• New: In the first weeks of the counter-offensive, Kiev lost 20% of its weapons.
• Moscow: “Attack on two Russian journalists foiled: 6 arrested”.
• Zelenskyy: “The speed of the end of the war depends on the support of Kiev.”
• What does the Ukrainian army need? “Ammunition”.
3:20 p.m. – USA: “Ukraine will soon use cluster bombs”
“If it hasn’t already, Ukraine will be using cluster bombs in the next few hours and days.” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in an interview with CNN, confirming that Kiev forces received the American cluster bombs and ready to use them.
2:52 p.m. – Kiev: “Eastern Front is getting worse, Russians are advancing on Kupyansk”
Difficulties on the Eastern Front in the Kharkiv region and progress in Bakhmut. According to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, this is the situation on the ground described by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. “The situation is a bit worse in the east. The enemy was actively advancing towards Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region for two days in a row. We’re on the defensive. “There are fierce battles, positions change several times a day,” he explains. Instead: “We are gradually moving forward in Bakhmut’s direction.” There is a daily advance on the southern flank around Bakhmut.
12:30 – Putin: “Ukrainian counteroffensive is unsuccessful”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine’s counteroffensive was “unsuccessful” and instead gave a “positive” assessment of the course of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, in which the Moscow army was “acting heroically”. The tax office reports it.
12:18 – The last ship of the grain agreement leaves Odessa
The last ship granted safe passage under the Black Sea Grains Agreement has left the port of Odessa. Sky News reported on this, reminding that the deadline for extending the agreement is fast approaching: Ukraine and Russia have until tomorrow to renew the agreement, which is expected to be approved by Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the deal, which he believes is crucial to averting a global food crisis and tackling hunger in developing countries.
12:03 – Kiev: “Russia has increased the number of ships in the Black Sea”
This morning, Russia increased the number of Kalibr missile carriers deployed in the Black Sea. This was announced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine – quoted by UNIAN – according to which the number of warships in the basin increased from 9 to 11 units. Among them are two missile carriers, the total salvo is 12 calibres. “The operational situation has changed. “There are already 11 ships in the Black Sea. And in the Mediterranean there is a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles,” said the spokesman for the Ukrainian Naval Forces.
12:02 – Chinese flotilla departs for naval exercises with Russia
A Chinese naval flotilla left today to join Russian naval and air forces in the Sea of Japan in an exercise aimed at “ensuring the safety of strategic waterways”. The Chinese Ministry of Defense reported this, citing the Guardian. The exercise, codenamed Northern/Interaction-2023, underscores increased military cooperation between China and Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The Chinese flotilla, consisting of five warships and four helicopters, has left the eastern port of Qingdao and will join Russian forces in a “predetermined area,” the Chinese ministry said on its official WeChat account. Yesterday, Beijing reported that the exercise in the Sea of Japan involving Moscow’s naval and territorial forces will begin soon. According to the Chinese state newspaper Global Times, it would be the first time that both Russian forces would be involved in the maneuvers.
11:40 – Putin: “We will examine Western equipment captured in Ukraine”
Western military equipment captured by Russian forces in Ukraine is examined by Russian specialists. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, quoted by Tass. “There is an expression like ‘reverse engineering,'” the president said in an interview with Rossiya-1 channel, an excerpt of which was published on journalist Pavel Zarubin’s Telegram channel. “If there is an opportunity to look inside to see if there is something that can be applied in our country, then why not?” Putin said, adding that Russian equipment is already “very effective.” may be.
11:14 am – Cluster bombs, why they are dangerous and who still uses them
(Lorenzo Cremonesi) Probably the most powerful cluster bomb that journalists of our generation have seen live explode during a war was what the Americans slang call the Daisy Cutter. A nearly 7,000-pound cylinder is parachuted down by large bombers at high altitude, opening a few hundred meters above the ground (depending on wind intensity), slowing and then exploding in the sky to amplify the devastating effect as large a territory as possible and finally releases thousands of smaller bomblets, some of which explode one after the other, some of which remain potentially lethal, polluting the territory for years, in some cases (particularly in deserts or arid regions) for centuries.
Here the complete article.
11:08 am – Kyiv: “Powerful explosions occurred in Mariupol this morning”
Explosions were heard this morning in Mariupol, Donetsk region: the mayor’s adviser Petro Andryushchenko announced this via telegram, Ukrainska Pravda reported. “Mariupol. coastal district. Settlement Cheremushki and village Moriakiv. (Explosions) very loud,” wrote Andryushchenko. Explosions had previously been reported from Lugansk and Berdyansk (Zaporizhia).
10:06 am – Putin: “We will use cluster bombs if Kiev does”
The supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine and their use “must be considered a criminal offence”. This is what Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview filmed by Tass, stressing that Moscow too “has a sufficient stockpile of these bombs” which it “has not yet used”, but “if they are used against us, then against us.” We reserve the right to use them as a reflection of such actions.’
