[Korrespondent] 22:29 On Wednesday, July 26, Russia carried out two massive attacks on Ukraine. Russian missiles were sent to the Starokonstantinov district of the Khmelnytsky region, where a military airfield is located. More details - in the material New strike of the Russian Federation .
22:25 Zelensky said that he had held several important meetings on the preparation of international events in August, in particular the Crimean platform: "We are also preparing a list of de-occupation steps for Crimea, comprehensive - both economic, social and security. We can quickly reintegrate Crimea in the state fabric of Ukraine. Actually, already now the invaders should think there, in Crimea, that while the Crimean bridge is still at least somehow working, they need to return home to Russia. Crimea, like all of Ukraine, will be free."
22:17 Zelensky, in an evening video message, announced "very good results for our guys at the front." The President promised "details a little later."
21:58 The Russians today launched two missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine - 36 enemy missiles were destroyed, the command of the Air Force reported. In particular, three Kalibr cruise missiles were destroyed in the afternoon, and at about 17:00 the enemy attacked from the Caspian Sea region with Kh-101 / Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles - 36 missile launches were recorded from eight Tu-95MS strategic bombers.
The missiles entered the airspace of Ukraine from the southeast, went to the West, constantly changing the direction of flight. In addition, at about 19:00, the Russians raised MiG-31K fighter jets into the sky and struck with four Kh-47 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles in the direction of the Khmelnytsky region. The air defense of Ukraine destroyed 36 air targets: three Caliber cruise missiles, 33 Kh-101 / Kh-555 cruise missiles, and information is being specified about the consequences of Kh-47 Kinzhal launches.
21:37 The Italian Senate recognized the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.
21:35 Training of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 will begin "soon," said John Kirby, coordinator of the White House National Security Council.
20:53 Following the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, Zelensky welcomed the "clear and unequivocal condemnation by the Alliance of Russia's withdrawal from the grain agreement." According to him, the Council, set up two weeks ago in Vilnius, has already established itself as an effective mechanism for crisis consultations. "Ukraine will continue to fulfill its obligations to ensure global food security, and we appreciate the support of the allies on this issue. We remain united with the Alliance on the path to NATO membership," the president added.
20:04 The target of today's Russian missile strike was Starokonstantinov, Khmelnitsky region, Air Force speaker Yuri Ignat said. There is a military airfield in Starokonstantinov.
18:59 Zelensky submitted bills to the parliament on extending the martial law and conducting a general mobilization in Ukraine.
18:46 NATO will strengthen intelligence in the Black Sea region, including through maritime patrol aircraft and drones, according to a statement following the Ukraine-NATO Council. They also once again condemned the decision of the Russian Federation to withdraw from the grain deal. "Russia's actions also pose significant risks to the stability of the Black Sea region, which is of strategic importance to NATO," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
18:35 Russia refused to speak at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the grain deal after Britain did not allow one of the speakers requested by Moscow to speak on the topic of "persecution of the canonical UOC", Russian media report.
17:51 The head of the SBU, Vasily Malyuk, officially confirmed for the first time that the destruction of the Crimean bridge in October 2022 was the work of the Security Service: “There are many different special operations. We will be able to talk about some of them after the victory, we won’t talk about some at all .. . This is one of our implementations, namely, the destruction of the Crimean bridge on October 8 last year."
17:49 The Russians are persistently trying to surround Avdiivka, but they are afraid to enter the city itself, so as not to get bogged down in urban battles with the Defense Forces, Anna Malyar said. "The Russian army every day and today is also trying to bypass Avdiivka, but suffers very serious losses," she added.
17:10 At about 13:00, Russia launched a strike with Caliber cruise missiles from the Black Sea. Probably, missile launches were carried out from a submarine. The missiles entered the airspace from the southeast, changing course along the route. Both missiles were shot down in the Vinnitsa region, the Air Force command said.
16:34 The day before, analysts of the DeepState online map of hostilities in Ukraine reported that the Russian military allegedly broke through the front line in the Svatovo-Kremensky direction and captured three villages near Karmazinovka, Lugansk region: Nadezhda (before the war - 25 inhabitants), Sergeevka (20) and Novogorovka (36). About whether this information is true, and what the situation is in this segment - in the material Movement of Russians near Svatov .
