Wednesday, July 17

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A serviceman is paying his last respects to the commander of the OUN volunteer battalion, Mykola Kokhanivskyi, who died near Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast on June 10, during a memorial service at St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 16, 2024. (Ukrinform / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Ukraine hits Russian S-300 system in Donetsk Oblast, Syrskyi says. The radar station and launchers of the S-300 system were hit, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said, sharing a video of the attack.

Repair of Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric power plant to take at least 3 years due to Russian attacks. “For the enemy, the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station is more easily reachable, the front line is 50 kilometers away (from it),” Ukrhydroenergo CEO Ihor Syrota said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.

Ukraine lists 42,000 citizens as missing persons. Ukraine lists 42,000 citizens in a unified register for persons missing under special circumstances, an Interior Ministry official said, Ukrinform reported on July 17.

Shells previously designated as expired brought back into service Defense Ministry says. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry returned to Ukrainian soldiers “a significant amount” of ammunition that had to be disposed before the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2014, the ministry announced on July 16.

Defense company’s production blocked by Bureau of Economic Security’s investigation. The Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) is preventing the work of a body armor manufacturer due to suspicions of tax evasion, Forbes Ukraine reported on July 16.

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Ukrainian intelligence ‘hacks Russian websites, replaces homepages with pig head pictures.’ “The cyberattack was aimed at destroying internal information of companies that serve Russian public sector clients involved in the war against Ukraine,” HUR said in a post on Telegram.

Drone drops munitions on factory in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, authorities say. Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk Oblast, also said that a Ukrainian drone dropped explosives on the town of Tyotkino, located some 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Korenovo. Smirnov claimed that the explosives landed on a house and injured its resident.

Medvedev says Ukraine’s NATO membership would lead to war. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev сlaimed that Ukraine joining NATO would be viewed as a declaration of war against Moscow. “The actions that Russia’s opponents have been taking against us for years, expanding the alliance … take NATO to the point of no return,” Medvedev was quoted as saying.

Russia’s statistics service excludes data from annual report to conceal war deaths. Russia’s State Statistics Service has excluded the total number of deaths from external causes in its annual report, independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported on July 16, citing demographic expert Aleksei Raksha.

Zelensky proposes stripping individuals supporting Russia of state titles. President Volodymyr Zelensky initiated on July 16 a draft law that would allow to take away state awards from those who promoted Russia or committed other illegal acts against Ukraine.

Read our exclusives

‘I don’t care’ – JD Vance on Ukraine, in his own words

The selection of Ohio Senator J. D. Vance as Donald Trump’s running mate this week has sent ripples of concern around the globe, felt not least in Ukraine.

One of the most vocal opponents of U.S. aid to Ukraine, Vance has an extensive back catalog of statements that might raise eyebrows in Kyiv.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Stuck in legal limbo, Ukrainian civilians endure torture in Russian prisons

Yaroslav Platonov was at his workplace, a hotel near Kyiv, when Russian soldiers arrived on the afternoon of March 20, 2022. They kidnapped the 24-year-old and two other hotel workers, blindfolding and handcuffing them before driving them away in a tank.

Photo: Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine hit S-300 system on Russian-held territory, military says.

The Ukrainian military attacked a Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile system on the occupied territory of Donetsk Oblast overnight on July 16, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

Photo: Oleksandr Syrskyi/Telegram

Human cost of war

Death toll of Russia’s July 14 attack on Donetsk Oblast town rises to 3. The death toll of a Russian attack against Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast on July 14 has risen to three as rescue operations concluded, the Interior Ministry said on July 16.

Opinions and insights

Opinion: Ukraine’s volunteer hacker army is pioneering a new era of cyber warfare

“Over two years have passed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the volunteer IT Army of Ukraine is more effective than ever. On June 20, 2024, the hacker group launched what they claimed to be the “largest DDoS attack in history” against Russia’s banking system,” David Kirichenko,

associate research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, writes in his op-ed.

Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

The Counteroffensive: A JD Vance vice presidency would be a disaster for Ukraine

“Setting aside his views on other topics, the senator from Ohio has built his entire foreign policy reputation on bashing the country resisting Russian invasion. He opposes military and financial aid to Ukraine, Ukraine’s NATO membership, and believes the U.S. should negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Tim Mak and Oleh Tymoshenko write in their op-ed.

Photo: Brendan Smialowski /AFP via Getty Images

International response

US calls Russia’s UN meeting on global cooperation ‘hypocrisy’ after Ukraine invasion. Russia’s foreign minister on July 16 accused the United States of holding the entire West “at gunpoint” and obstructing international cooperation, a claim the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations denounced as “hypocrisy” from a country that invaded Ukraine.

Czechia to open bullet factory, start production of assault rifles in Ukraine. The governments of Ukraine and Czechia signed two agreements on joint arms production on July 16, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced after the meeting with Czech counterpart Petr Fiala.

Lithuania to provide Ukraine with energy equipment worth nearly $55 million. The humanitarian aid includes more than 300 pieces of equipment, including equipment from the Vilnius Combined Heat and Power Plant, or the Vilnius Power Plant-3, according to the ministry.

Reuters: EU chief criticizes Hungary’s Orban for ‘peace mission’ talks with Trump. European Council President Charles Michel criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on July 16 for launching a self-styled Ukraine “peace mission” without EU backing.

Baltic states to complete decoupling from Russian-controlled power grid by early 2025. Lithuanian operator Litgrid, Latvian AST, and Estonian Elering informed the Russian and Belarusian operators that they would not extend the BRELL agreement, which expires in February 2025, LRT said.

In other news

Ukraine sets new record for gas production in 6 months. In the first half of 2024, Ukraine’s largest gas producer, Ukrgasvydobuvannya, pumped 8.8% more gas than in the same period last year, the company announced on July 16.

Russian media: Medvedchuk sends letter to Trump seeking to blame Ukraine for assassination attempt. Viktor Medvedchuk, a former pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker, sent a letter to Donald Trump claiming that “Ukraine’s trace may appear” in the case of Republican Party nominee assassination attempt, the Kremlin-controlled TASS news agency claimed on July 16.

Ukrainian conscripts who fail to update military data on time may be fined, put on wanted list. Ukrainians liable for military service who fail to update their data by July 17 may be fined up to Hr 25,000 (nearly $600) or put on the wanted list. The deadline for updating data expires on July 17, 2024.

Poroshenko pays bail for ex-intelligence officer Сhervinskyi. Roman Chervinskyi previously served in Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR). He was indicted by the State Security Service (SBU) in April 2023 for abuse of power. According to SBU officials, Chervinskyi, along with others in the HUR, tried to hijack a Russian Air Force aircraft whose pilot was allegedly planning to defect to Ukraine.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Nate Ostiller, Chris York, Francis Farrell, Kateryna Denisova, Kateryna Hodunova, and Olena Goncharova.

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