Ukraine – 7/21/2024 Sitrep
By: Bohdan Chomiak & Robert Homans
July 21, 2024
From Bohdan (my comment below, in bold face)
I always found it strange when I met with victims of repressive policies implemented by Stalin or Hitler why getting them to talk about it was so hard. It was as if they forgot everything and what hazy remains still lingered were unimportant.
Having come through more than 500 days of war, and currently working on reviewing the initial weeks of the war, it no longer seems strange that the victims have little to say about their experiences.
Each story I unearth from the current rashist genocide against Ukraine brings back memories which in reality I never forgot, but filed away as unimportant. When the lone rashist armored personnel carrier was destroyed a few blocks from my home, I thought how stupid they were to attack an entire city. My attention that day was focused on finding an open drugstore to buy medicine for my sick mother-in-law. The attack was an incident, which I quickly forgot.
As events, each more gruesome and disgusting than the previous, piled up, my focus at the time was far away on simple issues such as medicines, finding bread, or looking for a bottle of wine. The simple things were the first to disappear, and they became more important than the atrocities, whether a few blocks away or in another city. As stores and other services disappeared because of so many people fleeing the war and their being no one left to provide services, it was finding alternatives that was most important, not the atrocities. Had I sat in a chair and focused on the atrocities, stupidities and victories I probably would have lost my mind.
I suspect that it was the need to survive, and actually surviving is what allows forgetting, or at least not living with the nightmare, which when seen from a distance is so frightening.
Bohdan alludes to a new project we’re working on, using our emails monthly ebooks covering each month of the war, starting in March 2022 to the present. They’ll be available soon, by monthly subscription.
Most of the reports I hear and read about people visiting Kyiv talk about how life appears to be normal, that the restaurants are full, clubs are open, people enjoying a summer trip to Hydropark (a beach report on an island near Kyiv), etc. but, as Bohdan describes, things are different when you live in Kyiv and worry about addressing day-to-day needs.
I’ve often thought about going back to Kyiv. Other than the fact that I currently have no business reason to go back, indeed I have business reasons not to go back, the fact remains that my wife’s flat, where we live when in Kyiv, is on the top floor of a residential high-rise making it susceptible to falling missile/drone debris, one consequence of Kyivans enjoying the benefits of a layered air defense that is keeping the City relatively safe. Unlike the visitors who will return to relative safety, as Bohdan describes, in Kyiv every day you live with the fear that you or your home might be “next.” Over 500 days, the tension must add up.
That being said, if there is a business reason to return to Kyiv I’ll return in a heartbeat.
“Ukraine’s Bradley Fighting Vehicles Face Damage & Quick Repairs”/Washington Post
I hope you can all open this article. It describes how Ukraine can quickly repair damaged Bradley Fighting Vehicles and return them to the front. This is one of Ukraine’s “secrets” - a large cohort of soldiers who are experienced mechanics. What the Post article doesn’t address is where these guys come from, why they are so good at what they do and why, as the article describes, they can set up and operate repair facilities in a forest?
In most every town in Ukraine there are “tractor stations,” where agricultural equipment is repaired. Many tractor stations are legacies of the collective farm system. When the collectives were broken up over 20 years ago, many tractor stations were re-established as freehold businesses.
Most of the tractor stations are staffed by technicians who have been trained by the major agricultural equipment manufacturers, like John Deere, Agco & Klass. A $500,000 (or more) combine harvester contains technical complexities similar to a Bradley. There isn’t much more that either the U.S. Army or BAE Systems, the manufacturer of the Bradley, can impart to these guys that they don’t already know, at least intuitively.
Ukraine is also very good at machining parts. For years the major manufacturers of agricultural equipment resisted licensing Ukrainian companies to manufacture parts or, equally importantly, preventing Ukrainian IT companies to repair or replace the software that is necessary for this equipment to operate. Ukrainian companies and Ukrainian software engineers developed their own workarounds, intellectual property concerns be damned.
The technical abilities and resourcefulness of Ukrainian technicians, like those described in the Post article is one reason why Western arms manufacturers like Germany’s Rheinmetall are setting up manufacturing facilities in Ukraine. Even so, the media and the handwringers in the Biden Administration, seem to continually glom onto an early Ukrainian reversal at the beginning of the counteroffensive, resulting in the loss or disabling of several Bradleys.