16:23 The Ministry of Digital Transformation is sending 1,700 drones to the front, said the head of the department, Mikhail Fedorov. According to him, among them are shock and reconnaissance copters. "Birds" with artificial intelligence, which will help to effectively recognize and then destroy enemy targets. All drones were purchased within the framework of the state program Army of Drones," the minister said.
15:59 In the Bakhmut direction, Ukrainian troops continue to successfully conduct offensive operations on the southern flank around Bakhmut. Tough fighting continues in the area of ​​​​the settlements of Kleshcheevka, Kurdyumovka, Andreevka, said Anna Malyar.
In the south, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue the offensive operation in the Melitopol and Berdyansk directions, gradually moving forward. Fighting is going on in the Staromayorsky area, the Ukrainian defenders are making progress and are gaining a foothold on the achieved lines. The enemy is trying to regain lost positions, in particular northeast of Robotino, Zaporozhye region, but to no avail.
15:42 EU ambassadors have extended sanctions against Russia for another six months, Radio Liberty correspondent Rikard Jozwiak said. New sanctions against Belarus in the field of aviation and the supply of dual-use goods were also agreed. "More importantly, no concessions on potash. But expect this issue to resurface in the fall," the journalist wrote.
14:38 Russia is preparing ships and aircraft to block the Black Sea areas after withdrawing from the grain agreements, the press center of the Ministry of Defense reports. In particular, after Moscow's withdrawal from the grain initiative, the RF Armed Forces stepped up combat training of surface forces and naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet. The Russians, in particular, are working out the blocking of sea areas, the detection and destruction of ships.
13:40 The Russians shelled Antonovka in the Kherson region late last night, one person was killed, one was wounded, the IVA reported.
13:27 The UN Security Council will today discuss the export of Ukrainian grain after Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Initiative. Also, the same issue will be discussed today at the Ukraine-NATO meeting initiated by Zelensky at the level of ambassadors.
12:49 Most of the Wagner PMC mercenaries have received vacations and are returning home en masse. Many do not get there, going on a drinking binge at the train stations, according to the project We can explain , which studied the chats of their relatives. According to the chat coordinators, every second brigade of PMCs has been disbanded, and only the most experienced remain in the camp - those who will be engaged in military training at Belarusian training grounds and will go to Syria and Africa. At the same time, the Wagnerites, who nevertheless reached the house, are very dangerous - reports of new crimes come from everywhere.
12:36 Zelensky said that at today's conference call he heard reports on the supply of weapons and ammunition: "There is a reinforcement for our air defense system. It will be sent to where it is most needed now."
12:31 More than 4 billion hryvnias have already been invested in the production of drones in Ukraine, collected through the UNITED24 platform, another 40 billion hryvnias have been allocated by the government this year, Shmyhal said. According to him, to date, more than 40 companies have signed contracts with the state, and the production of UAVs has grown "tens of times." The prime minister also recalled that the government had eliminated customs barriers for the import of UAV spare parts and components, raised the profit share of UAV manufacturers to 25%, and also made a decision to promote the mass production of ammunition for drones.
12:02 The Russian Embassy in Chisinau will be reduced to ten diplomats and 15 technical staff, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said. This was a reaction to an investigation by journalists who found out that the Russian Federation was spying on the Moldovan authorities using devices on the roof of the embassy. In total, Moldova expels 18 diplomats and 27 technical staff.
11:37 The likelihood of a large-scale nuclear disaster at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, similar to Chernobyl, is practically absent. Even if the reactor was blown up from the inside, the level of radiation would increase only in the vicinity, nuclear scientists interviewed by the Financial Times came to this conclusion.
The experts explained that at ZNPP each reactor is protected by a reliable reinforced concrete shell more than a meter thick, and the reactor vessel itself is about 30 cm thick. Even if a bomb is blown up on the roof of the nuclear power plant, only the shell can be damaged. In addition, the reactors have been shut down and produce minimal amounts of iodine-131, which was the main source of pollution at Chernobyl.
Scientists also note that the water level in the cooling pond remains stable after the destruction of the Kakhovskaya HPP, there are wells, and the station is connected to the city water supply. Standby power generators operate at nuclear power plants.
11:11 The State Bureau of Investigation reported on the suspicion of treason to the former people's deputy from the Opposition Platform for Life Vadym Rabinovich for anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Rabinovich's numerous speeches and interviews became the basis for suspicion. He faces up to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. Rabinovich now lives in Israel, where he left at the start of the Russian invasion. The GBI requested legal assistance from Israel.
