Friday, July 19

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A banner reading ‘Trump will end the Ukraine war’ during the third day of Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, on July 17, 2024. Donald Trump, who was nominated for the Republican nomination on July 18, has repeatedly touted his plan to bring the war to an immediate end if he wins in November that reportedly involves ceding territory to Russia. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Working with Trump would be ‘hard work,’ Zelensky says. Working with Donald Trump if he is re-elected U.S. president would be “hard work, but we are hard workers,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a interview with BBC on July 18.

Ukraine confirms withdrawal from Urozhaine in Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the village of Urozhaine in Donetsk Oblast, Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, told Interfax Ukraine on July 18.

Ukrainian aerial, naval drones attack Russian base in Crimea, source says. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Armed Forces were responsible for a drone attack that successfully targeted a Russian coastal defense base in Crimea overnight, a source in the intelligence services told the Kyiv Independent on July 18.

Zelensky: Lifting ban on strikes on Russian territory did not lead to escalation. “The fewer restrictions we have on the use of effective weapons, the more Russia will seek peace,” Zelensky said, addressing the Fourth European Political Community summit in the U.K. on July 18.

Ukraine may have surpassed Russia in number of drones, commander says. “In terms of the number of drones, we are clearly not losing, and we may have even surpassed (Russia),“ said Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Vadym Sukharevskyi.

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Zelensky warns European leaders that Putin may use blackmail to undermine unity. Russian President Vladimir Putin may approach individual European leaders to “tempt, pressure, or blackmail” them so that one “betrays the rest,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the European Political Community Summit, attended by a Kyiv Independent reporter.

Ukraine signs long-term security deals with Czechia, Slovenia. Prague and Ljubljana will provide Ukraine with long-term military and non-military assistance.

Zelensky to deliver historic address to UK government. Zelensky’s speech on July 19 will mark the first time a foreign leader has delivered an in-person address to the U.K. Cabinet since former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1997.

‘Let’s be realistic’ – Kremlin on Trump’s plan to end war in ‘24 hours’. Trump has promised to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine within a day if elected but has not publicly elaborated on how he plans to achieve that.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian aerial, naval drones attack Russian base in Crimea, source says

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Armed Forces were responsible for a drone attack that successfully targeted a Russian coastal defense base in Crimea overnight, a source in the intelligence services told the Kyiv Independent on July 18.

Photo: Screenshot/Intelligence Services

As Trump’s victory becomes more likely, efforts underway to sway him to Ukraine’s side

Proper messaging through those close to former President Donald Trump and his conservative base could make future policy pro-Ukraine. At stake for Ukraine more than two years into Russia’s full-scale invasion is preserving military assistance from its top Western ally.

Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

‘The Language of War’ searches for ways to talk about Russian invasion

In his book “The Language of War,” the first major Ukrainian prose work published by a Penguin imprint, Mykhed recounts how the lives of Ukrainians were upended on the night of Feb. 24, 2022.

Photo: Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images

Modern polyclinic sparks revival in small town near Dnipro

Until recently, 69-year-old retiree Zinaida Maznytsia had to travel 50 kilometers for a medical checkup. She either had to ask her son to take her there, call a costly taxi, or simply skip the visit.

Photo: Liza Pyrozhkova / The Kyiv Independent

Human cost of war

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 1, injure 35 over past day. Russia attacked Ukraine with 16 Shahed-type drones overnight, as well as with two Kh-59/69 cruise missiles and one Kh-35 cruise missile, the Air Force said.

Opinions and insights

Opinion: Landmark case could bring justice for Vinnytsia victims

Liza Dmitrieva, a four-year-old girl with Down’s syndrome, was walking with her mother in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on July 14, 2022. Minutes later, Russian missiles struck the city.

Photo: Alexey Furman/Getty Images

Analysis: With Krynky lost, what did the perilous operation accomplish?

The Ukrainian operation near Krynky in Kherson Oblast appears to be over, as the military said on July 17 that the positions in the village were “completely destroyed.”

Photo: President Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram

International response

German court convicts German-Russian couple of supplying drone parts to Russia. The court said that the man, assisted by his common-law wife, had sent around 120,000 spare parts and other components for Orlan-10 reconnaissance drones to Russia between 2020 and 2023 in violation of an EU embargo on the export of such goods.

Compassion alone ‘will not protect Ukraine,’ Danish PM says. Ukraine’s partners must continue to deliver support and scale up their own military capabilities, as compassion “will not protect Ukraine,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the European Political Community Summit on July 18, attended by a Kyiv Independent reporter.

Ursula von der Leyen re-elected as European Commission president. First elected in 2019, von der Leyen led the EU’s executive time during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, positioning herself as a staunch supporter of Kyiv.

Global peace summit communique reaches 87 signatories. The global peace summit communique has reached 87 signatories so far, Swiss President Viola Amherd said on July 18 at the European Political Community Summit on July 18, attended by a Kyiv Independent reporter.

UK imposes more sanctions on tankers moving Russian oil. London imposed sanctions on 11 more tankers that help Russia carry oil to third countries on July 18, the U.K. government announced.

Starmer addresses concerns over Europe’s ability to support Ukraine ahead of US election. “I’m not going to preempt what may happen in the elections later this year, other than to say that industrial strategy is a very important component of the package that we need to put together,” Keir Starmer said.

Most Russian Olympic athletes violate neutrality rules, investigation suggests. Over two-thirds of Russian athletes set to participate in the upcoming Olympics have violated neutrality rules by displaying public support for the invasion of Ukraine, human rights group Global Rights Compliance reported on July 18.

In other news

Ukraine sends Palestine 1,000 tons of flour in first tranche of food aid. The first package will be enough to feed more than 100,000 Palestinian families for a month, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said.

‘Aggressor, enemy, killer’ - survey shows words Ukrainians associate with Russia. Almost all Ukrainians surveyed said the word “Russia” evokes negative connotations with words like “killer,” according to a survey released on July 18 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

Court freezes assets of Yanukovych’s ‘confidant’ worth over $24 million. A Ukrainian court froze the assets of an ex-lawmaker and former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych’s “confidant,” suspected of financing Russian-backed forces in the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies reported on July 18.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dmytro Basmat, Abbey Fenbert, Kateryna Denisova, Toma Istomina, Dominic Culverwell, Martin Fornusek, Oleksiy Sorokin, Nate Ostiller, Elsa Court, and Chris York.

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