Ukrainian service members of the 35th Separate Marines Brigade attend military drills at a training ground in Donetsk region on July 24. (Reuters)
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian forces “are gradually moving forward” south of the eastern city of Bakhmut, but “battles are quite tough.” Russian President Vladimir Putin, in St. Petersburg for the Kremlin’s Russia-Africa Summit, said that fighting in southeastern Ukraine had intensified.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
In its latest military push, Kyiv aims to reach the Sea of Azov, which would sever Moscow’s land bridge to occupied Crimea and interrupt a key military conduit, though its forces still remain far from the sea, The Post reported. Ukraine has launched multiple attacks on Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, in recent weeks.
Putin said “most of the armed clashes” have taken place in Zaporizhzhia, describing the southern region as the “principal attack area.” A U.S. official speaking to The Post on the condition of anonymity said it’s unclear what the moves may be, but a boost in Ukrainian forces in Zaporizhzhia could be the result of fresh troops probing Russian lines or replacing fatigued units.
Putin, seeking to boost ties with African leaders, said Russia could replace Ukrainian grain after the Kremlin pulled out of the U.N.-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative, sparking concern about food security. U.N. officials have denounced the Kremlin for nixing the agreement that sought to alleviate the global food crisis.
The U.S. Senate passed a defense policy bill that would extend the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through fiscal year 2027, quashing partisan efforts to limit aid to Kyiv, The Post reported. The bill is expected to spark heated negotiations with the House.
The Wagner Group’s presence in Belarus after last month’s mutiny has prompted concern on Ukraine’s northern border, The Post reported. Belarus served as a staging ground when Putin launched the wide-scale invasion in February 2022, and ever since Putin allowed Yevgeniy Prigozhin and his fighters to avoid punishment by moving to Belarus, Ukraine has been beefing up defenses nearby.
An oil depot caught fire after a missile strike on the city of Shakhtarsk, Russian news agencies reported early Friday, with local officials blaming the attack on Ukraine. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the strike in the Donetsk region.
Five people were wounded in Kharkiv when shelling hit a residential building late Thursday, Oleh Synyehubov, head of the regional administration, wrote on Telegram.
The port city of Odessa has been subject to a barrage of Russian attacks in recent weeks, which Ukrainian officials have linked to Moscow’s withdrawal from the grain deal. Zelensky on Thursday visited the historic cathedral and UNESCO World Heritage site in Odessa that was damaged by missiles over the weekend.
Ukrainian world-champion fencer Olga Kharlan was disqualified from the Fencing World Championships in Milan after refusing to shake hands with defeated Russian opponent Anna Smirnova, which is mandatory in fencing. In a video posted to Instagram, Kharlan said she “acted with her heart” and “screamed in pain” after being disqualified. “The rules have to change because the world is changing,” she said.
China has become an “even more critical economic partner” for Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine, a newly released unclassified Office of the Director of National Intelligence report, dated June 2023, said. The report found that China has mitigated the effects of Western sanctions on Russia and says it is an “increasingly important buttress” for Russia’s war effort.
Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and handed him a letter from President Vladimir Putin, North Korean state media reported Thursday. Russian and Chinese officials are visiting Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War.
Ukrainians are breaking their ties with the Russian language: Across Ukraine, people are shredding Russian literature, changing street names to honor Ukrainians rather than Russian writers and renaming Russian dishes on menus, Francesca Ebel and Kostiantyn Khudov report.
“For many people, it has become impossible to speak Russian because it is the language of the enemy,” said Iryna Pobidash, an associate professor of linguistics at Kyiv’s Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute.
Serhiy Morgunov contributed to this report.
