Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 20:19 China supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and promises not to supply weapons to Russia, Zelensky said in an evening video address following Kuleba's visit to Beijing. "I expect a detailed report from the minister upon my return to Ukraine," the president added.
19:23 As a result of today's Russian strike on the city of Lozovaya in the Kharkiv region, two people were killed and four others were injured, reported the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. In addition, as a result of another KAB strike on Kharkiv, three people were injured.
17:50 The Czech Republic is preparing to launch a second initiative to supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition for 2025, said the country's Defense Minister Jana Černochová. At least five Czech arms manufacturers are expected to be involved in this initiative, which will produce the shells at the expense of European donor countries.
17:37 In Moscow, the car of Andrei Torgashov, an officer of the GRU psychological operations unit, was blown up, Russian media write. His feet were torn off, his wife was slightly injured. Military unit 45807 in Moscow belongs to the Psychological Operations units of the Russian Armed Forces and is part of the former GRU.
17:05 Russia returns bodies of Ukrainians without internal organs during exchanges, relatives of prisoners of war said at a meeting in Ankara with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar. "Today, it is already known for sure that we are receiving bodies of those tortured from captivity. We are receiving not only tortured bodies, but also bodies that, unfortunately, are without organs. That is, this confirms the fact that the black market for organ transplantation in the Russian Federation is working. Unfortunately, it is working with our prisoners of war," said the wife of one of the prisoners of war, defenders of the Mariupol garrison.
The woman appealed to the Turkish president with a request to support the creation of a joint medical commission, which will allow monitoring the health of both Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war. She also claims that Russia refuses to return and include prisoners of war from the Mariupol garrison in the exchange lists.
16:39 Scholz stated that Germany will not change its decision to strike deep into Russia: "All our decisions are weighed and taken in such a way that it does not lead to escalation, so that the war between Russia and Ukraine does not turn into a war between Russia and NATO."
15:52 Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala confirmed in an interview with Ukrinform that his country will supply Ukraine with about 500,000 rounds of ammunition by the end of 2024 as part of its initiative: "The deliveries will continue at the projected pace in the coming months; by the end of the year, the Ukrainian army will have received about 500,000 units of 155 mm ammunition." He added that in parallel with this, the Czech Republic annually supplies hundreds of thousands of large-caliber ammunition of other types.
15:31 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said following a meeting with Kuleba that the conditions and time for negotiations between Kiev and Moscow are not yet ripe: "Recently, both Ukraine and Russia have sent signals to varying degrees that they are ready for negotiations. Although the conditions and time are not yet ripe, we support all efforts to promote peace and are ready to continue to play a constructive role in this."
15:18 Russians struck the Kholodnogorsk district of Kharkov, six people were injured, reported the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov.
14:43 China supplies weapons components to Belarus for use against Ukraine, the Japanese agency Nikkei writes, citing data from the Belarusian opposition group BelPol. This concerns the supply of laser modules, components for guidance systems and other components from China to Belarus.
13:46 Russians attacked an infrastructure facility in the city of Lozovaya in the Kharkiv region - three people were injured, four more are currently being sought, reported the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. The enemy also launched two missile strikes on Kharkiv, the consequences are being clarified.
13:12 EU ambassadors have agreed to allocate a tranche of 4.2 billion euros to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility program, the EU Council reports. This is a program approved earlier this year for 50 billion euros until 2027 in exchange for the implementation of reforms.
12:57 German defense company Rheinmetall has announced that it has received an order from the Ukrainian government to build an ammunition plant in Ukraine, which was announced in February 2024. Construction is expected to begin shortly and be completed within a few years. The production of ammunition in Ukraine is planned to begin within 24 months.
12:15 Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that lasted more than three hours, Reuters reports. According to a report on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website, Wang Yi again spoke about "the crisis in Ukraine, which has lasted for the third year," and Beijing, according to him, "has always been firmly committed to facilitating a political resolution to the crisis."
As reported by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kuleba stated during the meeting that "a fair peace in Ukraine meets China's strategic interests, and China's role as a global force for peace is important." Kuleba also "voiced Ukraine's consistent position, which is readiness to conduct negotiations with the Russian side at a certain stage, when Russia is ready to negotiate in good faith, but stressed that such readiness has not yet been observed on the Russian side," the Foreign Ministry added.
