Ukraine Daily

Sunday, July 24

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Russia’s war against Ukraine

A Ukrainian T-64 tank drives along a dirt road in Donbas on June 21, 2022. (Anatoliy Stepanov)

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According to Ukraine’s Operational Command “South,” Russian forces attacked the Black Sea trade port in Odesa with Kalibr cruise missiles on July 23. The attack came a day after Russia and Ukraine signed UN-backed agreements to resume exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Read our update here.

Governor: People injured in Russian strike on Odesa’s port. Odesa Oblast Governor Maksym Marchenko didn’t specify the number of people injured. Marchenko called the missile attack on Odesa “a message to the UN and the world that Russia is not going to negotiate or stop,” adding that all agreements with Russia “are not worth the paper they are written on.” Russia attacked Odesa with Kalibr cruise missiles on July 23.

Zelensky: ‘Russian strike on Odesa port hits its own political standing.’ President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia’s missile attack on the port of Odesa. Zelensky said that the missile attack on Odesa, a day after Russia signed an agreement to allow Ukraine to ship grain via its ports, is a statement that Russia isn’t trustworthy.

Institute for the Study of War: Ukrainian forces prepare to launch counteroffensive in southern Ukraine. The U.S. think tank reported on July 23 that Ukrainian forces are likely to, or already have, launched a counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast. However, the ISW notes that open-source information on Ukrainian troops’ progress will likely be “limited and lag behind events.”

UK Intelligence: Ukrainian strikes cause ‘further damage to key Antonivsky Bridge’ in occupied Kherson. However, Russia has conducted repair works and as of July 22, the bridge was “almost certainly open to some traffic,” according to the July 23 intelligence update by the U.K. Defense Ministry. The ministry said that it has not been possible to verify claims by Ukrainian officials that “Russia is preparing to construct an alternative, military pontoon bridge across the Dnipro River.” “The Russian army prioritizes maintaining its military bridging capability, but any attempt to construct a crossing of the Dnipro would be a very high-risk operation,” the ministry said.

Governor: Russia keeps 170 people captive in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. According to Governor Oleksandr Starukh, Russian forces abducted at least 415 people in the southern region since Feb. 24, and at least 170 are still kept captive.

Russia claims to have blocked Facebook, Twitter, Youtube in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. According to Russia’s state agencies, providers slowed down Google in the occupied part of Ukraine’s southern region. Earlier, Russia’s proxies in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts also announced they were blocking Google.

Intelligence: Russian troops deliver ammunition to Kherson Oblast under guise of humanitarian aid. According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Intelligence Directorate, over 20 trucks with ammunition and other heavy weaponry drove to the oblast under the pretext of civilian cargo. The ammunition warehouses are being set up in cultural and educational institutions, the intelligence said.

Health Minister: Russian forces destroy 127 Ukrainian hospitals since start of war. Health Minister Viktor Lyashko reported that Russian forces have damaged nearly 900 healthcare facilities since Feb. 24. They have also targeted 90 ambulances, seized 250 vehicles, and damaged 450 pharmacies.

Read our exclusives here

Oleksiy Symonenko, who became acting prosecutor general on July 17, may be formally appointed as the prosecutor general by the Verkhovna Rada next week, with his past record suggesting he values loyalty to the presidential administration more than being effective on the job. Read our story here.

Oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, once deemed the most powerful businessman in the country, was allegedly stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship, according to Ukrainian media and several top officials and politicians. Read our story here.

The human cost of Russia’s war

ABC News: Two US citizens dead in Donbas. Two U.S. citizens who were “thought to have been fighting for Ukraine” in Russia’s war have died in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas, ABC News reported on July 23, citing the State Department. ABC News did not provide details.

Governor: Russia shells Sumy Oblast 12 times within 24 hours. According to Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, Russian forces attacked Sumy Oblast 12 times, launching at least 170 shells and killing one person.

19 injured in Russian attack at Kirovohrad Oblast. Russia launched eight Kalibr cruise missiles and five Kh-22 anti-ship missiles at Kirovohrad Oblast, targetting the Kanarove military airfield and a facility of Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s state railway operator. Three people were killed.

General Staff: Russia has lost 39,240 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on July 23 that Russia had also lost 1,708 tanks, 3,929 armored fighting vehicles, 2,820 vehicles and fuel tanks, 864 artillery systems, 253 multiple launch rocket systems, 113 air defense systems, 188 helicopters, 221 airplanes, 714 drones, and 15 boats.

International response

Charles Michel says Russia is responsible for global food crisis. During his speech at the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, European Council President Charles Michel accused Russia of lying about the cause of the global food crisis. “Russia’s war is solely to blame for this crisis,” he said.

Media: Germany delays defense weapon delivery to Ukraine, including IRIS-T missiles. German media outlet Welt, citing anonymous Ukrainian officials, reported that Germany’s Economy Ministry approved the Ukrainian government’s application to purchase 11 IRIS-T air defense systems, but a final decision is being held up by Germany’s Federal Security Council, of which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is the head.

Orban: Sanctions against Russia have failed, Ukraine will never win war with current EU strategy. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, longtime Putin supporter, said during a speech in Romania that the current Western strategy in response to Russia’s invasion, built on the idea that Ukraine can win the war against Russia with NATO weapons and that sanctions will deter Russia, has failed. Orban said there is no chance for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia and that “this war can be ended only with peace talks between Russia and America.” Orban has previously listed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky among his “opponents.”

UNHCR: 3.7 million Ukrainian refugees receive temporary protection status in EU. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 3.7 million refugees from Ukraine registered for Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes. Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic are in the lead. In total, 6 million Ukrainian refugees are recorded across Europe.

Lithuania’s First Lady Diana Nausediene visits Kyiv. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced her arrival in Kyiv, saying that “We must stand with Ukraine as here the decisive struggle for freedom and independence of us all goes on.” On July 23, Kyiv hosts the second Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, which was initiated by Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska in 2021. This year, the summit is dedicated to Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.

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