Brief for July 20: shelling of southern Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia

Russia's war against Ukraine: latest news

• How many missiles does Russia have? Ignat assessed the occupiers' stockpiles.
• Southern Attack: Yermak explained how the world should respond to Russian terror.
• In the morning, the occupiers struck the Kharkiv region, resulting in one fatality.
• A man was killed as Russian forces shelled Kozacha Lopan in the Kharkiv region.
• Explosions were reported near two airfields in Russian-occupied Crimea.
• The Ukrainian Armed Forces are repelling attacks in the east, while Russia seeks to restore positions in the Zaporizhzhia direction.
• Russia attacked the Zhytomyr region: 17 people were injured, and half a thousand buildings were damaged.
• The EU will allocate up to 20 billion euros for Ukraine's defense needs, according to Borrell.
• Threat of a terrorist attack at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The IAEA mission is still awaiting access to the reactor buildings' roofs.

Night attack. Russia launched 19 missiles and drones: how many were successfully intercepted?

On the night of July 20, Russia launched 19 cruise missiles and an equal number of kamikaze drones into Ukraine. Almost half of the enemy targets were intercepted.

Military sources note that on this night, Russia focused its attacks on southern regions. The occupiers launched:

• 7 "Oniks" cruise missiles from the coastal missile complex "Bastion" (Crimea);
• 4 Kh-22 air-launched cruise missiles, fired from eight Tu-22MZ aircraft (Black Sea area);
• 3 "Kalibr" sea-launched cruise missiles, likely from a submarine (Black Sea area);
• 5 "Iskander-K" land-based cruise missiles (Crimea);
• 19 attack UAVs of Shahed-136/131 type from two directions - southern (Chauda, Crimea) and north-eastern (Kursk).

Ukrainian air defense forces successfully intercepted 18 enemy targets: two "Kalibr" missiles, three "Iskander-K" cruise missiles, and 13 "Shahed" UAVs.

Russian forces have been attacking the south of Ukraine for the third consecutive day, including shelling Odesa and Mykolaiv.

As a result of the nighttime Russian attack in Odesa, a 21-year-old man was killed.

"Unfortunately, due to the nighttime Russian attack, we have one casualty in Odesa. The deceased is a security guard of a civilian building, born in 2002," wrote Oleg Kiper, the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration.

Kiper also reported that 8 people were injured due to the attack on the city, including three employees of the State Emergency Service.

In Mykolaiv, two people were killed due to the nighttime Russian attack. Rescuers extracted the body of a woman from the rubble of a residential building.

New sanctions against Russia

• Several countries introduced sanctions against Russia yesterday, including:
• The US imposed new sanctions against Russia, targeting banks and more.
• Related to Wagner PMC. The UK imposed new sanctions against Russians.
• Tinkoff Bank, Beeline, and Mir card. Canada imposed new sanctions against Russia.
• The EU implemented new sanctions against Iran and Russia: details.
• The EU extended sanctions against Russia for another six months due to the invasion of Ukraine.
• Australia imposed sanctions against 35 Russian organizations and ten individuals.

Ukraine may abandon the fixed exchange rate of the hryvnia to the dollar before the end of the war initiated by Russia.

Sergiy Nikolaychuk, Deputy Governor at the National Bank of Ukraine, explained that last week, the strategy for easing currency restrictions, transitioning to a flexible exchange rate, and returning to inflation targeting was published. It outlines the conditions the National Bank of Ukraine(NBU) considers when evaluating the possibility of moving to a flexible exchange rate formation.

Zelenskyy asked Shmyhal to consider replacing Tkachenko

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to consider replacing the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tkachenko.

As the President stated, he discussed the issue of fair allocation of budget funds with Shmyhal.

"I proposed two steps to the head of the government. First: find extra-budgetary funds for projects that are currently genuinely needed. There are people in the world who can help. Second: I asked the Prime Minister to consider replacing the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said.

The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the official number of casualties from the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant destruction.

As a result of the explosion carried out by Russia at the Khersonska HPP on June 6, 2023, on a government-controlled territory, 31 people were killed.

"As for the casualties, 31 people were killed today. Twenty-nine of them were from the Kherson region, and two citizens died in the Mykolaiv region," stated the head of the MVS, Igor Klymenko.

However, there is no final information yet on the material losses. The calculation is still ongoing.

"It is very challenging to assess how much potential harvest we lost during these months, how many private households were affected, including vineyards and vegetable gardens that were located in this territory, and how many opportunities we lost regarding water. It is a significant problem," he added.

Success on multiple fronts. Zaluzhnyi informed Milley about the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, held a phone conversation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, General Mark Milley. Among other topics, they discussed the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Zaluzhnyi provided a detailed update on the operational situation along the entire frontline.

"Despite the highly complex minefields, anti-tank obstacles, and the enemy's system of fire attack, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are methodically destroying the enemy's forces and continue offensive actions to liberate our territory. We have achieved success on several fronts. Our soldiers are Heroes," said the Commander-in-Chief.

Ukraine promised to respond in kind to Russia's threats to sink ships.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine made a statement regarding the movement of ships in the Black Sea waters. This concerns vessels that sail to Russian ports or those located in the occupied territories.

According to the statement, Russia has openly threatened civilian ships transporting food products from Ukrainian ports. Recently, the Kremlin has turned the Black Sea into a dangerous zone. The full responsibility for all risks lies entirely with the Russian leadership.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Defense highlighted that the fate of the cruiser "Moskva" proves that the Armed Forces of Ukraine possess the necessary means to repel Russian aggression at sea.

The leadership of Europe's largest airline, Ryanair, has arrived in Ukraine.

The delegation is negotiating with the management of the international airport "Boryspil" regarding the resumption of flights after the war's end.

The highest management of Ryanair has arrived at Boryspil Airport - Michael O'Leary, the Group CEO of Ryanair Group; Eddie Wilson, the CEO of Ryanair DAC; and Jason McGuinness, the Chief Commercial Officer of Ryanair DAC.

As passenger planes cannot currently fly in Ukraine, Ryanair's leadership was brought to Boryspil by "Ukrzaliznytsia" (Ukrainian Railways).