Wednesday, July 19

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A downed missile inside a private home in Odesa after Russian forces struck Odesa with missile attacks on July 18, 2023. (Photo credit: Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia Odesa with missiles, drones, injuring 1. Russian forces launched six Kalibr cruise missiles and a significant number of Shahed kamikaze drones against Odesa Oblast, injuring one resident, the Operational Command “South” reported on July 18.

Ammunition production, F-16 training, counter-offensive progress discussed at Ramstein meeting. At the 14th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on July 18, the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters and Ukraine’s acute need for ammunition were the main topics of discussion.

EU appeals to Russia to resume grain deal. The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell appealed to Russia on July 17 to resume its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was effectively terminated by Moscow.

Shmyhal: Ukraine to reconstruct Kakhovka dam and power plant. The Ukrainian government has approved a resolution to start a reconstruction project of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on July 18. Shmyhal explained that the project is intended to take place in two stages, lasting two years.

FT: Saudi Arabia, Turkey seek to negotiate return of abducted Ukrainian children. Saudi Arabia and Turkey are trying to broker a deal to repatriate Ukrainian children abducted and forcibly deported to Russia, the Financial Times (FT) reported on July 18, citing four undisclosed sources.

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General Staff: Ukraine advances in two southern directions. Ukrainian forces advanced in the Mala Tokmachka-Novopokrovka and Velyka Novosilka-Urozhaine directions on the southern front line, spokesperson of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andrii Kovalov reported on July 18.

Defense Ministry: Ukraine regains initiative near Kupiansk, continues offensive along southern front. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Telegram on July 18 that “the enemy offensive in the Kupiansk direction is currently unsuccessful.” The area is the location of heavy troop build-up by Russia.

Military intelligence: Surovikin effectively removed from position but his fate undecided. Army General Sergey Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian invasion forces in Ukraine, was effectively removed from position but his fate remains undecided, Ukraine’s military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on July 18.

Yermak: Russian drones still have Western-made parts, new sanctions needed. A Russian drone shot down over Mykolaiv last night was made with parts from Western countries, Ukraine’s Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak said on July 18.

SBU brings new charges against Russian propagandist Anton Krasovsky. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) informed on July 18 that it brought new charges against Russian propagandist Anton Krasovsky, who has previously called for the murder of Ukrainian children.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Russia attacks Odesa, claims ‘retaliation’ for Crimean Bridge incident

Explosions were reported in Odesa at around 2:30 a.m. local time on July 18. Russia targeted the port city with six Kalibr missiles, which Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called “retaliation” for the attack on the Crimean Bridge on July 17.

Photo: Southern Operational Command

Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Another Ukrainian judge’s Russian connections revealed.

Ukrainian judge Lyudmyla Arestova has a Russian passport and frequently visited occupied Crimea between 2018 and January 2022, according to Schemes, an investigative project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Illustration: Schemes, RFE/RL

Uprooted: An investigation into Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children

Human cost of war

Russian attacks kill 6, injure 25 over one day. Russian forces attacked 10 oblasts over the past day, killing at least six people and injuring at least 25, local officials reported on July 18. The oblasts of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk, and Mykolaiv came under attack.

1 killed, 1 injured in Russian attack on Kharkiv Oblast. Russian troops shelled Dvorichna in Kharkiv Oblast on July 18, killing a 72-year-old man and injuring 65-year-old woman, according to the military administration of Kharkiv Oblast.

General Staff: Russia has lost 239,010 troops in Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on July 18 that Russia had lost 239,010 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year. This number includes 710 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

International response

Turkey, Russia, UN Chief, hold talks on grain deal termination. Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan held talks by phone on July 18 with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and U.N. Secretary General António Guterres on Russia’s exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to Turkish diplomatic sources cited by Anadolu Agency.

Reuters: U.S. to announce $1.3 billion more in military aid for Ukraine. The U.S. will announce a new pledge to deliver $1.3 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine in the coming days, Reuters reported on July 18, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.

Benelux to send M113 infantry vehicles to Ukraine. The defense ministers of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg announced in a joint statement on July 18 that their countries will soon send Ukraine refurbished M113 armored vehicles.

European Court of Human Rights strikes down Russia’s claims against Ukraine. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) struck down Russia’s claims against Ukraine filed in 2021, the court informed on July 18.

G20 meeting ends without joint statement over disagreement on Ukraine. The two-day meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) representatives ends without a joint communiqué as the participants could not agree on the issue of the Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, Reuters reported on July 18.

Poland transfers forces to eastern border as Wagner convoys enter Belarus. Two Polish brigades have been transferred from the west of the country to locations near the border with Belarus, Polish defense minister Mariusz Błaszczak said on July 18.

Opinions and Insights

David Kirichenko: Turkey now senses Russia to be the sick man of Europe

“In a move that delivered a significant setback to Putin, Erdogan has publicly expressed his support for Ukraine’s aspirations to become a member of NATO, allowed the release of Azov commanders, and halted opposition to Sweden’s NATO accession,” writes David Kirichenko.

Photo: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Richard Cashman: Understanding Russia’s imperial conceits

“Understanding Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine as part of an imperial war begun in 2014 has become increasingly commonplace in Euro-Atlantic foreign policy-making circles and amongst a wider group of countries concerned with ending the war,” Richard Cashman writes.

Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AF/Getty Images

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Elsa Court, Oleksiy Sorokin, Francis Farrell, Teah Pelachaty, Kate Tsurkan, Abbey Fenbert and Daria Bevzhuk.

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