Kudos to the Washington Post for writing this article, but they only got part of the story. Here’s a stab at telling the rest.
The Parable of F-16s in Ukraine/Wall Street Journal Editorial
The article contains a photograph of an F-16 taking off from a base in Germany. In the background one can see a row of parked A-10 Warthogs. If the ditherers in the Biden Administration have qualms about supplying Ukraine with F-16s, Ukraine would be happy to settle for the A-10s. A-10s firing depleted uranium bullets from their gatling guns, combined with the recently received cluster munitions, would quickly turn Russians manning the trench lines in Southern Ukraine into large quantities of ground chuck.
The WSJ editorial states, “U.S. officials are telling press outlets without attribution that the Ukrainians aren’t excelling at combined arms—that is, working tanks, infantry, air power and other assets in coordination. But no Western military would execute this offensive without controlling the skies. Ukrainian troops are vulnerable to Russian attack, and they lack the air power to support ground troops and go on offense against Russian positions without risking awful losses.” Of course, the press outlets in question simply repeat what the ditherers tell them.
News From the Battlefield
Both “Reporting From Ukraine” and the “Latest Denys” report on Ukraine’s first use of U.S. supplied cluster munitions. The site was Eastern Ukraine, near Donetsk City, but cluster munitions will no doubt be used very soon, around Bakhmut and in the South, where they will likely be used to clear out Russian defenders manning the extensive network of trench lines, that Gen. Mick Ryan has dubbed as the “Sirovikin Line,” after the Russian general of the same name who now likely resides under Russian detention.
“Reporting From Ukraine” mentioned that the damage from the recent Ukrainian strike on a Russian arms depot in Kirovsky, Crimea, likely killed hundreds of Russians who were quartered nearby.
Denys also questions the statement by the Ukrainian general responsible for Eastern Ukraine, that Ukraine has partially encircled Bakhmut. However, the military maps that Denys uses comes with a 2-day lag. We’ll see who is right. Losing Bakhmut would be a huge embarrassment for Russia. If so, it will be interesting to see how this development is played by the management in the Kremlin and their media acolytes.
The Black Sea
“Reporting From Ukraine” covers the recent strikes against the grain ports of Mykolaiv and Odesa, where Russia used Kh-22 and Onyx missiles. The only defense Ukraine has against these missiles is the Patriot. Some commentators have noted that the delegates at the recent NATO meeting in Vilnius were defended by 12 Patriot batteries. Now that the NATO meeting is over, why not send 1 or 2 to Odesa, they ask?
“Reporting From Ukraine” mentioned Ukraine announcing that all ships transiting the Black Sea to either Russian ports, and/or Ukrainian ports currently occupied by Russia, will be considered as “enemy combatants.” He said it was a very smart move, and I agree. Ukraine has its own Neptune missiles, of the type that put the “Moskva” on the bottom of the Black Sea, plus an inventory of Harpoon anti-ship missiles, or just enough capability to give international insurance companies pause.
7/21/2023 Sitrep (my comment in bold face)
Russian Invasion of Ukraine 12:00 noon July 20 to 12:00 noon July 21, 2023
Abbreviations:
RMA = Regional Military Administration SBU = Security Service of Ukraine
RASHISTS = russian Facists/all russian invaders
INTERNATIONAL
Friday July 21
7:48 am: Deliveries of F-16s to Ukraine may begin by the end of the year, but they are unlikely to change the course of the war, White House spokesman John Kirby
● He noted that Ukraine needs ammunition, artillery, tanks and air defense systems more than fighter jets.
8:13 am: The Ambassador of Germany to Ukraine, Ms. Anka Feldhusen, will be replaced by Martin Jager, - Die Zeit.
8:14 am: The EU introduced new sanctions against Iran for supplying Russia with drones, the EU Council reported.
8:15 am: The US Senate overwhelmingly voted against an attempt to tie military aid to Ukraine to the defense spending of NATO members, - Reuters.
