Wednesday, July 12

Russia’s war against Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the crowd gathered at Vilnius’s Lukishkes Square on July 10, 2023. (Ukraine’s Presidential Office)

Vilnius summit brings Ukraine closer to NATO, but direct invitation withheld. NATO allies adopted a three-part support package for Ukraine, which includes removing the requirement to undergo the Membership Action Plan, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said during the Vilnius summit on July 11.

Zelensky blasts unclear time frame for NATO invite: ‘unprecedented and absurd’. While en route to Vilnius, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “It’s unprecedented and absurd when a time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership.”

Zelensky in Vilnius: ’NATO will give Ukraine security, Ukraine will make the alliance stronger.’ President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech at Vilnius’s central square amid the ongoing NATO summit, saying he believes in an alliance that “doesn’t hesitate, waste time, or look back at any aggressor.”

Zelensky announces ‘new defense tools’ for Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine would receive “new defense instruments” as a result of the ongoing Vilnius NATO summit. “Our defense is the first priority. And I am grateful to the partners for their willingness to take new steps.”

Kuleba: ’NATO shouldn’t keep Ukraine in limbo when it comes to membership.’ NATO shouldn’t keep “the whole situation and Ukraine in limbo when it comes to membership,“ Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Bloomberg Television in an interview on July 11.

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Reznikov: F-16 training coalition of 11 countries officially formed. An international coalition to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets has been formed, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on July 11. At the NATO summit in Vilnius, Reznikov signed a memorandum outlining the training terms with 11 coalition members.

Minister: Ukrainian Delta system ready to integrate Western equipment, including F-16 jets. The Ukrainian Delta system is ready to integrate Western equipment, including F-16 fighter jets, after successfully passing NATO tests, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on July 11.

Exiled local authorities: Ukraine reportedly strikes Russian makeshift barracks in occupied Berdiansk. An alleged Ukrainian strike hit a local hotel turned into Russian military barracks in occupied Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the exiled local authorities wrote on July 11.

Military intelligence: Russian officer responsible for strikes against civilians killed in Russia. Stanislav Rzhytskyi, a Russian Navy officer responsible for strikes against Ukrainian civilians, has been shot dead in Krasnodar, Russia on July 10, the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) reported on July 11.

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Ukraine war latest: Stoltenberg says ‘no final decision’ made about Ukraine’s NATO aspirations on the eve of Vilnius summit

NATO adopted a three-part support package for Ukraine, dropping the Membership Action Plan (MAP), Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on the first day of the two-day Vilnius summit on July 11.

Photo: Getty Images

Former NATO envoy to Moscow: ‘Potential escalation with Russia is a myth’

Russia’s war against Ukraine is “a direct attack on international law. …Russia has, with this invasion, destroyed the international security architecture,” former NATO envoy to Moscow from 2010-2015, Robert Pszczel said.

Photo: NATO

Human cost of war

Russian attacks kill 1 in Kherson Oblast. Russian forces have launched strikes against Kherson Oblast, killing one person and injuring at least five, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on July 11.

Update: 7 killed in Russian attack on Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

The death toll of the Russian airstrike against Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, has risen to seven, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported, adding that three bodies were retrieved from the rubble.

General Staff: Russia has lost 235,020 troops in Ukraine.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on July 11 that Russia had lost 235,020 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year. This number includes 540 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Politico: EU draws up plan for Ukraine security guarantees. The document, obtained by Politico, includes recommendations to ensure a “sustained” supply of weapons to Ukraine, continue military training, share intelligence, and help Kyiv to establish ties with European defense companies.

Macron: France to send long-range missiles to Ukraine. France will transfer long-range missiles to Ukraine to support its ongoing counteroffensive, French President Emmanuel Macron said at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11.

Reznikov: France to increase defense aid for Ukraine by $187 million. France will allocate another 170 million euros (about $187 million) to provide military aid to Ukraine, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said following a meeting with his French counterpart.

Media: Germany to present $770 million package for Ukraine, including new Patriots. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will present a new support package worth $770 million at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on July 11.

Czech president: Any success on the battlefield will form basis for future negotiations. Any achievements on the battlefield by the end of the year will form the basis of future negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, Czech President Petr Pavel said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11, European Pravda reports.

Opinions and Insights

Oksana Lutsyshyna: Every wave is for you

“Now it seems to me like I always knew Vika Amelina. This past week has been hellish – a mix of anticipation, knowing, and the impossibility of reconciling with this knowledge. How can I imagine life without her now? Where do I even begin?,” Oksana Lutsyshyna writes of the late Viktoria Amelina.

Photo: Olena Znak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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In other news

Prominent Belarusian artist dies in prison ‘under unclear circumstances.’ The prominent Belarusian artist Ales Pushkin died in prison in Belarus “under unclear circumstances,” his wife Janina Demuch reported on July 11.

Polish government passes resolution commemorating victims of Volyn Massacre on 80th anniversary. The Polish government on July 11 unanimously adopted a resolution commemorating the victims of the Volyn (Volhynia) Massacre on its 80th anniversary, stating that Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation must include the “acknowledgment of guilt and commemoration of the victims.”

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dinara Khalilova, Martin Fornusek, Teah Pelechaty, Francis Farrell, Lili Bivings, and Abbey Fenbert.

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