Biden withdrew from election race, Le Pen's party failed on Parliamentary elections in France - Weekend brief
Collage by RBC-Ukraine
In the United States, President Joe Biden refused to run for office. Meanwhile, the far-right National Rally Party, whose formal leader is Marine Le Pen, did not win any key positions in the National Assembly after the election.
Read more about what happened on Weekend, July 20-21.
Russia's war against Ukraine: Latest
News for July 20
- Russia's losses in Ukraine as of July 20: +990 troops, 34 drones and airplane
- Russians prepare Mariupol port for smuggling grain stolen from Ukraine
- Drone attack in Rostov region: Reports of strikes on airfield and oil depot
News for July 21
- Russia deploys more marine and infantry assault groups to Hlyboke, Kharkiv region
- Strike on Russian military airfield Millerovo - Aftermath of attack revealed
- Powerful explosions heard in several districts of occupied Crimea
- Russia attacks Ukraine with Iskanders and drones: Air defense response
Biden announces his withdrawal from election race
US President Joe Biden announces that he is withdrawing from the presidential race.
"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term," the president wrote.
He also noted that he would address the citizens of the United States later this week with more details about his decision.
Trump promptly reacted to Biden's withdrawal from the race.
And the president himself offered the Democrats a candidate instead.
Russians prepare another offensive in Kharkiv region
On the contact line, the Russian troops are trapped in dugouts, as the soldiers of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade do not allow them to deploy. At the same time, the enemy continues to look for vulnerabilities in our defense, states Mykola Volokhov, commander of the Terra unit of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.
The unit commander emphasized that the enemy continues to be active in the Kharkiv region.
He notes that the enemy is not weak, they continue to press, continue to storm Ukrainian positions, and look for some weaknesses. Volokhov notes that currently, the Russians are not finding any weaknesses, moreover, the soldiers of the 3rd Brigade can sometimes even use counterattack maneuvers in order not to play by the rules of the enemy.
Yemen struck after drone attack on Israel
Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom have launched joint strikes on a Yemeni port. This happened shortly after the drone attack on Israel, according to The Times of Israel.
Today, on July 20, social media reported air strikes on the Houthi-controlled city of Al-Hudaydah in western Yemen.
Le Pen's party failed to win any key positions in French parliament
Today, July 20, France elected the heads of eight standing committees of the lower house of the French parliament. The bloc of the current president, Emmanuel Macron, united with a coalition of leftists and even the right-wing Republican party to prevent Le Pen's party from gaining important positions.
The National Rally was also denied positions in the Bureau of the National Assembly, the parliament's governing body.
Le Pen responded by saying that this was a "shameful maneuver."
Trump held his first rally after assassination attempt, sharply criticized Democrats
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump held his first rally following the assassination attempt, during which he sharply criticized his political opponents, according to Reuters.
Following a brief call for national unity earlier in the week, Donald Trump returned to his usual campaign tactics. He employed offensive and sometimes obscene language to attack his opponents and reiterated several false claims regarding immigration, the economy, and election fraud.
Trump team prepares campaign against Kamala Harris
Donald Trump's campaign team is preparing an operation against Vice President Kamala Harris if incumbent US President Joe Biden withdraws from the race, reports The New York Times.
Trump's team has already prepared materials about Harris and has similar dossiers on other Democrats who could become candidates if Biden changes his mind about running.
They also prepared several videos against Harris, which they wanted to show to delegates and on TV, but after the assassination attempt on Trump, they abandoned this plan.
Trump's team began to study the records of Democratic governors who are considered potential partners of Harris. They are paying special attention to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, the state that Trump's campaign is most focused on winning to block the Democrats' path to the White House.