8:16 am: China launched four more satellites of a new meteorological group into space, and launched the world's first offshore wind farm, - Xinhua.
11:57 am: Germany announced a new package of military aid to Ukraine - it includes the first 10 Leopard 1A5 tanks.
● Ukraine is also allocated:
o 20 MG3 machine guns for Leopard2, Marder and Dachs;
o more than a thousand 155-mm shells and the same number of smoke shells of this caliber;
o 4 border guard cars;
o bridge system and 12 trailers;
o 10 radars;
o 16 Zetro trucks.
Thursday July 20
2:05 pm: Training of Ukrainian troops may be gradually transferred from Europe to Ukraine.
● Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports this with reference to the statement of the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell.
● According to the publication, this will probably happen only after the end of the war.
2:20 pm: Australia has imposed sanctions against 35 organizations from the Russian Federation, said the head of the Australian Foreign Ministry, Penny Wong.
● These are organizations in the defense, technological and energy sectors.
● "Also, 10 individuals, including Russian ministers and high-ranking officials, as well as military personnel from Belarus, have been sanctioned," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes.
4:10 pm: The EU extended economic sanctions against Russia for another six months, which were introduced in response to aggression in Ukraine.
● European sanctions include restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods, among others.
5:58 pm President’s Office: Canada imposes sanctions against 20 individuals and 21 organizations associated with the Russian military-industrial complex, as well as against 19 individuals and 4 organizations in the Russian cultural and educational sectors.
● The restrictions also apply to several Russians involved in the development, production and supply chain of the Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle.
7:11 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyy held the first telephone conversation in the history of bilateral relations with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali.
● "Within the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Ukraine sent almost 300,000 tons of food to Ethiopia and another 90,000 tons of grain as part of a separate initiative. He spoke about Russia's unilateral withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the illegal blockade of shipping, shelling of Ukraine's port and energy infrastructure. They discussed preparations for the Global Peace Summit and invited the Prime Minister to visit Ukraine," the President of Ukraine said.
● Since 2017 I have been to Ethiopia 5 times for business. Ethiopia and Ukraine have many things in common, including: both countries shed their Communist rulers in 1991; both are Eastern Orthodox countries; both economies are transitioning from command economies to free enterprise, with Ukraine being further along in that process than is Ethiopia; both countries suffered from invasions by colonizers, Ethiopia in the mid to late 1930s by Italy, and Ukraine over the last 300 years by the Russian Empire and its successor states, the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, most recently in 2022; both are major grain producers, with Ethiopia being the second-largest grain producer in Africa. Therefore, Ethiopia should be a linchpin for Ukraine’s diplomacy in Sub-Saharan Africa.
7:57 pm: The United States introduced new sanctions against several Russian banks and industrial enterprises, as well as 18 citizens of the Russian Federation.
● This is reported on the official website of the US Treasury Department.
● Tinkoff Bank, weapons manufacturers, the general director of the Kalashnikov concern, and several officials came under the restrictions.
8:56 pm: Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny had a telephone conversation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
● "He spoke in detail about the operational situation along the entire front line. They separately discussed the issue of supplying military aid to Ukraine, in particular equipment and ammunition," Zaluzhny said.
9:54 pm: A new package of American aid to Ukraine is expected to be announced soon.
● This was stated by the representative of the White House, John Kirby.
10:08 pm: EU adopts new sanctions regime to counter Iran's drone program, EU Council.
● It prohibits the export from EU countries to Iran of components used in the creation and production of UAVs.
11:06 pm: Allies are shifting the emphasis of aid from providing repair and maintenance of weapons transferred to Ukraine, Politico reports.
● During the 17 months of the war, Ukraine has accumulated a significant and diverse arsenal of equipment that needs maintenance.
● According to William Laplante, the Pentagon's chief procurement and sustainment specialist, the emphasis in the West's work on creating Ukraine's "military machine" has shifted significantly towards the repair and maintenance of these weapons.
11:30 pm: Switzerland is the top European producer of components found in Russian weapons, and Swiss banks that have not joined the sanctions hold at least $200 billion in Russian cash, experts told a hearing of the US Congressional Helsinki Commission.
