Tuesday, July 16

Russia’s war against Ukraine

The aftermath of Russia’s attack on the town of Lyman on July 15, 2024. (Vadym Filashkin/Telegram)

Syrskyi orders inspection of 59th Motorized Brigade after recent losses. The announcement came only a day after Azovstal defender and medic Kateryna Polishchuk, known under the nickname Ptashka (“bird”), called on Oleksandr Syrskyi and President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the unit over the alleged misconduct of its commander, Bohdan Shevchuk.

44% of Ukrainians believe it’s time to start official peace talks with Russia, survey finds. At the same time, a majority of respondents were also opposed to the current ceasefire conditions laid out by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which would entail the complete Ukrainian withdrawal from the four regions that are partially occupied by Russia.

Ukraine is expecting to sign security agreements with 9 more countries, Zelensky says. The Ukrainian government is seeking to sign security agreements with 32 countries in total. Ukraine has already signed security agreements with 23 countries, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The security agreements cover humanitarian, military, reconstruction, and financial assistance for Ukraine.

Last Russian patrol ship left occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s navy says. The vessel’s designation was Project 1135, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, told the Kyiv Independent. This patrol ship is not a carrier of cruise missiles, which Russia is using to attack Ukraine, but is equipped with the other weapons, he added.

Budanov’s Russian offensive comments ‘a little misunderstood,’ Zelensky says. Ukraine’s military intelligence chief was a “little misunderstood” when it was reported last week that he believed Russia would soon once again attack from the north, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 15.

Top anti-corruption official promises results of probe into whistleblower scandal this week. An internal probe into alleged pressure on a whistleblower at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine will be completed this week, Semen Kryvonos, chief of the anti-graft agency also known by its acronym NABU, told a parliamentary committee probing the affair.

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Ukraine produces largest number of self-propelled howitzers in Europe per month, Zelensky says. President Volodymyr Zelensky did not specify how many units Ukraine produces per month. But he described this figure as “powerful.”

Heatwave pushes electricity consumption to maximum, Ukrenergo warns. The record-breaking heat wave that has engulfed Ukraine is expected to continue at least through the rest of the following week, with the maximums to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (over 104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Russia claims Ukrainian drone attack against occupied Crimea. Razvozhayev claimed at 4:10 a.m. local time that Russian defenses shot at least one drone over Cape Fiolent on Crimea’s southern coast. The attack ended at around 6 a.m., resulting in damage after a drone fragment fell on a house but leaving no casualties, he added.

Authorities declare state of emergency in Russia’s Novorossiysk as wildfires rage. Novorossiysk Mayor Andrei Kravchenko said on the morning of July 15 that more than 300 people, including workers from the Emergency Situations Ministry and other volunteers, were at work fighting forest fires in the area. The blaze had spread to at least 153 acres as of the early morning of July 15.

Mobilization is going ‘according to plan,’ but there are not enough training facilities, Zelensky says. “Considering training facilities, there are not enough of them. They are already being expanded,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference in Kyiv.

Read our exclusives

JD Vance opposes military aid, NATO membership for Ukraine. He’s now Trump’s VP pick

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump selected Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate on July 15. Vance is one of Trump’s most vocal supporters and an outspoken critic of U.S. aid to Ukraine.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

From Estonian university professor to convicted Russian spy: the curious case of Viacheslav Morozov

Viacheslav Morozov was a widely respected scholar of political science at Estonia’s premier university. Then he was convicted of spying for Russia. His arrest and conviction came as a shock to some. To others, it was the illustration of a long-standing suspicion that those publicly held liberal views were just a cover for another Russian imperialist — or even worse, a Russian agent.

Photo: Viacheslav Morozov/Facebook

Ukraine war latest: Russia withdrew its last patrol boat from occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s navy says

The last patrol ship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left occupied Crimea on July 15, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, confirmed to the Kyiv Independent.

Photo: Stringer/AFP

Opinions and Insights

Opinion: What to make of the new Russia-North Korea alliance

“Not content with disturbing the peace in Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Un. As troubling to China’s leaders as it is to Western officials, the deal is shaking up the geopolitics of Northeast Asia and sending reverberations around the world,” writes former South Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Yoon Young-kwan in his recent op-ed.