11:58 Seven women who served their sentences in prison have signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice reported. They successfully passed the military medical commission and received the consent of the commanders of military units to serve in specific units of the Defense Forces. In total, since the entry into force of the law, which regulates the procedure for implementing the rights of convicts to directly participate in the defense of the state, 6,101 convicts have expressed a desire to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine, of which 3,823 have already left the penal institutions for training.
11:44 At one of the nuclear power plants, another repaired power unit was connected to the power system - this will significantly affect the stability of the power system and reduce the electricity deficit, the Ministry of Energy reported.
11:27 Today at 5 am, Russians hit the office of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action FSD, which was engaged in humanitarian demining of the territory of the Kharkiv region, with a ballistic missile, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. As a result of the shelling, the facade and ceilings on several floors were destroyed, six cars used by the organization's medics were damaged.
10:51 The Romanian Defense Ministry reported that after the Russian attack on Ukraine last night, no drone fragments were found on its territory, but the services continue to search, including near Plaur. The department added that two F-16 fighters were deployed for monitoring, which is part of a regular procedure.
10:36 Russia intends to increase the number of troops in Ukraine to 690 thousand by the end of the year, Syrsky said in an interview with The Guardian. He recalled that at the beginning of the invasion, the Russian Federation had 100 thousand soldiers, then this number increased to 520 thousand. As for the equipment, according to the commander-in-chief, here the ratio is 1:2 or 1:3 in favor of the Russians. Syrsky also said that since the beginning of the full-scale war, the number of Russian tanks has doubled - from 1,700 units to 3,500, the number of artillery systems - three times, and armored personnel carriers - from 4,500 to 8,900 units. "The enemy has a significant advantage in forces and means," the commander-in-chief summed up. At the same time, he added that the Kremlin's losses are three times greater than those of Ukraine, and in some areas - even more.
He also expressed confidence that Ukraine would win this war: "I know that we will win - and how." According to him, Kyiv had a plan to return Crimea, and this is realistic. "We will do everything possible to achieve the 1991 borders," the commander-in-chief emphasized.
Syrsky noted that the Russian army has not achieved significant progress, and its "creeping victories" are tactical - these are local achievements, not operational breakthroughs. According to the commander-in-chief, the length of the front line is now 3,700 km, while active combat operations are taking place on a section of 977 km, which is twice the length of the border between Germany and France.
09:29 Air defense destroyed 17 of 23 Shahed-type attack UAVs at night, the Air Force reported. Most of the drones were shot down in the Odessa region. In addition, at night, the Russians struck the Kharkiv region with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and a missile whose type is being determined. Over the past day and the current day, the Defense Forces have also destroyed at least eight reconnaissance drones in different directions: four Zala, two Supercam and Orlan-10.
08:52 In Donetsk Oblast, three people were killed as a result of Russian shelling on July 23 - in Liman. Another six people in the region were injured in the past 24 hours, reported OVA head Vadim Filashkin.
08:38 At night, the Russian army attacked a residential building in the Dniprovsky district of Kherson, one person was killed, the OVA reported. Over the past 24 hours, as a result of Russian shelling in the region, one person was killed and two were injured.
08:27 At night, Russians attacked the Izmail district of Odessa region with attack drones, reported the head of the OVA Oleg Kiper. The strike was carried out on the port infrastructure and an apartment building, three people were injured. As a result of the attack, several buildings of the port infrastructure were destroyed, three trucks were damaged. Romanian media write that during the night attack on Odessa region, the "shahed" flew into Romanian territory. In the north of Tulcea district, not far from Ukrainian Izmail, the movement of several UAVs towards the Romanian border was recorded at night.
08:19 At night, Russian troops launched a ballistic missile attack on the Nemyshlyansky district of Kharkiv - an industrial building and a residential building were damaged, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. In addition, the enemy struck an eco-park in the village of Lesnoye in the Kharkiv district with a drone - a fire broke out in the stable building, two people were injured.
07:30 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of July 24:
- personnel - about 570,120 (+1140) people,
- tanks - 8302 (+14),
- combat armored vehicles - 16,013 (+13),
- artillery systems - 15,759 (+65),
- MLRS - 1125 (+0),
- air defense systems - 902 (+1),
- aircraft - 363 (+1),
- helicopters - 326 (+0),
- Operational-tactical level UAVs - 12,544 (+33),
- cruise missiles - 2402 (+1),
- ships/boats - 28 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 21,279 (+77),
- special equipment - 2650 (+10).