Because the warfare enters its 879th day, these are the principle developments.
That is the place the warfare stands on Tuesday, July 23, 2024:
Preventing
- Russia downed 25 Ukrainian drones in a single day, the Ministry of Defence in Moscow mentioned on Tuesday. No less than 21 UAVs had been “intercepted and destroyed” in Crimea, two over the Bryansk area, and one other two over the Belgorod area.
- Russia additionally mentioned that it shot down 85 Ukrainian drones the day past, together with 47 within the area of Rostov. Authorities within the Russian Black Sea city of Tuapse within the Krasnodar area mentioned that particles from one downed drone sparked a fireplace at an oil refinery and killed one particular person.
- Russia has introduced that beginning Tuesday, it should limit entry to 14 areas in Belgorod, which have been topic to heavy assaults. The transfer is seen as a part of the Kremlin’s technique to arrange a so-called border buffer zone.
- Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov mentioned the restrictions will apply to the localities “the place the pertaining operational scenario is extraordinarily troublesome”, in keeping with the Interfax information company. Underneath the brand new order, checkpoints are to be arrange outdoors the localities, public transport is barred, and anybody wishing to go to should advise native authorities prematurely.
- A Japanese nationwide died final month preventing for Russia in opposition to Ukraine, in keeping with a authorities spokesman in Tokyo. Japanese nationwide broadcaster NHK recognized the person as a 29-year-old former soldier who left Japan in November and was killed in a blast in Donetsk. A handful of Japanese nationals are additionally identified to have volunteered to struggle for Ukraine in opposition to Russia.
Politics and diplomacy
- Ukrainian Overseas Minister Dmytro Kuleba is visiting China for talks on how Beijing may assist finish the warfare with Russia, whose ties with Beijing have grown stronger because the battle started. Kuleba’s go to, which is able to run to Friday, is his first to China because the outbreak of the warfare in February 2022.
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Hungary and Slovakia have requested the European Fee to mediate a session process with Ukraine, after Kyiv positioned Russia’s Lukoil Oil Firm on its sanctions listing, stopping crude provides to the 2 EU international locations. Hungary receives 2 million metric tonnes of oil from Russia’s largest non-public oil firm yearly. Slovakia imported Russian fossil fuels price an estimated $351m in April 2024, in keeping with the Centre for Analysis on Power and Clear Air.
- A Russian courtroom sentenced US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to greater than six years in jail for violating strict army censorship legal guidelines. Her employer, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, slammed the ruling as a “mockery of justice”. Kurmasheva, 47, was arrested whereas visiting her sick mom in Kazan.
- The EU will maintain its August 28-30 assembly of overseas and defence ministers in Brussels as an alternative of Budapest in a “symbolic” slapdown to Hungary for its rogue diplomacy on Ukraine, the bloc’s overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell mentioned.
- A number of thousand mourners attended the funeral within the western Ukrainian metropolis of Lviv for former lawmaker Iryna Farion, who was fatally shot on the street by an unknown assailant. Farion was greatest identified for her campaigns to advertise using the Ukrainian language.
Financial system
- Kyiv has introduced that it has struck a preliminary take care of worldwide collectors to restructure authorities debt price greater than $20bn, giving the war-torn nation some financial breathing room. A deal to freeze repayments on a collection of worldwide bonds was set to finish on August 1.
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Ukraine’s state vitality firm Naftogaz is planning to extend oil and gasoline manufacturing this yr, regardless of the fixed risk of Russian bombardments, CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov mentioned. The corporate plans to provide 15 billion cubic metres of pure gasoline and a couple of million tonnes of oil in 2024.
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The quantity of semiconductors and different restricted items shipped by China and Hong Kong to gas Russia’s warfare effort fell by a fifth this yr, beforehand undisclosed US Division of Commerce knowledge reveals. Nevertheless, Hong Kong stays a world sanctions evasion hotspot, in keeping with the Reuters information company.