to contribute to this fund. The largest contributions were made by France and Italy: they allocate 100 million euros each, which will be used to repair the infrastructure of Ukraine, provide financing to small and medium-sized enterprises or utilities.