11:08 Crimean telegram channels report a series of explosions heard in Krasnoperekopsk and Sevastopol. Helicopters fly in the area of ​​the first city. And the inhabitants of Balaklava heard sounds similar to rocket launches.
10:57 Ukraine is already being attacked by "shaheeds" gathered in Russia, said the speaker of the Southern Defense Forces Natalia Gumenyuk. According to her, this is evidenced by markings (for example, in Cyrillic) on the remains of those UAVs that were found after the latest attacks.
10:33 Russians in the Black Sea can resort to provocation in the form of an imitation of an attack by drones - underwater or surface, or even an armed missile attack. Then the Russian Federation will blame Ukraine for this, suggests the speaker of the Southern Defense Forces Natalya Gumenyuk: “Most likely, the point is that they can launch any ship under a different flag, not Russian. That is, an imitation of a foreign ship from which an attack can occur. .. Shifting the blame to Ukraine is a classic practice of the occupiers."
10:08 British intelligence reports on the redeployment of ships of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation after the failure of the grain agreement, which may indicate an increase in the risk of violence in the Black Sea. In particular, the corvette Sergei Kotov in the southern Black Sea patrols the shipping route between the Bosphorus and Odessa, and it is likely that he will be part of the task force to intercept commercial ships that Russia believes are heading to Ukraine.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative has contained possible fighting in the Black Sea, but now "there is potential for increased intensity and scale of violence in the region," the intelligence added.
10:02 The Verkhovna Rada will extend martial law and general mobilization in Ukraine in the coming days, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak said. They will probably extend them again for 90 days, that is, until November 15.
09:39 The Romanian Foreign Ministry reported that one Romanian ship was damaged as a result of Russian shelling of the port of Reni in the Odessa region. The damage was minor, and the ship continued its voyage.
09:00 Ukrainian troops were successful in the area of ​​Staromayorsky on the southern front, they are fixed there at the achieved lines, said the speaker of the General Staff Andriy Kovalev. At the same time, the Russians made unsuccessful attempts to restore their lost position northeast of Robotino.
08:57 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were killed (in Konstantinovka and Avdeevka), two more were injured. In the Kherson region, two dead and three wounded. In the Zaporozhye region, two wounded, according to the IVA.
08:52 At night, the Russians attacked the city of Pervomaisky, Lozovsky district, Kharkiv region, using attack UAVs. The warehouse building was damaged, a fire broke out, people were not injured, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said.
08:41 Western partners have not yet agreed on a plan for training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters, writes Politico. According to the publication, one of the proposals involves sending Ukrainian pilots to the United States for training at the base of the 162nd Wing, an Air National Guard unit located in Tucson, Arizona. They are already training foreign partners on the F-16. But, according to two US and European officials, the idea has not found wide support. Another plan is to send US military pilots to Europe to train Ukrainians. Two US officials said there were no final decisions yet.
08:17 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of July 26:
- personnel - about 243,680 (+460) people liquidated,
- tanks - 4177 (+3),
- armored combat vehicles - 8136 (+5),
- artillery systems - 4727 (+22),
- MLRS - 698 (+0),
- air defense systems - 457 (+3),
- aircraft - 315 (+0),
- helicopters - 311 (+1),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 3993 (+16),
- cruise missiles - 1307 (+0),
- ships/boats - 18 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 7211 (+17),
- special equipment - 708 (+5).
07:25 Over the past 24 hours, 26 clashes took place at the front, the General Staff said in the morning summary . In particular, in the Liman direction, the enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive operations in the area south of Dibrova, Luhansk region. In the Bakhmut direction, the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks in the areas east of Stupochek and near Dilievka, in Avdeevsky - in the Avdeevka area, in Maryinsky - in the Maryinka area.
00:53 Iran remains one of Russia's main pillars in its war against Ukraine, and their military partnership is only getting stronger, US State Department Deputy Speaker Vedant Patel said. According to him, Russia received from Iran hundreds of strike UAVs and equipment for the production of drones.
Patel also noted that ships from different countries that participated in the Black Sea Grain Initiative remain in the Black Sea. "I am sure that the respective countries will not react easily if Russia attacks these ships," he warned.