Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:59 Romania cannot shoot down Russian drones over Ukraine because this would require opening fire on Ukrainian territory, said Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu: "In order to shoot them down, we would have to open fire on Ukrainian territory, and I believe that this is not yet allowed. I have not heard of a single decision on this issue." Ciolacu also said that after previous incidents involving the fall of Russian drones, security measures were taken and patrols of Romanian airspace were increased.
22:47 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine at the end of August, local TV channel Wion reports. Several sources in Delhi's diplomatic circles confirmed that the visit will most likely take place on August 23.
20:56 Zelensky said in an evening video address that the Pokrovsk direction "was and remains the main direction of Russian attacks." The president said that today he held a meeting with the Minister of Defense regarding new defense packages for Ukraine, as well as with the military command, including Syrsky. "Everything must be done and will be done to strengthen our positions, our Ukrainian ability to inflict tangible losses on the occupier," Zelensky emphasized.
18:29 Ukrenergo CEO Volodymyr Kudritsky said that the most difficult period of the summer is behind us: "We have gone through a very difficult couple of weeks, and now the situation has really improved. This is primarily due to the fact that the abnormal, record-breaking heat has finally subsided, and therefore electricity consumption has decreased. And also, of course, this is due to the fact that certain power-generating capacities have been repaired. Therefore, instead of the difficult mode of 3-4 stages, we have 1-2, which are used depending on the time. And if there are no new large-scale damage to power plants, then the situation will tend to improve. At least in the next few weeks."
Kudritsky also said that the construction of protective structures at power transmission facilities has already demonstrated its effectiveness: at substations where protection has been built, recovery from Russian attacks is much faster.
16:43 Russia is to blame for the death of more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war as a result of an explosion in Elenovka in July 2022, the Associated Press agency claims in its investigation, citing an unpublished UN report and eyewitness accounts of prisoners who returned to Ukraine. One of the main versions is the explosion of a planted device. At the same time, shots were fired from Grad rockets to muffle the explosions.
According to surviving prisoners, on the morning of July 27, 2022, a group of Azov soldiers was transferred to a separate room, which was located at a distance from other barracks. They were told that the transfer was due to repairs to their old barracks. Although other prisoners remained there, who later said that there had been no repairs. That same day, the guards dug trenches for themselves.
On July 28, the colony's management ordered the guard posts to be moved away from the new barracks, and the guards put on bulletproof vests and helmets, which they had never done before. In the evening, loud shots were heard from Grad, but this had happened before. And already at night, powerful explosions were heard, as a result of which the prisoners were killed. Then the survivors were placed in a separate room, which, according to UN experts, was done to prevent them from telling about what happened.
Some prisoners described how, after this, men dressed in military uniforms arrived at the scene, bringing boxes of HIMARS missile fragments with them and placing them near the barracks.
15:39 The IAEA reported that it had recorded explosions and gunfire near the Zaporizhia NPP over the past week. The sounds were heard at different distances from the plant. Observers checked scheduled work in the reactor hall and auxiliary building of power unit No. 6. At the same time, the IAEA emphasizes that during the visit to the turbine hall of power unit No. 6, observers did not have access to its western part.
14:57 Five people were injured in Kherson as a result of a Russian drone attack, OVA reported. The enemy dropped explosives from a drone on local residents who were near a store.
14:25 The G7 will conclude a framework agreement on a $50 billion loan for Ukraine by October this year, said European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni. According to him, G7 ministers held a meeting on the issue and managed to achieve significant progress on the technical and legal aspects of the loan. According to Reuters, the $50 billion loan will be serviced by proceeds from about $300 billion in Russian Central Bank assets frozen in the West.
13:38 Peskov said that the "illegal decision of the EU" to transfer 1.5 billion euros from the income from Russian assets to Kiev is "a reason for deliberate actions on the part of Moscow." According to him, such steps "will not go unanswered."
13:20 The General Staff confirmed that tonight, units of the missile forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces, carried out a strike on the Saki airfield in Crimea. This is one of the operational airfields that Russia uses to control airspace, in particular the Black Sea, and to carry out air strikes on Ukrainian territory. Information about the consequences of the strike is being clarified.
13:07 The European Commission announced the allocation of the first tranche of 1.5 billion euros of income from Russian assets, which will be used to purchase weapons for Ukraine , said EC President Ursula von der Leyen. The money will go to the peace fund to compensate EU countries for weapons transferred to Ukraine.
12:19 Hungary faces fuel shortages if Ukraine does not resume transit of Russian oil by September, Orban's administration said.