NATIONAL
Friday, July 21
12:13 am: 31 people died because of the destruction of the Kakhovskaya HPP. This was stated by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko.
● "As for the dead: we have 31 dead today. 29 is the Kherson region and two citizens died in the Mykolaiv region," said Klymenko.
● As for material losses, according to the minister, the final calculation has not yet been completed.
12:28 am: Minister of Culture Tkachenko announced that he has submitted his resignation. He explained that he did this because of a misunderstanding about the importance of culture during the war.
12:55 am: The first footage of the use of American cluster munitions by the Ukrainian military. They were published by The Telegraph
4:04 am: Threat application adversary missile armament V Eastern regions, - Air Forces Armed Forces
4:19 am: Rebound rocket threats by regions, - Air Forces Armed Forces
7:06 am General Staff of the Armed Forces: Tonight, the Russian Federation launched another missile attack on the territory of Ukraine. Information regarding the consequences of this terrorist attack is currently being clarified.
● the Russians continue to concentrate their main efforts on the Kupyansk, Lymansk, Bakhmutsk, Avdiivsk and Marinsky directions - 32 combat clashes took place during the past day.
● Over the past day, the Air Force of the Defense Forces has struck 8 airstrikes in areas where Russian personnel are concentrated. Also, our defenders destroyed 1 reconnaissance UAV of operational-tactical level.
● Over the past 24 hours, units of missile troops and artillery hit 10 artillery pieces in firing positions, 2 anti-aircraft defenses, 2 EW stations and 4 more important objects.
9:28 am: The Armed Forces successfully advanced on three directions of the southern front, - General Staff of the Armed Forces.
● As the spokesman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andriy Kovalev, said, the Defense Forces were successful in the directions Novodanilivka - Verbove, Novodanilivka - Robotyne, Novodarivka - Pryutne, and are securing themselves at the achieved boundaries.
● In the direction of Bakhmut, our troops continue to conduct offensive operations north and south of the city of Bakhmut. the Russians put up strong resistance, actively use reserves, and suffer huge losses.
Thursday July 20
12:00 pm: Attention! The activity of the Russian tactical aviation in the south-eastern direction is observed! In case of an alarm, go to the shelter! - Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
12:44 pm Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia regions - the threat of using ballistic weapons.
2:34 pm The Washington Post: Ukraine began using cluster munitions received from the US.
● According to the newspaper, the ammunition was used against Russian forces in the south-east of Ukraine, trying to destroy well-fortified Russian positions that slowed down Ukraine's counteroffensive.
3:52 pm: Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv regions - the threat of using ballistic weapons.
4:27 pm: In the battles in the east, the Russians have a significant advantage in the ability to provide ammunition, so the Armed Forces can respond with only 1 shot to 7-8 enemy shots.
● This was stated by the commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi in an interview with the BBC.
● "But we plan our operations very carefully. That's why we are able to achieve success. And now we are moving forward," said Sirskyi.
5:11 p.m.: The Armed Forces localized the "big offensive" of the Russian military on the Kupyansk-Lyman line. The tactics of Ukrainian fighters are unchanged, said Serhiy Cherevaty, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of Forces.
● "Over the course of a day, there were 568 shellings, 17 air raids on the Kupyansk-Lyman line, as well as four futile enemy assaults in the areas of Masyutivka and Liman Pershy. The "big offensive" they announced in the spring was localized, they cannot intercept the initiative," Cherevaty said.
5:26 pm: Ukraine will receive a $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank under the guarantee of the Japanese government, announced Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
● According to him, the funds are intended to strengthen social protection and aid people during the war and economic recovery.
6:41 pm Operational information from the General Staff of the Armed Forces:
● "the enemy carried out 40 airstrikes and carried out 46 attacks from rocket salvo systems on the positions of the Armed Forces and civilians. The Russian Federation continues to focus its main efforts on the Kupyansk, Lymansk, Bakhmutsk, Avdiivsk and Marinsk directions - 20 combat clashes took place during the day."
● Aviation of the defense forces per day struck 7 strikes on the areas of concentration of enemy personnel
● Also, 1 reconnaissance UAV of operational-tactical level was destroyed.