09:33 – Kiev: “Two dead in Russian attacks on Donetsk in 24 hours”
Two people have been killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Donetsk region in the past 24 hours. This was stated by the head of the region’s military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, in an update on Telegram. “On July 15, the Russians killed two residents of the Donetsk region: in Khasiv Yar and Aleksandro-Shultyny. “One other person was injured during the day,” the official wrote. In another message, Kyrylenko then said that “in the middle of the night the Russians launched a missile attack on Kramatorsk, targeting a company” and “the enemy bombed Avdiivka”.
08:30 – Ukraine is empty: fewer children and residents. “Many don’t come back, it’s a disaster”
(Lorenzo Cremonesi) Cities and above all empty villages, divided families, lonely soldiers on the front lines with wives and children abroad who do not return, faltering birth rates: Ukraine is in a catastrophic demographic crisis. “The collapse of the population will soon lead to very serious economic and social problems.” “Putin is losing the war, but he could still win the challenge for the future of a stable and independent Ukraine,” say the experts. Little is said about it in public, the problem is hot, but nobody knows how to deal with it, and the urgency of combating the Russian invasion forces us to postpone any other issue. “If the house is on fire, you must first put out the fire and only later think about what furniture to buy,” defended the members of the Zelensky government.
Here the complete article.
08:20 – Moscow: “9 Ukrainian drones shot down in Crimea”
Russian forces shot down nine Ukrainian drones in annexed Crimea last night, pro-Russian Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said in Telegram. “A total of two drones were shot down tonight and five neutralized by electronic warfare units. Two surface drones were also destroyed in the outlying roadstead,” Razvozhayev wrote.
3:40 am – Moscow and Beijing respond to NATO: joint exercises in the Sea of Japan
by Lorenzo Cremonesi, our correspondent in Kiev
Beijing and Moscow respond to NATO’s challenge with a show of unity, announcing their intention to hold “joint military exercises” in the Sea of Japan three days after the end of the Vilnius summit. The statement came yesterday morning from China’s defense ministry, which did not give the date of the maneuvers, although they appear close, but clarified that they will be called “Northern-Interaction-2023” and aim to “maintain that.” Security of Strategic Seamen’s Corridors”.
A move that underscores the Beijing regime’s long-term strategic choices: despite Putin’s unsuccessful blunders in the Ukrainian military operation and his apparent domestic weakness, Xi Jinping continues to see him as a key ally in the confrontation with the Western camp and with the American policy of Chinese “containment.” ‘ in the Pacific. This will also raise concerns in Tokyo, which has opened various territorial and water control disputes with China. The Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party’s English-language newspaper, points out that this is the first time Russia has sent naval and air forces to take part in maneuvers of this kind. Meanwhile, five Chinese warships and four helicopters have already left Tsingtao base in Shandong province to reach the stretch of sea where the drills are scheduled to begin. Since 2018, the Russian Pacific Fleet has invited the Chinese fleet to joint operations four times.
03:39 – The Military Point | What does the Ukrainian army need? “Ammo, Ammo, Ammo”
(by Andrea Marinelli and Guido Olimpio) Stories from officers and soldiers explain what Ukraine needs. What follows is a short “notebook” of testimonials that have appeared online. Expert Dmitri Alperovitch, returning from a trip to the country, underlined several important points.
• The first is the usual and well-known: in Kiev “we need ammunition, ammunition, ammunition”. If we are still in this “box” after more than 500 days of crisis, it is because the army uses a lot of it to undermine the Russian bastions (more organized than expected) and the western supplies, continuous as they are like, not enough.
Read the military point here.
– A Ukrainian post near the Bakhmut Front (Afp)
02:28 – New York Times: In the first two weeks of the counteroffensive, Kiev has lost 20% of its weapons
In the first two weeks of the counteroffensive, Ukraine lost up to 20% of combat equipment to destruction or damage, reports The New York Times, citing Western government sources. In recent weeks, however, the casualty rate has fallen to 10%, largely due to the slowdown in the counteroffensive, but also to tactical changes by Ukrainian forces, which are now aimed at wearing down Russian troops.
02:23 – Azerbaijan: Moscow: does not comply with Nagorno-Karabakh agreements
Azerbaijan has accused Russia of failing to meet its obligations under the Moscow-brokered 2020 ceasefire agreement to end fighting with Armenia over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. “The Russian side has not ensured the full implementation of the agreement in line with its commitments,” the Baku foreign ministry said, adding that Moscow “did nothing to prevent Armenia’s military supplies from reaching the separatist forces in the troubled enclave.”
01:43 – Kharkiv, explosions in the night and local residents run to shelters
Earlier, several explosions were heard in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and air raid warnings are still in place in Sumy, Poltava and Zaporizhia. The shots may have come from S-300 and drove residents to shelters, including the ANSA reporter who was covering it. Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhovha confirmed the incident on his Telegram channel, citing the airstrike warning, but gave no further details. According to RBC-Ukraine, at least three explosions occurred in Kharkiv.