11:28 In Nizhyn, Chernihiv Oblast, the number of people injured in a night attack has risen to 15, Mayor Oleksandr Kodola reported. A dormitory in the city was seriously damaged as a result of the attack - 24 apartments were occupied by pensioners.
11:03 As a result of night strikes on the Saki airfield in Crimea, a radar was destroyed and two soldiers were wounded, the Russian opposition publication Astra reports, citing sources in emergency services. The ammunition was also hit, and a fire occurred. An ATACMS missile hit a Russian air defense deployment site 5 km from the village of Shelkovichnoye in the Saki district. In total, according to sources, the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck Crimea with four ATACMS missiles, two of which were shot down.
10:41 The Romanian Foreign Ministry summoned the Chargé d'Affaires of the Russian Embassy, ​​Elena Kopnina, and expressed "strong protest" to her over the wreckage of the "shahids" found on the country's territory. The Romanian department stated that "the irresponsible nature of the military strikes" by Russia is a threat to Romania's national security.
09:58 There is currently no urgent need to lower the mobilization age, Defense Ministry spokesman Dmitry Lazutkin said in an interview with NV. According to him, the number of those who have updated their military registration data currently significantly exceeds the needs of the troops. "But the situation in the war depends on many factors, and this can change. So far, we do not see such a need," Lazutkin added.
09:29 On the evening of July 25, Russians shelled the village of Kirillovka in the Chuguevsky district of the Kharkiv region, one person was wounded, reported the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. Another person was injured as a result of shelling in the village of Volokhovskoye in the Chuguevsky district and one in the village of Kurilovka in the Kupyansky district. In total, eight people were wounded in the region over the past 24 hours.
08:24 In Donetsk Oblast, two people were killed as a result of Russian shelling on July 25 - in Toretsk and Ilyinka. Another four people in the oblast were injured in the past 24 hours, reported OVA head Vadim Filashkin.
08:16 In the Kherson region, over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed and seven were injured, reported the head of the OVA, Oleksandr Prokudin.
07:59 Explosions were heard in Crimea at night, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel writes about strikes on the Saki airfield in Novofedorovka. According to sources, an ammunition depot was hit, and ambulances were also on their way to the airfield. One of the Russian military publics wrote that "the morning is not good" and added: "Eternal memory..."
07:46 At night, Russian UAVs struck Ukrenergo energy facilities in the Zhytomyr and Chernihiv regions, the company reported. Household and industrial consumers in certain areas of the Zhytomyr region were de-energized. As of this morning, power supply to most consumers has been restored.
07:38 Air defense destroyed 20 of 22 Shahed-type attack UAVs at night, the Air Force reported. The drones were shot down in the Kherson, Sumy, Zhytomyr and Chernihiv regions. In addition, the Russians struck the Donetsk region with an Iskander-M ballistic missile.
07:27 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of July 26:
- personnel - about 572,300 (+950) people,
- tanks - 8320 (+7),
- combat armored vehicles - 16,050 (+11),
- artillery systems - 15,840 (+36),
- MLRS - 1125 (+0),
- air defense systems - 904 (+0),
- aircraft - 363 (+0),
- helicopters - 326 (+0),
- Operational-tactical level UAVs - 12,683 (+73),
- cruise missiles - 2402 (+0),
- ships/boats - 28 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 21,414 (+56),
- special equipment - 2668 (+7).
05:48 The US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled one of the largest Russian mechanized attacks since October 2023 in the western Donetsk region on July 24. According to analysts, the Ukrainian Armed Forces stopped a battalion-sized Russian mechanized attack near Kostyantynivka after Russian troops advanced to the southeastern outskirts of the town.
The last time Russian forces carried out a battalion-sized mechanized attack in the Donetsk region was in March 2024. The Russians have not carried out a larger mechanized offensive since the first days of the four-month operation to capture Avdiivka in October 2023, ISW recalls. Experts suggest that the Russian army intends to advance further into Konstantinovka as part of its efforts to capture the town and cut the T-0524 Vuhledar-Konstantinovka highway.
04:53 The US government has published a report reporting errors in calculating the cost of weapons sent to Ukraine. This will allow the Pentagon to provide Kiev with additional aid in the amount of $2 billion, Reuters writes. As the government explained, such errors arise because the law adopted by Congress on providing aid to Ukraine in the amount of $61 billion does not contain clear instructions on how to evaluate the transferred weapons. It is also not always clear how to count the equipment received by Kiev under the US president's program, which allows it to use stockpiles from warehouses. The Pentagon wants to ask legislators to regulate this issue in the documents.
04:05 Russians attacked Nizhyn in the Chernihiv region with attack drones - an infrastructure facility and a dormitory were hit, one person was injured, reported the head of the OVA Vyacheslav Chaus.