● During the day, units of missile forces and artillery hit 6 artillery pieces on firing positions and the enemy's EW station, the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
6:55 pm: The take-off of the MiG-31K fighter jet of the Russian Air Force from the Savasleyka airfield of the Nizhny Novgorod region was recorded, — the Air Force of the ZSU.
9:38 pm: Fighters of one of the assault groups of the 15th operational brigade captured a Russian commander from Chechnya.
● This was announced by the Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Application of the Main Directorate of the National Guard of Ukraine, Colonel Mykola Urshalovych.
● According to the colonel, the prisoner spoke about the low morale and psychological state of the personnel and their reluctance to conduct combat operations.
10:31 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyi: Today there is an important decision of the National Bank of Ukraine regarding a financial institution operating in our country and owned by Russian oligarchs - they are under sanctions in various jurisdictions.
● NSDC sanctions were applied. And now it will be right for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to urgently consider the relevant proposals of the National Bank of Ukraine and support them regarding this financial institution in the interests of depositors, for the sake of financial stability and elementary justice.
10:41 pm: Volodymyr Zelenskyi: During such a war, the maximum of state resources should go to defense, and every project that can be implemented at the expense of extra-budgetary resources should be implemented at the expense of extra-budgetary resources.
● This applies to various spheres, in particular the field of culture. Museums, cultural centers, symbols, series - all this is important, but now there are other priorities.
● Therefore, I ask Prime Minister Shmyhal to consider replacing Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine
10:46 pm: There is a threat of the enemy using attack UAVs from the north and northeast directions. In the event of an alarm, go to shelter
● This is reported in the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
11:12 pm: The take-off of the MiG-31K fighter jet of the Russian Air Force from the Savasleyka airfield of the Nizhny Novgorod region was recorded.
● This is reported in the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
11:55 pm: In the Tavriy direction, units of the Defense Forces performed 1,312 fire missions during the day. Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the operational-strategic group of troops "Tavria", announced this.
● The enemy lost more than two companies killed and wounded. 15 units of enemy military equipment and 5 ammunition warehouses were destroyed.
MORDOR - RUZZIA
Thursday July 20
1:04 pm: Satellite images of the consequences of explosions at an ammunition depot in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
● The photo was published by Tokyo University professor Hidenori Watanave on Twitter.
● "a Russian ammunition depot near the village of Krynychki in Crimea. It was blown up by a powerful explosion," Watanave wrote.
3:13 pm Social Networks: Explosions are heard in the Simferopol and Saksky districts of the temporarily occupied Crimea.
3:30 pm President's Office: The government of Great Britain has imposed sanctions on persons associated with the "Wagner" PVC.
3:54 pm Social Networks: Explosions are heard near the military airfield in Novofedorivka, temporarily occupied Crimea.
4:40 pm: The Security Service identified 14 more war criminals of the Russian Federation, including 2 generals who were involved in mass repressions against the civilian population during the occupation of Kherson.
● "During a peaceful protest, the invaders kidnapped its participants and took them to Russian torture chambers set up in captured buildings on the territory of the city," the SBU press service writes.
● Based on the collected evidence, SBU investigators informed 14 persons involved that they were suspected of violating the laws and customs of war. Comprehensive measures are underway to establish their whereabouts.
6:11 pm: A skirmish took place in Belarus between local border guards and mercenaries from the "Wagner" PMC, who were deported from the Russian Federation.
● This was reported by the Center of National Resistance.
● "During these actions (reconnaissance of the area - ed.), a skirmish took place between the mercenaries and border guards of the Republic of Belarus, the latter withdrew and did not "impede" the work of the Wagnerites," the report says.
6:27 pm: New interception of GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
● A Russian serviceman talks about losses and recognizes the Armed Forces as a much more effective army than the Russian Federation.
8:26 pm: rosZMI reports on an attack on an airfield in the Ryazan region, Russia.
● According to unconfirmed data, as a result of the attack, a gap appeared in the area of the aircraft parking lot.
8:41 pm: The moment of the morning drone explosion in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Video from social networks.
11:46 p.m.: The Crimean bridge is temporarily closed, an air-raid alarm is sounding - this was announced by the so-called operational headquarters of the temporarily occupied Crimea.