Photo: Contributor/Getty Images

The Counteroffensive: What the Trump shooting could mean for Ukraine

The assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump on July 14 sent shockwaves around the world and fueled speculation about how it would influence the U.S. presidential election campaign. Tim Mak of The Counteroffensive predicts how the assassination attempt will affect Russia’s war in Ukraine in this op-ed.

Photo: Anna Moneymaker

Human cost of war

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 1, injure 24 over past day. Russian attacks have killed at least one civilian and injured at least 24 others in Ukraine over the past day, regional authorities reported on July 15.

Georgian volunteer fighter reportedly killed in Ukraine. In comments to The Kyiv Independent in February, the Georgian Legion, one of the leading groups of Georgian volunteer fighters, said that at least 59 Georgian fighters had been killed in battle since the beginning of the full-scale war.

Ukraine’s population could drop to 15.3 million by end of century, UN says. Oleksandr Hladun, deputy director of Ukraine’s Demography Institute, called the UN’s forecast “pessimistic.” “It was probably developed with the war in mind and the absence of any demographic policy measures,” Hladun told Ukrainska Pravda in an interview published on July 15.

Russian 250-kilogram guided bombs injure at least 5 in Donetsk Oblast. Russian troops attacked the town of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast with two 250-kilogram (551 lb) guided aerial bombs on July 15, injuring at least five people, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.

International response

US prohibits Ukraine from striking deep inside Russia due to fears of war spreading. “I think it is important to understand that we do not want to see unintended consequences of an escalation that could turn this conflict into a broader one that goes beyond Ukraine. I think this is something that we all need to consider and take very seriously,” Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder said in an interview with the Voice of America.

Spain says 10 more Leopard 2 tanks en route to Ukraine. The tanks were repaired, maintained and tested at the Santa Barbara Sistemas manufacturer in the province of Seville, according to the statement. With this batch, the total number of Leopard 2A4 tanks handed over from Spain to Ukraine has reached 20.

Orban pitches ‘peace proposal’ to EU after Kyiv, Moscow trips. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban presented Budapest’s proposal on how achieve peace in Ukraine in a letter sent to European leaders, a Hungarian government official said in an interview published on July 15.

Estonian PM resigns to take up top EU diplomatic job. Kaja Kallas, known for her resolute support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, is stepping down after being appointed as the EU’s next chief diplomat, replacing Josep Borrell.

Stoltenberg signals opposition to Poland downing missiles over Ukraine. “NATO will support Ukraine, and we have now increased our support…But NATO’s policy is unchanged – we will not be involved in this conflict,” NATO’s outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on July 14.

EU plans to boycott Hungary’s foreign affairs summit, Politico reports. “If there’s a formal foreign affairs council, organized by the high representative (Borrell) the same day, the ministers won’t be able to go to Budapest,” one diplomat told Politico.

Zelensky says he ‘is not afraid’ of Trump’s potential presidency. Ukraine has bipartisan support and will develop relations with Washington regardless of the outcome of the presidential elections, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists. “If Donald Trump becomes president, we will work. I am not afraid of this,” Zelensky said.

India is aiming to increase exports to Russia after Modi-Putin meeting, Reuters says. “When we are looking at Russia, we are looking at how both countries can gain by better trade relationships,” Indian Trade Secretary Sunil Barthwal said during a press conference.

UK, EU member states will step up inspections of Russian oil fleet, Bloomberg says. An “unspecified number” of governments are expected to approve the plan on July 18, during a meeting of the European Political Community hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the U.K., according to a draft statement.

Trump names senator in favor of Ukrainian territorial concessions as his running mate. “Any peace settlement is going to require some significant territorial concessions from Ukraine, and you’re gonna have a peace deal because that’s the only way out of the conflict,” Senator J. D. Vance said in February.

In other news

Ukrainian soldier reportedly killed trying to illegally cross into Moldova, State Bureau of Investigation says. The bureau said that an investigation into the excessive use of law enforcement authority had been opened regarding the border guard’s actions.

Georgian president appeals to Constitutional Court on law on ‘foreign agents.’ Georgian President Salome Zourabishvili has filed a motion against the law on “foreign agents” to the Constitutional Court of Georgia. The bill requires organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as “foreign agents,” mirroring repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin critics.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Nate Ostiller, Martin Fornusek, Chris York, Katya Denisova, Kateryna Hodunova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Toma Istomina, Rachel Amran, and Dmytro Basmat.

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