Thursday, July 6

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A girl runs away during a Russian missile attack on a residential building in Pervomaiskyi, Kharkiv Oblast on July 4, 2023.

Update: Death toll of Russian strike on Lviv rises to 4. As of 7:30 a.m. local time, four people are known to have been killed and nine injured in Russia’s July 6 attack on Lviv, reported Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko on Telegram.

Military: Counteroffensive going to plan, full potential yet to come. Ukrainian commanders said that the counteroffensive is developing according to the plan, but the military has not yet deployed its full potential, ABC News wrote on July 5.

IAEA: No explosives found at Russian-shown parts of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have not found explosives during their inspections of parts of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in recent days and weeks, Director General Rafael Grossi said on July 5.

Zelensky: Ukraine is doing everything to ensure ‘collective security prevails’ at upcoming NATO summit. President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his nightly address on July 5 that Ukraine was working closely with allies ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius and that “collective security prevails.” According to Zelensky, the upcoming summit, which will take place from July 11-12, is a “crucial moment for our common security in Europe.”

Russian media: Fire erupts at oil depot in Russian-occupied Makiivka. Five fuel tanks caught fire at an oil depot in Russian-occupied Makiivka in Donetsk Oblast late on July 5, Russian state-controlled news outlet TASS reported.

General Staff: Possible cholera outbreaks in occupied part of Kherson Oblast. An increased number of intestinal infections, possibly cholera, has been noted in occupied Skadovsk and Henichesk in Kherson Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on July 5.

Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.

Bloomberg: Russia eyes Chechens, convicts to avoid full mobilization. Russia plans to send more Chechen fighters and convicts to the front to avoid full mobilization, Bloomberg wrote on July 5, citing European intelligence sources.

UK Defense Ministry: Any Kremlin’s moves against Surovikin likely to cause division. General Sergei Surovikin, the former top commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, has not been seen in public since the Wagner Group’s rebellion on June 23-24, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its intelligence update on July 5.

General Staff: Nuclear weapons in Belarus currently ’unlikely.’ The presence of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory remains currently unlikely, General Staff Deputy Chief Oleksii Hromov told Ukrinform on July 5.

Zelensky sanctions 18 holding companies with ties to Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 5 that he had signed a decree to impose sanctions on 18 holding companies associated with Russia.

Read our exclusives

On the edge of disaster: What could really happen if Russia destroys Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant?

With Russia in full control of the plant and its workers, technical, military, and political factors will determine if such an accident will happen, and, most importantly, what effect it will have on Ukraine and the war.

Photo: Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: IAEA finds no explosives at Russian-shown parts of occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) experts have not found explosives during their recent inspections of parts of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Photo: Olga Maltseva/ AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russia targets critical infrastructure in Lviv, at least 4 injured. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi reported on Telegram that four people were injured in the attack, one of whom is in critical condition.

Russian forces shell Kherson Oblast, killing 1, injuring 6. Russian forces shelled settlements in the Bilozerka community of Kherson Oblast on July 5, killing one person and injuring at least six others, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 231,700 troops in Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on July 5 that Russia has lost 231,700 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, with an estimated 670 casualties on July 4.

Opinions and Insights

Dietzen, Druckman: Vilnius NATO Summit – Accelerating Ukraine’s membership and deterring Moscow and Minsk

“As more and more cracks develop across military and political lines, NATO should seize upon this weakness and advance Ukraine’s membership now by announcing a Membership Action Plan at the Vilnius Summit,” write Mark Dietzen and Michael Druckman.

Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/ AFP via Getty Images)

International response

Estonian PM: Security commitments ‘blur’ Ukraine NATO membership talks. Discussions on bilateral security commitments to Ukraine may “blur” the talks on the country’s NATO membership, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told the Financial Times on July 5.

Lithuanian President: Ukraine likely to receive a lot but not all it expects at NATO summit. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told LRT on July 5 that, while it will likely not get everything it’s hoping for, Ukraine will not be disappointed at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

FT: Xi warned Putin against nuclear attack in Ukraine. Chinese President Xi Jinping personally warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the Financial Times (FT) reported on July 5 citing Western and Chinese officials.

In other news

Belarusian transport minister dies at 46. Belarusian Minister of Transport and Communications Aleksey Avramenko died suddenly on July 4, the state news agency Belta reported on July 5.

Defendant attempts to escape, triggers explosives in courthouse. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko confirmed during a press conference after the incident that the defendant, Ihor Humeniuk, triggered the explosion. According to Klymenko, Humeniuk threw an explosive device at the guards after his hearing and attempted to leave the court. Humeniuk died in the explosion.

ICJ: Ukraine, allies file proceedings against Iran for downed airline. According to a July 5 press release from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, and the U.K. have jointly filed proceedings against Iran for the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 in 2020.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Kate Tsurkan, Toma Istomina, Oleksiy Sorokin, Martin Fornusek, Teah Pelechaty, Abbey Fenbert, Lili Bivings, Daria Bevziuk, and Rachel Amran.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program. Start supporting independent journalism today.