REGIONS
CHERNIHIV
Friday July 21
10:52 am: Explosions were heard in the Chernihiv region, local channels report. We are waiting for official information.
11:16 am Chernihiv RMA: The enemy is attacking Chernihiv region with missiles.
11:30 am Operational Command North: As a result of a missile attack on Chernihiv Oblast, the building of the local cultural center was damaged in one of the settlements of the district.
● According to preliminary information, there are no victims. Other information is being clarified.
SUMY
Friday July 21
11:23 am Sumy RMA: During the night and morning, the Russians launched 6 shellings of the border. 19 explosions were recorded.
● Settlements of Khotynska, Bilopolska, Yunakivska, and Esmanska communities came under fire. Previously - without human losses and destruction of civil infrastructure.
Thursday July 20
12:46 pm: At night, the Russians attacked a children's camp in the Sumy region, reports the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
● "According to preliminary information, no people were found under the rubble. The sources of combustion have been eliminated," the message reads.
10:23 pm: Sumy region - threat of enemy use of attack UAVs. This is reported in the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
KHARKIV
Friday July 21
10:43 am Kharkiv RMA: This night because of Russian shelling of the village A 56-year-old woman was slightly injured in Novoosynove, and a private house was damaged.
● As a result of shelling from a tank, the village of A 60-year-old man died in Kozacha Lopan. In the village Two civilian men aged 69 and 52 were injured as a result of shelling in Petrovka.
● Around 20:10 in the village Verkhniy Bayrak, a 48-year-old civilian blew himself up in his own yard with an unknown explosive device. Hospitalized in a light condition.
DONETSK
Thursday July 20
12:10 pm Donetsk RMA: Russians fired from "hurricanes" Spill of the Velikonovosilkiv community — 1 person died, 1 was injured.
● "On the Horlivskyi direction, 2 people were injured and 3 houses were damaged in Mykolaivka of the Kostiantynivska community," Kyrylenko writes.
1:49 pm: All conditions are now in place to bring Bakhmut back.
● This was stated by the commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi in an interview with the BBC.
● "At this time, all the conditions have been created to return this city to us, but with ten times less losses (compared to the Russian Federation - ed.). They are in such a semi-encirclement. Well, you just can't help but take advantage of this," said Syrskyi.
7:13 pm: Explosions near the cable factory in temporarily occupied Donetsk, local media.
11:48 pm: Donetsk region - the threat of using ballistic weapons.
● This is reported in the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
ZAPORIZHIA
Friday July 21
12:34 am: Countering the threat of using ballistic weapons in all areas. The Zaporizhzhia region remains tactical.
12:38 am: Countering a threat to the Zaporizhzhia region associated with the activity of enemy aircraft.
8:56 am Zaporizhia RMA: Over the past day, the Russians have carried out 80 strikes on 20 settlements in the Zaporizhia region.
● As a result of an attack on an infrastructure facility in the Pologiv district by Russian military personnel, four workers aged 29, 30, 33 and 43 years old were killed, and two more wounded were sent to a medical facility.
● 33 reports were received about the destruction of residential buildings and infrastructure facilities.
Thursday July 20
12:26 pm Zaporizhia RMA: Over the past day, the Russian military shelled the Zaporizhia region 82 times.
● In Orichov, two families were injured by a guided aerial bomb. Women aged 68 and 76 and a 44-year-old man were injured. A 79-year-old man died of his injuries in a medical facility.
● "We received 21 reports about the destruction of residential buildings and commercial buildings," Malashko wrote.
3:46 pm: Ukrainian soldiers and officers are literally "gnawing through" the enemy's defenses in the Melitopol direction.
● Mykola Urshalovych, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning for the Use of the National Guard, stated this.
● "Every day, we advance several hundred meters. At the reached boundaries, our units are entrenched and do not give the enemy the opportunity to regain lost positions," said Urshalovych.
5:41 p.m.: The Ukrainian staff of the ZANP refuses to comply with the criminal order of the Russian Federation to launch Unit No. 4, the press service of NAEC "Energoatom" reported.
