Today
Sunday 16 July 2023
12:45 p.m
Drones shot down in Sevastopol
A new report by Russia’s Sevastopol governor says a tenth aerial drone has been neutralized over the Black Sea.
In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that it shot down two drones with its anti-aircraft defenses and disabled five others with jamming systems. The ministry adds that it also destroyed two Ukrainian army naval drones, boats operating unmanned on the water surface. Launched in annexed Crimea, the drones targeted the Russian Black Sea fleet headquarters, which is a regular target of such attacks.
12:39 p.m
PUTIN DESCRIBES UKRAINE’S LACK OF “SUCCESS”.
In an interview with Russian television, Vladimir Putin declared that the Ukrainian army had not achieved “success” in its counter-offensive. “None of the enemy’s attempts to break through our defenses – a mission for which he used strategic reserves – was unsuccessful,” the Kremlin chief said on Rossiya-1. “The enemy has not succeeded.”
However, the Russian President did not provide any details on the continuation of the “special operation”, preferring to praise the “progress” of the Russian army and its “heroic” actions.
10:49
CLUSTER BOMBS
Vladimir Putin claimed his army had a “good reserve” of cluster munitions and threatened to use them on the front lines in Ukraine if Kiev used this type of US armament.
Washington has announced the imminent delivery of these weapons to the Ukrainian army, the use of which has been a source of great controversy as the allegations they spread can cause many civilian casualties.
“In Russia there is a large reserve of cluster munitions of various types,” stressed the Russian President in an interview with the public television channel “Rossia-1” broadcast on Sunday. “We haven’t used it yet, nor was there a need,” he continued.
09:58
RUSSIAN ATTACKS ON UKRAINE
One civilian was killed and another injured in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. The 33-year-old man died after Russian fire hit residential buildings, regional governor Oleh Synehoubov said on Telegram.
According to local officials, seven other people were injured during a strike in Zaporizhia. Local governor Yuriy Malashko said on Telegram that heavy Russian shelling injured three women and four men and damaged several houses.
09:41
EXPLOSION IN LUHANSK
Here is one of the videos showing the aftermath of an explosion in the occupied Luhansk region.
09:40
EXPLOSION IN LUHANSK
Three different videos show heavy smoke in the sky over the occupied Luhansk region after an explosion. On a local Telegram channel, some local residents speak of a missile attack, although no air defense activity has been reported. After geolocation dataThe destination is in an industrial area outside the city center, near a large coal mine.
09:35
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION
It’s 9:30 am… A chance to look back at the highlights of the last 24 hours ↓
International
Posted today at 9:27
08:47
WAGNER’S PRESENCE IN BELARUS CONFIRMED
Ukrainian and Polish officials confirm that Wagner militia fighters have arrived in Belarus from the Russian border. “Wagner is in Belarus,” wrote Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian border guard, on Telegram.
For his part, one of the representatives of the Polish special service, Stanislaw Zaryn, said that Warsaw also had confirmation of the presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus. “Right now it could be several hundred,” he said in a video Twitter.
08:28
Russian attacks
Ukraine claims to have been the target of four rockets fired by Russia from Belgorod at Kharkiv. “Two rockets exploded in the air and two more hit a stadium and a road,” authorities say, adding that there were no casualties.
08:23
Supporting Ukraine is a ‘priority’
Redoubling efforts to support Ukraine and accompany developing countries is the “best” thing that can be done for the world economy, the US Treasury Secretary affirmed. Janet Yellen is attending a meeting of the major financiers of the G7 countries this Sunday in Gandhinagar, western India, on the eve of a G20 finance meeting in the same city. A “key priority” is to “double our support for Ukraine,” she stressed during a press conference. She said she saw for herself the “massive” impact of foreign aid to Ukraine, both civilian and military, during her visit to Kiev in February.
07:32
20% OF THE MATERIAL DAMAGED
Citing senior US officials, the New York Times said at least 20% of the equipment and armor deployed by Ukraine in the first two weeks of its counteroffensive was partially damaged or destroyed. An assessment that, according to the daily, “would be the main reason why the Ukrainian land forces have interrupted every new advance to reconsider their strategy”.
After adjusting their tactics, the Ukrainians halved their losses to 10%, the daily adds.
07:26
Drones shot down in Sevastopol
In Sevastopol in Crimea, in Russian-occupied territory, several explosions could be heard overnight, the administration deployed by Moscow said. On Telegram, the Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvojayev, indicates that air defenses have been activated. According to the same source, a total of nine drones were shot down over Crimea. “No object was damaged, neither in the city nor in the sea area,” he said.
07:21
CONVOY WAGNER IN BELARUS
According to the independent collective Belarusski Hajun, a large convoy of Wagner fighters was sighted in Belarus on Saturday morning. According to this group, which tracks movements of the armed forces in Belarus, at least 60 trucks, buses and other large vehicles have entered the country from Russia, accompanied by police.
The group said the plane’s number plates matched those of Russian-held territories in eastern Ukraine. According to their analysis, the convoy was en route to a military base outside of Osipovichi, a town 230 km north of the Ukrainian border. Satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press confirm this information: Structures resembling tents appear to have been erected on this base between June 15 and 30.
07:12
Belarus is looking closely
The Ukrainian armed forces are on alert. Soldiers at the border posts have been on the alert ever since the Kiev army indicated on Thursday that it would reinforce its border with Belarus with trenches and mines after that country announced the arrival of Wagner soldiers on its soil. With AFP they confirm that no movement of Wagner troops has been detected in this section of the border at the moment.
Nevertheless, Ukraine says it is ready to ward off any attempted invasion by Russian forces from its neighboring country. “Since we were stabbed in the back from Belarus, we do not rule out the possibility that Wagner fighters could move or be deployed on Belarusian territory,” says one soldier.
07:04
Grain Agreement
The South African Presidency confirmed in a statement that Cyril Ramaphosa raised the issue of the grain deal with Vladimir Putin following a phone conversation between the South African President and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. President Ramaphosa held a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, both on the conflict and on the grain issue. He “will continue his discussions with the two leaders and the UN Secretary-General on these issues,” the statement said.
07:01
Grain Agreement
Vladimir Putin said Saturday the main goal of Ukraine’s grain deal had not been met. According to the Kremlin, during a phone call with his South African counterpart, the Russian President noted that “the main objective of the agreement”, namely “supply of grain to countries in need, especially on the African continent, will not be achieved”. .
06:59
WELCOME
Hello and welcome to this direct edition dedicated to the war in Ukraine.