Saturday, July 27

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Athletes from Ukraine’s delegation sail in a boat along the river Seine at the start of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France on July 26, 2024. (Aytac Unal / Anadolu via Getty Images)

Сeasefire would leave 25% of Ukraine under Russian control, ambassador says. “Many countries have proposed the idea of a ceasefire, but no one thinks about what it means. Some 25% of Ukrainian territory would remain under Russian control, which means buying time for Russia to strengthen its capabilities and resume its attacks on Ukraine,” Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar said.

Russian losses in Ukraine causing ‘serious problems’ for recruitment, HUR says. Speaking on national TV, Andrii Yusov said the situation will soon have an impact on the frontline situation and Russia’s ability to effectively wage war.

Russia using new, cheap drones to locate Ukraine’s air defense, military intelligence says. Russia is now launching a new type of cheaply-made drones to identify air defense systems and act as decoys, Andrii Cherniak, a spokesperson of Ukraine’s military intelligence, told Reuters in an interview published on July 26.

Ukraine’s energy situation improving, state grid operator says. After a “very difficult couple of weeks” due to record-breaking heat and power plants being under repair, Ukraine’s energy supply situation is improving, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of state grid operator Ukrenergo, said on July 26.

Demobilization could repeat Ukraine’s ’mistake’ in 1918, parliament speaker says. Adopting demobilization law now could repeat the “mistake” of the Ukrainian People’s Republic during its war against the Bolsheviks in 1918, said Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, on national television on July 25.

Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.

Kuleba calls on Hong Kong to close sanctions circumvention routes for Russia. Ukraine’s foreign minister said that these restrictive measures are necessary to “weaken Russia’s potential to wage war and kill people in Ukraine.”

Ukraine hit Russian airfield in occupied Crimea, General Staff confirms. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces confirmed that Ukraine hit Russia’s Saky military airfield in occupied Crimea overnight on July 26 following media reports about explosions in the area.

Inspection of Ukraine’s 59th Brigade finds management issues, but no criminal charges laid. The 59th Brigade is deployed near Krasnohorivka in Donetsk Oblast, a front-line town under heavy pressure by Russian forces.

Russian ex-deputy defense minister arrested on corruption charges. In his previous position, former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov was in charge of the military’s logistics chains during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. His dismissal was widely seen as a response to the logistic failures that accompanied the early months of Russia’s all-out war.

Russian man ‘confesses’ to Moscow car bomb attack, says Ukraine’s SBU ordered operation. Kremlin state media on July 26 released a video purporting to show a Russian man confessing to a car bombing in Moscow earlier this week, which reportedly injured a Russian military officer and his wife.

Read our exclusives

Long an Olympic powerhouse, Russia has the smallest participation in 30 years

The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee ruled in late 2023 that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games as Individual Neutral Athletes with “strict eligibility conditions.” Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot participate as teams nor display any flags. 

Photo: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Russian losses in Ukraine causing ‘serious problems’ for recruitment, HUR says

Russian personnel and materiel losses in Ukraine are so high the Kremlin is having “serious problems” recruiting new contract soldiers and is relying on decommissioning Soviet-era weapons as it cannot produce enough modern versions, Ukraine’s military intelligence spokesperson said on July 26.

Photo: Maksim Konstantinov / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

Ukrainian athletes who will never have a chance to compete at the Olympics

Among the tens of thousands of Ukrainians killed by Russia’s full-scale invasion launched more than two years ago are 488 Ukrainian athletes and coaches, according to Ukraine’s Youth and Sports Ministry.

Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

International response

Ukraine to receive nearly $8 billion in direct budget support from US by November, ambassador says. By November, Ukraine will receive $7.9 billion in direct support to the state budget, part of the $61 billion aid package passed by the U.S. Congress in April, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, said on air on July 26.

EU transfers Ukraine $1.6 billion of proceeds from frozen Russian assets. “There is no better symbol or use for the Kremlin’s money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Romania denies downing Russian drones over Ukraine. Videos on social media that purport to show Romanian air defense units shooting down Russian attack drones above Ukraine are spreading a false narrative, Romania’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on July 26.

Indian PM Modi to visit Ukraine in August, media reports say. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to travel to Kyiv in August, marking his first visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its all-out war in February 2022.

In other news

Tennis player Svitolina, swimmer Romanchuk to carry Ukrainian flags at Olympics opening ceremony. Svitolina and Romanchuk were medalists at the previous Olympics in Tokyo. Svitolina won bronze in the individual tennis competition, while Romanchuk became a silver and bronze medalist in the 1500 m and 800 m freestyle events, respectively.

Kharkiv renames 3 metro stations, nearly 50 streets to ‘de-Russify’ city. The city of Kharkiv has decided to rename three metro stations and 48 streets to “remove Russian markers from public space,” Governor Oleh Syniehubov announced on July 26.

Ex-lawmaker Farion’s murder suspect could be involved in Russian far-right movement. The man suspected of murdering lawmaker and professor Iryna Farion could be involved in the Russian neo-Nazi movement, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies announced during a press briefing on July 26.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Nate Ostiller, Kateryna Hodunova, Chris York, Francis Farrell, Elsa Court, Liliane Bivings, Sonya Bandouil and Olena Goncharova.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program. Start supporting independent journalism today.