● According to the National Atomic Energy Commission, during the last week, due to the constant physical and psychological pressure of the occupiers, about 30 licensed personnel of the ZNPP left Energodar and left for the territory controlled by Ukraine.
● Energoatom emphasized that the responsible Ukrainian personnel are aware that violation of the terms of the DYARU license will lead to the loss of personal licenses after the deoccupation of the ZNPP.
11:42 pm: The air alert in the Zaporizhzhia region is related to the activity of enemy tactical aviation.
● This is reported in the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
DNIPRO
Thursday July 20
1:17 p.m.: The SBU detained a Ukrzaliznytsia official who was preparing a Russian airstrike on the logistics routes of the Defense Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
● "In order to gather intelligence, the suspect traveled around the city on public transport and secretly photographed Ukrainian objects," the SBU press service writes.
● She is currently in custody, the perpetrator faces up to 8 years in prison.
KHERSON
Friday July 21
10:01 am Kherson RMA: Over the past day, the Russians have launched 45 shellings, firing 243 shells from mortars, artillery, Grads, aircraft, tanks, ATGMs and UAVs. 20 shells were fired in the city of Kherson.
● They aimed at the residential quarters of the settlements of the region; the territory and building of an educational institution in the Bilozer settlement community; administrative building in Beryslav district. There are no victims or wounded among the civilian population.
Thursday July 20
9:08 pm Social Networks: Explosions are heard in Kherson.
MYKOLAIV
Friday July 21
10:22 am: The SBU detained a collaborator who, during the occupation of the Mykolaiv Oblast, led his fellow villagers to "shootings"
● The perpetrator turned out to be a local resident who helped the Russians intimidate local residents with the help of "staged shootings": people were placed against the wall, pointed at them with firearms and fired at dangerous proximity.
● In this way, the Russians tried to induce the Ukrainians to cooperate or to provide secret information.
Thursday July 20
4:56 pm Chief of the police of the Mykolaiv region: As a result of the night attack of the Russians on Mykolaiv, two people have already died.
● "The body of an elderly woman - the wife of the dead man, who was taken out of the ruins earlier - was found from under the rubble of the damaged house," Shaikhet wrote.
7:41 pm: In Mykolaiv, the demolition of the rubble of a three-story building after the overnight Russian attack was completed. Two people died, 18 were injured, the State Emergency Service reported.
ODESA
Friday July 21
4:35 am Social Networks: An explosion rang out in Odesa region.
8:40 am: At dawn, the Russians released "calibers" in Odesa region, there is a hit in the grain terminals of one of the agricultural enterprises, reported the head of OVA Oleg Kiper.
● the Russians destroyed 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley. Two people were injured because of the explosion.
9:08 am: Details of this morning's Russian attack on Odesa were published by the head of RMA:
● "Trying to bypass air defense systems, the enemy directed missiles at the minimum height, using the features of the landscape.
● 2 rockets hit the granaries of one of the agricultural enterprises. A fire broke out and already during the fight against the fire, a second alarm was sounded. Another missile hit the same enterprise."
9:46 am: During the attack on Odesa region, the Russians destroyed two fire engines, - the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
● Equipment cannot be restored. The rescuers were not injured.
11:03 am Social Networks: Explosions rang out in Odesa, local channels report. We are waiting for official information.
11:19 am: Attention! Repeated launches of "Onyx" supersonic anti-ship missiles in the direction of Odesa region. Stay in cover! - Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
11:26 am Social Networks Explosions rang out again in Odesa.
Thursday July 20
1:31 pm Odesa RMA: As a result of the Russian night attack on Odesa, the building of the Consulate General of China was damaged.
● "The aggressor is deliberately hitting the port infrastructure - administrative and residential buildings around were damaged," Kiper writes.
2:50 pm: The SBU detained a pro-Russian blogger in Odesa who worked for Stremousov's collaborator and was actually his "right hand".
● On Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Vkontakte, he denied the existence of Ukrainian statehood and the Ukrainian people, and also discredited Ukrainian defenders.
● The detainee was informed of suspicion under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins. Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment.
SOURCES
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/
https://espreso.tv/
https://cutt.ly/Blyskavka
https://t.me/uawarinfographics
https://t.me/svoboda_radio