Weekend brief: Azovstal commanders' return and Zelenskyy's meeting with Duda

Russian war against Ukraine

July 8 news:

• Ukrainian Armed Forces achieved tactically significant successes in the Bahmut area.
• Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a new wave of counterattacks in the Zaporizhzhia region.
• Explosions and fires were reported in the Belgorod region of Russia.
• Russia attacked Krivyi Rih with drones: two fires broke out, casualties reported.
• Azovstal commander Denys "Redis" Prokopenko plans to return to the frontlines.

July 9 news:

• Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed two more Russian battalions on the Tavriya direction.
• Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed 10 enemy reconnaissance drones in a single day.
• Russian forces have not achieved any of their objectives in Ukraine during the 500 days of the war.
• Russia targeted residential neighborhoods and a shipyard in Kherson.
• Russia is exporting the seized Ukrainian grain to China.

All the "Azovstal" commanders have returned to Ukraine from Turkey

All Ukrainian commanders who led the defense of "Azovstal" have returned to Ukraine from Turkey, where they were kept after their release from Russian captivity.

Commanders who have returned home:

• Denys Prokopenko "Redis" - Azov commander.
• Serhiy Volynskyi "Volyna" - Acting Commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade.
• Sviatoslav Palamar "Kalyna" - Deputy Commander of Azov.
• Oleh Khomenko - Senior Officer of Azov.
• Denys Shleha - Commander of the 12th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Learn more about the defenders of Mariupol in the article by RBC-Ukraine "Resilience unyielding: Mariupol's defenders stand firm one year after Azovstal".

Kremlin furious over the return of Azovstal commanders to Ukraine

According to the spokesperson of the Russian dictator, Dmitry Peskov, the return of the Azovstal commanders to Ukraine from Turkey is supposedly a violation of the agreements on prisoner exchange.

"The return of the 'Azov' leaders from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing but a direct violation of the conditions of the existing agreements. In this case, both the Ukrainian and Turkish sides have violated the terms," he said.

Zelenskyy-Duda meeting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda met in Lutsk on July 9.

The presidents visited the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

Zelenskyy says Putin will ask for negotiations when the Ukrainian Armed Forces reach Crimea

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admits that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will want negotiations when the Ukrainian Armed Forces reach Crimea.

Filmmaker Sentsov suffers shell shock on the frontlines

Former Kremlin prisoner Oleg Sentsov suffered a shell shock on the frontlines on Saturday.

He recorded a video immediately after getting shell shock, saying that an important defensive line had just been secured.

Ukrzaliznytsia to reinstate militarized security on passenger trains

Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) has decided to reinstate militarized security on trains to enhance passenger safety.

As of June 30, militarized security has been reintroduced on passenger trains. Currently, it is operational on trains No. 81 Kyiv-Uzhhorod, No. 41 Dnipro-Truskavets, and No. 712 Kyiv-Kramatorsk.

US ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, similar to the ones of Israel

The United States is ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, similar to those given to Israel, after the war is over.

US leader Joe Biden said that he thinks NATO currently lacks unanimity regarding Ukraine's accession to the alliance, and the process of joining will take some time after the war is over.

Erdogan intends to extend the Grain deal for two years
Turkey is making every effort to extend the Grain deal and its terms by two years.

"We continue to work on the grain corridor. We are working on its extension after July 17. We want to extend it for at least three months. We are waiting for it and we will make efforts to extend the agreement for two years," stated President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.